Chapter 1
https://donnharper.bandcamp.com/track/sleeping-dragons
"Alright then Gwen, now shift your weight forward, pushing off with your back leg, bend your front knee, Keep your big toe pointed at your target!" Old Merle intoned, demonstrating the movement himself, slowly, gracefully.
"Yaaah, how'm I sposed to think bout all a that and hit him with ma stick?" The slender ten year old girl protested.
Young Art, broke forth with the impudent grin of a ten year old boy. Fluidly he executed the move, lightly poking Gwen in the stomach with his stick. " Like this!" Springing back Art dropped his stick, turning and running. It was a well planned move on his part. "Yaaah imma get you Arty farty!" Gwen took off ,waving her stick overhead determined to catch and whack the laughing freckled boy.
Old Merle, smiled as he watched their antics play out.
" Don't you let em get too tired for chores now Merle , Ya hear?" Neema, called from the porch where she was shelling peas for dinner. Merle huffed, and sat down on the Stone stoop. "They'uns got plenty steam for the chicken coop darlin, let em play. We got plenty ah time right the now."
Neema flicked a pea at old Merle, striking a serious pose sitting in her favorite rocking chair, pointing and wagging her finger. " Taint the younguns imma 'cerned bout you old fart. Ah don't wantcha getting tuckered chasing them down. I has serious plans for you later sir!"
Merles ears turned a deeper shade of pink as he scratched his head considering her words. The scratching stirred up his thoughts. " Well, why wait till later darlin? They'uns done head for the creek, won't be back fer awhile and ya know that darlin." Leaning back and smiling up at Neema, " or is you just a teasing?"
Neema blushed. Her rosy cheeks standing out beneath her Raven hair and sapphire eyes. Licking her lips , " old as you is gotta start winding you up a first! Get you good n riled "
They sat looking into each other's eyes a moment. Moving with grace and speed, Merle beat her through the open door into the cabin. Neema passed him, kicking off her shoes and dropping her knitted shawl enroute to the bedroom.
Art scrambled along the creek bed searching for critters among the slippery quartz and granite rocks. He grasped at what he thought was a decent sized mud-puppy . It was a glorious sized one. As long as Art's forearm. Nice, big and slimy, perfect. A brilliant plan burst into being. Gwen, was sitting under an old oak tree, sorting through a pile of smooth stones she'd amassed from the creek bed.
Peridots, milky quartz and garnets mostly. She had declared herself on a quest for a Ruby to add to her collection of raw Emerald chips and the one Sapphire the size of her thumb.
There is a sound, glorious to ten year old boys, that an unsuspecting ten year old girl makes when a foot long slimy salamander is suddenly dropped down the back of her shirt.
Gwen screeched that sound most satisfyingly. For the second time that Saturday, Arthur led Gwen on a merry chase. This time however, Gwen was armed with a wriggling , spotted, slimy hellbender. She was determined to use it.
