Their new station in life did not seem so bad. Their rules were solid-- meant to protect them, as much as keep them in line. Lefty had a right to their body, which they knew from travels was certainly not the case in all places.

Having explained that they desired to make their own weapon and defensive gear, Lefty slept soundly and woke with a jolt-- the family was not around, so they ventured out of the tree house and began to sniff around, digging into snow to find fallen, cracked branches.

Their tail wagged as they found a particularly sturdy branch. Lefty grasped it in their teeth, twisted, and threw it into the snow, where it landed with a pleasant whump. "That'll do nicely for a wooden sword."

They needed to begin with a rough prototype.

Wylan’s parents were off doing Important Adult things, leaving him and his siblings to explore on their own. Wylan decided to head into the woods, his tiny Polar bear companion trailing after him. He didn’t go far before he heard the sound of branches shifting and cracking. Curious, he popped his head through the undergrowth - right beside Lefty - most of his body was still in the foliage, but his little head popped out. His eyes immediately fell on the ‘sword’ “No way, that’s an awesome sword!” He said, grinning at the stick. He’d heard what the stranger had said, and he agreed wholeheartedly, it would make a nice wooden sword. “I’m Wylan” "Speech"

Lefty was admittedly a little startled by the boy, but they quickly flashed him a smile and turned the stick-sword towards him to hold. "Well, Wylan! It isn't don't yet, but why don't you hold that and see how it feels?"

Immediately, Lefty had decided to give the boy the toy sword. It would suit him, and she could enlist his help to gather the rest of what she needed. "I'm Lefty! It's good to meet you! Hey, we could make a sword together! A proper wooden blade, just for you." and why not? The boy seemed very excited already.

As the stranger acknowledged him - and offered him a chance to hold the sword - his grin grew wider, and he bounced out of the foliage. His wings were half green from the leaves that clung to them, and he shook them out in a flurry of greenery as he stepped up to the other wolf expectantly. While he had pretty large paws, he was still pretty small in comparison to them. “Hi Lefty! I’m Wylan” He said again, completely unnecessarily. “Could we really? Is that okay? I don’t want to take you away from Important Adult things” He said, a hint of a sigh brushing through his words at that. That seemed to be what all the adults spent their time on. "Speech"

They laugh, and it's a low-toned laugh, their ears perking forward. The boy's wings were half-green, but Lefty delighted in seeing them anyway. Armada seemed to be a place full of wolves with interesting changes: Kyanite's eyes, Sirius' teeth, Basilisk's... everything, and now Wylan and his wings! Her tail wagged, and Lefty chuckled before flashing him a pleasant enough smile.

"Well, Wylan! You're in luck. You see-- my important adult business is helping others." Their muzzle gestured towards the sword. "I'm meant to help." It isn't the precise truth, but honestly, Wylan doesn't seem the type to be bothered by that, what with his outgoing demeanor and all. "I'm a fighter, a teacher, whatever the pack needs of me. So, yes-- you can have that sword, and when you're a bit older, we can make you a proper blade." It's a promise that Lefty feels entirely confident making: they will be here, in Armada, until the end of days. They know that much.

"Speech"

Oh! Now that sounded exciting, and far different to what his father did - but it did sound similar to his mother. “Are you a healer, like Mumma?” He butted in before Lefty finished talking, only for them to go on and explain that they were a fighter and a teacher. That wasn’t like Halo. Most of the fighters in the pack were busy all the time. But here was one that had free time? He did a little hop-bounce on his paws in excitement, his wings flapping twice at his side, creating a little gust. “If you're a fighter-teacher can you teach me? To fight?” he clarified, as if the context wasn’t obvious enough. "Speech"

Wylan asked if she was a healer, and her brow-points did rise just a little bit. "I'm not a healer, no, no. I knew wolves who were-- your mother's a healer?" A note filed away for later. Lefty clears their throat and considers this, eyeballing the boy before continuing. "I can teach you to fight, yes!" They bow a little bit, playfully, and step back. "What do you want to learn, Wylan? There's a lot to fighting, you know! But we can start today! Right now. If you want."

Perhaps it would be considered overstepping, but the thing was, Wylan didn't seem the type to be upset, and Lefty did want to teach the boy! He was so genuinely enthusiastic that it warmed Lefty's heart; they themselves had been that excited as a youngster, after all. Seeing that excitement made them do a happy little smack of their paws against the earth.

"Speech"

“Yes!”[b] Wylan agreed immediately, patience not being one of his strong suits. [b] “Right now!” He said, and seeing her little smack against the earth, he grinned and copied the motion. Slamming his own paw down. What did he want to learn? That was definitely a question. It was more like what didn’t he want to learn. But, typical Wylan, the answer came to him soon enough. “Guts!” He said “I want to learn about guts. My dad says I have guts, but when he says it he points at my chest. When my cousin says where guts are, he points at his stomach. So where are guts, Lefty?” It was important to know for fighting, right? "Speech"

Wylan keeps talking, and he imitates her action, which makes Lefty's jaws part into a pleasant little smile once again. Armada is a place of harsh weather, but the wolves, she's found, are grand company. Even Kyanite, who is a grouchy and rather judgemental; she's the product of something Lefty cannot deduce.

She watches Wylan, for a moment. Then the boy speaks about guts, and Lefty laughs again, a bell-like laugh, ringing and strong. "I'll tell you about guts, Wylan! But I have a question, first!" Lefty peers at the boy, taking a relaxed seat before him, because now is the time for a fun lesson.

They decide they can work two things together at once: Metaphor and Lesson on Guts. Yes. Perfect. Or maybe just metaphor. Language. Perhaps she can pique the boy's interest in words as weapons?

"Wylan, do you know what a metaphor is?"

"Speech"

At her agreement to tell him about guts, he grinned widely, pleased. He wanted to learn all about anatomy, both for healing and fighting. Guts just happened to be his most current interest. When Lefty settled in across from him, he mimicked her again. Copying her body language with his own as he sat across from her. The most notable difference of course, was his wings. He kept them parted from his side, hanging loosely in the wind behind him. At her question however, he scrunched up his nose a little. Trying to figure out if he had heard that word. “Is it another salve? My mumma has heaps of those” He explained. "Speech"

The boy wanted to learn.

Lefty was more than happy to teach him. She chuckled softly and glanced to the side, because she wanted him to feel taken seriously even as he asked if a metaphor was a form of salve. "No, no -- a metaphor is something... that means something else. When your father says guts and points to your chest, he means your guts metaphorically. You see, to have guts--" and here she makes a gesture with her paws, the equivalent of air quotes. "Means you are brave, or you act quickly. Boldly."

The blue wolf paused before continuing on, their seafoam eyes flicking up, to the treetops. "There are other metaphors. Try this one: what might it mean to say someone is starry-eyed, Wylan?"

"Speech"

Wylan frowned thoughtfully as he sought to wrap his mind around this new concept. He was also distracted by something else that she said. His father thought he was brave, and bold. He felt a thrill run through him at the thought. Is that really what his father had meant? But his attention was pulled back to Lefty, and he knew he had a lesson still ongoing. He wanted to show he was paying attention, and taking in her words. He thought about the concept she presented him with. Starry-eyed. He felt like he had heard that before, but he couldn’t remember why or where. “Does it mean someone looks at the stars a lot?” He asked her softly. "Speech"

OH! That was actually a good guess; Lefty's ears swiveled forward and she cast the boy a delighted smile. "That's not quite it, but you're close!" Her voice is full of praise. She's not condescending towards the boy. Instead, she just-- tells him what he's done. A good job. "So, when someone is starry-eyed... that means that they are... a bit idealistic. Maybe not the most... realistic. Starry-eyed means you're just seeing the stars-- so to speak. You're not taking in the rest of your surroundings."

Lefty seems very pleased with Wylan.

But then she realizes that they've gotten off track, and she blinks, before she corrects herself and -- "Ah! But you wanted to learn about guts! I promised you guts!" And that smile suggests she's about to tell him all about the practicals of organs and meat, at least as much as she knows.

"Speech"

He grinned at the other wolf, finding her a very encouraging teacher. He ate up her appraisal and found himself wanting more. To please her, he listened very carefully as she spoke about starry-eyed wolves. Someone that wasn’t very… realistic. Hmm, did he know anyone like that? “Like when me and my siblings play make-believe? We aren’t being realis-tic, or taking in the rest of our surroundings” He said, pleased with himself for the example. He wanted to show he was definitely listening, and taking in what she was saying. “Guts!” He agreed, jumping up, and resting his paws on the upper part of her leg (which was about all he could reach) he flapped his wings behind him, creating a gust of air. “Guts, guts, guts!” he chanted. "Speech"

This kid was good company.

Not all of the pack was, but Wylan? Lefty liked him. "Yes! That, exactly." A low, satisfied hum left her, and Lefty glanced through the trees for a moment, thinking to themselves about how best to start the talk about guts... because there really was quite a bit to discuss! There were multiple guts! Not that Wylan would mind learning about the different bits and pieces. It helped having a student who wanted to learn, at least.

Having come to their conclusion, Lefty faced Wylan full-on again and put on an air of a stuffy professor type for a moment before relenting, laughing, and shrugging their shoulders.

Then Lefty nodded, and began to speak:

"Well, so, we'll start with the difference between the types of guts..."

"Speech"