He released the axe as she took it, and leaned back on his hunches. Watching her work as she got started on honing an edge to the metal. It was clearly something she had done before. He held his silence as she worked, recognising the look of someone who did not wish to be disturbed. Here he showed his intuition in reading the moods of others. Knowing wasn’t the same as using, and Delphi would likely be quick to say. Certainly he pushed her buttons.

It was clear when she was done, and he blinked, his own attention back on the moment. “The axe needs to be tested” He said when she asked if he wished to hunt. There was only one sure way to know if the axe would work for her, and that was to kill with it. He felt the ache of his own missing dagger. But the blade was far from the only way he could kill. “What are you thinking of hunting?”

"Speech"

The axe does need to be tested. Bylgja is grateful, then: he gives her space. She meets his gaze and dips her head. "Thank you, Strai. Truly." And then she feels a little shiver down her spine. It is time-- time to hunt. Time to fight. Time to-- "We could find a mountain sheep, perhaps. Or a young caribou." Young -- because the two of them together may struggle with an adult one, she knows that much. Her tail flicks. One side, the other. She hefts the axe again. It feels... excellent. An experimental spin-- Bylgja appears satisfied. "Come, Strai! Once we have the pelt, perhaps we can make you a cloak." Her teeth show in a pleased smile. "One with proper colors." A gift, from free woman to thrall. A promise for the future. "Bylgja"

He didn't know how to respond to her heartfelt thanks. This was supposed to be transactional. He made her an axe, she spoke for him. But this woman seemed to put emotion into everything she did. It meant something to her, and her appreciation confused him. He didn't like the way he himself responded to it. He could feel a swell of pride in his chest, and he hid it behind a scowl. "Just remember your side of the deal." He told her stiffly


At her suggestions, he added in another they could go after. "There's a herd of reindeer on the other side of the mountain" he and Delphi had taken down an old reindeer a little while ago. He got to his paws, and winced as she spoke of a colorful gift. Never mind what it would be like to tell a story across its pelt, he could already imagine how Delphi would tease. Assuming she even deemed to talk to him once she learned he had usurped her decision to speak for him. Vidarr had told him it wasn't allowed, and this way she wouldn't get in trouble.

She looks at him, and her head tilts. His demeanor-- yeah. The boy is certainly hiding something, and it's almost certainly his emotions that he's hiding.

So Bylgja just wags her tail, once, and says: "I will, Strai! You have helped me greatly." Before this ends, she will want to know what he did in the first place, but that is a discussion for another time. He must know her better, before she can ask him something like that. She supposes it is a source of great shame.

Her ears swivel at the mention of reindeer, and Bylgja stands straighter, delighted at the suggestion! Her smile is broad, again. "A reindeer! Perfect. We can save the horns." She does not appear to know they're called antlers. Or maybe she does, and just likes saying horns. It doesn't matter, in the end. She swings her head to the right, and does a little shuffling dance, her tail waving side to side again. "Good ideas. Come, Strai!" She throws her head back. "We find the reindeer, and bring it down!"

The pride in her eyes is undeniable.