I Once Saw the Past [Trebias]

[Trebias]

“Sometimes it makes a difference,” responded El. “If there’s too much area that’s damaged, there might not be enough leather left to work with. It doesn’t matter so much to the people that use it for medicine, because they usually dry it out and grind it up. But leatherworks like nice big pieces of smooth skin. In that case, it wasn’t as big a deal. He’ll make some belts, most likely, and maybe some boots, depending on how he cuts them, I think.” He was surprised but pleased that the colt stayed with him, whether it was out of fear or something else.

“What I don’t get,” he continued, “Are the people that want whole skins to display on their wall. People have started raising snakes and other animals just for that, so that they can get a good quick clean kill on whatever they’re skinning, so some yahoo can display the skin on their wall. But it has to be undamaged, I hear, or it’s not worth as much. The part that gets me is, it’s a trophy for something they didn’t even kill! If they hunted it, sure, I can see that, and especially if it’s like this poor dead bugger here that attacked us and whoever’s displaying the trophy fought it off. I don’t know, I guess it helps some of those scholars feel like they’re outdoorsy when they display skins like that. What do you think, kid?”

[seraaches]

Rai had a different shot of surprise and pleasure when Elias asked his opinion, but he wasn't going to waste the opportunity. His whip-like tail tapped from one hock to the other with each of his steps as he thought about his response. Why would people display whole skins on their wall? Not a blanket, so it didn't help for warmth, right? Well, maybe. . .

"Maybe it's supposed to be insulation," he hazarded lightly, keeping his tone amused and easy-going just in case Elias thought it was a really stupid idea. "They stick them on their walls to try and keep the heat in to their houses." That would help explain the need for whole pieces as well; a partial or damaged piece wouldn't keep out the cold at all, so you'd have to overlap parts and that probably wouldn't look as good.

[Trebias]

El opened his mouth to respond, then closed it. He didn’t supposed he’d ever been in one of those houses where people did that. “HA!” he said, smiling kindly and happily at the colt. “Now that’s thinking! I haven’t really needed to do anything to that old house besides plug up holes when the rains come. Get a good skin up there, though, and I bet it works just as well. Better! I like it! That’s what we’ll do, kid, we’ll start hunting snakes and other beasties, skin ‘em, and then sell them as insulation and waterproofing!” He chuckled. “Smart as a whip you are, kid. We’ll make some money with that, I tell you. And it will let those scholars feel all rugged. ‘I killed those snakes to insulate my house!’ they’ll say. I like you, kid. You think good.”

He was still musing, thinking of using skins for heat when they got to Tanner’s place. Tanner wasn’t so much a mystic as a con artist, El thought. When he had asked one time, Tanner hadn’t disagreed, just said “I don’t think we can start to fathom even the mystical uses of the materials these mysterious creatures provide.” He almost said it with a straight face, too.

“Tanner!” Elias barked. “Come on out! I got someone for you to meet!”

[seraaches]

Rai's ears flipped forward at El's praise and acceptance and he couldn't help the rather proud-- and perhaps a little bit silly-- grin that plastered itself across his face in response. He liked this being clever thing. All he had to do was figure out how to do it regularly.

He hadn't actually thought about the idea further than the immediate appearance in his head, but Elias' idea was a really good one as well. Actually, any way that they could make a profit seemed like a good idea to the colt; maybe then they wouldn't have to live off the land with quite so much dedication. He was all for this idea so far.

As they came up in front of the next hut, Rai skimmed the strange oddiments adorning the outside with curious and wide grey-green eyes. This places looked very creepy, but El didn't seem the least bit concerned, so the colt sat back and waited.

[Trebias]

“Tanner! Get your lazy butt out here! I’ve got snake bits!”

A rather gruff and phlegm-filled voice came from somewhere in the hut. “Well, why didn’t you say snake bits? I’d drop my lunch on the double!” However, no movement could be registered in the house.

“Get out here before I drag you out!” Elias bellowed. “He’s cranky,” he explained to Rai. “Just a second.” Elias creeped around the side of the house and snuck in. A moment later, crashes and bangings issued, along with shouted profanities. El came tumbling out the door, followed by a bulldog in bipedal form. Both were laughing, despite the pained look on El’s face that would soon evolve into a black eye.

“Tanner, this is Shinrai. Rai, this is Tanner. He sells animal bits to people for medicine.”

“Rai, huh? Pleasure,” the 10 of Diamonds said, offering a hand. “Where’d you drag this old sod from, huh?”

[seraaches]

As the sounds of a fight broke out in the house, Rai gathered his legs beneath himself, his tail wrapping around and slightly in front in a distinctly defensive posture. He wasn't certain if he should leap into the house, though Elias seemed to have found the whole situation amusing rather than frightening, or if he should trust that his mentor was all right. Just as he was on the verge of going in, the two men came pouring out.

The colt crow-hopped back away from them, still in a defensive position, his eyes wide and staring. They grew wider, a rather amazing feat, when he spotted the mark on El's face and the colt was calculating his odds of being able to do some damage to the bulldog before his throat was ripped out when Elias introduced them.

Oh. Well, that put a damper on the death thing. "Ah, it's, uh, nice to meet you, Mr. Tanner." The colt's voice held some of his halting hesitation. He wasn't certain if 'old sod' referred to him or to El, so he just let the comment slide.

[Trebias]

Elias dragged himself to his feet and went to the pack. “Get off it, Tanner, you drunk. I found the kid.”

“And kept him? What, are you going soft, El?”

“Shaddup,” El said. “I helped the kid out, he helps me out. ‘Sides, it’s nice to have some company about, right kid?”

He pulled the items from the sack, winking at Rai. “He’s just grouchy ‘cause he’s ugly.”

“And you’re just grouchy because you’re dumb.”

“Nice comeback. Do you want to look at these bits or not?”

“Might as well since you disturbed my dinner. . .”

“Oh, chew on your bones later, you can use a break from eating, lardo. Now, we have some fangs, some eyes, squished, we have. . .” he went on for a while about the different bits of the snake he’d brought. Most of it would be ground up, so it wouldn’t matter that it had been chewed. In fact, El often wondered how people could guarantee they were getting snake intestine at all. How did they know they weren’t getting. . .say, cow tongue?

[seraaches]

Rai's ears went back in irritation at the large man when he insinuated that El was soft for keeping him around, and he snorted in disgust under his breath. He didn't want to mess up El's negotiations but so far he really didn't like Tanner at all. Stupid bulldog.

The colt found himself growing interested again, however, as Elias very easily and with complete confidence went down the list of bits and things they had brought from that stupid snake. It was made even more impressive by the fact that a lot of the parts looked the same: like the mashed up innards of something that was now dead.

On the one hoof, it made the colt feel just the tiniest bit ill to see; on the other hoof, it was sweet awesome that El could name everything without hesitation. Evidently the canine knew his bones, so to speak.

[Trebias]

After much haggling and name-calling, Elias and Tanner agreed upon a price for all the snake bits. El had fought the urge to check the position of the sun. He was getting a little nearer to the 24 hour mark than he liked, and he wanted to be able to fight off anything that came without fighting his own drained feeling as well. “All right then, you old (*&% you, I’ll see you next time I kill something,” he said by way of departing.

Down the road, El felt the need to tell Rai a little more about Tanner. “He’ll be able to sell everything that I just brought him for ten times what I got from him. I suppose you noticed his little shack, though. That’s the best he can afford. He drinks his profits. Basically saves enough for food and to buy more bits, grinds ‘em up and sells them, and uses whatever he can for booze. That smell he had? I’ve never known him to smell different. He’s drunk all the time, except when he wakes up from passing out, but he gets there again fast enough. I like me a good stiff drink now and again, kid, I just don’t understand being all fogged up all the time, you know what I mean?”

[seraaches]

Rai tilted his head curiously at this bit of news, even as he sensed an underlying urgency in Elias' voice as they headed back towards home. As drunk as El said the bulldog was, the little colt doubted that the apothecary had noticed the canine hurrying the negotiations along. He didn't want to stay around Tanner any longer than necessary, interested in the man's profession or not.

"It'd be helpful to have a good resistance to alcohol, though, huh? Wouldn't that build up over time like the poison does?" The colt didn't really know much of anything about alcohol; he certainly hadn't had any before he met Elias and for now the canine hadn't been sharing with the child.

Rai made a decision that he would build up a good resistance to alcohol as soon as he was old enough to start doing so. Though he never wanted to become a drunkard like Tanner was. He'd have to figure out the right balance, though Elias probably knew already.