A Dropped Call

 

Alithea knelt beside the body and opened one eyelid. "It's just gas escaping from the body."

"It was feeding on its mother." Fallon tried to catch his breath between words.

Alithea looked at him, then turned back to the body of the pup. She opened its mouth, ran a finger into an opening on the side of its head, then ran her hands along the skin and probed the fatty body. "It has legs and arms just like we do." She reached between the flippers at the end of its body, then rubbed her fingers together and inspected her fingers. Finally, she held her fingers to her nose. "No worms or parasites that I can feel. Smells healthy." She stood up and went to the water to clean her hands.

Fallon looked at Alpen with an "I told you" expression. Alpen looked to Alithea. "Can we butcher it?"

She nodded. "I wouldn't eat it raw. Let's cook some and see how we react. If we are ok, we could feed some to the babes tomorrow morning." 

Bebe turned to Alpen. "Why didn't you call us?"

"I forgot." He fumbled inside his hunting pouch, then looked at Fallon. "Did I give it to you?" Fallon looked at him with a questioning glance. "The blowfi." Fallon shook his head. Alpen swore and turned to Bebe. "I must have dropped it. I'll run back and get it while Alithea guts the animal."