Wylan trotted back to the Armada with Krakarak on his back, and Glacier at his paws. The route past the Wall was a familiar one, and he occasionally turned his head back to look at his passenger. “Me, my brother and our friend Sen live in a treehouse. I bet we could set up a way for you to open the window and come and go as you please?” he suggested, excitement creeping into his voice. He wasn’t sure how long his raven-instructor would stay in the Armada for. The idea of him flying off without a word was a sad one, but Wylan understood that Krakarak would do as he pleased.

They weren’t far from the woods at that point, and he caught the scent of Basilisk. The older wolf must have been on patrol. He skirted close to where Bas was patrolling, so he would get a chance to see his new companion and know he ‘belonged to Wylan’ “Hi Basilisk! This is my new companion, Krakarak. Krakarak, this is Basilisk, the leader here” He explained, lifting a paw to wave to his cousin. The massive blue wolf looked over at Wylan and raised a brow. “Welcome, bird” He said, as he continued on passed to complete his patrol. “So… do you want to see the Treehouse first?” He asked the bird on his shoulders.


"Wylan Fatalis"

Krakarak

The bird kept his eyes on the trees around them, clacking his beak appreciatively at their strong and sturdy trunks and limbs. These were good spots to find all sorts of nooks and crannies, as well as different things to nibble on. He couldn't wait to do a bit of exploring through them."Tree? House? Krak?" He cocked his head left and right as he thought about it. Trying to search the vocabulary he knew for the terms that the yearling meant... but he was coming up blank. All he could think about was a nest in the trees, like any self-respecting bird would have. He'd never heard of wolves being sensible and doing the same thing before. "Is like nest? Krak! Nest in trees?" Maybe his companion was more bird than wolf. He had the wings for it. "Not need big spot to fly. Krakarak fit in small opening! Good flier! Krak!" As far as he was concerned, he was the best flier.

His attention turned to a dark wolf when Wylan turned his attention to him. So many dark wolves here, he could appreciate that. Black was a good color, a lovely color, in his humble opinion. So, this was the leader. He supposed he should try to make a good impression, especially if his wolf was going to be the new leader one day. "Krakarak is pleased to be meeting you! Krak!" He could be pleasant when he had a vested interest in sucking up, and when he liked the creatures that he was hanging around with. "Ya, ya! Show Tree-Nest-House-Thing!" Yes, he definitely wanted to see a wolf's nest in a tree! This had to be good.

"Kaw!"

Images © Vlad Bagacian, Rilvin | Coding © Plymouth

“Yeah, pretty much! It’s a den up in the trees that we sleep in… like birds sleep in nests up in the trees” He agreed, more than happy to find the similarities. He wanted Krakarak to like him, and that meant finding common ground. He already liked the raven, after all!

They passed by Basilisk, who’s greeting was about what Wylan had expected, and continued on into the woods. With Krak’s agreement he led them towards the treehouse. Climbing up the ramp into their home. Which had a big enough ramp and entrance for the large winged wolf, and was big enough inside to have a common area and two rooms. With a third clearly in progress on the side. “So, this is our treehouse. I think Seneca and Ollie are out at the moment.” He said as he stuck his nose in his brother's room and found it empty. “This is my room, I share it with Sen while his room is getting made. You're welcome to nest anywhere you want in here. If you like being up high we could probably set up something?” He suggested as he headed for a back chucked in the middle of the room. He rummaged inside and came up victorious. “Ah ha!” he said, pulling out some slightly squished berries that were safe to eat. He offered them up to his friend.


"Wylan Fatalis"

Krakarak

The bird croaked his next words with a sage nod,"Is best way to sleep!" In his oh-so-humble opinion. More creatures should sleep in trees, they'd soon see the merits of it.

After the brief introduction, Krakarak rode the wolfa ll the way up into the treehouse and found his beak hanging slack in amazement. "Is big tree-house-nest! Krak!" Much bigger than any of the nests that he'd seen in his old lands. The ravens never built anything to this large of a degree. He found himself more and more enthralled with this wolf and his pack.

Finally, when Wylan introduced his and his brother's room, he flapped off of the yearling's back and into the room. Landing amongst nest and peering around at the spacious area. "Krakarak want sleep up there!" He used a wing to point upwards towards the ceiling, looking this way and that to see if there was a suitable spot for him to make a comfy nest for himself. "He want big nest for putting shinies! Krak Krak!" He oh-so-loved bright, shiny things. Almost as much as easy meals.

Speaking of.

He flapped his wings and half flew half walked back to Wylan. He croaked excitedly. Eagerly taking the tasty berries from his lupine friend. "Ya, ya! Is good food! Krak!" He did a few hops, dancing from foot to foot in glee. "Oll! Ollie! Sen-ee-caw! Krakarak will meet? Are friends?" More people to offer up food? Although, none so important as Wylan, of course.

"Kaw!"

Images © Vlad Bagacian, Rilvin | Coding © Plymouth

Wylan sat back as Krak flew off his back and started to explore the space. He grinned at the bird’s pointed wing. “Yeah, we can definitely make something for you.” he agreed, making a mental note that the raven wanted it to be big enough for himself, and any shinies. What ‘shinies’ were, he wasn’t totally sure. What did birds sleep on anyway? Would he like a small offcut of coat up there, or would he rather sleep on something else?

“Yeah, Ollie and Seneca are the best, I bet you’ll love them too.” He beamed, eagerly awaiting the moment he could introduce everyone. “You’ll see them all here tonight. Did you want to explore the Armada in the meanwhile?” He wanted to know. With three territories, there was a decent bit to explore. But perhaps for a bird that could take it all in through flight it wouldn’t seem that big.


"Wylan Fatalis"

Krakarak

Hm, love them? He'd be the judge of that! As far as he was concerned, Wylan was the best wolf he'd met of this bunch. Of course, he was the only wolf he'd really gotten to know... but that was beside the point!

He polished off the offered berries and gave a satisfied caw. He began to prance around happily, looking over everything in the room while cawing contentedly to himself. "Tonight! Krakarak meet tonight." He finished his prancing by circling back around to stand in front of Wylan. He tilted his head first to the left and then the right before nodding. "Ya, ya! Krakarak want see territories! How big? How much land? Krak? Lots of trees?" As far as he could guess, the whole place must be covered with wonderful trees like this one. "Let's go see! Krak Krak!" Clearly he was very excited.

"Kaw!"

Images © Vlad Bagacian, Rilvin | Coding © Plymouth

Wylan watched the bird explore the space, his mouth twitching in amusement, curious to see exactly what parts of the room interested the bird. He’d never had a companion as animated as Krak before. He loved Glacier of course, but the polar bear was far more interested in sleep or food and didn’t hold a conversation.

“Alright, all aboard!” Wylan said, waiting until Krakarak hopped onto his back (if he wanted to) and led the way back out of the treehouse again. “The Armada has three territories. The mIle-highwoods, Dreamers Col, and Soul Sand Cove. So trees, mountains, and beach.” he explained as he led the way to the towering mountains on either side of the Col. “This is where you’ll find most of the wolves” He explained, nodding his head to one of the guards as he passed into the Col. “Do you like water? We have bathing pools in the caves to the left there, right after the smithy” he explained as they started to walk past the little cove that held the smithy. As he did so, he realised he could hear sounds from within. “That’s weird, I thought Charlie was missing…” He mused as he turned them in towards the smithy.

“Oh, hi Iggy!” he said as he saw the sandy coloured wolf working at the station. “Whatcha doing? Oh! Iggy, this is Krakarak, my new companion.”


"Wylan Fatalis"

Ignita's goggles were placed over her eyes and they had limited peripheral vision to help her focus. The roar of the smithy was also drowning her ears away from the world and she found a delightful hum in the work she was doing. It kept her paws busy and her mind active but only on the task at hand.

She thought she might have heard her name called and looked up, then around. She jumped subtly but shook off her surprise easily with a broad and warm smile.

"Wylan! One sec!" She said, then poured the molten copper into the mould. It was her sixteenth one, she was starting to really get a hang of this. Once it was all poured she put the crucible down and stepped away from the forge.

She lifted her goggles and they made it obvious she had been working for a few hours. The soot had gathered over her pale fur and the goggles left lines in it where they had shielded it from the soot.

"Hi! Oh hi... Karakak? Nice to meet you! I'm working on some pretty pins, wanna see?" She gestured to a surface that had about six small copper shawl pins, each one a little more complicated and refined than the last.

"Speech"

Krakarak

The raven fluttered up to Wylan's shoulders, settling himself down and preparing for his royal carriage. He was more than happy to be ferried around. After all, he'd never had the option before and now that it was presented to him, he would fully take advantage of the opportunity. All the while Wylan walked and talked, Krakarak listened. He leaned a bit so that he could see the side of Wylan's face while they toured. "Krakarak like mountains and beach and trees!" He would thoroughly enjoy flying about here and getting more acquainted with the wolves and the places that he could poke his beak into. He wondered if there were seagulls that he could bully...

"If water shallow! Krakarak like doing the splashing in the shallows! Feels good on feathers. Krak!" He was about to follow up with a question but the word "smithy" drew his attention. He tilted his head this way and that as he searched for the word in the pages of his mind... but he came up blank. "What is 'smith-ee'?" He readjusted himself so he could lean off of Wylan's opposite shoulder as they neared an alcove. That way he could get a close look at this "smithy" and the creature working within.

The bird had no names for the things that he saw beyond "alien". It was warm and there were so many interesting things to see. He croaked in awe as he took in everything that he could, including the brightly colored wolf that was there. "Is nice to be meeting you! Krak Krak!" Yes yes, polite and all that to make sure he was being good but what really grabbed his attention were the "pins" that the she-wolf indicated. "Shinies!" The bird blurted out before flapping his wings and flying over to the surface to stand over the pins. "Krakarak can have?" He pointed to the fourth pin with one of his talons.

"Kaw!"

Images © Vlad Bagacian, Rilvin | Coding © Plymouth

“You’ll love our bathing pools then! There's a really shallow one that’s warm all year round” He explained as they pulled towards the smithy. The bird's question left Wylan considering how to explain. “It’s a place where we craft things made from metals.” He settled on, not having a great understanding of how it worked himself.

His tail perked up behind him as Ignita acknowledged him, and he patiently waited until she was done, and could turn to address them properly. “Ohhh, these look marvellous, are you fulling in for Charlie?” he asked as he obediently looked at the pins she had crafted. He was really really worried about his Uncle, but he knew Basilisk was doing the best he could to look for him.

When Krakarak flew off his shoulders to stand by the pins, Wylan stifled a giggle. So, these counted as shinies, did they? If he wanted to collect lots of these, Wylan was going to have to make sure his perch could hold them all!

"Wylan Fatalis"

Neither of them corrected her saying his name but she was sure she hadn't quite got the correct ka's in the right spot. They didn't seem bothered though.

She nodded solemnly to Wylan, an empathetic look towards him, "I'm trying my best. I'm sure we'll find out what happened soon." What could be keeping Charlie away so long was anyone's guess but Bas was trying. The best case scenario at this point is he wandered off and joined Kite. But that was her conjecture.

She smiled with delight as the raven flew over and inspected her work, turning the conversation to brighter themes. He pointed to one of the pins, and asked for it, resaying his name.

"Ah! Krak-ah-rak, got it. Uhmmm," She paused for a moment, as she looked at the pin, each of them had taken her a while to make, but she had gotten faster at making them. Technically the pins she made weren't hers. But what was one pin when she could make more?

She first glanced at Wylan for any reassurance or guidance. "If Wyl says yes, sure!" She replied shrugging. She was a slave, granted a slave with a great many responsibilities and freedoms she worked hard to earn. But still a slave. Wylan was also not the type to pull out rank for special treatment.

((Sea says he doesn't mind!))

"How'd you meet?" She asked taking a sitting position comfortably. Maybe she could make some special Raven shinies just for them.

"Speech"

Krakarak

Warm bathing pools. A "smithy" to make metal --likely shiny-- items. It sounded awesome here! Who cared about his old home now? He was perfectly content to spend his days lounging about here with his future-king wolf! "Can make shinies to wear? Krak?" He was no stranger to ravens or other birds wearing items to make themselves prettier. Heck, it was the whole reason he painted his claws purple but he'd never had any sort of metal objects to wear. How cool would that be?

"Ya, ya! Krakarak! Like that! Krak! Is good name! Krakarak give himself good name!" He briefly turned his attention to Iggy before looking back at the items before them. He would never waste an opportunity to brag about his name if he could help it.

Nor would he ever waste an opportunity to brag about anything, really.

Just like he wouldn't waste the opportunity to pick up that pin. He cawed triumphantly as he was given the go ahead, he dipped his beak down to pick up the pin. Then, he began strutting around on the surface for a few moments. Showing off the shiny object in his beak. It was when Iggy asked the question that he transferred the pin from his beak to one of his taloned feet that he settled down and turned to her. "We meet out on big metal thing. Thataway! Krak!" He pointed northeast-ish with one of his wings. "Glacier try to eat Krakarak but Wylan save him! Krak! Then, Krakarak agree to help with flying for tasty snacks! Krak Krak! Then, we come back here! Krakarak live with Armada wolfs now!" And then, he picked up the pin in his beak again, resuming his strutting about. Leaving Wylan to fill in any holes in the story that he wanted to.

"Kaw!"

Images © Vlad Bagacian, Rilvin | Coding © Plymouth

Wylan blinked in surprise when Ignita put the question onto him. ”It’s your hard work” he reminded her gently, but when it was clear she wanted him to decide, he shrugged a winged shoulder. “If it doesn't hurt your work, I don’t see why not” he agreed. When Krakarak took the pin and strutted about with it, he snorted a giggle. He just looked so proud. It made Wylan want to give him all the shinies.

Krak took the question about how they met, explaining about the trade they had made. “That’s right, Krak’s teaching me how to fly! I think we’ll get there, eventually.” no matter what his dad said. Why else have wings, right?


"Wylan Fatalis"

She looked at Wylan with a soft gaze, oh how naive he was, she forgot how young he was and sheltered while he towered over her. Everything she did was either for Bas, or the Armada. None of it was hers, she didn't even own herself.

She giggled as the bird strutted about with the pin. She could see making some shiny trinkets just for the birds to gather and keep. Maybe the cast-offs of one project or another, maybe she could even make them battle armor if she ever got good enough, or sigils and the like. They began their story and she shook her head, "That silly bear! It's good you got saved from his pointy teeth! He'd a good snuggler." She nodded.

"Wylan, as long as you are safe, you know your brother will tell you not to jump off any cliffs to test your skills anytime soon." She smiled, hopefully it'll convey she was only mildly serious, and thought he would know better than that.

"Pleased to meet you Krakarak! I'll be back to work now!" She dipped her head in farewell and placed her goggles back on again. Ready to continue her work and keep her mind and paws busy!

"Speech"

Krakarak

A good snuggler? Pah! He wouldn't dare get so close to the beast! He might end up losing some tail feathers for his trouble. No, he was perfectly content sitting on Wylan's shoulder or flying up above. Speaking of sitting on shoulders, his carriage awaited. He flapped his wings and flew over to his furry, black perch. He placed his pin carefully in a taloned foot so that he could free up his beak for speaking again. "Ya, ya, Krakarak keep him safe! He expert flier! Krak! He expert safety-bird!" Sure, sure, it would be no trouble at all. As soon as he showed progress, he could do the advanced stuff. For now, it was trying to practice the flapping technique and no jumps further than a stump or a small hill.

"Make all the shinies!" He said to Iggy, after she said she'd get back to work. It was his encouragement... because he'd certainly be back to look at her stuff another time!

He leaned forward, peering down over Wylan's head to try to look at him in the eyes. "Where we go next? Krak?" He enjoyed his tour-giving-heir-wolf.

"Kaw!"

Images © Vlad Bagacian, Rilvin | Coding © Plymouth

Krakarak returned to his back, and Wylan grinned at the little weight he felt on his shoulders. He liked having Krak here, a constant friend at his side. He was pleased that Krak seemed to enjoy being there just as much.

Heh. He would remember to keep any potential cliff-jumps to himself and Krak in that case. No point worrying the others silly, not when he was working on something so important. The ability to fly.

“Alright bye Ignita! Don’t work too hard!” he told his friend before he turned from the smithy and trotted back towards the supply cave. “So, as I was saying before… to the right of this cave you can find supplies, like coats and food. To he left, a little further in there are heated pools. There's a nice shallow one first!” he explained trotting into the cave to show the bird what he was talking about.

He arrived at the little paddling pool. This one was a nice, warm temperature that was easily safe for pups. It was also very shallow, and he trotted into the water, letting it lick his toes.


"Wylan Fatalis"

Krakarak

As Wylan talked and walked, Krakarak would turn his head to look at the things he indicated. His head cocked this way and that, inquisitive and keen. Items, yes yes, then the pools that he'd mentioned before. Warm water. It sounded quite nice actually. He eagerly clacked his beak as Wylan drew them closer and closer to the water.

He cawed excitedly and then launched himself from Wylan's back to land in the water. He splashed about, plopping himself down to get the warm water all over his iridescent feathers. "Is nice water! Krak! Very warm! Feels good on feathers! Krak!" He dipped his beak down to get the water all over his face then lifted his head to shake in a very sudden motion. "You like the waters? Krak? You splash around a lot?" Was this one of Wylan's favorite spots to be?

"Kaw!"

Images © Vlad Bagacian, Rilvin | Coding © Plymouth

“Yeah, this is one of the best places to be in Winter.” he said agreebly to Krakarak. He stepped further into the water, though it still didn’t cover much of him. It was for pups, and he was already a very large wolf. But it felt warm on his toes, and he could see that Krak was having fun.

“Does it take long for you to dry when you get wet?” He asked. It wasn’t great for the wolves to head back into the Col too wet in winter, and he wondered if it was the same for the Raven. While he squished his toes through the water, he thought of what he needed to show Krak next, which was mainly the beach.

"Wylan Fatalis"

Krakarak

Splash! Splash! Splash! Water was sprinkled all over his body. Nice warm water, that would rapidly start to chill with the winter air but shhh, he wasn't thinking about that right now. Instead, he was focused on how wonderful the water felt as well as splashing it with his feet now that he'd properly gotten his feathers wet.

"Take long? Krak?" He tilted his head to one side, narrowing his eyes as he thought about it. Surely his feathers would take no longer than Wylan's fur, right? Actually, he assumed his feathers would dry much faster than fur. That stuff always seemed so weird to him. Nice and soft, yes, but weird to someone covered fully in feathers. "Shorter than fur! Krak!" Based on absolutely nothing but his own opinion, of course. "Is bright sun. Dry fast. Is no sun then is taking longer. Krak Krak!" But how long? He clacked his beak together thoughtfully. "Krak thinking half of quarter of day! Krak Krak! If no sun." Yeah, that sounded about right.

Now properly watered up, he flapped his wings and flew back up to Wylan's shoulders. Nestling in between the blades to absorb body heat while he puffed up his feathers contentedly. "Fur take longer, ya? Krak? Whole day for drying?" He felt he was becoming so very educated on canines. He would be an expert before he even knew it.

"Kaw!"

Images © Vlad Bagacian, Rilvin | Coding © Plymouth