Not long after they left the church, each going their own way, Sky Dog managed to convince Daniel that the time was ripe to go give the Siberian man's caribou a haircut. For a small town barber, this was likely far from a common request, but even still what followed was likely even more unusual than expectations might lead one to believe.

The raven glided through the stables, the sheen of her feathers going from steel and sapphire brightness to void-black with each flicker of sun.

"Korb," she announced, perching on the side of an apparently empty stall. A soft glingling and shifting answered her summons, and in a short time Daniel had his first view of the world's most southerly (and quite possibly most miserable) reindeer.

The piebald beast lifted his head with a mournful tinkling of the bells strung between his velvet antlers and put his chin up on the stall. *Hmf*

"Here," the shaman said, taking out a twist of paper and proffering it to Daniel as they approached. "It is best you should give salt, to show you are a friend."

This message was last edited by the player at 21:48, Tue 19 Feb 2013.

Daniel arched an eyebrow at that large animal, then back and forth between the paper and the caribou. "Salt, eh? M'kay." He paused and considered. "Anythin' else I gotta know? Whassis name again?"

Daniel took the salt in hand but scratched his chin a bit as he considered the beast and the tools he had on hand.

Sky Dog thought a moment whilst Igor gave the pair a long, tragic stare. "Caribou, he is more shy than a horse. If you talk to him, he will be more quiet. He knows his name, which is Igor, but I do not think he understands much human language - he is pretty stupid!" He offered his steed the sweat from the back of his neck and let the animal lick his fingers, frowning in sympathy.

"Poor Igor, yes, you are so heated. Ay, ay, poor, poor Igor..." so speaking, the shaman's hand moved to scratching, then backing the deer up to let him in.

"Maybe we take him out to the ground with corners?" Sky Dog gestured at the stableyard, stashing his jade treasure in a panier hung over the side of the stall with no heed to the fact the main compartment was marked by sinuous, sluggishly-stirring bulges. "It is less...close together there."

Daniel watched Sky Dog enter where his steed was being kept, then slowly walked toward the large mammal, "Heya, Igor." He slowly extended the salt in one hand while remaining mostly still otherwise. No sudden movements was suddenly Daniel's mantra. "What sorta cut ya want, Igor? Jus' a trim, or somethin' more risky? All that fur 'bout yer neck gotta be bit warm."

Daniel did take his eyes off the caribou when Sky Dog asked about changing locale. "Wheresoever ya think is best."