you're awful, I love you

Winter had passed, and now it was about time to stretch the old muscles. Cooped up in a cave for the bitter months of blizzards and howling winds, the titan was more than eager to get back out into the world. With a spring in their step and their tongue lolling from their heavy jaws in a lazy grin, they were off. Lurking around the muddy entrance to the familiar caves, they found themself poking about for half thawed animal remains or a particularly appealing clay deposit. Already the fur up to their elbows was caked with muck and grime from digging through the silty soil between the mountain range and the coastline, which bothered them very little altogether.

Perhaps a few cool leaves would also be nice, since there was a lot of very plain-looking pottery sitting at the back of their workshop waiting to be decorated. The very first thing the crafter had run out of during the winter was paint. Not nearly enough pigments, apparently. They'd seriously underestimated how much ochre was required to dye their clay pots the right shade of red, and how much mica would be needed to make the patterns particularly shiny. Far too late, someone in the clan had mentioned that placing leaves upon the still heated pottery would char the design right into the material. Not much help in the middle of winter at the top of a mountain, now was it?

The monochrome giant gripped the end of a long bone that jutted out from a snow bank near the base of a particularly steep cliff, and dug their claws into the ground while they hauled on it. The remaining carcass was yanked free in an explosion of half-frozen soil, gore stained snow, and matted fur. Based on the smell, it had thawed out at least a few days ago. Maggots were starting to wriggle through the areas that had been above the snowbank, while the rest of the carcass remained stiff as a board. That was fine, a few days laid out at the top of the mountain would have most of the soft tissue cleared away, and the bones and teeth could be used to make tools and jewelry. Perfect!