Chapter 3 Delayed Introductions
Upon her awakening, all 10 guys rushed to her side, looking concerned. "Whoa, dudes, I'm fine!" She said, as she wobbled to her feet.
"You don't look fine. You look like you're suffering. You are not yet healed, so you must relax." Replied a particularly handsome boy to the left of her.
"Um, thanks……?"
"The name's Locke." He replied, noticing her confusion.
Suddenly, everyone started to introduce themselves at once, though Thalassa wasn't listening. She was staring deep into Locke's ocean blue eyes.
Her entrancement with Locke's eyes was broken abruptly when Fabian grabbed her hand and pulled her away.
"Dude, Fabian, what was that all about? All I was doing was looking at him! I don't think that deserves having my arm nearly yanked out of its socket!"
Fabian looked at Thalassa with an exasperated expression on his face. "Thalassa,"
"Thallie." Thalassa corrected.
"Thallie," Fabian repeated. "Can't you tell that Locke is part fargote? You DO know what fargote is right?"
"I don't care what fargoshamawhatzit means, that my friend is discrimination!" Thalassa snapped at Fabian. "Now, I don't know what's up with you, whether its jealousy, or… or… something else, but I am perfectly capable of choosing the company I keep for myself thank-you. Thalassa tried to turn back to Locke, but Fabian grabbed her arm, and held her back.
"Listen Thallie, I'm sorry if I sounded rude or anything, but If you're going to make it here, there are some things that you need to know!"
"OK, I'm all yours. Just talk and I shall listen." Thallie sighed, realizing that she couldn't wrench her arm out of Fabian's grasp.
"Good, because I really hope that you will be able to adjust here. Now, one thing that you'll need to know, is that a fargote is sort of like a veela, except that they appeal to the female gender rather than the males. Since Locke is part fargote, the females that look into his eyes are immediately swept off their feet, which can be a good thing or a bad thing. We think that he was brought to defend this base solely for that reason, though we must admit, he is an excellent fighter. This base is the main line of defense for the planet Jagrebian. It has been repeatedly attacked by the cardiophlobians, so we built up a defense system. We are called The Defenders, since we are the highest in the system."
Thalassa's attention began to waver, it all sounded like a bunch of gobbledegook to her, when her eyes wandered across the room to Locke. Once again, their eyes met, and Thalassa was off in another world (in a matter of speaking.) She didn't mean for it to happen, she thought of Fabian as a great new friend and all, but she couldn't help but find his little spiel as boring as the dickens. Locke gave her a little smile and a wink, and her knees virtually melted!
Fabian caught her in his strong arms and sighed. "I told you not to look into his eyes." With that he let go of her arm and left the room, shaking his head.
Thalassa stared after him for a moment, guilty that she hadn't been listening to his well-intended advice. However, there was nothing she could do about it right now, so with one last backwards glance toward the door, she wandered back into the midst of the Defenders.
Everyone was laughing while a guy with spiky, chestnut brown hair was looking particularly sheepish.
"Whoa, what'd I miss?" Thalassa asked over the extremely audible laughter.
"Well, Griffin here just said that he thinks that you should be made an official Defender, and that he wouldn't want to get matched up against you in training!" chuckled Carson. This caused another wave of laughter, and Griffin blushed an even deeper crimson.
"Why's that so funny?" Thalassa asked. Then, turning to face Griffin, she said admiringly, "Personally, I'm flattered that you said that!"
Griffin started to say something, but was interrupted by Locke. "Thalassa," He began.
"Thallie." Thalassa corrected. Locke ignored her and continued on.
"We find that statement funny because, well, you a…a… girl."
"So?" Thalassa shot back. "Back on Earth, there are definitely lots of women who could kick your sorry little a…"
"Ah, so you're finally awake." Came the greasy voice of the Commander. "I trust that you've met everyone? You haven't? My, my, usually when any female enters the base, the boys are fighting just to talk to her! Well, I'm terribly sorry for their impolite behavior. Here's Locke, Carson, Griffin, Peyton, Shia, Rando, Viktor, Parker, and Rhett. But where is Fabian? He knows not to leave sleeping quarters unless it has been authorized by me."
"Um, he went to… the… um… bathroom! Yeah, don't worry, he didn't leave the sleeping quarters, he's just in there, ya know, taking care of some business."
"Uh-huh…" The Commander replied skeptically. "Training Wing in fifteen minutes! Demerits to anyone that's late!"
"Sir yes sir!" The Defenders intoned automatically.
Upon her awakening, all 10 guys rushed to her side, looking concerned. "Whoa, dudes, I'm fine!" She said, as she wobbled to her feet.
"You don't look fine. You look like you're suffering. You are not yet healed, so you must relax." Replied a particularly handsome boy to the left of her.
"Um, thanks……?"
"The name's Locke." He replied, noticing her confusion.
Suddenly, everyone started to introduce themselves at once, though Thalassa wasn't listening. She was staring deep into Locke's ocean blue eyes.
Her entrancement with Locke's eyes was broken abruptly when Fabian grabbed her hand and pulled her away.
"Dude, Fabian, what was that all about? All I was doing was looking at him! I don't think that deserves having my arm nearly yanked out of its socket!"
Fabian looked at Thalassa with an exasperated expression on his face. "Thalassa,"
"Thallie." Thalassa corrected.
"Thallie," Fabian repeated. "Can't you tell that Locke is part fargote? You DO know what fargote is right?"
"I don't care what fargoshamawhatzit means, that my friend is discrimination!" Thalassa snapped at Fabian. "Now, I don't know what's up with you, whether its jealousy, or… or… something else, but I am perfectly capable of choosing the company I keep for myself thank-you. Thalassa tried to turn back to Locke, but Fabian grabbed her arm, and held her back.
"Listen Thallie, I'm sorry if I sounded rude or anything, but If you're going to make it here, there are some things that you need to know!"
"OK, I'm all yours. Just talk and I shall listen." Thallie sighed, realizing that she couldn't wrench her arm out of Fabian's grasp.
"Good, because I really hope that you will be able to adjust here. Now, one thing that you'll need to know, is that a fargote is sort of like a veela, except that they appeal to the female gender rather than the males. Since Locke is part fargote, the females that look into his eyes are immediately swept off their feet, which can be a good thing or a bad thing. We think that he was brought to defend this base solely for that reason, though we must admit, he is an excellent fighter. This base is the main line of defense for the planet Jagrebian. It has been repeatedly attacked by the cardiophlobians, so we built up a defense system. We are called The Defenders, since we are the highest in the system."
Thalassa's attention began to waver, it all sounded like a bunch of gobbledegook to her, when her eyes wandered across the room to Locke. Once again, their eyes met, and Thalassa was off in another world (in a matter of speaking.) She didn't mean for it to happen, she thought of Fabian as a great new friend and all, but she couldn't help but find his little spiel as boring as the dickens. Locke gave her a little smile and a wink, and her knees virtually melted!
Fabian caught her in his strong arms and sighed. "I told you not to look into his eyes." With that he let go of her arm and left the room, shaking his head.
Thalassa stared after him for a moment, guilty that she hadn't been listening to his well-intended advice. However, there was nothing she could do about it right now, so with one last backwards glance toward the door, she wandered back into the midst of the Defenders.
Everyone was laughing while a guy with spiky, chestnut brown hair was looking particularly sheepish.
"Whoa, what'd I miss?" Thalassa asked over the extremely audible laughter.
"Well, Griffin here just said that he thinks that you should be made an official Defender, and that he wouldn't want to get matched up against you in training!" chuckled Carson. This caused another wave of laughter, and Griffin blushed an even deeper crimson.
"Why's that so funny?" Thalassa asked. Then, turning to face Griffin, she said admiringly, "Personally, I'm flattered that you said that!"
Griffin started to say something, but was interrupted by Locke. "Thalassa," He began.
"Thallie." Thalassa corrected. Locke ignored her and continued on.
"We find that statement funny because, well, you a…a… girl."
"So?" Thalassa shot back. "Back on Earth, there are definitely lots of women who could kick your sorry little a…"
"Ah, so you're finally awake." Came the greasy voice of the Commander. "I trust that you've met everyone? You haven't? My, my, usually when any female enters the base, the boys are fighting just to talk to her! Well, I'm terribly sorry for their impolite behavior. Here's Locke, Carson, Griffin, Peyton, Shia, Rando, Viktor, Parker, and Rhett. But where is Fabian? He knows not to leave sleeping quarters unless it has been authorized by me."
"Um, he went to… the… um… bathroom! Yeah, don't worry, he didn't leave the sleeping quarters, he's just in there, ya know, taking care of some business."
"Uh-huh…" The Commander replied skeptically. "Training Wing in fifteen minutes! Demerits to anyone that's late!"
"Sir yes sir!" The Defenders intoned automatically.
