Waddling down to the beach with the rabbit skin in his teeth, Tarnish looked for a good place to set up and get to work. Worc soared above with the rabbit head clasped in his talons. He insisted they needed it to tan the hide and Tarnish didn't question the crow. Even though he could be a pain his wisdom rarely proved wrong. Tarnish flopped down next to the stump of a tree and spread the hide out. "Ok, so clean up the rest of the remaining meat, yea?" The crow nodded. "Yes, then we need to use the braaaaiiiinnn." The crow wiggled his feather brows, eager to show off his knowledge. Worc plucked out the eyes for a snack and got to work on the skull while Tarnish used is tongue to clean up some of the missed remnants of meat still clinging to the underside of the skin.


Raider Brats

The stress of the past few days still weighed heavily on Jael's mind. She'd been sleeping poorly, waking up cold, finding her window open and things out of place. She blamed the weather, the shifting pressure in the building, the shifting weather. Right. All reasonable places to pin it. She tried not to let the lack of sleep make her paranoid. Still, she'd been bonding with her new companion, and that's at least a comfort.

It's another bird that draws her attention, though, chittering down to one of Gilgamesh's sons. Cleaning a hide, oh that could be tedious work. Curious, wagging her tail as she approached, Jael called out to him. "Would you like some help?" Already scanning the beach for a razor clam shell or something of the like, and scooping up the first two she sees with a gentle grasp. Closing the gap between them with a gentle but curious look on the boy's project.

Tarnish worked diligently. According to Worc he needed to clean everything off as best he could or invisible creatures would eat the remaining meat and make the hide smell bad, possibly even eating a hole through it. He didn't mind, he liked the taste and he was happy to work away at it while listening to Worc pecked and cracked at the spine of the carcass til the skull rattled free.

As the duo worked a strange, small wolf appeared and offered to help. Tarnish looked up from his task and watched as she scooped up a clam. His head tilted to the side. Was that Jael? She seemed to match the description. "Sure! You can help with the scrapping if you want. My name is Tarnish, what's yours? What happened to you ears? How come they droop like that? Was it a fight?"


Raider Brats

Tarnish, right, that's the boy's name. The pups were a rambunctious lot, and Jael was enjoying getting to know them. Still, they were a lot, and a lot to keep track of. As something of an expert in keeping track of things, she wasn't the worst babysitter. Tarnish, though, was one of the ones she hadn't gotten to spend as much time with. "I'm Jael." She gave a soft smile, a little wag of her tail as she settled across from the boy to help flesh the hide.

Her movements are practiced. "I was born like this, my mom had them too." She explained quietly, gently working the pelt with the razor clam shell. "Are you happy using your teeth, or would you like to try a clam shell to help?" It's a quiet suggestion, watching the boy as he works away. He looked happy enough, but there was no harm in offering him the option. Jael continues the work contentedly, working the hide between her paws and scraping away at any residual flesh. Her eye for detail is intense, but then, her eye is always intense. So it goes.

Tarnish perked up when the woman stated that her name was Jael. "So you're Jael! Momma said we should seek you out to spar, I just ate though." Not that he hadn't sparred right after eating but one time he got kicked in the gut and threw up. He wasn't eager to repeat the experience.

Jael explained she was born that way before asking if he was fine using his teeth. At that moment Worc dropped the rabbit skull at his feet and Tarnish grinned before proudly announcing, "Teeth!". To emphasize his point he picked up the rabbit skull in his jaws and set to chewing, the bone cracking under his bite force til it split open and set the brain to oozing. Tarnish licked his lips and dumped the brain onto the hide. "This is my favorite part," he declared. Tarnish smashed his paws into the brain and started smearing it around the hide. According to Worc this would help 'cure' the hide and preserve it.


Raider Brats

Jael was dully aware that Modesty had told the children to seek her out for practice fighting. She didn't mind all that much-- it would help her get better too. That didn't do anything to soothe the particularly pointy nature of puppy teeth, something Jael is perhaps not the biggest fan of. Jael couldn't pretend she wasn't relieved that Tarnish didn't want to spar in the given moment. "Another time, sure. I'm usually out back, by the pools." A gentle smile, too. She liked kids. He was eager.

A chuckle as the boy sets to working, cracking bones and mushing brains. Though she's familiar with the process, she can't say she's a huge fan of the visceral nature. It's the same brutality she knows Modesty is capable of, that she fears from Gilgamesh too. Though it's different than her own, Jael understands it. She recognizes it. The boy is young. He'll learn in time.

Gruesome as it is, she's happy to help. Carefully helping spread the mixture out, coating the hide with even strokes. Contemplative. It didn't surprise her that this was the boy's favorite part. Maybe it was satisfying, in a certain light? Jael's thoughts were busy as ever, as she helped Tarnish with the preservation process. Making sure that everything would soak evenly, rather than pooling in spots. A keen eye for detail on the wolfdog, at least she had that going for her.