Ella's Wild Beasts

CHAPTER 8

After getting a drink and using the spot she used yesterday to relieve herself, no point in dirtying the area senselessly. She returned to her cramped nest area. She ate the berries but stared at the fish. It would be best cooked but she had no fire and didn't quit have the energy yet to set to that difficult task. So raw it was. At least it was ok to eat fish like that. As long as it wasn't everyday and it wasn't all she was eating she hoped it would be fine this once. Then she would make fire.

   Ella had come to that conclusion, but the fish wasn't dressed or prepared in any capacity. If she had a knife she could do it but didn't have one. "It wouldn't be perfect but a sharp rock would also be good." With that she brought the fish outside with a sigh. If she couldn't find a suitable rock it would be a waste to keep it, so she would give it back. Maby she could ask where it found the berries.

   With her exit the fox didn't appear but, while she couldn't see the flying dirt anymore, she could still hear digging. Knowing where it was gave a small sense of comfort in her ever decreasing fear. She left the fish by her makeshift home and went in search of a rock.

...

   After around forty-five minutes of searching she found a suitable rock near the cliff edge. When it fell it hit another rock and broke it producing five sharp fist sized pieces. She took a mental note to be careful of falling rocks closer to the cliff. Bringing back the valuable find she started to dress the fish, now moved closer to the water. She didn't really want her nest smelling of fish guts. She made swift work of taking out the insides but was careful with the bones. She knew the stronger and sharper ones could be used for some tools.

   As she was removing the bones she heard the fox padding her direction. She looked up and nearly chocked with the sudden laugh that came out. The poor thing was filthy. Its once gorgeous red and dazzling white were now all the same shade of dirt brown. It kept sneezing and little dust clouds were coming out and its ears were laid back with what seemed like annoyance. Ella kept laughing at the sneezes as the fox went to the stream where the pool runoff went to the sea. When it made it the fox quickly submerged and the water turned a dark brown. The fox kept submerging and coming back up, each time with less and less dirt until it was back to its original colors.

   When it deemed itself clean enough it got out and gave a quick shake, soaking the surrounding area. The fox then trotted her way, seeming a bit tired and laid down on a large boulder fifteen meters away and seemed to start to doze off in the mid afternoon sun. With the little show over Ella got back to work. When she had her pile of suitable bones on a leaf, and the rest with the fish guts on another leaf, she finished by taking the skin off and cutting the fillets into slices. She knew she couldn't eat it all and had no way to preserve it so she put her portion on another leaf and left the rest of the meat and the skin on the original leaf, then washed her hands.

   When she was back by her fish pieces she looked up to the fox, damp and napping, and reached down to grab her two leaves of bone and fish then moved a little away. Another two meters, she felt rather comfortable around the fox now but still wanted to be out of reach. With that she called out "Fox?" Its ears twitched but it didn't move so she tried again. "Fox?" With this the fox lifted its head and looked at her sleepily. "Fox, I can't eat all that." She said pointing at everything she left behind. The fox glanced at it and back to her with a cock of its head. "I don't know about the guts and bones but if you want anything there you can come eat with me." The fox was up quicky and trotted over tail back to the furious wagging she was getting used to.

   Ella sat with a chuckle. It reminded her of a puppy. She focused back at the task at hand. With a small frown she pushed the distaste of eating raw meat back and took a bite. The taste wasn't bad but she was definitely not a fan of the texture. She clearly hadn't done a good job. She never minded sushi but she would rather not have to eat like this if she could help it in the future. The fox finished quickly gave a small bark then went back to its napping spot. She chewed and swallowed quickly so she didn't have time to dwell on the fish. When she was done she washed her hands again and drank deep. Then she repeated her little mantra silently. "First water. Check. Then shelter. Sorta check. Lastly food." She thought for a few moments thinking of the fox bringing her some food. Shrugging she just said "check I guess." Then took her bones back to her nest and decided to turn in early and have plenty of energy for everything she had planned for tomorrow.