Daily Life with Furry Girls Ch. 28

* Currently working on episode 29, and maybe even have finished it by the time of this one going live. One more after that, and volume three is complete for the final editing and release. Another milestone reached.

*

'I should be back some time during the afternoon.' said Guy as he picked up his laptop case.

'Have a safe trip, darling.' said Feli and kissed him.

Cani wrapped her arms around his neck, kissed him, and grinned. 'Bring us back a souvenir.'

Guy chuckled. 'You mean cookies they only sell there, right?'

'I can live with that.' said Cani, and Ara, Mami, and Avia kissed him goodbye next.

'Stay out of trouble.' said Mami.

'And don't fall asleep during the meeting.' said Ara with a grin.

Down on the street, he looked up at the girls at the window, and waved back at them before walking to the train station.

Cani leaned back against the windowsill. 'Today's too nice to stay indoors. I feel like following the long hiking trail circling the neighbourhood and see what else is out there. Anyone want to come?'

Feli stretched. 'I'll go. I have nothing special planned for today, and taking a look at what's around here is a nice idea.'

Mami stared out the window at the clear sky. 'They asked me to prepare a program for several foreign groups visiting the park, so taking an extra breath of fresh air will do me good before I'm stuck at a desk for the next few days.'

Ara chuckled. 'I can not imagine you sitting at a desk for even one day.' she said and looked at the frame in the middle of the floor with part of her new project. 'I'm not in a hurry with my work, so I'll tag along as well.'

They looked at Avia, and she nodded. 'Maybe it's fun to do this with the kids later as well.'

Cani stood up straight. 'All right, gather snacks and drinks, then we can head out.'

***

The girls followed the colour coded signs nailed to wooden poles marking the trail, and enjoyed the symphony of wind, birds, and buzzing of insects playing in the forest. The trail led them part way up and down the hills surrounding the neighbourhood, and highlighted a few resting areas with picnic tables and nice views of a stream or greenery full of flowers. A few more people were hiking as well, but otherwise they felt as if they were all alone out in the wilderness.

They barely arrived at a small clearing near the bottom of a hill when an older man appeared from the trees, carrying a well used reed basket and wearing scuffed clothing. He lifted his hand in greeting. 'Hello there.' he said, put down his basket, and plucked a twig from his ruffled grey hair.

'Hello.' said Feli and gestured at a short tear in his pants. 'Are you all right? Did you fall and tear your clothes?'

The man looked at the tear down by his lower leg and chuckled. 'Don't worry about that, miss. I tore that a long while ago.' He gestured behind him. 'I picked mushroom and berries back there.'

Cani took a peek in his basket and noted it was full with the kind of food that could be found in this forest. 'You picked all that this morning?'

He nodded. 'All nice and fresh. I like to sit in front of my entrance and eat this when the weather is this nice.'

'Entrance?' asked Feli.

He pointed at the top of the hill. 'My cave entrance up there.'

They looked up. 'Is that where you live?' asked Mami.

'Yep. I'm not good with people around me, so I live alone and far enough to put my mind at ease. Doesn't mean I dislike people or never go anywhere, I just need more peace and quiet around me.'

Mami nodded. 'I see.'

He stretched his back for a moment and picked up his basket. 'Well, I'm heading back home now. Can't wait to enjoy this.' he said, and held up his hand in greeting again as he went up the path, and took another faint path into the trees.

Cani looked at the others. 'He must be one of those hermits I read about. Living in poverty in his cave.'

Feli raised an eyebrow. 'Even in winter?'

Cani nodded. 'The ones I read about live on what they hunt and gather, like they did in ancient times.'

Ara looked up at the hill. 'He doesn't look as if he could hunt, other than maybe trap hares.'

'You think he'd like to enjoy something else for a change?'

'If what he picks and snares around here is all he has, I'd think he'd love to eat something else for once.' said Mami, remembering living on stolen sandwiches for a long time.'

Avia looked at the others. 'Maybe we can bring him some food and snacks once in a while?'

Cani smiled. 'That's a good idea. We can easily afford to hand out a little to someone unfortunate.' She looked back to the hill. 'Why don't we bring some food from home right now? Maybe we also have some other things he could use.'

The others agreed and they returned home at once.

***

At home, they made a selection of foods that would keep for a long time, and included a can-opener after Mami reminded Cani that canned food was useless if it couldn't be un-canned. They added a few useful items like a blanket, candles, and matches, to the bags they'd carry. After checking if they really packed everything they thought of, they left a note for Guy to tell them where they went, and headed out again.

***

Guy arrived home a little later and looked curiously around at the scattered food and open boxes in which unused items were stored. 'Girls? What's going on?' he said and went to the living corner, only to find the note they had left behind.

He chuckled when he read it. 'They'll be in for a surprise.' he said to himself, placed his laptop case on the table, and went outside with the book he had brought with him from the meeting.

***

'Almost there.' said Cani as she looked up at the open space between the trees.

They had returned to the spot where they had met the man, and followed the faint path he'd taken earlier. It led through the forest and nearly had them lost twice when it seemed to have vanished, only to be found again after the girls circled the area while one of them stayed put.

They reached the top of the hill and Cani pricked up her ears. 'I hear music.'

'Indeed.' said Feli. 'Maybe someone else is here as well?'

Cani stepped forward. 'Only one way to find out.'

The path rounded a short stretch of the rock face and ended at a small grass plateau overlooking the landscape. The shabby man they'd met earlier had them dumbfounded by lounging in a garden chair in front of a cave entrance, sipping a glass of wine and picking berries from the bowl on a small table next to him, while a radio played music. He also wore beach shorts, and a oversized shirt loud enough to be heard on the surrounding hills.

He noticed the girls and sat straight. 'Hey, what brought you here?'

Feli gestured back down the path. 'Wait, didn't you just forage food because that was all you could eat?'

He raised an eyebrow. 'I love to eat it, but it's not all I eat.'

Cani gestured at his clothing. 'And your clothes.'

He chuckled. 'Can't expect me to wander around and play around in the bushes with my good clothes on, now can you?'

'Then, what's the deal with this cave?' asked Mami.

He looked aback at the entrance. 'That's the way in and out of my home, of course.' He looked at the puzzled expressions of the girls, noticed the bags they carried and recognised the contents, then laughed. 'You thought I lived here like some ancient hermit, surviving the wilderness as a caveman?'

The girls looked away and down in embarrassment. Cani shuffled her foot. 'We just thought, like the stories I read..'

He chuckled. 'The old hermit, living in poverty and scraping his daily meal together?'

'Well, you do look the part when you go around sniffing through the forest, Pierre.' said Guy as he came up behind the girls.

'You know him?' asked Feli.

Guy grinned a little. 'He's an editor I've worked with on occasion.' he said and handed Pierre the book he carried. 'I was asked to give you this.'

Pierre's face lit up as he looked at the book and turned it over. 'Thank you! I'm looking forward to review this author's new thriller.'

'In that case, you must let me borrow it after you're done.'

'Only if you give me your thoughts afterwards.'

Guy laughed once. 'No problem.'

Pierre noticed the dumbfounded looks on the girls' faces. 'I'm sorry, let me explain.' he said and stood up. 'As I said, I'm not good around people, but I loved reading ever since I learned the alphabet. I began reviewing and editing the works of other teenage kids when I was young and so ended up in the publishing business. It's perfect work for me.' He gestured for them to follow him. 'Come, I'll show you what it looks like inside.'

The girls left the bags at the entrance and followed behind Pierre through a short hallway carved out in the stone. As they stepped through the doorway inside, they watched in astonishment at the large living with panoramic view of the hills on the other side.

'Wow.' said Ara.

Pierre looked pleased. 'That's what I keep thinking even after all these years seeing it.' He looked outside at the hills covered in shades of green with patches of colour from the grassy parts with lots of wildflowers. 'My favourite moments are when it rains or snows and I have a good book and bottle of wine for company.'

Mami looked around at the simple but comfortable interior and the open kitchen, then at the view outside. 'I would expect nothing less.'

'I'll invite you all in the winter for a hot drink and a view straight out of a fantasy novel. How's that?'

Cani pricked up her ears and wagged her tail. 'I'd love to see that.'

Guy sniggered. 'You'll have a hard time making us leave.'

Pierre laughed. 'I survived a night with you. A night with these lovely ladies will be much better.'

Feli looked puzzled at Guy, and he grinned. 'We were enjoying the view one winter with wine and jazz while discussing writing right into the star filled night. It ended up too late for me to go home, so I spent the night here on the couch.'

Pierre nodded. 'So make sure you take sleeping gear with you at that time. You'll not want to miss that view.'

'Yes! Sleepover!' said Cani.

Mami shook her head. 'It'll be a long night.' she said and looked at Pierre. 'Are you sure about having us come over?'

Pierre smiled. 'I do enjoy good company once in a while.'

'Well, now that this mystery is solved, we can haul all what you brought back home again.' Guy said. 'Time to make dinner.'

Pierre held up his hand. 'I have a proposal. How about we see if we can lighten the load by making dinner here?' He gestured at his kitchen. 'I have plenty of ingredients left that I think we can combine with some of the food you brought, if you like the idea.'

No one had any objection to that, and Pierre, Feli, and Mami went to work in the kitchen, while the others set a long table at the rear of the living space.

***

'Be careful on your way back.' said Pierre when the gang was ready to return home. 'I'm not sure, but I think there's something lurking in the forest here lately. I have this nagging feeling I've been watched while gathering edibles, and it seems someone else has been gathering around here as well.'

'Couldn't it have been one or more animals?' asked Guy.

Pierre shook his head. 'I don't think so. Everything that had been taken seems too neatly picked for that. Berries higher up or deeper inside the bushes would still have been there if it was an animal.'

'Then it's likely someone else who enjoys mushroom as much as you do. And likes to stay private as well.'

Pierre hummed in thought, then gave a nod. 'Perhaps. That would be the simplest explanation.' He smiled. 'Anyway, I'll let you know when I've finished the book.'

'All right. See you then.' Guy said, and he and the gang waved goodbye as they walked the path down to the bottom of the hill and back home in the dim light of the setting sun.

They had walked nearly halfway down the hill when Mami pricked up her ears. 'Someone's ahead of us.'

'Someone walking up the path?' asked Guy.

'No, I hear leaves rustling. They're in the green and it sounds like they're moving about.'

'Maybe someone lost something?' said Cani. 'Maybe we can help.'

They moved closer to the source of the noise and noticed a dark figure just inside the darker area underneath the trees next to the path. 'Hello?' said Cani. 'Looking for something?'

The figure looked back at them, and Guy could barely make out two dark eyes before the figure bolted through the undergrowth and away from them. 'What was that all about?'

Cani looked back at him. 'Did I scare them?'

Feli squinted in the dark under the canopy. 'I couldn't make out who that was, or what species. The face looked human, but I think its body was covered in fur.'

Guy chuckled. 'That sounds like the legend of Wildman.'

'Wildman?' asked Cani.

'Some people claim to have seen large, ape-like creatures in the wild. Any photos or video of those creatures is fuzzy at best, and there has been no concrete evidence of their existence.'

Feli gestured to where the figure had disappeared. 'That would fit the description of what I saw.'

Guy looked up at the dark blue sky. 'We won't be any wiser right now. If you're interested in finding out what's going on, it'll have to wait until it's light again.'

Cani grinned. 'All right, I'm going to have another look here tomorrow. Who's with me?'

'I have work to do tomorrow, so I can't come.' said Feli.

'As do I.' said Ara. 'I can't delay it.'

'I already have plans with the kids.' said Avia.

Cani looked at Mami with pleading eyes.

Mami sighed. 'Fine! I'll go along. If only to keep you out of trouble.' She looked up at Guy. 'But you better help as well.'

Guy chuckled. 'All right. I have time until the afternoon.'

Cani grinned and hugged Mami and Guy. 'Yes! We'll find out who's behind this mystery.'

***

The trio arrived the next day at the spot where they saw the figure, and carefully checked the undergrowth and the ground for traces. Guy noticed a red-brown patch on a dried and broken twig, and plucked a small tuft of soft hair from it. 'I might have something here.'

Cani and Mami examined it closer. 'Doesn't smell familiar.' said Cani. 'Not an animal that I've met before. Doesn't even smell human.'

Mami nodded as she rolled the hair between her fingers. 'It's very soft.' She looked at broken twigs and damaged leaves on a bush a little further. 'Looks like it went that way.'

'Let's see if we can follow the trail.' Cani said, and went up ahead.

They moved carefully through the forest until Cani stopped and pointed at the ground. 'Footsteps.'

They squatted around a partial print of the front of a foot in a clear piece of the ground. 'That's unmistakeably human.' said Guy. 'In as far as I know, anyway.'

'Then the one we're looking for is human.' said Mami. 'Except Feli mentioned covered in fur.'

Guy looked at her. 'Maybe they wore a fur coat?'

'Possibly. Although it seems a little too warm to wear one at this time of the year.'

Guy smiled deviously. 'So, you want me to shave you like a sheep when it's warm?'

She snorted and hit his arm. 'Pervert.'

Cani looked farther into the direction they were headed. 'If I remember correctly from the map, there's a clearing that way with a pond.'

'I think you're right.' said Guy. 'We might find more clues there.'

Before they reached the pond, Mami held back Cani and Guy, and put a finger to her mouth to keep them silent. She gestured to her ears and towards the direction of the pond, and Guy and Cani nodded. As silently as they could, they sneaked forward until they spotted the clearing between the trees, and Pierre poking between the low growth with a stick, occasionally picking a plant and putting it in his basket. Mami pointed at a spot farther between the trees and to the side, and Cani and Guy gazed with surprise at the figure crouching behind a tree, watching Pierre. It seemed to look at the man with keen interest, and pulled back quickly behind the tree when Pierre looked around.

'Pierre might be right about being watched for some time now.' whispered Guy.

Cani nodded. 'Doesn't look like it means harm though. It's just looking.'

'So what do we do?' asked Mami.

'Maybe we can make contact with it.' said Guy. 'But we should tell Pierre about it first.'

Cani and Mami nodded. 'Shall we sneak around, then walk up to Pierre?' asked Cani.

'Yeah, maybe that way we won't scare it away.' said Guy.

The three moved silently away and rounded the clearing through the trees until they arrived at a small path leading to it, then walked with a relaxed pace towards the clearing, and halted at the edge.

'Pierre?' said Guy, just loud enough to attract his attention.

Pierre looked up from his search between a tight cluster of plants. 'Hey, Guy, and Cani and Mami.' he said. 'Talking another walk?'

'Sort of.' said Guy, and he and the girls moved towards Pierre. 'That feeling of being watched you mentioned yesterday, do you have it now?'

He looked around. 'Now that you mentioned it, I do.'

'We encountered someone along the path yesterday, and we followed their trail to here.' said Guy and gave a slight nod in the direction behind Pierre. 'We found them observing you and went around to warn you.'

Pierre frowned. 'Do you think they might be dangerous?'

'Doesn't look like it.'

'They're not someone we've seen before.' said Mami. 'Human face, but fur all over, and I doubt it's clothing.'

'Maybe we should inform miss Tesha.' said Cani.

'We'd better make sure they're really not human first.' said Guy. 'I think she's busy enough as it is without chasing someone here as well.'

Cani nodded and Pierre looked back at the clearing. 'If they do observe me but don't dare to come out, they're probably too shy.' he said. 'Sending people after them will only make things worse. Maybe I can make contact now that I know there's someone here.'

Guy nodded. 'You might have the best chance at that, yes. Just be careful.'

Pierre chuckled. 'Don't worry, I have survived wild animals before.'

Cani raised an eyebrow. 'We weren't that bad yesterday, were we?'

Pierre laughed and shook his head. 'If that was wild, I'd feel very sorry for Guy right now.' he said, waved the girls and Guy goodbye as they left for home, and returned to the middle of the clearing. 'So, what will it take for you to show yourself?' he said, partly to himself, and continued gathering herbs and plants for the salad he had in mind for lunch.

He moved slowly towards the treeline and off to the side where his mysterious observer was seen, but by the time he reached the edge, there was no sign of anyone. A quick search between the trees only revealed smudged prints in the soil, and he returned home.

***

The weather was comfortably warm again in the early afternoon when Pierre was hungry for lunch, and he placed his chair outside his cave entrance with his salad on the small table, then went inside to decide on his drink and pick up the book he was reading.

When he stepped into the hallway later, he stopped at the sound of his bowl sliding on the table. Carefully, he moved forward, and froze when he saw the red-brown furred figure eat his salad. It turned around at once at his drink splashing on the floor when he tilted the glass unconsciously. It didn't last for more than a second before the creature rushed into the bushes and the trees, but Pierre was certain the curves of her chest were of the female persuasion. He hurried to the edge of the plateau to see where she'd gone, but she had vanished.

'Looks like we can take the possibility of her being human from the list.' he muttered. 'And erase any doubt about gender.'

***

He spent the entire afternoon reading and occasionally taking a look along the edge of the plateau, hoping to catch a glimpse of her, but by the time dusk settled in he had to give up for the day.