81st day of Fall, 515 AV
Winter was coming, and there was work to be done for the family. The cold had hit early, and the snow and frost in the fall promised a harsh winter to come. Their stores for winter were decent, with two hunters in the family it wasn't a stretch, but with so many extra mouths to feed, it was important that they were ready. There had been animals in Shahar's traps this morning, and Banti had taken down a deer the night prior. They had skinned the deer, the rabbit, and plucked the feathers from the bird.
Fowl didn't save well, so it had been divided into sections for the day's meals. The red meat would be butchered and preserved for the winter. '
The preserving kit sat beside her, still untouched for the most part. The fire burned low, young wood producing plentiful smoke. She wanted to slice the rabbit into small sections so that it could be eaten while they traveled.
Naiya lifted the rabbit, plucking at the limbs, looking for the best way to cut the meat away. She figured the hind limb gave her the best starting place. She pulled the leg out, away from the body, trying to find the bone that held it in place. When she pulled the foot towards the back, the bone popped. With a starting position ready, Naiya took her knife, slicing through the muscle with long slow strokes, trying to follow along the shape of the bone to save as much meat as she could.
The hip joint was difficult, she wasn't sure how to cut it free. Her knife caught in the joint twice before she managed to slice through the connections holding it in place. A little extra force crushed away the cartilage and she was able to cut away the rest of the leg.
The meat seemed to have distinct sections, the separating of which Naiya had never done before. She plucked once more at the smaller target, seeking rhyme or reason to the process. Finding nothing that was very clear, she decided her best bet would be to do her best to remove a large section from the bone and just slice it into pieces.
She dug her blade in to the meat, using her fingers to find the shape of the muscles and cutting away just short of her fingers. The hunk of flesh in the end was unshapely and jagged, too much clung to the bone, other sections of flesh still waiting for her clumsy attempt to separate them as well.
She would get to that later, for now she wanted to deal with what she had. She cut the first piece, attempting to cut it thinly. She made a couple of slices, then sprinkled them with salt. She added dried mint too, hoping the scent would keep the flies away. She used the pommel of her blade to flatten the sections of meat, pounding the seasoning into the flesh.
She needed a way to smoke the meat, a rack over the flame. She had gathered some sticks, she lay them beside one another now, winding a rope around the ends, tying off the rope in a loose knot on the one side, she repeated it on the next side.
.
.
.
Winter was coming, and there was work to be done for the family. The cold had hit early, and the snow and frost in the fall promised a harsh winter to come. Their stores for winter were decent, with two hunters in the family it wasn't a stretch, but with so many extra mouths to feed, it was important that they were ready. There had been animals in Shahar's traps this morning, and Banti had taken down a deer the night prior. They had skinned the deer, the rabbit, and plucked the feathers from the bird.
Fowl didn't save well, so it had been divided into sections for the day's meals. The red meat would be butchered and preserved for the winter. '
The preserving kit sat beside her, still untouched for the most part. The fire burned low, young wood producing plentiful smoke. She wanted to slice the rabbit into small sections so that it could be eaten while they traveled.
Naiya lifted the rabbit, plucking at the limbs, looking for the best way to cut the meat away. She figured the hind limb gave her the best starting place. She pulled the leg out, away from the body, trying to find the bone that held it in place. When she pulled the foot towards the back, the bone popped. With a starting position ready, Naiya took her knife, slicing through the muscle with long slow strokes, trying to follow along the shape of the bone to save as much meat as she could.
The hip joint was difficult, she wasn't sure how to cut it free. Her knife caught in the joint twice before she managed to slice through the connections holding it in place. A little extra force crushed away the cartilage and she was able to cut away the rest of the leg.
The meat seemed to have distinct sections, the separating of which Naiya had never done before. She plucked once more at the smaller target, seeking rhyme or reason to the process. Finding nothing that was very clear, she decided her best bet would be to do her best to remove a large section from the bone and just slice it into pieces.
She dug her blade in to the meat, using her fingers to find the shape of the muscles and cutting away just short of her fingers. The hunk of flesh in the end was unshapely and jagged, too much clung to the bone, other sections of flesh still waiting for her clumsy attempt to separate them as well.
She would get to that later, for now she wanted to deal with what she had. She cut the first piece, attempting to cut it thinly. She made a couple of slices, then sprinkled them with salt. She added dried mint too, hoping the scent would keep the flies away. She used the pommel of her blade to flatten the sections of meat, pounding the seasoning into the flesh.
She needed a way to smoke the meat, a rack over the flame. She had gathered some sticks, she lay them beside one another now, winding a rope around the ends, tying off the rope in a loose knot on the one side, she repeated it on the next side.
.
.
.
