I roll my eyes. “You need to add water.”
“Oh, right, of course. I knew I was missing something.” She laughs nervously.
I hiss through gritted teeth, but rather than reprimanding her, I move to one side so she can salvage her meal.
In the end, she gives up, tossing the pot in the basin with a heavy sigh. “It’s hopeless.”
The room falls quiet now that the sizzling of burning porridge has gone. It appears she is regretting last night after all, and I try to think of something to say, anything to fill the void.
I pluck one of the rabbits from my belt, flinging it across the table. She has not once offered to join me on a hunt. She has never so much as asked to skin a rabbit.
And I think I know why… She doesn’t eat meat.
The only thing she seems to eat is porridge, and the occasional nuts and berries when she’s foraging in the woods.
Well, that’s just not going to suffice.
“Want to learn how to skin a rabbit?” I smile, exposing my fangs, but she only has eyes for the dead lapin—the one spilling its blood across the table.
Now she looks as green as I do. I bet she has never skinned or gutted anything in her life.
“No, it’s fine. I’ll go.” She makes a start for the exit.
“But Iinsist, Ivy. The days are growing colder… and shorter.”
She shakes her head, trying to leave again. “I said, I’m fine.”
I reach out, gripping her by the wrist, and she freezes like a cornered animal. I thank the goddess that I had the foresight to wear gloves, because I don’t think I could have coped with the sensation of her skin against mine.
The way hers glows a soft, buttery gold in the candlelight is enough to make my imagination run wild.
“I really think it’s best you watch.”
She closes her eyes, breathing steadily through her nose. “N-no.”
My claws prick her ever so slightly, just enough to get the message across. “You can’t expect to survive the winter on nuts and berries…”
Ivy remains mulishly steadfast.
She doesn’t have to give up on her love of animals if she decides to hunt with me. It's a matter of survival out here.
Her breath whooshes from her lips, “I can’t. If I do, then… I’ll be giving up.”
I narrow my eyes. “Giving up on what?”
“On myself. I don’t want to let go of my old self. Of the girl I used to be… Carefree and innocent. So, for that reason, I choose not to partake.”
She makes a move for the exit, but I’m in front of her before she can so much as blink.
Ivy yelps at my sudden appearance, yet I back her up towards the table, caging her in with my arms so she can’t escape.
My claws splinter the wood.
“Sit down and learn how to skin a rabbit like agoodlittle huntress.” It’s an order, not a request.
I’m still seething at her ridiculous confession. Giving up on herself? What good is there holding on to her past if she’s dead?
Strange female…
