Mermaids are Menacing (Book 2) Complete

59.) Best laid Plans

I hiked around carrying the girls. The four of us looked in lots of caves. Most were to small to be usable. Many dens were wet inside which meant they weren't suitable to live in. Some were large enough but would be dark and cold all day and since I couldn't burn fire during the day, due to the smoke it would put off, an east facing cave with ample space was what I was looking for. Something that had sunlight all day long.

I leaped from rock to rock nimbly and passed food from my many pockets to Jen on my back. We occasionally stopped for water and to relieve ourselves along the way. I covered our traces, keeping my steps to the rocks as not to leave foot prints in the muddy ground. My head stayed on a swivel. We were mostly out in the open, in this area which meant i could spot danger a long ways off but it also meant that we were exposed. The rocky terrain didnt bother my bare feet, just as the cold didn’t.

We eventually came to a clearing near a tall cliff. Such a tall cliff face probably had a decent cave. I told jen to stay quiet and sneakily crept towards it. There was a cave at the base. If it was a good cave, it was probably occupied. This was the cold season where many creatures needed to hide from the elements. When I was half way there I stopped and listened. Wind, occasional birds wings, the rustle of trees. Hearing nothing suspicious I crept closer again. The closerI came to the cave the stronger the scent became, It was a very distinct smell of cat. The smell was pungent and clung to the inside of my nose. I scrunched my nose in order to ease the smells intensity. It was a harsh scent and fresh.

Taking the girls with me to check out the cats cave would be to risky, I decided. If the cave was big enough for us, I'll kill the cat and take the cave. If its not big enough I'd leave it alone and keep looking. Walking away from the cave, I went to the tallest tree I could find. There weren't many in the area, but the ones that were here seemed pretty tall. I climbed up a tree and placed the twins tightly bundled up to a branch. They were like moths in coccoons dangling from the tree in their little hammocks. Jen hugged the tree branch below them tightly. Shaking with fear.

"Stay right here untill I get back." I told her and tied her to the tree as well.

"Do we really need to be in the tree?" She whimpered.

"Mmh." I agreed. It would have been better if i had them in baskets and hung them from a branch but this would do. Few things could reach them up here. Cats were fast and depending on type some could also climb and jump high but I wouldn'tbe to far. It was at least safer than leaving them on the ground.

I jumped down and landed silently, stalking my way back to the cave. I looked back occasionally to check on the girls in the tree. Walking along the side of the cliff face, I took some dirt and rubbed it on myself. This was to cover my scent but to also stay out of vision of the cave mouth. Creeping two or three steps and then stopping. Listening. When I heard no movement in the cave i began moving again. The last time i had seen a cat was with the Orcs and that one had been tainted by a Red Eye. I remembered it as being especially fierce.

I stopped at the cave entrance and listened again. The sound of steady breathing and a few heart beats, how many was difficult to tell exactly but all of them seemed to be sleeping. I took a deep breath and held it before pooking my head into the cave. Three big cats but they were not the long toothed big cats I had seen before. These were a little bit smaller than the saber tooth, with mostly brown pelts and white around the muzzle. Their claws looked very sharp but i knew they couldn't penetrate my flesh.  Today was a bad day for the cats, this cave was perfect for us.

Wide and tall on the inside. Something els living in a cave was a good indicator of it being livable for people as well. I suspected that this group was a mom and her nearly full grown cubs. The biggest one was closest to the entry way. With speed I snuck in and grabbed the cats head in my hand and snapped its neck. It jolted like a person waking up from a nightmare before going completly limp. Its claws rasped against the ground as they dropped.