It was fall, and the much colder weather meant that meat could keep pretty much indefinitely now, barring an unexpected thaw. Experience told him that was pretty unlikely at this point with the weather already as it was, though, so it was fairly safe to assume that any meat obtained now would last until it was eaten.

With that in mind, he had taken the liberty of selecting culls from his captive animals in their growing herds, flocks, and droves, and separating them out from the breeding stock who would remain through the winter. He'd already been stocking up on fodder for them when he could - turns out that if you rip out mouthfuls of the long summer grasses, they would dry out into an easily stored feed that the elk and hares would gladly eat. The birds had taken a bit more thought, but he'd finally come up with storing the heads of sunflowers and amaranth, as well as stripping the seeds from the barley and wheat that grew naturally here from human times. All were easily stored in the barn alongside his healing herbs, and what rodents were attracted by the bounty made for meals for him and Aiden both. He was considering extending the offer to another small predator to live with them in exchange for such regular meals, but he'd have to think carefully about who, and what, he should make the offer to. Aiden proved that raptors could be equal in intelligence to wolves, after all, so why not other small predators?

But that was a thought for a different time. Right now was for thinking of autumn, and fattening the culls on the last bounty of the season, and gathering the last of the herbs in before the frost killed it. It had made for an exhausting year, managing it all alone, but with some careful organization he'd just barely been able to do everything urgent that needed doing. Now, though, the frosts had come, and all the fodder and herbs that could be gathered had been, and nothing more could be done on that front. That meant it was - finally - time to implement his plan.

It would have to be done on a fairly small scale, yet, with only himself to manage everything, but it could be done, and Tornach felt a great deal of relief to realize that dream. He had elk, prairie hens, partridge, quail, and hares all with surplus to cull (though the ducks Aiden had taken for him this year were still too young to have bred, so they were all needed for breeding stock for next year) and enough surplus herbs (because what use could a lone wolf have for as much as he'd stockpiled?) to trade to packs and loners alike. He found it less likely that he'd be trading with loners, simply because they were unlikely to be able to protect a store of meat like a pack could, but it was possible. And perhaps knowing that there was a trade fair would attract loners with more goods to sell than he could currently provide - tanned hides and furs, for instance, because while he would have raw, untanned hides after killing the culls, he would not have time to cure and tan them immediately. He wanted to trade his knowledge as well, so he'd set aside a goodly supply of different herbs to demonstrate with as well as the supply meant for trading.

Aiden was currently out on the wing, spreading the news across the various lands, mostly to the packs but also to loners she judged friendly enough for the risk, letting everyone know that there was a trade fair in the offing. Soon, hopefully, they would begin trickling in eager to trade. He had hopes that they would bring goods of their own to trade to him, or offers of labor or any number of small items he could use. For now, he busied himself with the laborious task of skinning out the young bull elk he'd slaughtered some hours ago. A proposition that was not so easy with just teeth and paws to accomplish, but he hadn't yet come up with an easier method. Another young bull elk was already skinned and disjointed, the various parts hung up to freeze in the chilly wind alongside several plucked and butchered partridge. He hadn't wanted to prepare too many culls in advance in case the demand was low, though he couldn't imagine who wouldn't want a ready supply of meat over the winter. Still, it was something to do while he waited patiently for his falcon friend to return, and potentially for anyone else to appear.

Peregrine had kept her distance from the strange male. She'd seem him at a distance thanks to the rolling topography, and thought him at first on a hunt. Hoping for help getting a bite to eat, she'd come closer. Sometime in between she noticed that his hunting methods were... unusual, to say the least. At first she thought he was alone, observing the herd very carefully. He spent a great deal of time testing and moving the animals, and odder still they couldn't seem to escape. What held them in place? Before she could come close enough to make sense of the grove surrounding them, a bird took to wing and began cawing out a message. A trade fair? Her mind jolted, painful memories of her dreams for her pack stirring in the back of her mind. Peregrine, now ravenously curious, decided to come closer at last. She saw at last that the trees she'd thought a natural part of some grove were actually carefully entangled, with no gap large enough for the elk to escape. Peregrine's jaw loosened, slack with wonder. What on earth had this male done? If I could do this, my hunting woes would be a lot easier to manage, she grumbled to herself. What else did the stranger have in store? Mind alight with fascination, Peregrine at last crept out of cover. She called out to the male from afar, quietly so as not to antagonize his animals but loud enough that he would notice her presence. Tsiry perched on Peregrine's shoulders, just as fascinated as her canine companion. She had never seen anything like it. "My, oh my," Peregrine mused in a low, casual tone. It could not keep the sparkle from her mercury eyes, however. "This is quite the sight. I hope I would not be intruding to ask you a few questions about this gathering you're hosting." Her voice trilled with quiet astonishment. It was not often the Peregrine found herself truly entranced by a new experience, having ranged so far, but this was certainly an exceptional occasion. "Talk" "You" Think

ART BY THERBIS <3

With a fold of the hide close to the elk's body firmly gripped between his teeth, Tornach pulled it up away from the body, pulling it taut. He pressed his paws firmly under it between the hide and the muscles. Dull as they were the pressure of his paws still allowed his claws to poke through the layer that held hide to muscle, what is known as the fascia, and gave him a couple more inches of loose hide before he was too stretched out to pull it anymore. He let go to get a new grip close to the body and start the process over, but a voice drew his attention and he politely stopped to turn towards the speaker.

He nodded his head in respectful greeting to the earthen female who stood there, and again to the companion that perched on her shoulders. "Good morning," he greeted solemnly, though with a great deal of welcome in his somber voice. His first trader, or simply a visitor passing through? Either way Tor was happy to oblige her curiosity. "I'm more than happy to answer any questions either of you might have, about the fair or..." he gestured with a paw to the elk, and out to the fenced field, "about any of what we do here. My name is Tornach Adravendi. Might I ask yours, ma'am?"