[Palace]

    It had taken some time, but Palace found something that he thought was worth his time and energy. As far as he could tell, he would be learning this profession alone, but it would be worth it. He had heard of a job, smithing - working with metals, and crafting. It was something that seemed abnormal to him, something humans would do. But dammit, it also felt like it brought forth power and protection. He wasn’t sure what could be made, but he wanted to try everything. Rainer might know more, but for now he spent his time doing what he thought was progressive. The first thing, he decided, was to make what he had seen humans use before: a spear.

    Palace was happy that he was a bacchus dire at this point, for it made it easier to grapple the stones he held together, smashing them against one another. The other day he had found an old arrowhead, slightly broken but a good enough example for him to learn from. Since morning he had been working with the stones, and usually ended up breaking them. Sometimes the stone went off the other, and dug into his paws, causing his golden blood to leak out. Palace quickly licked up the wounds, then went back to work. After a while he took more breaks, paws sore from overuse. He had never used them like this before, and it was starting to make his paws cramp.

    Finally, Palace looked down at what might have been the fifth arrowhead he had tried to make. It wasn’t as pretty as the example he had found, but it was the right shape, and it felt that it could do its job. He picked the arrowhead up, walking to a tree and smashing it into the bark. It stuck out, dug into the tree. He had to jiggle it to get it back out, and he looked at the scratch mark he left behind. The arrowhead didn’t chip much, but he still frowned. Was that supposed to happen? It had only been a little bit off, but it made him satisfied. For the moment, he just looked down at the incomplete and broken arrowheads that laid at his paws, with the example off to the side. The one that had worked he held in his paw, and he tried to decide if the small chipping was acceptable or not.