The Sixth Life of Medusa

46. You're Like Me

This idea of dogs scavenging for their meal was beginning to piss Medusa off. She silently cursed at Demeter as she yanked a fat tuber from the earth.

Akrivi called them ground cotton, a large, round tuber that the dogs farmed in the green zone of Agrai's Nest. According to him, when dried and ground, its flour can be used to make spongy, sweet cakes that are a delight to eat. She heavily doubted the 'delight to eat' part, though. Every meal she'd eaten at the dorm had been bland at best.

Now, instead of hunting, it was a gruelling harvest day. And despite the cool morning air, her brow was damp with sweat from the level of effort it took to harvest a single ground cotton. The easiest part was pulling them out; after that came the complicated process of riding the tubers of beetles without harming the pests in the process.

So far, Medusa had botched... she glanced to her left where a growing pile of spoiled ground cotton sat. Five in total. Apparently, harming a single beetle ruins the entire tuber. Ahead, other dogs went about the task with smooth efficiency, some even turning it into a contest of sorts.

Left alone, she'd have snuck off to explore the marked points on Clotho's map, but she couldn't even do that. Turns out she was awful at map-reading, and staring at the map for the past three days hadn't made a difference. When she finally caved and asked Akrivi for help, his reaction was unexpected. He took one look at the map and flatly refused to help; even offering a whooping ten high-grade stones achieved nothing.

Annoyed, Medusa stabbed the ground cotton and carefully pushed the iron picker from side to side, hoping she'd succeed this time. But judging from the black sludge bubbling from the cut, she failed again.

That makes six. Discarding it, she reached for another leafy stem when someone grabbed her wrist.

"I think you should stop," Akrivi said as he drew her picker into his pocket.

Medusa pulled her hand free without looking up. Though she was relieved to be free of the maddening task, she also felt a sense of incompetence. Other dogs, a total of twelve that had followed Akrivi's group, continued to breeze through the task. Did they use aether? But she had attempted that and failed.

"Everybody must do their part, remember?" Medusa said.

"I was wrong." Akrivi made a face as he took in her pile of contaminated harvest.

"Fine." Rising to her feet, she dusted her hands and contemplated asking for his help again. Time was running out; Clotho had given the impression that she must find the person before her sister did. "About the map..."

Akrivi began to walk away, ignoring her. She hurried after him. "At least listen to my reason."

"There's nothing to listen to," he replied with brutal finality.

Medusa chuffed, beyond frustrated. It was hard to reconcile this serious-faced Reds leader with the boy who joked around. What was his deal?

"Why wouldn't you help me?" Medusa asked as she struggled to keep up with his long strides. "I can double my bargain." She groaned on the inside at her impulsive offer. Why did I say that? Doubling the bargain meant twenty high-grade stones.

He stopped walking and turned, that unyielding expression still on his face. "Some things are simply not worth it."

Desperate, she asked, "Is there something else you want? Something I can help with?"

When a mischievous glint lit his eyes, Medusa added in a dead voice, "Don't say it. Never going to happen." It had become his running joke to ask her to be one of his girlfriends at least once a day.