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Chapter 3
Nausicaa had been walking for barely ten minutes when she heard something rustle the leaves nearby. It was more specific than that which the wind made.
"Who's there?" she asked openly as she swerved around.
Nobody answered. She heard more rustling and her curiosity got the best of her. She walked in the direction of the noise.
She followed it until it stopped.
"You can't be that big to hide behind the bush," she stated, hoping she didn't scare whatever creature it was.
She parted the leaves to get a good look at what had been running around. A tiny animal, one that looked like a mix between a fox and a squirrel.
"Hello there," she said as she slowly reached out her hand.
She didn't touch it but instead let it come to her. After a moment the creature decided she wasn't really a threat. The fox-squirrel came up to her hand and sniffed it. She pet him gently, then the animal scurried up her arm.
"I guess I'll have some company now," Nausicaa said as she watched it, "I wonder what I should call you?"
She thought for a moment, then a name popped into her head out of nowhere. She seemed to remember this creature from somewhere.
"Teto, your name will be Teto," the fox-squirrel seemed to agree to that name by the way it purred when she called it.
Then for some reason Teto hissed and jumped off of her. He ran in the direction of the sea. Nausicaa wanted to know what was so urgent to the creature. She ran after Teto barely able to keep up.
A couple minutes later they had reached the edge of the sea. Nausicaa was panting from the exertion. She looked up after a moment of catching her breath and was surprised to see the sea dragon from before.
"Help! Help!" the sea monster yelled in desperation.
"Whats wrong?" Nausicaa asked.
Teto had run back up to Nausicaa's shoulder and rested there.
"My mother! I went back and found that she went looking for me. They told me she hasn't come back yet and everybody's been searching for her."
"I'm sure they'll find her. How can I help you though I can't for very long."
"Can you check the rivers. My kind won't go there because it's too dangerous. They are shallow enough to be able to see her though. Please could you check for me."
"Of course but I haven't the faintest idea where the rivers are."
"I'll bring you to where they begin."
Nausicaa hopped onto the creature as soon as she finished speaking. She was quickly brought to the conjunction of where the rivers poured out into the sea.
"Please bring her back to me. I'm sure she's here somewhere. We've checked everywhere else."
"I'll do what I can. Now go back before you get caught!" Nausicaa said as she got off the sea dragon and stepped onto the land again.
"Thank you bye!" She heard the creature say before she disappeared.
Nausicaa began a fast walking pace up the river in search of the creature's mother.
If anything could be said it was that the scenery was rather beautiful. The river was clear and a pretty light blue. This was the main river, which split up the continent. The jungle lay on one side, and the desert began on the other. This was also the river that all the other rivers sprouted from.
Nausicaa was on the side where the jungle was. But she was on the edge so all the greenery didn't shroud her.
Hours were walked by and still she had found nothing. She came to a fork in the river and didn't know which she should follow.
"Hmm should we follow the smaller one or continue on the main river?" she asked herself mostly but was also asking Teto.
Teto nodded when she mentioned the main river so she agreed to follow that one.
Another hour had passed them when she noticed something up ahead. It seemed to be dead. The corps was halfway out of the water.
Nausicaa wordlessly ran up to the creature and starred at it for a moment.
"This seems to be of the same race as the sea dragon that helped me. Maybe it is her mother. I'm starting to wish it wasn't though because it doesn't exactly look like it will ever move again," she spoke aloud to Teto.
The creature scurried down and went near the corpse. Nausicaa merely had to kneel. She placed her hand on the corpse to see if it had just recently died but it was cold to the flesh.
"I wonder what had killed it?"
There was no way she could carry that thing out of the water so she looked around hoping to find something relatively like a rope. Nausicaa walked up the some long vines that came from the jungle and pulled one out.
"This will have to do," she sighed.
Nausicaa wrapped the rope around the midsection of the sea dragon. She secured it tightly before fully submerging it into the water. She held the end of the rope and began pulling it in the opposite direction from which she came.
Due to having to pull a creature and due to her fatigue and hunger, she walked at a much slower pace now. The midday heat was starting to get to her as well.
By the time she got back to the ocean edge the sun was beginning to set. She had only taken one break to drink some water, the rest of the time was spent getting back.
Upon arrival the child had already been waiting for her.
"Is this your mother?" Nausicaa called in the distance.
The child took a moment but then the scent had registered.
"Mother!!!" she began to bawl. She must have noticed the scent of decay as well.
Nausicaa continued to drag the corpse. Once she was right in front of the child she tried to comfort her with one hand, patting her on the head. She felt kind of awkward not really knowing what to do.
"What should I do with her?" she asked the child once she stopped crying. The child was mostly stunned now.
"Just release her into the sea. I will tell my people of this and they shall take her the rest of the way," she instructed.
Nausicaa untied the creature and let it fall into the sea.
"I'm sorry I don't know what happened to her I just found her like that."
"I believe you Nausicaa."
"Since you know my name could I at least know yours?"
"You may call me Andreya"
"I'm very sorry about this Andreya. Is there anything else I can do for you."
"It's my fault. I know it is. If I hadn't run away," Andreya choked on her own words.
"Your not the one who killed her. I will find out who did, I promise."
"You've done enough as it is. Thank you. I must be leaving."
She disappeared before Nausicaa could say goodbye. She truly felt sorry for Andreya.
It was starting to get dark and her stomach was relentlessly rumbling. She had to find shelter and food for tonight, there was nothing else she could do for now. At least now she had a permanent source of water.
She walked on never able to stop her thoughts from wandering about what would kill the sea dragon.
*** Well I hope it was to someone's satisfaction. As usual tell me what you think, constructive criticism is very welcome for I don't mind improving this.***
Chapter 3
Nausicaa had been walking for barely ten minutes when she heard something rustle the leaves nearby. It was more specific than that which the wind made.
"Who's there?" she asked openly as she swerved around.
Nobody answered. She heard more rustling and her curiosity got the best of her. She walked in the direction of the noise.
She followed it until it stopped.
"You can't be that big to hide behind the bush," she stated, hoping she didn't scare whatever creature it was.
She parted the leaves to get a good look at what had been running around. A tiny animal, one that looked like a mix between a fox and a squirrel.
"Hello there," she said as she slowly reached out her hand.
She didn't touch it but instead let it come to her. After a moment the creature decided she wasn't really a threat. The fox-squirrel came up to her hand and sniffed it. She pet him gently, then the animal scurried up her arm.
"I guess I'll have some company now," Nausicaa said as she watched it, "I wonder what I should call you?"
She thought for a moment, then a name popped into her head out of nowhere. She seemed to remember this creature from somewhere.
"Teto, your name will be Teto," the fox-squirrel seemed to agree to that name by the way it purred when she called it.
Then for some reason Teto hissed and jumped off of her. He ran in the direction of the sea. Nausicaa wanted to know what was so urgent to the creature. She ran after Teto barely able to keep up.
A couple minutes later they had reached the edge of the sea. Nausicaa was panting from the exertion. She looked up after a moment of catching her breath and was surprised to see the sea dragon from before.
"Help! Help!" the sea monster yelled in desperation.
"Whats wrong?" Nausicaa asked.
Teto had run back up to Nausicaa's shoulder and rested there.
"My mother! I went back and found that she went looking for me. They told me she hasn't come back yet and everybody's been searching for her."
"I'm sure they'll find her. How can I help you though I can't for very long."
"Can you check the rivers. My kind won't go there because it's too dangerous. They are shallow enough to be able to see her though. Please could you check for me."
"Of course but I haven't the faintest idea where the rivers are."
"I'll bring you to where they begin."
Nausicaa hopped onto the creature as soon as she finished speaking. She was quickly brought to the conjunction of where the rivers poured out into the sea.
"Please bring her back to me. I'm sure she's here somewhere. We've checked everywhere else."
"I'll do what I can. Now go back before you get caught!" Nausicaa said as she got off the sea dragon and stepped onto the land again.
"Thank you bye!" She heard the creature say before she disappeared.
Nausicaa began a fast walking pace up the river in search of the creature's mother.
If anything could be said it was that the scenery was rather beautiful. The river was clear and a pretty light blue. This was the main river, which split up the continent. The jungle lay on one side, and the desert began on the other. This was also the river that all the other rivers sprouted from.
Nausicaa was on the side where the jungle was. But she was on the edge so all the greenery didn't shroud her.
Hours were walked by and still she had found nothing. She came to a fork in the river and didn't know which she should follow.
"Hmm should we follow the smaller one or continue on the main river?" she asked herself mostly but was also asking Teto.
Teto nodded when she mentioned the main river so she agreed to follow that one.
Another hour had passed them when she noticed something up ahead. It seemed to be dead. The corps was halfway out of the water.
Nausicaa wordlessly ran up to the creature and starred at it for a moment.
"This seems to be of the same race as the sea dragon that helped me. Maybe it is her mother. I'm starting to wish it wasn't though because it doesn't exactly look like it will ever move again," she spoke aloud to Teto.
The creature scurried down and went near the corpse. Nausicaa merely had to kneel. She placed her hand on the corpse to see if it had just recently died but it was cold to the flesh.
"I wonder what had killed it?"
There was no way she could carry that thing out of the water so she looked around hoping to find something relatively like a rope. Nausicaa walked up the some long vines that came from the jungle and pulled one out.
"This will have to do," she sighed.
Nausicaa wrapped the rope around the midsection of the sea dragon. She secured it tightly before fully submerging it into the water. She held the end of the rope and began pulling it in the opposite direction from which she came.
Due to having to pull a creature and due to her fatigue and hunger, she walked at a much slower pace now. The midday heat was starting to get to her as well.
By the time she got back to the ocean edge the sun was beginning to set. She had only taken one break to drink some water, the rest of the time was spent getting back.
Upon arrival the child had already been waiting for her.
"Is this your mother?" Nausicaa called in the distance.
The child took a moment but then the scent had registered.
"Mother!!!" she began to bawl. She must have noticed the scent of decay as well.
Nausicaa continued to drag the corpse. Once she was right in front of the child she tried to comfort her with one hand, patting her on the head. She felt kind of awkward not really knowing what to do.
"What should I do with her?" she asked the child once she stopped crying. The child was mostly stunned now.
"Just release her into the sea. I will tell my people of this and they shall take her the rest of the way," she instructed.
Nausicaa untied the creature and let it fall into the sea.
"I'm sorry I don't know what happened to her I just found her like that."
"I believe you Nausicaa."
"Since you know my name could I at least know yours?"
"You may call me Andreya"
"I'm very sorry about this Andreya. Is there anything else I can do for you."
"It's my fault. I know it is. If I hadn't run away," Andreya choked on her own words.
"Your not the one who killed her. I will find out who did, I promise."
"You've done enough as it is. Thank you. I must be leaving."
She disappeared before Nausicaa could say goodbye. She truly felt sorry for Andreya.
It was starting to get dark and her stomach was relentlessly rumbling. She had to find shelter and food for tonight, there was nothing else she could do for now. At least now she had a permanent source of water.
She walked on never able to stop her thoughts from wandering about what would kill the sea dragon.
*** Well I hope it was to someone's satisfaction. As usual tell me what you think, constructive criticism is very welcome for I don't mind improving this.***