With one easy move, he pulled the skin from the carcass. The female made a noise of disgust. “That’s revolting. I hope you don’t expect me to actually eat that.”

“I do.” He admired the female’s determination. At the same time, he wasn’t thrilled about her attitude. “This animal died so that you could be fed. I would ask that you respect that.” Using a carefully selected branch, he pushed it through the carcass and began to cook the meat over the fire.

“I didn’t ask you to kill the poor thing.” Her voice had lost its venom.

“You said that you were hungry.”

“If I had known you were going to kill Thumper, I would’ve kept my mouth shut.” She finally lifted her eyes. They weren’t as dark as he’d first thought. They were the color of toffee and fudge. That light buttery brown. There were a few leaves in her hair and smudges of dirt on her face. Her dress was streaked. All of the females had been covered in mud that first time they had spotted them. A clever attempt at masking their scents.

The darkest smear was on her nose. He had an overwhelming urge to rub it off. Maybe he just wanted to touch her. It had been too long since he had rutted. That was it. His male urges were getting the better of him.

“Who is Thumper?” He asked. The meat crackled as the fat melted. He saw her nose twitch.

The female licked her lips, her gaze on the meat. He had to suppress a smile. She pouted her lips. “Thumper is a cute, cartoon bunny.”

It must be a human thing. “What’s a cartoon?” He asked as he turned the meat slightly.

Her brows drew together. “You have got to be kidding me.” She sighed. “Don’t you know anything?”

Coal shook his head. “You are the first human I have ever met. I know very little about your kind. I only know what the other males have told me and that’s very little.”

“Do you know what a television is?”

He nodded. “Yes, although, I don’t understand why anyone would want to look at one for hours on end.”

The human shrugged. “It’s entertaining.”

Flying was entertaining, hunting was entertaining. Rutting, now that was entertaining. His body tightened at the thought of sex. A natural reaction. “It’s not real. This is real. Right now is real. People sit and stare at a box while their life passes them by. It’s sad.”

“When you put it that way… I suppose you have a point.”

Coal felt himself frown. “Are you going to try and run away again?”