( his first thought is of rusalye and of the women he was said to have dragged beneath the waves. a children's story, of course. fluff and fantasy. but it's enough to bring him up short, tense and wary, while he endures the creature's scrutiny.

the stag had been similarly alien. ancient in a way that stretched beyond even his understanding.

once it departs, some of the tension leaves his shoulders. )

I wonder, ( he muses aloud, crouching to study the surface of the lake, as if debating following after the creature. )

Have you ever heard the story of Sankta Ursula and the Waves?