"Hey, what do you think I'm here for?" Triska barked out. Alyssa looked back to her with a raised eyebrow.
"Good question," she said flatly. Triska growled as she reached for her sword. Alyssa narrowed her eyes and reached out for her staff before Daniel took hold of her hand, the witch and girls all looking to him instantly with a bit of surprise.
"She's out here for the same reason you are, Alyssa, to help us with our journey. She risked her own life to help save you against that succubus back in Ashwood, remember?" he asked gently. Alyssa looked at him with wonder as he held her hand with his, and then glanced down to them.
"But… she didn't… I was the one who…" she said before looking up at him again, losing her trail of thought as he held her hand.
"And she was the one who showed Squeak's queen that humans can help them, not by being breeders but by helping them clear out those ant-lionesses," Daniel continued, with Triska looking at him with a soft smile. Alyssa held his hand gently and slowly leaned closer to him.
"But I've provided you a ride for your journey, as well as offered to be your personal bodyguard out here. I'm all the protection you really need out here, much more than her sword," she said softly. He smiled curiously and slowly held his other hand on her waist, the girl blushing as she jumped in surprise. The other girls watched with shock as he leaned in closer to her.
"Daniel…" Alyssa breathed out as her heart started to pound steadily.
"Daniel? Daniel!" Triska cried out.
"What's he doing?" Specca asked fearfully as Squeak watched with wide eyes and a slightly opened mouth.
Daniel smirked then quickly swiped his hand up and grabbed the witch's necklace, yanking the trinket off of her neck with a quick snap. Alyssa looked at him with surprise as he held the focuser off to the side while he smiled knowingly at the witch.
"Daniel? What are you doing?" Alyssa cried out as she tried to reach for it. He grabbed her hand and held her back, the girl looking at him with surprise as the other girls watched him carefully.
"You know, if I were to take Triska's sword or Squeak's pickaxe away, I'm pretty sure they would still be able to kick my ass," he pointed out with an amused smile. Triska and Squeak glanced to each other then looked back to Daniel as he looked at the crystal focuser in his hand.
"With a witch however, no matter how powerful they are or experienced with their magic they may be, taking away their focuser renders them defenseless," he continued. Alyssa looked at him with wonder as he gently brought over the crystal and placed it in her hand, closing her fingers around it as she stared at him with a blush. He was right, without her focuser she was powerless, as frail as a young human girl. Without her magic even Daniel would be stronger than her and be able to overpower her without trouble.
"If something were to take that away from you, Alyssa, then I would need to defend you, and as much as I would desire to do so, I may not be able to guarantee your safety from everything out there," he said gently. She looked at him with loving eyes then down to her focuser. He smiled a bit then looked over to the other girls as they were watching him curiously.
"You would need them to defend you, to help you just as I would need their help as well," he said kindly. The other girls smiled at him as Alyssa slowly put back on her necklace, the witch looking at him with wonder. He looked back to her then to her necklace as he slowly reached out and held it gently, leaning closer to examine the relic.
"You may be the famous Wildfire Witch, but if this is taken away you become another little girl out in the world," he said looking up into her eyes. She stared into his eyes as he was so close to her, slowly nodding in agreement.
"Uh huh…" she said quietly, only partially listening to what he was saying.
"And if that happens, Triska's sword may be the only thing that could protect you," Daniel reasoned. Alyssa blinked then glanced to Triska, the teen smiling arrogantly while leaning back against the wall with her arms crossed. Daniel let go of the focuser and sat back upright as he looked at the witch with a gentle smile.
"We're all out here together, to help each other. To coexist. That is something you believe in, isn't it, Alyssa?" he asked. She looked to him and nodded eagerly. He smiled a bit at her as she looked down at her focuser crystal.
"And it's because of who I'm traveling with that I feel brave enough to seek out the more dangerous monsters in the world. Without all of you with me I know my journey would come to a quick end, hell it almost did back at the ant girls’ nest," he said with a shrug and a small laugh. The other girls looked at him with slight smirks then glanced to each other. Alyssa watched a glimmer of light shine from her focuser, and then looked back up to Daniel with a gentle gaze.
"Daniel…" she said softly. He looked to her with a small smile. She smiled brightly then quickly hugged him as she nuzzled her head against his chest.
"Oh, Daniel, of course I want us to coexist together. And I'll do everything in my power to make that a reality. I promise I'll protect you while we're out here; I won't anything happen to you. Nope nope, hee hee!" she giggled as he smiled weakly while the other girls glared at her.
"Alyssa…" Triska growled. Alyssa looked up to Daniel with loving eyes.
"Whenever you want we'll stop and I'll cook you a wonderful lunch, yep yep! Just say the word, Daniel, and I'll take extra good care of you, how does that sound?" she asked with an affectionate smile.
"Hey, what do you mean by that?" Triska barked out.
"That does sound good actually," Specca said looking down thoughtfully.
"What? You want her to have her way with Daniel? Are you out of your mind?" Triska yelled at the nixie. Specca rubbed her ear after the human shouted near it then looked at her while shaking her head.
"No, I mean stopping for lunch. If we can stop where there's some water for me to bathe in I would greatly appreciate it," she said as her hands fidgeted in her lap. Triska growled then sat back as she crossed her arms in discontent.
"Fine, we'll stop at the first river or lake we see to eat. In the meantime, Alyssa, would you kindly GET OFF OF HIM!" she yelled out at the witch who was still hugging Daniel while he was now smiling nervously. Alyssa giggled playfully before Triska grabbed her and yanked her back into the cabin, the two rolling around as Alyssa tried to push the human off of her. Daniel sighed and looked back ahead while Lucky continued down the path, hearing Alyssa's shouting and Triska's colorful language behind him. Specca hopped up next to him as she glanced back at the bickering girls.
"Are they always like this?" she asked looking to Daniel curiously. He nodded slowly then smiled slightly.
"Yeah, but still, I know I can count on them for help out here. They're starting to get along a bit better now actually, I think they're warming up to each other," he said casually. Specca raised an eyebrow as she watched Alyssa and Triska roll back and forth on the cabin floor in a struggle while Squeak watched curiously.
"How do you figure that?" Specca asked puzzled. Daniel glanced back to the girls then ahead again.
"Because Triska isn't using her sword and Alyssa isn't using her magic. They're not trying to kill each other anymore, so I would call that progress," he reasoned with a shrug. Specca watched the girls curiously then looked over to Squeak, the ant girl glancing to her and nodding in agreement.
"This… is them warming up to each other?" Specca asked cautiously as she watched Triska try to yank off Alyssa's necklace while the witch was biting her arm, the two rolling around yelling at each other while Squeak just watched with a raised eyebrow.
"I hope so," Daniel said tiredly as he kept looking ahead, now holding the reins to Lucky as he tried to ignore the yelling from two girls behind him.
*****
The sun was shining in the sky while a few large clouds drifted by overhead. Running along a dirt road through a small wooded area Lucky was moving with a brisk pace still, the horse seeming not to tire at all despite pulling a caravan that was made for more than one horse to handle. Sit
ting at the driver's seat Daniel was looking around with a calm gaze.
"Ok, so what did we learn from that?" he asked simply before he glanced back into the cabin.
"Alyssa's a biter," Triska muttered as she examined her arm which had a few small bite marks on it.
"Triska can't keep her big mouth shut," Alyssa said as she glared at the teen across from her. Squeak pointed to them and squeaked something while shaking her head as she was sitting next to the witch.
"They haven’t quite warmed up to each other yet?” Specca asked with a shrug, sitting next to Triska with a curious expression. Triska and Alyssa merely glanced to her with questioning looks before turning back to each other with dull glares. Daniel sighed and looked down while shaking his head. The girls looked to him worriedly then to each other.
“I believe he was pointing out that you two shouldn’t be fighting amongst each other, not if you’re going to be examples of monsters and humans coexisting peacefully,” Specca said softly.
“Point, Specca,” Daniel said while still looking ahead. Specca smiled and looked down with a small blush as the other girls glanced at her with dull expressions. Daniel gazed around at the passing scenery then looked ahead curiously.
“Hey, I think I see a place where we can stop and eat our lunch,” he called out. The girls all looked to him as he peered ahead, seeing the trail going up and over a small hill and veering over to the left towards the wooded area with a small river seen running along it on the right. Daniel smiled and pointed ahead.
“Looks like there’s a small river up ther-” he started before Specca quickly raced up next to him and stared ahead with wide eyes.
“Water!” she cheered out with a bright smile. Daniel looked at her with a surprised expression then smiled and nodded.
“Yeah, will that be ok for you to bathe in?” he asked. She nodded eagerly as she saw the bright blue water flowing through the river up ahead. It banked close to the trail near a small clearing as it glittered in the sunlight.
“Oh yes, it would be perfect. Could we stop there? Please?” she asked looking to Daniel with hopeful eyes. He nodded with a small chuckle.
“Sure. Alyssa? Are you still ok preparing lunch for all of us?” he asked looking back into the cabin. Alyssa smiled proudly and nodded as Triska watched her with a dull expression.
“Yep yep, I’ll cook up something better than some old sandwiches for you, Daniel, I promise,” she said cheerfully. Triska held in her growl the best she could.
“Again, I can make other things if we had anything to work with. And speaking of which, how are you going to make anything without any supplies?” Triska asked looking at the witch with a careful eye. Alyssa giggled and smirked at her.
“I’ll manage just fine,” she said arrogantly. Triska and Squeak looked at her then glanced to each other as Daniel looked at the witch with a curious smile. They were all wondering how Alyssa planned to cook anything without any ingredients handy besides what Triska had in her bag. Specca however was more focused on the water as she kept watching it draw ever closer with anxious eyes.
The group traveled along the dirt road and pulled off onto the small clearing next to the river. Daniel hopped out of the front seat onto the grass before a blur shot past him, the boy watching with surprise at seeing Specca dashing towards the river and diving into the water with a clean entry and small splash.
“Wow, she really wanted to get wet,” Daniel said with a small laugh. The other girls climbed out of the caravan and watched as Specca surfaced from the water, arching back slightly as she ran her fingers through her hair. Her glasses were dripping water while she had a blissful smile on her face, the girl loving the feeling of being in the water. It was hard to tell due to the sunlight shining down from above but the water seemed to be very bright and crystal clear around her as she waded around.
“That feels so good,” Specca sighed with relief, swimming through the water gently with her head above the surface. The cool feeling of it washing over her scales felt so relaxing to her, the girl gently swishing her tail around behind her as she relished the feeling. Daniel and the others walked up to the edge of the river as they watched the girl moving around with a few soft giggles.
“You ok now, Specca?” Daniel called out. She swam back over towards them then stood up so that she was above the water from the waist up, her shirt and tie soaking wet as she nodded with a gentle smile. Her shirt wasn’t thin as the wet fabric didn’t become transparent while wet, however the wet clothing did reveal her figure, something the other girls were looking at with concern.
“Oh yes, it feels so good to be in the water again. Did you want to join me? The water feels so refreshing,” Specca said looking back down to the water. As she did she took off her glasses and walked over toward the edge of the river, setting them down on a few flat rocks then proceeding to put her sandals down next to them as well.
“Maybe later, first I want to see how a witch does her cooking,” Daniel said looking back to Alyssa with a curious smile. The witch giggled playfully while Triska glanced to her with annoyance. Squeak looked at the water curiously as her antennae twitched a bit, her eyes seeming to follow something around briefly.
“It’ll be my pleasure, Daniel,” Alyssa said with a wink at the boy. He chuckled then looked back to Specca.
“Are you going to be alright alone in the water?” he asked. She nodded as she looked at him with a gentle smile. Although her vision was blurry without her glasses she could mostly make out his appearance.
“I’ll be just fine in the water, Daniel, it’s the safest place for a nixie after all,” she said with a shrug. Triska glanced over to Squeak as the ant girl was looking around at the water curiously.
“Squeak? Did you want to go for a dip too?” she asked. Squeak looked over to her then pointed to the water while squeaking.
“If you want to go for a swim too that’s fine, Squeak,” Daniel said with a nod. Squeak shook her head then pointed to the water again while squeaking something. The group just stared at her as the ant girl looked around at everybody.
“Um… ok then. Well, we’ll be over here watching Alyssa if you want to join us,” Triska said with a shrug. Alyssa, Daniel, and Triska walked back towards the caravan while Squeak face palmed and squeaked again. Specca looked at her curiously as the ant girl was blurry to her.
“Squeak? What is it?” she asked. The ant girl looked over to her and pointed to the water while squeaking, though to Specca it was hard to tell what her facial expression was. Specca slowly nodded as she listened to the ant girl trying in vain to communicate something then glanced back behind her.
“Oh… alright then. Um, I’m just going to go for a quick dip then, I won’t be too long,” she said before she dove into the water with small splash. Squeak watched her go and then looked around at the water again, her eyes peering around carefully. She wasn’t sure, but it seemed like something was moving around in the water before vanishing.
A few minutes later Specca was swimming through the water while Squeak watched from the river’s edge, the ant girl sitting down while following the nixie who was moving about under the water with ease. Squeak watched with wonder as the nixie swam with agility and grace, gliding through the water with what appeared to be no real effort on her part. Her webbed toes helped her move through the water while her tail swayed sharply behind her. And her brown eyes looked around while under the water with crystal clear vision, the girl seeing the riverbed and all that lay on it perfectly. It was as if there was no water at all in front of her eyes. She laughed joyously as she swam around in the water, loving the cool feeling of it washing along her scales. Breathing underwater was of course something she could naturally do as she had gills right behind her ears, the small slits only being seen as they moved while she used them. Not only that, but wherever she went Squeak saw the water seem to turn crystal clear and brighten slightly, although since the nixie was moving about all along the riverbed it seemed to return to n
ormal below the waves right away.
Nearby in the clearing next to the caravan Daniel and Triska were watching as Alyssa was looking up with a thoughtful expression while swaying back and forth on her feet, drumming her fingers on her staff as it was held to her side while she seemed to be thinking about something.
“Alright then, Alyssa, we’re waiting,” Triska said while crossing her arms and tapping her foot expectedly.
“So, how do witches normally prepare something to eat?” Daniel asked curiously. Alyssa giggled as she tapped her staff on the grass, the ground below her shining faintly with a light and rippling away in waves.
“Oh we have our ways, Daniel,” she said playfully. From the ground green vines started to slink around her feet and through the grass. They twisted around and coiled into a small stump in front of her as she waved her staff around, the relic glowing with a soft orange hue while Daniel and Triska watched curiously. Even Squeak was glancing back to them while Specca was still moving about underwater.
“Now then, something yummy for Daniel to eat. Shouldn’t be too hard to surpass Triska’s low standard of edible food,” Alyssa said casually.
“Hey!” Triska barked out. Daniel rested his hand on her shoulder and shook his head with a tired smile, the girl glancing to him then looking back at Alyssa with narrowed eyes.
Alyssa waved her staff around then struck it into the ground, the relic letting off a small pulse of magic as the vines seemed to glow briefly while they moved about slowly. The coiled stump of vines glowed with a green light then faded to reveal a rounded wooden table with a smooth flat top. A few more clumps of vines tangled and coiled around near the table, the witch striking her staff into the ground again causing another ripple of light to move through the grass and shine around them. Daniel and Triska watched as the vines started to meld and shift into sitting stools next the rounded table, with Alyssa walking over to one and sitting down casually. She struck her staff sharply into the ground at her side and let it stand there, then gently ran a finger along the table’s surface with a curious smile, drawing a trail of light that followed her touch. Glancing over to Daniel and Triska she waved them towards the table, the two humans then walking over and taking a seat across from her on the green wooden stools.
chronicles of eden - act I Page 61
