ORIGIN

Attikias's hands were not idle. They couldn't be, when he was anxious about generally everything. It was okay, he had told himself many, many times, but that didn't stop his body from struggling to keep active. Maybe he should make something. That calmed him down, sometimes-- maybe, after that, he could go camping, or something. Pegasus was lovely- he could spend a couple of days there, pack away stuff from this camp in a big backpack and just go.

Problem one, he wanted to wait for Vivilene. She'd gone out around Eridanus before, and he'd been gone when she came back, so maybe that wasn't that bad of an issue. Still, what if she missed him? ... What if she left because she didn't want to see him anymore?

He shook his head. No, don't think about that. Think about problem two: he needed to have something more than just a satchel to carry things. A satchel was good, yes, but it only got so far- he needed a way to carry heavier things. A backpack came to mind- he'd been thinking on it for some time before able to solidify the idea of what it would look like. Two loops over his shoulders, the weight supported by his back- a strap over his front, like the harness he made for Vivilene? Hm.

Maybe he could make something like that for her, for when she returned- if she did, while he was gone. She had more surface, so maybe a backpack on her deer back would be good, some form of modified saddle for her. He'd like to make it special- maybe take the gentle curve of her gem and do something like that for the clasp, if he had the buttons for it.

He was certain he did- with a mix of scavenging and commissions from Dip, he tended to have enough miscellaneous parts for whatever he needed to craft. Buckles wouldn't be too hard in the very least- but it may be awkward if Vivilene wanted to strap it onto herself. Maybe it could strap over her back? But, would that weight be bad on the clasp itself and bend it? Attikias rumbled to himself as he meandered about the camp, interacting with the various denizens as he went. It was clear he was in one of his working moods- he was quiet, not particularly initiating conversations as much as he would otherwise. His mind was elsewhere- blueprints formed in his head, and he eyed the materials he already had, placing things mentally where they'd need to be.

Well, first things first. Gather the materials for both projects and put them in one place- the saddlebag first, probably. That was easy- a buckle and two clasps. The backpack, however, was likely to need a bunch of string- he had a lot of rawhide rope he could use to tie flaps shut, maybe, and a few extra buckles in case he made it too big. Actually, that'd be good, in case someone else wanted to use it, maybe. There was one buckle he could use that didn't have a dangly bit in the middle, and he had that- he just needed to cut the leather to fit them.

With his hands full, Attikias placed the items on the workbench, his leather pile sitting nearby. Kicking the stool closer without looking, Attikias sat and laid his hands on the rough wood, getting his bearings.

With his baubled rock sitting between him and his workspace, Attikias brought what leather he needed in front of him, smoothing it out with both hands. It was large, and the outside still had its thin fur- a splotchy white and deep brown- and it'd be good for keeping the insides safe, perhaps.

Attikias reached over the leather and pulled back a thin twig of charcoal- that will definitely get on his hands, but for now he needed to mark out the dimensions he needed. A stroke here, one curl there- the general shape was coming together, but he'd need to fold it over like an unfolded cube, so it looked warped for now. The back would be a different piece of leather, something thicker, same with the bottom--

In the middle of a stroke towards himself, the piece he'd been using to mark his work crumbled in his hand, one piece flying off the table and careening towards his feet. 'Great.' Attikias paused for a good second, letting what just happened sink in- and he sighed. Closing his eyes, he leaned back and reached below himself, fumbling for the lost charcoal bit with a fair amount of grumbling.

There. He'd grabbed it, and it felt long enough to keep marking with. Nodding to himself with satisfaction, Attikias pulled his head up-- and hit it right on the edge of the wood.

"Shit-" he cussed under his breath, hissing out as his other hand flew to the back of his head. Yeah, that'll leave a bruise, or a headache. The elf shut his eyes tight and grumbled, running his fingers through his hair as he straightened up and huffed.

Attikias grumbled under his breath as he returned to marking the leather, finishing out the touched he'd need to make. Both this- and the more reddish leather- were ready to be cut, and he had a strap thick enough to make into the straps of the bags, so that was squared away.

Now, he just needed to cut it. Bringing the spool of leather closer, he ran it over the length of the flat bag, figuring out just where he'd need to attach it. Should he make it long? Hm. Yeah, that'd be good, and he gave the spool some slack as he ran the leather between his index and thumb, looking over the surface. 'Here.' He brought his knife forward and pressed in--

And he nicked the thick backing leather below it. It hadn't pierced through, but Attikias grumbled at it, hissing under his breath. He had to be more careful.

Attikias's hands worked deftly as he continued on, expertly twisting the knife around the leather to shape it into something he could sew together. Maybe it wasn't good to have such a thin side, with the fur still on it, but it looked and felt nice- and, so what? This bag, he was making for himself. The thicker leather would be for Vivilene's- he had more of that, anyways, and...

Maybe he could paint it? He liked the idea of that. Scooting in, Attikias cut around his markings and made covers for flaps and pouches, poking holes along the way as he worked.

It was a fair bit of work. Three bags in total- one for either side of Vivilene, and one for Attikias- and he needed so much strapping that he'd eventually laid the leather out on the ground with the straps where they should go so he didn't lose them. He was just about ready to sew, but he had something in mind before that- and he had just the dye for it.

Scooting back, Attikias stood from his stool and turned in search of something particular- he'd made this dye before, as it curled around his arm, but he would need more if he was going to paint Vivilene's bag with it. He figured she'd like it, after all, and he hummed softly as he moved to his little hoarders pile.

Truth be told, he was a hoarder. He kept a lot of feathers from the various birds he ate, and he kept enough animal parts to make him look rather odd if one wasn't a survivalist. After all, antlers made good support pieces in buildings, good weapons, and other things, too- talons were also a favorite of his.

But, grey feathers? Did he even have any?

Reaching into his jar of feathers (which, unsurprisingly, was rather full), Attikias rummaged about and peered inside before pulling back a few different colors. No, no, definitely not that one- ah! Grey, and a few of them! Grinning, Attikias clutched the feathers close as he put the other ones up, returning them back to his work bench. Actually- where was his mortar and pestle, anyways?

Gems, he knew, were more readily available than feathers, thanks to how he enjoyed trying to find them and all. Of course he'd have some grey gem around, something soft enough to break up, he hoped- and, as he placed the feathers down on the worktable, he'd already started to think about where he would've left one. He already had the jar ready- something he'd fired up a while ago for this express purpose, to make some dye or put some water in.

He didn't have a stopper for it, yet, but the open jar would be good enough if he put some wood over it or something. Going back into the thick of his camp, Attikias pushed aside a few pots and retrieved one of his jars- paint, cans, they looked more like, but they'd do. Nearby should be some... Yes! Some gray quartz he'd found a while ago, by a riverbed, perhaps, and a rather sizable chunk, too. Tossing it up and catching it with a confident smile on his face, he returned back to his station and set it beside the feathers, pulling the stool closer again and leaning in closer. First, he needed some water-

Shoot, he needed water. Getting back up, he took the glass can in both of his hands and made his way to the nearby river, filling it up before returning to the desk.

Okay. Now he didn't need water- pulling his clay mortar and pestle closer, he got the gem ready by setting it in place and prepared to break it up. Shutting his eyes and putting one hand over most of the bowl, Attikias smashed down with the pestle and heard the gem snap under it- or the pestle. No, he pulled it back, and it was the gem. Letting out a soft sigh, Attikias continued to grind it until it'd become a fair bit of paste, before dumping it unceremoniously into the can of water.

The next to go were the feathers- and these he pulled the branching parts off of the main stem, letting the hairs fall into the water and float on the surface. They'd go down, eventually, and Attikias did this process with each one, dropping the remaining empty quill in once they were clear of the rest of it.

Reaching away, Attikias pulled back a thin piece of wood he'd used for holding up things- here, now, he could use it to mix the paint, standing up so he could get a good angle. Left hand on the outside of the glass, he began to channel his magic into the mix of greys, a small rainbow shining through before the dye began to thicken and morph. Attikias stirred the thickening water as he forced out more of his magic.

Focus took hold of his expression before he figured it was done, pulling the stick back out. It shined like new metal, and Attikias knew it was good- nodding, he smiled, tapping what he could off of the surface of the wood before laying it down on the desk.

Now, he could get to painting.

He had a brush nearby- he'd made it out of fine hairs from some Lesser or another, made to brush off the tops of things when they got kind of dirty. It'd work for painting, though, and as he took hold of the wooden handle, Attikias nodded to himself.

Vivilene should like this.

He thought about saving the painting for last, but that risked getting on parts that shouldn't need dye, like the seams or flaps or anything that needed to move. No, this would be best- and as he knelt down in front of the leather bags for Vivilene, he steeled himself.

Right. To work. Dipping the brush into the dye, he laid it gently over the surface of the leather, using its wide strokes to cover a lot of ground. It was a lot better than finger painting your own tattoo, definitely, and he found himself enjoying this- maybe he could do this again, with some better canvas? Would other people like that? His tail thumped as he painted more, getting into the rhythm of dipping the brush into the paint and spreading it out over the leather, focused intently on his duty as he barely wasted any of the titanium on the dirt below.

Now, came the hard part. 'Please don't vomit on this, this time,' he grimly pleaded, expression one of brief disgust. He'd been doing so good so far! Anxiously moving in place, Attikias hovered his hands over the various pieces of leather and pushed his magic through them with a long, drawn out breath.

He could feel the magic flowing out of him and pouring over the dye, and he sagged his shoulders as he let the magic finish its job. It hadn't messed up- and he sighed loudly, giving a small thanks to no one in particular as the dye set in. It was quick work, and it dried fast. When he opened his eyes and touched it, nothing felt goopy or out of place, the surface was smooth, and he grinned excitedly.

His work was almost done! Now, he just had a few more things to do- namely, fitting buckles and sewing- but that was the easy part! No more magic.

For now.

Attikias stood back up and placed the various pieces of leather on the now empty table, putting them in order of where they'd connect. This might look a little boxy, but it'd be good, and useful! Attikias's tail twitched from side to side in excitement as he picked up the jar of paint and put it away in the storage hut, covering it with a long, flat piece of wood.

He could just imagine someone trying to eat it and getting a bunch of titanium in their guts... But! That was something to worry about after he finished the bags. Shaking his head, he stepped back to the table and sat back, taking an old bone needle and threading a thick strip of leather through it.

He was glad he made the holes earlier. It made his work easier now, as he threaded the straps together and panels to each other, creating a nice, boxy shape for Vivilene's saddlebags and a big backpack for him. There were more than enough pouches to carry little things, and soon the straps were added on, too, buckles threaded on and thick leather tied into place.

It was a lot of long, tedious work, but Attikias enjoyed it. He enjoyed it even more when he got to see the end product, placing it on the table and grinning to himself. He had the perfect pack for himself, and he made saddlebags for Vivilene, and the world was right.

Standing up and stretching, Attikias looked up to the dimming light above. He'd been working on these all day, and he was getting hungry. Maybe he should make some trail mix sort of deal, something more than just jerky that'd stay for a while?

That had to wait for later. For now, he'd show off the backpack to himself as he twisted around, testing the lengths of the leather and adjusting it to be just perfect.

And he was happy.