Stirring the Pot

Believe it or not, I’m at work on book # 2. In it, we’ll learn more about Amy and her family, including a feral cousin who shows up unexpectedly. Here are some notes from her character sketch:

About mid-way through the 2nd book – Xmas? – one of Amy’s feral cousins shows up w/ her 5 year-old son in tow. Her mate is still at sea.
She came to Colony Island for her son to be educated. Thinks it’ll only take a year, three at the most. Amy disabuses her of this notion.
She moves in with Amy & her mother. Amy has to hide her from Billy King, Peter’s college roomie who’s giving Amy some voice lessons. The cousin is outraged that they let humans into her house and is baffled that Penelope married a human.

She is more talkative than the average feral. Females tend to be, esp. among family or friends.

She Learns about life on land or at least, life on Colony Island. I’ll use this to tell the reader more about Feraltown.

She has problems w/ the following parts of speech:

Articles (a, an, the)

Verbs (are, is)

Nominatives (it)

She sounds almost like the stereotypical Russian immigrant.

Name: Kulla
Son’s Name: Nikathlos
New Mate’s Name: Kharisthenês
Old Mate’s Name: Pistidas

She doesn’t understand why she needs a new name on land, or the need for a 1st and last name.

Pistidas was not the most attentive mate. Their mer-baby was a girl named ??. Pistadis was supposed to be watching the baby while Kulla gathered kelp for dinner. Pistadis was more interested in talking with his buddy. Then the baby became a snack for a Tiger shark.

Kulla was heartbroken. At least things were over pretty quickly for the baby. She immediately told Pistadis she didn’t want him to protect her anymore. (He wasn’t doing much of a job to begin with.)

Pistadis became an outcast. No females wanted anything to do with him. Mermen didn’t want to associate with him. Even the buddy who he’d been talking to distanced himself. Pistadis subsequently left the pod & disappeared into the sea.

Kulla chose another mate quickly. (She was besieged with offers from unchosen males.) This time she made a much better choice. Kharisthenês was everything Pistadis should have been. Kulla decides that Amy may not have been so wrong about living on land after all. Kharisthenês agrees that their son should be educated like Kulla’s cousin Amy.

There’s, of course, more to Kulla’s story but I’ve got to save something for the book.

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