“Um… what did you have in mind for us?” she asked, her mind racing of many possible things the boy might do with, or to, her.
Daniel chuckled then sat down on the sleeping blanket against the wall and motioned for Specca to come closer. The girl smiled bashfully and slowly came closer to him, getting down on her hands and knees to crawl over before sitting next to him, her tail sliding back along the wall behind Daniel as the boy watched her with an intrigued smile.
“Well, this is like a first date for us, in a way,” Daniel pointed out, with Specca nodding with a blush. “So I thought, what would I want to do with Specca on our first date?”
“I don’t know, what would you want to do with me?” Specca asked, growing even more excited for whatever the boy had planned.
Daniel paused for a moment then reached to the side and pulled his backpack over to them, opening the flap and then presenting it to Specca.
“First, I want you to pick out your favorite book from what I have here.”
Specca looked at him with wonder then to the books in his bag.
“Um, okay,” she said as she reached into the bag. She glanced over the titles then lifted a book out with a curious smile, wondering where Daniel was going with this. Daniel set his bag back over on the side of the cabin and looked at the book the girl had chosen.
“Ah, The Temptress’ Key. That’s a rather good one.”
“I’ve read it quite a few times back in Ashwood, I love the romance and action scenes so much. So, what now?”
Daniel then gently slid one of his arms around behind her, the girl watching with surprise as he lifted her legs up with his other arm then brought her over to sit on his lap, the girl trembling a bit with a blush on her face as the boy held her upright against his shoulder while his other hand rested on her legs.
“Daniel?” she asked under her breath, her heart feeling like it was going to leap out of her chest from him holding her like this. Daniel smiled at the girl then glanced to the book she was holding.
“For our first date, Specca, I’d like to read your favorite story with you.”
“What?”
“I like to read and so do you,” Daniel reasoned. “So I thought, the ideal first date for the cute girl I found hiding in the library would be a good book to read with her.”
Specca jumped with a small squeak and blushed further.
“C-Cute? M-Me?”
“Yes, you. Is this okay for a first date for you?”
Specca glanced down to her lap then looked at Daniel with surprise as she realized something.
“Daniel… I’m not… wearing… any…” she said softly, remembering that she was sitting on Daniel’s lap bare bottomed. The boy glanced down to her skirt then to her with a shrug.
“I know, I don’t mind,” he assured her. “You are how you are Specca, there’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Daniel,” Specca said softly as her tail slowly slid around his waist and held onto him, the girl using her reptilian appendage to keep him close. He smiled at her then glanced to the book in her hands, not minding the unique way of her holding him at all.
“Is this an okay idea?”
Specca nodded slowly as he looked into her eyes, the girl feeling her heart beating faster for him than before.
“Yes, it’s… it’s perfect,” she said with a tear forming in her eye.
“Glad to hear it. I’ll try to keep up with you on each page,” he said with a wink. The girl smiled lovingly at the boy then looked to the book in her hands.
“As will I with you,” she said, knowing that she may have trouble focusing on the story by reading it like this. Daniel nodded then kissed her cheek, the girl jumping with a small gasp as she looked to him with wonder.
“We’ll read it together until you fall asleep, then I’ll tuck you in for the night. Sound like a date?”
She slowly held a hand to her cheek as she blushed brightly then nodded with a warm smile.
“Sounds perfect to me, Daniel,” she said softly before looking to the book. She opened it to the first page and held the book so they could both read it, the girl resting her head on his shoulder as she cherished being with him like this. He held the nixie on his lap as he enjoyed their private night together, still unsure if he loved Specca or cared for her deeply as a friend, but was positive he was glad he had her in his life.
After several chapters Daniel noticed Specca sleeping peacefully against his shoulder, the nixie having a small smile on her face while she was breathing softly. The boy slowly set the book down on the floor and watched as the nixie slept in his arms. Her tail had loosened slightly from around his waist; however it still remained around his hips, as if even in her sleep the girl refused to let him go. Daniel admired the girl’s overall beauty, with her peaceful nature and deep mind being her defining points in his book.
“She really is something, that much is for certain,” he said quietly to himself. Gently he lifted the girl up in his arms and moved over to lay her down on the sleeping mat, carefully laying her down before removing her glasses and setting them on the floor above her pillow. Daniel put out the flame in the lantern then lied down next to the sleeping nixie, pulling the blanket over them while her tail slid out slightly to the side. The girl rolled over to face him while nuzzling her cheek against her pillow, her gentle smile remaining on her face as a few strands of her hair dropped down near her nose.
“Sleep well, Specca,” Daniel said before leaning in and kissing her gently on the lips. He leaned back and pulled his boots off, setting them down on the floor near them before he laid down, resting his head on his pillow while breathing out in content.
“I love you,” Specca said softly, with Daniel looking over to see the girl’s eyes opened slightly as she smiled at him. Daniel smiled in return, with Specca scooting over and holding onto him as she rested her head on his shoulder again.
“Sleep well, Daniel,” she said quietly before falling asleep again, with Daniel closing his eyes as he felt the nixie resting on him.
*****
Specca sighed softly as she recalled how her night with Daniel went. Even more to her joy, she apparently slept through Daniel’s snoring completely. She didn’t even remember hearing him snoring once during the night, even though the other girls told her that they woke up to him snoring like he usually did. Of course, what did wake Specca up were the girls yelling out her name when they found her clinging to Daniel in the morning still, with her tail having once again wrapped around the boy’s waist. After everybody had calmed down, with Daniel regaining his senses after waking up to all the girls shouting and arguing that come the morning the girls’ ‘quality time’ with Daniel was over, everybody had carried on as usual for the day. The other girls, although jealous of Specca’s turn, didn’t treat her badly because of it, since after all they were expecting the same thing for themselves very soon. But for Specca, her ‘date’ with Daniel was on her mind all that day, something that she loved every moment of and was again counting the seconds until her next night with him.
“Specca? You okay?” Triska asked. Specca blinked then looked to her curiously as the teen was watching her with a raised eyebrow.
“What? Yes, I’m fine, why do you ask?”
“Because you just plotted our route to go in circles over there,” Triska said while pointing to the map. Specca looked to seeing that during her daydreaming of her night with Daniel she had been absentmindedly drawing in a circle on the map over and over again.
“Oh, sorry, I lost my trail of thought,” she apologized before she quickly worked to correct the blunder. Triska nodded and glanced to seeing Daniel again looking ahead as he held the reins to Lucky.
“Gee, I wonder what from,” Triska remarked knowingly while looking to Specca with a slick smile. Specca glanced to her then looked back down to the map with a blush, remaining silent while her tail curled up behind her. Alyssa and Squeak watched her curiously while Triska leaned closer to the girl.
Specca glanced to her then looked up with a shrug.
“Maybe he muffled my cries of pleasure and ecstasy rather well, did you ever consider that?”
Looking around she saw the other girls staring at her with wide eyes and open mouths from that comment. After a while of silence she giggled and shook her head.
“Relax,” she gently reassured. “He was a perfect gentleman with me all night. We didn’t engage in anything like what you’re thinking. The only thing you may or may not be pleased to hear was that he kissed me goodnight, that’s all.” The other girls breathed out in relief as Specca looked down with a gentle smile.
“We just read a book together.”
“A book?” Alyssa asked. “That’s all you did, read a book?”
Specca nodded and looked over to see Daniel sitting in the driver’s seat of the caravan, the boy looking around at the sights of the passing wilderness while his hair fluttered in the breeze. The nixie smiled lovingly at him as she felt her heart beating faster with her growing love for him.
“Yes. It was the best book I’ve ever read in my entire life.”
Chapter 3
Gentle Monsters
In the world of Eden, danger lurks around every corner, even more so when traveling through The Outerlands. Bandits and marauders were a real threat out in the wild, as well as the monsters that roamed the lands. A confrontation could occur at any time, a choice between fighting or fleeing may not always be an option, and one may need to rely on their instincts to survive the dangers they come across. However, not everything that seemed dangerous or evil really was. Sometimes appearances could be deceiving. If one wasn’t certain whether they were facing an enemy or not, it was always best to choose what to do carefully.
After all, even those that were good in nature could still look like monsters.
*****
Flying up in the sky two butterfly girls were seen making their way across The Outerlands, with one of them carrying a small human child in her arms. Emily clung to Luna tightly as the butterfly monster held her securely, the young child’s hair fluttering in the wind while she kept her eyes shut tight. Flying next to her sister Falla was scouring below them in search for Daniel’s caravan, watching as they passed over the land with no sign of the travelers or their ride.
“Dammit,” Falla muttered. “I hope they didn’t get too far ahead of us this time.”
“You okay, Emily?” Luna asked as she saw the child keeping her face buried in her shoulder. The girl shook her head while holding onto Luna tightly.
“I don’t like this!” Emily cried out. “Take me down, take me down!”
“But Emily, you’re safe up here,” Luna replied worriedly. “I promise. Nothing’s going to hurt you.”
Falla glanced to the kid then looked around at the landscape below them again.
“She’s right, Emily. Down there you would be in more danger then up here, it’s much safer-”
“ISN’T THIS SO MUCH FUN? WEEEEEEE!” Luna screamed out as she laughed out of control, spiraling around gleefully while holding Emily close. Emily screamed for dear life while shaking her head wildly as she felt herself spinning around in the air.
“No! Please stop, stop! Please, Luna! You’re scaring me!” Emily cried out with tears forming in her eyes.
Luna stopped and looked to Emily with a curious expression, the child then frantically trying to hold onto the monster as Luna had stopped her spiral so that she was upside-down in her flight.
“Scaring you?” Luna asked curiously.
“DON’T DROP ME! PLEASE!”
“Luna!” Falla yelled out. “Stop that, you’re just making this worse for her!”
Luna spun around to fly upright again with Emily crying and trying to push her away.
“Let me go!” Emily whined. “Put me down right now, you’re crazy!”
“Crazy?” Luna asked with a hurt expression.
Falla groaned then flew over and took Emily away from Luna, the human scrambling around in her arms while Luna watched her with worried eyes.
“Calm down, kid,” Falla grunted as she held onto the child. “She wasn’t going to drop you. She’s just got a little condition, okay?”
Emily looked back towards the sound of her voice then over to where she could hear Luna crying softly.
“A little condition? She was laughing like a crazy monster!”
“I’m sorry, Emily,” Luna whimpered. “I… I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Falla shook her head then motioned down towards a nearby wooded area, the two then flying down with Emily holding onto Falla nervously. They landed on the grass and Falla set Emily down before turning the girl to face her.
“I’m sorry about that,” Falla said glancing to Luna with annoyance. “My sister… can get a little carried away sometimes. She can’t help it. Trust me, as ‘crazy’ as she may seem, she’s harmless.”
Emily looked towards the sound of Luna crying, the butterfly girl holding her arms around herself and looking away with remorse.
“I’m sorry, Emily,” Luna apologized. “I didn’t mean to scare you like that.”
Emily listened to the monster crying then looked down with a worried expression. Falla looked between the two then up with a silent sigh before kneeling down behind Emily and holding her close.
“How about if I carry you. I promise not to scare you like that, okay?”
“Can’t we walk? I don’t like flying.”
“Flying is the best way of finding our friends,” Falla reasoned. “We can see further and travel faster while in the air. Plus it’s safer that way, nothing can get you up in the air when you’re with us.”
“I don’t like flying,” Emily whimpered. “Please don’t take me up there again.”
Falla looked to Luna with a small scowl as she was watching Emily with remorseful eyes.
“Way to go, Luna,” Falla said flatly. “You scared her from flying ever again.”
Luna hung her head with shame while Falla stood up and looked around, only seeing the hills and trees nearby with no sign of any path or trail.
“Tell you what,” she said looking to Emily. “How about we rest here for a moment, then we’ll see if you feel any better about flying. Sound fair?”
The child remained silent while keeping her blank gaze down towards the grass, with Luna looking to her with a saddened expression.
“I’m sorry, Emily. I really am.” Emily looked towards the sound of her voice as the butterfly girl knelt down in front of her. “Please don’t be mad at me. I know I can lose my trail of thought easily, I just wanted you to like flying like I do.”
Emily hesitated then slowly reached out and hugged her, with Luna watching with wonder as the human held her gently.
“I don’t hate you, Luna,” Emily said softly. “You just surprised me is all.”
Luna held her close with a caring smile while Falla watched the two with a bored expression.
“I promise, I promise, Emily,” Luna assured dearly. “That I’ll take care of you out here. I mean it.”
Emily nodded while still holding onto her, with Falla rolling her eyes then looking around the area with a dull glance.
“Great,” Falla muttered. “Daniel’s getting further and further away. This is such bullshit.”
Emily held onto Luna then heard her stomach growling, with Luna and Falla looking to see the child leaning back from her hug with a weak expression.
“Emily?” Luna asked.
“Sorry,” the child said while holding a hand over her belly. “I’m getting hungry. I haven’t eaten anything since this morning.”
Falla held her hands to her face as she tried to keep calm about the situation, taking a few steady breaths before she turned to Emily with a forced smile.
“Well, that’s alright, humans nee
d to eat too after all,” she reluctantly agreed. “That being the case, I’ll go see what I can find around here. You and Luna just stay here and rest.”
Emily nodded while Luna looked to her sister curiously.
“Is there any food for humans around here?”
“I’ll find something for her, just watch over the poor dear in the meantime,” Falla said as she turned to walk away.
“There’s a deer around here?” Luna asked looking around quickly. “Oh, humans eat those don’t they? Should we try to catch it?”
Emily looked to her with a small giggle while Falla rolled her eyes and fluttered her wings behind her.
“Just watch over her, Luna. And don’t go anywhere until I get back,” Falla said before flying off. Luna looked around curiously then to Emily as the girl was smiling at her.
“You’re funny,” Emily said with a small laugh.
“I am? What did I do?”
Emily shook her head and hugged her again, the butterfly monster then holding her with a curious smile.
“You’re just you, but that’s okay,” Emily reasoned with a giggle. She then showed a worried expression and held Luna close. “Luna, I’m sorry I called you crazy. That was mean.”
“It’s okay. I didn’t mean to scare you like that. I can just get a little carried away sometimes. And flying really is fun, but I guess humans don’t like it as much, I’m sorry.”
Emily looked up towards her with a blank stare, her eyes not focusing on anything as Luna gently held her.
“I wish I could see you,” she said softly. “You’re so nice. It’s hard to believe you’re a monster.”
Luna looked down for a moment then held Emily close again, the child’s head resting against her bosom.
“Just because I’m a monster doesn’t mean I don’t care about others. I’m not some Darker One after all,” Luna reasoned, with Emily showing a relieved smile from her words.
Again the child’s stomach growled, with Luna giggling and looking down to her with an amused smile.
Chronicles of Eden - Act III Page 7
