Valkyrie lay on her belly beneath the sprawling branches of a large pine. Clutched between her paws was a work in progress. She'd found a pit with what looked like spears in it. The thatched covering that had once been over the pit had rotted and fallen in, and she'd been able to spy the danger before she'd gotten too close. The whole thing was intriguing. Who had left it there? Its purpose was clear, but why had something so dangerous been abandoned? At any rate, Valkyrie recognized that both the pits and the spears could be useful so she'd spent the better part of a day trying to figure out the best way to make them. The process, while simple on its face, clearly required a technique that she had yet to perfect. Countless broken spears littered the ground around her. Most had been broken when she'd tried to make the tines; if not split carefully one would fracture and break from the base. All in all it was a frustrating process. Finally though about midday she managed to finish one. Valkyrie very nearly did a happy dance in celebration. Now two completed spears lay beside her and a half finished one was clutched between her paws.

Eisleif found herself scouring the forest, she had caught a scent of Valkyrie. Eis had been meaning to reunite with her niece for a day or two, she had need to tell her about Thorne. Of course, she also enjoyed Valkyrie’s presence, it was good to be able to talk to someone with such a similar background. Eventually she was able to spot the younger girl. Eisleif felt herself confused about the branches that lay beside her, but as she got closer she was able to see the sharpness of the point. Spears? Where had her niece picked that craft up? The Finnvi felt her stub of a tail wag behind her as she drew closer to Valkyrie’s right side. The wind was nowhere near as intense here. ”Vhat have you been up to, niece?” She asked as she nudged one of the finished spears with her midnight paw. ""

Valkyrie grabbed one of the many long sticks piled beside her and settled down with it. This one, unlike the other two that she'd finished and the one she'd used as a reference, would have two points instead of four. Surely two points had to be easier to make than four. And two points, perhaps not as menacing as four, could still skewer anything worth skewering. Her aunt's voice brought Valkyrie's head around. She grinned up at Eisleif and then, using the claws of one of her forepaws, flicked one of the finished spears her way. It landed with a clatter at Eisleif's paws. "Making spears. I found a pit of them. Curious thing, but the idea is a good one. Perhaps their craft will be of use to us." Valkyrie cocked her head and looked up at her aunt, a hint of a smile on her lips. "Care to learn?"

Her niece was quite engrossed in her task, but as Eis spoke she would look up from her project. Eisleif’s lips pulled up in an amused grin as she was greeted with the appearance of one of her spears by her feet. She lowered her haunches to the ground as she peered at the object Valkyrie had thrown over to her. Her head tilted to the side curiously as she leaned down to inspect the sharp point as Valk spoke. She was busy reproducing the image of some spears she had found in the woods. Eisleif thought her rather brilliant and couldn’t argue with the practice, yes she wanted to join. Eisleif mirrored Valkyrie’s position, getting comfortable as she pulled on of the unsharpened branches from her niece. ”Absolutely.” She returned, eyes trained on the young she wolf. The Finnvi didn’t much enjoy games, but this task could come in useful sooner rather than later. ""

It seemed Eisleif was just as eager to learn as Valkyrie had been. This knowledge pleased Valkyrie immensely. Perhaps they shared a love of knowledge. If that were the case Valkyrie would make a point to include her aunt in similar projects. If they were to succeed their group needed to close and if they were to be close they spend time together. "Excellent," she said as Eisleif took one of the sticks. "First thing you need to do is splint one of the stick by about this much." She placed her forepaws on the ground about eight inches apart. Valkyrie laid the "working" end of her stick across one of her forelegs and then used her other forepaw to pin it in place. "Like this." Using her front teeth she bit down on the end of the stick and very carefully worked them into the wood. When her teeth were almost all the way through she let go. "Don't bite all the way through, just do what I did until you have the whole portion you're going to split done. This way it has no choice but to follow the split you've made when you break it open."

Eisleif felt a pride in her niece, she was sharp as a tack and impressed her aunt every time they congregated. The closer they became the better their relationship would be and the better they would work together. The woman couldn’t help but look forward to future activities like the one she would quickly become engrossed in. She didn’t take her eyes off the younger wolf as she began to explain the process. Valkyrie manipulated the stick with practiced ease as Eisleif watched her. Carefully she split the log, and for a moment Eis was worried she might hurt her teeth. Valkyrie explained further when she had finished and the older Finnvi took her own piece to begin the process. Carefully she bit down carefully sure not to bite clear through as Valk had said. For her first time it wasn’t terrible. She removed her teeth and studied her work, almost identical to her niece’s. ”I believe this is acceptable.” She moved the log, offering the finished work to Valkyrie so she might approve her work. ""

Valkyrie leaned over to get a look at Eisleif's handiwork before nodding her approval. "Yep, looks good." She then turned her own stick 90 degrees so that the split halves were stacked vertically and signaled for her aunt to do the same.

"Then you take one of these wedges," she motioned towards a little pile of four inch long stick segments that were no bigger around than one of Valkyrie's toes. "And slide it sideways into the gap so that there's an equal amount of wedge sticking out the sides."

As she talked Valkyrie did what she instructed Eisleif to do. She stopped pushing once the wedge was held firmly by the split pieces of the large stick. "Don't push too hard; stop once the wedge is held firmly, but not so far back that the pressure cracks the big stick."

Eisleif nodded as Valkyrie approved her work, the woman watched the young she wolf as she manipulated her craft. Eisleif did the same and followed the chocolate she wolf’s instruction. She brought the smaller piece closer with a paw. Carefully she carried out the instructions after she observed the demonstration. The activity was a test to her ability to manipulate objects, and practice she had less experience in. However she could easily see the benefit and stuck with the craft. She managed to set the stick without cracking her shaft, it was beginning to take shape, but she was curious what other techniques Velkyrie had up her metaphorical sleave. ”How long did it take you to perfect this assembly?” She asked as she offered her progress over for the young woman to see. ""

She watched as Eisleif followed her instructions. Her aunt was a fast learner and she was taking to the project like a duck to water. The beginning steps were the most precarious and she'd gotten through them seemingly with ease. It spoke well of her.

 

Once again Valkyrie nodded her approval as Eisleif completed the step and looked to her for confirmation. Her pronged spear was coming along nicely. "I've worked on them on and off for the last week or so. The trick was figuring out what order the steps needed to be done in," she said with a soft smile. The process of trial and error had been a test of her patience, but she was glad she stuck it out. The reward was worth her labors.

"The next part is a bit tricky. You'll have to take this twine and wind it first twice around the base of the split and then up and around the wedge so that it's held firmly in place." It was easier to show than to explain so Valkyrie was careful to move slowly so that Eisleif could copy her movements exactly. She first placed the middle of the length of twine across the base of the split and then tied it there, which took some effort since she only had thumbless paws and teeth to work with, but eventually it was tied firmly.

Valkyrie then took turns winding first one end of twine then the other around the wedge. One end would go up and across then the other would go up and across then the process would be repeated going down and across as the two ends were looped over the ends of the wedge. She did this several times until there was just enough twine to tie a knot.

""

Eisleif had a good teacher, and since she wasn’t doing everything on her own she was getting it faster. She didn’t have to try and fail multiple times before it came to her. Valk was a good teacher as she gave her step by step instructions. Valkyrie had been working on the process for a little less time than Eisleif would have guessed it would have taken herself. She nodded, feeling an odd pride in her niece. She continued then, telling Eis that the tricky part was yet to come. Eis nodded and gave the girl her undivided attention as she shifted from explaining to show. She wasn’t lying when she said that it would be a challenge. Eis was impressed with Valkyrie’s dexterity as she attempted the same. She was a bit more clumsy, but after a couple of tried she managed to wind it around in a similar fashion as she was showed. ”You’re right, this is tricky.” She mentioned as she offered her finished product for inspection. ""

Valkyrie watched Eisleif's progress with a keen eye. Her claws helped her grip the stick as she worked so she could only assume her aunt's blunt nails made the craft a little more difficult. She was doing well, though, and her first spear was shaping up nicely.

 

Valkyrie nodded in response to Eisleif's statement. "I've found it to be a necessary step, though, otherwise the tines dont' stay open and the splits continued to lengthen." To be honest she wasn't quite sure that the wrapping step was in the right order. Later she would have to experiment more and see if the spears held up better if it was done sooner. If that was the case she'd get back to Eisleif.

"Alright, all that's left to do is sharpen the tines. This step takes the longest. All I do is this," Valkyrie demonstrated by gripping one of the tines and dragging her teeth down it towards the end. A long strip of bark peeled off and was left dangling in her jaws and after showing it to Eisleif, Valkyrie spit it out. "Slowly try to work it to a point."

""

She didn't feel completely satisfied with her work, but her niece did not offer anything more than a nod. Eis was doing something right at least. The lynx point woman looked back down at her work critically as Valk explained her reasoning behind the step. The Finnvi offered her own quick nod in response as the lesson was continued.

The last, and best step, the sharpening of the tines. Eisleif visibly lit up as her niece showed her technique. The going would be slower than she liked, but the end result she was sure would be worth it. She inspected Valkyrie's work and went at it herself. Pressing her tooth against the rough tree parts she slid it to the end. She hadn't gotten as nice a strip, but she understood the theory and tried again.

The second try was much better, but the length of time it would take disappointed her. "You've been sitting here a while." she commented amusedly after spitting out the shaving.

 

Though Valkyrie worked quickly and with growing ease as she became more familiar with the process, sharpening lithe tones still took a while. This was alright with Valkyrie; she enjoyed being busy. It wasn’t long though before her jaws began to ache and she had to take frequent breaks to avoid a cramp.

After awhile Eislief made a comment that pulled a laugh from Valkyrie. Using a claw she flicked a shaving off her tongue and then answered wryly, “Perhaps I should have warned you in advance, eh?”

Soon enough though, Valkyrie’s spear was finished. “There,” she stated finally before peering over at Eisleif. “How’s yours coming along?”

""