The Water Sprite

A Hunted Hunter

And as his eyes continued upwards, for a second he thought she had seen him in the ferns.  Her eyes were darting about her surroundings as she moved slowly forward.  But his eyes soon moved back to the loveliness of her figure.  She was well endowed, perfect in every way, a woman so desirable, Mo Yuan could not tear his eyes away.

His breath stilled in the back of his throat.  Shaking his head slowly in disbelief, she then made her way to the waters edge.  Taking her time, she entered the cold water tentatively that he could imagine she was feeling the snap of the cold water.  But soon enough, she was in the water completely and as he watched her head disappear below the water, he rose up to watch the bubbles rise with a growing smile.

Taking several deep breaths, he forced himself to lie back down.  His mind was in turmoil.  For years he had lived alone and seen and heard no one else but her.  But suddenly he wanted to know her.  But how to meet her, he wondered.  He couldn't exactly stand up and make his presence known and not having any memories to fall back on, this was an entirely new experience to him. 

He had never seen anyone else with her, so he assumed she too was alone, and the way she cautiously looked about before removing her clothing, he gathered she would not be happy to know he was there either.

And as he thought about the many times he had watched her, a plan slowly began to develop.  He would have to take it slowly with her, she was too cautious so she probably wouldn't immediately trust him.  But seeing as she did not have a lot of luck with the fish, and being a good source of protein, he decided her would first allow her to see him, then over time he would begin bartering with her in the hope that a friendship would develop.

With that thought in mind, his smile grew as she swam about in the water completely oblivious to him.  Waiting until she left the water, he had hoped that she would dress herself and leave so he too could leave.  The day was already closing in on them, it was only an hour away from night fall, and having to make his way to her side of the lake to return to his hut, he was stuck where he was.

But instead she lay down on a nearby rock to sun herself dry.  His heart could not take the hammering in his chest as he watched her sprawl herself out across the full length of the rock, it was beating so fast he wondered if she had any idea of the vision she was presenting.  it was the most erotic thing he had ever seen, every curve of her beautiful figure was on display that he could not tear his eyes away.

That had been several months before, and after she had left, he had made his way back to his hut not long after, wondering how he could meet with her, because her visits to the lake were intermittent, almost as if she decided one day to try fishing again.  There was no routine, so the next time she visited the lake, he had quietly and stealthily followed her back to her cave.

Now that he knew where she lived, he paid close attention to the days she hunted in his part of the forest, and the days she washed her furs.  And though there wasn't really any particular day, he would always be close by when she left in the afternoon to hunt.

And this time he was ready for her when she returned home.  

The first time he had allowed her to see him, he watched as she froze in mid stride.  Then her hand reached into her furs for the dagger she hid away before slowly approaching him.  The way her eyes quickly scanned her surroundings and the way she gripped her dagger, were things he noticed keenly.  He knew she would be frightened of him, so he did not speak to her, or try to stop her, instead his eyes held her own as they passed each other by.

And what beautiful eyes they were, he thought to himself as he continued back to his hut.  And for weeks, he continued to merely pass her by, until she got used to seeing him.  Though the day he stopped to await her approach, he noticed that she was once again suspicious of him.  Not only did she grab at her dagger, but this time, she refused to look at him when she moved to walk past.

But, in the end the bartering worked.  Not only did she swap her meat for his fish, he continued to barter with her in this way for many things, including herbs that only grew on the other side of the lake, an area he had never seen her visit.

Now once again he was ready for her having watched her hunt out yet another animal for its meat, though he could not help but be impressed with her use of the bow and arrow, her marksmanship was superior to his own hunting skills.

Waiting for her approach him, this time she did not hesitate, and nor did she draw her dagger.  She merely made her way towards him before stopping at his side.  This was something she always did, she never stopped in front of him, rather she stopped to the side, and he guessed this was to give her a chance to run if she felt he might become a threat to her.

"Oil." he said softly in the same voice that she remembered from the first time she had seen him.

"Salt." she said just as softly, and slowly her head turned to face him.  

"Tomorrow?" he asked resting his soft eyes on her own large doe like eyes that also softened when she looked at him.

"Tomorrow." she said so softly, that he barely heard her.

Then continuing on, Mo Yuan almost ran back to his hut the moment his feet hit the thick foliage of the forest where he lived, while she too raced back to her cave.

She had asked for salt, and he did have a a small supply which he used sparingly.  There was a small cave not far from his hut where natural salt gathered on its walls, but it also contained a snake pit that gathering it was too difficult.  But he had enough to swap for oil, which he did actually need and seeing as she had some, he thought the swap was a good bargain for both of them.

But when they met the following day, not only did she give him a jar full of oil drained directly from the fat of her kills, she also gave him a balm she had made from the healing plants she had found.

"You can use it to quickly heal any cuts and scrapes she may have." she said in the softest of voices he could have ever have imagined that he wanted to hear it again.

"Thank you." he said handing her his small supply of salt which to him now felt inadequate considering she had given him much more.

But she merely nodded at him with a small smile, before turning slightly to leave.

"Do you need more fish?' he suddenly blurted out, not wanting her to leave.

"I am fine thank you." she replied, before leaving him standing where he was while she walked away into the mist.

Watching her, Mo Yuan smiled softly.  That she had spoken to him at all, was a good start, he thought, before he too turned and left her and the mist behind him.