The Hedgewitch of Foxhall by Bright Anna
Author:Bright, Anna
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2024-03-12T00:00:00+00:00
29
Tal
On the Dyke, Powys
Ffion paced beside the ditch. âTell me again what you saw,â I said. âAnd slowly, this time.â
Back and forth, back and forth. Her feet were wearing a track in the mud, her freckled, stubby-fingered hands gesticulating as she spoke about the splash, the hollow in the river, the tracks on the bank.
A llamhigyn y dŵr.
âWeâll have to keep our eyes open from now on.â Her voice was avid; she was too excited to smile. âWe have to see what else might have emerged, or woken up, orâor come back to life.â
Anxiety zipped up my spine.
I climbed into the wagon, and Ffion took up her cauldron with renewed energy, and on we went. âYou do know what sort of damage these creatures can do,â I said.
Ffion gave a snort, which promptly turned into a cough. âYes, the destruction left in the wake of the water leaper is legend. Woe to the fish and birds in its domain.â
âI donât mean the llamhigyn y dŵr,â I said irritably. All this focus on what used to be, Angwsâs talk of hiraeth, had left me rattled. âEnid, the old hedgewitchâshe said herself that the gwiberod used to go after her chickens. Iâve heard bigger dragons would go after cows and sheep. Iâve heard of gwyllgwn destroying cemeteries, gwiberod nesting in orchards and wrecking themâthe Cath Palug laid waste to whole fields before it was dealt withââ
âTal, most of these creatures are only dangerous if you get between them and their young, or if you trouble them during mating season.â
âAnd what if you do have the bad fortune to run into their whelps or trouble them when theyâreâfeeling romantic?â I stumbled over the words.
âFeeling romantic.â She rolled her eyes at me, and I felt myself turning red. âThe problem is usually with fools who canât give them space, or who destroy their homes.â
âAnd then they go wandering into our homes, or our fields, and cause problems. Or even kill people, Ffion.â
âSo do bears, sometimes! So do wolves!â Ffion wiped her dripping nose with a handkerchief, eyes incredulous. âI caught Cadno near our own henhouse once. Do you suggest we do away with every animal who has to be approached with care?â
âCan bears and wolves and foxes set towns and woods on fire with their breath?â I shot back. âAnyway, wouldnât we all be safer without those beasts, too?â
âIs safety the most important thing? Is it more important than beauty, or wonder?â She spoke flippantly, but her expression was serious, and then curious. âTal, this is what weâve been working for. Whatâs changed, that suddenly youâre so worried?â
Nothing had changed. Nothing had changed, except that Iâd slipped and said too much.
I was getting too comfortable with Ffion.
I shook my head, searching for a change of subject. âYour cauldron is getting full. What are you gathering all thoseâdid you just pick up a dead beetle?â
She smiled placidly. âIâve found some excellent patches of mold and lichen growing along the ditch today, too.â From what I could see, sheâd also found a large chunk of amber and two tidy-capped mushrooms.
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