[P] destiny flying high above

[O'Riley Eternity]

In the daylight, the disaster could be comprehended clearly. A pine of some ancient and unknown age had, for unknown reasons, toppled over in an attempt to crush the old cabin and its inhabitants. Having failed this the tree now lay in repose, where it had remained until the Luperci set to remove it.

O'Riley set to handling most of the work himself, but he “convinced” Igor to assist him and had later gotten a promise from Flint that once his other duties were seen to he would come by and see what he could do with the wood from the cabin. By and large, the two men were left to their own devices – though admittedly, this suited them just fine.

Turning a tree into wood that could be properly used was a multi-step process. It began with sheering off the branches. O'Riley and Igor took turns hacking these away so they could better see and assess the trunk beneath. Owing to its tremendous girth, O'Riley was uncertain if a horse or one of their bulls could pull it. He determined at that point to divide the trunk into sections, free them from the rubble, and then process the wood.

It took two days for the trunk to be pulled from the old cabin, and that was largely due to the fact it took an entire day to cut through the tree. They had used Onyx to haul the huge logs out of the structure, even though this too had caused problems: the last piece had been the most difficult to remove, and resulted in a lot of screaming matches between the men as they forced the several-hundred-pound mass out of the damp structure and into the ruined grounds around what had once been the Eternity family home.

The real process began in earnest then, and the afternoon found O'Riley and his cousin alternating as they had in the beginning – one man would chop wood while the other sorted through the mess. Given the state of what surrounded them, the chaos of their own process (between flying woodchips and twigs) was well suited for the place.

Backdated to November 16th.
[+ 3]

[Arius de le Ulrich]

Like Wildfire - It starts in my chest - The silence grows louder - Ringing out in my head

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OOC:stuff here!

Arius had heard what happened, even for the recluse male who often avoided rumours, it was difficult to ignore this level of gossip. A large tree had fallen over a home, this time fully destroying the property and just barely avoiding killing those resting inside. The survivors were, at least one of them, someone of great importance to the pack. A name Arius only really knew from history, but one who's face he'd likely try to avoid to not risk causing anymore trouble upon himself, especially when looking out for Yuki as well. But the news was important, not only for the danger of it all, but also the result. A fallen tree, wood to be used, a chance for Arius to prove his worth. 

From what he knew of pine trees from burning them, they tended to put up more of an argument; spitting and producing a lot of smoke, but they burned fast which worked well when partnered with another kind of wood that took longer for the fire to claim. Kindling, that kind of thing, pine was far from useless then in regards for making a good fire. So when hearing about hands needed to help remove the tree, Arius was eager to participate, collecting from the home a wood axe he'd gotten for himself as well as two large sacks to store wood to carry. Yuki carried the bags as they walked to the site, with Arius keeping the axe low to his leg to not look too strange to those passing them by. 

Upon reaching the sight of the fallen tree Arius could smell the thick scent of pine sap in the air, as well as exposed wood, gazing upon the ancient tree with a focused gaze. O'Riley was nearby chopping parts of the tree into chunks able to be moved, so Arius set out towards the man, Yuki trailing behind able to remember the man he'd met upon joining. 

"Erilaz." Arius began, a respectful nod of his head. "I heard about this... wanted to help chop up the wood... find use for all of it." He hoped the man had at least some knowledge of Arius's... interest in fires, if only from the few instances of Arius being spotted making them or when helping another pack member at creating one. If not then... well perhaps now was the time for Arius to finally voice his ideas. 

[O'Riley Eternity]

As another chunk of wood was cast away from its base, the arrival of two younger men brought O'Riley to a stop. He took the moment to regain his breath – physically, he was in exceptional condition, but the effort of the work (and his desire to outperform his cousin) had taken a toll. It was too early for a proper break, but he was eager to take the opportunity to force one all the same.

“Well that's good,” he called. Heaving the axe into the exposed soft wood to hold it fast, O'Riley abandoned his work and went to greet the new arrivals. There was more to this than politeness: he was reinforcing lessons of formality and behavior. Arius was sponsor to an Outsider from a pack of enough prominence to know them by their real names. Even if he was a spy (which, being a spy himself, O'Riley had to consider) Yuki needed to perform or he would fail his ongoing trial.

Those who left the pack left behind the protection it afforded. When this evaporated, they became open targets. Anything could happen to someone out in the wilderness.

The smile O'Riley flashed when he finished with this was as predatory as his nature, though he was truly glad for more hands.

“It's a big fucker, isn't it? We had to haul that out of all that,” he explained, gesturing from the tree to the house. “The goal is to get the logs out of the way so me and him can start tearing this down. You two can handle that part,” O'Riley indicated the log next to the one he and Igor had started on.

Familiar with Arius from their sparring session in the spring, the tawny wolfdog greeted him enthusiastically. He was less friendly with Yuki, whom received a noticeably colder reception. The moment they had all decided on a plan, however, the fat man let out a barking laugh.

“<O'Riley look, he brought his own axe! Haha, he's ready to work!>”

“<We brought an axe too.>”

“<Yes but – oh nevermind, you have no sense of humor.>” Igor scoffed as he turned to take over with the axe.

“<That was not funny!>” O'Riley barked after him.

Rather than explaining, Igor freed his tool and set about working on the split in the log O'Riley had started to make.

When staring at Igor's back didn't explain the joke either, the Erilaz turned his attention to the younger men.

“There's going to be a lot of wood. Are you trying to build something, Arius?”

When indicated, characters are speaking Russian.
[+ 4]

[Arius de le Ulrich]

Like Wildfire - It starts in my chest - The silence grows louder - Ringing out in my head

---

OOC:stuff here!

Recognition was important, Arius was learning that now, more than before as he was actually trying to get his name more out there in Salsola. Before the boy simply assumed himself to be infamous for his mother, a used toy that was discarded and broken and useless, therefore struggling to find motivation to do anything. But Arius was learning, revival from the ashes, that finding something that clicked and pushing for it would get him places. At first it was the art of fighting; of growing confident in his own ability to brawl and survive so that he could use that for the Kingdom. Proven in his work against the thieves. Now he needed something more, a purpose within Salsola, a piece of him that would come to mind the most when others mentioned his name. 

That piece would be his ability to control fires, his knowledge of wood and desire to know as much as possible about the art of flames. Perhaps a unique job to seek out, but Arius for once was determined to showcase his talents and the usefulness of it. Not just for himself, but for Yuki, who would be relying on Arius to have set goals to build up a reputation for them both. 

Arius bowed his head low for the Erilaz, Yuki folllowing quickly afterwards, learning respect by being able to simply mirror whatever the Salsolan did so that his poor memory didn't get in the way. 

"Moving logs is fine... it is a very large tree... must of been rotten." Arius replied, glancing to the stump of the tree and the roots to see for any signs of decay or rot. Something that might've resulted in such a weak trunk for such an old tree. Usually not even a storm would topple such a thing after all. Stuck in his thoughts for a moment, it was Yuki who moved first to the collection of logs, setting down their bags to search for things that would help carry the heavy pieces of wood. Rope, hooks, things Arius had been collecting. 

Out of his haze of thinking, Arius joined him, lifting up one side of the log to check the heartwood inside. 

"Build... maybe." Arius mumbled in reply, too focused on the wood, until Yuki nudged him and the man caught up with the present. "I'm seeking firewood... a lot of it... to build up a stock for the pack. Pine... is not the best but it burns quickly... so good for starting up a fire at least." But there was something about the heartwood that Arius was curious about; that apparently the heart of a dying or dead pine tree could produce exceptional flames. Maybe Arius could experiment with that. 

Speaking of experiments, "I also know that pine can be... cooked in a special way... to make something." From what Arius remembered from the bits and pieces he picked up from rumours in Amherst, mentions of firewood to traders who knew about it, pine could be heated in a certain way to make some kind of gooey substance. More odd ways of using wood, more mysteries Arius wished to solve, he just hoped he might pique O'Riley's interest enough for the man to see some use to it all. 

[O'Riley Eternity]

“Something was wrong with it,” O'Riley agreed as Arius offered his own assessment. The pine had been old, that much was for certain, and while he was no arborist O'Riley could assume that some fault in the wood had led to its demise.

He was far more interested in what the younger man further explained. In his youth, O'Riley had been tasked with starting a great fire. They had used a variety of pitch and flammable materials to burn down Inferni's grand mansion and stables, and in doing so effectively won the war. This had been a brutal – but correct, in his opinion – decision. The longer the battle drew on, the more likely casualties on their side would grow. Desperation made people act in strange ways. When backed into a corner, a wounded animal was the most dangerous.

Behind him, the sound of destruction resumed in earnest as Igor chopped away, deepening the gash he and O'Riley had made in the trunk earlier. There were other tools that would aid in this work, like the metal pieces and big sledgehammer they had brought, but they weren't quite to that point yet.

As it currently stood, O'Riley was learning more about Arius' interests than he had before. While as a carpenter he knew a little about the properties of wood, that each might burn differently had not been something he ever really thought about.

The tall wolfdog furrowed his brows as he listened.

“What do you mean, cook pine?” O'Riley asked, not entirely understanding.

[Arius de le Ulrich]

Like Wildfire - It starts in my chest - The silence grows louder - Ringing out in my head

---

OOC:stuff here!

Confidence was not Arius's thing. Perhaps very young his mother had made him believe he was confident, but all of that was gone now, leaving Arius as a shell who very rarely believed in himself. Actions spoke however, even those Arius had stored away in his mind as knowledge crafted from practice and experimentation. He knew wood well now, what fire it made, what use it served. He just needed to keep proving that to those who wanted to see what use he had to Salsola. O'Riley being one of the most important people to please. Whilst leaving his thoughts on how the large tree did fall in the back of his mind, Arius was allowed to keep thinking on his desires for how to use all the pine wood by O'Riley's question. 

"I have learnt... that wood can burn without touching fire... in some kind of container." Arius explained. "You still add fire... to make heat... but not directly on the wood. This makes it... cook... essentially." Which was the best way Arius could explain it, leaning on what he himself had been told on what to do when it came to the process of turning wood into various materials. 

"Pine can cook to make... pitch and tar... so I'd like to try it." Other than using the heartwood of pine for Fatwood sticks as well, Arius couldn't think for much other use for the softwood source. 

[O'Riley Eternity]

Though he was not as creative as some of their craftspeople, O'Riley knew about building. His true talents were in what he and Igor had come here to do, which was tear down the damaged structure. This had evolved from their escapades among the old cities, where breaking windows and pushing over walls had been a belligerent pastime. When the risks of these events became more apparent, O'Riley had made an effort to learn how to avoid injury. Over time, this knowledge had coupled with the necessary repairs he had needed to make around his own home, and led to his greater understanding of things like support structures and load bearing beams and posts.

This was what allowed him to visualize the sort of process Arius described. A container held above a flame might keep whatever was inside of it from burning. Smoke carried heat, but there was an invisible force created by flames. One of these must bring about the change in the material Arius was seeking.

“I understand,” he said. “If you think this could be useful, I don't see a reason for you not to try it. Duncan might be better suited to helping you construct...whatever you think you'd need for this. You'll have plenty of pine to play with, eh?” O'Riley asked as he glanced at the tree.

We can wrap up here or with your post!
[+ 229]