Mermaids are Menacing (Book 2) Complete

55.) Gnashing

Outside a cold wind blew into the hills from the East. It was acompanied by a rain and lowered the temperature in the air. The front door was covered with a hide for extra insulation.

I fed all the girls and expanded the bed to include Pail. The girls claws were to sharp. They could hurt her unintentionally. I looked at their claws. It would be good if i could make them duller... and then it occured to me. I took the tip of a nail between my teeth and carefully bit down. There was a small snip sound.
I spit out the little nail tip, it was like a pointy rock in my mouth, and inspected the finger. The pink quick was untouched but the claw was no longer sharp. It was a simple fix. Mind numbingly simple. I cliped the twins finers and toes this way. When I was finished I ran my finger over each of the nubby nails to check for sharp edges. Not even a scratch, I grinned at my own ingenuity.

I still had Pail sleep on one side and the babies on the other. She seemed suprised when I told her to sleep in the bed with us. Pail needed to stay warm but the girls needed to stay close to feed in the night and not be rolled on my accident. So sleeping in the middle was the best option. Ill build Pail her own bed when its warmer. Maybe I should add on a room or two now that im thinking about it. I went from a single person in a one room hut to four seemingly overnight.

We laid down to sleep but it was a sleepless night for me. I heard small snores from Pail. She had a long difficult day and fell asleep quickly after a full belly. The Idelia and Aelia  tucked their wings in and hugged their tails under a hide. Only their small white haired heads poked out the top of the blanket. It felt very cozy and warm in the hut.

I didnt tell Pail about seeing Gorza and Ortha coming tomorrow. I debated taking the girls down the hill but babes shouldn't leave the house in the cold months especially not in their first month, It just wasn't done in the village. Truely I should have also been in confinement, revovering and not lifting a finger while my bond cared for us but it didn't work out that way. 

When the time comes I'll bundle up the girls and keep them in the doorway. It would be rude not to invite Gorza and Ortha inside but in this situation it seemed like the best option. Pail would not need to see the Orcs, and the Orcs would still meet the girls.

The room smelled like the night meal and wood smoke. A light haze shifted in the room as the smoke flitted up the chimney. I ran a clawed finger through Pails hair. Shes had a hard time but maybe now that shes with us, the hard times will become easier. My eyes felt dry and strained, looking at the back of Pails head. Aelia began to wimper in her sleep, a light baby cry. I didn't look down at her but first tried to rub my dry eyes with the heel of my hands.

..........

(Cerastes pov)

Cerastes walked along a path in a clearing. His hair was wet from the rain and his face had a permanent scowl. He had cleared up patches of blight over and over again. Corrupted life seemed to be especially thick in this area and long overdue for culling.   Deer, big cats, boars. Corruption was everywhere but since he was a dragon the blights naturally flocked to him like a becon in the night.

It was unfortunate that he could not sleep peacefully inside the walls of Green Mountain. He passed over an open feild. A well traveled path was worn in the dirt. Wide fires had been set here this season based on the burns in the grass.  He walked up the hill and found himself looking down into a village of huts on platforms. The rain messed with his sence of smell to a certain degree but there was still other information that could be gathered. He entered the largest structure, a big hut that was not on a platform.

The village seemed to be abandoned recently. The thatched roof on this place did not leak and was in good condition. Cerastes gathered firewood from the dry stack inside the building. From the ceiling to the dirt floor the place reaked of Orcs. Cerastes stacked the fire and took in a deep breath before an eruption of flame burst from his mouth setting the wood ablaze.

The wood crackled and snapped under the heat. The Orcs must have fled due to the high numbers of blight in the area he had found a similarly abandoned Orc village to the east. It seems like they left in a hurry because many useful items had been left behind. Orcs pride themselves on strength, they wouldnt abandon their home without cause but due to this Cerastes was able to gather food easily from the abandoned huts and press forward. 

Cerastes peeled off his wet clothes and hung them from the rafters. The wet droplets that fell off his shirt and breeches sizzled when they hit the flames. Cerastes layed down on his stomach facing the door. He let his heavy eyes close as he began to doze.

His pointy ears continued to be lulled by the crackling of the fire and the dripping of rain but the smell of meat made him hungry.  He felt the hair between his claws as he brushed the strands lovingly in the low light. The whimpering crys of a baby startled him awake.   His head snapped to look at the far wall, as if he could see through it and beyond.

West.

Cerastes felt relief to know he was heading in the right direction but he wasnt happy. Someone was in bed with her. Right now, why he was traversing the wilderness in the sleet looking for her, where was she? Sharing a bed with a man. He felt the anger in his throat as a firery heat built there. He had not forgotten waking up to the knowledge she was with another man not so long ago.

A sureness saturated in his bones. It wouldnt be long now before they were reunited once more and when they were, that mans blood would fill his mouth and his meat would fill his belly.