Ways to skin a cat

Sedna looked up and smiled as the two older boys joined her, stifling a laugh as Tate bounded in too. Well she knew for certain that Tate hadn't processed a hide before, So she directed her question to the other pair, “Have yer ever tanned a hide before?” She motioned for Tate to come closer so he could see what it was that she was doing. “we shouldn' waste anythin' we can use when we hunt. In my last pack we used ter trade skins with a travellin' merchant fer other things, like Otis came from a trader.” If the temperature so far was anything to go by, the winter here would be far milder than she was used to further north. “An' in some places it gets real cold, so it's nice ter have some furs ter curl up in ter sleep too, but we've gotta try an' get it off without puttin' too many holes in it.”

She indicated to the cuts she had made around the wrists and ankles. “If yer had a companion with fingers that could do this sorta work, they'd probably be able ter get the paws and face too, but it's a bit too hard fer me ter manage an' Otis doesn't like it, so I wouldn' make him do it fer such small gain.” Maybe she was soft on the opossum, but he was invaluable to her in her healing, she wouldn't risk his work in other areas slipping because she wanted some ears on her rug.

She drew her knife up the underside of each leg, allowing the crosses to intersect on the underside of the cat. Then she drew a line with her blade from the meeting point almost up to the cat's chin, making her last up behind the animals ears, and down around under it's chin. “Why don't yer grab one o' those rabbits an' give it a go too?” She suggested to Tate, hoping the other boys would understand they could grab one of the larger animals, it was just a case of ease of manipulation for the younger boy.

“Speech”