Solo [Job Thread] Rabbit Season

[Serta]

Serta sighed happily into the winter air as she finally reached the trees from the Sunberthian streets. She had decided to take a day out to hunt today, as she found spending too much time surrounded by the many, closely packed people and their accompanying smells had a detrimental effect on her temper. She licked the woods though, not particularly the Sunberthian woods, but woods in general. She liked being able to act however she wanted without others to look down on her and she enjoyed being able to be wild and free.

She was testing out snares for the first time today. Kane was picky about the meats he would and would not accept and Serta had learned after the first time that he would by no means accept any kill that had been brought down with a wolf jaws. Serta could hardly fault him, she could do quite a bit of damage, though she had yet to perfect the art of hunting in any means.

So she had spent her morning at the markets, buying snares and then receiving instructions on how to set up and use the. The instructions were fairly straight forward for the most part and were easy to remember. Pausing a moment Serta glanced up at the sky, gauging the position of the sun. Hardly even mid-day. She observed, Plenty of time to do as I wish.

Hoisting her bag further onto her back Serta glanced around at the trees around her and came to a stop once she was far enough in to be completely blocked of view from the town. Winter was slowly starting to release its hold and the tall, old trees around her were showing it with the few fresh shoots which had begun to tentatively sprout. The snow had even started to melt, and Serta was relieved that there was at least a small amount left, she had been informed it made it easier to track prey.

[Serta]

Serta took a moment to cast an eye over her surroundings, wondering which snare she should set up first. She had bought two, one for small, ground dwelling animals and the other for birds. She settled for the ground dwellers first and began to study the snow around her, knowing exactly what kind of animal she wished to target for her first attempt. Rabbits, She decided, are the most abundant in these woods, even in Winter. Only a fool would ignore them for something more scarce. With that in mind she stepped deeper into the trees, eyes casting around for any noticeable rabbit runs in the frosty undergrowth.

After a nearly half a bell she noticed the first of the tracks, reasonable fresh and heading towards a small knot of thickets. She grinned and started forward, following the tracks until they brought her into a narrow run, were different tracks of varying freshness over lapped. She crouched and pulled her bag around, rustling around until she pulled out the appropriate snare. I don't mind hunting in winter, tracks are far easier to see. Serta thought, practically buzzing with excited energy as she pulled out the simple loop snare.

Setting the snare and her bag aside, Serta stood, glancing around for a suitable tree. Finding one that suited her attentions she approached it and reached up to pull at one of its lower branches. Putting her weight into it Serta leant back with her whole body, the branch breaking free with a loud crack. Picking herself up from where she had fallen backwards Serta brushed herself off and picked up the branch, taking a moment to glance at her bark scuffed hands. Frowning she reminded herself to buy some gloves when she returned.

Moving back to the trail she placed the branch over it, making sure that the limbs that spread out from the main, thicker branch were pushed into the ground. The branches would force the rabbit to squeeze through as it passed by and would force it directly into the path that she was to set the snare. She used some smaller, sturdy branches to drive into the cold ground either side of where the large branch meet the ground in an attempt to make it even more sturdy.

Smiling softly to herself she reached over to retrieve the snare. It was make of a thin copper wire with a small loop in one end. She grasped both ends of the wire and carefully feed the end through the small loop, now making one quite large one. Now the snare formed one large noose like loop.

Moving back to the branch in the ground she carefully hung the noose over the top so that it hung down into the opening that the rabbit would run through. She wrapped it around as many times as she could before she ran out of wire and finished by tying it as securely as she could. Taking a step back she admired her handy work..

[Serta]

Serta took a few moments to adjust the noose before she was satisfied. Smiling she gathered her things back up and after marking the area turned to walk further into the trees, in search of the next area for the next trap. She had decided on something simple this time around, and the trap she had decided on hadn't required a snare, but it had required a shovel, which she had borrowed from the tender of the shop with a flirty wink and a promise of repayment should she fail to bring it back in one piece.

She was searching for another rabbit run and while she walked she began to gather plenty of sticks and leaves until she had a good armful. She planned to dig a pit in the ground, cover it with the sticks and leaves and bait it with some dried berries. This trap seemed simpler to her, though unlike the first trap which as designed to kill the rabbit once the snare tightened around its neck, this one required her killing the rabbit instead. She had no problem with killing the rabbit, her only problem was going to be killing it in a manner that wouldn't damage the meat too much. She had considered cutting its throat, but if she did that the blood would surely scare of any other prey to wonder across the trap. She would snap it's neck she decided with a little nod, though she felt quite apprehensive about doing so.

Finally finding a small flat area she cleared the snow away in a large circle and untied the shovel, using it's edge to trace a circle in the cold hard ground. She sighed as she sat back on her haunches and rocked up into a standing position. She braced both hands around the shovels handle before she lunged her arms forward and dug it deep into the ground. The frozen dirt made her job harder and she shovelled heap after heap of dirt into a small pile next to her.

By the time he was finished the pit was several feet deep and several feet wide. She took her time in ensuring the ides were a straight and smooth as was possible, she didn't want the rabbit to climb out. Dropping the shovel to the side she rubbed her arm across her forehead, wiping away the sweat that had begun to cool on her forehead.

Leaning back on her haunches she twisted to pull the pile of sticks and leaves closer to herself. She arranged the sticks with a careful hand, the longest first. She propped them across the hole, breaking a few at the ends so they were only very slightly longer than the hole. Changing the direction of sticks she began to lay the smallest of those she had gathered, fine things that would snap under the slightest pressure. Once the small sticks had all been laid out over the opening she started on the leaves, carefully laying out handfuls at a time and trying to distribute them evenly in order to avoid collapsing the trap under excess weight. Once the sticks were completely covered she used a few handfuls of the dirt she had dug up to sprinkle it over the top, making the trap look more natural and blend in with its surroundings.

Finally finished she smoothed the snow she had cleared back around the trap, laying a few dried berries from her pocket on and around the pit. Stepping back and picking up her bag and shovel she admired her handy work before turning and tracing her steps back towards her first snare.

[Serta]

The walk back to the first snare seemed to go quicker as Serta eagerly bound through the trees, excited to see if the trap had worked. She'd had to slow down as she got close to where she remembered it had been and after a few moments of turning around and scanning the ground she saw it. He stomach sank and she stepped forward, slightly annoyed at the results. The snare had caught a rabbit, but it hadn't worked as it was meant too. The rabbit was caught in the noose of the snare, its little furred arm caught up in the copper loop along with it's head as it struggled to get free.

The trap was meant to strangle it as the rabbit would run through it, catching it around the neck just as a noose would in reality. She frowned as she reached forward, gripping the scruff of the rabbits neck as she carefully worked it free, keeping her fingers away from it. She didn't doubt that the little grey animal was desperate enough to take a chunk out of her hand. She frowned down at it where it was struggling in her grip. Serta had only brought her Bagh Nahk with her, and they would hardly provide a clean kill. She wondered if she could snap its neck, but decided against it. She really didn't want to give the little animal any chances to bite and really, it was he mistake to deal with. She released the rabbit at arms length, pointing it towards the bushes away from the trap. the second her hand was off the back of its neck it sped away, large back feet kicking dirt and sludgy snow at her.

Brushing herself off with a huff of irritation Serta turned back towards the trap, studying it carefully to see what had gone wrong. The fault was pretty obvious, she realised, as the rabbit had entered the snare and the momentum of its body had pulled at the trap the branch frame of it had given and fallen forward slightly, allowing enough give on the noose for the rabbit to push a leg underneath before it pulled tight again.

Pushing it back into position Serta leaned against it, using her body weight to push it deeper into the ground. Twisting around in her spot she gathered some more shorter branches o use as stakes either side of where the major branch dug into the ground. Once she was done she gripped the branch and gave it a good shake. It hardly moved, and after adding a few more stakes Serta sat back, content to eat her lunch before returning to the other snare.

[Serta]

As Serta returned to the pit snare her steps were heavy with frustration and disappointment. It irritated her that such a simple mistake had kept her from being able to properly catch her first rabbit. She sincerely hoped that the comparative simplicity of the pit trap would keep it from malfunctioning. Her step quickened and she brightened immediately as the trap cam into sight and it became apparent that something had been caught in it. Knowing my luck it's probably just a fallen branch. She thought to herself, though she couldn't supress the smile that rose at the thought, she had to appreciate the comedy of such a thought.

Setting down her bag she knelt next to the pit, peering in hesitantly. A grey rabbit huddled at the bottom and Serta crowed in victory, pumping her arm in the air before peering down at it. She felt a pang of sympathy for the little animal, it was clearly terrified, its eyes showing white and small body trembling. "I'm sorry, little one." She sighed, reaching down and grabbing the heavy male by the scruff, "I'll make it quick." She said as she pressed him to the ground to hold his body still, wrapping her fingers around the back of his head in a sturdy grip. Taking a deep breath she twisted her wrist quickly and cleanly, breaking the rabbits neck with a grizzly crack. Serta shuddered and released the limp body, she honestly hated the sound of bones breaking and she rubbed at the goose-bumps the noise had raised on her arms.

She twisted to rustle through her bag before pulling out a sack that Kane had leant her. It was made out of a waxy material and Kane had assured her that it would keep any liquids from leaking around in her bag as she walked. Flattening in out on the ground Serta stretched the rabbit out on top of it, pulling out a small hunting knife so that she could gut the rabbit. She had been told to only worry about the organs, Kane had said he would deal with the rest of it later. Pressing her knife against the rabbits stomach she cut through the layer of skin, peeling it back to keep hair from getting inside as she sliced open the body under the ribs. Once the slit was wide enough she pushed her fingers inside and pulled the small organs out, being careful not to squeeze to hard and rupture the intestines. Once she had pulled them free she dropped the rabbit into the bag, puling the drawstring tight and putting it back into her pack.

Still holding the entrails in her hand she dropped them into a bush at what she hopped was a reasonable distance from the tarp before washing her hands with water from he canteen. Returning to the trap and her belongings she regathered all the branches, twigs and leaves that had fallen into the hole with the rabbit and replaced those that were broken with new ones. She reset the trap and baited it with some extra berries, smearing some around the trap in the hopes that it would cover any smells the rabbit had left behind.

Standing, Serta dusted herself off, and pushed everything she didn't need into her bag before hiding it in a bush halfway between boy the traps. She was more than content to spend the rest of the day hunting and trapping and carrying the weight of the bag back and forth was only going to tier her more quickly. Smiling with satisfaction Serta picked up the shovel and began to walk further into the forest, excited to make as many traps as possible.