"Don't apologize," Robert said and then he smiled a genuine smile, which surprised me. "I haven't had such an interesting debate for a long time. You really opened my eyes."
I could feel the air return to my lungs and relief flooded through me. Allecra reached under the table to grab my hand and squeezed it.
After we finished dinner, Piper and I helped bring in desserts, apple pie and ice cream with a little mix of vodka. Later, Allecra told some joke at the table, and they laughed. One of them was a riddle, 'why a man jumps into the water, but his hair isn't wet?' The answer was it's because the man is bald. Robert laughed so hard, his whole face reddened like a tomato. Even Jay was laughing his head off.
It was dusk when I walked Allecra out of the house to her car.
"Thank you for coming, Allecra," I said. "I owe you this one."
"Nina, don't say that," she said.
I smiled.
"You're amazing, you know."
"I know," she said, making me giggle. Then there was a long pause as we stared at each other.
"When school is over, I'm all yours," I said. Her turquoise eyes gleamed at my words.
"All mine,” she said, giving me a meaningful grin.
I nodded again, and we kissed each other goodnight.
~*~
At last, I finished all my exams, term papers, and class projects and still came out in good shape. I had worked so hard for my grades, I hardly thought of anything else for the past few weeks. I had also submitted my entry to the writing contest. The school was closed for the summer vacation at last. Everyone had their plans. Mine was just a bit more miraculous.
Allecra and I were talking about all the places we would see in her library when we heard the ding of the elevator. We both turned to see Xenon and Triton walking in.
"Damn it, I should've changed the security password," Allecra muttered to herself. She got up from the couch. I stood up, too. Allecra she went out to greet her brother and sister with a sour look. Xenon dressed far more simply than usual. Her outfit had nothing idiosyncratic about it anymore, just a white blouse, tight jeans, and no accessories to speak of. Except probably her heels, which were thin and sharp as a pencil lead, they could be a weapon in a spy movie.
"Why are you here?" Allecra asked her sister.
"I wouldn't be here if I didn't deem it important for you," Xenon said. But she sounded less hostile than the last time I saw her. Well, at least, she wasn't while speaking to Allecra.
"Is that it?" Allecra said.
"Please stop doing that, Alle," her sister said sternly. Then her topaz eyes glinted when they drifted to mine. "Can I have a moment of privacy with my sister?"
I looked at Allecra, who finally tore her gaze away from Xenon to give me a small nod. I was reluctant to go at first, but Triton came to escort me out of the room, telling with his bright smile that seemed to say, 'It wouldn't take long.' I got into the elevator with him. Before the door shut, I could hear Xenon started to speak in their own language.
Triton and I got up to the living room. He showed me to the sofa and gestured for me to sit down. Then he took a seat on a bean bag nearby. For a few long minutes, we didn't talk. I tried to notice other things, the hem of my shirt or my shoes or the carpet. Triton just smiled as he observed me. His staring strangely didn't feel creepy at all. It didn't even give me the slightest discomfort. It was more like a curious friendly bear looking at you, and you know there would be no harm.
'You have anything to eat?' He suddenly asked in his own unique telepathic way. I had to make sure it wasn't my own thought when he was speaking to me. Triton rubbed his tummy to indicate that I heard him right. He was hungry.
"Oh!" I blinked. "Well...er...I can fix you a sandwich if you want."
Triton raised a hand up with big eyes as if to say, 'It's alright if it bothers you.'
I blinked again. I still hadn't gotten a hang of this kind of communication, to be honest. But Triton didn't seem to mind my slow response.
"It's nothing," I reassured him and gave him a smile back. "Don't stand on ceremony. I'm good at making snacks and like to do it all the times."
He grinned and nodded at last. In fact, I was grateful for the task as I finally had an excuse to do something rather than sitting still. We got up and went to the kitchen. I opened the fridge, but to my surprise, there wasn't anything left in there, except a few fresh cucumbers and a package of seaweed, which Allecra must have bought to make me a Bento lunch. We hadn't been to the grocery shop for a while, so no wonder.
"Sorry, Triton, there's nothing here," I said apologetically, turning to him. He gave me a smile and an 'it's okay' shrug. For some reason, it broke my heart to see that. It was like I had disappointed a child when he asked for some cookies. I decided to do something out of the cucumbers. "Well, you know what, how about a healthy snack instead?"
Triton raised an eyebrow. I just got the fruits out (yes, cucumbers are technically fruits) from the fridge, washed them and cut them on the chopping board into bite-size. I tore open the nori package and wrapped a strip over each sliced cucumber before stabbing it with a toothpick. I gathered the cucumber pieces on a plate and poured some soy sauce into a dipping bowl then brought everything to the table.
Triton stared at my invention in amused curiosity. He took one piece from the plate and dipped it into the sauce. Triton crunched down on the fresh cucumber. The sound echoed in the quiet room. He swallowed and took two more and gobbled them. In just a moment later, he polished off everything, even the soy sauce. I brought him a cup of tea and poured myself some, too.
'Delicious cucumbers! Thank you!' He smiled quite childishly at me.
"They were organic," I said and returned his smile. Triton laughed a quiet laugh.
'No wonder our sister is crazy about you,' he said. I felt my face blush.
Then my eyes glanced at the clock. Xenon had been talking to Allecra quite a long while now. I wondered what they were possibly talking about. Although I had an inkling that it wasn't something I would like to know, I was still curious.
'Don't worry, they're just talking.' Triton said with an amused look.
"I'm not worried," I told him.
'Good.'
He leaned back on the chair, putting his hands behind his head. His hair was like silver and his eyes were the same, I just noticed them.
"Can you tell me why you drop by all of a sudden?"
'We are here today because of the Elders.’
"The Elders?"
Triton didn't respond for a few long minutes. I thought he didn't hear me.
"Who are the Elders?" I asked again.
'Our homeworld's remaining Arzurians.' He said. I looked at him in puzzlement.
"I thought you were the last Arzurians," I said.
'No.' Triton gave a little shake of his head.
"But Allecra said, she is the Endling," I told him.
'She is.'
"What about you and Xenon?"
'We don’t matter.'
I remembered what Allecra told me about her two interstellar siblings. They were cloned or created, or whatever it was called, but they weren't like Allecra. Yet, everything Triton said didn't add up.
"What do the Elders want?"
Triton seemed to pause for a moment. It was the first time I sensed a jumbling wave of his thoughts between us. It was like a static noise when a TV was unable to reach the right frequency and the images came disoriented and wrinkling. Triton sat up and resumed his original position. There seemed to be a conflict as he looked at me, but for a split second, it all cleared up again. Maybe having fed him had earned me a fragment of his trust or kindness of some sort. Without actually saying it, he told me so quietly:
'They are waiting.'
I was silent for a while, trying to grasp my mind around this piece of information. But nothing made any sense.
"Waiting for what?"
We heard the elevator's door bell. Allecra and Xenon walked into the room afterward. I got
up from the table with Triton. Xenon gave him a small nod and the two of them turned to leave. There was no awkward goodbye, which I was thankful for.
After they left, I went up to Allecra again. She wasn't looking at me, but at the retreating car outside.
"Everything okay?" I asked her. For a moment, it was as though the Allecra I was holding was replaced by someone else. "Allecra?"
"Yeah, everything's perfect," she said and smiled brightly at me.
"But why Xenon..."
"She's just being Xenon, don't pay her any mind," she said. "Shouldn't we prepare to go on our holiday now?"
I nodded, but the whole time, the flow of her attention seemed to be channeled in different directions. A great transparent wall that wasn't there before suddenly appeared between us. I sensed a kind of uncertainty in her, a sense of dread even. I wanted to ask her more, but I didn't want to sound demanding. When I had my moment of doubt, Allecra had let me walk through it myself. I should do the same for her. When she was ready to tell me, she would let me know what was going on.
CHAPTER 40
“You're sure this is anywhere closer to where we're heading?" I asked Allecra, who was walking in front of me with surprising ease.
The ground was slightly damped and covered with dead leaves. I was not used to such physical exertion, and it was only out of will that I didn't ask Allecra to slow down or take a break. I didn't want her to think I couldn't handle outdoor activities. We'd been hiking through an unknown forest for almost half an hour now.
I watched Allecra's long legs flitting through a rough path without any problem. It made me jealous at how easily she moved regardless of the steep terrain. I hurried to keep up with her and found myself running short of breath.
"You want to hitch a ride on my back?" Allecra said as she looked over her shoulder to me. I shook my head back.
"No, I'm fine," I said. She just smiled and shrugged.
"Well, let me know when you want to ride me," she said and quirked her eyebrows. I scowled back at her. I had to concentrate on walking and ignore her sexual innuendo at the same time.
But deep down, I was glad to see Allecra being her usual carefree herself again. After her siblings' visit, it seemed something was bothering her. Then just like that, she decided we should start our summer trip right away. I still couldn't understand what Triton had hinted to me, but soon I gave up trying to figure out the answer. It was difficult to pinpoint something that I had no clue of. Besides if Allecra wanted me to know something, she would tell me in her own time.
The field around us was filled with white and blue and yellow flowers. I was busy looking and admiring the nature when I lost my footing and skied over the ground until my hands grabbed a hold of a baby tree to stop the momentum, Allecra turned around quickly.
"You're alright, Nina?" she asked, concerned. I reassured her I was okay, but she insisted on giving me a piggyback ride from there. I tried to protest, but she just wrapped my arms around her neck as she hoisted me onto her back.
"Oh geez! You're as heavy as a sack of potatoes," Allecra pretended to complain, but she got moving so swiftly over the slope.
"I didn't ask you to carry me!" I pointed out crossly.
"Well, blame it on my love for you," she said, which shut me up.
Along the way, I kept pointing out flowers and trees on both sides of us. Allecra even stopped to pick a wild orchid I wanted. And she didn't mind when I put the flower in her hair. She seemed to find relish in my childish excitement as we hiked through the forest.
After a while, we came to a little path which seemed to lead up to a small hill. The hill was covered with a mass of green foliage. At the foot of the path was paved with pebbles and sand. Allecra chose the route of least evergreens to go down to the shore.
A moment later, we saw the view of a lake ahead of us. It seemed to appear out of nowhere.
"Here we are," she told me and then put me down again. I was speechless.
The sky was a fresh-swept blue, with only a trace of white cloud clinging like a streak of test paint.
The other side of the lake cast the reflection of tall pine trees and white-peaked mountains on its pristine water. The lake was shallow and glistened different shades of turquoise and blue. Its floor was visible, and I could see multicolored pebbles worn smooth right at the place where the water met land. The area around the shore was surrounded by flowerbeds and clusters of bushes and trees.
We stopped a few feet away from the lake and the two of us looked out toward the magnificent view together.
"It looks like a giant mirror, the most beautiful lake I've ever seen," I breathed. Allecra looked at me and smiled.
"I want you to see nature in its most gentle form like this."
"Where is this place, anyway?"
"Somewhere in New Zealand," she said.
"Oh my god!" I cried, "Really? We're in New Zealand?"
"Yeah," she chuckled. "I love it here. The trees and flowers reflect their uncomplicated seamlessness. Unlike Arzuria, Earth has this sophisticated charm that makes the planet so special. I guess it's just like the way you are to me."
I turned my head to look at her and she was already staring at me. It was the best feeling in the world.
"Thank you for bringing me here," I said.
"You deserve to see all the beauty there is to see, Nina," she said. "I always picture us in strange places, holding hands and looking at all the beautiful things together, always us."
I went to embrace her from the side. She kissed the top of my head lovingly.
We walked about a few more feet to the shoreline and found a big white tent made of canvases by a chestnut tree. The tent was round with pointed roof in an Indian style. There was even a campfire nearby.
"Whose tent is this?" I asked Allecra.
"Ours."
"Oh, are we camping here tonight?" I said in an excited voice.
"You have never camped out before?"
"No," I said. "I had always wanted to go camping as a kid. But my dad was always busy. I remember building a fort inside my apartment alone and pretended that it was in a forest. Sometimes I scared myself so bad, I stayed inside the fort until my dad found me asleep in it."
"You sound adorable," Allecra said. "We can play fort together here. Let's go and check it out."
We went inside the tent together. It was quite spacious and high enough for us not to hunch over, and it had a small mattress with pillows and a white blanket at the center. I was impressed. Allecra grinned proudly at me.
"We can spend a night or two here," she said.
"So what are we going to do now?" I asked.
"It's up to you," she said. "We can do whatever we want."
There was a silence. Both tried to act like there were no other 'special' activities in mind except to enjoy the nature.
"Okay, well..." I said. "The lake looks so pleasant outside."
"You want to take a swim in it?" She asked.
"I don't have any swimsuit with me."
"You can swim nude," Allecra said. "It's so quiet here."
I gave her a pointed look.
"Thanks for your suggestion, but I would rather not."
"Suit yourself," she said with a shrug. "But I'm going to."
"Huh?"
Allecra just smiled and went outside again. I followed after and watched her removing her clothes in astonishment. She stepped out of her underwear before glancing back at me with a smirk. I was no doubt blushing as I watched her from behind.
The length of Allecra's tattooed body sent a shiver up my spine. I didn't pretend not to look anymore. Allecra, all naked and carved to perfection, stepped into the water like an ancient goddess taking her bath — one foot after another until her body was submerged in the water.
I felt quite disappointed being left behind. I wanted to see more of her and caress her in my arms. Allecra turned around and looked at me again, her ample chest covered by her long blonde lock. My blood pounded in my
ears as I stood there. The look in her eyes beckoned to me like a siren's call. I felt the heat in my body rose up ardently, telling me to go to her at once.
What was to be embarrassed about when every fiber of my being was in need of her?
Without further hesitation, I slowly took off my clothes, too. At the same time, Allecra wedged her way back through the water towards me.
Allecra helped me out of my clothes faster than I could do it myself. She got down, and I felt her lips pressed against my lower stomach as she rolled down my panties. Then she kissed my hipbone, my belly and then down there. I bit my lips from whimpering and tried to keep still. It happened just like that.
The whole thing was oddly enthralling, to say the least - us being naked in the wildness under the open sky, but it was the oddness that made it much more arousing.
The dipping sun only brightened the lake's surface with its clear turquoise color. Then Allecra swept me off my feet and carried me into the water. I clung to her and squealed as the first cold splash hit my skin.
Allecra laughed and put me down. I swam away and she swam after me. When she caught me again, our mouths went for each other. We kissed with our arms wound around the other's body. Allecra's long ravenous tongue licked the sensitive spots on my neck and down to my breasts. I felt her body's heat seeped into mine, burning up my desire and moisturizing my secret place. She caressed my breasts earnestly and brought them to her warm mouth. I gasped in pleasure. Then Allecra wrapped my legs around her waist, her hands went to my back and bum, hurling me against her body.
The thrusting was only teasing, but it was the magical position, and if stimulated intently, would make me weep in lustful tears. I tightened my hold on her shoulders and allowed myself to be carried by the motion. I just couldn't help but move my hips against her.
The water mixed with my own arousal was overwhelmingly slippery. Allecra devoured my lips and squeezed my backside. I closed my eyes, mouth gaping apart, moans slithering out of my throat.
Feeling the movement of her hand going downward while her other arm went around me in support. I thought she was going to use her fingers.
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