Well, she had managed to acquire nearly a whole wolf skeleton. The poor guy she had taken them from certainly didn't need them, but she did! She didn't know exactly for what just yet but today she was going to figure that out! She carried the bag of bones with her to a territory away from Habari. She didn't care one way or another if they found her. She just wanted some time away from them so she could focus on her task instead of soaking in the anger they brought in her life. Grunting and groaning with the effort of dragging nearly an entire skeleton this whole way, she finally found a nice spot that wasn't entirely covered in snow and set down her load before falling heavily on her haunches to take a break before starting her work.


"Speech!"

TABLE & CODE © SKELLE 2022

She went south after joining Armada and doing some hunting for her pack. Sniffing the air, she followed the scent of death and decay. Maybe she would get lucky and find some spare meat to take back? But alas, she didn't know what to think about this... The bones of a wolf, and another wolf close by. The woman seemed to be taking a break, perhaps lugging it with her.

"Uh" Wren didn't close the distance, but she found herself curious about the whole thing. The skeleton had been bleached by the sun and weather, it seemed. The woman didn't seem to have blood and gore on her. This was a scavenge. Not a kill. "hello" she added after confirming with herself "what're you doing?" Maybe, just maybe, this wolf needed help?

"Speech"
0/3 craft - armour/weapon

She was laying the bones out piece by piece, all the while thinking about what to make from them. The idea came quick enough, so when she finished laying out the bones, she sat back and looked it over. Yes...she had an idea, alright. She had already cleaned the bones and dried them a few days prior. Most of the bones were still intact. Primarily the whole spine, skull, and ribs, which was fine because that was the main thing she wanted to use. As she settled down and started to pull out some other materials she had found stolen, someone approached. She sat up almost immediately, hackles rising for a moment when she thought it would be someone from Habari, but no. It was a stranger that smelled different, but honestly, she didn't know what the other packs smelled like so she couldn't figure out if it was pack or a loner. Whatever the case, she didn't smell like Habari, so she relaxed a bit when the stranger became curious about what she was doing. "Medusa is making something out of the bones she stole from the dead wolf she found. He got stuck in quicksand, didn't need 'em so Medusa took them." She beamed, flashing a set of pearly white teeth as she continued pulling out material. She had leather strips, glue, and other things she could use to tie and bond everything together. " Medusa is going to try to make something she can wear to better protect herself from the mean wolves of Habari. That's the pack that made me a slave and broke my toes for leaving pack lands because she was bored!" She said with defiance. She didn't know who this she-wolf was, but hopefully, not someone that would snitch on her. And if she was a snitch, then she would be the first one she'd test out her new gear on! "Medusa"

"The fuck?!" Wren's tone grew disgusted as the other - Medusa - told the tale. Her lip rose in a snarl. "they made you a slave and broke your toes?" she was deeply disturbed by this, wondering if Armada knew about Habari or if they didn't care if they knew. Surely Basilisk would tell her the truth, and she would march around until she learned it from him. She inched closer, staring at the soon-to-be armour "what're you making? Shoulder armour or limb armour...?"

With a full skeleton, it was possible to make both. "I'm Wren, by the way" she added, nodding "I live up north, with a pack called Armada" She rather hoped Medusa would have good things to say about it, else she didn't know Armada. Wren didn't want to discover Armada had the potential to keep slaves too. "I can help you, if you want. Make the armour, or a weapon... Whatever." she added, nodding at the piece. Medusa hadn't said if she was making a weapon.

"Speech"
0/3 craft - armour/weapon

"The fuck?!" Medusa's ears laid back for a moment, thinking at first that the stranger was about to scream at her about the bones, but then... "they made you a slave and broke your toes?" Ears perked forward again as she nodded. "Mhm. Medusa trespassed on accident before she knew anything about packs, so Habari fought me and made me a slave when I lost. They treat Medusa like she doesn't exist until they want to hurt her and be mean to her and punish her. Medusa would leave to explore and find friends, but then Habari alpha said she was going to punish Medusa for doing that and had an alpha brat break Medusa's toes in front of everyone!" She rubbed the now healed toes of the paw Kali had damaged, "Medusa's toes are finally better, so she started leaving again. Medusa doesn't care anymore if Habari tries to punish her again," She tapped the bones that were laid out in front of her, a mischievous grin on her face. If they wanted to keep being mean and hurting her, she would have better protection next time. She had been learning how to defend herself, and defend herself she would until she was free. When the girl asked what she intended to make, Medusa's grin grew wider. "Medusa wants to make something that will protect her from others who want to hurt her, and something to hurt them when they try." The stranger told her what her name was, followed by the pack. She hadn't really heard of Armada, though if she remembered correctly, that pack had done some sort of fake raid against Habari not too long ago, she was sure. "Medusa has only heard of Armada when they pretended to fight Habari," She shrugged. "She didn't help Habari fight them though, Habari didn't deserve Medusa's help." She sniffed as she moved some of the bones around, starting to arrange some of them where she wanted before Wren offered her help. Perking up, Medusa's tail thumped the ground as she beamed. "Wren can help Medusa! She is making both! But still trying to figure out how she is going to wear it!" She pondered for a moment as she got up and started circling the bones once or twice, nosing a bit here, prodding a bit there. Then it struck her. "She wants to wear the skeleton. To match the skeleton on her fur." She paused near the skull as she casually slipped it over her head. The top part of the skull fit almost perfectly against her own head and the bottom jaw fit nearly snug beneath her jaw. The dead wolf she had found had been significantly bigger than her, but despite Medusa's height, she was far from a bulky or large set wolf anyway. "Medusa"

She felt her ears pin against her skull, body reeling in controlled rage. "That's awful" she breathed, knowing she could do nothing about it and hating that "I'm so sorry, Medusa..." Wren could not hope to go against the Habari alpha and not bring trouble to Armada. She was keen to repay Basilisk for his kindness and friendship. Moving against a pack on her own, aligned with Armada... would cause suffering. Perhaps war. She moved closer to the woman as she paced, trying to bump her olive-colored nose against the wolf's shoulder. If allowed.

"Armada... I don't know much about them, but some good wolves live there" Wren recoiled from the brief comfort she hoped could be given to the slave "Habari didn't fucking deserve your help! I'm glad if Armada won" and did some sizable damage to it "well, let's begin with your joints" she suggested, leaning forward (if allowed) and nosing the skeleton. Medusa would 'wear' it shortly after "your shoulders and neck are targeted a lot in fights..." She pawed the spine of the skeleton "we could break off some bone from the spike or find some metal to make you shoulder pads?"

"Speech"
1/3 craft - armor (skull shoulder pads/spikes)

She shrugged quietly at Wren's words. The woman was sorry for her, but unfortunately, Medusa was used to it. But...she was getting stronger for it as a result. Habari could try to kick her while she was down, but she would get up every. Single. Time. She startled a bit, however, when Wren leaned in towards her. Medusa's heart pounded hard against her chest, though she didn't move and instead, allowed Wren to touch her shoulder. It was...strange. Nobody had willingly touched her with a kind gesture. Much less in comfort. She didn't know what comfort was or what it felt like...although Wren spoke briefly of Armada, Medusa was still unsure. The only experience with packs she had was with Habari. Didn't that mean all packs were the same? Yet almost everyone else outside of Habari that she had come across had been nice and decent to her...with the exception of a small handful if she remembered right. "Habari is mostly mean alpha's brats. Medusa thinks she breeds like a rabbit," She giggled, recovering from her thoughts about being touched in a nice way. Honestly...she didn't mind the touch. It felt nice for a change to be touched by someone else that didn't involve a fight or something. She settled down as Wren told her that certain areas were targeted alot in fights, and boy, Medusa had learned that pretty quick! She pondered it for a moment, wondering if she'd feel too restricted that way or not...but decided to trust Wren. If she didn't like it later, there was no harm in changing things up or adding upgrades. All she knew was that she also wanted to hurt someone else with her bones just as much as she wanted to protect herself. "Medusa thinks its worth trying. Medusa definitely wants to make spine pieces sharp, so if someone goes for her back, they might get hurt." She glanced down again at the skeleton. The skull on her head rattling with her movement. "Medusa wants to wear him. Send a message to others that she isn't weak. Medusa isn't weak!" She exclaimed as she slid the skull off of her head. She quickly pulled out a piece of rolled leather and started to thread it in and around some openings in the skull so that it wouldn't fall apart in a fight and would fit more securely when she wore it. As for the skeleton, she wanted to sharpen some bits of bone and secure them to the spine. From her neck, all the way down to her tail, she would be protected...and the rib cage would protect her own. Additionally, she had some scraps of leather with her, too. Maybe she would add a bone studded breastplate to it... She now worked to distract herself from her emotions. She didn't want Wren to see her cry, or hear the dangerous thoughts she'd been forming about Habari. Not yet, anyway... "Medusa"

It hurt Wren to hear the woman's words. Even if she giggled with Medusa at the comment about Habari's alpha, it still fucking hurt. Having freedom was one thing she always wanted, and now she had it. What did she do with that though? Nothing. Worked and worked, followed and followed. She had aspirations once upon a time. "My mother" she felt her words slip from her lips, shocked she was going through the story again in another land "she bit and denied me food sometimes. A lot of time, actually. I was small and weak. I wasn't good for anything to her, so she named me Wren like the bird. She thought birds were weak and useless." Honestly, she was just thankful she had been given a name and not killed.

She looked down, trying to busy herself with helping Medusa craft. She took some bones and began to sharpen them against a nearby rock, rolling the bone in her mouth before placing it on the earth. It was sharp to the point; so they had to be careful about putting it on the shoulders and back. "My dad was never in the picture. He knocked up my mother and left. Turns out he had another family. My mother was just a fling to him" she shrugged off her inner turmoil "and I looked too much like him. So my mother reacted by bites and snarls and... withholding any sort of love." But the darkness came, and she stopped talking. She didn't want to talk about what happened next, but she supposed Medusa would ask.

There was no use hiding it. "She eventually tracked him down, killed him and his family. I tried... so badly to defend the pups. She turned her teeth on me. I was barely a yearling. I was lucky. I killed her. Maybe she thought I'd never have the courage to go against her, and I didn't... mean to kill her. I didn't" Fat tears wet her eyes "they all died. I ran. I came to another place. I joined a pack. But they abandoned me too in the end."

"Speech"
2/3 craft - armor (skull shoulder pads/spikes)

She worked quietly (surprisingly) on the pieces of bone she had when Wren spoke. "My mother," her ears perked, the woman briefly glancing at the earthen wolf as she continued to work. "she bit and denied me food sometimes. A lot of time, actually. I was small and weak. I wasn't good for anything to her, so she named me Wren like the bird. She thought birds were weak and useless." She would glance at Wren again, her work going a little slower as she continued to listen. She gnawed on the ends of a couple of pieces of bone, placed them where she wanted, strapped them down with some leather, glued pieces here and there with some sort of adhesive she had stolen (hell if she knew what it was, but it definitely made things stick together), and she worked quietly. Slowly. As Wren told her story.

She didn't particularly like what she was hearing. And although she didn't appear like the sharpest tool in the shed, she wasn't stupid. She understood things, and as Wren told her story, she understood her pain. And when Wren finished her story, Medusa remained quiet for a minute or two. She stopped what she was doing and moved to press her nose into Wren's shoulder this time, if she was allowed. A gesture of attempted comfort like Wren had done for her just moments earlier. She sat back then, a look of understanding in her usually wild eyes. "Mm..." She began, though paused for a moment. "Medusa understands Wren's...hurt." She licked her lips as her head began to tic a little. She had never really told anyone her own story, nor how she came to be who she was today. But did it matter anymore? She was who she was. But still...the sane, empathetic part of her wanted Wren to know she wasn't entirely alone.

"Medusa was...very young when her mother left her to die. The little bit of time that her mother was there, well...Medusa remembers nothing but meanness and cold from her. She left Medusa to die before even teaching her how to hunt, and Medusa did not know her dad when she was little, but...she sees him now, in her dreams. Azazel said that Medusa's...dam... forced herself on him when he was not right in the mind, and made him give her pups. Medusa is one. She took the other. Medusa's dad is dead, but...he has been teaching and helping in her dreams. Azazel has been helping Medusa survive in Habari...telling her that she is stronger than she thinks. Stronger than the Habari that tries to break her spirit."

She took a deep breath as she thought about her life up until now. "She survived on rotten meat and scavenging leftovers growing up. She knew nothing about packs or how anything worked. Medusa is not like most wolves...everyone calls her dumb and stupid and says things like I should just die because she talks differently and does things differently. But Medusa isn't stupid or dumb. Azazel said it's because she didn't have anyone to teach her how to do things. Medusa has feelings. She sees things differently and knows when someone wants to hurt her. She can hunt now, and do things she didn't know before because of nice wolves she has met, or because of Azazel in her dreams."

She grinned at Wren, "Medusa has found some nice wolves that she likes as friends. Including you! Medusa won't abandon Wren. Even though Medusa is a slave right now, she won't abandon Wren. Medusa didn't know love or kindness either, but she has been learning. She...loves...Wren. She is a friend. Wren shouldn't feel bad about someone who hurt her. Medusa thinks it was good...what you did...so that nobody else would feel the way you did." And had Medusa been in her shoes, she would have done the same.

She settled back on the ground and offered a soft smile, "Medusa is sorry about the pups...but...Medusa is sure they know Wren tried. That Wren cared," She glanced up at the sky, tail lightly thumping the ground, "Medusa thinks the good dead watch us. Pups are up there watching Wren, like Azazel watches Medusa and talks to her in her dreams. He can't help Medusa fight Habari, but he helps her get better so one day, she can." She finished with a firm nod, believing in everything she said.









"Speech!"

TABLE & CODE © SKELLE 2022

She had fallen silent.

Not out of anything to say - she had more but... that could wait. In due time, she'd tell Medusa everything. Wren knew that now. The feral woman's gesture caught her off guard. She didn't expect Medusa to try and comfort her. She seemed to be wild and unpredictable at first, but... No. There was more to her. Definitely. She hadn't seen it at first but it was there. Clear as day. She began to finish the rest of the armor with her new friend.

But first. "They're wrong, you know" her voice cracked with emotion as she replied at long last. The silence had hung in the air when Medusa was finished talking. Wren tried to gather her racing thoughts "they're fucking wrong, Medusa" she confirmed "you're a good wolf. You actually care about others. I don't blame you; for wanting to survive. Doing things your own way, trying to go through the pain and hurt too..." Speaking to her father for one, helped Medusa cope.

"You got the short end of the stick, like me" Wren says quietly "but we're survivors, aren't we? Nobody gave us much of a chance, so we had to make our own. It takes a while to get there, that's all" She made the finishing touches on the armor and stood up and back, admiring the work they did together. The leather and adhesive made everything seamless "I won't give up on you either. One day... you'll be free, I believe that." And the fruit of labor will be for something.

"Your dad isn't the only one rooting for you. And... I-I hope my half-siblings look down on me... and don't hate me for failing them." She blinked, feeling tears in her eyes.

"Speech"
3/3 craft armor

The silence hung between them for a while when she had finished speaking. She didn't expect Wren to speak up right away, anyway. After what they had just shared with each other, she was aware that what they were sharing was heavy stuff. The girl briefly peered at Wren as she resumed working, but this time, she started working on something simpler now that they had finished the bone armor. She mindlessly sharpened a claw she had stolen from a now-dead jaguar. She filed it against a rock that was in front of her, and after a moment, she turned her gaze and focus to that to allow Wren time to sort out what she was feeling. "They're wrong, you know." Her ears perked, but she didn't look up yet. She could hear the crack in Wren's voice. "They're fucking wrong, Medusa." She felt a strange feeling in her chest as her crafting partner continued. Her working pace moved a little slower as she listened to Wren talk. Her voice was...soothing. The tone in it was something she had never heard before. The words that were said were something unknown to her, but if she had to describe the feeling? She wasn't sure she could. It made her chest hurt...but in a good way? Wren...believed in her? She had never really heard anyone in her life say things like this before. She finished one of the claws she had been sharpening before starting on another. "Thank you," She murmured, gaze turning up to meet the earthen females. "Medusa hopes to be free soon," She finished sharpening this claw a little quicker than the last. "They don't hate you. Medusa knows this. And Wren needs to know it too." After all, she never hated her dad for never having rescued her...but she was sure that if he was alive, he would've fought the devil himself to save her. Just like Wren had done for her siblings. "Medusa"

"Thank you."

Wren finished her part of the crafting, allowing Medusa to do what else she liked. Washing quickly, the brunette tried to think on the positive. If Medusa was ever freed, would she stay in Habari? Probably not. She hated it there. Wren did not blame her for that. Would she go to Armada, if she spoke up for her friend? Sirius would take her in, of this, she had no doubt.

But she didn't force or bring it up. Licking her paws clean of the dirt she had acquired, she half-looked at Medusa's continual crafting. "I hope the armor and weapon help you" she added "I haven't made a weapon yet, but I'm going to trade for some leather bracers. Hopefully, that'll help me win some fights." She chuckled.

"Speech"

For the first time in a while, Medusa felt almost...normal. Perhaps it was the easy company of being around Wren. Or the mindless task of sharpening the claws. Or the fact that for the first time in ever that she had been able to talk as much as she did without her weird little quirks interrupting (with the exception of her illeism), and actually offered what she thought was a comfort to another wolf. Especially one that had a hard life much like hers, minus the fact that Medusa was a slave, and Wren was not. She didn't envy the brunette though. Medusa had gotten herself into the predicament that she was in, and she was working on a plan to get herself out of it and into something better. She nodded at Wren's thanks but remained quiet as she finished up another claw. When she finished with them, she carefully slid them over her own dull claws. While many had bullied her and called her dumb, she grinned as she flexed her new claw covers. Normal she may not be, but she had the knowledge to know that regular wolf claws weren't as deadly as what she had just made. "I hope the armor and weapon help you" Medusa looked up, lifting the paw with the fitted new claws and wriggling her toes, responded. "Medusa hopes so too. Because she plans on changing things very soon." Her voice was firm. It was a promise she made to herself. Come hell or high water, she was going to fight for better things. "Medusa"

Change things how?

Wren wanted to ask but was slightly afraid of the answer. Medusa seemed so serious at the moment. She couldn't blame her. As a slave, she had no freedom. It stood to reason Medusa would want to challenge for freedom. She only hoped this would not set off a chain reaction of some type.

"Good luck."

She said instead, bowing her head. Wren told her she believed in Medusa. It was rude to back out now, but it was also still true. Wren did believe in her. She hoped to the gods, that whoever was watching, would look kindly down on the feral woman. Everyone needed an extra set of eyes.

And heart. / fade end

"Speech"