Rhavaniel and Kili put down their packs to drink and rest from the noon sun. Kili was lost in thought when the arrow came down in the water, not two feet from him. It was Rhavaniel's - she had warned him she was going to try bow fishing, but the arrow had startled him.
Kili gave her a stern look, "I do not care that Elves never miss. Do not shoot anything that close to me again unless it is about to bite me."
Rhavaniel was too pleased with her first catch to be worried about Kili's mildest scolding to date.
"I told you I could hunt if I had to." She proudly pulled the dead fish out of the water.
"I can clean it, too." she squatted down by Kili and pulled out her whittling blade.
She opened the stomach, as she had seen done before in markets. Her family rarely if ever ate meat, and she had no interest in it herself, so this was her first attempt at cleaning a fish. How hard could it be?
"Oh, is that, is that eggs? Oh my...", the sight of the viscera disturbed her, replacing the confident grin with a queasy grimace. She dropped the fish and her knife, and crawled to the stream to splash cold water on her face.
Kili laughed and picked up the fish to complete the job, "That is the best part of the fish."
"Oh, you are evil. Do not think of eating that in front of me." Rhavaniel scowled.
"Not the raw guts. The eggs, at the right time of year, are cooked into a fine relish. My mother makes the best." Kili continued the cleaning.
"I do not want to hear that recipe! If the ingredients sound sickening, that does not bode well for the finished product." Rhavaniel then burst into laughter. "I can see myself running in terror from a Dwarf kitchen. What other horrible bits of beasts are in there?"
"You are quick to laugh at yourself." Kili remarked with a smile.
Rhavaniel smiled back at him, "I should like to laugh at someone else but the relentless perfection of my kind allows for little opportunity. Perhaps this is why I like Dwarves so much - something to laugh at."
"Really?" Kili pulled a strand of fish gut from behind his back and chased her with it until she shrieked in mock indignation.
After their diversion, and the catching of two more fish, Kili and Rhavaniel started a small fire to prepare their lunch. They decided unanimously that Kili would do the cooking.
"Ready to try it?" Kili asked.
Rhavaniel nodded and took her first bite of fish. "This is not bad. It tastes like marsh root with a bit of pine nut. A lot of pine nut. Yes, that is what I will pretend I am eating."
Kili smiled at her. He wondered how this girl could be so very odd to him in her thoughts and actions, yet still make him feel as comfortable as if he was with a lifelong companion.