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Hemming had spent a lot of time trying to find a good place to launch a boat from. It couldn't be too wavy, like the open ocean, because the boat was small and even with Hemming in it the craft was too light and would be tossed around easily. On the other hand, he wasn't going to get anywhere that was completely still; the lakes, unfortunately, all seemed to be frozen. So, a day or two ago, on a long and very thorough expedition, the male had set out to find the best possible place from which to launch a boat. Along the coast was a small cove, where the land reached around a bit of the ocean like welcoming arms, and the water inside looked perfect. Open to the ocean at one end, it provided a few weak waves, just enough to see how the wooden boat would do under intermediate circumstances. The craftsman was still toying with various types of boats, taking inspiration from his imagination and the illustrations of humans. He had made this one out of reeds he had collected and splayed, placing them together in a boat shape and lashing them together with sinew. A few layers of reeds had gone down on each other, with a layer of a glue like substance, boiled from the tendons and skin of animals that AniWaya had caught and used, in between. The resin would make it a bit sturdier, and would allow Hemming to better analyze the benefits of various types of boats. This was the first one that he would test - the next, as he planned it, would be a canoe carved from an entire tree.
The trip down into the little cove was harder than he expected it would be. It seemed to be necessary to roam halfway out onto the rocks to gain access to a sand path that led inwards. Perhaps it was not the most difficult of voyages, but it certainly seemed hard for the wolf, especially with a boat on his head. He tried, many times, to carry it over his shoulder, a technique that got him about three steps before he stopped to put the boat back on his head. It was the easiest to carry it there in terms of weight distribution, but it was hard for him to maintain his balance on the rough terrain.
Struggling on nonetheless, he eventually made it to the lovely sandy beach and lowered the boat down onto sand that was damp but not wet. Shoulders sore from the trek, the wolf stretched his arms up and did a little stretchy dance before sighing and looking out across the relatively calm water. The boat sat welcoming, but Hemming needed just a moment to get himself together before he did something else potentially difficult. He was unexperienced and unskilled, and he wanted to have his mind and body in the right place when he did attempt it.
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