Field Trip (Jaeden & Sam)

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"I'm not much of a furrier," he admitted, walking closer. His knife was already out; he had planned to finish it himself, but didn't see fit to stop Jaeden once he got his mind set on being safe. Instead he said another prayer to Caiyha in the silence of his soul, an old habit, difficult to quit.

He crouched down near Jaeden and the elk for his lesson in field dressing. He had done it before, but was far from adept at it.

As he watched Jaeden work, nodding and paying attention to the lesson, he had to wonder why Jaeden had taken him under his wing. Granted, he was getting riding lessons. Granted, he was getting someone with whom to practice swordplay. Granted, he was getting a trapping and hunting assistant. But still, it seemed like Sam had drawn the long end of the stick.

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden then just gave a slowly shrug of his shoulders, kneeling as he began the process of skinning the elk. “There’s a side flap on my pack, open it up, pull the pieces to the body sled out, and put it together if you would” Jaeden instructed as he began slicing through the skin of the elk’s skin along it’s chest and belly. “You’ll be cleaning any small game you catch in your traps though, just so you know.” Jaeden slowly rubbed the tip of his nose with the back of his wrist, dulling a slight itch that had risen there. Whatever reasons Jaeden may have had for teaching Sam seemed to go unanswered by Jaeden himself. Did Jaeden have some ulterior motive? Did he view Sam as some sort of kid brother? Or was he just someone who liked having pleasant company around? It would likely remain a mystery in the long run. Chances were that Jaeden didn’t even have a motive for such, but merely acted on a whim most of the time. Jaeden slowly looked over his shoulder, finding Sam had finished constructing the body sled from his pack. “Alright, now comes the messy part,” Jaeden said before he removed the arrows from the elk’s body, checking them for a moment. He then grasped the cuts along the Elk’s skin, peeling it back as he sliced away at any pieces that clung to the flesh. With the meat exposed, Jaeden the began cutting into the flesh of the Elk, removing parts from it’s rump, shoulders and ribs. All of the meat was laid out evenly over the body sled, before a layer of leather from his preservation kit was laid out over that. The process of field dressing the elk took close to two chimes of the bell, as Jaeden did the work carefully, showing a slight hint of his own inexperience in the process. Finally, Jaeden slowly stood, wiping his knife clean along the leg of his pants. “Well, we got all we can carry in the sled,” Jaeden said looking down to the body sled which was now stocked with the meat. “It was a young elk, but still, the bulls get to be around eight hundred pounds when they come close to maturing. We’ll leave the rest for the scavengers and predators that roam. There are already a few looking on curiously anyways.” Jaeden then circled around, slipping his knife back into it’s sheath as he crouched down in front of the Elk’s head. “Well, the horns aren’t quite poking out there either, so they won’t sell, but we still have the skin.” Jaeden explained as he walked over towards the body sled, throwing one of the straps over his shoulder. He grabbed his bow from Sam, slinging it over his other shoulder before looking to Sam himself. “Alright, grab the other strap. We have a little over three hundred pounds of meat to drag back to camp, and the traps to look over before night falls. Fun times.”

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sam was not disgusted by the process of skinning the dead animal. He had done it himself many times, but with less precision that Jaeden, though he could see that the man wasn't quite an expert. He did as he was told, though, and paid close attention so he would be able to do a passable job with the smaller game.

Once he had the other strap and they were pulling like a pair of oxen, he started talking, asking questions.

"Do you ever keep the bones or hooves for carving? Or the bones at least for the marrow... tastes good. How much of this meat do you mean to keep and how much to sell? It's too bad Horse isn't here, because we could've kept a lot more of the meat. Not that I mind sharing with the forest creatures, but you know..."

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden slowly shook his head at Sam’s question. “The only thing I know about carving, is that I can’t do it,” Jaeden simply answered with a smirk. “If someone requested I bring some back for purchase, then I would. Otherwise, it’s excess weight that may not be worth dragging around.” “As far as the marrow goes?” Jaeden just gave a subtle shrug, lifting the body sled up as it snagged along a random rock along the forest ground. “Well, in the end most hunters travel alone. We grab what’s readily accessible and the rest is left for the scavengers for two reasons. One, it is nice to share with nature. Two, they’re more likely to go for the exposed carcass than follow what you’re dragging back to camp.” “Generally as far as the other parts go, they’re only grabbed when a request for them is offered. Otherwise, if you’re hunting for a living, it’s generally better to get as many trips in as possible. There’s always a call for meat and hides, not always for the bones or marrow.” Jaeden explained before looking back at the meat. “We can split the meat evenly down the middle for the elk. I'll keep the skin for it, but whatever small game is captured in the traps can go to you. I plan to spend a couple of days smoking the meat into Jerky though before returning to sell it.”

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sam always tried to think about the things Jaeden said before responding. Whether Jaeden was teaching or Sam was, it was best to give each thought its due before being distracted by more. Readjusting his shoulder against the strap, he struggled to give equal force to their pull, though Jaeden was clearly the stronger of the two.

"So we get back to Horse, start smoking the meat and then you guard it while I go check the traps?" he asked, curious.

He could hear the scavengers attacking what was left of the elk far behind them, and he could only imagine they or similar carnivores would attempt to steal the humans' share of the meat should they both abandon it. Sam didn't particularly want Horse sitting there when the flesh-ripping teeth of the scavengers were nearby, though the animal did have a mean kick and knew how to protect himself.

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden shook his head. “Nah, we can both go out to check the traps.” Jaeden said as he leaned into pulling the body sled. “The fire we’ll have going should be sufficient to keep most of the animals away, and we won’t be gone long enough for the curious ones to raid the meat we’ve dragged back.” Jaeden reached to his water skin as he continued hauling, taking a long drink. “We’ll split up. You start at the first trap we laid, and I’ll go to the last one. We’ll meet in the middle.” Jaeden explained before slipping the water skin back into place along his belt. “Just be careful when approaching the traps. It’s not unusual for a small and medium sized predators like a wolf to get caught in one. Tends to happen when they’ve been chasing prey the trap was intended for and they usually only get a leg snagged. So it’s likely they’d still be alive when you discovered them.”

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"Well, I have my scimitar," he said. "And we can sell a wolf pelt, right? We'll have to so I can afford another snare if a wolf or whatever messes it up. Sam Wolfbane." He growled theatrically, then laughed. He took a sip of his own water, figuring it was best to copy Jaeden as they were within his bailiwick more than Sam's. Wiping sweat from his brow, he tried not to calculate how much further they had to haul the meat. "I miss Horse," he announced wearily. He was strong enough with his whipcord muscle frame, but it was rare he had to do any heavy hauling. That was what Horse was for.

"And we need green wood for smoking the meat, right?"

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden slowly looked back towards Sam, giving a nod of his head before saying, “I already collected to wood needed for smoking.” “I would prefer that you not kill any wolves. I have taken a small liking to them due to an event from my past.” Jaeden commented as they neared camp. “If it comes down to you or the wolf, of course defend yourself, but if you find any trapped, just let me know and I’ll try and release them from the trap without harm.” Jaeden gave one final tug of the sled before it rested at the center of camp as he finally dropped the strap to the ground, giving a light exhale. “The profit you’ll gain from the elk meat alone will more than cover the cost of any traps you might lose. Though it will be a good idea for you to get yourself a bow.” Jaeden suggested before taking another long drink from his water skin. “It makes hunting large prey so much easier.” Jaeden then began preparing the first batch of meat to be smoked as he gave a small motion towards Horse, who still lingered around camp. “If you want, you can take him out with you to collect the traps and any spoils they hold.” Jaeden then said as he began stripping any fat from a strip of meat and cutting it into thin stripes. “He just a little too big to take on a hunt when one needs silence and concealment.”

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"All right, no wolf pelts, then," he agreed, glancing curiously at Jaeden but not shooting him any intrusive questions. "And I know Horse isn't all that good at sneaking, but he's fast and that's what I wanted." He grinned and crouched down to help with the preparation of the elk steaks. It smelled good and it was making his stomach grumble a bit; not a full-fledged growl, but he would probably snack while going after the traps and snares.

"A good bow is on the top of my list," he assured Jaeden. "So, who do we go to to sell the meat? You know the good, fair merchants, right?"

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden gave a slow shrug as he skewered a large piece of meat, as set it to hover over a flame to cook for their dinner tonight. “Most likely you’ll want to try the Bazaar. Everyone’s buying right now in preparation for the spring festival that Syliras will be holding, but it all depends on how much stock a seller will have.” Jaeden answered as he then began spreading some seasoning and salt over thin strips of meat. Such becoming the first batch that he would be drying out into jerky. “Their prices will fluctuate according to that. Supply and demand and all that. Best to shop around and see who’s in greater need.” He then laid the strips down over a second fire pit he had made for smoking. Grabbing his flint and steel, he slowly cast sparks into the pile of light kindling, starting a smolder. A slow blow to such eventually produced a flame as heat and smoke rose along the meat. “Alright then. We’ve got a fair amount of time before supper tonight is read. Likely enough to finish our round of checking the traps.” Jaeden said as he wiped his hands clean along his pants. He then covered the remaining meat that still laid within the body sled. “If you wanted to grab horse and begin checking the traps closer to camp, I’ll head out to the last one we set and start there.”