The summer is mild and the warm days have many of the pack out and about. Ricin is out too but not to explore. Today he is on a mission and the newest Mendacium member is with him. The red pup is seated in front of a large, flat, wooden table while Ricin bustles about, laying out various items for them to use. Once the table holds several long stripes of leather, colorful beads, and little shiny baubles, the blue boy finally seats himself across from the young pup.

A friendly smile is on his lips as he looks across the table at his student for the day and he straightens up slightly as he begins the lesson, “Okay Fiametta, we are going to make some intricate bracelets today! So first, we pick out how many strips of leather we want to use. This will determine how we braid them. I prefer an odd number.” A white-dipped paw reaches out to the gathered strips, pulling three over until they are in front of him.

Waiting until Fia has chosen how many she wants and has them in front of her, Ricin then moves onto the next step, saying, “So, before we can do anything, we need to tie off one end and hook it around the nail.” A paw points out the metal nails that stick up from the wooden table where obvious signs of prior use can be seen. The blue boy had made this table to make jewelry and other objects and now he gets to share with someone else. With the instruction given, he then proceeds to show her how to do it.



"Ricin Dauner"

TABLE & CODE © SKELLE 2022

Fia was starting to get better bearings on pack life or at least getting herself out a little more. She had plenty of lessons in her even younger days, she just didn't really have the real life experience. She liked to believe that maybe she didn't need that, that her Mendacium blood would be enough to make her strong and get her by. And maybe that was partly true. She at least wasn't dumb and arrogant, so she knew how to keep herself safe and stay out of too much trouble. She understood what she could and couldn't handle.

She joined Ricin today without any fight at all, but she was just as she had been her whole young life. Quiet, reserved, observational. There was no part of her that was pup and kid like, though she did like to lounge around the den most of the day. She watched as Ricin strung out a number of different items, and soon he would join her in the seat on the table. Her head tilted a little as he explained and then pulled a few of the strands to work on. Fia seemed a little hesitant when she reached forward for a few herself but easily followed after what Ricin was doing. She also took three as he had and looked back to him and the tools.

Her paws worked on the laces which she struggled with some but she had done a few things like this with Avacyn so it wasn't terribly difficult. "Like this?" She asked as she hooked it around the nail of the table, maybe not perfect but she was a perfectionist and she imagined the next one she would make after learning would be up to par for her.

"Fiametta"

The way that Fiametta watches and silently assess the world around her, speaks to an intelligent mind that some may not see or appreciate. She reminds Ricin of when he was a pup and how his interest in stories and things none of his siblings liked often went over looked or, worse, was completely ignored. Maybe that is why he chose for them to make bracelets since many may think that they are useless. Truthfully, they can actually be very useful as something to trade… if they don’t end up giving them away or keeping them.

Ricin lays out the first part of the bracelet making, picking out the strands and knotting them. Ruby gaze watches as Fiametta works and nods encouragingly while saying, “Good job! Have you made bracelets before?” A dark brow raises as he chuckles lightly as he watches her hook the knot around the nail while doing the same with his own. Using a paw, he spreads the stripes apart while explaining, “We will be braiding these together but, as we go, we will be adding in beads and other trinkets. They will be in the middle. Now, when you braid, the strips change places. Here, let me show you.”

Pulling a few colorful beads toward him, Ricin grabs on with a golden hue before picking up the middle strip of leather and carefully threading the bead onto it. Pushing it up to where the knot is, the light blue boy then takes the piece on the right side and crosses it over the middle before moving that to the side and making the old right strip the new middle one. Picking another bead, this one a bright coral color, he threads it onto the new middle piece and, again, pushes it up to the top, before moving that strip so it is over top of left strip and moving the left one to become the new middle thread.

Looking to Fia, he says, “As you go, just remember to keep pushing the beads all the way up to the top and, when you braid, make sure that they are strong and tight. Okay?” A brow lifts in question as he pulls some different items toward himself, preparing to continue working on his bracelet while helping the girl whenever she needs it.



"Ricin Dauner"

TABLE & CODE © SKELLE 2022

As flat and as bland as one could be, Fia just observed and followed as Ricin showed her what to do. Though this kind of thing came almost second nature to her while she had a lot of experience in jewelry making with her sister. "Yeah, I've helped Avacyn with threading beads onto jewelry before." She responded as he had asked if she had made bracelets before.

She picked her paws off the strips to lean forward and watch what Ricin had started. She'd take a moment herself before grabbing a purple bead to do just as he did in the same manner. Pushing the bead to the top and then moving the other pieces of leather into the braid he made. She moved on, picking up a blue bead to thread it into the braids as well. As Ricin instructed that the beads needed to be tight as well as the braids, she worked to make that happen. Finding a moon shaped charm she put in the middle before adding a black and a white bead into the threads. She only glanced up in response to make sure everything was coming together okay. They would just need to close up their bracelets with enough space to be able to tie around a wrist now. She'd wait for the next instruction though, holding down the braids with one paw until Ricin was ready for the final step.

"Fiametta"

The time with Fiametta making bracelets has been fun for the blue boy and he is always eager to help others learn. When Fia mentions that she has helped Avacyn thread beads before, Ricin gives a short bark of laughter and says, “Ha! That explains a lot. It took me a long time to find the right rhythm and way to get beads threaded. Uh, not to say that you can’t be that good… I just mean… you are great at it as it is... But, uh, anyway…” The boy has always been great at putting his paw in his mouth and he decides to concentrate extra hard on his work.

They braid the leather strips, adding beads and small trinkets as they go until they are ready to measure and tie off the ends. Ruby eyes look to the tall girl and he says, “Okay, now we will knot off the ends and then, make a special type of slip knot so they will be easy to slip on and off! Okay, first we tie the ends like this…” Dark tipped paws move over the stripes, weaving them together until there is a strong knot to keep the braids in place while leaving a good length of extra strings dangling. Looking to Fia, he watches her work and offers his help where needed.

Once she is done, Ricin goes on to say, “Okay now we take the other knotted end and bring it to the loose stripes.” He demonstrates, pulling the knot from the nail, before going on, “Now take the three loose ends, wrap them around the knot and tie them like so…” paws move, looping the stripes and tying them off so that knot can be pulled through to tighten the bracelet where needed and can be loosened to slip off when wanted. Once done, he places his jewelry over his right paw and slides it up before using his teeth to pull the knot and tighten it into place.

Eyes sparkling, Ricin shows it off to Fia and says, “Cool, right?” With a grin, he offers his paws as needed until she too, has a cool bracelet like him.



"Ricin Dauner"

TABLE & CODE © SKELLE 2022

Fia squint smirked at Ricin to his what seemed like a compliment at least. She didn't see any of what he had already said as bad so his little almost take back wasn't needed. She wouldn't scold him for any of it.

She leaned in to watch as Ricin moved onto the final steps, silent as she was. A little tilt in her chin as she observed what he was doing before she went to work on her own. She didn't know Ricin too entirely well, but he was a pretty good guy she thought. He was a good teacher and seemed pretty nice, not that nice meant much to Fia.

She follows exactly without question, maybe a little hesitant with a couple glances at his own piece to make sure she was doing it right. She continued as he worked on the final knot to actually make it into a bracelet and soon that's what it would become. Fia still followed through, testing out the bracelet as Ricin had and rotating her leg a bit to take a good look at it. She smiles as he asks, "Yeah, it's pretty cool." She tilts her head again, still looking down at her own bracelet Ricin showed her how to make, "I think I'd like a silver chain one for myself personally though." In no way to dismiss the great job they had both done, but that was just the kind of thing she liked. She tapped at the little silver moon trinket she had put into the woven braids.

"Fiametta"