The flood had stolen so much from the Armada, including lives, but the wolves of the northern reaches will always persevere. They, as a pack, have rebuilt and most of the wolves that had been injured or sick as a result of the incident have healed. Most of them. When Andy had learned that her big brother, Stratum, had broken a leg rescuing others, the lavender woman had been determined to help him feel better. It had taken her some time to get back on her paws and even more to craft the volcanic dagger that she had presented to her father but now, she knows exactly what to do for her brother. When she had put out feelers to see if anyone else who like to learn about forging weapons, Wylan had expressed interest as did a newer edition to the pack by the name of Lefty. On the day she planned the lesson, the purple wolf had sent word to each one of about where the lesson would be and when to show up. Early in the morning, she had gone to Stratum’s forge and lit the fire and Andy has spent the precious time that is needed to stoke it until it is ready to heat metal. Her companions help by manning the bellows as she carefully rakes the coals and now she double checks to make sure that the temperature is where to needs be. Pawsteps draw her attention away from the fire and she sets the rake down so she can turn toward the entrance of the cave and greet her students. Heat fills the room and Andy is fairly certain that it can be felt throughout this side of warrens. As the small group enters, she users them closer with an excited smile and asks, “Who is ready to learn how to fold steel?” Pale blue eyes drift across their faces, lingering on Stratum a little longer than the others as she offers her injured sibling a wink. This is his lesson, after all. "Andromeda Fatalis"

Lefty is not so new anymore. They have adjusted, and despite their rank, they carry themselves with pride and control. They do not bow and scrape. They complete their tasks.

But this? Why, it's something Lefty knows how to do, and she feels a simmer of appreciation in her chest. The blue wolf has been lingering about the forge as of late... this, they know, could easily help them. They could use their time with the lesson to learn to work Steel in this forge.

All forges, after all, were different. Lefty grins as the woman asks a question, and they speak: "I know, but... this should be a practical way to learn this forge." An admission of both knowledge and ignorance. "Back home, I forged weapons and armor." They missed the work.

"Speech"

With little to do besides wait, idle in his recovery, Stratum had become decidedly ornery. So when his dear sister had requested his presence at his forge, there had been a part of the Fatalis warrior that had considered not showing. He was tired and sore and cranky about being injured. Yet, when he heard the shuffling of paws and caught the scent of smoldering cinders.. well. It couldn't hurt to check out what Andy had in mind for him today. So the gilded behemoth dragged himself to his paws, his bulk unsteady on his uneven legs, and waddled slowly out into the tunnels. As he trundled into his forge, there was already an unfamiliar face present. A blue tinted wolf, decidedly smaller than himself and even Andy, but respectably muscled. He casts a quizzical glance his sister's way, lifting a brow as he took a few slow paces closer to his littermate. She has offered a lesson, something useful to pass his time. He can't help but smile lightly, his foul mood beginning to lift.

"I may need to relinquish my forge at this rate, Andy." he teased, carefully shifting his weight to bump against her shoulder with his own. He did catch the tail end of the stranger's comment, that they were more than familiar with the task at hand. Regardless, he made a point to examine the lavender girl's work. The coals were piping hot, and there were a few errant flames licking at the air in the belly of the stone forge. The raw materials were nearby, if Andy hadn't brought her own. He carefully tucks the coal rake out of the way, hearing the sound of lighter, quicker paws headed their way. One of his little cousins, whose injury in the bounds of his forge would likely grant Stratum a truly legendary beating- at the bare minimum.

"Ready when you are," the titan drawled, the rumbling baritones deceptively quiet for the size of him. "the forge is yours for the day." the words pass his lips with a fondness, and he submits himself to his sister's tutelage willingly and readily.

"Speech"

She caught wind of a little weapon forging lesson that her older cousin was putting on and she was never one to turn down the chance to learn something different. She did kind of invite herself along with her brother, but surely they wouldn't mind, right? But then when she got up to go meet up with Andromeda in the morning for this lesson Wylan ended up not feeling up to going so instead of a plus one she turned into filling her brother's place so she supposed her intrusion worked out in the end. She filed in with Stratum and Lefty, giving Andy a grin before she looked over at the forge and the materials that had been gathered together for today. She blinked with surprise at the idea of folding steel. It had never really occurred to her about how the weapons some of them used were made, but the idea of folding something as hard as steel was hard to wrap her head around. It sounded like Stratum and Lefty had more experience with this kind of thing than she did, but she still nodded eagerly all the same to Andy asking if they were ready to learn. That much she was very ready for.

"Wynter Fatalis"

Andy stands near the carefully tended forge, watching as the wolves enter one by one. To the slate-hued wolf that is first to appear, she offers a warm smile and her brows raise as they speak of forging weapons and armor where they come from. Pale blue eyes sparkle with delight as she says, “Well then, I will need your help. You know how to keep the coal at the correct temperature, right? Would you mind taking charge of them?” The smile that curves her lips is excited and her words are genuine because, while they may hold the rank of slave, all wolves that wish to learn and help the pack will always be welcomed at her lessons. Next to arrive was the one that she had arranged this special lesson for and she scoffs lightly at his words. Horned head gives a gentle shake as she leans into the shoulder bump and softly says, “Never. I am just hijacking it for one day. After that, it will be all yours again.” Quietly she waits as he inspects her work, brows lifting in the silent question of, ‘How did I do?’. His rumbled reply of readiness and the handing over of the forge for the day has her bowing her head in respect as she softly replies, “I promise to take great care of it.” The last to arrive is one of her nieces and Andy offers the girl a bright smile as she quickly settles in. With everyone gathered, Andy looks to her brother Stratum and says, “First, before we begin, there is something special that I have brought for you, Stratum.” Standing, she moves to the side of the cave where a fur has been hiding a large box from view. Carefully, she pulls the fur off, depositing it beside the huge trunk so she can lift the lid and step aside. In the chest, lovingly cleaned, polished, and discreetly fitted just for Stratum are all of Ruga’s blacksmithing tools. Looking to her huge sibling, she softly says, “I know he would have wanted you to have them. May they keep the Armada well-fitted and able to fight for years to come.” A somber tone has settled in the cave as Andy offers up the tools of their late blacksmith but she knows that Stratum will take wonderful care of them. With that done, she quickly moves to where the raw materials that she has prepared are and says, “First things first, for those that do not know me, my name is Andromeda and I will your teacher today.” A wink is tossed at the group as she pulls out three different sections of steel and lifts the heavy items up to lay across the anvil so that all the wolves can inspect them while she talks, “Folding steel helps to remove impurities that may have settled into the steel during the smelting process and greatly strengthens weapons. To forge a strong blade, the blacksmith needs to choose three different types of steel to start with. I have already done this part for us. This one,” paw points to the first of the metals, “is a low carbon iron. It has already been folded several times and this will make up the core of our blade.” Paw then moves to indicate the other two as she says, “This one is a high-carbon steel while this one is a higher-carbon cast-iron. We will slowly be folding the three metals together today over a period of time. First, let’s get these heating up.” With that, Andy takes the ends of each one that has been wrapped in thick swathes of leather and moves them to fire, where she buries them one by one into the coals. Huffing, she looks to Stratum and says, “You’ll be doing the hammering part brother, so you might want to get out that hammer and get it ready.” Amusement sparkles in her eyes as she then looks to Wynter and says, “Come over here, I want you to watch us from right here, okay? Don’t get too close or the sparks might try to bite you.” Directing the girl to a safer space to view the process that will take place soon, Andy then asks the group, “Are there any questions I can answer for you guys?” Keeping her ears perked, the lavender girl moves to the slowly heating up pieces of steel and rotates them as she listens for any questions that they might have. "Andromeda Fatalis"