"I guess so," Cha said. "But I figured if I had a hold on those antlers I could twist them to make the elk fall or even break its neck if I had good footing."

        Hereward was not confident his request for more food had been heard so he asked again, ever so slightly louder, which was not very loud at all, "more?"

        "Elk are usually skittish," Cha said. "They run away from you. They can probably run faster than me, but I've never tried it." He took a couple bites and mulled it over. "Now in a fight elk antlers could be very dangerous. Getting gored would be a painful way to die, but I'm fast so I think I'd be okay. Especially if I get my hands on those antlers. Then that elk will be easy prey."

        "If I climbed on a bears back it could reach me with its claws," Cha countered. "If I can use no tricks and no weapons then I don't think I'd fare well. Now if I could go in prepared like I was against the basilisk, I'd wear a full suit of metal armor and then I'd be able to wrestle the bear." Cha took a few bites of his food, before responding to Jayari's boast.
        "I think with the same preparation, you probably could take the young basilisk, as I had," he conceded. "As long as you have the will and the nerve."

        "Basilisks are valuable," Cha told Jayari. The one I wrestled was young. It used its eye magic on me but with the unguent on my skin I didn't turn to stone. I jumped on its back, wrapped my arms and legs around it and squeezed its neck with all my might. It rolled a few times, and I had a few bruised ribs, but I came out okay." He added red powder to his soup and stirred before taking a large bite. "In a one on one fight with no tricks or magic, I doubt there are many people that could beat a bear without some sort of supernatural or magical ability."

        "I honestly don't know," Cha answered. "I once wrestled a basilisk lizard after coating my skin in an unguent that prevented petrification. I was sixteen and I thought it was the greatest idea ever. My mother was less than pleased with my method but the nearly unblemished basilisk corpse sold very well." He dried his hands and returned them to the mitts before checking the soup. The smell was pleasant as he opened the lid. After a quick stir he moved the pot onto a plate on the prep table. Then he grabbed down two lacquered bowls and ladled the soup into them, handing one to Jayari along with a spoon.
        "Why don't you choose animals and I'll tell you if I think I could fight it unarmed. While we eat at the table." With that he moved out of his work space and into the front room to sit at the low table there.

        "So you're asking if I was forced to choose between these two things in a hypothetical situation, which would I prefer?" Cha looked at Jayari with a puzzled expression.
        "I assume you mean the types that are found here on the plain, so I'd choose the fire ants," he told her. "The fire ants here are small and though their stings are annoying, they do not hurt as bad or linger as long as wasp stings. Minutes versus days."

        "I wouldn't be foolish enough to let either of those things happen," was Cha's simple reply.

        Cha simply grunted out a short, "mmm," as he bent to stoke the embers of a fire that was only barely warm. As a little flicker began he grabbed a small log from a pile that sat on the other side of the room. He shoved it into the stove, and twisted a crank on the lower valve to allow air to enter the stove from beneath. He then turned a lever on the chimney pipe, allowing the smoke enough freedom to move up and out of his cave while holding the heat inside. While the new log broke down inside the oven, he stepped over to the hatch that went up into the hollow log above. He opened it just enough that air could flow in. The cool air from the snowing top of the hill was immediately felt coming in mixing with the warmer air in the room.
        An iron pot filled with water was sitting on the lower cook top, and Cha dropped cubes of a dried stock inside before securing its lid. On the small table beside the stove he chopped the vegetables rough and quick, pushing the scraps into one of two buckets on the ground. The water came to a boil fairly quickly and Cha threw in the chopped vegetables. He then pulled a skillet down from a rack, dropped a bit of rendered animal fat into it and set it beside the pot. Quickly cubing the meat, he then sprinkled a mix of dried seasonings and salt on it and dropped it into the now hot skillet. He moved to the other side of the stove where he had a raised basin and he scrubbed his hands, with a bar of soap, before rinsing them and then sliding his hand into a mitt. Moving back to the skillet he tossed the meat with quick dexterous motions. Within just a few minutes he opened the pot releasing a billow of steam. He used a ladle to scoop water into the skillet, swirling it around before dumping the meat into the pot. Then he put his other hand into another mitt and lifted the pot onto the upper cooking surface of the stove. Lastly he opened the upper vent more and narrowed the lower vent reducing the air intake while releasing the heat.
        "It should be ready in just a few more minutes. Just needs to stew for a bit." Cha then went about cleaning his prep table and scrubbing his skillet in the basin.

        "It's fine," Cha said, going to his cold storage. He pulled out some fresh meat, and a few fresh vegetables, which were becoming more scarce in this cold season, and fetched a few things from the nearby dry storage.
        "If you want to watch and make sure I don't poison you, there is a stool you can sit on." He then walked through the curtained partition into the back room.

        "Besides being careful not to break the suture until the wound heals," Cha said, "you don't need to do anything except keep it clean and mostly dry." He was neatly packing things away. He wiped some of the corn alcohol from the cloth on the needle to clean it before tucking them both away.
        "The stitching is made of stretched sheep intestine. It'll dissolve on its own in two lunar cycles." He finished cleaning up, walking over to put things in his storage before turning back to Jayari.
        "Well I suppose I should feed you."

        "You're still going to feel the pressure from the stitching but you won't feel pain." He got the catgut through the needle and tied off. He then began to use a ladder stitch, commonly used to mend garment seams, to sew Jayari's wounded palm. He did it in steady, precise motions. When he pulled it tight, the wound neatly closed, and he tied it off before cutting the excess away. He then spread a salve across the wound before wrapping it in a clean cloth.
        "You're going to have to be careful with the wound, or it will open back up."

        Cha took Jayari's hand in his and gently pulled her fingers completely straight. He used a white cloth from inside the sewing kit to dab her hand, soaking up the blood. It was fairly deep, and would likely leave a scar if treated poorly.
        "I'm going to clean it and remove the pain," he told her. He pulled out a little green bead. He crushed it between his thumb and forefinger and sprinkled the resulting powder on the cut. "That is called a snake tear.," Cha explained. "It's made from a bunch of medicinal plants steeped in horse urine and boiled into a paste. The paste is mixed with dried ground up magical mushrooms from the Draconi Forest, and then shaped into the beads and then baked in the sun." The powder fizzed on the wound and within seconds any pain would be gone. He then set her hand on the table and pulled out a crescent shaped needle.
        "It's definitely going to need stitches," he said, as he pulled a spool of thread out and began working the thread through the eye of the needle.

        Cha poured some corn alcohol onto a small cloth and wiped down the table before pouring some into his hands and rubbing them together. Then he held out his hand to Jayari expectantly. "Depends on how deep it is. Lemme see."

        "Don't TOUCH!" With his shout Cha pushed the chakram out of Jayari's hand. It crackled with electricity as it flew through the air and stuck into the far wall. "You could have been seriously hurt you fool!" He walked over and put his hand into the half-gauntlet that hung next to where the chakram had hung. "There are dangerous things in here. I did not tell you not to touch simply to be bossy." He reached his hand out toward the circular weapon and it returned to the guarded hand. It crackled with electricity again as it flew and stayed live with energy even in his hand. Only when he placed it down on the rack did the energy dissipate. Cha then returned the gauntlet to its place. "Without the paired gauntlet all that lightning would have been sent right into you." It was only once he returned his attention to the girl that he noticed her clutching her hand. She'd been cut in her palm. He visibly deflated, "I have salve and bandages," and went to a chest of drawers next to his supply crates. "My cave is not a safe place for strangers that do not know the dangers. I keep tools and weapons that are uncommon or rare." He pulled a clean bandage and a salve as well as a sewing kit from the drawers before beckoning her sit at his low table. "Have you ever had stitches?"

        "Well I don't think you're in for much fun. I'm not really interested in conversation." As he spoke, Cha moved away and began tidying up what little was out of place. Then he went back to his dry chest and pulled out a pice of antler and moved toward the curtain.
        "I have work to do. Don't touch anything."

        Cha was a little perturbed by the question. "Why are you asking such weird questions?"

        Cha considered for a moment. "If it was the only way to survive and they were already dead, I'm gonna have to go with yes. Why would I choose death over a little cannibalism?"

        "It was an enemy's horse," Cha told Jayari. "It had died in battle, and our supplies had been destroyed. You do what you can to survive."

        Cha let out a bark of a laugh. "I did not want to eat your horse. I've eaten horse, it wasn't terrible but not what I would prefer." Cha chuckled a little. "I knew that threatening to eat a Duhjari's horse would get a reaction. It is always good to know your opponents weakness."