“That’s why I draw my sword, Alyssa. First, as a precaution, then, if I have to, to use it, to defend him,” she explained. Alyssa looked to her with concern as the human shook her head slowly with a remorseful frown.
“I know, if I attack one of them, I’m very well ending all hope of forming relations with them. That’s why I only attack if I’m genuinely scared to death, Alyssa, scared to death that he’s a goner unless I do something. I may end up ruining his chances with that race, or add hours of time for him to try to explain and smooth things over if they’re still willing to talk afterwards, but it’s what I have to do, to protect Daniel above all else,” she reasoned softly. Alyssa looked down while remaining silent, sniffling a bit before she waved her hand to the side, causing the vines and weeds to recede back into the ground and let Triska go. After a moment Alyssa glanced to see Triska still lying there on the grass, the human watching her with a calm expression.
“You’re right, maybe I don’t belong out here like this, but I know I belong by Daniel’s side, to help him however I can,” Triska said, then slowly sat up and rested a hand on Alyssa’s shoulder.
“And that means helping you all as well,” she added.
“You’re going to get yourself killed with your stupidity,” Alyssa said softly.
“Then I’ll die knowing I tried to protect you all,” Triska reasoned gently. Alyssa shook her head slowly as tears started to well up in her eyes.
“It’s not fair, I don’t want to like you like this, I liked it better when we hated each other,” she said shakily. Triska watched her with a calm expression then hugged her, the witch slowly holding onto her while closing her eyes.
“Hate me or like me, know that I do like you. I stood up to a Darker One for you before, and I’ll gladly do so again,” Triska said softly.
“You really do have a death wish, don’t you?” Alyssa asked quietly.
“No, I’m just doing my job, fighting with all that I have for those closest to me,” Triska replied with a small shrug. Alyssa buried her face in the teen’s shoulder while Triska looked up at the stars above.
“Dammit, Triska, you’re not allowed to die yet, not until I win Daniel from you fair and square,” Alyssa whimpered. Triska smirked to that and slowly shook her head as she held the witch.
“Then I’m never dying, Alyssa, because you’re not going to win him from me,” she replied calmly. Alyssa opened her eyes slightly while she held onto Triska.
“Yes I will,” she said softly.
“No, you won’t,” Triska corrected, feeling some sense of amusement at arguing about such a thing again. After a moment she leaned back and looked at Alyssa, gently wiping the witch’s tears away while Alyssa glanced down to avoid eye contact.
“If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, could you please stop calling my sword worthless?” Triska asked. Alyssa slowly looked back up to her as the teen smiled a bit.
“That sword means a lot to me, it’s anything but useless,” Triska added.
“Why?” Alyssa asked.
“Because my mother got me that sword, she had it forged just for me back home. It was one of the finest weapons she had created for all the fighters. When I’m holding it, I feel like my mother is nearby with me,” Triska explained. Alyssa watched her for a moment then looked down as Triska glanced to her focuser crystal.
“It’s like your focuser, your mother gave that to you didn’t she? Well, I don’t think it’s stupid at all,” Triska reasoned.
“Of course it’s not stupid, it lets me use magic that’s much more powerful and useful than your sword,” Alyssa replied with a shrug. Triska narrowed her eyes at the witch for a moment before Alyssa looked up to her again.
“It means more to me than you could imagine, and not just because it lets me use my magic,” Alyssa said softly. Triska crossed her arms before her with an expectant stare, waiting as the witch stood up and gently brushed some grass off from her skirt.
“It’s all I have left of her,” Alyssa said sadly. Triska closed her eyes and looked down as she breathed out slowly.
“And the difference between your focuser and my sword is?” she asked with discontent. Alyssa looked at her for a moment then started walking back towards the campsite, with Triska jumping a bit before spinning around to seeing the witch making her way through the bushes.
“Hey, hey! Alyssa!” Triska shouted out before she quickly followed after.
Back at the campsite Daniel was eating his fish while Specca was happily munching on hers while holding the one Squeak didn’t want to eat. Next to her Squeak had eaten her apple down to the core, the ant girl now starting on the sandwich that Triska had prepared for her. Daniel finished eating his meal and drank his water before looking down to the fire with concern.
“Maybe I should go see if they’re ok, they’ve been gone a while,” he suggested. Specca and Squeak looked to each other then back to Daniel as the boy rubbed the back of his neck with a worried expression.
“I hope they’re not fighting again,” he said softly.
“Don’t worry about them Daniel, I’m sure they’re fine. And them fighting with each other is normal behavior for those two, frankly I’d be concerned if they didn’t fight with each other at least once per day,” Specca reasoned with a shrug.
“I don’t want them to fight at all, it’s just those two seem to really have trouble getting along still. I wish there was something I could do to help them,” Daniel said while watching the fire burning in the pit. Squeak made some gestures with one hand while squeaking something to him, the squeaks being muffled slightly as she had food in her mouth still. Daniel glanced to her and shook his head with a small smile.
“Squeak, don’t talk with your mouth full,” he said simply. Squeak blinked then nodded before swallowing her food, then repeated the same gesture while squeaking at the boy again. Daniel just slowly nodded and looked back to the fire again.
“Much better,” he said, with Squeak looking at him curiously then to Specca as the nixie merely raised an eyebrow at her.
“You do realize by now that we can’t understand you, right?” Specca asked. Squeak just looked at her curiously for a moment before down with regret as she nodded slowly. Specca shook her head then looked back to Daniel with a hopeful smile.
“Anyway, don’t concern yourself so much with them, Daniel; those two will be just fine. Besides, they’ve certainly come a long way with each other since they first met, they have to be warming up to each other to some degree by now,” she reasoned with a few nods.
“Alyssa! Don’t you walk away when I’m talking to you!” Triska yelled out from nearby. Daniel, Squeak, and Specca looked over to seeing Alyssa walking out from behind the trees and bushes towards them with Triska stumbling out of the shrubbery after her.
“Of course I could be wrong,” Specca commented.
Alyssa walked towards Daniel while looking down at the grass, her hat hiding the view of her face while Triska marched after the witch with a scowl on hers.
“Hey! I was talking to you!” Triska yelled out before a vine popped up from the grass and snagged her foot, causing the human to trip and drop onto her face with a thump. Alyssa walked over to Daniel and stood beside him while the boy looked back and forth between the two with a puzzled expression.
“Alyssa? What’s going on, why did you leave like that?” he asked.
“What was Triska talking to you about?” Specca asked.
Squeak merely squeaked something while tilting her head curiously.
“What was that for?” Triska barked out as she looked up to the witch with frustration.
Alyssa paused for a moment then slowly looked up to Daniel with remorse.
“Please, give Triska her sword back tonight,” she said softly. Everyone just looked at her with wonder as the witch gently held her focuser crystal with one hand.
“You can’t take it away from her ever, never ever, Daniel. It means the world to her,” Alyssa begged. Daniel loo
ked over to Triska, who had a stunned expression on her face, then back to Alyssa as the witch smiled gently at him.
“Please, don’t keep it from her, not even for one night,” she said softly. Daniel opened his mouth to speak before pausing and just staring at Alyssa as he wondered if he was hearing her right. Triska slowly stood up and watched as Alyssa just waited for Daniel to respond, the boy glancing over to Triska then back to Alyssa again.
“Is that what’s been bothering you tonight?” he asked. Alyssa looked over to Triska, the human seeing the witch holding back her tears well, then turned to Daniel with a troubled expression.
“It is something that’s been bothering me, yes. Please, don’t take it away from her,” she requested.
“Alyssa…” Triska said softly. Alyssa looked over to her with a smirk before glancing to Daniel with a small smile.
“Please? I’m not angry about what happened earlier, really, so please don’t take something precious away from her,” she said gently. Daniel looked over to Triska as the girl was showing a small smile at the witch before turning her eyes to him hopefully.
“Am I hearing this correctly?” Specca questioned unsurely. Squeak glanced to the cup of water she was holding and twirled it around a bit, wondering if something funky was in the drink, then looked to Alyssa curiously as the witch glanced down and away from everyone. Daniel looked down for a moment then to Triska with a small smile.
“Alright, if it means that much to both of you, you can have your sword again, Triska. But from now on no more-”
“No more swordplay in the caravan, I know,” Triska quickly agreed with before looking down with a remorseful smile.
“I’m sorry about that, I really am. I promise it’ll never happen again,” she assured before glancing to Alyssa, the witch watching her with a small smile.
“I promise never to hurt my friends with it again,” Triska finished. Daniel smiled at her then Alyssa while Squeak and Specca had confused expressions.
“I feel as though we’re missing something here,” Specca commented, with Squeak nodding slowly in agreement.
Alyssa waved her staff towards the caravan, the group then watching as a clanking sound was heard from inside before Triska’s sword flew out in its sheath, the weapon flying into the air before gently floating down towards Triska. She slowly held her hands out and caught it, looking at her trusty sword with a small smile before glancing to Alyssa. The witch winked at her then started walking towards Lucky.
“Triska, what happened with her?” Daniel asked as they saw the witch waving her staff around and creating a soft bedding of grass and flowers for her horse to rest on. Lucky grunted softly as he got down on the bedding, with Alyssa gently brushing his nose, while Triska watched the witch with a calm smile.
“She and I just had a talk, everything’s fine now,” Triska replied before looking back to her sword again. Daniel looked at her curiously then back to Alyssa as the witch was petting her horse gently.
“So, you two aren’t fighting anymore?” he questioned.
“Oh no, we’re still fighting, Daniel,” Triska said with a small laugh. Daniel looked to her puzzled as the girl held her sword behind her with both hands while smiling curiously at him.
“We’re still fighting over you,” she pointed out. Daniel smiled a bit to that as Triska glanced up and around at the stars in the sky.
“It’s getting late, we should probably get ready to turn in,” she mentioned before looking back to Daniel with a timid smile. Daniel looked at her for a moment then up at the sky, nodding a few times before looking over to Specca and Squeak. The two girls glanced to each other then back to him with small smiles.
“I suppose she’s right. You two go on ahead, it is her night after all,” Specca agreed while gently waving to the caravan.
“What are you girls going to do?” Daniel asked as Triska walked over and picked up her duffel bag with one hand, something that Squeak and Specca just watched with raised eyebrows.
“Going to stay here and try to figure out how she does that,” Specca said dryly. Triska glanced to her with puzzlement before looking over to seeing Alyssa walking towards them. Lucky was now sleeping on the bedding she had prepared for him, the witch looking around at the group before turning to Daniel with a happy smile.
“Ok, Lucky’s down for the night, thank you for feeding him earlier,” she said kindly.
“Of course, it was no trouble,” Daniel said modestly. Alyssa glanced to Triska then looked back to Daniel with an uneasy smile.
“So… I take it you two are…” she said slowly.
“Yeah, we’re going to go turn in for the night,” Triska said while watching Daniel with a timid smile. Daniel nodded before looking at Alyssa curiously, the witch glancing down and away while she was playfully leaning back and forth on her boots.
“Daniel… would it be ok… if I could get a goodnight kiss before you go?” she asked. Triska watched her carefully as the witch looked up to Daniel with an innocent smile.
“I know tonight’s her night, and that’s fine, but… I would like to kiss you goodnight before you go. Is that ok?” she asked. Daniel smiled nervously at her then slowly glanced around at the other girls.
“You know, I wouldn’t object to getting a goodnight kiss either, if that would be alright with you,” Specca mentioned with a small blush. Squeak nodded with a few quick squeaks as well. Triska looked around at the girls with concern then to Alyssa, the witch glancing to her with a small smile.
“Just one kiss, then he’s all yours for the night,” Alyssa said with a shrug. Triska looked to Daniel with a careful glance and thought about it while the boy was wondering if such a thing would cause another fight to break out.
“Well…” Triska said slowly. Daniel looked to her with an uneasy smile, and then to each of the girls as they were all watching him with hopeful eyes.
“Well, I guess…” he said unsurely. Triska hesitated for a moment then sighed and nodded with a dull expression.
“Fine, whatever,” she reluctantly agreed. Alyssa giggled then quickly hopped up onto Daniel, grabbing hold of his shoulder while using her staff to keep her lifted off the ground as she pulled the boy into a kiss. Daniel watched with surprise as the witch pushed her tongue into his mouth and played around with his, with the other girls watching with wide eyes as the witch let out a playful murmur before breaking the kiss and smiling seductively at the boy.
“Goodnight, Daniel,” she said with a wink before slowly lowering herself down onto the ground, keeping eye contact with the boy who stared at her with a stunned smile.
“Um, goodnight… Alyssa,” he managed to get out while regaining his senses. Triska tried to hold in her growl of annoyance while watching Alyssa with discontent. Specca smiled then quickly jumped to her feet and rushed over to Daniel, wrapping her arms around his neck as she pulled him into a kiss as well. Triska’s eyebrow twitched as she watched the nixie kissing Daniel while her tail coiled around his leg. The boy held his hands over her hips, not sure whether to hold the girl or not while he watched her with a bit of surprise as well. After a moment she broke her kiss and smiled bashfully at the boy while her tail slowly unraveled while moving up along his thigh.
“Sleep well, Daniel,” she said softly. Daniel paused for a moment before nodding with a small smile.
“You as well, Specca,” he replied. Specca let go and backed before Squeak quickly raced towards the boy with a bright smile.
“Hold it!” Triska yelled out. Everyone stopped and looked to her as she was giving Squeak a dull glare while shaking her head.
“I’m tolerating all of you kissing Daniel before my turn with him, not to mention right in front of me, but I’m drawing the line with you, Squeak. I don’t want your saliva taking Daniel’s thoughts away from me tonight,” she stated firmly. Squeak looked at her curiously then to Daniel as the boy gently held her by the cheeks with a small smile. He gave a small chuckle then lowered Squeak’s head so he cou
ld kiss her forehead, the ant girl smiling bashfully while she wiggled her abdomen a bit from the gesture.
“Tomorrow’s your turn, Squeak, I promise you’ll get a kiss then,” Daniel reassured. Squeak nodded and squeaked something before backing up while blushing a bit. Triska sighed then looked around at the girls with a dull stare.
“Alright, you’ve gotten kisses from him, that’s enough for tonight,” she said expectedly.
“I suppose so,” Specca agreed, looking down while holding a hand to her cheek. Squeak glanced to Daniel then away while nodding as well. Alyssa walked over and sat down on her seat near the fire, setting her staff next to her while watching the fires burn and crackle.
“Fine then, take your turn and get it over with,” she reluctantly agreed.
“Were you going to turn in for the night?” Daniel asked. Alyssa shook her head and glanced to Triska.
“Not yet, I’m not tired, I’ll wait a while before coming in,” she said with a shrug. Triska looked around at seeing Squeak and Specca sitting back down as well on their seats around the fire.
“We’ll be in shortly. Goodnight, Triska,” Specca said politely while watching the fires burn as well. Squeak nodded while remaining silent, looking down at the dirt as she nudged a small stone with her boot.
“Um, alright then. Goodnight,” Triska said before turning to walk to the caravan, her eyes looking to Daniel as the boy nodded and walked off with her while the other three girls waited by the campfire. Alyssa glanced over to see Daniel and Triska boarding the ride and entering the cabin, with Squeak and Specca looking over to seeing them vanish then back to Alyssa with curious eyes.
“What happened with you two just now?” Specca inquired. Alyssa just eyed the caravan for a moment then looked back to the fire.
“Nothing, just needed to go for a walk is all,” she replied with a shrug. Specca and Squeak looked to each other then over to the caravan while Alyssa just stared at the fire, the witch lightly drumming her fingers on her seat while in thought.
Inside the caravan Triska pulled the black curtain over to section off their sleeping space for the night, with Daniel hanging the lit lantern next to the window in back. Triska set her duffel bag back down against the wall, looking down to it while facing away from Daniel as the boy rolled out their sleeping mats for the night. As he pulled a blanket over their sleeping area and brought over two pillows he started to notice that Triska wasn’t moving, his eyes then glancing over to see her on her knees in front of her duffel bag while seeming to stare down at it.
Chronicles of Eden - Act 2 Page 12
