TJ had to admit that, though they'd said they were willing to do the dirty work, he hadn't expected a whole lot from the two teenaged girls. After all, they were, as far as their conversation had told him, regular high schoolers before the Integration occurred. Now, he asked them to work scraping little bits of flesh and connective tissue from the pelts laid out in front of them before taking a brain paste soup thing and slathering it all over the pelt they'd then prepared. And, though both Tessie and Molly winced and made gagging noises, it was more performative than real distaste.
While his two assistants followed exactly what he'd asked them to do, TJ rolled his shoulders and turned to skin the mountain lion while asking a couple questions.
"Our goal is to get you to level 5 for now. How much progress did you make while I was gone?"
"We're both level 3 now." Tessie answered, keeping her focus on the pelt they were treating. "I think we're getting close to 4."
"Yeah, I'm real close." Molly agreed. "We finished working with the other things you prepared for us and then there wasn't really a whole lot we could do. I carved something and got a tiny bit of experience, but it wasn't really worth it so I went on a little hunt with a bunch of other people. It's, like, super dangerous, but I got to level 5 in Neophyte!"
"I'm not there yet." Tessie moped. "I don't have something like your Divine Transformation so it's hard to really get in there and I'm a terrible shot with my bow."
"OK." TJ interrupted them. "You're working with a higher tier of material now. These come from javelinas that were over level 5, so they're probably going to be able to push you over level 4. Then, as soon as you're level 4, stop what you're doing and tell me. We'll get you working with some wendigo materials once you're both level 4. I really don't want you to do just one thing and push yourself over the threshold. So, better to play it safe than sorry, ok?"
The girls agreed to do so at the same time, though Molly looked a little miffed at being so directly commanded on what she should and shouldn't do. TJ didn't care and set to cutting the vaguely smoking hide from the mountain lion's corpse. He wasn't halfway through when Molly stepped close, though not so close as to be in arm's reach.
"I just hit level 4."
"Already? And you, Tessie? You close?"
She didn't answer for a moment, but as she put the final touches on spreading the javelina hide wide to dry, she turned with a tired smile. "Yeah. Just hit 4."
"Great." TJ said as he looked down at his blood-covered hands and sighed. "I'll clean up really quick then we'll move inside. You're probably getting a bit cold by now anyways, so wait inside."
Both the girls nodded as he said as much, but before they went in, Tessie asked, "Can I wash my hands too? They're all gross."
"Sure, both of you come with me. Might as well get a little cleaner, since the Wendigo stuff isn't too dirty."
—-
After taking the necessary time to get clean and then warm inside where Stanton had built up the fire, the Crafters were ready to get the experience and Trial boost he hoped he could offer them. Stanton sat in front of the fire, watching with a possibly disapproving scowl. Or maybe just the scowl of an old man past his bedtime.
"These are what you're going to work with." TJ explained as he held a whole wendigo claw in front of each of the girls. "They're the fingers of the wendigo. Yes, don't make that look, I know it's gross. However, these are the best materials we've got. Period. I managed to make something Copper tiered with them, and that counted as me completing a Minor Divine Trial. I don't know exactly what that means, but I can guarantee that they'll be important moving forward. More immediately impactful, though, was me getting better Skill options presented to me when I hit level 10. I want to see if I can get you guys a leg up at level 5. Make sense?"
Molly was the first to respond, happily nodding as she took the finger. "What should I do with it?"
"I don't think I should tell you." TJ shrugged. "I don't know if you just following my instructions will count. Maybe it would give you a better chance of creating something at Copper tier, or maybe it'll end up keeping you from reaping the benefits I'm hoping to give you. I won't make the decision for you, though. If you want me to coach you through it, I will, just know it might be worse for you."
Molly stopped to think about what TJ was offering, but Tessie made her decision immediately.
"I'll do it myself. I think I'll take it home tonight and see what I can come up with. Maybe, in the morning, I'll have an even better Skill than you!" Tessie grinned, putting her hand out to take the wendigo's finger. With a smile, TJ passed it over.
"Is there any general advice you want before you get working? Maybe materials you could or should use?"
"If I do, I'll come by later." Tessie set her jaw and nodded once. "I think I should do this by myself."
"I will too, then." Molly nodded to herself. "If we have any questions, you'll still be here?"
"Of course." TJ responded. "You need anyone to walk with you back to your house? I'm sure Stanton would be happy to."
While the two girls tripped over themselves explaining how they didn't need help, Stanton stood up with a grunt and shot TJ a grumpy look before gesturing for the two girls to follow him. They waved goodbye to TJ before they walked out the door and left him to his own devices. Though his Vitality was now basically seven times what it had been at the time of Integration and he didn't shiver in the cold of freezing weather, the warmth of the fire called for him. It whispered to him about sweet dreams and easy sleeping, but TJ knew that wouldn't be possible. At least, not with his current focus on ensuring he got stronger every day.
Thus, before he got too comfortable inside, TJ walked himself back outside into the cold. The chill of the night threatened to settle into his bones, but TJ merely rubbed his hands together before going back to cutting the mountain lion's pelt free. With the Wendigo Blade, the fat, connective tissue, and flesh quickly gave way, and it wasn't long before TJ had cut the skin off entirely. Then, with one of his old sharp rocks, he carefully scraped the bits of flesh that remained off. Though he knew that using the Blade would go much faster, with this singular opportunity to prepare and use this particular pelt, TJ decided to take no chances. Thus, he painstakingly dragged the edge of the stone "knife" across what was left of the shadowy mountain lion.
By the time TJ had returned from fully losing himself in the process of preparing the pelt, Stanton had been standing behind him for some time. How long, he couldn't say. As soon as he turned to spread the brain mixture over the pelt, though, Stanton grunted to get his attention.
"You could have walked those girls down to town. Why not?"
"Just wanted to keep doing this."
"Sure. And it has nothing to do with you not wanting to be around other people right now? I'm not sure what exactly happened, but there's whispers about your hunt today going… awry."
"Everybody's alive and home, right?" TJ grunted as he gritted his teeth. "Nothing to worry about."
"Just a new monster you didn't know how to deal with."
"Fucking hell Stanton." TJ slammed his hands against the table he was working on. "Do you expect me to know how to do everything? I'm already coaching people in getting Occupations while being the highest levelled person in town. What do you want me to do?"
"Get off your high horse is the first order of business. Or maybe throw away your hero complex. I don't know what turn of phrase you want to adopt, but here's the reality of it: You're not the highest levelled person in town. At least, you're not the only one. Zig hit the same levels you have today on your hunt, and she's working for everyone else here. Lots more people are closing in on your level and might very well pass it."
"Great!" TJ retorted, ready to be done with the conversation.
"It is great, kid." Stanton reached a hand out to TJ's shoulder. "No need to think you're where this will all succeed or fail. You're getting caught up in the fact that when we came here, you were far and away the strongest person around. It's not the truth any more, and that's good. Now, if you want to talk about why you don't want to be around everyone else when you wanted to before, go ahead. If not, fine. Just know that it's ok to be imperfect."
TJ continued to work with his hands, slathering the brain soup liberally into what would be leather. He sighed and nodded. "Thanks, Stanton. I'm good for now. Just… dealing with this new life, you know?"
The old man grunted and walked back into the house. After taking the time necessary to clean up all the spare scraps of skin and flesh from preparing the carcasses, TJ made the decision. He loaded himself up with two of the javelina corpses and began carrying them towards the general store. On top of that, TJ didn't allow himself the excuse of going to clean the corpses right now. Instead, he merely carried them inside the store and past a guard he didn't recognize by name. Then, he dropped the bodies in the butchery before leaving to collect the next load of two javelina corpses.
After the second load, the guard asked, "Is there anything else you need to bring? I can get someone to help. After all, the food's for everyone."
"Nah." TJ forced a smile. "There's just one more load, and I'm almost done. Thanks though."
"Sure thing. You've done a lot for us, and I'm glad you kicked my ass into gear. I was too ready to just do nothing until I realized how important it was for me to do anything at all."
TJ nodded and gave a more natural smile as he appraised the man.
Zealot, 5
This man, someone he'd thought to be wholly unremarkable, had gained at least a total of 10 levels across Occupation and Class. He was about as strong as TJ was when he came here, and though that was… four days ago? Three? TJ was losing count. Anyways, the rest of the town was getting stronger much faster than TJ was. Closing that gap would allow them to stand up to all the threats that would continue to appear in the coming days. With that in mind, as TJ carried the mountain lion's corpse to the general store for its imminent butchery.
Maybe they would make it through this apocalypse. He allowed himself to relax somewhat after he dropped the last skinned corpse at the butchery and walk towards the firehouse. Maybe there would be some leftovers? As soon as he walked into the communal area, an accusing voice accosted him.
"Why the hell are you in here?"