Joel
The walk to Briar Ridge had been uphill all the way, and draggin' a two-hundred-pound boar behind him from two miles out had been no mean feat, but Algernon Granville was used to a challenge, and this one didn't register too highly on the list of things he'd done. Still, there was more than a drip of sweat on his brow, trickling into his beard, by the time he'd hauled the thing to the base of the oak tree that seemed to divide the road in two. 
He couldn't recall when he'd last spent any amount of time in a civilised-lookin' place like this, with real streets wide enough to drive a motorcar down 'em and young'uns playing and running in the open. His last stopping point had been little more than a circle of tumbledown shacks, most long abandoned by whoever had inhabited 'em, with an old man burning a fire in the middle of it all day and night, only really moving to poke at the embers.

Algernon shucked off the fur that had been wrapped around his shoulders, hung it on a low branch, and turned to lean against the oak's trunk, lookin' around and takin' it all in. Just what the hell kinda place was this Briar Ridge, then? The few signs on the buildings were faded, paint peeling, standing no chance against the elements of what was proving to be a harsh winter, and even if they'd been entirely intact the letters wouldn't have meant all that much to him. He could see a window stacked up with books, another glass-fronted store piled high with what looked like kitchen supplies. And the people... Hell, there were people everywhere, all kinds of people, young and old and everything in-between, some wrapped up well against the cold and others looking as though they'd be better off anywhere but outdoors.

The still-warm boar carcass had left an ugly streak of blood in its wake, vibrant crimson staining snow already muddied by boots and wheels, the whole thing a foul slush. But it meant the meat was good, the kill fresh, and that could only be a good thing when it came on to sellin' the damn thing. Yet it seemed the folk here were keepin' a wide berth - had they never seen a hunter before? Or was there something else off-putting that Algernon hadn't quite figured out?

His hands were bloody. Right under the nails. But that could be a problem for later on. For now, he needed to find a place to properly butcher his kill and dry the hide, a pair or two of hands to pass the meat on to, and a good stiff drink.
Brian
There was a hole in Noah's gloves. He hadn't realized it when he left the house that morning to run some errands before the new moon but he certainly realized it now, the cold winter air bit at his fingers. He shoved his hands deep in his pockets as he rounded the corner and a splash of crimson in the snow caught his eye.

Immediately, his heart began to race and his eyes darted around, expecting to see the evidence of another attack, yet another body ripped to shreds by the monsters who, up until now, had been confined to the nights of the full moon. The moment passed when he realized that, while the other townsfolk seemed wary, no one was running or hollering or crying for help despite the very obvious trail of blood leading towards the center of town.

Curious, with fingers and toes tingling from the adrenaline that had just spiked through his body, Noah decided to see what exactly all of this was about. The trail led him to where the road forked near the center of town and the sight of the large man and very dead boar answered his questions. A hunter of some kind? A stranger for sure. One that was being avoided by pretty much everyone else that hurried by.

Well, if no one else was gonna stop and see what the man wanted or, at least, point him towards the butcher, Noah guessed that the task had fallen to him. He approached the man, hands still in his pockets, bright blue eyes wary despite the expression of friendliness on his face. 

"Afternoon. Thats a hell of a boar you got there, you take it down yourself?"
Joel
"That I did."

Algernon regarded the newcomer with a surly stare, lookin' him up and down as though sizing up a piece of meat. A young thing, scruffy-haired broad-shouldered and keepin' his distance, as he oughta. 

"Put up a hell of a chase, but I got 'em good in the end. Always do." 

Conversation didn't come too easy these days. He dragged one long nail beneath the other, flicking away dirt, and wished the stranger would get to the point. But when he didn't, Algernon heaved a weighty sigh, seeing that any kind of conversation looked like it'd fall to him.

"Came to sell it. You know a man in the market for game? I'll clean it up real good for ya, and I'm sure we can come to a fair price. Same goes for the skin, but it'll take a couple days to get it dried. Sure you understand."

He was a man of few words, almost sure this was the most he'd spoken in weeks, and frankly, he hated it. The stranger was lookin' at him again, blue eyes sharp as a tack, clear as a summer's day sky. At least he, too, had filth beneath his nails and in the grooves of his fingers. A working man, then. Perhaps one to keep on the good side, but it was too early to tell just what the man's intentions were. 

"If you're not interested, keep movin'. I don't mean no trouble, just came by to scout out the place. Heard on the road you folk got a herd of deer need thinnin' out, but if I heard wrong, you just tell me and I'll be on my way 'soon as this is off my hands."

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Brian
"Is that all the folks on the road are saying about Briar Ridge?" He was genuinely curious. Noah knew that he kept his mouth shut about what was happening in the holler when he was in the cities. After all, who was gonna believe a hick from the mountains showing up raving about monsters and he needed his contacts to have faith in both his abilities and his discretion. 

He took a few steps closer, turning his attention from the man to get a better look at the boar at the base of the tree, "The butcher'd be interested in the animal if you're looking for fast cash but you could make more if you pieced it out. Lots of folks around here are happy to trade for some fresh meat this time of year too if you need other goods."

Noah glanced back over at the stranger, a hand coming up to rub at the back of his neck. "I wouldn't mind some myself. I cant take the whole hog off ya, but I'll give you fifty cents for a few pounds of bacon. Throw some hooch in for the pelt if you're so inclined as well."

Hell, he'd offer a lot more for some meat that wasnt salted to hell and back but this is what Noah was good at, always offer less than what you were willing to part with to start. At best, you get yourself a deal, at worst, you haggle for a bit and either take what you can get or walk away.
Joel
Algernon raised a bushy eyebrow. What did the man mean by that? "All I heard," Was his reply, watching closely as the other studied his kill. It had been a neat end, all things considered, a bullet to the flank to take it down and a second between the eyes to cease the twitching. It would be an easy clean and butcher, at least. "I'm in no hurry. Been dead an hour or two is all, shouldn't take me too long to break down... If there's somewhere less out in the open to get to work, mind." He may not have been familiar with the area, but something told him if he began to gut and piece apart the boar right here in the square, the people might take even less kindly to him than they already had, and he wasn't so sure he could afford further disdain if his plan to settle here for a while was to come to fruition. 

The mention of a drink caught his attention again. Sure, he didn't know what kind of 'shine they could rustle up in a place like this, but a Granville man never turned down liquor, and it had been days since he'd drained his hip-flask dry. "Sounds like you got yourself a deal with that there offer. Tell you somethin' - you take me somewhere away from all of this," He gestured to the square, still busy with the townsfolk, though they seemed to have averted their stares for the most part now he had company, "And I'll give you first pick of the cuts for your money. Find me a couple more buyers and the hide's yours... And if the hard stuff's good, there should be more where this one came from."

He was no stranger to driving a bargain. And it could be good to have an ally, if this unassuming holler turned out to be as hostile as it seemed at first glance. 

"Name's Algernon. Yours?"

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Brian
"Noah Owens," He offers his had to shake, ignoring the tacky blood that he can see on Algernon's hands. These gloves were done for anyways. His smile sinks into something more genuine, "My place is just on the edge of town, there's plenty of space out back to do what you need to with the hog."

He chuckled, "Im happy to help you carry the thing over but Im afraid I won't be much more than company when it comes to 'breaking it down.' I've never been much of a hunter myself."

Not to say that he ain't never hunted, Noah was pretty sure most folk in Briar Ridge had been out in the woods at least a couple times. He never quiet developed the stomach that came with field dressing animals and it took him almost a year after the war before he could go out into the woods of his birth with a gun and not strain to head the whistle of shells dropping on his head.
Joel
Noah. A good name, a strong one. Biblical, not that Algernon was a particularly religious man. 

It seemed to fit the man that was invitin' him back to his place after knowing him for all of a few minutes. Maybe things weren't all bad here. Sure, most of 'em seemed it. But one good man was all a little town needed to make it bearable. And there was nothin' saying he had to stay too long. Algernon clapped his hand into Noah's and returned the shake, rough and firm and decided. "Good to meet you, Noah Owens. Shouldn't be all caught up in your hair too long if all goes to plan. No need to get yourself filthy though - I hauled it here this far, a little more won't hurt a bit. Can even show you how it's done if you're interested." Many hands, after all, made light work. If he could get Noah on his good side, there'd be all the meat the man wanted if he could offer up help and a drink here and there. Even if he couldn't, he promised a good price, and in Algernon's book that was more than enough. 

"Lead the way, if you would. Swear I'll be right behind ya."

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Brian
Algernon's offer put Noah in a bit of a spot and he didn't want to admit that the sight of blood and guts in that quantity tended to turn his stomach. He wasn't as bad as some folks, he wouldnt go fainting or getting sick over the matter, but at the end of the day, if he never had to butcher something ever again, Noah could die a happy man. However, even worse was the thought and sitting back, watching someone else do all the work when he'd been invited to join.

"Alright, as long as you don't think I'll be in the way, I wouldnt mind the lesson." It was best to stay on the hunter's good side. Who knows, maybe the man will stick around and Noah would do a lot of things for some good bacon.

He waited until Algernon gathered the boar and his belongings and led him through town to his place. They got a few stares from the townsfolk but an easy grin and a few words from Noah had their expressions morphing from open distrust to at least a mild interest. Word would be spread of the fresh meat and hopefully the hunter would find selling the rest of the animal a simple endeavor.

It wasnt long before they came upon the Owens' house. There were times that Noah thought about moving, with what he was making from the Coopers, he could probably afford a better place, something that had been built in the last 30 years at least. But he had been born within those walls, had so many memories that etched themselves into the beams. No, it might not be much but it belonged to him just as much as he belonged to it.

Noah led the hunter around the back so that they wouldnt be easily visible from the road. If the weather looked like it was gonna turn, they could easily move into the shed but Noah didnt want to risk getting blood on his baby if he didnt have to. 

"This should work for us. Is there anything in particular that you need?" Other than the shine. If Noah was gonna be cutting up an animal, there was no sense in doiing it sober.

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Joel
"Can't imagine you'll be gettin' in the way, Noah. Worst comes to it, say it turns out you've thumbs for fingers, least you can say you tried." It was a surprisingly accomodatin' thing for Algernon to come out with - there'd been a time he would've laughed at the thought of a man unable to do somethin' so simple as skin and store his own kill. But he got the sense that they did things a little different 'round here, and to shoot down his first chance at an ally in a town of strangers would be a surefire way to find himself on the town's bad side. He'd had to flee from more than one place in the dead of night before, and he didn't fancy the midnight run down that mountainside without enough light to see himself puttin' one foot in front of another. 

A short walk went by without much further conversation, and Algernon watched Noah greet and smile at the folk around them - they didn't seem so hostile all of a sudden now he had company. It was lucky then, perhaps, that the man had come to him when he did. 

The house and yard would do just fine, the walls providing enough shelter from the wind to get to work, and being out of the view of the main town square would give a little privacy from passersby and their curious eyes. Algernon laid out the boar, and into his pack he went, bringin' out his knife and the stone to sharpen it. He sat himself down heavily, legs outstretched before him. Good lord, it was nice to get off of his feet after all that walkin'. "Shouldn't need much. A knife of your own if you have one, make things quicker with two pairs 'a hands. And a little hot water for the cleanup won't go amiss, but that's a while away yet."

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Brian
"I'm gonna remind you you said that." Noah laughed softly.

He watched Algernon get settled and gave a nod at the instructions, "Knives I've got. And I can at get a pot of water goin' so we wont have to wait so long once we're done, be right back."

Noah took a moment once he was inside to push away the discomfort and grab a jar of shine from the false back of the cabinet. He helped himself to a long pull, wincing at the burn, before dividing the moonshine into two flasks. He glanced out the window, keeping an eye on the hunter, noting the the sure strokes of the blade against the stone. Algernon seemed friendly enough, if quiet, but Noah probably wouldnt have done much talking lugging around the animal either. The man's clothes had to be hiding some muscle with how easy he made it look.

He quickly finished his other tasks and returned to the yard, his own knife and whetstone in hand. He sat down next to Algernon and withdrew one of the flasks from a pocket and offered it over, "Sorry, I'm gonna need the flask back when youre done. Have a taste and let me know much much you think it's worth for the pelt."

The liquor was decent, Noah had had smoother here and there but he'd also had much much worse. He might or might not also have a couple jars tucked away that had some different fruits added to it that he was looking forward to trying. He pulled out his own flask and took another drink before he began to sharpen his knife.

"So, where do we start?"

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Joel
Though not the most perceptive of men, Algernon sensed some reservations comin' from Noah when it came to the butcherin' of the boar, and though he'd never ask it aloud wondered what kind of a man he was really dealin' with. Seemed kind enough, sure - hospitable without a doubt, but how did anyone survive in wild places in the middle of the woods without at least knowin' how to catch and fix a meal here and there?

Knife well sharpened, he was waitin' patiently as he could for the other man to return, and the ghost of a smile flickered over his face as he saw what was in his hands as he walked back out of the house. "Man after my own heart," He commented as he accepted the flask, noting the metal painted a shade of green he recognised from days gone by. A military man, then. He wanted to ask how Noah had ended up here, but it seemed too early in knowin' one another to go askin' the personal questions, so he kept quiet, and took a long drink from the mouth. It burned against the roof of his mouth and his throat, but in the warm way good home-brewed liquor often did, the perfect thing for the cold day and the task at hand.

"Strong stuff. Much appreciated. Best place to start's by skinnin' the main pelt off of him. Long, smooth strokes, watch." Takin' up his knife and setting the flask aside, Algernon rolled the boar onto its back, and cut a neat line across the belly, from forelegs to hind. Fresh blood spilled, rolling in thick ropes down onto the grass beneath its body. "You don't wanna go sawin' back and forth, or you risk tearin' it altogether. Sharper the knife, cleaner it'll cut, and you save the quality that way. Best to treat what God gives us with respect, or he'll not give you no more where it came from."

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