"Dear god, those things are just south of our home?" Triska cried out shaking her head.
"No wonder nobody ever came from that direction," Daniel said looking down to his book with concern. Specca looked at them worriedly and shook her head.
"But Alyssa is right, wild hornets don't leave their home forest where they build their nests. And they don't like to cross bodies of water, even rivers. Wild hornets don't like water. They won't be attacking your home, if anything they're serving as a natural blockade into your homeland," she reassured. Daniel and Triska looked at her with wonder then to each other.
"I never would have thought we were being protected by monsters," Triska said softly.
"How is that hard to believe, you're being protected by them now," Alyssa commented as she glanced to her. Triska shot her an annoyed glance while Daniel looked down in thought.
"Do you think they would be willing to listen to me like Squeak's race was?" he asked curiously. Alyssa looked at him and shook her head quickly.
"No way, Daniel, don't even consider it. The ant girls nearly raped you to begin with; it was only by a lucky chance you got to talk to their queen and an even luckier chance they listened to you. The wild hornets wouldn't listen to your words at all, you probably wouldn't even be able to form any cognitive thoughts while they have you drugged up and using you to breed with," she warned.
"She's right, Daniel, ant girls are very kind and caring with the men they take," Specca said looking to Squeak. The ant girl smiled at that before Specca looked back over to Daniel.
"But the wild hornets are completely different. They won't just use you to breed with, they'll literally rape you to death," she said worriedly.
"Ok, I vote no on the wild hornets then," Triska commented while shaking her head. Daniel nodded in agreement and looked up at the sky as a few clouds passed by overhead.
"I suppose you're right. Ok, we'll avoid them entirely while out here," he agreed softly.
"Don't worry, I'm sure there are plenty of other races that you can talk to, ones that aren't so wild and animalistic," Specca reassured hopefully. Daniel nodded then looked back over to her.
"Like who? Where do you think we should go first out here?" he asked. Everybody turned over to Specca as she looked down with a thoughtful expression.
"Yeah, you're our guide out here. So, guide us, where do we go from here?" Triska asked with a raised eyebrow. Specca glanced to her then down with a curious eye. After a pause she looked over to Triska's duffel bag.
"Well, do you have a map or anything in there?" she asked as she crawled over towards it. As she did everybody's eyes went wide while the nixie leaned over the bag curiously, her tail swaying gently behind her as it lifted up her skirt.
"What the hell?" Triska cried out before quickly diving over and tackling Specca to the ground and holding her down.
"What are you doing? Let me go!" Specca shouted as she squirmed around under the teen, her tail flailing around as Daniel looked up again at the sky with a blush.
"Why the hell aren't you wearing any underwear?" Triska yelled out. Specca stopped moving and glanced back up to her.
"What?" she asked.
"You're not wearing any underwear!" Triska cried out. Squeak and Alyssa looked over to see Daniel keeping his eyes on the sky above rather than on Specca who, when she leaned over to crawl towards the bag, revealed that she was in fact not wearing anything under her skirt. Even with her scales covering her lower body everybody could very easily make out the girl's private parts while her tail swayed above her.
"I never do, not all monsters wear clothing like humans do you know," Specca said shaking her head.
"You're wearing a shirt and tie along with glasses and a skirt, so why not any underwear?" Triska asked in disbelief.
"Because it's itchy," Specca complained. Everybody blinked and then just looked at her curiously; even Daniel who glanced over to her now that her private parts weren't visible.
"Itchy?" Triska repeated with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, I hate wearing clothing over my scales; they get dry and itchy then. I had to tolerate it while in Ashwood to hide my hands, but at least I didn't have to worry about my lower body being seen with that long skirt so I never wore any under it. It's so uncomfortable," Specca said looking back down. Daniel looked at the girl curiously, remembering how her hands always fidgeted in the library while she was talking to him. She must have been uncomfortable with the clothing covering her scales and was trying to remain quiet about it.
Specca looked back up to Triska as the human was showing a puzzled expression.
"And I wear glasses because I have to, not because I want to. I can't see clearly above land without them," she said with a downtrodden expression.
"You can't see… above land?" Alyssa asked curiously. Specca shook her head and looked over to her.
"No, my eyesight is very poor above land, just like all nixies. I can only see clearly while underwater. I need these glasses while on land or else everything is incredibly blurry to me," she explained while squirming slightly underneath Triska.
"You can only see clearly while in the water?" Daniel asked looking at the girl's glasses.
"Yes, to me being on land is like you being underwater, everything is blurry and clouded. But if I'm underwater I can see everything perfectly clear just as you can on land," Specca clarified.
"Well… ok, but… you can't just walk around here without any underwear, especially in front of Daniel," Triska said looking back over to Daniel.
"I wasn't walking, I was crawling. And he said I could be myself here without being judged, I'm just being who and what I am," Specca reasoned, looking towards him with worry. He stuttered something as Squeak and Alyssa looked over to him as well.
"Well… I did… say… um…" he stuttered nervously.
"You said I was perfect just the way I was, right, Daniel?" Specca asked hopefully. He opened his mouth to speak, glanced around to see the other girls watching him with expecting eyes, and then looked back to Specca. After a pause he nodded with a small smile.
"Yeah, you are, Specca. There’s nothing wrong with being who you are," he assured gently.
"She's walking around naked under her skirt, that's not alright," Triska argued shaking her head franticly.
"I was only crawling, I doubt you could even see anything when I'm standing upright," Specca whined. Daniel sighed and motioned for Triska to get off of the girl.
"Let her up, Triska, she has a point," he said gently.
"A point? How does she have a point to not wearing any underwear in front of you?" Triska asked with a bewildered expression.
"Because like she said, not all monsters wear clothing like humans do. I'm sure there are those out there that don't wear any at all, isn't that right?" Daniel asked, looking to Specca. She nodded while Squeak and Alyssa looked at each other worriedly.
"But…" Alyssa said looking to Daniel. He sighed and looked down.
"We're all out here to gather proof that monsters and humans can coexist peacefully, and that means tolerating differences between races. If nixies don't normally wear underwear then we can't discriminate them for that, like she mentioned it makes them feel uncomfortable. We have to respect their way of living," he reasoned. Triska looked at Specca with concern then slowly moved aside. Specca sat up and looked back to Daniel while her skirt covered her thighs, sitting on her legs while her tail swayed behind her.
"But… that's not…" Triska said shaking her head as she tried to think of what to say. Daniel looked at Specca then smiled weakly.
"However, that means that you need to respect our way of living too, and we don't normally… expose ourselves like that in public. I won't ask you to change your way of living, Specca, I want you to be comfortable and happy, just… be careful to keep yourself… decent," he said with a small laugh. Specca nodded and looked down with a blush.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause you all to feel uncomfortable," she said
softly. Triska looked at her with concern then over to Squeak and Alyssa, the two monster girls watching the nixie with a curious eye.
"It's alright, we just didn't know about nixies and their way of dressing. We're not angry with you, I promise," Daniel reassured gently. Specca nodded and glanced to Triska with worried eyes. Triska opened her mouth to protest, and then slowly looked down as she realized she couldn't fight Daniel's reasoning. After a moment she sighed in defeat.
"Yeah, it's alright. Sorry about… tackling you like that," she said looking back to her. Specca nodded then looked down again, holding a hand down on her skirt to keep it pressed against her legs. Alyssa looked at the nixie curiously then to Daniel.
"So, would it be alright if I stop wearing underwear too?" she asked innocently. The group looked to her as Daniel jumped in surprise.
"What?" he asked rather loudly.
"If she doesn't have to wear underwear then aren't I allowed to take mine off too?" Alyssa asked with a coy smile while batting her eyelashes at him. Triska growled loudly and reached back for her sword.
"No way, Alyssa, not a chance in hell!" she yelled out. Alyssa glanced to her with a dull expression then over towards the back of the cabin.
"Careful, Triska, there's no real opening in the back of this ride like my carriage had, I'd imagine you might feel a bit more discomfort flying through that tiny window compared to before," she cautioned, reaching over and grabbing hold of her staff. Triska growled loudly then looked over to Squeak, the ant girl looking up innocently while sitting down against the wall. She was blushing slightly while glancing to Daniel then back up again. Triska narrowed her eyes then glanced down to seeing a pair of dark underwear lying near the ant girl's abdomen.
"Squeak, put your underwear back on right now!" Triska yelled out. The group looked to Squeak as she shrugged with an innocent smile, squeaking once before looking over to Daniel with a timid smile. He looked down with a hand held over his eyes as Specca observed the girls nervously.
"I mean it, Squeak! You're not walking around like that in front of Daniel!" Triska yelled as she tackled the ant girl to the ground, the two rolling around in a struggle as the others merely watched. A few loud yells and squeaks were heard before Daniel sighed while keeping a hand over his eyes.
"Fine, crawling, whatever! You're not doing that without any underwear either!" Triska yelled out. Daniel shook his head slowly then reached down and grabbed Alyssa's hand without looking, the witch's hand having been moving towards her skirt.
"No," Daniel said simply. Alyssa looked at him with a pouty face then over to Triska and Squeak as they rolled around yelling and squeaking at each other. Specca watched them curiously for a moment then glanced down to her shirt.
'Probably shouldn't mention I'm not wearing a bra either.'
*****
As Lucky continued pulling the caravan along the dirt road things slowly settled down with the group. After Squeak had put back on her underwear, from much insistence by Daniel and even more loud and unruly insistence by Triska, things were quiet inside the cabin. Daniel was sitting in the front seat still with Alyssa, the witch holding the reins for Lucky while her staff was sitting upright next to her. Daniel was looking around at the expansive outerlands with a curious eye while the witch was looking down a bit with a slight amount of concern in her eyes. Inside the cabin Specca and Triska were looking at a map they had laid out on the floor of the caravan, the two marking spots on the map that Specca believed to be inhabited by peaceful monsters, or at least as peaceful as they could come. Unfortunately there were only three spots the nixie was aware of where these monsters were known to be in, and only one was remotely close. Next to them Squeak was looking at the map curiously, her antennae twitching a bit as she listened to the girls talking.
"What about here?" Triska asked pointing down at the map. Specca shook her head and looked at her with concern.
"No, I'm sorry but these three locations are the only ones I know of where we'll have the best of luck. And even they are gambles on whether or not they'll listen to Daniel," she pointed out.
"You're kidding me, even with Lucky we're still far off from the first one, and the other two are even further away. This is going to be a long trip," Triska groaned. The only monster race close by that Specca was aware of was a tribe of elves in a forest. However the forest was far to the east across the outerlands. It was a straight shot, but it would take a long time to reach regardless, and Specca had cautioned that they may encounter bandits and other less talkative monsters on the way.
Triska and Specca looked down at the map in thought while Daniel glanced over to Alyssa, the witch still looking down with a saddened expression while she was sitting next to him. She had been silent for a long time, something that he had noticed and was growing concerned with.
"Alyssa? Are you ok?" he asked gently. She looked down and away as the girls in back looked over to her.
"Hey, everything alright?" Triska asked. Daniel shrugged then gently rested his hand on the witch's shoulder.
"Alyssa, talk to me. What's wrong?" he asked. Alyssa glanced to him with remorse then looked down again.
"You… you do still want me with you right?" she asked softly. Daniel looked at her curiously as the other girls exchanged glances behind them.
"Of course, why would you think I didn't?" Daniel asked with concern. Alyssa breathed out then looked up at him with worried eyes.
"Because I might not be able to convince my kind to listen to you, or to coexist with mankind. If they know I'm the Wildfire Witch they'll never trust me or you," she remorsefully confessed. Daniel watched her with concern as she wiped a few tears away from her eyes.
"I didn't want you to ever find out I'm that witch, how I'm hated amongst my kind. I didn't want anybody to know I'm the curse of the witch world. I just wanted to stay by your side; I didn’t want you to think I couldn’t help. I still want to protect you, to be your guardian out here. I mean, I pretty much have to; Triska's worthless with her sword and Specca can't fight, so who else is going to protect you?" she said shaking her head.
"Hey!" Triska yelled out. Specca looked down with a worried expression while Squeak showed puzzlement and pointed to herself with a simple squeak.
"Alyssa, of course I still want you with us, that's never changed," Daniel reassured gently. Alyssa looked down with closed eyes as the caravan rocked a bit on the road, the witch holding onto the reins of the horse while her hands fidgeted slightly.
"With all this talk about who to go to first in asking for peace I keep thinking that I can't offer to go ask my own kind. I'm the worst representative for the witch race to have for this," she said with remorse. Triska opened her mouth to comment on that before Squeak quickly held a hand over the girl's mouth, shaking her head to stop the human from making the witch feel worse. Triska glanced to her then back ahead at Alyssa as the witch was trembling a bit.
"Alyssa, you're not the worst at all. In fact I'd say you're the best witch to have with us," Daniel reassured. Alyssa looked at him with a curious eye while she sniffled.
"The best? How could I be the best, I'm hated among witches everywhere if they know who I really am," she asked softly.
"Stop beating yourself up over that, you just made a mistake. It was an accident what happened to your home, Alyssa. You're a remarkable witch, to be the only one of your kind immune to fire and to be able to control it as well," he reasoned.
"But I can't control it, that's the problem! I just managed to put the fires out in Ashwood before I lost all control, another minute and that firestorm would have erupted out and scorched the entire city along with all of you," Alyssa said shaking her head.
"Wait, it would've what?" Triska asked with a jump. Daniel looked at the witch with a gentle smile and slowly held her cheek, the girl looking at him with timid eyes as she tried not to cry.
"But you did control it, Alyssa; you stopped it all on your own. All you need is practice and patience, and you'll be able t
o control your magic completely. I have faith in you, and what's more I feel a lot more confident being out here with the famous Wildfire Witch," he said with a smile.
"You do? But why?" Alyssa asked.
"Yeah, why?" Triska asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Because my guardian is capable of great power, I've seen it with my own eyes. Someone of that much talent is definitely someone I would want on my side," Daniel pointed out. Alyssa looked at him curiously as he nodded with a calm smile.
"You already have a name in the witches' world, Alyssa, all you need to do is turn that name into a positive one and then your race will surely listen to you," he assured.
"But how do I do that?" Alyssa asked.
"By being the good witch that I know you are. Turn your name into something others will look up to, not down upon. I'm proud to call you the Wildfire Witch, and you should be too," Daniel said with a smile. Alyssa looked at him with wonder then over to the other girls. Triska and Squeak glanced to each other and looked back to the witch as Specca smiled at her and nodded in agreement.
"He's right, Alyssa, you're already well-known in the monster world. Show them and your own race that you are a noble monster, that your magical ability can serve a great purpose in life. Truth be told, I too am more comfortable out here knowing you're with us. Even if the other witches of the world think of you as a curse, they still cannot deny you’re one of the more powerful witches in Eden," Specca said gently.
"Specca… thank you," Alyssa said softly before looking down with a small smile. Triska shrugged then looked back to the map.
"At least you can manage the campfires and help with the cooking," she commented. Alyssa narrowed her eyes at the girl and gripped her staff before Triska glanced back up to her with a smirk.
chronicles of eden - act I Page 54