6th day of Fall 515 AV
Just before dawn
The chill touch of fall still claimed the morning when Shahar had departed from her bed, his gentle greeting made only after he was sure she was awake. She greeted him in return, touching his hand before he slipped out the door to see to his traps. Naiya let the warm quiet of her bed claim her for a bit longer, not sleeping, but luxuriating in the warmth of the blankets for a few chimes more. While she was still half asleep the pain of her wounds was hardly noticeable.
She had plans for the day, though, so she rose, abandoning the warmth for the cool fingers of morning against her skin. Quiet so not to wake the children, she dressed, moving slowly, and taking great care not to make too much noise when finding her clothing. Bare feet were more quiet than her boots, so she took her socks and the leather shoes out with her rather than putting them on inside. Sneaking past the folds of cloth before donning the heavier gear. It wasn't as bad today, the bites on her calf healing slowly but causing her less trouble each day.
Banti still slept curled against her brother Kabek, Tuka had surely left with Shahar. The two would return soon enough, hopefully with something to make for breakfast.
Naiya tended to the embers of the fire from the night before, stirring them to see if there was still heat in the buried coals. There seemed to be, as she prodded them back to the top with a small piece of wood. She sought the thin dry wood from the hollow of the fuel pile, kept dry by the other logs and added both those and a few smaller pieces of wood on top of the low embers. While she waited for those to catch she went out to gather the zibri, and the new cow, who was still shy, but slowly acclimating to the pavilion.
Her return with the creatures was greeted by the crackling of the fire, quickly burning away the small wooden offerings she had left behind. She pulled more wood from the pile, a few thin pieces, bigger than the first, but not real logs. Following that, she stacked a few larger rounds and a few further logs beside the fire so that she would not have to walk back and forward any more.
With the fire slowly growing into its own, she turned back to the animals, surveying the creatures before seeking both the milk pail and the large jugs for milk. She hadn't yet milked the cow with any real intent, in fact, she had not been milking any of the zibri much either, with all the new calves she was making sure that they were eating enough. Most of the young seemed to be taking a mix of grass and milk, but the newest additions were more reliant on the milk.
It seemed, though, that the creatures were doing well enough, and the cows were producing plenty of milk, so it was time to start milking again. She didn't want to mix the zibri and the cow milk either, she didn't know if they were different, or how it would change the flavor.
Milking the cows would take a while, and hopefully after she was done, Shahar would be back with some meat, otherwise she might offer to take Seirei with her into the market to buy some breakfast and some herbs to add to the cheese. She began with Samala first, she was the most mellow of the bunch, making milking her the least work. Before actually milking the zibri, she sought grooming tools, brushing the old lady with great care.
For the zibri she used a comb, it untangled their hair, helped remove the clumps of dirt, and allowed her to collect the untangled hairs to use as stuffing or sell to be made into wool. The long hair of the zibri protected them from the cold, kept their eyes covered so no dirt or bugs were likely to bother them, and made nice wool. It also tangled like crazy and often had to be treated like her own hair, detangled from the very tips and worked back up to the roots of the hair. It was a long process, but it kept hair out of the milk.
She worked the comb through the hair, Samala relaxed throughout the process, she enjoyed the attention. In the grooming kit Naiya had taken to storing separate bags which she filled with the loosened hair of the cattle. There was a bag for each color, red, yellow, white, silver, and mixed. She could sell the more desired colors for a better price if she didn't mix it in with the others.
Grooming the cattle was about as easy as grooming the horses, the hardest part being reaching difficult spots, and the weariness that grew with each creature that needed grooming. The morning was growing brighter as she dragged her comb through the last section of Samala's left side, pulling the hair from the brush and adding it to the yellow bag.
The fire needed attention, and the camp was beginning to stir. She added more wood to the fire, stacking the new pieces into the sturdy pyramid of wood that was common before leaving it and the zibri while she fetched the large brown cooking pot and her iron tea kettle.
She took both to the creek to fill in the gently burbling water, Banti, having woken, following her out and chasing after small game while she waited. The feline caught a rabbit, dappled brown and white, and Naiya even managed to snag it from her before she ate it, glee shining in her eyes. The feline wasn't happy, but she was learning that there were rewards for sharing her hunts. It was a slow process, but Naiya was working on it. The cat went in search of new prey while Naiya carried her rabbit and the water filled pots back to the camp.
She was struggling with the load, the full cook pot weighing more than she expected, especially with her kettle hooked over her arm adding more weight. The rabbit too was adding difficulty, but far less than the pot which was never easy to carry with it's large size.
She managed in the end, spilling only a little water from both vessels before she placed them to heat beside the fire. Banti trailed after her, a lizard in her mouth which she dropped at Naiya's feet. It was nearly as mangled at the rabbit, the hunting cat's teeth putting holes in the skin, but the cat wanted praise, and so Naiya gave her a nice rub down before going to work skinning the creatures.
The lizard was first, she wanted the skin for preserving, but she was also more than happy to give the entirety of the creature back to the cat, an instant reward for her successful hunt. She used a small blade to separate the skin from the lizard, her blade mostly flat so she could cut the membrane that attached the skin to the meat.
With most of the skin removed, she was ready to relinquish the lizard, praising the feline before giving her the prize. Hopefully it would reinforce the cat's desire to hunt for Naiya rather than hunting for herself. A quick layer of salt began drying the skin, sprinkled with care across the skin and rubbed carefully into the edges. It wasn't much, ripped by the cat's teeth in four places, and lacking the legs and face of the lizard, but it was enough to add to her other, and parts and pieces would eventually make enough to put to use.
Just before dawn
The chill touch of fall still claimed the morning when Shahar had departed from her bed, his gentle greeting made only after he was sure she was awake. She greeted him in return, touching his hand before he slipped out the door to see to his traps. Naiya let the warm quiet of her bed claim her for a bit longer, not sleeping, but luxuriating in the warmth of the blankets for a few chimes more. While she was still half asleep the pain of her wounds was hardly noticeable.
She had plans for the day, though, so she rose, abandoning the warmth for the cool fingers of morning against her skin. Quiet so not to wake the children, she dressed, moving slowly, and taking great care not to make too much noise when finding her clothing. Bare feet were more quiet than her boots, so she took her socks and the leather shoes out with her rather than putting them on inside. Sneaking past the folds of cloth before donning the heavier gear. It wasn't as bad today, the bites on her calf healing slowly but causing her less trouble each day.
Banti still slept curled against her brother Kabek, Tuka had surely left with Shahar. The two would return soon enough, hopefully with something to make for breakfast.
Naiya tended to the embers of the fire from the night before, stirring them to see if there was still heat in the buried coals. There seemed to be, as she prodded them back to the top with a small piece of wood. She sought the thin dry wood from the hollow of the fuel pile, kept dry by the other logs and added both those and a few smaller pieces of wood on top of the low embers. While she waited for those to catch she went out to gather the zibri, and the new cow, who was still shy, but slowly acclimating to the pavilion.
Her return with the creatures was greeted by the crackling of the fire, quickly burning away the small wooden offerings she had left behind. She pulled more wood from the pile, a few thin pieces, bigger than the first, but not real logs. Following that, she stacked a few larger rounds and a few further logs beside the fire so that she would not have to walk back and forward any more.
With the fire slowly growing into its own, she turned back to the animals, surveying the creatures before seeking both the milk pail and the large jugs for milk. She hadn't yet milked the cow with any real intent, in fact, she had not been milking any of the zibri much either, with all the new calves she was making sure that they were eating enough. Most of the young seemed to be taking a mix of grass and milk, but the newest additions were more reliant on the milk.
It seemed, though, that the creatures were doing well enough, and the cows were producing plenty of milk, so it was time to start milking again. She didn't want to mix the zibri and the cow milk either, she didn't know if they were different, or how it would change the flavor.
Milking the cows would take a while, and hopefully after she was done, Shahar would be back with some meat, otherwise she might offer to take Seirei with her into the market to buy some breakfast and some herbs to add to the cheese. She began with Samala first, she was the most mellow of the bunch, making milking her the least work. Before actually milking the zibri, she sought grooming tools, brushing the old lady with great care.
For the zibri she used a comb, it untangled their hair, helped remove the clumps of dirt, and allowed her to collect the untangled hairs to use as stuffing or sell to be made into wool. The long hair of the zibri protected them from the cold, kept their eyes covered so no dirt or bugs were likely to bother them, and made nice wool. It also tangled like crazy and often had to be treated like her own hair, detangled from the very tips and worked back up to the roots of the hair. It was a long process, but it kept hair out of the milk.
She worked the comb through the hair, Samala relaxed throughout the process, she enjoyed the attention. In the grooming kit Naiya had taken to storing separate bags which she filled with the loosened hair of the cattle. There was a bag for each color, red, yellow, white, silver, and mixed. She could sell the more desired colors for a better price if she didn't mix it in with the others.
Grooming the cattle was about as easy as grooming the horses, the hardest part being reaching difficult spots, and the weariness that grew with each creature that needed grooming. The morning was growing brighter as she dragged her comb through the last section of Samala's left side, pulling the hair from the brush and adding it to the yellow bag.
The fire needed attention, and the camp was beginning to stir. She added more wood to the fire, stacking the new pieces into the sturdy pyramid of wood that was common before leaving it and the zibri while she fetched the large brown cooking pot and her iron tea kettle.
She took both to the creek to fill in the gently burbling water, Banti, having woken, following her out and chasing after small game while she waited. The feline caught a rabbit, dappled brown and white, and Naiya even managed to snag it from her before she ate it, glee shining in her eyes. The feline wasn't happy, but she was learning that there were rewards for sharing her hunts. It was a slow process, but Naiya was working on it. The cat went in search of new prey while Naiya carried her rabbit and the water filled pots back to the camp.
She was struggling with the load, the full cook pot weighing more than she expected, especially with her kettle hooked over her arm adding more weight. The rabbit too was adding difficulty, but far less than the pot which was never easy to carry with it's large size.
She managed in the end, spilling only a little water from both vessels before she placed them to heat beside the fire. Banti trailed after her, a lizard in her mouth which she dropped at Naiya's feet. It was nearly as mangled at the rabbit, the hunting cat's teeth putting holes in the skin, but the cat wanted praise, and so Naiya gave her a nice rub down before going to work skinning the creatures.
The lizard was first, she wanted the skin for preserving, but she was also more than happy to give the entirety of the creature back to the cat, an instant reward for her successful hunt. She used a small blade to separate the skin from the lizard, her blade mostly flat so she could cut the membrane that attached the skin to the meat.
With most of the skin removed, she was ready to relinquish the lizard, praising the feline before giving her the prize. Hopefully it would reinforce the cat's desire to hunt for Naiya rather than hunting for herself. A quick layer of salt began drying the skin, sprinkled with care across the skin and rubbed carefully into the edges. It wasn't much, ripped by the cat's teeth in four places, and lacking the legs and face of the lizard, but it was enough to add to her other, and parts and pieces would eventually make enough to put to use.
