Summer wouldn't be around for much longer, and Halo was going to make the most of the market days she had left. Running the last of the summer's classes, in the time between preparing for winter in the Armada and... well. Everything else. Keeping busy would prevent the pale creature from dwelling on it, after all. It's a warm, sunny morning as she sets things up for the day's lessons.

It would be beadmaking, already a full roster sorted out. The little Raider dog that kept showing up, the one who'd come to her for advice on the chickens, and a pair from Tojo-kai. Each station was already set-- lumps of clay, short and pointy bamboo skewers, and little bowls of water. Satisfied with her setup, Halo waits eagerly for her students to arrive.

"Speech"

Jael knew that the morning would leave her with time to kill. The drovers were running behind-- when was working with livestock ever easy? Halo had been kind to her, and taken the time to answer her questions... may as well. Even if it wasn't a skill that she was super keen on, knowing was better than not knowing, right? Halo's classroom provided some shelter, some respite, from the anxieties generated by market days.

The scrutiny of the Armada guards never did seem to ease up, that red and white woman still watching after Jael like she was going to try to steal something. Not like she's going to let her guard down around the Fatalis family, but this? It feels silly.

Halo's setup, a classroom behind her booth, is easy enough to find. Inviting, smelling like lavender and honey. It's a bit of respite, and she's grateful for it. Jael offered the woman a soft smile and a good morning to the pale woman, setting her heavy pack in the corner. Settling at her station, she gave the lump of clay an interested poke and squish. The texture was funny, but not unpleasant. Neat.

J A E L

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She hadn't been able to travel much... given her circumstances. Given the things that had transpired, and given the dangers that they'd faced lately. It was only the children, and the fact that they really should see the rest of the world, that got Kiriko out. While the rains in Auster had been relentless, late summer was falling upon Boreas. A quick trip, before the cold settled in. Making a point to do something with each of the children individually, Kiriko had signed herself and Kina on for a beadmaking class with one of the Armada's instructors. A healer, too, Kiriko was happy to trade the woman in herbs and teas. "Hattori Kiriko, it's nice to meet you." She gives a proper smile, a bow to her head. First Halo, then their classmate for the day. Regal as ever, Kiriko takes the time to help Kina settle, and then take her own seat. Curious, her gaze plays over the woman, her classroom, the materials. There's already a fire crackling and a cozy hearth, though the stall is filled with all manner of crafter's supplies. "Speech"

Kina

Kina bounced along after her mother. They'd had a wonderful journey north into Boreas and Kina basked in the warmth of their summer, eager to experience what summer would be like in Auster. Today the'd gone to a market. It was a wonderful place filled with other creatures and their crafts. Kina found herself eyeing several items and wondering how they were made and if she might be able to recreate them when she got home. In addition to displaying wares there were also classes, one of which was a bead making class. Kina was especially excited for this. Though she could make clay bowls and was even learning to fire them she hadn't tried anything more delicate.

"Hattori, Kina. It's a pleasure." She dipped her head to the pale woman who was in charge of the class. Doing her best to be polite and courteous. Her ruby eyes scanned the assortment of items as her toes twitched, eager to get started.

Jael had become a welcome regular of hers this summer, and Halo's greeting is warm. "Welcome back, it's nice to see you again." Even more, though, a light entered Halo's eyes as the koi woman appeared, flanked by a little girl. Working with children was among her favorite things, and she wasn't going to hide that. Her tail wagging, a smile playing plainly on her face, as the pair arrived. "I'm Halo, it's wonderful to meet you both." She mirrors the bow, ushering the women in and helping them get sorted as well.

"We're going to be learning how to make beads today. If you have any questions, please feel free to stop me and ask." Her gaze is kind, taking a deep breath before she launches excitedly into teaching. "At each of your stations, you have a lump of clay. I want you all to take a good look at it, before we even start working with it. There are some natural color variations in each, based on the way the minerals in the soil settle. When we work on larger projects, like bowls or cups, we need a lot of clay, so we don't have the luxury to separate the large lumps of clay into smaller pieces by color. When we're making small things, like beads, we do." Halo gave a warm smile to her students, eyes glimmering.

"My first challenge for you today is to separate your clay into colors you'd like to use. You can mix the natural colors to create new colors, and I have some examples up here if you'd like inspiration." A kind eye to the class, she lays out her examples and swatches before coming around to offer any help to her students.

"Speech"

wild clay swatches

The introductions of the woman and her daughter come with a sort of decorum that makes the wolfdog sit up a little straighter. Makes her wish she was a little less unkempt, that she'd scrubbed between her toes better or trimmed her nails more often. Jael's smile is kind, and her tail does give a little swish. "Jael." The child was being raised in a different one than her, and they were both here to learn. Her mother too, from the looks of it.

Anxieties forgotten as Halo launches into her lesson, something she can be grateful for. Something to focus on, something to quiet her mind. Jael gazes at the lump of clay in front of her, looking at the striations of slates, blues, reds. Something almost lavender, too, catches her eye. As she squishes the clay apart and works it, her tail thumps. It really does feel nice under her paws.

J A E L

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As they get settled, Kiriko offers a soft smile in Kina's direction. For such a young child, she was well behaved, and she'd taken the long travel well. A joy to have out in the markets really, and... listen, it's really no surprise that the child lives up to her name. Halo's lesson is thorough, and Kiriko allows herself to be taken by the storytelling of it. She seems practiced, and like she knows what she's talking about. Carefully, the koi woman begins to pick out the richest of the reds, removing them from the lump of clay at her station. Her gaze split between her own work and Kina's, checking in with the child as she goes. It was work that may be a little tedious, but a fun puzzle all the same. "Speech"

Kina

Kina settled down and listened attentively to their teacher, her little tail wrapped around her paws for the time being. Beneath her tail her toes twitched, though, eager to get to work. The woman introduced herself as Halo and she began to explain what they'd be doing as well as the variation in clay that was laid out before the participants. Kina was fascinated. She'd only seen a few different colors back home, the reddish clay and then a pale gray.

Examining the shades Kina reached for a chunk of clay that held a pale color with a lavender hue as well as softer, cool-shaded brown. She worked her claws carefully between the strands of clay, separating out the colors she wanted and snipping out some shades of brown she did not. She felt her macaque companion scoot up next to her, offering a hand but she shook her head. "No, I want to do some myself but you can finish after I get a few." It was important to her to try by herself before accepting any help.

Halo's smile is soft as she watches each of her students separate their clay based on color, nodding carefully at each. She takes a moment to pause as she notes some of the clay drying in the summer air. "If your clay is crumbling and cracking, you can apply a little water like this, to help keep things moist and moving. Just be very careful, it's harder to take water away, so go a little at a time." Her tail twitches, moving to refill water bowls where needed.

As they all had their clay worked into piles, Halo feels ready to move onto the next step. They're welcome to keep working as she instructs, after all. "Once you're happy with your colors, I would like you to take each colored lump and make it into a tube. The width of the tube will be the width of your beads." Halo takes a moment, showing her example to the class. "For the sake of time, we're going to do single color beads in this class, but once you're home I encourage you to experiment with mixing colors." Before she can launch into a tangent, Halo reels herself in.

"It's important that your tube is the same width all the way along. You will also find a marked stick, and a knife on each of your stations." The knives are the same she'd used with her own children, though Mr. Raccoon does make himself a bit more present and available in the moment as well. "Line the stick up with your tube of clay and cut even with each marking. After each piece of clay is sliced, you can use it to form your bead. Beads that start out as round shapes work the best, we want them to bake evenly, and be as sturdy as they can." Halo takes a step back, allowing her class space and time to work.

"Speech"

Jael's brows creep up as Halo launches into full on explanation mode. Still working away at the vibrant pieces of clay, as well as a larger amount of grey, as the woman speaks. It's pretty calming, actually. For as much as she said she didn't enjoy arts and crafts... maybe Jael wouldn't be such a hater. This seemed like something Kenway would have fun with, too. Maybe she'd have to take more shit home for him. Jael didn't want to think about what wet clay weighed, ugh.

The keen precision of the movements draw her in, too. They work carefully, making sure everything is just so. That suits her. It suits her keen sharp gaze, her attention to detail. Making sure that each of her snakes of clay was the same width, the same length, everything just so. Precise and clean cuts, though the knife was dull. Would the process be faster with sharper tools? Perhaps.

Slicing away, leaving herself with little piles of clay in all different colors. Jael's movements are deft as she squishes it with her paws, curious. If she started with a sphere, where could she go? Rolling it into a ball and then coaxing five cute, rounded points... or the suggestion of them, at least. It kinda looks like a star? If you squint? A perfectionist, she keeps messing with it, chewing the inside of her cheek thoughtfully.

J A E L

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Kiriko recognizes this as the most tedious part, keeping a keen eye over her daughter's shoulder as Halo begins to explain. Looking to the knives-- ah, that makes sense. It's not the knives that pose the potential for issue though, both moms know it. It's a fiddly process, one that could be frustrating to even adults. Though Kiriko worked on her own, she looks keenly to her daughter after the instructor has finished speaking. "I like grey you chose, I have a little more here, if you'd like it." She smiles lightly, offering the piece to her daughter before she begins to squish her reds into their own form. Lagging behind a bit, but grateful as the raccoon slides up to help her as well. He's there to support, and let the mother-daughter duo shine if they'd like. She'd be able to offer first, and the little companion could pick up the slack doing the more transitional steps, if needed. "Speech"

Kina

Kina carefully used her claws to separate the chunks of clay that she had pulled from the main block into their separate color categories. She looks up as Halo mentions wetting the clay if its cracking. So far she's good but one section is cracking a fair bit. Kina reached out with a paw and dipped one of her claws into the water bowl before holding it over the small clay piece and letting a drop of water fall onto it. She then carefully took her paw pad and rolled it into a little ball.

Kina grinned at her mother as the woman complimented her on her color choice and offered her more of the same color. "Ok, thanks mom!" She took the extra piece and added it to her little ball, mixing the two chunks together before using her paw pads to roll the clay out into a tube. It took her a bit of time but eventually she got close. It wasn't the most evenly sized, but it would do for now.

Next she picked up the stick and set it along her clay tube before using the knife in her teeth to carefully cut the bead sizes. Once she had everything cut she used her paw pads to carefully roll all the little pieces into round spheres.