//Night 2 | Location: Nameless Forest - Lakeside@Vertigo@baraquiel@AThousandCurses@Nakushita@YankeeThere had been much hubbub when Masato had returned, hauling a monster the size of a truck with him, its blood leaving a dark trail in his wake. Others saw meat, of course, but it was Kumi who practically leapt out of the waters with an uncharacteristically deep howl. For what was a shell, except for a wok? She had formed too many calluses managing using small metal bento boxes to boil water with, after all. Now that they had a whole giant shell to work with though?
The project commenced with immediacy, Hana instructing with the butchering while Haruko, perhaps only to pull Duncan away from that particularly awkward situation that brewed with Akito, went with her boyfriend to help out in clearing out the guts. It was bloody, messy work, the kind of work that required plenty of water, so everyone vacated the lake immediately and their summer vacation ended…but now, they had something else to look forward to: a summertime hotpot!
Hiroshi, showing some rare sociability, brought Daisuke and a few of the girls around the perimeter of the lakeside camp. Though it was something that they all learned during the wilderness camping trip they had three years ago, only the knowledge-hungering pervert that was Hiroshi recalled the methodology for checking for which plants were safe to eat: physical contact, tongue touch, mouth hold, then swallow and wait for any side effects. With large groups, it was easier to check multiple plants at once, and while the consequence of that was Ayane ending up with some ridiculously puffed-up lips, she took it into stride.
Perhaps it just didn’t seem like a big deal, compared to the disappearance of her step-sister, both physically and mentally.
The physical disappearance, however, resolved itself soon enough, with Ayana’s return, Shun and a mound of meat in tow. There was the promise of even more meat left behind, and at that point? The entire class was mobilized to get all the food prepared. While Masato relaxed and recovered beside a Shun that was gradually recovering her bodily functions, there was almost a frenetic sense of chaos around the two. Ayana was commandeered to bring Daisuke, Duncan, and Hana over to the den of monsters in order to haul over the remaining edible portions of the meat, while Rin and Asahi worked under Kumi’s watch in order to carve up the chalk-turtle’s massive shell into something that better resembled a pot. Others focused on washing or heating up rocks, and still more were on the endless mission of processing as much wood as possible for using as firewood afterwards. It was a flurry of activity made even more chaotic once the meat-hauling team actually returned with, predictably, even MORE meat.
Kumi, looking up from her work, was driven to near-despair by the amount they had to preserve through cooking alone.
Some others, looking at the grotesque mountain of flesh, prayed for the day where they had balanced meals with rice and vegetables and miso soup.
But it was work. Work that kept hands busy, that kept mouths shut. The water-boiling test with their turtle shell pot seemed to have worked out well enough. Those tasked with plucking out edible plants returned with a decent bounty. Rocks were heated up and then gently tossed into the pot to accelerate the boiling of the water. Monstrous bones were cracked open and boiled in order to extract a broth, while meat was carved into thinner bits. Tools were being made as well now, fangs and claws and stingers and femurs being extracted from gradually-deflating corpses.
Tsubaki, her singular hand making her more fit for surveillance than crafting, watched over their surroundings atop the tower built that morning, as the sun gradually sank, the skies gaining the umbral glow of twilight.
And when the call came out for dinner, she climbed down to join the rest of them, in a circle around a bonfire. Finally, it was looking like they would all have a real meal.
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