Blacktail Deer Plateau Dissolving the seeds of a moment

One of her ears flicked with the rhythm of Zombie's erratic breathing, the other twitching to match the cadence of her voice as she answered Pied's question. The mottled yearling bobbed her head and gave Zombie a look as if to say, Same. She didn't pursue the topic any further, nor press the conversation at all, for that matter. Instead, she let her pack mate catch her breath.

When Zombie seemed ready to continue, Pied ducked her head and latched onto the meat again. Although the muscles in her neck, shoulders and upper back protested, she tugged until the carcass began to drag again. She didn't even look up to see what Zombie was doing, just waved her tail in relief when she felt some of the pressure ease off her own body. In tandem, they finished towing the dead deer to the stockpile.

If she hadn't been so worn out, Pied might have suggested they butcher the meat, tearing it into chunks that were easier to stash. Yet her energy was sapped and she knew Zombie must feel the same, maybe even worse. Instead, she made an effort to nudge the corpse up against the cache—which was just a hollow stump partially filled with cold, spoiling meat—and then stepped back, breathing heavily.

"I think that's good enough," she said to her companion, though she chewed on her lower lip, clearly dissatisfied with something. "Here..." she murmured to no one, scraping together a few leaves and kicking them over the body. They did little to hide the body, though, so she let out a sharp breath, squatted and marked the spot with her urine. The pungent scent would warn smaller carnivores away.

Slumping down suddenly on the nearest patch of clear grass, Pied sighed. She rolled onto her side and looked up at Zombie, her tail thumping once on the ground. "You know what they say..." she said as she stretched out her hind legs. "The pack that naps together, stays together. Take a load off. We earned it." And without another word, her chin dropped to her white forepaws and, in seconds, she was snoring softly.