rogue taxidermy
plague<3
In the absence of any real direction, the frail young wraith was regularly finding himself engaging in crafting to occupy his mind. That delicate bone structure lent itself to surprising dexterity, which only improved as he practiced. Today he'd rounded up some leather that had recently finished processing, courtesy of Obi. The wisened primate likely afforded him more leniency than he ought, but it was appreciated. With a few scraps of material and some cord wrapped loosely around his neck, the charcoal and amethyst male wandered a little ways away from the shrine. He stayed within the safety of the trees, lest the sky open up with a deluge in the middle of his work. "What's your plan for today, Pontifex?" the familiar vocals of his companion rang out moments before the parrot alighted between his narrow shoulders. Around the mouthful of leather, the fanged yearling couldn't say much in response. Instead, he jostled the bird with a small shrug as he walked. It only took a few moments to select a nice spot, hardly worthy of being called a clearing, but with enough space for him to lay out his materials and move around with room to spare. Perhaps he could call Ikigai to join him for some more crafting. He'd enjoyed the time with his cousin on the beach, brainstorming how to make the best pendants for his sisters. He set the leather down on the grass, and shimmied the cord off his neck alongside it. "Haven't decided yet. Do you have any ideas?" he asked the ebony bird as she abandoned her perch in a flurry of broad wings, landing on the ground at his paws to examine his choice of materials. "I wouldn't mind you making yourself a saddle so I don't have to work so hard just to rest on that twig you call a back." despite the deadpan and sarcasm, the boy chuckled softly at the comment. By now he understood when Hallux was joking and when she wasn't. He lowered himself gracefully to his haunches, then down onto his belly. Pulling the leather and cord closer with outstretched forepaws, he shook his head gently to dismiss the jesting. "Maybe I should try my skill at armour, or weapons? I should have brought one of those knives, so I could try and make a sheath with this stuff." he said, mostly to himself. He didn't expect Hallux to care too much about what he was up to, not when she would likely need to venture off to find food soon. "speech" |
Plague finished up his patrol of the border with Viridis and Procella and started making his way through the pale trees as he moved toward the shrine, flanked by the pair of snow leopards. He had made a point to go find Ike the day he returned from his honeymoon of sorts, but now that he was settling back into the daily life of the pack he turned his attention to the rest of his nieces and nephews. He knew he had spent the most time with Venom's children so today his sights were set on Toxicity's pups. He knew his relationship with Toxicity wasn't as easy or close as he was with Venom, but he didn't want that to effect him getting to know her children or him being an uncle to them.
As if to answer his wish, he heard a paid of voices through the trees and he moved toward it, finding Pontifex examining some leather along with a parrot who he assumed was his companion. He caught a bit of their conversation, hearing the young man mention how he wished he had brought a knife to try making a sheath. Plague chuckled softly and approached him, pulling the dagger from the sheath on his shoulder and placing it on the ground in front of his nephew. "Would you like to borrow mine for size? I'm not sure if it's the same size as the knives you're thinking of, but it'd be good practice either way." He settled down onto his haunches across from the purple adorned boy, looking at the leather and chord he had in front of him curiously. Crafting various armors and items had become a favorite hobby of his so it immediately caught his attention.
He noticed the approaching pawsteps, and looked up in time to see his uncle emerge from the foliage. He was flanked by a pair of pale cats, which unnerved the younger male a little. He was so used to the dogs that accompanied many of the higher ranked wolves, and the cats were foreign to him. Both unfamiliar and reminiscent of the saber cats that had been plaguing the lands in his first few months, which he had only heard stories about. He hadn't seen much of the pale man he called uncle, and had only watched his wedding from the sidelines. He was happy for his uncle having found a mate. He did wonder if Plague planned on having children, as tradition required. That sermon had nagged at the back of his mind for days afterward, and still in moments like these he found himself recalling it. In a fluid, practiced movement, his uncle produced a knife from a sheath on his shoulder and laid it by his feet. "Would you like to borrow mine for size? I'm not sure if it's the same size as the knives you're thinking of, but it'd be good practice either way." Plague offered, and the yearling found himself smiling a little to himself. This would be perfect to try out his skills! "Thank you, Daimyo." he replied, dipping his head respectfully. It was hard not to approach everyone with proper titles and respect, which his mother had drilled into him quite extensively. Dual toned eyes roved over the intricate crafting of the armour his uncle wore, and he blinked at Plague for a moment. "Did you make your armour? I would love to learn some techniques, if you have the time." he inquired softly, curiosity tempered with propriety and perhaps a hint of nervousness. Hallux, recognizing an opportunity to leave her companion unguarded, was on the wing quickly, headed to the islands in search of figs for her lunch. "speech" |
Plague nodded to his nephew's thanks, giving him a small grin. If there was one thing Toxicity had drilled into her children it was manners. All of the children from both of his sister's litters were doing well in that regard it seemed - save for Kuroki at times. It did make him wonder how he might raise his own children if he was ever given the chance to have them. Despite the fact that he had decided to follow his heart and take a husband rather than a wife it was still something he wished for even if he didn't know the path he would take to get there. He was still excited to raise a family with Void all the same. He had hopes that perhaps Rava might come around to the idea of being their surrogate despite the fact that she was no longer a slave.
Pontifex pulled him away from his own thoughts as he questioned him on his armor, to which Plague nodded to confirm. "I did. I found the dagger on an island near by, but I did put some time into restoring it and replacing the leather on the hilt. I'd be happy to teach you." He had mostly focused his lessons on fighting since that had been his first love and that seemed to be the path that most of the pups were following, but crafting had become a bit of a passion project for him so getting a chance to share some of those skills made him happy. He lifted a corner of the leather looking at both sides of it for a moment. "You see how this side is smoother than the other? You'll most likely want to keep this smooth side out. It looks nicer, but this rougher side also adheres together better. If you were going to be taking the dagger in and out a lot I might suggest double layering it to make it stiffer and less resistant to being cut, but if it's just to use occasionally for general tasks then one layer should be fine."
At some point during his lesson his companions went off into the trees to find something more entertaining to do, but he didn't pay them much mind. Viridis and Procella never went far. He pointed to the dagger and then to a place along the edge of the sheet of leather. He didn't want to do it for him, instead directing him for what he should do so he could get the experience and the feel for it. "It's easiest if you lay the dagger at the straightest edge and then fold the leather over around it. Then you only have to stitch up one side and around the bottom. Look around and find a rock that has a moderately sharp edge on it and you can use that to etch a line into the surface of the leather where you'll eventually cut out the piece you need - but make sure to leave some excess around the edge for your stitching."
Thankfully, his uncle seemed just as eager to answer the questions as Pontifex was to ask them. For a few scant moments they were merely boys enjoying their toys, unbound by status or propriety. "I did. I found the dagger on an island near by, but I did put some time into restoring it and replacing the leather on the hilt. I'd be happy to teach you." Plague mentioned, prompting a soft few thumps of a plush banner against the terra. Two-toned eyes followed the motion of the large man's paw extending to overturn a corner of his leather, examining the contours and quality. Eager to watch a master at work, those round eyes drank in everything and sought to file it away in his memory. "You see how this side is smoother than the other? You'll most likely want to keep this smooth side out. It looks nicer, but this rougher side also adheres together better. If you were going to be taking the dagger in and out a lot I might suggest double layering it to make it stiffer and less resistant to being cut, but if it's just to use occasionally for general tasks then one layer should be fine." the pale man explained with the distant tone of a man deep in thought about the logistics of crafting. Mauve masked features scrunched up as he focused intensely on the explanation, soft hums and grunts of affirmation escaping him periodically. Yet again he found himself following the motions of Plague's huge paw, directing him to align the edge of his dagger with the straightest edge of his leather piece. "It's easiest if you lay the dagger at the straightest edge and then fold the leather over around it. Then you only have to stitch up one side and around the bottom. Look around and find a rock that has a moderately sharp edge on it and you can use that to etch a line into the surface of the leather where you'll eventually cut out the piece you need - but make sure to leave some excess around the edge for your stitching." as his uncle spoke, the boy went to work. He aligned the sharp edge of the dagger with the smooth line along the edge of the leather, and gently held the blade in place with his paw as he folded the leather over. He wanted to be sure the piece was large enough to fit around it in the first place, and he was delighted to find that there was more than enough material for the task at hand. Next, the lanky yearling rose to his paws and sought out the sharp edged stone that his uncle mentioned. "Is there a place that is best to find the rocks? I'm sure I can find one here, but in the future, would it be better to go to the beach maybe?" he enquired softly, gaze locked on the dark earth underfoot in search of the perfect rock. None of the paw-sized stones he noticed seemed to have a sharp edge, but he remembered something Hallux had mentioned in the past. He plucked up a nicely shaped stone, and clutched it tightly in his paw as he brought it crashing down on a larger rock that was half buried in the ground. He struck along the top of the oblong shape in his paw, and split it in a rough, sharp line as the top corner split away. Yes, that would work well enough. He dropped his prize and kicked it gently over to where his materials still lay. Once he'd settled back down, he started fumbling the stone into his grip again, searching for the perfect way to hold it to achieve the results he wanted. "What happens after the line is etched?" he asked, glancing up at his uncle once he'd folded the leather in half over the dagger once again. With it secured under his pale forepaw, the dark gloved one began to carefully scratch along the outside of the dagger's shape in it's leather sleeve. "speech" |
Plague hummed thoughtfully when Pontifex asked about finding a good rock for the purpose and gave a nod to the idea of looking on the beach. "That's not a bad idea. Probably just not around rivers since the constant roll of water tends to smooth them out." He waited while his nephew searched for the perfect one, though eventually he did pick one and end up breaking it to create a sharper edge. He chuckled and grinned, giving a nod of approval to the ingenuity. "There you go! That works too. Or if you happen to have more than one dagger or knife you could use the one that you're not sizing to fit the sheath to make the line. Just don't press too hard at first if you do that because you're just trying to make an outline to follow later."
He smiled softly while he watched Pontifex find his grip, more than happy to be patient while the boy figured it out for himself. Everyone did things a little differently and while it was well and good for him to show what he did, it felt even better for him to figure out what worked best for him instead. Once he was asked what would come next, Plague replied, "Next you're going to cut the leather along this line you're making. You can use the dagger to do it, it's more than sharp enough so be careful. The line you're scoring is going to be like a guide since it'll make a little grove that's easier to follow than if you had just drawn a line with your claw or a piece of charcoal."
He waited till Pontifex was done with scoring the line around the folded piece of leather and then he grinned, giving him an approving nod. "Good! At this point you want to make sure it's exactly how you want it and if you want to make any adjustments now is the time. Take your time cutting it out and make sure that's where you want to cut it because once it's cut you can't undo that. Once that's done we can talk about how you're going to bind it all together."
Having someone to chat with while he worked was proving to be extremely enjoyable, he didn't have to concern himself with reading into facial expressions and making sure he kept his expressions schooled. Instead, he could focus on something else and listen, while occasionally contributing his own little snippets to the conversation. "There you go! That works too. Or if you happen to have more than one dagger or knife you could use the one that you're not sizing to fit the sheath to make the line. Just don't press too hard at first if you do that because you're just trying to make an outline to follow later." his uncle explained with a warm tone, and the small sliver of pride that had escaped the older male was greedily snatched up. There was no shortage of approval from his mother in his life, yet the boy still craved praise from his elders and superiors. It fuelled the budding ego of a young godling who would eventually take his rightful place within the world. When he glanced up and found Plague watching his progress with a tiny smile, it only furthered his glee. Dark tipped tail swept across the ground behind him in short strokes, venting the energy that built up in him knowing that his uncle was pleased with his work. "Next you're going to cut the leather along this line you're making. You can use the dagger to do it, it's more than sharp enough so be careful. The line you're scoring is going to be like a guide since it'll make a little grove that's easier to follow than if you had just drawn a line with your claw or a piece of charcoal." Plague continued, offering up the reasons behind the painstaking steps the boy was taking to work the leather. A soft hum of intrigue was all the godling offered up as he finished the last few inches of scoring along the edge of the dagger. Setting his chipped stone to the side, he lifted the flap of leather to ensure he hadn't scored the line too deep. There were a few places where an indent or two had managed to form in the second layer, but otherwise he hadn't sliced through the first layer anywhere. He glanced back up at his uncle as he removed the elegant blade from the half-made sheath, and spent a moment adjusting his grip until he felt comfortable. "Good! At this point you want to make sure it's exactly how you want it and if you want to make any adjustments now is the time. Take your time cutting it out and make sure that's where you want to cut it because once it's cut you can't undo that. Once that's done we can talk about how you're going to bind it all together." it took all of his inner strength to keep from wiggling with glee like a pup at the continued approval from Plague, so he decided to try and channel that warm feeling into making something. Pontifex settled for gently clasping the butt of the handle between his incisors and guiding the end of the blade with a careful paw along the line he'd made. He took it slow, wanting to ensure he had the motion right and didn't damage his uncle's weapon while he used it. As the last edge fell away along the wobbly line he'd sliced through the well worn hide, he was left with the final shape. Carefully, he set the dagger down atop the leather, and looked back up to Plague. "Would the cord I brought work? It's sinew, but I think it might be sturdy enough." he questioned softly, tipping his head to one side quizzically. He could always finish the project at home with some sturdier binding materials, which were likely to be hiding somewhere around the shrine. Plague had already helped him practically finish the crafting, so he figured he could probably do the finer details later without tutelage. "speech" |