Living off the land

Jessica was the first to wake. Wesley was hoping to wake up with her and maybe get frisky, but she was already long gone by the time her stirred. The sun was up in the sky already telling him that it was well into the morning. His phone confirmed it to be nearing afternoon. He stepped out of the tent and looked for his companion. She was just outside, chipping rocks together.

“Morning…” Wesley greeted.

“Morning!” Jessica replied, much more chipper today.

“You seem in a good mood,” Wesley smiled.

“I’ve been working!” the girl announced, holding up her hand crafted spear. “We’re going hunting!”

“Hunting?”

“You’re hungry, aren’t ya?”

Wesley took notice of his growling belly.

“Let’s go catch some grub!”

Jessica guided them to a nearby lake. The water was clear enough for Wes to make out the stones and weeds at the basin. Jessica scanned the waters for a minute and then pointed to a spot near a dead tree log. Wes squinted and saw what she was looking at. There was a small school of fish swimming around. It was like looking into an aquarium! Jessica took off her shoes and socks, then held her long thin wooden spear aloft. She slowly crept into the water, nearing the school. Wes watched on shore as his girlfriend stalked her prey.

It was a tense few minutes as she eyed one in particular, tracked it’s movement and then shot the spear! Seconds later Jessica raced forward, causing big splashes in the water and reached into the depths. She pulled out a skewered fish! She trudged back to shore with a big smile on her face.

“It’s a small one, but good for a meal,” she said, holding it in front of Wesley. Wesley cringed at the still wriggling body. “Oh come on… you wanted to rough it. Touch it!” Jessica teased.

Wesley begrudgingly held his hand out and touched the slimy scaly thing.

“Pretty cool, huh? You want to try?”

Wesley didn’t exactly have fishing written on his bucket list, but he didn’t want to wimp out either. So, he nodded and Jessica took him out into the waters to teach him how to spear fish. It took a few hours of trial and error and many lost spears before Wesley finally managed to snag something. It was a small fish, not much larger than Jess’ first catch. In the meanwhile she had picked up a couple of more fish including a large trout that was enough to feed them both, so she opted to stop and let Wesley keep going. Wesley took the fish over to the beach where Jessica was prepping the other fish.

“Look! I caught one!” Wesley boasted.

“Woohoo!” Jessica replied, raising her arms in victory. “This one’s a nice sunfish! You want to gut him for the fire?”

“Huh…” Wesley started.

“Come on… man up, Wes!” Jessica chided.

“Ok…” Wesley conceded. He was then inducted into a cooking lesson as Jessica had him use her makeshift stone knife to slice the fish’s belly. Wes dropped the little thing a couple of times, frightened when it would spontaneously flop. Jessica laughed and had to catch it before it flipped its way back into the water. Eventually, Wes managed a crude butcher job on his catch and had it skewered for the firepit. Another achievement that he was proud of.

“So, should I go catch another one?” Wes asked as Jessica set the fish next to the fire to cook with the others. He was excited by his new found skills and wanted to see if he could catch another one. It was like an addicting video game.

Jessica laughed. “I think we have enough meat right now. Let’s go foraging while they cook.”

They proceeded back into the trees where Jessica picked out and showed Wesley various berries, roots and mushrooms that were edible. She gave him a sample of each and let him go find some more while she took care of the fish. Wesley did his best, but only found a handful of edibles compared to Jessica’s finds. Jessica sorted them out and picked out the poisonous items before adding Wesley’s haul to the collection. Finally they were good for their late breakfast.

The meal tasted excellent! It must have been a combination of their hunger and the fact that it was self caught/gathered that made it so satisfying. Jessica and Wesley were all smiles as they casually picked apart their food. It was a sloppy mess, but with the two of them sharing it, it felt more like a romantic dinner. The sun started to dip by the time they finished. Jessica went to the water and washed her hands. When she returned, Wesley asked, “So… what’s next, chief?”