Well, at least one thing was going right. She'd killed the snake. Gossamer had returned from an herb gathering trip to learn that a massive storm had struck the Armada and washed out not only their storage dens but a number of residencies as well. Gossamers personal herb stores had been trashed as well as her own den. She'd been in the middle of digging a new one when she'd disturbed a rattlesnake. In no mood to be diplomatic she struck out, swiftly severing the snake with her large fangs. However, now she wasn't sure what to do with it. Could it be eaten? She knew they were poisonous.

Gossamer sat down while she contemplated what to do with her catch, the snake still twisting and writhing in her mouth despite being dead.

The flood that seemed to have struck steered clear of Asla and her children. Her den was situated atop one of the hills of rolling grass and was completely untouched. Both she and the pups had slept through the whole thing. It was a good thing, too. The woman didn't have the time to screw with rebuilding.

In lieu of the recent flooding, Asla had gone to check on Ocean and Chrystelle. They were fine in the little den in the forest. No damage there either. Asla didn't like running back and forth between the Soulless Forest and the Armada, but she had made an agreement with her father. Spring couldn't come quick enough.

Passing one of the many dens that had been washed out, Asla noticed one of her siblings with a snake jostling around in its jaws. Remembering her recent encounter with Ophie, Asla decided to make an effort. Stopping, the cream and grey fae arched the brow on the scarred side of her face. "You know those actually taste rather good if prepared right. Want me to show you?"

"Aslatiel"

Gossamer had just about decided to bury the thing away from her new den site when she heard movement. Her head whipped around and to her surprise it was her sister Aslatiel. She felt a slight sting of guilt. She'd been meaning to pay Aslatiel and her pups a visit but she'd still failed to do so. If she was honest she was still intimidated by the thought of interacting with young pups.

Gossy blinked in surprise at her sister's sincere offer and she quickly set the snake down, nodding eagerly. "Yes, I'd really like that… Reaper." She smiled, offering the title as a small sign of respect. Respect she hadn't shown at their last meeting when the warriors had been called together.

The look of surprise on Gossamer's face brought a huff of amusement ghosting through Asla's liver colored nose. The girl agreed and used Aslatiel's title. Again the woman huffed as she moved towards the girl and the snake. "Not for much longer. No need for the title." Coming up to the snake, Asla took it between her jaws and motioned for Gossamer to follow.

Asla moved through the long grass until she came to one of the sparse trees. Hooking the rattle of the snake in the crook of two relatively strong branches, she used her claws and teeth to neatly decapitate the snake. Instantly the blood began to drain out. "No need to keep the head. Best to get rid of it as soon as you're able. The venom is only in the head." Sitting on her haunches, the fawn colored fae motioned the younger wolf forward so that she could show her the steps involved. Again using her claws, she slit the snake's skin up the belly, careful to not damage the meat too much. "Easiest to slice through the belly scales."

Once it looked as though the blood was mostly drained, Asla began to peel the skin away, leaving the pale pink meat behind. The skin of snakes slid off surprisingly easily. "So you might think that you need to take the meat off of the bone, but the easiest way to do it is to cook the snake in water with a lot of seasonings. Then the meat will taste good and if you cook it long and slow, the meat will just pull right off of the bones." She looked to Gossamer to see if the girl understood. "I might still have a big cooking pot that aunt Io left behind."

"Aslatiel"

Gossamer's brow furrowed and her head cocked to the side as Asla explained that there was no need to use her title as she would not have it for much longer. "Oh? You're stepping down?" It was hard for her to imagine Aslatiel not holding a high rank in the Armada and she expected to be serving under her older sister when she finally gained the rank of Lieutenant.

Alsa picked up the snake and Gossamer trotted after the older woman as they prepared to process the serpent. As her older sister spoke Gossamer took mental notes. She was particularly interested to know the venom was only in the head. "I wonder if there's a way to use the snake's venom against our opponents." If there was a way to harvest it perhaps some use could be gained from it. But for now she was more interested in a spare food source.

Her ears perked up at the mention of cooking the snake in water. "Yea, I'd like to see how this is done. I've never thought to cook the meat in water." And the boniness of serpents was one of the reasons she hadn't thought to try eating them in the first place.