In the very early morning, Shae kicked the door open and startled Korin awake.

  "What are you— The sun isn't even out yet!" Korin rubbed the crust from his eyes and shuddered from the cool breeze blowing into the room.

  "You won't wanna fall back asleep just yet. A couple of hunters and I hauled your miracks back," Shae said.

  It might have been because Korin had just woken up and was groggy, but he wasn't sure if he heard that correctly. In fact, he hoped to have heard wrong. After all, those behemoths should be in the bloating stage of decomposition.

  "You did what? Those miracks have been dead for days. They're going to stink up the whole outpost!"

  The smell was already seeping in, carried through by the morning jungle mists. Just a whiff made him gag.

  "That's why we're going to get right to it. Come on, new hunter!" Shae wasn't having any of it, dragging him out of bed and grabbing the greshen steel knife from the desk.

  "Wait, wait, wait!" Korin wrenched away with newfound strength and fetched the copper sash. He decided to tie to his upper right arm, just underneath the deltoid, then returned to Shae, who grinned at the new addition to his attire.

  "Well, hunter. Shall we get going?" she asked.

  It turned out to be perhaps the most rancid job Korin had ever done, and he handled countless beast corpses in the past. Skinning them, stripping the flesh off their bones, and carving out organs to name a few, things that would make even a seasoned hunter woozy. As a cook, preserving as much as possible was a race against time before it began to rot away or have insects laid into.

  Shae and Korin carted the decaying mirasauls to the Bone Works at the bottom floor of the outpost, a depot built atop a stream where hunters brought beasts and behemoths alike to strip them down to their bones— hence the name. They spent the entire day shoveling maggots into buckets, separating the fur coat from the body, and tearing meat from the bones like carrion-eaters.

  "I hate you so much. It's going to take weeks to get the stench off." Korin sighed, surprised that he had only vomited twice during the process.

  "Oh, suck it up. We'll feed the maggots to the ratporicks, and the decaying meat to the popapogs. Noticed the dex claws missing, so I figured you popped them off already. Still you take the first pick at the bones, rest goes to outpost repairs, and Thane gets the pickings. All brushed up on what to do with the pelts?" Shae asked.

  "Scrape the salt off after two days, soak in water, generously apply marrowroot paste and cedar ashes, and finally rub with fish oil," he quickly recounted.

  "Good!" She threw an arm around him. "When they're done, one goes to you and the other to Jenna. Look for a nice place in your cabin to lay down as a carpet. Next to the bed is good. No need to step on cold wood first thing in the morning."

  That's right. As a rule of thumb, hunters who dealt the killing blow had dibs on the pelt to do as they wished. Every member of the Association often displayed their first behemoth kill in their rooms. Even Jenna had a moranga pelt, a vicious primate behemoth that roamed the upper edges of Karacos, hanging behind her bed. After the sash, owning a behemoth's pelt was the mark of a real hunter.

  "Did you really go out there to bring it back for me? Even though I wasn't a hunter when I killed it at the time?" Korin asked.

  The only way Shae and the others could have made that journey was if they hoofed it.

  Shae flashed him a smile. "It was still your first behemoth kill, right? No way was I going to let it all decompose. Besides, we salvaged most of it! And you also got a hands' on lesson in the Bone Works with yours truly."

  Normally, the Bone Works was the duty of the entire hunting party. Although Shae had taken up his entire day, he was glad for it.

  When Korin went to pick a smaller claw the size of his finger to turn into a necklace for himself, he was reminded of the four dex claws back in his room. Something could be made out of them. The others deserved one each as well. Even Jonah.

  "I'm going to hang out at Thane's, so make sure to take these to the animal pens!" Shae sat the buckets in front of him on the way out.

  "Give me a break!" Korin groaned. "That bitch, leaving me with the maggots…"

  Korin began loading the buckets onto the cart. Although the weight had reduced significantly from two whole mirasauls, he had grown tired from slaving away in the Bone Works.

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  "Need help?" Em called out to him from the floor above.

  "I would like to say yes, but I'd rather not subject you to this." He thumbed over to the stench emanating from the Bone Works.

  "Everyone saw Shae bringing in the rotting miracks." She walked down the steps and relieved him of the other handle. "I wouldn't have been able to stomach helping you two, so this is the least I can do."

  The animal pens were on the other side of the outpost, touching the floor of lower Karacos. It was divided into three sections: the Barn housed all of the livestock, the Stable was where their trained beasts lived, and Gryphon's Roost kept three highly trained gryphons that only the higher chain of commands of the Hunter's Association and pen handlers could access. Korin occasionally had access to it when coming to feed them scraps and developed quite the rapport with the animals.

  Dani, one of the three young pen handlers, was just exiting the Gryphon's Roost as Korin and Em entered the animal pens. Her short black hair and overalls were stuck with so much straw bedding, one could have mistaken it for a fashion statement. Fresh cuts on her thick arms would soon heal to join the many scars that have become a part of her identity.

  "Yo, Korin! Brought the family some treats, I see?" Dani eyed the buckets in the cart.

  Family was what all the pen handlers called the animals here, even the raptoricks and popapogs that hunters eventually eat. It never really sat well with Korin, considering he was the one that went on to butchering 'family' in the kitchens.

  "I did, and I see you were roughhousing with the gryphons again." Korin pointed to her wounds.

  "Ahh, this ain't nothing. Kaya, Minawat, and Bakkari've done worse. Today, they were just riled up by the smell of rot. Knew a nice little snack was coming in this morning," she said.

  Those were the names of the gryphon siblings, orphaned before they hatched after a draconic behemoth killed their mother. Bakkari was an adult male. He was Commander Winston's personal mount. The younger sisters Kaya and Minawat have yet to find a master, but apparently Shae had made strides in earning Kaya's trust.

  Naturally, as the beasts were a symbol of the Hunter's Association, everyone treated them with the utmost respect.

  As soon as Dani opened the upper half of the door, three excited gryphons poked their heads out. Em nearly tripped from their sudden appearance, but Korin managed to catch and steady her.

  "Go on. Feed 'em by hand. They won't bite," Dani said.

  "Your scars say otherwise!" Korin retorted, then tossed a piece of rotting mirasaul meat at them instead.

  The majestic gryphons greedily tore into it and came back for more. Their plumage was pristine, a sure sign that they ate well and were at peak health. Bakkari had a light brown coat that was darker at the head. Kaya was mostly red below the shoulders with a deep, forest green above. The youngest of the siblings, Minawat, was born albino. Her snow-white coat was stunning to lay eyes upon.

  Although these mighty beasts were solitary hunters, a family of gryphons normally lives in relatively close proximity to each other. Where one may find a single gryphon, several more are sure to be nearby.

  Korin chucked an entire bucket's worth inside, but the older of the two siblings butted Minawat out of the feeding frenzy. The smaller gryphon turned her eyes to him and squawked for more.

  Fighting back his hesitation, Korin picked up a particularly pungent piece of mirasaul meat. It was said that gryphons often let their kills decompose for a few days before eating. The more rotten it became, the better the taste was for them.

  "Korin, are you really…?" Em stepped away, gagging at the smell.

  Minawat was surprisingly gentle, picking up the meat with her beak far from where his fingers were holding it. As she ate, Korin seized the opportunity to stroke the head. The feathers were extremely smooth and puffy, more similar in texture to cat fur.

  "I wonder if I can be worthy of riding a gryphon one day?" Korin quietly asked Minawat.

  The gryphon, having noticed her siblings gorged enough and left a small pile behind, backed away from the door to finish off the rest.

  "You want to try petting, Em?" Korin asked as he came back to the cart. "Maybe we can lure her back with some more."

  Em instantly declined. "I-I'm not as brave as you. Not risking losing a hand when I need both to wield a spear."

  With Dani's help, Korin and Em fed what was left of the rotten meat to the popapogs, then tossed a feast of maggots into the raptoricks pen.

  Em was more than happy to play with the adorable popapogs instead. She was smitten by their quick bursts of snorting when patted on the head. A lot less terrifying than gryphons that could potentially tear off someone's arm.

  Popapogs were domesticated from giraboars. Their meat was high in protein and flavor. Adult popapogs had a greater sense of smell than most animals, and they made use of it to avoid places where predators have been present. The Hunter's Association often utilized their nose to sniff out behemoths or brought them along for foraging.

  Then there were raptoricks. Chirpy, red-feathered fowls that tasted good in soup and laid mouthwatering eggs perfect for fluffy omelets.

  Korin poked a finger through the metal chicken wire. One raptorick cocked its red face at the intruder and pecked at it, thinking the finger was a worm. Dani walked by, an amused grin on her face.

  "Funny lesser known fact about these little buggers: their puny talons can cling on pretty tightly. Watch." Dani opened the hatch, reached into the pen to pick up a raptorick, and placed it sideways on the pen.

  The little creature's two talons latched onto the side of the pen, perfectly perpendicular to the wall and parallel to the ground. It even started eating while in that odd angle.

  "Raptoricks are so cute!" Em squealed. "Do they make for good pets?"

  "Wouldn't if I were you. Cleaning up all their shit is hard enough," Dani said.

  That wiped Em's smile away, and she backed away from the raptorick pen after being made aware of their smell.

  Seeing the raptorick hanging on its talons gave Korin an idea. Just like how it and a mirasaul clung on things with claws, couldn't hunters do the same with a grappling claw-like mechanism? He did have the part from a behemoth that evolved specifically to do just that.