_Field report filed by Orca._

Coal showed up Friday…

        outta nowhere.

I greeted him correctly:
            immediately,
             repeatedly,
and with my entire body.

At first,
   he growled.

I respected this growl
     because I’m young,
      not unreasonable.

Then I conducted
     additional research.

The results were conclusive:
                 loud noise,
          no follow-through.

Excellent.

This meant Coal and I
     could move directly
     into the weekend’s main activity:

     sharing.

“Is that your blanket?”

“It was.”

“You didn’t want it five seconds ago.”

“You had it five seconds ago.”

This system worked
     with blankets,
          toys,
          bowls,

          and whichever human
          happened to be touching Coal…

          instead of me.

I would identify
  the thing he currently valued,
  acquire it,

  discover that its value
  had been mostly Coal-related,

  then leave it nearby
  so he could make it interesting again.

Efficient.

By day two,
   the training began to work.

Coal stopped merely enduring me
       and started playing back.

He may describe this
   as reluctant surrender.

That is why
     his report can’t be trusted.

The humans left us alone once.

Seven whole hours
      while they went
      to the Braves game.

What happened during that period
            remains between Coal,
                              me,
                and every object
             that may or may not
          have changed ownership.

When the humans returned,
     the house was still there.

Coal was still there.

I was still there.

And the growl
    had become less of a warning
    than the official sound

    of play beginning.

Coal was fed,
         spoiled,
         and, importantly,

         _much_ too busy to properly miss Mari.

Mission accomplished.

He thinks
   he finally gave in.

I know what happened.

He had _fun_.

Best.
     Weekend.
             Ever.