Completed An Evening At Home

[Merevaika]

Merevaika

20th Summer 515
It was silly, pointless, and a waste of money. She had been caught up with the moment and done it. The move was one she should have regretted. But whatever she told herself, Merevaika couldn’t help but think that she had done the right thing. The puppies sat fairly obediently by her feet, each staring at their new owner intently with the same large look in their eyes that had convinced her to buy them. They had been the last three skinny little lumps of fur and bone in the basket outside the old hunter’s house. His bitch had given birth to a litter not too long ago, and the other he had gifted to his friends and family. These three were left, and he had tried to sell them to every passerby. Merevaika was just the one who bought them.

He had claimed that hunting genetics ran in the family. Their mother was a Luvanor Grassland Hunter named Tamara, intelligent and fast, perfect for everything. Their father was from another line of hunting Luvanors, strong and able to take down deers. Those three showed promise, he claimed, almost shoving them at her. They would grow to be fine hunting dogs.

What he left out was the “if you train them right”.

Merevaika had so little experience training anything to a dog, let alone teaching a puppy to hunt. She had seeked a teacher, but no one was willinging to give up their knowledge for free. Eventually she had caved, deciding to try her best at it. She knew a little, she supposed, and a little was more than none. Besides, she didn’t have to train them to hunt yet. Just simple obedience, things Denviel had mastered years ago, when she had someone to help train him.

Each puppy, it seemed, was so different, and she assumed this meant that they had to be trained differently too. So would it be better to do it together or separately. She didn't want to spend too much time on it, but from the minute she had bought them, spending time seemed inevitable.

Over the last few days, Merevaika had separated them clearly, always leaving one in the tent and one tied to the outside, while the third would accompany her wherever she went. It meant hunting was a little problematic with an extra burden following her and scaring off the animals, but it got the dogs accustomed to the process, and while they did not take part, they could watch the older dog demonstrate.

By now, each puppy answered to his or her name, which was a good start. It would help her establish more control over specific dogs. Today, a group activity seemed more effective.

[Merevaika]

Merevaika

The command was simple, just a "no". No for distractions. That was more the point of this exercise than teaching the commands. Hunting dogs weren't allowed to be distracted and she would teach these puppies not to be.

Merevaika stepped back a few steps, allowing the dogs more space to run. Immediately, they started interacting, sniffing their siblings and running with them. She waited a few moments before barking out the command sharply, trying to layer it with negative connotations. Her hands also signed it, knowing the importance of silence.

The youngest, Grey, turned towards her, staring straight at the source of the noise. He was the only one, so Merevaika made going over to him, petting him and giving him a small sliver of food a large deal, drawing the attention of the other two, who stopped their games to watch their brother being rewarded. They came over curiously, wondering whether they would get treated too, but when they realised they wouldn't, returned to what they were doing.

Mika, the oldest and most adventurous, started tumbling away, exploring the tent more curiously than before. His sister Freya pulled at Grey's ear, until he eventually stopped looking at Merevaika expectantly and started running off.

"No," she repeated in the same fashion as before, and this time Freya joined Grey in the same fashion as he had before, and both were rewarded promptly. Slowly Mika started picking up on the trick, and finally Merevaika had all three staring at her obediently, no sign of distraction. Of course, the puppies would need reminding the next day, and the day after that, but hopefully they would be as well trained as Denviel one day. This seemed like an assuring sign.

[Merevaika]

Merevaika

It was getting late by the time she had stopped, and Merevaika called the day to the end. Anything else she started would not be finished before night, and she preferred to work in daylight. It was best to get ready for bed.

Merevaika decided to check the snares she had set first, to collect any fresh meat that could be used for the evening meal. Calling up the three puppies, she took them with her, so they could grow accustomed to their new lives. The snares were all simple ropes or wires, tied into loops and attached to small saplings or branches. It was easier in the woodland, with more to support them.

The first few traps were empty, still in the condition she left them in. The next was promising. It was chewed up, with footprints scattered around. Something had been this way. After deciding that nothing was salvageable, as the rope was left in short frayed sections, Merevaika pushed the remains of the trap away, this time using wire for hopefully a sturdier trap. She wrapped it around the branch she had dug into the ground, before tying a noose in the other end, wrapping the wire around itself in a way that meant it would tighten around whatever part of the animal's body caught it.

She decided to leave it loosely on the ground, right around several of the rabbit prints. If luck was with her, she would have caught something. Then again, this was the best snare she could do, and it still wasn't very good. Merevaika needed practise, experience and knowledge, not luck.

Thankfully, the last trap she checked had ensnared a small rat, which the puppies surrounded with excited barks and jumps.

"No," Merevaika said quickly, before rewarding the dogs who had fell silent with a pet and comforting good sign. Silence in this precise moment wasn't needed, but in the future it could be. Better teach the dogs now than later. Anyway, it was good to see how they recalled the command.

After taking the rat and resetting the trap, they made their way back to the tent, where they found Denviel waiting patiently. She made use of his good behaviour, bringing the puppies' attention to how she rewarded him. Perhaps they would learn from his example. She didn't know.

[Merevaika]

Merevaika

Gathering up small pieces of twig and bark shavings, Merevaika made a small pile in the centre of a cleared out circle, before piling slightly larger sticks up around it. Her flint and steel was put to use on the long process of creating sparks that would set the bark alight and start the fire. The glow comforted on her, and she blew on it gently, watching as the flames grew larger, licking at the wood and sky around. Once she was certain the fire would remain steady, she gathered the larger wood, layering that on until she had a larger fire going.

With two "Y" shaped sticks jabbed either side of the fire, and a long thin stick that would rest across them, she would be able to cook the rat. Merevaika took her knife, carving at one end of the stick. Wood shaving after wood shaving fell away into the dirt, the point becoming sharp enough to pierce the rat, and much lighter in colour now the bark had gone.

The rat was next. Merevaika debated how to skin it, before deciding to just go for it and try to keep it as intact as possible. Maybe she would be able to sell it.

The first thing she did was chop off the tail, dropping it for the dogs to eat. Then she slit it open at the tummy, scooping out the organs for the dogs. Her nails then scraped at the skin and fur, her knife sliding in to help them. Slowly, she prised off the fur, before realising she had no idea about what to do with the legs and head. Merevaika slit the fur there too, creating deep slits on the underside of the legs until they reached the main slit across the belly of the rat, which ran the length of its body. She gave up by the time she reached the head, just chopping it off and leaving it to bounce onto the floor where the dogs quickly picked it up. At least they would be fed, even if she wasn't.

The rest of the fur was prised off in a messy fashion, leaving plenty of notches, cuts and holes. She would try to sell it, but doubted she would get much. As her first time, however, she was glad it was in mainly one piece.

Merevaika slipped the sharpened stick through the body, letting it roast on the flames of the fire. The smell started to fill the air, causing saliva to build in her mouth, stomach growling. It wasn’t done yet though, and she would have to wait for it to be thoroughly cooked, not wanted to contract any form of food poisoning. Better to wait and stay hungry a little than be sick all night.

As she was waiting, she made her way over to Eryunt, who was slowly chewing on a tuft of grass, having his meal for the night as she waited. She interrupted him, gaining an annoyed snort as he raised his head, staring at her directly as if challenged her dominance. But she had no dominance really, just a few words to tell him as she brought her hand over his neck and started walking towards the tent, urging him to stay close and not wander far, that she was settling down for the night.

Eryunt snorted again, and took another large bite out of the grass, stopping a little while from her tent. She sighed, leaving him be. Eryunt wouldn’t wander too far anyway, and if he was still hungry, he was still hungry. She would do nothing to fight against him and force him to do something. The drykas would just fetch him some water, and leave him be.

When she came back to the fire, Mika was jumping up towards the rabbit, still slightly pink and raw. "No," she barked sharply, and the dog stopped, shifting away from the fire. She smiled, glad the lesson from that morning had worked, and stroked him, petting his head.

Turning away, she fetched the bucket of water she had prepared for later, trying to spill as little as she could as she picked it up, although a little still swilled over the sides. Bringing it to the horse, she placed it beside him, and he briefly paused, taking a long drink, draining about half the bucket. Once she was certain that he was done, the Drykas took it back, a lot lighter than before.

[Merevaika]

Merevaika

Unfortunately, with her attention towards the horse, the meat had burnt, coating in black. She snatched it off quickly, lightly burning her own hand as she did it.

Wincing in pain, she stuck it in the bucket of water, soothing her fingers. When the pain had numbed a bit, she brought it out, wiping her fingers on her shirt. It didn’t sting anymore, and was just a light red colour, a small mark which hopefully wouldn’t stay. Nothing serious, just a little inconvenience.

Merevaika picked up the roast rabbit from where it lay on the floor, brushing off the dirt that had stuck on it. The outside was black and charred, rather tasteless. Inside it was better, but the centre was still raw and pink. Merevaika didn’t care anymore, tearing off the meat with a wildness to herself. It wasn’t the best tasting, but it was food.


Once she had done, she sat by the fire a little, watching the flames flicker and slowly die down. Denviel had made his way over to her, and licked her fingers, the last of the meat gone. The puppies had scattered around the tent, chasing each other and biting playfully. She let them, not yet ready to sleep. She was tired, but not in that way. Tired of the long process of the day.

It was better than no work though. She worked hard to support herself, and without that work, she would go hungry and die. The work kept her busy, and it was in spare moments like this that she hated, sitting around not doing anything specific. Of course, other pavilions had family, song, dance and stories. She remembered the Stormchasers, how every night they would gather, the women sewing, or tending to wounds, and the men sharing their stories from the day, stories of great hunts and of memories from when they were small. Merevaika sighed, missing the family life. It was restrictive, and tied down, but she would have people with her.

Kei was the first person she had camped with for a long time, and their relationship was terrible.

She wanted her family back, ever so much.

“Mika, Freya,” she called out, waiting for the puppies to come to her, “ Inside the tent, come on.” Once they had eventually scampered over, she seized them by the scruff of their necks, dropping them inside the tent, which they immediately bounded out from.

She gave up chasing them and called Grey, who came over more obediently. He was the only one she trusted to leave outside the tent during the night, as well as Denviel. The two would guard against thieves and robbers, not that there were any.

One of the leashes was slipped over Grey’s head, and tied to a tent peg, secured tightly. “Grey, stay. Guard,” she said, not knowing if the dog understood a word. She repeated the same to Denviel, who flopped next to the puppy, who instantly started clambering over him.

The drykas eventually managed to catch the other two puppies again, who had gone out towards Eryunt, barking at him excitedly. If it was any other horse, she’d fear that it would get scared, and lash out on the puppies, but Eryunt had grown up surrounded by dogs, and these measly little ones where nothing compared to the size of some.

She scooped both up, placing them in a large basket, which she tucked inside the tent. It was just large enough to keep them inside, it seemed, but she didn’t doubt the ability of the dogs. It was she could do though, so she left them like that, snuggling into her bedroll. They eventually seized their yips, and she soon drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

[Konrad Venger]

Nice job, Merevaika! Your work has pleased The Sloth! Rewards XP: Animal Husbandry - 3 Logic - 1 Observation - 1 Trapping - 1 Wilderness Survival - 3 Cooking - 2 Lore: Animal Husbandry: Baby Steps Animal Husbandry: The "N" Word Wilderness Survival: Making A Cooking Fire Trapping: Playing The Numbers Cooking: For The Dogs, And For You Wilderness Survival: Worry About You, Because No-One Else Will Click Me! : Another cute and productive post; so THAT'S where the little snuggle-balls came from! Either way it was a nice look at Mere's life, her routines, her nature and her status as someone who lives alone and incredibly stripped down. I loved the detail that went into cooking and skinning and, most of all, you didn't make it easy on yourself. Just watch out for little spelling errors - SEIZED instead of CEASED, at the very end, for example. Oh, and please make sure you go back and edit your post in the Request Thread to reflect the fact this one is now done and dusted. PM me with any questions and later 'tater!