"Yes, my beloved boldly placed the ring upon his finger so that we would be together forever," said Saelil happily.
Scott flatly responded, "I kicked her ass, saw a cool ring, and put it on."
Saelil giggled warmly at him. "Yes, and don't you just love it?"
He rolled his eyes then snorted loudly and waved his hand around. "Are we really going to have this conversation out here in the middle of all this apocalypse?"
"Yes," said Samantha coolly.
"Absolutely," said Kitty with a pout.
"It seems so, beloved," replied Saelil, her smile growing wider.
Scott looked at each of them then lashed his tail once. "Fine... I'll tell you now."
He related the tale of his recent adventures to his team mates. Scott spoke of the choice given when he found the book. He regaled them with his naked repeating death sequences. He even told them about the damnable murder scarf.
"Hey, wait," said Samantha.
"Hmm?" asked Scott.
She answered him by shooting down a few of the zombies that had drawn close. They looked around briefly to see if there were any others, but they were alone for the moment.
"Alright, go ahead," said the pink clad mercenary.
"Right..." said Scott before returning to his story. For the next few minutes he spoke in depth about how he had found and battled Saelil. He stressed the reason why he put on the ring, while Saelil smiled and gave him expectant looks. The expressions shown on her face occasionally told the other girls a story counter to the things that Scott said, even if those expressions were not entirely truthful.
He eyed Saelil for a moment after he finished the Fear Rune part of his tale. For someone who claimed to spend most of her time studying during her original life, she was quite skilled at social dominance. Were even the supposedly bookish members of the dark elf race capable of social schemes and political advancement through conversational manipulation?
"Anyway, once I got back from the mission I bought some upgrades. One of them was my new race," he said before he curled his tail around his waist. He neglected to mention his weak point. He kept a few things to himself that he deemed unimportant at the moment. Basically, anything that might be used against him in the court of angry feminine judgment.
Scott finished his story and then took a deep breath. Immediately, he wished that he had not. The nearby corpses were more than a bit ripe.
"So, you're not really engaged?" asked Kitty curiously.
"What?" asked Scott.
"No," he said after he realized what she'd asked. "We're definitely not engaged."
"Sadly, no," replied Saelil with a sigh. "We're merely living in sin together."
"Not even remotely true," said Scott in a flat tone of voice.
Saelil pouted at him then said, "Oh, boo. You don't have to deny it so vehemently, beloved."
"If I'd thought that I'd actually hurt your feelings, I'd apologize," replied Scott lightly.
The elf girl's pout slowly transformed into a devious smile. "It's nice that we do things together."
"Right," said Scott before acquiring a flat expression. "I take you to all the nicest places."
"What kind of places?" asked Kitty suddenly. She made a curious meowing noise and stepped a little closer to Scott. It was only to hear his answer better, of course.
"Well, he took me home with him," replied Saelil helpfully.
"Really..." said Kitty with a dangerous undertone in her voice.
"My home point, Samantha's been there," said Scott before looking to the blond woman.
Instead of offering input, the mercenary girl merely turned away and scanned the area for zombies. Her silence only added to the confusion of the moment.
"So, you take every girl home with you but me..." said Kitty. Her tail lashed to the side and her pupils narrowed to slits.
Saelil placed the point of her finger to the bottom of her chin and acquired a vacant expression. "Oh dear. Have I said something that I should not have?"
Scott glanced at her then shook his head. This girl was dangerous. He knew it. He'd experienced it already, and yet somehow she still managed to get ahead of him. Damn her elven wit!
"Kitty, wanna go home with me?" asked Scott lightly, in an attempt to redirect the mood.
"Rraow. Dunno if I want to go now..." She said before turning her noise up slightly.
Before Scott could reply, the catgirl blinked then looked at Saelil. "You were both naked, right?"
"Quite naked, yes." Saelil smiled sweetly at Kitty then glanced at Scott. "I suspect that was the real reason he defeated me. He offered quite the masculine distraction."
Samantha fired on another zombie that had come within range before saying, "Yes. He does have a tendency to be a naked distraction."
Saelil oriented on the pony-tailed girl after hearing that. "Does he?"
"Yes," replied Samantha quietly. She did not speak further on the matter despite the fact that Saelil waited for another juicy tidbit of gossip to latch onto.
Kitty frowned a little. "Somehow, I think I've been missing out on something..."
"No, you've been great," said Scott.
She murmured slightly, but then said something Scott did not anticipate. "So, if you were naked where did the clothes come from?" The question was asked to Saelil, of course.
"Oh this old outfit? My staff and dress were things that I used to own that my beloved returned to me." Saelil performed a cute little turn that caused her dress to flare outward at the hem. In doing so, she revealed the footwear she wore.
Kitty's eyes shot down to the simple but elegant dark red high-heeled boots. Her breathing became a bit more rapid. "Such nice boots..."
"Ah! These?" asked Saelil. "My beloved bought them for me! Aren't they simply lovely?"
Kitty's hand rose to her chest and she took a step back. Her rapid breathing increased in intensity. "Take them off..."
"What? Say now..." said Saelil.
"Take those boots off, now!" exclaimed Kitty heatedly.
"And here we go..." muttered Samantha before she unleashed a soft laugh.
"Kitty, come on... Calm dow—" began Scott.
"I am calm," said Kitty. She looked to Scott. One of her pupils was exceptionally wide, while the other pupil was narrowed to a serpentine slit. "Don't I look calm?"
"Look, there's no need to be hostile over something as simple as a pair of boots," said Saelil lightly. She then offered a warm smile and said, "Besides, it's not like you can even wear boots with feet like yours."
Samantha blinked and then glanced over to the new girl before quickly looking at Kitty. She immediately walked over to the other side of the truck and squatted down. Scott started to ask her what she was doing, but a sudden noise rose up beside him that caused the hair on the back of his neck to stand up.
Kitty unleashed a hellish caterwaul for a brief moment, and then screamed out, "You whore!" before launching herself at Saelil with her claws extended.
"Goodness!" cried Saelil before dodging to the side to avoid the incoming attack. She was greatly surprised when the fleet-footed feline actually reversed direction in mid-air and kicked out with both feet.
Saelil went flying back as the furry feet of justice slammed into the dark elf's chest. She was kicked away with such great force that she lost her grip on her staff in the process.
Kitty's body flashed as she moved forward at a speed too quick to see. She landed atop Saelil and started to claw at her with furious swipes. "Take them off! Take them off!" she screamed.
"Holy shit!" Scott rushed over and tackled Kitty to the ground.
"No! Let me go!" cried the catgirl. "That bitch has my boots!"
"They're my boots, you flea-ridden beast!" snapped Saelil. She was no longer in the mood for witty banter. "Beloved! Hold the she-beast down so that I might incinerate her!"
Scott took one look at Saelil, snorted, and then let Kitty go. The dark elf's eyes widened in surprise as the feisty feline leap
t for her once more.
While the two girls fought, Scott walked over to where Samantha was positioned and squatted down beside her. "So, hey."
"This is my hiding spot. Go find your own," said Samantha with a smirk.
"Die, you pointy-eared slattern!" cried Kitty.
"Be gone you overly busty, lice-infested, she-cat!" snarled Saelil.
The sound of flesh smacking flesh, and the tearing of cloth echoed through the area. Scott decided to stay out of it this time. Those two needed to work things out, much like Samantha and Kitty had done so earlier.
"Say, do you have any—" began Scott.
"No, you can't have one of my grenades," said Samantha.
"Get your scandalous whore vagina out of my face, you undead witch!" snarled Kitty.
"I could say the same for you, you beastly slut! I have no desire to stare at such an unwholesome abomination!" snapped Saelil.
Scott instinctively began to rise up from his squatting position to take a look at what was going on. The girls might need his help, after all. Samantha sighed and dragged him back down. "Just stay down. It's safer."
"Uh. Yeah," said Scott intelligently, before looking to the left and then back to the right. "Safety, and stuff."
They sat down together and tried to ignore the shouting fools behind them. Neither of them seemed to be pulling out any significantly damaging abilities, so there was little reason to stop them. Samantha had the right of it. Let them get it out of their system.
"If I find so much as a single flea on my body, I'll turn you into a blanket, you useless fur ball!" cried Saelil.
"Take off my shoes! Take them off now!" snarled Kitty.
Samantha scanned the area for threats while the other girls fought tooth and claw over something more important to either of them than a simple pair of boots. After a moment, she looked down at the ground.
"It's good to see that you didn't get caught up in all that..." said Scott softly.
The pony-tailed mercenary nodded once. "Yes."
They remained quiet for a moment, though the battle raged in the background. Eventually, Scott spoke up again. "Samantha, look I—"
She lifted her hand and shook her head. "There's no need to explain any more. We have a new member of the team. That's all."
"Yeah, but that's not what—" began Scott.
Samantha shook her head. "There's no need..."
"It's just that you've been so quiet," said Scott.
"I'm often quiet," said Samantha in a soft tone.
"Well, I know that, but..." said Scott, his voice trailing off. He was not exactly certain of what he wished to say at the moment.
She sighed loudly then leaned her head back against the body of the truck. "Why do you think you need to explain anything to me?"
Before Scott could respond, she continued. "What am I to you, or you to me, that you think you need to explain about your choices?"
"Well—" began Scott once again, only to have her once again interrupt him, "I'm a mercenary. I was hired to do a job. That's all."
"Oh," said Scott quietly. "I thought..."
"You were wrong," she said flatly.
Scott drew in a deep breath then nodded his head. "Fair enough."
"Ha! I got one!" cried Kitty.
"Give me back my boot!" shouted Saelil.
"Whose boot?" asked Kitty in a snarky tone.
Scott ignored the weird interplay between the two fighting girls. Instead he spoke up, "Even so. When stuff like this happens I'll explain it anyway."
Samantha nodded once then looked away. She did not speak aloud, but after a moment her eyes lost focus. She spent a little time lost in thought. Scott did not pester her to express those thoughts. Instead, he sat silently and waited for the fighting girls to calm down.
The battle went on for a while, however. Eventually, Scott felt the need to say something. "You know, I don't really drink."
Samantha unleashed a weary sigh, "Seriously. You don't need to do this. We drank a little wine and ate dinner together. It's not like I'm some lover whom you cheated on."
"That's fair, but I still want you to know that nothing really happened," said Scott.
It was Samantha's turn to be quiet after that. She was not certain what to think of his persistence. Did he think her some fragile little flower who would wilt at the very idea of him spending time with someone? She was paid to do a job, not sit around and eat spaghetti with her employer.
"I didn't confess to her, you know," said Scott softly.
Samantha groaned a little, and looked away, but said nothing. After a moment, the barest hint of a smile appeared on her soft pink lips. "That's really none of my business..."
"It's still true, though," said Scott.
Quite a bit of time passed before Saelil and Kitty ceased fighting. Neither Scott nor Samantha spoke again until the battle ended.
Both girls had a look of foolish guilt about them, a look that someone wears when they know that they had done something stupid when Scott addressed them. "Well, have you girls got it out of your system?"
Neither answered him. Instead, they turned away from each other and snorted in unison. The battle was over, but the war was not yet won.
The same could be said for a lot of things about the greater situation. Petty squabbling and cat fights aside, the true battle had not even begun.
Scott closed his eyes softly and thought long and hard about the future while the girls continued to be passive aggressive toward each other. The more he thought about recent events, the more he felt that the situation needed to be handled quickly and definitively, lest emotions tear the group apart before it ever truly formed.
He looked the girls over for a moment and considered what needed to said, or done. As he checked them out, an old saying came to mind. Some people liked to claim that time healed all wounds. In the case of the scratch marks up and down Saelil's back, it would take quite a bit of time to heal completely. Yet, there was something a little off about their positioning.
"Honestly, what were you two doing? These don't look like fight marks..." said Scott, noting the locations of the scratches. If he did not know better he would think that they were working out a different sort of tension instead of fighting.
"The feline fights dirty," remarked Saelil in annoyance.
Kitty licked the back of her hand while staring into Saelil's eyes. She then puckered her lips, and without so much as blinking she made a kissing noise at the girl. Her tail lashed dangerously from one side to the other for added emphasis.
Saelil's knuckles grew white as her fingers tightened around her staff. The nerve of this she-cat!
"Look calm your happy little asses down. Fighting with each other isn't going to work for me," said Scott.
"Scott..." said Kitty with a frown.
"No, save it. You girls can go home any time," he said before looking each of them in the eye. "In less than a week I have yet another life or death situation to deal with. It never changes for me. I'm not going to demand that you become best friends or something, but learn to get along."
"Beloved, this she-cat—" began Saelil.
Scott stared at her, his expression hard. "I don't have a problem with you girls being in conflict over one thing or another, but don't you dare use me as an excuse to bait each other."
She flinched at him as though she had been struck. Scott ignored her surprised and slightly frightened expression. Instead, he looked at all of the girls in turn. "Look, if you want to be with me, any of you, then just tell me that you're interested. I refuse to play favorites, though. If more than one of you says it, then you'll either need to give up on it, or learn to fucking share."
"Share?" asked Saelil, her eyes wide with surprise.
Kitty shrugged and said, "As long as you aren't leaving me out... again."
Everyone stared at Kitty for a moment. Wasn't she the one who caused the most trouble when a new girl popped up? Sure, it had only happened twice now, but that was the
precedent.
She made a soft mewling noise then shrugged. "What? I'm fine with sharing, I just don't want to be the other woman."
"That makes no sense," said Saelil.
"No, I think I get it," said Scott before he walked over and rubbed the top of Kitty's head.
"Do you?" she asked him, her ears perking slightly.
"Yeah. You're always going to want to be top cat, but I noticed how you were with Samantha. You—" said Scott only to stop for a moment. When he spoke again it was to ask, "You're more than a little into girls too, aren't you?"
The catgirl laughed softly then lashed her tail. "Honestly?"
"Yes, be honest," said Scott.
She smiled mischievously and said, "I tend to like girls a lot more than boys..." She leaned forward and sniffed at Scott's chin, but then turned to Samantha and said, "A lot more."
All eyes turned to Samantha. She sighed loudly then turned away so no one could see her face when she answered, "I just work here."
"Oh, don't be like that!" said Kitty with a pout before bounding over to Samantha. "We're gonna be really close friends, right?"
"Must we be?" asked Samantha with a tired sigh. Her eyes widened briefly, when Kitty gave her an overly affectionate hug. Slowly, she shook her head from side to side.
Scott chose that moment to interject. "Look, before you three get the idea that I'm just trying to score some sort of four-way or something, hear me out."
The girls looked at him then, each of their faces holding a different expression. Kitty was curious, and playful. Samantha's expression was flat, but with a hint of an amused smirk. Saelil looked quite disappointed in him.
"I'm literally the only one who has to go through any of this business. Each of you can go home at any time, if you want," began Scott. He saw that he had their attention and continued. "I'm not saying that you must hook up with me. I'm saying that too many arguments and fights over who gets the trophy aren't going to work for me."
He waved Kitty off when she started to say something. "Let me finish."
"What I am saying is that if you feel like hanging around, and don't mind sharing, I don't mind it either," he said. His words were met by a round of amused feminine snorts.
"If you just don't want to share, you can still hang out, but I won't be able to make exceptions. There's too much at stake to allow either my dick, or someone else's annoyance and anger, to cause problems."
Galactic Fist of Legend: Volume 2 Page 21