“Hee hee, I just can,” Pip giggled before she flew down and nestled herself in between Cindy’s breasts. “Boobies! Yay!”
“What are you doing?” Cindy wondered.
“Pip likes breasts,” Kroanette explained with a smirk. “It appears she likes yours too. That means she likes you.”
“She does?”
Pip hopped about merrily then smiled happily up at Cindy before Specca screamed and gained everyone’s attention.
“Pip, get out of there!” the nixie desperately implored. “If she chooses to devour you she’ll absorb you right away! You’re surrounded by her sand!”
“Sand?” Pip repeated.
“She’s a sand wraith! She’ll eat you if you don’t get out of there, her body will swallow you whole!”
Pip slowly looked back up to Cindy who was still watching the tiny monster with a curious expression.
“You’re not going to eat me, are you?” Pip nervously asked.
“Thinking about it,” Cindy replied, with Pip turning pale from that. Triska gripped her sword’s handle before Daniel held a hand out to stop her and stepped closer to Cindy.
“Cindy, please don’t eat her,” he gently requested. “She likes you. We like you. Don’t throw that all away by hurting her. I know your mother said you need to eat everyone you meet out here, but that’s not true. You don’t have to eat us.”
“Yes I do,” Cindy softly spoke as her breasts shifted to sand. Pip screamed as she struggled to pull herself free, her body being slowly pulled into the wraith’s, while the group tensed up at seeing the fairy sinking into the sand.
“Don’t you dare!” Triska yelled as she unsheathed her blade with a ring.
“Pip!” Luna cried out.
“Don’t eat her!” Specca pleaded.
Cindy stared at Triska’s sword which had flames searing off the steel with fright before Daniel quickly held the wraith from behind and shook his head.
“Triska, don’t!” he yelled at the teen.
“But, Daniel, she’s-”
“I said stop!” Daniel ordered, with all the girls looking at him in surprise. “Everyone, stop right now!”
Leaning against the archway to the bedroom Clover was watching the scene with an eyebrow raised in question, the elf once again dressed for the day and growing very curious how Daniel would handle this particular situation.
“C’mon, Dan,” she quietly voiced. “Work your magic like I know you can.”
“Cindy, please,” Daniel gently said, with the wraith glancing back to him worriedly. “You said you wanted to be a good girl. If you kill Pip you’ll be a bad girl.”
“A bad girl?”
“She wants to be your friend. We all do. You may be a sand wraith but you’re not evil, you’re not bad just because of what you are. I want to help you, Cindy. I want to help you, your mother, and all of your kind.”
“Help us with what?” she asked looking back to him in wonder.
“Help you not become bad girls in this world,” he said with a kind smile. “Lots of people hate sand wraiths, Cindy. They fear, despise, and curse you, all because you eat others.”
“But we’re not doing anything wrong,” Cindy whined. “We’re just eating. You eat stuff too. Why can’t we eat stuff when you can? That’s not fair.”
“You eat everyone,” Daniel solemnly replied. “That’s why it’s wrong. Look at Pip. She wants to be your friend. She likes you. Why would you want to kill her for that?”
Cindy looked down to Pip who was watching her with a nervous smile, the tiny fairy still struggling to free her arms and wings to which she wasn’t able to.
“I brought you in here with us to talk to you, Cindy,” Daniel continued, getting the wraith’s attention once more. “I want you to be a good girl, just like you say you do. I want you not to be feared or hated in this world. And I don’t want you to be alone.”
“Alone?” Cindy worriedly repeated.
“If you keep killing everyone you meet, you’ll be alone in the world, Cindy. Nobody will like you, nobody will want to play with you, and nobody will be around to help you when you need it. I don’t want you to be alone. I don’t want you to be hated. I don’t want your kind and ours to be enemies. Please, you seem like such a kindhearted girl, I know you’re not evil, you can’t be. I’m kindly asking you, don’t eat Pip. She wants to be your friend, and so do I.”
“Please, Cindy,” Kroanette implored as she stepped forth. “Until we met you we believed all sand wraiths to be nothing but evil in this world. That your kind were heartless, merciless monsters that killed everyone you met without remorse. But we honestly can’t see that with you.”
“You have a heart,” Doku insisted. “We’ve seen it. Don’t hurt her. You’re not a bad girl. You wouldn’t do something as cruel as harm her, would you?”
“I don’t want to hurt you,” Triska mentioned. “I don’t. I would much rather if we could become friends or at least part ways on good terms. I’m asking you, please, don’t make me use this.”
“But… I…” Cindy stuttered as she watched Pip begin to cry. “No… don’t cry. Please don’t cry.”
Everyone remained quiet as Daniel let go of Cindy, the wraith slowly dropping to her knees as she began to weep with the fairy.
“Please don’t cry. I don’t like it when others cry.”
“But you’re going to eat me,” Pip wept. “I don’t want to be eaten. I don’t. Please let me go.”
“If you don’t like it when others cry, then don’t make them cry,” Specca lectured. “Cindy, she’s afraid and sad because of what you’re doing to her. Can’t you see that?”
“I’m only going to eat her,” Cindy whined. “I just want to eat her. I have to.”
“No you don’t,” Daniel insisted. Cindy looked up to him with watery eyes as he smiled gently down at her. “Cindy, you don’t need to follow your inner nature so blindly. Your mother was wrong. You don’t need to eat everyone you meet. You don’t need to eat anyone if you don’t want to. You can choose for yourself what you want to do with your life. If you want to be a good girl, if you want others to be happy and not cry, then you need to realize that killing others is bad and stop yourself from hurting them. You need to control your inner nature.”
“Killing others is bad?” Cindy repeated as she looked back down to Pip. “But… I… she…”
“Please let me go,” Pip whimpered.
“Don’t cry, don’t cry anymore,” Cindy begged. After struggling with her inner conflict the wraith shook her head then to everyone’s surprise pulled Pip out of her chest and smiled worriedly at her. “Don’t cry. I won’t eat you, okay? See? I’m not going to eat you now. So please don’t be sad.”
“You mean it?”
“I’m a good girl,” Cindy sniveled before she broke down sobbing. “I’m a good girl! I want to be a good girl! I don’t want to be a bad girl! I don’t! Waaaaaaah!”
“I don’t believe it,” Specca marveled while slowly adjusting her glasses. “She let her go. She didn’t want to hurt her.”
Cindy cried on the ground while rubbing her eyes, her voice echoing inside the large courtroom while everyone watched the wraith with amazement at her refusal to harm Pip. The girl sobbed and shook her head before noticing Triska watching her in wonder with her flaming sword held down at her the side. Triska glanced to the blade then smiled a little and sheathed it with a click at her hip, the sword letting out one last wisp of smoke before its dark aura subsided inside the scabbard.
“Thank you, Cindy,” Triska kindly praised.
“You’re still a meanie and I don’t like you!” Cindy retorted before sticking her tongue out at the surprised girl then quickly scrambling onto her feet to once again cling to Daniel’s chest and hide her face. Daniel held the girl with a weak smile and shrugged while Triska sighed and shook her head at the sight.
“Again, I’m not the bad guy here,” Triska flatly remarked.
“How come she keeps
clinging to Daniel like that?” Falla inquired.
“She always goes straight to him for safety,” Kroanette mused. “I wonder why.”
“Because he’s protecting her,” Doku reasoned.
“Protecting her?” Daniel questioned. “What am I protecting her from?”
“Well,” Doku hesitantly replied before turning her gaze towards Triska. “I believe she sees you as her protection from… Triska.”
“Me?” Triska exclaimed. “Wait, what are you talking about? I’m not doing anything bad to her.”
“You have a sword that creates fire,” Doku pointed out. “And… I believe your loud nature is rather frightening to her. Cindy likely finds comfort being near the one who is able to stop you.”
“I don’t have a loud nature!” Triska yelled at her.
“EEP!” Doku squeaked before cowering near the floor with her wings covering her face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you! It was just my guess, honest!”
“Seriously, I’m not the bad guy here!” Triska cried out in disbelief. Looking around she saw the others just watching her with blank expressions while Cindy was trembling with a nervous glance back towards the teen.
“You’re not agreeing with her, are you?” Triska demanded loudly. “I’m not like that at all!”
“You really are not defending your case very well, Triska,” Specca commented shaking her head.
“Notice how both Cindy and Doku are cowering from you?” Kroanette mentioned crossing her arms.
“Luna too,” Falla added as she looked back to her sister who was hiding behind her wings.
Triska stammered some form of defense before seeing Star carefully stepping away from her towards the others with a nervous frown.
“Oh, c’mon,” Triska whined. “I’m not scary. Am I?”
As if in response to that question Star then warped behind Squeak and peeked out from behind her shoulder, the jinx and ant girl exchanging silent looks with each other before watching Triska as she tiredly held a hand to her head.
“Daniel?” Triska asked with genuine concern. “I’m not that loud… am I?”
Daniel remained quiet as all the girls turned their focus to him, with Cindy peeking up at him while holding onto his vest closely. After a long pause that Triska slightly cringed from Daniel smiled weakly at Cindy and patted her head to help the wraith feel more relaxed.
“Anyway, I’m proud of you, Cindy,” he gently said to her.
“Proud of me? What for?”
“You didn’t hurt Pip. You could have, you could have eaten her up and we wouldn’t have been able to stop you, but you chose to let her live. You were a kindhearted girl, just like I had faith you could be.”
“I did good?” Cindy asked with bright eyes.
“Very good,” Daniel praised, with Cindy giggling and wiggling her chest as Daniel patted her head. “Thank you, Cindy, for showing your heart.”
“I’m quite glad as well,” Doku spoke up as she walked closer to them, with Cindy looking at the harpy curiously while still holding onto Daniel’s chest. “Allow me to properly introduce myself, Cindy. My name is Doku, and I’m very happy to see my husband was able to help you see how to be a truly good girl in this world.”
“He’s not your husband!” Triska yelled out. “For crying out loud, how many times do we have to tell you this?”
Cindy and Doku both clung to Daniel and trembled nervously while the other girls turned their dull stares onto Triska, the teen seeing all the looks she was getting before slapping a hand over her mouth. Daniel sighed and shook his head as held the two frightened girls close before raising an eyebrow at Triska.
“You and I need to have a talk later, Triska,” he told her in a knowing tone.
“Sorry,” she nervously said. “I really am.”
“You’re going to be,” Daniel replied with a smirk before smiling weakly at the two girls holding onto him, both of which were still shaking in fear and hiding their faces in his shoulders. Triska blushed and looked away with a timid smile from hearing her mate’s playful warning while Daniel gently held the sand wraith and harpy, the two girls slowly calming down and looking up to him.
“Cindy, you like to eat, right?”
“Uh huh,” Cindy answered with a big nod.
“Well, did you know that Doku here is an amazing cook?”
“I am?” Doku bashfully asked with a deep blush. “Do you mean that?”
“What’s an amazing cook?” Cindy wondered.
“She is,” Luna said pointing to the shy harpy. “She makes such yummy food for us every day.”
“You make food?” Cindy gasped looking over to Doku in surprise. “Wow, what does that mean?”
“Um, well,” Doku stammered while again hiding her face in Daniel’s shoulder. “I mean… I try. I suppose I can make a few things… that aren’t terrible.”
“If you like food so much, you’re going to love her,” Daniel promised, with Doku shaking a little with a timid smile. “I think everyone here will agree that she can make a wonderful meal out of anything.”
“I can?” Doku breathed out as her legs wobbled a little. “You… really think so, Daniel?”
“She’s the finest chef we have,” Kroanette proudly agreed.
“What’s a chef?” Cindy asked.
“She makes the most delicious meals,” Specca commented.
“What’s a delicious meal?”
“It’s a… um…” Falla started before everyone noticed the confused look in Cindy’s eye.
“Cindy?” Daniel wondered. “What’s wrong?”
“Do you know what any of that means?” Alyssa quizzed. “Cooking, meals, any of it?”
Cindy shook her head with puzzlement, the group turning to each other in question then back to her as Daniel and Doku stepped away from the wraith.
“Cindy, do sand wraiths eat normal food?” Triska carefully inquired.
“Normal food?” Cindy repeated. “What’s normal food? I thought there was just food. Is there another kind of food?”
“Like fish,” Specca explained. “Or vegetables, or eggs, or bread, or cheese, or anything. You must know what food is, right?”
“I sure do,” Cindy giggled before pointing to her. “You’re food.”
“No, I’m not. We’re talking about normal food, things that… oh my word. You’ve never eaten anything besides other people before, have you?”
Cindy again shook her head with a confused look on her face.
“You’ve never eaten anything else?” Kroanette asked.
“Nope. Never.”
“Does nothing else taste good to sand wraiths?” Daniel worried. “Can you really only eat… other people?”
“Taste?” Cindy repeated while tilting her head in question. “What’s taste?”
Squeak waved her hand around near her mouth and squeaked a few times at the wraith, with Cindy watching her in puzzlement the entire time.
“I don’t understand you. Speak with words, please.”
Star meowed and gestured with her hands something that nobody could comprehend while mewing at Cindy, earning the same perplexed look from the wraith.
“I have no idea what you’re saying.”
Squeak and Star slumped down with dull expressions before Alyssa stepped closer to Cindy along with Specca.
“She’s never actually eaten anything with her mouth before,” Alyssa realized. “She has no idea what we’re talking about.”
“I suppose that could be true,” Specca theorized. “Sand wraiths absorb all their victims, they don’t actually eat them with their mouths. It’s possible they don’t eat normal food at all.”
“You’ve never had a bite of anything before?” Kroanette asked curiously.
“A bite? Of what?” Cindy replied.
“Doku,” Daniel spoke up with a growing smile. “Do you think you could help us by showing Cindy what normal food is like? Maybe we can show her something that would be better than absorbing o
thers into her being.”
“Well, I suppose I could try,” Doku bashfully said as she lowered her head to hide her blush. “I mean if it would help you with forming relations with the sand wraiths, I’ll do my best. Oh dear, um… what should I make for her?”
“It doesn’t have to be anything extravagant,” Daniel assured with a wave of his hand. “Just a little something to feed our new friend here, and to show her how else she can eat in this world.”
“Alright, Daniel. I’ll do my best for you. I’ll prepare a small meal for Cindy right away.”
*****
“Doku!” Triska cried out. “This isn’t a small meal!”
Standing inside the archway to the dining hall Daniel and the girls were staring with wide eyes and lowered jaws at seeing dozens of dishes and platters set out on the long table with freshly prepared meals of various palates. Roasted chicken breasts, mutton chops with gravy, neatly chopped salad with dressing, sliced bread rolls with dipping sauces, fruits and vegetables set in several platters, glasses of both ice water and flavored juice set for each member, napkins which were neatly folded for display atop everyone’s plate, and tall candles that were lined across the table and lit to provide a soothing atmosphere for the meal. There were also a few smaller dishes with chocolate, cookies, and bowls of pudding that awaited the stunned group who were taken aback by the harpy’s overzealous efforts.
“There’s so much food!” Luna shouted in amazement.
“That looks incredible,” Kroanette applauded. “Simply amazing how she pulled all this together.”
“How?” Specca shakily asked. “We… we only left her in here for a short time. How… did she do all this so quickly?”
“We just parked the carriage and Lucky to the side of the road,” Alyssa slowly mentioned pointing behind them. “And then we finished introducing ourselves to Cindy, and then… came in here. We couldn’t have left her alone for that long.”
“Is she using magic like you can, Alyssa?” Falla asked. “Because she always seems to make this stuff out of thin air. It’s kind of hard to believe.”
“This is a bit more than I expected her to make,” Daniel nervously commented while rubbing the back of his neck.
Act IX Page 9