Michelle
*Juna gazed at Dovie curiously from his hesitant explanation of his companion. Though of course it could be simply a case of him not wanting to talk much about it which Juna could silently accept. Internally, she decided maybe it was not best not to question this strange newcomer's motives as it was clear he was simply trying to live life.*

"You two must have been very close..." *She had said quietly before seeing him shift the deer atop his shoulder and realizing that she shouldn't keep him holding it for that long. Juna turned around, gesturing her hand towards the area they had reached.*

"Well... This is it..." *She whispered. The area itself seemed to merely be a small clearing in the forest, not exactly easy to decipher between the rest of the forest. However, with the burned up pile of grass and twigs and small alignment of sticks that seemed to make up a the structure of a tent-like sleeping area, it was obvious that someone stayed here. 

Jace ran ahead as he came to realize that they were back at their camp, leaping over the area where a campfire was once brimming with life in his haste to use up all the extra energy he had to spare.*

"It's not much but... We make do with it..." *Juna said, entering the small clearing.*
Ann
Dovie ponders for a moment. *Indeed they were very close*...But Dovie stops himself from delving into a rabbit hole of memories. It only made him more frustrated and yearned to go back. 

Inspecting where Juna resided, it was indeed very minimal. "It's modest place, nothing to be ashamed of. It actually seems quite comfortable." With another *Emph*, Dovie lays the deer down on its back. He kneels down, the dirt floor was softer compared to Salvaina's cold stone. He takes pieces of nearby rocks to keep the deer propped up in its position. 

"Since you did all the work hunting, I'll help with the preparation. I'll start dressing the deer." Dovie takes out his own dagger and carefully cuts the skin and tendons connecting the anus and colon. The colon gentle slides out, followed by other guts. He continues to use his dagger to cut around it, until they slide in and out of its nook. The stench of iron was something Dovie had become accustomed to and he wasn't phased by it. It was almost a nostalgic feeling, like he had been brought back into the kitchen. 

Dovie still keep his eyes on what he was doing but addressed Juna, "I suggested venison stew, but," Dovie laughs, "I doubt we have any red wine. Do you have any spices?"
Michelle
*Juna walked over the the burned out campfire and began picking at it to see what she'd need to get another one started. Jace had finally finished his loops, coming to slow trot around the area with his deer leg. Dropping it onto the ground, the Jackal turned his gaze towards the deer that Dovie was preparing and curiously walked over. He sniffed around it before looking at Dovie with a more passive expression. His tongue hung out as if he were trying to play nice for a bigger reward despite the one he was already given.

Juna stood up from the fire and began to walk around the area to find dryer sticks and twigs that she could use. At Dovie's question, she hesitated a bit.*

"Spices...?" *She had to admit, the thought never really occurred to her much about investing in such additives, especially when her only companion didn't care much for what he ate as long as it came from animal. Juna probably could have afforded to get some, though shamefully she found herself lacking in any despite the fact. Lowering her ears, she answered by saying:*

"No... I don't have any..." *She wondered if there was a chance that she could find a few plants and roots that could add flavoring to what Dovie was trying to prepare. Despite it getting late, Juna didn't mind going out to find some along with the sticks she was looking for.*
Ann
Dovie had heard Jace going around making his laps. He didn't pay much attention to it until out of the corner of his eye, he could see Jace staring at the deer with pleading puppy dog eyes and a stuck out tongue. Dovie raised an eyebrow and stared at the jackal for a bit before he eventually gave in with a smile. "Don't worry, we'll save you a piece." 

He continues dressing the deer, since he was out of practice he had to make sure his cuts were at the correct parts of skin and membrane. Dovie only felt a slight hinge of uneasiness when he had to stick his fingers in the stomach. *He'd need to ask Juna later if there was a body of water nearby.*

"It's fine, please don't worry about it," Dovie assures. He was already grateful enough for what Juna had done and for beginning to start the fire. "Sorry, it seems I got a little bit over my head when thinking about a warm meal. I have a few berries on me. That can make do as a small amount of marinade." Dovie hoped that comforted Juna enough so the beastskin's ear could lift back up.
Michelle
*Juna had picked up a couple of sticks before turning to Dovie.*

"It's okay... I guess I could have been prepared more.."

*She walked over to the campfire and placed the sticks down, reaching over to grab another so that she could start rubbing them together.*

*Occasionally she would glance over at Jace, rolling her eyes in amusement at his willingness to suck up to people that had food with them. At the very least, he seemed calmer now, so that was a good sign.*

"It's really just been me and Jace so... I guess I haven't really stocked up much." *As Dovie claimed he could just use the berries he had, she let out a partial sigh of relief. At least by the end of the day, they could still get a decent meal out of it though it left her curious to know where he learned such culinary. Perhaps it was from a household devoted to it, maybe even from the companion he had mentioned. 

Her head tilted to the side, one ear standing up while the other hung down atop her head in question.*

"Do you usually add stuff to your food before eating it...?" *She asked. Even though he didn't seem like much of a hunter, Dovie did seem to have good ideas for how to properly prepare hunted animals. Maybe she could learn something from it, try the new spices he's mentioned. It could be costly, but a change of pace sounded nice to her.*
Ann
Dovie's dagger already made its way near the deer's ribcage, dressing it shouldn't take much longer. "Before I used to work in a kitchen. They had all kinds of spices and ingredients. So I'm familiar with working with them. But I'm more than used to the standard bread."

At Juna's resigned choice of words, Dovie's expression became concerned but also still retained a light-heartedness. "It's really alright. Nothing wrong with living a minimalist lifestyle. But you should treat yourselves more often. You don't come by game like this everyday."
Michelle
*Jace had let out a bark as Dovie suggested the idea of them treating themselves. With the timing, one would think that he was responding, but with the way he was staring at the deer it was really anything but.

Juna took his words into consideration. Maybe she should treat herself, after all she had a bit of extra silver at hand. There was a chance that she could make this place feel more like home. What kind of lifestyle did she want to stick with? She didn't kind the minimalist life, but maybe there was more out there for her if she wanted it enough. Juna let out a quiet laugh at the thought.*

"I guess you're right." *A small line of smoke began to appear as she rubbed the sticks together, occasionally blowing on it to encourage the flame to light up. It was small, but as she added more kindle to the pile it slowly began to grow in size.*

"At least we will eat well tonight, one of the perks to hunting." *She sat back with her legs crossed, staring into the fire she had created. The orange fluorescent light casted a glow in the area around it, being accompanied by the heat from the crackling flames.*
Ann
Dovie was alarmed by Jace barking, wondering if he had spotted something suspicious. But Jace resumed back to staring at the deer, and Dovie pout for a bit. *What an impatient little guy!* 

Dovie smiled hearing Juna laugh. "Indeed, it is an excellent perk. But being a hunter requires skill, and not everyone has them. Don't be afraid to spoil yourself."

Now it was time. He stood on his knees, inhales to brace himself, and began pulling the guts with one hand and with the other using the knife to cut any tissue attached. He continues the work, removing more organs and fat they potentially might wanted to save. 

Dovie was out of practice and in a hurry out of excitement. A pool of blood was at the bottom of the deer. He was worried it'd bother concern Juna since the blood was near her camp. He should've done this elsewhere. He also should have laid down a blanket of leaves to place the organs on top of, they were currently piled on top of the dirty floor. If possible, Dovie planned go to a body of water and clean the guts in case any seller would potentially want these parts. 

Dovie let out a sigh of relief. He was proud of the almost finished work. What was left was to skin the deer and they can begin cooking. 

"Is there anything we could use to hang the deer by? Like a piece of rope? If not, I could hold the deer while you skin it."
Michelle
*Juna looked over to Dovie, at first with a smile until it slowly began to fade at the mess that was collecting around the deer he was cutting up. Jace didn't seemed too concerned with it all, even so much as attempted to sniff at the guts piled up on the ground as if he were to planning to eat them as well.

Juna picked up the deer leg Jace was originally gnawing on, coming to find that it was partially chewed off. As she stood up to walk over to Dovie, she lightly waved it back and forth to get the Jackal's attention.

With newfound interest in the leg, Jace had turned around and jumped up the small distance to grab it before Juna had let it go for him to enjoy the treat once more.

Looking over to Dovie, she took out her dagger and said:*

"I can skin it if it's alright... You already did plenty-" *Juna didn't want to leave Dovie doing all the labor of cooking the deer, especially since all she did was shoot it a couple of times to get it to where it was now.*

"I don't mind." *She said with a little cheerfulness in her tone. Add a rope to the list of things she should add to this place. Maybe she can go on a shopping spree one day, though with how Jace often reacted around new people the chances of that lasting long would be quite slim.*
Ann
Dovie sees Jace's eyes look over at the organs, and he forces out a nervous laughter and awkward smile. Not wanting to focus too much on the mess, he moves on to preemptively cut the front of the front legs and on the back on the hind legs for Juna. 

He takes a leaf to increase his strength once more, stands up, and lifts the deer on its hind legs.

"There also wouldn't happen to be a body of water nearby would there?" He asked with a little bashfulness in his tone.
Michelle
*Juna placed a hand on the deer to hold it in place, using the other to carefully cut away at the skin with the dagger she held. In response to Dovie's question, she said:*

"Of course... There's a brook just past here... It's not a large body of water, but hopefully that's fine with you..." *Juna seemed to only be half consciously answering his question as most of her focus remained on skinning the deer.

The darkness of the night began to reign down, slowly diminishing her only light source to the fire that brimmed behind her. It made it harder for her to see the task that she was doing, however she kept at it with the light she had.*
Ann
Dovie let out another sigh of relief, "*Thank goodness...*". It would have been even *More* Awkward if after they done all this work, they didn't have any water. 

"Now after this, all we'd need to do is bring it to the brook for cleaning." He looks over to the pile of guts. "It'd be tedious, but while we're at it, we should also wash the guts. It seems we're both accustomed to the smell of iron, but if i have to be honest I haven't had meat in a while," He lets out an embarassed giggle. "I wouldn't want the smell ruining this rare experience." 

He looks over to the fire place which still kept burning, but not as brightly as they'd like. At times like this, he wished he learned more spells that offered help surviving.
Michelle
*She eventually finishes skinning the deer, listening to his rather awkward laugh with feelings of amusement. Is she usually like this? Something for her to think about as she looked back up at Dovie.*

"Haven't had meat in a while? Well I guess all the work will be worth it-"

*She turned her head towards an area just beyond her small campsite, saying:*

 "Come on, I'll show you where the brook is."

*With a flick of her tail she headed off in that direction, holding her hand out to Jace as the Jackal tried to follow only to be rejected the permission to.*