Chade had memories from long, long ago, like two months by now, when they had fur’s to lay on top of instead of the solid ground.  Not that it was bad to lie on the ground but a pelt would be nicer at times and he imagined that it could be good to stop them from being seen by some predators when one of them slept.  The problem was Chade had never learned how to make one.

Chade looked at the corpse of the goat they had just killed and already ate a good portion of it. “Hey, Ricin, I’m gonna try and make a pelt like the ones we use to sleep on before…” he decided not to finish the statement.  They didn’t need to think too much about what they had lost. The two brothers had focused more on eating the underside of the goat first and a good amount of hiding from back and sides were still in one piece.

Chade gripped a part of the animal's skin where it was already torn and tried to just pull it up as if it would just peel away but it didn’t seem to be working.  He managed to tear off part of it that way, another attempt just left teeth holes into it and he sat down stumped.  For a moment he just looked at the corpse.  Grabbing the hide in his mouth again the boy tried to use his claws to peel it back and peeled off a small fraction but it still didn’t go easily nor was it pulling cleanly.

“This is hard,” Chade muttered looking about.  Ears pricked and cautiously he approached a bit of chipped stone that started off thick but at the end was slim and looked to have an edge.  Chade considered it for a few moments before picking it up and taking it back to the corpse.  Using a paw to kick up a piece of the hide, Chade used the sharp stone in his mouth for a better precise cut.  It wasn’t perfect and at points, the sharp end cut into a muscle or cut partially into the hide but it was better than claws and teeth had been.

“It’ll be great,” Chade muttered in slurred speech as he cut.  “Soft, warm, or above us when raining.”  It also was a symbol that not only could they survive but they could do so with a bit more comfort than two puppy victims.  

"Speech"

After their feast of goat has concluded, Ricin lays near his brother and lets out a content sigh. Using his paws and tongue, the lighter pup cleans his lips of the blood and gore that coat them. When Chade speaks of making a pelt to sleep on, Ricin’s head shoots in astonishment. They haven’t had anything between them and the ground since their mother chased them away. The pelt would be a nice barrier between cold, wet ground and the brothers. Crimson eyes watch as Chade sets about the task of getting the pelt off of the creature.

Humming thoughtfully to himself, Ricin stands and moves toward the ram’s head. Eying the curled horns, Ricin says, “Ny, I am going to use these horns. Okay?” Casting a look to his brother, Ricin finds Chade deep in thought as he moves to pick up a rock. Clicking his own tongue, Ricin turns his gaze to look around the room. He needs to try to find something that can help part the dead creature with its horns. As Chade returns with his rock and continues to work, the lighter hued pup moves to inspect the scattered bones and objects that litter the room.

Slowly, Ricin moves around, scanning everything. He finds, strips of leather, small, thin metal chains, and some sticks with sharp ends. Ricin meticulously gathers each object and deposits them in large space that he will use to craft. While the lighter pup is happy with the items he has found, he still has yet to find a way to remove the horns. Eventually, Ricin gives up on finding a tool and returns to the dead creature. Chade continues his work and Ricin waits for him to finish before starting to remove the horns.

Taking a deep breath, Ricin grips one of the horns in his mouth and starts digging his blunt claws into the area where they meet the head. It takes a lot of tugging and effort but the horn eventually pulls away from the head. Trotting over to his stash, Ricin deposits the first horn before returning to the body to extract the second. Following the same method, Ricin frees the horn from its head and retreats to his space to start crafting.


"Speech"

“Sure,” Chade replies with half attention in regards to the horns.  Finally, he had a cut from the backside to the neck on the animal, some areas would already be torn from their not being neat prior.  Sadly Chade hadn’t planned this until after they’d started eating.  Chade looked pleased with himself until he recalled there was plenty of more work to do.  Spitting out the rock for a moment he asked, “So, what ya using them for?”

Chade picked back up his sharp chipped rock and went to make sideways cuts.  If he started cuts on both sides could he just peel it up after that?  If he could that would mean less cutting work!  Circling the corpse he found the best spot to slash at the animal's hide to free it from the rest of the corpse.  Chade had taken those pelts for granted back then.  He had never considered there was work in making it.  Another thought came to his mind and the rock was spit back out.  “I don’t know if there’s anything else to do after we tear it off.  Think ya just toss it in water for a bit to wash off then it dries and is just like the ones we had?”

That said he went to work cutting.  Partway through he’d test biting into a corner and pulling, feeling a bit more give.  This might work!  How much of this could he keep and were there any flaws to this idea he hadn’t thought up?  Was sleeping on the skin of a previously sick animal ok?  The last notion was cast aside.  They had already eaten its meat so if they were going to get sick that should have done it.

Shortly after Ricin finished gathering an oddity of stuff Chade had finished cutting the rest of the skin and was dragging a nice patch of goatskin off of the corpse.  “It’s not very big but maybe we can make it bigger.”  The skin could definitely stretch so maybe they could make it stretch out long enough to lay on together?  If they stretched it would it stay stretched or would they have to make it stay stretched for a while?  Glancing from the bloody skin towards Ricin curious of how his project was going.


"Speech"

Ricin clucks his tongue and hums thoughtfully to himself as he inspects the horns of the animal before moving off to gather some odds and ends. However, ears catch Chade’s question and Ricin drifts back over to the dead creature. Offering his brother a wide smile, Ricin says, “Well, we need something to hold the pelt with… right? Look at how the horns curve.” One light hued paw mimics the natural curl of the ram’s horns as Ricin continues, “If we roll the pelt tight enough, maybe we can put the horns around it to keep it tightly bound. That way, we can easily keep it on one of our backs when we travel.”

A confident smile rests the lighter boy’s lips as moves off to gather things. While he moves around the room, Ricin keeps an eye on Chade’s progress. He offers his brother a shrug when asked what they do after it torn off. He says, “We will figure that part out once it is off.” There are spotty memories of their father coming back from a hunt and tanning an animal’s skin but he had never paid close attention to the process. Chade continues to pull the pelt away from the meat as Ricin gathers his things, finally depositing his objects in the space he is using for crafting.

When Chade finishes cutting off the skin, Ricin moves to stand next to his brother. Nodding at his brother’s words, Ricin says, “Remember when da’ would tan skins? Didn’t he have a wooden frame or something? And…” Brows furrow as the lighter brother tries to grasp hold of an elusive fragment of memory. After a moment he says, “I think he used fire too… I think.” Huffing a sigh of frustration at himself for not paying closer attention to those things, Ricin looks to Chade with sadness. “I don’t know Ny, I never took the time to watch da. I really wish I had.”

Sorrow drowns Ricin as he prepares to remove the creature’s horns. Memories ignite like wildfire, burning through the lighter hued pup. Their father’s smiling face haunts the dark recesses of his mind, promising him love and acceptance. Ricin remembers their father as he works, putting all his sadness and anger into the removal of the animal’s horns. When the last one jerks free, Ricin retreats to his spot, laying it among the other objects. He pushes the sad memories aside, instead forcing his mind to latch onto the puzzle of how to make a functional yet decorative pelt holder.

Taking time to clean the gore off the horns, Ricin then lays them a short distance away from each other. Looking to size of the pelt and trying to guesstimate how long and thick it will be when rolled up, the light pup makes some slight adjustments to the distance between the two horns. Satisfied, Ricin then picks up some of the odd pointy sticks and lays them between the curled horns. After he has made two lines of sticks, one in front of the other, Ricin then lays some strips of leather over the spaces where the sticks overlap. For now, he prepares his work, spreading everything out and placing them where they will be attached.

Moving around, prepping and humming thoughtfully to himself, Ricin then takes serveal longer strips of leather and lays them in front of the horns. These will be fashioned into shoulder straps, to loop under on their arms and allow for easy transportation. Finally, Ricin moves the small metal chains to lay next to the tips of the horns. These will have no functional purpose, the dangling chains offering a slight bit of flare in an otherwise boring contraption. Stepping back, satisfied with the lay out, Ricin looks to Chade and says, “When you have a moment, I might need some help tying knots.”


"Speech"

Chade considered his new bloody goat skin as he tried to decide what to do with it now.  “Fire?” Ricin said there might have been something to do with fire in the past.  What would fire be used for?  “Well, I think I need to get it in water maybe.  We should clean it off.  Maybe fire to dry it off after?  And I think it should be stretched out, I think at least.”  Chade shrugged with limited confidence.  “Even if it isn’t perfect, it's something for us to use for a time.” They could eventually learn how to do it right by trial and error, how they did everything else.

“So, I guess when you are done we leave here, go to water and then,” and then… what? “Ry, if it needs fire we’ll never get it right.  I don’t know how to make a fire.”  A shining light came to his eyes as he said that, “Hey, hey, there was that place with the really hot water though!  I wonder if that would work.  Does it need the flames or just the heat?” That was a bit of a hike for just a pelt but what else did the brothers really have to do with their time anyway?

That decision made Chade step away from the pelt, glancing at the supplies Ricin had led out, “Tying knots? Oooook, uh, what do you want me to do?”

"Speech"

Ricin works on his project, listening and nodding when Chade speaks to him. A shrug of light shoulders and he says, “That sounds good Ny. Besides, only way to learn is to try!” A smile appears while the lighter pup sorts his things into piles and lays them out. When Chade is done and steps over to help, the lighter brother instructs Chade where to place his paws and what to bite and pull. They work together, tying each strip of leather he had laid out. After some time, they both step back and Ricin inspects their handy work. He tests the joints and finds they will hold. With a smile, he turns to Chade and says, “Perfect! This will hold the pelt and make it easier to travel. And its stylish too!” The light hued pup laughs at the last part before moving to try on the decorative pelt holder.

"Speech"