He dragged a heavy bear hide along, mostly slung over his back. It had been cured, the hair removed. Now, he was ready to try his paw at making his first armor. He had an idea of what he wanted to make, and who better to ask for help than Red? Aurielle had said the male was good at making armor, and he wanted to have the best teacher at making these as he could. He found a good spot on the meeting boulder, under the shade of the two Oaks, and called for the large, bristly man, howling loudly, cheerfully even, before flopping on top of the hide and waiting. He wasn’t sure what tools he’d need, so he’d brought only the hide. Maybe the more experienced male could show him how to make these tools. He figured the first piece was going to be his body armor. It shouldn’t be too difficult compared to what he intended for bracers. He’d liked what Aurielle did, but felt that he could fathom some improvements. word count 219 Total 1950 Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Red was a little surprised but pleased when one of tue young wolves he had recently tutored called for him unexpectedly one day. He had little going ine, so he was quick to set aside his work to gead over and answer Cairo's call. When he came in view, he was interested to see that Cairo had a large hide with him. Well, now, this was certainly going to prove more interesting than crafting mapcases in solitude. "Hello, Cairo," he greeted the young man warmly. He settled down to face Cairo and eyed the hide curiously. "Is there something I can help you with today?"

Red was quick to answer, and as the larger man settled to face him, Cai grinned, tail tapping the hide before he rose to step off of it and flop down again, answering, “Aurielle says you’re really knowledgeable about making armor. I’d like to make some of my own, and I wondered if you’d be willing to teach me and help as I work on it?” His words started out as amiable and confident, but as he made his request, his confidence turned slightly nervous, as he suddenly worried that maybe he was stepping over a boundary, or sounding like he was asking Red to do the work, as he added the last bit quickly. He didn’t know Red well, but Aurielle thought highly of the man, and so, Cai saw him as being a wolf to look up to… And to be honest, he’d never had a father figure, or a male figure in his life to live up to, beyond Regulus. And Regulus was slowing down. The old Archangel stubbornly stuck around in the world, despite pushing ten years of age, determined to see his first grandchildren into the world. Then, he often said, then, he would die content. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Red blinked, then beamed in surprised pleasure to hear that Aurielle had spoken so highly of him to her apprentice. "I would be more than happy to lend you my knowledge," he told Cairo sincerely. "I have some scraps at my den I can teach you techniques on those so you can get the practice before you try it on your good hide. I'll go get those and my tools and bring them back here. You should learn to make your own tools if you intend to craft more than just your armor, but for now we can just use mine."

It was the work of moments to return to his den and gather up a bundle of scrap hides and his tools, and return to the pleasant shade Cairo had set up at. He set the bundle down and spread the tools out before Cairo - a sharpened flint blade with a wooden and leather grip along the spine, another one of sharpened antler that had the leather pad wrapped around it with a strap to hold a paw around it, a slightly dished rawhide block with a leather strap across the back. He had other tools for more detailed work, but for the initial build these were the most useful. He'd brought deer sinew as well, already soaking in a closed bamboo cylinder of water to soften, and rawhide to cut out any straps.

With the tools, scraps, and other odds and ends spread between them, Red settled down facing Cairo. "What did you have in mind for armor?" he asked, swiping one paw along the ground between them to smooth the bare dirt there in preparation for drawing.

He hissed out a faint sigh of relief, tail beginning to wag heartily as Red accepted the invitation. He nodded emphatically as Red told him he needed to grab tools and scraps, and as the larger male left momentarily to gather them, Cai sat back, unable to stop grinning as he looked forward to the first piece of armor, and the lesson he was in for. As the gold-brindled man returned laden with his supplies, Cairo watched and observed with interest as each item was laid out, mentally trying a guess at what each was to be used for. The flint was a given – cutting implement -but what was the piece of bamboo for? He thought he could hear it sloshing with liquid of some kind. Red finished spreading out the tools and posed his question and Cairo gave it a pause, forming the explanation in his head before he started in. “I was thinking of body armor, a little like what Aurielle has…” He looked around and picked up a twig in his teeth, fitting it between his toes on the right paw so the tip lay at an angle between the toes and clamping them together. Carefully, very carefully, he sketched a wolf shaped squiggle in the dirt, marking roughly where he wanted the armor to cover. It was a rather messy drawing, but it got the point across… he hoped at least. “I was thinking of adding pouches like saddlebags on it on either side… maybe detachable?” Deep sapphire eyes flicked up to Red, wide with the hopeful honesty of a pup as he waited to see what the more experienced man thought. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think