She was exploring the thicket in detail within the early morning hours. Hunting for many different things and building a small collection of things she wanted to study and figure out what they were. There were some plants, some odd stones, some berries, and she was still in the process of finding more. She was keeping herself busy and trying to tech herself things within the process. Shaye was her mentor, but she knew she wouldn't be around absolutely every moment. She was busy with duties and the girl just found herself keeping busy until her next lesson with the alpha. One thing she hadn't really done yet was meet any of the other members, but she thought there was plenty of time for that. Right now she needed to learn and expend her knowledge so she could get smarter. While traveling through the thicket she came across something she had spotted before, problem was that this spiky and many pointed thing had been attached to the head of an animal. It immediately caught her eye and drew her in so she could thoroughly investigate as to why it was no longer on the head of said animal. It was a bit early, but what she was investigation was an antler shed from a whitetail buck. She hadn't seen many deer in her old home and really didn't know much about them. She also didn't know that this shed could be used or crafted into something. She decided it was worth keeping and cautiously found a spot safety between the points to seize it with her mouth and pick it up. She then proceeded to head back towards her little collection pile. "Actaea Talk", & 'Actaea Think"

Rhyme had found himself paying special attention to the thicket in the last few weeks, even going as far as considering moving his den site. He had decided that doing that would likely cause Tana too much disruption and he had just taken up and extra patrol or two inside the territory. Imperia and Solitude both circled him a few hundred feet above, the alabaster raven now easily at his full grown size. He could see a relationship between the birds growing, and he felt happy for them.


With neither raven on his back Rhyme squeezed through places he would have never gotten away with. The thicket was a difficult place to learn, but he was close to knowing it well enough to close his eyes as he went through. It was no longer as daunting a thought.

He had almost finished up his patrol when he managed to catch sight of Acere’s niece. Rhyme hadn’t gotten much of a chance to talk to Shaye’s apprentice so he found himself veering towards her. She held an antler in her mouth and he was reminded of the weapon he had made of one with Shaye. "Actaea!" he called out before he startled her with his sudden approach.

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She was rather delighted to have found the antler even though she had no clue what she was going to do with it. She knew she could somehow make use of it, but she would have to sit down and plan it out. She was finding it slightly awkward to carry, but luckily picked it up that all points were facing away from her face. She didn't rush her walk back to her pile, instead she enjoyed it all the while her little mind was toying over what to do with the things she had collected. She could make a gift for her brother and uncle, maybe even a gift for Shaye. Since she had seen her half brother creating a blade of sorts she had always wanted to try and craft something. It wasn't until an unfamiliar voice called out her name, making her walk come to a sudden halt and her fiery eyes look in the direction the call had come from. A large male approached and she studied his body language. He didn't look threatening and was well within pack borders so he had to be a friendly wolf right? She was slightly weary, but knew she better try to get to know the others around here, this was her new home after all. She walked towards him, closing the distance between them quicker. Once close enough she set her antler down on the ground and looked up to him. "Who are you," she said. Her words may have been a little blunt, but her tone was curious and she didn't mean any harm by how she spoke. speech action

He studied the girl as she stopped at his word, she didn’t look overly alarmed at his presence and he didn’t try to intimidate her. Rhyme had guess right, this was indeed Shaye’s apprentice. He tried to sweep his alpha partner from his mind. They still hadn’t talked about the other night and he was feeling a bit flighty. With a quick flick of his tail Rhyme focused back on Actaea. He could see her taking him in with her intelligent eyes and hear the curiosity in her voice as she asked him who he was.

He chuckled to himself softly and wondered if she’d even been told his name. Not that she would recognize him either way. "Rhyme, Shaye’s second and your brother’s mentor." He hoped that was enough for her. "I wondered what you were planning to do with your antler." He motioned to the object at her feet, and would have been even more interested in her little collection where she was heading.

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A smile broke onto her lips as he introduced himself. She had seen how her brother acted when it came to training, he was excited about it and he had seemed to be in a much better mood since they had come to Abaven. "So your the one keeping Ig in line," she said as her smile turned to a joking grin. "It's nice to meet you." He then asked about her antler which for the moment had been forgotten. It made her look down to ensure it was still where she had placed it and it was. She looked at it for a moment then looked back up to him. "I'm not sure yet something to craft, but I don't know what yet. Why do you have an idea for it?" she asked. Maybe he had made something out of antlers before and she would be curious to learn what ever it may be. She didn't have any set plans other then hording it for now until she figured it out, but if he knew of something to make she wanted to learn. "speech", 'speech', & action

She spoke amusedly about her brother and brought a quick chuckle to Rhyme’s lips. He hadn’t been laughing quite as freely recently. He smiled at her teasing and nodded, he could see where she was coming from Ignis had a lot of energy that Rhyme was amusing himself in directing towards training. Though the tiger incident had given him a bit of a scare. "It’s nice to meet you, too." He mentioned as she went on to look at the antler at her feet.

He could see her debating about what she wished to do with it, obviously quite the crafty young girl. He could see why Shaye had been so eager to take her under her wing. He smiled as she asked what he might have done with such an object. "I made myself a weapon. Sharpened the points with Shaye’s help, and plan on using it the next time I hunt." He told her, wondering if she would figure out a way to do it solo, or if she even wanted to sharpen the points.

""

Rhyme seemed very amused with her teasing which only made her mood all the more happier. He seemed to know what she was talking about to, but she was glad he had a teacher. Both of them needed lessons and needed to learn. They had gone through to long of a span without learning and they needed to catch up quick. Although she had to admit, at least in her case she was being taught so much more then she had in Ruina. She no longer felt she had to learn everything on her own because she was being fed the knowledge she desired. Rhyme explained that he had sharpened the points for a weapon and her eyes dropped to the antlers again. He was planning to use them on his next hunt which drew her curiosity. Was he planning to use them like Ty planned with that blade he made? Her tail wagged gently as questions filled her mind. She had a big interest in making it a weapon just because she wanted to learn how. "Will you help me with this one?" she asked. "speech", 'speech', & action

He could clearly see the gears turning in Actaea’s mind as she took in the information she offered him. He wasn’t sure exactly how effective his weapon might turn out to be as he hadn’t tested it quite yet. Now that he thought about it he should have brought it with him when they’d tracked the tiger. Not that he knew the creature would attack them that day. Next time. The young apprentice’s tail started wagging as she eyed the antler inquisitively. She seemed to make a decision as she looked back up to him and asked if he’d help her with the project.


He found himself grinning a little wider at her words and nodded easily. "Of course! We’ll need to find a couple of rocks first though." He started to explain as he looked around them. The right rocks weren’t as easily accessible in the thicket, but at least they weren’t in the plains. Likely if they picked up rocks there they’d find a snake or two underneath. "One of us will hold the antler in our mouth and rotate it slowly as the other rubs a rock against it until it comes to an even point." He continued, giving her a visual to help guide her in what kind of rocks they might need.

""

He seemed more then happy to help and that was easy to tell by his wider grin and nodding. He then verbally agreed making her smile grow wider. She perked up as he began to say about needing a few rocks first. She listened and took in the visual he tried to give her and nodded. She began to look around then, in the immediate area for stones. They were not that easy to find and at times she had to dig for them. It took her a little bit, but she was able to find four and brought them back beside the antler. Once she finished finding the four she looked to Rhyme wondering if these rocks would be enough or if she had to hunt for more. She tried her best to find the rocks that would work but there was only so much she could find. Enthusiastically picked the antler up with a tight grip, ready to get started. "speech", 'speech', & action

Rhyme was more curious about where Actaea would look for their rocks than he was searching himself. He kept his bright gaze upon her as she raced from one hole to another in quick succession. He tilted his head curiously as she managed to amass quite the collection. He grinned in approval as she finally looked like she’d finished. He watched her take the antler in her mouth and prepare herself for work. He nodded and stood, grabbing the flattest rock and laying it on the ground. He’d use another slightly more pointy one to score the surface. He dropped the rock back down and looked back to the apprentice. "Place the first tip where i marked, and as I tip this one back and forth over the tip gently rotate it." He told her as he placed a similarly flat long stone over the antler’s tip like a see-saw. With one large icy white paw he’d step forward and back, effectively grinding down the bone.

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Her eyes were still bright as she waited for his guidance. She was eager to learn how this was done. Plus she had an idea this would be a lot harder if she had tried to do it alone.She watched as he chose his rocks and made a mark on one of them with the other rock. As he explained what she needed to do, he confirmed her suspicions. It would have been awfully difficult to both rotate the antler and grind the antler with the stone. She placed the first tip where he had marked on the stone and as he began with the rock she would listen and slowly rotate the antler. She watched while she moved things getting to see as the point was fleshed out and the bone tip looking sharper and sharper. "speech", 'speech', & action

Actaea was not a very talkative student, which didn’t bother him overly much. He could get straight to the point of their lesson with just a few words. The girl followed his directions easily, she was eager to learn. Rhyme could easily see why Shaye had taken her under her wing as her own apprentice. He felt himself smiling softly during the arduous labor, but it was relatively simple once the rhythm was attained. The young she wolf executed his instructions perfectly, and as quickly as was possible the antler’s point was slowly ground down into a deadly point.

Rhyme removed his paw from the stone and shifted it away from the developing tool. He peered at it closely and deemed it a success. He nodded approvingly as he looked back up to the she wolf. "It looks good so far, if your mouth is getting sore we can switch for the next tine.”" He offered as he looked up towards her, but he would have been just as content continuing with their current positions. Thankfully the antler didn’t have but a couple more tines.

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She liked to focus on what was going on. She knew herself and if she began to talk she would get distracted. Distractions made her miss key things which is why she was always so quiet during her lessons. She would grow more excited the sharper it would get, her eyes fallowing the movements and watching the sharp point develop. It was an awesome thing to see and she wondered when she may get the chance to use this weapon. She would imagine when all the tips were sharpened they worked similar to teeth, pierce and pull. She wondered how much more effective it might be to use this when hunting. Ears listened as he spoke and for a moment she pondered over it. She really wanted to chance to try it herself, but was loving the fact she was getting a lesson. She would let him do all but one, she had to try one for herself. "Do all, but one....... I wanna try last one," her words were mumbled as they spoke, but she tried her best o be clear with she had the antler in her mouth. "speech", 'speech', & action

His pupil was completely entwined in her task, he watched as her gaze looked on in wonder as their little project took shape. His amused smile only grew as she they finished the first time and he offered to switch, but Actaea was fine and insisted that she only needed to do one. Rhyme nodded silently and used his paw to mose the rock so the girl might place the next tine in its place. "Alright, lets get back to work then." When she placed the tine in its place Rhyme would return the sharpening rock over it and place his paw again to begin to work. If they continued their pace their task would be complete sooner than he’d finished with Shaye. Maybe in the future the pack could start to collect antlers and trade these useful weapons. He hadn’t been able to test them yet, he’d placed his own over his son’s grave. However, he saw the glint in Actaea’s eye, she would soon put the weapon to good use.

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He seemed satisfied with her answer and her tail would wag as he suggested getting back to work. He moved the rock and she moved to put the second tine in place and let him get back to work. She again watched as it developed watching the stone shave away the outer parts of antler until it sharpened the tip to be deadly. It took a little, but once the second tine was done she would put the next one in place. This would continue until they reached the last one and with the last one being left she gently set the antler on the ground and waited for Rhyme to hand off the rock. Now it was her turn to get the feel of how this was done. She had studied how it was done, but now she would feel the rock on her paws, scraping against the tine as it sharpened it. When the exchange was made she waited patiently until he was ready and had the antler in place. She then mimicked what he had done, steadily grinding the rock on the tine as he rotated the antler. It was an odd feeling, but she did not feel it was an extremely complicated task to do. She enjoyed learning this from Rhyme and if going back in time she would not have changed her decision to do this with him. It was always more fun to learn with others. She was slower then Rhyme had been, but the job was soon done. When it was a nice sharp point she leaned back and put the rock on the ground, grinning from ear to ear. "Look how pretty it is!" she said before looking to Rhyme. "speech", 'speech', & action

As the second to last tine was finished his pupil was quick to switch out and get her turn at actively sharpening their newly birthed weapon. He took the antler into his jaws just as she had done a few moments before and placed it in the proper place. Though they were slightly slower than when their roles had been reversed the tip quickly took shape. With just a few final rubs against the bone their work would become complete.

Rhyme couldn’t miss the look of satisfaction and pride in her work that Actaea showed as she leaned back to admire the piece. He shared in her grin as he mirrored her movements and he sat back on his haunches at her exclamation. Rhyme nodded in approval, they had done well on their little project. "You did a great job." He offered as his own eyes took in their handwork. ”What will you use it for first?" He had mentioned using it for hunting, what did the girl have in mind?

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