Page 104 of Moonless

“What’s this?”

“Potato.”

“Rauk, that’s huge. There’s no way I’m getting that whole thing in my mouth.”

His talon stops against the next potato. He looks up at me and grins, slowly, until a whole fang’s showing.

I point the potato at him. “Don’t.”

He puts his good hand up, palm out. “I said nothing.” The fang doesn’t go anywhere.

“Cut the potato, Rauk.” I put it back on his plate, and he cuts it smaller while I watch. Hmph.

Then he rests his hand on his knee for a little while. A couple of potatoes, and he needs a rest.

I lean back on the wall too. His sleeve brushes mine every time he reaches for another one, and I don’t move over.

He slices the roots thin, and when a curl of peel gets stuck on the talon, he picks it off with his two blunt fingertips. Ha. I look at the fire for a bit.

When the plate’s full, I hold the pot still with a folded cloth while he scrapes it all in and stirs it under.

The herbs are still sitting by his bowl. He pulls the bunch a bit closer and leaves it there. He’s saving those for something.

I feed another stick under the pot, and it takes a while to get bubbling again with all that in it.

My foot wraps have gone loose at the toes, so I pull them off, drop them by the hearthstone, and tuck my feet up under the shirt. Rauk moves his bowl out of my way.

We sit there while supper cooks, with his head back against the rock and his shoulder pressed against mine. Every so often he opens his eyes to look at the pot. Still supervising.

I check a potato with the spoon, but the middle’s still hard.

Come on. I push it back under and take a drink.

After a while I try again, and the one I fish out breaks when I squash it against the side of the pot. I eat it, and it’s done.

Rauk picks up the herbs.

He strips the leaves off the thick stems onto the plate and bunches them up with his blunt fingers. Then he chops across them with his talon, the same way I cut them up for the fish, and scrapes them into the pot. Hm.

The smell reaches me when he stirs. I take the spoon when he offers it and taste the broth. “Sooo good.”

He takes it back and tastes it too, then fills my bowl. I hold his for him while he ladles.

I get a piece of meat on the spoon with some potato, and it falls apart in my mouth. Mmmm. I’m on my second bite while he’s still blowing on his first.

For a while it’s just the fire and our spoons. He eats slowly, resting the bowl on his thigh between mouthfuls. I finish mine and chase the last leaves around the bottom with the broth. I’d lick the bowl if he wasn’t right there.

“More?” He lifts the ladle toward me.

I hold my bowl out.

He gives me another helping and puts a little more in his own. When he’s done, his hand ends up by mine on the stone. I push my fingers into the warm fur at his wrist and leave them there while I eat.

It’s gone dark up in the vent by the time he finishes. I stack our bowls and lean down for the spoon and the ladle.

Next to me, Rauk gets both feet under him. Here we go.

He pushes off the stone with his good hand and gets up, slowly. I put the bowls back down.