Chapter Sixteen: Day to Day
Any idiot can face a crisis- it's day to day living that wears you out.
-Anton Chekhov
xxXxx
"Oy, Bearskin! Think ye'll live?" one sailor asked as he came to the side to dump garbage.
"I hope not," she groaned, barely able to keep her voice masculine as her body fell limp on the side of the ship. "I've nearly puked out my toenails and I still feel terrible."
"Ah, try not to take it to heart," he encouraged with a laugh, giving her a rough slap on the shoulder. "No one's ever died from seasickness before, as long as you keep drinking water."
"Is it really going to take another week to reach Rogalsh?" she begged, just before turning her face over the side to throw up again.
"I'm afraid so. Hang in there, Bearskin. It'll ruin your reputation if you let this defeat you."
Baron meowed sympathetically, pawing at her pant leg to remind her that she wasn't alone.
"I know, ech! I just… haven't been this sick… in years," she moaned, feeling so weary.
How could anyone stand the constant movement of the waves? One thing was for sure; she was never going to set foot on a ship again! Not if it meant feeling this terrible.
She let herself hang halfway off the boat, just in case anything else was going to come out of her system. She doubted anything was left, but then, she doubted that on her third day at sea. And it was now her eighth.
By now, the sailors had grown used to seeing her on the ship and more or less left her and Baron alone.
Her little cat took her pant leg in his teeth and began pulling in gentle tugs.
"One second," she moaned, turning over the side for one more load of what was once a meal.
Gasping and feeling like a limp noodle, she used part of her ration of water to cleanse her mouth from the terrible bile and let Baron drag her back to the small cabin the captain had set aside for her.
"I don't know how much longer I can hold out," she moaned, curling up on the floor.
Baron meowed at her with irritation and hopped onto the small bed to pat it with a paw.
"I'm feeling sick enough without trying to sleep on a bed, Baron. But I know you're trying to help," she conceded through a weak smile.
He gave her a sad smile and hopped off the bed to purr against her stomach.
"Please not there," she begged.
He quickly moved closer to her shoulder.
"Thank you," she sighed, trying to let his purr lull her to sleep.
ooOoo
All Haru could do was cry. Every part of her hurt, including her head, despite the fact that she hadn't hurt herself all week.
"Shh, sweetheart," her mother cooed, gently patting her forehead with a cool washcloth. "I'm right here, everything's going to be fine." She quickly turned Haru to the pail next to the fur nest to catch another load of vomit.
"M-Mama," she coughed, hating the taste in her mouth.
"I know, Haru. I'm right here," Naoko soothed, helping the girl sip from a small cup of water. "Now spit it into the pail for Mother, darling."
The little girl did as she was told, although it dribbled down her front.
Naoko sighed and did her best to rock her child back to sleep. "How you could have caught a stomach flu when we see no one is beyond me. Come stop your crying, it'll be all right. Come take my hand, hold it tight."
Haru gripped her mother's hand tightly, wishing that she didn't have to hurt anymore.
"I will protect you from all around you. I will be here; don't you cry."
A sudden lick to the cheek made her eyes snap open. Baron was right in front of her, concern more than evident in his eyes.
Bearskin sat up, making her stomach heave uneasily. She touched her cheek, noting the tears running down her face. Although she felt just as sick as before, the beautiful memory was enough to distract her from the pain.
"Don't… don't you cry," she whispered as disobedient tears continued to fall.
Baron meowed in worry, hopping onto her lap to desperately try to lick her face dry.
"No… no, Baron," she whispered happily, holding him close. "These are good tears. I just had the most beautiful dream in years!"
Baron patted her cheek, mewing for more details.
"Not here, I'll tell you later," she promised, returning to her man voice while wiping the remaining tears away. "Suffice it to say, that dream made being sick worth it."
"Me-ow?" he gasped in shock.
The pale trapper nodded before kissing his forehead. "But I wish you had let me sleep a little longer. She didn't even finish the song."
Baron pleaded for her to elaborate, but she remained firm. There was no telling who could be listening in on them.
ooOoo
Another man screamed like a girl at her approach, backing up until he was against the side of the ship.
"Here, let me help you with that," she growled menacingly, picking the pirate up and dumping him over the side like garbage. She turned around with her sword ready, but no one was left to challenge her.
The few pirates that she had not gotten to yet were already running across the board they had used to climb onto the small merchant ship and were doing everything in their power to get away from the area.
"And don't come ba-" The dramatic line was cut off by another unloading of her lunch.
Thankfully she was already close to the side, so she settled for trying to aim her puke at the pirate ship as it quickly rowed away.
The captain hesitantly approached, letting her finish her business before trying to say anything. "Thank you, Bearskin. That could have ended quite badly if not for you."
"Any… casualties?" she panted before taking a big sip of water to try washing her mouth out. She was so dizzy, it was a wonder she didn't fall over trying to get rid of the pirates.
"Three, and two more might not survive their wounds."
She sluggishly turned around and started searching her satchel for more healing ointment. "We'll just see about that." 'And we'll see how forgiving Baron is about me tossing him into that barrel to keep him out of the fight.'
ooOoo
Baron meowed in a comforting manner as Bearskin threw up yet again, still at her ordinary post at the side of the boat.
"Are we close to Rogalsh yet?" she groaned as the captain drew close with a nervous expression.
"Actually, Bearskin… it'll be longer than we thought."
She groaned sickly. "Why longer?"
"Me navigator says that a powerful storm is heading this way. We're going to try to go around it, but it means going into dangerous waters."
"How dangerous?" she moaned before taking a sip of water.
"Hardly anyone comes back from them. The Mist Islands are no place for travelers."
She spat out the water before looking at him. "There's no way to avoid both?"
"I'm afraid not. I just wanted you to know, in case… you can do something about it."
Bearskin gave him a tight smile as Baron purred. "If I can, Captain, I will. Just out of curiosity, what makes the Mist Islands so dangerous?"
"No one's ever come back to tell the tale. That's why I wanted you to know; even with the seasickness, you're a force to be reckoned with."
"I'd be happier if… bleck!" She quickly turned to the railing again to avoid throwing up on the man.
Oh well. He probably knew what she meant.
ooOoo
It was about three days later when they reached the edge of the storm. At least, Bearskin had been assured that it was only the edge, but to her sickened senses, it was bad enough to make the earlier part of the voyage seem like a vacation.
Determined not to be a burden, she locked Baron in her cabin before working alongside the sailors, rolling up sails and tightening ropes as the captain dictated. It was hard work, especially with her seasickness, but after what felt like centuries, they were able to steer out of the storm's path.
And into the largest fog bank she had ever seen.
"Mist, actually," a random sailor corrected nervously after she made such a comment out loud.
"It's all the same thing anyway," she answered with a shrug, trying to pierce the thick grey fog with her sight. "Just clouds that are close to the ground."
"If it were me, I'd be worrying about what it's hiding than what mist is."
Baron meowed in agreement, making her rub his back affectionately. He was in a much better mood now that he wasn't locked into her cabin anymore.
"Let's hope we don't find out."
A few tense hours passed, silent and uneventful. Even the water was still and smooth as a mirror. It was calm enough to even ease her sea sickness.
"This is no good," another sailor fretted. "If the wind doesn't pick up, we could be stranded for days."
"Don't we have oars we can use?" Bearskin asked, pointing down the side of the ship. "I'm pretty sure those holes on the side could be opened up and used for rowing."
"No, the rowing makes the captain sick."
She gave him a stern glance. "He can pick between being sick or facing whatever's out there. I know which one I'd pick."
The old sailor nodded, and took a deep breath for courage before rushing off to find the captain.
Feeling another load coming out, Bearskin quickly leaned over the side to throw up once more. "Ugh, I hate this. Baron, remind me to never get on a boat again."
He mewed the affirmative, rubbing against one pant while purring in an attempt to comfort her.
Bearskin smiled and washed her mouth out with water before picking him up. She ran her gloved fingers through his fur, holding him close. "You have the patience of an angel; have I ever told you that?"
He shook his head, but smiled warmly at her before licking her face again. But then he stopped cold and looked out into the water.
She also looked out, but nothing had changed. "What is it?" she whispered, but he did not answer her.
Instead, his ears were perked as high as they would go and his every muscle seemed to be frozen in time.
Even worse was when the ship began moving without the aid of wind or tide.
"There's something in the water!" she called out as loudly as possible, keeping Baron in one arm as she looked over the side again. But all she could see were the ripples made by the ship as the speed slowly increased.
She ran all over the ship as the men readied weapons, but no matter where she looked, she could find no evidence of anything that was strong enough to move them.
At least, until they started singing.
That thoroughly confused her. The music sounded like a chorus of girls and yet… it was beyond anything she had ever heard before. Angels, perhaps?
Baron began swaying in her arms, meowing in an almost drunken manner as he tried to escape her arms.
She tightened her hold on him and looked over at the deck.
The sailors were behaving even worse than Baron! None were at their posts and some were leaning off the sides, trying to catch a glimpse of the singers.
…Mermaids!
"No, stop! That's just what they want you to do!" she screamed, not caring for once about using her true voice. "Captain, steer the ship away!"
The captain seemed briefly puzzled, but then returned to staring at a large rock that the ship was now speeding toward like an arrow.
"Jump ship! We're going to be killed!" she yelled, still keeping Baron in one arm as she gripped a rope for balance.
There was no time. There was no choice. Even if she tried to grab the helm and steer the boat away, it would still collide.
Biting back a sob, she jumped out of the boat, fighting back the urge to gasp at the icy coldness.
By the time she came back up, the boat was slamming against the rocks, making it break apart like the chest she had been delivered in.
The singing had stopped short, but she could barely notice. It was all she could do to keep both her head and Baron's above the water. He was unconscious.
"Baron? Baron, come on," she begged, shaking him around until he started coughing up salt water.
"Me… meow?" he asked in a daze.
"I'll explain later. We need to get out of the water," she replied, holding him at an angle so that she could start swimming.
Too bad it was one of the things she wasn't very good at. She could barely manage more than a dog paddle. Although it was blatantly obvious that Baron hated being in the water, he was also paddling. It wasn't really doing anything, but at least he was trying.
After a while, one of the boards from the ship floated close enough for Bearskin to grab it.
"Is anyone alive?" she called out while setting Baron on the board.
He looked like a drowned rat, but he was looking around as well. "Meow," he said somberly, pointing off to the right.
She looked over, barely able to see the island through the mist. "If anyone else is alive, answer me!" she begged, but the world was as silent as it had been a mere hour before.
Bearskin looked at the board and then at the island. "Let's hope this works," she muttered to herself, slowly maneuvering the piece of wood.
Baron meowed worriedly, but she shushed him.
"Do you really think I'd take chances with you? Just hang on and enjoy the ride." Holding onto the board with both hands, she began kicking as hard as she could. There was a lot of splashing, but there was a noticeable improvement on her speed.
It was still another hour before her feet could touch soft sand. Feeling exhausted and hungry, she picked Baron up walked the rest of the way to the island, and collapsed on the beach. Her bearskin cloak was now twice as heavy from the salt water and would stink of wet bear for hours.
She lay there panting for some time, still clinging to Baron as he licked her face in spite of the salt water. She held him tight against one shoulder as a terrible fear crept into her heart. "… We're the only survivors, aren't we?" she whispered in horror.
Baron gave her a sad look and nodded.
The pale trapper wanted to cry, she really did. Everyone on board that ship had been good people, good men with families to provide for. But she was so tired, all she was able to do was emit a single sob before letting darkness claim her.
ooOoo
Baron was licking her cheek again. She moaned while waking up; her entire body was stiff from all the swimming and every muscle hurt. "Ow. Baron, why did you let me get this out of shape?"
He mewed indignantly, so she gave him a grin to say she was joking. She stiffly sat up and took in her surroundings. A number of pieces of the ship had floated to the edge of the water, but they were too soaked to make decent firewood.
Her little cat mewed for her attention, marching up to a small pile of branches and twigs a little behind her.
"Up to your usual tricks, I see," she couldn't help but laugh, although she was groaning as she rose to her feet.
He purred and seemed to smile back at her as she lit a small fire to start cooking some supper. The sun was just setting, but the ever-present mist was making night approach faster than usual.
"I don't know about you, but I'm thinking that we'll explore this place in the morning," she informed Baron as she started cutting bits of deer meat into her new cooking pot. "There might be something we can use to get back to the mainland."
He meowed in agreement, even as he kept dragging twigs and such from the forest that was bordering the seafront.
But before supper was done cooking, something was splashing around in the water behind her.
Several somethings.
Bearskin wheeled around as Baron mewed in horror. She swept him into one arm and eased her sword out with the other.
They were beautiful, there was no denying it. Their skin was lovely and pale like a pearl and their hair was long and fine. Even their scales glistened in the moonlight like a dragon's treasure of emeralds.
But they could have used some shirts. Modest ones. Baron kept his face pressed against her shoulder, obviously mortified by seeing what should never be made public knowledge.
They swam as close to the shore as they could and began crawling on their bellies when swimming was no longer possible. The trapper was very clearly their destination.
"Stay back," she warned the mermaids in a gruff tone, keeping close to the fire. "We're not interested in being eaten today."
"E-eat you?" one mermaid laughed, curling her long hair over one ear flirtatiously. "Why would we want to eat you when there are far more interesting things we can do together?"
"Come now; are we not beautiful?" another one whimpered, looking at her with large green eyes.
"Yes, all of you are beautiful, and no, I'm not interested," she informed them in a bored tone, never relaxing her hold on the sword. "Go back to the sea; I'm not the type to do what you mermaids are obviously interested in."
A few of them started giggling like she had cracked a joke and began singing in a low, seductive tone.
Baron's head began swaying side to side, in time to their beat.
"Hey, stop that," she ordered, shaking him around briefly. "They're targeting me, not you, remember?"
He meowed weakly, barely able to understand her through the mermaids' song. He began trying to escape her hold, but there was no way on earth she was going to put him down.
They drew closer, ever closer until Bearskin began throwing bits of burning firewood at them. They hissed and withdrew, some breaking off the song completely.
"What sort of man are you?" one of them demanded, one with soft white locks running through her perfect hair. "No one has ever resisted our mating call before."
A smirk crossed her lips. "No one, eh?"
"No one. How are you remaining unaffected?" another asked, obviously irritated by the trapper's immunity.
She bit back a laugh and tossed Baron into her hood, now that they had stopped singing. Even as he slowly came to himself, she undid the ties of her shirt and opened it wide for all the mermaids to see.
They stared in horror at the bandages holding her chest in a manly shape, even though it covered her decently.
"I can resist you because I'm a girl too," she answered in her normal voice, tying her shirt closed once more. "Now please leave us alone."
"… Dang it!" a blonde one nearly screamed. "Over fifty years since a ship's passed through here, and the only survivor is a woman!"
"A cursed woman and her cat," she added while easing Baron into her arm again.
He was still shaking, but at least he seemed to be himself again.
"Even if you had some lonely brothers, I would turn into a bear if I tried to mate before finding my cure."
"Mermen? Ah, wouldn't that be nice?" a black haired one sighed in longing. "That way we could have more than a few years of companionship here and there."
"Yes, but then they would talk of us the way sailors talk of their wives," another one reminded her with a grimace as she rolled around to a sitting position. "So… now what?"
"All of you are going to leave my cat and myself alone. There's nothing to gain from either of us, and our dinner's going to burn if you don't let me put my sword down."
"Oh, go ahead and see to your meal," another mermaid urged with a resigned sigh. "You are outside of our power."
Keeping a wary eye on the half-naked girls, she urged Baron onto her shoulders so that she could start cutting a potato into the rapidly boiling water. He in turn kept his face pressed to her neck, probably to keep from looking at the mermaids.
One mermaid tapped her talon-like nails against a rock as she stared at the trapper. "Are you a type of human that is rare?"
Bearskin snorted indelicately. "You mean cursed cross-dressers are strange?"
Baron bit back a strange purr that could have been a laugh.
"Is your curse the reason for your paleness?" the talon mermaid asked, looking a little frustrated. "How is it you became cursed?"
She stiffened angrily. "I feel no need to explain the incident." 'Especially to murdering harlots.'
"Come now; don't you know any stories at all?" another one begged, the one that had tried to use her green eyes as a weapon.
"I am not an entertainer, miss. I thought I made that clear."
"Eela," she supplied. "I'm Eela."
"What if we make it worth your while?" the silver-haired mermaid said, obviously trying to salvage something from the terrible mistake. "If we caught some fish for your supper, will you tell us a story?"
Bearskin gave her an incredulous look. "Boy, you mermaids are confusing. One second you want to be naughty, and the next second you want a story."
"You have the look of a traveler about you. Travelers always have stories to tell."
She sighed in resignation. "Look, if I tell you mermaids a story, will you leave us be?"
"For the night, at least," the silver-haired one promised, giving a firm glance to her sisters. "But for the record, Eela isn't the only one with a name. I'm Tila."
Bearskin sighed in resignation, rubbing one cheek against Baron's soft fur. "Well, I could tell you what I was doing on that ship in the first place…"
ooOoo
The mermaids loved her account of rescuing and escaping Blanche. They loved it so much that they came back every day, bringing fish and begging for another tale to tide them over until tomorrow.
Bearskin felt incredibly guilty for getting along with the mermaids, especially since they had killed everyone on the ship and weren't feeling even a little bit of guilt over it. Baron's disapproval was crystal clear every time the mermaids waded back to the sea.
"Look, it's only for a little while," she consoled, scratching his ears before returning to her task. "As soon as this boat's done, we'll head back to the mainland and be on the road again."
He nodded, but there was still that frown of disapproval.
"Do you have a better idea?" she sighed tiredly.
Baron shook his head while staring at his white paws.
"Then please stop giving me that look. Beggars can't be choosers."
He sighed in resignation, rubbing his body against her pant leg once before hopping onto the partially made canoe. Bearskin held a long nail in place long enough for Baron to hold it between his paws and then pressed it into the wood with a rock the size of her fist.
It was a slow way to build the small boat, but at least there was progress.
ooOoo
"… I tell you, this guy was a complete maniac. He actually dyed his beard blue for fun! Not even his hair, just the beard. I don't know why that didn't tip off any of the girls he married that he was imbalanced except the last one. After Alicia found the room where he had been keeping the bodies, the blood stained the dress he loved seeing on her. Since she knew he'd insist on her wearing that dress when he could see her, she had me hide behind a curtain long before supper so that no one would suspect I was there. It was a bit boring, but the conversation I overheard from the servants was interesting enough. They all seemed to know that the duke's wives weren't really all dying from the various causes their lord came up with, but they were too terrified to tell anyone. Only Alicia was brave enough to ask me for help."
"Naturally," Tiliu giggled. "Women are much braver than men."
"It depends more on the person than the gender," Bearskin reminded her again while she finished gutting another fish. "Come suppertime, the duke comes in and asks Alicia the same old question; is her laundry in order? She responds yes, but he notices the blood on the hem of her skirt. Then he gets this really crazy, angry look in his eyes and picks up his steak knife. He began walking very slowly to her." To emphasize how terrifying the moment had been, she took slow, deliberate steps back to her small cauldron, keeping her gutting knife raised as if to strike someone down.
Some of the younger mermaids clung together in fright.
"Thankfully Alicia was smart enough to back up against the wall, not too far from where I was hiding. Just as he was about to stab her, I came out and pounced on him like a bear. It was a short and ugly fight, and I have this to prove it." With one finger, she traced the scar along her jaw line. "He had many more before I managed to break his neck."
Baron shuddered in horror from his place on a nearby rock. But he was keeping his back to the mermaids as usual.
"Alicia wasn't the only one happy with me. Everyone in the duke's lands, and even the kingdom were happy to see the last of him, especially once word got out about his beloved 'red chamber'. Alicia wanted me to stay, but she had the marrying look in her eye, so I politely turned her down."
Quima sighed. "I don't blame her. You would have been a perfect mate if you were a male."
Baron gave a dark growl that sounded a lot like a disagreement.
'It's twice as creepy to hear a girl say that when she knows the truth.' "I'm a cursed trapper with a bad temper," Bearskin responded in a tired tone, since she wanted to be sure that the mermaids wouldn't forget her flaws. "Even if I could marry before ending my curse, I doubt I'd go for someone with a title."
"Why not?" Tila asked curiously as Baron's ears flicked upward.
Bearskin sighed, feeling more tired than normal. "I was born and raised in a cave. Everything about my way of living is geared for practicality, not appearances. I've been in castles and fortresses many times, but other than the stone, I can't see how anyone could be comfortable with living in one. On top of that, almost every man I've met that has a title or even some land to his name turns out to have this 'I'm better than you' aura. They may not be that way to me, but I have definitely seen it in the way they treat servants or random strangers."
Baron was nodding sadly.
"What they don't understand is that there is no inferior or superior. The people in charge need the peasants to grow their food and weave their clothes, and the peasants need the people in charge to protect them when an emergency happens. It's supposed to be a partnership, but how can the peasants take the nobility seriously if all they're concerned about is fashion and social standing?"
Baron was still nodding, but he was being more energetic about it than before.
"I doubt I'll find someone who's just right for me, but if I ever do, it will be someone who treats everyone with kindness and respect, no matter what their background is."
Baron looked at her sharply, but she didn't notice.
"But I guess I won't find out until after I get off this island," she finished with a lighthearted shrug.
"Hold on," Eela said slowly. "What makes you think you're getting off the island?"
She stirred the pot while adding more salt to the stew. "My cure isn't here, so Baron and I have been working on a boat deep in the woods. It's not much, but it should get us back to the mainland. It's going to be a miserable-"
"You're not leaving," Tila informed her in a firm tone.
Bearskin stopped stirring her supper and slowly looked at the Eldest Sister, the closest thing the island had to a ruler. "If you're worried about me telling other people there are mermaids here, I can promise not to."
Tila shook her head. "No, that's not it. You may not be a male, but you are still interesting, and your stories are new. You're not leaving."
The young trapper gave her a cool glare while crossing her arms. "You think you can stop me?"
"We'll wreck your boat as soon as you put it to water," she promised in a growl. "You will never leave here."
Bearskin glared at the mermaid and pointedly turned her back to return to making the stew. "Then I hope you enjoyed the story. It's the last one any of you will ever get out of me."