Quills and Inkwells [Writing and Reading Lesson]

It seemed Caelia would be the only participant to begin with today, and so, Aurielle turned and settled with her own parchment, nudging the sheet of parchment with the runes and scripts she’d developed with help to Caelia.

“These are what I’ve worked out for Valhallan script. With luck, all of Valhalla will eventually know it.”

Once Caelia had looked them over, Aurielle ran her through the alphabet, pointing out each letter to indicate them as she went.

“Writing can be a little difficult with normal paws; it takes a lot of control to keep the strokes steady and not twitch and send a streak of ink everywhere—believe me, I should know.” She grinned at the younger woman, thinking about her own early attempts.

“If you hold the end of the ink-stick in your teeth and slot it between the toes of your dominant paw, it helps. Do get an idea, why don’t you try drawing shapes?”

She herself demonstrated the technique, choosing a circle and carefully tracing the shape with a sweeping gesture of her paw and the ink-soaked stick slotted between the two innermost toes of her right paw.

“If ever you befriend a primate or a bird, they tend to have a much easier time of writing than typical wolves do. Ardyn and Aoife, with their paws, are quite deft at it. Have you heard Aoife play her lute yet?”

Conversation went paw in paw with the lesson, helping it become more casual and less formal. She liked it when Caelia was able to relax. Perhaps she ought to spar her again—it was long past due time.

Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think