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by Karyk on April 30th, 2017, 1:15 pm
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by Salara Kel'Halavath on May 1st, 2017, 6:06 pm
Salara hardly considers Kesh’s decision to release the beast or his offer to revise the decision herself. It was unlikely to live long in this desperate time regardless. “It will not last long without the strength and security of its pack. Let some desperate father be the hero to his family by being the provider – the Mighty Hunter - once again. We have ample reward for our efforts.” Coming from one who hadn’t yet found sound occupation, splitting the bounty for ten wolves was better than nothing and more than she expected upon waking this morning. Proceeding with Kesh’s permission, Salara, head tilted for the sound, locates a clear running stream gurgling over Semele’s bones nearby. Finding clay loam along its banks, she digs several handfuls to be liberally applied to his wounds to slow blood loss and protect the raw flesh from insects. As he lights his pipe she spreads the natural poultice wondering if his thick coarse pelt would be considered fur or hair. Soon smoke drifts lazily about his head shifting through smooth patterns in the breeze. Stepping back to see if she had missed anything,“Stay still for a bit to allow the…AH-CHOO,” Her nose tingled from the smell which was oddly burnt and fresh at the same time. “...allow the mud to congeal and dry somewhat before laboring.” Looking into his eyes below the shadow of his heavy brow, she didn’t think that would be a problem. Handing her his pipe, she accepts it with a brow arched in critical inquisitiveness. Held between both hands pinched between thumb and forefinger she finds it overlarge, of course, more the size of a flute, to accommodate Kesh’s larger hands. It was well worn, polished in places where he was most comfortable holding it. Tilting it carefully from one end to the other, Salara sniffs, wrinkling her nose over the burning punk. Handing it back she politely declines. “Enjoy.” As she turns to walk away she tries inconspicuously wiping her fingers down the rough fabric of her trousers. They were somewhat sticky with sheen of a dark amber resin. Over several ticks she catches her mind wandering off on odd thoughts and whiffs of burnt scent lingering in her hair. Crossing over she interrupts Dorrin’s efforts in building another sledge to borrow one of his knives. As the males finish processing the wood and building conveyances Salara keeps an eye on their perimeter in case any other adversaries approached. While on circuit she locates and drags carcasses, lining them up just to the side of the pine copse as close to the stream as possible. Eyeballing them she considers her next steps, as typically she would just eat her kills without the need for processing; but she’d seen it done and understood the concept. Rolling each carcass upon it’s back she slides the blade tip just under the flesh below the sternum cutting down the center all the way to the anus. Rolling the beast to its side she parts the skin and, for the few whose cavities hadn’t yet been punctured in battle or by her inexperienced cuts, she successfully wrestles the gut sack out. Otherwise it became a very distasteful effort to clean all the entrails and offal from the cavities, as any foulness remaining would contaminate the meat. There were many trips to the burbling stream to wash and catch a fresh bit of air. She did take the time to collect the hearts, livers, and kidneys, which she tucked back into each cavity. With aching arms and the knife’s edge much more dulled, she’d saved the worse for last, the Kesh-crushed Alpha female that Karyk had carried from the first attack. It was difficult cutting the incision around broken ribs and the body kept folding upon itself from a shattered spine. The innards were mush, but what was salvageable was still too valuable to waste. She pulls the bone bag to the creek, rolling it down the bank to be washed clean in the current. Undressing she drapes the gore and soiled clothing across a branch. Better than wearing wet clothes the rest of the day. Cleaning the carcass and trimming away bruised flesh she manages to get moderately clean herself in the waters running by. Knowing her energy needed to be maintained and they still had a long way to go, she takes a moment to rest in the dappled sun to savor tender tidbits of organ meat packed with nutrients that would keep her valuable to the team. Although game was scare, the forest was alive with birdcalls and the sound of honest labor by honest men; something she had rarely heard and appreciated greatly for the moment. But duty called, she soon reclaimed her grubby garments and returned to the men lugging the hair-bag of bones along behind. “This crushed one will not be worth a copper miza with the merchants. I would claim it as part of my take as it is in ideal condition for me.” Only staking claim, she didn’t ask or expect any objection, as it was her right; a stand that had once been unfamiliar to her as a slave and again as a thief answerable to those more powerful. “Besides,” a toothy smile, the mischievous look putting a sparkle in her eyes, “she was prime in her pack and the bitch that treed me. La, Karma.” Tossing it and the other carcasses onto the sledge she nods to Karyk. “Ready when you are.” |
by Kesh Baldur on May 3rd, 2017, 10:54 pm
by Karyk on May 4th, 2017, 10:42 pm
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by Salara Kel'Halavath on May 8th, 2017, 5:06 pm
Kesh’s questions about her race brought her up short in her chores with a slight frown. Her people were not fantastical or even, for many, considered equal to stand side by side with others. But he hadn’t asked for the unsavory history or aspects of her nature and his exuberance and honest curiosity encouraged her to share part of being Kelvic. Brushing loose strands of hair from her face with a sweep of her forearm she smooths her frown and tries to explain, “There is no magic, process or theatrics needed for me to become my other self. There is no pain or feelings of change – unless my clothing is too restrictive. As long as I have energy to expend, it is a simple matter of thought just as I would choose to pick up a blade or put it down,” and demonstrated just that with Dorrin’s skinning knife. “And it can be very hard to tell if someone is a Kelvic without seeing them shift or recognize the traits of their animal through their demeanor or characteristics,” she lifts the blade tip to tap against the slightly sharper teeth than a human’s that she bares at him. “Kelvics rarely reveal themselves to anyone but those they trust. I do not know of any other Kelvics in Zeltiva but I would imagine there are more than just me. Any animal or bird you see may be one of my kind.” The way back was long and arduous for everyone but the males had the worst of it dragging the sleds over terrain not intended to be sled. Game trails often followed the path of least resistance but were rarely straight. She encouraged them as she could and tried to scout the easiest passages. They finally made it back in one piece and apparently the rest of the crew had too. If the foreman, Raegher, was surprised at the firm handshake from her calloused palm he didn’t indicate as some might. She’d asked Mynnie to deliver two carasses as her share to her home where she would keep one for herself and sell the other, poor carcass and pelt as it was, to the merchants. She regretted needing Mizas so badly; otherwise she’d hand it to the next family to pass her doorstep. Glancing up from providing her address, she catches Karyk’s bright-eyed grin upon her and agreed with his unspoken message without doubt – Fine Day Indeed. Through several bells: getting patched up by Doc Horvolt, watching her new friends walk away with a lingering look of her own, and heading home to scrub Karyk’s ‘loaned’ clothing clean (an especially memorable addition to her fledgling costume wardrobe), she kept feeling a smile slip onto her face when she wasn’t looking. *request: LEDGER CREDIT + TBD g/s/cm = 1 wolf carcass (poor quality), + POSSESSIONS: (Poor quality) blood/dirt stained canvas shirt (75 cm)/linen trousers (6sm) |
by Kesh Baldur on May 14th, 2017, 12:18 am
by Hwyn on June 9th, 2017, 3:05 am
by swiss army knife on November 2nd, 2017, 8:22 am
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