Episode IX: The New Crew
Both Lantariz and Shellby smiled at each other as they sat on the bed, legs folded underneath and their knees pointed to each other. The door to their room was closed but not locked, ensuring that they got at least a little bit of privacy. The girls kept their grins as they inched closer to each other, studying the beautiful lady opposite them.
Shellby Blake was older and taller than the petite Lantariz, and had a considerably larger adventurous streak to her, as well as an obvious talent for music. On the other hand, her past was completely unknown to her (or so she claimed), and she had a tendency to be stubborn and irritable. She could also be manipulative and a little on the ignorant side, but Lantariz cared for her deeply and overlooked her faults. Personally, she wondered why the beautiful woman ever hung out with her.
To be sure, Lantariz was no hog, but she was short and light even for a girl of sixteen. She loved to travel but was not good on the social scene, so she often had her nutty father to converse with. She had a long lock of gorgeous red hair that Shellby was insanely jealous of, and kind bark-colored eyes that could make the taller woman melt. Lantariz had a strong will, and was selfless when it came to helping others, but sometimes she was too meek for her own good.
“What are you staring at?” asked Shellby suddenly. Lantariz shook her head.
“What, what? Ah thought you were starin’ at me, Shel!”
“I was,” winked the other woman. “But don’t hold it against me; I really can’t help it. Here, let me have a better look.” Shellby playfully drew closer to Lantariz and placed her longer arms across the girl’s shoulders. Lantariz was wearing a white tank top, so there was plenty of bare skin to feel. She blushed a little as Shellby laid her dark blue eyes on her.
“Yeah, that’s much better,” she whispered. Lantariz smiled and placed her hands over Shellby’s arms as well, and drew the other woman closer. They had started out as friends, sure, but there was just an irresistible attraction between the two girls. Lantariz had never had much experience with romance or love--her father’s example was a terrible one to learn from--so being attracted to another young woman was not something she considered terribly odd. Shellby felt the same, if not stronger: she claimed to have liked “Tara” from the start.
“Much better,” repeated Tara with a coy smile. Shellby laughed softly as she kept her eyes locked onto Tara’s, and just like that, the smaller girl leaned forward and kissed her, right on the lips. It was a short kiss, lasting less than a second, but it was a definite statement of fondness between the girls. Now, it was Shellby’s turn to blush.
“That was sweet… but too short.”
“Well ah didn’t want mah first kiss to be an eight hour-long make-out session!” snapped Tara playfully. Shellby smiled again, her ears in paradise over hearing her girlfriend’s sweet southern twang of a voice. Everything about Lantariz made her love the shorter girl all the more, from her exotic red hair to her eyes, and even her voice and small frame. If anything was to be changed, it would have been the distance between the two.
“And your second?” asked Shellby. Tara winked.
“Maybe longer. A lil’ more intimate. Quiet, soft, sweet, nice, like you.” Shellby let out a little aww and took the petite girl in her arms, pressing her lips against hers just as soft and quiet and sweet as she asked. The touch was everything Tara had wanted, a sense of intimacy and love from a beautiful woman she was growing fond of every day. Their lips converged and held each other tightly, sometimes parting briefly so their masters could hear the erotic sound of the kiss, only to bring themselves back together again for another.
Lantariz’s gangly arms found themselves folding over Shellby’s body, the nerves of her hands and fingers in bliss as they felt the smooth, delicious dark skin of the older woman. Shellby adored the touch--any touch, really--and sunk her mouth deeper into her girlfriend’s, and as her divine fingers finally merged into the divine fire of Tara’s hair, both girls moaned quietly. Finally, Tara withdrew from the intimate moment, her face flushed but not hiding her happiness.
“Oh, wow! That was great, Shel!”
“Yeah… Whew! Now I know what they mean when they say that ‘you take my breath away’… whew!” Lantariz smiled again, and Shellby caught the bug as she smiled and leaned in to kiss Tara again, in several sweet and silent smooches. In the middle of a kiss, they opened their eyes and laughed as they saw each other, and another time, Tara deliberately smushed her nose against that of her girlfriend’s as they smooched.
“(This feels so nice,)” whispered Tara into Shellby’s lips, causing the other girl to smile and moan happily. They were no longer aware of the outside world or of their hands delicately gliding over their bodies; only the love and tenderness of each other was relevant.
Just then, in mid-kiss, the door whirled open to reveal Tara’s father Lio.
“Tara, guess what! We’re almost at the--oh, whoops, sorry!!” Lio’s face flushed as well as he saw his daughter and her girlfriend being intimate, and in that accidental moment, all the love and peace shared between the girls was broken, only to be replaced by…
“PAW, DON’T YOU EVER KNOCK ANYMORE??!! AH CLOSED THAT DOOR FOR A REASON, OKAY?! SHEESH, PAW, YER SO FRIGGIN’ RUDE!!!”
…Replaced by anger…
“Gosh, I’m sorry Lantie!” he murmured feebly. Lantariz roared at him doubly now--not just for interrupting her private moment, but also for calling her by that stupid name!
“Don’t call me Lantie, paw! Either Lantariz or Tara, okay?! You know ah hate that name!!”
“I’m sorry!” he blurted again. “I’m really, really, really sorry! I’m sorry!”
“Don’t be sorry, be quiet!”
“I’M SORRY!” Both Tara and Shellby groaned as they shook their heads and rolled their eyes, but it was the elder of the two who spoke.
“Well, now that our moment’s been shot, what do you want, Mr. T?” Lantariz’ father Lio pouted helplessly, still stung by his daughter’s raving words, and barely squeaked out his excuse for barging in.
“Well, I was gonna say that I finally found a rest stop. I mean, we’ve been flying for a few hours here, and since you girls told me you were hungry…”
“You stormed in on us just to say that?!” shrieked poor Tara. “Paaaaaaaw!!!”
“Oh, stop complaining, sweetie,” sighed Shellby as she gave her girlfriend a hug. “Your father meant well. Besides, I’m almost completely emaciated. I might wither away if I don’t get some food. Whaddya say, Tarie?” Lantariz was still angry when she looked at her friend, but being called by such a cute pet name by the woman she loved made her mood lighten a bit. The growl in her stomach, however, was the last nail in the coffin.
“Oh… aww right! Ah’ll come along… But next time, paw, you’d better knock! Shellby an’ ah coulda been doin’ stuff much worse’n kissin’!”
“I said I was sorry!” he wailed. Shellby smiled at the poor guy and led Lantariz out of their room and towards the platform before she could spew anything else out. Of course, the girls were very lucky that Lio Tornheart had no objections to their relationship. The guy was a bit scatterbrained anyway, which accounted for barging in on a room with a closed door.
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Placing their small ship in a hangar, the three travelers went off in search of the restaurant that Lio had found. It was a small place full of miserable bums, drawling country music, ugly waitresses, and food that made all of it worthwhile. Lantariz and Shellby were given looks as they walked in; the fact that they were holding hands didn’t make things much better.
“Nice place,” murmured Tara. “Paw, were you tryin’ to insult me?”
“I don’t follow.”
“You think that just cuz’ ah talk like this, that makes it okay to put me in here. Ah ain’t like these people, paw! Ah run round’ the universe with you’n Shellby while these no-good bums sit here and make themselves fat! Ah’m insulted!”
“Pipe down and sit down,” muttered Shellby. “Mr. T. did this out of kindness. He could have kept both of us starving, you know.” Lantariz grumbled and plopped down in a booth.
“Ah’ll be quiet.”
“I know you will, sweetie.” Shellby gave her girlfriend a smile and a nudge, and shared the small menu with her as she looked it over. Not a fan of poring over the things for minutes at a time, she chose something at random and stuck with it. Lio did the same, but Lantariz was as indecisive as a cat choosing their napping spot. Everything had to be just right for her.
“Hey, fokes,” greeted the hideous waitress as she shuffled over to them. “Whaddya have?”
“Chicken salad, honey mustard, and tea!” piped Shellby. Lio grinned.
“Burger and fries, everything on it! Oh, and a big mug of beer, biggest ya got!”
“An’ you, hon?” Lantariz frowned and desperately scanned through the menu. She wasn’t ready to order just yet!
“Umm, uhh, uh, I, well, uhhmm…”
“Shud I come back’n ten minutes?”
“Uh, no! Uh, uh, uh, seafood platter!”
“Right. Take caa’, now.” The waitress scrawled everything down on a pad and shuffled back to the kitchen, where she shouted the order over to the cook whose ugliness was only outshined by his brilliance in cuisine. Shellby gave her girlfriend another playful nudge once they were alone.
“See, honey? It wasn’t that hard now, was it? Now why can’t you be that quick everywhere else?”
“Cuz’, ah don’t know what ah want!” she emphasized. “Ah gotta know what’s available first, then ah gotta decide on the price an’ what’s in the food, and whether or not it’ll keep me full or not…” Shellby let out a silent sigh as she shook her head, and as usual, Lio Tornheart was oblivious to everything.
“This table has a spot on it,” he murmured. Soon, his finger was rubbing on the spot, and nothing save universal war would pry his attention away from it. Lantariz sighed again, and leaned against her girlfriend wearily, who gladly took the shorter girl into her embrace.
“Sorry.”
“That’s okay, sweetheart,” replied Shellby with a smile. “I can never stay annoyed at you for more than a few seconds. You’re just too sexy for that.” Lantariz smiled and did not chastise her friend for the embarrassing comment. Things slowly began to settle down in the diner, as the music played and the patrons sat around eating and talking. It was a rusty run-down joint where sloppy people ate delicious food, where the lights were always bright and cheerful even though the atmosphere wasn’t, and where one could relax without having to worry about much of anything.
Their food came eventually, after a good fifteen minute wait, and with it a few more customers. The wind blew in three peculiar-looking characters, the likes of which had rarely been seen by the patrons in the diner. Everyone turned around and stared at the newcomers, even Shellby and Lantariz. One looked like an elf, the other an escaped patient from a mental institution, and the third an exotic dancer.
“Don’t see people like them in these places,” commented Lantariz numbly. “Wonder if they’re really here for food. Ugh, that elf-woman’s got a hella-big sword!”
“And that cyborg’s creeping me out,” whispered Shellby. Lantariz crossed her eyebrows in confusion.
“You can tell?”
“Yeah, but don’t ask why. I just can.” Lantariz shrugged, and even though it was none of her business, she kept an eye out on the three newcomers as she dug into her seafood platter. The food was delectable, naturally, but the new arrivals were even more interesting than that.
“I’m looking for a sturdy ship to fly the three of us outta this slime pit!” announced the elf-woman suddenly. Her voice was strong and hard, with little emotion in it at all. “Any volunteers? I might even be inclined to pay you if you’re nice.”
“Yer in the wrong place, missy,” grunted one of the more obese people. “We’re all wanted men in this so-called slime pit of yours. You say you got money, and we’ll slit yer throats for it. The waitress, too.” The elf-woman looked at the waitress, who merely shrugged, and looked back at the fat man again.
“My name is Asuka Honmisei, and I need a ship out of here.” At the mention of the woman’s name, most of the patrons gasped in horror and amazement. The fat man’s mouth hung open, and he tried to distance himself from the short woman with no success. Back at their booth, Lantariz and Shellby both exchanged unknowing glances.
“Who’s Asuka Honmi-whatever? I’ve never heard of her.”
“Neither have I, but the people here seem to have. Hey, let’s give her a ride in our ship!”
“You really think we should?” wondered Lantariz. The petite redhead had a powerful empathetic heart that was always willing to help out, but she was wise enough to stray from danger. Shellby, however, nodded her head.
“Sure. They won’t kill us if they need to use our ship. Besides, we might get some new friends in the process. Mr. T., what do you say?”
“About what?” he asked as he stuffed himself with fries. Shellby groaned in frustration.
“Letting those three borrow our ship! They need a ship to get out of this place! It wouldn’t be inconvenient for us, since we’re wanderers anyway. They even said they’d pay us!”
“Ummn, go ahead,” he mumbled, his mouth full of food. Shellby stood up out of the crowd and shouted to the trio, getting the attention of everyone else as well.
“Hey, we’ve got a ship you can use! C’mon over here; we’ll help you out.” From across the diner, the elf-woman snickered and grinned wryly. She and her companions walked over to the booth and each greeted the other trio with a nod.
“You’ve got guts, kid,” saluted the elf. “So you got a ship for us, eh? That’s real nice of ya. Here, mind if we join you?”
“Not at all. I’m Shellby Blake, and this is my sexual lover Tara.”
“Shellby!!” Poor Tara’s face turned red as a radish as she screamed out, and although people around stared, the mere sight of the elf-woman and her two companions drove them away. The elf-woman, who had addressed herself as Asuka, only chuckled.
“We’re really not lovers!” stated Lantariz frantically. “Not yet, at least! Don’t pay much attention to Shellby; she likes to instigate a lot. Uh, I guess you know my name’s Tara, and this is my father Lio. He’s a little weird, but you’ll like him.”
“Salutations,” greeted Lio before biting into the hamburger he had. The woman who resembled an exotic dancer grimaced as the grease dripped down his fingers.
“Ugh… Asuka-dear, may I please order a light salad? I think it’s time I got something in my belly.”
“I’ll say,” murmured Asuka (who was really a half-elf, but from her previous distance, it was hard to tell). “You barely eat anything at all. I don’t like women who worry excessively about their weight. It’s really annoying.”
“But I actually have a reason!” countered the dancer. “I need to keep my figure trim and fit! If I didn’t, the boss would flip, and my career would be over!” Asuka merely snorted and rested her elbows on the table.
“Hmph. I wouldn’t mind if you packed on a few extra pounds. You’d prob’ly look better if you had a more natural weight.”
“You think so?” whispered the other woman, her olive-tan face flustered. Asuka shrugged.
“Uh, I dunno. Anyway, once that woman gets over here, I’m getting’ a big steak, and you’re sharing it with me, okay? Storm, you gettin’ anything?”
“Bacon grease and salt water!!!!”
“Disgusting!” groaned Shellby, Lantariz, and the dancer. The maniacal man called Storm--or Bloodstorm if one wanted to use his full designated name--merely cackled as he pleasured himself with their disgusted faces. Lio handed him a fry.
“Anyway, who are you people?” asked Lantariz. “And why do you need a ship? Ah mean, if we’re gonna ferry you round’, the least you could tell us is that, so we’ll know.”
“Fair enough,” shrugged Asuka. “I more or less introduced myself at the beginning. The name’s Asuka Honmisei, and I need a ship to get off this planet. I hate to travel, but I gotta do what I gotta do.”
“Is that what was going through your mind when you rescued me?” asked the obsessively-thin woman. Asuka nodded her head, earning a soft coo from her taller companion. She even went as far as to hug Asuka’s neck. “Ohh, that was so sweet of you! Getting on a moving vehicle for my sake…!” Asuka snorted and endured the hug; Tara and Shellby were confused.
“Uh… Huh?”
“I’ve got a crappy constitution,” explained the half-elf casually. “I can’t get on a moving object without gettin’ sick. Even looking at a boat gets me ill. Don’t even ask about all the ‘saving’ crap and stuff; it’s a long story. Oh, and this is Brinna.”
“That’s a fine way to introduce me!” snapped the woman introduced as Brinna. She struck Asuka on the arm, earning a vicious laugh from the larger man accompanying them. The waitress came by with their individual orders just then, and he got a royal kick out of grossing everybody out by drinking bacon grease and saltwater. Once she felt that Asuka had gotten slapped enough times, Brinna sighed wearily and formally introduced herself.
“Brinna Ptolemie, famous dancer. Asuka’s my bodyguard, so I’m traveling with her so that nothing bad happens to me.”
“And this scary-looking guy?” pointed Shellby. Bloodstorm cackled out loud and shoved his thumb into his chest proudly.
“Bloodstorm, DRASG model cyborg!! I’m this little girl’s partner, used whenever there’s lots of things to destroy and people to kill!!” Tara and Shellby drew back in horror as the cyborg proudly boasted of his vicious ways, but Asuka rolled her eyes.
“Don’t mind him, he loves scaring people. He is a pretty nasty killer, but he still has programs that restrict his abilities. Don’t worry; he won’t kill you if you’re an innocent bystander or anything. Only if you committed a crime or something.”
“That ain’t too assuring,” murmured Tara as she swallowed down her nervousness. “So anyway, it’s Asuka, Bloodstorm, and Brinna, right?”
“Yup. And you’re Tara, Shellby, and Lio, right?”
“Yeah. Well, when we’re done eatin’, ya wanna take off?”
“The sooner the better,” replied Asuka in that same monotonously dead voice. “I’m after two very highly-priced bounties, and I’d like to collect as soon as I can.”
“We’ll be glad to help in any way possible!” stated Shellby. Asuka gave the dark-skinned woman one of her rare smiles, a dusky one with a wry twist, and dove into her steak with expert precision.
Lio Tornheart had no idea what was going on.
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The Luxembourg was a small ship not suited for multiple people to use its facilities, but everybody made do with what they had. Neither Asuka nor Bloodstorm complained at all, and although she had once pretended to be a spoiled brat, Brinna was anything but and took the limited facilities with cheer. Lio gladly gave up his bed so that the other two women could share it, and chose the couch in the small recreation room instead; Bloodstorm was perfectly happy “sleeping” on his feet, like horses did.
Asuka had no idea where to look for her bounties in question (she never revealed who she was looking for, and nobody bothered to ask), so she asked Lio to take her to the nearest planet with civilization on it (nearer than the one they had been on, anyway). Once the vessel went into autopilot, everybody decided that it would be a good time to rest.
Shellby and Lantariz were now enjoying sharing a bed together, and now that they were officially girlfriends, they softly kissed each other with gentle intimacy until they fell asleep in each other’s arms. Asuka, on the other hand, was not used to sharing a bed with anybody, least of all a gorgeous young woman who loved to dance. She silently approached the situation without complaint, stripping off all her clothes save her tank top and underpants. Brinna had a nightgown.
“You know,” she said as she climbed in the small bed, “I think those two young girls have a thing for each other. Did you see the way they were holding hands every now and then?” Asuka was silent for awhile before she answered.
“…Not really.”
“I thought it was cute,” smiled Brinna. Asuka sighed and rested her bare arms behind her head as she stared at the dark ceiling, and slowly, Brinna snuck closer until her whole body was touching Asuka. The half-elf turned her head and uttered a single questioning word.
“What?”
“Can’t I snuggle up next to my bodyguard?” she smiled. Asuka frowned and shrugged. She wasn’t so senseless as to not know what was going on.
“Sure, if it’ll make you feel better. Just don’t do anything weird.” Brinna frowned cutely and folded her arm over Asuka’s stomach as she nestled her head on the smaller woman’s shoulder.
“Mph, you’re no fun. I was gonna seduce you and make you my sexual lover, like those two girls did.”
“I hope you’re just teasing me again.”
“Well, yeah, but… a girl can’t help but be attracted to the person that saves her! And Miss Honmisei, you’re the only person who’s ever actually saved my life! You know, that’s really flattering in a sweet way.” Brinna smiled warmly, her hypnotic eyes full of stars, but Asuka didn’t buy it.
“I guess. Are you saying you’re attracted to me?”
“I am.” Asuka snorted, but it sounded like a laugh.
“Great, just peachy. All right, I’m goin’ to sleep. If you do anything funny while I’m out, I’m gonna be pissed in the morning.”
“I would never dream of it,” smiled the taller woman warmly. She leaned forward and gave the half-elf a good kiss on the cheek, sighed, and snuggled back into her original position. For awhile after Brinna fell asleep, Asuka watched the woman in wonder, and felt the area where her lips had touched.
I’ve never really been in a romantic relationship before…
I’ve never been in love, or never had anybody love me…
I’ve never had anybody who’s wanted to do sweet things with me…
Least of all another woman…
But… hey, I might get to like it if I’m not careful. Ah, well. She’s a sweet kid.
Damn professional attitude… Wish I didn’t have to focus on that stupid bounty, though…
Asuka fell asleep too, though it took her a little while longer. She wasn’t used to sleeping every single night.
Closing comments: Yes, there’s finally some shoujo-ai in here! And there’s finally some couples established! Hopefully, more and more girl-loving will pop up as the story progresses. Thank you for your patience! Preview of next chapter: Ichi makes the horrifying discovery that her arch-nemesis Thirteen is still alive!
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