The sun had dipped low behind the trees when Kael and Elin returned to the clearing with the first portion of the moose. The smell of blood and damp earth mingled with the faint smoke from their small fire. Ash padded along the edge, ears forward, alert, but quiet almost patient, as if he understood that the work ahead required care.

  Kael set the section of the carcass over a wooden frame he had rigged near the tower, careful to keep it off the ground. His injured hand throbbed sharply with each lift, but he ignored it. Elin noticed and handed him a strip of cloth. “Wrap it tighter. Don’t risk infection,” she said softly, her voice steady, calm.

  He nodded, tightening the bandage as she watched. There was something comforting in her presence practical, focused, but quiet enough to let him think.

  “Where do we start?” Elin asked, crouching near the moose’s flank. Her hands hovered over the dark fur, hesitant but ready.

  Kael stepped closer, pointing to a taut section near the animal’s shoulder. “This part first. We need the hide clean, stretched. Watch the edges don’t pull too hard.”

  They worked in silence at first, the forest pressing in around them. Every rustle of leaves, every distant bird call reminded them of what they had disturbed. Ash sniffed along the rope line, occasionally nudging the frame with his nose, as if to remind them of their boundary, their clearing.

  Kael cut carefully along the hide with a small, sharp blade he had sharpened himself. The smell was strong, metallic and raw, but necessary. When his hand slipped slightly over the leather, the old cut flared, and blood welled through the bandage again.

  Elin gasped softly. “Kael!”

  He hissed, pressing his palm against the wound, grimacing. “It’s fine. I can keep going.”

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  “You can keep going, but I’m not letting you bleed through again,” she said, grabbing a clean strip of cloth and wrapping the hand more securely. Her fingers were steady, deliberate, and careful not just treating him, but guarding him against his own stubbornness.

  Kael exhaled slowly, then nodded. “Better.”

  They resumed work. Kael held the blade while Elin stretched and secured the hide over the frame. Each pull revealed the rich, dark underfur and strong leather beneath. It was slow, careful work, and neither of them rushed. The forest waited outside, distant but watchful.

  “Do you think we can use this for… everything?” Elin asked eventually, brushing stray hairs from her hands. “Clothing, straps, even covering the bed…”

  Kael looked at her, then at the partially stretched hide. “Yes. Everything we can. Nothing goes to waste. That’s how people survived. That’s how we survive.”

  Elin nodded, her eyes thoughtful. She paused, then said softly, almost to herself: “I never thought… I’d help with something like this. It feels… different. Important.”

  Kael gave a faint smile. “It is. Every piece matters.”

  Ash circled the frame again, tail low but steady, then padded over to Kael, nudging his leg. Kael crouched and ran a hand over the pup’s fur. The gesture was brief, but grounding another reminder that the forest had rules, and they were learning them.

  By the time the sun disappeared behind the hills, the first section of hide was secured, stretched, and drying over the frame. They paused, standing together, hands dark with blood and dirt, sweat mingling with the ache in Kael’s injured palm.

  “We’ll need to finish the rest tomorrow,” Kael said. “It’s too much for one day. And the bandage…” He flexed his hand gently. “Needs a rest.”

  Elin nodded, brushing dirt from her tunic. “Tomorrow then. We finish it tomorrow.”

  They moved to the tower, quiet in their exhaustion. The partially treated hide stretched across the frame caught the last of the fading light, a silent reminder of what they had accomplished and of what still needed to be done.

  Kael settled near the tower wall, rubbing his hand thoughtfully. “Everything takes time,” he murmured.

  Elin sat across from him, hands folded, watching the shadows lengthen. “We have it,” she said. “We just have to keep at it.”

  Ash lay down beside the first section of hide, tail flicking once. The forest waited beyond the clearing. But for now, the clearing and their claim on it was theirs.