(Gran POV)

Somehow I’ve managed to join Amice and Lave’s group. I lucked out that the girl Amice is so naive. While I do feel bad about lying, there was no other choice. Plus not all of it was a lie. I really did need to get back to my ship.

Lave hasn’t even looked at me since we started walking. I would really like to talk to her, but its kind of hard when she looks like that. Shouldn’t she clean up a bit?

“So Gran where is your ship?” Asked Amice. She had a large sack filled with blood covered Dragon Root swung over her shoulder. Are you going to turn it in like that?

“My ship is docked in Vasa right now…”

“Wow, your ship is in Vasa? That’s awesome. You must have a lot of money.” Amice is hoping up and down in excitement. “So we need to get you there? I always wanted to go.”

“Ah, yeah. However I don’t have any money right now. So there’s no wa…”

“That’s fine, that’s fine. We don’t want any payment for taking you there. Do we Lave.” Is this girl going to cut me off every time? She turned to Lave to get her confirmation but was ignored. “See she doesn’t want any either.”

Is that considered agreeing with you? Does she even know what you said? “…” Suddenly Lave grabbed Amice’s sheath and started dragging her off.

“Ah, did you find something?” Is this normal? Following close behind the pair I wondered about their group dynamic.

“Have you two known each other for a long time?” I asked unable to keep my curiosity at bay.

“Nope.” Came an unexpectedly simple reply. “I only meet Lave three days ago. However it feels like I have known her forever. I will never forget how we meet for as long as I live.” Amice had dreamy eyes as she started talking about their first meeting.

“I was running from the… Ahem, I mean I was leaving a town about two days walk from Haze. I left in the night because the stars where beautiful. After knocking out the two guards at the gate, I looked up to see this gorgeous lady standing there. Her white and red streaked hair shimmered in the moon light.

Light red eyes that stared into your soul. Coupled with her wonderful blood stained body that left no gaps to exploit. You could just feel the word dangerous whispering in the air around her. Right then I knew I had to have her. It was love at first sight. After that the two of us played tag well into the next day.”

My face cramped. Why would you approach someone like that. Wait before that did she just say that she knocked the guards out? Is she a criminal? And if we think about this story clearly, Lave is probably a murderer. Does that mean that I am traveling with some really dangerous people?

Before I could think any further about this, we reached a large pool of water. Lave dropped Amice on the ground and walked strait into the water. Dusting off the leaves and grass Amice turned to me. “Will you help me wash these? I don’t think I can turn in the Dragon Root while it is covered in Moss Monkey Blood.”

Ah, so they are going to wash them. “Sure…”

~~~

(Lave POV)

I washed away all the blood from those disgusting monkeys. While it is fun to bath in blood while fighting, it is horrible once it drys. Makes you feel itchy. I slid my feet along the bottom of the lake feeling for any fresh water clams.

For some reason that man is now following us around. Apparently Amice has let him join for a while. Well that might be better. She can talk to him instead of me. There found one! I dove under the water and dug out the clam. It is a strange red and blue color and about twice the normal size. I’ve never seen one like it. I ran my fingers over the smooth shell. How unusual.

Slipping a nail in between the gap, I slowly pried it open as to not damage the shell. A stunning aqua pearl about the size of a acorn sat snugly in the center. I collected the pearl and then began examining the shell. I wonder if this shell can be used to make my eye drops.

Even though I can take human form it doesn’t mean I am human. One of the things I have a problem with is my eyes. The sun is to strong blinding me and distorting my vision. While the air is really dry. My eyes are used to being in contact with water all the time. When I come out onto dry land they dry out.

A long time ago Mermaids would lose their eyes if they stayed on land for to long. However we have since developed a cure for that. You just have to apply eye drops once a week and your eyes are protected from the dangers of land. I had lucked out when I first came here. One last dose is left. However if I don’t make more then I will be in trouble.

Well I can only hope that this shell will act the same as normal shells. Pulling the muscle out and eating it, I cleaned the shell. Finally done I popped back above the water. Really I need to find the Ocean. I am running on very limited supplies.

Making my way to the bank I saw that Amice and the man have finished washing the plants. “Lave, አንተ ውኃ አግኝተው ነበር?” Amice asked when I made it to shore. The man was looking at me weirdly. She must have said something strange to him. Well if we are traveling together then I might as well know his name.

I pointed at him and tilted my head to show I was asking a question. “በእኔ ስም እየጠየቁ ነው?” He said. I frowned. What did he say? I sighed and pointed at him again. “ግራን.”

“ግራን?” I repeated. He nodded his head. Hm, ግራን. “G-R-A-N.” Sounding it out so that I remember it. Ok, I’ve got it. Gran smiled.

“አንተ տուն ናቸው?” Gran asked quietly. What did he say? There is a word in ther I have never heard before with a completly different accent. Is that another language?“ስለዚህ እኔ እንዲህ ምን እንደ ሆነ አላስተዋሉም.” He sighed.

“Please don’t go adding in new languages as you please. I am having a hard enough time learning this one.” I rebutted even though its useless. Its annoying when people go and up the learning curve all by themselves. Gran’s eyes widened. What did he understand?

“ይህ ቋንቋ ምንድን ነው? ከዚህ በፊት ሰምቼ አላውቅም.” No. No he did not. I shook my head and turned back the way we came. Lets go back so I can make my eyedrops.