"Wait!," I yelled, and to my surprise he stayed put, sinking back to where the shimmer of his golden eyes was visible to me. Vague wonder glistened behind them as they settled intently on me again, an action that brought the whole weight of his stare in one heaving wave that rattled something primitive in me. The unsettling need to flee from his entrancing stare only grew as I struggled to speak. And he waited ever so patiently for me to let loose what I suddenly had trouble saying. It felt like before when he let me take my time looking him over. It was... unnerving. I hadn't entirely expected him to remain.
"What of my basket? And my spear? I can't return with nothing."
He swayed slightly back and forth as I waited for an answer, seemingly deciding something that made me nervous. Of course, he could sense that too. "Both are in pieces," he said after a while. I slumped my shoulders.
"I can't leave without food for my sisters. They'll starve."
And again he sank to his eyes and swayed for a few longer infuriating moments until his next words baffled me. "Offer me something."
I blinked. "What?"
"Your garment, lass. A fair piece will do unless you have no shame in discarding it entirely."
Shame wasn't so much on my mind when he suggested I strip free of my clothing. Most of my sisters and elders didn't wear clothing unless the weather turned too cold. What bothered me was offering him what little I had left that was precious to me, and tearing it seemed insane. The garment was something special, woven with willow silk and given as a gift to me on my twentieth birthday. The way the silk clung to my skin was a small comfort I adored, and to be asked to give it up without clear intention provoked something dreadful in me. Something protective.
"What do you need it for?" I mustered through clenched teeth. That sparked amusement in his gaze that did nothing but irritate me.
"Just this once I'm granting you a favor, out of the kindness of my heart," he teased before motioning me forward, "now the garment."
I didn't trust to move any closer, given his warning, but that didn't settle my thoughts. If I remember right, a Waterling cannot leave the water. I can't remember the reasoning but I know it wouldn't end well for him if he tried. Lifting my chin, I stood straighter and held my ground.
"Not until you tell me what you intend to do with it."
"Consider your sisters, lass. Without your basket you'll have to carry a portion of this kill back to feed them, right? What better way to carry my spoils than that garment of yours? It's willow silk, is it not? You'll be staining it more either way, but fine silk like that will hold nicely."
I certainly hope the revulsion I was feeling towards this ridiculous idea was something he hadn't looked over. But he hadn't so much as blinked. He was being serious. The comfort of my garment being soiled in such a way shouldn't have mattered to me that much when the lives of my sisters did. They would do the same in my situation, wouldn't they? I doubt they would have gotten so turned around in the fog that they found themselves in the domain of a Waterling though. But to be fair, I thought his kind was extinct.
"Alright fine, fine. But don't you dare get my garment torn," I cautioned and quickly slipped out of the fine willow silk. The material was heavy and warm against my skin and being how most of my skin was exposed already, especially after being dragged into cool water by the chimera, stripping it off now left me more than just bare. It felt strange, being exposed in front of a male even if this one wasn't of my lineage. I've never faced a male before, for the same reasons why my sisters had gone into hiding, but I've heard all the tales and seen the impact males left behind on the older women of our grove. The women who first found our haven, the elders. Males were hostile, greedy, and cruel beings, it didn't matter the race. Even if this one was pleasant to look at.
Reluctantly I returned my attention back to his face, only to find him lurking where he originally rested at the edge of the water. I hadn't heard him move, and I only had taken my eyes off him for a moment. But he didn't linger over my body as I had done him. His eyes were more fixated on my face and then on the garment I now held. I shuddered at his stare. He didn't seem taken back by my choice of action. As if he expected me to undress. That annoyed me further.
"The garment," he spoke shortly, and I realized I still clutched possessively at my ivory treasure. The desire to keep it pressed against my chest held strong, but I needed to bring something back to my sisters. Anything is better than nothing. It would be selfish of me to keep it over their needs. And I still needed to get home before the rise of the tide whenever that would be. I'm underground now with no sense of direction. Helplessly lost and bare while at the mercy of a Waterling who wishes to take my garment as an offering. This isn't exactly how I expected things to turn out, but I wasn't exactly thinking clearly, to begin with. Not when the fate of my sisters weighed heavily on my shoulders.
Through sheer will I tossed the garment at the Waterling's outstretched hand, immediately dreading my decision after. I felt more exposed than I'd realized, but I held my tongue and waited as he withdrew beneath the water.
A moment passed and the chimera's corpse shifted around the amber water as if something was gorging itself greedily on it. I wasn't far off on that thought when a tailfin surfaced and slapped at the water. It was golden, oddly stunning against the amber blood pooling over the surface of the water. I watched this transpire until the Waterling dipped back under the surface and appear back where I first saw him. With a wicked grin, he placed a bundle of amber-stained clothing back on the rocks. I tensed as I stared at it.
"Go home now perchling. The tide will not wait for you to find your footing, and I expect to see you sooner alive than dead in my waters."
"You've stained it."
I hadn't meant to say it aloud, but I couldn't take it back now. He grinned in that wicked way again and said, "The blood favors your skin and hair quite beautifully. It makes your eyes stand out as well, so I consider it an elegant transition to what you had on before. Being solely white is pretty for a moment but brings such boredom. Color implies you are alive and thriving."
I grimaced.
"You have less than two hours before the tide rises. The path will be marked for you once you leave here and will become easier from there on. As much as I adore the temptation, you will leave-" he nudged my bundled garment towards me, "and not empty-handed if you care for your sisters, lass."
He started making distance from the rocky edge as I approached, reaching down to grab what remained of my garment. The warm and tender wet feeling turned my stomach as my hands snatched at the silky bundle. When I looked out into the water again he was already gone.
Grimly I held the bundle of meat close to my stomach as I hesitantly turned away from the amber pool, searching for a way out of the cavern. Movement caught my eye as I neared the wall farthest from the water, a movement that wasn't from an animal. They were clusters of ivory buds straddling the walls leading to an archway. They were the same color as my garment...before the chimera's blood had stained it. As I passed them, the buds bloomed into large golden flowers that shimmered like the wet scales of a fish. I wavered slightly not sure what to make of them. The blooms tilted away as if showing me where to go. At least that's what I'm hoping. Was this the mark the Waterling was talking about that would lead me home?
Curiosity I reached my hand out to touch it, taking notice of the amber liquid already staining my skin before feeling a soft heat on my fingertips. Immediately I looked at the flower and gasped. It was glowing. Bringing my hand closer I felt the warmth spread to my palms. It was bizarre and yet I found myself enjoying its warmth so much that I had almost forgotten the blistering cold somewhere near the surface. It somewhat made sense why the water felt warm before and the air too. The waterling was using magic.
I should have realized... Banue uses magic too, but nothing like this. She couldn't make the flora grow. She could only mend wounds.
I glanced back at the pool with a slight hope of seeing the Waterling again to thank him, but the water remained undisturbed. There wasn't time to feel disappointment, so I turned away and followed the budding flowers up through a narrow cave until I felt the familiar chilling air. Dim light broke through the trees signaling twilight as I reached the cave's opening. I found myself back in the pale woods with the fog rolling over the ground in gradual waves. It was already nearing nightfall, but the fog began clearing significantly in front of me. Ivory buds grew up ahead in a path I was meant to follow, just like he said. Whatever magic the Waterling possessed, clearly wasn't limited to the water. And maybe that was only partially true as the tide was nearing.
He could follow me, I know that much. He knew of my grove, the name of it, the smell of it on my skin was potent, to say the least and he mentioned the stream. Which implies he's been there before. Maybe he was one of the predators Bramble had mentioned in her tales that would stalk her on her hunts, but I was told Waterlings went extinct not too long after I was born. He never clarified what he was exactly either...
'I could be many things and still be more,' he had said. What exactly did they mean?