m1895 | (no subject)

The Ardankin Homestead - quick guide
Residents
Vasiliy Ardankin

m1895 and Konstantin Veshnyakov

sputnik

Layout/Resources
Surrounded by trees, with a longish driveway and limited visibility from the road. A mix of conifers and white birch; the latter have been tapped to provide sap (birch juice, sok berezoviy).

The Cabin
Descriptions/pics coming.

The Grouse
There is a ramshackle coop assembled from chickenwire and salvaged lumber and corrugated tin roofing built against the side of the house beneath the bedroom window; in it at any given time there are about 12 captured ptarmigans of assorted sex. As of spring 2024, 6 of the hens have been moved inside with clutches of chicks ranging from 6-12 birds to prevent them from freezing to death or being more of a target for predators.

The birds are kept fed on a sub ideal, but manageable diet depending on what Vasiliy manages to find while out scouting, and most of the daily care and maintenance falls on Konstantin. Indoors, they have several bags of deer corn taken from the hunting supply store and assorted hunters' cabins on the outskirts of town, and as of June 2024 they have acquired poultry feed and other livestock cereals saved from the Milton Barn fire.

Mukhtar
During the first journey to Lakeside, Vasiliy managed to gain the very minimal trust of a stray dog left behind in the resort town when his old owner disappeared, and, proving himself a consistent source of food, lured him all the way back to the cabin. The dog is a dark sable German Shepherd, clearly from a decent line but not a show line, with tan undertones as opposed to red and minimal 'goggles'. He has the lighter, leaner look of a working line dog, amplified by the fact that he's still regaining weight. His coat is rather dull and quite thick because they haven't been able to get close enough to brush him.

Vasiliy and Konstantin took him in with no prior dog experience, assuming because of his breed that he would automatically be very loyal and obedient—but Mukhtar is very much a one-person dog, and is still grieving his past owner and has a variety of behavioral issues stemming from the traumatic experiences he has had in Lakeside. He resource guards to a significant degree and won't allow people to come within seven or so feet of him while he's eating without snarling and guarding his food, and won't allow even Vasiliy or Konstantin to touch him or come within a few feet of him.

Mukhtar is very wary of strangers. This works to their advantage—he's been with them long enough to have a general understanding of what constitutes 'his' territory and doesn't stray far from the homestead, but if anyone sets foot onto that territory, he raises the alarm and barks incessantly with the intent of intimidation (as opposed to alerting Vasiliy/Kostya) until the stranger comes into the house. If a person turns their back and runs while they're on the property, Mukhtar will chase and possibly bite them. Dogbites are also a very real risk if his physical boundaries are encroached upon, but if someone tries to reach him or touch him he'll snarl and show his teeth to warn them before any contact is made.

The Caribou Calf
In May 2024, Vasiliy found an abandoned caribou calf while out hunting. Whether she was abandoned because of recent erratic behavior from animals during the breeding season in Milton or typical behavior from caribou cows who give birth too early in their migratory cycle is unclear, but either way, Vasiliy brought her home with the intent of either harvesting her or keeping her for eventual milk production. He and Kostya decided to keep her as a milk animal, and she has been taught to drink milk out of a bucket and is being raised on livestock milk replacer. They've named her Lyudmila, and given her a nylon dog collar with a tag (written on in sharpie) and small bell. Lyudmila is not potty trained (yet?), but she spends most of her time indoors.

Assorted Household Inventory
Vasiliy's managed to scavenge a variety of things, and while he's morally opposed to what he considers hoarding resources, they have accumulated something of a stockpile in the 6 months or so since he arrived late last year. Some of the things they have include -

— Deer corn (scavenged from hunting supply store and hunting cabins, used to keep the grouse fed)
— Dog food (scavenged from various cabins)
— Livestock feed, various animals (saved from June barn fire at Paradise Farms + scavenged from homesteads)
— Livestock milk replacer (saved from June barn fire at Paradise Farms)
— A few old, dusty haybales (saved from June barn fire at Paradise Farms)
— Cigarettes (latest supply came from the original Lakeside expedition)
— Antibiotics, painkillers, assorted medical supplies (collected from original Lakeside expedition)
— Spare/leftover building materials from grouse coop/doghouse assembly (chickenwire, boards, nails, etc - pulled from unoccupied cabins)
— Flea and tick medication (unused because they can't get close enough to Mukhtar, scavenged from residential homes)
— Matches
— Mechanical and electronic parts (scavenged from around town by Konstantin)