[Flashback] Even Pups Bite(Miharu)

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden gave a quick nod, having already cleaned the fillets from the fish as they rested along a frying pan. He was in the middle of making a fire as he motioned towards one of the bowls. "Go ahead and slip the berries into there. There should be another bowl hanging along my pack for the turnips." Jaeden then slowly held out the handle end of his knife to Miharu. "Mind taking that down to the river to clean?" Jaeden then requested as he wiped his hand clean along his pants. "It's still got a few scales along it's blade and they get stuck between your teeth something fierce. The guts likely won't go good with the turnips when you use it to cut them up."

[Miharu Mindi]

She nodded and took the knife in one hand while she kept the fold of her skirt secure with the other, climbing carefully to her feet and following his instructions.

It was much easier to manage a camp with her help - no matter his feelings on Kelvics, she was always more than willing to do her share of the work and then some, and honestly didn't mind.

"I don't think I've had fish in ages," she said with a laugh as she made sure the knife was thoroughly cleaned. "They're always so hard to catch in my teeth. I've seen bears do it, but I could never quite get the hang of it. Did you do a lot of fishing where you're from?"

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden slowly shook his head as he began mashing the blackberries into the bowl, pouring in a little sugar he had been saving for a little while. "Nah," Jaeden said as he looked to the river. "It's just another tool of the hunters trade for the most part, but not a major tool. Something we just fall back on sometimes." Jaeden the slowly began pouring the sauce into the pan and set it over the flames as a slow sizzle began to echo out. He then motioned towards the generic fishing rod, still sitting alongside the tree next to the stream. "You can have that if you like," Jaeden then offered, brushing his hands clean along his pants. "It takes a bit of patience, but it can sometimes make catching fish easier than using your teeth, or trying to swat it out of the river."

[Miharu Mindi]

"Me?" she squeaked, surprised. "Oh, oh no. No, I don't carry anything that I can't fit in my pack. If I need to travel, I can keep the bag in my teeth while I run. A wolf can't really carry around a big wooden pole," she laughed, padding over to slice up the turnips as he'd requested. She wasn't very good at it, wholly unused to such endeavors, but she tried to at least not cut her fingers off.

"Where do you want to go once your leg is healed up?" she asked, peering over at him.

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden chuckled as he slowly shook his head. "Nah, you wouldn't need to take the pole, just the line and the hook it's attached to," Jaeden explained as he flipped the fillets, using a spoon the slather them with the blackberry sauce. "You can always find a long stick to tie it to when you reach a pond, lake or stream." Jaeden just gave a slow shrug in response to her second question. "I don't know," Jaeden then said idly. "You're talking to the guy who wondered in here while blindly gazing at clouds, remember?" Jaeden then slowly lifted the pan, smelling the aroma for a moment and lifting the fillets. There were a tad burned, but at least that way he knew they weren't undercooked. He hovered the pan over two separate plates, slipping a fillet along both of them. "You want to try your hand at making the turnips?" Jaeden then suggested.

[Miharu Mindi]

She blinked as she brought the pot over to him, crouching down beside him. "Oh. Um. Sure? What do I do?" she asked hesitantly. "I always just... eat everything raw."

Golden eyes kept glancing at him, watching him from the corners of her eyes as if to judge whether he was okay with everything, if she was too close, if she was holding the pan right, if she was talking too much. But he seemed to be genuinely okay with just about everything, and the thought of such a happy existence brought a smile to her face. Maybe she'd finally found someone! Maybe it wasn't her - maybe her last Master just hadn't been the right one. Jaeden seemed like exactly what she needed - someone who loved the woods and the hunt as much as she did, who needed her help and who was willing to teach her what she needed in order to serve him better.

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden slowly went over the steps with her when it came to baking the turnips as the roots were removed, the turnips wrapped, the pan prepared. He slowly gave a quick scratch to his leg as he looked to her for a moment, his own smile fading as he noticed hers. He couldn't tell on his own part as the old man didn't explain the process of bonding to great extent, but he had noticed a considerable difference in Miharu's attitude between when he first met her, and now. The bond was slowly forming. Jaeden looked to his leg as he released a sigh. He certainly would have liked to have waited until both he and her were healed up. He wasn't her master, he was nobody's master. He had to make that clear. He would have to speak wither her tomorrow morning and made sure she understood that she shouldn't be with him in that context, even if it would hurt her. "Well, it'll be about half a bell until they're done," Jaeden said as he brushed his hands together. "We can enjoy our fish as we wait for them to finish." He then handed Miharu one of the plates, taking his own as he grabbed his waterskin, setting it down between them for drink.

[Miharu Mindi]

She took the plate with a nod of thanks, waiting until he started eating to take her first bite. The blackberry sauce was sweet, but good, and she shoved fingerfulls of the flaky white fish into her mouth with a contented smile.

"Sugar!" she giggled, looking for all the world like a happy teenager. "I forgot how much I like sugar. I don't think I've had it in ages," she said with a roll of her eyes, licking a bit of the sauce from her thumb. "I do miss proper beds every now and then, like a real mattress, with pillows and stuff. But I only really think about it in the winter," she said with a laugh.

[Jaeden Kincade]

"You should possibly head to the city sometime then, pick yourself up a bedroll," Jaeden suggested, scooping the fish into his mouth as he chewed it slowly, examining the taste. While his preference was to an orange sauce for fish, this wasn't all that bad either. He would have to remember it in the future. "Also, a tent wouldn't be a bad idea either. Your fur may keep you warm enough most times, but at least a little shelter from the elements can make a big difference between hard nights and unbearable ones." Jaeden took a slowly lean against the log, tipping his waterskin back for a quick sip before setting it down between him and Miharu again. The fillets were large, and the two of them, coupled with the turnips that were baking, would likely be enough to fill their stomachs nicely for the night as he tore away another bite, shoveling it into his mouth.

[Miharu Mindi]

"Eh, it's not that bad. In the summer, I can usually find a bush to sleep under. And in the winter, the best thing to do is just dig a hole in the snow. You'd be amazed how warm they can get," she laughed.

She bolted down her fish in half the time it took him to finish his and, as she had the first night, licked her hands and plate clean, unwilling to waste a single speck of food.

"I certainly don't want to go to the city, either. All those people! I swear, I get dizzy every time I have to go into one. Just the smells alone, it's enough to drive me crazy. Plus you never know who you can trust, and people are always looking at you funny, like they're wondering what you're doing and trying to figure out if they can take your stuff without too much commotion." Or perhaps that was just what it was like for a seemingly-thirteen year old girl alone in the big city.