Misty Island
Back into and through the facility, then they were back on the outskirts of the town. The route to get to the Carnival was a bit different from the one they’d taken there - no need to go through the centre since it was behind the town. It was nice, if cold. Trisha was glad she’d worn her warmest coat with all the chilly winds coming off the sea. But it was nice. No rain, perfectly clear.
Trisha was energized by the whole going on a date thing. The second part of a date! The whole day was a date! Rides, games and shops… that was a whole three other things, then there was also dinner to get, and when they went back to the room for the evening. So much time together doing things…
“You’re not going to use magic to cheat on the Carnival games, are you? Not that a little cheating is bad… I guess if there’s any shooting ones all of your training would count as cheating too.””Hey now, most? I don’t need to cheat. Maybe if there’s a crane game, but those are rigged anyway!”
The Soldier's Carnival
The Soldier’s Carnival was a perpetual funpark that had been operating on Misty since before the base was relegated to its current use. Along with the few residences for officers and brass, it was assumed that there should be a safe and fun place for the troops to come and experience a family friendly atmosphere. For years, Navy soldiers mingled with visitors and would put on performances from the in-house band to entertain guests of all kinds.
Now, without the support of the military complex, the park had fully privatized, and had since become just a little less magical.
Still, it was fun! And the rides, as few as there were, were in fantastic condition in spite of the constant exposure to the salty ocean air. It was a free place, one where there weren’t many eyes worried about what the guests were up to. One where, if they had the scratch to get out to the island, teens and young adults could spend time just being young.
Admission came with a small pink band around the wrist, and immediately the park opened up into games and smaller attractions. Casey was quick to point out the arcade, loving skee ball as much as he did. There was no chance he wasn’t going to drag Trisha in to play
at least a game.
But they’d gone to an arcade not too long ago, so he was aware that it couldn’t be the focus. Hence, a few half-hearted games were spent mostly trying to throw Trisha off her own game rather than winning purely by locking in. It hadn’t worked how he intended, as the first go around was a victory but the second was a miserable loss to someone who now knew his gameplan. Whatever it took to get her back into his arms… They laughed and laughed, both at one another and Casey’s goofy attempts to distract Trisha from her victory. But neither wound up with enough tickets to do anything besides buy a few pieces of candy.
Casey did so, and now they both had delicious little lollipops to suck on as they made their way toward the next thing.
Booths with actual carnival games were set up all along the main strip, giving the two of them plenty of options to look at. Casey, enthusiastically waiting for the chance to impress, began pointing at the different booths.
”What’d I say? A giant blue monkey?”His finger pointed directly at one, a smug grin forming across his face.
”Like that? I mean, there’s a thousand options. You could get uh… Orange Godzilla?”There was, in fact, a strangely offbrand “cutesy kaiju” being advertised specifically at one of the booths… It was a dart game, where you had to pop all the balloons. He wasn’t awful at darts naturally, but a little magic probably would’ve made the prospect easier to swallow.
”I kinda wanna see if they have a giant bee anywhere. D’you think it would freak the girls out?”“So long as it doesn’t have pheromones, it wouldn’t,” Trisha laughed lightly, smiling brightly up at him. It was a cute idea… a massive plush bee. It would be something she could easily hug in bed too if Casey snuck out like he had last night…
“It might end up smelling a bit like me, which’d confuse them… I think they’re more likely to think it’s a flower. Cause of the bright colours.”She looked around at all of the options, eyes peeled for any bright yellow. But her eyes were drawn back to the “cutesy kaiju” stall…
“Look, that green… Mothra? I think? Is pretty cute.” She pointed over to where it hung among the other cute and oddly coloured kaiju plushies. She wasn’t sure if she actually wanted it… maybe? There was a lot of choice. And if there was a massive bee anywhere… she was almost overwhelmed, head snapping around.
“What do you think, Babe?””Uhhh… Maybe we save them for when we’re leaving? We can scope the rest of the place out, ride the rides, then hit the booths on the way back out! Intelligent moves and all that, right?” he smiled, pulling her close and rubbing her shoulder to warm her up a bit.
”You wanna do the Ferris Wheel first? I’d have a good angle to check on the other island, make sure nothing awful or tragic has happened?”“Mhm, tactical, you really are useful to have around,” Trisha teased, leaning into Casey slightly. She did want to go on the Ferris Wheel. It always seemed romantic, but she’d never actually gone on one before. Though the prospect of him checking on Elysium made it feel a little less so… but as long as it wasn’t the whole ride. It wouldn’t be, right?
“Sure, let’s do that. Hopefully I don’t have an undiscovered fear of heights… pretty sure I don’t! But I’ve never been up high in a glass box where I can see all around. It might unlock something.” She spoke jokingly, changing direction towards the Ferris Wheel. In the end, she decided not to comment on the looking at the other island thing. It was easier to not get upset that way.
“It is safe, right?””Oh yeah! As far as I’m aware, the anti-rust protection package the state requires them to have is wild. Practically magic, and honestly it wouldn’t surprise me if it was magic.”Though Trisha’s vision of what this thing was maybe wound up a little skewed… Casey didn’t comment, rather waiting until they got up close so that she could actually see: They weren’t the big glass boxes like in the cities. Ferris Wheels this far out became simpler, open topped four-seat cars that gently swayed in the breeze with each gust. The fully exposed bench seats were only wide enough for two smaller people, meaning that if they wanted to sit on the same side, Trisha would wind up in Casey’s lap…
But, thanks to the time of year, it wasn’t crowded at all. In fact, the line was just about empty, and the few people who were riding it seemed to be making several passes up and down without getting out.This was, to Casey, a fantastic thing. It meant he could comfortably get a pass where he could check things out, and then barring the absolute worst case scenario, enjoy several more without the mental pressure of checking to see if his older brother had turned into a massive wolf-thing.
He started trying to walk through the little switchback maze of a line, but the attendant was quick to wave them on, as if ushering them to scramble over the steel bars separating the sections of the line. Casey laughed, scooping up Trisha out of nowhere and beginning to throw one leg after the other over the metal bars.
The man watching the ride had already brought an empty cart to a stop.
“Be careful up there, Big Guy! Try not to put too much weight onto one side of the cart; there’s a lock keeping it from swinging too much, but we try to take good care of ‘em!”
”Oh, you got it! No problem, I’ll just squat down right in the middle!”Both parties laughed, and Casey ascended the stairs to the ride with Trisha still in his arms. Finally getting there, he put her down to let her get in, and then in a second, they were ascending the ride slowly and surely.
”Heyyy, there we go. Comfy? You want my jacket too in case it gets too windy?” he asked Trisha gently and sweetly.
“I’m okay, my jacket is pretty warm,” Trisha replied with a cute smile, eyes creasing happily. Him asking, and constantly thinking of her like that, made her feel warm and gooey inside. Honestly, she would quite like to wear his jacket… but that would require loosening her death grip on the metal bars that surrounded them.
She did her best to
pretend she wasn’t nervous about it. It was just… not what she’d expected. Sure, Casey had said it was safe. She trusted him. But if the cart swung just a little bit too much to one side what was to stop them from falling out? It didn’t feel safe. But she didn’t want to look like a
coward. So she tried to act like normal, even though one hand was practically white from hard it was gripping the rail.
At least the cart was small enough that her legs were pushed inside his. The contact was comforting… and she’d relax a bit more if they didn’t die after the first trip round. Proof it was fine.
“It’s nice… I’m not sure I understand why it’s seen as so ‘romantic’ though. Not that it isn’t! Just, everywhere with you… is…”Casey hadn’t moved to check out the island. It was on his mind, but after a comment like that, he knew it’d only be insensitive to roll into the new topic.
”Oh, you don’t? C’mere-”He pushed forward, snagging Trisha and sliding her onto his lap. The channeler came out of his coat pocket, and he gripped the bar, along with Trisha’s hand to a lesser extent, and let a massive jolt of Orange Lux burst out from his body to ripple down the metal machine. From there, he could feel the status of the rotation-lock, as well as the main axel of the wheel and the overall integrity of the ride. It was good, solid, and- just like he predicted -already bound by a fairly powerful Orange enchantment that was artificially bolstering the metal’s ability to resist rust.
”Oh yeah… Babe, we’ve got nothing to worry about. It’s already been touched by magic. Swear on my life, this has some serious Lux pumping through it.”Saying that, he wrapped his arms around her tightly and threw his feet up onto the opposite bench.
”Just stay here with me and chill out. The romance is at the top.”Knowing they’d be facing the city skyline when they made it to the top, it was all anticipation now. Time to talk, and to be together intimately.
Trisha let out a panicked squeak when she was suddenly pulled from her seat. She immediately clung to Casey, unable to keep up her faux confidence. She’d been maintaining it with the combination of rail gripping and perfect stillness… which had been ruined. But it was safer in his arms. At least she felt safer. He wouldn’t let her fall out of the cart.
“It’s really safe? It’s not going to tilt and throw us out?” she whispered, legs curling up against her chest as she leant against Casey. Even as she asked, she knew the answer. He’d already said there was nothing to worry about. She believed him. Especially if there was magic on it like that.
“Maybe I’m a bit more wimp than I thought,” she mumbled, words muffled thanks to her face being pressed into his chest.
But as it moved slowly, she also pulled her head back a bit to properly look up at Casey. Still holding onto him tightly, but she relaxed with him hugging her like this.
“I wonder if being up this high is a bit like what my bees experience. They spend so much of their time flying… I was kind of envious when I first got them because they had so much freedom.” Casey shrugged.
”Y’know this is one thing… But we could probably actually get you flying. Somewhere quiet, some time in the future? There’s plenty of methods to do it, and most of them are pretty fun. Safe too. I’ve even got a spell in my back pocket we could use, if that interests you one day.”His lips pressed against the top of her head, planting little kisses from her scalp to her cheek. Hands gripped her gently, but his arms around her were all encompassing and warm. Full of love and care. He wanted her excited, but just as much, he wanted her curious and willing to experiment. With magic, with life itself… He wanted everything for her.
”But, I don’t think you’re a wimp if you don’t want to try, or if you don’t trust this even now… It’s okay. I promise. I’ll never look down on you, only down at you… ‘Cuz of the height, y’know?” he explained.
Trisha giggled gently, peering up at him with a joking pout.
“Now you’re just calling me short…” she whined cutely. It was nice to hear… because sometimes she felt she was just that. And with it came the feelings of failing. Fear, failure, fear, failure… an eternal loop she sometimes felt stuck in. But this wasn’t a failure. Just a bit of nerves.
She thought a bit more about what he’d said. About actually flying. She was curious about it. How could he do it with his magic? She’d probably trust that more than she would the other methods, if they were Temple.
“If it's your spell then-”You don’t need other’s magic to fly.Trisha was interrupted by her spirit rousing in her mind. Not the time she particularly appreciated it… during a romantic date. But she couldn’t control her.
I will teach you one day. I will lend you more of my magic.“How dangerous is it to use more Apparitional magic?” she asked, seemingly out of the blue. But it was related…
Casey was a little shocked to hear that question out of her mouth, but there was a small ripple from one emotional field into his own, throwing flags up through one of his passively circulating detection spells. There was some internal interaction… And he didn’t feel those ever happen between the two of them.
He had to keep it clean, however, so he didn’t ask any questions.
”Well that’s a tough one, because it really depends. Apparitions are all different, right? Like, say, if the Queen had some kind of spell that gave you wings? It’s cool, but you gotta learn how to use ‘em, and then who knows if she has a way of protecting you if you fall? Or, uh… Theo! His Apparition is essentially a big cannon. He can technically use it to fly, but the landing part is super dangerous. Make sense?”Trisha frowned thoughtfully, nodding. She didn't want to risk falling and getting hurt, or worse. She wasn't even sure how much she wanted to fly… it had just been an offhand comment from when she was in a different mental state. She didn't feel the same need for freedom. At least… she had a car now. She wasn't as restricted. Though it could be fun.
You wouldn't fall. I would take over before you fell.Trisha wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that either. Wouldn’t some kind of transformation be painful too?
“I think I’ll stick to the tried and tested methods then. If you’ve got a spell that works for it… then I’d like to try it sometime. Just to see what it's like and if I enjoy it… it’s kind of like trying out an extreme sport right? Just magical. I trust you and your magic.”Hmph.Trisha let out a soft laugh, wriggling a bit in Casey’s arms. Her head came to rest on his shoulder, tilting up to smile at him.
“I think I upset her. During the meeting she… promised to help more. I’m just not sure if I’m comfortable with doing more with it.” She quietly brought up the dreaded meeting. The thing they hadn’t talked about much before having a fight. But she felt comfortable with him right now… and she’d put herself in a position where she couldn’t escape. But he couldn’t either.
”Who… You mean the Queen? What’d possibly upset her, huh? She’s got life on easy street as far as Apparitions go. You’ve had enough money to maintain her subjects, taken good care of them. You’re a good proxy. And a strong woman for dealing with, y’know, sixty thousand kids or whatever.” Casey laughed, shaking his head and rubbing Trisha’s arms to calm her down a little bit.
He could feel her tensing as she brought the meeting up, probably worried about whether or not he’d really gotten over it. But, if he hadn’t, would they be here now? The thought didn’t come anywhere near his mouth, just rolling around in his head playfully until it tipped out the side and down to the ground below them. He’d pick it up later…
”But, I mean… Tell me about it? I’m all ears, my Love…”“Well, I’m not really sure why she’s upset… she just huffed in my mind when I said I’d rather use your magic,” Trisha said softly, relaxed again against him. It was difficult to retain any tension when he was so warm… so comforting. Even as they moved further and further up into the sky. Maybe it was the safety, maybe it was that she wouldn’t mind falling like this.
“She said she’d teach me how to fly. And at the meeting she promised to teach me more of her magic. I want to learn more for the bees… if I can use my pheromones better, or help them more. But if it comes with… physical changes. Like Lila. What if I end up like her? She wasn’t like that before.”Casey shrugged.
”Well, I’d say… If you haven’t heard anything from her until now, and she’s offering to teach you things but you deny her? Sounds like there's a contribution to hurt feelings there. If she can teach you how to fly, and you’re capable, then I say you should just ask her more questions instead of… Y’know…”He trailed off, hoping that she’d understand what he meant. The whole idea of listening and responding shouldn’t ever be a question to ask. It was only right that she should try to get all the information and understanding she could from the Queen.
Trisha did understand. It didn’t mean she was entirely comfortable with it. She tensed up a bit again. She’d gotten so used to doing things herself, and the way things were. Complacency. There hadn’t really been any want to change things. To change herself, or to improve. She’d been stuck until she met Casey. But… It was scary.
“But it’s scary,” she admitted quietly. Barely a whisper. Then, a little louder.
“And she said if I fall she’d take control.””But have you even considered asking her what she meant?” he questioned gently, the early afternoon sun finally shining through the island’s vague misty haze.
They were making their way to the top now, and Casey pointed out to the St. Portwell skyline in the distance.
”Oh, wait… See? This is supposed to be the payoff. Y’get up here, the clouds part, and you can see the beauty and splendor of the city… Takes your mind off things. Supposed to kind of overwhelm the senses, and make you feel some kind of passion or nostalgia.”Trisha turned her head to look where Casey was pointing. It was beautiful. Appreciated more from where she was nestled against him. Nostalgia… there was certainly a feeling of that. Maybe less nostalgia, but relief. The city still existed. It had been rebuilt. The nightmare from ten years ago that still haunted her was in the past. Things were better now.
“It is really nice. Worth risking my life over.” The last bit was a joke, said with a smile.
I’m sorry. Can we talk about it later? she whispered in her mind.
I suppose.It was enough. As they moved past the peak of the ferris wheel, Trisha turned from looking at the beautiful sights of the city to the beautiful sight of her boyfriend.
“I hadn’t considered it… because she used to never answer. But I’ll ask. Not right now, when we’re on a date… but another time. Because I do want to improve my magic.” Casey’s face turned into a wry grin as he considered what she said.
”Hey, listen… You’re not gonna offend me… I can-”His gloved hand slipped into his coat, pulling out a pair of reading glasses without actual lenses in them. As they connected with his fingertips, an orange glow radiated from where the lenses should’ve been, forming an octogrammal pattern of runes within that slowly faded away into nothingness…
”-just check on how things are going on Elysium. I have a little excuse, you have a little excuse, we accept it and kiss one another the next pass around. If I have it my way, we’ll spend forever together. Hopefully see things even more beautiful than this…”Though the thought only passed through his mind, “Except for you.” was the most prominent thought of what to say. But, he figured it’d be way too corny.
“It’s not about offending you… but alright. You check, I’ll talk… and I’ll be waiting for that kiss.” Trisha smiled warmly at him, eyes creasing with joy at the thought of forever together. That’s what she wanted too. She hoped it would work out like that. That she wouldn’t become too much for him… But she wouldn’t think about that right now. Instead she relaxed against Casey, half closing her eyes.
So… What did you mean by take over?Silence. A short while, and she asked again. Still silence. So she’d gone back to sleep… that was fine. Trisha didn’t mind. She had said later after all. So instead she tilted her head up, languidly watching Casey.
From the moment she was paying attention to him again, it was clear that Casey was enraptured by the happenings on the other island. His mouth was open wide, and one fist was clenched as he stared in awe. He’d not seen something like that on such a scale since Africa…
He quickly had the glasses off, looking back down at Trisha.
”If you’re done already, Babe, check it the fuck out! Drake Blackmore just disappeared, and now there’s a giant skeleton!” he exclaimed with the enthusiasm of a child on Christmas.
Trisha wasn’t sure if that was a good thing. Drake was a dick, but not so much that he deserved to just straight up disappear. And a giant skeleton… but Casey was so excited. She didn’t entirely get it, and there was that irrational jealousy seeing him so enraptured by something that
wasn’t her… but she pushed it down as best as she could. He was with her. He’d chosen her over the fight.
“Mm, it was a quick talk,” Trisha smiled, reaching up to take the glasses from him. She put them on and turned towards where Elysium was. The giant skeleton was immediately obvious… then the Sycamore members. Aryin and Jack doing something together, Lila- that bitch- was even more crow than before… Sully was hiding behind a bush that did nothing to hide his bare ass.
That was a picture she wouldn’t get out of her mind.
Then there were people she didn’t recognise. Greenwood and 317, presumably. No Elite members. As far as she was aware, none of them could summon a giant skeleton… so it must be from someone they’d hired. There was nobody dead, and the few members she cared about weren’t there.
“Wow. I didn’t know the Elite had a giant skeleton in the back pocket. At least it doesn’t seem to be going badly?” There was a bit of forced enthusiasm there, because for Trisha seeing magical fights like this- with these people- was too reminiscent of the Stygian Snake days. But Casey’s happiness was hers, so it wasn’t entirely forced.
”Hey, nobody we know is a pasty corpse from what I can see… Not sure what happened to Drake, but whatever, dude’s a Blackmore. If he can’t handle himself, I bet his Dad would’ve killed him a long time ago.”Casey knew more about the Blackmore lineage than Drake himself. They were one of the rival clans of prominence in this neck of the woods. While he hadn’t known much before his coronation, the imparted knowledge stream included potential enemies… And they were counted among them.
Regardless, Casey pulled the glasses off Trisha’s face and comfortably slid them back into his pocket.
”Still… That’s settled in my mind. No more thinking about it at all. Right?” he asked playfully as they descended back into the misty veil of the island.
And eventually, Trisha
would get that kiss. Another rotation, and Casey made it a point to say one thing he thought was beautiful about the city they both came from before giving Trisha a passionate kiss until they descended once more. They must’ve spent an hour on that ride, just talking and passing sweet nothings between one another before the crowds had built up enough. Eventually the attendant simply couldn’t justify continuous rides…
It was plenty of time, and left them looking for the next thrill. What few there were, anyway… Spinning in some kind of circle seemed to be the theme, with a himalaya ride called “The Spiral” letting them both experience a fraction of the g-forces that a fighter pilot would. It wasn’t awful, but Casey couldn’t help noticing that she was absolutely white-knuckled the entire time. Like the machine was bound to snap itself off the track and fly away. It wasn’t going to, of course, as whoever was in charge of this little carnival seemed to be a skilled Orange practitioner.
He made a mental note to find out who was responsible, so he could glean some insight.
The finale of the rides, and the one that looked most dangerous even to Casey, was the seemingly hastily slapped together roller coaster. It wasn’t like one at a major amusement park; this one was scaffolding and wooden blocks holding up ten tons of metal and track. It was a single hill, with one hard loop right after the drop and some twists and turns before arriving back at the beginning.
Nothing to be worried about… Not that it shook, or rattled, or looked like the bolts were about to fall out. This one was touched just the same, so he
had to trust it.
That didn’t mean Trisha did, however. No matter how much enthusiasm Casey tried to pour into the situation, he still had to catch the look of death on Trisha’s face as they came off it and down the ramp.
”See!? Not so bad! We’re all done, Babe!” he exclaimed, wrapping her in his arms on solid ground.
“I’m never going on a ride like that again,” Trisha whispered, pressing her whole body against his. It still felt like everything around her was wobbling. Her stomach felt like it was in her mouth. But more than anything, she’d hated how she couldn’t do anything about it the whole time. That was what had been the scariest.
She was trembling slightly, but eventually that subsided as the solidness of him holding her and the ground underneath her feet got through.
“I’m… still glad we did it. Even though I hated it. I wouldn’t have even tried if I wasn’t with you. But I definitely need some kind of massive plushie after that.”Casey was excited to hear that… While Trisha was panicked on the coaster, Casey was taking the chance to scope out the booths that they hadn’t reached yet… So, he’d been able to keep the perfect secret.
”Oh, my sweet, sweet Trisha Bee… How right you are…”Like he’d already done several times that day, Casey playfully scooped Trisha out from under herself again… This time probably caused a bit of a panic attack, but there wasn’t a lot that could be done about that. He was going to keep her one hundred percent safe, so she’d just have to get used to it.
And he took off into a full sprint like he’d stolen the prized pumpkin from the county fair, massive feet slapping off the pavement as he made way for the games at the edge of the park.
There, at the center of them all, was a large pool. It was waist height, and chalk full of little metal fishes sitting at the bottom of the water. Each one had a hook on it, and there were rods placed all around the thing. The attending individual was a friendly looking man with a “Women want me, Fish fear me” hat proudly sitting on his head…
But the main attraction was the grand prize… The size of a truck tire, and covered in shaggy orange fuzz, was something that looked like a tiger. But as Casey got close to it and rotated it in his hand, he nearly snapped it off it’s hanger out of excitement. Holding it fully, he turned its face upright and spun it to face Trisha.
In his hands, was a massive orange and black stuffed Bumble Bee. The fuzzy fur was meant to mimic the friendly little ladies, and its face was the cutest and most welcoming cartoon smile that Casey could think of.
“Ooooh, discerning eye, huh? We also have it in Red and the classic Yellow if you’d prefer.” the man offered, waving his hand over his game.
“This game, we call Fishin’ Tycoon. You get seven pulls. You get a matching pair, you get a little guy. Get three of a kind, you get the medium. Four? That’s your prize right there, our humble Bee friend. There’s fifty-two fish in the sea, you see… Just like a deck of cards. Five bucks, seven chances to draw.”
Casey’s face was bright with excitement.
”Well shoot, that’s pretty simple rules. Trisha? You wanna fish-a? Too, I mean?” he blushed slightly.
Trisha’s eyes pulled away from the massive, adorable Bumble Bee to Casey’s lit up face. His excitement was contagious… and she was excited too. She really wanted the bee. It was so big, she wasn’t even sure what they’d do with it… but it was so cute. Just like her girls.
“Fish-a? Sure, I wanna fish-a,” Trisha teased him with a giggle. She couldn’t help but reach up to squeeze one of his cheeks. He was cute too. His excitement and blushing just made her feel so warm. Happy, like she could fully be herself too.
She turned towards the large pool, looking down at it. Then back at Casey. She grinned.
“Sooo, you won’t be upset if I get the four matching fish and win the bee for myself, will you?”Casey handed over a tenner, shaking his head and smiling.
”Why would I be upset? Like the rest of our lives together, right now, we’re working toward the same goal. If anything, I’d be super excited if you win it… Because that means if the world ends, you’ll be able to go and fish for us so I can focus on something else!” he chided, a finger reaching out to tickle her side playfully.
“Awwww, you’ve got a winner there, Little Lady. That’s a man built for marriage; took me twenty years to piece out somethin’ like that with my wife. Granted, she ‘int know she was my wife, I was living in the crawlspace behind the stairs then…
Anyway!!! Iiiiiiiiits
Fishing Tycoooooooooon! Grab your rods and fish your seven! Bring ‘em up one at a time, and we’ll reveal the results at the eeeeend!”
Then the man hit a switch, and crazy fishing music started playing. There weren't any other players, so the work wasn’t quite as frenetic as it otherwise would’ve been. While Casey didn’t want to get Trisha wet, since he didn’t want her to be cold, she had no such compunctions. Each flick of the chain on the fishing rod at her end caused water to splash up and spatter across Casey’s jacket and pants. He didn’t mind… It made him smile that she was feeling so playful even after the horrifying roller coaster ride.
Eventually, the two of them had gathered a total of fourteen metal fishes, placed into a basket at the center of the pool which the attendant then pulled out. Two baskets, two people. There were little hangers next to the old man meant for holding the little fish hooks up.
This let the players see the results like a scoreboard, meaning that Casey and Trisha could see their own individual failures… Out of seven, the first three for Casey were duds. After that, two separate pairs meant that he could
theoretically pick out two small prizes… But they were all different kinds of clownfish, which were far less appealing.
Trisha had managed to pull a three of a kind
and two other pairs, leaving her with a theoretical prize takeaway of either a purple raccoon or a turquoise tortoise (say that five times fast), as well as two fish of her own.
“Well I’ll be damned… I haven’t seen synchronised whiffing like that since the interpretive spoiled milk contest fifteen years ago…”
The man seemed to be pondering the fish as if he were reading the bones… Looking back at the couple, he frowned.
“Y’know… I was gonna say that it was pretty unfortunate, but… Y’know young man? You inspired me to look at things a different way. Like you said, you two? Working together… Sooooo…”
Casey had already spotted the unfortunate circumstance: That between the two of them, they’d managed to pull a four-of-a-kind out of the pond, effectively crushing their chances of either of them getting that set. But, as they were suits of cards with fifty-two in the pond, he had a flashback of all those nights spent playing poker and rummy in the holes.
He had seen the four Aces the moment he realized Trisha had two.
“I think… That because of that, we’re gonna go ahead and
accept this four of a kind here! Any objections?” he asked the couple, his hook tool already sliding the four aces off their spots and holding them up for the duo to see.
”Oh, my God!? No way! No objections from me! Babe?” Casey asked.
Trisha had been disappointed too, but trying her best to temper it. She’d still got something. The purple raccoon was cute. It wasn’t quite the bee… but it was cute enough… it had to be…
“Huh?” Trisha looked up from accepting her failure, taking a moment to buffer and process what was said. He was… letting them take the bee? Combining their fish? Seriously?!
“Y-yeah, of course! No objections.” Trisha’s whole face lit up.
She didn’t waste any time in bouncing forward to take the massive orange and black striped bee. It was incredibly soft, the fluff getting right in her face as she grabbed it. And it was
massive. More than half her size… the thing had to be about a metre in height. She could barely get her arms around it.
“Look, Babe, it’s practically my size! A Trisha sized bee!” Trisha giggled as she was practically drowned by it. Most of her face was covered, eyes peering over the top of that fluff at him.
“Should we name it?””I think its only right we name her Princess! After all, I mean… She’s not the Queen... But, like… Look at her!” Casey was all smiles, pushing close to Trisha and wrapping his arms around the giant bee and her at the same time.
“She really does look like a Princess,” Trisha giggled, leaning into Casey. She just felt so… happy. Genuine unadulterated joy.
“She’s so cute…””Holy crap, I mean… Mister, thank you! Seriously, we’ve… Got a thing for Bees!”“Oh, I could tell from the initial excitement. I just hope you two treat
Princess very well. Maybe, uh… Y’know… Some kind of protective spell.”
Casey’s eyes narrowed. Instantly, Trisha would be able to feel a flare of White Lux across her Emotional Field. Casey’s hair jumped slightly in response, receiving the feedback that confirmed his suspicions.
He smiled. The old man smiled back.
”I’m sure we can find someone to do that… I can only hope that she looks as good as the rides around here do in twenty years time.”The old man only giggled.
“Just be sure to spend some time at the other booths too… Ey, Tiger?”
”Aye, Captain. Will do…”After that, the whole time was spent collecting a myriad of other forest friends for Princess to crowd around herself. The raccoon made a return at the baseball booth after Casey dumped ten dollars into trying to legitimately hit the grand prize target and missing. Trisha had wound up winning it herself in the end…
Another giant friend came at the cost of a little extra stress, as the shooting gallery was an absolute shooin’ for victory.
Only for Casey to embarrassingly prove that this particular booth was painfully rigged. Probably a holdover from the days that Soldiers had been the main participants, the moving targets were wound so tightly to their spool that no matter how many times he shot them, they wouldn’t fall.
Eventually the younger teen running the booth was so shocked that he had to get the old man… Not expecting to see them again, he could only laugh and brush over the little targets with a “special rag” that would “loosen the mechanism”.
This time, it was a much bigger version of the tortoise from before, this time in a deep forest green that Casey loved dearly. It made him think of his own tank bound pal at home, and he happily named the massive thing “Sherman” after the famous American tanks.
Eventually they came to the end, where there were some booths that had different carnival foods. Fried dough, cotton candy; anything one could think of.
Casey couldn’t help himself, and ordered a big cup of soda, a sealed bag of caramel popcorn, and an equally large bag of cotton candy to bring back to the hotel and beyond. Now sitting on one of the benches and ripping a piece out of the bag for Trisha and himself, he took a deep breath.
”I think we’re gonna have to go back to the room with all this stuff… Unless you don’t mind me using a bit of funny magic to make our lives easier?” he asked calmly and matter-of-factly.
“You can use magic, it’s not like… I mind you using it,” Trisha replied, tilting her head a little bit. She reached out to take a piece of candy and pop it into her mouth, letting it melt there before continuing.
“I’m not against magic use, or anything, I just don’t want to get dependent on it. Unless… by a bit funny you mean there’s some wild side effect of making our lives easier. We won’t, like, turn the colour of the plushies or something will we?””No, absolutely not. It just looks really goofy, and I’ll probably need to use your pockets too. It’s not infinite storage since I don’t know Purple Lux. But, I can affect the dimensions of a space to a certain extent due to my control over the object’s adherence to reality. I call them ‘Clown Pockets.’”His hand slipped up to his jacket, glove rubbing the large outer side pocket. He then proceeded to pull the mouth of the pocket open, and open a bit more… And more… And more again, until it was finally big enough to accept Sherman being stuffed into it and closing without a second thought. All that was there was a
little bulge… Presumably the absolute maximum extent of the spell. He then did it to the other pocket, stuffing his snacks and most of the other smaller plushies down into the abyssal pocket.
”Later when I deactivate the spell, it’s gonna spew everything out all over the hotel room, so it’ll be like a plushie rain.” he giggled. Then he outstretched his hand.
”Now you…”Trisha stared at the effect of the spell before shuffling around to offer up the right pocket of her coat. She made sure to scoop the few bees that had ended up in there out, depositing them in the other one instead. It didn’t look
too goofy. At least not so goofy when the spell was done that she felt she couldn’t walk around like that.
“Go on, clown my pocket,” she giggled, picking up and holding out Princess at the same time.
“At least I won’t risk bumping into things if she’s in my pocket like that… and the plushie rain sounds like a fun way to end the day. Like a little… celebration for a perfect date.”Casey pushed up close to Trisha, a smile crossing his face as he held onto her coat. His hands massaged the coat around the pocket, and he chuckled loudly.
”Honk honk honk…”And Trisha would be able to feel the pocket giving way to her arm stretching it, though it was only the mouth that comically widened, while the bottom of the pocket remained stationary in wait for cargo to accept. Casey helped keep it open, and Princess the giant bee slipped snuggly into place inside the magically fixed pocket. There was only a small bulge left where the bee’s girth was at its widest to even give a hint to its existence within.
”That’s a clown pocket if I’ve ever seen one. Feel weird? You good? I’m… I’m definitely gonna come back here tomorrow before we leave, and buy like six sausage sandwiches to bring home. Something about tube meat in a bun makes it… Appealing again? Intestines are the only thing I ever saw and went like… Yummy…” Casey offered a bit of insight into a half-broken mind with a not-so-hidden grin.
“All good, feels just like a normal pocket,” Trisha smiled at him, while she tried to process what he said about sausages and intestines. She wasn’t exactly the most squeamish thanks to everything she’d seen during the Stygian Snake… But she hadn’t seen guts like that. Loads of horrendous injuries, but she didn’t remember seeing intestines… It was a strange way to think about them. But she didn’t find herself feeling in any way negative towards it. This was
Casey. She
loved him. So if he was able to eat sausages unlike other meat because of a strange association? Good.
“Will they last all the way home? We could just… buy sausages and buns and make them… can’t be that hard, can it?” Trisha asked, tilting her head a bit. Acknowledge what he said about intestines, don’t acknowledge it… she probably should.
“Just the intestines? Aren’t there… other parts of the body that’re like… tube meat?”Casey laughed aloud.
”The dick doesn’t tend to last through a bomb blast. But there’s a lot of intestines. They tend to splatter or coil or, y’know, they hang. Get on things. Links remind you of the butchers, since the muscle-”Casey’s eyebrows furrowed, and he shook his head.
”-you don’t want to hear about that. Arms sometimes. Legs, no. It’s not pretty usually.”He thought about the prospect of sausage sandwiches from home and wondered if Andrade had a technique for imparting that smokey grill flavor without the grill. And the onions. The peppers… It always tasted so good from the fucking stands, he rarely ever thought about making one himself.
His hand reached out and offered itself to Trisha.
”C’mon Babe. Still want to go to the shops? Or you wanna take a break before dinner?” he asked gently, thinking about that little gun shop and whether or not he’d have to come back later.
“I want to shop- what’s the point of a date if we just do what we’d do at home?” Trisha took his hand immediately, fingers threading through his. It was a bit ironic coming from the person who’d suggested they stay in bed earlier… But that was because of the mood. Now that they were out she wanted to enjoy being
out with him. While the rides had been intense and not the most enjoyable experience, she wasn’t tired enough to need rest. Honestly… shopping was something she could do in almost any condition.
“Where first? The nice smelling shop, or… do you want to go to the gun one first?””Which one is more boring? We’ll get the worst done first.” he offered, feeling her hand in his and welling up with a sense of joy and love that he wasn’t used to. At least, not until recently. Her. She was all the love and joy he needed to keep going.
“More boring for me or for you?” Trisha asked teasingly, with a little giggle. It was pretty obvious which one would be more boring for him… And she didn’t really have a preference. She wasn’t really interested in guns, but she was looking forward to watching him look at them. She’d enjoy his enjoyment…
“Nice smelling one first, then. Candles are just objectively more boring than guns, right?” Casey shrugged his shoulders.
”Candle Making is an ancient art! Definitely objectively cool. But uh… We’ll probably spend more time in the gun store anyway. Unless they’ve got nothing, obviously. There’s a chance of that, since it’s such a small place.”His bad rambling habit aside, Casey took the first stride forward out of the fairground and back toward the main strip of stores nearby. Careful to let Trisha follow along as opposed to dragging her, they made their way back around the bend and down toward the coastline, waves crashing as evening started to settle in. It was a beautiful place, even with the constant mist generally obscuring the path ahead.
Casey hadn’t checked on Elysium since they’d been on the Ferris Wheel, and was satisfied by the lack of calls being made to his cell. Nothing bad happened…
Probably.So, Casey contemplated:
Why do I feel so strange?His brow furrowed, and he looked down at Trisha. His White Lux rippled across her very noticeably. But he didn’t let her sit waiting for an explanation.
”Babe? Are you… Making any funky gas? Y’know, your pheromones? I’m getting this really weird feeling…” he asked her, concern in his voice despite his walking pace not slowing down.
Trisha looked up at him with some confusion, feeling the White Lux wash over her. There was a reactive pheromonal response, but only one that had her bees crawling out of their various hiding spots with equal confusion to hers. Just her normal pheromones. He’d be able to sense the light waves coming off her with his magic. But she was always giving them off a little, so it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.
“Not that you’d feel.” She shook her head, trying to press down the panicked feelings in her gut that could lead to those pheromones. It was Casey’s concern- getting a weird feeling. It was probably nothing, right? But it could be something.
“I can make you feel angry, panicked, or more attracted to me- not weird. It’s not me.””Panic applies… Probably just anxiety from some shitty memory. China got real foggy like this, that’s probably it.”Casey’s arms pulled Trisha just a bit closer than she had been. Just enough.
”Can you get some of the girls to look around for us? Just… Ahead? Off on the sides, behind us. Fan ‘em out?” He was a little embarrassed about asking her to do this. Mostly because he didn’t want to kill the joy of the date. They’d had such a nice time, after all. How could he make a big deal out of anything after that? But he was, only so much as he felt like it was necessary.
”I’m sorry… I hate to ask.” he confided quietly.
“It’s okay, I can,” Trisha replied softly, furrowing her brow. Maybe it was just anxiety. Though, it wasn’t coming from her. Her control wasn’t perfect but she knew when she was using those pheromones. They’d smell it, too. But it could just be him… and she didn’t mind doing something to put his mind at ease.
She only had about twenty with her, but that should be enough. She carefully split them into pairs, pausing in place as she did so. It was difficult for her to walk and command… She had to give each pair a slightly different direction, with the same instruction of looking around. For what? Suspicious people… but bees couldn’t tell that. People at all? Think about how it had been with the Stygian Snake when she used them to scout… just report to her what was around. Movements.
Most of the bees took off, leaving a small amount clinging to her neck. She looked back up at Casey.
“I can sense them, but it’s fainter the further they get away. I have to concentrate a bit more on it. They don’t really… understand what they’re looking for, but I’ll know if there’s anyone around.””If you can, pump them a little bit.”What’s wrong with you?”Wait, no! No… Just keep them nearby. Enough that you’re not straining. We don’t need to see too far, just let them be around. And keep going to the store.”He was so used to those silly tactics… The ones that didn’t place a great deal of care for human life. Plenty of units had at least one or two Black adepts responsible for frontline recovery and recon. The dead made the best flank guards, seeing as how they couldn’t complain and their re-death usually didn’t affect the Necromancer. But these bees were part of Trisha… They were part of her sensory systems. She felt each and every death. He couldn’t send them out as bait to tempt a strike, or they’d die.
But the shops were close.
”I’m gonna pull you… I’m sorry!”If there was anything Casey was good at, it was directional communication. Clear declaration of intent was key to battlefield communication.
Trisha would feel her arm tugged and pulled up into a jog. Casey brought them up to the side of the building, then took a deep breath.
”You’re not gonna be able to get a clear communication with them from inside, are you? Pull ‘em in.”Trisha just shook her head a moment after he spoke, reaction delayed. She was having to process the pheromones being sent to her by the scout bees while making sure they knew where she was to follow. Then there was a translation- understanding what they were telling her, which was like a second nature to her now, and separating the useless information from useful. Most of this felt useless. But it wasn’t their fault, they couldn’t really understand.
But it was frustrating
she couldn’t do anything to help. If this was something, rather than paranoia. But she trusted Casey.
All the bees she’d sent out came back, landing on her body and crawling into her jacket to hide themselves before they went inside the shop. Unlike her, they were happy to have done what they’d been told- a job well done to the girls.
“I’m sorry, they didn’t see anything. Well, they saw things, but it was all just… objects…” Casey was quick to give Trisha a reassuring pat on the rear.
”You’re doin’ great, Babe. It’s a muscle, right? Gotta keep it worked out.”He wasn’t going to clarify whether or not it was a drill. It wasn’t, but she didn’t need to get too panicked by thinking that it was totally out of their control.
So he did his best to calmly sweep around the building to the front and into the shop. It smelled like gunmetal, a little sulfur, mineral lubricants and cigarettes. The main display consisted of a dozen hand-crafted six-shooters tucked into velvet boxes matching each piece’s aesthetic.
Casey felt a little safer just looking at them. His face lit up immediately, and he gravitated toward them.
There were handles with pearl, blue-steel frames pressed with all sorts of different designs, gold trim and ebony wood. Each one was a little art piece of its own. Casey’s finger pointed up, his body able to take a breath and smile properly at Trisha.
”See, these are nice show pieces! Put ‘em high on a wall in a glass case, get the Smith’s stamp of approval and hang it alongside? It’s just a 3-D picture, right?” he asked with a chuckle.
As Casey seemed to relax, Trisha did too. If anywhere was safe, it was a gun shop… assuming any possible threat hadn’t gotten to the guns first. But he had magic to control objects, so it was fine even in that very hypothetical situation. She slotted in against his side, leaning into him slightly as she followed his finger up to the show pieces. They were aesthetically pleasing to the eye, even if she didn’t really understand it.
But he was happy about it, so she smiled and nodded. Still, she couldn’t help but ask…
“Can you use them? I see how it’s like a 3-D picture, but… art’s just art. I don’t entirely understand why you’d display a gun you then can’t use. Can it not be practical and nice looking?” Her tone was completely earnest, looking up at him with an open expression. Not judging, just wanting to understand.
”Uhh…-”The question gave Casey a bit of a stop-start sensation in his brain. He wasn’t expecting the practical nature hidden behind her typically unassuming exterior. But she was right; there’d be no point if you couldn’t use them.
”-I mean, you can? They just require a lot of maintenance to stay pretty like they are… From regular people, I mean. Me? It stays nice. Y’know, one of the first real spells I made was to keep maintenance down to a minimum, but now that I’m home I still clean them. Every single time.”He turned his head to look around. By that time, someone had come out from the back. Unassuming man, exactly what one would expect someone working behind the counter at a gun store to look like. That, plus the fishing Uncle at the game back in the park. Casey threw him a nod and a wave, looking back to the revolvers in the display.
“They are for sale! Unaccepted commissions; stuff we’ve had sent back that wasn’t up to grade for the customer.”
Casey chuckled to himself.
”Oh? Just aesthetic disagreements I hope.” he said with a calm and firm reply.
“Tags’ll say what happened. But, yeah. Generally speaking, it’s dumb stuff that either the original customer wasn’t clear on, or legitimate goofs on our part. Both we cover, and hope that someone else can appreciate the piece as it is. They’re up on our website too…”
Casey nodded, looking down at Trisha again.
”You like any of ‘em? Not that they’d be for you, but one you could deal with looking at? I wanna put it over the mantle at home. I was also thinking we could get you something you like preemptively. Or, y’know, not. It’s fine. There’d be paperwork and stuff for both of us to do.” he shrugged.
“Something I like… for me to use?” Trisha asked, head turning from looking up at Casey to looking at the show pieces. One that she could deal with looking at… They all looked nice enough. And she really wasn’t that fussy about how they decorated their home, as long as it didn’t look
sterile. Or he didn’t start putting up so many guns there was more gun than wall.
She pointed to one that’s intricate design seemed vine-like. Reminiscent of a forest floor on a gun.
“That one’s nice. But none of them are bad... it’s not like you’re asking to hang up some massive rifle on the wall. That’s just my preference from them all. And I’m fine to fill out paperwork… as long as it’s with you, even that can be fun.” Her voice got a bit softer towards the end, quiet enough so only he could hear.
”We make everything fun… But yeah I was eyeing that one too.”The one she picked out had the ebony grip, which Casey appreciated as an aesthetic choice with the vines traveling across the cylinder and up the barrel. Like some kind of dead rose bush or something reaching out to nothing.
”I wonder what kind of person ordered that.”Looking closer at the specimen, Casey found the tag on display.
Carving/Engraving Error: Lack of excess material for further design.Casey shook his head and laughed.
”Oh, boy… Alright, aptitude test. No failure pressure, I don’t have any idea if you’ll put it together. But what do you think that tag means for like… The gun, y’know? Like, reading that, what do you think that description means?”Trisha's face scrunched up slightly, nose wrinkling and lips pursing. It was cutely thoughtful, even if internally she was panicking just a little bit. He
said there was no failure pressure, but failing was failing. Her eyes narrowed at the tag, then at the gun itself, as if that would help answer. What does it mean
for the gun? Her initial reaction was they ran out of materials to create the rest of the design… but that wouldn’t really affect the gun. Or would it, when it was mostly for aesthetics? Did they want to make a second matching one? No, that didn’t make sense either.
She was thinking way too hard about it, but she wanted to get it
right. Maybe her gut instinct was right? It… seemed like it could be… what was the worst thing that could happen? Well, she’d fail, and Casey might be disappointed in her, and then he might-
“It couldn’t be completed properly? Like they needed to use different material for part of it, or there was meant to be more to the design?””More or less, yeah!”He smiled at her, rubbing her shoulders gently and planting a kiss on her head.
”I bet what happened was that whoever was in charge of taking down the requirements for the commission did a poor job of explaining that there was supposed to be something else. So, when they realized the mistake, they’d already thinned out the metal too much. Especially around the barrel there; see how all the vines spiral together at the end? Too thin, it’s brittle and dangerous to shoot. So, they didn’t leave any extra material to work with. Hence the card..”He knew she was going to get it. She used her brain for a living as far as he was aware… The man at the counter laughed.
“Yeah, we actually had the grip all carved wrong too. No room for the flowers that the customer wanted.”
It was nice to hear someone talk about a work mistake casually without fausting the blame back onto the customer. The guy could’ve implied it was the commissioner’s fault, or blamed anyone down the line… But facts were facts, and if they’d put the gun together like it was without a key piece of flair, he wouldn’t have accepted it either.
”Did it make it to the Customer?” Casey asked.
“Naaaah, we’re pretty good about keeping them posted through the process. The guy saw a picture of it one week, said it looked great, next week we said we were finished and he went
’Oh, so are you gonna weld the flowers on?’”
Casey laughed aloud.
”Oh, God no…”“Yep! So, total do-over. Guy was mad, but probably not as mad as if he’d gotten it when he wanted it and it wasn’t right.”
”Amen. Can you wrap her up for me? And then we’re gonna be looking at compacts. Twenty-two, or nine mil maybe. You guys don’t have a range, do you?”“Not a range, no. What we do have, however, is a neat little recoil machine. It’s kind of a toy, we got it for people stopping in as a kind of catch. But, it does work for what it is. I’ll bring you to it while I set this up… Y’all purchasing two?”
”The case gun, and then we’re looking for her first-timer, yeah.”The man waved them around the corner into a closed off section of the store. There was an arcade-like machine set up to simulate a mock shooting range, and some fake guns attached to it that one could pull out like those standing arcade games. There was also a big screen with a digital target on it. On the panel, there were a billion different settings and selections on a smaller touch screen.
“Alright, so I reckon you’re not a novice?” the man asked Casey calmly.
”No sir, not at all. This is quite the setup, pretty intuitive. Does…-”Casey’s finger was already sliding across the menu screen.
”-It’s got different powder loads and everything? That’s pretty intense, you can adjust it to feel exactly how the gun would feel stock.”The man puffed his chest with a little pride.
“It’s a pretty solid piece of equipment. Bored on a slow day, I can come over here and plink away all day.”
Casey turned to Trisha.
”This is gonna help. It’s not dangerous at all. There’s like, motors and pistons in these things-” he said, swinging his hand to address the fake guns holstered in the machine.
”And so basically what we can do is let you feel the recoil. You can test what hurts your wrist and what doesn’t, and we can adjust from there.”Seeing Casey already had a handle on things, the man nodded and stepped away toward the case with the revolver in it to prep it for Casey.
Trisha’s head tilted slightly as she stared at the machine. It was completely different to any she’d seen - though that was mostly just the type you’d actually get in an arcade. She tried not to think about what had happened the last time they were in front of a shooting arcade machine. This was
completely different. A lot had changed since then too.
“You’re going to have to set it up for me. I don’t even know what gun to pick up. Or how to hold it.” She looked over at all the fake guns, then up at Casey.
“You’ll have to show me how to do that too… I assume if I hold it wrong it’ll hurt my wrist even if it's the right, uh, size? Or whatever we’re checking?”Casey nodded, holding his hand out to the machine.
”What we’re gonna do is try some small calibers, see which you like. And yeah, hopefully this machine is accurate enough that we can kind of get you started on holding it right. How uh… Do you remember how it felt to shoot that gun the other day? With the cat?” he asked, gently explaining what was going to happen next for full clarity.
Trisha furrowed her brow, trying to remember the feeling. There’d been a lot going on then. She’d been incredibly panicked. That was the only reason she’d even been able to shoot it…
“I think so. It was heavier than I expected, and kind of pushed back at me. But I just picked it up and pulled the trigger in a panic, so I wasn’t really thinking.”Casey nodded.
”Probably wouldn’t matter too much anyway. My pistol is so tuned with magic a baby could- We’ll get to that when we get there. For now, for your education and information, we’ll try this.”Fingers sliding across the screen, Casey selected the nine millimetre caliber at a very basic grain level. Pulling the corresponding gun out of the slot, it was a pistol maybe six inches in length, and he very intentionally slid it into her hand.
”Lesson one. Never keep your finger on the trigger of a gun. If you’re not about to shoot-”His hand crept against hers and rubbed it gently before pushing her index finger onto the trigger guard.
”-you keep your finger here. Just about every gun has one. The trigger guard. Blocks stuff from shooting the gun accidentally, including your fingers.”Then he was behind her, free hand rubbing her shoulder while the other held hers in position. He slid that free hand down to her own, and brought it up underneath the gun. The mechanism was definitely an interesting modern haptic setup, and to be wireless to boot? It was impressive this little shop had such an expensive piece of equipment.
Regardless, Trisha’s hand seemed to slot into place under the magazine just fine.
”And then you support what you’re doing from this point. Can you make a seal-”The education went on for some time with Casey moving Trisha into as good of a position as he could and showing her how to work the safety. It ended up being a real touch-fest, and Casey was trying to be playful while still being educational. Keeping the mood light. Eventually the time came for her to pull the trigger.
”Okay… Now, go ahead and slide your finger onto that trigger. Hold it in your hands firmly, but don’t squeeze because that messes up your shot. Align the dots like we talked about, and…-”His hands let go of her, air replacing his warm embrace.
”- Remember the feeling. The stance. Ask yourself if you feel comfortable. And if you’re confident? Take the shot. Expect recoil.”Trisha didn’t feel confident at all. At least, she didn’t feel confident she wouldn’t fuck it up somehow. Miss horrible- if this machine even registered that. It wasn’t a real gun, at least. She couldn’t shoot herself or someone else. But there’d been a lot of information passed over all at once. While she’d taken it in surprisingly well while it was mixed with playful touches and his warmth, she was going to have to go through it a couple of times. Would she really be able to get into this stance again? Hold it correctly?
She was trying her best to remember it all, and the feeling of the fake gun in her hands. If she hesitated more it would be obvious she wasn’t confident, and then it would seem like she wasn’t taking any of it in but she
was.
Her whole face was scrunched up from concentrating so hard, and she tried her best to not squeeze it and align the dots. But as she pulled the trigger, she squeezed the whole gun, messing up her shot. The recoil was worse than she expected too.
“Ow,” Trisha pouted slightly. Obviously her wrists were weaker than she thought… or maybe she just wasn’t used to it. She tilted her head up towards Casey, still pouting.
“You planned this fancy date so we didn’t end up at a shooting range, yet we still ended up here. I can’t believe you.” It was hopefully obvious she was just joking as her pout curved up into a more teasing smile.
Casey’s first instinct was to comfort her. Despite the jump in her shot and the resulting unsteady recoil, she at least held onto the thing. He was surprised that it had a full slide function and everything. His eyes narrowed, and he slid the gun out of Trisha’s hand for a moment. Without taking much of a stance, he drew and aimed at the board, then pulled the trigger for himself.
”Well, that’s pretty much dead on I’d say. So, how hurt is it?”Pulling out his glove, Casey suavely slipped the machine back into its holster and swung his arm down to hold Trisha’s wrist in his hand. He kissed the top of her head, letting a basic version of wound detection radiate across her arm. Nothing major, he figured- No broken bones or ligaments, no serious tears. Rupturing of blood vessels, some bruising for later maybe. But nothing a warrior who fought the Stygian Snake couldn’t handle. Even if she
did downplay it.
”You think you wanna try again? Or do you want me to swap down to a slightly lower power cartridge?” he asked her with a gentle teacher’s questioning voice.
“It depends," Trisha frowned, dropping her hand to rub her wrist. It didn't exactly help. It was a bit tender to touch, in fact. She didn't exactly want to make a major fuss about something that came from her own physical weakness.
“How many times do you think I'd have to shoot? It's not so bad that I couldn't do that a couple of times… or was it because I squeezed the gun? And I wouldn't hurt if I did it properly?"She didn't really know much about guns. What Casey asked didn't mean much to her, aside from her assumption it would recoil less, and…
“What’s the difference with a lower power cartridge?"Casey liked where her head was at: Trisha was asking all the right questions, and he could only grin widely as he got to answer them.
”Oh… I’d say you’d maybe have to do it five times in a row.”Sparing her a long diatribe, he decided to just give her the most grim scenario without exactly telling her: That she managed to see whatever contact was coming, and that she did draw and fire. Maybe in a panic, she gets it. She’s not going to stop firing until its done, and it’ll hurt… But five times accurately.
Because if those missed? She’d need one hell of a wall of bees to block the returns.
”Accurately, five times in a row. And as far as the lower power; for our purposes it’s just to gauge what’s most comfortable for your wrist and arms as it stands. If you’re not comfortable, you’re never going to want to shoot it, right?” he asked, knowing full well that anything could be adjusted.
Trisha nodded as she took in what he said. Five shots… she couldn't do five shots with that. Not unless she was desperate and willing to get hurt like that. And that wasn't the point. It was meant to be something she felt she could defend herself with… like he said, she'd never want to shoot it if she wasn't comfortable.
“Right… Then I want to try the lower power cartridge to see how it feels. Unless I'm going to hit the gym and work out my arms and wrists…." She laughed lightly. She didn't feel very confident about the whole thing… but Casey wanted her to have a pistol, and to learn how to use it. So she'd really try.
“I’m going to have to practice a lot to accurately shoot that many times… or at all."Eyes narrowed, Casey’s finger scrolled through the machine’s options while his free hand kept rubbing Trisha’s wrist. He didn’t want her to be too uncomfortable.
”I’m going to make… A controversial decision. But its one I think you’ll wind up appreciating more later on.”His fingers tapped away, and then he pulled the fake pistol out again to hand over to Trisha.
”Depending on the bullet and its properties, I have different spells that do different things. If we’re going to get you comfortable with shooting any kind of gun without magic, it should at least be a platform that I can easily work with later on. That way, you’ll have the perfect fit for you. What you used was a nine millimeter. Roughly four and a half foot-pounds of recoil energy driving back at you.”Slowly, he started to maneuver her back into stance.
”It doesn’t sound like a lot when you put it like that, but four and a half pounds travelling at a pretty high momentum is enough to do exactly what that did: Hurt your wrist. This caliber shaves off roughly a third of that energy.”Casey’s massive hands were gentle as he reset Trisha tenderly into position.
”Take all the time you need. Fire when ready, and always point the gun forward toward your target before you ever touch the trigger.” “Y’know I don't know enough about guns to understand what's controversial or not? You're going to have to explain that to me too," Trisha smiled up at Casey.
She carefully did what Casey said, making sure the gun was pointed forward at the board. Her finger moved off the trigger guard and into the trigger itself. It took her a moment to remember exactly what he said… hold it firmly, align the dots. Then pull the trigger.
It still wasn't perfect. She struggled with pulling the trigger with one finger while not squeezing with the others, making the shit shaky again. It recoiled back, and her already tender wrist wasn't particularly happy about it. But it felt more comfortable. She could tell that there hadn't been as much backward force with it.
“I think that felt better? It still hurt a bit but… I guess that's something I'm going to have to work on? My shooting and my strength?"Casey nodded affirmingly.
”Better is good! Better is way better than you crying or yelling, right? You’re exactly correct. There’s gonna be a while where you maybe just have to want to shoot the gun. Then you’ll get used to it, like any other workout.”He stuffed the gun back into the slot again, and the monitor responded by opening back up to let him flip through again.
”Just for shits and giggles-” he laughed to himself, flicking through the menus again until he handed the gun back one last time.
”-Try this. And see if you can stance up yourself.”“You haven't made it super powerful, have you?" Trisha looked up at him with joking suspicion.
“If it breaks my wrist I really will cry and yell.”With a teasing smile, she tried her best to get back into the right stance. At least she hadn’t really moved her legs, and she could kind of remember the feeling. It was just getting her hands and fingers in the right places. It was obvious that she was thinking pretty hard as she tried to remember everything he’d said. If she’d known this was going to end up as an impromptu shooting lesson she would’ve brought a notebook…
Eventually, she managed to remember it all. She’d been slow and methodical, going through things in the same order Casey had when first showing her. Useless in a real situation where she had to use it, but at least she’d remembered it. Then she took aim, pulling the trigger. It still shook a bit, but it was an improvement again.
And it barely pushed back at all.
“That didn’t hurt- is that, like, a gun with no bullets?” Trisha asked, looking up at Casey with raised eyebrows.
“Or ones without much power? It practically felt like nothing- but if it was useful everyone would go for that, right?””That was good ol’ twenty-two. The bane of small rodents and varmints across the world. It’s a real little bullet, meant for shooting at like rabbits or skunks; shit on the farm that you don’t want there. But anything much bigger than the local rodent population, you start to have complications. And so do I: There’s not much bullet to enchant there.” he answered, placing one last kiss on the top of her head.
”But regardless of that, good job Babe. You tried it out, and now we know. I’ll probably hold off buying anything for you here. The paperwork we’d need to do for getting that second one would be more than either of us probably want to do tonight. Unless you really want to get it over with.”“Aw, but I really wanted to go rodent hunting next,” Trisha pouted playfully. She put the pistol she was still holding back in its holster, before turning properly towards Casey. She tilted her body forward, arms going around him while her face pressed into his chest.
“Taking my reward for trying now… Mmm, comfy. And you’re right, I don’t really want to be stuck doing paperwork tonight. I’m fine with this, but paperwork isn’t a great date activity.”She tilted her head back to look up at him with a mischievous smile, chin still pressing into his chest.
“Tonight’s for cuddling and other fun things.”Casey’s grin only widened as he shook his head slightly.
”God, you’re stripping me with your eyes… I’m so uncomfortable.” he joked, laughing as he took both her hands and brought them upward.
”Come on… Don’t you wanna douse me in something nice before you unwrap me?” he asked in reference to the other shop he had intended on stopping by.
”Let me just wrap up here.”Trisha’s eyes widened innocently even as her smile widened and became even more teasing. She was fine with him wrapping everything up but… she couldn’t help a little joke back.
“Who said anything about stripping? Your mind’s the one going straight to the gutter, Babe… I could’ve meant any kind of fun!”Casey just grinned down at her like a beam of sunshine.
”You’re gonna be a problem one day… A problem I want, maybe, but still.” he giggled, wrapping his arm around her and finally stepping away from the interesting almost arcade-like machine.
There was another hour or so spent with Casey filing forms to own the gun legally, the paperwork, pulling up his military record and the like. At least it was the modern day, and they had computers to do most of the work.
Once they were done, Casey had his new purchase in its temporary case and tucked into a bag which he held by his side. Better to have the easy access
just in case. However, that was instinct tricking the poor man, as he’d chosen not to get any bullets. Intending to keep it as a trophy, Casey didn’t even think about wanting to shoot it. It was just
on hand now as they made way for the perfume store.
Thankfully, nobody needed to wave a firearm around in there. It was a peaceful and mellow atmosphere, and while Trisha had a slightly hard time adjusting the bees at first, they managed to spend another hour there. Time was spent popping the tops on candles, finding a nice potpourri blend for the house, and the two of them spraying each other with scents and taking great huffs of the stuff.
They couldn’t possibly outspend the gun purchase, even though they were coming out with bags of candles for later. The sun was down on the island now, and the air was brisk as the fog was thick. It almost felt like walking through a thin sheet of ice with each passing step, and looking back would reveal the traveler’s path with increasingly darkening gaps.
In this air, Casey felt a bit more alive. He hated the heat, especially having spent so much of his military service in hot climates. The heat wasn’t nice, and you could only strip down to your bare essentials before the sun became an unstoppable discomfort. Why not take the long way back to the room? Their little pillbox they were sharing the night in. So, rather than the direction most exact to their destination, he casually wandered them off toward a path that he knew went toward a set of battlements. Something to overlook the ocean, and from which they could pivot back toward the warmth of their room.
There were still lights out here. Park lights, like little beacons evenly spaced out one after another. But everything faded away in that fog. Seeing ahead of you was part guess no matter what.
”Uhohhhh… Are we… Lost?” Casey finally said in a very sarcastic tone.
”I guess we’ll have to just, like, wander around forever. Until we die of frostbite.”“See, now you’re just asking for trouble,” Trisha giggled in response. She’d shuffled as close to Casey as was possible while walking, sucking in the gentle warmth he was radiating. It was really cold now that the sun had dipped below the horizon, but she didn’t entirely mind it. She was dressed for the weather, at least.
“Isn’t the best way to survive those conditions to strip and cuddle? Or maybe it isn’t, and the people that find our bodies will be in for a shock.””Enough shock to take pictures; they’ll never see something so perfect again probably.”Casey wiggled his eyebrows at her playfully, giggling as they walked along. The sound of the shore being constantly hit by wave after wave of water echoed in the near distance, telling them they were close to the beach without being able to see it. At this point, at least there were small stone barriers preventing any mistaken wandering off the path.
”So… Good day spent? Do it again sometime?” he asked in a very casual way.
“Hmmm…” Trisha pretended to think about it, as if there was anything to think about. Of course it was. Of course she wanted to do it again sometime. And again, and again. More than that, she was thinking about how she wanted to answer. Jokingly? Keep it casual? Or be more honest?
She felt she owed him it, after he’d done all of this for her… he already knew that her past partners hadn’t really treated her in the same way. Not that they’d all treated her
badly. Not at all, just… not the same.
“Definitely. It’s… the nicest date I’ve ever been on. Thank you for putting so much effort in for me. I haven’t really… had that before. Or think I could.” She smiled up at him, opening herself up just a bit. It was a further admittance of the past, after all.
Casey smiled back down at her, arm curling her tighter to him as she spoke. It felt very real to him, like she’d really felt that in her heart. He’d done a great job of not reading her expressions, or the inflection in her voice, and just accepted what she had to say as the truth. It was trust.
”They’re not all gonna be hits, but I promise we’ll try and do something interesting no matter what. But if you’ll be there with me, Trisha, then they’ll always be good.” he spoke softly, looking down at her with the same expression she gave him.
Genuine care.
”Thanks for putting up with all the bullshit around me.” he warmly intoned.
Feet stopped against the cobblestones, and he held Trisha in place with both arms now. He had her wrapped up in a loving embrace.
”I love you.”“I love you too.” Trisha smiled softly, her arms wriggling under his coat and around him. She felt comfortable…
happy. Properly happy. And she really did love him. It wasn’t just going along with him saying it or jumping to it in an attempt to cling. It was fast, but she’d always been fast… she’d just never had someone get there first. Or truly love her.
“As long as it’s with you, and there’s effort… you’re right, they’ll always be good. I’m not that fussy.” They were at the very edge of the battlement now, with nothing but open rocky coastline beneath them. It made sense to build the fort here, this naturally defensible cliffside cutting off an entrance from the sea entirely. They were so high up that Casey never would’ve expected any kind of gust to blow a heavy amount of water up.
So getting doused in the face by a wave’s worth of water all at once was more than jarring.
Alarmed at the suddenness of the waterblast, Casey was immediately on high alert.
”Woah, what the fuck!?” he shouted, scrambling back from the coast still tightly holding Trisha.
Shock quickly became panic as Trisha went from being hit by water that shouldn’t be this high to half dragged, half carried, away from the coast. Her legs sluggishly responded to help getting away. It was more difficult to suppress the reactive pheromones, the lightest scent of citrus leaking out from her before being blown away. The bees started buzzing in her coat.
“I-it was just a freak wave, right?””Who you callin’ a freak, Babe!?”There was another massive wash against the side of the battlement that sent water spraying into the air. Only a dark figure half lost in the mist followed the wave up and over, the deep blue of a surfboard practically black in the evening’s shadow.
Bedecked in an all-black wetsuit and standing beside a surfboard where the waves had impacted, was a tall and thin man whose long blonde hair couldn’t help but poke out the sides of his wetsuit’s hood. Pulling it away revealed long, paper thin blonde hair in waves and waves that fell from his head.
”Frankly, I’d back off the Fella! S’cuz we’re, like, not looking for you. Keep yerself safe, Ch’ya?”Casey had already tucked Trisha behind him.
”My suitcase… My carry is in my suitcase!” Casey’s voice was very directive, and his head turning to the side as if to speak to Trisha directly was key in that.
He was telling her to run. To get his weapon. To save herself at least. Really, he just couldn’t beg the thought of her getting hurt. To a man who had been through what he’d been through, everything was a weapon…
Trisha didn’t want to leave him. Her hands gripped the back of his jacket tightly as her mind raced through the options. She only had twenty bees. Any pheromones she blasted would affect both. She couldn’t call the other bees. It would take too long, and she couldn’t have them travel that far.
She couldn’t do anything.
Useless. He had to protect her too.
More than useless. Deadweight. No. She couldn’t abandon him. They were
together. In everything.
The scent leaking out of her changed subtly as it increased. Harsher, as if ginger was being mixed in with it. It was a spicy scent that Trisha had accidentally hit Casey with the night of his commencement ceremony. But this time she was using it on purpose, like she’d done during the Stygian Snake. Pushing it to the point it would wash through Casey’s emotional field. Being outside, the smell dissipated before they reached the surfer.
Fight pheromones. But this time it was carefully controlled. Enough to bolster his confidence, remove any fear he might feel, and pump up his adrenaline without making him mindlessly aggressive.
“I’m not leaving you.”Casey felt a strangely familiar hot and spicy warmth rushing through his blood. If nothing else, he felt himself sizing up this Adept in front of him. His hand had long ago slipped into its glove to begin channeling the most glaringly pale White Lux he could muster. Every single inch of the body had already been examined, and there were a few details he could glean.
The board was his Channeler, with a pure Red signature burned deeply into its pores. He was already channeling something- some kind of long charge spell. Probably a gathering spell of some kind for a wave.
He itched over it. Absolutely chaffed, straining at the bit to not move before he’d processed everything. It was too slow. Interrupted entirely by Trisha’s declaration, Casey could only snap to.
She was staying. She was very strongly in the camp of remain… Okay. Fine. No time to argue. But, she’d fought the other day! What if-
The wave of spice came again, rushing across his body into a flare of heat that rolled out of his throat. As his hand passed down from his jacket pocket to his jeans pocket, Casey cast three spells in rapid succession. A standard array he was used to preparing for many years, allowing the clothing to take on strengthening properties. Like a second skin, it all hugged him close now, cradling his limbs and hoisting them with the strength of his magic.
The hand with the glove was the same that grabbed the knife from his back pocket. In that instant, he was thinking about the moment he developed this next little John- A moment requiring immense courage, in which that knife was so much more like a lifeline than a mere tool. And all at once, that knife was a sword whose length alone stuffed itself into the dirt like a statue. The blade was long, comparably thin compared to other portrayals of these massive swords that Trisha may’ve seen, and seemed to have some kind of very intricate design carved into it.
Rending the blade from the ground, Casey swapped its hand and swept it up onto his shoulder before reaching backward with the now free hand of his Channeler. Trisha would be able to feel her clothes become somewhat rigid, holding her tightly in that same way. Any weight she had was gone now, and it felt like all movement was being done at her behest, rather than under her own power.
”Then be safe, Goddammit… I don’t want you hurt!” he growled backward, taking a stance in which his body began to tuck inward as if preparing a charge.
”Broooo, they said the girl wasn’t with you people… Sister Von Mettis, like, lied to me! I’m like, totally gonna hurt her, Bro! She goes first!”And then the spell dropped. Casey wasn’t sure at first what the burst of Red Lux did, until the first icicle hit the ground next to him and exploded into a million pieces. The strike he’d charged wound up instantaneously redirecting upward into the sky, blowing a clear line into the thousand hanging spears that the assailant had formed above them. It was enough to avoid the worst of it, and Casey reached back to grab Trisha again, making sure she didn’t get caught where he hadn’t cleared.
But looking back, the goon was gone.
”Shit! Trisha… We should get inland… No! Let’s, let’s just try and get to the room! It’s a concrete fuckin’ bunker!” he urged her forward, crossing his sword across her front like a thin barrier between the outside and danger.
Trisha nodded, not needing to be told twice. Not when it was
we. She grabbed hold of his arm with one hand as she moved forward, letting him lead from behind as much as possible. To not run into the sword, or cause more chaos. But it was easy with her clothes enchanted. She barely had to
think about movement.
Her pheromones continued to pump into the air around them, measured perfectly to never push either of them over the edge to rage. A light wind blew them towards her- but that was beneficial. Panic reducing, adrenaline pumping through her veins properly.
“I can look out,” she said, the major burden of her body’s movement taken away. Fourteen bees flew out from under her jacket, splitting into groups just as they had earlier. High in the air, unnoticeable to a Red Adept- hopefully. Her eyes glazed over slightly as she both commanded them, and sensed where they were. She had the person in mind. She could… tell them the slight scent they were looking for.
It was all coming back naturally. What she did ten years ago. What she hadn’t had to do since, forgetting the use. She was connected to each bee, almost sensing what they did. And the moment any of them saw something? She could jolt Casey with a light, controlled blast of flight pheromones.
While it was true that nobody was really looking for the bees, it wasn’t the best weather for them either. Cold, thick air to fly through, and frost building meant any heat would turn it into moisture on their wings. Overall terrible conditions to fly in, but at least they weren’t being targeted… Not like the two of them were. Icicles formed in sweeping arcs that spattered across the ground in huge salty chunks.
To get the salt water cold enough to freeze was impressive, but the Siblings of Moirah weren’t the brightest cult in the book when it came to research. Sending a pure Red user like this, someone with a deep control of water in its various forms? It spoke to him that they didn’t even know basic things about his own organization. To not know that one of his main officers was roughly the same kind of Adept just spoke ignorance to him. Or lack of respect, maybe.
But the bee watchladies were paying off regardless of the assault. They were able to get a wide enough scope of the situation to see what was happening. How the Adept was controlling the mist in a big sheet to obscure his vision, turning it into hail and eventually massive chunks of ice that would rain down on them. The closer they got down the hill toward their room near the beach, the faster and harder the pace became.
Relentless ice; at least protected by the enchanted clothing it didn’t hurt so bad. There was a time Leon had used a similar spell, and the sensation would be just a little more familiar to Trisha.
A certain hallucination long ago. The two of them, and a few other members of Sycamore all drawn into the same illusion. They had to pull out all the stops, and when people started getting tired, Leon told their very clothing to stand up and keep moving. The flying serpents couldn’t penetrate her denim jacket, and now these icicles seemed to bounce off where Casey’s blade didn’t smash them back into mist.
He was more than deft in its usage, it seemed. Clearly, guns weren’t his only choice when it came to fighting. Despite its length and probable heft, he seemed to flick it with ease in order to strike out where it was most needed.
The bees were struggling with the weather. The longer Trisha had them out the worst it got. She could sense that they were flagging… She didn’t want them to be hurt. But they
needed the eyes. The sharp jolt of pheromones she gave Casey each time to warn him something was coming, and short explanations of what was happening.
Maybe he could sense it all himself. But she liked to think she was helping. And had to keep helping. Her girls were strong enough to get through this. They’d been through worse with her. Like when her clothes were last enchanted like this…
One of Trisha’s arms was above her head to protect it from the icicles. She took a deep breath in, mist coming out her lips as she exhaled. Her eyes glazed over a bit more, hints of amber in their depths, and her pheromonal reactions became instinctive.
She didn’t quite see what was in front of her. She didn’t need to with the clothes and Casey. Instead, she fully connected with the bees. Sensing all the pheromones in the air… forging stronger ones through the mist that tried to dampen the signals. Through the connection she pumped
more into them. Her own magic, the magic the Queen had given her, bolstered the bees in a way she’d only done when her life was at risk.
Like it was right now. So they could keep going. And she could practically
sense through them as she pushed herself and her bees.
“I think… I can see him…” she whispered, words strained as if she was having to speak two languages at once.
Casey had been splitting and ducking, chopping and sometimes having to pick her up to move just a little faster than they were on foot. He was good with it; he’d carried men twice her size unfathomable distances. It didn’t bother him. In fact, this was still far better. Two brains working in tandem instead of one trying to do everything at once. Maybe if he’d been there from the start, Layla wouldn’t have had such an easy time. Well, obviously, but not so much.
If Trisha was working recon like this, it took strain off of him. Enough so that he could focus on things like fending off the attack. If she could see, then she could be both their eyes. Senses where Casey couldn’t place his own…
White Lux would’ve solved the problem, but in moments like this he had such a hard time mustering nostalgia… It was mostly battlefield memories, and those were linked to a dozen spells that had little application here. No grenades in hand, no firearm.
He
did, but now he was kicking himself. Having a bad feeling before they got into the shops, it’d completely faded away by the time he left. He’d gotten complacent again.
”Show me where he’s gonna be, Baby! It’s gotta be on the fly!” he spoke with heavy breaths, but low enough that it was almost totally within Trisha’s own little world. His voice wasn’t scared either. It was confident. Like he trusted her entirely.
”Where’s he at!?”Casey’s arms swung backward, preparing to hurl the blade through the air toward a moving target. It was all or nothing.
Where was he
going to be? Trisha's head turned slightly, towards Casey - but also the bees with visual on him. Moving quickly… she had to predict it. The bees could only see. Her head twisted again, as if trying to follow him. She couldn't, she didn't know- she had to. Follow the trajectory, quickly…
“T- Your ten o'clock!"She didn’t have enough wherewithal to tell him the trajectory. He couldn’t ask. Couldn’t expect it either. It was fine… Ten o’clock. With every fibre of his being, Casey spun them both at once. The long tip of the blade nicked the sandy beach, kicking up a rock and blasting it into small pebbles on release. It was whistling through the air now, a very slow rotation causing the blade to spiral just a few rotations in the time it took to…
Miss. He’d guessed the right direction that the bastard was surfing in from, but misjudged the speed. Now the blade was on a course who knows where, and they were really defenseless now.
”Shit, Trisha! Come he-” Casey’s arms were already wrapping tight around Trisha, folding over her to block the next incoming volley that he knew his sword wouldn’t be able to destroy. They could only get to the room now… Only pray.
It missed, fuck it missed, this was it-
At that moment, Trisha’s panic turned to a strange calmness. Magic washed over her. Familiar, but strange… her own, but not magic she’d tapped into before. Her connection with the bees only strengthened. They were still themselves, but for a moment they extended her. And her magic flowed through the invisible threads that linked them to her.
.
Casey would feel her go slightly limp in his arms, honey coloured flecks increasing and glowing in her eyes. Magic pulsated out of her for just a moment. It supercharged the bees. Faster, stronger wings, harder fuzz, and sharper stingers. Even as the magic radiating from her waned, her strong connection with them remained.
It wasn’t pheromonal anymore. There was no delay from the distance. It was like she was speaking right into their mind. As if they were one.
Twenty bees moved with speeds they shouldn’t be able to attain. They merged into a tight line, shooting off after the sword flying into the unknown. This line swerved, caught the steel blade on strengthened little bodies. Together they pushed. One at the end used its stinger to flick it, more accurately directing it exactly where Trisha wanted it to go.
They deflected it with their own bodies, right towards the surfer. It was perfectly deflected and sent back in the right direction with all that power Casey had thrown it with.
As the sword was reflected back, shooting towards their enemy, Trisha let out a soft gasp. Her brain jolted with pain once, twice… six times. Six bees that died from catching the sharp edge out of necessity to turn it. But they’d done it.
Casey couldn’t
see the bees do what they did, but he heard a sharp crack and whistle as he watched the blade turn course midair. It was a moment of panic for him, as his primary assumption was an ice wall deflecting his own sword back to kill him. It wouldn't have, but nothing really stopped that moment of stomach dropping panic.
He felt Trisha tense up though, hearing her strain and the little yelp that accompanied dead bees. It was enough to tell him that she had something to do with it, and he readied himself to snag it back out of the air. But the moment didn’t come. There was a chunky, wet “thock” noise that echoed across the beach, washing itself away with the tide in an instant.
Confused, unsure of what had
actually happened, Casey did the only thing he could think of.
A blast of White Lux swept across the beach, echoing back to him the sentiment he most wanted. The opportunity to stop. To pay attention for more than two seconds. Because what he saw in that icy fog, about thirty feet off and pinned to the beach with legs squirming, was the Adept. Casey wasn't sure what was keeping him alive, but he assumed moisture control extended to blood in some fashion. It wasn't pooling into a crimson wash like he thought it should.
Standing still now, Casey still held Trisha in his arms. Empowered eyes stared through the fog into the pained face of their would-be assassin with a mixture of shock and anger keeping it plastered there. The board, his channeler, had been knocked some thirty feet more into the sea, it's safety line snapped in twain from the force or an accidental cut. He was struggling to Wildcast what he could, and ice was slowly building around the sword and his hands. A desperate attempt to rip the blade out.
Casey's arms didn't move, besides a gentle up and down manner to comfort Trisha. But his legs did. Enough that he was in danger of pulling away. He did, even, and only then did he speak.
”Stay here… Or go inside. I'll be right there… You got him, Trisha, we're okay. You're okay.”He spun, keeping his front facing her until he disappeared into the mist. There was an audible gasp and a company of other wet gasping noises. Then another scream. It wasn't Casey's… When he returned from the fog, the blade was gone, and his grey jeans were spattered with blood across their front. He didn't wait to embrace her again.
”My God… Trisha… Are you okay baby?” concern dozed from his voice.
Trisha didn’t reply immediately. She was still in that strange state, her eyes half glazed as she saw as much through the bees as she did her own vision. There had been an emptiness in the short time he was gone that had her stuck there. But as he returned, it was barely a thought that she wanted the bees to come too before they were buzzing back. Fourteen little bee soldiers used the remnants of their strength to fly over to her before the ocean winds blew them away.
The fizzling magic only dissipated when each bee landed on her head, crawling down into her hair with tiny shivering bodies. The honey-amber flecks in her eyes disappeared as they cleared. She tilted her head back, hands coming up to grasp Casey’s jacket.
“I- I think so.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, because she didn’t know how she felt. In shock. Definitely in shock. Her breathing quickened as her pheromones reduced to their normal level and her adrenaline lowered.
“I don’t know what I did. I-I’ve never…” She struggled to talk through little gasps, trying to fill her lungs with air. She wasn’t exactly panicking, it was more… like she was suddenly aware of her entire body. She’d been out of it, and now was back in.
“He’s really-?” As if she hadn’t heard the scream, and couldn’t see the blood. She still had to ask.
”Whatever you just did… Dead accurate. Split his lower spine: He was mostly paralyzed already. I'm sorry…”He was. Genuinely sorry and regretful of what had happened. It wasn't fair to her that there would be days like this. Days where his life would be on the line because of some random secondary group. It was childlike. The back and forth between these different outside Covens was a business of war that he'd inherited. Fun, maybe… A reason to always be ready, and to lack complacency at all times.
But putting Trisha through this? More violence in her life? Did it need to happen? He went about examining her for a long moment, checking her clothes for any signs of penetration before holding her tightly again.
In all fairness, he knew she wasn't a wallflower. But time stripped all compunction for combat. Enough time away, and no matter how much the body remembers, the mind may protest no matter what.
But his arms were around her. She was breathing and moving. Speaking.
”That… That wasn't something I was expecting to happen. You did an amazing job, Babe… God, I'm so fucking proud of you, holy shi-”His voice was drowned out by the shuffling of jackets being pressed together as he picked her up gently. Tenderly. Like he'd protect her from anything else coming their way.
”-ust incredible. You must have impressed the Queen or something, I just don't know what else we could've done. It would've gotten way too sticky if we'd been trapped in the room…”Trisha nodded as she curled her head in against his neck, face slightly red. That must’ve been it. Maybe the Queen woke up and used her own magic through Trisha to save them. It had happened before, just rarely…
There was a light, melodic laugh in her mind.
You didn’t need me. You’re growing more attuned to the magic I already gave you.Trisha didn’t respond, but she felt confused. It hadn’t felt like it was
her. She definitely didn’t feel like she could do it again.
We’ll talk about it later. Try to enjoy your night.“It was the bees as much as me. I used them to see during the Stygian Snake, it came back naturally… But not that. I think I boosted them, somehow? So they could turn the sword. I don’t know. The Queen-” her voice got a bit quieter, but it wasn’t a problem with her lips so close to Casey’s ear.
“She said it was me. But I don’t know how.”In the last ten years she’d forgotten what she could do. It was never the flashiest or strongest Abstraction, but she’d been useful. She’d just forgotten that. There’d been no need to use anything beyond talking to the bees and the occasional pheromone blast… she hadn’t even though she could do more with it. But she clearly could. She wanted to learn more about that- so that she could stand beside Casey like this.
“I’m just glad you're safe.””I feel exactly the same, Trisha…” Casey said quietly as he shuffled them both ahead.
Thankfully, he’d managed to stuff the other bags into the waiting maw of his enchanted pocket; having to retrace their steps and collect anything lost would’ve been a nightmare. He hated revisiting old battles, as recalling failure gave him serious anxiety that he could do little to prevent. Mistakes like throwing his only means of defence away on a called shot. He’d purposefully avoided a concealed carry for the trip, not wanting to feel like he was some kind of gang member having to stay strapped at all times. But this? Really didn’t make him feel any better about it.
Trisha would be able to feel Casey’s hand shuffling into his jacket, then pulling out something. A phone. The lights of it became bright in front of them as he kept her held up from underneath with one arm.
”Beans? There’s a harvest on the beach. Misty Island, by the resort. - - - Yeah. It’ll need a report; pick what you can, and bring it into Halie. - - - Yep. Thanks.”Casey’s voice didn’t sound thrilled. Much to the contrary, he was potentially pissed off? Or at least tired from the way his voice sounded. Truthfully, he was just reeling. Of all the nights for the Siblings of Moirah to make a move, it had to be tonight? But his blood was still up; even as the pheromones were slowly washing away, there was a lingering feeling.
The lingering feeling. Of being alive. Was he selfish for that? For revelling quietly in spite of the woman he loved being put in grave danger. Or… Maybe it’d work out just as well in her favor?
Casey felt his hands gripping tightly to Trisha, like she was the doll that would be stolen. Even as they approached the door, he didn’t want to let go. But the key was in his pocket, and at an angle he couldn’t reach while holding her. So he let Trisha go, and felt her slide from his hands but never stop clinging to him. His hand reached for the key, but his head and chest swept down. His lips pressed against hers with force.
Suddenly, they were kissing. And it wasn’t exactly gentle either. Not rough like an animal, but like a person who knew all too well that near death experiences deserved near life rewards. Every fibre of his being was screaming the same thing… Indulge.
Trisha was a bit surprised at first, resulting in her not immediately responding. But she quickly got caught up in it, head tilting back and to the side to let her deepen it further. Her hands clenched tightly in his coat. She didn’t have the same lingering feeling, but his lips against hers washed away residual panic and burgeoning concerns. Concerns that they’d have to go back, and then he’d have to work and wouldn’t be there with her-
But there was no way, when he was kissing her like this. She pressed against him like she couldn’t stand having a single inch apart. The closeness and intensity brought her comfort. He was there, they were together, they were still alive…
She pulled just her face back slightly, hands flattening on his chest as if holding him back.
“At least… wait until… we’re inside?” she breathed out, looking at him with half closed eyes. Swirling with want and affection and love all at once.
There was a moment where it looked like he was going to ignore her. Where his hands just kept moving as if he couldn’t hear anything and the limbs had their own minds. But just as his hands were getting to a place they probably shouldn’t have been in the middle of that cold night, they passed. One had the key, and slid it into the slot to turn the knob. The other found her hand and took it. He was blushing.
”I’m sorry… There’s only so much time.”Time… The fleeting sensations. The typically averse barriers were all gone in favor of fear and excitement. The imbalance of chemicals was sated by the extreme act, and the taking of life that presented itself as an enemy. There was such a difference between something like that, and the other night. What he’d done for work could never compare to the rise he felt from fending off some random bullshit.
Except…
She’d been there. Not just, but participated. Helped. Again, she’d been everything he needed her to be and more. Casey tried to grip onto that feeling and hold it there, keeping it and maintaining himself in mind and body as they pushed through the door. He turned his back on her to lock it, but didn’t stop there. For a moment, he sat and Channeled a few spells, some of which were rather powerful wards to prevent further magical intrusion for the time being. It was long enough to get lost.
Long enough to accidentally open up one of the enchanted pockets past the point of retention. The condition which resolved the spell, and sent stuffed animals flying about the room in a stream. Casey actually screamed aloud, having managed to forget in the haze of maintaining other feelings and sensations.
Trisha was waiting close enough, practically touching as she hovered behind him, that she was caught in the explosion of stuffed animals as Casey’s scream rang in her ears. She jumped, sending the bees scattering, and her arms slammed into her side. A large, orange bee flew out of her own pocket to join the plushie party.
“Whhhyyyy?!” She practically wailed as she got a sinking feeling that this was going to completely ruin the mood. It was a mood she could easily get herself back into… but as for Casey, she wasn’t so sure.
“This isn’t a stuffed toy safe time…” she mumbled, pouting a little bit.
Though the moment was perhaps ruined, after she’d gotten over her shock over being attacked by a myriad of plushies, she moved back towards Casey. Her arms wrapped around him. Regardless, she just wanted to be close to him. She really couldn’t stand the distance right now. Not after what had happened, and even the moment he’d turned away- which she
knew was to shut the door. But it didn’t stop the bubbling anxiety now things were cooling down a bit.
“That’s not what I meant by waiting until we’re inside,” she still managed to joke.
Casey was shaking, but after a moment it became clear that it was just laughter. He was giggling as he held onto her, the adrenaline washing through his system.
”Y’know as a teenager I always used to wonder if I’d be able to hold it in the first time… I guess we got our answer!”His head tucked downward to loom over hers. His forehead laid atop her scalp, rubbing into the hair and smelling her. That scent wasn’t there anymore. The spicy
something. He thought maybe if she did it again, there’d be a chance of recovery. But he didn’t want to ask… Felt it would be embarrassing. Like he couldn’t-
Taking a deep breath, one arm reached up and pulled her to the side. Releasing the other pocket sent bags of candles across the room. Thankfully, his aim was as true as ever, and the glass filled bags all knocked into the comfy pillows and bedspread. He knew he heard a couple of cracks, especially when the gun case flew out last and mashed into the top of the pile.
The whole reason he hadn’t stuck delicates in the pocket… The whole reason they’d saved the shopping for last. He could only shake his head at the foiling of a good plan.
A man was dead outside, and he was worried about his candles.
It took a certain part of him, that war. A few parts. Enough that he’d known to miss them in the first place. But maybe he could reclaim them. With some help, maybe they weren’t all lost forever. Being nervous about asking for help… He’d felt the same just a little while ago, and look at what’d happened. She’d pulled through. Totally unprompted, and completely selflessly. Almost heroic.
It was
sexy.And then after another breath, he felt it coming back. A grin formed across his face.
”Y’know… You hit me with that stuff again. Would you uh… Think less of me if I said I liked it?” he tried to ask very casually, hands slowly moving to pull her jacket off her completely.
“Hmm?” Trisha was a bit confused at first by what he meant by ‘that stuff.’ But she felt the mood shift back, and she liked that. Her arms moved up to make it easier for him to take her jacket off, stepping forward once she was free so that she was right in front of him. Her own hands moved to do the same for him, though it was a bit more difficult with the height difference.
Stuff she hit him with… Oh. The pheromones? Her fight pheromones? That must be what he meant, because they were also the only ones she’d properly hit him with before. Then it’d been an uncontrollable accident. Today had been a lot more calculated. She was more than practiced with these ones to use them in a way that was beneficial rather than pushing people into aggression.
This just wasn’t a use she’d ever thought about. It made sense… She was smart enough to see a pattern. The times Casey reacted more: after dueling Furio ‘to the death’ and now. It wasn’t ‘typical’ but… she really didn’t care about that. Didn’t make her think any differently about Casey. He found
her attractive. He’d said so. If it was just the thrill of a battle, he wouldn’t still be…
“My alarm pheromones, you mean? Why would I think any less of you?” She smiled teasingly, hands moving up to cup his face. She urged his head down towards hers.
“They’re part of my magic. Part of me. So… No, I don’t. You just like another part of me. Do you… want me to use them again?”He felt a little strange. Like it was all too good to be true. He felt himself welling with heat, even as his own jacket slipped off and hit the ground. The previously half-frozen gore on his clothes was starting to really thaw now, however. He felt it against him, and his hands began to move furiously in the removal of it all until he was down to untainted layers. Boxers and his tank top. His dog tags dangled from his neck, and in one hand he was still gripping his Channeler.
It took one spell for the top blanket to softly and safely drag itself and its contents off the bed, then the ratty old glove joined the rest of the clothing as it started to pile on the floor. Divested of the reminders of death, he only had her now. Truly. No other distractions, and it was more than easy to tell he didn’t need the help.
Because she
would. If he asked. Only if he asked. But she wouldn’t even hesitate, and he felt that in the heat of the moment.
”Maybe later… Maybe someday. But maybe there’s a secret to all this…”His hand brushed up under her chin, face falling to begin kissing her once more.
“You’re definitely carrying me everywhere tomorrow,” Trisha grumbled playfully a
good while longer.
Of course, she didn’t actually feel upset by how heavy her body felt. Like all the energy had been sapped out of it… It had, really. Her physical stamina just wasn’t enough to keep up. Even just shuffling herself more onto Casey to cuddle as closely as they could felt like a lot of effort.
But she felt incredibly content. Blissfully happy. While she’d told Casey she didn’t need a super sexual relationship and had meant it, that kind of intimacy just… felt like yet another connection forged. Bringing them even closer together. Everything about it had been good.
Apart from the length of time, maybe… and her mind hadn’t quite gotten the exhaustion memo. It was the opposite. Even though she was physically drained, her mind was wide awake. Energised, but relaxed at the same time. It was nice.
“It’s different with someone you love,” she mumbled, hiding her face against him in embarrassment the moment the words came out.
“Well not like… mmm… forget I said anything.”It was dark out now. Well, more dark than it had been. The moon had probably crested over the coast, and the sun was blocked out by the hills in the east for at least another hour. They weren’t making it home on time, and Casey knew that much. It was fine. For the first time in a long time, he felt more than relaxed. Relieved. All that time, and she was right. With someone you love, he imagined it wouldn’t be so bad. Though, that
was an odd thing to say.
”Something need adjusting?” he asked quietly.
Hands still played with her hair, feeling skin on skin. She’d seen every single scar now. Every little hole where there used to be flesh. Cratermarks, valleys and rivulets from healed burns and scrapes. The endless tattoos that cluttered up his back and chest, done over years of having nothing better to do. He looked down at her with deep blue eyes waiting for a response.
“No, no, I didn’t mean it like that.” Her response came almost immediately, her head jolting up to look at him. She didn’t want him thinking it was something bad. It wasn’t. Hadn’t been. Quite the opposite.
“It’s…” Trisha trailed off, looking away. Her finger gently traced a tattoo on his chest and her eyes followed it. She was comfortable and safe enough that she just found the words tumbling out. More than that, she kind of wanted to talk about it. It was an open vulnerability after such an intimate moment.
“More intimate, somehow. It was more emotional, I think, and that made it better. Like… mind and body connected, or something?”She forced herself to look at him again. Her eyes were a dark brown in the dim light, clear and genuine. She’d been a bit worried, though she’d never tell him that. It wouldn’t ruin things, but there had been all those what ifs in her head. The anxieties that, for once, didn’t come to fruition.
“I shouldn’t really talk about past times right now, sorry, but… a lot of the time it was just physical. They didn’t always care, because it was more about their own satisfaction. I didn’t mind because I enjoyed it. I thought I liked it but… I don’t think… that I did…”It’d been much more of a roller coaster for him. As the first real frame of reference, he was more shocked about the involvement of it than anything else. He
liked it… But would it be so long every time? Would he worry about whether or not he was hurting her? After she told him to stop asking, he did, but it hadn’t left his mind. Now she was saying it felt intimate? What’d that really feel like in comparison to…
Not? He knew part of it was the knife wound he’d taken near the groin. Nerve damage down the left inner leg. With such little predilection to explore, he’d never realized that it had actually affected anything else. So, a great deal of time and attention was being given to finding
any spot that didn’t feel like he was just doing nothing. This wasn’t Trisha’s fault, and amazingly he’d managed to remain stalwart the entire time.
”What… Makes it more intimate? Like… I…”He was embarrassed. Embarrassed to say what he was thinking for fear that she’d feel like he didn’t actually care. He didn’t want that, obviously. But she was sharing, so…
”Well, I just feel… Like I spent a lot of that time pretty focused on my own satisfaction. Uh, the… Changing? Like, I know I wasn’t really doing anything too consistently, but it’s only because I couldn’t really find… A spot.”He took her hand and gently brought it down until it rested on the scar that remained from the blade.
”That wound. I got it in Africa. It’s all pretty numb, I suffered some nerve damage. Never had it fixed. Never knew it was going to do anything to make my life harder. I guess I should now, huh?”What the fuck was he saying? He still didn’t know exactly… Everything was a bit of a blur. But she hadn’t ran away, so… She said it was better.
”Shit, but… What you were saying. That it was more intimate… How? Sorry… I’m babbling…” he simpered.
“It’s okay,” Trisha shook her head, though her brow furrowed a bit. She wasn’t even sure how to answer… and she couldn’t really just move on from the
nerve damage. Struggling to find a spot. She’d noticed the changing, but hadn’t realised. So that was why it had been so long…
But no, she’d come back to that. The intimacy. How did she explain? She’d only just started to think about it herself. And it was more of a feeling than something explicable. It just
was. She’d felt safe and loved even if he felt like he was focusing on himself.
“Uhm, well… the talking and the touching. The tender kisses too. You listened to me, and you complimented me. You touched me like… I was someone to be cherished, I guess? I don’t know how to describe it but… It’s not just about the act. That’s the purely physical bit, in a way… though that was good too. Most guys can’t… last long enough…”She wasn’t sure if she was explaining well enough. It was difficult to explain to someone who didn’t have the experience of something else- and she didn’t want him to either. She frowned a little bit, concern flitting across her eyes.
“If you didn’t really feel anything, does that mean you didn’t enjoy it?”Casey’s face turned into a slight frown. Not of angst or sorrow, but consideration.
”Uhhh… Well, lets see.-”He rolled slightly, turning his head to look up at the clock. He’d taken a mental note of when they started, and the time it was now was considerable.
”-I think lasting that long means I enjoyed it.”He wasn’t going to tell her it’d been something like five hours. She didn’t need specifics. He’d heard what she said ultimately, and understood from that what she meant. How he’d done exactly what he assumed he should’ve done. About being tender, and being sure to remain aware and conscious. It helped tremendously that he was fit for duty still, obviously; that he had the stamina and cardio to make it long past a normal person…
But just like everything else, Casey had nothing to go off of based on that. No other frame of reference. Just things he’d watched, and things he’d been told.
”But I really did. I… I like you. How into it you are. I feel like that kind of intimacy is worth cherishing, so I’m glad that came through.” he offered calmly, taking a moment more to think about what that really meant to her.
”And I absolutely felt things… Just, didn’t want you thinking it’s all dead down there. It’s just fleeting. Like an itch that you want to scratch, but it’s too deep below the surface of your skin to get to.”Trisha let out a soft sigh of relief. Her hand gently traced the scar in question before moving back up to rest on his chest. The reactionary anxiety, so quick to appear, died back down. If he hadn't enjoyed it… there wouldn't be much point, would there? She wasn't the kind of person who wanted to do it just for herself… It could just lead to resentment then. But he said he enjoyed it and felt things, just not as much.
“I… understand what you mean, I think. I'm glad- not that it's like that, but that there's not nothing, and you did enjoy it. If you didn't… I wouldn't be upset, well maybe a little, but it'd be really one sided then." It all came out as a bit of a less calm ramble than she'd hoped, her lips pressing together into a thin line for a moment. Did she really need to say that? Let the already calmed anxieties out? And she was experienced enough that she shouldn't
really worry about it like that, or at least should be able to be a bit calm about it. But did that matter? It was…
him. She could be herself with him, without having to worry too much about protective layers or holding it together.
“We can figure it out together. What works for you, and me. Or you can try get it fixed, but… that's up to you." She meant it, looking up at him with a warm, honest gaze as her lips curved into a soft smile. She wouldn't push him into something like that. Not when she assumed it would require magic, and she wasn't a fan of magical intrusion herself. They could make it work together without it.
“Buuttt... I wasn't joking about needing carried around tomorrow. That was really long. E-Enjoyable, I… well y’know… a lot…" And why was she getting embarrassed now? Maybe because she didn't exactly talk about her own pleasure often… not specifically.
“But I can barely move now… I definitely can't do that frequently… which I don't mind, just. Maybe we can figure out how to make it a bit shorter too? If we find what works."Quick to try and remedy the situation in Trisha's mind. He didn't want her to be reluctant to seek it out for herself if that was something she needed in the relationship.
”Well I don't have to… Y'know. Plus, at the end I think I found a spot. It's a lot less about me, more about you. That last position, maybe… Something clicked. We'd have to try again.”He didn't turn his face or smile. He didn't want it to seem like a joke, because it wasn't, but he also didn't want her worried about mentally preparing for it. He wasn't even sure he could muster the sensation to go again right now anyway.
The afterglow made her gorgeous. Not sexy, though she couldn't stop being that. It was satisfaction at that point. Lust moved to the back burner, and left him basking in her more muted qualities.
The lines on her face, subtly scrunched here or there in the forehead and the bridge of her nose. A lifetime of having a consistent sour puss face.
”I just don’t want you afraid to ask. I'd rather do it myself and not finish than imagine giving you any reason to seek it out from someone else. You say when you're satisfied, and I'll be done too. For you, because I love you.”“I’d never seek it out from someone else.” Trisha immediately latched onto that point, speaking with enough conviction her voice got louder than the muted, slightly hoarse way she’d been talking before. She didn’t want him worrying about something that wasn’t going to happen. She never had and never would.
“I wouldn’t.”She pressed her face into his chest for a moment. Even talking about that, her whole body was still relaxed. She
was. There was still that warm, content glow over everything. Like she was safe to be who she was, and just let every thought slip out. The minor sentences within a bigger, loving phrase that would normally have her properly snapping… didn’t. Even though there was still a bit of anxiety, she was still so… happy…
“It’s not actually that… well, it’s really nice you’d do it just for me, but…” Her voice got quieter and quieter, until it was barely a whisper. Like she was worried it would somehow get past the little world of the two of them, or wasn’t even sure if she wanted him to hear.
“I-It was always to… start a relationship. And to keep one. I enjoy it and I want to do it, but it’s not like… it’s the most important thing to me. Something I want with you. And I feel even closer now, but just because we have doesn’t mean I’m going to want it every day because… We don’t need to to hug like this. It’s the closeness.”He'd always assumed that once it started, every day became a must. Growing up in a sex cult is usually a good way to misconstrue the action as it came. In the military, there were few people older than their mid twenties. Thirty year old middle management wasn't much different either. If the topic wasn't who you wanted to fuck, it was reminiscing about who you
had fucked. His life had been saturated with it, and until he'd had his innocence gunned down, he hardly ever realized.
His childhood had been spent knowing that every night between the hours of eleven and seven, his parents simply weren't available unless they rang the ominous “emergency bell”. And he'd seen the consequences for ringing it without proper cause too… Interrupting the evening’s “private mass” had to be serious.
So, to hear Trisha say that
again, even after things were said and done? And just as importantly, not personally feeling like it had to be done again… He really wasn't going to be like them. Or, at least he assumed not. He would've honestly tried to predict the future, but casting a spell now would've been tasteless. He could only assume that whatever was broken in his mind shaved off whatever bits of overwhelming carnal addiction that plagued his forebearer.
So his arms wrapped around her tighter. His fingers brushed against the soft skin of her belly, holding her gently and massaging ever so slightly.
”I'm just… Happy to be loved. Happy that it's your only real expectation, I guess. Not as a lazy thing, but simple is good. They taught us how to K.I.S.S. in the Military, y'know…”There was a joke. One she'd almost definitely get trapped in. An absurd thing to say without knowing the acronym.
Trisha curled her legs up over him, letting out a soft giggle. Because she found it funny that… for him being loved was the simple thing. For her, sex was simple. She was attractive enough that people wanted to have it with her. What happened was understood, and most people- men especially- wanted it consistently. They just started wanting it- and her- less the more time they spent with her.
There’d been exceptions before. Reyna and others… but none quite as different as Casey. He was able to make her feel comfortable enough that she didn’t
need it frequently to confirm he wanted to be with her.
“They taught you… how to kiss in the military? Like… sex ed videos?” She tilted her head, looking up at him with slight confusion. Then she pouted jokingly.
“I thought I was the one who taught you how to kiss.”Hook. Line. Sinker. Casey beamed slightly, a grin forming across his face at a low angle.
”Keep it simple stupid.”As he said the words, one of his fingers tapped against her skin in each place that a period would go. After each word.
”They never wanted us thinking too hard in Basic. That went out the window when I started getting more responsibilities, but I still try and live by it. Straightforward. And loving you is pretty straight forward it seems like… That’s not to insult you, again. This is all positive to me. As long as you’re forthcoming, then I’ll always be able to react.” His devious grin slowly turned back into a soft smile, and he kissed her gently before she could respond.
”And, I like kissing. Touching. This little spot-”Under the blankets, his hand flicked into her side and brushed a spot he’d found she was ticklish in.
“H-hey!” Trisha reactively jerked away. Her movements were more sluggish than when he normally tickled her, and she let out a little playful huff mixed with breathy giggles. She couldn’t tickle him back without using energy she didn’t have, so she moved a hand down to grasp his.
“Anywhere but there… I’ve rolled around enough for the night…”She smiled at him, eyes creasing gently in the way they did when she felt especially content. Her head tilted up to brush her nose against his.
“I like it all too… just being close to you. I just want to climb into your arms all the time…” She basically did it, it wasn’t like they’d spent much time apart. But it was where she felt happiest. With him, close to him.
“You’ve become really good at kissing too…” She smiled softly, before lightly, briefly kissing him.
“And I don’t think anyone else has found loving me straightforward so… thank you…”Intentionally, he pulled her just a little closer. To be up and in his arms, even laying down like this. He scooped under her, pulling and turning her lower body gently so that he was practically cradling her.
”Thank you for saving our lives again… So we can go on again, and forever more.”
