Blacktail Deer Plateau done more in days than done in months

Although staring into the water, he couldn’t ignore the burning sensation in the back of his throat and in his nose; he should have been more careful, he knew, but it was too late now. Stepping back, he shook his head in an attempt to force even more water from his nose, only to stop seconds later at the sound of her voice.

You okay?

Aningan paused, clearly embarrassed. “I think so,” he told her, partially a lie. Honestly, he wanted to go back in time, like, five minutes ago and stop himself from sucking in a bunch of water. But he would get over it—he had to since time travel is impossible. Ignoring his own distress, he watched to see what she was doing as their fish were joined together, head cocked to the side.

And then she explained.

Smiling, he agreed: “Yeah, we both win.” Moving away from the water, he joined her next to the pile. “Yours look like they taste better, though,” he said, then nosed the fish closer to her. “You have first pick of which one you want to eat.” And while she picked, he used his paw to move his rock friend away from the pile and off to the side, freeing it back into the wild.