chronicles of eden - act I (76 page)

"I was being sarcastic, Daniel," Triska said shaking her head.

"Well I wasn't, we have three monsters girls already helping us with our journey just after leaving Ashwood. We have the famous Wildfire Witch with us, an ant girl who represents a nest that is willing to coexist with mankind once we're ready for that, and a nixie who knows so much about the world and is willing to be our monster guide. I'd say that's a great start to our journey," Daniel reasoned with a shrug.

"But, Daniel, me being the Wildfire Witch is a
bad
thing, remember? I can't talk to the alpha witches at all, they'll never want to help me with anything," Alyssa said shaking her head.

"I'm flattered you think so highly of me, Daniel, but… Alyssa is right, I'm not able to strengthen your cause alone, and I'm not sure if I can even convince my people to talk peacefully with mankind," Specca admitted worriedly.

"And have you forgotten that Squeak can only
squeak
? How's she going to speak on behalf of her queen when nobody can understand her?" Triska asked waving to Squeak, the ant girl looking down with a worried expression. Daniel looked around at the group with a kind smile then to Alyssa.

"You being the Wildfire Witch is a good thing, all we have to do is make that name of yours into something that witches can be proud of. If you can prove to the world that you really are a good witch, then word will spread faster because you're already so well-known. The alphas surely know about you Alyssa, and if they know that you had a hand in helping with mankind and other monsters forming peace then they'll respect you for it," he said gently. Alyssa looked at him with wonder.

"You think so?" she asked quietly. He nodded and smiled at her then looked over to Specca.

"And you have been a big help, you've shown us the way towards finding more possible allies in the world, and even updated my monster book so we're better prepared for what we might find. I may not even need to rely on that book now that we have you with us; you've become invaluable to us with this journey. And it's alright if you can't talk to your own kind right now, just help us talk to whoever we can like you were going to before," he assured kindly.

"I'm… invaluable to you?" Specca said under her breath, staring at him with adoring eyes as she blushed slightly. He nodded with a warm smile then looked over to Squeak.

"Squeak, I promise we'll help save your nest. And your queen sent you with us to be an example of monsters willing to coexist with humans. It's alright if you can't speak our language, we'll speak for you. Just stand by our side and help us with our journey, show humans that you're not just another lustful monster in Eden. Besides, having a strong ant girl with us makes me feel safer already out here in the wilderness," he said with a slight chuckle at the end. Squeak looked at him with wonder then smiled and nodded eagerly. Daniel smiled at her then looked to Triska, the girl looking at him curiously.

"Thank you," he said gently.

"Thank you? For what?" she asked.

"That's twice now you've defended Squeak," he said glancing to the ant girl. Squeak looked at Triska curiously as did Alyssa and Specca.

"What do you mean?" Triska asked again.

"You defended her in Ashwood when people were ostracizing her in the city. You stood up for her and right in front of the guards as well, defending her even though she was a monster. And just now you were so defensive for her about saving her nest, so insistent that we help them," he explained. Triska smiled a bit and glanced to Squeak.

"Well, I mean I was only… she isn't…" she said softly.

"You were sticking up for her, like a real friend. And you even did so for Alyssa, you tried to save her from that succubus with everything you had. You rushed towards a Darker One with only your sword to help Alyssa even though she was a witch. You were ready to take on a legendary evil in this world, to save a monster," Daniel said with an approving smile. Triska smiled with a small light laugh then looked down.

"I did what you would have done, Daniel, I wanted to back you up on your belief," Triska said glancing up to him timidly.

"Thank you, Triska, for being proof yourself that monsters and humans can get along," he said kindly. She smiled at him then glanced away while brushing the hair away from her face and around her ear.

'Daniel, I want to be so much more than that for you.'

She looked back to him then jumped a bit with surprise.

"You're so kind and chivalrous, Daniel, I promise I'll do my very best to be of the most help to you in any way I can," Specca said joyously as she was hugging him from his side, nuzzling her cheek against his while he was smiling nervously. At his other side Squeak was hugging him as well while squeaking affectionately and nuzzling against his other cheek.

"You really believe in me, Daniel? Really really really?" Alyssa asked eagerly, hugging him from the waist while looking up at him with loving eyes.

As the three monster girls held onto him while smiling happily Triska's eyebrow twitched as she watched with anger. She clenched her fists tightly as she glared at the three girls that were hanging onto Daniel with fire in her eyes.

“Ahem,” she grunted through bared teeth. The group looked over to her as she snarled quietly.

“If you’re about done expressing your gratitude for Daniel being so kind to you…” she growled as she tried to control her anger.

“Actually, I was just getting started, do you mind?” Alyssa asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Did… you want a hug as well?” Specca asked nervously. Squeak looked at the human girl while squeaking softly as Daniel smiled nervously in fear of Triska’s murderous aura. Triska trembled a bit then yelled out at the top of her lungs, her voice causing Lucky to jump out of his slumber with a loud neigh.

“GET OFF HIM NOW!”

*****

After Lucky had gone back to sleeping peacefully on his bedding and after all three monster girls let go of Daniel as Triska expressed her feelings about them hanging onto him in a very threatening manner, everybody was watching her as she was rummaging through her duffel bag with an agitated expression.

“Ok, we’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow if we’re going to make progress towards that elven forest,” she started as she pulled out a dark purple blanket and white pillow, the girl tossing them to Squeak before rummaging around in her bag again.

“It’s late, and we all need our rest. And since Daniel insisted that we could all sleep together in here I’m laying down a few ground rules,” she grunted as she pulled out an orange blanket and white pillow, tossing them to Alyssa as the group stared with wide eyes.

“First off, as long as he’s in here nobody takes their clothes off for any reason. You want to change, wait for him to leave or go outside. As for Specca, keep your skirt down or else you’re out of here, ” she continued as she pulled out a light blue blanket and white pillow, the girl then handing them to Specca as the group watched her in silence.

“Secondly, I think it goes without saying that if he’s going to trust you sleeping next to him then you’d better not try anything sneaky. If you’re going to be proof that you can live with humans peacefully then keep your hands off of him while he’s asleep, understand?” she asked as she pulled out a black blanket and white pillow, the girl handing them to Daniel as he stared with a slightly opened mouth.

“Third, and I can’t stress this enough, stop hanging all over him like that!” she yelled as she pulled out a white blanket and pillow, the girl looking back to them as they were just staring at her while holding their blankets and pillows.

“Well? Any questions?” she asked. Alyssa slowly raised her hand.

“Yes. How the
hell
did you pack all of this into that
one
bag?” she asked pointing to the duffel bag. Triska glanced to it then back to Alyssa with a raised eyebrow.

“What do you mean? I just packed a few necessary things for the trip, even extra clothing and supplies for all of you. Well, Specca can share what we have until we get to a human town or something,” Triska said with a casual shrug.

“She means how did you fit all of this stuff into one bag? It doesn’t seem physically possible,” Specca said shaking her head. Triska just looked at her puzzled as everybody glanced to the bag then back to her with baffled expressions. Triska then shook her head and moved the traveling bags off to the side then looked back to the group.

“Anyway, let’s get some sleep. Whether we go after the bovinettes and harpies or not, we’re still on track for the elves, so let’s at least focus on that for now. It’s Daniel’s call where we go out here, he’s the one that’s going to be talking to the monster races after all,” she said assertively. The group slowly nodded as she set her sword and dagger down next to the wall near the bags. She glanced to them and raised an eyebrow.

“What?” she asked. The group glanced to each other and shrugged, then moved about to settle in for the night. Daniel set his pillow against the corner near the bags and laid down next to the back wall, having enough room to lay comfortably across the caravan while he had his blanket over him. The four girls glanced to him then to each other. Triska set her pillow next to him and settled down as well while the other girls watched her carefully.

“Hey, how come you get to sleep next to him?” Alyssa demanded with annoyance. Daniel looked over to see Triska lying down casually while glancing to the witch with her arms resting behind her head.

“Because I risked my life to save you from a succubus, because I didn’t touch him with my tail, because I kept my pants on around him, and because I’ve stood up for you all in Daniel’s beliefs. That and I was the only one earlier who wasn’t hanging all over him,” she stated firmly. Alyssa looked at her for a moment then shook her head.

“But why do you get to sleep next to him?” she whined.

“It’s ok, Alyssa, let’s just rest for the night, ok?” Daniel asked gently, wishing to avoid any bloodshed for the remainder of the night. Alyssa looked at him with worried eyes then down with a pout. Specca quietly set her pillow next to Triska and laid down as well, covering herself with the blanket as her tail slid out slightly. She lay with her torso nearly on its side as she rested on the pillow looking up, the girl taking her glasses off and blinking a few times.

“Are those your only pair of glasses?” Triska asked curiously.

“Yes. I couldn’t really go back to my home in the city to collect my spares,” Specca said as she set them down above her pillow.

“You’re going to need to be careful then, what if those break and we’re not near a human town to get you another?” Triska asked with concern.

“If that happens I suppose I’ll just have to rely on Daniel to be my eyes and take care of me,” Specca said turning onto her side facing away from Triska, having a soft smile on her face as she closed her eyes.

“What?” Triska barked out. Daniel chuckled and shook his head with a slight smile.

“We’ll all help you if they break, Specca, but we’ll be careful not to let anything happen to them,” he said assuredly.

“Thank you, Daniel,” Specca said softly as she curled up a bit with a blush. Alyssa rolled her eyes then set her staff down near the front of the cabin, the witch lying down near the wall as she set her hat down next to her. Squeak set her pillow down by the front corner and curled up into a small ball with her head resting on it, her abdomen sticking out to the side while her blanket covered her body. Triska glanced to them then over to Daniel as he was looking up at the ceiling with a calm expression. She smiled softly and looked up as well, wondering what tomorrow may bring for them.

A small beam of moonlight came through the back window and front entrance as the group quieted down for the night. A slight shimmer was seen coming from Squeak’s pickaxe which was resting against the wall next to the ant girl as well as from Alyssa’s focuser as it lay on her chest. Specca’s scales on her tail were faintly seen as her tail was partially exposed behind her next to Triska, the human girl lying peacefully with a few strands of hair across her face. And near the back wall Daniel was looking up with a blank expression, his eyes just staring up at the rounded ceiling while the lantern was hanging above near the window. He was out in the outerlands to make his long awaited journey, with a ride and four companions that wanted to help his dream become a reality. There was one race of monsters that could be allies of mankind if reasoned with they knew of, and hopefully others would be found along the way as well. As he slowly closed his eyes he thought about the long road ahead of him to help mankind and monsters coexist rather than be at war with one another. A small smile formed as he thought about how there were already three monster girls in the caravan with him that wanted to help him, three monsters that were proof in themselves that some monsters could be reasoned with.

Proof that some monsters could control their inner nature.

“Goodnight,” he said as he slowly fell asleep. Triska glanced over to him with a soft smile while Specca turned her head slightly to glance over in his direction. Alyssa opened one eye slightly and looked over towards him with a gentle smile as Squeak peeked out from under her blanket, with one of her antennae popping out and twitching slightly.

“Goodnight, Daniel,” they all said quietly, with Squeak making a soft squeaking sound of course. They blinked then all glanced to each other with dull expressions. Slowly they all fell back asleep, all of them dreaming about the boy they wanted as their mate.

And the growing competition for his heart.

In the world of Eden, monsters roamed the lands in search of mates that could be used as breeders for their own kind, all of the darker creatures being female and needing a means to reproduce. However finding a mate to breed with wasn’t the only thing these monsters did in their lives. Something else they did, as do all living things in the world, was feed. Some monsters were herbivores and ate only plants while some were carnivorous and preferred to eat only meat. Some, like humans, ate both while others ate neither and survived by other means. The need to feed was just as important to them as was the need to breed, as both were needed for survival.