Niv let out a quiet, unhappy grumble deep in the back of her throat as she crouched low among the ferns and tangled undergrowth, her long fingers digging slightly into the soft forest soil while she watched the strange human clearing from the safety of the treeline.
There were, as far as she could tell, at least three very good reasons for feeling unhappy about the situation she had somehow managed to get herself into.
The first reason was simple, obvious, and something she had already scolded herself about several times since earlier in the day. She was still here, still lurking around the pretty looking human, when she absolutely should not be doing that at all. Any sensible member of her people would have already left the area long ago and gone back deeper into the forest where humans rarely wandered. The Mother had explained many times that humans were dangerous, clever in ways that were difficult to predict, and capable of things that could easily end very badly if one was not careful.
And yet Niv had not left.
Instead she had stayed, hiding and creeping and watching like some foolish youngling who had never listened to a single lesson in her life.
The second reason for her unhappiness was even worse, and thinking about it made her ears flatten slightly against her head in embarrassment.
She might be… trying to court the human.
The thought alone made her stomach twist with a mixture of excitement and dread. If anyone else from her people ever found out she was doing something so ridiculous they would absolutely whisk her away immediately and drag her straight to the big rock so she could sit there and think very carefully about the poor decisions she had been making.
Big rock time was very serious.
The elders believed sitting on the big rock for long periods helped one reflect on their behavior and reconsider foolish impulses. Niv personally believed it was extremely boring and unpleasant, especially when the elders stood nearby watching you and occasionally reminding you that you were there because you had done something very stupid.
Which, she had to admit, would probably be fair in this case.
Still, she hated big rock time.
The third reason for her grumbling irritation was the one currently bothering her the most.
The human had not liked the nice smelling tree skin.
Niv had watched very carefully from the bushes when the human returned to its strange square den and noticed the tree skin sitting on the step. The human had made a series of unhappy looking expressions, the sort that clearly meant confusion and mild annoyance rather than appreciation. Then, worst of all, it had picked up the beautiful piece of fragrant mānuka bark and carried it away before tossing it onto a pile of much less interesting tree skins behind the den.
Niv felt personally offended by this.
That had been her favorite piece.
The underside still had the faint scratch marks from where she had carefully tested it with her claws while deciding whether it was worthy enough to present as a gift. It had smelled wonderful, sharp and sweet and earthy all at once, the sort of smell that clung pleasantly to the nose.
Clearly the human had very poor taste in tree skins.
Still, she supposed things were not completely terrible.
The human had seemed to like the pretty rock she had left earlier. Niv had watched very closely when the human discovered it, and she had seen the pleased expression and the way it turned the stone over in its hands to admire the way it caught the light.
It had not been Niv’s best rock, of course. She had many rocks, and several of them were much shinier and far more impressive than the one she had chosen. But it had been a very good rock nonetheless, and in Niv’s opinion it had been perfectly appropriate for a first meeting gift.
One did not simply give away the best rock immediately.
That would be far too much.
Her eyes followed the human as it moved in and out of the den again, carrying various objects back and forth with an ease that suggested it had done this routine many times before. The den itself fascinated Niv endlessly, because it was unlike anything she had ever seen before.
Her own sleeping place was a shallow cave tucked into the side of a rocky slope deeper in the forest. It was not large, but it was comfortable enough, and the stone walls kept the worst of the wet away when the sky water fell heavily from above. She had also taken great care to mark the surrounding area with her scent, which was the proper and sensible way to inform other animals that the territory was already claimed.
Because of this, almost nothing ever came near her cave anymore.
This human den, however, did not seem to have any scent marking around it at all.
None! Not even a little.
Niv found this deeply confusing and somewhat alarming.
It was almost as if the human wanted to be ambushed while it slept.
Then again, Niv reminded herself that she did not truly understand humans very well yet. Perhaps they had other strange methods of protecting their territory that did not rely on scent marking. Humans were clever creatures, and the Mother had warned many times that underestimating them was a very dangerous mistake.
So perhaps the den was protected in ways she simply could not see.
While she was still pondering this mystery, the pretty human stepped outside again, this time carrying several objects in its arms. It placed them on a wooden structure beside a large black hard thing that looked heavy and slightly intimidating.
Even from where she was hiding near the trees, Niv could hear the human making the good sounds again.
The beautiful sounds.
The ones that rose and fell in pleasing patterns that made her ears twitch happily whenever she heard them.
Niv was almost completely certain the sounds were meant for her.
The words spoke of love and longing and many other things she only partially understood, but the feeling behind them seemed warm and inviting, almost as if the human were calling to someone it wished to see.
To Niv, it felt very much like those sounds were directed toward her.
Unfortunately, Niv was also extremely shy.
Perhaps she would reveal herself to the human eventually, when she felt a little braver and a little less like her heart might leap straight out of her chest.
Unless, of course, she stopped being stupid first.
She let out another small sigh and rested her chin on her hands.
Niv really wished the Mother were here right now to tell her she was being stupid. The Mother was very good at explaining when someone was behaving foolishly, and she usually had helpful advice about how to stop doing that.
At the moment, Niv was not entirely sure she could stop being stupid on her own.
Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by several loud clicking sounds coming from the human’s direction. The human had begun placing things into the large black object, and a moment later something wonderful began drifting through the warm forest air.
Niv’s nose twitched immediately, then her eyes widened. The smell was incredible.
It smelled like meat, but richer and deeper and more delicious than any meat she had ever encountered before in her life. It was almost overwhelming in its intensity, filling the clearing with a mouthwatering scent that made her stomach tighten with sudden hunger.
Drool slowly slid past her lips before she could stop it.
She had never imagined meat could smell that good.
Her stomach made a soft whining noise as she watched the human carefully.
Maybe the human would share.
Perhaps after she revealed herself—
No.
No no no.
Niv shook her head firmly and pressed her face into her claws.
Stupid.
Stupid stupid Niv.
Do not reveal yourself.
Stay away.
Stay very far away.
Juno continued to sing softly to herself as she stood beside the grill, occasionally reaching out with the metal tongs to rotate the sausages, pork chops, and vegetables that were slowly sizzling over the heat. The air around the little clearing had begun to fill with the rich, savory smell of cooking meat, along with the slightly sweet scent of caramelizing onions and peppers. Every now and then a small pop of fat would crackle against the hot metal, sending a faint wisp of smoke drifting upward into the warm evening air.
From the outside, she looked perfectly relaxed.
Her voice drifted through the clearing as she hummed and sang along with the music still quietly playing through the earbuds tucked in her ears. Every once in a while she would sway a little bit to the rhythm, tapping the tongs lightly against the edge of the grill or checking the food with the casual patience of someone who had done this many times before.
Soon she would get the sauce ready too, the homemade barbecue sauce she had thrown together earlier that week, thick and a little smoky with just enough sweetness to make the pork chops really shine. It was shaping up to be a very good dinner for a barbecue of one.
That was what it looked like on the outside.
Inside her head, however, things were… considerably less calm.
Holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit.
Her thoughts were racing so fast she could barely keep track of them.
Is that a cryptid watching me right now? That’s a cryptid, isn’t it? That has to be a cryptid. Oh my god that’s definitely a cryptid.
Her grip on the tongs tightened slightly as she forced herself to turn another sausage like everything was perfectly normal.
Is that what left the rock and the bark on my doorstep? Was it trying to give me gifts? Why would it do that? Are cryptids known for giving gifts? Is that like a territorial thing? Or a flirting thing? Oh god is it flirting with me?
She swallowed carefully and kept staring at the grill like it was the most fascinating object in the world.
Okay. Calm down. Think about this logically. I am not being hunted right now. Probably. Cryptid attacks are incredibly rare. Like, statistically rare. People get attacked by cows more often. Or falling coconuts. Or vending machines.
She rotated one of the pork chops.
Wait. Do we even have coconuts here? Focus, Juno.
Her brain did not focus.
Instead it kept spiraling in increasingly frantic directions.
What sort of cryptid is it even? It’s big. Definitely bigger than a deer. That rules out a lot of things. Probably not a moa either. Those are birds and also mostly extinct and also that thing definitely looked kind of humanoid when it moved.
She hummed along with the music again, trying desperately to act normal.
Okay so humanoid cryptid. I know there was one that was… what was it called? Moehau something? Those were supposed to live further south though and they were meant to be really aggressive.
A cold little prickle ran down her spine at that thought.
But that one left gifts. I think. Maybe. I mean the rock was nice. The bark was… confusing but maybe that was still a nice gesture?
Her thoughts tumbled over each other again.
Do I call out to it? Would that scare it away? Would that be good? Or would that make it realize I know it’s there and then it attacks me? No. No sudden moves. Absolutely no sudden moves.
She very deliberately flipped a sausage.
Do NOT look at the cryptid, Juno. Do not make eye contact with the unknown forest creature that may or may not be evaluating you as a potential meal or mate.
Her brain helpfully added:
Hopefully it’s a woman.
Her mind, in short, had become a complete storm of anxious speculation, wild guesses, and increasingly ridiculous survival strategies.
And yet, despite all of that chaos swirling inside her head, she did not let even the smallest hint of it show on the outside.
She kept humming.
She kept cooking.
She kept pretending that nothing unusual was happening at all.
Eventually the food was done.
The sausages had browned nicely, the pork chops were perfectly cooked, and the vegetables had softened just enough while still keeping a bit of char around the edges. Juno carefully plated everything up, adding a generous drizzle of her homemade sauce across the meat.
Then she froze.
Plate in hand, she stood there for a moment while a new wave of indecision washed over her.
She had originally planned to sit at the picnic table beside the grill and eat outside while enjoying the evening air.
But now there was, quite possibly, a large cryptid sitting somewhere in the trees watching her.
Going inside suddenly seemed like a very appealing option.
Her eyes flicked briefly toward the dark treeline before she forced herself to look away again.
If she suddenly bolted for the house, that might make it obvious that she knew it was there.
And if it realized she knew…
Well.
She had absolutely no idea what would happen then.
Juno let out a quiet, anxious sigh.
“Just… act normal,” she murmured under her breath.
So she walked over to the picnic table and sat down exactly like she had originally planned, setting the plate in front of her and picking up her fork like nothing in the world was wrong.
After the first bite, some of the tension slowly began to leave her shoulders.
The sausages were incredible.
The pork chops were juicy and flavorful, and the sauce had turned out even better than she expected. The sweetness balanced perfectly with the smoky flavor from the grill, and the vegetables had soaked up just enough of it to make them delicious as well.
For a little while, her worries almost faded away completely as she focused on the food.
Then a stray thought drifted back into her mind.
She paused mid-bite.
I wonder if the cryptid would like my sauce.
She chewed thoughtfully.
…Who knows.