Green Canyon Magic - Ch.9 - Swimming & Speculation (Patreon)

"So," I frowned as I stared at the spot where the teenaged Mother Nature had been standing up until a few seconds ago. "Now what do we do?"

Stef had a thoughtful frown on their face too as they responded, "I honestly don't know? I still have a bunch of questions, but I suppose they'll be answered tonight?"

"Are we still going hiking today?" I asked.

My enbyfriend shrugged, "The main thing was to find out what was going on out there, and Gaia answered that at least. She also told us there was no point going to Retz for food, since they don't have any power, the shops would all be closed."

"And I'm not sure we can get to Hardegg and back here again before dusk," they added with another frown. "Maybe if we set out first thing after sunrise, but it's probably closer to mid-morning now. Hardegg's going to be a longer hike, and we can't use the trails we're familiar with because they're all underwater."

I nodded slowly, "So we're staying here then? Maybe try a grocery run tomorrow, or another day? We're going to need more food and supplies before long, we're already out of a few things."

"I know," Stef sighed. "Sorry my little star. I think meeting Gaia has left me a little shaken?"

"Yeah. Me too," I agreed quietly.

All three of us ended up sitting together on the foot of our bed. My enbyfriend was in the middle, with me on the left and Theo parked himself in a furry little loaf on the right. Stef and I were leaning together with arms around each other in a side-hug, and their other hand gently stroked through the wildcat's fur.

After a few seconds the cute cat-kin sighed once more, "She said there were fifty mountains like ours, all over the world. And that electricity didn't work for kilometers around them. The authorities are probably freaking out, maybe they're trying to evacuate the affected villages? Except they'd have to do it on foot."

"This must be headline news all around the world," I grimaced. "She said the mountains were relatively remote, but if the others were anything like here that's fifty big earthquakes, fifty huge spires sticking up out of the ground. This is... This is world changing, isn't it?"

Stef nodded, "It has to be. We've got Mother Nature herself showing up and talking to us, offering us a job... There must be others too, right? Like us, I mean? With this happening all around the world, we can't be the only ones."

"Good point," I frowned. "I wonder if she's offering them jobs too? I wonder what kind of jobs she wants us to do?"

"No idea. I still can't imagine what you and I have to offer Gaia of all people," they said as they shook their head.

Theo finally spoke up and reminded us, "Gaia said her announcement tonight would answer our questions. She also said if we were working for her she'd look after everything for us."

I nodded, "Good point. She said she'd take care of food and money and shelter and security. So maybe we don't need to hike out to Hardegg after all?"

"True enough," Stef responded. Then they frowned, "I can't imagine Mother Nature is going to arrange for pizza or burgers or even just groceries to be delivered to our cave door though. Especially if there's no power for kilometers around. Maybe she meant she'd provide for us, like the way the Earth provides for farmers? In other words maybe she's going to teach us how to grow our own food."

That made me frown too, "I don't know, that feels a little bait-and-switchy to me? Telling us she'll provide food then expecting us to do all the hard work of growing it ourselves? Maybe we just need some level ground for crops and she'll magic up the food for us so we don't have to do any of the hard work?"

My enbyfriend shook their head, "Maybe? I don't know, it feels like every answer she gave us only leads to more questions. Like Theo said, she also promised us shelter but we've already got shelter here. Unless she's going to grant us an exemption to the no-power thing, so we can get electricity. And internet. Running water would be nice too."

"She could solve that last one by giving one of us water magic," I smiled. "I can expand our cottage to add a bathroom and a kitchen sink, and I could do the plumbing by making channels through the stone. Then with Theo's magic we could have hot water along with cold."

Stef smiled back, "We'll have to ask her next time we get the chance. And about getting electricity and internet here."

I continued, "If we need flat ground for crops there's a bit of a plateau up above us. Or if Mother Nature doesn't object, I could level the steep hillside into a few flat terraces. Then we could have our garden and crops right outside our door."

Their smile shifted to a grin as they replied, "I love how you made that sound so routine, my little star! Gaia's right, we've done some amazing things with our magic. Especially considering just a week ago we'd never even dreamed of this sort of thing!"

I blushed, but I couldn't argue. So I tried to change the subject instead, "So it sounds like we've agreed on what we're not doing, which is hiking out to Hardegg today. What are we going to do with our day instead?"

"Do you have any suggestions? Or is there anything you'd like to do?" Stef asked with another shrug.

"Yes," I responded with another smile. "How about more swimming? I've missed so many years of swimming thanks to dysphoria, now I can swim all I want and it's wonderful!"

My enbyfriend suppressed a giggle as they asked, "I'm sure it has nothing to do with the chance of growing a third tail, right?"

I felt my cheeks heating up again but I tried to act cool and casual, "I wouldn't complain if I grew a third tail. Or a fourth, or fifth... Plus maybe we'll get more magic? Like we were just talking about, if one of us could get water magic that would be perfect. We'd have all four classical elements covered."

"All right my little star," Stef grinned. "I'm happy with just one tail, but I won't complain about more magic. How about you Theo? Will you swim with us?"

The little wildcat sounded less enthusiastic, "I'll stay dry on the shore and keep watch while you two get your fur all wet."

"Sounds good," I stated happily as we all got to our feet and headed out for the short walk to our secluded little swimming cove. 

Like before Stef and I stripped down and left our clothes hanging on some nearby bushes, then went skinny-dipping in the magically-charged water. It was still unseasonably warm, not hot but noticeably more comfortable than it ought to have been for late September. Which left me with something else to think about.

As the two of us swam out into the middle of the cove I commented, "Even if we have some flat cleared land for crops and a garden, it's going to be a year before we actually harvest anything. We're heading into the winter months, food's going to be scarce out here."

"That's why I said you two should learn how to hunt," Theo spoke up from where he was sitting on the shore. "We should start soon though, it's even harder in the winter."

Stef and I both grimaced as we ended up treading water in the middle of the inlet. 

Then the cat-kin responded, "We're talking about magic though, right? Gaia said she'd provide for us, so however she does it it's probably not going to be the traditional sort of arrangements. Whether we're farming or the food comes to us some other way, I'm sure there'll be magic happening one way or another."

"Ok good point," I smiled as I started swimming towards where the cove opened out to the main part of the new lake. 

"Where are you going?" my enbyfriend asked as they followed a few meters behind me. "I thought we agreed it was safer to stay away from the larger lake?"

I switched to the backstroke so I could look back at them as I replied, "Maybe there's more magic in the main lake? I won't go too far, just to the mouth of the inlet."

"Please be careful. Remember all this water is only here because of that natural dam. If some of those rocks give way the whole lake will drain out!" Stef cautioned as they continued following me. 

"It's been six whole days now," I pointed out. "If it was going to give way it would have done that already."

Despite my confidence I didn't actually swim out into the new lake. As promised I stopped in the mouth of the inlet and just tread water there. A moment later Stef was at my side, and the two of us quietly looked around. 

No matter how many times I saw it the new lake remained an impressive sight. It stretched for almost two kilometers to the left and another kilometer to the right from our location, before disappearing from sight around twists and turns in the winding canyon. From where we floated in the mouth of our little cove the Czech side was a good half a kilometer away. The path we hiked in on back at the start of our vacation was probably twenty to twenty-five meters beneath our feet now, lost in the depths below.

We were both quiet for a minute or so as we continued treading water, just looking around at the awe-inspiring sight. We didn't have a direct view of the impossible mountain, we couldn't see its base or the natural dam that held all this water in place. We could see the top of that mountain though, its spire stretched up well above the trees off to our right. And every so often its surface flickered with lightning that climbed up to the peak before arcing out into the air above.

"I'll bet they're keeping everyone away from here," Stef announced suddenly. 

"Even without power or vehicles people could still hike in," they continued. "It's not that far, especially considering we're talking about hiking out for groceries then coming back in again. Folks from Hardegg to Znojmo have to be able to see that glowing mountain, the lightning, the way the clouds glow at night. Surely someone would have come to look at it, even if they had to come here on foot. I'll bet the government has tried to seal the whole area off."

I frowned, "That's a good point. It'd be even easier to canoe in, if they started up-river they could just paddle downstream along the lake."

The cat-kin nodded, "True. Even with all the twists and turns it's probably less than fifteen kilometers? You could cover that in a couple hours. Folks could canoe all the way up to the base of the mountain then all the way back out again in a single day."

"Too bad we don't have a canoe," I smiled. "That'd make grocery trips a lot easier."

They smiled back, "We'll have to ask Gaia if we can get a boat and paddles as part of our signing bonus."

We both had a little laugh at that idea until I responded, "Actually that's a pretty good idea. Maybe we should also ask for skis so we can travel easily in the winter too?"

"Perhaps," Stef replied with another grin. Then they suggested, "Let's head back into our little cove now, ok my little star?"

"All right cutie," I agreed, and the two of us turned and calmly paddled back into the safer waters of the inlet.

We probably spent over an hour in the water together. We did some laps back and forth across the inlet, and we floated lazily as we talked more about magic. I was still hoping for more tails, and also that one of us would unlock water magic. And Stef suggested that without water magic we could perhaps achieve the same thing by building a windmill that she could drive with her wind powers. 

Building a windmill wasn't exactly easy though, considering neither of us knew how to do it and we'd be limited to what we could achieve with wood and stone and our existing magic. And a lot of our ideas depended on how things went with Gaia anyways, so we agreed not to actually start building anything like that just yet.

Eventually Stef had enough of the water, they emerged and got dried off before relaxing on the shore with Theo. I insisted on having a good long soak though, and it was probably close to another hour before my enbyfriend and the wildcat finally coaxed me out of the water.

I got the magical blow-dry treatment again, but unlike the day before I didn't sprout a new tail afterwards. Much to my disappointment. Neither Stef or I noticed any new senses or water affinity either, which was another little let-down.

"Sorry love," the cat-kin said as they gave me a sad smile. "Maybe the extra tail was a one-time event?"

I pouted, "Maybe. I'm not giving up so easily though. There's always tomorrow. Or the next day."

"That's right my little star," they replied as they pulled me into a hug. "There's always another day."

All three of us eventually made our way back home, where Stef and I took turns brushing each other's tails. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon wandering through the woods around our new home. We gathered some more firewood and took note of potential spots where we could try and farm, assuming that's how Gaia intended to provide us with food.

We talked some more about our brief visit from the Earth mother, and speculated what sort of announcement she was going to make. Around dusk we made dinner, which reminded us once again of our limited supplies. Then rather than try and stay up late for the announcement we all went to bed a little early instead.

Stef and I both got our phones out first, we left them on one of the little shelves above our bed like Gaia said. And finally the two of us drifted to sleep in each other's arms, with our little wildcat friend curled up at our feet.

Unlike the night before sleep came easily for me this time, and I actually had a very good restful sleep. Right up until we were all jolted awake in the middle of the night by another earthquake, along with another sharp pain in my lower back.

*** This chapter is brought to you courtesy of Lucy who commissioned it! ***