Even the longest of hunting companions will eventually have a disagreement about where their paths should take them. One wants to take a stalk down through the swale, and the other wants to trek the high ridges. And so they part, each following their own plan.

And as much as you know you should be grateful to hear your former partner's killing shot from down in the swale, and be glad he has done well, there is that inevitable jealousy over his success. And frustration that perhaps he knew better, after all.

For at least one of you, that is. Because there is nothing saying the hunt would have been successful if you had both followed his path. The steps would have been a little different, perhaps with too much noise. Perhaps it was your absence that actually allowed him to see his goal, and it would have eluded him still if you had come along.

So, you continue on up to the high ridges. Seeking your own quarry, your own goals.

But perhaps you should remember that it was your shared hike that brought him to this mountain, and led him to his swale.