ooc:

X'yrin had slept in rather late, greeting the day in the late morning as opposed to the early hours as she was used to. The work on the barn had left her more tired than usually, the strenuous work sapping the strength she managed to harbor day after day. But the work was well worth it and she would not complain regardless how her muscles ached. Eventually she was grow used to it. A new kind of strength would settle and the labors endured would become easier. She had the patience to see this though.

But in the passing days she found her paws growing stiff from the repetitive work. Dexterity was not called for to lift beams or mix the slurry of dirt and rock, just a steady hand and consistent grip. She woke with a desire to retain her dexterity in each digit as she had before and collected her items and moved to the communal dens. Little Zeus followed behind her, waddling to the sound of her footfalls on the ground. They settled just near the mouth of the den to feel the gentle breeze filtering through now and again. Her charge had laid beside her as she laid out her materials to work, occasionally sniffing the air when a new sound met his ears. But eventually he drifted off for a nap with his head resting on the woman's leg.

A wad of wool in hand, the she-wolf began examining the clump, gently pulling the grown fibers to test their strength as well as twisting them together between the tips of her pads. It was a strange kind of hair, this wool, but there was little doubt something could be made from it. As she continued to work the strands, her ears perked at the approach of her family member, and smiled as the uniquely hued male walked into the storage room, a chain of fish in his grasp. She did not look up from her work, rather let her friend go about his business should there be something important he sought to take care of. But there was a pause in the swift stride then again her ears danced toward in response to his movement. As he came to sit in front of her, she smiled again this time lifting her gaze in proper greeting. The closeness stirred her little companion awake and for a moment he was fearful when taken by unfamiliar hands, but with a gentle soft from his caretaker the pup began to calm and relaxed in his pack brother's hold.

His request brought a mild look of surprise to her muzzle especially when she acknowledged the damp fur and mane and its haphazard strands with a giggle. "Of course," she set her experiment aside and took the comb. X'yrin motioned for him to turn so she could have a look with what she had to deal with. She imagined that the open road did not require a look of grooming as it did to be presentable in a pack, so mats and knots were assumed to inhabit his mane. So as she often did with her own lengthen tresses, she began a section at a time, gathering a good pawful and began working through the tangles of the ends and slowly ascending.

ooc: Let the torture begin!

X’yrin had begun with slow, methodic pulls of the comb through the matted mane doing her best to limit the amount of snags caught by the comb. But attempting to part through the knots was proving as difficult as taming her own wild tresses….before she assumed a routine to keep them manageable. Every other day she would spend at least an hour tending to the lengthy mass, pulling a comb through it then tightly weaving a French braid to keep it all neat and together. And this was when she could be bothered to spare the time.

But there was little to do for tasking today, so there was time to begin what she hoped would become a routine for the elder male. One that if he could not keep up himself, she would gladly help him whenever time allowed for it. And in their time spent together, conversation was a pleasant indulgence, coupled with the smooth sound of the comb through mane as it became easier to pull through. When asked about the wool, she was all too eager to talk of it, this byproduct of those odd little creatures. “Spun? I'm afraid I dont know what that means,” she confessed, drawing the comb through smoothly. “But I was told things could be made from the sheep. I’ve found that twisting the ‘hair’ together makes a thin, but strong string. Truly I had not thought so far as to dye it.” Recalling the arts of the Mareck family, the lessons they tried to generously teach her, she sighed softly with ears lowering in disappointment. “The creators of my prior Family would certainly have thought of something like that… and would have taught me had I not ignored their offers to teach me.” Reflecting upon her own ignorance at the time, her as an unseasoned pup casting their lessons to play and fight, she smiled faintly, albeit bitterly. “There are times I wish I had paid attention.”

When she was at last able to drag the comb fully through the section of thick mane without snag, she carefully drew it over his shoulder so as not to disturbed Zeus as he was held then parted another section and began again. No doubt another symphony of winces and whines would follow. Who would have thought a male could be so tender-headed. “Do you know how to dye, sir?” she asked, hoping conversation would distract the male from this unique kind of pain sure to come again.