Caring for our Bosk



Tending the bosk is one of the most important chores a slave will do. The bosk are revered among the Tuchuk. They are not to be ridden or treated like ordinary cattle.

“The bosk, without which the Wagon Peoples could not live, is an oxlike creature. It is a huge, shambling animal, with a thick, humped neck and long, shaggy hair. It has a wide head and tiny red eyes, a temper to match that of a sleen, and two long, wicked horns that reach out from its head and suddenly curve forward to terminate in fearful points. Some of these horns, on the larger animals, measured from tip to tip, exceed the length of two spears.”—Nomads, 5


There are tens of thousands of bosk on the plains... Only several thousand are penned within the camp. These pens are large and hold anywhere from 20 to over 100 bosk each. Since the pens are so large to accomodate the bosk, there are at least two water troughs and two feed troughs per pen. Please note that the pens are outdoors... There is no bedding in the pens, such as straw, like you would find in a barn.

Feeding and Watering Bosk

The daily requirements for the bosk are three buckets of water, two buckets of feed grain, and a bale of grass hay per bosk. As you can see, this is a huge chore, so use NPC slaves to help you. For instance:

~ With the light of the day beckoning the chores of the Tuchuk slaves phoebe's stride took a new meaning as she weaved through her beloved home. A cheshire grin was offered to the slaves she passed followed by a crook of her finger calling them to her as she made her way to the pens of the bosk. All of the slaves dressed in the buttery leathers and keses greeted the bosk which hovered closer to their proximity with a loving touch of their hands before moving off to the bales of hay stacked high atop of each other.~

~The shifting bales were met wtih the strong hands of the thralls....each one gripping the massive bale and with a grunt they made their way closer to the feeding troughs. The kajirae, not to be outdone by the thralls, too did their job as well pushing the bales the rest of the way. phoebe's fingers gripped the string which tied the bale closest to her and after begging use of the nearest Master's knife cut the ties the bound the grass allowing it to flutter open for easier access of the bosk. Bending at her tapered waist she shifts the grass.~

~Out of the corner of her dark eyes she spies the human conveyor belt of slaves shifting the bales from the pile along the line to where the bosk await their meal. Hurriedly she and the other slaves move fluidly upon the delicate blades of grass..with the sun beating down upon them they strive to tend to the beloved bosk. Shifting foot to foot in a silent revelry the slaves of the Tuchuk worked like a well oiled machine. The sweat of their bodies an offering to that of their home as the bales of grass soon lessened from their efforts ~ *written by phoebe{Kar}, now known as lotus{~D~}*


Milking Bosk

Attached to the bosk pens are separate enclosures for milking the bosk. Lead ropes are on the rails... Again, the bosk is not a docile cow. The bosk can have an unpleasant temperment, and if she doesn't want to go into the milking pen, she is not gonna go into the milking pen... Find another to milk!

Grooming Bosk

For the most part, the only bosk to be groomed are the Ubar's 100 wagon bosk and any other prize bosk. They are to be rubbed down with handfuls of grass and brushed. Oil should be combed through the coats of the young bosk, while mature bosk already have enough natural oil in their coats. Never bathe a bosk with soap and scrub brushes - this would remove the coat's natural oils! The horns and hooves should be polished. We use bosk lard to polish the hooves/horns, as it is non-toxic.

“The hundred, rather than eight, bosk that drew his wagon had been unyoked; they were huge, red bosk; their horns had been polished and their coats glistened from the comb and oils; their golden nose rings were set with jewels; necklaces of precious stones hung from the polished horns.”—Nomads, 41


Unless we are migrating or there is a special occassion, we would not be dressing Ubar's bosk with the necklaces.

During hot weather, penned bosk need to be taken down to the river frequently so they can cool off. Remember that the bosk roaming the plains have access to the river all the time, while the ones in camp do not. If they are not cooled, they will die. They will only go in as far as their undercarriage. Take the opportunity to rinse them down with a bucket. Again, keep in mind that true bathing with soap and scrub brushes is a no-no as this would remove an adult bosk’s natural oils!

Always remember that most bosk are not fully domesticated and may not go where you want them to go, when you want them to go. Although some bosk will be docile enough to be led with a rope about the neck, many will need to be herded with pointed sticks. It is doubtful that a single slave could handle more than two of these huge animals at a time. This is a wonderful opportunity to work with your fellow kajirae and kajiri; or, if no other slaves are about, NPCs can be used.

Special Instructions for the care of Berat



Berat is THE greatest of the Bosk and requires special care. Berat is more domesticated than most, but bear in mind that He is still a bosk and can be unpredictable. In His own right, He would be the equal to the Ubar of the herd. He has His playful moments and times when He is purely grumpy. At times He just "is," and most things are beneath his notice. He has never been known to kill a slave but has been known to nose up under a slave's ass just to see how far she will fly.

Any slave who has been in contact with a heiffer in season should be certain to bathe well before going near Berat. He will NOT bother to question why you smell like the welcome wagon. He will go by His instincts only. This could get you killed.

Besides feeding and watering, Berat should be groomed daily. His coat should be rubbed down with a handful of dried grasses. As he is a fully mature bosk, he will have natural oils in abundance. Comb or brush his coat out to keep it looking good and ensure its health.

His nosering should be polished at the first sign of dulling. (Remember not to use anything to polish it that could prove toxic to Him!) The horns should be polished every few days. Berat's horns are the maximum distance from tip to tip, so this can't be done in one or two posts.

At least once a week, escort him to the river and follow him in. Take a bucket and rinse him off well to rid him of dust, mud, and some parasites and to cool the hot areas on his undercarriage. Do not use soap, as this will play havoc with His natural oils. Trips to the river become more frequent during extremely hot weather. Only let Him go in as far as his undercarriage to keep Him cool.

In mud or snow, always keep a close watch on His hooves. No ice or mud buildup will be tolerated. Some will always be expected, but within reason. Healthy sound hooves are a necessity. Below is a beautiful and inspiring example of the respect with which the unpredictable Berat should be handled, compliments of ~lily~{MTC}:


~she shot a thoughtful glance towards Berats Pen..... with a lil nod she ventured off towards that direction... to see if Berats horns had been polished during the last few days.... at the bales of grass hay she stopped and took a large handful of the stuff with her... closer she drew, and she felt her heart beat rigidly inside her chest... the initial fear of the Ubar of all Bosks had turned into deep deep respect, and she was still very nervous around Him... well aware of His strength....~

~"Berat" *she coaxingly hummed* "Beeeerat... hello Ubar of the Bosk!" *a smile curled her lips as she rested her hip against the fence of His pen.... she extended the hand with the hay... "lily has got a present for you, Berat!" *she allured*.... with a soft sigh of relief she saw Him moving close to her slowly... He sniffed her arm, and then lazily and somehow in a dignified manner took the treat from the flat of her hand and chewed slowly~

~this gave lily the opportunity to see that His horns had not been polished... and so she respectfully patted Berats neck, and moved off to find herself the items to polish... a soft piece of rep and a bucket of water.. clear, plain water... she didnt wish to do anything bad to His horns.... a polish with the piece of rep after rubbing off dirt and stuff with the water.... she nibbled upon her lower lip, and decided to ask one of the trainers later, if she should do something else with His horns as well... perhaps oil? or wax? but she didnt want to seal the natural surface of the horns, and so decided for the plain: first water, then polish method....with a deep intake of breath she returned to the Pen...~

~once again she started to talk to the majestic animal.... "lily would like to polish your horns" *she explained, and carefully entered the pen... the Bosks hot breath hit her body and He stomped once or twice, but then calmed... lily - who immediately had frozen to a statue of ice - relaxed some and stepped closer... "of course only if it is convenient for you now, Berat" *she tried to calm Him.. amazed, at how He really seemed to understand her, she dipped the piece of rep into the water, and reached for Berats left horn,starting at the base, and thus at Berats head~

~once again He stomped His hooves against the ground, and threw up His head twice, before calming.... lily felt a little nervous... He didnt seem in a too patient mood, and so she would better work quick.... with circling motions she started to rub the horns clean.... time and time again she dipped the piece of rep into the water, and inch by inch worked her way along the horn..... thanks to all spirits above Berat once again beared with the attentions of the little slave girl, and gratefully she stopped one moment, to whisper a "thank you" to His ear... she only had managed to clean half of the horn so far.... but it was a start.... deliberately she started to rub the piece of rep against the smooth horn of the Beast again... the horn getting dangerously thin and well.. getting dangerously dangerous as she worked towards the tip.... grimly she bit down upon her lip as she circled the piece of rep around the deadly weapon.... and then a deep sigh of relief escaped her lips as she was done with the first step~

~she took up the dry piece of rep she had left... and used her hands, and then pressure of the circling piece of cloth do the rest.... she could smell Berats fur, and she could smell His breath... the scent of chewed grass and grains tickled her nose as she silently kept on working the horn..... this time the work seemed a bit easier to her.... she had done it once, sooo.. Berat hopefully would accept her giving the horn its finish..... her breathing had calmed, and the only feeling left inside her was concentration on the animal she was serving.... soon enough the horn was polished, and lily could go over to clean the other one...bit after bit she did so... always taking care to not anger Berat but then...something seemed to have angered Him... He made a loud noise, and drew back from lily, shooting angry glances at the girl, as it seemed to her anyways.... she didnt know yet if she wanted to run, or if she should stay frozen as she was.... Berat however didnt seem to care at all about the slave, but went to take a walk around His pen.... wiping some beads of sweat from her forehead, the girl patiently waited until He returned to peacefully chew at some errant strands of hay....~

~once again the girl took up the soft, clean piece of rep.... the muscles in her arms started to strain, since she had to reach up and out all the time, but she didnt care at all....she wanted Berat to be content with her service... as well as she prayed, she was doing this right anyhow.... the horn did seem to enjoy the treatment it was getting.. the lower half of it was by now shining in a warm glow.... encouraged by that, lily doubled her efforts towards the tip of the horn.... and Berat - the Great, Mighty Berat - allowed her to do it.... oh, how lily waited for the day He would chase her around the Pen.... she KNEW He would do it sooner or later... a smile played around the corners of her mouth, because it seemed today was not yet the day.... finally she reached the last few inches of the horn, and polished those with steady motions of slender and yet strong fingers.....~

~"thank you Berat... you have been so patient with lily! you're looking good" she told Berat, and then gave Him a goodbye pat.... that was met by an angry breath of Him.... and lily quickly scampered out of His pen..... seemed His patience was over now, and sooooo... she was glad she could get away from that closeness with Him... she emptied the bucket she had been carrying, and carefully returned each and every item she had used.... before she headed to the commissary to wash her hands, soap, rinse and dry them, before she returned to the fires~

 

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