Chapter 3

Patience, not a virtue Ellirae had. At full speed she swam, her marks pulsing in an upward rhythm. More corals there were, colorful and healthy, surrounded by fish. Hunting here, much better it would be!

Brighter and brighter the sunlight grew, enough to force her to shield her eyes. Shallow the water became, and she stood, breaking the surface.

Her breath—full of the pleasant aroma of plant life—caught in her throat. The sky went on, forever and ever. So very high! White wispy clouds languidly drifted, and schools of sky fish, the funniest noises they made.

But most beautiful of all, she imagined, was the sun. Everything it touched, the color saturated. Greens and blues and browns, so wonderful they had never once looked.

The waves, like thousands of rolling sparkly sapphires, shimmered. And the sun’s warmth, better than a warm current it was!

A hug. A welcome to the surface. A validation that this, her true place of being it was.

To the beach she trudged. The water, to her legs it held, clinging to her, wanting her not to go, but go she would and with an unfaltering smile.

The sand beneath her feet crunched and slid, soft and light and warm. To drop to her knees she wanted, but green bushes she saw, covered in pink berries!

Fruit in Thalassia was rare. Explorers gathered it, selling fruit as their primary source of income. Or from smaller settlements it came.

Right now an explorer she was! Up to the bushes she ran, kicking the loose sand behind her. Hold in her giggles of delight she could not.

The first berry, without resistance, from its stem came free. Sweet it smelled, and she salivated. But as a hunter, she knew to check first.

The berry, into a tiny white sphere it turned, jumping into her chest.

¤ Blushberry

× Common Fruit

·

» The Blushberry is a captivating, pink-hued fruit known for its vibrant color and succulent sweetness. It thrives in tropical climates and is safe to consume in moderation. Larger quantities, however, may induce vivid, often whimsical hallucinations.

Before she had finished reading—particularly, the hallucinogenic part—the berry had appeared and disappeared again. In a rolling burst over her tongue, fruity and floral juices made her marks flash randomly.

She could help not but snatch the next berry and the next. Delicious they were! And the cost of such a delicacy required not her whole day of earnings. Free for the taking they were!

By the tenth she slowed. The item’s description, specifics it provided not. Moderation was how many? Certainly more than ten . . . right?

A whistful breath, she blew.

To experience whimsical hallucinations now would not be good. To return home safely she needed. But for tonight? At the thought she grinned.

Through the bushes she moved, picking every pink berry she could find. Oddly, near the beach, in the shade of real trees, the bushes only grew. If nothing else from this adventure came, return she would with much in things and experiences!

Down the curving beach her picking took her, weaving in and out of the foliage. Her whalesong, she hummed as she worked.

Then and there it was that a sound made her gasp. A feminine laugh from the beach she heard, and talking in a language she knew not.

Cautious and slow, to the edge of the forest she stepped. Through the many leaves she peeked and saw two humans!

By the ancients!

A man and a woman, in the warm sand they lay. His skin, foam white; her skin, driftwood brown. So fascinating they were, in fascinating colors!

The woman stood, talking in a strange language, her tone teasing. Red material on her butt covered. But she hid not her breasts. Perky they were.

Ellirae, with her hand, her breast she groped. Not so unlike the woman’s she thought. Maybe humans and Veetamors were compatible?

Her marks delightedly flashed!

At the man, the woman pointed. Words she said and smiled. The sand on her butt she slapped free, then away she jogged to a small colorful building made of fabric.

The man chuckled, lying back . . . alone.

Ellirae’s heart drummed.

What better chance than this would there be? None. Her the ancients blessed. To accept not such a blessing would defy them.

Courageous an explorer was!

With that thought, from the green vegetation she slipped, quiet and cautious, holding firm on her erratic emotions to call attention not to herself.

Up to the man she crept, the sand, soft and quiet beneath her toes. His eyes were shut, a smile on his lips, enjoying the sun’s hug.

White and blue shorts he wore. Nothing else. Shoulder length and golden hair he had, except for the dark curly hair on his chest and down his abs.

This . . . she fancied lots, lots more than she probably should. She swallowed. White marks flickered. Her eyes, down his body they swept, lingering on the bulge between his legs, hidden beneath his shorts but . . . prominent.

In a hot purple flush her shoulders colored.

“Ou sha la, ritty?” he said to her. Talking to her a human was.

By the ancients, what should she do?

This moment, she wanted not to end so soon.

To her knees she dropped, her shadow drifting over him, his smile widening. Beautiful it was and encouraging.

Out she reached to the rim of his shorts. Curious she was, oh-so-very curious to know what he hid there. The fabric was soft. Her fingers, beneath the band, they slid.

He stirred.

She withdrew and tensed.

His eyes began to open. With her hand, she covered them! Warmth he radiated, like the sun. His fascinatingly large nose holes flexed, and nearly too late she realized what he was doing.

Trying to see her he was!

His nose, with her other hand, she pinched shut.

He jerked and laughed. The sound of it, playful and nice it was. Something inside her melted, and to hear it again she wanted. Then her waist, his strong hands seized, pulling her atop of him.

Her breath caught. Chaotically, her marks blinked. And her flush deepened, reacting to the warmth of his abs against her butt.

A good pet he would make. A claim to be hearted, human and Veetamor together they would be, overcoming their turbulent history.

Beneath her fingers his eyebrows pinched. With his hand, between her legs he reached, touching her fish-scale armor and sending a jolt of awareness up her spine.

“Aht e delik?” he said, and her hand he pulled free. His small eyes widened as much as her own, staring into each other’s souls.

He had not any marks to flash, but surprised, by the ancients, he was! That much she could tell. This surprise, a momentary chance it provided to win him over.

Her lip she bit tenderly, thinking of what she could do before he reacted. His nipples she could suck? No, a better idea she had!

Her back she arched, and the edges of her fish-scale top she grabbed, lifting it to reveal her breasts. What better way to show her intent, to show their compatibility?

Her purple flush, up her neck and cheeks it warmed. So very embarrassing. . . .

But most pleased the man looked!

A relieved breath, she blew and smiled, ready for the next step, which included his mysterious bulge. Back she scooted until she felt, what she hoped—

“Na ghal toof en baq!” the previous woman yelled, standing at the doorway of the small fabric building, her breasts still uncovered.

From her hand a pineapple flew.

A pineapple!

In the sand it thumped.

A gift was it? Rare pineapples were. But the woman, happy she looked not for the soon-to-be mated couple.

Out from beneath Ellirae the man squirmed, leaving her in the sand. He stood and shouted, his hands waving, clearly defending his new master.

But the woman yielded not. A rectangular device in her hand appeared, then naked she was no longer. Brown leather and black cloth materialized, along with a narrow sword.

Message recieved! Ellirae, to her feet she hopped and retrieved the pineapple. A bribe it was—and a good one at that—to chase away competition for the man.

Well . . . disappointed she was. At the very least, the man could reveal his bulge. Compatible they might be not. But the woman’s frown and angry eyes said such a revelation was not meant to be.

Still, first contact this was. On good terms, Ellirae would leave. A handful of ¤ Blushberries she withdrew and tossed in trade.

A foot away from the woman the delicious berries landed. Tense she looked, and for some reason, confused, her sword wavering.

The man shrugged. To be already claimed, much he could do there was not. Obviously sad he was. Ellirae, a great master, she would be.

“Appreciation,” she said, pulsing her marks to convey her intent to cede ownership of the man. Pursue him she would not. The incredibly rare pineapple she raised and, with a smile, nodded.

“Geh oth buahat!” the woman screamed, and forward she stepped, clearly still upset for reasons unknown. Her pet was unharmed.

The pineapple, into a sphere it turned, and away Ellirae ran, splashing into the water. Time it was—regrettably—to return.

Down she dove, using the map on her watch to retrace her path. The deeper she went the sun’s brilliant light faded. But gone it was not. And return to the surface she could.

Her marks flashed excitedly.

An explorer, most definitely, she would be! Humans, so very fascinating. The men, beautiful and warm they were. And the women . . . violent they were. Very violent, yes, and unkind.

Maybe humans’ bad reputation, from women it came? A lot of sense that made.

She nodded, and back to the broken symbols of her mundane world she swam, already with plans for tomorrow’s great adventure!

Faster hunting would be. The waters above, more populated they were. And after, to her heart’s content, she could explore!

Around the sea-floor rocks she glided, then stopped. Her marks dimmed. There now the patrol was, their marks glowing solid, their scowls deep.