Closed The Dynamic Duo Part 1 (Rhy)

[Gianne Basete]

Rhy was gone and camp was done. Gianne needed to occupy herself somehow, but how? She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned, examining her belongings thoughtfully. I could practice with my lute. That seemed like as good an idea as any, so she sank to the ground next to the fire with the instrument and rested its deep wooden belly against her ribcage. She'd opted for the much simpler form of strung instrument. The Akalak who had sold it to her over the summer had gone into a complex explanation of it and its fellow melody makers. Her lute was an 8-course with 15 strings. At first she thought it would be overwhelming, but it turned out to be fun experimenting with all the sounds it could create. Gianne strummed all the strings, using her short fingernails as the pick. They sang with a pleasant sound and after a few moments she quieted them with a hand overlapping the vibrating strips of animal gut. Then she positioned her fingers on 4 of the strings about halfway down the neck, and very delicately plucked them. The sound was odd so she silenced it quickly. She repeated the same finger position only higher up the hardwood ebony neck. This time it sounded much better, though a little off. Gianne lifted her middle finger from the chord and strummed once more. Wonderful! She'd try and remember that for later. She of course didn't know any songs, having not been practicing the instrument regularly. Instead, it was always playtime; just making things up as she went along. And she did for the whole time Rhy was gone off fetching food. Her fingers would move to a new spot where she would test the sound, and either discard it or file it away for later. Once she held a pleasant chord at the very top fret then quickly slid her fingers down the neck, hearing the sound increase in pitch as her hand drug it down to the bottom fret. But you could only practice for so long until you became bored. Thankfully, Rhy was returning just as things were getting tiring. Gianne smiled and set the lute aside, examining the snakes and dandelions with raised eyebrows. "Welcome back. You seem to have had quite a bit of luck! Very good." She noticed how Rhy had seemed to be hobbling a little when she entered the camp, but held any questions for a moment. She took the snakes but left the bag of greens, unsure what to really do with them. "Never had snake before," she commented as she dropped them in a pile next to the firewood. How to do this? She wasn't a cook but she knew basics. It wouldn't be hard to just cook the meat over the fire, but making sure it wasn't burnt or underdone was another thing. Gianne grabbed one of the branches she'd collected and pulled the hunting knife from her boot. It was strong and sharp; plain but well made. She used it to strip the bark from its sides and sharpen both ends to crude points. It wasn't a pretty job but it should work for what she had in mind. Face pinched in concentration she took one of the snakes - a green one - and started to feed the stick up its lifeless body to act as a skewer. It was a nasty little job, mainly because it sounded horrible. Bones crunched and blood oozed out of the mangled opening in its crushed head onto her fingers. Her lip was curled in distaste but nevertheless she got the chore done. "Snake-ke-bob!" she announced, brandishing the snake, now with a stick jammed up its body. With a grunt she drove the other sharpened end, the one protruding out of its head, into the dirt next to the fire. It wouldn't hold though, so she had to try a few more times until it did. Finally, the snake was propped at an angle over the low, crackling fire. She would turn it in a while so it cooked as evenly as she could get it. "Well, that worked surprisingly well," she mumbled as she went to work on a few more sticks. Again they were stripped of bark and sharpened on both ends then pushed up into the dead coils of the other snakes. Nearly half a bell of bloody work later and all the snakes were propped over the fire cooking. "Okay," she finally continued, wiping her hands off on some moss next to her leg. "Gill won't be the only one with a full stomach. You could prepare those dandelions if you wanted to eat them a certain way. I wouldn't know what to do with them. Never had a dandelion before. Now tell me, did you do something to your leg? It looked like you were limping." Gianne frowned, seeming like a mother catching her child in the act of doing something silly that had gotten them hurt.

[Rhy]

"What? Me?" Its the first response she can think of when Gianne turns from the cooking fire, eyebrow raised in the picture of motherly concern. "I'm an accomplished woodsman, thank you very much. I don't get hurt." She sniffs daintily and kicks her heel over the other. But thinks better of her answer when she flinches at just this small movement. "Alright, maybe a little. Twisted it going up the the hill. Otherwise I would have brought you something better to eat. Because I'll have you know that snakes are about as appetizing as your leather boots. And just as tough." She smiles apologetically, "not very tasty, but they stick to the ribs really well. A few bites and you'll be full for hours. And these", she opens her makeshift bag and spreads her bounty on top, "you eat as is. Unlike snake, they are very sweet and tender." She pops a yellow dandelion head into her mouth as if to prove her point. "The cress and the Cattail should just make the snake more edible, like a seasoning." She reaches forward and turns the snakes on their spits to cook the other side. For the fire has cooked the skin to a crispy brown on one side that flakes like rust on a millstone. Should be done in a minute, she reckons. She's always eaten snake raw, as most of her other foods. "I heard something when I came into camp. Like a harp, but deeper. Did you bring an instrument? Will you play for me? I know plenty of songs!" She shuffles closer, elbowing her companion in the ribs. "We've got a few more hours before it get too dark. Play for me!" But her begging is cut short as one of the cooking snakes gives a very lively hiss, just a product of the sudden heat, but Rhy startles anyway. "Ah, right, I bet these are done." She pulls all three from the fire and sets them down to cool. Once they are no longer hot enough to melt her fingers she picks up the closest and peels off the skin the same way you would peel an orange. And it flakes off easily, leaving her with the white, chicken-like flesh. Holding it up to her mouth, stick and all she shows Gianne how to eat the flesh. Stripping it down from between the many ribs is the easiest way, she finds. Using her teeth and scraping downwards. She rips up pieces of the cress and sprinkles some on with each mouthful, but she was not kidding when she said it tastes like leather.

[Gianne Basete]

"You should probably soak that ankle down at the lake, or whatever you'd call it. I'm sure the water is cold enough and would make it feel better. I'll get you some cloth in a bit that you can get wet and tie around the sprain. Should act like a decent cold compress." She was about to fetch her backpack for some bread and dried beef when Rhy mentioned her instrument. Her stomach automatically knotted up like a constrictor around a rabbit. "Uhhh...," was all she could say at first. A long pause. "I really don't know any songs. I haven't practiced a whole lot, and I've only made up a few small ditties on my own. Even those are just a few chords and string plucks." Thankfully, their meal saved her life. One of the snakes made a loud pop in protest to the fire. Apparently they were done, but she couldn't tell. Normally cooked meat had an odor, but these barely had one to her. Meats like deer and lamb dripped fat into the flames, sending a cloud of mouth watering aromas into the air. Snakes didn't seem to do that. "I might end up liking them, who knows," she replied to Rhy's comment. Everyone's taste buds were different after all. Gianne took up one of the sticks and examined the snake, copying Rhy's way of peeling off the skin. The scales were brittle and crispy like the burnt crust of some bread, but the meat underneath didn't look overcooked. She sniffed experimentally then scraped a little meat off with her teeth. Not good. Her face puckered as she chewed. It seemed underdone to her, rather raw. Or maybe that was how the meat was supposed to be. For the next bite she sprinkled on a little cress. It helped quite a bit, but the texture still sent a chill up her spine. Gianne had eaten all manner of seafood when she lived in Zeltiva, even raw. Raw fish was terrible; cold and floppy. This snake's texture reminded her of that. Oh well. Food is food. So she ate it all, giving the meat generous seasoning all over. Once done, she crawled over to the backpack and drug it back to the fire. Inside were some other provisions, mainly snacks. Gianne tossed Rhy a few long strips of dried beef, as well as chunk of bread. Then an apple as an afterthought. She pulled out pretty much the same thing for herself, except instead of an apple she had a peach. "This will make the snake go down better, I'm sure. Not enough to make a meal on its own, but with what you brought back, we've got ourselves a right little feast." As well, she went ahead and tried a few dandelion heads. Rhy was right, they were good. Gianne ended up with a mouthful of them before she spoke wearily. "Do you know any impossibly simple songs?" It was hard for her to say no to the Kelvic, and so she would put herself through the embarrassment of playing an instrument she was barely familiar with if it would make the girl happy. She also realized she likely wouldn't do that for anyone else she knew. Why was that?