I slinked through the night, just enjoying the feeling of not being forced into a tight skin. My crow friend flew overhead, enjoying the cloudless sky. Before I even knew it, I had arrived at the small stream that bordered the wolf’s and my territory. I was so preoccupied with my paranoia-induced reinforcement session and the girl that I haven't left my new home in a while. I lowered my head and drank some of the crystal-clear water. It was deliciously pure, probably originating from the nearby mountains. With a slight push, I slithered into the water and dove to the deepest point. The current at the bottom ended up pushing me downstream, exactly what I wanted. Letting the water do all the work I just made sure I didn’t drift up or to the side.

The cold stream relaxed my old wounds and the shattered bones of my ankle stopped being a constant reminder as to not lose focus when dealing with an ancient abyssal monster. Fun times those were. I guess I’m living in fun times now, if I so choose, I wouldn’t have a trouble in the world. Well, I guess that wouldn’t really be fun, it’d be relaxing though. Lost in thought I drifted by some strange silver fish and another freshwater squid thing; I wonder where they are going. Maybe one day I will travel upriver to see what keeps attracting so many weird things. My thoughts were interrupted when a commotion erupted a little way ahead. I cracked a smile, I came looking for prey, and it seems I just found it.

I zoned my senses in and sat back to watch for an opening. On the bank ahead was the same large predatory cat I saw in piles by the village. It had apparently caught a large fish. While It was distracted with the animal almost half its size in its claws it failed to make a quick escape. I drifted ever so slowly towards it and redyed my jaws to make a killing blow, but I thought better of it and continued my way down the river. Judging from what I saw by the town there shouldn’t be many of these cats left around here. I also would feel bad for killing it right after it caught a prized meal. I tend to be cold-blooded but I’m not that cold-blooded. Unaware of my figure just foot’s away from its nose, the cat finally wrestled the fish down and trotted off happily.

It took me a few hours to sight the first signs of human presence, and another hour to come upon the main settlement. I popped my head up out of the water and watched as what seemed like half the town buzz with aggression. Though behind a wall I could still sense the uneasiness and tension wafting off the town’s folk. They were expecting a fight but from where? I ended my visual inspection and zoned my senses in and found… absolutely nothing. Then was the threat internal? I picked at a few minds but besides some grudges, I didn’t find anything warranting the deaths of their fellow men. I guess it's not really my problem, I ducked below the slightly rippling river and continued my low-effort journey.

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I had initially begun this endeavor in search of food but now I just wanted to relax. Though I would say the current I traveled on was relaxing, I was still moving with a bit of speed. It probably had no right to be this fast but I’m not complaining. My crow friend, sensing that It will be a while before I catch anything, flew back to his nest, leaving me alone. Once again, I was once again alone with my own thoughts. I tuned into the river and reveled in the magic the flowing water generated. I could soon hear the small whispers of some unseen river spirits. As if sensing me, a few water sprites began to gather and play around me. The crystal-like clear water illuminated by soft moonlight and accented with gracefully moving sprites painted a beautiful picture within my eye. I hooked into the flowing strands of magic around me and began to gently alter the current. Creating small whirls and a turbulent flow which caused the sprites to shudder in delight. Their gentle movements and innate nature to stick together made them resemble the galaxies above as they hitched rides on mini whirlpools.

I drug my claws absentmindedly through the riverbed and watched in mild interest as dirt and rocks got kicked up into the current. The river floor suddenly dropped by quite a distance allowing me to see a few tunnels that branched off every which way. I wonder if it connected to the expansive tunnel system under my own territory. If so that means this thing stretched on for an alarming amount of distance. The hours ticked by as I occupied myself by playing with the odd passing spirit and entertaining the sprites. I opened my mouth, tasting the water for anything interesting but found nothing in particular. The current was too strong to allow anything ahead of me to flow back. I didn’t feel the need to use my magic, so I just popped my head out. I found myself slightly stumped when I found no trees, just rolling hills of lime green grass. My eye twitched at the sheer brightness of the color in the moonlight. I didn’t dare imagine what it would look like in the sun. I dipped my head down below the surface and continued on my way.

I reached out to my territory and found I was weeks away, it seemed like I was unconsciously riding the river through the spirit realm. It would take me but a moment to get back, so I wasn’t worried. This was a very long river though. Judging by the moon I only had a few hours before sunlight, but by using the river as cover I could negate its effects. The power of flowing water cannot be underestimated. The girl should probably not wake up for a couple of days so I had time to kill.