Never in his wildest dreams did he think he'd be back in this old song and dance again. He approached the borders of one of the packs he had been scoping out for a few days with a sigh. He had never wanted to go back to the ways of his family of going to packs to try and sell them things. He could survive well enough on his own catching smaller prey or even some slightly larger things. He was a large man - medium size prey was pretty doable. However, with the onset of winter those had been harder to come by and even in the warmer weather of the southern continent he wasn't having much luck finding what he was looking for. Sure, he could fish and he had found more than enough various kinds of prey, but there was one thing he couldn't seem to find.

Good leather.

He was having the damnedest time trying to find animals that would make for strong leather. That damn "friend" of his was constantly tearing up his armor and ate through his supply of leather like no one else. There was a few pieces that he had stuck back in the large satchel he carried with him that he could hopefully trade for or maybe even offer his services if they had any really good pieces of leather to offer him in return. There were very few joys Ruga found in his life, but having something to work on and keep his paws busy was one of them and he couldn't do that if he didn't have the right materials. He finally got over his own pride and lifted his head to call for their alpha, waiting at the border for the wolf to appear.

"Ruga Amanto"

The Warlords patrol had taken him towards the ocean when the summons rolled across the pack. He paused his steps, tilting his head for a moment as he listened to the cry. A male, and an unfamiliar one. With Fireside and the Pirates harrowing his borders, he could never be too careful. He turned on the spot and moved quickly back towards the Plains. His paws light on the grass despite his size. Slowing as he approached the border. As the stranger came into sight, he opened his mouth, sampling the air. Tasting the rogue scent of the wf with some satisfaction. He could catch no trace of his enemies on this wolf.

He settled to a stop before the stranger. Noting the rich reds of his handsome coat, and the scent of skins and metal about him. Interesting indeed. "Greetings stranger, and welcome to the Armada. I'm Sirius it's Warlord. What brings you to my borders?" He asked, wondering if this wolf would have greater knowledge of crafts then the Warlord did. Most of what Siriud had accomplished in crafts had been self taught through trial and error.

Ruga settled back on his haunches to wait for whoever would come to greet him, letting his gaze drift over the mostly open plain in front of him. With it being winter even most of the grasses that were probably common here were gone with just some clumps of dried grass remaining and a couple of trees here and there to break up the landscape. He could almost see the glimmer of the ocean in the distance and wondered just how much land this pack called theirs. It wasn't long before he spotted a dark coated man approaching him that pretty much matched him in size and stature, though he had some vary noticeable fangs protruding from his upper lip. This man certainly wasn't the first wolf he had seen with some unusual feature like that, but he thought that perhaps the saber fangs were the most noticeable ones he had seen.

Ruga got to his paws before the other man reached him so he could greet the man properly. It had been a while since he had done this whole song and dance, but he at least remembered his manners. The saber fanged alpha introduced himself, Ruga taking note of the man's title of Warlord. Ruga tried not to pass any judgements too soon, keeping his past experiences of war waging wolves to himself. A title didn't necessarily give the full story. Ruga dipped his head in a bow, offering him a charming grin. "Hello, sir, a pleasure to meet you." He could already feel his skin crawl as he launched into his sales pitch, but he continued on anyway.

Pulling open the large satchel he carried with him he began to explain, "My name is Ruga and I'm an armor smith and blacksmith by trade, but I do dabble a bit in other forms of jewelry and crafting." He reached into his bag to pull out a few examples—a silver bracelet with a hammered, faceted surface, a pair of finished bracers that had not yet found a home, a dagger he had found and restored with fresh leather on the hilt and the blade polished till it shined. "I'm here to offer you a trade. I have quite a few pieces here that I've made in my spare time that I can offer or perhaps if you or your pack are in need of my services I'm quite good at repairing previously made pieces as well. I'm currently looking for finished leathers if you have any to offer." He waited for Sirius to peruse his supply, watching the other man curiously while he waited to see if he'd get what he needed here or if he'd have to take his song and dance somewhere else.

"Ruga Amanto"

The other wolf was polite and courteous, greeting the Warlord in turn. Sirius inclined his head in acknowledgement of the bow. He had no inclination to require his pack to attend court manners, but the gesture was appreciated nonetheless. It was clear this wolf wished to give a good impression. Little did he know, he needed only open his bag and say a few magic words to accomplish that. Sirius grinned warmly as the wolf admitted to something he had started to guess - he was indeed a blacksmith. He thought of the raw materials thay had been collected after the stores had been damaged. Sitting in wait for wolves to have time to mold them.

And then the world got to the heart of the matter. The reason he was here. Not to join and offer his services permanently to the pack, but to request a trade. Ah, alas. One could not win them all. "Your services would be well sought here, Ruga" he said warmly, pushing away the disappointment. He gave an almost abashed expression then. "I've dabbled a little in black smiting, but everything I know is self taught. A true black Smith is a welcome sight indeed" he said, thinking of his grandchildren that would be parting ways at the turn of the season. He would wiah to ensure they and their mother where properly outfitted before adventuring out. He thought also of his grandkids on the way, who would need tools to practice with once they were old enough.

"We have a great many raw materials collected at the start of winter. I'll take what time your willing to give to turn them into armor pieces and weapons. In return, I'm sure we can come to an agreement in leathers. If what I have isn't enough, I can send out hunting parties." Certainly Mortis could be put to work.

Ruga was glad to see that his pieces had gotten the Warlord's attention and even more pleased when Sirius mentioned how his services would be welcome here. If he could pay them for the leather in time rather than selling these pieces he had finished then he could use these pieces in other trades and still get what he needed just from fixing up some armor or maybe crafting a new piece for the alpha. He grinned when Sirius mentioned how he had dabbled a bit in blacksmithing himself, giving an appreciative nod. "I'm sure you have with a title like Warlord!" he said with a bit of a chuckle, trying to slip in a bit of flattery though he felt moderately confident that he had at least made a moderately good impression so far. "Can't be going into battle unprepared, can you?"

Ruga's ears perked at the mention of the "great many" raw materials and the offer to send out hunting parties if they needed more. That made his sea foam green gaze widen with surprise and caught his attention. He'd been to many, many packs with his family to sell their pieces and be employed by their alphas, but never had he had an alpha offer to have more materials collected for him like this in order to further his work. Usually he and his family had been expected to get their own materials and the place to stay and food was often their payment for all of their efforts. To not have to hunt for the leathers he needed and have access to these raw materials that Sirius promised with just his skills to give them in repayment... it almost seemed too good to be true.

As he began putting away the pieces he had pulled out of his satchel, he said, "Would you mind showing me the materials you have? That way I can get a better sense of how much of my time I can offer." He had never really considered joining a pack himself after the bad taste so many of them had left in his mouth over the years, but that kind of offer might just sway him.

"Rûga Amanto"

“Indeed The Warlord agreed. He was a wolf that liked to ensure his pack was well outfitted and trained. Having his wolves be prepared was important. In truth, Ruga’s appearance seemed auspicious. He was exactly what they needed to help turn over their luck after the lost supplies.

The surprise in Ruga’s eyes didn’t go unnoticed, and Sirius would know the price he offered was appealing indeed. Good, the more of Ruga’s time he could buy the better. He intended to learn much from the wolf for as long as he was here.

“Of course, follow me” he said, waiting politely for the other wolf to finish putting away his pieces. He got to his paws then, and led the way towards the heart of the pack. The warm bonfire was roaring away, chasing away much of the chill of winter. “Let me know whatever you need to set up, and I’ll ensure you have it. Do you have a time frame for how long you might wish to spend in the Armada?” he turned back with a rueful smile. “I fear I could keep you busy for a long time if you allow it” he explained as they reached the cellar. He pulled open the door and stepped inside, turning his direction towards the nonperishable side of the storage. “The majority of skins and leathers are here, but in my barracks I have a store of metals i’ve been collecting over the years” He explained, giving Ruga space to examine what he had.


"Sirius Fatalis"

Ruga tossed the strap of his satchel over him and followed after Sirius as he was led into the pack's lands, seeing a large bonfire come into view as they moved toward the center of the plains. His curious gaze roamed over everything, taking it all in. It had been quite a while since he had been in a fully established pack and he had forgotten all the things that staying in one protected place could accomplish. He could never carry anything substantial with him without some kind of cart and that wasn't really feasible by himself. When he had been traveling with his family that had been a different story since there had been a group of them to share the load of traveling with their supplies, but now that he was on his own it was much more difficult.

His gaze returned to Sirius as the Warlord told him to let him know what he needed to set up and he grinned as he gave a small shrug at the question of how long he might stay. "Well, it's not really like I have anywhere else to be. As long as there's work to do I suppose I could stay as long as you'd need." He most certainly preferred to stay busy at the very least and from what the Warlord was saying he could be kept very busy. There was still the inkling of worry about the things he would make for them being used for some kind of detrimental harm to some other group, but he could simmer on that for a while longer. Sirius didn't seem like the ruthless type like he had met in previous interactions with alphas and Ruga considered himself a moderately good judge of character.

He followed Sirius down into the cellar and his eyes widened again as he took in the store of their supplies. A whole wall was lined with various skins and leathers and the promise of another stockpile of metals didn't go unnoticed. He started flipping through some of the leathers and feeling their quality, finding some nice deer skins, a couple bear pelts, perhaps even some sturdy boar here and there, and... was that a buffalo skin? He stood there in awe for a moment. This was everything he could have hoped for! He'd be kept busy for months with this kind of stock! He didn't even know what he'd do with it all, but with so many options and possibilities he could craft some things that really rivaled anything his father could have ever made.

He gave a little shake of his head to clear his thoughts and chuckled as he turned his eyes back toward Sirius. "You weren't kidding when you said you had a great many materials, huh?" He tossed the other man a grin as he admired the leathers for a moment longer, a more thoughtful expression crossing his face. "Say... Sirius... What do you and your wolves do with the armor and weapons you have? Is the 'war' in Warlord accurate?"

"Ruga Amanto"

“Excellent” The Warlord said, wondering just how long he could keep Ruga busy for. His only asking price was leathers, and the Warlord could ensure he was well stocked by the time he left them. He would also be fed and housed under the Warlords roof while he worked.

Sirius leaned back, giving Ruga space in the small walking space between the shelves. The blacksmith's eyes roamed across the wares, and it wasn’t long before his paws were testing them as well. The Warlord said nothing for a time, letting Ruga make his judgments.

It was the red wolf who broke the silence first, commenting on the variety of materials. “We had an issue with our meat stores, so our hunting was rapidly upped as winter approached - it definitely left us with an abundance of skins” He explained, skipping over the majority of the issue. The pack was past that crisis now.

“Training, for the most part” he explained, sitting back on his hunches, his expression amused. “The Armada was created as a protective force to guard another pack - its name and its nature was crafted to build an image of strength. Deterring challenges, we win the fight before it begins. It’s come a long way since then… mostly it's a place to house and train those that have joined my home.” Was the lengthy explanation. “The things you craft will be to outfit my oldest grandkids, who will be venturing out of the pack with their Mother in the Spring, and start the training of my youngest grandkids” If he was hoping his weapons would be making a name for themselves as weapons of war, he was going to be dissapointed.


"Sirius Fatalis"

He kept his gaze turned toward the leathers and materials in front of him, testing and feeling a few more while Sirius spoke about how the weapons and armors they had were mainly used in protection and training, how the Armada was built as protection for another pack, and how he was specifically looking for armors for his various grandchildren. Ruga couldn't keep himself from smirking at how strangely wholesome it all was and he was glad that his face was turned away so he could hide it. He had phrased his question and said it in such a way that many other alphas that had employed him in the past would have started boasting and bragging about their conquests and telling him how his work would be appreciated in their armies and all the other senseless rambling that power hungry wolves tended to do.

He nodded in response while he pondered things for a bit longer, wrestling with himself between the promise he made to himself that he'd never associate with a pack again and the temptation to actually have everything he needed to craft whatever he wanted whenever he wanted... The idea of not having to hunt for his own materials and having a place to set up a real shop was very, very tempting. He tossed Sirius another grin and told him, "Well, I think I've seen enough. You have some fine materials here to work with." He turned and left the cellar, still making a decision as he stepped back out into the sunlight. By the time they were both out and he had turned to face Sirius again he had made up his mind and he shocked even himself.

"You know... I don't know if you have a spot open in your ranks for a permanent blacksmith, but... if you do I might be interested," he told the Warlord, shrugging the heavy bag off of his shoulder and settling back onto his haunches. He smirked as he added, "It sounds like I'd be here for at least a few months anyway with all this work you have lined up for me so might as well just make it official, eh? Making armor and weapons for grandkids sounds like a pretty nice job to me."

"Ruga Amanto"

“Thank you” Sirius said simply, knowing the work was the accumulated effort of his pack. It was, to Sirius, the reminder of what his pack could achieve when they were called to it. He followed Ruga back out of the cellar, and closed the door securely behind them. Giving it an extra tug and ensuring the seal was in place. They did not need a repeat of the last disaster.

He turned back to Ruga as the other wolf voiced a question. You know, I think I might be able to spare a spot...” he teased lightly. The man's next words raised his opinion of Ruga. That crafting for grandkids was an appealing job. Good. If Ruga was a part of the pack, then perhaps he could include some blacksmithing in the little one's education. “I hope to be rolling in grandbabies in my life” he chuckled “So I’m sure I could employ you on that alone. Welcome to the Armada, Ruga. It’s a pleasure to have you here.” he said, raising a paw to make it official.


"Sirius Fatalis"