Marit, you can reply if you want! If not, I left it vague so you can say Dawali joined them or not. 
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As Dawali drifted away, Claudius’ mind was sharp and focused. He pondered the different possibilities for the totems, trying to think of the many things Noir had liked as a child. Baby Duck had been a close confidante and Toefur had been Noir’s most cherished possession. Claudius didn’t know if he could carve a duck, a bird, and an octopus; but he could certainly try.
When Dawali spoke up and offered his con
sent, Claudius found himself grinning in the first time in months. With his one sister back home helping him create an homage to the sister he had lost, it felt like he was really a part of a family again. Perhaps with Dawali, they could make even more of a family like they had been in the older days.
“Th-a-a-at’s gre-e-ea-t-t,” Claudius replied, stuttering so badly because he was so relieved. “You-o-ou’re great, Daw-wa-wali,” he added with a small blush. With that said, he turned to Oce to begin planning the totem. She suggested the addition of flowers and Claudius asked if maybe they could paint flowers on the totem. Ocèane responded enthusiastically, sealing the deal. They would create a totem of sorts, with whatever they could find, representing Noir’s favourite things: a duck, a bird, an octopus, flowers, and her family. Within the flowers would be little hearts to represent her family members, whom Tayui assured them a long time ago was large and loving.
After the boat finally drifted off into the distance, the group returned to the town hall to scavenge for supplies. Claudius had dyes for colour, but no wood to carve. He had to borrow another AniWayan’s knife for the carving, but only after receiving a lesson in knife-handling and knife-safety. Despite this, Claudius managed to nick his finger just holding it! Ocèane had, of course, tut-tutted when she saw this, and the two burst out laughing together. They bandaged Claudius’ wound and treated it with the sap of a leaf he couldn’t quite identify, but knew was good for cuts.
With that, Ocèane and Claudius set to designing the totem. They worked as they went along and Claudius found some wire to fashion into octopus legs. He asked Ocèane if they were really called legs, but since she didn’t know and he didn’t know, they stuck with the name.
After two days of working, their totem was finally finished. It was a lopsided, colourful mish-mash of animals and colour.
Before they returned to the boat launch, they dropped by Dawali’s home to see if he would like to tag along. Claudius, who still bore a small mark from the knife, hesitantly lingered at the threshold before looking to see if Dawali was home.
Once their visit was over, they returned to the boat launch. Claudius and Ocèane set the totem by a tree and used a remaining piece of wire to lash it to the tree. They wired it so that the wires would not be obvious, but were connected to the back of the totem. They cleared away some of the nearby bushes and shrubs to make sure it wasn’t lost in the forest. With that done, they stood back to admire the totem. They were proud of what they had made for their sister and Claudius felt himself begin to tear up. He missed her so much, but this had helped him realize she was gone and that the times they had shared had been precious, invaluable, and impossible to replicate exactly. But they could at least dedicate something to her memory.
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