Affairs of the Hart (Kell/Jaeden)

[Kell Northwind]

((OOC: In the interest of keeping this thread PG-13 I'm not going to go into detail about the process of field dressing and skinning a deer))

As Jaeden tramped of into the woods Kell unsheathed his dagger from behind his back and began the grisly work of dressing the hart. He was just about done skinning the animal when he heard something big pushing through the underbrush. A short time later Stormrunner came into view. The dun mare had heard his whistle and had returned to her partner. Kell was glad that he had chosen to leave the Yvas and saddlebags on Stormrunner when he had left her to begin tracking the trail he had spotted. It would have been a pain to have to walk all the way back to the clearing to get them. Kell returned to his work, carefully removing the meat from the carcass. A small portion to the meat he stuck on a long branch that would serve as a spit for that night’s meal. The rest he split into two even piles. While Jaeden technically hadn’t done anything to help bag the hart, Kell knew he could never use that much meat on his own before it spoiled and he felt a little responsible for Jaeden’s ruined snare. Task completed, Kell piled the innards and unusable portions of the hart back into what remained of the carcass and dragged it off into the woods, leaving it far enough away so that any wild animals that might catch it’s scent would leave the camp alone.

That done, he cleaned himself and his dagger off with snow and began setting up his own protion of the camp. First he untied the saddlebags from Storm’s yvas and then removed the odd “saddle” itself. Stormrunner nickered to show his enthusiasm for this turn of events before wandering off a little ways to look for something to eat. Kell then scraped aside a section of snow to reveal the frozen ground beneath. On this cleared area he unrolled his bedroll, placing the saddlebags at the top to be used as a pillow. Having set up his habitation, Kell next removed the quiver from his belt and clipped it to a specially designed “harness” on the outside of the saddlebags. When the bags were on the horse, the quiver rested within easy reach of his right hand, allowing a faster draw. Next he saw to his bow. He unstrung the bowstring and placed it securely in his belt pouch. He laid the unstrung bowstave beside his bedroll. Kell dug in his saddlebags for his whetstone and some rustproof oil and settled down cross legged on his bedroll, sedately working the whetstone along Gale’s length as he waited for Jaeden to return.

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden had been meandering through the forest for a short time, trying to find timber other than the small twig. It was one thing that at least winter in the forest wasn't stingy on. By the time he felt satisfied with the amount, he had managed to gather close to thirty branches all together of various thickness, most of them no more than an inch an half thick. Not all of them were dried out, but that matter very little in the long run. A small amount of twigs were also collected and slipped into his belt pack.

Using some of his excess rope, as well as the damaged snare, Jaeden bundled them together before bringing them to rest along his left shoulder. He took another quick glance at the sky as he began making his way back towards camp. The sun would be setting soon, but at least the skies were clear. No fear of a possible storm in the foreseeable future.

It would only take a short time for him to return, as long strides and heavy feet left deep imprints in the snow. The smell of pine, while faint in the cold air, still managed to irritate his nose a short moment as he fought the urge to sneeze. By the time he had returned, Kell had already cleaned the hart and was in the middle of maintaining his equipment.

Grasping the rope, Jaeden slowly lowered the bundle towards the ground, the muscle along his arm going taught for a brief moment as he reached up with his right hand, unfastening the waist buckle of his pack. Jaeden slowly glanced over at the two even piles of meat nearby as he let the pack slide off his shoulders and down his back. Catching the strap with both hands, he then swung the pack around in front of him with his right before setting it along the ground, the heavy thud suggesting that the pack was somewhat heavy.

"You don't have to split the meat with me," Jaeden said casually as he opened his pack, pulling out a woodman's axe, "it was your prey after all. I'll be satisfied with a full meal tonight."

Jaeden then took a quick glance around the area before taking a few steps into a clearing and kneeling down. With heavy swings, he began digging into the ground, the axe breaking the frozen layer of ground before a wide, shallow hole was dug out. A short moment was then taken to catch his breath as long deep breaths where inhaled.

Jaeden then took the bundle of wood, as a few were laid along the bottom of the shallow hole before several were used to form a tee pee like shape over the others. Jaeden then turned to his pack once again, retrieving a small tin box from within. He opened it, revealing a small amount of kindling which was made up of various material from dried out bark to lint speck that had been pulled from his shirt over time.

Jaeden laid a small wad of kindling along the base of the hole and shortly after retrieving his flint and steel from his pack. A few strokes of the steel along the flint sent several spark down to the kindling, causing first a small smolder and then, with a couple of strong breaths, a tiny flame. Twigs were quickly retrieved from his belt pouch and laid along the small flame to finally bring the whole setup to a large campfire.

With that out of the way, Jaeden then turned to his pack once again. One item after another was pulled out until all the pieces of a four man tent were laid out. "There's room if you want shelter from the night winds," Jaeden then said to Kell as he began setting up the tent.

[Kell Northwind]

“Please take it, I insist,” Kell urged while Jaeden was lighting the fire, “there’s no way I can use that much and I don’t know how to turn it into jerk.” Once the fire got going Kell put away the whet stone and oil back in his saddlebags. Standing, he slid Gale home in it sheath without looking. He trudged over to a nearby tree and wrestled off two branches. Once more utilizing his dagger he cut a notch into one end of each branch before sticking them in the ground opposite each other on the edge of the fire pit. Kell then took the meat he had already spitted and placed one end of the spit in each notch, allowing the meat to rest over the fire. He settled in next to the fire to wait for the meat to cook, occasionally slowly turning the spit to give the meat a more even roasting.

“Thank you for the offer but I’ll stay out here if it’s all the same to you,” Kell turned down the offer to share the tent as politely as he could. It would be sorely tempting to spend a night out of the elements, but out in the open as they were, he didn’t want to be trapped in the tent if something or someone stumbled across their camp while they slept. “So Jay, what brings a strapping young man such as yourself all the way out here to noman’s land? Do you make a living on what you snare or something?” Kell tried to strike up some small talk as they both worked on their respective tasks. “You got any family waiting for ya back home? Maybe a pretty young lass keeping your bed nice and warm?”

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden casually went about setting up his tent as long wooden shafts were braced along the ground and tied together. "You should sell the meat then," Jaeden explained, "someone would be willing to pay good coin for it."

Jaeden began hammering spikes into the ground before his forearm was dragged across his brow, wiping away a layer of sweat he had began to produce despite the chill of winter. He then gave a shrug at Kell's decline to his invitation. A thick layer of cloth was laid out over the ground creating a generic floor of the tent itself. Two ropes were attached to the spikes on one end, then the tent shafts at the other. The frame of the tent was then raised as Jaeden began tying another rope along the other end of the frame to a nearby tree.

Jaeden paused as he was tightening the slip knot to the tree as Kell asked his questions. There was a long moment of silence before he made his way over to the final piece of the tent, unfolding the large, thick hemp canopy. "I'm just a wanderer of sorts," Jaeden explained. "One day after another I suppose, trying to survive in this life."

Jaeden then tossed the covering over the tent's frame as he began tying it to the wooden shafts that ran to the ground. He didn't give answers to Kell's last two questions before anchoring the covering to the ground with smaller spikes. He slowly looked over the finished work before giving an exhale and nod before going to his pack once more to retrieve his bedroll and winter blanket. "What about you?" he then simply asked of Kell, leave the question vague so that he could decide how much he wished to reveal.

[Kell Northwind]

Kell rolled his eyes behind Jaeden’s back as the big man effectively stonewalled every single opening Kell had given him. Being cryptically vague about ones past was supposed to be Kell’s part of any conversation. Oh well, it wasn’t polite to pry, especially when the pryee own half a foot and who knows how many pounds on you. With the tip of his dagger Kell carefully checked the meat; still not done.

“Well I won’t bore you with the small details and all that. I’m a king actually. My kingdom was vast and far reaching and very powerful. But I was betrayed by my evil step-mothers not so evil pet koala. The saintly little bugger had me banished. I drifted aimlessly for a while and then some monks took me in. They were an extremely pacifistic sect that believes every living thing is sacred. They won’t kill anything, even plants. I saw one starve to death because he couldn’t find any food that wasn’t already dead. Needless to say I was so fascinated that I had myself initiated. I am currently travelling back to my native kingdom to spread the beauty that is extreme pacifism to my former subjects so that we may have the most peaceful kingdom in Mizahar. Oh the meat’s done.”

Kell sliced off a piece and held it out to Jaeden on the tip of his blade. “Would you do the honors?”

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden smirked slightly as Kell went briefly over his past. "So I guess you didn't undertake all of their pacifistic ways in regards to getting food," Jaeden pointed out over Kell's killing of the Hart itself.

After tossing the bedroll into his tend, Jaeden then inspected the meat that Kell had handed off to him. Looking it over for a moment, he then sliced off some of the meat using his own cooking knife and took a bite. There was a long moment of silence as he forced back a grimace on his face. "Wow," Jaeden finally said, forcefully swallowing the last bit of meat, "it's been a while since I've found someone worse at cooking than I am. It's going to need a little longer over the fire."

Jaeden moved to his backpack and once again rummaged through it's contents before pulling out another small box. The contents within looked like a dark powder of sorts and had a small bite to their scent. Moving over to the fire, Jaeden began taking pinches of the dark powder and sprinkled it sparingly over the cooking meat. "My past isn't so grand as a king, kingdom or koala," Jaeden then said idly as he looked into the flames as they licked at the meat. "I had a home. I had parents. I had even an older sister. Then they were all taken by violence, like so many others, and burned to ash."

Jaeden then just fell silent for the longest time as the crackle of the fire was the only sound to fill the void. "A short time after, I was discovered almost dead by Olevar," Jaeden then said, "he trained and raised me. Now I'm simply out on my own."

[Kell Northwind]

Kell affected a puzzled look as he turned toward Jaeden. “What are you talking about, I am a devote practioner. I would never kill a living soul, especially just for some food.” Kell knew better than to protest Jaeden’s judgment of his cooking skill. He was well and truly awful. Leaving his companion to the cooking, Kell instead wandered over to Stormrunner and lifted her right foreleg. Of course just because Kell knows better than something doesn’t mean he’ll he’d his own advice. “Sheesh! Man goes out of his way just to cook for a bloke and all he gets are complaints! I tell you, that’s the last time I ever cook for you young man” He delivered this with a smile so that Jaeden would know he was joking. Bending, he carefully checked Stormrunner’s hoof and shoe, making sure they were still in good condition and looking for any irritants that might cause problems in the future.

“You can’t be on your own,” He said as he moved on to the right rear hoof to repeat the process. He wasn’t making light of Jaeden’s tragedies, he just didn’t want to pry into what seemed like painful memories. “See, if you’re on your own, that implies that there is no one with you. And if there is no one with you then me and Stormy here don’t exist. And if we don’t exist, than you got yourself some serious problems and are gonna be quite hungry if all you’re planning on eating is that imagenary hart meat you’re working so diligently on.” With that hoof finished as well, he began examining Stormrunner’s left rear hoof.

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden shook his head slightly as he turned the meat some, letting the other side cook. "The statement wasn't meant to imply that I'm on my own at this exact moment," Jaeden explained as he pulled out his cooking knife and slid it into the meat along the top, prying the cut open slightly to check how far in it had been cooked.

He then slowly stood up, capping the spices. "Just that I'm no longer under the gentle persuasions of Olevar," Jaeden continued as he slipped the spices back into his pack. "I've run across many others in my ventures out here. Some have attacked, some have traded, others simply traded pleasantries and information. Only one other, aside from you, hunted with me."

Jaeden made his way back to the fire, dropping to one knee in front of it as he once again checked the meat. "Looks done, but we'll give it another short moment," Jaeden said.

[Kell Northwind]

Kell let go of Stormrunners left foreleg, his inspection complete. “Oh, okay. That’s good because I really wasn’t feeling all that imaginary at the moment,” as he said this he prodded his arm as if to check if he really was in fact there. He was a little put off by Jaeden’s apparent ease with the story he’d been telling. It was one of his favorites, and almost always got some worthwhile reactions. It was vaguely disappointing. Kell went back over to his saddle bags and took out a brush before returning to his mare. As he waited for Jaeden to pronounce the food edible he began brushing out Stormrunner’s coat.

“Isn’t it done yet,” he whined. “I’m absolutely famished over here.” As his to prove his point his stomach chose that moment to rumble loudly. “See?” he asked, pointing to his midsection?

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden paused for a second, looking over at Kell. His left eyebrow raising slightly inquisitively. "Did you eat some weird mushrooms in the forest before meeting me or something?" Jaeden simply asked as he finally pulled the meat away from the fire.

Jaeden pulled out a couple of wooden plates from his pack, slipping a piece of meat along each one. Setting one next to Kell's saddle, he then just took a seat near his tent and used his eating knife to cut the meat into smaller pieces. Taking his first bite, he fought the urge to grimace. His cooking wasn't much better than Kell's but it was improving, he hopped soon he wouldn't have to force himself to swallow the food he cooked.

Jaeden just sat there, letting a long silence pass over the place. Chewing his food, his simply stared into the fire while tapping the next slice of meat with the tip of his cooking knife. Looking at Kell, he then motioned his head towards his bow. "I've been looking to pick up practice in the use of a bow, but scrapping for my next meal during the winter took priority," Jaeden said randomly as he forced down another scrap of meat.