chronicles of eden - act I (44 page)

"But…" Triska said nervously.

"I'm going to take my book and go sit over by that tree, facing away from the lake. You girls can get cleaned up and 'cool off' together," Daniel said before walking over towards Lucky.

"Wait, Daniel, I wanted us to swim together. Please?" Triska said getting back to her feet. Daniel paused while still looking ahead.

"That would mean that I would have to be here when Squeak is naked. And correct me if I'm wrong, but does Alyssa have any spare clothes?" he asked. The girls looked to the witch as she blushed a bit.

"Well… no," she said with a soft smile. Triska looked between the two then to Daniel with worry.

"That would mean that I would have to see both of them naked, and that's obviously going to cause a stir with all of you. So to keep it so there's no fighting, I'll wait until you're all done then I'll wash up afterwards," he said before walking towards Lucky again. Triska held out her hand towards him and opened her mouth to protest, but stopped as she couldn't think of anything to say. Daniel took his book out from his bag then headed over towards a tree, walking around it then sitting against it facing away from the lake. As he opened it and flipped through the pages, the girls all looked to each other.

"Didn't plan on that, did you, Triska?" Alyssa asked flatly. Squeak looked at the human with crossed arms while the teen growled.

"I didn't expect you two to get naked in front of him," Triska muttered.

"We don't have any other clothes with us, what did you think we were going to do? Jump in with them on?" Alyssa asked shaking her head. Triska growled in frustration then looked towards the tree with worry.

"C'mon, Squeak, let's get our clothes washed the best we can so Daniel can have his turn," Alyssa said walking over towards the lake while taking off her shirt and hat. Squeak looked at Triska with annoyance for a moment then followed after, with Triska still watching Daniel with saddened eyes. Alyssa set her hat and staff down next to Triska's bag then looked over to the teen while she took off her skirt.

"Let's go, Triska, you wanted to enjoy the water didn't you?" she asked sharply. Triska growled quietly then walked over towards her clothes near the rocks, muttering something to herself as Squeak resumed washing her clothing in the water. Alyssa watched the two girls then glanced to Daniel, and then took off her boots and socks before walking into the water as well. She stopped and glanced to Squeak, the ant girl washing her clothing with a dull expression. Alyssa eyed the body of the monster then looked over to Triska, the human washing her clothing and setting them on the rocks to dry off. Alyssa muttered quietly to herself before walking over to some other stones on the shore, hating that each of her rivals were more endowed than she'll ever be.

‘At least I helped keep the peace for him, as long as I stay loyal to him and his wishes I'll get him yet.’

After their clothing had been rinsed and laid out to dry, the three girls were sitting on a few large flat rocks near the water. Triska and Squeak had their legs dangling gently below the surface as the water gently lapped against their skin, while Alyssa had her legs held up by her chest with her arms wrapped around them. They all just stared at the lake in silence, none of them making eye contact with each other. Alyssa slowly glanced over to Squeak, the ant girl looking at the ripples in the water with a distant gaze as she sat on the rock quietly. With her hair washed up and her skin cleaned off she had even more beauty to her than before, the witch fearing that she would easily steal Daniel's attention away from her now. Alyssa then glanced over to Triska, the bikini clad teen just looking around at the water with a dull expression. Her figure was more noticeable now, and with her hair and skin having been cleaned she too was a serious threat to the witch's efforts to sway Daniel over to her. The witch bared her teeth slightly with frustration then looked down at herself, being naked and only wearing her blue crystal necklace.

‘She just had to suggest getting us all cleaned up…’

"Just out of curiosity, Alyssa, why didn't you just go back to your home and change into new clothes?" Triska asked glancing to the witch. Squeak looked to her curiously as Alyssa merely glanced to Triska.

"For one I'm not up for leaving you two alone with Daniel under any circumstances, and secondly I'm not up for leaving
you
alone with Daniel under any circumstances," Alyssa said flatly. Squeak looked at her puzzled then to Triska, the teen rolling her eyes and looking back ahead with a dull gaze at the water.

"I didn't do anything wrong here, at least I'm clothed in front of him," she muttered. Squeak gave her with a dull glance then looked back to the water as well.

"Yeah right, you wanted to show off in front of Daniel from the start, don't pretend you're innocent here," Alyssa said with annoyance.

"Don't be so jealous that he would at least have something to look at with me," Triska said with a smirk while glancing to the witch. Alyssa growled and glared at her as Squeak rolled her eyes, squeaking simply before glancing to them. They looked to her then to her figure as the ant girl leaned back and proudly showed off her features, perking her chest up a bit and wiggling it slightly.

"And at least I had enough dignity not to strip down in front of him!" Triska yelled out. Alyssa growled with frustration then sighed as she looked back down. After a moment she stood up and waved her hand out. Her clothes flew off from a nearby rock over to her, the witch then hopping off the rock and onto the grass. She walked over towards her boots and started to dress as the other two girls watched her. Alyssa got dressed again and straightened out her outfit, then glanced to the other girls as her staff flew over into her grip.

"I'm going to go see how Daniel's doing. Let us know when you're both dressed again so he can use the lake to clean up," she said before walking away.

"Hold it, you're not going to see Daniel alone, I'm going with you," Triska said scrambling off the rock. Alyssa rolled her eyes then swung her staff back, causing Triska to fly back and into the water with a splash from the magical force.

"I thought you wanted to enjoy the water a bit more, Triska, you were so insistent on coming here after all," Alyssa reasoned, glancing looking back to Triska with a smirk. Triska coughed out water and stood up in the lake as Squeak smiled at her amusingly.

"I wanted to enjoy the water with Daniel, but you two ruined that for me!" Triska yelled out.

"So you admit you were trying to seduce him!" Alyssa declared, turning around and aiming her staff towards the teen.

"I was not; I was only trying to have a relaxing swim with him! Squeak's the one that was trying to seduce him!" Triska yelled out.

"Don't give me that crap, I saw the way you were looking at him, the way you were flaunting yourself in front of him! The only reason you wanted to come here was for him to see you in your swimsuit!" Alyssa shouted at the human. Triska growled and marched out of the water towards the witch.

"I offered to come here to have us wash our clothes, remember?" she yelled out loudly.

"If you really put any thought into that you would have realized that would involve us being naked in front of Daniel! But no, all you thought about was showing Daniel your damn swimsuit!" Alyssa shouted back.

"It's not my fault you didn't bring any other clothes with you! And so what if I wanted to go for a swim with him as well, there's nothing wrong with us enjoying the water is there? Besides, you can't get mad at me if he likes my body more than yours; it's not my fault you'll never grow more!" Triska shouted out.

"Oh please, if anything the only girl he was staring at was Squeak!" Alyssa said looking off to the side. She blinked then looked around as the ant girl was nowhere to be seen. Triska looked around then over towards the tree where she saw Squeak dressed in her tunic and gloves, the girl finishing putting on her boot as she hopped closer to Daniel. She had her pickaxe slung around her back as she straightened out her outfit, the girl walking over to Daniel as he was sitting down against the tree. He glanced up to her as he saw her approach out of the corner of his eye, the girl squeaking with a small wave as she walked up to him.

"Hey!" Triska and Alyssa yelled out.

Over by the tree Daniel was looking down at his book as Squeak sat next to him, the girl having her legs lying on the ground while she looked at the book curiously. She glanced to Daniel and pointed to the book with a few small squeaks.

"I was just reading up on the types of monsters I know of so far, I want to be ready for whatever we find next. Did you enjoy the lake?" he asked with a glance to the girl. She nodded and smiled timidly at him then looked back down to the book, leaning closer to him as he watched her with a slightly nervous expression.

"Um… Squeak?" he asked. Squeak looked over to him, with their faces nearly an inch away from each other. She squeaked softly as her antennae twitched a bit.

"Did you… want something?" he asked weakly. She smiled and tilted her head as she gazed into his eyes. Suddenly she was yanked back and dragged away from him by the back of her tunic, the ant girl looking with surprise to seeing Triska setting her down away from Daniel.

"That's close enough, Squeak," she stated firmly. Squeak blinked then smiled curiously with soft squeak. Daniel looked over to them before Alyssa hopped over in front of his view.

"Hey, Daniel, what are you doing?" she asked sweetly.

"Oh, Alyssa. I was just… reading up on the types of monsters in my book. Is everything ok?" he asked trying to look past the witch as Triska and Squeak seemed to be wrestling around on the ground. Alyssa scooted over to block his view and shook her head.

"Not at all, Daniel. Um, we're all done with the water now if you want to get cleaned up," she offered with a gentle smile. Daniel looked at the witch curiously then tried to see past her as Triska and Squeak were heard rustling around. Alyssa waved her staff behind her, causing Triska and Squeak to roll off to the side. Daniel looked around to seeing them gone then to the witch as she walked closer to him.

"Um, thank you, that sounds great," he said with a slight smile. Again he heard squeaking and bickering nearby. He blinked then tried to look past the witch again while she kept hopping in front of his view.

"Is everything alright with Triska and Squeak?" he asked carefully. Alyssa giggled and nodded with an innocent smile.

"They're fine, Daniel, they're just… cooling off," she said glancing to her side. Nearby she saw Triska and Squeak rolling around on the ground in a struggle. She waved her staff slightly, causing the two wrestling girls to tumble off into the grass away from each other. Alyssa looked back to Daniel and eyed him over.

"So do you need any help washing your clothes? Or washing your body? I can help with those hard to reach places, if you want," she offered timidly. He chuckled and shook his head.

"No, I think I'll manage just fine, thank you," he said with a weak smile. Alyssa nodded with a pouty smile then glanced to the side to seeing Triska and Squeak scrambling to their feet while glaring at each other.

"Ok, Daniel, whatever you say," she said as she waved her staff again, causing the two fighting girls to fly at each other and clonk each other in the head. They dropped down onto the grass dazed as the witch smiled hopefully at Daniel.

"Just let me know if you need anything then, I'm here to help you after all," she said with a wink.

A few minutes later Daniel was standing in the shallow area of the lake, only wearing his white underpants while his other clothes were lying on a few rocks nearby. He was rinsing his shirts with the water while his boots were on the shore next to his dagger, the boy having a calm expression while he cleaned the dirt and blood off of his clothes.

As he was busy with his laundry, from behind the tree he was at before two girls were peeking out around the trunk with wide eyes on either side. Triska and Squeak were each staring at Daniel while they blushed slightly, seeing the boy almost completely naked which caused them to fidget slightly. Sitting down against the tree between them looking at Daniel's book of monsters was Alyssa, reading with a calm expression while her staff was lying down next to her.

"Would you two give it a rest? You're not going anywhere near him when he's like this," Alyssa said glancing to either side of her to seeing the human and ant girl keeping close to the tree. They glanced back to her with discontent as she shook her finger.

"He kindly asked us all to wait here together, remember?" Alyssa reminded while looking back to the book.

"I'm his guardian on this trip, I need to be able to keep a close eye on him," Triska reasoned firmly.

"Just how close do you need to be for that?" Alyssa asked flatly.

"Closer than this, I can barely see anything from here," Triska whined as she looked back over to Daniel with worry.

"You can see him just fine. And don't worry, Triska,
I'm
his guardian on this journey, I can watch over him just fine from here," Alyssa said glancing to the human.

"Like hell you are, Alyssa," Triska growled at the witch.

"Not to mention that as his proper choice for a mate I stopped you from trying to kill one of his examples of proof," Alyssa said dully.

"You are
not
his proper choice in a mate, Alyssa, and I only did what I did because his proof was trying to KISS HIM!" Triska yelled out at Squeak. The ant girl glanced to her with a smug grin and twitched one of her eyebrows before staring at Daniel again.

"And you tried to seduce him with your skimpy bathing suit. You're no better than she is," Alyssa pointed out shaking her head.

"Like you're one to talk, Alyssa, you tried to rape him senseless when you first met him," Triska accused, looking down to the witch with narrowed eyes. Squeak jumped a bit then looked down to the witch with surprise.

"I already said I was sorry for that, not to mention that I've been helping him on his journey all this time afterwards," Alyssa muttered. Squeak looked at the girl carefully then to Triska, the teen looking back over to Daniel as he was washing his pants in the water.