Try this on for size

Ruga watched as the understanding and gratitude crossed her face as she examined the dagger and seemed to realize it was made especially for her. The grin on his lips grew and his tail wagged behind him as he watched her with rapt attention, admiring how the surprise and appreciation looked on her lovely features. Giving gifts was one of the main ways he knew to show how much he liked and cared about someone and Keahi had very quickly formed a special place in his life. This felt like a small thing compared to the connection that they had found through their game of sharing and exposing their secrets, but he knew she would appreciate something like this more than any fanciful jewelry or adornments he could have come up with. This was practical, but still beautiful—very much an embodiment of how he viewed the feisty navigator. The little hitch in her breathing when she pulled the dagger free of the scabbard enough to expose the sapphires that had been hidden made a familiar heat rise up in his core and made him want to make her breath hitch in other ways.

She affixed the scabbard in its rightful place around her foreleg, the leather blending in with her rich red-brown fur beautifully just as he hoped it would. He grinned and a deep chuckle rumbled in his chest as she showed off how the dagger looked on her and asked for his opinion of how she looked with it on, giving her a sly look as he replied simply, "Beautiful." His gaze was no longer on the scabbard as he spoke, instead letting his gaze linger on hers. She was beautiful regardless of the dagger he had specially crafted for her, but still, he could admit that it suited her quite well. As she moved closer and wrapped her forelegs around him, he smiled and wrapped one of his around her as well, giving her a brief, but tight squeeze. The not so subtle promise of what would come later for her to show him her appreciation added more fuel to the desire she brought out in him so easily and he gave another low chuckle, giving her another squeeze and swiping his tongue teasingly over her ear. "I'll be looking forward to that," he rumbled, very clearly more than happy to enjoy that time with her as thanks for his gift.

As she stepped back and asked him if he would show her how to use it, he nodded easily in agreement. "Of course! I'm not all that well versed in using weapons either, but I've seen many wolves use them and have tried many out myself on occasion." He didn't have any weapons or armor of his own which was probably humorous for someone who made their entire living and identity around crafting such things, but he simply hadn't found exactly what he wanted yet and his standards were incredibly high because of all of the excellent pieces he had made and sold in his time. He motioned for her to draw the blade as he stepped up close to her again, a little hint of a grin on his lips as he lightly tapped the pommel at the end of the grip that was now held between her teeth. "The grip has thick wraps of leather around it so it won't hurt your teeth to hold. Don't be afraid to hold on tightly so you don't lose grip on it as you're swinging. The leather can always be replaced if it gets too worn down." He sat back on his haunches so that he could lift both paws to slightly rotate the dagger in her grip so that the sharp edge of the blade was facing him and the flat of the metal was facing the sky. "You want the edge toward your opponent so that if you swing your head you'll be cutting outward with it." As he lowered his paws he brushed one against her cheek and along her jaw with a knowing grin before he got back to his paws and started moving toward his stores again.

"Lets give that baby a try!" he called back to her over his shoulder with a laugh, adding, "But lets make it a fair fight, huh?" He went into the collection of various weapons he had stowed away and came back out with a spear. "You're fighting with a weapon you've never fought with so I'll do the same." Plus, he figured it would be a good tool to block her swings with and the wood of the spear wouldn't damage the metal of her blade that he had only just recently honed. He stood across from her at the ready with the spear between his teeth, giving it a few test swings to test out the range and the feel of it. It was a lighter weapon than he had used in the past so he had to adjust for the speed of the swing a bit, but after a little bit of trial and error he was ready. He nodded for her to make the first move, grinning around the wooden pole.

WC: 869
Total: 2024/1500

"Ruga Amanto"