Closed Hiding in Plain Sight (Turrin)

[Skerry]

12th Summer 506AV

A brace of rabbits were strung across Harif's back, the kills secured to his quiver so that they wouldn't drop off or be damaged as they jolted gently against his back. They were the fruits of brief but successful hunt, ones that he planned to drop off to be tallied before taking some of them to be used in instruction later. Rabbits were a common teaching tool for master hunter, perfect for teaching a Yasi the basics of skinning. The creatures were small and easy to handle, unlike bigger game like deer or elk which required one to have a fair amount of skill to skin.

The man still had a bell to get himself organised and so there was no rush. He had a chance to drop his kills off and go off to have a bath to wash away the sweat of his labour before he went to deal with his latest student, a half-Myrian by the name of Turrin. Just thinking of it made him grimace. He hadn't actually seen the youth, his request having reached his ears from others, but the boy's heritage was enough for him to dread the encounter. He didn't know much about the race apart from their cannibalism and the fact that they were ruled by women or something but as far as he was concerned that was evidence that he ought to be wary. Harif had heard that the boy was promising but he wouldn't believe that until he saw it.

-----

Returning to the processing center after getting himself cleaned up, Harif glanced around for his would-be student. There was no sign of any youth and the master knew that he himself was on time. He scowled. It was a poor sign if the boy wouldn't even turn up at the agreed time. It suggested that he wasn't truly interested in the lesson that the hunter could provide him with. It annoyed the man greatly to know that someone would be so disrespectful. He was giving up his time to teach the half-breed and for him not to show up on time? Unacceptable.

Moving to where his kills were, the man picked up a rabbit and a knife and held them ready. He considered just doing the simple work and to hai the youth but he decided that he could give the boy a chance. Perhaps he had a legitimate reason for being late. He sure hoped so or he wasn't going to like teaching him at all.

When a youthful face finally did appear, the hunter waved the knife angrily at him, the rabbit swinging in his other hand. "You! Are you Turrin? If you are, you're in a world of trouble, boy. You're late, why?" he snapped, approaching the youth to stand in front of him, his body language aggressive.

x

[Turrin]

“Mom, I am going to be late. Do we have to do this now?” Sitting in the stool, Turrin eyed his hunting equipment as he waited for his mother to finish threading his hair through a red glass bead. He knew his mother didn't put the bead in for aesthetic appeal. No, Ceela, his mother, was trying ward away a mysterious invisible creature called a Qibble with the bizarre combination of feathers, beads, and polished bones. Turrin knew his mother suffered from a severe mental affliction that caused her see these strange creatures. Marrak his father told him that she had been suffering from her psychosis since she was sixteen years old. His father didn't understand why his wife had such a condition, but Turrin was told that it had something to do with her Inarta blood. Something that could have been passed down from parent to child. Regardless, Marrak told Turrin and his sister Kaya just to play along with it because his father knew these imaginary creatures called the Qibbles were quite harmless. The whole family just accepted that Ceela was just different and nobody ever questioned her strange behavior after his father explained the situation to both him and his sister. Feeling her mother tie off the bead, Ceela said cheerfully in common, “Turrin, your class doesn't start for a bell and half, so you need to relax this ritual is important.” Turrin relaxed slightly when she told him that he had a bell left and half before he had to go find Master Harif. The yasi knew that he was nervous about learning besides a Master hunter, and he knew that his mother was just trying to help his nerves, but he hated being late because it always made him look bad. Turrin spent half his life being not good enough for his Myrian grandmother, so he thought of his life in Wind Reach as a second chance at life. Even if his mother's people were completely uncivilized barbarians. Stilling tying the beads to his hair, his mother started to talk, “It is a honor and privilege for a yasi to be trained personally by Master Harif Fral. I can just see it now, Turri. My baby boy becoming a Endal. You father would be so proud of you.” Turrin hated his mother's nickname for him, Turri. It wasn't a name fit for a warrior of Myri. It was a name meant for a child not old enough to stop playing with dolls. Turrin knew that he would upset her if he protested the nickname, so he bit his lip and stayed silent as she continued talking, “Besides, you have about two star shaped Qibbles by you head, and I know for a fact that they only come around when a person is nervous. Too many of them and you will be to nervous to learn anything from Master Harif.” Turrin just smiled to himself as he listened to his mother and her Qibbles, so the young teenager asked softly, “What do you need to do to ward the star shaped Qibble away?” Glancing over, Turrin noticed that she pulled out a small feather from her bag of hair ornaments, and she started to tie the feather into his hair on the right side of his head and said simply, “Well, it is important to clear your mind before starting the ritual, but you need to tie a red, white, and green beads on the left side of your head. You need need to make the beads are threaded through one lock of hair in this combination red...white...green. When you are finished with the beads than you need to tie a small pigeon feather to a lock of hair on the back of your head. It will protect you when they are flying around your head and one accidentally hits you from behind. Turri, you need to trust me when I said it happened to me before.” Turrin tried to picture the star shaped creature as they buzzed around his head, and he had to stifle a laugh, “Alright Mother, I will keep the ritual in mind.” When she was finished with his hair, Turrin hoped off the stood, turned around, and hugged his mother. The yasi said with a smile, “Thank you for everything, Mom.” *** Already annoyed at himself for getting lost, Turrin ran into the processing center. He sat there for a moment trying to catch his breath, and suddenly, a red haired man started waving a knife at him and a rabbit carcass and started chastising him for being late. Turrin gave the man a confused look as he started to approach him. Was he Master Harif Fral, or was he just some arrogant assistance who got his jollies pushing around people half his age? Turrin wasn't going to back down from him, but he knew from his mother's lectures about the castes that Yasi was basically a caste higher than the slave caste Dek, so he needed to control his temper. In the back of his mind, Turrin wasn't a little hesitant on being civil to him since he was yelling at him like crazed yukman from the stories, but he knew his mother's people were kind of arse backwards when it came to proper civilized behavior, so Turrin stood his ground unafraid of the man's aggression and said tight lipped trying to control his temper, “My name is Turrin of the Twist Vine, son of Chiet Ceela, and I left my home a bell early, but I got lost in the warrens, so there is my reason for my tardiness.” The yasi didn't like to admit his failings to a barbarian, but the man did want his reason for being late. Turrin hasn't been in the city for long, so he was still trying to learn the layout. The half breed said simply, “I am not used to having stone on each side of me. At least outside under the sky, I can see Syna or Leth to help guide my way.” Suddenly, Turrin paused when he realized that the man never introduced himself, so he didn't want to explain himself to him if he wasn't the Master, “Who are you? I am looking for Master Harif Fral?”

[Skerry]

Something about the boy's attitude told Harif that this was the youth that he was expecting. Something about his stance also seemed defensive as if he was expecting a fight. The master dropped the blade and the carcass onto a table and crossed his arms across his chest as he listened to the half-Myrian introduce himself and give the reason for his lateness. The Master nodded to show that he would accept such an excuse although he thought that the young man should have found out in advance where exactly he was going.

"Very well then Turrin. I'll allow it to pass this time but if you ever show up to a private lesson again..." the hunter left the sentence hanging, a dangerous edge to his voice. He would not allow such a transgression again. "Perhaps in future you should familiarise yourself beforehand," he suggested in Common. The man beckoned the boy over but froze in surprise at the youth's question. He didn't know who he was? He'd called Turrin by name but yet he doubted the man's identity. Snorting with amusement, the master gave the boy a long, steady look.

"How many strangers ask you if you're Turrin, boy? Of course, I'm Master Harif Fral. Who else would I be?" he chuckled, rolling his eyes at the youth. Harif beckoned to him again as he hovered beside the table where he had dumped the rabbit carcass when he had stopped his waving.

"You've wasted enough time already. Get over here!" He picked up the rabbit and held it in one hand, while holding the knife in the other. He intended to show the young man some different skinning methods so that he would be well prepared in the future. "I'm going to show you three different skinning methods. There are advantages and disadvantages to each but I'll explain each one as I show you, understand?"

x

[Turrin]

Turrin relaxed when the man put down the knife and the carcass. He seemed reasonable for a barbarian male since he was late, and he himself was rude to the man. The Myrian nodded in agreement that he should familiar himself with the underground city. The man introduced himself as Harif Fral, Master hunter of Inarta, and the youth let out a deep breath realizing that he just in insulted his teacher. If it was Taloba, he knew that he would be sure to get a beating for such a transgression. He had heard of yasi getting a beating for insulting a upper caste, so he wasn't surprised if the Master punished him. Turrin decided to honestly defend himself, “I apologize for my rudeness, Master Fral if I am accustom in my old homeland to a formal greeting, so I assumed you were a upstart servant of Master Fral taking advantage of me because of my caste...” Turrin father, Marak of the Twisted Vines, always hold himself as a proud Myrian warrior, and he would disgrace the Queen-Goddess and clan if he groveled and begged for forgiveness from a barbarian especially a barbarian male, so he squared his shoulder's a stood his ground as he explained him. Turrin paused for a moment and said softly, “...you might be well known to the Inarta youth, but I wasn't born here, so I know nothing of you. Other than your great reputation.” He probably should have just shut up, but he didn't want to look like a idiot child to the man. He just hoped that he wouldn't regret it for speaking his mind. When Master Fral ordered him to come to his side, Turrin immediately walked to side of the man and watched in silence, and when he asked if he understood. The Myrian teen looked at the plump long eared rodent and asked, “I understand, Master, but what is the name of creature? I have killed this beast outside of the city of Lhavit to feed my mother and sister, but whenever, I asked the name of it to the human in the city. They just laughed and walked away.” Turrin knew that he should shut up when the teacher was speaking, but the name of the long eared rodent plagued him for sometime. The young teen went back to listening to Master teach his lesson and said softly, “Sorry for interrupting you, Master Fral.”

[Skerry]

Harif listened as the boy listed his excuses. He seemed to think that making excuses instead of just taking responsibility would make him seem better in the eyes of the master. He'd been rude and insulting and it didn't matter who he'd thought that he was speaking to. Turrin was a Yasi and so should have a better idea of respect. Although he was foreign and his different upbringing probably had some sort of effect on his behaviour, it was true.

When the boy mentioned his reputation, the man couldn't help but smile. It sounded as if he was trying to butter him up, to get on his good side. He found it amusing but it did have some of the hoped for effect; he felt flattered and pleased with himself. The boy had said the right thing either way with that last part, effectively improving the man's mood as the youth moved to stand beside him. Harif had just opened his mouth to discuss the first skinning method when the boy asked what animal he was holding. Gobsmacked, the man glanced from Turrin to the rabbit and back in shock before he began to laugh.

"Of course they laughed, boy," he boomed once his laughter had ended which did not take long. "Everyone knows what it is and so they thought you mad! It's a rabbit, Turrin," he explained, smiling at the boy. This foreigner was more interesting than he would have imagined. As long as the boy paid attention though, that was the only important thing. He allowed his expression to smooth before he continued.

"The first skinning method I'll show you is case skinning. Now this means that you can peel off the skin in the shape of a tube. Now it's best done by tying the rabbit upside down by its feet." Taking a rope, the man tied one end to one foot, looped it over a bar where kills were hung and pulled it tight before tying it to the other foot. The rabbit was left suspended from the bar. Picking up the knife, he began to demonstrate the method as he explained it. His knife cut into the creature's foot and continued up its leg.

"You need to form an opening somewhere so you cut down one leg, go around the anus and then cut down the other leg. Then it's just a matter of gripping it and pulling it down," the man explained, finishing the cut and gripping the skin. He pulled the skin down in a smooth, practise movement until it came free with a slight squelch and turned inside out. He untied the carcass and left it to one side, taking another from the pile that he had gathered for the lesson.

"You try it and see if you can tell me an advantage or disadvantage to this method, Turrin."

x

[Turrin]

Turrin stiffened when the Master laughed at him. He felt slightly ashamed that he didn't know the name of the animal, but he smirked victoriously when he realized that did learn the name of the long eared rodent, a rabbit. The Myrian got on his tiptoes to watch the Master skin the rabbit. Turrin mentally made a note that this method of skinning was tube skinning. Turrin watched as the Master Fral tied the rabbit up by his feet. The Myrian youth took a mental note that the animal needed to be upside down to skin. Turrin watched as the Master started cutting along the leg around the anus and up the other leg. It seemed simple enough, but he was surprised at the amount of force needed to pull the skin off the rabbit. The sound it made when the skin came off the animal was gross, but he gave the Master a eager smile and said politely, “Thank you Master Fral. Can I ask you a question?” Turrin looked off to the side for a few ticks as he thought of a decent question to ask, “When I watched you peel the hide off the rabbit, I saw it slipped off but the sound it made sound like tearing. How much force do you need to pull, and what is tearing when you pull off the skin?” When the Master answered his question, Turrin took the knife and started to cut around the leg. The cut down the leg wasn't as straight as the Master's cut. When the Myrian made it to the bottom of the leg, he started to cut the skin between the leg and the anus. He noticed that he was cutting it too deep, so he eased up the pressure on the knife when he made it to the anus. The Myrian started to cut around the anus and to the thigh of the other leg. Turrin started to cut up the leg till he made it to the foot of the rabbit. Turrin took the knife out of the rabbit and checked his incisions to see if they were to shallow. Turrin saw the left incision going to the anus was to shallow, so he cut it a little deeper. Satisfied with his cutting, he grabbed the skin and started pulling down on the skin of the rabbit. The sound was disgusting as it felt like the pelt was resisting him, but somehow the pelt stopped moving. Turrin gave the pelt a slight jerk and pulled it down hard, but it tore slightly in the process. Frowning at the torn pelt, Turrin set the knife on the table. The yasi turned and said to Master Fral, “Sorry I torn the pelt. I will be more careful next time, Master Fral.”

[Skerry]

OOCIt's case skinning, not tube skinning

The boy didn't answer his question, instead putting forward one of his own. Harif frowned. He would have preferred the boy to answer his own question first but then he'd still be learning something from asking that question himself. The youth was here to learn so did it matter if he directed his own learning somewhat rather than just having things thrust upon him?

The hunter considered the boy's question carefully for a few moments, forming what he hoped was imle answer that the youth would be able to make sense of. "Well... there are tissues that connect the fur to the flesh underneath, let's call them connections. When you pull the skin off, these connections stretch and tear, freeing the skin. As for the amount of force you have to use, you have to use a fair amount. Use too little and you won't do much, use too much and you risk damaging the skin. You're better starting out with too little force and working your way up so that you don't damage the skin," Harif explained. His answer was obviously satisfactory because the youth proceeded to try the method himself.

Turrin worked the knife well though his cuts were not perfectly clean and straight. He cut too deeply in some places and had to cut other places again because his cuts were too shallow but he got there in the end and began to pull the skin off. It went well at first as he worked the skin down the carcass but then he met some sort of resistance and instead of working at it patiently, he yanked it, tearing the skin. The master frowned in disapproval despite the fact that the boy apologised and vowed not to make the same mistake again.

"You have to be patient, Turrin! You never yank! What did I tell you about using too much force? But you know in future and aside from that little mishap, you did a good job with the cuts," he assured the youth, making sure to give him positive feedback as well as the negative. He didn't want the half-Inarta to lose all confidence after all. Now that Turrin had tried the method for himself though, he decided to put forward his earlier question.

"Now that you've tried it yourself, Turrin, can you think of an advantage or a disadvantage of this method?"

x

[Turrin]

Turrin face flushed in embarrassment when his teacher chastised him for yanking and tearing the rabbit hide. The Myrian boy did remember Master Harif telling him to be gentle when he pulled off the hide. It was a impatient act caused by excitement and wanting to please his new instructor, but he ended up ruining the hide instead, so his extra effort was for not. When Turrin realized that he was showing weakness in front of the barbarian. He stiffened and looked into the eyes of red haired man when he complimented on his cuts. It wasn't a act of a defiance. It was a show of respect for the knowledge of the barbarian elder that he would pay attention a lot better next time. Turrin looked at the rabbit and saw the hide was torn down the side. Biting his bottom lip, the Myrian boy said slowly as he tried to carefully pick his words in common, “First, I think it is a good method for keeping the meat intact without damaging it with your knife since you are pulling the skin off the animal instead of cutting it off. Secondly if you are careful and keep the hide relatively intact when you use this method. A hunter could sell the hide to market. Third, a hunter could easily use this skinning method in the field; for example, you tie the animal to a branch for a tree.” Turrin looked at the mutilated animal carcass for a chime when he decided to think of the disadvantages for using this skinning method and said with deep breath and answered his question, “The case tube skinning decent method is for small animals, but I don't think it will work for larger animals. Also, a inexperienced skinner like myself, can easily tear the hide if I am not gentle pulling down the hide.” The Myrian paused as he struggled to think of another disadvantage for skinning method. He was sure Master Harif would explain to him more disadvantages and advantages for using the method. Turrin cleaned off the bloody knife on a rag and set it the table. Turning to his teacher, the half-breed's golden eyes waited eagerly for the next instruction, and he said politely, “Thank you for the compliment, Elder. I just wished I paid attention the first time, so I would've have damaged the..rode..err rabbit.”

[Skerry]

e
The man crossed his arms and shifted most of his weight to one hip as he listened to the boy work out possible advantages and disadvantages of case skinning. He'd picked out a few good ones but he'd also made some wrongful assumptions, something that Harif would have to point out to him when he summed up on the method.

"Right, so you made some good points. You're right in saying that you don't do damage with a knife but as you learned the hard way, there are other ways to damage it. You do keep it relatively intact yes and as long as you keep it cool, it'll keep well," the master hunter explained, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "Now, believe it or not, there is a slightly bigger animal that this method works on. You can skin foxes this way too but it really depends on the animal. You should be able to judge for yourself what will work and what won't."

The man unfolded his arms and moved to grab another rabbit. He gave Turrin a dirty look at being called an Elder (he wasn't that old!) but he didn't say anything about it. Instead he turned his focus to the new skinning method, stringing the new rabbit up in a similar manner to the first. Taking his already bloodied knife, the hunter traced the path his blade would take, explaining as he did so slowly so that the youth wouldn't miss anything.

"Now you make a cut just below the knee on each leg first. Then starting with the back legs, you cut along the inside until you reach the belly and you cut around the anus. You cut from where your leg cuts intersect and then up to about halfway up the lower jaw. You cut along the front legs next and across the belly to where your anus to jaw cut is. After that it's a matter of working the skin off with your fingers and trimming it where necessary. Any holes, from an arrow say, should be worked around carefully so they don't get bigger. When you're done, you scrape all the fat or flesh off that's left and then you're done."

His explanation done, the man made his incisions slower than usual so that the boy could see though caution wouldn't do any harm. When he'd cut where he needed to, he slipped his fingers under the hide at the legs and began to work it off bit by bit until he had it off. He held up the fur triumphantly for Turrin's inspection before tossing it in a hide bin. Grabbing another rabbit, he thrust it into the half-Myrian's hands and grinned broadly.

"Off you go then!"
e

[Turrin]

Turrin listened intently to Master Harif when he told him that the skinning method worked on foxes. The hunter saw a few of these creatures on his journey from Lhavit to Wind Reach. He remembered Kaya saying that she wanted on as her pet because they were cute. Maybe she would settle for a fur hat or gloves for the winter. Turrin figured the conversation between them was going well until he called the older human a elder. He was curious why the human had such a disdain for the title since it was a honored title in Taloba. Yes, he wasn't very old, but the human had much more knowledge and wisdom, so the Myrian thought it would have been a compliment. However, Inarta were completely different than the myrian, so he decided to stay silent otherwise he might offend the overly touchy human further. Turrin enjoyed the directness of Master Harif. The human wasn't the kind of man to beat around the bush. However, he got easily emotional over minor things, so it was kind of hard to have any kind of dialogue with him. In the end, he was learning a lot, so getting to know him wasn't on Turrin's list of high priorities. Turrin watched and listened to the skinning instruction in silence as Master Harif demonstrate his new skinning method. When it was his turn, Turrin took the rabbit and strung up the rabbit. Picking up his knife, he made a incision just below the knee on each foot. Spreading the legs apart with his fingers, he cut along the inside of the back legs until he came to the anus. Cutting around the anus, his first incision intersected with the second incision. Turrin shallowly cut down from his anus incision down the belly of rabbit to the base of the lower jaw. It was long cut, so he paused his cutting to take a second look at his progress. The incision wasn't straight at all and parts of the incision weren't deep enough, so he had to cut the shallow cuts deeper to free the hide from the tissue below. Turrin made a incision on the front legs and cut until the second set of incisions met up with the first set of incisions. When he was ready to pull the skin off, he reached under the fur with both hands and started to work off the fur; however, once again he pulled to hard and torn the hide slightly at the top of the hide. The process was absolutely disgusting as he could feel the fat and fibrous tissue pop as he peeled the hide off the carcass of the rabbit. When the fur didn't move, he had recheck his incisions and recut them if needed. When the hide was completely off the rabbit, he laid the hide flat on the table and started to scrap off the fat and other tissue from the hide with his knife. He kept in mind to be extra careful around the arrow hole, but the process of tearing it off caused the hole to get bigger. While he continued to scrap the hide, Turrin asked with his eyes and hands still concentrating on the task at hand, “When you finish skin the animal, how do you preserve the hides, Master?”

oocI went back through the post and added mistakes and fixed the problem with the post.