Tonraq dabs at Astrila's cheek with a handful of snow before he pours the snow into her left hand.
"Hold this against your cheek."
The snow is cold enough that her cheek instantly starts to turn numb and she lets out a relieved sigh as the pain fades away in the cold. Kayi comes running back in, his eyes wide and his face ashen. Astrila frowns at him.
"What is it? You look terrified."
He gasps it out. "The creature is a Ludeag."
"I don't know what that is."
"It's a water spirit, a dangerous one. It can't get out of the lagoon though, so there is at least that."
"Why can't it get back out? It got in."
Kayi shakes his head. "It got in during the storm. The reason there is no life left in the lagoon now is because the Ludeag is consuming it all. It's hungry."
"So you're saying it wanted to eat me?"
Kayi nods and a bit of pain at the thought flits across his face. "Yes, it did. It targeted you specifically as well."
Incredulous anger spreads across her face. "Why?"
"In other areas, Ludeags are known as Fideals. They prefer to hunt females and children, and Kōri doesn't fit that description. So it hunted you."
Astrila sighs just as her face tingles painfully. She cries out and pulls the snow away. Liquid gushes down her cheek and she touches it to find that it is the bluish liquid. It's pouring out of her wound. Tonraq looks over when he hears her pained cry. He quickly scoops up a fresh handful of snow and switches out the one in her hand. He grabs another and places it against the wound on her shoulder, bared to the frigid air.
"Kōri, hold this."
Astrila feels Kōri's fingertips brush against her arm as he presses the snow into her shoulder. She hisses as the cold sends a wave of the bluish venom trickling out of her wound, burning her skin in its wake. Why does the cold make more of the venom come out of the wound? Tonraq hands Astrila another pile of snow.
"Hold this to your leg."
She does so without complaint, despite the pain of the venom as it slides out of her leg. Once the snow is in a good position on her leg, Astrila looks up at her father.
"Do you know of a way to stop the Ludeag?"
He shakes his head. "All I know is that it can't survive without being in touch with water. But we don't have a way to get it out of the lagoon, not without risking selkie lives."
Astrila bobs her head but stills when her movements send a fresh wave of venom pouring out from the scratches on her face.
"So for now, we are just going to keep people from the lagoon?"
"Yes."
Kōri nudges her with his free elbow and she raises an eyebrow at him in confusion.
"What, Kōri?"
"Are you going to tell him about the message on the wind?"
Astrila's eyes flick up. "Oh! I forgot all about that."
Kōri's lips twitch up in a smile. "Then it's a good thing I reminded you."
Kayi looks between them. "Are you going to fill me in on what you're talking about?"
________________________________________________________________________________
Sorry guys, I know this is short. But it wants to end here, on the cliffhanger. What do you think the message meant? Will they be able to stop the Ludeag? How would they get it out of the lagoon? Kind of funny, I couldn't choose between Ludeag and Fideal, so I made them one creature. Why do you think the cold makes the venom come out of Astrila's wound? Tell me your thoughts!
Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!
~Goddess of Fate, signing out.
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Gifted Pelt
FantasyAstrila is a normal girl in her Inuit tribe, but is left alone by her mother's death. She runs to the cliffs that overlook the sea and grieves, before she slips and falls off of the cliff into the icy sea. Something saves her, but what is it? Join h...
