-dances-

Thank the spirits for that stone knife of his. Had it not been for the various hobbies he had practiced with his mother as a child, the Chief would likely have gone mad while this leg healed. His fingers had produced so many blankets and woven so many baskets in the past few weeks, they had become sore at first and then hardened to the materials. Still, he knew very well that he should not be up and walking, but enough was enough today. Spring was his favorite season, and when the morning sun had waked him through the window that morning he had not been able to resist. The stone knife hung in his belt and dangled as he moved in jumps, his home-made crutches being quite able to carry him, but not exactly with grace. He had had so many spare hours he'd carved elaborate markings into the two support-devices, and was pretty satisfied with the look of them. Perhaps he would seek out the craftsmen of the pack to learn more about this kind of craft. It certainly felt better than making all those useless blankets just as the warm season was approaching.

He aimed for the Aston den, and the dirt path was just hard enough now not to let the crutches sink through. The trek wasn't short, but it felt very nice, if strange, to be up and out on his own. Sakari made for good company and she certainly helped him if he asked her to, but it was suffocating for him to have to stay inside, and around the same person. Sitting there, he'd had plenty of time to analyze pack events and personal history, and he'd reached the conclusion that a meeting with the shy Aston boy was by far overdue. Claudius was so anonymous (and perhaps he made certain he was anonymous on purpose, too), it was easy to forget to notice him in a crowd. Dawali, however, had already failed Noir, and Attila had followed his mother and obviously did not seek a connection to his birth tribe. Océane appeared independent and strong, thus Claudius' name had risen to the top of the list of personal matters at hand. Besides, it was strange to think of himself as someone of influence within the Aston family, when he did not even know the children well. After all, they had changed quite a bit since they were little pups.

Pausing for a breath as he closed in on the den, Dawali finally approached the entrance and called out softly. For some reason, he assumed Claudius could be startled easily. "Claudius? Are you home?" If he wasn't around, he had to have just left, as his scent was strong. Wincing briefly, the male waited and shifted his weight onto the crutches, but straightening his back. The leg had multiple supports in lashings and splints on either side, but it was hard not to move it and it throbbed after moving all the way over here. He strove, however, to ensure that this pain was not apparent.

328

Dawali very nearly chuckled at the young male as he twisted around in great surprise to find his Chief so close. Perhaps it was the way in which Claudius reacted that amused him, or perhaps it was the mere fact that he had been too engrossed in his own thoughts to hear the old male approaching on his clumsy crutches. Either way, the red wolf managed to keep the chuckle inside him, not entirely certain whether Claudius would be offended by it, or whether it could lighten the obvious surprise that was painted on his face. As he rose, the pale boy referenced Dawali's injury, and the Chief glanced pointedly towards his legs as he replied, a certain spark in the corners of his eyes. "Ah, it's moving around a little or insanity, I think," he chuckled at himself. His mood had been lifted with ease by just being outside. "I am beginning to hate the Town Hall." And Gvihita's taunting, he thought. The eagle liked to perch in the window sill and be humored by his clumsy moving around in the hut. He never did understand why she took such pleasure in his suffering; perhaps there was some wisdom to be gained from it, that he did not see. The resting period was killing him, though soon it would be over, hopefully.

As stubborn as ever, Dawali's first instinct was to reject the young male's offer for help, but the medic in him recognised the need for extra support. There had been many blows to his pride the past moons. "Thank you Claudius, I think that will be safest," he mumbled and shifted his weight towards the male as he held his arm, ready to move. The entrance to a cave could be quite slippery to enter even without crutches. Too challenged by this idea, the red wolf did not think to continue the conversation until he was safely inside. He would rather not break any more bones.

Sort of powerplayed that the cave bore evidence of Claudius making stuff/dyes - hope that's okay!

It appeared his joke was not as amusing to everyone. Still, the pale male replied with a sort of chuckle, and Dawali didn't comment any further. He didn't know why, but he felt as if the male's nervousness had only increased at his visit - though it could be because of his own injured leg. Claudius only appeared to be puzzled further by Dawali's reasoning, and the Chief laid the subject dead: he was here now, and it didn't matter, in that sense, why.

However mis-struck his own joke had been, Claudius seemed to attempt to lighten the tone by his own joke, and now it was Dawali's turn to flicker his ears in uncertainty, because the male was absolutely right. His inner medic chided him in a much less friendly tone than the male, but Dawali chose to ignore it and merely chuckled again, this time at himself. "Ah, well I'm just too stubborn, you know." Maybe it was because he was old. He refused to not be able to do the things he had always done. They slowly entered the cave and Dawali glanced around, finding no chairs or seating of any kind. It was rather simplistic, and Dawali made a note to himself to bring some stuff over next time, maybe blankets or something, if only for decoration. Standing upright on his crutches, Dawali would rather not attempt to sit all the way down on the floor with such a problematic leg. Instead, he studied the place and found evidence of activities he did not know Claudius engaged in. Truth be told, he'd noticed the dyes on him, but still he was taken by surprise. It was too easy to forget someone who seemed to want to be forgotten. "What're you working on?" the Chief asked in a curious voice.

I am the slowest poke ever ( Let me know if you want to close this thread, I'd totally understand
#411

The awkwardness as he looked around, and then finally settled on standing, did not dissipate. It was not lessened, either, by Claudius' belated response, and Dawali shifted his eyes around the room, smiling half-way and with some uncertainty, before the conversation took a new turn. For him, it was uncommon to feel this way. Always the Chief, always the authority, he was used to others feeling generally awkward in his presence, and lthough it sometimes did affect him as well, it rarely did in this way. Luckily, they were soon talking again, and the silence died.

The red wolf nodded, interested, as Claudius explained, glancing to the various materials that were here and there in the den. Dawali could do some very basic dying himself, although he was not able to create very good dyes. He did try to dye the materials he used for blankets, but it rarely lasted very long, and it was hard to maintain as he'd almost have to unravel the whole construction in order to re-dye the parts again, before weaving it together. Needless to say, Dawali had never done that. His carpets were best unused, ironically. "Obviously." he stated to Claudius' last sentence, agreeing and nodding. "Perhaps the other craftsmen can help you with creating some bowls and whatnot?" He thought about the human cities, which undoubtedly held secrets and materials (if not unbroken bowls!) Claudius could use, but he would rather bite his tongue than to advise any wolf to travel into a human city. There were spirits there that never rested, he had felt them.

Hesitation entered him again. It certainly seemed a better idea to go outside, and perhaps Claudius did not want him standing around in his home, either. He realized now that he was so used to everyone inviting him in to their homes with a smile, that he didn't know if they invited him simply because he - in a sense - had claim to enter the tribesmembers' homes. He did not really think he did have any right to see their homes, but members could feel obligated, perhaps. Nodding, Dawali re-positioned his crutches under his arms and started towards the entrance. Of all the things he wished to be to the Aston litter, an intruder was not one of them. "That sounds like a good idea. The weather is not bad, either." he smiled, as if to add some kind of an argument to back up his decision.

lol<3 Claudius is just chronically worried, isn't he? XD
#321

The pale craftsman appeared surprise at the mention of the other craftsmen of the tribe, and Dawali decided to follow up on this, casually pointing to himself as his hands moved in patterns that matched his lips. "And, I for once, am not very good with dyes, but I do weave. We could exchange our experiences and learn how to make brilliantly colored dress and blankets." Hardly anything was more impressive than a vividly dressed war-horse, and a scared enemy was a dead enemy. Dawali smiled.

They moved outside, and while it was a relief to sit, at first, Dawali was soon taken aback with what Claudius said next. The shock of it was probably painted on his face, as well. It was clear to him, then, that the loss of his family had branded Claudius further than he had thought. His face grew grave. "No, Claudius, you have not offended anyone." With a firm motion, he padded the ground next to him, expecting Claudius to sit. He suspected the pale male would obey any kind of silly order he was given, or so it seemed. The boy lacked a spine. "You should not apologize for things you have not done, things which are not your fault. I do not know where you got the idea that you had disrespected me or the tribe, but I assure you, you have not." He wondered, had he been this way when Tayui was still here? It was hard to say; Claudius had always been around his mother. It was time to grow up, however. "Why do I make you nervous, Claudius?" he asked, his voice warm, but demanding. He only asked to be respected by the Aston litter, and that they accept his presence. He never wanted to be feared. He sought the pale-coated male's eyes as he spoke. Perhaps he needed convincing that the world did not only care about his mistakes.

Awww. At the same time that I wish Claudius would grow a little bit stronger, I wish he would just stay a broken, because he's so cute XD
#440

Claudius was a quiet one, and as a boy he had been the same. From what he could remember, Claudius the child had been at his most expressive when he yelped in misery at one of his siblings' pranks, or had the misfortune of hurting himself. It was like he was a shy boy's image of Noir; a bit clumsy in his social interactions, but while Noir had been bubbly and could not care less if her social interaction was crippled at best, Claudius was so much more introvert, and noticed it all too well. Dawali would wager a lot that it was the noticing part that was the caus of his social awkwardness. He said nothing of it, though. Perhaps another time.

He listened as Claudius' discomfort became more and more obvious by the second, as he tried his best to explain his feelings to the much older male. Dawali was used to the male's stuttering from his childhood, but it became increasingly difficult to understand him as the male's discomfort grew. It could very well be another thing that could be attributed to his apparent lack of faith in himself; right then it seemed like it, at least. As the Aston male had finished, Dawali simply looked at him for a moment. He tried to weigh his words, but it was difficult; he did not know the male as well as he'd like. "Tell me, Claudius; is it your fault that my leg is injured? Did your mother ever speak Cherokee?" The answers were no. How could Claudius learn Cherokee if nobody spoke it? Dawali hardly spoke it himself, aside from in his own prayers. "I rarely flaunt my skills with cloth. My mother considered it a woman's chore, and I was sometimes laughed at for it. But I like the things I can make, and it soothes my mind to watch my fingers move and create colored patterns." His sisters had laughed at him until he bonked one of them on the head and reminded them he was a boy. And then, when he became a medic, he suddenly had a good excuse to know how to work cloth; what good is a poultice if you have no bandage? Claudius had not wronged, here. If anything, Dawali should have paid him more visits, and much, much sooner than now. "Don't assume that all errors originate from you, Claudius, and you will find that others are oftentimes more flawed than yourself." It had been embarrassing to have his sisters tease him, but in the end it was they who had erred, picking on someone learning a useful skill.

<3 I am the slow
#440

Dawali studied the male as he stuttered his replies out, and his heart was uneasy. He wanted badly to reach out tothe male, but it was difficult. He was right when he said he knew nobody. Dawali had seen him sometimes at pack meetings, but since the rest of the Astons disappeared it had happened less often. There was element of truth to what Claudius was saying, as well; everyone had a responsibility to engage themselves in pack life. A stricter leader might have thrown Claudius ou for his lack of participation, but Dawali could never do such a thing. At least, not to this one. Yet for all of Claudius' lack of presence, he was not a burden on the tribe. And Dawali could not see it as weakness. Perhaps such realisations came to him easier because he was old. Claudius deserved good things, even if he would not see it.

His heart warmed as the male described him as a father - this was one of his own feelings the russet male had kept to himself. He had not wished to impose on the Astons a father figure, and it had never come up in conversation, even if he'd visited them a lot. Dawali gave a weak smile as Claudius spoke. His gaze dropped at the mention of Haku's name; somehow Dawali had hoped that the pale male did not know. Haku Soul was not a good father, he was not a real father. He never had been anything other than a monster. Dawali nodded. "Haku never deserved to be named your father. He was only a murderer," he said darkly. He had never asked Tayui if it had been rape, nor was he sure if he wanted to know. Somehow, if it had not been, it added a dimension to the monster which Dawali could not accept. Who would sleep with such a being voluntarily? "I have always thought of you four as my family, and with everything that happened I was not sure if you would accept me. I should have protected Noir." The guilt was never going to disappear, and there was another guilt that followed him on the subject of Claudius Aston. "I came here hoping to get to know you better.".

It was a difficult thing to talk about. Dawali was not particularly experienced in this field - his siblings and parents had usually gotten along well, and there had been no deep conflicts that needed resolving. Having to tell someone you cared had been redundant - it was obvious in the everyday interactions between family members, when everyone saw everyone all the time. Helping out was a way to show it, and Dawali found that his vocabulary was not very impressive in this situation. However, Claudius commented no further, and Dawali was relieved at this. It also made him feel that somehow this was the young male's way of accepting what he had just said - as if there was no need to comment further. The red wolf smiled briefly, and the weight of Claudius's hand seemed to reinforce his interpretation of the silence between them.

The conversation moved on. The medic found himself nodding, and it was easy to respond to his question. "I like plants as well - I like to collect them and create medicines out of them. I don't get as much time for that anymore, but it is nice to create something." He paused, before smiling weirdly. "And some of them are quite good with tobacco." His fingers spun webs as he demonstrated stuffing an imaginary pipe. "We don't have any metal workers in AniWaya. Perhaps we should seek another pack and ask for a trade? A blade for you, and some herbs for me." Not everything grew well here. He had seen, in old Dahlia de Mai territory, plants that he could not find in the marshes here.

Claudius proved to be a proper rollercoaster, and as his face split in a dramatically broad grin, Dawali found himself fascinated. Here was this stuttering hermit, whose person Dawali was afraid to break if he coughed too hard. But then all of a sudden, while the stuttering was not gone, there was an air of comfort around him - one Dawali had seldomly seen. One thing became painfully clear: Claudius' speech problems had steered Dawali's view of him too much. The red wolf's pang of guilt disappeared quickly, though, as enthusiastic conversation continued. Dawali's darker ears perked upwards with surprised gladness. Of course Claudius could apprentice! If there was one thing the Kalona enjoyed, it was talking to anyone who would listen about plants. "That would be great!" He could easily work with this, and what a relief it was to know that they had something in common after all. "I'm keen to know more about dyes - can one make patterns easily?". He had so many questions about dyes, that he simply assumed that their first exchange was here and now. One of many to come.