Day Sixteen: Teachable

Set after the Season 1 finale, on their trip to rescue Kipo's dad.

Hope everyone is doing well! This was fun to write, and reminded me how good the soundtrack is. Also how hard it is to explain how to braid hair. Tomorrow's stuff at the bottom!

"This is stupid," Wolf muttered, staring in disgust at the strands of Kipo's hair that were in her hands. "What's even the point of this?"

"There isn't really a point?" Kip said, shrugging. She poked at the fire Benson was building, smiling as the sparks burst and floated up into the night sky. "It just looks nice."

"We don't need to look nice," Wolf pointed out. "We're out here to rescue your dad, not dress up and look pretty."

Kipo's shoulders slumped a little and Wolf backpedaled metaphorically, pulling apart two strands and scowling them. "Besides. This is impossible. I don't know how to braid hair, there's no way I can learn how."

"That's not true," Kipo argued, jumping right back into the discussion with a slightly more forced smile. "You can totally learn, everyone can learn. Benson learned!"

Benson looked up in surprise at the sound of his name, giving a sheepish smile. "To be fair…I already kind of knew. B-But Kipo's right!" he said at the sight of the girl's glare. "Everyone can learn, it just takes practice!"

Wolf frowned at the hair, her lips pursed tightly. "Show me again."

"So you separate the piece into three even strands," Kipo said, demonstrating. "A, B, and C, okay?"

Wolf huffed and shook her head. "I still don't get why it's three pieces."

"That's just…how it is," Kipo said with a shrug. "Anyway, so A, B, and C, B's in the middle. Keep them separate. Put A over B, so that A is the new B and B is the new A."

She handed the strands carefully to Wolf, who bit her lower lip and carefully moved strand A over B. "Good!" Kipo exclaimed. "Now put C over the old A, so that C becomes the new B and A is now the new C."

Wolf did so, her tongue starting to poke out of her mouth. "Okay, and now you have a new A, B, and C. So take the new A and put it over B, and then the new C over the newest B."

"That makes no sense," Wolf growled, even as she did the motions correctly. Her lips twitched at the corners as the braid started to form, like she was trying not to smile. She hesitated with the pieces in her hands, holding them like a dead fish. "Now what?"

"Now just keep up that pattern," Kipo encouraged. "And then when you reach the end, we'll tie it off with my elastic!"

Wolf's frown grew concentrated as she kept going, and the fire got bigger as Benson added a few more logs. He'd gotten out his tape player and was now playing quiet songs for the group while he dug through his bag for food. Dave, as a baby, was passed out against Mandu's flank, and the pig had his front hooves crossed and was watching Wolf try to braid with interest.

About three-quarters of the way through, Wolf groaned and let the braid fall slack. "I lost track of the pattern. I'm never going to get this. It's stupid anyway, I don't even know why I'm trying."

"You can braid ropes together to make them stronger," Benson said without warning. Both girls looked over at him, startled, and he tossed them a grin. "I've done some climbing in my time. Braiding ropes makes them way stronger."

Kipo suddenly understood what he was doing and she nodded. "Yeah, and braids keep my hair out of my face even better than a ponytail. Plus, you can tie a braid in without a hair tie and it'll stay put longer than just twisting your hair."

"And you can store stuff in braids," Benson said, cracking open a can of beans and nestling it into the fire to cook. "Like knives and food. Really useful for light travel."

Wolf rolled her eyes. "I know you guys are just trying to make me keep learning," she grumbled.

"What, us?" Kipo asked in mock surprise.

Benson's lips twitched and his eyes glittered. "Never."

Wolf's smile was tiny but real, and she unraveled Kipo's hair with remarkable gentleness. "A over B?" she whispered, sounding just a little sheepish.

Kipo's grin was bright. "A over B."

Tomorrow's fic: Tourist Trap, Percy Jackson and the Olympians