Warmblooded

[goldenambition]

Who: Will, Clive and Joshua (Bird)
What: Hunting a biblically accurate deer to appease Winter
When: Some time before the god fight, just in case
Where: The Woods
Warnings: Animal death, gore, occultism

[Will would never consider himself a hunter- for all his adventures, he was always more a city boy than not. He COULD snare a coney or shoot down a bird for a meal. But full deer hunting was something he was not that experienced in.

But he had an ace, if what he was told on the journals was true. But that just made this all the more dangerous.

He was bundled head to toe in winter gear the sad-looking shopkeep had provided, his armor on under it and his bow unslung]

So 'pparently these deer are meat eaters, so I gotta package of roast steak here- [He pats a cloth bag on his hip. It has a bit too much give to be anything but wrapped raw meat. And if the brothers have a decent sense of smell they can likely smell it out right.] - so we can try to bait it out. This time'a year a fresh kill outta be tempting for all kinds of beasties.

You two still up for this?

Comments

[kingincognito]

Whatever needs to be done, I suppose.

[ It's going to take a little effort to remember it's there, and not to rub it off on accident, but he thinks he can manage. His eyes, too, move to the deer, and he frowns thoughtfully. ]

We could bring the meat back to the inn. I'm certain it could be made into some sort of stew that everyone could share.

[goldenambition]

Stew, eh? That does sound good.

[His tail wags as he wipes his fingers on his coat as best he can]

[aneikonic]

It's hardy and masks the taste of gamey meat.

[ He nods in agreeance to Joshua's idea, a stew sounds good, he's sure Yingyun can put the meat to good use in one. He then folds his arms and ponders the deer before them.

Slowly his brow v's down, deeper and deeper, but his lips quirk upwards into a lopsided smile as he stares and thinks. Then he glances up to Will and Joshua, then back down to the deer, then back up to the boys. ]

I don't suppose either of us [ Yes, he's including himself in this mistake ] thought to bring a sled along? I'm strong but even this might be too much for me.

[ Or the three of them, frankly. ]

[kingincognito]

[ Will, that... that's blood you're smearing on your coat, are you s-- okay. Not that Joshua can really talk. The amount of times he and Clive have come back blood-spattered probably exceeds counting on two hands, let alone one. ]

Particularly in this weather, the people could use something warming and heavy.

[ He's no cook, of course, so he doesn't know what goes into actually making it, but he's had game meat plenty of times before, and he's never wrinkled his nose at the taste hard enough that he doesn't want to eat it. Magic can be done with herbs and spices.

But he catches Clive's look, and follows his eyes down to the deer.

... ah. ]

... no, I don't think we did. Perhaps we could fetch one and return with it?

[goldenambition]

....ha... oops?

[His ears droop, eyes go big in plead for forgiveness]

In my defense, I didn't realize they were so big!

[aneikonic]

[ See, Will, you crossed a line now. Clive can't be held responsible for reaching out and dropping his hand on his head, ruffling his hair and patting his ears in reassurance.

He hit him with the sad eyes and now the resemblance to both Gav and Torgal is just too strong. ]

It's all right, we'll think of something.

[ He nods to Joshua, thoughtful. ]

Possibly, but the longer it's out here the more predators we attract. I'm not sure how long it will take to return and back....

[kingincognito]

[ Uh oh, Clive got hit by the puppy eyes. Joshua stifles a soft laugh behind his hand, then turns back to regard the deer. None of them expected it to be this big, he thinks. They couldn't have truly prepared for this.

He taps his lips with his fingers. ]

What if we were to skin it and then carry meat back in the hide? With a deer this size, we could feasibly leave some of the meat for the woodland creatures while having plenty for ourselves. Or maybe gutting it will lighten the load?

[goldenambition]

[He KNOWS he should be insulted, but he never minded such things as much as most beatkin. So his tail just wags]

Oh, I think Josh 'as got a good idea there- We prob'bly should gut it either way- organs leaking is bad for the meat.

[aneikonic]

[ Laughing at him, Joshua, will just make him transfer his hand from Will to his brother and unlike the gentle pet, he will deliberately rough that hair up until it's sticking everywhere. ]

Sounds good to me.... Mmmight not want to leave that to me.

[ He's liable to puncture the organs on accident and just ruin it. ]

[kingincognito]

[ The shortening of his name to "Josh" gets Joshua to look up, turning back to look at Will in a sort of confused surprise. This, of course, makes him more susceptible to the hair ruffle, which makes him hunch his shoulders a little. ]

Clive--!

[ As soon as he is free, he moves to fix his hair back down with his fingers. He isn't one to typically preen or fuss about his looks, but his hair sticking up will bother him if he leaves it sit for too long. ]

I'm afraid I have no skill in gutting an animal... Particularly one this big. But I have a delicate hand, if you'll show me where to cut.

[goldenambition]

If you're willin' to help old Will out I think the two of us can manage. Never cut up something this big, but all the innards are the same, innit?

[He pulls one of his blades from his hip and goes to start working on the beast. Groin to gullet.

It smells pretty bad, so let's not get into any heavy detail there]

[aneikonic]

[ Deserved for laughing. And Clive nods and steps back to give them room, his nose wrinkling a little to the smell as he raises his hand. Nothing he's not unused to, however. "Death" always smells the same.

Instead he turns his attention to the sides, on the watch for anything that may be a real threat to them coming to the smell of slaughter. ]

[kingincognito]

[ Oh, disgusting. Joshua wrinkles his nose, pulling his cloak up off his shoulders and holding it to his face. Even then, it only does a little to mask the smell. Maybe he can do this one-handed... ]

Where do we start?

[goldenambition]

[Poor Joshua, he sees that nose covering and knows he's not gonna like the rest of this.]

I'm gonna dig in and start pulling organs out. You take my stabber here and cut where they connect, ya ken?

[The little blood on his coat will be nothing compared to how messy Will is about to get- but this way Joshua can stay... well clean*er* ]

[kingincognito]

[ Listen, at least he's not complaining about it. He's not going to like it, but it needs to be done. ]

Alright. Ready when you are.

[ He takes Will's knife and holds it ready. ]

[aneikonic]

[ Clive will actually glance back to those words, curious about how Joshua will handle this. Not that he particularly wanted his brother to ever have to learn skills such as this, but here it will come in handy.

He himself knows enough to get by, but he has a feeling Jote did much of the hard work for Joshua. On her own will of course. ]

[goldenambition]

Right-o. I'll be moving quick, so keep up!

[And... ooooh the noises, gross]

[kingincognito]

[ The noises, indeed. Joshua makes a face, but drops his cloak from his face so that he can focus with both hands.

It's a disgusting job, and very... wet, but he follows Will's movements, cutting each organ free from its tethers as he pulls them out. Without complaint! Look at him go. ]

[aneikonic]

[ Yeah he will never get used to those noises. It's different hearing it in the midst of battle, but it's always so...

Yugh. ]

All right there, brother?

[ There's a tone to his voice that says better you than me. ]