Azmere was languishing in the silence of their interaction. He didn’t mind sitting down with someone and not talking. He glanced to check her progress and noted that she was a fairly quick study. Once she had reached the point where he had paused, he rolled his index fingers under the skin by the neck and gave a hard yank. The skin protested with a tacky lining of fat that stretched and whined as the pelt turned inside out in his grasp. He had to do some finagling to get the ‘sleeves’ over the feet. The front paws weren’t so bad because they’re short and the tiny bones moved well enough. Once that was achieved, he pulled hard again and this time, the skin came clear down to the ankles of the large back feet. The arrow wiggled in protest from the exertion but remained firmly planted.
After a few more minor persuasions with his hands, the complete fur (minus the head and feet) was in his hands. He placed it flat on the grass above the arrow leaving it inside out for the time being and picked up his dagger once more. Now that the meat was exposed, it was a fairly straight forward approach to getting everything ready to preserve. The next step was the worst and could be tricky so Azmere waited for her to finish removing the fur, helping if needed and then waited until she made eye contact. He signed [/i]important[/i] and pointed his blade at the abdomen of the rabbit. He made eye contact once more and signed slow meaning to take her time. With his free hand, he pinched the thin muscle of the stomach just below the center of the ribcage and made an incision just big enough for one finger. Azmere returned his gaze to Amunet as he sunk a single knuckle from his left index finger under the tissue. “Slow”
His eyes returned to their work as he rested the dagger’s tip against his finger. The goal was to push up with one’s finger and slowly open the abdomen so the organs and waste can be removed. He took no more than the half inch length of his fingertip at a time and did so several times until he had gone from stem to stern, as the saying goes. Once more, the dagger was set aside and this time, Azmere removed the arrow from the earth and from the rabbit’s ears as well. The man cradled the rabbit in his left hand holding it upright and gently used the index and middle fingers on his right hand to scoop out the intestines and organs. After the initial clump fell to the grass, he reached up and made passes along the inside of the ribs all the way up to the head. This took some time to do it right and every motion he made was gentle. It wasn’t out of respect for the creature or slowed down from normal to show Amunet that he did so. It was because there were certain organs that reeked an awful stench if busted open.
Once he was done, he wiped the blood, tissue and other visceral materials on the grass next to him then snapped off the head with a quarter twist one way and a full twist rapidly in reverse. He tossed it over his shoulder and did the same to all four feet though he set them next to his dagger. He placed the rabbit on the grass and sifted through the entrails. He removed the lungs, heart and liver and placed them by the feet. He pointed to them and made them plain for her to see by creating some separation. Azmere moved the rest of the insides out of his way and removed a sheet of paper from his kit. The blood from the body was nearly drained. A large amount had run down his arms while digging out the inner working of the bunny and the rest leached into the grass while he was sorting everything else out. He set the paper on a dry piece of grass to his left and smoothed it gently. From his kit, he drew a jar with some sawdust and took a few pinches from it before setting the jar between he and his companion.
He rubbed the sawdust over the rabbit briefly and then tucked it up into the ribcage and open cavity that he had created during the process. The light flakes of wood soon became dark crimson as they soaked up the blood and other unwanted remnants. Azmere scraped them onto the ground and made a thorough inspection of the meat. He picked off a flake here, a string there and did this over and over again until his meticulous inspection process was satisfied. Still holding the rabbit, now looking much cleaner, he produced another jar of stuff from his kit. This one was larger and it contained salt. Azmere simply dipped his fingers in the jar and rubbed the grains into the flesh. This was a long process because it was important to cover all of the meat.
Azmere talked quietly to the fiery young woman next to him as he went through the steps. “Salt should touch every part of the meat. Work it between the muscles, inside the chest.” Azmere’s hands moved the rabbit while he worked so she could follow along with what he was doing as he narrated. “The point is to start the drying process but also be mindful that you don’t waste salt. It’s hard to come by in this time of year.” He worked the body of the rabbit over and over in his hands. Almost a dozen chimes had gone by and he was still applying his technique. The meat had lost its wet and glossy finish, though, replaced by a dull chalk-like haze from the salt being rubbed over the meat repeatedly. Finally, he laid it down in the paper and wrapped it up neatly then tied it with a few pieces of string. He set it down on the grass and looked over to see how Amunet was doing.
After a few more minor persuasions with his hands, the complete fur (minus the head and feet) was in his hands. He placed it flat on the grass above the arrow leaving it inside out for the time being and picked up his dagger once more. Now that the meat was exposed, it was a fairly straight forward approach to getting everything ready to preserve. The next step was the worst and could be tricky so Azmere waited for her to finish removing the fur, helping if needed and then waited until she made eye contact. He signed [/i]important[/i] and pointed his blade at the abdomen of the rabbit. He made eye contact once more and signed slow meaning to take her time. With his free hand, he pinched the thin muscle of the stomach just below the center of the ribcage and made an incision just big enough for one finger. Azmere returned his gaze to Amunet as he sunk a single knuckle from his left index finger under the tissue. “Slow”
His eyes returned to their work as he rested the dagger’s tip against his finger. The goal was to push up with one’s finger and slowly open the abdomen so the organs and waste can be removed. He took no more than the half inch length of his fingertip at a time and did so several times until he had gone from stem to stern, as the saying goes. Once more, the dagger was set aside and this time, Azmere removed the arrow from the earth and from the rabbit’s ears as well. The man cradled the rabbit in his left hand holding it upright and gently used the index and middle fingers on his right hand to scoop out the intestines and organs. After the initial clump fell to the grass, he reached up and made passes along the inside of the ribs all the way up to the head. This took some time to do it right and every motion he made was gentle. It wasn’t out of respect for the creature or slowed down from normal to show Amunet that he did so. It was because there were certain organs that reeked an awful stench if busted open.
Once he was done, he wiped the blood, tissue and other visceral materials on the grass next to him then snapped off the head with a quarter twist one way and a full twist rapidly in reverse. He tossed it over his shoulder and did the same to all four feet though he set them next to his dagger. He placed the rabbit on the grass and sifted through the entrails. He removed the lungs, heart and liver and placed them by the feet. He pointed to them and made them plain for her to see by creating some separation. Azmere moved the rest of the insides out of his way and removed a sheet of paper from his kit. The blood from the body was nearly drained. A large amount had run down his arms while digging out the inner working of the bunny and the rest leached into the grass while he was sorting everything else out. He set the paper on a dry piece of grass to his left and smoothed it gently. From his kit, he drew a jar with some sawdust and took a few pinches from it before setting the jar between he and his companion.
He rubbed the sawdust over the rabbit briefly and then tucked it up into the ribcage and open cavity that he had created during the process. The light flakes of wood soon became dark crimson as they soaked up the blood and other unwanted remnants. Azmere scraped them onto the ground and made a thorough inspection of the meat. He picked off a flake here, a string there and did this over and over again until his meticulous inspection process was satisfied. Still holding the rabbit, now looking much cleaner, he produced another jar of stuff from his kit. This one was larger and it contained salt. Azmere simply dipped his fingers in the jar and rubbed the grains into the flesh. This was a long process because it was important to cover all of the meat.
Azmere talked quietly to the fiery young woman next to him as he went through the steps. “Salt should touch every part of the meat. Work it between the muscles, inside the chest.” Azmere’s hands moved the rabbit while he worked so she could follow along with what he was doing as he narrated. “The point is to start the drying process but also be mindful that you don’t waste salt. It’s hard to come by in this time of year.” He worked the body of the rabbit over and over in his hands. Almost a dozen chimes had gone by and he was still applying his technique. The meat had lost its wet and glossy finish, though, replaced by a dull chalk-like haze from the salt being rubbed over the meat repeatedly. Finally, he laid it down in the paper and wrapped it up neatly then tied it with a few pieces of string. He set it down on the grass and looked over to see how Amunet was doing.
It's you and me against the world.
