"Ah, Amadeus, you clumsy shit," Jupiter murmured as he watched the barbed wire coil disappear down the stone crack. His companion had been bringing him the bit of metal for the bracer he was working on when his hind paws had gotten tangled in the gnarly stuff and sent him tumbling to the ground. There, the coil had acted like a spring and in comedic fashion it had bounced and then slow mo rolled towards the narrow chasm. Both Jupiter and Amadeus had lunged for it, but alas, their rescue wasn't meant to be. The slim coil disappeared over the edge just as Jupiter's jaws closed over top of it. He missed it by a fraction. Unwilling to give up so easily, Jupiter slammed his face down after it, but even up to his eyeballs in stony chasm he couldn't reach. Hell, he couldn't even find it. The wire was just gone; eaten by the earth. Fawk.

Jupiter huffed and eyed the naked leather bracer. His precious uncle Tyrian had come home one day with a pair of leather battle bracers strapped to his forearms and Jupiter had been jealous from that moment on. He'd begged and pestered and heckled until finally Tyrian had loaned him one to make a copy of, and then he'd spent the next several weeks tinkering with leather trying to get the design right. He'd made copy after copy and now he had a truckload. Most he would sell, but the best two he was keeping for himself. Right now he was in the badass-ify stage of finishing them. Right now they were just leather bracers; nothing special. How sick would they look wrapped in barbed wire?

It was a shame then that Amadeus had to ruin his plans by being clumsy. He side-eyed the little tamarin, who crossed his arms and gave him a look that was a clear dare. Instead of saying anything Jupiter just sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes. It was then he noticed a familiar pale gold form. A sly smile slowly blossomed on his lips. The beautiful man was even carrying what looked like a makeshift leather bag out of which poked and clinked metal odds and ends. "Ah, Aureus, my man. You are a sight for sore eyes." He bumped the pile of nearly complete bracers at his paws and called, "I have a deal for you, if you're interested. You let me look at what you've got there, and if any of those pieces will look good on these bracers, I'll trade you a pair for them. How does that sound, eh?"

WC: 435

Since discovering the Plateau Pyrrhic had pretty much lived there among the ruins. For a tinkerer like him it was just too good to pass up. There were so many incredible, useful pieces scattered around days could - and had already - be spent picking through them. Where others might have seen twisted, rusty trash, Pyrrhic saw potential. He saw weapons and fortifications, weatherproof - albeit unorthodox - trellises for Aerie's beneficial plants, and much, much more. The sky was the limit. It was for that reason that he hoarded nearly everything of interest he laid his eyes on. The only things to escape his ferreting were those that were too big or buried too deep. Those he marked so he could find and collect later when he had the means to.

He was on his way home with yet another haul - honestly his den looked like the home of a hillbilly junker dragon who one could reasonably assume was named Bobby Joe -  when an unfamiliar voice stopped him in his tracks. Aureus was not around, but Pyrrhic was so used to being mistaken for his twin that even if he had been he would have looked anyway just to make sure the speaker was addressing the correct Abraxas. He turned to Jupiter and looked the man up and down. Yep, never seen him before a day in his life. He would remember such a creature. "You've mistaken me for my brother," he replied simply.

Pyrrhic then hesitated. He very nearly excused himself and went on his way, but the tinkerer side of him couldn't resist a peek at the bracers. They were rather nice looking. Even from a distance he could see they had been crafted with the help of nimble primate hands and were thus cut smoothly, the lines crisp and neat. The sewing too looked good although he would want a closer look. "But," he said slowly as he eyed the leather. "I'd still be interested in that deal."

WC: 328

Artur stalked through the field of debris, stopping occasionally to shift the makeshift pack of material on his back. He'd traded with Red for the material he'd need to somehow craft some form of offensive bracers out of, though he had his misgivings about trading with someone in the pack he was planning on leaving. Considering that the bracers were intended to give him an edge in the world outside the pack, it seemed a little disingenuous to be asking one of the members to provide the means for him to leave, but the need to be away from them had given a sense of urgency to the trade. He was quietly furious every time he saw his siblings training with Aurielle, the way she was drawing them to her side as if to buy from them their loyalty and justify the name her great-grandmother should never have had the audacity to claim for her line. He was losing all of his siblings to the bitch and her favoritism.

Clamping his jaws on a wave of fury, he had to stop and slam the lid on his control once more. As he did, the sound of voices drifted over to him, and the conversation caught his attention as much to distract him as because he was interested. But then his eyes caught up to where the voices had come from, and he was interested, because the large and brightly colored male was showing the other, golden colored male a set of bracers similar to what Artur himself was looking to craft, though he wanted to find some way of insetting the sharpened teeth and claws he had traded Red for into the bracers to use as a weapon.

"Excuse me," he said, wary, and in his wariness his voice grew more distant and cold. "You and your..." he paused, eyeing the mustachioed monkey, "... companion, you made this bracers yourself? I myself am looking to craft a set for myself, but I have little experience with crafting."

WC: 337

Upon learning he was dealing with the delightful Aureus' doppelgänger Jupiter looked Pyrrhic over with new eyes. There was a childlike jolliness to his investigation. He was tickled pink that there was not one but two handsome devils and he couldn't help but wonder if this one had similar tastes like his brother. The thought was irresistible and he promised himself he'd find out. He just had to; no way he could forgive himself if he didn't try. And that would be a funny story to tell, no? Bedding not one twin but both? It would be a feather in his cap for sure.

After deciding that yes, the brothers were spitting images of each other and it was damn fascinating, Jupiter enthused, "Right then, drag that shit over here and lay it out my man. If you need it I'll even help ya spiff yours up." He jerked his head towards Amadeus, who sat on his feet with his arms stretched out over his folded knees. "My buddy here can fix any blade, any wire to that shit no problem. Guaranteed." Amadeus nodded wordlessly. Yeah, he could do it.

Another man stalked up. This one with an angry set to his jaw and a haughty look about him. Jupiter was intrigued. The ass in him - let's face it, all of him - really wanted to poke at the man and see what he could get out of him. For now, on Aureus' beautiful lookalike's behalf, he would behave. "Yep. I mean Amadeus here did most of the heavy lifting, ya know, got those..." he leaned back on his hind legs so he could lift up and wiggle the toes on his front paws. "Nifty little paws. But I tanned the leather and shit." He shrugged. "Crafting's kind of our thing."

Jupiter grabbed one of the finished bracer bases - it was bare leather with no embellishments - out of the stack he planned on selling and threw it at Artur so he could look at it. "Have a look. If you like it I bet we can come to an agreement of some sort." He quirked a brow at Artur. "Why learn when you can skip the tedious shit and jump straight to customization?" For emphasis he looked over the stuff Pyrrhic had laid out and selected wire that was almost identical to what he'd lost in the void. "Me? I'm going simple. Just gonna wrap this shit around mine and sew it in place or something. But I bet my friend could fasten just about anything to yours..."

WC: 431

Dutifully Pyrrhic did as he was told. He stepped over to Jupiter without a word and quickly drug the heavy leather blanket off of his back. It hit the ground with a metallic thud and a noisy clanking that suggested the loose odds and ends inside were settling. While the blue wolf and the ginger talked he used his teeth to work out the knot that had been holding the ends of the blanket together in a loose knapsack. Then he laid all the pieces out in neat rows - there was no other way to do it, honestly - and looked them over with new eyes. He'd collected the baubles with no purpose in mind for most of them. Sure, the occasional piece reminded him of a project and hinted at a potential use, but he had no real plans for any of them. Now he had a purpose and could search for the right piece.

His eyes settled on two long, thin pieces of metal. One end of each could be sharpened into a blade and the other could potentially be twisted into a 90 degree angle and worked through a slit in the leather? Pyrrhic glanced at Benkos, who was peeking over his shoulder. The mandrill nodded wordlessly. They were on the same page.

He pulled the bracer close and flipped it over so he could see inside. There appeared to be an inner piece and an outer piece sandwiched together. Perhaps the "foot" of the blade could be worked in between the two layers and held in place with something?

WC: 262

The blue wolf turned to evaluate him, and Artur burned with humiliation at the way the male's gaze seemed to dismiss him, but he drew himself to his full height and returned that gaze neutrally. He was regretting involving himself at all until the male threw him a casual sales pitch - and actually threw him a bracer to peruse. A spark of interest kindled at the idea of trading the stranger for the parts instead of struggling through piecing together something without any knowledge of crafting, and without a companion with hands. He certainly had no interest in crafting as a profession and it seemed like a waste of time to spend the time and energy learning how to do it just to make a few armor pieces for himself. He examined the bracer closely, turning it over in his paws.

"I traded for a set of tiger claws and teeth and was thinking I could set them into the bracer facing towards me so I can rake them along an enemy," he said aloud, manner losing some of that coldness as he relaxed into the planning process. "Would you be willing to trade a set of bracers and the labor to attach the claws to them, for the tiger teeth and the materials I brought? Crocodile hide, waxed sinew, and antelope suade for lining." Without those premium materials the bracers wouldn't be as... robust or elegant as he'd hoped, but the convenience of them being partly premade made up for their loss. Well, he was sure Red would get plenty of use out of the stack of northern cat and otter pelts he'd traded, he thought sourly to himself, but the faster he was able to make these bracers the better so he'd rather not start totally from scratch.

His blue eyed gaze traveled to the other stranger, who was also examining a bracer piece with a eye towards planning. He had spread out his own collection of what was, as far as Artur could tell, was junk, but the way he and the primate with him were examining both the bracer and the junk said that the golden male thought there was something useful to be found in the neat lines of... stuff, so Artur tried to study the collection with a new eye, but finally gave up. He glanced between the two other males before deciding that this was one of those situations where diplomacy, rather than being antagonistic, would be in order, and sketched a faint bow of greeting to each. Let it not be said that his mother hadn't taught him proper manners. "I apologize for my rudeness. I am Artur Adravendi. I would appreciate the opportunity to trade with and learn from you both, if the exchange is satisfactory for us all."

wc: 469

Sounded like a damn good deal to Jupiter. He nodded once firmly, but then second guessed himself and looked to Amadeus, who would be doing all of the heavy lifting in this deal. The tamarin's mouth scrunched up as he considered the request. After a beat he picked up one of the bracers and ran his fingers down the inner edge where Artur wanted the claws set. He then glanced over at the neat rows of metal bits Pyrrhic had laid out. A plan was forming. He could wedge the bases of the claws between two thin pieces of metal, fasten them together to create a ridged edge and then sandwich them between the leather layers. Doing that would add to the integrity of the bracer and keep the claws from bending away when they met resistance. He nodded and Jupiter said, "You've got yourself a deal, friend. Amadeus will take care of you."

Jupiter's ears pricked and his brows rose in interest as the younger man introduced himself. "Adravendi you say?" His nose worked as he sought out Artur's scent curiously. Once he got that his expression grew keener. He was from Valhalla. That was just delicious. Jupiter licked his lips and tried to stifle the smile that threatened to dominate his features. "You're from Valhalla," he said warmly. "You're Aurielle's kin, eh? Well, I'm Jupiter. Feel free to give her my regards next time you see her."

Best not to forget the pretty boy. Jupiter glanced over at Pyrrhic. "How's it coming? Not to undercut your friend's abilities, I have no doubt they are as formidable as he is, but if you want help with that you let me know. We are at your service." In whatever capacity you want, buddy.

Amadeus meanwhile scooted closer to Artur. He held one paw out for the claws and with the other gently touched the inside edge of the bracer, first pantomiming a row and then a poking a single spot low on the bracer. "Do you want a row of them down the inside of each or a single one on each attached like a big dewclaw?"

WC: 363

Pyrrhic looked up and briefly gave Artur his undivided attention as he spoke. The respectful tone was appreciated by the former prince. He nodded his acceptance solemnly and replied, "Pyrrhic Abraxas. It is a pleasure, Artur. I look forward to seeing what..." What had the blue man called his strange companion? "Amadeus comes up with for your bracers. I know Benkos and I will be paying close attention. I've made a great many things but this is a new one for me." He glanced over at his companion, whose steely gaze was constantly sliding between the bracer in his paw and the pieces of metal on the ground. It was clear the mandrill was hard at work problem solving.

To Jupiter, he said, "I can't speak for Benkos, but I myself am content to watch you work and ask questions as they arise. I think we can handle the construction of ours on our own, but of course if I have any questions," he said with a diplomatic smile. "I know where to get them answered." It wasn't often he had to share a project and he was keen to watch someone else at work, but the thought of handing what he was working on over to someone else didn't sit well with him. It was his to do with as he pleased and he struggled with sharing.

He reached out and touched one of the thin pieces of metal. To Benkos, he said, "What would you think about taking a page out of his book, eh? Using teeth or something to line the inside instead of a blade. And perhaps using some of these pieces here to reinforce the structure."

WC: 286

The mustached primate poked around at the bracer and looked over the rows of junk that the golden stranger had brought, and at length seemed satisfied with Artur's plan, nodding.

Artur was delighted when the blue stranger agreed to his deal. Thanks to the crafter and his crafty monkey, he'd be getting the weapons he sought. He was even more pleased when the stranger seemed to recognize his family's name. But that pleasure quickly began to fade when the stranger jovially proceeded to link him with Valhalla and to Aurielle as her... kin. "You are mistaken," he said stiffly, fury nearly choking him. Would he never get away from the specter of Aurielle and fucking Valhalla? Was that going to be what every wolf knew when they knew the name of Adravendi? The glowing, long-haired, self-aggrandizing bitch who had taken everything from him? His mother, the time he could have spent with her that she'd had to spend dying in service to the pretender to their name, his siblings, the chance to have been taught instead of fighting for every scrap of knowledge he'd gained? And now he couldn't even introduce himself without her somehow managing to stick her nose into it. He kept his voice level, and kept the heat from it with great effort. He didn't need to piss Jupiter off now and lose his trade. Diplomacy. "Aurielle is not an Adravendi. Her great-grandmother took my family's name for her bastard pups by guile, as the last mistake of a dying old man she'd taken advantage of. She and her family are no more Adravendi than you are."

He swallowed down the anger and humiliation to ruthlessly jerk his attention back to the primate who was asking him about the design. He pressed his lips firmly together, determined to concentrate only on that. Carefully he counted out eight of the sixteen sharpened claws and passed them to the primate, keeping back the other ten. "A row of them on each, if you please. I believe the redundancy will give it more chances to catch on flesh."

The golden male, at least, seemed to attach no significance to Aurielle sharing his name, and introduced himself as Pyrrhic Abraxas, a name Artur carefully filed away along with Jupiter's. "I look forward to seeing what you craft as well, Pyrrhic. Perhaps we will be fortunate enough to be able to test them together in a spar in the future." He tilted his head and, in a strangely impulsive and generous gesture, offered the other eight full-sized claws to him, keeping back only the two dewclaws. "Here, why don't you take these? You may find some use for them as well, as it seems you're a crafter in your own right and I am not."

WC: 463

The terrible gremlin side of Jupiter's brain that lived off of harassing others latched onto Artur's aggrieved reaction and he almost couldn't contain the rude grin the threatened to overthrow his composure. He had to remind himself that a) there was a profit to be gained here and b) a handsome devil to shmooze. Okay he couldn't just say nothing. At the very least he needed to know more. "Damn she's gotten under your skin, hasn't she? What was it, exactly that did that? Was it the grand self importance? The uh, the uh...ah man I dunno what to call it. The pretty, pretty perfect princessy thing she has going on?"

A meaningful glance from Amadeus made him backpedal. He waved a paw dismissively. "Okay, alright, you're right, my friend. Artur, we can swap war stories later. For now...ya know craft or whatever."

Amadeus took the offered claws and got to work. Every once in a while he instructed Artur to help him in some way as he might Jupiter. It was easy to go from one canine to another. In his opinion they all possessed a willingness to please in some capacity or another and all he seemed to need to do was give direction.

"Hold these together, please." Amadeus waited until his helper did as instructed and then he carefully worked the first row of tiger claw sandwiches into the leather layers. When they didn't go in smoothly he paused, picked up a knife and and carefully widen the offending too small hole. When at last the claws were in place he used cord from Jupiter's stash to weave a simple (but in his opinion sophisticated) braid around both the claws and all but the innermost piece of leather together (the one that would be against Artur's skin). The working ends of the cord were hidden in the folds. Once satisfied with that he moved onto the second one and repeated the process there. At every stage Artur would hold the pieces together for him while Amadeus worked until finally it too was done.

The tamarin then held the pair up to Artur for approval.

WC: def over 3500 for the thread at this point

Pyrrhic offered Artus a smile in response to his statements. "I would relish the opportunity." He lit up when offered the claws and then carefully schooled his expression into one of humble gratitude. A dip of his head completed the look and he accepted the claws. "You are too kind! Thank you, Artur. I will make good use of these. Rest assured they will not go to waste." In fact he would use two of them now. Amadeus had said something about fixing the claws to the bracers in a way not unlike dewclaws and that idea appealed to him from an aesthetic point of view. Affix the claws in a way that was both functional and appealing to the eye, and then embed two shorter, less eye catching metal blades above and behind them.

He and Benkos did just that. Pyrrhic picked out the straightest and sturdiest looking metal pieces and together they worked both them and two of the claws into the leather bracers. Benkos did his own attempt at knotwork around the claw/metal combo. They would have to sharpen the metal later and in all likelihood that might damage the cord, but at least now Pyrrhic had something to work off of. He could make copies of the bracer if he had to and the claws could be taken out and reused. All in all he was satisfied.