Beauties and Beasts Pt 2

Chapter 157

Shay gets a chance to show off her roost and shares some tea with Neara. Tony is clueless, per usual, and Curtis hisses at everything.

After much convincing, Curtis allowed Neara and Tony to visit their camp, although Orson waited outside with a glare that would have wilted foliage if he hadn't stress-eaten everything around him first.

"This is my herb garden! They're basically the same as on our world, only this one can be stretched into bandaids once you soak it in water long enough, boil it, soak it again, then rub the ends with salt to make them sticky. Weird, right? Apparently Ryan's been using it for years. I wonder if there are any plants on our world that can do that. Do you want a clipping? I'd want to wait a week with it just to make sure it's strong enough to survive replanting, but you can totally have one if you want." Back on home turf, the sparkle returned to her eyes as she proudly showed off everything she and her mates had done. Neara was permitted to stand at the door of the house and poke her head in, but anything else was vetoed by Curtis, who didn't want Tony's 'bear smell' ruining his home. Which... fair.

"And over here's the not-chickens! Do you remember them? Do you have some?" She gestured to a large flock pecking around last night's leftovers, as well as chasing various bugs the girls threw in. Sky preferred to let her sisters catch bugs while she sat and watched. "I'm going to be honest, I don't even remember what they called them here because every time I look at them, I think 'not-chicken!'"

Neara couldn't shake her discomfort, even holding Tony's hand. Curtis hovered over them and if he wasn't directly at Shay's side, he was sliding behind them, his eyes leveled at Tony, who didn't seem to notice the scrutiny.

"We have a flock too! Not as big as this one, but--" He threw his arm out, almost hitting Harvey, "we don't have as many mouths to feed! Sorry, doctor."

Harvey's quick reflexes saved him and he gave Tony a tight smile. "That's all right. No harm done. Just bringing some herb clippings for them."

"We give them herbs once in a while to act like vitamins. I mean, they probably get all they need from the bugs, but I want them to stay healthy and strong!" She held up her thin bicep in a show of strength. "So I asked Harvey what's best for them, and he said herbs! Ummmm...over to the dens!"

Curtis slithered ahead, hissing almost as loudly as he'd done the other day. Not a soul moved in the lush greenery and Shay smiled apologetically.

"He doesn't want the boys to accidentally bite me. These are their winter dens, though sometimes they sneak in to be close to the house. Curtis says they need to go out on their own, but I'm worried about the mermen Clan taking retribution for the deaths. I don't even know how many they've... anyway, onto a happier topic! Look at how cute! I stuff them with rabbit fur so they're nice and cozy. We haven't had a winter here yet... but it should be coming up. It'll feel pretty mild compared to where we're from, right Neara?"

Neara remembered the icy winters with a chill that sank into your bones and shuddered. "Yeah, it'll be like a California Christmas."

"Isn't that a Beach Boys song? 'Yoo-hoo, Merry Christmas Ti--Christmas comes once time each year--' or something like that. My mom wasn't too into their music. Speaking of which, here is my HARP!" She jumped ahead and gestured wildly, having led them back to her home and the ring around the firepit. The harp stood taller than her, gleaming with coral and bits of pearl/gems. The strings looked well loved, the middle ones fraying slightly. A tool at the base looked like it was used to tightening the strings while a flat piece of wood bore scribblings similar to sheet music.

Shay sat on the log bench and pulled the harp towards her, laying her cheek on the rough surface. "I've almost figured out 'Living on a Prayer'. I have to match the string with my voice, so it's taken a while because I have to test each one, and they're mostly out of tune at this point, even with all the tightening in the world, so that's also why I want you to check with your mer-dude boyfriend."