When Wyndelin learned there was a space dedicated for hunter's to skin and clean their game he headed there immediately and set up a small crafting area for himself. With Flikkr's assistance he got a fire going beneath a burr oak and set about to skin the young elk he'd caught as well as dry some of the meat. Wyndelin first started at the neck of the young animal. He worked his jaws in just under the chin and tore his fangs around the top of the neck then down the underside. He paused part way to pull the flesh back to reveal the neck muscles.

Taking his fangs at the back of the neck he carefully worked to pull off a strip of the neck muscle which he then carried over to the sharp sticks he had sticking up near the fire. He stuck one end of the meat on the stick to leave it to dry, using the smoke to help deter insects. Trotting back over to his kill he got back to work taking a few more strips of meat. He just wanted a little dried for his next journey. He glanced over at a Halla who had arrived with fish and asked about using his fire. He quickly nodded, pleased for the company.

Ooc: thread for hunters to meet each other and process/craft game
Deadline: August 17, 5:00 pm central time US

Halla set down her trout. She'd managed to fish it out of one of the streams that ran through the dancefloor and now was looking to dry it. She didn't need to eat any of it at the moment having just enjoyed some leftover moose. She moved to where other hunters had gathered to clean game and there she saw Wyndelin, one of the young men she recognized from the moose hunt. He agreed to let her use his fire and she settled down to start cleaning her fish. She started working her jaws around the fishes head, seeking to pry the cumbersome skull from its body.

At one point the fish started to twitch and spasm and she had to hold it down to finish detaching the head. Hmm… the eye balls were good smoked. She took the head in her jaws and walked over to one of the sticks, carefully spearing the fish head on top of it and shooting a dirty look at the crow that was sitting in tree. He didn't stay long before Wyndelin's companion swooped in and chased him off.

Úlfr trotted across the dance floor with a rabbit held securely between his jaws. Valdís had helped him catch it but he still felt like it was his prize. He walked with his adoptive mother to where other hunters were working and he immediately spied the earthen male working on his elk. He raced over and set his rabbit down. "Hey! How are you doing that? Can you show me?" Úlfr didn't even wait for the man to say yes or no, he saw what Wyndelin was doing then tried to do the same on the rabbit. He started chewing around the neck and while he severed the flesh easily enough he pretty much chewed through the rabbits neck until he hit the spine. Blood was starting to gush everywhere from his efforts.

ooc: Valdís is present, I just feel to lazy to post her here to.

The hunting competitions had yet to begin, but Cairo had brought down a yearling buck, wanting to get the hide and sinew, while the meat would go to the Nomads to be prepared for this night’s feasting. He was in his work armor, and as he dragged his kill to a spot near the other four, he grinned at them, spotting Wyndelin and Halla and nodding in recognition. Racks had been set up, and his newest friend, a mandrill monkey he’d found in a trap on the way to the first night of the festival and taken straight to the Nomads for healing, fastened a braided leather rope around the animals hocks through holes cut between the tendon and bone, the two of them hoisting it up to hang upside down by the back legs, head dangling. “You all excited to get to the competition part? She’ll be announcing them later today.” He held the head steady, slitting the sharpened index bear claw of one of his bracers along the jugular to let the animal bleed out as he began to make the first cuts in the belly and up each leg in the standard skinning and gutting cut. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Wyndelin worked from the neck down on the young elk. His fangs ripped through the flesh along the stomach from the neck all the way down. He slowed once he moved past the sternum, wary of knicking the sack that held the internal organs. Not that it mattered much o him being a wolf. He'd happily dine on the liver and other guts but he didn't want to have to clean them off the hide. Flikkr moved to help him. The birds sharp beat taking care of the more skillful cuts around each of the elks ankles.

As he worked another man joined them and Wyndelin grinned as he recognized Cairo. "Cairo, good to see you! Absolutely! I can't wait for the competition though I admit I'm a bit nervous. I wonder what we'll be doing and who our teams will be." Being a loner he hadn't entered with a particular team but it would be fun to hunt with Cairo again as well as meet other hunters. "If any of you need my fire you're welcome to it." Wyndelin pulled the flesh back along the belly to reveal the meat of the chest and side. He moved to take a few more strips of meat off the chest. Flikkr moved to help him to get thin strips. He then threaded these strips on sticks and set them near the fire to dry.

He grinned at the pup that moved to join them with his rabbit. "You mean the skinning? It's simple in theory. You first cut around the throat of the animal and try just to chew through the skin. If you get some of the meat that's ok but you don't want to cut all the way through. You want to give it a try and I'll walk you through it?"

Ooc: thread for hunters to meet each other and process/craft game
Deadline: September 2, 5:00 pm central time US

With the head detached Halla moved back to her filleting. She worked her fangs along the stomach of the fish as she worked to extract the guts and internal organs from the cavity. It would be easier to smoke the fish if she didn't have the guts flopping around. It took some doing. She worked a stick in the cavity of the fish to finish working out some of the more stubborn items.

Satisfied she worked her jaws along one side of the fish, peeling the meat from the ribs into slices. She then threaded the slices onto sticks and added them near Wyndelin's fire. she had considered just trying to smoke the whole fish but decided it would be best to do strips for now. It was a good sized trout and she did not know how long he planned to keep his fire going.

As Cairo joined them she offered a soft smile and a nod before focusing back on her work.

Úlfr listened with fascination as the man spoke and he nodded, anxious to try giving skinning a try. Ok, start with chewing the skin of the neck? Ok, he could do that. Úlfr wrapped his little jaws near the neck of the rabbit while he sat halfway on the body to hold it still. He started working his fangs through the flesh until he chewed a ring around the neck. It was sloppy and the rabbit was bleeding out rapidly from his fangs clipping one of the carotid arteries. Úlfr licked at his nose, trying to get the blood out of one of his nostrils as he suddenly sneezed.

He glanced to Cairo. "I'm excited! I want to cat some nice things for my momma. Did you know I caught this rabbit all by myself?"

Wyndelin watched the pup and nodded with a chuckle. "It takes a bit of practice but you're getting it. Go ahead and chew off the feet and cut a line down the middle of the belly. Once you have your cuts made you can start peeling the skin off like this." Wyndelin worked his teeth under the flesh of the young elk and started carefully pulling it back. When he had one side done he seized the elk and with a sharp pull flipped it over onto the other side so he could finish removing the hide. He worked his teeth underneath the flesh, carefully snipping it free from the meat while his companion assisted where it could. Finally he had the hide free and he flipped it over so it was skin side down. He grinned at the pup and gave him the nod to go ahead and try.


While the pup worked on his skinning Wyndelin moved back to the elk carcass. He worked a few strips of meat from the back of the animal and threaded these onto his last remaining sticks. Making sure they were standing up, leaning into the fire he settled down to indulge in the rest of his kill.

Halla seized the fish in her jaws and flipped it over to fillet the other side. She carefully worked the side of her mouth down through the gills as close to the ribs of the fish as she could. She then worked her teeth under the flesh to fillet that side.

This was going better that she planned considering the fact that she didn't have a knife. She took the fillet and then tore off thin slices which she threaded onto the sticks to smoke and dry. A full size fillet was unlikely to smoke and dry evenly but the thin strips should work well. Now it was time for her to nap for a bit while the meat dried.

-exit via sleep-

Úlfr listened attentively then turned his attention to his rabbit. Taking the feet in his jaws he crunched and chewed until he was able to detach them. He then did as Wyndelin instructed and started cutting a line in the flesh from the neck down the center of the belly and to the tail. He pulled the tail off, spitting out the fluff. He then attempted to chew lines down the inside of each leg but it ended up being a sloppy mess. Still he got the job done. He then started working on the skin until he finally had it pulled off. "Hey, I did it! I'm going to go show mom, thank you!" He grabbed the hide in his mouth and took off, skittered to a stop then circled back. Carefully picking up both the hide and the rabbit he raced off to find Valdís.

-exit-