A small bonfire blazed on the shore of the Rio Grande where they had made a temporary camp. Álarr had opted to escort Valentine and his young charges for at least part of their journey. In the meantime he would offer to share what he knew in regards to healing. However, much of it could be taxing on young pups. He wanted to hold a lesson on something more fun to make and incredibly useful for a healer. Ceramic bowls. He had several clumps of clay. Already beaten and molded into balls and the air bubbles worked out.

While he busied setting up a work station his companions tended to the fire. Once the pups pots were dry he could set about getting them fired. Álarr tipped back his head and called for Ulmaria and Ivy. From what he'd heard these were the two that were interested in healing.

Ulmaria was playing tag with her fishing cat companion. They bounded along the edge of the river until she heard her uncle call. Hmm, what did he want? She hoped it was for a healing or fighting lesson and not something boring like chores or cleaning up a mess she'd made. She turned around and started heading back to the camp site, noting the smoke rising into the still air. That was a good sign it was for a healing lesson but when she arrived it wasn't to the site of plants but strange balls of what looked like some sort of mud. Her tail started wagging. Oh goody, were they going to get dirty today?

Ivy's attention span was already thin at best. At worst? Well, there was a reason he spent more time getting into fights that he couldn't really win with his siblings. It had bruised his ego (and his shoulder, ow), but he was no worse for it. What was it that they said? It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the fight in the dog? Something like that. There was a hell of a lot of fight in Ivy... still, he'd come up short more often than not. One of the smaller pups, but not short on tenacity.

Still, there was a thought in his head about healing too. Uncle Álarr had taught them about dandelions, something that Ivy couldn't help but find fascinating. Who woulda thought that plants could do so many different things? If he could learn how to heal, then he'd be able to bail Lo out when things got... sticky. That was the most important thing, at least for now, in his head. Ivy had been napping when the call came, and he stumbled awake at the sound. Ugh sitting still sounded like a lot right now. Somewhat begrudgingly, the boy trotted towards the fire, giving a big yawn before speaking. "What're we doin'?" He peered curiously at the lumps of clay before his uncle, head quirking to the side.

"Speech"

Once both pups arrived Álarr got straight down to business. He set a paw gently upon one of the balls of clay and another on a finished ceramic pot. "Thank you both for coming. I am making clay bowls and thought you might like to join me. Bowls are a useful tool for a healer. You can mix poultices, tea, and ointments in them. I have a ball of clay here for each of you." He gestured to the remaining two balls of clay. "Once we have them shaped we can let them air dry. After that Afi and I will fire them. There's no real specifics to forming the shape. Use whatever method you find best. I've already worked out the air bubbles." Hence the round shape of the clay. Álarr took a paw and pressed it right into the middle of the clay ball he had, stopping short of going all the way through before he started to press the walls away from the center.

Ulmaria waited patiently and grinned when Ivy arrived. It was nice to have someone else around to learn with her. She settled down and listened as Álarr explained that they would be making clay bowls. She leaned forward to get a better look. She'd often wondered about the bowls she'd seen him carry around and assumed they were gathered from somewhere. She didn't realize you could actually make them. Reaching out she snagged the nearest clay ball for herself. She watched Álarr for a moment then jammed her paw into it. It had a strange firm yet soft texture. "Like this?" She asked. Ulmaria wanted to be sure she was doing this at least some what right.

Álarr made quick work of explaining what they'd be doing with the lumps of clay, and that was enough for Ivy. Curiously, he neared the healer and inspected the lump of clay beneath his paw, and then turned his attention to the finished ceramic bowl. The stringy boy gave a sniff. Strange, but also... sorta neat. They'd need to be... fired. Huh? Fired? Ivy did his best to follow along though, scooping one of the balls of clay up and mushing it around with a combination of his nose and his paws.

"Why'da we need to light them on fire?" Ivy looked to the healer for a moment before peering back at the clay. He poked at it and prodded, looking to the example bowl and then his own. At this point, it felt like more clay was sticking to his paws than anything else. That was okay though. Ivy liked the way it squished, and the way it gave as he molded it and played with it. Hmm... okay, sure. His brow rumpled as he continued to prod and poke, starting to coax the lump into something that had sides, at least.
"Words"

Álarr turned to Ivy as the boy asked a good question about firing clay pots. "Firing the pots changes the way the clay holds together so that it holds water better. If you just leave your pots in the air and then fill them with water it will moisten the clay and cause it to lose its shape over time." An unfired pot could still be useful short term of course but he hoped to aid the pups in making something that would last few a through more uses.

Álarr used his paw pads to lightly smooth the outside of his own bowl. He pushed the walls out a bit farther until he had a decent bowl shape. His experience helped him move quickly and he paused every now and then to watch the pups. Ulmaria asked how she was doing and he nodded. "Yes, you're getting the hang of it. Try pushing the walls out a bit farther so you have more room to work. "

Ulmaria grinned at Ivy as he asked about the fire and she gazed curiously at Álarr as he explained why. "Can you come get us when you light them on fire? I wanna see." She didn't know how you could even light clay on fire but she didn't want to miss out on something like that. It sounded really neat. Speaking of fire. "Can you show us to make fire some time too?" So far she'd seen Álarr use fire quite a bit in making teas and now in making bowls and it was something she wanted to learn.

Ulmaria's nimble paws moved around the clay, shaping it and pushing the walls out farther until she had an irregular bowl shaped up. It was a bit wonky looking but she was proud of herself.

Ivy nodded along as his uncle spoke, prodding at the clay lump with his nose and paws. Poking, pulling, shaping, all of it. The texture was weird, and he wasn't sure that he liked it against his nose and paws, but it was also pretty fun. Álarr, for his part, was damn near a saint-- answering the incessant questions of Ivy (and the others, too) with grace... how did he manage it?

The pup narrowed his eyes to get a better look at what the older man was doing with his paws. Smoothing. As Ivy went to smooth the edges of his own bowl in a similar fashion, he managed to smoosh one edge in. A soft growl of frustration in his throat, but of course it was his own damn fault. Still. He's still and a little cranky as he coaxes the raggedy edge back into place. It was working yes, but why was he so bad at it? Well, what's a little self doubt to add some sparkle to his crafting project. Still, Ulmaria's question of building fires has Ivy's head snapping up in excitement. "Yeah, I wanna watch, and I wanna build fires too! Big ones!" The excitement shone through from the pup, eyes glimmering.

Fire is cool, after all.

"Speech"