Mermaids are Menacing (Book 2) Complete

47.) Gnawing

Items were begining to pile up. I would be walking only to find a small hat on a rock. Somtimes it was a pair of socks or a tiny long shirt. To small for an adult. Looking around, there was small foot prints that came to the spot and left from their going back down the northern slope. I eyed the work suspiciously and smelled it. The scent was from town and ... the child from before. A gift?

The material was very warm. Aside from the smell i liked it alot. I took it back to the house and placed it in the spot above the rafters. These days I  could hardly sleep. Instead I made jerky and bars of pemmican in preperation for winter. This little kicker would be here soon enough and i needed to be prepared for him.

Grandpa tree grew taller each day. Now he was a tall sapling with many branches and half my height. The first  grandpa tree i planted was stkll barely more than a small  leaf poking out of the ground but the version of him that lived next to my house received much better treatment. I kept the blood from my hunts and poured it in the soil around him. He often wiggled happily during meal times. The smell of blood also drew some flys and butterflies which bothered him to no end and he would swat at them in annoyance. When he managed to kill a bug his little roots would crawl up from the soil and drag them down umder the earth.

I sat down anxiously. My stores were full. The firewood was ready and I had many items prepared but there was something bothering me. A nagging low level anxiety that wouldn't go away. It caused a jittery feeling in my chest that made it hard to stop moving for very long. Even sleeping becomes difficult. In my sleep I often have nightmares were I run around in the night looking for something I can't remember. I keep telling myself its only nesting, but It doesn't subside the gnawing feeling.

"You are driving me to worry." I blamed the boy in my stomach.

I wove a basket. Not because I needed another but because there was nothing els to keep my hands busy. When I was finished I inspected my work. Not bad. It could fit a small child inside, although it couldn't carry water it should be fine for fruits and veggitables.

My clothes were much more suitable now. Tanned hide skirt. I still had my cloth shirt but I cut the sides to make room for my belly. A fur cloak of bear skin and a leather headband to cover my horns. With my tail, horns, and scales on my arms covered I could pass for a tall human. Only my claws could give away my different nature.
With the basket in hand I went on my way to the village down the slope. It wasn't good to go empty handed on a visit.

The trip was a little more difficult than usual my stomach was now round and the skin felt tight. It would be good if I could at least talk to that little girl again to ask how winters were in the hills. At home blizzards could be so difficult that trying to walk to a house next door was an impossibilitiy. Before winter came ropes would be tied between houses as a way of assuring the ability to get to another house if you had to. I should prepare to bury thr little grandpa trees in dry grass to help them stay warm through the winter.

When I had come out of my thoughts I was already near the village. It was a good time to take a break. I stopped and leaned against a tree for support. Lifting my belly to take the strain off my lower back. This boy will be bigger than my Vee. A group of children caught my eye. They were in the tall gras kicking something. A snake maybe? If its venoumous they could be hurt, unconsciously I moved forward but instead of hissing i heard a whimpering mewing sound and thought maybe they had found a cat instead of a snake. But i was wrong on both guesses. It was another kid.

"What are you doing?" I asked in a low tone.

They looked up at me and their faces went white. One fell and started to cry. The others ran and the one on the ground jumped up and scrambled after them. The girl on the ground was covered in bruises but slowly found her way to her feet.

"You said you were called Pale before, yes?" I confirmed.

She nodded. "Im called Pail." Her strawberrry blond hair was a mess. Her clothes were dirty and to small for her size and brusies were showing on her pale freckled arms.

I put the basket down and started wiping off the dirt on her clothes and the grass on her back.

"You got in a fight with your cousins then?" I asked.

"No they arient my family." She shook her head.

"Oh." I said suprized. Maybe not everyone in this village is related to eachother as it was in mine. "Should i take you back to your parents then?"

"I dont have any." She disagreed.

"Who are you staying with then?" I said looking around.

"I work for the towns elder." Pail replied. She patted down her hair to straiten it. She smelled of cut grass and a little blood. No doubt from the skined knee.

"Does this happen often?" I asked her Concerned.

She looked at her feet and didn't say anything. It seemed like the little creature lived a difficult life. Thinking about it now this was the village that tried to give her to what they thought was a mountain God of some kind.

"If they give you a hard time you can come play at my house to get away from those naughty kids." I told her.

She looked up at me with big wet eyes but didn't say anything.

"I got the little hat you sent. It was very cute." I told her.

"The elder woman will be pleased to hear it!" She replied loudly. Ah, then it was the elder that had her deliver the gifts. It would be good to build a relationship with the elder.

"Although its not much, I've brought a basket as a thank you gift. Shall we deliver it to the elder together?" I offered.

"You.. you didn’t need to give us a gift." Pail stammered. 

"I received many items. It is only right that bring something in return. Will you show me the way?" I asked.

"Yes! It is this way."  She pointed.

I followed her into town this time whe. I entered town people did not run and hid but bowed when I walked past. It was unsettling. We walked through a fenced in area and Pale closed the gate behind us with a latch before proceding toward the house.

"Pail! Pail! Where is that child when I need her." An womans voice shouted.

"Im coming! She called back.

"There you are hurry up and bring in the water." A woman turned the corner only to be shocked at what she found.

"Ardu has come to visit" Pail said.