Tyrian had ventured from Legion's temporary home in search of a quiet place to lay out his stuff and work undisturbed. Tashi had taught him how to braid and in his quest to have cool gear Tyrian had decided to practice on some leather strips he had on hand. There were countless uses for a strong six strand flat braid. If he could get the weave tight and even consistently he was going to flood his den with braided straps, collars and wrist guards.

So far he had three completed three strand braids. They were a testament to his progress. The one furthest away from where he lay was lumpy, uneven and curled slightly. The one next to it was moderately malformed and the closest to him only had a few rough spots that betrayed just how new his skill was. If he kept it up the one he was about to start would be his best work yet.

Brandr was on the hunt for exotic wild life to both expand his palette and to add to his hide collection. At the moment he was searching for creatures with scales. Various snakes and lizards. Ambi was high up in the sky, an elegant black form cutting through the blue sky. The sun was starting it's downward path making the light of the late afternoon less harsh and a little cooler. He maneuvered around the scrub brush and the cacti that stretched into the sky, their arms outstretched.

There was little breeze but Brandr happened to catch the scent of another wolf nearby. Curious, he moved to investigate and found a very large yearling working on something Brandr hadn't seen before. Brandr had made a number of leather strings from various hides and at various thickness' but this boy was doing something with three strands that made a lovely pattern. It immediately made him think of his wife.

Brandr cleared his throat just in case the yearling hadn't seen him though he likely had. "I'm sorry to disturb you. That is a very interesting technique you are utilizing there. I don't suppose you'd be interested in trading that knowledge for some cured meat? I have cured salmon and boar if either of those interest you." Brandr had been working on a number of techniques to extend the life of food. He had a den dug to a perfect depth for year round coolness but it could only extend the life of meat a few days. He found that curing meat with salt and drying it could extend the life of the food extensively.

Tyrian's ears picked up the sound of approach just as he finished tightening up the knot that would end up bring the base of his braid. He set down the loosely tangled leather mass and turned to look at whoever was approaching him. It was someone he'd never met before and the stranger smelled strongly of Abaven. Instantly his thoughts went to Rhythm and his mood soured a little. Ah well, it wasn't like it was this man's fault Rhythm had decided to go to that pack.

Oh hell yes he wanted to trade! Simple braids like this were easy so this would no doubt be one of the easiest meals he'd ever brought home. He smirked up at the man and said, "Hell yeah I'll take you up on that! Pull up a dirt patch." He tossed the knotted leather piece to Brandr and went on to say, "First thing you need to do is wedge that knot under something heavy. It needs to be in there tight enough to withstand some moderate pulling. And then straighten out the strands so they're nice and straight, and laid out flat in front of you."

Brandr was pleased the yearling agreed to his deal so exuberantly. He moved to sit down and slipped the bundle of furs off his back. The yearling was moving quickly so he figured he hand over the meat after the lesson. "Thank you, my name is Brandr Scylding." He thought it best to make introductions now before they got to far into the lesson and he forgot to ask. Though with that done he focused on what the young man was telling him.

Brandr used his paws to maneuver a good sized rock onto the knot to hold the strands in place. Reaching down with his head he carefully took each strand in his teeth and straightened it out. He eyed the for a moment then satisfied he looked back to the youth. "How's that?"

As Brandr settled in Tyrian pulled three leather strands from his bag and carefully matched their ends together. When they were all lined up he carefully folded them as a group over into a loop and then around the "working" ends. After that it was only a matter of pulling the shorter "fixed" end firmly and tightening the knot down. Now his strands matched the one he had given Brandr. "Nah, thank you. Saves me from having to get up and get a snack later," he said with an impish grin. "And the name's Tyrian."

He then placed a rock over the knotted end of his strand bundle much as Brandr had done. When Brandr asked for his approval Tyrian leaned over to look at what he'd done. He nodded and said, "Yep, that's right. Now take the leftmost strand and fold it over the middle one so that it becomes the middle strand." He demonstrated by doing just that; folding the leftmost strand over the middle one.

Brandr focused in on what Tyrian was doing as he tied the three strands together into the knot that Brandr currently had. He'd keep that in mind for starting his own projects later. The youth introduced himself as Tyrian. It was a regal name and he noticed that the youth had the scent of pack though he wasn't quite certain which pack at the moment. Tyrian moved on to the next step and Brandr's focus followed. He leaned down and took the left strand in his own teeth and then moved it over the middle one, using his claws to put a bit more space between the strands so that he could see what the next step was. "So far, so good. Where did you learn how to do this anyway?"

Tyrian lifted his head to watch Brandr work. It was a simple step so he didn't want to insult the man by leaning in and double checking his work, but he did want to make sure he'd done it right. For that reason he tried to be nonchalant about it while taking the fastest peek possible. One glance later and Tyrian was satisfied; the strand was where it was supposed to be. On to the next step. "I befriended a primate not too long ago and this is something he taught me. Thought it might come in handy so I've been practicing it and a couple other tying techniques."

"Next step is exactly like the first one only we're folding the rightmost strand over the middle strand and making it the new middle strand." As he had the first time Tyrian demonstrated the step. Like Brandr he made sure to leave spaces between the strands so it was clear which one was in what position at that moment.

Tyrian explained that he'd learned this technique from one of his pack mates. Brandr's ears perked at the mention of other tying techniques. He supposed there was a wide variety of ways to tie knots. Tyr stated the next step and Brandr did as the younger male instructed. He took the right side now and crossed it over the middle. It seemed a bit loose to him so he gently pulled the strands, using his right paw to help hold things as he tightened what he'd done so far.

"I wouldn't mind seeing another technique after this one if you have one you want to share. I'd be happy to share the second cured meat for the knowledge." So far this first one seemed pretty straight forward and he was always eager to learn new techniques.

Tyrian watched as Brandr did as instructed. He then went on to tighten the strands, which would have been Tyrian's next step, so instead of saying anything Tyrian simply tightened his own strands and moved on. "And that's it! Keep moving first one side into the middle and then other other and tighten the "knots" up as you need to. Just keep going like that until it's the length you want. You can then tight it off or work the loose ends into something else. Really, when it comes to ending it, you're only limited by your imagination."

As for the question about whether or not he wanted another trade... was a fat dog heavy? Of course he wanted another trade. If they kept this up Tyrian would be walking away with a full meal pretty soon. "Yeah sure! If you're up for the challenge I can show you how to braid with six strands." He'd wait until Brandr confirmed his interest before cutting the strands necessary for the project. At this rate he was going to burn through his cache and have to make more.

Brandr listened attentively as Tyrian relayed the next steps which turned out to be a repeat of the first two he did. Brandr bent his head down to the strands and tried it a few more times to make sure he got it before looking up with a grin. "Wow, it looks so complex but that wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it might be." Brandr worked a bit more before tying off the end. He moved the rock and set the strand aside. It was short but he wanted it more for an example for now.

He nodded as Tyrian spoke. "Yes, I'm up for it. Let's try it with six strands!" He hoped this one would be as straight forward but if it wasn't at least Brandr would know what level he needed to practice at before progressing.

Tyrian grinned over at Brandr as the older man agreed to trying the six strand. It was a much more challenging project but Tyrian thought he could teach Brandr how to do it. There was a bit of a difference between knowing how to do it and being able to do it well, but Brandr had picked up the three strand quickly and Tyrian thought him smart enough to master the six strand with practice on his own time. "This one...looks way harder but I swear it's not as bad as it looks."

The yearling quickly cut the appropriate amount of strands and tied them into bundles of six. He then handed one to Brandr and weighed his own bundle down under the same rock he'd used for the three strand. "Alright so like the last one you take one of the outer strands and move it to the middle only this time you take it over the one beside it and then under the one beside that one. Like this," He went on to demonstrate weaving the leftmost strand into the center of the laid out strands.

Tyrian warned Brandr that this one would look a lot harder but should be doable. Brandr focused in on what the youth was doing. Perhaps it seemed odd but he wanted to do the young man proud much the way a young pupil would wish to appease their teacher during a lesson. There was the added motivation that the project would ultimately be beneficial.

Brandr took the six strands from Tyrian and laid them out. Instinctively he pushed the ends together on one side to tie a starting knot which he then weighted down with his stone. Brandr watched Tyr move the strands and he proceeded to do the same. He took the left most strand and crossed it over the second strand and then under the third. He glanced up. "Like this? Out of curiosity what do you use this technique to make most often?"

"I forgot to mention it makes it a bit easier to keep track of what's where if you separate the strands like this." He used a paw to push the three leftmost strands one way and then the other three rightmost strands to the right. "And from there just be mindful of where the middle is." Right now there was four on one side and two on the others, but they were about to even the numbers again. "Honestly I haven't used it for anything yet. I'm still practicing. Once I feel like I have a good handle on it and can consistently make it look nice I think I'm going to work it into some leather armor. There's a round version of this though that I use for heavy duty things, like hauling wood."

"Next step is to take the outermost strand from the opposite side and weave it under the one beside it, over the one beside that one and then under the first one you moved into the middle. Now you should have three strands on one side and three on the other again." Tyrian peeked over at Brandr to see how he was doing. In all honesty this was just a scaled up version of the three strand braid.

Brandr followed suit as Tyrian sorted the strands. He wanted to be as accurate as possible, especially when it came to learning a new technique. He was intrigued by the suggestion of using it for armor but even more so for the possibility of using it to haul heavier items. Brandr had been wanting to figure out a few possible ways to carry large amounts of game back to the storage dens.

The next step was to take the outermost strand from the other side and weave it under. Brandr did just that, moving slowly to be sure he was following along and to make sure that he was grabbing the right strand in his teeth. This would definitely be an easier task for a bird or creature with more dexterous paws. Still, he got it. He was feeling like he was getting the hang of it.

"There we go, I think I'm getting it!"