Chapter Fifteen
After minutes, which felt like hours, of calling and searching, they found Madrigal in the stream where she’d been holding her breath under the water, playing at being a fish. Or maybe actually being a fish – Nesh didn’t really understand Sidrax shape-shifting.
Volnar got hold of a fish to show Maddie something or other, and then the children were both surprised when the fish died. Volnar wasted no time getting it cleaned and cooked, though Nesh felt that there was something a bit odd about using the scales and guts as fuel for the cooking fire.
The Earther showed a surprising amount of tact by taking the young Sidrax away to get her own dinner elsewhere. Nesh realised, a little too late, that Madrigal might not like to see one of her new friends being cooked and eaten. The thought irritated her, though whether because of her own lack of consideration or because of the Earther’s unexpected kindness, she couldn’t say.
Just when she thought she had him clearly defined as a bitter old man, he went and did something completely out of character, just to spite her. Life blight the wretched creature! Nesh finished her share of the fish, and then got ready for bed. She thought she’d rather be asleep when Maddie and the Earther – what was his name, anyway? – got back.
It was hard to get to sleep with so many thoughts racing around her brain, but Nesh did her best. She was very nearly almost asleep by the time she heard Maddie trotting through the stream, and barely noticed when the ground beneath her body softened and reshaped itself around her.
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A bit heavy on the telling, but that's what early drafts are for. The style and polish come later. And, that's the lesson, I suppose. Let's make it official:
Lesson Six:
Rough drafts are allowed to be rough!
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