He chuckled and kissed my forehead. Then he slid out from beneath me and stood up.
I frowned as I watched him get dressed. “Where are you going?”
“To hunt.”
“To what?” I sat up.
“I thought I'd get us some fresh meat for dinner.”
“Fresh meat?! What meat?”
“I don't know. A rabbit maybe.”
“A rabbit! A fucking bunny rabbit? You want me to eat a bunny?”
Cyn snorted a laugh. “Ru, you eat meat. I've seen you do it.”
“Yes. And I get it already dead or cooked and always unrecognizable. I don't kill it myself.”
“And you won't be killing it now.”
“But you will! And I'll know what it was.”
“I'll clean it before I bring it inside.”
“Clean it?!”
“Ru, some animals are prey. They are meant to be eaten.”
“So, you don't want to kill a mueyaru, but a fucking bunny is fine?”
Cyn sighed and sat down. “There was no reason to kill the mueyaru. It wouldn't have been eaten. All we needed were a few tufts of fur. That is murder. But killing an animal, then eating it, maybe even using its fur to keep you warm, is honorable. You are not wasting the creature.”
“I get it, and I do like to eat meat. But I don't want to know that someone killed an animal specifically to feed me. Dear Gods, it's the dead of winter. Those poor bunnies are having it hard enough as it is. They have to fend off enough beasts without you going after them. Leave the bunnies alone!”
“If you'd prefer, I could go further down the mountain and try to find a deer.”
“A deer?! A sweet, doe-eyed deer?! You're a monster! I've mated a monster!”
Cyn snorted. “What would you have me do? Shall I fly to a farm and slaughter a cow?”
“No!”
“All right, all right, I won't go hunting.” He drew me down to lie on the blanket with him and tucked me in against his chest. “We'll eat the preserved meat in the cellar.”
“Thank you.”
“You're welcome, my sweet, kind-hearted Mate.”
I felt him smile against my forehead.
“Bunnies,” I muttered. “Poor little bunnies.”
“Have you never had rabbit stew?”
“Stop talking!”
Cyn burst out laughing.
