Joel doesn't mind watching her, settled there against the side of the boat. She's quiet while she works, and it feels like-- after years and years of scraping by doing rough work worth dirty hands-- peaceful moments like this are the hardest finds.

"Good work." He says offhandedly, scooping the meat up and heading over to the fire. It takes a while to heat the pan, coat it with a good bit of fat and sets to cooking the cut slices of meat. They break up a bit in the process, some of the flakes coming undone and fraying the edges of what he neatly butchered, but it's not like he's a world class chef. Honestly, it's better than anything canned, anyway.

Which is what reminds him to pop the tin of corn open. Both cuts are scooped out of the pan before he heats up the can's contents, portions it out, and sets them aside for the rest of the meal.

"Alright, come and get it, kiddo."

Ellie's catch was small. She gets both fillets served alongside a good amount of the corn, which is more than enough to make a solid meal for a girl her age. Joel takes the head, skips cooking up the organs not out of pickiness, but from the fact that he's not sure about how clean the lake is. Corn and silver-dollar sized slices of fish cheeks are enough. He'll make up for it with what he catches from a little land hunting later.