The cold winter left Hunter in a vulnerable position; his fur did very little to shield him in the harsh frozen months where temperatures commonly dropped in the teens. He often huddled near a campfire trying to stay warm, it was a grueling time in his young life - his first Winter spent alone in the wilderness far away from home and his beloved mate, oh how he missed her so; her warm touch, the longing for it made it tougher still as he braved the cold, bare.

He had been fortunate enough to take some game before winter had set, his trusted bow had proven a useful tool indeed to gather food and materials he needed to form some primitive clothing, to protect his hide from the painful cold. As winter turned to spring, the days became longer and slightly warmer. The temperatures were tolerable as he set to work scraping the hide clean and washing it in the creek before boiling a solution of water and oak bark in a clay pot he made with his own hands and the natural clays of the river banks nearby.

It took several weeks of soaking before the hide had completely absorbed the naturally produced tannins in the woody fibers to create a durable and cured leather. Once taken from their bath he would stretch the fibers of the hide and using a simple pattern would make his own set of clothing. Two hides were enough to make some simple leggings and he used another two to form a long sleeve shirt. The hide had absorbed the natural earthen tones of the bark to give it a natural look, similar in tone to his own fur.

To give a unique look, the leather was left long beyond the seams of the shirt and pants and small slits were cut with a sharp stone to shred the overhanging hide into thin long strips known as fringe. Doing so gave his outfit a more primitively unique look and also broke up his body's outline while stalking through the woods; helping him to blend into his surroundings against unsuspecting prey. It wouldn't be until later that he would decide to add more aesthetic decorations to his outfit, to make it more personal.

As Spring started to transition into Summer, with the days becoming warm but the mornings and evenings still brisk. He adorned his new outfit, feeling it's starchy textures and his body head becoming trapped beneath the organic fibers, as he set along side a hill with a stave of wood he had gathered the year before. A hickory sapling, just thick enough to wrap two paws around was his next new project. Well seasoned and long enough to make a new bow from, he sat while the sun dipped low in the sky, using his foot paws to hold the wooden stave steady while his hands guided the makeshift draw-knife to shave wood, and mold it into shape.

This new bow would serve as his back-up should his last one fail or become lost in the vastness of the forest. It also gave him something to look forward to with his time, and eased the home-sick emotions he dreaded all winter. The sunlight glow, the crisp, fresh air and the sound of the wind rustling through the trees and field full of milkweed, rye grass and thistle put him in a sense of serenity as he whittled.

It was in this moment he felt at peace, feeling the warm rays of the setting sun, the meticulous physical exhertion of scraping wood, and the natural fibers of his newly constructed clothing kept him warmer than he had been in months. He felt a deep connection to the Earth and all that she had provided him, as the setting sun transitioned into darkness, where he would retreat back to camp and stare into the flames of a crackling fire while continuing his craftsmanship into the night. By the next morning, he had hoped that long, chunk of wood, would be transformed into something far more familiar and useful.

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Wonderful art-piece I commission from  latex of my Sona Hunter set to work in his newly constructed buckskin garb, on a new bow :)

It turned out absolutely beautiful and represents my love of bow making as well as providing the first detailed representation of the new buckskin outfit I plan for him.

Hunter ©  Number01hunter
Artwork ©  latex
Link to Original: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/27281541/