Lavayla crouched by the beast's body. She found the front of it and widened the hole she'd made earlier until it encircled the entire chest. Once she had room to work, she began cutting — crooked, soft strokes with the dagger-like knife.
After a lot of clumsy, uneven cutting, she finally managed to peel the hide off and tossed it aside. The motion was awkward and slow, her hands shaking with every cut, but eventually she reached the ribs and heavier bones, which she heaved into the pit behind her.
One by one, she pulled out the thick cuts of meat. Carefully, she rinsed all the chunks of meat in the plastic bucket, scrubbing lightly so the blood wouldn't stay on the meat. She arranged the good portions neatly, then fetched several broad leaves, dried them, and then wrapped the unused cuts in the leaves. After tying the bundles with thin vine strips, she stored them in the space vault.
The meat she intended to cook was rewashed after buying another gallon of water.
