@rico189sspamtonhell asked: " secret files "
send me " secret files " and i'll post a headcanon about my muse I've never talked about before
ooc;; Because Nigel ( and later Eliza ) are far to softhearted to actually hunt. ( Nigel does teach her how to forage, ) Mariann loves animals just as much, but knows that you have to be able to survive in the world and hunting is important. Not just so you don't strave but also if they ever get stuck they know how to survive. She teaches the basics. Gun safety was the first thing Mariann taught her. Then how to clean, disassemble and reassemble a firearm when she was 4, but didn't actually let her use it until she was older. ( It was also Incase she needed to defend herself against a stranger. ) Her mom taught her to honor the animal, to thank it for feeding the family, and to minimize waste- they utilize organs, bones, hides, and fats for food, crafts, and materials. Sell what they don't eat / use. Any money they make from Debs hunts goes towards her college fund.
Her mom does go hunting, but because her job is demanding she doesn't always have time, so it often falls on Debbie to provide the food. ( When she was little her Mama was like a Lioness- powerful, brave and, smart. She still thinks so, just doesn't say it. ) The first time Debbie ( age 12 ) butchered an animal she hunted, she threw up three times, it was different than watching her mom / her mom teaching her like a science class when you dissect a frog / fish in school.
Donnie was around 2, so he would often be napping when she went hunting. She'd carry him on her back with a sling ( called a kanga, leso, or wrapper - she learned it when he family was traveling in Africa. ) She even got him noise canceling headphones so he doesn't get woken up. She's normally able to track the animal / bring it back to camp, Donnie naps for 2 hours. So that gives her time to butcher it and wash up before getting Donnie up / feed him lunch. Debbie doesn't want him to see it, even though she knows about it since he was raised feral and definitely saw other animals hunt.
Eliza doesn't like that the family hunts ( which makes sense given her powers, which after Debbie learns of it; she tries to make sure he sister doesn't have to see it. ) But Eliza is also annoyingly vocal about how hunting is wrong and eating animals is wrong, Nigel tries explaining that it's normal in the animal kingdom to eat each other and humans are animals. ( This is around the time I headcanon Eliza goes vegetarian / vegan. ) Of course, Debbie doesn't like hunting either / the grim and bloody mess of it, but knows logically that it's important.
When Debbie lives with her grandparents, she loved showing off how she can take apart and reassmble a gun in a few minutes. Grandma Thornberry was not impressed, Colonel was over the moon at how skilled his granddaughter was. He would take her to do target practice, she had impeccable aim. ( I'm going off of S3 EP3 "Horse Sense", where Debbie won an archery contest. ) So she was a natural when it came to hunting / making it painless for the animal. She does enjoy the peace and quiet though, not so much the bugs and dirt.