12th of Winter, 513 AV
"Here" Ko laid her hunting sack on the counter in the kitchen. The Wolf's Cave hired her to bring in some extra meat a few weeks ago and she's been struggling to keep up with their demands.
"What happened to you?" Korin walked in, glancing her over. Ko had a swipe of mud on her face, and grass marks all up the front of her shirt. It was mid afternoon, the evening guests would be coming down for dinner soon and Ko had just finished her hunt in time for the cook to take care of the rest.
"It's boar, dragged me halfway to the coast." Ko grumbled at the Kelvic.
"Why?" He questioned. The cook pulled out the dead hog, tusk's still in, much to Ko's discontent.
"Because I didn't shoot straight, and I panicked!" Ko threw her hands up exasperating. Korin shrugged, not wanting to deal with her, he walked out the door Ko just entered, probably to go hunting himself. The cook clucked her tongue in disapproval, when she saw where the arrow hole was.
"I'm sorry," Ko dropped her head, knowing that a thigh that wasn't whole would be sold for less.
"Dear, Ko, you're rushing it! You can't rush!" Ko looked over at the woman, not understanding, the cook never hunted with a bow before.
"What do you mean? I took aim and then I shot? What else am I supposed to do?" The cook pulled out a carving knife and shrugged. Ko blew her braids out of her eyes, trying to contain her annoyance. She respected the older woman, she didn't want to point out that she's been hunting for years, and the cook hasn't.
"I'm not talking about your bow. I'm talking about nature." Ko leaned her arms on the counter, resting her legs a bit and tilted her head to the side. The cook continued as she began slicing the pigs skin. "Nature can be fast. Or nature can be slow. When you're sitting there, waiting for your prey to get close enough, its a slow moment. You're heart isn't racing, your breathing isn't hard, you have time to look at every detail you need before you make a move. When you're chasing your prey, it's a fast moment. Unlike me, you don't need to chase your prey--what is this?" The cook turned the pig slightly, a huge gash across the boar's throat. Ko looked down again.
"I had to kill it somehow . . ." The cook gave Ko an unreadable expression before continuing.
"When you are chasing you're prey, its fast. You shouldn't need to chase you're prey with that thing. Which means for you, hunting is slow. It's a quiet time when you should appreciate what the Gods have given us." Ko perked a bow, that sounded nothing like her usual hunts. Often she hit her prey once and had to go chase it down before she could finally kill it. Even then it was rare she made a clean cut across the throat, they always were struggling. "Next time you go out, remember, respect nature, respect the animal. Don't put the poor creature through unnecessary pain and stress." The cook peeled the skin back from the pig's neck a bit, before motioning for Ko to stand up. "Now here, pull!" Ko grabbed the skin at the pig's collar, and pulled back. The thick fatty hide came off easily, but with a unappetizing sucking sound. Ko grimaced, pooling the skin in her hands and handing back to the cook, who set it aside.
"Anything else?" Ko wondered, ready to go home an clean up.
"Did you understand?" The cook pressed, slicing the pigs belly as guts spilled across the table, sending a powerful stench through the room. Ko nodded, wiping her hands on a rag. She ducked out of the Tavern's kitchen then, and glanced down at the key on her neck before heading home.
