“A nice gesture,” he laughed, picking up the rabbit and throwing it back at her, “but not exactly something you generally give someone.” He got to his feet, his bones cracking menacingly as he stretched his limbs. With a yawn he ruffled his hair, gaze still on the wildling, her smile oddly suspicious. “So, what are you going to do with it? Was that the only one?”“No,” Val shrugged, stepping forward and pushing the rabbit against his chest until his arm wrapped around it. “There are more, plenty, truthfully. I thought perhaps you could cook it? Skin it and gut it even? Or don’t those southron lords teach you such, Lord Tully?” Val only ever called Edmure lord when she wanted things done her own way, knowing how much her using the term annoyed him.“What?” Edmure said, shaking his head as he harshly pushed back the rabbit. “No, gods no. Me? No, I couldn’t, I can’t. I’ve been hunting before, yes, but I’ve never skinned or gutted anything. I mean, there’s people who do that, I wouldn’t know.” he paused, laughing. “And besides I can’t cook.”Val only smiled, stepping closer, her body pressed to his. “Don’t worry,” she whispered, drawing a dagger from within her furs, resting it gently against his chest. “I’ll teach you,” she grinned, tracing the dagger’s edge down his body, pressing the rabbit back into his arm. “It’s simple, I’ll show you.” Val turned, honey locks flicking Edmure in the face, as she walked to the kindling fire, she’d sparked hours ago. Edmure sighed heavily, cheeks flushed as he followed Val, kneeling beside her, the embers of the fire concealing his glowing skin. “Here, give me your hand” Val said.Edmure looked at Val, sighing as he reluctantly gave her his hand. She uncurled his fingers, placing the bone hilt of the dagger in his palm, wrapping her own fingers around his hand, her arm pressing Edmure’s against her side in a tight lock. “Closer,” she insisted, “you need to watch.”Edmure grunted, shuffling his knees forward, his body against her as he watched Val guide his hand around the rabbit, drawing lines down its body.“You don’t want to make it bleed yet,” she said, abandoning Edmure’s hand, using her fingers to pull the skin deftly from the rabbit’s body, swiftly and skillfully. “When you’re skinning it, you only enough pressure to cut away the fur, or else you’ll have rabbit hide in the meat. See,” she smiled, nudging him with her shoulder as she held up the fur, before throwing it carelessly aside. “Easy.”“If you say so,” Edmure replied.“Now,” taking back his hand, Val pressed a deep cut into the hairless body, a fiery line pursuing the dagger. “This is the easiest part. You just take out the stuff you don’t want.”Edmure watched eyes wide as Val made quick work of the rabbit, clearing blood and organs without a trace of fear or disgust. He smiled, impressed, as she threw the rabbit back at him, strung and ready for cooking.“Your turn,” she cooed.“I don’t know…” Edmure began.“You’ll cook it or you can continue on starving, Lord Tully.”Edmure sat idly by the fire, turning the roasting spit around, flames licking at the rabbits cooking body. The meat was beginning to char, but Val had not told him to stop, so he kept on turning the meat, red embers dancing around the rabbit. Val had found some northern herbs to sprinkle over the meat, their aromas rich and vibrant, but strong. “How long does this take exactly?” Edmure asked, glancing over to Val sat, against the pine tree where he’d been earlier.“Not long.”Edmure looked back at the rabbit, a fresh wind picking up, ruffling his hair and sending the flames up into a roar. The rabbit caught fire, its body charred and breathing burnt smoke into the air.Before Edmure could say anything, he heard Val’s laugh, loud and clear and as bright as the sun and felt her shove him. “Only you could set a rabbit on fire,” she said breathlessly, stomping out the fire, and slicing off a slither of charred rabbit with her dagger.“Dry,” she said, chewing slowly, “could be worse I suppose.”“I did well for my first time, right?” Edmure asked, smirking. “Plus, you find my faults endearing, don’t you?”Val smiled at him, her eyes narrowed, “I have much to teach you on the ways of the Free Folk, Edmure. But first lets get you out of those furs.”
