Say Cheese

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Not found on any map, Endrykas is a large migrating tent city wherein the horseclans of Cyphrus gather to trade and exchange information. [Lore]

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Say Cheese

Postby Naiya on October 1st, 2015, 6:53 pm

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6th day of Fall 515 AV
Just before dawn

The chill touch of fall still claimed the morning when Shahar had departed from her bed, his gentle greeting made only after he was sure she was awake. She greeted him in return, touching his hand before he slipped out the door to see to his traps. Naiya let the warm quiet of her bed claim her for a bit longer, not sleeping, but luxuriating in the warmth of the blankets for a few chimes more. While she was still half asleep the pain of her wounds was hardly noticeable.

She had plans for the day, though, so she rose, abandoning the warmth for the cool fingers of morning against her skin. Quiet so not to wake the children, she dressed, moving slowly, and taking great care not to make too much noise when finding her clothing. Bare feet were more quiet than her boots, so she took her socks and the leather shoes out with her rather than putting them on inside. Sneaking past the folds of cloth before donning the heavier gear. It wasn't as bad today, the bites on her calf healing slowly but causing her less trouble each day.

Banti still slept curled against her brother Kabek, Tuka had surely left with Shahar. The two would return soon enough, hopefully with something to make for breakfast.

Naiya tended to the embers of the fire from the night before, stirring them to see if there was still heat in the buried coals. There seemed to be, as she prodded them back to the top with a small piece of wood. She sought the thin dry wood from the hollow of the fuel pile, kept dry by the other logs and added both those and a few smaller pieces of wood on top of the low embers. While she waited for those to catch she went out to gather the zibri, and the new cow, who was still shy, but slowly acclimating to the pavilion.

Her return with the creatures was greeted by the crackling of the fire, quickly burning away the small wooden offerings she had left behind. She pulled more wood from the pile, a few thin pieces, bigger than the first, but not real logs. Following that, she stacked a few larger rounds and a few further logs beside the fire so that she would not have to walk back and forward any more.

With the fire slowly growing into its own, she turned back to the animals, surveying the creatures before seeking both the milk pail and the large jugs for milk. She hadn't yet milked the cow with any real intent, in fact, she had not been milking any of the zibri much either, with all the new calves she was making sure that they were eating enough. Most of the young seemed to be taking a mix of grass and milk, but the newest additions were more reliant on the milk.

It seemed, though, that the creatures were doing well enough, and the cows were producing plenty of milk, so it was time to start milking again. She didn't want to mix the zibri and the cow milk either, she didn't know if they were different, or how it would change the flavor.

Milking the cows would take a while, and hopefully after she was done, Shahar would be back with some meat, otherwise she might offer to take Seirei with her into the market to buy some breakfast and some herbs to add to the cheese. She began with Samala first, she was the most mellow of the bunch, making milking her the least work. Before actually milking the zibri, she sought grooming tools, brushing the old lady with great care.

For the zibri she used a comb, it untangled their hair, helped remove the clumps of dirt, and allowed her to collect the untangled hairs to use as stuffing or sell to be made into wool. The long hair of the zibri protected them from the cold, kept their eyes covered so no dirt or bugs were likely to bother them, and made nice wool. It also tangled like crazy and often had to be treated like her own hair, detangled from the very tips and worked back up to the roots of the hair. It was a long process, but it kept hair out of the milk.

She worked the comb through the hair, Samala relaxed throughout the process, she enjoyed the attention. In the grooming kit Naiya had taken to storing separate bags which she filled with the loosened hair of the cattle. There was a bag for each color, red, yellow, white, silver, and mixed. She could sell the more desired colors for a better price if she didn't mix it in with the others.

Grooming the cattle was about as easy as grooming the horses, the hardest part being reaching difficult spots, and the weariness that grew with each creature that needed grooming. The morning was growing brighter as she dragged her comb through the last section of Samala's left side, pulling the hair from the brush and adding it to the yellow bag.

The fire needed attention, and the camp was beginning to stir. She added more wood to the fire, stacking the new pieces into the sturdy pyramid of wood that was common before leaving it and the zibri while she fetched the large brown cooking pot and her iron tea kettle.

She took both to the creek to fill in the gently burbling water, Banti, having woken, following her out and chasing after small game while she waited. The feline caught a rabbit, dappled brown and white, and Naiya even managed to snag it from her before she ate it, glee shining in her eyes. The feline wasn't happy, but she was learning that there were rewards for sharing her hunts. It was a slow process, but Naiya was working on it. The cat went in search of new prey while Naiya carried her rabbit and the water filled pots back to the camp.

She was struggling with the load, the full cook pot weighing more than she expected, especially with her kettle hooked over her arm adding more weight. The rabbit too was adding difficulty, but far less than the pot which was never easy to carry with it's large size.

She managed in the end, spilling only a little water from both vessels before she placed them to heat beside the fire. Banti trailed after her, a lizard in her mouth which she dropped at Naiya's feet. It was nearly as mangled at the rabbit, the hunting cat's teeth putting holes in the skin, but the cat wanted praise, and so Naiya gave her a nice rub down before going to work skinning the creatures.

The lizard was first, she wanted the skin for preserving, but she was also more than happy to give the entirety of the creature back to the cat, an instant reward for her successful hunt. She used a small blade to separate the skin from the lizard, her blade mostly flat so she could cut the membrane that attached the skin to the meat.

With most of the skin removed, she was ready to relinquish the lizard, praising the feline before giving her the prize. Hopefully it would reinforce the cat's desire to hunt for Naiya rather than hunting for herself. A quick layer of salt began drying the skin, sprinkled with care across the skin and rubbed carefully into the edges. It wasn't much, ripped by the cat's teeth in four places, and lacking the legs and face of the lizard, but it was enough to add to her other, and parts and pieces would eventually make enough to put to use.
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Say Cheese

Postby Seirei Dawnwhisper on October 16th, 2015, 3:15 am

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A delicate bloom


aaa


Seirei woke slowly. It was still dark, but there was a feeling of anticipation in the air that had stirred her from her sleep. Seirei lay peacefully in her bedroll, enjoying the warmth. Every time she woke up and realized that Lian wasn't there was a wonder to her. She suspected that she would feel that way for quite some time.

Lukar was the first of the twins to wake. He usually was. Even at this young age, he was the protective "older" brother. And sometimes it seemed as though he tried to be the first one to wake up so he could make sure that everything was safe for his sister. Seeing the bond between the twins was something that never failed to awe and amaze Seirei.

As she watched, Lira opened her eyes, and looked around, as well. When she saw Seirei, her eyes lit up, and her mouth turned up in a smile. Seirei's heart melted at the sight. She checked to see if the twins needed to be changed, and was not surprised to find that they did. So she started with Lukar, removing his swaddling so that she could get at the cloth that served as his diaper. With the speed born of much practice, she had him cleaned up, changed, and wrapped back up within a few chimes. Then it was Lira's turn.

When Seirei had finished changing the twins, it was time to feed them. Lifting her shirt up to expose her breasts, Seirei held one child in each arm, as she allowed them to nurse. Feeding the twins at the same time meant that the task took half the time it would if she fed each separately. More importantly, it meant that one child did not have to wait while the other fed.

Once Lukar and Lira were both finished with their morning meal, Seirei held each against her shoulder, rubbing their backs gently until they burped. Lukar was first since he tended to fuss more if he had to wait. And then Lira, who was quieter, and somehow never seemed to mind the short delay while Seirei tended to her brother. A cloth draped over her shoulder ensured that none of the resulting mess got on her clothes.

After her children had been seen to, Seirei settled them into their slings, placing one across her front, and the other across her back. Then it was time for them to greet the day. When Seirei emerged from her tent, Kairi and Thunder were near by. The foal was playing as he often did, running circles around his mother only to race away a short distance, half rear, and come racing back. When Kairi saw her, the mare came ambling over at a leisurely pace. Thunder followed, gamboling along behind her. Seirei smiled at the foal's antics as she offered her hand palm up for Kairi to smell. Once Kairi had accepted her greeting, she allowed Seirei to stroke her neck. The mare made a soft chuffing sound as she basked in the attention. Seirei smiled at the contented sound.

When Thunder saw the attention his mother was getting, he trotted over, and butted his head against Seirei lightly, demanding his share of the attention. Seirei was happy to oblige, petting both of them equally. After a while, mare and foal lost interest, and wandered off. Seirei looked around to see if anyone else was awake, and saw Naiya doing something with what looked like the skin of a lizard. She watched for a few chimes, gathering her courage before she could bring herself to approach the other woman. She owed Naiya and her husband so much, and she was terrified of doing something wrong. Everything she said and did was carefully examined and thought through before she said or did it in the hopes of not causing offense out of ignorance.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked quietly, with a shy smile.
Last edited by Seirei Dawnwhisper on December 17th, 2015, 6:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Say Cheese

Postby Naiya on November 18th, 2015, 3:59 am

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Seirei emerged from the tent as Naiya was moving to stretch the skin on a the travois, it would get sun, and she could keep an eye out for the felines that might try and snatch it. She watched the young woman greet her strider, the bond there, but still new, unsure.

Naiya paused to gather mint from the stores she had made, dried mint needed more to flavor tea the fresh was better, but this was here, ready, and she had too many more important things to take care of. She returned to the fire, crushing the mint leaves into the kettle, the cloth of her tunic protecting her hand from the hot metal.

She sat once more. The more often she did, the less often she wore her leg out and caused extra pain. The tea would brew while the water heated, meanwhile she needed to deal with the rabbit.

A quiet voice interrupted her actions, soft and shy, Seirei had approached her. Greetings Naiya signed to her silently fulfilling the obligation that nagged at her, her verbal communication was more genuine, a laugh without a hint of mocking. "There is plenty to be done," She answered, happy, welcoming, "Do you know how to skin a rabbit?" She gestured to the creature, inquiry in the set of her shoulders.

The woman shook her head, looking unsure, and Naiya shrugged. "Me neither." She admitted, a smile playing across her lips, "But I try anyway." She nodded to the seat beside her, the fire warm at the close distance, but not unbearable even with the growing heat of the day. "Sit with me, we can learn together. Banti caught it, so the hide isn't is great shape anyway. It is good for practice."

She waited for Seirei to settle beside her before she drew her dagger back out and lifted the rabbit. The skin stretched in her hand peeling back from the cut in its gut already. "This is good." She told her, pointing out the section of skin "It will come off easier if it is already peeling."

She slid the tip of her blade under the skin, rending the layer of skin in two all the way to the tip of the foot. She repeated the process at each limb, only the pad of the paws getting in her way. The skin tore in spots, the blade ripping through skin rather than slicing cleanly. She had no explanation for that, so she didn't say anything at all.

She cut a final line to the tail, finding the hard muscle and bone that hid inside the bundle of fluff. She pressed that inside out, removing the bone from the fur, then began to peel back the skin, using her dagger only when the membranes would not rip free and began to tear the hide.

About half way down the rabbit, she offered the creature and the blade to Seirei. "I'm just tearing the skin free. The blade just frees it up in tough spots. I think this is all it takes." She would stay to help the woman if she needed the guidance, happy to take the gentle rest provided.
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Say Cheese

Postby Seirei Dawnwhisper on December 18th, 2015, 8:04 am

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A delicate bloom
aaa

Seirei watched the demonstration intently. Tasks like this were things she was really going to need to know how to do now that she was free. She wanted to do everything she could to help the people who had taken her in, and even stood up to Lian for her. And this was one way she could do that. But she also wanted to learn how to do it for herself. She wanted...needed to learn how to do things on her own. How else was she going to survive? More than that, how would she ever be able to respect herself if she was helpless? Carving was her passion, and it always would be. But while it could, and did provide a living for her, there were many things it could not do. Like make her independent, and allow her to contribute to her friends rather than being a burden.

When it was her turn to give it a try, Seirei took the rabbit with a smile. She tried to mirror the other woman's movements. And to some degree, she succeeded. But when she slid the blade of the knife under the layer of skin the first time, she pushed it in too deeply. Blood welled up from the cut, spilling onto her hands, and staining parts of the rabbit's fur near the edge where she had made her first attempt.

Seirei gave a startled cry of dismay when it happened. She looked up at Naiya, and apologized profusely with wide, anxious eyes. She wasn't afraid of punishment the way she would have been had Lian ordered her to perform such a task. But she felt horribly guilty for making a mistake. She was also very worried that her mistake had ruined the pelt. Her feelings showed clearly in her deeply sincere, and horrified apologies.

She set the rabbit down beside her so that she could rub her hands on the ground vigorously in order to wipe the blood off of them. She didn't want to stain the hide even more by holding it with bloody hands. It occurred to her afterwards that she might have asked for water to wash her hands instead, but she was too upset over her failure to do so. And she didn't want to be even more of a burden than she already was. Her hands felt scraped, and raw by the time she was done, but she had at least succeeded in getting the blood off.

Hesitantly, she eyed the rabbit for a few ticks, before picking it up, and trying again. This time, she learned from her mistake, and was very careful not to slide the knife in too deep. Her second attempt had better success, and Seirei sighed in relief that she hadn't cut too deeply again. Remembering that Naiya had said she was tearing the skin free from the most part rather than using the knife helped. She tried to do the same. And while it tore in several places, the end result wasn't too completely horrible. She hoped.

But when she got to the legs, she hesitated again. How had Naiya gotten the skin free from the rabbit's limbs? Seirei had been watching, of course, but her mistake, and the resulting intense guilt and anxiety she had felt at making it had clouded her memory of what she had seen. The stinging sensation in her hands didn't help much. It didn't hurt badly, but it was a distraction when she could least afford one. After a chime or two, Seirei finally looked up anxiously.

"How did you do this part again? I don't want to make another mistake, and ruin the pelt completely...if it isn't ruined already, that is." she said softly.
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Say Cheese

Postby Naiya on January 5th, 2016, 7:08 pm

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Naiya had turned back to her lizard skin, eyeing the edges and deciding whether or not to add more salt. She did, in the end, sprinkling another layer and polishing it into the skin. Seirei's startled cry pulled her attention quickly, her heart aflutter. Worry, concern, apology Naiya's body all but screamed, sure that the woman had cut herself.

Instead it seemed she had merely cut the flesh, the resulting ooze of blood marking the edge of the pelt. Relief, no need for apology Naiya signed, attempting to sooth the girl with words as well, but to little avail as Seirei scraped her hands dry in the dirt. When Seirie seemed to have settled herself, Naiya stood.

Will return quickly, "Excuse me." She moved away from the fire to the travois, pulling a bowl and some scrap cloth from their supplies. She scooped some of the hot water from the cook pot and dropped the cloth inside.


When she returned Seirei looked up at her, clearly anxious, and Naiya was immediately soothing, offering her reassurance. "The pelt will be fine, try not to worry so much. Banti already chewed it up, that only makes it harder to work with. It isn't ruined." Calm, relax. She looked at the rabbit, finding that it was the legs that confounded the young woman. "Legs are harder. I just cut to the foot from the inside, the line where we split the belly, and then just cut around the foot. The skin pulls right off if you skip the foot."

She waited until Seirei began to work again before returning to her previous task, tending to breakfast, and making tea. Tea first, she told herself, seeking herbs and spices from their stores. Mint was one she collected every time she saw it, so they always had plenty, both fresh and dry. It wasn't good for cheese, but it made fine tea. Fireweed was common as well, and it added a delicate spice to the brew. Finally she added sunflower petals, they were dry now, but edible and pretty in the water all the same.

She sprinkled the herbs into her kettle, sealing it up and removing it from the heat of the fire. She fetched cups, her eyes studying the grass for the path her husband had taken that morning, watching for movement that might be a sign of his return.

It was too early for that still, she knew that, but she couldn't help looking her eyes catching on the glowing points of the grass, highlighted by the rising sun. Birds perched, soaring down into the brush, and she saw a man and his mount going out from the city, but no Shahar.

She returned to Seirie, cups in hand, finding that the woman had managed to get the pelt free of the flesh. Naiya grinned happily "Wonderful!" She complimented the woman, examining the pelt. "Next we salt the inside, to dry the hide." She gestured to the preserving salt, spreading the hide flat.
Wait, first, "Let me see your hands, I'm sure you've scraped them, and now they'll need tending." There was no room for argument in her posture as she pulled the steaming bowl of water and cloth over to them.

If Seirei let her, she would examine the scrapes on her hand, plucking away bits of dirt and fur, before taking the cloth and showing the woman how to make sure all the dirt was out of any of the scrapes, gently washing the small wounds for her before allowing her to repeat the process on her own.

Once they had settled the matter of Seirei's hands, Naiya poured tea, handing a cup to the other woman before demonstrating how to salt the pelt.

She sprinkled the salt around the very edge of one section, filling in a small space around it, and rubbing the rough crystals into the pelt with calloused hands.

"You've got to be extra careful to get the edges, but otherwise this is pretty easy." She glanced to Seirei's hands, then added, "The salt will sting your hands, but if you want to do it anyway, you're welcome to do so." No pressure, willing to do for you.
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Say Cheese

Postby Seirei Dawnwhisper on January 5th, 2016, 8:20 pm

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Seirei was more than a little relieved when Naiya wasn't angry. She was even more relieved to hear that she hadn't destroyed the pelt. Her friend's reassurances allowed her to relax once more, and she offered a small smile of thanks. Then she listened closely to Naiya's advice. She nodded to show that she understood, then got back to work. But she was alert to the first sign that something was going wrong, and she worked as carefully as she could.

When Naiya told her to let her see her hands, Seirei was quick to obey. She thanked her friend for tending to her scrapes, and apologized for the need for it to be done in the first place. She really should have thought to ask for water. Or better yet, gotten her own. She still had some in her water skin.

The tea was a welcome break. It smelled wonderful, and tasted even better than it looked. There was something that was both soothing, and invigorating about the scent of mint. And while she didn't recognize the extra spice, it was a pleasant surprise. Seirei thanked her friend for the tea, and savored hers slowly. She blushed, pleased by Naiya's compliment of her work. It rid her of the anxiety she had had that perhaps the pelt really had been ruined, and that Naiya was only being nice to make her feel better about it.

When she had finished her tea, Seirei watched closely as Naiya demonstrated how they were supposed to rub salt into the pelt. She paid extra attention to the warning about making sure she got the edges. Her friend cautioned her that the salt would sting her hands, and offered to do the work for her. Seirei thanked her for the kind offer, but turned it down.

"I want to learn how to do this." she said earnestly.

"Doing it myself while your demonstration is fresh in my mind will reinforce the lesson so I am more likely to remember how to do it."

With that, she got to work. Sprinkling the salt over one area at a time, she rubbed it vigorously into the pelt. The salt did sting fiercely, but she ignored it. And as she lost herself in concentration, the pain faded. Naiya was right. It was an easy task. But this was the first time Seirei had done this, and she wanted to make absolutely certain that she did a good job of it. As cautioned, Seirei did pay close attention to the edges so she wouldn't miss any spots. When she thought she was finished, she looked up at her friend.

"Did I do it right?" she asked hopefully.

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Say Cheese

Postby Naiya on April 27th, 2016, 10:58 pm

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Naiya sipped her tea while Seirei worked, the mint helping to clear her head of the stuffy feeling the cooler weather often caused. It was one of the many reasons she was careful to make sure there was always a store of the herb in their supplies.

Naiya examined the pelt closely before answering the woman, not wanting to short her the experience of learning from mistakes. It looked good, coated well with salt, but the hide had been too damp, and already the salt was growing moist.

It's good she shaped to the woman, "The flesh was very damp, see here where the salt is already wet?" She pointed out a spot, adding another as she found it, "So we just need to put more salt, to keep pulling the moisture out of the skin." She spread more salt across the skin, sprinkling it on, adding more where it was the most damp. "Now it just has to sit, we should watch it to make sure the salt doesn't get too wet, and if it does, we brush it off and start over."

She glanced around, seeing what needed tending next. The rabbit needed butchering, the zibri needed grooming and milking, and a number of other things, but those would take priority. "This part is easier," Naiya began telling Seirei, "I've done a lot of cooking, and this part is the least difficult." She lifted the carcass of the rabbit, placing it on a rock between them. The gut was already split, so she just reached in to pull the organs out, placing them on a rock by the fire so she could let them cook.

On the smaller animals it wasn't really worth trying to prepare the organs for eating, instead she tended to let the hunting cats have them. She said as much to Seirei, trying to remember to explain as she went along. She moved first to the chest, splitting the meat on the rib cage with a careful cut along the crest of the bones. "The rib cage is small, but if you are gentle you can get the meat away without breaking it." She said, using the shape of the ribs to guide her knife, "Follow the curve of the ribs, and you can cut the meat cleanly away." She explained as she worked, although her cuts were far from clean. "Well someone who knows what they are doing can..." She added with a quiet laugh. She turned her knife as she reached the gut, cutting up away from it towards the spine so that the entire front leg came away when she was finished.

Her knife sought crease of the hip, beginning to cut away the hind leg. "There is a hip bone here," She began cutting, showing Seirei where the bone was by tracing the shape of the meat from the back of the rabbit. She flipped it back over, "But if you angle your blade and press on the leg..." Her words paused as she tried to find the right spot, struggling for a chime then the knife caught and the bone parted to allow her to remove the leg. "You can cut away the connection between the two bones and remove the leg." She grinned at her companion, showing her what she had managed.

"Next you can cut away the bone here," She showed her where the leg bone sat against the loin, "The meat that clings to it makes for good broth." She slid her knife between the loin and the bone, cutting the bone away and dropping it into the cook pot. "The neck is good for the same reason," She chimed as she cut that away as well and added it to the pot.

"Your turn, Seirei, try your best, but remember, as long as you don't hurt yourself, I won't be mad at you." She teased gently, trying to impress upon the young woman that she shouldn't worry so much about things.
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Say Cheese

Postby Seirei Dawnwhisper on June 6th, 2016, 6:49 pm

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Seirei watched as Naiya sprinkled more salt on the rabbit's skin.

"How do you know when the salt is too wet?" she asked thoughtfully.

Naiya put the rabbit on a rock between them, and removed the organs. Seirei watched this, wanting to know how to do it herself when she needed to. It was explained that the organs of smaller animals were normally given to the cats to eat, since they weren't worth preparing. Seirei assumed that this was because they were too small. And looking at them, they really were. Seirei didn't know how they would need to be prepared if they were going to eat them, but there wasn't enough meat there to be worth much effort.

When it was her turn to work on the rabbit carcass, Seirei tried to mimic what she had seen Naiya do. It was a poor attempt. In some areas, the meat resisted her efforts to cut through it, and she had to resort to hacking at it until it came free. While she was working along the rib cage, she used too much pressure a couple of times. One rib broke, and another cracked as a result. But in doing so, Seirei got a better feel of how much pressure was needed to remove the meat from the delicate bones. The carver in her wondered if the rabbit's ribs might be able to be used to make bone beads.

Working on the hip bone was harder. It took several failed attempts for her to manage the trick that allowed her to cut the connection between the two bones and remove the leg. But when she finally managed it, she grinned at Naiya in triumph. She would remember what had worked the next time she tried doing this.

As she worked on the loin area, her knife slipped, and she came close to slicing her hand open. But she managed to avoid injury, dropping the knife instead. She cringed inwardly, but remembered what Naiya had said about not getting mad at her as long as she didn't injure herself. She even managed a weak, sheepish grin as she went back to work. The entire process took much longer than it had when Naiya was showing her how to do it. But when she was finished, Seirei felt a rush of triumph and satisfaction of having accomplished the work.

"What's next?" she asked with an eager smile.

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Postby Naiya on July 2nd, 2016, 8:28 pm

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She grinned, the answer to her question was simple, "If the salt isn't dry, it's too wet." She held back a laugh, not wanting to hurt the other's feelings, but the seemingly nonsensical answer was still enough to bring amusement into her posture. Naiya watched, heart missing a beat when Seirei nearly cut herself, but once she was finished, Naiya had to own up to her lack of skill.

"We can cut the hip bones off, because we only removed the leg joint." She explained, showing the woman how to slide the knife between the meat and bone, keeping the blade angled carefully towards the bone. She scraped it down towards the tail, forcefully cutting through the bone at the end. She would let Seirei do the other, before a lack of confidence crept into her posture. "The loin is hard to get." Many bones, unsure. "Shahar usually does this, uses the knife to scrape the bones clean... I'm not sure how."

She tried to recall, vague memories filling her mind's eye. She took the knife, slicing the meat between the two loins, then using her fingers to pry back the flesh, but it would not come, she needed to use the knife. She tried to cut, but the angle of the bones was upward, and she had a fear that it might fly up into her own face if she wasn't careful. She tried for a few chimes before looking regretfully at Seirei.

"I just don't know.." She informed her too difficult, not safe, she frowned. Perhaps it was just easier to cut it in half and cook it as it was, they could eat the meat off the bones, as though when cooking the rabbit whole. She took her blade between the slightly mangled loins, pressing it firmly between the two mountains of bone. It seemed that that would not work either, her knife just kept slipping around the bones of the spine.

"We'll just cook it like this." She decided, regaining her smile. She took a stick to stir the fire, pulling a few smoldering pieces away from the licking flames. "Smoke will flavor the meat, so we can cook most of it that way. The heat is less, so it takes longer, so we will cook some quickly to eat now, if you wish." Offering, no extra work she signed to reassure the woman that her choice was truly welcome.

"The preserving salt is equally good for seasoning, so we will just add a little bit to the meat, and then we can add green herbs to the hot wood to flavor it more." She paused to recall, "I think Ara said that the smoke carried oil from the plants to the meat..." Unsure, not important.

She searched the pile of wood for proper sticks, two to hold the third across the smoke and heat, thicker, but not too wide. "We need something to hang the meat across, can you carve points onto this?" She inquired showing her the stick. It was rough, of a medium thickness, but more than enough to hold the meat.

She waited for the woman to carve, then when she was ready she slid the ribs, the hindquarters, and the loin onto the stick. She stood, moving fairly slowly to the travois where there was a basket of herbs from the previous day. She found thyme, and fireweed, both of which would work nicely.

She returned, tossing them over the wood. Should Seirei decide she was hungry indeed, she would toss the forelegs over the heated rocks beside the fire to sear, letting them cook more quickly while she moved to her next task.

ooc :
I have a video about this if you want to see it, but, of course, there is a rabbit being cut up involved. link. Also, if Seirei wants to eat, Naiya will also make oatmeal, so you can push that direction, or move straight to grooming and milking the animals!
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Postby Seirei Dawnwhisper on July 14th, 2016, 2:12 am

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If the salt isn't dry, it's too wet. I really should have known that. Seirei realized.

Seirei saw how Naiya tried not to laugh, and she grinned. Small moments like this were what she treasured. They were what made a family a family in a very real way. Looking back, many of her favorite memories of her mother were of small moments shared together. And she hoped to build a future with her new family that was filled with many more shared treasured small moments just like this one.

The moment passed, and it was time to get back to work. Seirei watched intently as Naiya demonstrated how to remove the hip bone. When it was her turn to try, she tried to mimic what Naiya did. Unfortunately, she got the angle of the knife wrong. Rather than scraping close to the bone, the tip of the knife bit into the bone, and got stuck. Seirei had to wriggle it free, and try again. And in doing so, she caused some damage to the meat. But her second try was successful. Taking more care with the angle of the knife, she cut along the bone, moving down towards the tail. When she reached the bone at the end, she found that cutting through it gave her less trouble than the first part had. Likely because of her experience cutting bones for carving.

Seirei watched while Naiya tried to work with the loin. But she seemed hesitant and uncertain in her efforts. And after a while, she stopped, saying that they would cook it as it was. Seirei nodded.

"I think I remember some of the cooks who traveled with the trade caravan I grew up in saying that you could make a good stock out of bones like that." Seirei offered hesitantly.

She had no idea if she was remembering correctly, or even if the women were right about making stock out of bones even if she did remember the conversation right. Nor did she have the first idea about how to go about making stock from bones. But Naiya had seemed upset with her failure at working with the loin, so Seirei hoped her words might be encouraging.

When Naiya offered to cook some meat they could eat now, and reassured her that it wouldn't mean any extra work, Seirei smiled.

"I would like that. Thank you."

Show me how to cook it, please?

Naiya explained that the same salt that was used to preserve the meat could also be used to flavor it, and that herbs could be added to the hot wood to give the meat flavor as well. She continued to explain that the smoke carried the oils from the herbs to the meat. Seirei did her best to memorize what she had been told. She needed all the help she could get when it came to cooking. It was such a simple task...and yet Seirei was hopeless at it. So much so that when she had tried to cook some eggs Lian had brought back from a hunting trip, it had turned into a disaster. Not only had she managed to ruin the eggs past any hope of eating, she had boiled the pot dry, and ruined it as well. Lian had been furious. The resulting punishment still gave Seirei nightmares occasionally even now.

Seirei's mood darkened as she thought about that incident. It had been one of Lian's harsher punishments. Perhaps it had been because the eggs had been all that Lian had brought back from that day's worth of hunting. Or perhaps he had just been frustrated with her that day. But it was one on the few punishments Seirei truly felt that she had deserved.

Cooking was such a basic skill. A simple task that was necessary to survival, and yet...Seirei was horrible at it. So much so that if she were forced to rely on her own ability to cook, she would starve. It was yet one skill among many that even young Drykas children knew how to do. But she didn't. What did that say about her? She was a useless burden. The Dawnwhispers had taken her in, and given her a home. They let her become one of them. And how did she repay them? By being utterly unable to do even the simplest of tasks on her own.

When Naiya asked if she could carve a point on a stick so they could use it to cook the meat, Seirei's eyes lit up. Her dark mood of just ticks before was all but forgotten. Seirei nodded, and signed a quick [of course[/I] before heading into her tent to get the knife she would need. Once she returned, Seirei eyed the stick for a few ticks. It was a good length for the task it was needed for. And it was a good thickness as well. Not too thick, which would make it difficult to put the meat on it when it came time to cook it. But thick enough that it wouldn't burn through quickly if it left over the fire a bit longer than it should be.

Seirei began by stripping the bark off of the stick quickly, and efficiently. With that done, she flipped the stick, holding it at a slant while she shaved off pieces of wood one by one, shaping one end into a point. After a while, she tested the tip with her finger. It wasn't sharp enough in her opinion, so she went back to work. It only took her a few more chimes to get the point sharp enough to satisfy her.

She paused long enough to sweep up the bits of wood and bark into a pile. Then she turned the stick over, and began again. Seirei hummed softly as she worked. And before long, the second point was finished. When she was done, Seirei examined her work. It met her satisfaction, so she took her smoothing cloth, and began working on the roughened areas left behind by the knife. It wouldn't do for splinters to form, and work their way into someone's food.

As before, when Seirei thought she was done, she stopped to inspect her work. She found one rough area she had missed, so she went back, and worked her cloth over the whole stick once more. The cooking stick passed her second inspection, and Seirei handed it back to Naiya. By the time she was finished, she felt calmer. All traces of her lingering dark mood were gone.

Seirei watched as Naiya tossed a couple of herbs over the wood. One looked vaguely familiar to her, but she couldn't quite place it. And she had no idea what the other one was.

"What herbs are you using?" Seirei asked.

Curious.

Her first question was soon followed by several others.

"What other herbs are used for cooking? How do you know which one to use? Or which ones will work well together. Do you use different kinds of herbs for different kinds of meat? Or cheese? If you use medicinal herbs while cooking, does that give the food you're making the medicinal qualities of the herbs? What about..."

Seirei blushed, and fell silent.

"Sorry." she muttered softly, feeling like a foolish child.

Too many questions again.

After a quick meal, Seirei jumped up to help clear away the mess so they could get back to work.

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