Torleik watched patiently as Ulrik remained quiet for a while, thinking, he assumed. The black stallion noted the bronze-marked one was freshly clean and absently wondered why. Likely he had suddenly remembered one day that bathing was a thing that should be done and performed the action perfunctorily. Perhaps he had bathed after their battle to clean wounds. Either way, Torleik knew it wasn't something that would cross Ulrik's mind again for some time, and that thought amused him a little.
The Engineer agreed to help and the dual-horned stallion said nothing, allowing Ulrik to work in silence. The other snapped the tail off of his mechanical wolf and Torleik winced, thinking that was a physical example of why Ulrik would be a poor leader: everything existed purely for parts, for the next big project. No, Ulrik was perfect in his position as a genius and an inventor. That was why Torleik was here; he would not have asked anyone else to help. That, and he thought perhaps asking Ulrik's help would be a display that Torleik acknowledged Ulrik's necessity and his skill.
It was amazing to watch the metal suddenly come together with a flash and heat, of which Torleik was not overly fond. His curiosity overtook his distaste though, and he peered at the creation, finding it to be functional and sparkly - which was good. Birds liked things that caught their eye. When Ulrik showed him how to make the nest into a toy and have it flap its wings, the blue-eyed demon smiled. Little things like that proved to him that Ulrik did not have a mechanical pump in place of a heart; only one who cared at least a fraction would think to give the babe a toy that would be instinctually familiar. "Thank you, Ulrik," Torleik rumbled, picking up the nest and placing it on his back, just below his mane; it attached itself to the hair and stabilized itself on his body. "If I can repay the favor, only let me know." He was aware there was likely little he could do for the Engineer, but if that day should come, Torleik would do his utmost to repay Ulrik.
Taking his leave, the stallion began his trek back to Helovia's Heart, but with a few stops along the way. To pad the nest, he gathered soft grasses and mosses from the trees he passed, setting them in the contraption on his back. The air was hot and still so he did not worry overmuch about a breeze taking away his things. He required only one more part to his gift: food. The beak and talons on the front of the babe reminded him of a bird of prey, and coupled with the back half of a lion, Torleik surmised the thing would eat raw meat - or be a carnivore, at least.
He forded the river that lay in the Thistle Meadow, but paused. A river would provide a source of food, and he was more than used to fishing. He was not in possession of a line of string and a hook, or any net made by the crafters of his people, but that did not mean a fish could not be caught. They were rather simple creatures, unfortunately, and could be easily fooled if handled correctly. Sniffing around and pawing at the moist dirt near the riverbank, Torleik came up with a wriggly, soil-caked worm in his lips. A brief search awarded him with a slender stick. Spitting out the worm for a second, he picked up the stick and propped it against a rock, holding it in place with a hoof. Snatching the wriggling bit of protein up again - the little bastard had been trying to get away - the horse jabbed the worm on the fallen piece of thin wood after many unsuccessful tries. It helped when the worm had been allowed to die and didn't wriggle about horribly, he thought with irritation.
Placing the stick on a stone in the river, he kept it there with a hoof and watched the worm flail about underwater. Torleik remained motionless, head dipped low to the water's surface, watching, waiting. Fish were easily spooked and he had to be patient in order to catch one. Seconds seemed like ages as the hot sun beat down upon his black coat, making the sweat leave little white trails down his sides. From far away it would look as if his rabicano coloring was suddenly expanding its white. Finally, after a good ten minutes of stillness, a curious fish found the worm too much of a temptation to resist and began to nibble. Drawing his lips back from his teeth slowly, Torleik's head snapped down in a flash, his muzzle breaking the water and teeth closing down on the scaled flesh of the water animal.
Fish tasted terrible. He had to resist the strong urge to spit the creature out immediately back into the water. Instead, he tossed his head back up and hurled the fish onto the bank, following momentarily. With a single, hard stomp, he ended the flopping thing's life, but frowned. Now the fish looked half-mauled. Ah well. Torleik was not one to make pretty things; that was why he had enlisted help. His gift complete, he reluctantly picked up the fish in his teeth again and began to walk. He wouldn't set it in the nest and have the babe's home reek. That was unacceptable.
Now to return and see what the others had brought. Torleik was worried his gift would not be enough, or would lack sufficient cleverness to win over this Earth Turtle. It frustrated him often that simple want or will to do the best he could was not enough to prove anything.
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![[Image: 531c0b471919e]](http://images.helovia.net/index.php/view/531c0b471919e)
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[P] Set Down the Blueprints and Get to Work
