Ah, what the heck, here’s another one for ya luverly people.
Tangled Nets
Bailey was woken by her pillow moving. Bailey muttered unintelligibly in protest, she wanted to go back to
sleep. Her pillow vibrated and she heard a deep chuckle. She opened one eye, Stranger was curled round and looking at her, his eyes shining with laughter. Bailey scowled and swatted at him. Stranger chuckled again and picked up the groggy teenager like she was a little child.
“An’ what would you be doin’ in here?” he asked amusedly.
“Trying to get back to sleep.” Bailey said through a yawn, rubbing her cheek on his shoulder, making herself comfortable.
“And why didn’t yer do tha’ in yer own room? Instead of invadin’ mine?” asked Stranger, voice still coloured with humour.
“Lonely.” Muttered Bailey sleepily, “Missed you.” She drifted off into a light doze in Stranger’s arms. Stranger smiled slightly,
“Yeh.” He said in a quiet voice, even though he knew Bailey couldn’t hear him. “I missed yer too.” Bailey stirred and one hand touched Stranger’s fur, before gripping it tightly. Stranger’s expression became pensive as he brushed tendrils of tousled hair out of Bailey’s face, including the braid with the green beads. He rolled the beads between his fingers for a moment.
Heaving a sigh Stranger stood up and carried Bailey over to the unused bed and laid her on it, prying her fingers from his fur. He pulled a small coverlet over the sleeping human child and kissed her forehead.
“Sleep well kid.” He muttered before leaving the hut.
¤§¤
Bailey opened one eye and then the other. She sat up, yawning and stretching her arms above her head. She felt safe and contented. She rubbed one eye as she looked around the room.
“Wonder when Stranger left?” she thought idly but not really fretting over the answer. Sliding off the bed Bailey padded over to the hut’s entrance and pulled aside the bead curtain, looking out. The sun was well up in the sky, around mid-morning. Feeling slightly guilty for sleeping in so long when there was probably work to be done, Bailey went back to her own hut and pulled on her now – relatively - clean black pants and shirt, bandana, hat and fingerless gloves.
“Must have been to much dirty to clean completely…” she thought as she pulled on the vaguely stained trousers.
For the first time in weeks Bailey left all her gear behind, all in her pack as she clambered down the ladder to greet the morning.
As she walked through the village Bailey decided it was high time she volunteered some help in return for all the Grubbs had done for her and Stranger. Wondering where she could be of most help Bailey found herself walking down to the river where a group of Grubbs wearing wide, flat, cone-shaped hats were fishing with nets.
Bailey hopped down to them.
“Can I help?” she asked brightly. The Grubbs looked up, after the night before they seemed a lot less intimidated by the young human. They smiled and nodded gesturing at a spare net. Happy to be helping Bailey retrieved the net and after some tuition on how to use it she was soon knee deep in muddy water, casting the net. Her legs were cold and her pant legs and sneakers were filthy but she was happy.
After a time the Grubbs and Bailey dragged in the nets and gathered in a huddle, bringing together all the fish they’d caught.
The catch was pathetic. The fish were few and small.
“Is this normal?” Bailey asked,
“Yeh, since Sekto.” Said one of the Grubbs, “And we don’t fish further upstream, too close to Sekto’s people, we’d be killed.” Bailey felt renewed fury towards Sekto percolate in her stomach, spreading an angry fire into her ribs. She bundled up her net.
“I’ll be back.” She said before slinging the net over her shoulder and scrambling up the bank. There was fishing to be done…
¤§¤
About an hour later Bailey had found that further upstream, the river deepened with more water. She grinned to herself as she slid down the bank to the water, caking her pants in mud. She cast the net and waited. It didn’t take long for her to catch three fat fish. She was just untangling the fish from the net when there was a flump from behind her, a guffaw and a nasally voice spoke.
“An’ wat’s this then?” it said, Bailey spun and nudged her hat brim up slightly. She suppressed a groan.
“Oh no…” the Outlaw leered. Bailey bared her teeth, a growl reverberated in her chest. She took a step back into the water. The Outlaw grinned then raised a hand. Something burst up from the water. Bailey pivoted again. And jumped back;
“HOLY CRAP!”
There was a
thing in the water. A very big, very nasty looking
thing. It had a faint purple, bloated head, like a squid. It’s eyes were red and narrowed maliciously. Bailey’s stomach pitted, the thing was definitely intelligent. It also had tentacles where’s it’s mouth piece would have been. It had two angular legs and three pincers on each foot, like a Scrab and it had leather and metal bits wrapped around it’s legs and below it’s head.
Bailey backed away from the thing, her heart thudding. This was unknown territory, and she didn’t have Stranger to protect and guide her.
Stranger.
Were these Sekto’s men? After Stranger? After herself? Bailey’s whole body tensed, she clenched her fists. She would not be afraid. She had to protect Stranger, she had to be brave in face of the unknown and stay strong. She could not, and would not tell them anything.
Bailey took a wide, fighting stance, feet apart, fists up, just as Stranger had taught her. She may not have had a chance against the Outlaw and the thing, but she would go down fighting.
The Outlaw laughed, Bailey’s attention was, for a split second, distracted by the Outlaw’s snort of derision. But that short space of time was all the thing needed. Bailey heard and felt nothing of the thing’s movement, not until she felt a sharp pain on her temple, struck by a blur of faint purple.
Bailey dropped.
-----
Man…that was short…
On a lighter note, here’s Bailey again, (I really like this one).