chronicles of eden - act I (38 page)

Triska was standing by a cliffside overlooking a blue sea, her hair gently flowing in the wind behind her as she smiled contently. She sighed happily then looked behind her, seeing Daniel walking up to then holding her from behind around her waist. Laying her head back against his shoulder she held his arms gently, relishing the feeling of him holding her close like this. He nuzzled close to her cheek while holding her gently, the girl smiling softly as she traced her fingers along his hand. The grass beneath their feet gently swayed in the breeze as they looked out at the blue sea together.

"This is perfect, just you and me together like this. It's like a dream," Triska said gently.

"Why didn't you ever tell me how you felt before, Triska? You know I wouldn't have turned you away," Daniel asked with a playful hug. Triska blushed and looked down timidly, holding onto his arms securely.

"I couldn't help it, I was scared," she said softly. He chuckled and glanced to her with an amused smile.

"You? Triska Raylight? Scared of something? Say it isn't so," he said in jest. She giggled and nodded.

"Compared to fighting monsters in the world… telling you the truth was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I don't know… it's just…" she trailed off quietly. After a pause she slowly looked back to him with a worried smile.

"What if you didn't… feel the same way?" she asked. He smiled and turned her to face him, the girl looking at him with loving eyes.

"How could you even for a moment think I wouldn't have felt the same way?" he asked. His arms held her around the waist securely as she gazed into his eyes, her heart beating faster as she gently rested her hands against his chest.

"Can you blame me for being scared? Saying those three words to you… took all my courage to do," she confessed. He smiled and gently brushed the hair around her ear and held the back of her head, the girl smiling softly at him.

"But you said them, nothing can scare you, Triska," he reassured gently. She blushed and smiled at him lovingly, nodding and slowly leaning in closer.

"To think… it seemed nearly impossible for me before, but now… it just seems so natural," she said softly.

"Then say it again, Triska," he said as he leaned closer. She closed her eyes and moved towards his lips with hers, feeling her heart beating even faster.

"Daniel, I lo-"

"Triska!" Alyssa cried out, with Triska then jumping up with a scream as she was woken from her dream. She looked around franticly in a daze then paused, then looked over to see Alyssa sitting next to her with a worried expression.

"Wha… Alyssa? What the hell? Why did you have to wake me up like that? I was so close! I was so close to saying it and you had to open your big mouth! Why?" Triska yelled out with anger. Alyssa looked at her bewildered then shook her head.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about, but get up quickly! Something's wrong with Daniel!" she cried out. Triska paused for a moment, and then jumped up with surprise.

"What? Daniel? What's wrong with him?" she urgently asked looking over towards where Daniel was sleeping. She saw Squeak sitting next to him with a fearful expression, watching him while he was lying on his blanket. Triska scrambled over there as Alyssa followed and looked down at him with a panic.

"Daniel? Daniel! What's wrong, are you ok?" Triska asked worriedly. She looked over him franticly then showed a confused expression. He was lying on his blanket with a relaxed pose while he was still dressed in his clothing from the other day, snoring as he had a bit of drool coming from the side of his mouth. His arms and legs were lying causally on the blanket while his head was resting on his pillow. Triska looked at him puzzled then over to Alyssa, the witch gripping her hat with fear.

"What's wrong with him, Triska? He's making those horrible sounds with his mouth," she said shaking her head. Triska looked at the witch with a baffled expression then over to Squeak, the ant girl also showing fear and confusion as to Daniel's snoring. She had her hands shakily above his shoulder, unsure if she should move him or leave him be.

"Um… what are you talking about? He's just snoring," Triska said shaking her head. Alyssa and Squeak looked to her curiously then down to Daniel as he continued to sleep rather loudly.

"What? Snoring?" Alyssa asked confusedly. Triska looked at her with a perplexed expression then sat back on the ground.

"Yeah, he's just asleep and snoring. How could you not know what that is?" she asked looking between the two monster girls.

"But… he wasn't making those sounds when we were asleep in the carriage before, or after I first met him," Alyssa said worriedly.

"Yeah, lucky you. He's normally a loud sleeper, as you can tell," Triska said looking at Daniel with an amused smile. She knew very well about his sleeping habits and how he snored pretty much every night, as it was easy to hear whenever she dropped by for an early visit, yet still found him cute and attractive nonetheless. Alyssa and Squeak looked closely at Daniel, by leaning in closer to his face of course, while he snored loudly. Triska watched with an annoyed stare as the monster girls examined him curiously while extremely close to his face.

"So… he's ok then?" Alyssa asked looking to Triska. She nodded and smirked slightly.

"Of course he is, how could you not know what snoring is?" she asked. Alyssa sat back and looked down at Daniel curiously.

"I don't know, I've never really stayed with the men before after I charmed them to see how they sleep. I never heard a human making those sounds before," she said scratching her head. Squeak looked at Daniel curiously then to Triska, squeaking something as her antennae twitched. Triska looked at her puzzled and raised an eyebrow.

"Um… what?" she asked. Squeak pointed to Daniel then squeaked again with a curious expression. Triska glanced to Alyssa as the witch merely shrugged.

"I… don't know what you're trying to say," Triska said plainly. Squeak looked at her worriedly then over to Alyssa, waving her arms around wildly as she squeaked something. Alyssa just watched her with a raised eyebrow and then shook her head.

"We can't understand you, Squeak," she simply stated. The ant girl looked between them then down to Daniel with worry. Triska watched the ant girl showing fear in her eyes, and then smiled calmly at her.

"Hey, it's ok. I already told you he's just snoring, he always does that when he's asleep," she explained.

"Always?" Alyssa asked with wide eyes as she looked to her. Triska smiled arrogantly and nodded.

"Yeah, every night since he was young. It's just something he does. I personally don't mind however, but does that bother you, Alyssa?" she asked with an inquisitive glance. Alyssa looked at her with concern then down to Daniel, who continued to snore loudly while blissfully asleep. Triska crossed her arms and smiled smugly while Squeak eyed the human boy curiously.

"Just imagine, if you were his mate you'd have to listen to that every night," she said with a nod.

"Every night?" Alyssa asked softly as she watched him sleep loudly on the ground. Squeak looked at him curiously as her antennae twitched a bit while Triska nodded arrogantly.

"That's right, every night. And you actually thought you could be his mate, how delusional. You wouldn't be able to tolerate his sleeping habits, I can tell by your reaction," she accused, pointing to Alyssa. The witch growled and then glared at her.

"Hey, for Daniel I'd go through anything, even if he does sleep like this every night. I am the best one to be his mate and the one that's going to be his guardian out here," she stated firmly. Squeak glanced to her then back to Daniel again.

"Oh really, who was the one that saved his life down below with nothing but a dagger? Who was the one that got him to be freed while you were powerless and worthless without your focuser? I did all that for him, and on top of that I'm perfectly willing to sleep next to him every night even if he snores like this. If anybody is suited to being his mate, it's me," Triska boasted. Alyssa growled as she held out her hand, her staff flying over from beside the tree where Lucky was standing and into her grip. She pointed the relic towards Triska as the teen glanced back towards her sword next to her duffel bag.

"You're the one that's powerless; you don't even have your dumb sword with you right now. Not that it would help you at all even if you did, as my magic is what's going to protect him out here in the world," Alyssa said as she and Triska slowly stood up and stared each other down. Squeak glanced to them then to Daniel curiously as he continued to sleep loudly despite all the girls talking around him.

"Without that necklace you're worthless, Alyssa, at least without my sword I can still fight," Triska said with a growl as she clenched her fists.

"Try your luck then," Alyssa dared with narrowed eyes, her staff glowing orange slightly.

They stared each other down while a calm breeze rolled by, both keeping their eyes keenly on each other. After a pause they both heard a sudden squeak, and then looked down. With a gasp each they stared with wide eyes at Squeak who was kissing Daniel while gently holding onto his head. He woke up suddenly with a jump then saw the ant girl kissing him, her eyes closed and her antennae twitching a bit. He grabbed her shoulders and started to push her off, then stopped as he started to get a glazed look in his eye. A powerful euphoric sensation rippled through his mouth and head as the girl's tongue gently moved around his.

"Wha… WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Triska yelled out with shock. Alyssa stared at Squeak with wide eyes then quickly waved her staff, causing the ant girl to be tossed off Daniel and tumble away. Triska quickly kneeled down next to Daniel and watched him as he groaned a bit with a dazed expression.

"Daniel? Daniel, are you ok?" she asked shaking him. He murmured something as he seemed to be out of his senses while his eyes weren't focusing on anything clearly.

"Her saliva, oh god, she must have overwhelmed him with that kiss," Alyssa said worriedly. Triska jumped at that and looked at Daniel's mouth with wide eyes.

'Squeak's saliva… oh no, that kiss must have been the best he's ever had! Mine's going to seem horrible in comparison now!'

"No… NO! Dammit, now he's going to have that kiss to compare mine with!" Triska cried out shaking her head. Alyssa gasped and held a hand to her lips.

"Oh no… you're right. If her saliva causes a euphoric sensation… then that means…" she said before looking at Daniel with horror. She could only imagine how much pleasure rippled through his mouth, or if he was even able to experience it all without his mind going numb first. The two girls looked at Daniel with horrified expressions then over to Squeak, the ant girl getting back up with a confused expression. She was rubbing her head as she tried to comprehend how she was thrown off of Daniel so suddenly, and then looked over to see Triska and Alyssa glaring at her with rage.

"That means… she's ruined my chance of a perfect kiss with him!" Triska yelled out. Alyssa growled and aimed her staff at the ant girl, the monster looking at them puzzled while Daniel was murmuring something in a daze still.

"How could you do that to him? Using your saliva to entice him away from me like that, that's cheating!" Alyssa yelled as she waved her staff to the side, causing Squeak to fly off to the side as well. The ant girl skidded on the ground with her boots and rebalanced herself, then looked to the witch with caution.

"First I have to deal with a little witch trying to take him from me, and now you!" Triska yelled out with frustration. Squeak looked at them puzzled then glanced to Daniel. She slowly looked back to Alyssa then to Triska.

"Squeak, I'm telling you once and for all, you can NOT kiss him like that again, ever!" Triska yelled out. Squeak looked at her curiously then to Daniel, the boy murmuring something as he slowly started to sit up. He blinked a few times while shaking his head, his mind still reeling from waking up to one hell of a kiss by Squeak. The ant girl squeaked softly and glanced back to Triska with a curious expression, her antennae twitching again. Daniel paused for a moment then slowly looked up to Triska and Alyssa.

"What… what just happened?" he wearily asked.

"Oh, Daniel, are you ok?" Alyssa asked worriedly as she hugged him tightly. He looked at her with a bit of surprise while Triska growled loudly. She ran over and yanked the witch off, tossing her over onto a blanket with a snarl.

"Get off him, Alyssa!" she yelled out. She then dropped down to her knees and hugged Daniel tightly.

"Are you ok, Daniel? I'm so sorry I didn't stop her in time," she apologized quickly. Daniel looked at Alyssa with confusion then to Triska.

"What? Stop what in time?" he asked. Triska leaned back and looked at him curiously.

"You don't… remember?" she asked. Alyssa looked over to him with wonder as Squeak glanced between the two girls carefully. Daniel looked up thoughtfully while Triska watched him worriedly, his mind slowly coming back to its senses.

"I think… wait, did Squeak… kiss me?" he asked looking to the ant girl. She nodded eagerly and ran over to him, tackling him into a hug while squeaking affectionately. He watched her with surprise as she was nuzzling against his cheek with a warm smile, squeaking softly as she wiggled her abdomen behind her. Triska and Alyssa growled with fury as they stood back up.

"Squeak!" Triska yelled out.

"Get off him now!" Alyssa yelled out as she aimed her staff at the ant girl. Squeak was thrown up into the air by a magical force, while still holding onto Daniel tightly around his waist. She looked around with wide eyes as did he while they were suspended in midair.

"What's going on here?" he cried out.

"Squeak! Let him go now!" Triska yelled out. Squeak looked to her with surprise, and then showed a stubborn expression as she held her arms around Daniel tightly. He squirmed about as he looked around to seeing him and the ant girl floating in the air near the tree.

"Alyssa, put us down!" he shouted out looking to the witch. Alyssa growled and starting shaking her staff up and down, causing Squeak and Daniel to fly up and then down in the air repeatedly. They flew straight down, then right back up as the witch's magical force around them tried to yank Daniel free.