Thanks for saying something sarcasticJournalist and KalypsoKari87. We have new followers and favouriters Tooncow and Twinkles43534. Gee writing about these new guys is kinda fun.
~ CHAPTER 56 ~
When the Behemoth Leaving Hits the Breeze Blender
After reheating his brunch in the microwave Dwayne carried his plate to the table where Wesley and Jasper were playing some kind of game with cards. It was a typical breakfast-y meal: bacon and eggs and beans on toast. The yellow yolk jiggled as he carried the plate and Dwayne admired the meal with a hungry stare. He pulled out a chair next to Wesley and dug in, there sure was a lot of food piled on.
"Six of clubs." Jasper stated confidently and Wesley frowned, flicking the card onto the table.
Jasper didn't even need to look. He picked up the card and handed it back to Wesley so he could shuffle it into the deck. He picked out another card and made sure Jasper couldn't see it. While chewing on a strip of bacon Dwayne watched Jasper across the table. He was just smiling and there was no indication from the outside that he was using any kind of power at all.
"Queen of Spades."
"Right again." Wesley sighed and shuffled the card in. "Suppose you really can see the future… What about this?" He drew another card and instead of looking at it put it flat on the table.
"Four of hearts." Jasper reached and turned it over.
"Hmmm." Dwayne couldn't say any more cause his mouth was full. He swallowed and cut up another piece of toast dripping with yellow.
"And the next card on the deck is the Two of Clubs, followed by the Five of Diamonds, Jack of Clubs, Ace of Diamonds and the Joker. I could go on through the entire deck if I wanted."
Wesley revealed the next few cards and then scowled, shuffling them back. Jasper kept smiling. Dwayne put another forkful into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully.
"Hey I just thought of something…" Wesley started. "You can look into the future to see the cards after they're revealed, right? What if I take a random card with the intention of not revealing it then put it back in the deck?"
"You can try." Jasper said with a smile.
Frowning Wesley pulled out a card, paused, and then slid it right back in.
"That was the Four of Spades."
"But how…?"
"As soon as you told me what you were planning on doing I looked into a possible future path where I snatched that card from you. In that path I managed to surprise you and take the card, and physically look at it to see it was the Four of Spades. After seeing this path I chose to do nothing."
"Damn…" Wesley replied, impressed.
"Cool." Dwayne added, covering his mouth with one hand so he could continue eating.
"But of course you didn't see the card either so I could be making this all up." Jasper stated, still smiling.
"Hot chocolate's ready." Kaylah appeared from the kitchen and put a mug down in front of Jasper and then Wesley. They thanked her and she walked off to go get the other two mugs.
"Thanks," Dwayne smiled as she handed him his. He felt a squiggle in his gut when he caught himself admiring her pretty face.
"No problem." She sat down beside Jasper with a casual sigh and sipped from her own mug. "You guys have enough food in here to last a year."
"Sure do." Wesley shuffled the cards together.
"Suppose it'll be an issue if we're floating around in space though. That could take longer than a few years."
"Yeah, it would." Jasper agreed.
"Why don't we play a game?" Wesley suggested. "Take Five or Go Fish or something?"
"Well we could," Jasper raised an eyebrow. "But I'd win."
"Obviously you'd just have to watch." Wesley snapped while Kaylah snickered.
"Hey are you playing with my Poker cards!" Camila walked into the room. She'd been running about in excitement ever since she'd been told they teleported to Queensland. Every few minutes she'd pester them to take the scuttlebuggie out to the beaches but it was a bad idea – even with camouflage it was too risky. They'd have to go at night just to be safe. "I got those from an actual casino!"
"You mean you stole them from an actual casino." Wesley retorted harshly.
"Finders keepers." She shrugged and walked by, Dwayne could tell she was purposely trying to piss him off.
"The words of a petty thief." Wesley started shuffling the deck and dealing out a hand to everyone but Jasper.
"I won't play, Wesley." Dwyane said while cutting into a bean-splattered slice. "I don't want to get the cards sticky."
"Shove, love." Camila appeared behind him suddenly. Dwayne scooched into the next seat and slid his plate across so she could join in.
"So what are we playing?" Kaylah picked up her hand. "I know how to play Snap."
"How's Go Fish?" Camila suggested.
"That's fine." Wesley rearranged the cards in his hand thoughtfully. "No cheating, Camila."
"I wasn't gonna."
"I'm serious. If I see you leaning back…" He angled his chair away from her. Camilla stubbornly turned her chair as well and sat on it cross-legged.
"Jasper was just showing us his power, Camila." Dwayne stated. He was quickly getting full and there was still a significant portion left on his plate. He idly poked around some beans with his fork.
"Oh? Wesley dealt so it's your go first Kaylah."
"Okay… Wesley, got any fives?"
"Go fish." He answered and she drew a card from the deck.
"Speaking of powers…" Camila started up while keeping her eyes on her hand. "How exactly does your empath thing work, Kaylah?"
"Well, for example, even though I can't read your thoughts I can feel the emotions coming off from you. So the fact that Wesley is looking calm despite the excitement I'm sensing from him I'd say he has a good hand. And coming from you I can feel a bit of disappointment so I'd say your hand isn't that good at all."
"Wow." Camila blinked. "You both are like, born cheaters at card games."
"Jealous cause they can do it better?" Wesley smirked.
"Shut up."
"Got any Jacks Camila?"
"Fuck." She handed him her card and he slid a set of four onto the table.
"Kaylah, any nines?"
"Go fish." She answered and he drew a card from the deck.
"It's not really fair," Camila continued. "My power doesn't work on any of these guys but yours still does?"
"Well." Dwayne ripped off a corner of his toast. "The higher you are on the hemospectrum the less susceptible you are, so maybe since Kaylah's power has nothing to do with controlling people it still works on us. And that time she spoke through you was probably because you were reaching out and trying to sense her."
"Maybe." Camila mumbled.
"Got any Threes Cammie?" Kaylah asked.
"Go fish." The small girl straightened in her chair. "Hey! I thought of something. Jasper, give me your hand for a second."
"Why do you- oh." He immediately saw into the future. "Yeah, you can control my movements. Must be cause I'm the only one here lower on this hemospectrum thing than you are, right?"
"Must be." Dwayne fed himself another bite of egg.
"Staying around here is so boring," Camila moaned. "Now that I'm finally here I want to run along the beaches. Do we have to wait all the way until night to go?"
"We'll all go." Dwayne answered. "We'll take the Scuttlebuggie when it's dark, hide it somewhere, spend the whole day out and come back at night."
"Sawyer's probably not going to come. He's spent his whole time in that library reading." Kaylah stated.
"What about Torrie?" Jasper turned to ask.
"I don't know, haven't seen her." Kaylah frowned in thought.
"It's your turn, Camila." Wesley reprimanded her sternly.
"I know! I'm thinking." She frowned. "Got any twos Wesley?"
"Go fish."
"Torrie's probably still relaxing in the recuperacoons." Dwayne spoke up. "She must have taken a liking to them. As for Sawyer, we'll just tell him to bring a bunch of books in his rucksack and take them with us."
"That's a good idea." Jasper downed the last of his drink and stood up. "I think I'll pick something out for myself as well."
"You do that, nerd." Camila teased without looking away.
"Have fun. Kaylah's going to win by the way." He walked off to the sink. A smile pulled up on the other girl's face. She had seven cards while Wesley only had one.
"Any nines Camila?" He asked.
"Go fish. Any sevens Kaylah?"
"Go fish." She smiled. "I'll take your nine Wesley." He frowned and surrendered his card, Kaylah set down a stack of four. "Any Fives Camila?" The other girl reluctantly handed it over. "I'm on a roll now."
While staring at her hazel eyes and watching her nose crinkle in thought another worrying wave of nerves rolled through Dwayne's gut. Kaylah is… kind of cool. He forked in another mouthful and then stood up, carrying the rejected leftovers towards the automated slide-out bin.
"Can you show us your telekinesis again?" Camila asked from behind him. "That shit's crazy."
"Sure." The high-pitched frequency noise was back, but quieter – perhaps because she was lifting a lighter object. Dwayne turned around and saw her mug rising. Kaylah's hand was splayed at it and her brow furrowed in concentration. Her drink wasn't rising straight, it was beginning to tilt to the side. When she tried turning her hand it began to tremble and then vibrate. Releasing it suddenly she caught her cup and pulled it in for another sip.
"Man I'd kill to have a power like that." Camilla spoke enviously with her elbow on the table. "You got to keep practicing with it!"
"I dunno. It's just…"
"Just what?"
"I could do it when I was very young, and after a few bad experiences I learnt to not show other people. So I just stopped using it."
"Well we don't care. That power could come in real handy if you learnt to fight with it."
"I suppose…" She shrugged. "Lighter things are a lot easier, check this out." She splayed her hand at the set of cards by Wesley. Three of them drifted upward and the sound was barely audible. She focused on only the highest one and the other two fluttered down. Quite easily she conducted her hand and the card turned around in mid-air before flying into her grip.
"Neat trick." Wesley said and she flicked the card back onto the table, sticking her tongue out playfully. "Okay, any Kings Camila?"
"Dammit…" She handed over yet another card. Dwayne knew where this was going, after slipping his plate into the alien dish-washer he walked out of the room and left them to their game. Kaylah was nice. She was pretty. She was alright. Shaking off the thought he headed on over to the recuperacoons.
The rest of the hive was silent, but when Dwayne turned into the next corridor he could hear quiet conversation. Pausing before moving faster he turned into the room where the twelve purple pods were fixed. There was Torrie with her arms on the edge of the cocoon she was occupying, covered in the green slime and looking chill.
"Oh, Dwayne!" She raised a hand in greeting.
"Liking the sopor slime?" He walked in and then his eyes moved to Reagan who was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. Dwayne hesitated, they were in here talking alone.
"This stuff is pretty great." Torrie admitted. "My headache's almost completely gone."
"Yeah… it's ah, good for our species."
"Trollians right? I'm half-way through a Biology text. Fascinating, and pretty weird."
"So…" Dwayne glanced back at Reagan who was watching him. "What are you two talking about in here…?"
"Just shooting the shit." Torrie answered.
"You know…" Dwayne suddenly thought. "You should really try that slime too, Reagan. It'll ah… calm your… tendencies."
"I don't like anything that alters my state of mind." She answered dully.
"Didn't your gang or whatever mix in drugs?"
"We sold them. Made deals. I never partook."
"Right…" Dwayne looked back to Torrie. "We were planning on going to the beach tonight. Spend the whole day out and look around. You should really come, bring that book if you want."
"Sounds good to me."
"Dwayne." He only heard Reagan's approach when she was a few steps away. Her hand came down on his shoulder and he jumped. "You've put too much focus on these newcomers. You're slacking off in your duties with me and Camila."
"Ah…"
"What duties?" Torrie blinked curiously.
"He's our Auspistice." Reagan's black eyes were still on Dwayne and he stepped away from her.
"Reagan… do you really understand Auspisticism?" He struggled. "Its main purpose is to prevent black-rom infidelity."
"It's also supposed to settle unstable Caliginous rivalries."
"I don't know why you need me. If your feelings for Camila are that strong why not just have a black relationship with her? You both just need to be honest about your feelings." Even as he said it there was a part of Dwayne, an ashen part, that throbbed in desire to keep his position.
"I don't want to feel this strongly over someone." Her gaze darkened. "I don't want anything to alter my state of mind."
"Well… okay… what do you want me to do?"
"A grey relationship might not be so intense as a black one, but it's still playing on my head. You need to mediate more between us to keep our relationship from getting any darker."
"You really need me for that?"
"I'm so frustrated that I feel like I'm about to start stealing knives from the kitchen and storing them around the place so I have something to stab with when I next lose it."
"Ah… bluh…" Dwayne shook his head, his voice sounded desperate. "You sure you don't want to try out that slime, hey Reagan?"
"Can you imagine what it'd be like if I flushed full-on black for her?" Reagan's voice was a whisper and she stepped right up to Dwayne, a flash of insanity crossed her face.
"Okay okay! I'll do it! I didn't realise it was effecting you so much as well."
"Why else would I be flushing grey for a mediator like you?"
"What the hell are you two talking about?" Torrie's head tilted with almost comical confusion.
"Ah… it's troll romance stuff. You'll find out soon enough. Although come to think of it…" Dwayne scratched his chin. "I'm surprised no one in your group is in a relationship." When Dwayne said it the Indigo blood sank down into her recuperacoon until only half her face was visible. She averted her eyes. "You are together…?" Dwayne's mind raced as he tried to think who could be with who. He remembered how protective Torrie had seemed of Kaylah yesterday, they seemed kind of close, could they be dating…? A slight feeling of loss emanated from his chest.
"Ah… well… it's complicated you see." With a sigh she rested her head in her hand. "Back in the early days… it was Sawyer's fault, he fucked us all up."
"How?" Dwayne blinked at her.
"I was the first one who met up with Kaylah… we kind of were together for a bit… kind of. But then when Sawyer came along he changed all of that."
"You were kind of together?" Dwayne raised an eyebrow.
"We kissed okay. Once."
"Alright." A flash memory of the time Wesley had kissed Dwayne. He'd mistaken their strong attraction as typical human romance. Who knew what feelings had prompted the two girls to kiss, and even if they'd both been flushing in the same quadrant either? "How did Sawyer change everything?"
"Because me and Kaylah both fell head over heels for him." Torrie answered.
"Woah." Dwayne blinked and Reagan just crossed her arms.
"What me and her had was kind of awkward, and before it could get too strong Sawyer came along and dazzled us. Then we were just rivals. But he didn't care about how we felt. He let us like him, but whenever either of us tried to get more serious he'd just carefully shuffle away, kind of like he was keeping us at the exact distance so we could still be useful to him. The exact right place he wanted both of us in. And when Jasper came along it just got worse. He found us on our way to him knowing everything we were going to say beforehand, and then he straight-up fell for Sawyer as well. All three of us were just obsessed with him and he didn't even bat an eye."
"How strange…"
"In the end we all gave up on him. It left bitter feelings all around but eventually we started being a group of friends again. I suppose I can't blame Sawyer… but it's just… yeah."
"Wow." Reaching back Dwayne scratched his arm awkwardly. "I know what you mean… It's a high blood thing."
"Why don't you join me in one of these, Dwayne?" Torrie patted the edge of her recuperacoon.
"Why not?" He decided and walked over, reaching to pull his shirt over his head. "I'm not doing anything else right now."
"Cool." Torrie turned her head. "And you can tell me a bit more about spiritual Satanism, Reagan."
So that sexy Sawyer mofo is a bit of a player? Except he hasn't actually played anyone in THAT sense. Seems like our Dwayne's strong attraction to him isn't anything special, but he might be feeling an ounce of attraction toward a down-to-Earth Yellow Blood as well. Hmmm...
