Chronicles of Eden - Act III (22 page)

“Is someone there?” she asked.

“Yes, someone is,” Daemon said dryly. Emily jumped then backed up nervously with a whimper.

“Um… uh.”

Daemon took a few steps forward, with Emily letting out a yelp as she quickly turned around and scrambled back to Luna, the butterfly girl holding her close as the child hid her face in her bosom again.

“I’m sorry,” Luna pleaded. “She’s blind, she didn’t see you there.”

“Did I do something bad?” Emily asked nervously.

“You just threw up on my master’s foot!” Rulo shouted out as she stood up, tossing her half of the deer onto the ground with a stern oink. Sasha quickly stood up as well while Daemon watched Luna and Emily with a sharp eye, the child whimpering and looking back towards him with a nervous expression.

“I’m sorry,” Emily shakily said. “I didn’t mean to, really.”

Daemon raised an eyebrow at the two then glanced to Sasha.

“I wasn’t aware that when you were going out to get something for you and Rulo to eat, you would be bringing back a child.”

Sasha showed a nervous smile and shook her head.

“I didn’t anticipate finding them, however the young girl was lost and starving. I thought it only right to offer something for her to eat. I’m sorry, master, I didn’t mean to-”

“Sasha,” Daemon interrupted. Sasha cringed then nodded while looking down with closed eyes.

“I mean, Daemon.”

Rulo growled furiously at Emily as she clenched her fists.

“You little brat,
beg
for his forgiveness right now!”

Emily whimpered and hid in Luna’s bosom again while the butterfly girl watched the orc with fright.

“Rulo, finish your meal,” Daemon said while watching the two new girls. Rulo looked to him worriedly then to his boot.

“But… master…” Sasha whacked the back of her head, with the orc flinching then looking down and nodding. “I mean… yes, Daemon.”

She slowly knelt down and picked up her half of the deer, glancing to Emily and Luna with a glare while the butterfly girl held Emily closer. Emily sniveled and looked off in Daemon’s direction with worried eyes.

“I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

Daemon watched as the girl was looking past him with watery eyes then glanced to Luna. The butterfly girl whimpered as she saw the cold look in his eyes then shook her head.

“I’m sorry,” she pleaded. “We didn’t mean to cause trouble, we… we were just-”

“I don’t need to hear your story,” Daemon said shaking his head. “Why you’re out here with a human child is none of my business or concern.”

Luna looked at him worriedly as he glanced down to the meat Emily dropped, the boy then kneeling down and picking it up while watching Emily looking past him to where she thought he was.

“If you truly are starving,” he mentioned. “You shouldn’t drop what little food you have.”

“I’m sorry,” Emily said sadly. “It just tasted so bad, I couldn’t eat it.”

“Taste is a luxury that many in the wilderness cannot have all the time. What matters is eating to survive. Are you hungry?” Emily nodded with a worried expression. “Do you want to survive?”

“Yes, I do,” Emily said softly.

Daemon paused for a moment then held his hand up as small streaks of black and blue light swirled around his arm and hand, with Luna watching in wonder as a small gray flame flared around the meat. A flash of black and red light raced around it briefly before the glows faded, with Daemon then handing the meat back to the child. Emily sniffed the air a few times as now she could smell cooked meat in front of her.

“What did you just do?” Luna asked.

Daemon took hold of Emily’s hand then placed the meat into it, the girl feeling it being warmer and dryer than before. She showed a curious expression then slowly took a bite out of it, chewing the meat a bit to find that it had been cooked and tasted a little better now.

“It’s cooked, it tastes okay now. How did you do that?”

“He did something to it with his hand,” Luna said curiously.

Daemon glanced to her then to Emily as the girl continued eating the meat at a quickened pace. Although it still didn’t taste like a prepared dinner, she wasn’t going to complain again and eagerly ate what she was offered. After a moment she stopped then looked towards Luna.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Luna,” she said before holding the food out to her. “Here, you should have some too.”

Luna shook her head and gently pushed the meat back towards the girl.

“No, you need it more than I do, eat up,” she said kindly.

“But you’re hungry, you need to eat something too.”

“I’ll be alright, but a growing girl like you needs to eat. Please, it’s all yours.”

“But, Luna,” Emily said softly as she looked down while holding the food close. Luna smiled at the girl then looked to Daemon’s boot with wonder, with the boy and other girls watching as she slowly crawled over to his foot while staring at something. She tilted her head around as she seemed to be examining his boot while he just watched her with a dull expression.

“What are you doing?” he asked plainly.

“Maybe she’s going to kiss your feet and grovel for forgiveness,” Rulo scoffed as she ate her meal. “That’s what I’d be doing right now if I was her.”

Luna’s eyes followed something around before she quickly reached out and snatched a beetle off of Daemon’s boot, the insect having been eating the traces of vomit that was on his foot.

“A scamda beetle,” Luna said with tears of joy. She squealed with delight then searched around quickly while Daemon merely raised an eyebrow at her. Luna looked around then set the beetle down, watching as it scurried away from her. The girl followed after it while on her hands and knees, her eyes locked onto the insect while she was drooling in anticipation.

“What is she doing?” Sasha asked dryly.

Emily followed the sounds of Luna moving along the grass by her, the butterfly girl following the beetle as it scurried along towards a nearby tree.

“That’s it, run back home, run run run,” Luna giggled as she kept after it.

The beetle moved along the ground then into a small hole next to the tree, with Luna squealing in joy before she quickly started digging with both hands after it.

“Luna?” Emily asked as she heard her friend digging away.

Luna kept burrowing into the ground with an eager smile as she giggled then hopped with a happy cheer as she saw dozens of the beetles crawling around in the dirt in their nest.

“Yay! Scamda beetles!”

Before Emily could ask if that was a good thing Luna started laughing manically, a twisted smile appearing on her face as her wide eyes darted around to each of the beetles.

“DINNER TIME!” she screamed before she lunged down and pushed her head into the nest with furious munching and crunching sounds, the girl laughing hysterically as she devoured the beetles and a good amount of dirt in her bliss. Sasha and Rulo watched her with a mixture of confusion and surprise while Daemon still had a blank expression on his face, all of them seeing Luna bending over face first into the hole as she frantically tried to eat every beetle she could find. The three then looked to Emily as she was giggling while looking in Luna’s direction.

“Oh, good. She found something to eat too.”

“She’s eating bugs,” Rulo said with disgust.

“Yeah, she likes bugs,” Emily replied with a shrug. “That’s what she likes to eat.”

Luna leaned up from the hole in the ground as she savagely chewed and munched on a mouthful of beetles, laughing around her food as her wings fluttered behind her.

“GET IN MY MOUTH, YOU TASTY LITTLE NOM NOMS!” she screamed out before she dove back down face first into the hole. Emily giggled while the others just watched Luna with blank expressions as the butterfly girl was heard munching and laughing while her head was under the dirt.

“What is wrong with your friend?” Sasha asked.

“Nothing, she’s just got a little condition. She’s really nice though, she wouldn’t hurt anyone,” Emily said before she started eating her meal as well.

Daemon watched Luna laughing and eating the beetles while her rear was perked up behind her, offering a clear view of the girl’s rear in the fire’s light, and then looked to Sasha, the reptile girl glancing to him nervously with a small shrug.

“I was not aware of her mental state,” she quickly explained. “I just wanted to help the child.”

Daemon looked at her for a moment then to Emily as the young girl was eating quietly while looking down.

“Sasha, finish eating. We’re leaving soon,” he said, with Sasha nodding then quickly sitting back down to eat her half of the deer. Rulo continued to eat hers, oinking and munching on the meat while looking from Emily to Luna with a careful eye.

“You’re leaving?” Emily asked towards Daemon’s direction.

“Yes, we are.”

Emily nodded then looked down again.

“Thank you, for this,” she said softly.

Daemon glanced to Sasha, the reptile girl watching Emily with a peek while she was eating her deer.

“Don’t thank me, Sasha is the one who shared her food with you,” Daemon said before walking over to a tree and sitting down against it, looking at his gloved hand distantly while he waited for his two companions to finish their meals. Emily smiled a bit as she held her cooked meat.

“Thank you, Sasha.”

Sasha watched her for a moment then closed her eyes as she swallowed her food.

“No thanks are needed. I just don’t like to see a child starving. Do not read more into this,” she informed solemnly before she started eating again. Emily looked towards her with a gentle smile with eyes that remained unfocused.

“What kind of monster are you?” Sasha glanced to her briefly then closed her eyes while chewing her food. Emily waited for a response then looked downwards towards her food. “How come you’re traveling with a human? Are you friends with him? Do you like each other?”

Sasha blushed slightly as she glanced back to Daemon who didn’t respond to the question then looked back to Emily while forcing a calm expression.

“Enough talking. Eat, my master prepared that just for you, don’t let it go to waste.”

“Sasha,” Daemon said while still just looking at his gloved hand. Sasha paused for a moment then swallowed her food again.

“I mean, Daemon,” she said softly before eating once more.

“Master?” Emily asked. “Why do you call him master? Are you his pet or something?”

Sasha jumped a bit and looked down with a bigger blush while Rulo raised an eyebrow at the child.

“Hey, kid, just be quiet and eat,” Rulo ordered before digging into her food. Emily nodded then resumed eating as well, all of the girls then remaining silent during their meals except for Luna who was laughing like a lunatic with her head under the ground.

After a while Luna finally sat up from the bugs nest with a happy smile, her face having dirt all over it as she slowly licked her lips.

“Yummy,” she said before wiping the dirt off of her face and then her hands. She then crawled back over and sat next to Emily as the child finished eating her deer meat. Emily looked over to her with an amused smile as she heard the butterfly girl sighing happily.

“Did you enjoy that?”

“Oh yes, that was delicious. Thank you for the meals,” Luna said looking to Sasha then to Rulo with a bright smile. The two monster girls exchanged glances then looked at her puzzled.

“We provided you with nothing at all,” Sasha stated.

“You just stuck your face in the dirt over there and ate bugs,” Rulo said with a disgusted look.

“Yeah, they were so yummy,” Luna giggled while rubbing her belly.

Emily giggled softly then cuddled up next to her, with Luna watching as the child leaned against her and closed her eyes.

“You’re so silly, Luna.”

“I am? What did I do?” Luna asked curiously. Emily slowly drifted asleep while holding onto Luna’s side, with Luna then gently holding her close with warm smile on her face.

“You should get some rest too,” Daemon mentioned. Luna looked over to see him glancing at her with his cold blue eyes. “While you can.”

“What do you mean?”

“Once these two are finished we’ll be leaving,” Daemon explained. “If you wanted a chance to rest up now is it, otherwise be prepared to fend for yourself after we depart.”

Luna looked at him curiously then to Sasha, the reptile girl watching her with a dull glance while she ate her meal.

“I only offered to give her some food for the night, that is all,” Sasha reminded her. “If you wish to get some sleep now while we are here then you may do so, we won’t let you be harmed during our stay. However once we leave you’re on your own.”

“Yeah,” Rulo added with an oink. “We’re not staying here all night just to watch over you two.”

Luna nodded then looked down to Emily with gentle eyes, the child fast asleep from a very long day.

“I understand. Thank you so much for all of this though, really.”

Rulo and Sasha didn’t reply as they continued to eat while Daemon looked up at the stars in the sky with a calm gaze. Luna slowly lied back on the grass and rested Emily down next to her, letting the child sleep next to her while she used her wing to cover the girl. She then looked over to the others with concern.

“You need to be careful out there,” she said worriedly. Sasha and Rulo looked to her in silence as Luna slowly shook her head. “Her parents were killed by monsters, the same ones that tried to eat us. But they’re not normal monsters, not at all.”

“What do you mean ‘not normal’?” Sasha questioned.

“They won’t die,” Luna said nervously. Daemon glanced over to her as the butterfly girl whimpered and held Emily close, with the child holding onto her in her sleep. “They won’t die. Tearing their throats out, breaking them in half, they just won’t die. No matter what happened to them, they wouldn’t die.”

Sasha and Rulo glanced to each other then looked back to Daemon as the boy was watching Luna with a blank expression. Luna shook her head and rested alongside Emily as she closed her eyes.

“Be careful out there,” she warned softly before falling asleep.

Daemon watched her for a moment then looked up at the sky, with Sasha and Rulo waiting to hear what he thought of that.