Chapter 55: Big Girl (2)
A true king...
Nova’s thoughts returned to Yoa, gnawing at her bottom lip as she wondered if he was okay. It had already been a few hours since he left, and the jungle was slowly getting darker with the moving sun. She’d tried to push off this hunt for a little while longer while waiting for Yoa, having a bath and putting on these makeshift clothes—a halterneck wrap that needed no bra! And a skirt that showed a little too much of her thighs.
She might look the part with the blade strapped to her thigh, the blade she now knew as Firstmark, but she clearly wasn’t going to be some amazing huntress. She paled at the idea of slaughtering an animal every time she thought about it on this arduous walk.
The trees slowly parted, giving way to an enormous sprawl of marshland, damp and humming with life. The still waters had patched of dense, tangled growth. Gnarled roots jutted up from the ground like grasping fingers, and every step began to squelch underfoot. Nova had to stop gagging at the idea of the mud beneath her toes. It was better to be barefoot, though, than to lose a makeshift shoe though.
Dragonflies hovered low over the murky water’s surface, and tall reeds swayed in the breeze like silent watchers. The air was thick with the scent of wet earth and something faintly sweet—decay or bloom, it was hard to tell. One thing was certain, though, they were being watched.
Nova was the only one making splashing noises, and it roused those sleeping in the waters at the far end. A few eyes surfaced in the water, their long snouts appearing briefly before going underwater again. Her heart skyrocketed at the idea that those crocs could come this way and-
"You’re safe with us," Atia patted Nova’s head, trying to calm her down. He obviously could hear her heart.
Nova nodded, then looked away from only one lot of eyes she’d noticed and ignored whatever else roamed nearby. She began mirroring Aiyana’s movements, her own a little awkward at first, but slowly, she was almost as graceful as her, barely causing a ripple in the water. There was no sound, though.
"What about the ich... the itchytaca?" Nova murmured quietly, looking up and behind her to catch Atia’s twinkling eyes.