Sharing

By Donna and Abby

Tadgh was happy to hear this, and went immediately to choose a proper bull to bring as offering to the Gypsies.  The camp was on the other side of Edan Town, and though he was anxious to see his lover, Tadgh was also curious about the city.

Little Deer came out of the lodge she shared with Duncan, and sat down with him about the same time that Shiloh and Buck came out of theirs. Shiloh was looking healthy and happy - and fully rounded.  Buck kissed her and went off, back to the bunkhouse.

Next, Nightwind and Echo showed up, carrying some meat strips to be roasted over the fire, as well as a basket of root vegetables that they would cook in the hot coals. The only ones missing now from the morning gathering were Ula and Nakoma.

They turned up, after Tadgh and Archie had left, looking rather peacefully rested!

Seeing Nakoma wrap his arm around Ula and hug her to him affectionately, Joseph sighed. "It looks like a good day to go fishing," he said grumpily, rising to his feet. "See you all later!"

A short time later, he arrived at his favorite spot, and after sticking a pole in the ground, he started to chant an old song that he liked while he dug into his bag, looking to see what he had in it to eat.

Of course, that was a signpost for Mika, the little raccoon, to come out of her hiding spot!

She scampered up to him and sat up, rubbing her little paws together, as if asking for a share of the trail bread that Joseph had found. "Look at you!" Joseph laughed. "Are you hungry? This bread will dissolve in water though if you wash it." He dug through the bag again, and pulled out a piece of fruit leather.

Mika stood and waited, none too patiently, for this human to decide what she could have.  She was ready to take it out of his hand before he was ready, but a voice in her head gently chided her, amused.

Joseph broke off a piece of the leather, and held it out for her. She grabbed it out of his hand, and then took it immediately to the stream where he was fishing to wash it.

It did not take long to wash, and eat, the treat, despite the texture.  It was clear this little animal had experience with food!

She came back for more, of course, and Joseph willingly shared what he had with her, teasing her about what a good-looking hat she would make all the while.

She did not like that, of course, but not enough to leave the goodies.  He thought it strange that an animal could really understand what he had said!

Still, she was someone he could talk to! Even after he had run out of food, the coon stayed around, poking her nose in his bag and dragging everything that was in it out so that she could examine it carefully. Joseph rescued his little bag of fishhooks from her, but otherwise, let her have fun.

And the truth be told, she was not about to begrudge him the hooks.  For one thing, she could not eat them.  For another, she might just get one in her paw.  And finally, if he actually USED one, he might catch a fish!  Though of course the chances of that were very small indeed.

"Well, little one," Joseph sighed, as if reading her mind. "It looks like I will have to catch us something if we are going to eat anything for lunch." He took one of the hooks and attached it to the line, then used a sharp stick to dig up the soft earth near the bank. When he uncovered a nice, juicy worm he baited the hook and tossed the line back into the water.

Mika watched eagerly.  She sniffed the air, as if already smelling a roasting fish, and stood on her back legs while the front ones pawed in front of her.  Hurry, hurry, she thought.  How long does it take to catch fish?

He managed to catch one a few minutes later, even though it seemed to be an eternity to the raccoon. He gutted and filleted it, giving the coon the scraps to eat while it cooked over a small fire he had made.

Mika was in heaven, of course. The smell was wonderful!  While it cooked, she washed her hands and face quite thoroughly!

Once the fish was cooked, Joseph put a good-sized portion of it on a piece of bark, blowing on it so that it would not burn her little paws. She could hardly wait, of course; her appetite was always keen, but the aroma of cooking fish had whetted it until she was ravenous.

"Here you go, little one," Joseph said, handing it to her. She dug into the fish. It tasted as good as it had smelled! After they had both finished their lunch, the now full coon curled up on Joseph's lap for a nap.

She was happy there, and snug.  And thankful now that she had bothered to make that walk all the way to Edan!