52 The Hydra of Savicche 4 (1/2)
Down by the water, lounging on the railing of the walkway beside it, lay a fluffy tabby cat, lazily dozing off in the sunshine. Meanwhile, in the water beneath the walkway, there were nine pairs of eyes, and nine big heads, staring at the cat with apparent worry and a little bit of fear. Passersby saw this, of course, and, as most of them were residents, only smiled and went on their way. A handful attempted to pet the cat, of which the cat only allowed one to pet, and the rest got little scratches. Any time the nine heads started to come out of the water, the cat would suddenly sit up, making them duck back down, and earning a few chuckles from the area.
This was routine, for the most part, in Savicche, but today was a bit different. A white-haired demigod soon walked over and casually pet the tabby, who immediately reacted in preparation to scratch, but quickly calmed down after he gave the lazy cat some good tummy rubs and scratches. Carefully, he picked up the cat, which made a little mewl of confusion, and calmly held it in his arms in a baby carry manner. The cat, after Seran gave it some soft nuzzles and scratches, and a fish that he'd bought fresh just a minute ago, was content for a while, and calmly let Seran move it over to sit by a bench a good ways from the railing.
Making his way back over after handling the cat, Seran casually jumped up onto the railing, dusting the cat hair off himself and looked down into the water. Seeing the 18 wary eyes under the water, he smiled and beckoned for the Hydra to come up out of the water. Nessy, to no one's surprise, was still afraid to do so, but, after some encouragement from Seran, he brought his nine carriage-sized headsout of the water to loom over the walkway, albeit unintentionally menacingly. Several locals cheered at Nessy's 'bravery', making the big, childish Hydra feel a bit better about himself, and one of the fishermen who had just came in with fresh catches threw 9 enormous 30-pounders to Nessy, immediately perking him up.
Smiling at how innocent the big Hydra was, Seran looked into nine different pairs of eyes and said, ”Are you lonely, Nessy?” His calm, mildly soothing demeanor made the Hydra feel less threatened by the unfamiliar person.
One of the heads, the middlemost one, shook itself, and spoke in a very young, oddly child-like voice, like a very small boy's, ”No, I'm not lonely.”
”You seem a little lonely, though. What's on your mind?”
Nine heads swiveled to face him curiously, and with mild shock, ”You can understand me? Really?”
Seran giggled a little, ”Of course I can, silly. I'm a lot like Estelle, but not the same. Do you remember her?”
Sorrowful expressions came to the Hydra's faces as he looked down at the water, ”Yes... I miss Granny Estelle...” If the Hydra could cry, Seran was certain he would be right now.
”Yes, I know you do, Nessy. Without her, you didn't have anyone to really talk to anymore, right? Nobody else really understood you like she did.” He waited patiently for the Hydra to speak, noting how sad the juvenile dragon-kin was.
Quiet keening came from the other eight heads, making some of the listeners' eyes begin to tear up, Seran included, as the middlemost head made sniffling sounds, ”I felt so alone... I miss Granny so much... and Mama... nobody could talk with me, listen to me... play with me...”
The white-haired lad sighed, sitting on the railing with his legs dangling over the water, ”I know that feeling, Nessy, I really do. It's a horrible feeling, being alone. But, I am here to change that for you.”