He chose this place specifically because he knew that there would be a good selection of prey to choose from so he could get the materials he needed. After seeing a few wolves around with various types of armor and the like, Ulric decided he wanted to try his hand at making a piece himself. He imagined that he probably would not be very successful at it the first time since he didn’t know the first thing about making armor, but trial and error and all that. He at least could get past the point of hunting something that he could skin and get the materials so he could practice.

He happened to spot a pair of stray male mule deer that seemed to have moved into the grassy area of the prairie to graze. One of them had a moderately large set of antlers compared to the other and that was the one he had his sights on. Even if this trial run of armor wasn’t the one he ended up keeping and using, he still had an idea of how he might be able to use the antlers so that seemed like a worthy target. The other one would have been a bit easier to take down on his own, but he talked himself out of taking the easier route.

He was crouched down among a thicker patch of grass, letting his dappled fur act as camouflage while he watched them from a distance. He had been waiting for an opening and for the winds to shift so he could stay down wind. In the mean time he let his silvery gaze look around the prairie - ever so slightly hopeful that he might spot someone he could talk into helping him with his hunt.

"Speech" Thought

He’d ventured eastward and south, though he was careful to give the Ashen packs a wide berth, even if he hoped he’d come across Lia and see what adventures – or spar clobberings – they could sniff out. Eventually, he slowed as he found fresh traces of deer, dropping into a stealthy, graceful prowl until he glanced up and spotted the two deer. And who should he spot but his cousin Ulric, giving the deer a hard study? His tail waved in greeting, a careful motion of welcome as he shifted and slipped up beside the older man, grinning. Keeping his voice low, but not whispering – whispers carried further than low, soft speech – he tipped his head toward the deer asking, “Got one in mind?” Attached to his armor were his two bags on each side, and one carried the tools he now almost always carried, for skinning, processing and stowing hides, meat and other pieces for travel. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Even though he had been hoping to possibly pull in another wolf to help with his hunt, he had been skeptical that he would actually get that lucky. To his surprise his cousin came into view with perfect timing to join in on the fun. He gave Cairo a pleased grin when the blue eyed male crept up along side him. It felt like ages since he had seen him last, but in reality it had been a couple seasons at most. So much had happened since then it was hard to believe it had all happened in such a short time. To think when they first met he had still been on the hunt to find Philomena...

All of that was pushed to the back of his mind when Cairo asked about which of the deer he was targeting. He looked back toward their prey and nodded, pointing with one of his forepaws toward the slightly larger buck that had the noticeably larger antlers. "That one... I have an idea for the antlers," he explained briefly in the same low, quiet tone. The deer still hadn't noticed them so it seemed like his good like was continuing. To emphasize this, the breeze began to change directions till it was blowing toward them and effectively keeping them down wind. Now was as good a chance as any if they were going to make a move.

"I'll sneak around to that side... If you could spook that one toward me, I'll stop it and hold it so you can come make the last blow," he added, quickly summarizing a plan for them to follow. With that in place he gave Cairo another small grin before slipping away, keeping low to the ground as he moved around to the right where he could easily be in the deer's path once Cairo guided him away from the other buck. He found a spot where he would be fully concealed and then proceeded to wait for his chance to act.

"Speech" Thought

Cairo grinned as Ulric pointed out the larger animal. While he usually hunted an animal who was lame, ill, or old, the antlers would be an interesting asset in a piece of armor. He nodded at Ulric’s plan and slipped off with a soft, “Right-o.” The Valhallan male slid stealthily downwind of the two animals, one eye on his footing, the other on the forms of the deer, until he found himself opposite of Ulric’s position, waiting for the larger Adravendi to get ready before he nodded and launched from his concealed area with a snapping snarl. The stags reared and bolted and Cairo was quick on their heels, driving the larger toward Ulric. Perhaps there was some sense of foreboding, because the buck sought to evade the direction Cairo wanted it to go, and Cai pressed his chase harder, snapping at its heels until it gave in and fled straight toward Ulric. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Ulric watched Cairo skillfully guide the buck directly toward him and he waited with tensed muscles until the deer was right in his path. At the last possible moment he leapt up from his hiding spot which started the buck again and it both tried to skid to a stop and jump off into the opposite direction from him. He quickly latched his teeth into the deer's front leg right as it tired to hop to his left and dug his claws into the dirt to anchor himself. The deer's own momentum threw it off of its feet and it fell hard to the ground next to him. It began to flail and thrash in an attempt to get away, but Ulric kept the firm hold on its leg quickly shifted and used his own body weight to pin the deer to the ground. The only thing he couldn't quite get control of was the deer's head so it still tried to wildly flail its antlers toward the two wolves, but since it was laying on the ground on its side there wasn't a very wide range of movement it could use. Ulric held his position there until Cairo had done the killing blow and only once he was sure the deer had stopped moving completely did he actually let go and get back to his paws. He gave his cousin a wide grin and an impressed nod. "Well done! I'm glad you came along when you did. Trying to take this guy down on my own would have been much more difficult." He turned his attention to the deer in question and came over to start examining its antlers curiously. "I was thinking of using these in some armor," he explained as he used his paw to turn the deer's head and take a closer look at the sharp points that protruded from them. "Now, I've never actually tried to make armor so it's very possible my idea won't play out the way I think it will, but I figured I'd find a use for him either way." "Talk"

Ulric sprang the trap, and the buck went down. Cairo piled on soon after, ducking past the thrashing antlered head before he fastened his jaws tightly over the throat, jerking hard and fast. His teeth broke through the skin and flesh, but the real killing blow was the crunch of the buck’s neck as it broke. Though Ulric wanted the antlers, Cairo figured it was better not to ruin the hide, as it could be used as well for the man’s ideas. The body went limp, though the buck died a good minute after, unable to move before Cai finished it. Cairo stepped back as he dropped the deer’s neck, grinning at his cousin as his tail stroked the air in a wag. “I always enjoy a good hunt. I usually go for the injured or sick, especially at home, but either way, he’ll be of good use.” As Ulric better explained his plans, Cairo studied the buck, glancing between it and Ulric in thought. “Well, the area around the neck, the cape, is often the thicker area of the hide, a natural defense against us predators. So if you’re wanting your neck to be protected I’d layer the leather there once it’s cured. If you can boil it then let it harden, it helps.” He sat back slightly, lifting a bracered paw in the air and wiggling his bear-claw enhanced toes with a grin as he said, “Let’s get him skinned out, eh?” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Ulric nodded in understanding when Cairo mentioned how he would typically go for sick or weak animals for his hunts. Admittedly, he would normally do the same if he was just hunting for food, but given the fact that he wanted the antlers and a good hide to use for his crafting plans he had to make an exception. There was also the fact that the options he had for bucks today were two that were both in good shape. Either way he wouldn’t have been choosing a deer that was injured so it didn’t particularly phase him one way or another. There was certainly a good amount of resources they could pull from this buck though and that helped him rationalize it. He turned to look at his cousin curiously as he explained a few things he could do with the leather and what portion of the hide might be best for the more protective areas of his would be armor. “Seems like you’re no stranger to crafting, huh? You’re just a wealth of knowledge,” he replied with a chuckle and grin. He was incredibly lucky that Cairo had crossed paths with him. At least now he would less chance of wasting the leather since he would have someone to give him the pointers he needed to do a decent job at it the first time. His eyes widened a bit at the bear claws that were attached to Cairo’s bracers, the sight of him wiggling them as if he was about to slice and dice this dear with them making him laugh. His tail wagged behind him as he grinned and added, ”Well, would you like to get it started then? What’s the best way to go about skinning it in your opinion?” It was something that he had done before, but never with the intent of using it as anything other than a warm lining for a den. He wasn’t sure if there was one way that was better than another for armor, but if he was going to take a guess he’d assume Cairo probably knew all about that. "Talk"

Cairo chuckled at Ulric’s remark, nodding at his armor and bracers as he said, “I crafted my armor, and these bracers. The armor was my first piece and I had the help of Aurielle’s mate, Red. He got me started on the hobby.” He looked around at their surroundings, then nodded to a rise a little bit away from the kill site. “If we put him head down on his back on that rise, when we field dress him, the innards should roll out onto the ground. It’ll be a lot easier though, if we remove the head so the blood can run freely, and the esophagus can be pulled out of the neck.” He placed the tip of one bear claw on the deer’s neck and made a deep cut, working his way through the throat, jugular, and esophageal tube to the bone, then ringed the neck all the way round at the base of the head before taking a good grip on the antlers with his jaws, pressing a paw on the neck just so, and wrenching. The skull popped free with some effort, and he set the head and its antlers aside. “If you grab that back leg and I take the other, he should drag pretty easily now.” Cairo grabbed the leg he’d chosen and once Ulric took his, heaved into the leg and began to pull to the field dressing site. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Ulric admired the armor that Cairo explained had been made by him and it got him thinking even more about what he might be able to make for himself. Armor wasn't really something he had thought about before seeing some on other wolves around him fairly recently, but it seemed like if it could give him an edge in fights then it was certainly worth the effort to make it. Once his cousin mentioned that field dressing their kill might be easier up on the hill near them he nodded in response and was about to grab one of the legs to start dragging it up the hill when he suddenly noticed Cairo using one of the claws on his bracers to cut around the deer's throat. When he had heard "remove its head" he hadn't imagined it would be so immediate or as gruesome as this. He watched with his jaws parted in shock, the head coming away with surprising ease. He chuckled and gave an exasperated shake of his head before going back to the leg opposite of the one Cairo was dragging from and began to pull the deer up the hill as well. Usually when he hunted it was purely just for food and he hardly ever did more than just pull back the skin enough to get to the meat. All of this stuff with cutting off the head, field dressing, skinning... That stuff was all new to him and it just surprised him how nonchalant Cairo was about all of it. He guessed it just all became more normal after doing it several times. Once they got the deer to where Cairo wanted it to be, he looked back to his cousin again and waited for the next set of instructions. "Talk"

He didn’t miss his cousin’s shock, but he waited until they’d positioned the buck’s body just right before releasing the leg and grinning up at the man, adding jokingly, “Don’t worry, I don’t get my jollies by decapitating animals. It just makes it easier to transport it without his antlers dragging and hanging up on things.” His tongue poked out in a playful raspberry grin, minus the rude noise, before he winked lightly and turned back to the deer, nodding. “Right! So, you start with a slit in the belly, starting from the middle of the neck to the tail.” He demonstrated with the claws, but also with his teeth, as he wasn’t sure if Ulric would ever invest in a pair of bracers like his own. He supposed he could make him some. His eyes flicked briefly to his cousin’s big paws, sizing them up and filing away the information. “When you’re going over the belly, if you’re using bracers like mine, reverse your paw, or wear them backward on your paw so the rounded side of the claws touch the stomach lining. That way you don’t run the risk of tearing open the stomach and spoiling the meat.” He worked the belly open, using his other paw to push the bloating belly down as he made the cuts. Then he added, “For getting the innards out, you cut around the anus – as gross as that sounds – so that it pulls through the body cavity when the stomach and innards are rolled out. You cut the esophagus so that it will pull free as well. I’ve heard that some Nomads will pack the empty body cavity with snow up in the north lands. Helps it keep if they can’t get around to processing the kill right then and there.” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

He appreciated his cousin's humor about the decapitation. He certainly hadn't imagined that Cairo necessarily enjoyed taking off deer heads so to speak and he understood that it was a necessary and helpful part of the process... it just wasn't something he was used to so it took him by surprise. Ulric assisted Cairo whenever he could as his cousin went to work skinning the animal, but for the most part he sat back and listened. It was all incredibly informative and he was really impressed with Cairo's skill at this. He wasn't sure how often he would need to go this in depth with breaking down a kill, but he was sure that he would find a reason to need to get the hide off of an animal again at some point. If his first attempts at armor making didn't go as planed then he'd certainly have to get more materials to try again some how. It was all interesting and unusual bits of information that he wasn't sure he would have a way to learn otherwise so he was happy they crossed paths and he was getting this impromptu lesson. The bit about packing the body cavity with snow to keep it fresh longer made him made a soft hum of interest, his head tipping thoughtfully to the side. He was always trying to figure out how to keep his kills fresher since he didn't need this much meat all at once usually. Of course that wasn't necessarily the case any more now that he was living with his mother, nieces, and Azariah, but it never hurt to have those extra tips all the same. Drying meat only got him so far and chewing on the jerky it turned into wasn't always quite as pleasant as the fresh stuff. Of course he had no idea where he would get snow around the mangroves... but it was an idea ll the same. "How do you get the skin from this state to how you would use it to make armor?" He was sure that the process to make leather wasn't as simple as just laying it out in the sun and letting it dry out so he was very interested to see what actually went into that process. "Talk"

Sorry for the belatedness ;-;

He’d worked the cavity open, and with a shove, he began to roll the innards out and down the hill with a squelchy shlopping sound. At Ulric’s question, he hummed thoughtfully. “You skin it from the deer. You flesh it, removing any meat or fat from it. And you can mash the brain in the skull and smear it over the flesh side of the hide. I’ve heard it said that every animal’s brain is enough to tan its own hide. You can also use barks like oak, because they have natural tannins that cure the hide. You can salt the hide and fold it to store in a cool spot if you don’t have time to process it, too." He plucked through the innards and organs, nodding at the stomach and bladder. “Those you can use, too, for water containers. If you have the right setup, you can boil water in them over a fire.” He grinned at his cousin, tail wagging, clearly enjoying the lesson. “Ready to start skinning?” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think