PM to join Hide and Seek

[Dravite]

19 Fall, 515 AV
Endrykas

Dravite turned up quietly and moved to sit at the end of one of the tables without making a fuss. He stalked in with a bobcat, carrying the animal by its hind legs; he set it down on the table respectfully and took a seat without looking anyone in the eye. The man seemed somewhat reserved today, or at least not quite his usual, outgoing self. He eyed the selection of tools presented to the group, and unsure on the use of any of them, he took his hunting knife from its keep on his belt and set to work, starting on the legs as he had overheard the instructor direct one of the groups to.

The watchman cut around the pad of the foot and slowly traced up the length of the leg, careful not to let his knife slip and press too hard that it might cut into the tender flesh between the bones in the legs and cause him to cut himself or ruin the pelt. Up to the armpit he guided the end of his knife before following the next instruction; pull away as much of the pelt as you can with your hands in order to minimise knife work and the chance of dotting the hide with unnecessary holes. He dug his fingers in under the skin which was a lot firmer than the rabbit he had almost been forced to show up with before finding something a little better to take down.

The bobcat skin came away a lot easier than he had first imagined, and where he might have usually used his knife, he now saw advantages in using his hands and fingers to do the work. Working the toes of the animal free from the pelt proved difficult and was usually a step the horse lord liked to skip, opting to cut the feet off completely. He tried to wiggle one of the toes free, eventually settling for using his knife again to attack the area as best he could without cutting the small digit away. Eventually he managed to get one loose, though he seemed to have made a right mess of it. The instructor came round to give the person next to him a few handy tips on how to do what he was attempting more efficiently and Dravite, without drawing any attention, watched and learned.

He felt the instructor trying to make eye contact with him but was not in the mood to indulge the man, and so he moved on, speaking up a little as he seemed to gage Dravite's interest, even if he could not win any official form of acknowledgment.
"Cut on both sides, that's right, gently does it; now hold the claw and work the small bone free, make sure you don't push your blade in too far, the points should come away easily."

The watchman did just as he had overheard, inserting the point of his hunting knife either side of the toe before moving the stubborn bone back and forth until it finally gave way and slipped from its keep, leaving the claw intact. Dravite wondered if there was an easier way; that perhaps starting with the feet wasn't the only trick to mastering the first step in the tanning process. He set the skinned leg down against the table, made sure the pelt was clear and then cut the bone at the joint where his blade went through easier than it might half way up the leg and tried to work the foot free this way, peeling the fleshy toes of the animal away from its skeleton. Determined to keep up with the rest of the class, he repeated this process on all four feet before awaiting the next instruction.
.
.
.

[Naiya]

Enough was enough, Naiya had done her share of attempting to learn on her own, it was time to seek help. So when she had heard that an expert from the Ruby Clan was offering lessons in tanning she informed Seirei of her intent to go, and invited the young woman to come along. Despite her injuries, she wanted to be there, wanted to be better able to help care for the animals that Shahar and Khida brought home. So despite any discomfort it might cause her, she was determined to go.

The class, when she arrived, had quickly drawn a number of Drykas in the colors of the Ruby clan. It made good sense that they had flocked to the scene, but there were others as well, everyone looking excited to get started. Naiya had a fox, a prize from Banti that was not in too bad of a shape. She had even managed to rescue a rabbit for Seirei to practice with.

There were assorted tools for the process, available to the students for the lesson, and for sale at the end. Short curved knives, a long flat blade with handles at both ends, knives that vaguely resembled spoons. She was curious to see how it all worked.

There were two rows of tables, and a third forming as more people gathered. The man teaching the class was helping people settle in and assigning sets of tools to small groups.

Naiya found herself and Seirei a spot, making sure there was room for them both to be comfortable. When the man began to explain Naiya was quick to follow his directions.

"I prefer to start with the front legs, starting right above the pad of the foot, make a slice all the way up to the armpit. Don't cut through the pad, though! Go around it." The man cut to the chase, no preamble, no fluff, just his name, Kahret, and instructions. He had an animal of his own where he showed them what he meant. "Remember to cut juts the skin where you want it, and be careful not to nick the pelt when you remove the membrane that connects it to the muscle!" He wasn't so loud as some of the other men, but his voice was distinct even over the gentle babble of the other students.

Naiya took a small slightly curved blade and did as he bade, careful just to cut into the skin, her slice wavered as she moved up the foxes front leg. The result was similar to when you wobbled scissors when cutting cloth. She frowned at the marks, but quickly turned her attention back to the man.

"If you can manage it, it is best to peel the skin away whenever possible, the less you use your knife, the less likely you'll be to make an accidental cut." He demonstrated how he could bend the joints of the foot to help remove the bone and muscle while leaving the claws still attached.

Naiya glanced to Seirei, sharing an excited grin with the woman. This would be so helpful in the days to come. With another excited grin, Naiya turned back to her animal, peeling the fur away from the limb and then watching as he demonstrated again how to skin the little fingers so that the claws would stay intact. She began the process, pulling the skin tight so that she could see where it was still attached. Her blade worked along the bone, finding the last joint difficult to free.

"Cut the other side free first." The voice of the man startled her, much closer now than before. "If you don't get the other side of the finger loose from the skin, you risk pulling the claw out when you sever the joint." He explained, showing her an up close of his demonstration animal where he had indeed freed both sides of the finger.

"Thank you.." She responded, following his advice and working her blade carefully to free the bones once more. The man moved on, helping students individually for a while. There were plenty of people struggling with the task.

[Seirei Dawnwhisper]

Dealing with the twins' tantrum earlier in the morning had drained Seirei considerably. For the most part, the twins were very good babies. They cried, of course. But only when they had good reason to, and even then, only when Seirei had failed to anticipate their need or react quickly enough to provide what was needed. Lukar and Lira were bright, and fascinated by the world around them. Every day...even every chime, practically brought them something new and wonderful to explore. Watching them, and seeing the world through their eyes was slowly giving Seirei a new appreciation of life, too.

This morning though...that had been hard. For the first time, Seirei had not been able to understand what her children were trying to tell her. It had taken the aid of a stranger to help her figure out what the problem was. Lale had come at just the right moment, and her help had been considerable. Seirei wasn't certain that she would have been able to figure out what the problem was without the other woman. And in the process, Seirei hoped that she might have made another friend.

Now there was a very different kind of challenge laying before her. When Naiya had invited her to come to the tanning class with her, Seirei had jumped at the chance. She wanted to do everything she could to make herself more useful to her friends. Being able to tan the hides of Shahar's kills properly would be a step in the right direction. It would mean less work for Naiya if they could both tan hides. And if Seirei could learn how to do it well, they would have better hides to work with when it came time to making clothing, blankets, and any number of other things they needed.

Naiya had been nice enough to give Seirei a rabbit to practice on. And she had found them both a place at the table, something for which Seirei was grateful. Seirei listened carefully to the instructions when they were given. Start at the legs. That was simple enough. But which leg was she supposed to start with? Did it matter? After a few ticks of thought, Seirei guessed that it didn't. She noticed that Naiya had picked up one of the small, slightly curved blades, so she picked up one of the same kind. Starting with the right fore leg, Seirei positioned the blade just above the pad of the rabbit's foot, as their instructor told them. Then she tentatively made her first cut.

As a wood carver, Seirei was used to cutting in a straight line. So in that sense, she might have had an advantage over someone who wasn't used to cutting things. But flesh was softer than wood. Cutting through it felt differently than cutting wood did. So her first cut was made with more force than was probably necessary. Blood welled up through the small incision Seirei had made, staining the light colored fur. Seirei frowned pensively, wondering if she had ruined the pelt before she had even gotten started. Fortunately, the slice was a small one, so the amount of blood spilling onto the pelt was small as well. Perhaps it could be washed out later?

Seirei moved over to the left fore leg, and tried again. Once again, she started right above the pad of the rabbit's foot. But this time, she used barely any force at all. The blade didn't even penetrate the skin. Frowning again, Seirei used just a little more pressure. Her third attempt met with more success. As instructed, Seirei sliced all the way up to the creature's armpit. Her practice cutting in a straight line while working with wood paid off. For the most part, the cut was a straight one. But there were a few wobbles as she was still getting used to the differences between cutting wood, and flesh.

Kahret's next advice was that it was best to peel the skin away with your fingers as much as possible to avoid making unwanted cuts with the knife. This made a lot of sense to Seirei, and she watched intently as the man demonstrated how the joints of the foot could be bent to make it easier to remove the muscle and bone while leaving the claws intact. Naiya grinned excitedly at her, and Seirei grinned back. Then it was time to get back to work.

Seirei began pulling the skin away from the limb slowly. She was afraid that she would tear it, but the hide was stronger than it seemed to be, and it didn't rip despite her clumsy efforts. Every so often, she would stretch the skin gently, still worried about tearing it. But she needed to see how much of the skin was still attached, and that seemed to be easier to do when the skin was pulled tight.

She noticed that Naiya was using her knife to work along the bone. Since her friend knew more than she did about skinning an animal, Seirei did the same. When it came time to separate the skin from the toes of the rabbit's foot, Seirei was at a loss. But she heard their instructor telling Naiya to cut the other side free. That suggested that Naiya had already cut one side free. And when Seirei looked over at the animal Kahret was using to demonstrate, she could see that both sides of each toe had been cut. Using that as her example, Seirei went back to her task, carefully trying to cut each of the bones free without ripping the skin of the rabbit..
.
.

[Naiya]

"It helps to keep the skin pulled taught, away from where you're cutting. It'll let you cut where you need to, and pulling will pull the hide away from the flesh where it's loose." Kahret's voice rose again as he moved through the gathered students, explaining again the steps before moving forward.

Back at his table, he began to cut away the flesh of the rear legs. "The process here is the same, but rather than cutting inside the leg, use the outer edge to line the cut up to the anus." The demonstration followed, his hands moving with practiced ease.

Naiya hadn't yet finished the second paw, her hands feeling clumsy, the motions of skinning the animal properly not like anything she had done before. She understood the verbal how of the front legs, though, so she turned her fox and began on the hind legs. Cutting along the edge of the leg was more difficult, and when her blade deviated here she cut flesh as well.

"Don't cut the anus, but leave as little fur as you can around it. Skin out the legs just like the front, peel the hide where you can, and skin as carefully as you can around the toes." He was wandering around the space once more, helping anyone who looked like they needed it.

Naiya plucked at the hide, peeling it away from the flesh around the leg trying to ignore her knife as much as possible. When she did have to lift the sharp tool, she was careful, sticking close to the flesh, and cutting in small sections rather than trying to remove the whole of the membrane all at once. It seemed to make sense that cutting smaller bits would work better, keep her from cutting the hide.

When she came to the foot, she did as the man bid, pulling the hide tight so that she could better see where to cut it away from the toes. The blade sliced easily through the connecting membrane, angling toward the bones and trying to keep the tip away from the hide.

She cut clear the hide, prying the toes back so that she could carve away the soft connection between the last bone of the claw and the rest of the paw. She wiggled the bones, trying to get her knife through, and when it finally released she nearly lost hold of her blade.

She was more careful as she continued, using a sawing motion between the joints while she flexed and wiggled the bone. It worked better, cutting the tips of the joint away more easily. She continued to pry the last joints loose, eventually forming an empty socket of skin where the paw had once fit nicely.

"When you're ready to remove the tail, cut from beneath the skin down the back of the tail a little at a time, just far enough to skin it out and pull the tail free." Kahret was moving again, stopping beside a familiar face. The watchman, Blackwater. Pearl's husband. He was here, working as the rest of them, but he seemed to be avoiding eye contact, especially when approached by Kahret who seemed to want to help.

"Be careful not to pull the tail off here, it's a mistake that happens quite easily. It helps to guide the skin off with one hand while pulling the bone with the other." He looked around over the gathered class, "Go slow here, losing the tail ruins the value!"

After prying loose the second rear paw, and returning to free the second front limb, Naiya did turn to the tail, hesitant. She would hate to ruin the hide here, after she had done so much better with this hide than any before it.

Her first cut was shallow, not going far down the tail at all. She maneuvered a bit, seeing if she could free the bone, but she hadn't freed it yet. She cut again, sliding the blade from beneath the skin. Wiggling the tailbone gently to see once more if it would come free.

"Once you manage to free the tailbone, you can split the rest of the tail, if it stays closed, the inside will stay moist and rot."

[Dravite]

Dravite had experienced trouble with the feet and tail of his hides before which was usually why he avoided them altogether, but with some wise words from the instructor, things started to compose themselves in his mind; started to make sense. As he cut at the base of the bobcat's tail, he gently wiggled the fleshy part back and forth to see whether or not he could remove it without making another incision. The small tailbones must have gone further up than he thought, leading Dravite to work with his fingers which he pushed into the cut without hesitation and made some wriggle room with the smooth, work-worn points.

Once the tail was free and he had cut around the creatures back end he found that the spotted pelt came away from parts of the back a lot easier than it had the soft underbelly. For anything he got stuck on he would use the instructor’s technique, pulling the skin taut so that it came away easier once his sharp hunting knife was brought up to meet the flesh. There was very little blood which surprised the watchman, but then, his hunting was improving and he had found a new way to end an animal's suffering which was a lot more humane than what he had previously been doing. He didn't only cut the throats open length wise now rather than across, but reached into their open necks with the blade and stabbed the heart, which in most cases bled the animal dry right there and then.

When the man sat near the horse lord decided to try and make light conversation, the watchman offered him a small, warm smile before looking back to his work. He started singing to himself, low enough that it wouldn't interrupt anyone else.

"Blue skies calling me home;
Red dawn singing a sad song,
Rivers running on by;
Birds gotta fly,
Calling me home."

As the instructor passed by Dravite lowered his voice to a hum and continued with his work, peeling the hide away from the bobcat's shoulders. The neck proved tricky, not so much the back which was stretched over lean, powerful muscles, but the soft underside that he had already cut into and marred with his blade. He would stop there and look around to see how everyone else was getting along before waiting for further instruction; the head had to be the trickiest part of the skinning process.

.
.
.

[Seirei Dawnwhisper]

Seirei frowned, deep in concentration as she worked. Cutting around the toe bones was harder than it looked. The joints were more difficult to cut through than the skin was. But if she used too much force, she tore the skin. Or worse. In one instance, she accidentally cut one of the toes off completely. Kahret saw the trouble she was having, and came over to offer her some assistance. He told her that if she used a sawing motion between the joints while she wiggled the bone around in an attempt to free it from the skin, it would work better. Seirei smiled shyly as she thanked him. When she tried his suggestion, she found that it was a lot easier. The tips of the joints came away from the skin more easily using the sawing method.

By the time she finished cutting the toe bones free on the leg she was working on, she thought she might be starting to get the hang of it. Or at the very least, she seemed to be more familiarized with the task. She went back to the one she had started with originally, and repeated what she had done with the other fore leg. She worked slowly, not wanting to repeat her earlier mistake.

Their instructor told them that it would help if the skin was kept pulled taut and away from where they were cutting. It was explained that this would allow them to cut where they needed to without cutting anything else by mistake. And perhaps more importantly, it would help to pull the hide away from the flesh. When Seirei tried it, she found that it did make it easier. The pressure on the skin that was pulled taut seemed to pull it away from the flesh with much less effort on Seirei's part.

When Seirei finished the fore legs, it was time to start on the hind legs. She looked up to see what was next just in time to see Kahret showing them how to do the hind legs. It turned out to be the same as the fore legs for the most part. But they were supposed to make the cut on the outside of the legs rather than on the inside as they had with the fore legs. Kahret explained that doing so would allow them to line the cut up to the anus. Then he demonstrated what he meant.

Seirei watched the demonstration carefully. Then she tried to do what she had just seen done, making certain to pull the skin tight as she was told. The skin tore several times when she used too much force by mistake since she was so used to working with wood. But she continued her attempts, and tried to learn from her mistakes. When she reached the anus, she hesitated. How was she supposed to separate the skin from it? Would cutting through it ruin the pelt? Seirei wondered in Naiya would know. But before she could ask, the instructor told them to cut around it, leaving as little fur as possible.

She stared at the area intently for a few chimes, judging the size of the anus, and trying to determine how close she could get to it. Finally, she used her knife to make the cut. She drew it in a tight, mostly even circle around the anus. As she did so, she pulled the skin tight to make it easier to see where to cut. It also gave her a more even surface to cut. That made it easier as well.

When she finished with that task, Seirei waited to see what the next set of instructions would be. It turned out to be removing the tail. Seirei's first thought was simply to cut it off, but before she could, the instructor told them how to remove it properly, cautioning that if they pulled the tail off, it would ruin the value of the pelt. Seirei glanced at her pelt ruefully. She didn't think there was much more she could do to ruin it than she had already done with all of the mistakes she had made. But she wanted to learn how to do it properly, so she followed the instructions as best she could.

Fortunately, since she was working with a rabbit, there wasn't much of a tail to worry about. But she listened to the instructions carefully so that when she was working with an animal that did have a longer tail, she would know what to do. She was supposed to cut a little at a time, and skin it just enough to pull the tail out. But with such a small tail, it only took a very small cut to reach the end. Kahret told them that once the tailbone was out, they could split the rest of the tail. And that if they didn't do so, it would remain moist, and rot. But in Seirei's case, that really didn't apply. There simply wasn't much of a tail beyond the tailbone in her rabbit. So she looked up to see what they would be shown next.

.
.
.

[Naiya]

"Peel the fur all the way to the ears, it should come away fairly easily at this point, just be careful freeing the legs. Skin out the ears as you did the feet. When you get as far as you can on the ears while they are attached, cut the cartilage clean off the skull." He was standing at the fore of the class once more, dictating the steps before he walked among the students. "The eyes'll stick next, cut a line horizontally through the membrane there, you should be able to find the eye after that, flesh it out like the feet and ears. The lips will be the most difficult, there isn't much meat on the face, so the skin and the bone are very close. Go slow and try not to make holes in the face of the pelt."

Naiya was still working on the tail, cutting a bit at a time to see if she could free it. In the end, the very tip of the tail tore off, and Naiya swallowed a curse. She could sew it together later, once the rest of this work was done. She pulled the bone free, cutting the rest of the tail open, and then began to extract the carcass from the skin, the animal becoming far less attractive as it was turned inside out.

She wiggled the legs through, careful not to tear the hide. Then pulled away more, only a few spots needing her knife to cut them free. She found the ears, working them extra carefully after ruining the tail. She dug in with her fingers, using the hooked blade that was sharp only in the inside to catch and cut away membrane in the ear.

She removed the cartilage from the skull with two quick cuts it was perhaps the easiest part of the procedure so far. The ears turned inside out, it became easier to finish removing the cartilage. The skin peeled easier once more, catching again at the eyes, as the man had promised. She cut gentle lines, waiting for the eye to reveal itself. When it did, she cut around the edge, removing as much fur as she could.

Finally she got to the lips and nose, keeping her blade as close against the bone as possible to remove them from the skull, her hand light so as to keep from bumping across a protrusion. Small sections of fur stuck around the face, where her blade wavered or popped across bone. She frowned at the tufts of fur, knowing that while this was a far better job than she had ever managed before, it was not perfect. In fact, it was only marginally better than the pelts she had skinned in the past, there just happened to be more to this one.

"Tanning is a long process, it starts with the pelt as you've all just found, next you'll need a dull blade, there are long straight blades here for you today. Use these to scrape the meat, fat and the shiny membrane off the hide. You can do this with a round wooden pole, or any smooth round object." He held up a number of items that seemed would work.

"Place the hide over the round pole, holding it in place with your body weight, use the dulled blade to press against the flesh, pulling away the unwanted parts still on the hide." He showed the process, running the flat blade down the pelt with long, firm strokes.

"Some pelts are thinner than others, canines especially, so be cautious until you find a pressure that works." He cautioned.

Naiya followed his suit, casting a quick glance to be sure Seirei had a tool, too. She pressed against the hide, sliding the blade against the skin with no change. She tried again, pressing harder, and the skin began to tear beneath her pressure. Once more she tried, a lighter pressure, but still stronger than her first.

She could see something coming away. When she reached a section with bits of meat, she found that they came away too, along with the shining membrane. That was perhaps the most reassuring. She tried to chase the sections equally, sliding the hide little bits at a time to reach all the membrane. Kahret moved through the pavilion, eyeing the progress people were making. Some of the students had large animals, deer, or antelope, others had small game like Naiya's own fox, or Seirei's rabbit.

They continued to work, Naiya's arms and back growing tired from the rowing motion. She turned the pelt completely around so that she could scrape the parts that had been pinned beneath her earlier. Sweat had formed on her brow as she worked through the burning of muscles used in unfamiliar ways.

"If you've finished scraping, grab a rock, one that is pitted, rough, use it to go over the skin. If there is any of the shiny membrane left, the rest of the steps won't work!" His instructions spurred a few people back into motion, the sounds of scraping changing from the long steady strokes to small scraping circles.

[Dravite]

Dravite realised under new instruction that he had been missing a vital step in the tanning process for as long as he had been working on pelts of his own; scraping the fat and membrane, as the instructor announced, was a very important step in the process. Usually the man just rubbed as much salt as he could into the skins and left it at that which was why he had probably had such difficulty curing anything worth keeping; today's lesson was already paying off.

The watchman worked around the skull, being gently with the softer parts, around the eyes, the mouth and under the jaw. When the hide was completely free, Dravite moved it over the wooden post they had all been provided and took up one of the dull blades. He watched the instructor work with a few of the others attending the class and thought but wasn't quite sure that it was Naiya that kept catching his eye.

The fat came away under the force of the blade, the Drykas Horse lord applying even amounts of pressure with the new tool until he was satisfied with and area and then moved on. Once he got into a rhythm the man began to hum once more and sang to himself as he worked; the odd words of the song he could recall at least. He would find little use for the meat left on the bones of the bobcat, but thought his dogs might be able to eat it, if he found the time to later boil the flesh off the bone.

The instructor made the rounds and finally found the courage to speak to Dravite, "I can tell you've done this before."
"First time," the watchman smiled but didn't look the man in the eye.
"You've not worked with any pelts in the past then?"
"More than I can count, but no one ever took the time to teach me what I was really meant to be doing," Dravite admitted, "my knowledge in tanning doesn't really stretch beyond the use of salt."
The instructor laughed, amused, "well you'll pick up a lot more today."

Dravite nodded and watched the man move on before returning to the task at hand. Soon the pelt would be scraped to the best of his ability and ready for whatever else this particular lesson had in store.

.
.
.