(Rose)
As we travelled through France, or what once was called as such, we found a hunter lodge along our way.
We're still somewhere north of Paris I think, yet we are entering woodlands near a mountainous chain in the distance I didn't expect to find so soon, nor here.
But unless the sun rises in the north, we are heading south.
Still. In the mountains covered with woods around here, we find less fruits and crops to eat.
Luckily enough, we found this lodge, and what we needed to hunt.
I try the rifle found there that was in best shape. I shoot in the air to test it. The sound deafens us and my shoulder feels like it's broken now.
But a branch of a tree falls from where I aimed at.
Alright. Let us go.
We rise before sunrise. Bleue silently packs her blanket of petals. We go through the dark woods and begin our journey.
As always, everything is silent. Not that everything alive saw us coming from afar, but that there isn't much to begin with.
B - I wonder if the new species we encounter won't be replacing all the others we knew over time.
R - Good question... Except within the Queen's tunnel, the lands are rather empty from any animal life. Maybe most species we know are disappearing.
B - With humankind being the first. Not yet Rosekind though.
R - I keep telling you, it was never my intent to multiply!
She teases me to no end about that.
B - I know. It was god's will.
R - It wanted a versatile living tool. I wanted an insurance over my life... Given how it ended up...
Bleue doesn't like it when I have regrets. She holds onto me tighter and stops me. She looks at me straight in the eyes and brushes one of my cheeks.
B - Everything you've done and been through had but one goal, one purpose. Remember that.
I do.
R - There's more to the world than you and I. But I remember yes.
She has a lukewarm smile and we proceed further through the woods.
~
We found a clearing with traces from some animals, some droppings, marks of scratching, some bits of fur and even a lingering smell.
We follow a path going deeper as the day is quite set now.
We see nothing. We hear nothing. We only smell the usual fragrances of the woods. Except when Bleue gets closer to me as she has a lingering perfume from the big flowers we found before, sticking to her.
R - I hear they would flee if they smell a human being approaching. I wonder about their thought if they smell a giant flower like you approaching?
B - Oh they should flee even faster... Beware, the giant flower is coming for you! Or more probably, they won't care.
R - Evil flower... Evil!
Bleue laughs in an exaggerated evil tone, with overly theatrical mannerisms. Then she pokes me under my ribs to startle me.
R - You enjoy being the evil one, don't you?
B - Hm...
She suddenly speaks with a deeper and slower tone, trying to mimic the way our father spoke before reading us bedtime stories.
B - ''Would you rather hear a story about a beautiful and gentle princess; or a tale about a wicked and evil witch?''
And we yelled together;
R & B - The witch!
I'm still giggling when Bleue suddenly freezes. She tugs my sleeve.
No sound.
She points at something in the depth of the woods. I see nothing.
Then after a minute or so, I finally spot the movement.
A boar. Or two. Maybe three.
We get slowly closer.
Closer.
Closer. I'm excited. To see them, first. And for the gamble we're about to make.
If I do it right and am lucky, we will have tender meat to eat for a few days. But most likely we won't, and keep being hungry most of the time.
Closer...
I'm almost close enough to try to shoot.
They look in our direction. I'm adjusting my aim.
And they leave. They vanish almost on the spot. Maybe the fled into the ground like moles?
I unload the rifle with a sigh and then look at Bleue with a bittersweet smile.
We may not eat any, but we've seen some wildlife.
It was an enjoyable hunt.
~
We're climbing the mountain. It's not a big one really, but it still is tiring.
I remember crossing the alps last year. It was tough even with Blume's help.
And that crashed airship or chopper...
That fire that almost killed Blume.
Bleue holds my hand. I think she noticed that some sad memories were hovering around me.
I hope we won't have to face such dangers again.
Dusk comes softly. We will stop to make camp soon.
We heard a stream and get closer to it. It's downward, we're above it.
Bleue tugs my sleeve again suddenly. I realise what happened.
I thought it was all for today. My mistake.
A doe. She didn't notice us.
I take the rifle back and load it carefully. I aim. The doe casually walked a little further, eating some grass.
My head is numb as my shoulder suddenly hurts. I'm deafened and dizzy for a second. I saw the doe jump with all four legs as if startled.
She tries to run away, but oddly. We run after her. I try to reload. But Bleue is already between me and the doe so I give up. I run after them.
The doe is crippled and painfully but uselessly trying to run away. It follows the stream maybe for ten metres before Bleue catches up with her. The doe is losing her strength very rapidly anyway.
Bleue stops her, and manages to hold her down while I catch up. The two rear legs of the doe are weakened and broken from my shot. The doe begins to cry and wail very loudly as I get closer to her.
Of course she realises that she's going to die, and doesn't want to.
My heart flinches slightly, but it's already too late. Changing my mind now would be more cruel than anything.
Knife firmly in hands, now close to the weakened animal, I pierce her chest firmly toward the heart.
I search for it with the blade for a second or so.
The doe cries, then just tries to breathe as she lies there on the ground, breathing slower and slower.
Bleue stops holding her and watches her breathe out as I clean the knife.
A few more breathes pass. We're catching ours back while the young doe has its last.
B - Didn't hunters use to honour the prey the got?
R - I suppose so. But I don't know how.
Bleue, who as far as I know, do not believe in any god, unless you count Gülnihal, claps her hands, keeps them together, and says a small prayer for the passing doe.
~
Turning a dead animal into venison isn't easy, but we can do it. It's hard work. We painfully hanged the doe upside down between trees, to let it bleed out and cool down over night.
We camp nearby for the night.
We don't hear anything but our own breathing during then. The forest is quiet.
On morning, I set myself ready with dirty clothes meant for work and all the cutting tools we have.
Bleue had brought along a few from the lodge just in case. Good call.
With sharp short knives, we begin to skin it. Bleue is still wondering if we shouldn't try to tan the skin to make clothes out of it. I think we're still good before we need to do that.
The skin and fur gores off as I cut the white dressings between it and muscles. I painfully cut some parts of it.
The belly is exposed fully and now starts the tricky part. Getting the entire digestive system out in one go, without rupturing it. If I fail, then it is nasty and will spoil the venison.
I carefully begin to open the belly. Every organ is neat and clear as far as I can see. Their look in there reminds me of some beings-like-her creations.
I cut the dressing of muscles around the throat. Bleue holds it as this end of the digestive system is ready to go.
I go then to cut around the anus on the other end, very carefully. Bleue holds all the guts. It cleanly comes off and we pull carefully out of the doe the full system. The intestine unrolls themselves as they fall onto the ground, but nothing ruptured and we hold the two ends neatly. We can swipe all of that gently a little further. We did it cleanly.
The smell of clean flesh isn't really repulsive when you do the job right; and outdoor I guess.
The doe has her smell, but what could really stink is now out of the picture.
I recover the heart and the big liver. I slice them open carefully. All the blood is already gone, evacuated during the night.
Bleue had read some books about animals diseases in another life. She remembers bits about it. But the flesh inside the liver looks very healthy. More than I could say about the ghastly human hand holding it at that moment.
Bleue notices my look. Her arm is still that of a skeleton almost, with the bare minimum of skin or muscle. It will grow back but still looks unsettling. Eating well will help.
I cut the head and paws off. I'm beginning to sweat abundantly as the day is already quite set. This takes time.
Bleue helps me clean the venison with water, and myself. I work without gloves and my hands keep sticking.
I try to cut the doe in half through the spine as they would do in butchery. Another sister taught me about that.
I don't have the right tools and I make a pitiful mess. In the end I cut on the side, breaking one rib after another.
Bleue is opening the head like an oyster to get to the brain. I didn't know she liked that taste, I would have left it.
She pulls the brain out and throws it immediately into a pan to fry it.
While she prepares that snack for us, I'm cutting the doe into quarters, and then the quarters into filets.
We will stay here for a few days while most of the venison dries. It's easier to carry and will last longer.
Bleue tells me she's going to look around if she can't find anything useful or a place with more sun for the meat to dry.
She packs a few of the first filets and leaves. She will return by tomorrow she says.
I'm a little worried but I trust her.
She leaves and follows the stream.
After an hour or more of meat cutting, I remember the brain leftovers she left in the frying pan, above embers. It smells rather nice actually.
I take a break, wash myself entirely in the stream and begin to eat what she kept for me.
Bleue puts a little too much salt for my taste, and it fried a little too much maybe, but it's much nicer than I expected.
Some primal part of me is excited and happy to eat fresh venison. I eat a piece of the liver next.
And after a short break, I resume cutting the meat.
My fingers are frozen and hurt me, but I keep doing so until everything is finally cut. I'm exhausted.
I spread the venison over flat clean stones that are exposed to the sun as much as possible.
It's evening already before I knew it. I hope there will be a warm sun tomorrow to help everything to dry.
I should try smoking the filets too. I will try tomorrow.
I keep a rather large fire over the night, in case Bleue were to return.
Sleeping alone isn't a worry for now, but I hope Bleue is fine.
~
The next day, I spend it burning wet wood and smoking slices of venison as best I can.
I've also buried all the bones and remains of the doe a little further along the forest path.
Bleue returns at mid-day. She looks fine. She found a camp and some salt inside, but nothing else. We spread some of it over the venison.
She tells me that's not how I'm supposed to smoke venison. So I stop. We'll try her idea.
Over the following day as well, we dry and cure the venison as best we can, and pack it neatly.
We have food that will help for a month, if it lasts well enough.
We then finally leave these woods, packed heavier, but without fear of hunger for a good while.
My hands still hurt from all the work.
And no matter how much I washed them, they still smell like the doe;
Bleue is nibbling a little piece of meat. Because of her bedding, she still smells faintly of flowers.
~