Chronicles of Eden - Act III (33 page)

“Well, at least Ms. Boobs-a-lot won’t be around Daniel again for a while,” Triska pointed out with a shrug.

“Yes,” Specca dryly replied. “Instead of her now we have to watch out for a sneaky butterfly trying to get into Daniel’s pants. This is
much
better.”

The two girls then walked after the others, both intending to keep a close eye on Falla while she traveled with them.

The group boarded their ride once again, with Alyssa and Triska sitting up front while the others went into the cabin. Alyssa snapped the reins and turned Lucky around, the horse then pulling the caravan back along the trail as they set off in search of the missing butterfly sister and lost human child. Triska and Alyssa glanced to each other then looked back into the cabin. Daniel was sitting against the wall with Specca beside him, the boy looking at his monster book along with her as they searched to see if they had the Centaur monster class written down. Across from them Squeak was seated with her abdomen resting along the wall while she leaned against some pillows, the ant girl watching Falla closely who was kneeling down next to her while she merely looked around at the interior with a bored eye. Falla then looked to Squeak as the ant girl kept staring at her.

“I haven’t done anything wrong here, what’s with that look?”

Specca glanced to her then looked back to the monster guide as Daniel turned a page.

“You’re having us spend precious time doubling back on our journey for what may be a fool’s errand searching for your sister and this supposedly lost human child,” she lectured. “After all the times in the past you’ve tried to steal Daniel away from us do you really believe we’re going to be so trusting of you?”

Falla sighed and looked down to the ribbons holding her hands together.

“Great,” she said morbidly. “I try to do the right thing and help an innocent human girl, and I’m treated like a criminal about to be hanged for it.”

“You trying to do the right thing and help an innocent human girl is what makes this so suspicious,” Specca pointed out. “If it were just your sister that had gone missing then we likely wouldn’t be doing this at all.”

“You treat me like I’m some Darker One in this world,” Falla scoffed. “Luna and I saved that young girl; she would have drowned in a river if we hadn’t acted quickly. We’re trying to be good monsters here, whether you can see that or not.”

Specca and Daniel glanced to her then to each other as the butterfly girl looked down to her hands while moving them around slightly. Falla then looked to seeing Squeak just watching her with a dull expression.

“What? What’s your problem?”

Squeak pointed to her and squeaked sternly a few times, with Falla just watching her with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, squeak squeak squeak squeak. That’s interesting and all, but in case you didn’t know, I don’t speak squeak,” Falla said dryly. Squeak showed annoyance and squeaked some more at the girl, with Falla just shaking her head at her. “Do you not understand me? I said I don’t speak squeak.”

“She’s an ant girl,” Specca said with discontent. “She only knows how to squeak, that’s how she talks. She understands us just fine, it’s we that cannot understand her.”

Falla just watched as Squeak crossed her arms with narrowed eyes at her then glanced to Specca.

“So none of you understand her either, huh?”

Daniel and Specca shook their heads as Squeak looked down and away with a troubled expression. Falla nodded slowly then looked at Squeak curiously.

“Hm, interesting. She can understand us, but cannot speak in our tongue.”

Squeak glanced to her with a curious eye as the butterfly girl leaned closer to her, seeming to examine her head carefully from different angles.

“What are you doing? Leave her alone,” Specca scolded.

Falla looked at Squeak’s antennae curiously then smiled slyly.

“I bet I could figure out what she’s saying.”

Squeak looked at her puzzled as the butterfly girl sat back and glanced down to her hands casually, just eyeing her fingernails without a care while Triska and Alyssa glanced back to her again.

“What?” Specca asked dryly. “And just how could you do that? I’ve tried to figure out any sort of pattern or order to her squeaking, and there isn’t any. Tone and pitch don’t reveal what she’s trying to say exactly, only other ant girls could communicate with her properly.”

She and Daniel watched Falla just sitting there with a calm smile on her face. Falla chuckled then glanced to her with a smirk.

“I wouldn’t say that, it’s possible that other monsters such as myself could understand her just fine.”

“You couldn’t understand her when she was squeaking at you a moment ago though,” Daniel mentioned shaking his head.

“Of course I couldn’t,” Falla said with a shrug. “She was just squeaking with her mouth. That’s just gibberish to us. But there are other ways she can talk.”

“Other ways?” Specca asked. “You mean sign language? Because that’s what she’s had to resort to doing to try to speak to us.”

Falla shook her head and looked to Squeak with a sly smile, the ant girl then watching her worriedly as she didn’t like the way Falla was eyeing her.

“I’ll make you a deal,” Falla offered. “You untie my hands, and I’ll tell you what she’s saying.”

“No, I don’t think we’ll be doing that,” Specca said flatly.

Falla laughed and glanced to her while at this point Alyssa and Triska were looking back at the butterfly with dull expressions.

“What’s wrong?” Falla asked. “Don’t trust me to stay put? In case you’ve forgotten, I
wanted
you all to come with me to find my sister and Emily, it’s not like I want to fly away from you. And even if I did, how am I going to do that? The only way out of here is past all of you, I wouldn’t make it even if I tried.”

Daniel and Specca looked to each other then to the others as Alyssa was just shaking her head at Falla.

“I tied your hands together so you wouldn’t get handsy with Daniel,” Alyssa pointed out. “Not because I was worried you would try to leave.”

“Hey, you want to understand her or not?” Falla asked looking to Squeak.

“You can’t help us with that,” Triska argued shaking her head.

“You don’t know that,” Falla reasoned. “And are you really going to just pass up your chance to know what she’s saying? What if I’m telling the truth? This could be your only chance to really talk to her.”

Triska and Alyssa glanced to each other then at Squeak, the ant girl looking down with concern while her antennae twitched a bit.

“Prove that you can understand her,” Specca stated. “And then we’ll consider untying you.”

She and Daniel leaned back against the wall while watching Falla, not believing what she was saying in the least. Falla rolled her eyes then turned to face Squeak with a slight smile.

“Fine, we’ll do it your way,” she reluctantly agreed. Squeak looked to her curiously as the butterfly girl scooted closer to her on her knees.

“Face me,” Falla said politely. Squeak just shook her head.

“Now now, face me,” Falla repeated while trying to force a smile. Again Squeak just shook her head. Falla gave her a dull stare for a moment then glanced to Daniel.

“So you
don’t
want to talk to Daniel?” she asked curiously. “Now’s your chance for your words to really reach him, for him to understand you.”

Squeak glanced to Daniel worriedly then to Falla as she squeaked quietly. After a moment she slowly turned to face Falla on her knees, with the group watching carefully as Falla leaned closer to the ant girl. Squeak watched her with an uneasy frown as Falla got really close to her face.

“Calm down,” Falla said. “I’m not going to kiss you or anything. Just lower your head slightly.”

Squeak hesitated then slowly lowered her head, with Falla doing the same. Their antennae touched each other and twitched a bit, with Squeak flinching then squeaking while blinking a few times.

“Relax, this should work even though we’re not the same type of monster,” Falla said while glancing up at their antennae, the extensions twitching slightly while rubbing against each other.

“What is it that you’re doing?” Specca asked.

“I’m going to talk to her, or at least try to,” Falla explained.

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?”

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.