Episode II: Wandering Duo
In the quiet and gentle emptiness of space, a single spaceship softly glided across the black seas, towards a destination that was left up to the whims and wills of its three passengers. The heavens themselves were quiet, but inside the ship, a sweet sound could be heard as the strings of a guitar were plucked with delicate grace. This was not an abuse towards the instrument, it was a tribute--a tribute to wandering around, drifting everywhere the nose led, to adventure or trouble; it didn’t matter.
In the cockpit were two girls of the same age, split apart solely by distance and physical looks. One of them, a mousy little thing who was the younger of the two by seven months, was reclining on the pilot’s chair, her arms laid behind her head and her feet plopped up on the terminal. She had her eyes closed, her face aimed at the ceiling, and was lazily listening to the music played by her comrade. The other girl, an uncomplicated youth just slightly older and taller, was busy strumming the guitar.
I was dining alone in a large restaurant, minding my own business. The food was great.
It was a soulful tune, meant to slowly lift one’s spirits until all depression was gone. Of course, the older girl could strum a completely different tune and make her friend mourn, or she could go much faster and make her dance, but the situation hardly called for anything except a gentle song. She was quite talented, and could have made a professional musician if she had the desire. For the moment, though, traveling along aimlessly with her friend was more important.
It was a nice day outside, and I was enjoying my solitude. Dad was elsewhere, bragging as always.
The shorter girl yawned and stretched, getting a little sleepy. She had nothing else to do on the long ride except to listen to the live music (unless she wanted to listen to her father’s inane stories, but she would have been an old woman by the time he finished). She had been accustomed to boredom on those long space trips--after all, ever since she was old enough to drool, she had been a hardcore spacer, a wanderer amidst the planets and stars--but the addition of her friend and her musical skills was a blessing. They had not known each other for more than a month, and yet…
All of a sudden, this guy comes up to me with a gun! He sits right down and demands my money--but I told him I spent it all on food!
Lantariz C. Tornheart, or just “Tara” to those who knew her well enough, was technically the captain of the small spacecraft, the oddly-named Luxembourg. She never exercised her rank or privilege, at least not on her musical friend, and oftentimes let her father Lio do all the necessary pushing. The father and daughter had declared total neutrality in any sort of politics, and were prone to helping all sides in any debate or spat that popped up. That either made them friends with everybody or enemies with everybody; it depended on what kind of mood a person was in.
He didn’t believe me. I thought I was going to die. I was scared!
It was Shellby Blake who was the mystery. She passed herself off as an unassuming and laid-back individual, an average girl at best, and little more than that. Her obsessive hobbies and her sometimes-wild temper didn’t make her stand out at all, and though she probably had a more interesting past than she let others believe, she refused to reveal anything. She was taller, older, and had more weight to her body than her petite friend. She had wild brown hair that matched her skin color, blue eyes that seemed empty and ordinary, and fingers that were nothing short of divine.
Just when I thought I was going to get shot, the man suddenly buckled from a powerful blow to the head. I could see an average-sized dark-skinned woman, a look of sheer determination on her face, slamming her guitar right on the man’s head! He fell with a whine, and I was left gaping at the scene. The other girl blew out a sigh of relief, and asked if I was okay. I… really didn’t know how to answer.
Needless to say, the girls had met in a rather peculiar way…
She introduced herself as the Legendary Booraykoo-Kun, a woman without a past and without a particular goal in life. Her only true skill, it seemed, was with music, because she could play like she had been possessed with the very creators of song. We got to seriously talking, and although she seemed uninteresting and plain at first, I really got to liking her. Maybe even too much--after all, she didn’t even notice my abysmal social skills.
Tara’s father Lio had been told of Shellby long ago, and willingly allowed her to board up with him and his daughter, providing she contributed at least a small bit of work. Shellby obeyed eagerly and kept to herself when working, up to the point of tuning everybody out during her chores. When she recreated (by either playing video games with Tara or reading alone), she was completely unreachable. Her concentration was admirable, and although she was anything but, elsewhere she seemed aloof and apathetic. But oh, could she play!
Making friends with Shellby was a really good part of wandering around. My last friend was killed in a nasty skirmish, and I still haven’t gotten over the loss. Shellby was able to calm my sadness and gave me the female company that I had been lacking for most of my life. I don’t remember much about my mother, and the last girl I really liked was this little kid who idolized me. Shellby was different, a funny girl who grew serious, a determined woman who was stubborn as steel, violent and compassionate, and one amazing player. She didn’t just do the guitar; she was a Renaissance woman of music.
Tara yawned again, the music of Shellby’s playing making her even more sleepy. She sneezed twice suddenly, and shook her head until her senses returned to her. Shellby quietly smiled and continued playing, picking up her pace just a little bit to stir her friend’s attention. Tara certainly was a nice kid, a brown-eyed redhead with hair that defied her body type. It trailed down to her hips like a river of lava, and would wave cutely when she walked or ran. A strange birthmark was on her chest, an image of the planet Earth, and she wore a gray bodysuit well-adjusted for space travel. Shellby liked her a lot.
We both hit it off well, and since I liked having companions--at least one at a time--I invited her to travel with me. No, wait, that’s not right--she wanted to come with me! Rather stubbornly too, I’ll add! I didn’t want to tell her that she might get rejected by my father, so I took her out of the restaurant and led her to the hangar. She smiled at me and took my hand, holding it the whole way through as if we had known each other all our lives. I didn’t tell her to let go, but only because it wasn’t a big deal. And, her fingers felt really nice.
Slowly, Shellby finished her tune, and the small ship floated through space just as it always had been and always would…
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Search lights, loud music, and hot dancing attracted crowds like moths to brilliant flame as Club Green opened up once again. The clientele were largely female, with but a single burly male bouncer keeping watch over the place. He was a large, muscular man, utterly bald and completely stoic except towards a few women he seemed to know. His name was Rex, and he absolutely loved his job. In the distance, lurking in the parking lot, Shellby Blake smiled at her friend and tried everything she had to get her to go inside.
“But ain’t that a bar?” hissed Lantariz. Shellby shook her head.
“Of course not! That is an Under 21 nightclub! Don’t worry, I can get you in there! Just say hello to Rex and he’ll let you in!”
“…Ya shore?”
“Oh, yeah! I know my clubs! Club Green is great! It’s a party within a wild celebration, trapped in a funky place where you can dance go insane! I read that from Winston Churchill, or something…” Tara murmured to herself, unsure of her friend’s guarantee and her reference. It wasn’t just Big Rex that bothered her; Club Green was also a woman’s bar, where women associated with… other women… in a… close… proximity…
“But it’s a freakin’ she-she bar!”
“So what? Just go in and have a good time! You’re with me, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, but…” Shellby gave Lantariz a half-empty smile, placed her hand on the smaller girl’s shoulder, and tried to ease her worries. “…I figger I’d make a fool outta myself in there. Y’all know ah don’t have the skills needed to be in a public place! I’d embarrass you!”
“It’s sweet that you’re concerned about me, chickadee,” said Shellby with a warm smile. “But you don’t embarrass me anywhere else, so why do you think you’d do the same here?”
“Ah… ah dunno…” she stammered. Poor Tara grumbled to herself, obviously uncomfortable with going inside the Club. She was fully aware of her lackluster social aptitude, so much so that she warned people ahead of time that she probably would stay quiet, or else say something completely uncalled for. Shellby thought it was cute, though, and gave her a fully-reassuring smile.
“Ah just… ah… don’t want’cha to leave me, that’s all…”
“You’re a really cool chick,” said Shellby with a smile as she placed her cool hand on Lantariz’s cheek. She had to bend down just slightly to look the short girl in the eye. “I wouldn’t leave you alone. I know we haven’t been together that long, but I don’t do that kind of stuff! Don’t you worry, I’ll be with you!”
“Good,” grinned Tara. “I wouldn’t wanna get lost in a place like that, anyway…” Shellby smiled again and took her friend’s hand, keeping her step slow so she could gaze at the hypnotic tail of red hair that waved like a pendulum. Shellby loved long red hair, tied up or otherwise.
Lantariz grew a little nervous as Rex stopped her, thinking that her size and age made her too young to enter. Tara replied by proudly showing her piloting license, which clearly stated her as being sixteen years old, just barely enough to get her in. Rex frowned, but since she was of legal age to enter the nightclub (and she had a few units to spare him), he allowed the two inside to mingle, dance, drink, and do whatever they wished.
Shellby sure hadn’t been bluffing when she “quoted” Winston Churchill; Club Green was a hotspot of wild dancing, lights, music, and heat. There were women everywhere, most all of them taller than Tara. One of the main reasons that Tara didn’t have much social skills was because so many people looked down at her, or else they didn’t listen. Shellby was her close friend because her ear was wide and her mouth was narrow, but these other women would be different.
“C’mon, babe!” shouted Shelly over the loud dance music. “Let’s see what’cha got! Let it all loose and go nuts!” Lantariz couldn’t help but grin, and even though she knew she would look ridiculous, she began to move as best she could to the dance music. Thankfully for her, it didn’t last long, and a brief musical silence overcame the bar as the DJ allowed her dance floor minions to rest. But no sooner did Tara and Shellby feel at ease did another song blare out, much louder and faster and wilder than the last.
The entire building suddenly pulsed with insanity and madness as the song shook the building, and a hundred wild women began to dance as if their entire bodies were on fire. Shellby was grinning and whooping out loud like a madwoman, but at least kept her word and stayed moderately close to Tara as the entire room crumbled from the massive chaos. Being short sometimes had advantages, as Tara was now dancing so madly and mindlessly that if she had been a foot taller, people would have stared at her.
The song lasted an anarchic three and a half minutes, wearing out everybody that danced--but then again, they had all poured their energy into it, and it had collected like hot molten lava in a cauldron. If anybody still had enough energy to move around, a much slower and less intense song followed, the lights still flashing and revolving for anyone with enough stamina. Both Lantariz and Shellby, however, were way too tired to continue, and found a table to sit down at while they caught their breath and cooled off.
“Intense, no?” shouted the taller one over the noise. Tara let out a smile.
“Yeah! Hey, thanks for staying with me! I woulda been stampeded if ya didn’t hang around!”
“Isn’t that what friends do?! Hey, are you thirsty?!”
“Whaaat?”
“THIRSTY?” A pause.
“Oh! Yeah! Golly, I’d kill for a soda!”
“Right on!” Shellby picked up a cup from the table they were sitting at and went to get drinks for herself and Tara--unknowingly leaving her friend by herself. Tara noticed but didn’t mind, figuring that she’d be okay for at least one minute. However, she was soon joined by four other women, each of them with their arms around each other and smiling as if they had drank and danced way too much.
“Hey, yer pretty cute!” shouted one of them. “But aren’t you too young to be in here?”
“Ah’m just short!” shouted poor Tara. She was a little angry, but it couldn’t be seen in the dark lighting. The girl apologized at least.
“Oh, sorry. My bad! Hey, you got a date?”
“She went to get drinks!” she shouted in return. Technically, Shellby wasn’t Tara’s girlfriend, although she would have no objections if the dark-skinned musician wanted to remedy that. Two of the four girls smiled and leaned forward so they wouldn’t have to scream over the noise.
“That’s cool! Hey, when she gets back, you wanna join us?”
“What fer?!”
“Privacy!!” they all shouted in unison. Tara blushed and withdrew slightly. She knew what they meant by that. One of the girls, a plain-looking young lady who looked more suited in a Catholic school than a girl bar, chuckled softly and explained in a more reasonable tone.
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to! If you’re nervous, that’s okay! Is this your first time here?”
“Yeah!”
“That’s okay! This is our first time here too!”
“Our?” The well-dressed girl smiled and looked over to her date, a pale Goth girl with pitch-black hair, a nose ring, and a studded collar over her neck.
“I’m Jill and this is Minerva,” she said, extending her hand. Lantariz frowned and studied her smallish hand instead of shaking it.
“Tara,” she nodded. Jill appeared to be hurt and withdrew her hand. Before anyone could say anything else, Shellby strolled by and miraculously saved the day by presenting two glasses full of soda.
“Yo, Tara-babe! Are you flirting with other chicks while I’m away?!”
“NO! They just came up to me, that’s all!” Shellby chuckled as she apologized for teasing her friend and handed out her drink. “Thanks fer the drinks; ah’m gettin’ thirsty!” Tara sucked up a fourth of the whole glass before her thirst was abated, and in the meantime, Shellby acquainted herself with the girls.
“She’s cute too!” said the first one in a wink. Her date smiled and agreed.
“So where’re you ladies going off to, anyway?” asked Shellby.
“We’d like to go somewhere and have some privacy,” replied Minerva, “and I guess Lana here wanted Tara to come with us. She doesn’t have to if she doesn’t want to.”
“I prob’ly won’t,” said Tara between sips. “I’m not a real social person.”
“Neither am I!” exclaimed Jill with a bright smile. “But Minerva… I… well, we…”
“Hey, it won’t hurt to come along for a little while!” stated Shellby as she gently slapped her friend’s shoulder. Tara let out a weary sigh, and wished that her friend wasn’t always so convincing. Despite not having a lot of time to know her, Tara really trusted Shellby a lot, and if she promised to stay with her and not leave her alone, she would do good on her word. So the two wandering women decided to go have a private moment with the other four, at least for a few minutes.
“Killer!” sang Lana, the girl who thought they were both cute. She and her three comrades led Tara and Shellby through the crowded club, weaving through the massive sea of people as they slowly swayed to a slower song. They all hoped that the DJ wouldn’t play another fast song while they were out there in the thick of things, or else they really would have been stampeded.
As soon as the six girls found a reclusive place, an intimate and slow song started, obviously well-suited for times such as this. Lana and her date immediately grinned at each other and began kissing; Jill shyly held Minerva close, leaving Tara and Shellby to watch. Tara blushed as she saw all inhibitions fly out the window, and felt Shellby’s hand inconspicuously slip into her own. She felt a single tickling kiss on the back of her neck, and the warm breath of her friend whisper out gently.
“(We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,)” she hissed. Lantariz shivered but kept her senses.
“Yeah… ah really don’t feel comfy doin’ this just yet… Could we leave?”
“Sure thing.” Shellby gave her friend a quick hug from behind and secretly led her out of the club. Once they were both a good distance away, Tara breathed out a sigh of relief, but kept her silence as they made their way to the hangar where the Luxembourg was stored. Shellby knew that her friend kept to herself a lot, so she didn’t pry. Her own history was unknown to her, so she could understand the importance of silence.
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Night never came to those traveling in space, but sleepiness did, and both girls felt like it would be a good time to go to bed. They simultaneously dressed in their light nightwear and slipped underneath the soft sheets, neither one uncomfortable with sharing the bed (there was originally two anyway, and Shellby didn’t want Tara’s father to give up his bed, so the ladies shared). For a few seconds there was silence, but Shellby could tell that Tara was restless.
“…Hey, Tara…” Silence. “Sorry for dragging you into that club. I know it wasn’t right of me to take you to a place where you felt uncomfortable, and I’m sorry for leading you along when it was obvious you didn’t want to come.”
“Pology’ accepted,” whispered Tara breezily. Shellby smiled and placed her hand on her friend’s bare shoulder.
“I just wanted to make you happy and less stressed-out. I still don’t know you too well, so I just thought that a night at a club would get you to loosen up. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable; I just wanted you to have a good time.” Slowly, Lantariz rolled over until she was facing her friend, and gave her a sweet smile as she cupped her cheek.
“Yer a sweetie-pie… And ah’m sorry fer makin’ a show. Ah just don’t like makin’ the people I like look like fools. I prob’ly embarrassed you anyway… How you can ever hang around me is a mystery.”
“I just like you, that’s all,” replied Shellby with a smile. “I can’t help it. You’re a really cool woman, you really are. We have more in common than you might think, and we’re just different enough from each other to fill in for our mistakes and gaps. Not a whole lot of couples have that.”
“So we’re a couple now?” sang Tara, giving Shellby an irresistibly innocent grin. Shellby chuckled and kissed her friend’s forehead.
“You know I can’t resist that look.”
“Yeah. An’ don’t worry bout’ apologizing. I just wanted to spend the day with you, on account of ah prob’ly like you bout’ as much as you like me. So yeah, if you want, ah wouldn’t mind bein’ yer girlfriend er anything.” Shellby chuckled and drew a little closer to her friend, putting her smooth bare arms over her shoulders.
“It’s a little sudden, but okay.” The two girls shared a chuckle, and eyes of innocent brown and vague blue met and danced a thousand steps together, each one more passionate than anything that had ever been produced at Club Green. Shellby sighed to herself as she combed her divine fingers through Lantariz’s loosely-flowing red hair.
“By God, you’re sexy,” she whispered. Tara blushed furiously.
“Shut up~! Don’t tempt me!” Shellby tilted her head innocently.
“Tempt you?”
“You know what ah’m talkin’ about. Good night, Legendary Booraykoo-Kun.”
“Night, princess.” Shellby gently kissed the blushing cheek of Lantariz, chuckled, and held the short girl close as she gently fell asleep.
Tara, however, suffered through another sleepless night as her new girlfriend began to snore.
Thanks go out to MatureVicemmmm for Shellby and Lan-Chan for Lantariz. Hope you two don’t mind all the liberties I took, especially with Shellby. I tend to do that if a character isn’t developed very well by the contributor. Preview of next chapter: Asuka Honmisei is looking for a partner, but will this genius of the battlefield be able to tame the demented Bloodstorm?
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