Acacius found it much easier to wander further from home now that Aerie was a band and nomadic-ism was more or less encouraged. He didn't quite fit in with the Abraxas group very well, and already was counting down the days until he'd age out of their odd child-rearing agreement and into a life of freedom. The porcupines were preparing him well for the day, ensuring the yearling would have all the knowledge he needed, and fostering his interests in magic, poisons, and dead things. Unfortunately for him, parts of their curriculum included normal styles of healing as well. Today's lesson involved first a little bit of grave digging (to find a 'willing' subject) and then - should they find a corpse fresh enough - it was onward to learning how to stick sharp shit through flesh in a way that somehow didn't actually do harm.

The most reasonable place to find the corpse would be, of course, the battlefield. Acacius wasn't sure if he was quite allowed to wander this territory yet, but he did know that the adults in his life would want him to improve his skills. After all, that was what Eligos was being paid to attend to, was it not? Digging hard into the dirt, Acacius searched enthusiastically for something to practice upon. While he did so, the porcupines offered the beginnings of their lesson. "You want to find something fresh enough that flesh is still on the bone."The male counselled. "If we can't find anything here, we may have to look elsewhere. Or worst case, you may need to kill something yourself. What do you want to pierce? An ear, a nose, perhaps the gen-" The female porcupine cut her mate off with a hard jab of her quills, glaring at him with a look that threatened to pierce his unmentionables.

"Speech"

Ah yes, the battlefield! It was a treasure trove for the things she loved. Chaos. The sweet sound of pain and fighting. Dead things. Yes. She was right at home here. But she knew a couple spots that served as a nearly massive graveyard for those who met their untimely ends. The tar pits and the place with the sinking sand where she and Havoc had "rescued" a dead guy just to dissect him and steal his bones. It was a fond memory. The first time she had met Havoc. She quite liked her, and Medusa was eager to see the girl again soon. But first, she would make her way across the battlefield as she made her way West towards the tar pits. Surely something interesting had fallen prey to the sticky, burning goo no? But as she made her path through, she caught the sound of conversation, and the ghoulish woman couldn't help herself. She slunk towards the voices, ears perking as she heard the words flesh and bone. If she didn't know any better, she would think the discussion was about barbecue or something, but she was well versed in the arts of grave digging that she was sure she knew what they were looking to do. After all, she was an expert! She approached a- gasp! "You're a skeleton, too! You look like Medusa and Havoc!" She exclaimed upon approaching. She walked right up into their bubble as if they were high school friends. Personal space? What the heck was that!? "Medusa"

Acacius was intently focused upon his gravedigging, nodding his head along with his companion's instructions as they counselled him on exactly how to proceed with today's lesson. Hopefully it would not take too much daylight to find a corpse with suitable flesh to practice upon - Acacius did not want to try to pierce anything in the dark. While he searched, Prick began to rifle through their communal pack to retrieve the tools necessary and Poke continued her lecture. "We'll use one of Prick's quills that has been heated and sterilised already. It doesn't need to be clean for a corpse, but it's better to learn the right way just to be safe." Acacius could hear the faint tinging of the quill tapping the side of the jar as Poke shook it gently, but his eyes remained on the search for a victim in the dirt. "It requires a lot of precision - are you sure you are capable of.. " The companion's voice faded as a stranger approached, the pair's quills rattling in a faint alarm to alert the yearling.

Acacius lifted his muddied head from the hole, squinting past the dirt to see a skeletal marked woman much older then he. Was he about to get in trouble for grave robbing? Stepping out of the hole slowly, he began to brush the dirt from his limbs. Medusa walked right on up without hesitation and Acacius gave a soft 'eep' of alarm as she enthusiastically entered his personal space. "You know Havoc?" He asked, tipping his large head to the side. This wolf was skeletal too, and she said there was also a Medusa who was skeletal - how many wolves looked like him in this land? "Havoc is my half-sister. If you're her friend you must be kind of cool. I like your bones." With a small smile his eyes roamed across her distinct markings, tracing the bone-like patterns up along her ribs and down her legs and onto her face where - Medusa had a piercing in one of her ears! "Oh! Oh! Can I pierce your nose?" The yearling asked, stamping his paws excitedly. A live subject and a skeletal friend. The day was becoming better and better with each passing minute. "Pleaaaase?"

"Speech"

The boy stepped out of the hole he was digging in, which had immediately captured her attention and she ignored the porcupine warning rattles until he asked if she knew Havoc. "Yes!" Her attention snapped back to him, a big grin on her face. "Havoc is Medusa's best friend! She helped Medusa pull a dead guy from the sinking sand so Medusa could take his bones!" She flashed the bone piercing on the tip of her ear, and beneath that piece was a regular metal piercing she had found at one of the places littered with human things. He complimented her skeletal marked fur to which she grinned wider, "Medusa likes yours too! You and Havoc are pretty and Medusa likes you both!" Did she know Acacius? Nope! She didn't know Havoc the first time either, but after that day they were practically best friends! She was pretty eager to meet others and make friends! Unless you were a Habari wolf. She despised them to a whole other level which was saying something because she never really felt that way towards anyone until she had been stuck in that pack for half her life. When he seemed to get excited about her ear piercings and asked if he could pierce her nose, Medusa gasped. Not in an offended way, but it was a gasp of excitement. "A nose piercing for Medusa!? Someone else pierced Medusa's ear, so yes! Medusa can put another bone there, too!" She glanced down at the ground, "Is that why Havoc's pumpkin brother was digging for a dead guy?" "Medusa"

It was a bit weird how Medusa spoke her name in place of the word "I" or "My" but Acacius somehow found it comforting, like he wasn't the only weirdo in the world. His maw split into a grin as she explained that his half-sister was her best friend, something that made even more sense since Havoc was not particularly normal herself. "Medusa likes bones too?" Acacius asked with a wag of his tail, finding it natural to refer to her in the same way she referred to herself. Maybe she just didn't like those other words, and that was fine with Acacius. "She never helped me dig up a dead guy. Havoc must really like Medusa."

She complimented his markings in turn and Acacius' excitement grew. Was this how effortless making friends should be, when one wasn't attempting to hide their weirdness in fear of being made fun of? He figured it must be, and that Medusa must be a worthwhile friend indeed to be so welcoming. She seemed to enjoy the idea of a piercing too, and Acacius was all too eager to do his new friend justice and give her another place to wear her bones.

"Yes! That was why I was digging for a dead guy, I was going to pierce his nose for pract- Hey!" Acacius devolved into a fit of cackles. "I'm not a pumpkin!! I'm a skeleton like Medusa, and like Havoc!" Though his words could be taken as offended, the grin on his maw and the laughter left over softened the blow. Silly Medusa.

His porcupine cleared her throat, rattling the jar with the prepped quill for his attention. Acacius turned to her and remembered his purpose here, looking back to Medusa with the calm demeanor of a professional. "Okay, Medusa needs to stand still okay? It will hurt a little bit but then it will look super cool and be all worth it." The porcupine waved the boy over, whispering the instruction into his ear so as to not frighten their subject. "You will need to push hard and fast to get it over with quickly, else she might flinch and ruin the path of the hole." Acacius nodded, withdrew the quill carefully from the jar with his teeth, and moved back to his new friend.

Luckily he was tall or he'd never be able to get his muzzle in line with Medusa's to shove the thing through. Actually... Acacius furrowed his brow. "Can you lay down with your head on your side like this?" He flopped his head to the right sharply. Waiting until his friend did as she was requested, Acacius took a place overtop her instead. With his teeth he very carefully found the point where the quill would need to go through, his companion's small hands helping to guide it into position. This would be much easier, all he'd need to do is push straight down. It might hit the dirt and get dirty on the other side of the quill, but that'd be fine, right? It wasn't like he was pulling it back through her nose right away. "Okay one... two... three!" On his count he pushed, sinking the sharp quill through flesh and out the other side. "There!!" Stepping back, he let Medusa have space to rise up. "I can help yo- Medusa find a cool bone to put through it too, but it needed to be poked with something sharp and clean first."

"Speech"

"Medusa likes bones too?" She nodded with great enthusiasm, "Medusa has armor made from another wolf's skeleton and claws sharpened by bones, too! Medusa can show you later! In fact, she would be delighted to show him what she had crafted with her own two paws! Not only was it her own fashion statement, but the bone armor and sharpened claw covers were incredibly useful in a fight. Also, her sharpened claws helped to shred her prey a lot easier! "She never helped me dig up a dead guy. Havoc must really like Medusa." Oh, that wasn't going to do! Oh no, certainly not. Medusa figured she needed to remedy this situation ASAP! "Hmm, well then Medusa, Havoc, and Acacius are just gonna have to go and do that soon! Medusa knows a really good place to do that!" Okay, maybe she knew quite a few places...she had several spots she checked for creatures wolves who had met their untimely demise. At her comment about calling him Havoc's pumpkin brother, he cackled. Okay, yeah, she really liked this kid. "I'm not a pumpkin!! I'm a skeleton like Medusa, and like Havoc!" Even better! Her gaze roamed his features and she nodded in approval, tail wagging as she was delighted to have made a new friend so fast. But of course, it was bound to happen though, right? He was related to Havoc after all! Ah, but she had nearly forgotten the conversation they had just moments prior about piercing her, at least, until Acacius' porcupine rattled the quills. "Okay, Medusa needs to stand still okay? It will hurt a little bit but then it will look super cool and be all worth it." She grinned, tail wagging furiously at the prospect of willingly getting a piercing this time. "It's okay! Medusa has been poked before!" She batted at her previously pierced ear before plopping her butt down so they could begin. She doubted this would hurt any more than...well...toes being broken or getting bitten up in a fight. How bad could it be? She was ready as soon as he took the quill from the jar, and when he asked her to lay down with her head on her side, she nodded and dropped to the ground in a play bow before finally dropping all the way as instructed. She tried her best to keep her breath still, though she was wildly excited about this whole thing! She held her breath when he started to do the countdown, and when he poked it through, she kept her body as relaxed and as still as possible. In fact, she hadn't even really realized he was finished until his exclamation before stepping back. "I can help yo- Medusa find a cool bone to put through it too, but it needed to be poked with something sharp and clean first." She got up off the ground and shook off her fur, eyes crossing to try and take a peek at the job that had just been done, but of course, she wouldn't be able to see anything until they put something there! "Yes, Medusa didn't feel anything more than a pinch! It wasn't as bad as the other one! Maybe we can find a bone piece around here, or we can look somewhere else!" Would the hole close if she didn't put something in it right away? She wasn't sure. But she was pretty sure she'd get something in there before that happened, anyway. Even if it ended up being a temporary twig! "Acacius is good at this!" "Medusa"