The campfire crackled and popped next to me, the heat of the flames washing over my side as I turned my attention back to the tree I had inadvertently napped against. Thankfully, it seemed like no one had come along while I was asleep - all of my stuff was still there, resting against the tree or on the ground. Untouched, except for where the flap of my knapsack had been blown open by the wind.

A few strides and I was scooping the bag up, tilting it to make sure that nothing had been blown out and lost while I was unaware. It seemed like everything was in order though, nothing lost or fallen to the dirt nearby. Once I was sure the bag's contents were all in order I closed the flap back up and slung the knapsack over my shoulder, hefting it once to get it fully settled in place. There was something near the bottom that had shifted in the bag and was now digging into my back, but I was only going a few steps before I'd be putting the bag down again.

Once I was sure the bag wasn't going to fall and spill, I hooked my foot under my bow and kicked it up, catching it when it got up high enough. Unstrung like this it was more a staff than a bow, but the ends were curved and grooved so a discerning eye would be able to spot the difference. I checked it, running my fingers and eyes along the surface, making sure there were no cracks or splits in the wood. But no, the treatment seemed to be holding up well enough for now, even though I had done it with unfamiliar reagents.

I twirled the wood up onto my shoulders and walked back over to my fire, basking in the warmth from the popping flames. The bag went back down, and I sat down, propping my elbow up on it. What to do now was the question - I did not much feel like going into town in the dark of night. Not only would that have me leaving my fire and the safety of its light, I'd be getting in well on in the night. A bit suspicious to say the least. So I needed something to do to occupy my time, since I couldn't fall asleep after my impromptu nap.


Well. I did have that rabbit hide I could work on. While I didn't have any of the tanning chemicals with me, I could do some prep work on the hide in the mean time. A flick of my wrist popped the bag under my arm open, and I began rummaging through. The raw hide was in a water tight tube with a few others,to prevent any unfortunate leakage. As a side bonus, the sealed tube kept my bag from stinking up. I dragged the tube out and popped it open, taking a second to sort through the jumble inside to get the hide I wanted.

A pull and twist, and the tube was sealed back up while I flicked the the hide about. Ah hells, I hadn't thought about this. Now I had to find my little stretching stand in my bag with one hand while my other kept the hide off the ground. It wouldn't ruin the hide to be on the ground, but I'd already cleaned it once and I didn't want to have to do it again. With a grumble at my own lack of foresight I started shifting things in my knapsack, trying to find the stretching stand.