It was a long, awful night which led to a freezing dark morning. And now…I was still moving through the woods, slowly and clumsily with the cold. My human body disappeared long ago but that was the least of my worries. I could not remember when I had any sleep, food, or water that was not muddy and brackish. But I dared not stop to look for any of those things whilst I was in unfamiliar territory.
After leaving the beach, I had walked for some time through the blackness of the dense woods that surrounded the coast, stretching in all directions. I was lost. I had no idea where Lukas was and the thought of never finding him again made my heart sink. I felt my paws moving faster without even ordering them to. I was getting anxious, and it was making my heart pound faster and faster.
I am alone, I am all alone. Why, oh why did I not stick closer to Lukas! I lifted my head and whined. Didn't I used to like being alone? How crazy. I shook my head and trotted on. I have to find Lukas. I don't even know what happened to…
I tripped over something and fell hard on the forest floor with a loud 'oof!'. I was dazed for a moment, still wondering how the hell that happened, when my eyes focused on a bare pale leg next to me. Then I saw what that limb was attached to. I yelped and crawled away as best I could.
It was a human. A female curled up on the frost-tinted forest floor, unconscious or dead. I could not tell.
At least that was what it looked like, but my nose was telling me a different story and it confused me. I inhaled, assessing as best I could.
Salt. The brackish sea. And…that awful tasting blood I snorted, remembering.
The conclusion was obvious—a mermaid then. One of the ones that had escaped into the woods last night and she was not unscathed. I saw a nasty wound on her shoulder, barely clotting, trailing golden blood down an arm. Various gashes and bruises, highlighted on her light skin, indicated she'd fallen hard and a long way.
I approached slowly, still with fear. In our world of animals, an injured beast was dangerous. No telling what this one might do to me.
If she is even alive, I thought. I leaned closer and saw the thin chest rising and falling with breath. Still alive then.
I also saw that the mermaid was freezing. The morning air was cold as ice, and it was blowing and swirling the surrounding vegetation. It made my own fur-covered skin contract.
I placed a wet nose on the mermaid's exposed shoulder. Cold, she was too cold. It was freezing but she was not even shivering, not a good sign. She needs to be covered, I thought urgently. She had no human cloth shields on. I glanced around, hoping to find something the forest could offer. Then I had a better idea.
I lay on top of the woman, curling my warm furry body over her cold bare one. The woman moaned as she felt the weight of a wolf on her. I licked her cheeks reassuringly and wiggled a bit to get comfortable. It only took a few moments for the effect to take place; the mermaid started to tremble a bit, then warmed up further and settled into a more peaceful sleep. I was so tired I soon slept too.
A few hours later I woke and watched the sleeping woman underneath me, noting that her breathing sounded normal now that she was warmer, and intrigued by her beautiful face. The scaly, fanged apex predator from last night seemed long gone.
While I was looking at her, a shaft of afternoon light fell on the woman's face. The woman's eyes fluttered open to see my golden wolf eyes, deep set in a face of earthy-umber fur and long narrow muzzle. The mermaid screamed and scrambled away. I backed off too.
We faced off, the mermaid crouched animal-like on all fours so that we were eye-level. Her matted golden hair fell over cerulean eyes that glared right at me. She hissed and clawed like a cat. Clearly, she expected a fight.
My first instinct was to snarl back, and I did. But I wasn't interested in fighting; I'd never been much of a fighter.
Perhaps a different approach, I reasoned.
As I had done several times before, I tucked my tail and lowered my body. Then I rolled on the ground, exposing my throat and belly.
The mermaid was stunned. She recognized the body language. Submission.
I lay there for a few seconds then rolled myself upwards again, laying on the ground staring right up at the mermaid.
This time, I recognized her. It was the mermaid I had seen last night, the first one I rescued.
She suddenly moved closer. I forced myself to sit still, as the small but strong hand grabbed my head. She leaned closer still and sniffed. I stiffened, but tried to remain still. Something told me that if I wanted to live, I had to allow the touch.
The tense moment was broken by a harsh noise in the surrounding foliage. I was released and then I stepped protectively in front of the mermaid, shielding her with my body. The mermaid prepped for a fight, listening to the sounds of approaching boots coming from the dense forest foliage.
Suddenly, a man burst through the screen of thick green growth. The mermaid reared up, let out an ear-piercing shriek, and took a swipe at him but I knocked her arm away.
"Wolf!" the man exclaimed. Then he saw the mermaid. "And you found a friend."
It was Lukas. He looked terrible: sunken bloodshot eyes, ripped mud-soaked clothes, and flushed skin. But he was alive!
I wiggled with happiness as my tail thumped the ground. "I am so glad you're alright Lukas!"
"I'm glad you're alive too. I didn't know what happened to you after the—" he stopped mid-sentence, looking very confused— "I'm sorry, did you just speak?"
My own jaw dropped. "I'm sorry but—did you just understand me?"
We stared at each other in utter confusion until a clear strong voice spoke up. "The magic of my people runs in you."
Lukas and I turned. The mermaid was still crouching there, in a hunched defensive posture, and she was now glaring hard at me. "That voice—my kind are universal speakers, all languages known to man and nature." She hissed. "You carry part of my sisters; did you consume one of us?"
"What!? No I did not!" I was scandalized at the very thought.
"You saved my life last night and yet you are a friend to this…creature!?"
Friend. That was the first time I had even thought of the word and associated it with Lukas. I hesitated, but then squared my furry shoulders. "Yes, he is my friend." I turned to look up at him. "Lukas, say hello."
He looked as if he was coming out of a trance. "Hello there, –um— mermaid."
"Yes, I am a mermaid," The woman scowled. "And you're a human." Her tone was suspicious. It said he had better not step any closer to her.
Her body was accosted by a sudden gale. The golden hair bellowed over her bare back in long, greasy tendrils. I saw her shiver and wrap her arms around her chest, then I noticed Lukas was shivering too. All three of us were cold and weary to the bone.
"We need to get out of this wind. All of us." I twitched my nose. "There is a barn not too far."
The mermaid seemed to agree because she straightened up and walked forward. She was tall, as tall as Lukas. I saw him flush red from the collar of his raggedy shirt to his dark hairline and I was concerned. "Lukas, are you feeling alright?"
"Er, …what wolf?"
"Rayne, my name is Rayne. Now that you can finally understand me, I think I'd like to be called by my name." I turned and looked up at the mermaid. "And what is your name?"
The woman balked and looked from my expectant face to the man, who was desperately trying to look anywhere but directly at her. "My name is Waverly. That is the pronunciation in the human tongue." She looked hard at Lukas and scowled. "What in the seas is wrong with you?"
He stammered, still looking anywhere but at her. "It's just that—that you are…that is, you require—" he gestured towards the mermaid's chest.
I cocked my head. It was true that the creature did look far too pale and thin; ribs easily outlined and boney projections near her neck but other than that-
It was not until Lukas shrugged off his stained, threadbare cloak and draped it over Waverly's shoulders that I understood. I never thought so much about why humans had to cover their bodies but apparently it was very important that he not see the mermaid's flesh. Last night my wolf fur had transformed into cloth shield coverings, but that did not seem to be the same with mermaids. Perhaps because they had only scales and not wonderful fur?
Lukas watched Waverly anxiously, waiting for a reassurance that his actions were accepted.
She hugged the cloak to her body tighter. "Thank you. I am very cold."
"Then let's get inside," I found myself giving the orders and, just as surprisingly, the two bipeds obeyed them.
The barn was filled with all manner of hoofed and feathered livestock. Lukas calmed the horses down, but the rest of the animals did not take kindly to a wolf being present, especially after I helped myself to a juicy chicken and her eggs for a hearty, well-deserved breakfast.
Lukas looked shocked at my bloody muzzle, but Waverly nodded approvingly. I offered meat to both, but only the mermaid accepted. Lukas took one of the eggs, looked at it regretfully, then placed it under another hen. He was still above eating his food raw.
He also opened a storage cabinet where the barn owners kept supplies. There, he found a few old clothes and some clean rags. The mermaid used a damp cloth to wipe the rest of the blood and dirt off her body and then she managed to put on an old, ragged shirt and secure it with a belt. The shirt was clearly meant for a large man because it hung loosely on her thin frame down to her knees, but it was something.
Lukas also took the cleaning rags to his own body. He was dirty, cut up, and bruised from last nights' fighting. While the two worked on themselves, I kept watch, peeking through the small gaps of the barn slates and using my nose to gauge if anyone approached.
I felt Lukas step up behind me. "Anyone there?"
"No," I turned and saw Waverly standing close by. "How are you feeling now?"
"Much better. That land fowl was delicious."
Silence then. The three of us stared at each other, awkwardly.
"So now what?" I asked no one in particular. "Back to the ocean?"
Lukas pressed his lips tightly considering. "It's very far and I'm not sure we'd even make it. We made a lot of enemies last night."
Waverly looked over towards the outside. She shook her head. "I must return to my people. Recover from the hunt."
"Why were those men hunting mermaids last night?" I asked.
"There is a legend among the humans of this kingdom. That our golden blood and flesh holds the secret to eternal beauty and consuming us will grant immortality. The Evil Emperor hunts us down in an effort to live forever."
Lukas and I stared. I thought back to the golden blood I accidently swallowed last night.
"Um, it doesn't really do that right?" I asked nervously.
"Of course not! These are the ravings of a madman seeking to become immortal."
"Immortal," Lukas repeated as he stared at her. "The Emperor wanted me to capture a mermaid so he could become immortal?" He frowned and rubbed a hand over his face. "I was almost a part of this monstrous hunting."
"The Emperor is old and sickly," Waverly explained. "He has no heirs, no way to continue his line. His only real love is his precious immortal golden bird. The bird has been stealing golden fruit for some time now. The Emperor thought the magic of the fruit was the key to immortality but he was wrong. He still ages. So now he has focused his attention on mermaids and our flesh and blood." She hissed.
"This is crazy," I shook my furry head. "I thought this would be a simple adventure, and now–" I stopped, knowing how selfish and petty that sounded. In the face of the slaughter of an entire species my desire for a simple adventure was juvenile.
Waverly continued. "My people intend to keep fighting for our waters until this madness ends."
The mermaid looked hard at Lukas with cold, golden eyes. I was suddenly reminded of the dangerous apex predators from last night.
"And if you still insist on taking me to this Emperor, I will kill you. Here and now."
I stepped between them. "He will do no such thing so back off!"
It was tense for a moment. Then Lukas spoke up. "Your people cannot keep this up. Sooner or later, they will catch and kill you."
Waverly hissed. "What happened last night was an accident! They surprised us!"
"But it could happen again," Lukas countered. "Every time the mer come to the surface you risk exposure to the hunters.
"And what do you propose? We just allow them to kill us in this mad attempt of the Emperor to gain immortality?"
"I think I know who could help your people."
Waverly straightened and narrowed her eyes. "I'm listening."
"My father is a king. He can pass a law and enforce it to prevent these massacres."
The mermaid seemed caught off-guard. It was apparently the last thing she expected to hear. She turned to me. I could tell she wanted confirmation, animal to animal.
"He's telling the truth," I nodded. "And I agree. I think we should all go speak to the king and tell him. About the golden bird, the golden fruit, everything. We need to set things right."
Waverly scrunched her face, thinking, as she took it all in. Then she leveled a skeptical look at both of us. "This father of yours…he will listen to you?"
I groaned, unable to hide my despair. I knew that Lukas was not on the best terms with his family.
He clearly had the same thought for he was silent for a moment. Then, his face lit up. "The bird! If I present the Golden Bird to him, he will listen. He will grant me any boon."
I groaned again, louder. "Are you saying you're going back to hunting that stupid bird?"
Lukas nodded. "It's the only way we can make these massacres stop."
Oh no, I thought. This had started out simple, but now this adventure was spiraling into more and more things I never wanted to be involved in. I really didn't want to save anyone or be a hero. Any more than I wanted to fly. But now that I knew, now that I was aware of what was happening, I could not simply go back to how things were.
It will only be a short while, I thought. All we have to do is catch a stupid bird, that was the original adventure anyways. Surely I can do that.
So I made my decision. "I will help."
"And so will I."
Lukas and I turned in surprise at what the mermaid had said.
She spread her hands. "If this aids my people, I will help."
"Then we'll all go," Lukas smiled. Feeling spirited I nudged into him deliberately. He hesitated, then stroked my head. I leaned into his hand this time.
But only for a moment. We had things to do. I checked outside to see if there was any danger. Lukas picked up his sword and slid it into the scabbard on his left hip then paused as he looked for his cloak, seemingly forgetting it was wrapped around the mermaid.
She started to shrug it off before he quickly held up a hand. "Keep it. A gift."
She looked surprised, then smiled a shy smile. "Thank you," she said. Something passed between them, not sure what it was.
I slid back the barn door bolt with my paws. It was so easy to open a door now. "Come on you two."
For the first time in forever, I felt like I belonged. I had not one, but two who believed in me, who took my thoughts seriously, and we were working together to make the world better. It felt wonderful.