“Candles and rose
petals...” she sighed. The tiny bedroom was completely littered
with them, on the dresser, the desk, the counter... petals were even
strewn about the bed on which she sat. The fragrance was strong and
pleasing, but they spoke of a difficult night ahead for her.
She stretched out on the
bed, appraising her appearance. Her curvaceous body was covered only
by a loose white silk nightgown, which only barely contained her
chest and left her legs completely bare. Her nails were neatly
manicured and painted with the same white colour, and her long golden
hair fell unrestrained about her sides. “At least he has good
taste”, she said, approvingly. She crawled over to the end of the
bed and laid down on her back, placing her hands on either side of
her head and tilting her head backwards to keep an eye on the only
entrance to the room.
Moments later, the door
opened, and a bespectacled man with fair-coloured skin and short
black hair stepped inside. “Hi”, she whispered seductively,
batting her eyelashes at him.
If he had been expecting
her, he made no sign of it, he froze in his tracks, his eyes went
wide, and he stammered something unintelligible. She smiled slyly;
she never got tired of having that effect on men. She stood up and
walked slowly over to him, waggling her hips as she went, her long
hair flowing behind her. He was dressed plainly, in jeans and a
white t-shirt, and he was no taller than she was. “It's not nice
to keep a lady waiting”, she said, putting her hands on his
shoulders and letting her the strap of her nightgown fall off on one
side. He swallowed audibly, and she could hear his heart pounding
even though her head was nowhere near it.
“Don't be
nervous”, she said, softly, running a finger along his chest.
“I'll guide you. Just do what comes naturally and let me take care
of the rest.” He nodded, and she kissed him passionately. Taking
his hand, she lead him back to the bed, and pulled him down on top of
her.
“You're... so
pretty”, he stammered nervously.
“What are you
going to do about it?” she grinned at him, wrapping her legs
around him and pushing his head down into her chest. She arched her
back and pressed her body against him tightly. “Don't be shy, I
want everything you have to give”, she whispered, reaching for some
rose petals to sprinkle over him, but there weren't any. She turned
her head, and saw that an open window had blown all the candles out
and the petals away. “Damn it!” she cried, as her partner
slipped through her grasp and the floor of the small room gave way,
and she fell through into the cold, dark waters below.
Sputtering and gasping for
air, Lay forced her head above water. Her eyes stung, but she could
faintly make out the outline of her ship in the distance, and she
drove herself towards it, until finally she came up against the side.
Angrily, she grabbed the end of the rope ladder and pulled herself
out of the water. She was soaked from head to toe, her luxurious fur
clumped and drooped all around her as the water poured out of it,
completely robbed of its natural grace and dignity. Her mood did not
improve at all to find Sonnet at the top of the ladder.
“Struck out
tonight?” He asked, peering at her, as if her sorry condition
didn't make that obvious.
“Damned virgins”
she muttered, under her breath.
“You come on too
strong, you know. You need to be more subtle with those who don't
have much experience.”
“What would you
know?” She asked, irritably. “You're back early too.”
“Only because I
work so fast. You'll notice that my body remains impeccably dry.
Now, the lady I was with on the other hand-”
Either her scowl or her
claws must have put some fear into him, because his demeanor changed
instantly. Hurriedly, he quieted down and handed her a towel to dry
herself off.
“The water barely
tarnishes your peerless beauty, my Queen.”, he said, in a more
serious tone of voice. “Perhaps I could keep you company for a
while-”
“Save it.” Lay
snapped, tossing the damp towel back in his face and storming off
towards her cabin. Glancing back, the sight of Sonnet still standing
there with the wet towel over his head brought a slight smile to her
face, but her mood was still very irate.
When she saw her
reflection in the mirror of her cabin she nearly fainted. How Sonnet
could speak like that to her with a straight face she would never
know, if there was one thing that looked more ridiculous than when
her fur was dripping wet, it was how puffy it looked after being
hurriedly dried. Suppressing her urge to gag, she hunted through her
drawer for her favourite brush and began a lengthy battle against the
tangles, wincing and cursing every time the brush got stuck.
Unfortunately fighting
that unruly mess of wet fur gave her plenty of time to think, and
tonight none of her thoughts were good ones. Corsair's plan had been
idiotic from the start, but she was even more frustrated by her lack
of progress. It wasn't easy to get the strangers to reveal their
names, and once again she had come up empty. The man she had met
tonight didn't seem like he could be Steven from his appearance, but
still. If she had a better description of what she was looking for,
it would be so much easier. She shouldn't have agreed to help at
all, but the request had caught her off-guard, and in a way she had
been relieved that Corsair wanted her help. She sighed. Her fur was
still a mess, but this business with the message was far worse.
It wasn't long before she
could hear the others starting to return. There was some hooting and
hollering from those who had been successful, some consolation for
those who had come close, and outright derision for the ones with the
worst luck. She hadn't finished brushing yet, but she knew she had
to address them now before they all dispersed. Once they retired to
their quarters there was no point calling for them, they'd welcome
her company but they'd never all appear above deck again. She put
the brush down on the table and stepped out of her cabin. Everyone
appeared to be back now, all chattering amongst themselves. She had
to call for quiet several times before silence fell and she had a
chance to speak.
“Did anyone have
any success tonight?” She asked them.
There were mummers of
approval from the crowd. Nuzzle spoke out over the rest: “You know
me”, he said, “I'm not one to kiss and tell.”
“Yes you are”,
Covers challenged him, “you were just telling me all about those
twins you were with.”
“Ah, but I left
out anything about kissing, didn't I?” There was much laughter
from the crowd. She raised a paw to silence them. “I meant
success towards our goal of finding the stranger called Steven”.
Buckle chimed in next: “I
met a stranger who called himself Steven tonight, but he didn't seem
to have any interest in any Michelle. Judging from the way he came at
me, I don't think she would have been his type.” More laughter.
Lay rolled her eyes at him. “Has anyone found anything useful? We
all agreed that this was important.”
“More like you
decided it was important when he asked you.” She couldn't make out
who was speaking this time, but there was widespread agreement from
the crowd.
“This is our
chance to learn how stranger romances work”, she reminded them.
“Just think of how you could use that knowledge.” They quieted
down a little. “...But we have to keep on trying. You are
dismissed for now.”
“Finally!” cried
Ardour, scooping up Glow and sprinting below deck with her in his
arms to much cheering from the others. The rest of her crew
dispersed, some heading below deck while others gazed out over the
side of the ship or discussed their latest conquests. Lay sighed.
Still they had made no progress whatsoever. They were an impossible
lot to manage, consumed solely by hedonism and narcissism, but they
were all she had. Their lack of success frustrated her, and she was
even more annoyed at herself for letting it get to her.
Distractedly, she found herself walking below deck, to a room she
knew well. She knocked on the door, and Petal answered it. He was
kind, gentle, eager to please, easy to get along with and even easier
to give in to. “My queen”, he said, holding the door for her.
“I've asked you
not to call me that in private” she said, putting her paws around
him. “I'm just Lay here.”
---
As she lay there in his
arms, Lay turned her mind back to their search for Steven and
Michelle. Their approach was not working, that much she knew. They
had only a pair of names and a short description, and they had
quickly discovered that counted for precious little. If the
strangers did have some real existence outside of their encounters,
there had to be dozens if not hundreds sharing those same
characteristics. She needed to see Corsair again, if they intended
to continue in this pursuit they needed to come up with a different
plan. Petal caressed her tenderly, but she lifted his arms away and
stood up to leave. “I have to go”, she told him, and he looked
at her with a knowing sadness in his eyes. “I wish you would
stay”, he said, putting his paws around her and kissing her one
last time. He obediently opened the door for her and returned to his
room. “Farewell, my queen.”
Returning to the deck, Lay
climbed the stairs to the mast and took the wheel in her paws. She
turned the ship around, heading back towards where Corsair, Sister
and herself had first discussed their plan, and then she gazed out at
the stars for a while. “Do the strangers look out upon the same
sky?”, she wondered. “Do they ever feel lonely and confused,
the same way we do?”
She sighed and turned
away, heading back to the deck. “What what it be like to have a
love so strong that you'd reach out into another world just to save
it?”
She could not have said
whether it was pity or something else that brought her back below
deck afterward to offer herself to him a second time, but tonight she
stayed with Petal until the sun rose, and he spoke every word of
purest, undying love to her.
When the sun came up, she
found herself inside a building, in a wide open area with hallways on
all sides and a staircase at one end. A few other people wandered
the halls, talking amongst each other in small groups, but the area
was fairly empty. She was dressed plainly, in jeans and a red tank
top, and her hair was cut short, styled into a small ponytail that
barely brushed the back of her neck. Just then a handsome,
dark-skinned man with broad shoulders and a medium build approached
her.
“Excuse me”, he
asked, in a deep, confident voice, “do you know the way to
professor McKinley's class? It's in room 204.”
In that moment, she had a
wild, crazy idea: “There you are!” She said, throwing her arms
around him. “It's me, Michelle. I've been looking everywhere for
you!”
“You have?” He
replied, tentatively returning her embrace.
“Of course I have,
silly. I know we had a fight, but I couldn't stay mad at you. I've
missed you.” she said, giving him a squeeze.
“I think you must
have the wrong guy”, he said, shifting a little under her tight
grip, “I'm just looking for Mr. McKinley's class”.
“You've just
forgotten. It's been a while. But deep down, I know you remember
me.” She pulled herself up by his shoulders and kissed him, but by
the time she opened her eyes he had slipped out of her grip and was
quickly walking away from her.
“I just wanted to
tell you that I'm sorry!” she shouted after him, chasing him down
the hall. He was running now. She actually felt her right foot
plunge into the water this time before she fell forward with a loud
splash. As she cleaned the water out of her eyes with her paws and
tried to regain her vision, she could already hear Sonnet calling
down to her. “Too strong!”.
“I hope Corsair
knows how hard I'm trying for him”, she muttered bitterly as she
dug her claws into the bottom of the ladder.
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