Carving Lessons

Hadley · 04-05-2012, 02:36 PM

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OOC here!

The white male leaned over, examining the scrape Hadley had created. It was disappointing, since it had been coming out so much better than Hadley had expected. With someone to tell him when something went wrong, and how to improve, his work was a lot better than moving self taught. Holding the bowl out he let it be checked out, ears lowered with sorrow. He couldn't give this to Grace now. he doubted he could do anything with the broken bowl.

The grin that brightened up frightened Hadley for a moment, remembering Amy's anger melting into smiles at the thought of the perfect punishment. Instead he was informed that the bowl could be fixed. Hesitantly his tail beat a couple times. The bowl wouldn't be a waste then. Looking around Hadley spotted a spruce tree. Now he just had to figure out how they would get the sap from it. D-drill tree?

Claudius Aston · 04-07-2012, 01:03 PM

WC: 302
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[/html] Claudius grinned when the dog perked up. It was always hard to let go of something once you'd ruined it. It felt like such a waste of time and effort, so he was glad to offer a solution. If they could get the sap and the animal fat to the right consistency, it could still make a very nice bowl. He was determined to help the dog and make it right, since he loved making things (even if they weren’t his own).

He nodded quickly when the dog asked if they’d need to drill a hole. They might, but they might not; spruce had a tendency to ooze sap, so if they were lucky, they might be able to scrape some off the bark of the tree. Since it was warming up, it might be possible, but Claudius didn’t know too much about how to go about it, so it might take on a trial-and-error approach.

He gathered his tools and put them back in the pouch. He then rolled it up, tied it closed, and put it back in his satchel. He flipped the cover over and then stood up. He offered his arm out to the dog as he did this. Although he knew the other could easily stand on his own, he wanted to extend his arm in friendship, as comrades of the same trade.

“I-I’m Claudius… C-C-C-Claudius…. Aston… by the way. I d-d-don’t think… I got yuh-yuh-your… na-a-ame? I th-i-i-ink… I was… too… interested in the ca-a-a-rving,” he explained with a laugh. It felt weird to keep referring to the dog as simply ‘dog’ or the ‘boy’ (especially if he was younger!) so he felt it only polite to introduce himself, albeit rather late. He just hoped the other canine hadn’t noticed and would go along with it; Claudius didn’t want to come across as rude, after all! [html]

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Hadley · 04-08-2012, 10:32 AM

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OOC here!

He was right. Relieved Hadley helped place the tools back in place, only really touching a few as the wolf was much faster than he was, everything sliding around rapidly. An arm was held out to him, and Hadley looked at it briefly before remembering. He was supposed to take it to be helped up. It had taken a few times of that happening for it to click. Grasping the hand Hadley stood up, not really letting himself be helped, just knowing that was what was supposed to happen.

He listened quietly as he finally received a name to go with the wolf he was working with. Shyly he smiled. Hadley. The carving was rather distracting, even if it was just a simple bowl. Not to mention Hadley was still getting used to actually introducing himself without being beaten for it. Which had happened several times. Glancing around Hadley indicated towards a small collection of pine trees, not too far off. Hopefully there would be spruce in there, and they could collect it.

Claudius Aston · 04-08-2012, 07:13 PM

WC: 307
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[/html] Claudius followed the direction of Hadley's outstretched arm as the dog pointed toward a nearby cluster of coniferous trees. Claudius was alright in determining the types of trees, so he figured it wouldn't be too difficult a task to pick out a spruce tree. He began to walk toward it and then gestured for Hadley to follow. Although he assumed that Hadley would come along of his own accord, Claudius knew from his own personal experience, that sometimes when someone explicitly included you in an activity, it was more difficult to be shy about it. If Hadley had assumed Claudius would have followed a year ago, Claudius would have likely lingered, wondering if he really should follow or not. Although Claudius had not conquered his anxiety, he had gotten much better at dealing with it. He just hoped he could use this knowledge to help others like him.

He trotted over to a nearby grouping of trees and scanned them quickly, trying to find the tell-tale sign of a spruce. Nothing.

"None he-e-ere," he said. He twisted his head first and then his entire body around to find Hadley. "Bu-u-u-t near...by... I think," he added. He smiled hesitantly and scanned the surrounding area. He then noticed that he hadn't quite made it to the group of trees Hadley had been pointing at. He set off again at a comfortable jog. This time, the group of trees Hadley had originally pointed out, bore fruit – or rather, sap. He glanced over his shoulder and grinned. There were a few spruce trees here, so it looked like they were in luck! Unfortunately, Claudius didn’t have any tools for drilling into the tree, so they’d have to scrape the sap off the bark where they could. Of course, the crack was quite small, so he didn’t think they’d need a lot. [html]

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Hadley · 04-08-2012, 08:57 PM

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OOC here!

Hadley hesitated for a moment as Claudius stepped forward. At the soft signal to follow Hadley fell behind the wolf, eager to see how the bowl would be fixed. They reached a clump of trees with lots of different pines, but it wasn't the one that Hadley had indicated to. Of course, he had no idea which tree was the right one. He'd never looked for sap before. He only knew which needles were good to eat when starving.

Cheerfully Hadley followed Claudius to the next one, and studied the tree that Claudius had decided was the right one. The appearance was memorized, he would be able to find it on his own next time. Stepping over he set about scraping the sap off. Realizing he didn't have anything to put it in Hadley looked around. He'd taken the wooden bowl with them luckily, and proceeded to scrape the sap that they'd manage to get off the trees into the bowl to carry back.

Claudius Aston · 04-10-2012, 09:35 PM

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[/html] Hadley was the first among them to find the sap. He was quick to scrape it into the bowl (which worked fine as, well, a bowl) and so Claudius decided to follow suit. He walked over to the tree Hadley had found and began picking off some of the sap with his hands. He was glad to have brought his satchel, since it made it easy to carry his tools without actually carrying them at all. Once he was able to scrap off a handful, he turned to Hadley and dropped it into the bowl.

They made quick work and soon enough, the bowl was almost a third full of tree sap. Claudius didn’t think they would need any more than that, so he motioned for Hadley to stop.

“Tha-a-at’s… all we need,” he said. “We ju-u-u-ust… need… to find… an animal… since we need the a-a-animal… fat… I mean, we-e-e… might not really nee-eed… it… but since… this is my… first t-t-t-time… m-a-a-aking this… I think… I’ll… just stick to… what I remember… learning… so…” he trailed off, trying to figure out what to say next. “I nee-eed… to put… this ba-a-ag… down… want to head back… to the village? We ca-a-a-n… leave our… things in the… Great Hall… and then hu-u-u-uunt… for an… animal… and maybe… dinner,” he said with a grin. [html]

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Hadley · 04-10-2012, 11:30 PM

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OOC here!

The sap was pretty sticky, stubbornly refusing to come off. It took a fair amount of work to take it off, actually building up a shallow layer of sweat on his body. Claudius signaled that enough had been gathered when the bowl was a third full, and Hadley nodded, stopping the work. Told that this was the first time doing this was pretty nerve wracking for Hadley. Here he was, completely trusting this wolf, and he might not even be able to do it right. Well, it was better than leaving it the way it was.

He nodded briefly, following the tribe member back to where all the buildings were. He deposited the sap next to the bag of tools, and wondered what form Claudius would want to go hunting in. Grace had taken him out on four legs. Would Claudius do the same, or would they hunt on two legs? Either way, he would be lucky if he managed to catch something. He didn't think of it as food, not even realizing that he'd be able to eat the prey that they'd caught, simply seeing it as something for Claudius' work.

Claudius Aston · 04-15-2012, 09:39 AM

WC: 307. Wanna make the hunting super quick? B) Maybe they could find a raccoon?
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[/html] Hadley was a quick, quiet, and patient learner and Claudius liked that – not just because Hadley reminded him of himself, but also because these were fine traits for a student. He didn’t mind that Hadley didn’t say much; Claudius didn’t always have a lot to say, either, so he could have easily been construed as a creature of few words. He felt as though he understood the dog’s motivations a bit, or at least could guess at why he did things the way he did. He felt a sense of kinship there.

They were silent as they retracted their steps to the village. Claudius led them to the Great Hall and the two deposited their wares before turning back again. It seemed as though Hadley was waiting to see what Claudius would do next, so Claudius took a breath to explain.

“I-I’m no-ot… profi-i-ci-e-ent… enough… a-at hunting like… this,” he explained, gesturing to his two-legged form, “so I’ll sh-shift… into… my halfway-a-a-ay… form… to hunt… and the-e-en… once we-e-e-‘re… done… we can… shift back… unless you’d ra-a-a-ther… stay… this... way.” Claudius didn’t mind either way and since it was a personal choice, he’d leave it up to Hadley. Claudius preferred his Halfling form for hunting, especially because it felt easier to shift halfway than all the way down to his most basic form when only for a short time.

Claudius took a few steps away and concentrated on the change. His bones began to move, break, and reform and his muscles stretched and twisted into new positions. He felt his ears twitch as the muscles, sinews, and tendons around his neck changed and his stretched to accommodate more muscular shoulders. Once the change was complete, Claudius shook out his neck and grinned at his carving/ hunting partner. Suddenly feeling competitive, he took off, hoping Hadley to follow. [html]

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Hadley · 04-15-2012, 10:28 AM

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OOC okay. long thread XD

Hadley nodded at the words. He didn't have a halfway form, with only two choices on which he was going to become. Hunting on two legs was fairly difficult for him though, so if it was a choice between hunting in lupus or optime, he chose lupus. Knowing that Claudius would be in secui made him a bit nervous, associating it with a lot of pain and anger. Still, he was sure it would be alright, as long as he was careful and didn't get in the way.

Quietly he worked on changing into his lupine form. The short shaggy mess around his face rapidly contracted while he went down to all fours, feeling his bones melt and shift around to accommodate the new form. Briefly he entertained entering secui form, but knew that doing that would make the pain it sounded like he was in become real. In lupine form his tail wagged, finding himself still matching Claudius in size. His tail wagged briefly before lunging to keep up with the white wolf.

The pair rain through the woods, synchronized in their movements. A slow moving dark creature nabbed Hadley's attention, and he briefly broke off, grabbing it in his jaws. Squeals broke out as it fought, tiny claws swiping at his body. He snapped down, and the body grew limp. Pleased with the quick kill he carried it over to Claudius, dropping it down at his feet, tail wagging. Was it any good? He hoped so.

Claudius Aston · 04-19-2012, 02:25 PM

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[/html] After shifting, the two split up to search for prey. Since they only needed a small animal, they would likely scare it off they they worked together, so Claudius figured it would be best if they both tried to catch something at the same time. It seemed as though they had only just begun when Hadley came bounding back with a fat groundhog in his jaws. Hadley seemed to be very excited to have caught it because his tail was wagging and he was grinning widely. It took a few seconds before Claudius was able to say anything out of surprise, but when he did, he burst out laughing.

"G-g-g-good job!" he said. "He-e-ere, grab that... we'll head back... I'll gra-a-a-ab a few... sticks fo-o-or a fi-i-re... and we ca-a-an... start to boil... the fat... and the sap," he explained. He gestured with his head for Hadley to follow him back to the Town Hall. As he walked, he grabbed a few dead branches in between his teeth and hauled them along. He was able to find a very long one, which would do well for the fire. He figured he would be able to take some fire from the Great Fire nearby, but did not want to dishonour it by using it to boil his ingredients.

He walked as quickly as he could, dragging the stick behind him. The walk was short since they had not ventured too far from the Great Hall. Once they arrived, Claudius dropped the stick beside the Town Hall. He then shifted back into his Optime form and once that was done, returned to the Town Hall to fetch his things. He searched for a good rounded stone to use as a bowl for boiling the ingredients. It took him some time, but he knew it was there. After a few minutes of searching, he found it hiding on a shelf in a corner. After that, he brought the bowl with the sap outside of the building and set it down on the ground. He began to work, breaking the branch into smaller pieces so that he could make a fire.

"If yo-ou-ou could fe-e-etch some... rocks... and branches... we can start the fire, Hadley," he suggested. After that, they would need to skin the groundhog and cut out the fat. While their ingredients boiled, they could snack on the remaining parts of the animal.
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Hadley · 04-19-2012, 03:11 PM

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OOC here!

Claudius seemed rather surprised at what Hadley had brought back. His tail slowed, lowering down. Was it not any good? He could go find something else for them. The laughter that finally came out surprised him, Hadley leaping back. His tail dropped all the way down, ears pinned as he waited to be told what was wrong. Slowly his ears raised up as Claudius spoke. Good job? So it was fine? He moved closer again, nudging the small creature. That was a relief.

Obediently Hadley picked up the kill and followed behind Claudius, his low tail swishing calmly. His catch had been good. Some sticks had been picked up on the way back, though with his mouth full Hadley hadn't been able to help grab any, simply holding onto the fat creature. He settled down next to where the sticks had been put down. Dropping the kill Hadley worked on shifting back into optime form, limbs elongating out so that he was kneeling next to it.

The next part was simply him waiting, knowing that Claudius was working on getting the items needed to repair the crack in the bowl that he had made. Hadley was glad that Claudius was helping him out, as he wouldn't have been able to fix it on his own. Claudius finally returned, greeted by a brief wag of his tail. The scarred male stood and quietly moved around, picking up some stones and sticks for the fire. His arms were full when he returned, struggling to keep the loose items from falling in a heap on the ground. Dropping it down where they were Hadley began to make a ring for the fire to go into.

Claudius Aston · 04-20-2012, 10:11 AM

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[/html]Claudius made quick work of the branches. He had only been able to grab one big branch in between his jaws on the walk back, so it did not take long to break them all up. Once he was done, he stood up and went foraging for a few more branches. Even though he would be borrowing some fire from the Great Fire, he would not be using its wood, so they had to be sure they had enough wood to sustain the fire the entire time.

He made four trips, each time returning with an armload of branches. Since it was early in the year, Claudius didn’t think that they would have a very big wood pile and didn’t want to take from the wood used for the ceremonial fire. That just would have felt disrespectful.

He arranged the sticks into a teepee shape inside of the ring Hadley was making. The two of them worked well and didn’t get into one another’s way very much, so they were able to make their small fire very quickly. Next, Claudius would have to skin the animal. He stood up and walked over to his bag and pawed through it, knowing he had a good scraping stone. He retrieved his scraping stone and two knives and then returned to where Hadley was.

“Ha-a-a-adly, once you’re done… you ca-a-an… put the sap into the stone bo-o-owl. If you still need somethi-i-i-i-ing to d-o-o whi-ile I skin this… there’s a big f-f-f-fire… over there—” he gestured with one hand past the Town Hall to where the fire was lit, “and you-ou can ta-a-ake a branch… and ge-e-e-t the fire started. Wh-e-e-en I’m do-o-one skinning the animal… feel free-ee… to eat… it… since you caught it.” With that said, he sat down and began to skin it. He used his large stone knife to cut through the animal’s thick hide. He then made a cut from its chin all the way down its stomach to the tail. Once that was done, he wiped his knife and then set it aside. He then used his fingers to pull open the hide. He grabbed his scraping tool to ease it open a bit, being very careful not to damage the fur. Slowly, the coat gave way and some of the organs slid out. Claudius picked up one of its organs and popped it in his mouth. He then took the rest and set them next to him in the grass for Hadley. He flipped the animal over and began to sever the fat from the muscle. With each bit, he dropped it into the stone bowl, slowly adding to their collection. He was careful not to damage the fur because even though it was a small animal, he could foreseeably use it for some sort of bag or pouch. Animal skins were waterproof and therefore quite useful.

Once he had finished, he began to skin the animal. He would have to stretch it on one of the fur tanning stretchers, but until then, he’d be able to set it aside until he was ready. After another twenty minutes, he had the animal completely skinned. He hadn’t done this in a very long time, so he was slow in an attempt not to damage anything. And after all, he couldn’t just wave a magic wand* and have the animal completely skinned; no, this took practice and hard work. On the upside, he had a bunch of meat now sitting at his side, so he grabbed another chunk of the animal and chewed on it. He stood up to put the hide inside the Town Hall, but as he stood up, he gestured toward the meat in case Hadley wanted some.
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[/html] * Idiom of the week

Hadley · 04-20-2012, 11:13 AM

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OOC here!

The silence between them was comforting. He almost felt a kinship with the male, steadily working to set up the stones to contain the fire that would burn. Even if he was just following directions, Hadley felt that he wasn't just a slave, but a student learning so he could do this on his own. The stones were completed, and Hadley nodded at the words, grabbing the broken bowl. Carefully he scrapped the sap into the stone one, wondering how it had formed that way. It was an odd shape.

Trying not to interrupt Claudius Hadley retrieved a broken branch, and silently slipped off. He stared at the large fire for a moment, intimidated by it's presence. He was very lucky that Amy had never burned him. He didn't know if he'd be able to live with that fear. Shaking his head clear of those thoughts he dipped the branch in, almost leaping back as a long flame leaped onto the branch, instantly clinging to it. That was very strange. A bit shaky he returned to where Claudius was. He'd never seen fire do that before.

He placed the fire into the pile that they'd formed. The fire flickered more slowly, taking it's time to spread. With the fire going Hadley glanced at the stone bowl, fat now mixed with the sap. He pushed it closer so the fire would heat it. Silently he watched Claudius skin the animal, a skill that Hadley didn't have himself. Indicated towards the meat Hadley carefully picked through, making sure that the best was left for his teacher. It was a good meal, if small. Settling down he stared at the mixture, wondering when it would be finished.

Claudius Aston · 04-21-2012, 01:01 PM

Wanna wrap this up in a few posts? All we've gotta do is pour in the heated 'glue', let it cool, and scrape it off. Big Grin

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[/html]Between the two of them, they were able to make short work of the task at hand (or, at paw). While Claudius worked on skinning and gutting the animal, Hadley was engaged in transferring the sap into the stone bowl. As Claudius continued his work, Hadley fetched some fire and ignited the sticks and then pushed the bowl close to the fire to warm it up. Soon, it would begin to bubble and that was when they would be able to use it to seal the crack in the bowl. It would likely be messy work since Claudius hadn’t done this before and since it would be too hot to touch. They’d have to pour it in and then scrape off the excess once it had cooled.

Until then, they just had to wait. Claudius idly chewed on the pieces of meat Hadley had left him. He noticed that Hadley had taken the worst parts. Even though Claudius liked eating a lot of the organs, Hadley had been the one to catch the animal, so he deserved an equal share.

“H-h-he-e-ere,” he said. He picked up a few more pieces of the animal entrails and held them out to Hadley, his arm extended. “You-ou ca-au-aught it… so we-e-e… should share. You don’t… need… to take the worst. I kn-o-o-ow… you’re not a member… but you-ou-ou caught it… so you should get… to eat… some of the good stu-u-u-uff… too,” he explained. [html]

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Hadley · 04-22-2012, 11:43 AM

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OOC considering how i have no idea how it got this long, sure Big Grin

Hadley watched the stone bowl, ears twitching faintly with excitement. This wasn't something he'd done before, and he was eagerly learning everything he could about what he was doing. The sap and fat was beginning to bubble, the different parts sliding into each other and beginning to mix. It was a very strange sight. Hadley flinched as an arm reached out towards him, attention returning to the wolf beside him. His tail wagged softly, looking at the offered meal.

Thank you. His words might have been quiet, but Hadley meant them. If he'd had more courage perhaps he would have been louder. Instead he simply accepted the offering, silently chewing on it. It was good, warm and tender. The fact that it was supposed to be from acting fair went over his head, seeing it as a reward for good behavior. Hadley was still a long way from being the free being that he wanted to be.

Claudius Aston · 04-22-2012, 12:39 PM

Definitely their natural chemistry! (WC: 351)
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[/html]Claudius could see that Hadley was excited about completing the bowl. The dog was practically bouncing with excitement! It was contagious, because Claudius could feel himself feeling really happy that they were nearly done, too. He was excited to see what the bowl would look like after all this work. If Hadley really wanted it to stand out, he could try using some dyes to give it a nice colour, though Claudius wasn’t sure if the dyes would make the glue loosen. That would be an experiment for Claudius to try on his own time. He didn’t want to ruin Hadley’s bowl after all the work they’d put into it.

A voice shook Claudius out of his thoughts and Claudius jerked his head quickly in a nod. Of course it was no matter, so he didn’t think any more of his actions.

As they waited for the stone bowl to warm, the mix began to bubble. That meant it was ready.

“O-o-okay, the stone bowl is going… to be-e-e-e really hot,” he warned. “Here, take this,” he said. He dug around in his bag and found a rag he usually used for wiping up excess dye. It was stained red and blue and it would do a fine job protecting Hadley’s hands. “Ho-o-old the bowl with this… clo-o-oth. Po-o-our it into you-our bowl. He-e-e-ere, hold on.” Claudius pushed his bag aside and jogged over to a nearby tree. He plucked two large handfuls of leaves and then returned to Hadley. He took his leaves and then pressed them against the side of the bowl.

“O-o-okay, whe-en you’re ready… use the cloth… and pour the sap into the crack… ju-u-u-u-st… no-o-ot on my-y-y… hands… the lea-eaves… will… hopefully-y-y-y… ma-a-ake… sure… it doesn’t… drip everywhere-e-e.” He shifted his position so that he could retract his hands in case it got too hot, but he hoped that Hadley would have a steady hand.

“After thi-i-is, all you-ou need to do… is let it dry… and then rub the extra-a-a-a… off,” he added. He hoped that this would encourage Hadley knowing they were almost done. [html]

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Hadley · 04-23-2012, 09:59 AM

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OOC here!

They had moved on to the next part. As soon as the mixture was declared ready the already stilled hybrid stopped even the soft twitching that had been running through his body. If they messed up Hadley didn't think that they would be able to fix the bowl this time. A rag was passed to him, and with all the care of someone working to save a life Hadley lifted it up, not minding the slight sear of heat that made it through, aiming for the bowl.

He nodded his head, and tilted it. Reaching the crack was fairly difficult. He watched the odd mixture that they'd made fill it up, clogging the crack. He stopped as soon as it began to spill past that, setting the hot stone down again. Taking a deep breath he grinned over at Claudius. He'd managed to do it without too much fuss. It'd be a short wait before they scraped it, and hopefully his clumsiness wouldn't cost them again.

Claudius Aston · 04-23-2012, 10:43 AM

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[/html]Claudius was silent throughout the entire procedure. He knew that if he wanted this to go well, it would be a bad idea to rush or scare Hadley. He recognized a kindred spirit, so he knew that if he wouldn't like someone lecturing him the entire time, Hadley probably wouldn't, either. As Hadley poured the mixture into the bowl, Claudius very carefully tilted the bowl slightly onto its side so that the fat and sap would solidify on the side of the bowl with the crack. Since it was Claudius' first time doing this, he hadn't been sure how long it had to boil or how to check for the right viscosity. It was a little watery, but if he held the bowl still, he thought that he would probably be able to let it thicken and then harden without too much fuss.

Once Hadley was done, he grinned at Claudius and Claudius found himself grinning back.

"Guh-goo-good job!" he said. "Nuh-now... ju-u-st... to wait for i-it to harden... and wuh-we're done," he explained. He nodded to his bag and then added: "fuh-find one of my-y-y... thin... bone blades. Tha-at... should do the trick." Claudius was so excited that they were nearly done that he couldn’t sit still. He wanted it to be done! Done! He felt his tail thump in a steady wag, flicking from side to side. [html]

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Hadley · 04-23-2012, 02:08 PM

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OOC here!

The bowl was tilted, letting the rough glue settle into the crack, and not form a large mess across the entire bowl. For his second real carving project it was quite good, already smoother and more even than the stool he'd created, a simple creation of slabs of wood thrown together. Claudius grinned back, and Hadley knew that he'd done well. The bowl was going to be just fine, and he'd be able to give it to Grace without worry. It would look half decent as well.

With the white male's permission Hadley moved and began to dig through the bag. Finding the bone knifes Hadley gently picked through until he found one with a thin delicate blade. Removing it he held it out to Claudius, hoping that he hadn't chipped it in the removal. It did seem terribly fragile for a blade. Hadley was used to knives that carved flesh, cruel and unforgiving, nothing like the delicate procedure they would be using this one for.

Claudius Aston · 04-23-2012, 04:31 PM

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[/html]The sap and fat mixture dried quickly enough and Claudius was able to remove his hands. At the same time, Hadley searched through his bag for a delicate bone knife to gently scrape away the excess. Claudius gingerly peeled back a few of the leaves to inspect the mixture and was pleased to see that it hadn't seeped through the crack too much. That was good news because now he wouldn’t have to spend as much time cutting away pieces from the outside of the bowl. He was sure he could have devised some means of containing the fluid to only the crack, but it would have likely been long and complex and he didn’t want this to take all day. He was nonetheless quite pleased with the results.

He accepted the knife from Hadley and held it in his right hand for a few seconds, weighing it in his palm. He held up the bowl in his left hand and considered it for a few seconds. In the time that had passed, perhaps ten or twenty minutes, it had dried well.

He slowly began to cut away the larger pieces of the mixture and then set to removing the smaller chips. It was slow and laborious work, but after twenty minutes of turning the bowl, cutting, and turning it again, he had cleaned it up quite well.

“Thuh-there,” he said. “Nuh-now you mi-i-ight want to… harden it… somehow. I-I do-on’t know too-oo much about… that… but it could work… fine as i-i-it is now. Congr-a-a-atula-a-tions, Hadle-e-ey, you’re… done.” Claudius grinned, handed the bowl to Hadley, and then wiped off a few pieces of the mixture from his knife. It felt good to be done and the bowl looked fantastic. He was confident that Hadley would agree; their work had certainly paid off! [html]

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