Megan and the True Outdoorsman

Megan swished her tail as she surveyed her small abode under the waters of Luna Lake. Her home consisted of several logs that she had brought together and lashed with cattails from the edges of the lake. It really didn't look like much, but it kept the current from affecting her too much, and kept some of the more predatory fish away from her pantry. There was a small rock in the center that she used as a chair, and a smaller log that she could move in and out for a dining table.

The waters of her home were brightening with the rays of the sun. For the first time since winter had truly set in, the sunlight shone clearly through the ice, illuminating the depths. That had happened in late December, and Megan remembered how cold the water had gotten. Even her fish body had noticed. She had felt sluggish her body had been during that period. She had spent entire days resting in her home, hardly venturing out except to hunt. Much the same way, she imagined, the people on land were living. Not venturing out except to go to the grocery store or work. A smile came to her lips as she remembered having to work for a living, doing the same boring stuff day in and day out. It seemed so silly to her. Here in the lake, she had everything she could ask for. She didn't have to worry about bringing home greenbacks to pay the rent or buy food; she didn't have a million chores to do before rushing off. Granted, the necessary repairs to her house after the current cut through, or after the group of large bass had invaded her home was more work than she remembered, and there was the almost constant search for food, plus the regular supply of raw sushi she had for her diet. Okay, it wasn't an idyllic life like the movies made it out to be, but she was still the biggest fish in the pond, and there wasn't much she couldn't eat. In the fall, after her change, she had been able to snag berries to eat, and they had tasted wonderful.

A large trout meandered through the logs, breaking her train of thought. Hmmm, that was strange. Trout were fresh water fish, but she usually found them near the mouth of the river, or down its length. The river meandered a few miles before cascading down Upper Luna Falls and then passing Red Leaf. Megan had been to the falls only once, and the strong current there made it feel like she was facing a hurricane wind. By comparison, the strongest current in the lake felt like a gentle breeze. Although lately it had been a cold breeze!

Megan shivered and idly wished for a coat to keep the chill down. That does it, she thought. Today I'm going to see if I can get to the surface of the lake and warm up. If I can't, well the exercise will get me warm at least. See if I can't throw off these slug-a-bed blues!

With a powerful flick of her tail, she headed out of the-slightly-warmer deep water of the lake towards the beckoning surface. At about thirty feet from the surface, she noticed the water getting colder, there had not been sufficient light and warmth to really warm the water yet, but perhaps there was a spot in the ice where she could break through. Even from here, she could see the lower part of the ice, frozen in delicate webs and thin filaments that extended deep into the water. They would be bothersome, as they could easily break and be sharp enough to cut her. So far she had been able to evade any cuts or serious injuries, but Megan didn't want to take chances. Her abilities depended on her staying healthy. A sick fish was a threat to no one.

Scouting around the ice, she was relived to find a thin spot towards the center of the lake, far from prying eyes. She puzzled for a moment over why it seemed so perfectly round. Oh! Of course, ice fishermen. She remembered her grandpa taking her out one winter when the lake had frozen over and had fished with her. Of course, he had caught a fish while she had caught cold! The memory curved her full lips into a fond smile. It had been the last time she had gone fishing with Grandpa Albert before he had passed.

Cautiously, she eased the circle of ice up. She was relieved to find it resisting her, that meant the ice had partially refrozen, and that the fisherman had long since packed up. Slowly, so slowly it seemed, she got the ice to shift. It gave with a crack, and she found herself lifting the ice out of the water. She stopped thrusting her tail and let herself sink a little. Hope no one was around to see that! She giggled nervously, a trail of bubbles curling from the corner of her mouth. Relaxing slightly as nothing happened, she began moving up again with slower strokes of her tail. The ice popped up, and she was able to slide it onto the rest of the ice. The hole was just wide enough for her shoulders to get through, and she was able to get her first look at the outside world.

A white, featureless plain surrounded her for as far as her eyes could see. There was nothing for leagues in any direction, except the shoreline, and that was slightly smudged from the distance. It blended perfectly together, making it hard to tell exactly how far it was to the shore, but she knew it was a good distance. Fortunately, there would only be a few people on the lake today, because of its remoteness. And they would be clustered around the south end of the lake, where there was easier access. Satisfied that she would be left alone for a while, she hauled herself out of the water and onto the ice.

The cold seeped into her scales, but they were thick enough that it made small headway at first. But the warmth of the winter sun shone on her face, so Megan closed her eyes and drank it all in.

Megan was felt relaxed and content. The sun had been shining on her lithe body, warming it from above while the ice reflected the light around her, dazzling the eyes and senses. So different from the murky world she now called home. Surely it wouldn't be so bad to hang out a little longer before going home. The warmth and the peace of the day soon reached her already fuzzy mind, and she gratefully let it take her off to sleep.

Voices in the distance woke her from her sleep. She couldn't make out the words, but she could tell that they were coming her way. Coming to fast, she quickly rolled herself onto her belly and looked out. There were indeed a couple of people coming towards her, pretty tall and broad, though she suspected a lot of the broadness was due to the thick winter clothes that were no doubt wearing. They were far enough away, however, to be blurred to her sharp vision. Silently, she blessed the changing magic for giving her sharp hearing. She had heard them just in time. Quickly rolling to the opening, she plunged in head first, to reduce the chance they could see her upper body. Instead, if they saw the tail, they would think they had seen a really big fish.

Now safely underwater, she stopped to get a quick breath and switch her breathing from air to water. However, her curiosity began to eat at her. What were they doing out here so far from the normal routes? And how did they know where to come looking for the ice hole? It would be a great idea to find out, and there was little chance they could find her under the ice, anyway.

Nodding to herself, she flicked her tail to reorient herself, and sped off in the direction she had seen them. Fingers of ice whizzed past her as she swam, and a curious fish peered up at her from the depths, but didn't stir after her. A few minutes later, she heard muffled voices, and saw flickering shadows in the water. Dropping down a little, so her shadow couldn't be detected under the ice, she let the two people pass over the top of her and followed behind them. Her sharp hearing let her hear most of what was being said above her, and she guessed at the rest of the conversation.

"―and I told her that I wasn't interested in her day at the nail salon. I mean how interesting can getting your nails clipped be?" Asked the first voice, a deep baritone that Megan could hear clearly, even under the ice.

"―hear you―just what do those―do there anyway?" replied the second voice, also male but much lighter in pitch than his friend. His voice faded in and out to Megan, but she could fill in the rest. And there was quite a lot a girl could do in a good nail salon, she thought smugly. There was always the interesting gossip going on, and news and speculation to be done in those chairs, plots of revenge against those who had done wrong-real or imagined. Yes, a good nail salon was a hotbed of plots, news and whispered loves. And, of course, make a girl look fabulous. A momentary pang filled her, she used to love going to salons, having her nails done and chatting with Cindy over the latest news in the office. Those days were gone, though.

"I don't know. Whatever it is, it must be important to them. I got chewed out by her when I told her I don't care. You should have heard her, going on and on about it. Like it was a freaking religion or something."

"―know. You'd think they'd get it through―that there are ―important things than merely doin'―"

"You'd think so. But I guess that what makes us different. I asked her if she wanted to go with us today, to do some fishing. You know what she said?"

"―?"

"It's cold!" The two broke up laughing at that. The shadows were near the hole that Megan had left uncovered. Oops. She had meant to grab the plug, but had been afraid she might have been spotted. It sounded like she hadn't, so she hung around for a while. Fortunately, she was able to hear better without the muffling effect of the ice. She stayed carefully out of sight.

"Huh, wonder who left the plug out. You're supposed to replace it when you finish for the day." Said clear voice.

"I guess he was in a hurry. Must have caught a big one." The second one said dryly.

"Well, this is the spot. Let's do some fishing."

The shadows above Megan began moving around in circles, then a large spot near the hole went dark. They must have opened a tent, Megan realized. Trying to keep warm, no doubt. Megan smiled and turned to swim away, already thinking about how she would catch one of the sluggish fish at the bottom of the lake. The cold water had slowed them enough it was almost too easy to catch one.

A soft sound, almost too low to be heard, caught her ear. Swimming closer to the shadow to investigate, she searched for the cause of the sound. Easing up to the ice, she reached up to touch it, the surface cold and slick to her hands. What was―There! A tiny imperfection in the ice. What was…? Those idiots! Her mind screamed. They had hammered a fat anchor deep into the ice to secure the tent. The ice was thinner here! The anchor was causing the ice to crack! Megan thought about warning the icemen, but that would mean exposing herself to them, and they would, at the very least, freak out totally. If she didn't do anything, then the ice could fail, and they would fall in and most likely die. They could climb out, but they were so far out into the lake that it would be hours before they could reach shore, and the cold air would freeze them. No, she had to do something.

She turned on her tail and looked at the hole. Already she could see the light glinting off the thin monofilament line that was no doubt near the bed of the lake, hoping to tempt some wintering fish. She thought about tugging on the line, but that might simply make them try to reel her in. What she needed was to cut the line. No line meant no fishing, right? Unless they packed spares! Uggh. Every ice fisherman worth his salt had spare line. These idiots had to have packed some.

Well, swimming around like a pond-fly wasn't going to solve this mess. Make with the second option, and if necessary….well, better hope for the best.

Megan swam straight down to the bottom of the lake, as fast as her tail could propel her. The descent was so rapid, swirls of bubbles and algae bobbed in her wake. Near the bottom, she looked for a rock or anything sharp to help her cut the line. There! A broken beer bottle someone had tossed into the bottom of the lake. Grasping the neck, she prayed it wouldn't shatter in her grip and cut her. She turned back and rocketed back up to the surface.

There, she could see the cracks expanding rapidly from the anchor. They had a couple of minutes. Maybe less. Gripping the lines with one hand, she pulled up to get some slack and wound both of them around a particularly jagged piece. Yanking down hard, she was satisfied to feel the line part.
Listening, she could hear the would-be fishermen cry out in surprise to find their lines cut. Reeling them in, she could just make out the angry voices. Perhaps they didn't have spare line after all. Megan bit her lip as she watched the cracks spiderweb out  further. They didn't have much time. She'd have to reveal herself.

"Jonas, let's just go, man. That girl was right, I'm freezing my butt off since your piece of crap heater gave out." Came the deep voice from above. Could they finally be leaving? Megan held her breath in hope.

"I guess so. Let's―" came the nearly indistinguishable reply. Thank God! Megan cheered silently when she heard that.

A heart-stopping crunch suddenly echoed through the water. Megan's heart froze in her chest. Oh no, she whispered. Dread rose up her spine as she turned towards the crack. The ice was starting to give way.

"Crap, Jonas. Did you hear that. We've gotta go man!" Came the slightly panicky voice of the first guy. Then, "Leave it man! The ice is cracking. We've gotta go!"

Two shadows detached themselves from the large shadow and began running. The ice broke open right in front of her, and she watched as an actual Indian tepee style warming tent collapsed through the ice. It's bottom was snagged to a large heavy round thing that Megan guessed was the heater. It plunged straight towards the bottom, dragging the canvas with it. Megan watched it go for a moment. The men! Did they…?

Megan turned and swam hard in the direction the shadows had run. Where were they? She thought frantically as she swam faster and faster. She almost missed the two shadows that passed over her as she zipped past. A sigh of relief escaped her lips. Those foolish men had made it! She almost cried in relief.

She sank deeper beneath the ice, watching the shadows walk towards her on their way to shore. They could find their way home. Hopefully, they would be a little smarter in the future. They really, really needed to listen to their women. Megan sniffed slightly underwater. Next time, they would be nice and warm in their homes instead of nearly getting themselves killed over a little fish. Which reminds me, she thought. I still need to catch something for dinner. Megan began powering down to the bottom of the lake. There was a sunken fishing boat where fish liked to hang out at. She could easily snag one there.