Mermaids are Menacing (Book 2) Complete

2.) Dont Rock the Boat

I went all of five steps before I realized I could take everything if I floated down the river on that canoe, and had to go right back to get it.

The wooden canoe wasn't heavy but it was shaped in a way that made it difficult to carry.  I tried to pick the whole thing up by the side but tipped all the leather packs out onto the ground. I tried carrying it on top of my head like a basket but accidentally bumped into a couple of low hanging branches and got stuck. Of course I was stronger than the branches, so when I pushed through some of them snapped and fell down hitting my legs. My shoulder that was no longer bleeding felt uncomfortable the longer I held the boat above my head. Finally I just decided to drag the damn thing down to the river. I picked a spot away from the waterfall, where the water wasn't as choppy. This way I was less at risk for tipping over.

The sun was starting to get low. There wasn't any sounds of birds or people, only the sound of water rushing and bubbling. For the sun to only just be falling now felt wrong. It felt like a year had passed instead of a day. I peeled off my wet clothes and rung them out before I put them in the boat, along with my shoes. I did my best trying to lay them flat, hoping they would dry faster. Not that I expected much at night. Then I made a bed in the bottom of the boat with the extra bedding. I could sleep and keep moving at the same time. Since I had no destination as long as it was away, it was the ideal way to go.

Being near the waterway would be the best place to be. It was easier to hunt near a water source since everything needs to drink, including me. I could travel without exhausting myself and the distance I could cover would be much more than what I could so on foot. The water might also help wash away my scent and since I'd be in the river there would be no tracks to follow. It'll be like I disappeared into thin air. There were to many perks to travel anyother way.

Although, I do wonder what's in this water. Maybe it was water melting from the top of the mountain. Then again, It could be bath water or sewage runoff. I was hesitant to drink it. Hunting shouldn't be a challenge. Sure, I didn't have any weapons besides the kitchen knives, but I could just throw a rock really really hard at whatever I wanted to catch.
Simple enough?

I jumped back into the boat and tossed out that second useless shovel that had managed to stay in the boat all this time. Useless thing, I thought angrily. The boat leaned with my added weight. I was already out from under the mountain, and I didn't even have to dig my way out. The wooden thing was just taking up valuable sleeping space anyway. I kicked off the bank with my bare feet and the boat started moving forward with the current. The evening air was on the colder side but I had a few layers of bedding to keep me warm. I relaxed into the bedding with its unfamiliar smells and breathed a sign of relief. The hardest part is behind me now.

Vee would probably be waking up soon, if he wasn't already. Will he be confused when he finds my blanket and smell in his room but not me. Looking back now, dragon emotions must not be the same as people emotions. Vee is still half me.

He'll remember me. a dragons memory is good in that way, but will he miss me? When he becomes a man will he come looking for me with an angry expression because I left him behind. Will I be able to stay alive for him to reach manhood in the first place?

I might be overthinking how important I am to him,  he might live on without me, another human gone, replaced easily. I felt tears threaten to fall in my eyes. It wasn't hard for his father to replace me.

The river I floated on could hold maybe three and a half boats if they floated side by side. It was bigger than the river that cut through the valley and probably deeper. A dense tall forest grew on both banks, thick roots from the trees burrowed visibly into the water.

I spent the whole night aimlessly floating and i continued to do that for part of the next morning. It was peaceful. The forest was so thick I could only see the top of the mountain in the distance. For a human it would be a considerable distance to travel in one night but a dragon could probably reach me fairly quickly at this distance. Stopping now wasn't an option. When Cerastes brought me to town we traveled by horse one night, then he cleared the rest of the two day distance in one single night run. He wasn't even tired afterward.