That Sea is just a Gambler at Heart

Success! Dómari let go of the young deer's neck and sat down heavily panting. He'd found it stuck in the mud of the estuary and he'd quickly seized the opportunity. It was probably only six months old. Young and inexperienced and he was grateful for the opportunity to provide more food for the packs winter stores. It had been a lot of work to drag the deer back to the shore but he'd found a nice spot underneath some trees. There was a cool breeze blowing and it felt good after the physical exertion. He set the deer down next to the raccoon he'd killed the night before. He planned to get them skinned and maybe the hides tanned. The deer would be brought back home though perhaps he might see about drying some of the meat. He wasn't sure if you could eat raccoon. Deciding he'd better get started he worked his jaws around the neck of the deer and then of the raccoon, pausing a moment to examine the different taste of each creatures blood.

Sota hadn't been doing much these days. Since the Ademre Band had seemingly dispersed, he was felt not quite knowing what the future had in store for him... though mostly traveling with Eris and Oxide had been a good start. He'd grown close to the two of them, as well as to Casper, though he couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing. Part of him still missed Balsam deeply, though in his travels he hadn't caught wind of his scent for quite some time. He was confident he was still off chasing his dreams, dreams that didn't seem to involve Sota - though it had hurt at first, he knew now that maybe keeping his distance wasn't such a bad thing... Today his restless paws carried him to this marshy bird sanctuary. It was a beautiful place, even if he was only judging by sound alone. It was a relatively cool day, at least for the west, and Sota couldn't help but be content with his surroundings. The birds were singing, and though the ground was soft and squishy beneath his paws, he felt at ease here... even when the scent of a stranger, and his kill, touched his nose. Though Sota wasn't generally the most social wolf around, he'd been working on pushing outside of his comfort zone, if not for his sake than for the sake of those he'd been traveling with. Knowing something about their surroundings and the wolves that they might come across was useful, even if conversation didn't always come easily to him. Maybe he could make an honest effort today? Slowly trudging through the estuary, trying to stay on solid ground, the miniature wolf nearly froze when the large stranger came into view. Despite his time spent here, in Boreas, he had yet to fully get used to just how large the wolves here were and he couldn't help but be wary still. "Good afternoon!" Little Sota called out as he neared the stranger, his tone as friendly as ever. Nothing about his posture was threatening; truthfully he wasn't even hungry, and the last thing he wanted this male to think was that he was trying to encroach on his kill.

That Sea is just a Gambler at Heart

Dómari set to working cutting the centerline on the raccoon first. When he got to the belly he slit it open and carefully pulled the flesh back so that the guts spilled out. Using his fangs and his paws he worked carefully and quickly until he'd removed the innards. He didn't need those in the way while he worked and he wasn't sure he should eat raccoon guts anyway. He moved the guts aside to leave for the other creatures that might be attracted to the smell of his kill.

Dómari realized he better move quickly since he was bound to attract attention sooner or later. He moved to the deer and again worked on cutting through the skin all the way down the middle, this time he was careful not to puncture the abdominal wall. As he wanted to drag the deer carcass back he didn't need the guts flopping around although he supposed if he did gut it the weight would be less but deer guts were tasty and he hated to waste it. Come to think of it it would be easier to drag with the hide on but he didn't have that far to go to get to the pack.

A cheerful greeting caught his attention and he looked up to see a tiny little wolf. Oh, he was so cute! Dómari grinned at the stranger. "Hello there, it is a lovely afternoon. Care to join me? What brings you to the Estuary?"

Desota had never really been the crafty sort. His people, the Songa, weren't known for being inventive - though they tended to be the elusive sort, if they were known by any wolves at all, it was for their thievery and their fast paws. Learning to be a touch more crafty was something Sota was interested in, though he wasn't quite sure where he'd find a teacher. His mind strayed to these things as he moved closer to the stranger, watching as he pulled the insides out of the creature he'd no doubt killed, clearly looking like he was doing something that was more involved than just eating. He was pleased to see his greeting was well-received, and he returned the smile with a kind one of his own. Once the stranger's attention was on him, he lifted a paw and dipped his head in a sort of exaggerated bow before facing him properly, taking a few slow strides toward him. "I'd love to," Sota answered, making no effort to hide the way his tail wagged gently behind him. "I was just passing through. Trying to get a better feel for the lands around here. This one's quite lovely." There was beauty to be found everywhere in this strange continent, so much that Sota wasn't sure he'd have enough time in his lifetime to properly explore all of them. "My name's Sota, by the way. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

That Sea is just a Gambler at Heart

While he listened Dómari continued to work on skinning the deer. He pulled the flesh from one side and then with a mighty pull flipped the deer over onto its other side so he could start pulling the skin from there. "A pleasure to meet you too Sota. Please, call me Dómari." What a polite little fellow! "Do you live terribly far from here?" He worked his jaws around the legs and started peeling back the flesh, clipping it swiftly along the back until at last he had the deer hide free. Grinning he set it aside. He supposed to make things easier to carry he could always scoot the deer back onto the hide and pull it that way.

He trotted back over to the raccoon and easily flipped it over, working his fangs under the flesh as he pulled it back. He tried to cut the skin around the creatures tiny legs but in the end he settled for just biting them off. He didn't have a fine enough touch to skin down that far but he was mostly interested in the main hide and the tail anyway. When he finished with one side he flipped it over and using his fangs pulled back the flesh on the other side until he had a, mostly intact, skin. Perfect! He set it down on top of the deer hide. "Do you know if you can eat raccoon guts?"

Sota watched with slightly narrowed eyes, not bothering to conceal his interest. His people were a sneaky lot, but luckily not everyone he'd met was quite as secretive. Domari continued to work without concealing what he was doing, and so until he was requested to leave the tiny wolf would watch and soak in whatever knowledge he could gain from this stranger. It could always prove useful to him later. He seemed quite skilled, Sota could tell that much. "It's a pleasure, Domari," Sota beamed at him gladly as he drew a few steps closer. Whatever he was doing with the hides was quite unlike the normally chaotic mess of tearing into a pelt just to consume the meat underneath.

"I don't really live in one place in particular. I'm more of a nomad, I'm afraid." He'd never really settled down in one place - he was apt to go wherever his group did, and in this case that group consisted of his newest companions, Eris and Oxide and Casper. They'd briefly discussed settling somewhere more permanently for the benefit of Casper, but it would take a very particular place to earn that sort of consideration from them. "Raccoon guts aren't too bad. Bit chewy, but it's not bad," he admitted. Due to his size, he was much more likely to go after small prey animals - he couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten something like deer! It wasn't exactly an easy feat for the Songa. Even going after birds was more common for him and his people. "What's it that you're making, anyway? If you don't mind me asking," he added quickly, only finding it polite, as he slowly reclined to his haunches on a dry patch of earth nearby.

That Sea is just a Gambler at Heart

Dómari figured he may as well tan the hides while he had them off and had such wonderful company to talk with. Crap, he didn't have his hide scrapper though! He couldn't tan the thing without it unless he wanted to lick the entire deer hide. It made his tongue hurt just thinking about it. The raccoon hide wouldn't be too bad though. He put it between his paws and began licking and nibbling off the excess flesh from the hide so it would dry better. He nodded, glad to hear that the raccoon guts were edible. Dómari paused in his licking. "Oh, I'm going to tan these hides to help preserve them so I can use them to line my den for winter." He looked from the deer to to Sota then back to the deer.

His scrapper had been made from a deer scapula and here was a deer so he might as well make use of it. Dómari trotted over to the deer and started tearing his fangs into the flesh, first peeling off some bigger sections of muscle which he set down. "Are you hungry at all? You'd be welcome to some of the meat. I'd give you this whole front leg actually once I get the scapula out." Without the scapula or the skin to hold it in place the arm was going to flop about when he started dragging the carcass so he may as well share his bounty.