Ren's mouth salivated.
She stared at the steaming bark plate like it was the Holy Grail. The aroma of ginger, turmeric, and caramelized meat swirled around her, taunting her, seducing her. It had been so long since she had eaten a meal that wasn't just a raw berry or a sad mushroom.
Her stomach let out a growl so loud it sounded like a small engine backfiring.
Ren looked up at the bird.
The Golden Eagle was staring at the steaming food on its bark plate with intensity, but it made no move to eat. It looked suspicious, or perhaps just confused.
"It's okay," Ren whispered, picking up her hand-whittled chopsticks. "I'll go first."
She clamped a piece of the tender, yellow-stained rabbit meat between the twigs and popped it into her mouth.
Explosion.
The flavor burst across her tongue like fireworks. The earthiness of the turmeric, the sharp kick of the ginger, the heat, and the richness of the rabbit meat... it was a symphony. The meat was so tender it practically dissolved.
