After the tribe's birthday celebrations, Claudius had decided it was time for him to get out of the den more. After all, without his mother here, he had to fend for himself for the first time in his life. Where Tayui had given Attila and Oce plenty of space to grow and live, she had coddled him and Noir for their whole lives. She had appreciated Claudiuses love of learning too much, and now, he was only beginning to discover what he could do on his own. It was a rough journey, but he hoped if he met more AniWayans, he could make some friends and hopefully, someday, go on a real tribe hunt. He looked forward to it, since he had only been on a few.

However, his fears made it very difficult to muster the motivation. Just walking through the forest had been difficult enough. With all the sights and sounds, he wanted to run scurrying back to his den. And he had the last few days, too: today was the first day he’d walked this far out. He felt quite proud of himself, but knew his efforts were doomed to failure. The world was just too scary!

He jumped at the sound of a loud crack! and immediately doubled back. He darted behind a tree and surveyed his surroundings, but could not see anything. He rested his clawed hand on the tree bark and drummed his fingers lightly against the surface. This time, unlike the other days, curiosity propelled him forward; but there was still an ever-present tug of fear pulling him backwards. He moved closer, ever so slowly, in an attempt to build up his courage. Once he was closer, he emerged from behind a particularly sturdy oak tree in time to see a luperci – probably an AniWayan – fall back as his branches got caught. Claudius winced in sympathy at the impact and jogged closer.

“What are you doing?” he inquired. He stood in awkward contrapposto with his arms dangling uselessly at his sides.

Claudius flinched when the other wolf spoke, not expecting this wolf to have such a strong voice. Loud noises – and loud voices especially – always served to startle Claudius no matter how attentive he was. Once Nian continued to speak, Claudius found that he was not as startled by it, but he felt somewhat embarrassed to know that he had reacted in such a way. He perked his ears up when the wolf mentioned he was building something. Given that Claudius was in the craftsman tier of the tribe, he would have thought he would know how to build things like this, especially since he was two years old already. Alas, his skills were confined to dying, which he supposed was a type of craft. He had a small hope that perhaps if he helped this wolf build his den he would learn enough to eventually assist Hemming. Wait, was Hemming even a member of AniWaya anymore? Claudius knew he had helped Dawali build the meeting building, but he didn’t know if the older wolf was still around. He tried not to think about this and instead tried to focus on the conversation at hand. He got distracted far too easily.

Claudius followed the other wolf’s gaze as he looked down at the pile of wood and perked his ears forward as the wolf enunciated his difficulties. He could see how this would pose a problem. Claudius considered offering his help, but didn’t know how useful he would be. He wasn’t too active and didn’t have the muscle mass of most males. He wasn’t scrawny; he just hadn’t been very interested in leaving the den when he was younger. Consequently, a lifetime – albeit short – of lazy decisions left him with a less than impressive muscle mass.

When the wolf asked him about his membership in AniWaya, he felt himself droop a little. He had been a member for a while, but it didn’t show at all. He perked up when the other wolf introduced himself as Nian and Claudius figured he probably should do the same.

“N-no,” he blurted out, somewhat morosely. “I’ve lived here for two years. I’m C-c-claudius. A-aston.”

Nian’s smile would only make his stutter worse, he knew it. Whenever he felt awkward, uncomfortable, ashamed, or guilty, his stammer presented itself with such a strong force that it made it tough to properly say anything at all. Luckily, it was not too bad today; however, the more he thought about it, the worse it would get. Claudius nodded quickly in response when Nian ran through the pleasantries much more elegantly than Claudius could have ever hoped to. He winced when Nian tried to placate him and brought his right arm up to rest his hand on his left elbow, clenching it uncomfortably. He knew Nian was just trying to make him feel better, but he still didn’t really feel too comfortable around other males. Dawali was probably the only exception. Nonetheless, he kept nodding until Nian stopped speaking, trying to act respectful.

“O-okay,” he replied, a little late. He turned to see the thin branches Nian was referring to. He flicked his ears back and then forward as he walked toward them. He crouched down and gathered them in his arms, straightened up, and then sought out the other wolf. He walked over to where he was and quickly added: “now what?”

Claudius nodded quickly once Nian finished explaining where they were headed. He re-adjusted his load by shifting it higher up in his arms and then continued walking. He hurried to catch up to Nian, but didn’t miss much: the other wolf’s voice carried well enough so he was able to follow their conversation easily.

He frowned in concentration as Nian explained his vision, but couldn’t quite grasp the concept. Perhaps once they got there it would make more sense. Claudius wasn’t too good at understanding words – he was much better with written words, displays, diagrams, and illustrations. He supposed that was why he had taken to reading books so quickly.

“Maybe it’ll m-make more s-s-sense when w-we get there,” he replied helpfully. He realized he had just volunteered himself to help build the structure – however they would do it – but he didn’t really mind. Even though these woods were rather menacing in the winter, with all of the leaves gone and the branches bared, he supposed it was a lot less scary when he was with someone. He supposed that was something to be thankful for.

He shook his head and hurried to catch up to Nian, though he didn’t have far to go. Nian was walking at a comfortable pace so even with his occasional thought, Claudius didn’t lag too far behind.

Claudius was confused once they stopped walking; the ‘structure’ he was looking at certainly did not look very much like a house. He glanced at Nian to see if he would say anything, but his companion was silent. When Nian dumped his pile of branches, Claudius stepped around him to do the same. He crouched down and set his sticks beside Nian’s pile, not wanting to disturb anything. He stood up again and turned to the other AniWayan, focusing his attention on the wolf as he began to speak. Claudius nodded quickly in response to show that he was listening. When Nian moved to grab a branch, he quickly stepped out of the wolf’s way to see what he was going to do. Claudius could see Nian’s plan a bit more clearly now that he was standing there – and now that Nian was showing him – but he didn’t want to mess this up. He nodded again as Nian explained where the poles would line up and explained how they would have to be placed at an angle.

Claudius folded his arms across his chest as Nian began to work, watching as Nian pushes the poles into the ground. He frowned when he saw what Nian was doing. Shouldn’t they be in deeper? What if it floods?

“Will that be d-d-deep enough? W-what about s-shifts in the ground as the g-ground unthaws in the s-spring?” He wanted to help Nian, but he wasn’t sure if this would work. He didn’t want to help someone build a home that wouldn’t last, afterall!

Claudius considered Nian’s question and felt the weight of responsibility on his shoulders. He knew if he provided wrong, false, or ignorant information, it would be his fault if the structure did not last until spring. At the same time, the winter was not the best time to build anything that went into the ground because it was so cold and hard to drive a stake deep enough. AniWaya itself was in an area characterized by typical Nova Scotia soil: it was very sandy and had many podzols underlying most well-drained areas. Claudius had also read about something called ‘acid rain’, but had not understood the concept. All he knew was that Serena Reserve had once been severely affected by it, whatever it was.

He nodded sombrely when Nian admitted defeat and blushed slightly – though it was not visible through his thick winter coat – when Nian offered him something of a compliment. He frowned when Nian claimed he was a poor builder; he certainly had to be better than Claudius, who had no skills in this area! Claudius frowned and considered Nian’s question. He half-uncrossed his arms so he could support his right elbow with his left hand and tap his chin thoughtfully with his right index finger.

“Well,” he began, losing his stutter as he concentrated. “You won’t get far. The soil is probably frozen. And it’s really sandy, too. And coarse.” He considered his next words, thinking about the depth that would be required for his stakes. “We should probably try not to drive them into the ground and save that for the summer. But in the summer, we could dig up some of the human fence and see how deep that was. We could use the human depth for your stakes, since they’re kinda like a fence.” The more he thought about it, the more it made sense: they would need to lash the branches together near the ground, but not in it. They could stuff it with the smaller branches Claudius had carried and also with dirt and whatever else they could find. Moss would be best, he thought, but it was the wrong time of year for that.

Nian’s ready acceptance of Claudiuses suggestions made the rest of his anxiety subside for a moment. Even though he had not ventured in this direction in a long time, if ever, he was feeling a lot better about himself now that he knew Nian wasn’t going to laugh at him like Attila would have. Claudius liked this about Nian: he was not condescending, and Claudius suspected that if he did say something wrong – which he hoped he wouldn’t – Nian wouldn’t take it as an opportunity to make fun of him.

Claudius nodded quickly in response and gave Nian a big grin. He was right! It was a lovely feeling. Perhaps all that reading had paid off for something. Nian scurried to the corner of his den and found some thin rope and then gestured to the ledge overhanging his den. Although it looked a bit scary, he was a lot taller than he had been when he was a puppy and the fall didn’t scare him as much as it would have. He nodded again and trotted around the back of Nian’s den to climb on top of the ledge. He scrambled to the top of the ledge and tried not to think about how new, strange, and kind of scary this was.

“Okay, I’m ready. Pass me the rope when you have the branches ready.” He held out his hand over the ledge, but didn't keep it outstretched. He relaxed it and let it hang off the ledge so he didn't look impatient.

Nian organized the branches and looked like he was pondering something for a moment. After that split second, he handed Claudius the rope and suggested Claudius start working on the wall. Claudius fumbled with the string for a few seconds, concentrating deeply, before he got it all worked out and unravelled.

“Okay,” Claudius agreed quickly. He began to experiment with knots and re-arranged the sticks a few times to create the perfect wall. As Claudius worked, Nian interjected. Claudius flinched, not expecting the sudden question. He had been so lost in his own world that this simple little question had shocked him right out of it! He fumbled with his string again and tried to force himself to focus on one thing at a time. He finished trying a knot and then looked up at Nian to respond.

“Yeah, I was born here two years ago. My mom and brother are in another pack, Anathema. My mom left a few weeks ago and… I didn’t want to, so I stayed. I have a sister, but she disappeared. She was always rather flaky and very irresponsible, so she’s probably off doing… something.” He shrugged, and then added: “but I still have Dawali. He’s been kind of a father to me. I haven’t seen him much recently though. But when I was younger, he would help out a lot. My aunt and cousin were here for a bit too, but they left a few months ago.” He frowned and then added, mid-knot: “what about you?”

Claudius nodded sadly when Nian explained that he didn’t have any family in AniWaya. He supposed he should be happy that he had some family, even if they were a few days’ journey away. He also supposed it would be a lot faster if he had a horse, but he was far too afraid of even being near one to actually ride one. His brother Attila had been much better with horses, but the mere idea of riding a horse scared Claudius. He didn’t want to think about it.

He nodded again when Nian expounded on his family’s whereabouts. The United States! Claudius had read about that place in his books. He also remembered reading that a long time ago, the United States and Canada had fought a war which both sides claimed to have won. He couldn’t really remember where Arizona was, but he knew it wasn’t in Canada at least. So he just nodded, knowing that Nian’s family was very far away.

Once Claudius was done tying up the branches, they were back to business. Nian began working on the bottom of the wall and Claudius poked his head over the ledge to see what he was doing. He listened as Nian explained their next plans and scrambled to get the remaining rope when Nian requested.

“Here you go,” he replied as he passed the rope down. “What do you need me to do now?” He still wasn’t too sure how to go about this. Nian had a very precise image in his head about what his home should look like and Claudius had, well, none. He had to rely on the other AniWayan for all the direction in this since verbal instructions were not his strong suit. He pushed himself off his belly and onto his knees, eagerly awaiting the other male’s next instructions.

Claudius reached out to receive the twine once Nian finished. He sent it beside him to his right and then leaned on his palms, keeping his arms straight, so that he could see what Nian was doing. He tilted his head and frowned, concentrating, when Nian explained where the door would go. Okay, so an empty space meant no building, check! Claudius understood that much. He walked forward a bit on his hands, peering over the ledge again awaiting further instruction. He watched Nian grab the rest of the branches and make a second wall. Claudius pushed himself from his knees onto his feet. He grabbed the twine and then jumped off the back of the ledge and came around to the side in time to hear the rest of Nian’s instructions. Claudius again stepped aside as Nian finished dragging the branches to the other side of the half-completed wall and explained their next steps.

“Okay,” Claudius agreed. He moved over to where Nian had the branches and examined the remaining few. He grabbed a couple and held them up, considering how he would tie them. In his right hand, he held a branch and the twine, and in his left, only a branch. He turned to Nian to ask: “do we want to tie them first and then make a wall? Or do we want to line them up and then tie them?” He wasn’t sure how Nian wanted to proceed, so he figured it would be better to ask him than to begin immediately.