Sofia glanced at him briefly when he sighed, the crinkling of the leaves telling her of the direction his thoughts were taking. While she could not read his mind, she had learned to pick up little<i>tells</i>that betrayed his mood. Her eyes traveled but a second when the long since dead leaves fell from his large hands to meet a fiery end before they shifted to her task at hand. She tugged firmly at the pelt as it slid down the body, exposing the meager muscle the animal held. Dex's gentle timbre washed over her ears, soothing the indifference she began to feel until she released a sigh of her own. At least they were in agreement about their newest female member. She was a double edge sword and needed to be treated as such. Lorenzo...she would find out more about him before long, given how open he was about breaking the silence...then again, she could be viewed similarly.<br/><br/>She hummed thoughtfully as the last of the pelt left the body, pleased at her skill and the fact that Dex would be willing to let others get a little closer. She rose to her feet, not bothering to swipe at the bits of pebbles that had dug into her skin when she had remained seated on the ground. The ash coated her tanned thighs and the tips of her long hair had turned a dull grey from brushing the ground while she had worked.<br/><br/>The pelt was held at arms length, careful to avoid the bodily fluids that coated the underside. They would have to wash off if they were drenched in blood, much faster than they would from sweat or dirt. Having any type of blood, fresh or old, on your person was asking for a swift death. Dex continued his advice and Sofia was sorely tempted to roll her eyes. Of course he would repeat his advice again. He had drilled it into her head since they were young and once more last night in the flickering amber lights of their last fire at home. She carefully hung the pelt on the table with the least amount of damage, fur side down, until she could construct something in the morning. They would need to cook the meat quickly so that the death didn't call to other predators.<br/><br/>"I know, I know. You've told me, like, at least a hundred times in the past week." She sighed, wiping her brow with her forearm. Once she was certain the fur would have a shot at drying, she turned back to her partner and noticed the worry and tension sewn into his blue eyes. The fire in her own dwindled until she tossed any annoyance out the window. "Okay, I get it." She carefully made her way back to the animal without tripping on any of the debris. Without much grace, she flopped to the floor once more and snagged her knife to begin the process of cutting the meat from the meager corpse.<br/><br/>"I'll be careful." She glanced up at him, noticing the way he watching her slender fingers work. Nothing out of the norm even on a night unlike any other. It was comforting in an odd way, she decided.  "I'll watch body language AND I'll listen." She lowered her chin slightly and raised her brows as if to ask 'happy now?'. The silence held between them for a few moments before he spoke up. She waved him away, setting the strips of meat to rest on a few of the sticks she had brought. Not sanitary but the fire would kill any contamination.<br/><br/>"Alright. Make sure to bring back more of the thinner sticks too. I want to try and dry some of the meat for jerky." Her brows furrowed as she looked at the skinned coyote. There really wasn't a whole lot to be had with the poor animal but she would probably cook the organs tonight and save the muscle for the jerky. It wasn't the most desirable but they would not have the luxury of storage on the road and it was much easier to dry the meat than it was the liver. His footsteps were mostly silent, an amazing feat in itself given his size, and she soon found herself alone with the fire before her. The other two in another shop spoke quietly if at all and yet their mere presence helped to offer some reassurance that she wasn't completely alone while Dex gathered what he needed.