He looks up at me with an innocent expression. "Funny smell," he says again, as if I'm a little slow. "Right here." "You talk. You actually talk!" He looks at me innocently, seeming to grin. I stalk up to him. "What are you? Who are you?" "Groofy," he says. I blink. "Groofy?" "That's my name." He scratches behind his ear once more. "Groofy." "Groofy." I shake my head in wonder. "And... how can you talk?" "You spend enough time watching humans, you pick it up. Know what I mean? Powers of observation." "And - can other animals talk?" I feel like I'm wading into the deep end of the pool. "Nah, most of them can't. Dumb as bricks, they are. I've met a few others that can, though. There's a white trout in a pond up in the mountains that can talk when it's got a mind to. A black fox close by, though she's a nutball. And a little gold owl that nobody seems able to see, for some reason." I run my hand over my hair, mind spinning. "Wow. And - why are you talking to me?" "You?" Groofy looks me up and down.
