So, I added something to make it easier to understand when she talks to herself in her mind:
Silly me //Text
Rational me \\Text
-------------------------
//Uhm, rational me?
\\Yes, silly me?
//This can't be my hotspring, right?
\\Well, it is at the exact position where it should be, so it must be.
//But… uhm… this puddle is way to small to be my hotspring, rational me.
\\I know, silly me. And it doesn't [feel] hot either. But what are the odds that on the exact calculated location but from another starting point, there is another source of water with somewhat similar surroundings?\\
The part of my brain that steadily calculates just spat out a number that showed me the odds. All in all it would be near impossible.
In this case the small pond in the middle of a very stony forest clearing is a somewhat degraded version of my hotspring. This is… disappointing.
//How could it become like that?
\\I have no Idea but I could ask "them".
//Wait no! Am I stupid?
Maybe a little bit but still; no!
Them? Oh I am not alone.
Well in fact I am, as I am about thirty meters away from the pond. Hidden in an uncomfortable, spiky bush on the other side of the road I [observe] the place.
On the border of the clearing, tied onto some trees are some big cows with red fur and close to them are some very old fashioned looking, simple carts. I would assume the cows have to pull them?
But why aren't they using those car things?
I let my [gaze] wander over the clearing. There are twentyseven small tents all over the place.
They are more than simple.
Made out of wood, animalfur and some low quality cloth and in every one of them was at least one sleeping human.
Even they are just dressed with the simplest material. Some only wear underwear because they seemingly used their clothes made out of leather and fur as an extra layer for the tent.
Stop confusing me!
What is wrong with you that you are like this when the world around you is way to modern.
Ah, wait.
…
I waited.
…
Dang it!
But wasn't there something like this in my homeworld too?
Some people that didn't like technology or just denied it out of religion and stuff like that.
So those people probably choose to be like that? Weird.
But something is still amiss.
I [check] the people in their tents again.
That is rude? Who cares?
After doublechecking again I realized what put me of.
There are neither children nor elderly people here.
So this is not their main group and they are just passing through here.
In conclusion they should be leaving soon.
I [look] at the carts a bit more precisely.
There is something that reminds me of bread, some smoked meat and a few fruits that I also saw growing on my way here.
With this amount of food they should last about a week and a half.
So if that is only for the trip and they have more food on their destination, then they will be far away soon.
But if it comes to the worst then they will only travel a few days and then settle down there.
… That would be way too close. So shoo, leave already.
As if they would.
Well it is the middle of the night though.
When I arrived it was around evening and the humans were in the middle of pitching up their tents and lighting up a few small campfires here and there. They created fire with the small magic circle that I knew already.
The moment I [noticed] them I froze up in terror and was already about to turn around and flee again.
But I fought this instinct and [observed].
They are so simple and badly equipped that I relaxed a bit.
I am way faster than them so I should be able to get away easily.
After a while of [watching] from afar I got closer bit by bit and finally hid myself in the bush to get all of them in my field of perception.
Truth be told I hope that they give me information about what is going on. Or at least show me some more magic that I can hopefully use.
But it didn't work out.
I already know the small fire magic and I can't understand their language. It seems to be the same that is used in the woodcutter village though.
I shift my [gaze] to the last person awake, a tall man who sat on a small boulder and stared into a campfire until moments ago. Now his head was just hanging there and he started to breath in a softer, rhythmically way.
Yep, he fell asleep too.
What a useless watchman.
How do I know?
Well, he has a big stonehammer next to him, that is clearly meant to be a weapon and even though there are many people who have simple weapons near them, this one person stayed awake alone so he must be some kind of guard. But as stated before; he is a bad one.
Very slowly I started to leave the bush, my mind highly focused on all the people in my field of perception.
It took me a few minutes until I got out completely and without making the slightest noise.
There was no change in the breathing that would let me assume that something is amiss or someone could wake up.
Carefully I stepped on the road.
Still highly concentrated I crossed it without making a sound. It took me about thirty minutes but I got time.
Humans are quite weak in this regard; they have to sleep eventually and can't really resist to sleep at night.
With this in mind I am sure that I have a few hours left until the first ones will get up and I can fulfil my plan without hesitation.
…
I enter the camp.
Taking a deep mentally breath before I took the next step, I started to move between the tents.
//I still think this is a bad idea, rational me.
\\No, the idea was okay. Just the plan is not the best but I don't know if I would get another chance for that I could prepare more.
//But… one at the edge would have worked quite fine too.
\\No, silly me, it has to be the best. Where is my pride?
//To the fifteen with pride, this could literally kill me if something goes wrong.
Arguing with myself, I silently made it to my chosen destination.
I stood in front of a small tent near the opposite end of the forest clearing.
There was neither something special with the tent, nor was it with it's inhabitant. It seemed to be made only for a single use and I could barely look over it without stretching.
But as many others did, the person inside used their clothing to utilize their tent and this was my desired goal.
The outermost layer of the tent was a cloak made out of some thin, greyish leather. It was not really anything special but by far it was the best I could [see].
I want that as a replacement for my jacket.
Slowly I gripped the hem and the collar and then moved my tail into one of the sleeves in a way so that it could enter the other one from the inside.
Okay, here goes nothing.
I lifted the cloak slowly.
Because of my size I couldn't prevent the cloak from softly stroking against the next layer of the tent and it made a quiet noise. Still nothing out of the ordinary but it stressed me out.
If I would be able to sweat, then I would be soaked after a few minutes that felt like hours.
But finally the cloak was mine. I hastily rolled it into some kind of ball and then curled my tail around it so that I could carry it without using my arms.
Now the most dangerous part.
Of course it would be weird if some "good" clothing is just missing and from what I have seen all these people seem to know each other quite well, so I doubt that they would steal from each other.
That's why I need something that seems more natural, like some animal that randomly stole the cloak.
So it must be more obvious.
I breathed out physically and in the next moment I started to run towards the entrance of the forest.
While running I grabbed left and right, ripping apart tents with my sharp fingernails and stealing even more clothing, from which I dropped most of it on the ground immediately.
Of course this couldn't be unnoticed and the whole camp seemed to wake up quite fast. Confused voices, angry screams and words that sounded like insults filled the otherwise silent air but before anyone could even leave their tent I already reached the trees and vanished into the forest.
While running I started to rip apart the clothes I still had in my hands with claws and teeth and I even ripped off a sleeve from the bundle in my tail so that I could mix some pieces of that special leather into the parts I dropped on purpose.
When I had nothing left in my hands I took a sharp curve and ran in a wide circle around the camp in the distance. I did this so I could still [observe].
My run stopped when I was only ten meters away from the road.
There was no one nearby but I still wouldn't go there and be presented in the open.
A wave of euphoria overcame me and I started to smile.
\\See it wasn't that bad and the result is good too.
//Ah shut up, rational me. This was a way to stressful experience.
Nonetheless I didn't stop smiling while I unpacked my leatherball and put on the coat.
It was even longer that the jacket I had before but this will suffice.
I closed the wooden buttons as tight as possible but there was still enough space for two other mes in the coat. Ah well.
At least I am not naked anymore. That made me feel way to vulnerable.
//Uhm and what about my dignity and innocence, rational me?
I shrugged as an answer. Can't really argue with that.
After a few minutes of stretching and moving around to test if I could move correctly in the coat I came to the conclusion that it was acceptable. So I carefully made my way back to the camp.
Even though I could grasp it completely in my field of perception I still got a bit closer. There was a bushy tree that I could climb up to be hidden nicely.
The camp still was on high alert.
Some people collected the pieces I took with me for a few meters and others rebuilt the tents. The most noise came from the small boulder where the former cloak owner was screaming at the guard.
Serves them right to be honest.
One must always be vigilant. That's why I am still alive to be honest.
I watched them for a while.
It took about an hour and many calming voices until the screaming man seemed to calm down and got back to sleep like everyone else. Except the watchman of course.
He was now standing and actively let his gaze wander around on high alert.
Sorry buddy but you will never find me here and I got what I wanted so I won't come back.
…
Only as the dark of the night faded into a bright blue and some birds began to sing their early chorus the guard seemed to calm down. He wont forget this in the near future I suppose.
About half an hour later he started to speak in a loud but soft voice, so, that everyone in the camp woke up. This time way more quiet than after my little visit.
With a few sleepy sounding exchanges of words the camp started to become lively.
Some people checked on the red cows and then grabbed something to eat for breakfast while others already took down their tents and stored them on the carts.
A few people used the pond to wash themselves as good as possible.
Wha-! Piss off humans! Don't contaminate my precious pond. Yeah, that's right; just go away.
They didn't listen and soon after others took their place. My poor little pond…
In a seemingly trained rotation everyone got to wash themselves, cleaned up their tent and ate something. The whole procedure didn't even took an hour and soon after the cows got harnessed in front of the carts so they could pull them.
Maybe it is just my opinion but these humans seem to be in a hurry.
They started to leave the campsite and walked down the road in a normal speed but there was something in their steps – something in their gazes, that spoke of utmost haste.
Good for me.
The whole time I sat curled up in the coat up in my tree and didn't move in the slightest. Only when the last human left my field of perception I started to climb down the tree and walked over to the pond at a leisurely pace.
It was about two meters wide and one and a half meter deep so that I still could dive in there but it was way smaller than it should be.
I took off my new cloak without even opening the buttons – this thing doesn't give the impression that it would survive in the water for too long – and jumped in the pond.
A part of me still hoped for the heat, even though I already [felt] that it was not hot before but as expected there was no heat.
It was only lukewarm.
But still;
What a bliss~