Big Salmon Lake I got used to living without you

It took some time for him to fully regain his awareness, and even when he could see clearly and had stopped coughing and spluttering he didn't respond right away. Fennec's clucking and wheezing went mostly unnoticed, or was written off as heaving from the effort she'd juse used to haul him from the water. 

But he did hear her statement, which seemed odd. He didn't know the context, but given what little he knew, and the small amount they'd spoken of the topic, he assumed she was talking about him. Cursed? Probably. "You're the w---" he coughed, his throat still hoarse. "Witch. Whatsit. Cost t-- r--verse it?" A glimmer of humour perhaps, though it didn't reveal itself in his tone or expression. He might've even sounded fairly serious about wanting whatever curse it was that was kicking him down, repeatedly, lifted.