Know Thy Kin

by **S'hazende** on May 27th, 2013, 6:37 am

2 Spring 513 AV

It was late by the time S’hazende had gotten back to the campsite. His muscles were sore and his legs had given out a few metres from the tents. He fell back against the earth and stared at the body of the dog that had attempted to take his life. His sides and right arm were littered with scratches and teeth marks that he would probably have to wear for the next two weeks. They didn’t hurt much, though he knew they were there, the dull sting constantly on the back of his mind.

The sun had dipped low in the sky, shooting an array of warm colours across the clouds, giving them a romantic orange glow. The young Kelvic lay back against the earth to watch the clouds float overhead. White specks hidden in the backdrop high above that looked like the beginning of stars, though he couldn’t be sure and as the day dwindled and slowly evaporated before his eyes, the camp was alive with a new light; that of lamps and burning oils. A short Drykas woman approached the resting male and held out a small water-skin to him. “Redwing,” she smiled and he watched her for a few seconds.

“Redwing?” He questioned the woman and she smiled again.

“Your arms, they are painted red.”

A timely observation he thought. “I killed the dog,” S’hazende pointed. “It attacked me.”

“Redwing,” the woman nodded and gestured to the water-skin as if to encourage the young Kelvic to drink from it. She spoke common, which made it easier for S’hazende to talk with her.

He took a sip of the water and suddenly realised how thirsty he was. The young man began to gulp the water down, scarcely slowing to take a breath. “Easy,” the woman said and took the water-skin from him. “Wash yourself or your wounds might become infected.”

He poured some water onto his cloak which he untied from around the dead dogs backs legs, then used the corner of the wet cloak to rinse his arms and face. “Thank you,” S’hazende said as he finished cleaning up.

“You should never go out scouting alone, did your parents teach you nothing?”

S’hazende sat cross-legged and looked up at the woman who was slowly crouching before him. “I know… Only I saw something today, some birds circling in the sky. I wanted to find out what had brought them there.”

The woman tipped her head to one side as if contemplating his words. “It was unwise, young one, to walk the grasslands alone. Our survival is due to our numbers, if we lost you today and face danger tomorrow, you may not have only wasted one life, but two, maybe more.”

S’hazende bowed his head in shame, she was right; he had not only put himself in danger but the entire tribe. ‘I’m sorry,” he murmured, shame weighing on his shoulders heavily, his whole body riddled with the uncomfortable feeling that seemed to be settling in for the night, perhaps even for the rest of the week.

“I won’t tell anyone,” she offered some solace with her words, but it did little to ease the boy’s burden. “Come, Redwing, it is late, you need rest.”

S’hazende shook his head and pointed to the dog’s lifeless form at his side. “I want to skin the dog, I want to learn how,” he admitted, not wanting the pelt to go to waste, not when he thought he could put it to good use. The spring days were growing warmer, but the nights were still just as cold as they had seemed to feel in winter; his bones didn’t feel as if they had defrosted yet.

The woman nodded and walked away to disappear behind the nearest tent. S’hazende watched her go and then frowned, he was hoping she might help him, but understood that it was getting late and that the camp didn’t like to burn their lamps too late into the evening. It would be unwise and may attract unwanted attention, not only from wild animals or passing roamers, but bugs, thousands and thousands of bugs. The young Kelvic rubbed his arms just thinking about them and reminded himself that he should probably wrap up well before turning in this night.

The Drykas woman returned a few minutes later with a stick and some rope. She closed the thick stick that looked a lot like a rustic stake between the dog’s teeth before tying its mouth shut. She then used the rest of the rope to loop about the animal’s back legs and fastened a second knot. “Lift him up, Redwing,” she commanded and S’hazende got to his feet quickly, pulling the heavy animal up by its back legs, holding onto the rope as tightly as he could.

“Hang him up over here,” she waved to a makeshift timber frame the Drykas used to hang game and dry out meat. “He will still be here by morning, his pelt might be a bit harder to remove, but at least you can get some sleep.”

S’hazende smiled; they really had been rather kind to him, even in his stupidity and utter foolishness. He looped the rope over the frame and pulled hard until the dog was off the ground. The woman helped him tie a secure knot and then they both stepped back. She rubbed the boy’s shoulder and patted his hair down before speaking again. “I will send Ra’eesah to see you come morning, she is learning the land and might know a few plants that will soothe your wounds.”

The young man looked at his right arm and sides, sure that he would be okay with or without the plant matter. He had been scratched up before, perhaps not by a dog, but it was nothing he was sure wouldn’t heal itself. “I’ll be fine,” he waved a hand dismissively and collected his cloak.

“She can help you skin that dog,” the Drykas woman smiled and walked by the boy. “Goodnight, young one.”

“Goodnight,” S’hazende smiled and headed down to the tent he had been permitted to sleep in by the family he was hired to help, not for coin that was, but lodging and knowledge and hopefully safe passage to the City of Tents. He lay down on one of the skins and pulled his cloak over his body, shifting his limbs so that they were tucked closely to his form which he hoped would keep him warm. As the boy drifted slowly into the realm of dreams, he thought about the dog and relived his first day with the people of the Opal Clan, wandering what tomorrow would bring.

by **Ra'eesah** on May 28th, 2013, 6:06 am

Ra’eesah stretched and lay in her skins for a few more minutes as her family awakened for the day. It was a beautiful spring morning and as always there were many chores to do. With spring came new growth of the different herbs, flowers and plants that her people used in healing as well as cooking. Today her mother said they would go hunting for those things one could only find in the spring. The girl still had much to learn when it came to herbs and their healing powers. She knew how to cook and had no worries about what plants were edible and safe. Her mother had trained her well. When it came to the healing aspects of plants she wondered if she would ever be as good as her mother.

The family greeted one another warmly. Ra’eesah hurriedly dressed and walked outside of their pavilion to help her mother cook breakfast and pack something for her father and brothers as they went hunting. She was busily cleaning up after they had broken their fast and readied to leave for the day as a woman approached her mother. When Ra’eesah had finished her chores, her mother called her over.

“My daughter this woman has come to tell me about the Kelvic boy who is traveling with us. He has some minor wounds that need attention and he has a dog he wants to skin and does not know how.” Ra’eesah looked at her mother, “I will gather my tools; will you be coming with me?” Her mother gave her a knowing smile, “No my daughter, you are a woman now, you are fully capable of taking care of this one on your own. Now get your gear and go find him.” The woman explained to Ra’eesah where he was.

Ra’eesah’s mother caught the girl before she went in to get her items, “My little desert flower, you know what you are doing, be confident. There is some salve I made in my box. You may take it. Once we gather more herbs I will teach you how to make it yourself. The woman and her mother talked and caught up with the gossip from the camp while the girl went to the pavilion and gathered her tools.

Ra’eesah opened the leather bundle on her bed to make sure all she would need was there. She assumed if he had to be taught that he would not have the equipment needed. She went to her mother’s wooden box that she carried her medicines in and took a small amount of the comfrey salve incase his scratches still needed some treatment. She went and made a poultice of bread and milk to help stave off infection in his wounds and placed it in a crock. She put her supplies along with her water-skin and some hard biscuits to nibble on if she got hungry in to the bag she had fashioned to be able to carry over her shoulder. She decided to walk since S’hazende was staying with a family who had hired him and was camped not far from hers.

When she arrived at the small tent he was staying in. It was early and the camp was only beginning to stir. It appeared no one was there. She noticed the dog hung up outside the tent. It was bigger than usual. She was surprised he did not have more damage done to his person than she was told. Ra’eesah wondered if he might still be slumbering. She stepped into the edge of the tent and saw him lying there still asleep. She went and squatted next to him and studied him for several long moments. He was not what she expected. She did not know what she had expected. His face was softened in sleep but you could see strength in his features.

Ra’eesah poked him, waiting for him to open his eyes. She poked him again until she saw his eyelids flutter open. She gave him a big grin as she looked down into his chocolate orbs. She laughed softly at his reaction to be woken by her. She assumed he was not fluent in Pavi and chose to speak Common to him. She hoped he would understand or this would prove to be very difficult.

“I am Ra’eesah, come and I will show you how to take care of your dog and mend your wounds.” She gave him a brilliant smile, stood and not looking back and walked outside waiting for him to follow.

by **S'hazende** on May 29th, 2013, 3:14 am

S’hazende ran as fast as his feet would carry him, pushing through the too-tall grass with wild limbs he barely felt in control of with the adrenaline that pumped through his veins. His cheeks were hot and red and a glossy glaze of sweat covered his upper body. Just as he fell to the ground out of breath he chanced a look back and saw the wild, drooling jaws of the savage dog that chased him. His fingers scratched at the dry earth as he scrambled to his feet, forcing himself to go on even though a fire burned in his throat and his chest felt as if it might collapse inward and suffocate him. It seemed the dog’s hunger wouldn’t give out to exhaustion.

As the boy came to a crossing in the grass be stopped dead in his tracks, peering down into the four metre drop were it seemed a raging river had once run. His long, dark curls whipped across his arm as he quickly looked back at the wild animal that had been hot on his heels. The heavy panting sound emitted from the dog and the boy’s own racing heartbeat pounded in his ears like the song of a war drum. He took his chances and braved to the too-far leap into the ravine and upon landing sunk into the wall of soft sand almost to the knees before he found himself on his side, tumbling out of control towards a thick pool of hot, sticky mud.

The tall, young Kelvic landed with a great slapping sound as he hit the mud in a messy belly-flop, sinking three or four inches deep before he was free of the initial shock that immobilised him. The boy didn’t dear look back as he heard a frustrated, guttural sound roll in the back of the dogs throat, obviously still hot on his trail. He crawled through the thick muck, his wild arms swimming him closer and closer to the centre, and then it happened. The dog, growling and salivating at the mouth, grabbed hold of the thin male’s arm before tossing its head from side to side in an attempt to tear flesh from bone. S’hazende fought to free himself and had almost managed when the dog readjusted his grip and had the boy pinned; the two of them sinking dangerously deeper into the mud.

S’hazende woke up.

There was a young Drykas woman standing over him. She had long black hair that stretched just down past her shoulders and her eyes were a light grey, almost silver colour; fringed by a thick lining of black lashes. She was smiling at him, though her pearly white teeth were all the sleepy male noticed; teeth like the dog that had been chasing him in his sleep. She spoke then but the boy didn’t know that he heard what she was saying. It was common and she had disclosed her name, but still he stared at her as if he was under interrogation. Ra’eesah instructed the young Kelvic to follow her before leaving the tent.

The young man lay under his covers a few moments longer in an attempt to collect his thoughts and come out of his slight daze before he sat up and pushed the leather furs back. His clothes were a mess, his shirt and cloak covered in mud from the fight the day before and his trousers were much the same if not quite as bad. He removed the cloak and long-sleeved shirt before hanging them both up in the sun. He would bash the dry dust from them later that evening before they all shared a meal. S’hazende moved to follow Ra’eesah then, who seemed to have managed pulling the large wild dog down from the make-shift frame all by herself and was sitting alongside the animal with a cut of leather that had been rolled out to reveal her hunting tools; those used to skin game and treat the pelts.

The tall Kelvic rubbed his bare arms as he walked over to join the girl and after sitting down out of the path of the light breeze that whirled over top of the tall grasses, he was free to bask in the light and warmth of the morning sun. He studied the woman’s toolkit before turning his attention on her. She seemed friendly enough and smiled a lot. His dark brow furrowed slightly as he caught sight of the dog’s mouth, which still had a stick jammed between its teeth; keeping it open. “You know how to skin him?” S’hazende asked the woman, his chocolate gaze capturing hers for a brief moment before he moved forward to sit on his knees, arms hung loosely at his sides; knuckles pressed down against the soft shoots of the season’s new grass.

“I killed him,” the boy admitted, “I stunned him with the back lower leg bone of an Olidosapux before he attacked me again and we wrestled in the mud until I was able to pin him down and push his head into the earth and killed him.” He said the words slowly in common, as if he had to relive the memory before it could properly be retold. His tone was deep and yet hosted little assertion, as if he cared not for the whole ordeal, but felt it necessary to inform the woman as to the way in which he had taken the dog down alone.

“Why is it important to put the piece of wood between his teeth?” S’hazende asked without looking at the woman, his eyes focused instead on the dog as if he was frightened it might come back to life; should he dare to look away for too long. Its eyes were still open, the grey and yellow of its decaying orbs staring hauntingly back at him. The animal’s head was covered in muck right up to its fluffy ears. It seemed a shame to kill an otherwise beautiful creature that wouldn’t have seen its own demise were it not for the rumble in its gut and missive in its DNA that told it to kill or be killed.

by **Ra'eesah** on May 30th, 2013, 5:34 am

Ra’eesah left the tent hoping the boy would not take long. It would have been easier to teach him last night when the kill was fresh but it was what it was. Her mother had taught her it was not worth worrying over lost chances or wishing something could be different. What was going on now was the most important thing. She wrestled the dog off the pole and dragged it further away from the tents. She was thankful for whoever had slit the dog’s throat and let the blood drain out of it while it was still hung. Now they could concentrate on removing the skin without having to drain the blood themselves. The meat was no longer good for human consumption but she knew those with dogs would be able to use it and some of the organs. It was another thing her mother taught her. To always use every possible item from an animal. It was a gift from the gods to be used, not wasted.

She saw the tent flap move and watched as the boy walked towards her. When he stood to his full height she realized he was no boy but a man. In his sleep he had looked so young but now awake he looked like the man he was. They appeared to be the same age. She watched as he hung his shirt in the sun and walked to her. He had a natural grace as he moved and there seemed to be no wasted movement within him as he walked towards her. He was tall and lean, and very fit. She looked at him and looked at the dog and realized he must be very strong as well. She stood as he neared and smiled as she greeted him, “May the blessings of a new day be with you!” It was a greeting that had been used in her family for as long as anyone could remember. She always had liked the idea of wishing a blessing upon someone and receiving one. Life was hard enough for them, a blessing could help she reasoned.

They had not been formally introduced but she had heard his name was S’hazende but her mother’s friend who had come to ask for her help had called him Redwing. She wondered why he was called that. “Why are you called Redwing?” she blurted out as the thought entered her mind. He sat in the grass next to the dog and told her that he had killed him. She watched him for a minute, as he was engrossed in looking at his kill. Her guess was this was his first major kill by his actions. She had acted the same way, her brothers had as well. She knelt beside him and listened to him recount how he had killed the dog. There was something about him that made her want to take care of him and help him.

Ra’eesah turned and gently ran her hand tenderly down his head and his long hair. “You did well Redwing. You should be proud of this kill. I will teach you in the way I was taught.” She looked at him and noticed his cuts and scratches but decided to deal with that later. He needed to deal with the dog first. She faced him and decided to explain a few things to him. “First of all you should always use every part of the animal that you can. If we had dressed him last night we could have saved the meat to eat but since it has been a while it will only be good for the dogs and cats to eat. We can use the stomach and depending on the size of his bladder for bags.”

The woman looked at the dog, the stick in its mouth and its throat slit. She noticed that he was staring at the dog and finally vocalized what he was thinking and asked about the stick in the dog’s mouth. “You put the stick into the dogs mouth to keep it open because once it is dead for a short while its body becomes stiff and hard. When it is stiff sometimes you must break the bones to do what you need to do.” Ra’eesah knew she needed to address the slit throat. “It is always best to hang the animal upside down so the blood will drain from it. That is why they slit its throat.” She watched him as she talked. He seemed to be taking in the information that she was giving him. “My mother taught me when you drain the blood you should thank the animal for giving itself to you and thank the gods for bringing the animal to you. Many do not follow this part but those that have a belief in the gods do.” She watched him and waiting for a reaction from him.

The best way to teach someone was to have them do what you are teaching them. She decided it was his privilege to skin this animal since he killed it and she would explain it step by step to him. She did not want to rob him of this. “I hope you don’t mind but I want you to do the work while I tell you how to do it.” She gently touched his arm looking into his eyes to make sure he was going to be ok with this.

“Can you please take the stick from his mouth? I know he looks like he is alive and could still attack but he is dead and cannot hurt us anymore. You should be able to pull the stick from its mouth pretty easy. Once that is done you need to turn the dog on his back and spread his legs as far as you can.” She waited to see if he would follow her instructions or if he would decline and make her do it.

Ra’eesah found S’hazende to be unique and she liked that about him. She smiled in encouragement and hoped that they would become good friends through this. She turned to her tools and pulled the knife and whetstone out. She spit on the whetstone and wiped the spittle around to moisten it and took her knife and began to slide it across it sharpening the knife. When she was satisfied that the knife could cut the hide with no problems she looked back to him. “Redwing, are you ready to claim your hide?”

by **S'hazende** on May 30th, 2013, 10:03 am

Redwing. He thought about the name the woman had dubbed him upon seeing the dog blood that painted his arms almost to the elbow. The thought brought a slow, small smile to the man’s face, manipulating his features upwards very subtly. He wasn’t a hundred percent on her reasoning for the title but thought the word red must represent the blood, while wing was probably just a reference as to where it was painted, or perhaps the fact that he had been brave, or rather, stupid enough to head out into the grasslands on his own; the spirit of the eagle, now he just needed the wings to help him fly.

The young Kelivc decided to save his words and wait his turn, instead listening rather intently to what the Drykas woman had to say; he was after all, playing the part of the learner today and not the teacher.

Caiyha was the Goddess his family had always worshiped, not to any great extent mind you, but they gave thanks for what the land had to give; that which sustained and provided them all with a greed free, natural life. So when the girl spoke of not letting anything go to waste, the words registered with S’hazende on a level he could understand well; it was part of the reason he had fallen in love with the Drykas legend, people and way of life.

Caiyha was the Goddess of the flora and fauna, and had a particular soft spot for her beloved animals if the boy was to recall his mother’s teachings correctly. It seemed she could be a wild, lonely wilderness wanders best and worst friend. S’hazende wonder then if yesterday had been a test. He had almost been swallowed up by the circle of life on his first day away from his family, but had fought back, proving he was worthy of enjoying the dawn for another day.

S’hazende’s attention went between the dog and the young girl speaking. He made a mental note of all the important points she had brought up. Cut the throat, hang the body, drain the blood or the meat is no good for human consumption. The stick between the teeth would make removing the pelt easier as the bones froze up not long after death. The young male seemed to go through these things again and again in his mind until he was sure they would stick and when she asked if he was following okay, he offered a quick nod to reassure her. It wasn’t until the woman had offered her newly sharpened knife to the boy that he realised he wasn’t going to just sit and watch, but actually take part in this teaching exercise.

The Kelvic male took the knife and stared at the dog, not too sure of himself regarding his skinning abilities, but he had watched his father skin a few things in his time and hopefully this wouldn’t be too different. ‘You want two blades,’ he heard his father’s voice in his head, recalling the advice he had once been given by the man on skinning a wolf; surely skinning a dog couldn’t be too different. ‘Your first knife is sharp, that’s for making all your main cuts and incisions. Your second knife is a little more forgiving and won’t cut the flesh and chance ruining the pelt if you slip and make a mistake.’

S’hazende took the animal’s front left leg in hand. He was surprised at how cold the dog was to touch, nothing like the flesh of the hot blooded savage beast he had wrestled in the mud the day before. He pushed the tip of the knife into the underside of the dog’s foot just above the main pad and started jigging the knife back and forth slowly to cut through the flesh as he slowly worked his way up the limb to the dog’s armpit. “I think they call me Redwing because last night when I dragged the dog all the way home, I was covered in the animal’s blood right up to my elbows,” he smiled, though the memory quickly saw his features relax again.

He repeated this action on the dog’s right arm, working his cut right up to the pit before taking the left paw in hand again and bringing it close to better focus on this more detailed part of the dog anatomy. Of course Ra’eesah offered her comments and small criticisms as he worked, but all in all, the boy didn’t feel he was doing too badly, even if his work was a little sloppy; he would improve in time.

To skin the toes out, he worked on the easiest toe first; the thumb toe, slowly bringing the sharp instrument down to carve away the skin from flesh around the knuckle as precisely as he could. When he found the join, S’hazende pulled the knife through the joint, severing it with ease. He repeated this action on the remaining toes, before paying the same delicate attention to the right paw. “You don’t have any wind-marks,” the young Kelvic noticed, glancing at the woman who sat barely a metre across from him. He didn’t know much about the wind-marks, only that accepted members of the clan had them and they were linked to being picked by ones strider.

In later years S’hazende might learn to sever the animal’s tendons around the ankle in order to cut the paw off and make going around the individual toes a lot easier, but this time he would have to live with the mess he was making of the more delicate parts of the animal’s pelt. He peeled the skin back, trimming the membrane in the more difficult areas until the flesh surrounding the foot was bare, if not a little hacked at as well. The fat of the dog’s foot-pad was perhaps the most difficult to get around and S’hazende found himself feeling the tough bit of skin out with his thumb in an attempt to manipulate it better. He nicked his thumb once or twice with the tip of the blade, but hadn’t seemed to notice, barely causing any real damage.

“How do you know?” He asked the woman. “When your horse chooses you? What happens? Do they bite you? Kick you? Charge you?” The boy laughed, trying to imagine it. He had hung out with a few roaming herds in his time and knew how nasty some of the more wild horses could be.

S’hazende turned the animal’s toes inside out and cut away the remaining bone leaving the claws intact. He slowly cut through the fine webbing between each toe until he could see the hair follicles and pushed them back out the right way. He could just about wear the animal’s paw as a glove by the time he was done, the whole process taking a lot longer than he had anticipated, giving Ra’eesah plenty of time to add her input and explain Drykas wind-marks to him and the selection process that occurred when a strider chose his rider.

By the time S’hazende had started work on the back legs, he was feeling a bit hungry and realised he had gone without breakfast. It was then he remembered he hadn’t made it home for dinner the night before and by lunchtime today he would probably be drooling over the remaining flesh on the dog. The two of them stopped for lunch, a biscuit that helped to silence his stomach and a bit of water to chase it down before returning to their work.

He cut from behind the pad on the left rear foot, making his way along the limb until he came to the heel and then simply followed the hairline right up to the animal’s backside. He cut around the animal’s rear end carefully before repeating the action on the right leg. He skinned the animal from the hindquarters then, before beginning work on splitting the tail. After making the split he pulled the hide away from the tailbone and stared at the half naked dog.

S’hazende seemed as phased by this as he was by his own bare skin. The Kelvic had grown up around this kind of thing, though he had never killed and removed the pelt from his own animal; and this experience was rather excising and freeing. These kinds of lessons would give him the freedom he wanted to enable him to one day fend for himself, living off the land just as his family had managed to do for the last four years of his life.

He made sure the tail was split right out to the very tip so that the skin would be able to dry fully before it was spoiled by decay; Ra’eesah had made that point very clear, just as his father had some weeks ago when they had taken out their first wolf together, only that had happened with weapons and a traps, not the boy’s bare hands.

Removing the rest of the hide was a bit like peeling a sock off of one’s foot. The membrane came away easily and it wasn’t until the boy was left with skinning the neck and the head that he stopped. Working around the ear canals was difficult and Ra’eesah helped the young man turn the ears completely inside out to make sure the pelt was pulled away correctly. Perhaps in the years to come S’hazende might come to find that cutting the ears right off to fiddle around with after the hide was pulled away from the flesh completely, that he wouldn’t have so much trouble with parts like this. “You know in future I think I’ll leave my kills hanging,” he smiled at the woman, sure that being able to put more tension on the skin that he pulled away would help make things easier.

The animal hadn’t seemed to bleed much at all until the young Kelvic had started working the knife around the head and the delicate details around the eyes and mouth, carving the hide away at the lip and following that line round on both sides until the dog was completely bare save for the very tip of his head; the nose. S’hazende suddenly realised how difficult the task of skinning around the muzzle would have been if it were not for the stick that had kept the animal’s mouth open. He was thankful for the tip which would be one he would not quickly forget. S’hazende looked at the inside out hide and then at Ra’eesah. He tipped his head to one side and chanced a smile, hoping he had done well. “How’s that?” He asked, holding the woman’s knife by the blade carefully, offering it back to her. When they reached Endrykas he wound have to get a kit of his own.

by **Ra'eesah** on May 31st, 2013, 6:44 am

Ra’eesah handed the knife to S’hazende and asked him if he had ever helped anyone skin an animal before. He shared with her that he never had done it himself but had watched his father many times. “Good” she nodded to him. “Everyone has their own little ways of doing things. I and your father will be similar in our technique but not exact. One thing I will tell you is that there are some difficult areas in a dog, in any animal. I want you to learn, to understand why you do and do not do certain things. If I just tell you step by step you will get the dog skinned and can repeat it on the next one but you will not understand why it is best to do it a certain way. Sometimes it is in the struggling that will help you learn the lesson better.”

Ra’eesah watched him as he looked at her knife testing the sharpness. She smiled. “Excellent Redwing, you already understand the need for a sharp knife and I have another tool here that will do the scraping so we do not risk cutting the fur.” She instructed him where and how to make the cuts. She explained to him about the harder areas, that there were tricks for those. “How you skin an animal all depends on whether you want to save the ears, face, tail and paw intact or not.” She explained to him. She decided she would not tell him the tricks to see if he could figure them out himself. She would explain a better way once he was finished with that area so he could see the difference and the wisdom behind it.

S’hazende took the knife and began to make the first cuts. He applied the knowledge his father as well as Ra’eesah had passed along to him. She smiled in encouragement as he worked. Both concentration and pride competed on his face. Ra’eesah explained things, offered suggestions as he would become unsure and other times she sat back and let him figure it out. He was smart and a very quick learner. Her eyes scanned him and realized she was in the presence of someone who would one day be a good leader. She felt privilege to be able to help him with something.

The sun was getting high in the sky and she was getting hungry. She heard Redwings stomach growl. She dug in her bag and offered him some of the biscuits she had brought with her. They ate as they walked to the tent to get cups of water to wash the biscuits down. She asked him about where he came from and his plans for the future. When they were done with their lunch they went back to the dog that was close to being finished.

The woman watched as he pulled the hide free, a big smiling breaking out on her face as she clapped her hands. “You did very well S’hazende! I am so proud of you. You are a very quick learner and very good at figuring things out.” She went on to tell him the easier way to skin around ears, face and other hard areas and explaining why it was easier. He immediately picked up on what she was saying and she could tell by his expression that he had already figured it out himself.

Ra'eesah quickly instructed him on the removal of the stomach and how to clean the contents out of it so it could be used to carry things. Ra’eesah went through the rest of the body and instructed him at the removal of the bladder, the intestines and the brain. She explained the brain they would use to tan the dog, the intestines could be dried and tanned and used as string and the bladder could be yet another pouch to carry something. “Come with me and we will set the slurry to boil while we scrap the skin.” She grabbed the brain and placed it in a pot with some water and set it on the fire to cook. “You will scrape the fat from the hide and when it is all off we will spread this slurry on the hide. It will tan it and make it soft. We will have to let it sit until tomorrow and then it can be scraped off.

Ra’eesah led him back to the hide where he started scraping the fat. She finally decided to answer his question about her wind-marks. It was something she was embarrassed about. “You asked about wind-marks. I do not have mine because I have not found my strider yet. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever find it. Sometimes I have wondered if I am truly a Drykas but my mother assures me I am and it will happen one of these days. For now I walk or ride when I can find a strider that will agree to let me ride it.” She watched him as he worked complimenting him on his technique. He was a natural. “I am not sure how you know but everyone keeps assuring me that you will know. I have to trust that it is obvious. My brother figured it out and is not always the brightest among us. Sometimes it can take until you are old but I hope it is not that way with me.” She tried to hide the shame she felt, thinking there was something wrong with her but she smiled at him as he finished scraping the fat lost in her own thoughts.

“You have done well, in fact one of the best first timers I have ever worked with. Let us go get the slurry.” She walked to the pot and the brain mixture was bubbling. It was hot. She had brought their wooden spoon with her and showed him how to dip the mixture out and spread it along the hide working it into as you could. She handed him the spoon and let him finish. When she was satisfied they put the skin on the stretcher. “We will finish it tomorrow. You will then scrape the slurry off.” She dragged the dog further away and once she treated his wounds they would offer the dog meat to the others.

“Now Redwing, it is your turn. You need to go wash up and then I will put medicine on your wounds so they will heal faster.”

by **S'hazende** on June 1st, 2013, 2:51 am

S’hazende hadn’t known much about that process that followed the skinning of an animal so he was impressed to find that Ra’eesah seemed to know a lot more about that side of things. The word ‘slurry’ was new to him and he watched and listened as Ra’eesah added the brains to boiling water; thinking it funny the dog was going to be cured with the broth of his own remains. He savoured as much of the animal parts as he could, his hands covered in the dark blood that resided on the remaining organs he removed for the Drykas people to feed to their pets, or for Ra’eesah to help him shape into water-skins and the likes. The flesh was shaved away from the bones and S’hazende took both of the top teeth from the animal, which he planned to one day use to make a necklace or two with, one he hoped to offer back to Ra’eesah for helping him out today.

There was very little fat remaining on the skin as the dog hadn’t seemed very well fed to begin with and was probably surviving on its fat stores for the last couple of days if not weeks. When this was done Ra’eesah demonstrated how to spread the slurry over the turned flesh, covering all the skin so that it would soften and tan. He finished up, paying close attention to the inside out toes, ears and lips. S’hazende was happy with his first lesson and thought given time, he could become a real master of this craft if he continued to work at it. The tall Kevlic helped the Drykas woman carry the pelt over to the stretcher and stood admiring the mornings work for a while before it was time to deal with the remaining parts.

Everything seemed in order and Ra’eesah had instructed the young man to go and wash up before she could tend to the scratches on his sides and lower right arm. He had also nicked himself a couple of times on his fingers while skinning the dog and wouldn’t mind having those looked at as well as the last thing he needed on top of a death defying experience was an injection to top it all off. S’hazende took a rag and dipped it in a pot of warm simmering water back in the tent he had been living in. The rule was not to double dip so that they could keep the liquid clean for this form of washing, so the boy soaked the rag fully before running it up and down his arms. He rung it out gently and then worked on his hands which seemed to have collected the most of the dirt and blood; paying close attention to his fingernails, which he usually paid no mind.

He threw the rag down and sat down on the edge of his bedding and suddenly felt exhausted. It was mid-afternoon now and the sun was at its highest point in the sky, making the grasslands burn under the intense spring heat. He wasn’t looking forward to the summer if this heat was any indication as to what the coming season might be like. After a time the lean male pulled himself up from his bedding and went to find Ra’eesah, who had traded her hunting-kit for something else, grasses and the likes that she had collected throughout their travels no doubt. He hadn’t suffered any real types of injuries during his short life, but had once suffered from an injected scab on his knee, that his mother had made him bath twice a day and otherwise keep dry and dirt free, which had been difficult for the young, wayward Kelvic. He liked to run free in the grasslands and kick up dirt and dust in his animal form, so holding back from the rough and tumble had been no fun at all.

S’hazende sat down with the young, dark-haired Drykas girl and folded his dressed legs before extending his arms to present his scuffed hands to her. He was slightly nervous about the concoctions she might use on his wounds, but the fear was well disguised by the small smile he had managed to force to his lips. “Thank you for helping me today,” S’hazende said gently. “I will try to stay out of trouble from now on to save you from having to do this again.” He would watch as the woman used her herbs and grasses to tend his wounds and would ask questions as to what she was using so that maybe in future he could identify such plants when he was travelling the roads alone. Such knowledge would come in handy if he was to learn to survive and live off the land as he so desperately long to do.

by **Ra'eesah** on June 1st, 2013, 4:57 am

Ra’eesah watched him as he walked to his tent to clean up. She went to talk to her mother’s friend and told her that the rest of the dog was available to anyone who wanted to use it for their animals. She cleaned her tools and washed her hands well. She sat under the awning that jutted out from the tent in the shade and pulled the items she would need from her bag.

The young woman found the jar where she had put the poultice in the sun to stay warm. Ra’eesah took the strips of cloth, twine and salve from the bag. She sat and hugged her knees to chest; her white shirt rippling in the breeze that blew through area cooled her some. She was glad she had chosen to wear her hair up today for it helped to keep her cool. It looked it was going to be a hot summer this year in the grasslands and she prayed there would be plenty of rain so the fires would not break out this year.

S’hazende appeared shortly, the blood now gone from his skin. She smiled at him as he sat before her. He offered her his arms which she looked over well and then stood and examined his back and chest. Ra’eesah found the cuts on his sides, her hands gently examining the flesh to make sure that the cuts would not require stitching. It was something she was still learning how to do. She had placed stitches in the dogs before but not a human yet. She was satisfied that the poultice and the salve would do the job. The wounds appeared to be clean and in good shape.

The salve was a comfrey salve which would aid in preventing infection as well help to kill any pain. The woman explained that she had helped her mother mix the comfrey into the gel from the aloe vera plant. She spread a small amount on the scratches on his left side and then asked him to lie down. The scratches on right side were a little deeper. He was very lucky that they had not gone deeper. You could see where the nails from the dog had dug into him. She picked up the jar and told him that he had mixed bread and warm milk together and it would pull any infection out and after letting it site for a bit they would cleanse it and cover it in the salve.

Ra’eesah’s touch was gentle, trying her best to cause him no pain. She hummed softly to herself as she worked. The young man looked exhausted. She smiled as their eyes met. She had been very impressed by him today. He would go far in life. “Close your eyes and sleep. I will finish and you rest while this poultice has a chance to work. When it is time to wash it off I will replace it with the salve. I will leave you some. You can return the container to me later. You will want to cleanse the area and put the salve back on it until you see a scab form or the wound heals. Do this every four hours today until you rest. In the morning go through the same routine except you can do it every six hours. On day three increase the time to eight hours for the wounds that still need it.” He closed his eyes as she worked on the wounds on his arms and hands. Some scratches she took the milk poultice and placed it on the wound and took a strip of cloth and tied it around so it would be covered. The lesser scratches she put the salve.

S’hazende seemed to fall asleep. Once she felt he was ok she laid her head on her knees and fell asleep as well. The air was hot and dry today, stealing your energy, lulling you into a drowsiness that was hard to fight when sitting still. She woke with a start forgetting where she was for a moment and remembered Redwing. The sun had moved in the sky enough that it was safe to remove the milk poultice. She caressed his face with the back of her hand as her mother always did to awaken him. She took a comfrey leaf and cleaned the poultice off. When it was off she went into his tent with a clean cloth soaking it in the precious water and cleaned the wounds again. She put the comfrey salve on the wounds she had just cleaned and declared he would live to see another day. They shared a laugh at her joke. “You will be fine. Remember what I told and should they become red or sore come see me. Thank you for the privilege of allowing me to help you. It was an honor to do so. You should rest now but when the sun begins to set my family will have dinner. You are welcome to come share it with us.” She explained where her family was camped. She then stood, took his hand and bowed to him, touching the back of his hand to her forehead in a sign of respect as she had been taught.

The pair bid one another farewell. Ra’eesah turned and walked towards her tent. When she had gotten several yards away she turned to find him watching her. She smiled and waved hoping her new friend would come share dinner with her family.

by **Magpie** on June 9th, 2013, 7:42 pm

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S'hazende :

Ra'eesah :

Notes :

If you have any questions or concerns about what was awarded, please don't hesitate to PM me.
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