Jirvel set her basket aside and folded her arms. "I cannae wait to hear it. What be yer challenge?"
"I wager Kannak cannae make a suitable belt from the deer hides."
Kannak suspected a catch somewhere, set her basket down and folded her arms just like her mother's. "How hard could it be?"
"Too hard for ye, I wager. A belt must be strong as well as comely. Shall I show ye or are ye too young still?"
Jirvel was intrigued. "Belts?"
"Aye. Ye said the lads have taken to wearing kilts and they will need belts. If we can craft them…"
Jirvel's eyes lit up and she didn't let him finish. "If we can craft them well enough, we can make a handsome profit." Jirvel was thrilled. She grabbed her basket, the heather she was using to weave it and handed both to Kannak. "Clear the table," she ordered, and then she went out the door to gather the tanned hides.
Stefan showed them how to carefully scrape the fur away and then cut the deer hide into wide strips they could fold over to make a double thickness. Then he cut thin strips to use for thread. Once that was done, he folded the hide in half lengthwise, cut evenly spaced, slanted slits through both layers in the first section and showed them how to weave the thread through the slits, making the belt stronger as well as decorative. In the next section, he showed them how to make a hidden pocket by cutting the slits in only the top layer and continuing the weave to conceal where the hidden pocket was.
At last, he sat back and enjoyed the delight in their eyes, especially Jirvel's. He felt as though he had given her a precious gift and she deserved it.
As they worked, Jirvel and Kannak asked a hundred questions about his previous life and he told them all about his years growing up with his aunt, uncle and cousins. But he said nothing of the Vikings, the long voyage across the North Sea or the man he had come to call, Commander. It was still too painful. He missed his mother's sister too, but there was nothing he could do about it. As each day passed, he became more and more grateful he had Jirvel and Kannak to fill the void.
*
"But have ye seen a dragon?"
Stefan stopped pulling weeds and looked at her. Her green eyes sparkled with a challenge of some sort and he tried to guess what it was. He knew he was also being goaded into talking about the Vikings, but perhaps just this once. "Nay, wee bairn, but that does not mean they dinna exist. My father believed it, my friend Anundi believed it and so do I."