As he climbed carefully off the fallen beast, he took a deep, steadying breath. The young boy was panting from the effort of clinging to a thrashing beast. His claws ached, and there was ichor on his face. Unlike many of the older wolves, Bas had no fear of the ooze-infected beasts. He had grown up thinking they were the regular, natural state of the world. That the sun could rise, and the illness could fade was almost the strange thing to the young boy.

He let Bean wipe his face, and looked up at his fathers face. His heart thrumming in his chest, his veins alive with the words of praise that had fallen from his fathers lips. “Of course father, I’d love to skin it. Could I… keep the skin?” he asked, wondering what he could make out of it. His first impressive kill. One of the first words of praise from his father. He grinned, looking up at Azure with an expression of devotion.


"Speech"

His son was eager to continue and Az nodded his head and gave the child a small smile. "You may keep it if you choose, though the pelt may not be as intact as a healthy alligator's would be. It seems the fungus and crystals from this illness are tethered tightly to bone, they may be hard to work around and leave gaps and holes in the skin." He was not the type to lie to his children, even if the truth would disappoint them. This was a lesson, Azure did not anticipate the hide coming away well enough to make anything decent out of it. Clearing his throat he shifted into instruction, stepping toward the corpse and with one long claw, piercing it's back adjacent to it's many bumps. "Start here." He told the boy, withdrawing his claw from the puncture and tracing with the tip down the alligator's back. "To here." Next he moved to the nearest limb, once again running his mutated claw down it. "Then we bring your cut downward toward the toes." Stepping back, he motioned for his son to step in and follow through with the direction. If they were lucky, they could hopefully find that the alligator was less infected then he appeared, so that his son might be able to have his trophy. "Speech"

Basilisk looked at the dead crocodile, and furrowed his brow in thought. He already had an idea on how he wanted to utilise his very first kill, but it would take some work to pull off. It would be disappointing if the skin was as damaged as his father warned him it could be. “I understand, sir” he said, determined still to get what he could off the alligator.

He scampered forward as his father began to place a claw on the alligator, watching carefully as the older wolf drew a line with his claw down its back. His tongue stuck out of his maw slightly as he settled in and concentrated on what he was doing. He knew he would need as much workable skin as he could get if his plan was to work, so he had to be very, very careful not to screw this up.

He dug his claw into the skin, and then he carefully ran it down the back where his father had indicated. Moving then to the nearest limb, and bringing his cut downwards as his father had mentioned. He looked up at his dad then, trying to gouge how well his father considered his work. “Can alligator skin be dyed black, dad?” he wondered, the pieces of his idea slowly coming together mentally.

"Speech"

Azure watched silently as his son mimicked his movements, impressed with how the small (er, than him) pup could slice through the hardened skin. "Good." He complimented as Basilisk worked along the back and down the leg. "The other leg as well." He motioned to the foreleg on the side Basilisk had already done. "And then we move onto the other side of him, and do it again." The work was coming along gradually, and when they were done splitting the skin open they could work at shaving it off the flesh. His son asked him a question, and aside from a brief glance of curiousity, Azure did not pry further. "I suppose it could be, though I've little idea how. We can ask one of the more learned crafters for help with that." While his son worked, Az spoke once more. "How is your fight training going along? What has your grandfather taught you?" He did not like to admit that he'd failed them in their first few weeks, too paranoid and sick to properly raise his sons and daughters. Hopefully Sirius had stepped up and worked with them, as he'd agreed to when Azure was den ridden. "Speech"

[/b][/color]

Bas winced as his claw jerked a little, catching on something beneath the surface. He leaned forward, sniffing and prodding, before realising the issue. With a grimace, he worked his way around the crystal embedded beneath the skin, and kept going. Aware of losing just a little bit more of the skin in the process. He really hoped there would be enough to work with! He already had grand plans for his first skill.

He moved to the other side, and carefully dug his claws in. This time he didn’t have his dad to trace a line for him, but he had the gist of it. He was focused and determined to get it right. When it was clear his father wasn’t the right wolf to talk about dyes with, he left that part alone. He would have to track down someone in the pack who did. Someone here had to know how, right?

He looked up in surprise at his fathers question, and then ducked his head again, finishing up the last few lines. “Grandpa has been teaching me my forms, and how to track prey and walk quietly.” he explained, looking down at his oversized paws in frustration. Both walking quietly and moving quickly for any length of time were skills he struggled with while his paws were practically larger than the rest of him.


"Speech"

Basilisk continued to work, managing another straight line down the other side of the alligator. Azure arched his neck to occasionally peer over the corpse and supervise the work, but his boy took instruction well and needed no adjustment to his technique. It pleased him to hear Sirius had been working with him, and a small smile came to Azure's lips as he thought of his own lessons in stealth. The bear-pawed wolf did not find silence any easier then Basilisk did, though in the end he did learn and his son would, too. "Good. Have you had the opportunity to spar with any of your siblings, yet?" He knew each child had been working towards becoming adept fighters, though he doubted any would have the raw power and skill to outdo his firstborn. The runt could likely be beaten with a mis-step of Basilisk's oversized paw. With Basilisk's slices complete, Azure stepped forward once more. He hooked his elongated claws into the cut his son had made upon it's back, tugging slightly so that the boy could see the way the hide attached to the flesh. "Now you cut away the adhesions." He instructed. "Carefully, so it comes away in one piece if possible." "Speech"

[/b][/color]

Basilisk glanced up at his father intime to catch the hint of a smile on the older wolf's lips. He ducked his head again so Azure wouldn’t see the radiance in Basilisk's eyes. The way he basked beneath the approval of his dad, like a reptile in the sun. He craved it, needed it. Perhaps that was why the next question was an easy one to ask. “Yes, Sir. I spared with Levi and won” he said, managing - just - to keep the smugness from his tones.

As Bas finished the last cut, his dad stepped in. towering over the young pup as he hooked a claw into the cut and tugged it. Basilisk watched intently, seeing how it came loose from the skin. He paused as Azure gave his next instruction, and furrowed his brow. cut away the adhesions? it wasn’t a word the boy was familiar with, but he wasn’t about to let that phase him. He dug in, guessing as best he could and hoping he was doing it right.


"Speech"

Azure was pleased to hear of Basilisk's win against his brother, though it did not surprise him in the least. Levi was small, unsuited for combat. "Next time try a larger opponent." He suggested, doing his best to keep his voice from sounding too unimpressed lest it lessen his son's accomplishment and pride. Confidence was a much larger factor in victory then one might think, it wouldn't do to allow Basilisk's to wane. The boy's pause as Azure gave the next instruction did not pass his notice and Azure raised a brow as he watched the child. Basilisk did not question further and moved toward the corpse with his claws once more. "Stop." Azure's paw came out, aiming to catch the boy's paw before it could damage his pelt. "You are young and with little wisdom. There is no shame in it, and if you are confused about an instruction you need to say as much." He held the boy's paw as he spoke, stern as he met his gaze. Finally, he released his son and let the paw fall. "The connective tissue, where the skin meets the flesh is what I mean." With his own claw, he pulled up on the hide once more to show his son how it did not come off when he pulled. "You need to sever the connection so the skin can be removed without damaging it." After reiterating his instruction, Azure released the corpse and stepped back once more. "Speech"

Well, that was a little anticlimactic. He didn’t let his disappointment show, but nodded sharply to his father. ‘Yessir!” He agreed, wondering who he should pick out next for a spar. Maybe he could try and track down one of the biggest wolves in the pack and tackle them. Then his dad would be really impressed!

When his dad ordered a single, sharp word, Basilisk froze. Azure’s paw caught him about the same time that he stopped. Two paws hanging over the corpse as he looked over at his father. Was he doing it wrong? He glanced up at his father, his intent gaze telling Azure he had all of the boy's attention. “Sorry father” he said, realising Azure had seen his uncertainty. He managed not to hang his head in shame, but his cheeks burned a little.

Azure’s next instructions were a little more detailed, and he showed Bas how to peel the skin back. “Oh, I see, it connects all along the underside” he said, understanding. He wiggled his paw under the skin and began to work and cut off the connections each time he pulled the skin back a little further. “Is this only with alligators, dad?”


"Speech"

He could see the way his words had shamed the boy, and while it was his intention for the lesson to hit home, Basilisk seemed to understand well enough. "Good boy." Azure praised softly, watching as the apologetic pup began to work at it again, this time from a position of understanding. It was not long into his continuing to cut into the hide until Basilisk asked of him a question, and Azure nodded, pleased he'd taken the lesson to heart. Questions were fine, assuming you had a logical and reasonable excuse to be asking them. One day the puppy's questions would be considered stupid, but Az was fully determined to ensure that by that day, his son would have all the answers he'd need. Azure made a show of considering the question, then with a grin reached out a paw toward his son. "Hmm, I don't know, lets see." His oversized paw aimed to come down upon Basilisk's head, ruffling the fur and skin there as if he might be testing to see how loose it may be. "Yep, pretty sure it's not just alligators. But to be sure, we can find a coyote next and you can impress me with how much you remember from today." "Speech"

He worked carefully and tirelessly on the creature before him. His need to impress his dad driving him to be careful, but not linger too long over each section, either. He still felt a little weary about asking his dad questions. He wanted to prove himself, like he knew everything and learned fast. But his dad encouraged at least some questions, so Basilisk took advantage. Soaking in the information given like a sponge.

He grinned up at his father as the older Fatalis ruffled the fur between his eyes. The gesture seemed awkwardly fond, but the grin of his dad was genuine. Basilisk wiggled his tail, happy with the show of affection. When he realised if his dad was ‘seeing’ if his skin connected like the alligators, he laughed and playfully swiped at his fathers paw. “Yes dad!” he said, knowing it was a promise to learn from his dad again soon.


"Speech"