Bramble was feeling creative and kind of lonely. Remembering how much fun she had had last time with her sister, Talyssa, in making the flower crowns, she sent her raven, Bristle, to go look for her. In the meantime, Bramble set up an area in one of the rooms where they stored crafting items. Gathering a bucket full of wet clay, she set out a bunch of other stuff she thought they might need on a low table that they could reach. Unsure if her sister even knew how to do pottery, Bramble hoped that they would still have fun anyway. Grabbing out a lob of clay, the pup set it down on the table and began playing with it while she waited. Bramble Carpathius

At the time her sister's raven came to find her, she was just returning home from a brief outing with her cousin Caladia. She had spent some time with the younger girl, doing her best to give the girl some insight on tracking. Not that she was an expert huntress herself. But in her lifetime, she wanted to strive to know a little bit about everything. Caladia showed real potential in being a great huntress- and if she could do anything to help the girl to develop her own skillset, she would contribute.

With her interest peaked, Talyssa went to seek her sister out- bounding along with great enthusiasm until she arrived at one of the craft rooms. Seeing Bramble working a clump of clay brought an affectionate grin to her features. "Whatchya making, Bramble?" Talyssa asked, approaching to get a better view of the project at hand.

It wasn't long until she heard the padding sound of someone approaching. Seconds before Lyss entered the doorway, Bristle reentered and landed on a nearby bookcase. Smiling up at the raven, Bramble glanced over her should as she watched her sister enter and approach. With a wag of her tail, she brought up a paw and patted the spot beside her. "I'm attempting to make a bowl or something out of this clay," she says with excitement in her tone as she moves back to the pottery wheel. Careful not to let her claws stick out, she continues to slowly move the clay around, even if she was clumsy at times. "You're welcome to try it! I was just kind of lonely and thought that maybe you would want to keep me company," Bramble adds on with a shy smile and a small shrug of her shoulders. Bramble Carpathius

When she crossed the threshold of the particular craft room her sister had summoned her to, she instantly answered Bramble’s gesture to join her at her side. Closing the distance between herself and her sister, Talyssa happily plopped down, pale gaze immediately falling on the lump of clay that sat out waiting to be manipulated. Her sister’s emphasis on attempting to make something brought a giggle up from her chest. “I have complete faith you’ll manage.” Talyssa reassured. But really, she was quite impressed with Bramble’s skills.

However, when she was offered a chance to try, she hesitated a moment before meeting her sister’s emerald gaze with a hesitant grin. “It looks kinda messy …” She finally said, not entirely sure if she was ready to commit to such a project for herself or not- but she brightened at the last part of Bramble’s statement. “Yeah, that can be my job. I’ll be the Potter’s Assistant.” It seemed to be a much tidier task to watch than to participate. “I’ve never made anything on the pottery wheel before. Just explain to me what you’re doing as you do it.” Talyssa instructed, defining her job description for the afternoon. “Oh, and if you need anything, let me know and I’ll go grab it!” The tawny fae finished, grinning brightly as she settled in to witness whatever her sister could come up with.

Bramble's smile widened as Tal gave her a boost of confidence. Her sister was right! She could manage to make it! She couldn't help but let her tail sweep across the floor behind her in a delighted wag. As her paws continued to manipulate the clay, her own giggle filled the room. "Getting messy is half the fun!" Bramble chirped as she held up her paws for a second to show how covered in clay they were. The pup let out another laugh as she watched her lumpy bowl-shaped clay almost fly off the wheel. "I've never had an assistant before. I'm not really sure what I wanna do when I grow up. Still kind of figuring that out," she admits quietly as she moves back to focusing on the pottery. The pup nods as her sister requests that she describe what she's doing. "You see we start with a lump of wet clay. Always get a bigger size than you think you'll need because it gets small fast," she slows down the motion so her sister can see how she moves her paws. "Then you just gotta imagine what you're making in your head and begin to move your paws around so it begins to take shape," Bramble rotates her paws slightly so that a divet forms in the middle of the sides of the bowl. It then takes a slightly more vase-like shape. "Plates are the easiest, but I've been trying to make a good enough bowl to drink water out of!" She feels her tail wag again as she continues to try and shape the bowl. Bramble Carpathius

With the trickle of her sister’s laughter filling the space between them, her own grin brightened. However, the uncertainty was still there. “I’m not so sure about that.” Talyssa answered in light disbelief. The muddy mess didn’t exactly appeal to her. But again, that was why she was watching and her sister was the one doing the sculpting. “Well, you have one now! Even if you don’t need one later.” The smaller girl answered, watching with enthusiasm as Bramble tamed the lump of clay down into something more reasonable.

Talyssa was captivated by the process as it was explained to her. She couldn’t help but wonder what made the clay shrink as it was worked. Or perhaps, it was just that it was easily spread thin. “I see …” She mused, observing as Bramble moved her paws in such a way to hollow out the middle of her project while reinforcing the sides. As she described that plates were far easier to make, “That makes sense. I guess with a plate you’d just kinda smash it flat.” It was easy for her to visualize how that might look. Blinking back the thought process, she readjusted herself- leaning forward with the anticipation of her sister’s creation. “You’ll get it.” She added confidently.

Slowly but surely, Bramble begins to shape a very crudely shaped bowl. A low hum leaves her throat as her brow squints harshly over her gaze. Uneven in all the wrong places, the sides begin to build. Making sure to hold the bottom of the bowl in place, her other paws slide over the outside of the bowl. Both of her paws are covered in clay and she lets out a frustrated sigh. "This is really hard," Bramble admits with a frown as she pauses her creation. Looking at the slowly crumpling mess of clay sitting before them, she glances over to Lyssa. "I think I might be a better fighter than uh potterer? Is that even a word?" She laughs hesitantly before smashing the clay into a lumpy pile. "No worries, I'll try again tomorrow!" There is no regret in her choice as she lifts a paw toward her sister. "It feels funny between my toes!" She exclaims as she teasingly tries to boop Lyss on the nose. Bramble Carpathius

As she watched her sister somehow make the flimsy lump of clay into something that resembled a bowl, she couldn’t help but admire the skillset. Though, this particular lump wasn’t being very cooperative, and it didn’t take long for Bramble to express that herself. “You have more patience than I would have with it.” Talyssa assured. As the turning wheel slowed to a stop, her sister paused to evaluate just how viable her current project was. It seemed that perhaps the walls weren’t strong enough to hold themselves up, and they slowly began to fold without Bramble’s paws to support them. The other girl made a comment on how she might be a better fighter than a potterer- which Talyssa couldn’t help but beam in amusement. “Ahh, but you’ve had a lot more practice at fighting than potter-er-ing.” She answered with a light chuckle, as she watch her sister smash her creation back into a different kind of lump. Talyssa hated to see the loss of progress, but it was just something that would have to be restarted. “The more you do it, the better you’ll get.” She insisted with a firm nod. If this was something Bramble enjoyed, and wanted to be good at, she was certain that with time and patience, her sister could be anything she wanted.

However, her thoughts of encouragement were immediately interrupted as Bramble playfully reached out with one of her clay-paws. Talyssa gasped in surprise as she scrambled back out of imminent danger of getting messy. “Hey! A potter’s assistant isn’t supposed to be the one with clay on them.” She answered sternly, but she couldn’t hold a straight face for very long before erupting in her own laughter. “Better on you than me!”

"Talyssa Carpathius"