GOT AN ANGEL ON MY SHOULDER But the devil always won... Autumn at the lake was quickly becoming one of of Harbringr's favorite things. It was so calm and cool and the morning sunlight felt so good in contrast to the crispness of the air. They had less than a month before winter started moving in and Hari reckoned it would be even less than that. The autumn had been unusually cool and winter seemed intent on moving in at a rapid pace. With fuel in his jaws he moved back to the kiln that Ari had constructed out of clay. It had been built with palm fibers to strengthen the clay and he had hot coals burning at the base with the opening facing out towards him and not up so as to keep as much heat as possible. Another clay slab had been set up so that it could be rolled in and out of the kiln. Upon it lay the metal rod that Harbringr was trying to soften so that it could be worked. In truth Ari, his macaque, would do most of the metal work with a small metal hammer while Har instructed in regards to what he was looking for. Since the discovery of the Veteran's Plateau a wealth of opportunities had opened up and he was anxious and excited to see what he could do.

Wolfpaw lake was quickly becoming Pestilence's favorite place to explore - the trees and grass and water was just beautiful and relaxing, much moreso then the ravine which most of the wolves had their dens. She pranced about the tall grass around the lake, popping onto boulders to make it that much easier to steal a good view before hopping back down to chase rabbits, run laps, or - today - sneak up on Uncle Hari. The small pup crouched super-stealthily and slithered through the grass, dark head poking up over the foliage to scout the terrain ahead. Hari and his companion were in the middle of something that looked very important, the monkey holding a hammer and the Klein giving directions to the creature. Pestilence got the best idea ever, creeping up as close behind as she could to the pair. Once she thought she was close enough, she leaped forward with the intent to close her front paws around the monkey's long thin tail. "ROAR!" The pup did her best to deepen her shrill voice, surely her bear impression was as flawless as could be and it would send the companion sky-high with fear. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

GOT AN ANGEL ON MY SHOULDER But the devil always won... Harbringr carefully pulled the rod back as Ari moved in to start pounding the glowing orange part flat. Hari couldn't help but feel jealous of the monkey's hands. It wasn't fair. Why couldn't he have thumbs to? When the metal began to cool to much then Harbringr would push it back in to heat it up some more so that Ari could continue to work. They were making good progress and soon the ape had a nicely shaped blade which he was working the edge of to sharpen it a bit more. Ideally they'd be able to grind the edge into something even sharper but he wasn't sure how to do that yet. He planned a trip back to the plateau and toward other human infested areas to see if he could glean their secrets. In the mean time he would just have to make do with what he had. Harbringr had just finished pulling the rod out again when he heard the rustle of movement, something smaller than a bear thank goodness. Hari was getting thoroughly sick of the beasts he couldn't wait til winter. He released the rod and just as he was about to turn his head, his niece jumped out with a roar. Hari stumbled back feigning fear. "Ack! What is this! Has a bandit come to steal our wares?"

Well her sneak attack might have not stuck terror in the hearts of monkeys, but her uncle sure got the idea. Pesto lifted her head proudly at his obvious fright, a dastardly smile upon her face. "Yes!" She confirmed boldly. "I will steal, uh - that thing - unless you can teach me what it's for." The pup gestured a paw towards the rod. "If your information is valuable then perhaps I will let you both live!" The princess' tail wagged slowly behind her, betraying her attempt at being sinister. Though really she didn't see the point in whatever Uncle Hari was doing nor could she think of a reason she'd want the weird stick... but she really was having fun being a bandit. She had to think of a super cool name, maybe she could be a pirate and have her uncle craft her an eye patch to use when she played. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

GOT AN ANGEL ON MY SHOULDER But the devil always won... The macaque continued to ignore the wolves as he worked before tapping Hari on the shoulder and gesturing to a mark made several inches from the butt end of the blade. Hari nodded and quickly turned his attention back to his darling niece. He feigned horror at her words. "You would steal my knife? What I have been slaving over all day?!" The monkey resisted the urge to glare at Harbringr since, curteousy of his opposable thumbs, he was doing most of the work. Though he had to admit most of the kiln had been Hari's idea. He'd give the wolf that much. Ari diligently worked on the knife scoring it and using a pliers to pluck the knife from the rod before quenching it in liquified animal fats. "Yes, yes, we will tell you everything you wish to know. What we are making is called a knife. It is a sharp piece of metal that is stronger than bone. It can be used to wound your enemies. Though at the moment it is very hot." Deathbelle would have quite a string of words to say to him if he let Pestilence touch a hot metal blade.

Pestilence listened with interest as her uncle explained the uses of his odd creation, head tilting slightly. Why would a wolf need a knife? They had teeth and claws, surely that was better for wounding your enemies was it not? However, as any pup might think - 'if he has, I want' - and Pesto was determined to acquire a weapon just like uncle had. She might get in trouble from mom and dad if she outright stole this one, especially if it was too hot to take like he said. The small pup eyed the blade suspiciously, as if wondering if Uncle Hari was lying to her about it to stop her thievery. "Sometimes rocks get hot and I still lay on them." She told him, not quite understanding how heat could pose such a danger to her. "But very well! You may keep your 'knife' for now. Though I will need you to make me one if you want to keep your tail attached to you!" It sounded much cooler to threaten his limbs, but Pesto couldn't reach that high. She definitely had a better chance at tearing off a tail then a leg. Just grab and pull, right? Pestilence was beginning to think she was an excellent negotiator. Maybe father was right and she did have some sort of divinity inside her, otherwise how did she learn to threaten people so accurately and fiercely? "Also, I'll need an eyepatch. That can be the price of your monkey keeping his tail." She added for good measure. Screw being a princess, it was so much more fun to be a bandit. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

It's a tremor!

The liquefied animal fat burbles and sizzles as the hot knife is plunged into it. If it had been still, one might have seen small ripples forming across its surface. A few embers on the fire stir. Then, just barely, the ground's shaking may be felt by an animal's paws. The shaking grows just enough to make anyone present feel uneasy, but quickly subsides. The aftershocks are even smaller, barely rippling the surface of any nearby liquids.

GOT AN ANGEL ON MY SHOULDER But the devil always won... He smiled as she tried to bargain by mentioning about the hot rocks. "Ah but this is the sort of hot that can cause grass to catch on fire." He regretted the words the moment they were out of his mouth. Hopefully the girl wasn't going to ask about a demonstration. Thankfully she moved right onto bargaining and he was pleased to see her working on her skills at negotiation. "Of course! We will get started on another right away. I believe we still have some metal left?" Ari held up what was left of the rod and stared at Harbringr as if to ask if he was serious about making another knife. Did he really want to give a knife to a child? Surely the empress would have something to say about this. Harbringr just stared back until the macaque knew the other man was serious. Ari sighed and stuck the metal rod back into the opening of the kiln before stirring the coals and throwing in a bit more wood. Hari resisted the urge to chuckle at the mention of the eyepatch. "Certainly! That is something we can manage. I have a selection of fine leathers." He started to move back over toward the deer hide bundle that held a number of his trinkets when suddenly the earth began to shake. Harbringr stumbled but managed to keep his balance, he whipped around and raced over to his niece. Thankfully the tremors stopped soon after he reached her. "Are you ok?" He heard a frustrated shriek and turned to see Ari frowning deeply at the kiln. "It has a crack in it Harbringr, I don't dare heat it up again. This is your fault, I hope you know." Harbringr scowled and moved over to the monkey, he could see the crack clearly and knew the kiln was a bust. They'd have to rebuild a new one from scratch. "I fail to see how this is my fault. I didn't make the earth shake." The monkey bore his teeth and lowered his voice. "No, but I know you've been dealing with spirits and their ilk in the night when the moon goes dark. Accept it. They will not be turning Costanza back into a wolf." "Like you would know," Hari said airily before turning back to his niece. "Alas, brave bandit, it seems we can't make you a knife. I will still make your eye patch and with the permission of the Empress of Ashen I will give you my knife."

Pestilence watched the monkey and the wolf stare each other down until the former gave in and her grin widened. Uncle Hari would do anything for her, that she knew. It was so much fun being a Klein. Her tiny paws tapped excitedly upon the ground as he agreed to her demands. She was going to get a knife and an eyepatch! Uncle Hari might even be cooler then Sirius. Maybe she could use that information to extort a lesson in fighting out of the bodyguard. Suddenly then the ground began to shake and Pesto cried out with fear. Not again! The tremor wasn't as strong as the time she'd last felt it - with her sister Venom - but perhaps it only seemed that way because she could look on Harbringr and see that he was not falling to the ground and so it must be small. He moved over to her quickly but the earth's shake had stopped by the time he approached. The pup looked up at him with worry and fear, begging him with her eyes to explain what had just happened and to promise that it would never happen again. Harbringr's companion began to speak out against him, blaming him for the shaking. Pestilence fluffed up in anger and she stomped over to the monkey. "STOP BULLYING MY UNCLE." She demanded, lips upturning in a puppy snarl. "IT'S YOUR FAULT." To be true, it was nobodies fault but Pestilence didn't know that. The princess only knew to fling blame and if the monkey was insinuating that her Uncle Harbringr would have anything to do with this mess, then the monkey must be involved. Her logic was sound. She ran back to her uncle after her outburst, weaving between his front legs and leaning against them. He still was playing with her, calling her bandit and offering her the knife. The pup's emotions were on end and she struggled to get back into character, her voice coming off uncertain but trying. "I will accept your knife."She ignored the part about 'if the Empress says so' because Pestilence was a bandit and bandits beat Empresses. "Also yes, the eyepatch." "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

GOT AN ANGEL ON MY SHOULDER But the devil always won... Harbringr let out a laugh as Pestinlence came to his defense and gave Ari a talking to. The macaque was so surprised he couldn't even gather himself up for a response. He looked between Harbringr and the girl and back again. When he finished laughing he shook his head. "It is no one's fault. Sometimes the earth just gets a stomach ache and starts to shaking." That was what he was told as a pup anyway so he figured he may as well pass the knowledge along. Harbringr set about packing his items up. "Let's head back to the ravine. We'll ask the Empress about the knife and I can get all the things we need for your eyepatch. Both items should be ready for you in a fortnight." Of course he still needed Belle's approval but perhaps if a metal knife was out of the question he could create one out of wood for practice or make sure the blade on a metal one was dull enough that she was unlikely to injure herself accidentally. -exit if that's ok?-