Dragoncrest Cliffs dope shells

It took time to treat the otter skins, once she carefully peeled them from the carcasses. Haunt painstakingly stretched each of them over a rock in the caves to dry. The sun would've made quicker work of it—it was very cool and damp down here—but rain could ruin the pelts, so she didn't want to run that risk. She could be patient.

Day after day, she visited the pair of skins, running her single leathery paw pad over them to brush away the drying gristle and smooth out the furs. Yes, it was slow work, though Haunt found the ritual soothing. Once they were sufficiently soft and smooth, Haunt collected them in her teeth and carried them topside.

It was a misty day, the breeze whipping inland from the ocean carrying the first hints of autumn as it kissed her cool. She had half a mind to keep one of the skins for herself, though she shook her head as she began to walk toward a central location. These two were meant for the pack's pups. If she wanted one of her own, she would have to slay another otter.

She paused in the large meadow just past the lake, setting down the pair of pelts. Haunt was dimly aware that another litter had been born, though she didn't know the parents. She did know @Erzulie and @Rosalyn, however, and she called for them. They could take both skins for themselves, or they could offer one of them to the new mother. It was entirely up to them what they did with Haunt's gifts.

a howl, rising for she and her wife.
young haunt.
she wondered if the girl would seek to change her own name, as kaskae had done. a renewal of sorts. and the injury that had befallen the yearling — it was hard to bear. perhaps not so for haunt, but erzulie wished now that she had not been so easy as to allow haunt to go, before.
water beneath the bay —
a smile was on her face as she walked through the smallgrass to meet haunt, mintglow gaze falling to the glossy hides. "you have a trade, den," was her gentle praise after she had inspected the well-crafted otterpelts. 
"dese beasts evade even me." lips curving. "you do sapphique a good honor."

The pack's Obsidian appeared in the distance, moving leisurely toward her with a smile on her face. Haunt returned it, ducking her head low as Erzulie came closer with words of greeting. Her expression brightened a bit at the woman's observation, threaded through with praise. She supposed it wasn't the first time she'd brought her an otter. Once more, the yearling wondered if that old skin was already in use in the leaders' whelping den.

Deciding against asking, Haunt said instead, "They're for you, Rosalyn and your pups." Her pale tail waved slowly. "I heard another litter was born recently but I don't know the mother or father, so I was thinking you could give one of these to them on my behalf, unless you'd like to keep them both for yourself. I won't tell anyone." She smirked playfully, yellow eyes lifting briefly to gauge Erzulie's reaction.

"very t'oughtful of you, haunt." to the mention of the other, she gave a shake of her head. "zephyr. keeps aside from de pack." her own gaze churned with the same humour, and she looked toward the hides again. "i be sorely tempted to be selfish wid dem, if she was not so new."
a smirk, smoothing into interest. "how did you dry dese?" she inquired, sniffing delicately at the leather. "how many times did you attempt dis before you succeeded?"

Her single ear splayed at the words of praise, then pricked again when Erzulie mentioned the new mother's name: Zephyr. Apparently she lived on the fringes, a fact which made Haunt cock her head curiously. Idly, she wondered why the leaders would share breeding rights with someone like that, though it wasn't her business nor really her concern. She let the thought drift away on the slightly chilly sea air.

Erzulie seemed curious about the curing process. "Did I?" Haunt quipped dryly. "Succeed?" She grinned softly. "I just pulled the skins off the bodies very carefully, then laid them out on some rocks in the caves. I checked on them daily, sometimes twice, and brushed off all the... junk." The yearling rolled a pale shoulder before finishing modestly, "I've never done this before."

Her tongue touched against her lip, happy that Erzulie seemed accepting of her efforts, even if they were rather amateur. Haunt knew one of the skins was a bit frayed and torn in places, since it hadn't wanted to separate neatly from the flesh. But the pelts were more or less whole, and quite soft to the touch, if a little stiff on the backside where she'd had to scrape away all the vessels, etc.

While she waited for Erzulie to speak again, the nippy breeze found its way into her exposed ear canal, causing her to jerk suddenly. She winced, maneuvering herself out of the wind. "The cold air sometimes hurts, especially if there's any kind of breeze," she explained to the Obsidian as she repositioned. "It feels like a fang sinking into my ear hole. Not very pleasant."

the work was not perfect. but erzulie was not a wolf who knew this trade, and so she saw only the skill of what haunt had created, and marvelled at its making. she listened quietly to the details of what the craft had asked in movement and process.
but medic's gaze narrowed when she saw the wince, and resolution settled into the spice-features.
"one moment."
retreating into the den, and surfacing with a smooth piece of sealskin, still rather fresh. "it holds out de water. thick." she dropped it before haunt, indicating the thick layer of blubber that must be scraped from the other side. "what do you t'ink?"

Haunt stilled when Erzulie asked her to wait a moment. Her yellow gaze flicked back and forth while she patiently anticipated the woman’s return, curious what she might be fetching.

She was presented with a sealskin, which Haunt took as a gift in exchange for her own. Her mouth opened and closed as she tried to come up with a tactful way to insist she didn’t expect anything in return. But then Erzulie mentioned water.

Oh, Haunt breathed, peering at it and intuiting that Erzulie meant for this to address her ear pain. But she had to admit, I don’t follow. Her remaining ear drew back as she threw the leader an apologetic glance, hopeful she might explain.

"use de skills you have shown me. make some'ting for your own head, wid dis." she gestured toward the sealskin again. "you will need some'ting like dis, to be a barrier between your ear an' de elements."
had she not wished that haunt would know the power of the sea?
and yet she sensed a hesitance, or perhaps projected it; she fell quiet and pensive for a moment. "i never did learn how you came by dis woun', haunt," erzulie said softly, her two-toned gaze searching that of the yearling huntress.

The Obsidian patiently explained her intentions—or, rather, Haunt’s—for the sealskin, prompting another and more comprehending, Oh.

The thought had never occurred to her, though now that Erzulie had presented it to her, Haunt could see the ingenuity of it. She wasn’t quite sure how it would work, though she knew she could figure out something.

That’s brilliant, she said appreciatively, thank you. Her pale tail waved, only to slow, still and drop.

I truthfully don’t really know, the yearling replied. It’s all sort of… muddled in my head. But other than my ear bothering me sometimes and the occasional phantom pain, I’m okay, she assured.

Speaking of her head made her wonder if she’d taken a hit during whatever accident had cost her her ear and paw. It wouldn’t be that first time. Haunt’s lips pursed when she recalled her knock of yore, which had led to her visions. These days, she rarely thought of Artemis and wrote off her sightings as delusions from a brain injury now healed.

Shaking off that errant thought, Haunt said, I think I’ll take this down to the caves to start working on it. Thanks again, Erzulie.

"of course. i have fait' dat you will make it a good t'ing."
she was concerned that haunt did not remember. "if you have any recollections, come to me. we will unsnarl it toge'ter." it would be the choice of the pale huntress how best to interpret erzulie's word, her tone.
"mon plaisir," the obsidian purled softly. "come to me again, sometime."
the look she gave the young craftswoman was approving. the scourge of life had not affected haunt's pace. she was resilient in a deep and open way.

Although Erzulie seemed to accept her lack of explanation, she urged Haunt to seek her out should she recollect anything. The yearling appreciated the sentiment, though silently she hoped she never recalled anything further. She didn't really want to know.

"I appreciate that," Haunt said, "and this." She reached out with her left foreleg, running the stump along the skin. It wasn't as soft as the otter pelts, though it would hopefully serve her well. "Definitely," she added quietly, happy to check in with her leadership on the reg.

Gathering a fold of fur with her blunted foreleg, Haunt bent and took it in her teeth. She exchanged one last glance with Erzulie, waving her tail in a final thank you. She then turned, pacing toward the caves on her three legs, eager to see what she could come up with for fashioning the sealskin.