5th of Ymiden, 717, Dawn
The soft break of the morning sun over Scalvoris was beautiful. Bright and warm, lighting up the sky with a sort of green blue and pink haze, a scatter of fluffy clouds merrily filling the sky. Birds sang and aye-aye scurried, already into their daily routines of hunting and gathering. A warm breeze ruffled the long grass of the open landscape surrounding Scalvoris Town outside of the walls. Occasionally a flunny would soar over the landscape, a straggler from the Immortal's Tongue.
Kali noticed it all, crouched in the long grass, bow in hand and arrow drawn, dark tresses pulled back into a tight braid. She had a cramp in one calf and some sort of creepy little insect was crawling across her arm, yet she didn't move. Her breathing was shallow and her arms tense as she held the bow taught yet still. The warm morning breeze blew into her face, bringing to her nose the musky scent of hafrein. The brunette had been in the grass since before the dawn, situated downwind near a natural shallow pond that the local fauna tended to frequent. She'd spent time in the days prior, scouting to get a feel for the surrounding wildlife and their routines. The Sev'ryn knew that a flock of flunnies came in before the dawn, settling to drink and pick off the new buds in the tall grass. Naked mole rats popped up around the same time, snuffling their way to the water and sipping quickly before burrowing back into their tunnels. Kali took the opportunity this morning to whack three of the fat little things over the head with a heavy stick. Easy pickings really. She had put them in her rucksack before settling in for the hafrein. The large elk-like creatures would ramble down lazily from the west, softly bawling to each other and moving in a herd with the juveniles in the centre of the group and the injured or sick straggling behind. There had been one buck with a broken horn and a lame leg, possibly from a stone stuck in his hoof. Kali had seen him three days prior, always hanging back. He was the last to the water and limping heavily. It was a mercy to kill him really.
Watching the large creatures reach the water, her arms aching from the held position, Kali waited with a hunters patience. She was only a few yards from the animals, downwind and hidden in the grass and dusky light. Finally the buck showed himself, moving slowly towards the pond, lowering his large head and drinking his fill. The hunters periwinkle eyes focused down the shaft of her arrow, sighting her target. The thick undercoat of winter still clung to his fur, making the hide tougher to pierce. Kali needed to make either a headshot through the eye or temple for a quick kill, or a shot to the chest and finish it off quickly with her knife. If she missed, it would be a whole morning wasted.
Weighing up the pro's and con's of both options, Kali took the larger target, waiting for the beast to turn more towards her, broad chest exposed. Exhaling evenly, she released her arrow. It flew true, piercing the softer thinner skin of the chest and sinking through the sternum. The hafrein bellowed, causing it's herd mates to bolt, even as it too tried to run. The brunette was already up and running towards the stumbling creature, hunting knife drawn and bow discarded. The buck had faltered, falling to its knees with another bawl and snapping the arrow. Kali leapt astride the hafrein, grasping the unbroken antler with her free hand. A rouge struggling kick from the dying animals back leg landed soundly on her left thigh and the Sev'ryn yelled hoarsely in pain as she plunged her blade into its head just in front of the ear.
Panting heavily, she sat on the hafrein, waiting for the adrenaline pounding through her veins to fade, even as the creature stilled in death. The singing birds and scurrying aye-aye were silent, and as the dust settled it was just Kali and the dead beast. Letting go of the knife, the huntress sat back with a groan, lifting the hem of her dress to look at the damage to her thigh. A large purple and black bruise was already coming up at the back, skin torn slightly at the top just under her buttock. She would be wearing a limp at least for a few trials, and the bruising for weeks. Moseke be praised she hadn't had a break. The brunette berated herself, angry that she'd let herself get hurt in the heat of the moment. It was going to make skinning and moving the beast a pain, literally.
Removing the blade, she moved to slit the hafreins throat to allow it to bleed into the dry earth and closed her eyes in prayer.
"Moseke, we give thanks for Your bountiful grace and thank You for this creature. Take this animals soul back to Your hand even as its blood returns to the soil." Standing with a pained grunt, the Sev'ryn wiped the blade on the thick fur of the harfein and stood gingerly on the injured leg, testing putting her weight on it between Xanthean curses. It hurt, like she had torn the muscle, but it was manageable for now. She would need to work quickly before it became to swollen and sore. Putting two fingers to her mouth, she whistled loudly, before moving to pick up her bow and sling it over her shoulder and rest it across her back. Limping back to the hafrein as she removed her arm guards, she worked deftly, rolling it over with a grunt and slipping the knife between skin and flesh, slicing it from the neck and down the belly to the base of the tail whilst being careful not to open the torso and let the innards spill out. With a well learned movement, she worked around the carcass to remove hide from beast, and as she did so a galloping came from behind her. The sturdy chestnut horse snorted as he came close, shaking his head and trotting to slow his gait. He was accustomed to the coppery smell of blood, and patiently grazed as Kali completed her work, snapping the remaining antler off at the root and hacking off the hooves. To his saddle there was tied her rope, her tent cover, two tent poles and rucksack with the mole rats.
The Sev'ryn rolled up the hide and stood with a wince, moving to the horse and shoving the hide into her rucksack. Taking the rope her tent cover and poles, the huntress moved with purpose, turning the tent and ropes into a makeshift travois. Laying the triangular contraption down beside the skinned carcass, Kali grunted and groaned to roll it onto the travois, working to tie it into place. Stepping back, she pushed a stray hair out of her face with the back of her hand and stretched her back. It had been a long morning, and she was sore and filthy. Moving to the pond, the brunette stepped into the water and washed her arms of the blood that covered them up to the elbows. Her dress was not too badly bloodied, easily able to be washed briefly for the here and now, with intent to give it a good scrubbing after she got back to camp. Stepping out of the water and shaking her arms off, Kali coaxed her horse back to the travois and lifted the point up and over his rump. With a little more rope, the transportation was secured to his saddle. Taking the horse by the reigns, she walked him back to town, now very soundly noticing the pain in her thigh.
By the time she made it to Cally's it was well into midmorning. She dropped the skinned carcass off out the back, away from paying patrons and precious sensibilities. Leaving the young chef with her haul, Kali broke up the travois and packed it away on her horse, before gingerly saddling up to ride out again. She had set up camp on the outskirts of the city, where it was appropriate, and here she had her tanning racks set up and a fire on the go. Hopping off the chestnut stallion with a sharp curse, she pulled out the hafrein hide and mole rats. Making quick work of the small rodents, Kali skinned and cleaned them. She skewered one over the fire and put the other two in her food store, covered thickly in salt. They would be sliced and dried, then packed away.
As the mole rat cooked, Kali set up her tent, then tied the hide out on the rack before taking her hunting knife again and turning it side on to scrape off the inner layer of fat and flesh. When this was done, she took the cleaned hide and put it in the bottom of a water tight basket, filled with water. The hide would need to soak before she took the next step. Taking the mole rat skins, Kali completed the same process, pushing them into the same basket as the hafrein skin.
Sitting back, the Sev'ryn chewed on roasted mole rat as she rested. She ached all over, her thigh was swollen and black from knee to buttock, and she was dog tired. It was late afternoon now, and the brunette huntress had nothing left to give. Stretching, Kali ensured the fire was safely banked before laying back on her sleeping roll in the tent. She yawned heavily, and before she knew it, the brunette was asleep. Morning would see her stiff and sore, with the rest of the hide tanning process to finish. At least for now however, she could rest.
The soft break of the morning sun over Scalvoris was beautiful. Bright and warm, lighting up the sky with a sort of green blue and pink haze, a scatter of fluffy clouds merrily filling the sky. Birds sang and aye-aye scurried, already into their daily routines of hunting and gathering. A warm breeze ruffled the long grass of the open landscape surrounding Scalvoris Town outside of the walls. Occasionally a flunny would soar over the landscape, a straggler from the Immortal's Tongue.
Kali noticed it all, crouched in the long grass, bow in hand and arrow drawn, dark tresses pulled back into a tight braid. She had a cramp in one calf and some sort of creepy little insect was crawling across her arm, yet she didn't move. Her breathing was shallow and her arms tense as she held the bow taught yet still. The warm morning breeze blew into her face, bringing to her nose the musky scent of hafrein. The brunette had been in the grass since before the dawn, situated downwind near a natural shallow pond that the local fauna tended to frequent. She'd spent time in the days prior, scouting to get a feel for the surrounding wildlife and their routines. The Sev'ryn knew that a flock of flunnies came in before the dawn, settling to drink and pick off the new buds in the tall grass. Naked mole rats popped up around the same time, snuffling their way to the water and sipping quickly before burrowing back into their tunnels. Kali took the opportunity this morning to whack three of the fat little things over the head with a heavy stick. Easy pickings really. She had put them in her rucksack before settling in for the hafrein. The large elk-like creatures would ramble down lazily from the west, softly bawling to each other and moving in a herd with the juveniles in the centre of the group and the injured or sick straggling behind. There had been one buck with a broken horn and a lame leg, possibly from a stone stuck in his hoof. Kali had seen him three days prior, always hanging back. He was the last to the water and limping heavily. It was a mercy to kill him really.
Watching the large creatures reach the water, her arms aching from the held position, Kali waited with a hunters patience. She was only a few yards from the animals, downwind and hidden in the grass and dusky light. Finally the buck showed himself, moving slowly towards the pond, lowering his large head and drinking his fill. The hunters periwinkle eyes focused down the shaft of her arrow, sighting her target. The thick undercoat of winter still clung to his fur, making the hide tougher to pierce. Kali needed to make either a headshot through the eye or temple for a quick kill, or a shot to the chest and finish it off quickly with her knife. If she missed, it would be a whole morning wasted.
Weighing up the pro's and con's of both options, Kali took the larger target, waiting for the beast to turn more towards her, broad chest exposed. Exhaling evenly, she released her arrow. It flew true, piercing the softer thinner skin of the chest and sinking through the sternum. The hafrein bellowed, causing it's herd mates to bolt, even as it too tried to run. The brunette was already up and running towards the stumbling creature, hunting knife drawn and bow discarded. The buck had faltered, falling to its knees with another bawl and snapping the arrow. Kali leapt astride the hafrein, grasping the unbroken antler with her free hand. A rouge struggling kick from the dying animals back leg landed soundly on her left thigh and the Sev'ryn yelled hoarsely in pain as she plunged her blade into its head just in front of the ear.
Panting heavily, she sat on the hafrein, waiting for the adrenaline pounding through her veins to fade, even as the creature stilled in death. The singing birds and scurrying aye-aye were silent, and as the dust settled it was just Kali and the dead beast. Letting go of the knife, the huntress sat back with a groan, lifting the hem of her dress to look at the damage to her thigh. A large purple and black bruise was already coming up at the back, skin torn slightly at the top just under her buttock. She would be wearing a limp at least for a few trials, and the bruising for weeks. Moseke be praised she hadn't had a break. The brunette berated herself, angry that she'd let herself get hurt in the heat of the moment. It was going to make skinning and moving the beast a pain, literally.
Removing the blade, she moved to slit the hafreins throat to allow it to bleed into the dry earth and closed her eyes in prayer.
"Moseke, we give thanks for Your bountiful grace and thank You for this creature. Take this animals soul back to Your hand even as its blood returns to the soil." Standing with a pained grunt, the Sev'ryn wiped the blade on the thick fur of the harfein and stood gingerly on the injured leg, testing putting her weight on it between Xanthean curses. It hurt, like she had torn the muscle, but it was manageable for now. She would need to work quickly before it became to swollen and sore. Putting two fingers to her mouth, she whistled loudly, before moving to pick up her bow and sling it over her shoulder and rest it across her back. Limping back to the hafrein as she removed her arm guards, she worked deftly, rolling it over with a grunt and slipping the knife between skin and flesh, slicing it from the neck and down the belly to the base of the tail whilst being careful not to open the torso and let the innards spill out. With a well learned movement, she worked around the carcass to remove hide from beast, and as she did so a galloping came from behind her. The sturdy chestnut horse snorted as he came close, shaking his head and trotting to slow his gait. He was accustomed to the coppery smell of blood, and patiently grazed as Kali completed her work, snapping the remaining antler off at the root and hacking off the hooves. To his saddle there was tied her rope, her tent cover, two tent poles and rucksack with the mole rats.
The Sev'ryn rolled up the hide and stood with a wince, moving to the horse and shoving the hide into her rucksack. Taking the rope her tent cover and poles, the huntress moved with purpose, turning the tent and ropes into a makeshift travois. Laying the triangular contraption down beside the skinned carcass, Kali grunted and groaned to roll it onto the travois, working to tie it into place. Stepping back, she pushed a stray hair out of her face with the back of her hand and stretched her back. It had been a long morning, and she was sore and filthy. Moving to the pond, the brunette stepped into the water and washed her arms of the blood that covered them up to the elbows. Her dress was not too badly bloodied, easily able to be washed briefly for the here and now, with intent to give it a good scrubbing after she got back to camp. Stepping out of the water and shaking her arms off, Kali coaxed her horse back to the travois and lifted the point up and over his rump. With a little more rope, the transportation was secured to his saddle. Taking the horse by the reigns, she walked him back to town, now very soundly noticing the pain in her thigh.
By the time she made it to Cally's it was well into midmorning. She dropped the skinned carcass off out the back, away from paying patrons and precious sensibilities. Leaving the young chef with her haul, Kali broke up the travois and packed it away on her horse, before gingerly saddling up to ride out again. She had set up camp on the outskirts of the city, where it was appropriate, and here she had her tanning racks set up and a fire on the go. Hopping off the chestnut stallion with a sharp curse, she pulled out the hafrein hide and mole rats. Making quick work of the small rodents, Kali skinned and cleaned them. She skewered one over the fire and put the other two in her food store, covered thickly in salt. They would be sliced and dried, then packed away.
As the mole rat cooked, Kali set up her tent, then tied the hide out on the rack before taking her hunting knife again and turning it side on to scrape off the inner layer of fat and flesh. When this was done, she took the cleaned hide and put it in the bottom of a water tight basket, filled with water. The hide would need to soak before she took the next step. Taking the mole rat skins, Kali completed the same process, pushing them into the same basket as the hafrein skin.
Sitting back, the Sev'ryn chewed on roasted mole rat as she rested. She ached all over, her thigh was swollen and black from knee to buttock, and she was dog tired. It was late afternoon now, and the brunette huntress had nothing left to give. Stretching, Kali ensured the fire was safely banked before laying back on her sleeping roll in the tent. She yawned heavily, and before she knew it, the brunette was asleep. Morning would see her stiff and sore, with the rest of the hide tanning process to finish. At least for now however, she could rest.
