Page 126 of Beasts of Mine

“Occupational hazard.” I whispered to the otter as I pressed the shutter, barely moving anything except my finger.

Strange human. The otter decided, but it gave me another few precious seconds before sliding from the log and disappearing beneath the dark surface of the creek. I stayed crouched while I checked the final frames, and the third photograph made the entire morning worth it.

“Oh, you beautiful little thing.” I whispered to the vanished otter as I zoomed in on its eye, sharp enough that I could make out the reflection of the creek bank.

“Did it insult you?” Malek asked from several feet behind me, the corner of his mouth already twitching as he waited for me to lower the camera.

“A little.” I admitted to Malek without looking away from the screen. “But it posed first, so I’m choosing forgiveness.”

“Good?” Malek asked as he stepped close enough to see the display once I finally lowered the camera.

“Very good.” I stood and turned the screen toward Malek, unable to keep the grin off my face. “Look at the upper left. It’s clean enough for the masthead, the face is sharp, and the water leads straight through the lower half.”

“I understand about half of that.” Malek leaned closer to study the display, his attention moving over the image with complete seriousness. “But I know you like it.”

“I love it.” I corrected Malek as I checked another frame. “I need backups because I refuse to trust my career to one otter being cooperative for twelve seconds, but this could actually work.”

Malek wasn't looking at the photograph anymore. He was looking at me, and I stopped scrolling.

“What?” I asked Malek as I lowered the camera slightly.

“Nothing.” Malek answered, but he kept looking at me with the same warm expression.

“That was absolutely something.” I told Malek as I tucked a damp strand of hair behind my ear.

“You smile differently when you get the photograph you wanted.” Malek said simply, his attention dipping to the camera in my hands before returning to my face.

“You haven’t known me that long.” I lowered the camera completely, although I was already losing whatever argument I thought I was making.

“I’ve watched you work almost every day since we met.” Malek replied, his mouth curving slightly. I couldn't think of a comeback to that. We ate lunch farther upstream where the bank rose above the creek and exposed a wide shelf of stone warmed by broken patches of sunlight. Malek had packed more than enough food for both of us, which I now understood was entirely intentional. There was sliced fruit, cooked meat wrapped in broad leaves, roasted roots, and enough water that I suspected he had planned for me to forget to pack my own despite knowing perfectly well that I hadn’t.

“You realize I brought food.” I reminded Malek as he handed me a portion of meat, though I accepted it anyway.

“I know.” Malek settled beside me on the stone and opened his own portion. “Mine is better.”

“You don’t even know what I brought.” I pointed out as I bit into the meat and immediately discovered he might unfortunately have a point.

“I smelled it through the bag.” Malek answered without looking remotely apologetic.

“That feels like cheating.” I stopped chewing long enough to give Malek a look before I swallowed.

“It is an advantage.” Malek corrected me, amusement appearing around his eyes.

“You three are going to become unbearable now that I know how much you’re actually smelling.” I muttered as I reached for a piece of fruit.

“We already knew almost everything you ate at camp.” Malek said it so casually that I nearly dropped the fruit.

“You knew what I ate?” I turned toward Malek, not sure whether to be offended or impressed.

“You were surrounded by three leopards with better noses than you.” Malek leaned one forearm across his bent knee. “Yes.”

“That is deeply invasive information to learn after the fact.” I told Malek, though laughter was already threatening.

“You fed me raw chicken under a tree.” Malek pointed out, his expression remaining perfectly serious. “I think we’re even.”

I laughed hard enough that a bird startled from a nearby branch, and Malek smiled. The creek moved steadily below us while I ate. I explained what would happen if the magazine chose one of the photographs and how quickly I would need to process the final file, and Malek listened without pretending to understand the parts he didn’t.

Eventually, I realized how close we were to the place where all of this had started. Downstream, the roots formed the same dark shelter beside the creek, and beyond them was the section of bank where I had first heard an injured animal calling for help. I set the last piece of fruit aside.