chronicles of eden - act I (77 page)

How, and what, they ate however varied greatly from one monster to another.

*****

The sun started to rise over the horizon as another day began. Light slowly traveled across the fields and hills, with a few birds chirping as they flew overhead. The grass swayed slightly as a calm breeze rolled by while a white horse slept soundly near a caravan. As the light started to cross over it inside a few figures were seen. Alyssa yawned as she slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes as the light came in through the front entrance to the cabin. Across from her Squeak started to slowly uncurl and sit up, squeaking softly as her antennae twitched a bit. They both looked to seeing the light rising up in the distance then over to see Triska sitting up while stretching out her arms. She blinked a few times to clear her vision then brushed back her hair from in front of her. Glancing over she saw Alyssa and Squeak staring with wide eyes and open mouths at something.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked as she rubbed one of her eyes. She looked over to the back of the cabin and jumped in surprise. The three girls saw Specca riding atop Daniel with stifled moans, her skirt pulled up showing herself riding atop his member while his pants were pulled down to his knees. Her tail was wrapped around one of his legs as he was holding onto her hips, her hands pressed against his chest as she bounced up and down vigorously. Her hair swayed back and forth as she smiled blissfully while Daniel had a glazed look in his eye. She giggled a bit then looked over to the other girls as she sat atop the boy and licked her lips.

"Hey… good morning," she said before she started riding him again.

"SPECCA!" Triska yelled as she shot up, waking from her dream as she was wide eyed and breathing heavily. Looking to the side she saw Daniel sitting against the rear wall looking at her with surprise while he had a book in his hands. Triska quickly looked over towards the front of the cabin to see Squeak watching her with a raised eyebrow while sitting near the front corner and Alyssa sitting in the driver's seat of the caravan while looking back to her with a dull expression.

"Did Triska just call me?" Specca asked from outside. Alyssa rolled her eyes and waved off to the side.

"Don't worry, it was nothing. She was just having a dream about you having sex with Daniel," she replied casually. Daniel jumped a bit and looked at Triska with a surprised expression still while Squeak looked at the girl curiously.

"What?" Specca called out with surprise. Triska shook her head and looked around as she blinked a few times.

"Triska?" Daniel asked slowly. She glanced to him and smiled weakly.

"Um… it was just a nightmare… really," she said softly.

"Heard that before," Alyssa said glancing back to her with a blank expression. Specca was heard climbing up onto the front seat before peeking into the cabin.

"Triska?" she asked with a stunned expression. The teen looked over to her and shook her head.

"I just had a nightmare, that was all. Really," she said quickly.

"Last time you called out my name like that when waking up you had a nightmare about me then too," Alyssa commented. Triska growled then glared at her.

"Yeah, it was. Your point?" she barked out.

"You were dreaming about Daniel and I…" Specca trailed off before glancing to the boy. Triska waved her hand around while shaking her head.

"Just forget it, it was just a dream. And it wasn't about either of you!" she called out.

"Then why did you scream out her name?" Alyssa asked raising an eyebrow.

"Just forget about it!" Triska yelled. Specca looked at the girl curiously then slowly entered the cabin and sat down against the wall across from her. Daniel smiled a bit and laughed weakly before looking over to Specca with a shrug. The nixie glanced to him then back to Triska as the teen scooted over and got her sword and dagger, strapping the sheath behind her back and securing the dagger at her hip.

"Anyway, when are we heading out? We've got a long ways to go to reach the elven forest," she said looking around at the group, eager to change the topic of conversation.

"We were waiting for you to wake up so we could have some breakfast before leaving. Lucky's grazing nearby so he'll be ready when we are," Alyssa said looking over to her horse that was close to the caravan, the animal casually eating some tall grass it had found.

The sun was already out as the day had begun, the group having been waiting for Triska to wake from her slumber before continuing on. Alyssa and Squeak had woken up to Daniel’s snoring, though somehow Triska managed to sleep through it peacefully despite the fact that she was lying right next to him all night, along with Specca who didn’t seem to mind the loud snores that echoed out in the cabin. Of course she did mind that Alyssa stepped on her tail, the witch having claimed it was an accident even though the nixie’s tail was on the other side of her next to Triska, which promptly woke Specca up with a yell. That too didn’t wake up Daniel or Triska, and neither did the fierce argument between Alyssa and Specca about whether or not Specca was murmuring Daniel’s name in her sleep or not, all while Squeak merely watched them with a dull expression. Flustered and annoyed, Specca had then left the caravan, saying that she was going to look around for any sources of water nearby to cool off with.

"Did you find any water nearby, Specca?" Daniel asked looking over to the nixie. She shook her head and looked down with a slight frown.

"No, no river or lake, not even a pond nearby," she sighed softly.

"I have water in my bag if you're thirsty you know," Triska said moving over towards her duffel bag.

"What
don't
you have in there?" Alyssa asked glancing to the bag with a raised eyebrow.

"No, it's not for drinking, but to bathe in," Specca corrected, looking over to Triska. The teen smirked and looked at the girl with a bit of amusement.

"Well we may not get to bathe every day during this trip, besides this is your first day out here, you can't be that dirty," she said shaking her head with a slight laugh. Specca shook her head and looked down as her hands fidgeted together in her lap.

"It's not that I'm dirty, Triska, it's just we nixies like to keep our skin and scales wet if we can. Otherwise they get dry and… itchy," she complained. Triska looked at her with a bit of sympathy as the nixie hesitantly scratched her thigh before looking away.

"Oh, I didn't know. Are you going to be ok?" Triska asked gently. Specca nodded and brushed the hair around her reptilian ear.

"I'll be alright; it's not a life or death sort of thing, we just like to be around water to be comfortable. I'll be fine until we find something along the way," she said with a shrug.

"We should come across a river or lake eventually, we'll stop as soon as we find one for you Specca," Daniel said gently. She looked over to him with a warm smile.

"Thank you, Daniel," she said softly. Triska smiled slightly then started rummaging through her duffel bag.

"Alright then, let's get something to eat then we can be on our way. Now let's see here…" she said as she started digging around inside her bag. The group watched as she pulled out a few small tins with fruits and vegetables in them along with another containing sliced ham, a loaf of bread which she used her dagger to cut into slices of bread for everybody, and a few small drinking cups of which she poured water into from a larger travelling container. Everybody watched with wonder as she prepared them a sandwich with ham, lettuce, and cheese along with an apple and a cup of clear water. Triska packed the remaining tins and containers back into her bag then looked around to see everybody staring at her.

"What?" she asked as she took her sandwich and bit into it.

"I'm never going to understand how you packed all of your things into that bag," Alyssa said looking over to it.

"What are you talking about?" Triska asked while chewing her food.

"How is this food not crushed into a fraction of its original form after being stuffed into that thing anyway?" Specca asked, examining her sandwich and apple which were perfectly fine. Squeak looked at the bag then to her sandwich with a curious expression while Daniel smiled a bit and chuckled. Triska looked at them funny then shook her head and glanced over to Daniel.

"I know it's nothing fancy, but I'll make us something better for lunch when we stop for a break," she said with a shrug. He smiled and shook his head.

"No, it's fine, Triska, really. And thank you for making them, beats foraging for food any day," he said before he started eating. Triska smiled at him gently as the other girls glanced to him. Alyssa rolled her eyes then looked at her sandwich.

"What else can you make anyway? You've only really made us sandwiches before," she asked examining it with a bored eye. Triska glanced to her with annoyance while Squeak started eating her apple, the ant girl glancing between the two while Specca dabbed her fingers in her cup of water before rubbing the moisture around her hands.

"It was all the basic food I could bring from our home, Alyssa. And I did purchase a larger variety of rations for later from Ashwood," Triska said firmly. Alyssa looked at her with a raised eyebrow then down to her sandwich.

"We had these last night I believe, not really that much. Are sandwiches all you're going to make for Daniel out here?" she asked looking back to Triska with a dull expression.

"If I can catch some fish at a river I'll cook those, if I catch a rabbit or fox I could cook them, if we find and take down a deer I could use the meat from that as well. I could only pack food that doesn't need to be cooked or kept frozen in my bag you know, things that are easier to travel with," Triska argued with annoyance. Alyssa nodded slowly then looked up. After a moment she looked over to Daniel with a sweet smile.

"Tell you what, Daniel, how about I handle lunch for us today? My treat," she offered cheerfully. He looked at her curiously while Triska narrowed her eyes at the witch.

"You handle lunch? With what, you don't have anything on you at all for food," she said cautiously.

"I managed to survive out here without your expert cooking, I think I can handle it," Alyssa said with a mocking laugh and an amused smile. Daniel smiled a bit as Triska sat back against the wall and looked at the witch with a dull stare.

"Well if you want to, Alyssa, go ahead, but what are you going to make?" Daniel asked curiously.

"You'll see later, Daniel. I promise it'll be much more appetizing than some boring sandwiches," Alyssa giggled. Triska held in her growl as Specca took a bite out of her apple, the nixie glancing back and forth between the two.

"I don't really mind who makes what, just so long as we can stop by something for me to take a quick dip in," she added softly. Squeak finished eating her apple down to the core then started on her sandwich, not really against whatever the group wanted to eat.

"You never offered to cook anything before, why the sudden interest?" Triska asked carefully.

"Is there anything wrong with me offering to make all of you something to eat besides this?" Alyssa inquired, looking at the girl with a raised eyebrow. Triska watched her with an annoyed expression then looked away.

"Nope, go right ahead if you wish," she said dryly. Alyssa giggled and looked to Daniel with a wink, the boy showing a small smile while wondering what the witch had in mind to make for everybody.

"Well, that's very kind of you to offer that, Alyssa. Thank you," he said kindly. Alyssa nodded then looked down with a shrug.

"Monsters know how to cook too you know, we're not all like wild animals," she said before taking a bite out of her sandwich.

*****

Standing under a tree Daemon was surveying the surrounding land with his cold blue eyes, his arms crossed before him while he was leaning back against the trunk of the old tree casually. His sword was sheathed at his hip as always while his gloved hand drummed its fingers on his arm as he gazed around at the nearby woods and grasslands of the area.

"When you two are finished we need to keep moving, and this time don't carry the leftovers with you, I'd rather not have that smell following us," he said plainly.

Nearby behind the tree a reptile girl was sitting down with her large broadsword struck into the dirt behind her, leaning back against the blade while her tail lay at her side. Sasha tore off another mouthful of meat from a deer's leg as she ate quietly; feasting on the fallen animal which was nearly picked clean except for the head at this point which had been lopped off and now lay next to the skeletal body. Next to her Rulo was munching down on another deer, the orc having dug into her meal while on all fours. The deer she was feasting on was torn up, the animal's meat and blood being strewn about while its head was smashed in under the girl's large stone hammer. She looked up towards Daemon with a curious smile while chewing on the meat, snorting a bit as her chin dripped with fresh blood.

"Did you want any, master?" she asked eagerly.

"Rulo, I told you to stop calling me that," he said simply while still looking away into the distance. She blinked then smiled nervously.

"Right, sorry… I mean… did you want-"

"Just finish up and clean your face, Rulo, he's been waiting patiently for us," Sasha interrupted while having a focused gaze, the reptile girl biting off more flesh from the deer while her tail swished around slightly. Rulo glanced to her then looked down at the deer that she had eaten from.

"Sorry," she said softly. Daemon glanced back to them then looked forward again, his eyes watching the surrounding area carefully. Sasha finished eating then stood up, the girl yanking her sword out from the ground with one hand before walking over towards the human.

"Thank you for allowing us to stop to feed, mas-… I mean, thank you," she said softly.

"You don't need to thank me, monsters need to eat too," he said while still looking ahead.

"Would you like for me to prepare something for you? I can very easily kill another one if you're hungry," she offered hopefully. He merely shook his head while still looking out at the wilderness. She opened her mouth to speak, then slowly closed it and looked down. There was a moment of silence as she kept her eyes downward, her tail swaying gently behind her.