The group looked at her puzzled as she tilted her head slightly one way then another, seeming to try to find the right spots for the antennae to touch one another. After a while she stopped and smiled confidently.
“Okay. Now, for the test,” she said before glancing to Daniel. “And to make sure you all know this is real you’re going to help. Ask her a question that only she could answer, something that I couldn’t know of.”
Squeak looked at her curiously then glanced over to Daniel as well, the boy watching the girls with a raised eyebrow before holding a hand to his chin.
“Um, alright,” he said before looking to Specca questionably. The nixie pondered what to say for a moment then looked at Squeak carefully.
“Squeak, who’s turn was it with Daniel last night?”
“Turn with Daniel?” Falla asked. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Exactly, you don’t know,” Specca said. “But she does. So, who’s turn was it?”
The ant girl squeaked a few times before everyone looked to Falla, the butterfly girl glancing to her then to Triska questionably.
“She said Triska,” she answered. The group stared at her with wide eyes from hearing that.
“No way,” Alyssa said softly.
Squeak squeaked softly while staring at Falla with wonder, the butterfly girl looking back to her with a dull expression.
“No, I’m not using magic. I don’t know how to use magic,” she said flatly.
The group watched with disbelief as Squeak tried squeaking at Falla again, with the butterfly girl just shaking her head slightly while keeping their antennae touching.
“Seriously, you still think this is a trick? How am I tricking you right now?”
“I don’t believe it,” Specca said softly.
“She’s… she’s talking to Squeak like it’s nothing,” Triska said with disbelief.
“How?” Daniel asked.
Falla glanced to him with a raised eyebrow.
“Before I tell you that, what’s this about taking turns with these girls? You are fucking them every night, aren’t you? I knew it, you have some nerve, doing it with them but not with me, and after you promised me too!”
Daniel jumped a bit then shook his head while waving his hands in front of him.
“What? No, no we’re not doing anything like that, it’s… well… it’s complicated, but that’s none of your business.”
Falla looked at him with a harsh glance then at Squeak.
“What’s he blabbering about?” Squeak started squeaking at her while the group watched with wonder, seeing Falla appearing to actually listen to Squeak and understand her. “Taking turns just sleeping next to him? That’s it? Why?”
“She’s really talking with her,” Triska said in wonder as Squeak continued to speak to Falla with her squeaks. After a while Falla glanced to Daniel questionably.
“So he can pick one of you?” she questioned. “That’s stupid. Why don’t you all just have sex with him, problem solved then.”
Squeak shook her head and started squeaking again, with Falla this time looking to her then up at their antennae as they broke contact.
“Whoa, hold on, sit still. I can’t talk to you like this,” she ordered as she tried to move her head around again. Specca glanced to the antennae then looked at Falla with wonder.
“Oh my word, that’s it, that’s how she’s doing it,” she speculated while pointing to them. Squeak stopped and glanced to her while Falla repositioned herself so their antennae touched again. “She’s touching Squeak’s antennae with her own. That’s allowing her to understand Squeak.”
Falla smirked and nodded a bit as the group looked to her curiously.
“Of course, we are insect class monsters,” she boasted. “We can use these to communicate with one another should we so choose.”
Squeak started squeaking again, with Falla then looking to her before laughing a bit.
“Well, as a matter of fact, I could read your mind by doing this,” she replied arrogantly. “But only if you think hard enough. Seriously, don’t strain yourself. At the very least, when we’re touching like this anything we say is relayed through our antennae right to our brains, sort of like a universal translator.”
Squeak blinked then glanced to Daniel, the boy just watching with awe as Falla was able to perfectly understand the ant girl.
“I don’t believe it, she can really understand her,” Alyssa said while watching Falla closely.
“I told you I could,” Falla said before holding her hands out to the side. “Now would you mind? I’m not going anywhere after all.”
Alyssa narrowed her eyes at the girl then glanced to Triska, the teen watching Falla carefully before breathing out slowly in discontent.
“Fine, untie her,” Triska said. “But if you try anything with Daniel, so help me, Falla…”
“I’m not trying anything with anyone,” Falla replied innocently. “I’m being a good girl here.”
Alyssa held in her scoff then waved her hand around, causing the ribbons around Falla’s wrists to unravel and drop onto the floor. Falla rubbed her wrists then gently held her hands to Squeak’s head, holding the ant girl in place while glancing to Daniel with a smirk.
“There. Now then, what would you want to talk about with her?”
Chapter 9
Mutual Benefit
In the world of Eden, sometimes one may need help with a difficult or daunting task. They may require another’s expertise, bravery, fortitude, knowledge, or perhaps even their trust in order to complete their goal. When traveling through The Outerlands however finding help isn’t always an easy thing. Often times one may have to rely on strangers or those that appear deceitful, having no other choice but to trust them to help. Of course, a way of smoothing over any trust issues was to help with a problem they had in return, to offer your own skills or knowledge in exchange for theirs. Although this didn’t guarantee the second party would make good on their word, sometimes it was enough to form a temporary alliance with them.
And sometimes, in doing so, their goals may even become the same.
*****
Inside the caravan Daniel and Specca were trying to think of what to say, along with Triska and Alyssa who were sitting up front in the driver’s seat of the ride. Everyone was watching as Falla was kneeling down in front of Squeak, the butterfly girl gently holding the ant girl’s head still while their antennae were touching. Although the group was skeptical of Falla’s story about Luna and a human child missing together, they at least knew she wasn’t lying when she claimed that she could understand Squeak, which she proved by literally translating for the ant girl before their very eyes. With Falla offering to act as a mediatory between herself and Squeak the group wondered what questions to ask now that they could actually communicate with the ant girl.
“I’m not sure what to say,” Triska spoke up. “Anyone else have any ideas?”
“I’m not sure either,” Specca said with a shrug. “To be honest I never thought of what to actually ask her once we overcame the language barrier between us.”
“Well, let’s start with something simple,” Alyssa reasoned. “Squeak, how old are you?”
Falla glanced to her with a raised eyebrow while Squeak just watched her since she couldn’t turn her head to look at her friends.
“Really?” Falla asked dryly. “You can talk to her about anything, and you’re just wondering how old she is?”
Alyssa shrugged while the others just remained silent. Falla rolled her eyes then looked at Squeak, the ant girl squeaking at her before the butterfly girl glanced back over to Alyssa.
“She says she’s twenty years old. Anything else? Maybe her boot size?”
Alyssa glared at her while Daniel looked down with a thoughtful expression.
“I have a question for her,” he spoke up. “Squeak, what was life like for you back in your nest?”
Squeak glanced to him then looked up thoughtfully while Falla waited for her a
nswer. After a moment she started squeaking something while the group watched curiously, with Falla just staring at the ant girl as Squeak continued to squeak again and again. After a while she finally stopped, with Falla looking at her for a moment before glancing over to Daniel.
“She says life was life for her. She worked in the tunnels, she slept with her sisters, she raped men for her queen, nothing special,” she said, with Daniel and the girls looking at Squeak with surprise from that. The ant girl jumped a bit then started squeaking quickly at Falla, the butterfly girl glancing to her with a raised eyebrow.
“Raping men, testing a man’s sexual prowess, is there a difference?”
Squeak opened her mouth to squeak then looked down nervously. She bit her lip then glanced to Daniel, the boy then smiling weakly at her and shaking his head.
“It’s okay Squeak,” he reassured her. “We all know you… had your job back at your nest, you were just following your nature and your orders from your queen.”
Squeak nodded slowly and looked down with remorse while the others watched her with sympathetic eyes. Triska looked down for a moment then to Squeak with a small smile.
“Say, Squeak, did you ever do anything else back home? You know, for fun?”
“She had sex with men every day, that doesn’t count?” Falla said dryly.
Squeak huffed then squeaked at her sternly, the group watching as Falla just stared at the ant girl who was squeaking over and over again at her. After Squeak finished talking Falla just shook her head slightly.
“That’s the same thing,” she argued. Squeak put her hands at her hips and squeaked with a stern expression before Falla rolled her eyes. “Masturbating counts the same as having sex.”
Squeak looked at her curiously then glanced to Specca, the nixie nodding slowly while the group watched Squeak with troubled expressions.
“Um, I believe she has a point,” Specca agreed. “Pleasuring yourself would fall into the same category as having sex with men.”
Squeak blinked then looked up thoughtfully to that.
“Wasn’t there anything else you did back home?” Daniel asked with concern.
Squeak thought for a while then looked down with remorse, shaking her head slowly.
“So sleeping, eating, digging, and having sex, that was your entire life?” Triska asked with wonder. Squeak nodded once before squeaking some more and closing her eyes. Falla listened to her then glanced to Daniel.
“She says that was all she knew.”
Daniel looked at Squeak with a mixture of wonder and concern, stunned to hear that the only thing Squeak grew up doing was digging and having sex with men. She literally had nothing else in her life to do, nothing else that she thought she could do.
“Oh, Squeak. I’m sorry.”
Squeak shook her head and started squeaking again, with Falla listening to her while the group watched curiously. After the speech was done Falla glanced to Daniel with a blank expression.
“She says don’t be sorry,” she relayed. “It wasn’t a bad life, she was treated very well by her family, but she enjoys being out in the world with you much more. She just hopes that you won’t see her any differently now knowing she was a whore.”
Squeak jumped with a squeak then slapped Falla with a scowl on her face, the butterfly girl recoiling before growling at the ant girl with annoyance.
“What? You were, I’m just paraphrasing.”
Squeak shook her head then grabbed Falla’s and held her close so their antennae touched again, the ant girl then squeaking sternly while Falla was trying to get the strong girl to ease up with holding her head.
“Fine, she meant knowing she was just an innocent tester for her royal que- oh c’mon, innocent? You were fucking men every day, how does that make you innocent?” Falla barked out while trying to get the ant girl to loosen her grip, with Squeak shaking her head and squeaking more while applying pressure with her hands. Daniel and the others watched with weak expressions as Falla and Squeak began arguing back and forth, with Falla speaking normal words while Squeak merely squeaked hers.
“Ow! Knock it off, I’m just telling them the truth!”
Squeak shook the girl’s head while squeaking at her with frustration.
“It’s the truth whether you want to admit it or not. If you were fucking men every day for your whole life then you really fucked a lot- OW! Let go, you’re hurting me!” Falla shouted out as she tried to pry the ant girl’s hands off of her head. Squeak kept squeaking frantically at her while tears were forming in her eyes, with Daniel and Specca watching with concern as the ant girl was starting to break down.
“Don’t get mad at me just because you were doing what monsters do!” Falla yelled out with a cringe. “There’s nothing to be ashamed about- OWWW! Stop it, you’re crushing my head!”
Squeak threw her back then held herself while looking down with watery eyes, squeaking and shaking her head while Falla groaned while holding her own head which was aching. Squeak looked to Daniel for a moment then quickly curled up into her ball, hiding her face as she trembled while crying and squeaking to herself. Daniel and Specca looked at her with remorse then to the others, with Alyssa and Triska watching Squeak with concern as they saw how upset their friend was. Alyssa looked back ahead and helped turn Lucky onto the right path at a crossroads then looked down with a sigh, knowing how Squeak felt about having a history with using men against their will. Triska went back into the cabin and sat next to Squeak, gently brushing a hand through the ant girl’s hair while watching her with sympathetic eyes. Falla growled then sat up while rubbing her head, glaring at Squeak with a scowl on her face.
“What the hell was that for? I was just telling them what you told me!”
Squeak shook her head while hiding in her ball, the sounds of her squeaking and sobbing causing her friends to look at her with concern.
“Squeak, its okay,” Triska gently said.
“She’s right,” Specca assured. “We’ve always known you… well, had your role back in your nest for your queen. We don’t hold that against you.”
Squeak shuddered with a loud squeak, with Triska watching her friend with gentle eyes before looking to Daniel. The boy slowly moved forward and rested his hand on the ant girl’s shoulder, with her peeking up to him with watery eyes.
“Squeak,” he said gently. “I don’t think any differently of you, none of us do. You were following your nature, doing what all ant girls do to survive. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Squeak shook her head and squeaked at him desperately, with the boy seeing her pained expression as tears dropped from her cheeks. She then stopped as she realized that her words were not getting through to him anymore then looked to Falla, the butterfly girl watching her with annoyance while rubbing the back of her neck.
“That’s what I get for trying to be nice for you,” she muttered. “Nearly getting my head crushed like a fruit.”
Squeak quickly scrambled towards her before Falla grabbed her shoulders and held her back while leaning away from the girl.
“No way, I’m done being your communicator for them. Not again.” Squeak held her hands together with a pleading expression and squeaked at her, with Falla crossing her arms and shaking her head. “I don’t want to hear it. You nearly broke my neck and skull a few seconds ago after I merely told them what you told me to say.”
Squeak clung to the butterfly girl and squeaked while burying her face in her bosom, with Falla looking over her head with a dull expression as the ant girl squeaked into her breasts while crying still.
“Please, Falla, she wants to say something to us,” Daniel said with concern.
“I know she does,” Falla grunted as she tried to push Squeak off of her. “But last time I told you all what she said somebody tried to squash my head with her bare hands!”
The ant girl leaned back and looked at her with worried eyes then down while slowly letting go of the butterfly.
“Come on,” Triska said g
esturing to Squeak. “She’s sorry. Please let her speak again, this is important.”
Falla rolled her eyes and looked away while Squeak watched her worriedly. After a moment Falla glanced to Squeak with a grunt.
“If I do this for you, you owe me, got it?” Squeak nodded quickly with a few squeaks. Falla hesitated then moved towards her and held onto her head. “Your hands stay down. If they come up again we’re done.”
Squeak hastily put her hands back down on the floor next to her knees and nodded, with Falla then leaning closer and touching their antennae together. The group watched as Squeak started squeaking at the butterfly girl, with Falla just listening with discontent. After the ant girl finished her speech Falla glanced to Daniel who listened with anticipation.
“She says she’s afraid you won’t see her as anything more than a whore now,” Falla relayed. “That you won’t even give her a chance like you do with the others.”
Squeak glanced to Daniel as the boy shook his head with a worried smile at her.
“Squeak, this doesn’t change anything between us, I promise,” he assured her. “I know you had your duties to your queen, and that… well, you’re certainly more experienced with sex than I am by far, but I don’t think any differently of you for following your nature. You were just doing what you had to for your nest, the only thing you knew how to do. You can’t be blamed for that.”
Squeak started squeaking again while glancing at him with watery eyes, the group watching as the ant girl said something else before Falla looked down with a blank expression.
“She says if you choose her she’ll only have sex with you from now on, even if her queen doesn’t allow it. She only wants to be with you, nobody else, now that she knows what real love feels like.”
Daniel looked at Squeak curiously as the ant girl showed him a saddened smile, the boy then smiling a bit and shaking his head slightly.
“Squeak, I appreciate that thought, but-” he said before Squeak continued again, with Falla looking down with no interest for a while before snapping up to stare at her with surprise. After the ant girl finished she looked to Falla, waiting for her to translate, with the butterfly girl just watching her with wide eyes.
Chronicles of Eden - Act III Page 27