Sniff
Crunch!!
Sniff
Woken up by the sudden noise of a branch breaking, I grabbed for my gun. It was still dark but I always kept a gun within reaching distance when I slept.
Fingers curling around the cold metal of the grip, I blinked rapidly, trying to adjust to the lack of light.
Whoff
Crunch!
Confident that the noise was coming from just outside to door, I made my way over to the door. Ready for whatever was outside, I stuck my head outside.
A mound of black stood a few feet away, sniffing the air. Bear!
Snapping into a firing position, my hands worked independently of my thoughts.
Bam bam bam bam
Four shots flew from the pistol and burrowed themselves into the bear's head. One paw lifted itself like it was going to move, but it never did. Instead the bear slumped to the ground, tongue sticking out loosely. It did not make a sound, though I could barely hear anything as my ears were ringing.
Without any sign of movement from the bear, I slowly eased out of the structure. Keeping my eyes on it in case something changed, I made my way over to the bear.
Close enough to see the bear clearly even in the poor light of the dawn, I took in the teeth that stuck out from behind its lips. They were not the only danger, as I spotted one of its claws poking out from its paw. Between the teeth, claws, and a small mountain of muscle it was a force to be reckoned with.
Finished with my examination and confident that the beast was indeed dead, I looked around in an attempt to figure out what it had been doing. Seeing paw prints in the poor light was hard but the bear had done a good job of leaving a trail. It was not difficult even in the light to follow it through the woods. I did not follow it long, as I had killed the bear and from it's size the bear was not a cub or mother. Besides Kaelyn was all alone.
Kaelyn!
Reminded that I had left her, I rushed back through the woods. My pain was a small price to pay as I hobbled back to the structure and stared at Kaelyn. Brown eyes stared back at me with a worried look. Those eyes had me holding my breath as we made eye contact. But just like that they closed without a sound from her lips. Immediately her expression softened into one of sleep.
Relieved that she was okay I reminded myself to check on her injuries later when there was more light to see with. Skinning the bear was another task that I needed to do, but the sun had barely risen. Right now it was time to make a fire and think about breakfast. I was also going to make something for Kaelyn as she had gone long enough without food. A tonic to fight off infection and increase strength would help with her recovery. Marsh Violet and Violet Lupine would take care of fighting any infection and possible fever. Burdock or Lily of the Valley would be best for strength. All would be easy to find here, as they along with many plants grew throughout the region as long as the conditions were good enough for them.
Sunlight shined through the trees in yellow streams as I started on breakfast. Steamed Beaver was on the menu, along with Cattail tubers which I was baking. They would take about a half hour to cook which gave me time to find the plants I wanted for the herbal teas. Finding the plants would be easy and I grabbed my pack so that I could stuff the plants in it as I found them.
Ready to go on my foraging trip, I gently placed my hand on Kaelyn's forehead. Heat greeted my hand, much more than what was normal for someone sleeping. Worried that her wounds may have developed an infection, I peeled back the blanket and then her dress. Inspecting them one after the other, I searched for any sign of infection. Infection was fairly easy to spot and the lack of inflamed veins, black veins, bad odor, or discharge confirmed that the wounds were not infected. The fever was new though, as I had checked these wounds every day since I had first stitched them.
Confident that she just needed the tonic to fight the fever, I headed out on my foraging trip. I had not traveled much in the time that we had been here, so I decided to follow the stream west. A wet meadow would have everything I needed, yet I had never been here to my knowledge. Still it would not be that hard if the stream continued and there were openings in the trees. Without those openings, none of the plants would grow.
While I walked I kept my eyes out for anything of significance. Pools and eddies in the stream signified spots for fish to hide from predators and eats the insects that fell into the water. These spots would have fish during the Winter, when food was scarce. Until then I would trap and hunt for whatever I could.
Bright green mixed with yellow sunlight caught my attention. Moving towards it, I noticed a change in the trees and shrubs. Shortly I had left the cover of the trees and was standing in a clearing. Green, red, pink, yellow and orange filled the clearing from a mix of plants. Bushy roses and Camelias grew in clumps together scattered around the clearing. Though useful, I was not looking for either currently. Late pink blooms from the Marsh Violet, along with purple flowers of the Violet Lupine rose up in a few different clumps. All the clumps were close the the streambank, due to their need for water. Lily of the Valley would be fairly easy to find as it grew in the same area as the Marsh Violet and the Violet Lupine.
Crouched over so that I could easily harvest what I needed, I slipped my knife out from its sheath. Careful so not to bruise the flower, I cut it at the base of the stem. Gently easing the flower into a small pouch, I moved on to the the next flower. Harvesting the flowers were not that difficult and I quickly had enough Marsh Violet and Violet Lupine. While I could have dug them up, the plants had the possibility to seed and make it so that there would be more for some other unlucky traveler who needed the plants.
Lily of the Vallley did not take long to find as I spotted the green slender flower stems. While the flowers were dead, the roots were just as good. Winter was going to be here soon and it would kill the plant completely. Without any idea if I would be able to come back out here before the plants were dead, I dug up all of the ones I could find. Winter had a way of making one feel weak, and with both myself and Kaelyn injured the roots would help keep our strength.
Now having found what I needed I got ready to head back to the camp. My bag was not completely full but it was a fair amount and I had enough for a dozen or so tonics. More supply would have to come from a different clearing, but other plants I had seen would be good for other things if I needed them.
Following the stream back to the camp allowed me time to think. Winter was coming, and food was going to steadily become harder to find as it drew nearer and after the first snow fell. The fish baskets would provide some food until then, yet I had never relied on them as heavily as I had and would have to in the coming months. I would put out traps for various four legged animals as winter drew nearer, especially around any area with beaver activity, but I did not know if it would be enough. Without a good rifle, I could not shoot any large animals, the bear this morning had been an exception. It was an option for food, but I would have to skin it and examine its stomach to see what it had been eating recently. Any animal that ate dead and decaying meat could potentially carry disease. I knew of a cure for the disease, but the disease would still leave one weak and helpless for a month.
At this though, I arrived back at the small clearing that was camp. Smells of near burning meat had me drop my bag and rush over to the fire. Careful not to burn myself, I pulled the well cooked beaver meat and baked cattail tubers out of the fire. Placing them to the side so that they could cool on a wooden platter, I moved on to getting water for Kaelyn's tonic.
A few minutes later, both cups were full and had been placed on the fire. While they warmed up, I tucked into my warm beaver meat and baked tubers. The warm food was nice, as the air was cold even though the sun was shining. Since it was so nice, I paced myself and allowed myself time enjoy my food and think. My thoughts moved to the days ahead as they had any time I was thinking. What I was going to use the bear skin for once I had freed it from the carcass was a question to think on. We already had two blankets, but they were wool and would not be enough to keep us warm when the snow fell. A coat was also another potential idea, yet the blanket was needed more than the coat. Kaelyn and I could use other things to stay warm, so the bear skin would be best used as a blanket. First I would have to actually skin the animal, and I could not do that until I had fed Kaelyn her tonic.
Her tonic, which I could now make, as the water had come to a roiling boil. My bag was still on the ground where I had dropped it, so I walked over and picked it up. Careful as I could not afford to damage any of the plants, I opened the pack up. A quick look inside confirmed that all of the plants were ok and that I would be able to use them. Now all I had to do was prep a few pieces of the plants and add it all to the water.
Working with the plants brought me a sense of peace that I only felt when I was working with plants or with hides, things I understood and were good at. Experience and memory guided my hands as they cleaned and processed each plant. First I washed the plant, careful as not to bruise the leaves or stem. Next I removed what parts I needed or if I did not need it, I put it to the side. This whole process did not take long, and soon I had finished with all of them. Now all that was left was to put what I needed into the water and put the rest down in the storage pit. This was easy enough and the tonic was brewing shortly.
Plants in hand I made my way over to the pit that was the fridge. There was more than enough room to store the plants, but eventually I would need to make something larger to store all the meat and greens that needed to be collected in the coming weeks. I wanted as much of an advantage as possible going into winter. But building a storage shed would have to wait for another day.
Instead I had a bear to skin, luckily not the first one I had ever done. Since the tonic was going to take a while to really become powerful, skinning the bear was the best use of my time. Besides, it would give me the answer of if the bear meat was good or if it was going to make us sick.
Lifeless since I had killed it, the bear lay on its stomach. This was not the position for skinning, and with a rocking push I was able to get the beast roll on its side. At the same time my body protested this movement with spikes of pain from my healing injuries. With a clenched jaw I set to work, sliding the tip of my knife into the creatures stomach and slowly cutting up to the neck. The guts and other parts slid out in a steaming heap, and though unpleasant to look at, did not smell of rot or show other signs of having spoiled. Going through the stomach and intestines informed me that it had been eating nuts and berries, so the meat had none of the disease I had been worried about.
For now my focus was on the hide, preparing all the meat would have to wait until I could store it. Had this been summer, I would have been worried about the meat spoiling, but it was no more than fifty degrees or so. The meat would be fine for a day or two, which was good as I needed that much time to build a larger storage area. When I had built the underground fridge yesterday, I had not expected to have so much meat at once. Winter at home was a different matter, as there was always enough food for multiple months at any one time. Here though, I had expected to be living with only a few weeks of food at a time. The bear was more food than I had room for, and I did not know if I really wanted to have all that food around right now. This bear was not the only one around, and as much as I needed the food, I would not risk Kaelyn or my life for it. Yet I was not just going to throw it away just yet. For now I would enjoy this food source, and when I had harvested all I wanted I would move it farther away so that the scavengers could dine on it.
Returning to the work at hand, I began to cut away the sinew and ligaments that held the hide to the body. It was slow work as I had to watch my knife so that I did not slice the precious fur open. But it was worth the work as when the last cut was made, I held a good looking black fur skin. Stretching and further cleaning this thing would be a difficult task, but I could already imagine its warmth for when the snow came and the winds were howling like wolves in the night.
Satisfied with my work, I carried it and my pot over to the stream. Similar to any other hide, I scrubbed and washed the bear skin as best I could. The water was cold to the touch, but I was used to it, and it would be colder still in a few short months. I would wish for this water them, but it would not come until spring before warming in the summer with the heat and days of sun.
Once the skin had been scrubbed and cleaned the best that I could, I filled my pot above the spot that I had been working. With a pot of water and a wet bearskin, I limped back to my work area outside the shelter. I made fast work of stretching the hide out in between a pair of trees. This was easier than setting up a hoop frame like I had for the otters and beaver, as the bear had been bigger than me.
Finished with the skin for the day, I decided to work on lunch briefly before checking on Kaelyn. Lunch was going to be a simple thing, as I cut a few slices of meat off the bears back before tossing them into the pit. Along with the meat I added some greens from the storage pit and put the simple stew on the fire to cook.
With all this done I was ready to give Kaelyn her tonic. The tonic had come along nicely as zi pulled it along with mine off the edge of the fire. Feeding it to Kaelyn was going to be interesting and after a moment of thought, I grabbed my metal spoon from my pack. Spoons were one of those things that had so many uses, that I carried one with me everywhere I went.
Cooled down from when I had pulled it out of the fire, I held the tonic in my hand as I ducked into the structure that Kaelyn was resting in. She had not moved from how she lay, soundly asleep, her hair tucked underneath her head. I had only ever seen my nephew and niece sleep as peacefully as she was. I almost did not want to risk waking her to give her the tonic, but zi needed to give her it, whether or not it woke her up.
Gentle so I did not hurt her, I slid my hand underneath her head, lifting it up just enough for me to spoon feed her. Her hair was softer than I had imagined, and what skin I could feel underneath was soft and smooth. Few people had ever let me get this close to them before. I did not have time to dwell on this though, as I needed to feed her the tonic and get on with other work. Spoon feeding her was fairly easy and I found myself staring at her face as I did. Her eyebrows were thin but drew attention to her eyes. Unlike mine her nose was delicate and matched her pink red lips. Everything seemed as soft as her hair felt, but I alas not just going to start touching her face. I knew where the line was and was not going to cross it, my promise to Kaelyn the first day we had met was not something I had said idly.
Before I knew it, all of the tonic was gone. With other work to do I returned her to her sleep and went on with the rest of the day. Lunch came and went, along with my afternoon work as I cut firewood and checked my traps. The two fish and a rabbit that I caught kept me busy the rest of the afternoon and into dusk. When everything was finished and the fish and rabbit were cooked and stored, I returned to Kaelyn inside the hut.
Exhaustion hit me like a wave crashing on the rocks, and without thinking I laid my head on Kaelyn 's legs and fell asleep.