The Creature Talker - Chapter Five

The sun's warmth stole Khea from the pleasant scenes sleep had deposited her in and brought her back to reality. She wasted no time in disassembling the hammock, enjoying some small fruit and allowing Peck to eat away at the core, and continuing her trek towards where the rot descended. Her unease about what lay ahead remained but she concluded that the sooner she gathered the information the sooner she could return to the comfort and security of her village. She knew that learning how the rot started, and how to stop it, could lead into the warmer days but she tried to push those thoughts into the deep recesses of her mind. She needed to be alert and aware of her surroundings and those types of thoughts bogged a person down.

Except for the occasional worrisome idea, Khea managed to focus and time passed quickly as she sensed, and tentatively greeted, the different animals in her range. As the day progressed she pushed into a part of the swamp that fell outside of her tribe's territory. She limited her gift as these animals may never has encountered a Creature Talker before and their responses could vary from excited and curious to downright vicious. Contending with a confused and aggressive beast would add an element she wanted to avoid while on this journey. Khea felt it better to allow her feathered, furred, and scaled brothers and sisters to reach out to her versus herself upon them. Most she sensed came off as curious and a few seemed happy to swap images and give her some basic information on the area. From what she gathered from them there were few dangers to worry about as she could handle their predators.

This newly acquired sense of safety soon fled as Khea heard a gentle sloshing  through the shallow waters to her left flank but could not sense an animal's presence. She reached for the dagger tucked inside her belt and slowed her movements. As she stopped the sounds dissipated but always resumed shortly after she began walking again. At least it isn't a trained hunter, she thought, as she heard what sounded like a splash from tripping. She continued until she reached an opening in the trees and promptly spun around and demanded the follower to reveal themselves.This declaration surprised Khea herself but she admired the strength she currently exuded.

Her stand waned slightly when some time passed with no visible response. Khea and Peck exchanged glances before Khea repeated the order. The wait was short lived as the sloshing noise returned and a very human creature emerged from the clump of trees into the clearing. The human, a girl a few years younger than herself Khea guessed, hung her head as she approached. Despite this act, Khea could see the girl's skin was a few shades darker than hers and her tribe sisters and more strikingly the girl's hair which was as dark as the inside of her tree house after the sun disappeared. Once she reached a few steps from Khea the girl slowly raised her face and murmured, "I hoped you wouldn't hear me."