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WHO: Killian Jones
WHERE: The inn/town square
WHEN: September 25th
OPEN TO: All
WARNINGS: Fish guts?
STATUS: Open

He's been spending a lot of time by himself lately, or at least with only Emma for company. Whatever they both might get up during the day, at least they spend the nights in the same place. He makes sure there's always plenty of food for both of them, and as much as he'd like to keep the excess for trading for other items, he knows that's not what the group has decided. He doesn't want any trouble, even as he knows that even if he did trade directly with others in opposition to what the group decided, there's nothing they could do about it.

He has salvaged what he could after the earthquake, and he and Emma have a home set up again. He spends less time fishing now that he has access to a harpoon, and he brings in more fish. Both of which are advantages in his view.

The first thing he does in the morning, after breakfast, is go over to the inn and pick up the harpoon, then he heads into the forest to do some fishing, which he spends a few hours doing. After emerging from the trees with his haul of fish, he goes back to the inn to take the harpoon back. Then he finds a location nearby the inn, out of the way of foot traffic but still in a location where he can keep an eye on anything that's happening, and begins to prep the fish the best he can with the tools available to him.

Which is where he is right now, seated on the ground, gutted fish on one side, entrails on the other, the fish that haven't been prepped yet near at hand.

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"I can teach that." He can try, at least; he's taught plenty of skills over the years, and with someone who's willing to learn, it goes well. He assumes that since she's asking, she's willing to learn and to put in the effort to do so. And is aware that she'll have to get her hands dirty. Literally.

"I haven't got hooks or line, but I did make some nets out of vines, and there's a harpoon. It's probably best to start with the nets. Then if something happens to the harpoon, there's still another option."

She swivels a little so that she's facing him, regarding the fish a little better now that she's prepared for the gore. Better this than seeing it on a battlefield again, because that's hardly something she wants to go back to. "I think maybe if you could show me how to clean it, alone, that might be useful. I could always find myself lucky with a net, as you say," she points out.

"Aye, we could start with that." Then it wouldn't be just him doing it, and he wouldn't have to keep trying to do it with only one hand. He's adapted, but some things are just easier when you're not missing limbs. "Should we start now, or some other time?"

"Now, if you please," Peggy requests, trying to be polite. "The more self-sufficient I can be, the less I have to worry about relying too desperately on others to do simple tasks like feed myself." And beyond removing the burden from others, she likes the notion of being able to contribute better to society. "Unless you're too busy?"

After all, it's not that she wants to occupy all his time to learn things, but she could offer something in turn. Self-defense, or something else?

"I'm doing this anyway. It's no trouble to demonstrate it now." He picks up the knife again. "I think perhaps it would be best if I demonstrated it once and then talked you through it." So that she has some idea of what he's talking about. It will work slightly different for her than it does for him, who has to make up for the loss of a hand, but they'll work it out.

Peggy nods as she studies Killian, careful not to encroach too closely even if the part of her that likes to take control of the situation is already raring to get the knife from him. "Yes, go ahead," she agrees with a nod, reminding herself that there's plenty of time to learn and no need to rush.

He holds the fish down with his hook and slits it open with the knife. "If you do this right, you should just be able to reach in and pull the entrails out with one motion." He demonstrates again. "Would you like to try now?"

Peggy lost her ability to be squeamish very easily a long time ago, long before the war. She nods as she watches and inches closer in order to do as he's instructed, pulling out the entrails with the hardest yank she can afford, staring at her fingers covered in the unfortunate goo. "Well, it's not a pretty job, is it?"

"It is not, unfortunately, but it must be done. It seems that you're getting the hang of it already. You can also descale them if you'd like, but it's not necessary." There are ways to cook and eat the fish without having to remove the scales. "Generally when doing this job, I'd have water nearby for cleaning."

"I'm rather handy with a knife," Peggy says, trying not to boast too much as she works in order to both learn and follow the example. "What needs to be cleaned?" she asks. "The inside? The out? Both?" She knows that she needs to slow down, but she's also hungry for new information.

"You'll want to make sure that all of the bones and everything are removed from the inside." Eating those wouldn't be a pleasant situation for most people. "And remove the scales from the outside."

Peggy's not entirely sure what technique she ought to be using, though she suspects that it's only going to be experience that guides her hand. It seems easiest to start with the scales and she turns the knife onto an angle. "Like this?" she asks, thinking she could effectively scrape off the scales.

The bones might be a touch harder for her to understand how to remove, so she'll start with the easy part. At least, what seems easiest to her, when it comes to an animal and a sharp blade.

"Aye. You'll want to cut as much as you scrape, but not cut too much or you'll ruin it." There's not much guidance he can give here aside from demonstrating it again, and at this point she'll learn it faster if she does it herself.

"There's plenty of fish, so don't worry about it too much."

Well, if that's the case, then she'll feel absolutely free to go to town, turning the knife in the manner that he'd done, applying firm pressure to it in order to see the scales come off. Once she thinks she's got that done, she turns to the bones. "Is there any particular method that works best with the bones?"

"Ideally, something that doesn't slice my own hand open," she jokes.

He nods in approval. "If you grab the right spot on the spine, it should all come out in one piece. You don't even need to do any cutting for this step. You just need to be careful of the bones, because they can be sharp."

"And what is the right spot?" she asks, running her thumb down the line of the spine as if she can try and find it without any help. She often does charge headfirst into things without taking the whole situation into account, but it doesn't usually end well. "Sharp enough to be a weapon?" she asks, of the fishbones.

"They could be made to be that sharp, but they're not strong enough to be of much use as a weapon." For repeated use, anyway. She might be able to get one use out of them, which might at least be enough to startle someone and get away.

He sticks his hand back inside the fish and directs her fingers to a location on the spine. "Do you feel that? Grasp that and pull, and it should all come out as one piece."

The whole concept is a squeamish, terrible one, but Peggy finds that she enjoys it because it gives her the thought that she's being somewhat useful and she's also feeling a little powerful. It's silly because it's obviously still just a fish, and yet, here she is with a little thrill.

She works her fingers to where he's speaking about, giving a touch of a tug and not having much luck. Then, another, and it seems to have some give. "I think I'm getting there," she says eagerly.

“You're a quick learner. I wish every student I'd had were as good as you.” Not that any of them were dunces, because someone who doesn't get the hang of life at sea isn't going to have a very long one. It's just that over the years he's had a few recruits who had to be watched more than others.

He nods at the pile of untouched fish. “Are you ready to try it from start to finish, all on your own?”

"I know my way around the sharp end of a blade," Peggy says, though she feels rather disgusting now with the entrails of a fish trickling over her fingers, though if this is the way it has to be to gut a fish and have a food source, she's happy for it.

She gives Killian an amused look. "You're already leaving me out to dry? Is there a way to undo the damage if I wreck things?"

At least she has a chance of defending herself in an attack, if necessary. They haven't seen any other people around here, but there must be animals in the woods, and there's no guarantee that any of them will be friendly.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'll be here to keep an eye on it. Besides, there are a few people with animals now who might like having something to feed them, if it won't work out for us."

Peggy gives a nod of her head as she reaches for a fish and gives Killian a wry look, as if challenging him that this is his last chance to take it out of her hands before it's permanently ruined. "Well, then, here we go," she says, beginning to work on the scales. With the attention on her, she takes her time, but even then, she feels like she misses some of the scales and has to go back, taking even longer than before.

The immediate rush of learning has fallen away, somewhat. "I've got plants," she speaks as she works, "but it'll be months yet before they're useful."

"Not everything is useful right away. We'll need food months from now too." And that's fine. Some days he doesn't catch as many fish as other days. There are jobs he can't do, either, so he does what he can, and understands as long as someone else does what they can. She's doing what she can, and wanting to learn what else she can as well. Both of which are promising.

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