Dark Travelers Ch. 11

Sway twirled a fiery red strand of hair around a slender finger and appeared thoughtful. It was obvious that Anya was not aware of the younger creature's interest in her sibling. There'd been no mention of any rape suffered when Anya was regaling her tale. Very interesting indeed.

The captain recalled the incident she'd witnessed in the bath house and debated whether or not she ought to tell the elder sister. Deciding it was Andi Brat's right to tell or not,

Sway finally shrugged and offered Anya a small smile. "I never seen creatures like them. Do'ee think there be a lot of em?"

"I-I don't know. I certainly hope not."

"Because," Sway went on, "We might be in fer a bit o' trouble if there are. Cause from what I be seein', they're a tough lot. The big fella be smart, too. And they smell of wicked. Smart and wicked don't always make fer a good combo. Do'ee know what I mean?"

Anya nodded slowly, "I do."

"I like ye, Anya. And Andi Brat. Watch yerselves. 'Specially Andi Brat. The youngun be fixin' on her."

Little arrows of fear began to stab at Anya. Sway hadn't actually said anything that she'd already suspected, but to hear it voiced out loud was entirely different.

"What do you propose that I do? I cannot protect her. They are much stronger than I."

"I thought ye were a witch?"

The elder sister shrugged again, "According to the wizard I am. I don't feel like one, though. He says I am untrained and weak."

"Do'ee suppose that's a smart route? If it were me, I'd get meself trained and witchy right quick. Might be a good idea, hm?"

This was the third person who had offered her the same opinion. Perhaps she should take Horace up on his offer. Anya wrapped her arms around herself with worry. Witches were evil; or so she'd always heard.

"What if it changes me into something I don't want to be?"

Sway waved her hand and snorted in derision. "Only if'ee let it, Anya. Ye don't seem t'be one who'd allow something like that to happen. Yer stronger than ye think."

Anya's posture drooped a bit, "I'm not."

"Oh balls!" Sway suddenly railed, expression twisted in anger. She slammed one fist on an end table, making it shudder and creak, "Ye've come all the way from GlenShadow with them two. Ye've not only survived, but ye've kept both of yerselves intact fer the most part. Give yerself some credit fer fuck's sake! Gah!"

The elder sister stared, surprised at the captain's sudden rage. Gradually, Sway's features smoothed out, but her green eyes were still a bit wild and shot sparks.

Anya found that she was just a little bit wary around this woman; it was suddenly all to easy for her to imagine Sway lunging forward and tearing her throat out with her teeth.

A soft knock on the door startled them both. Sway craned her neck towards the entrance and narrowed her eyes again. "Who is it?!"

"It's Ree, Sway. Can I come in? Please?" A tiny, uncertain voice answered.

Sway visibly relaxed and smiled. "Aye, little un'! Come in!"

Anya watched the door ease open and a small girl gingerly poked her head in. The little girl gave her a timid glance, smiled briefly at Sway, then caught sight of the puppy napping contentedly in the corner.

Ree edged the rest of the way in and stood there shuffling her feet. She tossed another longing glance at Tots but made no move towards him.

"Whatchee want, Ree?" Sway asked kindly.

"Uhm...I was just wanting to maybe pet that little dog? If that's alright?" She replied.

Anya was surprised at the appearance of a child. "Is she yours?" She asked Sway.

The captain shrugged easily, "She is now. And I dunno, Ree. Ye have t'ask Anya, here. Tis her puppy."

Ree turned her attention to Anya and swallowed nervously. This lady looked pretty nice, even if she was friends with a monster. But Evan had told her that the dark-haired sister was a witch. The wizard had told him so. Witches were usually mean, weren't they?

"He's actually not mine, Sweet," Anya began. "He belongs to my sister. I don't think she'd mind if you wanted to play with him, though."

"Oh, really?" Ree answered happily. "I've never had a puppy before. What's his name?"

"Taters. Andi also calls him Tots, sometimes."

The little girl decided that Evan had been fibbing to her about the witch thing. This lady was far too nice. Clicking her tongue softly, she called out to the puppy. "Here Taters! Come see Ree!"

Tots' head popped up and he began to automatically wag his tail. Trotting over, he sniffed at Ree eagerly. This was another girl like his Girl, only younger. The puppy had never seen her before and was puzzled that she knew his name. Her scent around this place was strong, though. Taters decided that this strange water-house must be this young girl's home.

Ree giggled as the puppy sniffed her. After several enthusiastic head-pats, she tossed Anya another glance. "Can I maybe take him to my room to play for a little while? I'll be extra careful. I promise."

"Where is your room so I can find you later?"

Ree scooped Taters up and giggled as he covered her cheek in kisses, "It's down in the crew's quarters. Next to the room you took a nap in. On the right. Thank you, lady. I promise to look after him."

Quickly, as if she was afraid Anya might change her mind, the little girl scuttled out the door and out of sight. Anya stared after her, bemused.

"Speakin' of, a nap sound nice right about now. I think I'mma have me one. Do'ee mind, Anya? I grant ye permission t'explore me ship if'ee want." Sway said, yawning.

"No, I don't mind. Go ahead and sleep. I'll keep myself occupied."

"Some advice; I'd go an' talk to the wizard about maybe learnin' some o' the magicks. While the creatures are resting. Mayhaps it'd be in your best interest, ye know. Now shoo!" Sway flapped her hand at Anya and winked.

****

Evan stalked the wily violet beast. It was a bold move, but he was Evan The Mighty. He feared nothing.

At first, he'd thought the creature would be in that room for a long time. The child knew that the blonde girl was in there. He'd seen her go in with Sway and she hadn't been with the group when Sway and the witch had come back out. He also knew that the beast liked the blonde girl. Why else would he have been holding her hand as they boarded ship?

Gross, he thought with a grimace. Doesn't he know that girls are just filled with cootie-bugs?

Girls were totally gross. Ew worthy, even.

The boy considered with himself for a moment on these serious ponderings, expression brooding. Well, except for Ree maybe. She's ok, for a girl. Sometimes.

However, after only a short time, he was surprised to see the sword fighter emerge. His thoughts interrupted, Evan silently followed Kael through the lower deck. A sneak attack was always best for adversaries that were much larger than yourself. The boy had no doubt that he would be victorious.

He was Evan The Mighty, after all. Destined for great things.

Closer and closer he crept, tense with anticipation. If the creature knew he was there, he gave no sign.

"YEEEAAAAH!" Evan bellowed, darting forward and swinging his sword in erratic circles.

Kael calmly turned, stepped to the side and stuck his boot out. Evan's foot caught it and he went careening into a nearby wall. There was a satisfying crash as the boy landed in a sprawled heap, sending the wooden sword sailing across the hall.

Springing to his feet, Evan rubbed his head and shot Kael a sulking glare. "No fair! You can't trip me!"

The juvenile didn't respond, merely cocked his head with mild interest. The boy-child was either very brave or very stupid. The youngling was betting on the latter and a spark of amusement gleamed in his eyes. Kael could think of no other reason why he would attack a fully-armed warrior while brandishing nothing but a feeble wooden sword.

He gave the kid another cursory glance; he wasn't even wearing any armour. Kael's amusement grew and he smirked openly.

This was not lost on Evan and he stomped his foot in outrage. "It's not funny! That's not how you play!"

"Haelon wriit, lorlo." Kael responded, waving his hand dismissively.

Evan understood the gesture well enough and he began to pout. Everyone was always too busy to play with him. And Ree didn't like to play-fight, she only wanted to play those stupid girl games with that stupid doll she had.

Still sullen, the boy bent to retrieve his sword. Upon examining it, he found a large crack in the handle.

"And you busted my sword, too!" He accused, showing Kael the damage.

The juvenile arched a brow and issued a sigh. Why anyone would make a weapon out of wood in the first place was beyond him. "Melitri gramitz tri zelataz," he said, shaking his head in contempt.

"You have to fix it!"

Again, the youngling arched a brow, recognizing a demand when he heard one. What the boy could possibly be ordering him to do was anyone's guess. Kael surmised that it had something to do with the broken plaything, though.

This didn't bother the juvenile; the child's toy would not have gotten damaged had he not been acting foolishly in the first place. What did bother him, however, was the fact that he knew how the boy must be feeling.

A damaged weapon was unacceptable to any fighter, no matter how worthless said weapon might be. Not that the kid actually knew how to use it in the first place, of course.

Glaring up at the giant, Evan again held out his broken toy, "You help me fix it! It...it-" He broke off and swallowed hard, trying very hard not to cry. Only bawl-babies cried. "It's my only toy." His mouth turned down unhappily.

Oh, by the hells...

Kael rolled his eyes and held his hand out expectantly. Surprised, Evan placed the wooden sword in the beast's palm and watched him carefully. Kneeling, the juvenile dug around in his supply pouch until he found his grip wrap.

Under Evan's watchful eyes, Kael began to tightly wind the durable cloth around the handle of the toy. He went on for several layers, stopping every now and again to test it. When satisfied, Kael glanced around nervously. His brother was no where in sight. Good.

Whispering a soft incantation, Kael touched his fingertip to loose end of the wrap. After a moment, his finger began to glow a vivid, violent shade of blue, and a white hot heat emanated from it.

Evan widened his eyes as he watched the creature melt the fabric into place with some sort of crazy magic spell. "Woah!"

Kael glanced up at the exclamation, tipped the boy a wink, then held a finger up to his mouth. The child recognized this gesture as well. It seemed that the beast wanted him to zip his lips about this. Evan nodded his head and drew his thumb and finger across his mouth.

The juvenile nodded approvingly and handed the boy his sword. Evan snatched it and immediately began going over it to inspect the creature's handiwork. Not only was the crack tightly bound, the grip was much more comfortable to hold.

"You did a really good job. Thanks!" He said, patting Kael's shoulder, approvingly.

The youngling chuckled and rose to a standing position. Tossing the child a last glance, he turned and started to stride away.

"Wait!"

Kael paused and half-turned, expression inquiring.

Evan scampered to catch up with him. "Where are you going?"

The juvenile shook his head and shrugged, confused.

"I'm coming with you. It's boring down here." Evan stated firmly, staring up at Kael with something close to adulation.

Kael hadn't the slightest idea what the kid was talking about, but fervently wished that he would leave him be. He began to walk away again, but was astounded when the boy continued to follow. Bold little shit, wasn't he. Hm.

Snarling a bit, Kael waved him off. "Haelon wriit, lorlo!"

Evan shook his head, undaunted. "Nuh-uh. I like you. You're neat. And you can't hurt me. Sway would have your hide made into a sail and toss the rest to the sharks. So there."

He paused and grinned up at the beast. Puffing his chest out a bit, he pointed to himself and said, "Evan."

Kael silently glowered down at him, wondering if he should have helped him repair the sword. Now he wouldn't go away.

When he got no response, Evan pointed to himself again and repeated his name. As a further measure, he then pointed at Kael and waited with an expectant look on his face.

Kirik is going to give me so much shit about this. Kael thought, gloomily.

Relenting, he issued another deep sigh, jerked a thumb at his chest and said, "Kael."

Evan furrowed his brow and tried to say the oddish sounding name. "Kay-yell?"

Close enough. The youngling nodded and continued along his way, with Evan hot on his heels.

***

Some time later, Kirik awoke with a start and he sat up quickly, wondering how long he'd been asleep. There had been no disruptions while he slumbered, so he figured everything was still serene and on schedule. Still though, he didn't like not knowing where anyone else was. Rising to a standing position, he made towards the door and left.

He remembered the way to the upper decks well enough and decided to head there to see what time of day it was. The stairs creaked and groaned as he made his way up, and he idly wondered when the last time was that anyone had bothered to replace the weak boards. Crashing through the staircase was an unpleasant idea indeed.

Unbidden, the woman's face materialized in his mind's eye. Kirik shook his head but the image refused to leave him. He'd memorized every conture of her cheeks, had examined each delicate angle of her jaw that led down to her slender neck. Her eyes were a pleasant shade of green and seemed to change colors with the light. And her mouth... He especially liked her mouth.

He called her Pretty, but she was beautiful. Human or no.

An image of her nude surfaced next. When she'd been climbing out of the hot spring. Her skin had appeared glistening and smoothed. Kirik remembered her pert little ass, too. He wondered what sorts of sounds she would make if he were to-

Stop it, he thought to himself, disgusted. She is a means to an end, nothing more.

Yes, she was. But what about after the fact? There was still the question of what to do with her.

No matter. Right now there are more important matters at hand, he mused.

Kirik was so engrossed with his thoughts that he failed to hear the thudding of footsteps coming around a corner. Taters shot out, running wildly, eyes full of excitement. Ree trailed after him, although much more slowly than the quick little mutt.

She saw the monster, widened her eyes, and tried to skid to a stop just before she bounded into him. The girl bounced off of the elder Feylak, reeled back several steps and gazed up at him with a look of horror consuming her features.

Kirik stared back down at the child with an expression of distaste.

"I'm sorry!" Ree cried, cowering. "Please don't hurt me!"

"Don't be ridiculous, girl. There is no point in harming you. Next time, watch where you're going." He replied coldly.

Hesitantly, Ree's frightened expression faded into one of dubious relief. She'd been so certain that he would cut her to pieces. Why else would he carry all those knives if it wasn't to chop people up? And he was so scary-looking.

"S-so, you-you're not going to cut me up, then?"

"No." He began to walk away.

Ree was surprised. Maybe he wasn't all that mean then. She stared after him warily, not quite believing that he was really going to leave her in peace. When he paused, though, her blood ran cold.

"Girl," Kirik began, turning back to her.

"Wh-what?"

"What time of day is it? How long was I asleep?"

Ree thought about it for a moment. "It's about time for the sun to go down. Maybe three or four hours?"

"That long? Damn. Have you seen my brother...or the woman?"

The little girl gave a shrug and shuffled her feet. The puppy sat by her with his head cocked to the side, wondering why they weren't playing anymore.

"I don't know where the other monster is and I don't know where the blonde girl is either. But the lady with the dark hair was with Sway the last time I saw her." She finally replied, now staring at him curiously.

"Monster?" He frowned, rather insulted.

She nodded, "Isn't that what you two are?"

"No."

Ree furrowed her brow, "What are you, then?"

"Merely different than your kind. Have you never seen another species? What of Pogs? He isn't human either."

That made sense. Ree nodded, "Oh, ok." A pause. "My name is Ree. What's yours?"

The elder closed his eyes briefly, rather annoyed, but figured it'd be easier just to tell her. "Kirik."

"It is my very great and undeserved honor to make your acquaintance, Keerick," she said with the careful slowness of one who had practiced saying those exact words many, many times over.

She was delighted with how grown-up and sophisticated she sounded. Just like a proper lady.

Kirik was rather amused in spite of himself, "Is it, now?"

"Yes. Quite." She replied primly, lifting her chin a bit.

"Well, good for you. Go on and play. I need to find my brother. And remember to watch where you're running." Kirik flapped his hand at her and continued on his way.

Ree watched him go with a small smile stretching across her lips. There now. That hadn't been so bad, had it? He wasn't so mean, was he?. Maybe Evan had been right after all. He usually was. With a start, she found that she wanted to keep talking to him.

"Wait!" She called.

Kirik paused again and waited without turning.

"I could show you where Sway and the lady are. If-if you wanted."

The elder arched a brow and considered. "That would save me some time, I'm sure. You've my thanks, girl."

Ree blushed faintly and nodded. Imagine, a grown-up thanking her. "Yeah. Ok. Good! This way. C'mon Taters!"

She trotted in front of Kirik, beckoned to them both, and then ran ahead.

29.

Andi remained where she was for a long time. She hadn't even bothered to retie her shirt. Her heart was racing and her skin was still tingling. There was an ache in her loins and a clear sense of unfulfillment.

She could still feel his hands and mouth on her. Teasing her, making her shiver and squirm. It'd been embarrassing, but not as much as before.

That's because sex is a natural, necessary function. There's no need to feel ashamed. You're wired to respond to a male's touch. DeeDee told her soothingly.

But he's evil and mean and-

Oh, no doubt. But even evil beings can be kind to those they're fond of.

Andi rubbed both hands over her face and sighed. Almost of their own accord, her hands continued their downward journey and began to trail down her neck and over breasts. She cupped them and began to roll her thumbs over her nipples like he had, but it just didn't feel the same. It was pleasurable but-

But you want him to do it, DeeDe whispered.

"Maybe," Andi muttered.

Maybe nothing, DeeDee scoffed. You're touching yourself and longing for him as we speak. Can't fool me. I know your every thought.

"Gods, you're annoying," Andi snapped, sitting up suddenly.

Hastily, she retied her shirt and straightened her hair and clothing as best she could. Chewing at her bottom lip, she wondered what she ought to do now.

Annoying or no, I still managed to help you out back there. Didn't I. And you see? Did he not relent? DeeDee replied smugly. And it's probably a good time to go check in with Anya. Go find her.

Andi perked up. Yes. She'd go and find her sister. And maybe Sway, too. The blonde girl had taken an almost instant liking to the fiery little captain. And besides, she kind of preferred to be around others at the moment.