Solo Returning to Caiyha: Day 2

[Harkon]

Timestamp: Fall 85, 514 Starting Location: Harkon's Camp from this Thread Harkon awoke suddenly, surprised at the lack of soreness he felt from sleeping on the ground. Whatever this spongy, mossy stuff he laid up was, it sure was comfortable. He looked over at his campfire, seeing that it was still alive, though mostly just glowing coals. He was about to get up, when he felt something move against his skin. It didn't feel large, smooth, yet strangely uneven skin against his stomach. Moving incredibly slowly, Harkon looked down his torso to see what he expected, a snake. It was black and green, but Harkon had no way of knowing if it was poisonous or not. It wasn't large enough to crush him to death like some snakes could. Laying there on his left side, he assumed the snake sought out the warmth of his fire or his body. Harkon slowly, a hair's width at a time, moved just his right arm, trying to keep the rest of his body still. His arm crept over his body, behind the snake, Harkon's eyes locked on it. Then striking, just as the snake might, his hand snapped down, grasping the snake just behind its head. It began wriggling and writhing furiously, its mouth open and closing in an attempt to bite its attack. Harkon stood up quickly, got his left hand beneath where his right gripped, and snapped the snake's spine, killing it instantly. His stomach was reminding him that he hadn't had a real meal, so he thanked Caiyha for the blessing of food. Harkon set the snake corpse on his seat, ensuring to keep an eye on it so that some scavenger, especially that damn cat from yesterday, stole it. He put the last of his stockpiled wood on the fire, stirred up the coals, and got it going once more. He put his hot rocks in the fire as well, grabbed his bowl, and snake, and made his way to the river to gather water. Taking the route he was now familiar with, he came to his spot to find quite the unwelcome intruder sitting way out in the middle of the shallows. The water was not deep there, so it was quite obvious that the granidile was not attempting to hide or lie in wait. Harkon wondered if it was sunning himself, or had gotten stuck, or something else. Keeping his distance from the large reptile, Harkon quickly gathered his water, from the shallowest, most open part of the riverbed. He couldn't tell if it was alive or dead, but he wasn't about to move closer to find out. Having the water he needed, he turn and left quickly. Returning to the camp, he set about the process of bringing his water to a boil, his fire at a small, but steady blaze. Now was the time to prepare his meal. He grabbed his sharp bone dagger, and placed the snake on one of the smoother rocks. He wasn't sure how to properly clean and prepare a snake, but he knew with most things that you removed the skin and organs. He decided to start with the head. Taking his knife, he pressed it into the neck just behind the head, using a sawing motion to break the skin. It took quite awhile, but he managed to decapitate it. He then worked into the skin from where the head used to be, and start to saw upwards along the belly, toward the tail. The cut Harkon made was neither straight, nor steady, a jagged slice along the body. But it had done the job, and the snake was now flayed open. He opened the skin up to peer inside, seeing the skin was attached to the meat with some stringy material. He took the very tip of the knife and worked it beneath the strings, severing them. This portion was taking a lot longer than he figured, having only separated a few inches of skin from the meat. Then he got an idea. He grasped one portion of the meat near the former head with one hand, the other grasping the skin already separated. He then began to pull them apart, and was surprised at the ease in which it succeeded. It all came off except for a bit right at the end of the tail, but the knife loosened that as well. The skin off, Harkon looked at the snake, noting the the guts all appeared to be in a sort of tube, which was easy to remove with his hand. He tossed it into the foliage nearby, for if he wasn't going to eat it, something else should. He then grabbed a small, green stick, and began shaving off the bark with his knife. He also sharpened the end to a point. He then worked the point through the meat, several times, until the snake was secure. He then took his seat on his rock, and stuck the stick into the fire, keeping a good grip, to begin cooking his first proper meal. He kept his snake on a stick turning, watching the meat brown then blacken, while maintaining his water. When he assumed it be done, he let the snake cool, as well as his water. Then bringing the charred critter up to his mouth, he took a small bite out of the improvised kebab. The outside was charred and dried, but there was some juiciness beneath it. Your average kitchen chef's assistant could probably cook this leagues better, but when you are really hungry, this is a delicacy. He occasionally had to pick out the small rib bones, eating around the spine. When he was finished, he washed it down with a lot of water until he was properly full.