The Kelpie's Cries (Completed)

The Witch's Hut

The ride was fast and smooth and they arrived at a hidden hut under a tunnel made of branches and sticks that let little light in. Össur had to shrink his body to be able to enter said tunnel, thankfully without hurling the passengers off his back. He landed with loud thuds that made the forest go quiet once more. The kelpie had yet to catch up; he probably hadn't even made it halfway because of how fast the dragon was flying. The man dismounted the mount and helped the girl down before continuing down the tunnel.

The ground was muddy and empty, only having one or two patches of grass as decor. There was so much humidity in the air that the clothes they were wearing had started to get dump and sticking onto their dry bodies. At least, Össur seemed to be enjoying himself, laying down and rolling in the mud. Ew... The girl shuddered at the mere thought of getting mud all over herself and quickly averted her eyes. Looking around, she found that she could hardly see anything from the dim lighting. She could tell that there was a rock wall  on her left where all the branches were resting. They were under a cliff. Slight panic rose in the girl's brain as she remembered her dad saying that landslides could be caused on cliffs and result in major damage and possibly death. Well, with that thought, she definitely didn't want to stay at the location for long.

The man seemed to have found what he had been looking for and knocked on what appeared to be a wooden door of a shed. However, as the girl got closer, she found that it was a circular building, looking more like a hut if anything. How could she confuse the two very different buildings? It is dark and they are both small, she thought, trying to find the answer to that question but all thought stopped cycling through her brain as a door opened and the man whispered to someone behind it. It sounded like he was talking to a woman.

"We have a problem, Enfys", he said and a mop of black hair poked out from inside the hut. The person turned her face and looked around the tunnel, pausing on Össur and then falling on the girl. It indeed was a woman, her bright opal eyes shining like gems and lighting up the darkness. Was she living in darkness because her eyes were shining like a flashlight? Possibly.

"I see the problem", Enfys' voice cracked and the volume changed dramatically during her sentence; it was like she hadn't spoken in years yet she and the man seemed like they were close enough for her not to speak at least once a week. "Why is a human in the forest, Odan?"

"That's the problem, I don't know anything about her other than the fact that she made friends with the kelpie of the eastern lake", the man, Odan answered. Finally, the girl learnt his name, though it seemed a little unfair that she could know everyone's name but no one could know hers. She guessed it was some sort of safety measure but it still felt unfair and overall weird.

"Has she no name?", Enfys asked and Odan shook his head negatively in response before telling her that she was hiding it from him. The woman growled, her eyes shining brighter. "Human! Tell us your name if you wish to live!", she rose a hand that had started turning black from the tips of her nails all the way back to her forearm. It looked like her skin was rotting but somehow the girl could tell that it was an optical illusion or something similar. Maybe it was because she had gone to so many magic shows with her family when they lived far away from Blue Peace. Even so, she was scared and worried about what would happen to her had she tried to refuse. Sure, she had made amends with the monster under her bed but she was unsure of what would happen with a monster in the shape of a human; especially after seeing her father's monstrous side.

She tried to speak, opened her mouth but no words came out. Her jaw was trembling, panic settling in as seconds passed by and the only thing her vocal cords could produce was a small croak. The woman seemed to get angrier as well but Odan held her back by the waist once she started to pace towards the girl on stumbly feet. He was telling her to calm down and to go back in the hut but his words fell on deaf ears. Now, the girl's eyes had adjusted to the darkness and she could make out Enfys' lanky frame, the rugs that hang from her shoulders and she also caught a glimpse of the shiny opals in the earrings she wore. The jiggling of metals that came from the direction of the woman made the girl -even in her petrified state- wonder how many bracelets and necklaces were on her body to produce such a sound.

"Enfys, calm down. We can get the answers we want if we are patient", with that, Enfys calmed down, her arm returning to normal skin. That was when Odan let her go and guided the both of them in the hut. It was dangerous to attract more attention than they already had and only he and Enfys could know what would happen to the little human if anyone else found out about her. Odan had yet to figure out what to do with her, maybe have her as his sidekick for a while or kick her out but Enfys could just have other ideas in mind that would be more permanent.

Thankfully, the two had yet to question the contents of the backpack hanging from the girl's shoulders and she had no idea why Odan didn't take note of it when they first met just a couple minutes ago. Or maybe he had and he was waiting for the perfect moment to snatch it from her and view its contents. Either way, she was relieved that the woman hadn't seen it and probably thought that the straps were part of the shirt's design.

The inside of the hut certainly was prettier than the outside and it was more spacious than it looked. There was lots of light coming from a fireplace at the far back with a pot hanging over it, there was a table filled with fruits and recently picked foliage and even a big loom with an unfinished piece resting on it. Is this how people here pass the time? The girl thought and looked over the piece of unfinished fabric. Where did she even get the yarn to make it? There were no sheep around from what the girl had seen so there must have been an alternate source of wool in the forest.

"Sit down, girl", Odan ordered, pointing at a chair at the table. The girl quickly went over to sit as to not get yelled at for not listening. She wondered where her friend was at that moment; she was getting nervous that he hadn't showed up yet. Had they flown that far away that he was still trying to reach them? Or maybe Össur had gone off to make sure that he wouldn't make it? She was getting nervous for her friend's well-being and for her own life, especially when she caught a glimpse of the two adults looking at her whilst whispering to one another.