Chronicles of Eden - Act VIII (5 page)

“Don’t say sorry,” Falla defended with a sneer at Clover. “We don’t hear it at all, and we’re a lot closer to you than she is or ever will be.”

“It’s fun to sleep on your chest,” Pip giggled. “It’s so bouncy when you do that, it makes me so happy in my dreams.”

“Glad you like it?” Daniel replied with an awkward smile.

Clover rolled her eyes then looked back down to her bow while holding it close to her chest.

“You’re all freaks,” she muttered to herself.

“Anyway,” Daniel spoke up as all the girls gave the elf dull stares in response. “We’ll get Doku straightened out eventually. For now let’s just focus on our goal of getting to Ruhelia.”

“Once Squeak returns we can depart,” Kroanette announced eagerly. “I am looking forward to seeing my home and family again. I do wonder how mother will react to me having a mate now.”

“Or a group of co-mates,” Triska added with a smirk.

“Oh yes,” Kroanette agreed with a weak smile. “This should be an interesting visit.”

Daniel nodded in agreement to that then saw Squeak approaching from the wooden area, the ant girl having her pickaxe slung behind her back while in her hand she was holding a small pouch. Her gloves seemed to be dirty along with her boots and knees, the look appearing normal for her as she smiled happily with smudges on her cheeks.

“There’s our dirty little ant girl,” Daniel mused crossing his arms.

“Dirty as in perverted, or dirty as in she’s covered in dirt again?” Alyssa questioned with a smirk.

“Both,” the group answered as Squeak walked up to them and squeaked something in a happy tone.

“Squeak,” Specca sighed with a dull smile. “You’ve been getting filthy like this far more than you used to ever since we were given our new living space. What’s come over you?”

Squeak moved her hands around and squeaked something at her, pointing to the carriage then to herself before shrugging and squeaking some more with words that absolutely nobody could comprehend. After she finished speaking Falla walked over to her and slowly shook her head.

“You do realize we don’t understand you, right?”

Squeak just continued to smile at her, showing no surprise or concern about it at all. Falla positioned their antennae together while holding the girl’s head, with everyone watching as she tried to get them to touch just right while Squeak began to show a promiscuous smile at her.

“Why is Squeak smiling like that?” Daniel asked.

“Alright, there,” Falla said as she found the right spots to connect. “So, what was all that?”

Squeak calmly squeaked something while holding her hands and pouch behind her back, the group waiting patiently while Falla listened in her mind to what the ant girl was trying to say.

“She’s saying since she can bathe daily now with all of us there’s no harm in her having more fun in the dirt.”

“Yes, but doesn’t she tend to just jump into the bath then right back out without actually cleaning herself?” Kroanette pointed out raising a hand up.

“Ant girls don’t bathe as much as we do,” Specca reasoned with a shrug. “The fact she is at least getting wet every day like that is far more than any of her kind typically do. Being dirty is how they usually are.”

Squeak squeaked something else with a twitch of her eyebrow, causing Falla to gulp and blush slightly from hearing in her mind what she said.

“What did she say now, Falla?” Luna asked.

“Um…”

“Falla?” Daniel said with a curious smile. “What’s she saying to us?”

“Just… that she’s getting wet enough each day now,” Falla relayed before stepping back and glancing away from the ant girl.

“From you, Falla,”
Squeak’s words echoed in her head as the last part of that statement.

“Okay,” Triska said scratching her head. “That’s fine if you want to play in the dirt more, Squeak, but please try not to track any more inside our home. Doku’s already in panic mode about Specca leaving water on the floor, we don’t need her fainting from you bringing in mud with you.”

“What’s that?” Pip asked as she flew over behind Squeak and pointed at the pouch. The ant girl held it out towards Falla with a happy smile and squeaked something.

“For me?” Falla wondered. She took hold of the bag and opened it up, looking inside to see beetles and worms crawling around in it. “Oh my god, those look delicious! Where did you get them?”

“What looks delicious?” Pip asked flying over and sticking her head in the bag. She quickly zipped away and shook her head in disgust. “
Ew
, it’s full of bugs! Those aren’t delicious!”

“It is? Really?” Luna eagerly said as she rushed over and looked in the bag. “Wow, those look really good. Did you dig those up yourself, Squeak?”

Squeak nodded and winked at Falla. The girl sniffled and wiped a tear from her eye as she beheld the gift from her co-mate, feeling overcome with joy and a bright warmth spreading from her heart as she tenderly held the bag in her hands.

“Oh, Squeak, thank you so much. I lo-” she started before realizing that Squeak was no longer in front of her. After a moment’s pause she quickly turned to see Squeak hugging Daniel and kissing him, with his hands holding her waist as he showed no objections to her affection.

“Hey!” Falla whined.

“Go on, Falla,” Specca giggled. “What was it you were about to dearly confess to Squeak?”

Falla twitched and stammered something before seeing Luna taking a big beetle out of the bag.

“These are hard to find, this is going to be so tasty.”

“Hey, those are mine!” Falla yelled as she tried to swipe the beetle from Luna. The two began running around with Falla chasing Luna who was giggling playfully at her. “She gave those to me with love, give it back, Luna!”

“If it’s got her love in it then I’m sure it’ll be extra tasty!” Luna laughed as she nimbly dodged around Falla.

Squeak broke the kiss with Daniel and gently squeaked at him, the boy’s eyes slowly opening as the euphoric sensation rolling through his head gradually subsided. He then kissed her forehead and held her with a warm smile, the girl wiggling her abdomen with a quiet squeak as she rested her head on his shoulder.

“Thank you, Squeak.”

“Squeak, come now,” Triska pouted. “No bugs or even a kiss for me? So cold you are.”

Daniel laughed at that while Squeak showed a mischievous smile, the ant girl then quickly reaching over and grabbing Triska by the hand. She pulled the cambion into a kiss while still holding onto Daniel, his amused smile at seeing his mates getting along being the same that Kroanette had on her face. Pip however was playfully chasing after Luna and Falla, treating it like a game while the sisters argued about who would get to eat the insects in Squeak’s bag.

Alyssa smiled lightly at seeing her family’s antics then noticed Clover still looking down with a downtrodden expression next to the carriage.

“Are you going to be okay?”

“I’m fine,” Clover replied without making eye contact.

“We’re here for you if you need us,” Kroanette promised as she rested a hand on her shoulder. Clover glanced to her with a dull expression as the centaur smiled knowingly at her. “Don’t be afraid to open up to us, Clover. Isn’t that what Zoey wanted for you? To not be alone anymore?”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Clover said looking back down again.

Daniel watched as Squeak and Triska broke their kiss before the ant girl held onto the cambion with both hands and kept her face close. Triska giggled softly as she saw the look in her co-mates eyes while in her mind Kitten was waving towards Daniel expectedly.

“Don’t kiss her, kiss him! What’s the matter with you?”

‘I don’t mind kissing both. Just shut up and let us be.’

Specca stepped over behind Daniel and held her arms around the front of his chest, smiling happily at him before they watched Luna and Falla zigzagging around the area with Pip following closely after.

“So did you manage to get what we needed at the trading station?”

“Yeah, we bought everything on the list. We should be good to go the rest of the way to Ruhelia now.”

Triska nodded and looked to the bag she had resting against her hip. She opened the flap and sifted her hand around inside the satchel as she eyed over the contents, then paused as she carefully looked inside the bag for something.

“Hold up. They forgot the bandages and herbal cream.”

“What? Are you sure?” Daniel asked as Triska rummaged through the bag before dropping it with a grunt.

“They’re not in there. Dammit, we paid good money for that stuff.”

“I’m sure they just forgot it. It’s probably waiting for us back at the store.”

“It had better be,” Triska muttered as she started walking away. “Wait here, I’ll go take care of this.”

“Don’t use your sword, Triska,” Specca called out nervously. “Use your words instead.”

The group watched Triska heading down the road muttering something to herself with the same thought.

“She’s using her sword,” Alyssa concluded.

“Those poor humans,” Kroanette sighed.

“Oh yeah, poor them,” Clover muttered in anger.

The girls saw her grumbling while clutching the bow and quiver close to her then turned to Daniel in question as he watched Triska walking away down the road. She passed by a bush with flowers on it then stopped and noticed something on the side of the road next to it.

“Oh, there they are,” she said as she picked up the small bag lying behind the bush. After opening it to see the bandages and cream were inside she glanced around curiously while stepping back from the shrub.

“Triska?” Daniel called out.

“I found them,” she answered while walking back. “I guess they fell out of the bag or something, probably from when Luna pounced on you.”

“I was sure they gave them to us, they wouldn’t swindle their customers,” Daniel agreed with a smile.

“Yeah,” Clover growled. “They were nothing but angels.”

“Okay, what’s bothering you?” Kroanette asked as the group saw the elf struggling to hold in her anger. “Something clearly has you upset. Please talk to us, Clover.”

“Daniel, what happened with her?” Specca questioned while holding onto him still.

Daniel breathed out and glanced over to Triska as she walked over to them, the cambion sharing the sympathetic look before they turned to Clover who was avoiding eye contact with everyone.

“The people we met at the shop were nice and all,” Daniel explained. “But there was something about them that didn’t sit right with us, especially with Clover.”

“What was wrong with them?” Alyssa asked.

Running back alongside the road Mika was making haste towards her home, feet moving swiftly despite the heavy sword she had on her back while her breathing was elevated. Looking behind her she saw the wooded area between herself and where she had tracked down Daniel and his companions to, and where she saw something that prompted her to run away to get her sisters for help.

“Monsters,” she cursed with hatred.

The image of Daniel being held from behind by a nixie caused her to growl through her teeth, the scene being brought to life by her imagination as she envisioned Daniel begging to be let go and the nixie giggling with a cold smile on her face as she held him closer.

“Holy shit, they got them.”

The sight of an ant girl holding Triska close was further extended in her mind to show the monster grabbing Triska’s hair and yanking back on it with a cruel smile on her face, the feeble human at the mercy of the strong girl while pleading with teary eyes not to hurt Daniel.

“Goddammit, I told them they needed more weapons out here.”

She had seen Clover being held at the shoulder by a centaur along with a witch who appeared to be interrogating her while sitting atop a horse driven carriage. The way Clover was timidly holding her bow and quiver close while at the mercy of the monsters right on top of her was almost too much for Mika to bear.

“Those monsters won’t get away with this, I swear it,” she promised with a determined look in her eye.

She quickly ran back to her home and barged through the front door, causing Max to jump off the counter while Milly and Mae poked their heads out from behind the backroom curtain.

“You two, get your hunting gear ready, now!” Mika ordered her sisters.

“What’s going on?” Mae asked.

“Monsters ambushed those travelers, and I mean a whole lot of monsters! Now move it!”

“Monsters?” Max exclaimed.

Milly and Mae wasted no time bolting into the back room where they were heard rustling about loudly while getting ready for work. Mika pulled her claymore up slightly from its sheath and examined the sharpened blade while Max tried not to show any fear as his knees wobbled slightly.

“Oh man, are those three alright?” Max nervously asked.

“They’re still alive, though I doubt for long.”

“What should we do?”

“You stay here and watch the store. Lock the door after we leave and don’t open it for anyone until we come back.”

“Um, right. Okay. And what are you going to do?”

Mika sheathed her blade with a sharp click as she clenched her other fist, a warm blue glow forming around her hand briefly as she flexed it with small golden wisps flaring up around her fingers.

“We’re going to save our customers, and slaughter all those damned fiends.”

In the world of Eden there were those that could be hired to hunt and even kill others for a price. Mercenaries, assassins, trackers, there were many with these professions from both the human and monster races. Nekos were a prime example of monsters that were employed to do such work, however there were others that had similar talents for hire. With the humans there were those dubbed as ‘Monster Hunters’, skilled fighters who excelled at chasing down and killing the various kinds of lustful creatures of Eden. They were all available if the price was right, however that didn’t mean they were always violent or bloodthirsty people. They were just doing what they were paid to do, be it a simple task of capturing their target alive or to kill them without mercy.

Even those that hunted others for a living could have a heart.