Daughter of the Witcher Ch. 03

When he rose once more, hours later, he heard nothing, other than the pod of whales as they spoke to each other from miles away. He turned back to the cove.

The water wasn't red, though he smelled a little blood anyway. What he saw was horrific and he couldn't stay long no matter what.

The other things which needed to be feared were there, porbeagle sharks, and a couple of long and thin Blue sharks, opportunistic foragers that they were.

With a watchful eye behind him, he swam out of the cove beyond being only upset. He could only hope that some of his family had survived.

Because he'd seen the heads of two of them there on the floor of the cove. The rest of what he'd seen would haunt him for weeks.

He hadn't thought a single thing about it. He was in shock. When he'd come back to himself to even have a thought, he'd surfaced to find himself in a storm. He hadn't noticed the changes in the sea around him at all. With no clear idea of where he was then, he'd just swum on, nearly drowning a couple of times when watery mountains crashed down on him from behind him. He'd had no choice then.

It was either go with them or perish. With little effort (which by then was a help) he managed to almost surf three of the monsters for a long while and by the morning light, he'd come in at the cove where he'd been ever since.

He didn't know where any others of his kind were. He didn't even know which direction he'd come in. All that he knew was that the water was different here. The hunting was fair, and he had this cove.

He was all alone and he knew that winter was coming.

He doubted that he'd survive it. There was barely enough to fatten on for the winter.

He just didn't have the appetite for it anyway.

He thought about the woman again. She looked to be a little shorter than he was, though he couldn't be sure of it with what she wore on her feet. She'd said something and he tried to recall it so that he might sift through it for words which he knew. The only thing which he'd readily recognized was 'horse' and he knew what that was. He'd seen a few of the things and he knew that the humans could ride them so that they could wander farther with them.

He wondered if they used the animals to take them in their search for food.

He wondered what the horses got out of it.

Then he had the thought that if the horses could carry humans, then they ought to be able to carry half-humans as well. He just couldn't understand why horses would want to carry humans when they were so much larger than the humans who rode them. Why didn't they just kill the humans or drive them off so that they'd be left alone in peace and not have to carry anything?

He knew the path where the woman had gone. He'd been up there once and seen the strange building there which showed no lights at night. He wondered why humans liked to live in the things, but then, maybe it would have been a thing to have under the water as well. Maybe this was what kept out the things which humans feared. He didn't know.

But he had a slight want to find out. He was alone and maybe that was the reason for it, but he'd spent a little time with a human who wasn't an angry fisherman, and , ... well he didn't know what else to think.

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The talk went back and forth among them about what Leif ought to do. Louhi and her companions were asked for their thoughts and didn't really have anything to add, not feeling as though they ought to have input in the process anyway.

Leif grew tired of it, having been away for years from the long-winded bickering and endless jabbering which trolls were famous for among themselves. One of the many things that he loved about Moppy was that they almost never argued. But they were now.

He led Cuilén to a different large room beside the smithy.

"The Cruthnes which I learned of were famous for three things," he said, "They were feared for their skill with a large blade. Even more for their ability with a bow before the fight got close enough for the blade."

Cuilén waited but heard nothing, so he asked and Leif grunted, "They were feared more than anything because they were hard fighters and stubborn bastards, every one. Can ye use a bow, Cuilén?"

He nodded, having had one in his boat when he fished, and King Taran's memories told of being accomplished, not that the skill could be counted on to translate. He said nothing of it, he just nodded.

Leif lifted a large bow from where it hung among others on the wall and he strung in in a moment and held it out. It was the usual longbow in its type; a kind used by many peoples, but the wood of the thing was thick and heavy and it carried quite a lot of intricate carvings on it. Leif opened the shutters, handed him an arrow, and pointed out toward an old oak. "Try," he said.

With an arrow nocked and the bow being drawn back, Cuilén was astounded at the draw for a moment. The bow was over six feet in length and the draw weight was severe.

"It eases off a tiny bit if it's pulled all the way," Leif smirked, "Tha's no the bow of a man. Tha's a troll's bow, my friend. That's' my bow."

The bowstring sang and the arrow was gone, standing deep in the trunk of the tree and dead center as well, so deep that it would stay there forever.

Leif nodded, pleased, "That's your bow if ye stay and help Louhi with the smithin'. I do not say it that I ask you if you can sway her, but if ye stay and mind the place while I take me girl on a journey, then the bow is yours."

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"Where are ye goin' te?" Moppy asked as the talk carried on after the evening meal.

"I go down to the water in the cove," Annikki replied as she took her cloak down from the peg by the door, "I will do whatever is decided. I am with Louhi and where she is, that is where I am. She is Cuilén's woman now, but that is how I go. I will stay with her and so my voice is not needed here."

Moppy nodded and told her to be careful about the walk down and to keep an eye on the tide as well. That was all that she said, but to herself, she wondered a little, noticing the portion of food that the girl was wrapping in a cloth to put into the basket. Moppy said nothing of it and was the only one who was even in a position to see it from where she sat.

Everyone began to talk of the 'decision' once more and Annikki was quickly forgotten for the moment.

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He saw her as she walked out of the trees and onto the rocky strand. It wasn't full dark yet and Annikki had hung back in the trees for a few moments, just hoping to catch a glimpse of the seal, as she now knew it to be. She had no explanation for the way that the creature had looked to her the night before like a man for a few moments, but she'd decided that it had been a trick of the moonlight.

What she saw forced her to revise her thoughts, or then, maybe this was a different creature, but what she now saw was no seal. It didn't make sense because the evening was cool and damp and he appeared to be naked on the large stone. Naked, she thought, not that she could see absolutely clearly over the distance in the poor light, but it wasn't an effect of the moonlight this time.

How the hell could he be naked?

She wondered it to herself as she tried to put herself in that spot and condition. She almost shivered at the thought. But she watched for a little while longer and stepped out then.

The same thing happened in a moment, and the figure jumped into the waves with something held in one hand as she got about halfway to him.

Sure enough, when she reached the rock to stand on it, she found herself looking down at a head there in the water, looking up at her.

Annikki waved with a smile and was about to sit down when she saw the flipper lift again and stared a little.

But it lasted only a moment and she sat down to look into her basket as she began to speak.

"I have brought you something more to eat, my silent friend," she said. As she brought what she had out to lay it on the rock, she went on.

"You know, I have a friend who tells me of a sort of creature who can look to be two things, though not at the same time. She tells of a seal who is not really a seal, but a man or a woman, depending, I would guess. It was fascinating to hear of it from her, but she said that those sorts of creatures do not usually live on this shore. They are more often found far away on the other shore of this land. Also, she says that they live in places along the northern shore as well, and many live near the shores of the islands to the north of here."

Her words were met with silence, though she wasn't really surprised at all.

"My friend tells that these creatures can speak, though perhaps in ways which a girl such as me might not understand."

She held out a piece of bread and she saw the way that it was looked at.

"Can you smell this?" she asked, "If you do not know, it is a crust of bread which I have left behind from my dinner. I looked at it and thought that you might like it better if I dipped it in the gravy of the meal. I have a few like this for you. I hope that you like them."

Her next thought was more of a wish, really. She'd learned quite a lot from Louhi in many ways and her life was the better for it. But all the same, she'd begun very late in her young life and no matter what – while it might be said that Annikki was a bit of a witch, she wasn't anything like her dear friend at all in terms of ability.

She could sense a little about a person, where by comparison, Louhi could see a lot of their life with little more than a glance. What she really wanted here was to know who she was here with for certain, a seal or a seal that could appear to her in the dim light as a man.

Or, ... a man who could also be a seal.

The strangest thing about this to Annikki was that looking into those eyes showed her something. She just couldn't tell what it was. It was as though something was being withheld without meaning to be. But what could a seal be holding back?

She thought that she might glean a little more if she were closer, but that was plainly not possible under the circumstances.

She knelt forward and held out the crust by the edge. The eyes regarded the offering and then her face for a moment. Then they returned to the bread and the seal moved closer. Annikki was prepared to yank her hand back, but the seal only opened its mouth slowly and bit into the bread . Annikki held on as the piece was torn in two and the creature ate what it had before coming for the rest even more slowly.

It went on in much the same way until the bread was gone and they looked at each other.

He saw her more clearly this time. The light was fading fast, but he had a clear view of her long hair as it fell past her shoulders and gave him tantalizing little views which were hidden again for a moment by the gentle breeze, only to be revealed in the next moment.

He liked her voice and her face held mysteries which could catch his eye and hold it as though against his will. He wished that he had the confidence to be able to speak with her. But then, he'd need something to say then, and to look at her was to lose the thought in his head at that instant.

He wasn't sure how it had happened, but he'd have to allow that now, he had seen one human that he felt drawn to.

Annikki decided to complete her foolishness and get it out of the way. She leaned down, looking right into the dark eyes there not two feet from her nose in the gathering darkness and discarded the Finnish which she had been using, selecting instead the form of Norse which she knew was prevalent in many places in that part of the world even to the western side of the country by what she knew. It wasn't all that much different, she supposed.

As well, it had worked with Cuilén and been their starting point once, she thought, why not again?

"Hvat heitir du?"

They blinked at each other for a moment and Annikki could have sworn that she saw those eyes open a little wider. But no sound was forthcoming and so she got up to prepare to return to her room.

"Ren."

She spun back and stared – outright stared at those eyes.

"Ren," the bobbing head said quietly but clearly enough, "Hvat, ... hvat heitir du?"

Annikki sank to her knees a little slowly, thinking that she must be losing her mind. She pointed to herself, "Nikki."

Ren the seal nodded then, "A good name for you."

Annikki knelt and looked, not being able to take her eyes from him, "I do not know how to ask it of you, but, ... What are you Ren? I speak with a seal and from what I was told, seals cannot speak."

His words were careful and remained a little simple. He thought for a moment and then said, "I am nothing. Not anything that I wish to be. What I am is lost and alone, nothing more."

Annikki nodded, "But, ... are you the kind that I was told of? How can you live in that water?"

He shrugged, "I am, but I am not. My father was a man. My mother's kind treated me well, but that is all. I live in the water because I must, Nikki. I have nowhere else to be. But winter comes and the hunting is not enough to make me fat enough to live through it."

He looked back over the water of the cove for a moment before turning back to her, "The fish are few then and small if these are like the waters where I was before."

He shrugged to himself, "No other seals come here."

Ren did something then which was far out of character for him and he knew it. But she'd asked so, ...

Annikki stared as Ren came closer still and his head seemed to rise up a little and appear different. She saw in a moment that the skin of the head was empty and now rested on the top of Ren's true head. He'd allowed her to see him the way that he was and his seal-ish skin was loose on the top half of him.

Annikki saw his chest in the gloom and she could see his face and his long dark brown hair. He looked uncertain and almost painfully shy.

"Nikki, ... this is what I am," he said quietly.

Annikki reached out slowly and she touched his chest. Her fingers felt the warmth of him even before her hand got there. She looked at his chest for a moment and then she watched as her own hand drifted up to touch the side of his face. She looked into his eyes again and she knew then that nothing had been withheld from her.

She just hadn't thought to see what she was looking at now.

Annikki saw herself there and not as a reflection. She saw something which likely even Ren didn't know because she could tell that he hadn't had the thought yet.

And as the certainty of what she was looking at grew in her, Annikki felt something else happen.

She even knew it when it happened, right then. She was smiling because she felt something that had never happened to her in this way before.

Annikki lost her heart in one moment.

She knew it when it happened, and, ...

It was amazing.

She drew her hand back and threw back her cloak and almost tore open her shirt to pull it down over her shoulders.

Ren stared at the girl who knelt there before him, baring her breast in the cold North Sea air.

"This is what I am, Ren."

He reached for her then, his hand against her cheek as he apologized for how he must feel so cold to her. Annikki smiled, "Only a little and only for a moment. I feel that you are very warm."

His heart flew in his chest and he reached for her skin, not daring to trust himself to touch her breast.

A strange thing happened then to a pair of strangers alone in a rocky cove.

Annikki pulled her shirt and her cloak up with his help, but she grabbed his hand before he could take it back and she pulled it inside her still-open shirt to her breast.

"Please do not think to die, Ren," she said, "I do not know how, but I want to help you if it can be done."

He rose out of the water a little more and he pulled her to him a little and though it took the last of the little courage that he had, Renn kissed Annikki once.

It was a gentle moment, but then he looked past her shoulder and told her that she had to go, or she would be trapped by the cold water.

"The tide, Nikki. Hurry to your home. Please come back. I will wait for you tomorrow."

Annikki looked behind her and muttered that her boots would be wet again, but she smiled and nodded. "I will come, and we may talk of ways that I might help. I want to help."

She kissed him quickly and got to her feet, grabbing the basket and beginning her cold trip back. Ren was beside her a few moments later, his skin in his hand as he took her hand in his free one and in a minute, they were standing near the trees.

"My, ... hands," he said, wondering how to explain to her.

She thanked him for the help and he nodded, at a loss for words now. In the almost-darkness, she saw him as he was just from her first impression, pleased that she'd been right. He was taller than she was and not large or thin, but he was a bit slender and he was the most beautiful person that she'd ever seen in her life.

He was so obviously uncertain of himself - a seal out of water, it seemed, but to her, he was what she knew that she wanted. She lifted his hand in hers and she saw little in the darkness. She did feel the webbing between the fingers and she knew that he felt badly about it somehow, so she brought his hand to her face and she kissed it in front of his shocked eyes.

"Nothing wrong with them," she chuckled as she held his hand to her cheek.

"I, ... Nikki, I, ... have, ... my hands are not like yours. They -"

He saw her rubbing her cheek against his palm, and then to his growing wonder, he felt the warmth of her tongue as it slipped past her lips to trace the edge of the webbing between two of his fingers.

All that he could do was gasp quietly and then sigh.

"Your eyes are not like mine," she said, "Your hair and your face and I could talk of it all the night, but it means little to me other than how I like all of what I see and touch. I know that I am different to you and yet we stand here and touch all the same.

I cannot see much in this light, but I can see enough to know that the color of your skin carries to your hands. I feel what you wish to tell me about them, but, ..."

He heard her sigh and felt that tongue again. Her eyes had been closed for a moment, but now she opened them to look directly into his eyes and the effect rooted him to the spot.

"I will seek to find a way for you to hide this if you wish. But Ren, ... I like your hands."

She pulled him to her and she threw her arms around his neck. The kiss that she left him with nearly buckled his knees and she smiled at his discomfiture over his erection and she ached to be able to see it as more that the warm thing in the darkness which poked her navel. She lifted it so that it pressed against her bare stomach.

He saw her own shy smile as she pressed herself against him to hold it there, "That is not anything for you to feel badly about either." She reached for his hip to pull him against her even more.

He groaned softly and she kissed him a little playfully. "I used to be as shy as you, but I found that it did little good for me. But I was in a place where I was not alone."

She moved away a little to open the pants that she wore, pulling them down past her hips. Knowing that he would feel shy, she reached down, moving his hardness gently and slowly, relishing the touch of it in her hand. Positioning her feet a little farther apart, she moved forward again to that his shaft was held between her thighs and the top of it pressed up against her lips there.

"Now you are not alone, Ren. Now you are with me."

She felt the touch of his bareness and she asked.

"Yes," he nodded, "None of us has more than the hair on our heads. Thank you for this, Nikki. I feel no cold now."

She giggled a little and held him tightly. As she kissed his throat, she whispered, "I feel no cold in your arms either."