CHERRY MEETS BLUE


Cherry returned to her quarters momentarily to find them completely toilet-papered. As she surveyed the mess, peals of laughter rang out through the room.

"Just my way of initiating you into the wing, eh?" Private Blue was perched on the end of Cherry's bed, a mischevious grin on his face and half a roll of tissue in his hand. "I couldn't find anywhere else to put this one." he chuckled. "Hey, at least my way of saying hi isn't tearing up your wing." He pointed to Cherry's injured wing.

Cherry gasped at the scene. "What the hell???" she exclaimed, looking at the mess. Then, when she saw Blue, she jumped. "How did you get in here? Okay, I get it. First, I have to pass the physiucal torture. This must be the mental." She had to smile as she saw Blue, staring at her. She couldn't figure out if he was a devil or an angel, but he sure was cute. "I was going to redecorate, but it looks like you beat me to it. But if you touched any of my stuff, I'll have to tie your antennas into a pretzel, bake them, salt them, and eat them for lunch."

Blue held up his hands, the annoying little smile still plastered across his face. "I didn't touch a thing," he chuckled. "I left that to the 'tp."

She sat down on her bed, taking care not to sit on her sore wing. She felt a little embarassed but exited at having such an interesting visitor. When she looked at him to continue the conversation, she saw intelligence and entensity behind the surface boyishness and mischief in his warm brown eyes. Like a boy/man. She liked him instantly. He was the kind she could be herself with but wondered if she could ever talk about anything serious. He seemed so playful. She noticed his scars and ventured, "I see we're even on the battlefield. You must be part cat, because you have nine lives. I'm really glad to have a visitor who dosen't consider me a threat. To tell you the truth, I think they should be more worried about YOU." She paused, then tilted her head. "So, did you see my battle with the Creature of the Night? How do you two get along? Where is he now?"

"Oh, I'm only dangerous on a mission." Suddenly, Blue looked a little bit more serious, if that was possible. "Ahh, yes, you had that initiation-tussle with Speede a few days back. Yeah, I watch it. He was about to kill ya after that last move you caught him in." Blue shudders. "I must say he dosen't care fo me at all. I've tried stuff like this on him a long time ago, but..." he rubs the back of his neck. "...the resulting beating was only a tad worse than my last crash and burn from 70 clicks."

He leaned back on his perch and fanned out his battered, bruised wings for balance. "I believe he's nursing his ego in the practice ring and beating up on some new recruits. Of course, he's not as bad as Mandible. Real jerk, used to be General. Back in cadet school he was giving a speech to us new recruits. Rev, who isn't here anymore, was with me that day. The ol' gasbag was standing right in front of us. Rev cracked a joke and we both started laughing." Blue got up, trying to imitate Mandible's sinister snarl. "What's so funny, you little fly fart?" he said.

"Nothing Sir. We just think you're beautiful when you're angry." The next thing I remember was waking up in the infirmary."

Cherry laughed. "Want a little salt with that foot, Blue? When he called you a little fly fart, you should have told him that flies always hover over a dung heap! I had something like that happen, only mine was unintentional. I was standing behind my oldest sister Queen Electra while she was giving a speech to the soldiers. She always had a harem of men handy, and several of them knew her in more ways than one. Anyway, she was barking out instructions when all of a sudden, I sneezed so hard I farted, and when you're a fire ant, it's not just air. You actually fart fire! Everybody but Electra cracked up. To make it worse, I blew snot on her back and she whipped around and shook me like a palm tee in a hurricane. That wa the first time I saw starts underground. I could tell you some more, but I don't want to ruin your dinner. Electra and Mandible would have made a good couple, only I think they probably would have ended up killing each other."

Blue snorted laughter, and nearly fell backwards off his perch. He looked up at Cherry and smirked. "Hot ime in the ol town that night, eh?"

He picked himself up and walked ot the door. "Sorry I gotta toilet paper and run, but you know how it goes." Blue paused for a moment, his antennae wavering, then glanced at the half empty roll in his hand. He looked back at Cherry with a startlingly dark and mischeivious grin, and then rushed outside in a bruised blur.

A few moments later, he was finished. Blue had used the last of the tp to decorate the outside of her shack as well, and was perched on the roof in his trademark squat, admiring his handywork.

He mock-salutes Cherry. "You got it easy, Cher. Sometimes I use beetle eggs."