Morgan: (from theater seat) Time to get serious! More plot revelations,
more character development, and more on the feelings of the friends.
Chuchiru: (gets popcorn)
Morgan: This is so much fun! I get to see my story come to life! (lightning flashes) It's alive! Alive! Bwahahaha! Now my only problem is that I still don't know who to hook Ash up with. I already have another pairing in mind, which will come up shortly; that one is pretty much decided, I think, unless I get a whole lot of e-mails promoting one of those two as Ash's better half. Isn't that strange? I've gotten thirty-one e-mails about this story, and only a handful of reviews. Wonder why.
Chuchiru: (shrugs) Pass the Coke.
Morgan: Anyway, I need some feedback on that, otherwise I'll just go ahead and stick him with the leftover character. I hadn't really intended that, but I think the other pairings work too well to do anything else, and I can't add any more people; too many characters spoil the story, and all that.
Chuchiru: On with the show!
* * *
That the group was impressed with Ash's house is a given. Suffice to say, they were absolutely amazed. The tiefling's parents were a big hit with his friends, with Zander's dry humor sending Sara into gales of laughter and Aschakha's warm greeting putting everyone at ease. After a short tour to point out the lavatories and the icebox in the kitchen, the six retreated to Ash's rooms upstairs for an afternoon and night of whatever fun they could muster.
They spent their first few hours on the game machine that Ash plugged into his oneiroplate; with the attachment that he had but recently purchased in a local game store, they were able to use six control devices at once, allowing everyone to participate in an all-out brawl on the year's hottest new combat title. Afterwards, Ash showed them his workroom, giving them permission to take advantage of his machinode. Leaving Kendrick and Brenna to do some astralnet surfing--mostly because it was increasingly obvious to the others that each had a crush on the other, and wanted for some time alone--Ash showed the members of the local band his music room.
"Wow," J'soon breathed reverently, running his hands over the large powered harp that stood in one corner. "This is some high-class merchandise. How much did you pay for this?"
"You do not want to know." Ash shuddered. "Try it, though, if you like."
Jay slid onto the stool next to the instrument, touching the rune that turned it on. He ran his fingers over a few strings, striking out a terrible chord, but even in dissonance the notes were beautiful. The harp left a thrumming vibration in the air even after it was deactivated.
"Nice," Sara observed. The dark-haired girl stepped over to look at the drum set, taking little interest in the violin and keyboard in the other corners of the room. She picked up a drumstick, examining the quality of the wood with a keen eye; but after holding it for only a moment, she carefully placed it back in its spot. "Why don't you play something?"
"Sure," Ash said, seating himself on the low stool behind the drums. "What do you want to hear?"
"It doesn't matter. Just give us a beat."
With a shrug, the planetouched boy lifted the sticks and tapped out an opening rhythm. When he had his time down, he burst into a professional flurry of movement, expertly slamming out a set that Sara recognized. She spoke to him over the height of the drums, asking, "That's from Cantrip's 'Mind Blank,' isn't it?"
"You've got a good ear," Ash acknowledged, continuing his melody. "I didn't know you listened to Cantrip."
"Oh, I love Cantrip; they were better before their lutist signed up with Solid Fog, though." A thought that had been in the girl's mind for some time now surfaced as she spoke, and grabbing Jay and Casan's ears, she pulled their heads closer to her mouth so she could speak quietly. Ash didn't notice, being caught up in his drumming with his eyes closed.
Casanith's eyes lit up. "Say, Ash," the shorter boy began nervously, "you don't do anything after school, do you?"
The tiefling shook his head. "Not most of the time. Why?"
"Well," Casan continued, "I was kinda wondering if you might like to, you know, come over to my house and--um--"
Ashnod stopped drumming and met Casanith's gaze. "And what?"
"And--er--practice with us sometime."
Ash's blood-red eyes lit up, his six-pointed pupils dilating with excitement. "Really? You mean it? You want me to be in your band?"
"Well," Casanith replied, scuffing his feet on the carpet, trying not to seem too eager. "We do need a new drummer, you know, and you seem pretty good, so we just thought you might be interested, maybe."
"You bet I am! That sounds great. Just let me know the day before and I can come over any day of the week--or weekend."
"Great, then," Casan muttered, screaming at himself internally. He was turned on just by standing next to Ash, and now he had invited him over to play music? *What am I thinking? I am not attracted to him, dammit, I'm straight! It has to be some tiefling power or that sorcerer charisma. It can't be me. It isn't me.*
Sara and J'soon were already discussing possible practice dates for next week with the other boy, speaking animatedly and talking about different types of music and songs. Casanith looked at the boy behind the drum set for a long time, glancing away for a moment only when Ash's eyes swiveled to catch his own.
*So why do feel like this?*
* * *
It was almost midnight. They had run out of things to do almost entirely; not because there was a lack of things to do, but because they had tried everything once and were all half-asleep already. They were clustered around Ash's bed in the main room, with Kendrick wasting J'soon on the game device, Brenna studying a large sword minutely, and Casanith, Sara, and Ash all sharing a book of lute tabs as they finished their dinner. Aschakha had graciously prepared and brought up food for all of them, which had caused several proposals on the part of Jay to switch mothers with Ash.
"That's it," Kendrick yawned, setting down his controller. "I've beaten Jay enough tonight. I think I'm gonna catch a little sleep so I can actually enjoy the rest of the weekend here."
"Me too," Brenna agreed. "If I don't go to bed, I might as well go home tomorrow and not spend another night. I'll end up sleeping for twenty- four hours."
"You can crash wherever," Ash told them over his shoulder. He was stretched out on the bed in his T-shirt and shorts, with his head hanging over the edge so he could peer into the book held by Casan and Sara, who were sitting with their backs to him. "Just step into the closet over there and grab whatever blankets and stuff you need."
The two obliged, leaving J'soon and the others to fend for themselves in the realm of entertainment. Ash flipped boredly through the channels on the oneiroplate, but found nothing of interest, and Casan said they were all too tired to concentrate on music or games anymore.
"That's what we need!" Sara responded to his complaint. "Something to wake us up, something we can all get into."
"Like what?" Ash inquired with a huge yawn, displaying his fangs terrifically.
Sara pretended to think for a moment, but in truth, she'd been saving this up all day. "How about Truth or Dare?"
"I don't know," Jay said warily. "You can get some weird ideas sometimes. Are you sure it'll be safe playing with you?"
"Cross my heart," she answered with a matching gesture and a smile. She turned on Casan and her host. "What do guys say?"
"Fine," Ashnod acceded; what could Casanith do but also agree?
"All right, then," the girl grinned, turning her brown eyes on Casan. "You go first."
"Me?" the boy stuttered. "Ah--I guess--okay." He glanced at each of them, settling on Ash. He didn't make eye contact, though-his eyes were fixed at the spot where the tiefling's shirt was riding up as he scratched at his flat stomach with one white hand. He noticed for the first time that there was a small tattoo of what appeared to be a dragon at his waistline, its head just barely peeking over the band of his shorts and the rest of it disappearing into forbidden territory. "Um, Ash--truth or dare?"
"Truth," he responded lazily. Sara snorted.
"What do you think about that girl in theatre class at school--the one you have to kiss in the harvest festival play next month?"
"Leila?" Ash asked incredulously, his slender black eyebrows rising almost to his spiky bangs. "Well, I guess she's pretty hot. Yeah, she's okay."
Sara could've cried as Casan's face fell. *And he doesn't even know that he's in love!* She decided to try and probe him, looking for anything that might give her struggling friend a shred of hope. "My turn!" she said quickly. She thought for a moment, then said, "Ash--truth or dare?"
"Truth," he replied with a wicked smile.
"Oh, come on! Fine, then. Do you now, or have you ever had, a girlfriend or boyfriend?"
Ash sighed. "No, and no. My turn."
They played until it came back to Sara. "Truth or dare, Ash," she asked.
"Truth--and don't say anything, because I did Jay's dare."
"You call giving me a lap dance a real dare?"
"I needed the money," Ash grinned.
Sara shook her head and chuckled; Casanith was still in shock from the tiefling's unexpected readiness--and skill. "Two questions: First, have you ever had a crush on someone before?"
"Yes, I'll admit to that, anyway. Three or four times, I guess."
"Okay. Were they girls or boys?"
"Girls," Ash said emphatically. Then he seemed to deflate a little, giving honesty prevalence. "Well, one was a guy."
"No way!" J'soon gaped.
"Yes, way," the tiefling said testily. "It was just for a while, and he was really good-looking, but he didn't want anything to do with me, okay? My turn."
Sara's chance came again soon enough. She played one round on Jay to throw Ash off balance, then came back at him on the next run. "Ash--truth or dare?"
Ash's eyes narrowed as he began to feel picked on. "Dare," he said defiantly, refusing to subject himself to another of Sara's cutting inquiries.
The girl grinned in triumph. "I dare you," she said with a predatory smile, "I double, triple, quadruple-dragon dare you, to kiss Casanith."
"You did not just say that!" J'soon said frantically, covering his eyes with his hands and burying his face in the side of the bed.
Casanith's eyes widened as he froze in near-comical shock, but Ash, still determined to outplay Sara, frowned and whirled on him. The other boy's mistake had been in moving up onto the bed with the bigger, stronger, and faster tiefling to make room on the floor for J'soon, and he didn't have a chance as Ashnod tackled him, straddled his hips, and pinned his arms to his sides.
"Sorry, but a dare's a dare," the pale boy muttered, then dove in at Casan's face.
Casanith would have flinched away if he had not been so amazed. Ash's kiss was at least theatrically enthusiastic, if not genuine, but his lips and tongue were ice-cold against Casan's. His mouth was covered by the other boy's, and he reflexively parted his teeth to suck at the tiefling's chilly tongue. He was glad that he was still dressed in his denim breeches, praying to whatever gods were listening that Ash wouldn't feel the heat and the reaction that was rapidly growing in the area he was currently astride. Before he could stop himself, he ground his hips up into the other boy, whose red eyes widened as Casanith's glazed over and closed halfway in ecstasy. Ash goggled further when Casanith's hands freed themselves, one twining into his long black hair, the other sliding up his thigh and around toward the base of his quivering tail--but he did not break the kiss.
"Ashnod Ephyon Darkling!"
All four of the friends started in surprise as Aschakha Darkling's voice rang in the room. Ash jerked away from Casanith, although he failed to remove himself from where he was sitting, and opened his mouth to explain.
"Don't say a word," his mother commanded dangerously. "Not one word! How many times have I talked with you about this? How many times have I told you the rules? Do you think because we've moved down here that things are different?"
Chagrined, Ash shook his head vehemently. "No, but let me--"
"No!" Aschakha growled, lifting a warning finger. "I don't want to hear it. If I have told you once, I've told you a million times--"
The foursome held their breath.
"--take your dishes down to the kitchen when you're through with them! Do you have any idea at all how hard it is to wash dishes that have food petrified onto their enamel?" She shook her head and bent to gather the stack of plates. "Well, just remember next time, all right? Please?" She came over to kiss him on the forehead, ignoring the incredulous boy underneath her son.
"I promise," Ash said, relieved and shamefaced at the same time.
"Good night," Aschakha said as she left. "Your father's already in bed, and I'm going there myself shortly. Make sure you take a bath." The door closed behind her.
There was a long silence in the room before J'soon began to chuckle with relief. The others soon joined in, and only gradually did the hysteria fade away into fatigue. Sara propped her chin up on the edge of the bed, observing the tiefling, who was still seated atop Casanith comfortably. "Are you going to move, Ash?" she asked innocently, winking at the sighing Jay.
Ash, who had been nodding even from his sitting position, snapped awake again abruptly. He stared into the eyes of the friend beneath him, who gazed back with a look full of uncertainty, fear, a peculiar sparkle of relief--and something else.
"No," he said aloud without thinking, not severing the connection between their eyes.
"I win," Sara said smugly, nudging J'soon. She grabbed the boy's arm and led him off to gather bedding, so they could sleep in the floor near Kendrick and Brenna.
Ash and Casanith, their fingers entwined unconsciously, never even blinked.
Chuchiru: (gets popcorn)
Morgan: This is so much fun! I get to see my story come to life! (lightning flashes) It's alive! Alive! Bwahahaha! Now my only problem is that I still don't know who to hook Ash up with. I already have another pairing in mind, which will come up shortly; that one is pretty much decided, I think, unless I get a whole lot of e-mails promoting one of those two as Ash's better half. Isn't that strange? I've gotten thirty-one e-mails about this story, and only a handful of reviews. Wonder why.
Chuchiru: (shrugs) Pass the Coke.
Morgan: Anyway, I need some feedback on that, otherwise I'll just go ahead and stick him with the leftover character. I hadn't really intended that, but I think the other pairings work too well to do anything else, and I can't add any more people; too many characters spoil the story, and all that.
Chuchiru: On with the show!
* * *
That the group was impressed with Ash's house is a given. Suffice to say, they were absolutely amazed. The tiefling's parents were a big hit with his friends, with Zander's dry humor sending Sara into gales of laughter and Aschakha's warm greeting putting everyone at ease. After a short tour to point out the lavatories and the icebox in the kitchen, the six retreated to Ash's rooms upstairs for an afternoon and night of whatever fun they could muster.
They spent their first few hours on the game machine that Ash plugged into his oneiroplate; with the attachment that he had but recently purchased in a local game store, they were able to use six control devices at once, allowing everyone to participate in an all-out brawl on the year's hottest new combat title. Afterwards, Ash showed them his workroom, giving them permission to take advantage of his machinode. Leaving Kendrick and Brenna to do some astralnet surfing--mostly because it was increasingly obvious to the others that each had a crush on the other, and wanted for some time alone--Ash showed the members of the local band his music room.
"Wow," J'soon breathed reverently, running his hands over the large powered harp that stood in one corner. "This is some high-class merchandise. How much did you pay for this?"
"You do not want to know." Ash shuddered. "Try it, though, if you like."
Jay slid onto the stool next to the instrument, touching the rune that turned it on. He ran his fingers over a few strings, striking out a terrible chord, but even in dissonance the notes were beautiful. The harp left a thrumming vibration in the air even after it was deactivated.
"Nice," Sara observed. The dark-haired girl stepped over to look at the drum set, taking little interest in the violin and keyboard in the other corners of the room. She picked up a drumstick, examining the quality of the wood with a keen eye; but after holding it for only a moment, she carefully placed it back in its spot. "Why don't you play something?"
"Sure," Ash said, seating himself on the low stool behind the drums. "What do you want to hear?"
"It doesn't matter. Just give us a beat."
With a shrug, the planetouched boy lifted the sticks and tapped out an opening rhythm. When he had his time down, he burst into a professional flurry of movement, expertly slamming out a set that Sara recognized. She spoke to him over the height of the drums, asking, "That's from Cantrip's 'Mind Blank,' isn't it?"
"You've got a good ear," Ash acknowledged, continuing his melody. "I didn't know you listened to Cantrip."
"Oh, I love Cantrip; they were better before their lutist signed up with Solid Fog, though." A thought that had been in the girl's mind for some time now surfaced as she spoke, and grabbing Jay and Casan's ears, she pulled their heads closer to her mouth so she could speak quietly. Ash didn't notice, being caught up in his drumming with his eyes closed.
Casanith's eyes lit up. "Say, Ash," the shorter boy began nervously, "you don't do anything after school, do you?"
The tiefling shook his head. "Not most of the time. Why?"
"Well," Casan continued, "I was kinda wondering if you might like to, you know, come over to my house and--um--"
Ashnod stopped drumming and met Casanith's gaze. "And what?"
"And--er--practice with us sometime."
Ash's blood-red eyes lit up, his six-pointed pupils dilating with excitement. "Really? You mean it? You want me to be in your band?"
"Well," Casanith replied, scuffing his feet on the carpet, trying not to seem too eager. "We do need a new drummer, you know, and you seem pretty good, so we just thought you might be interested, maybe."
"You bet I am! That sounds great. Just let me know the day before and I can come over any day of the week--or weekend."
"Great, then," Casan muttered, screaming at himself internally. He was turned on just by standing next to Ash, and now he had invited him over to play music? *What am I thinking? I am not attracted to him, dammit, I'm straight! It has to be some tiefling power or that sorcerer charisma. It can't be me. It isn't me.*
Sara and J'soon were already discussing possible practice dates for next week with the other boy, speaking animatedly and talking about different types of music and songs. Casanith looked at the boy behind the drum set for a long time, glancing away for a moment only when Ash's eyes swiveled to catch his own.
*So why do feel like this?*
* * *
It was almost midnight. They had run out of things to do almost entirely; not because there was a lack of things to do, but because they had tried everything once and were all half-asleep already. They were clustered around Ash's bed in the main room, with Kendrick wasting J'soon on the game device, Brenna studying a large sword minutely, and Casanith, Sara, and Ash all sharing a book of lute tabs as they finished their dinner. Aschakha had graciously prepared and brought up food for all of them, which had caused several proposals on the part of Jay to switch mothers with Ash.
"That's it," Kendrick yawned, setting down his controller. "I've beaten Jay enough tonight. I think I'm gonna catch a little sleep so I can actually enjoy the rest of the weekend here."
"Me too," Brenna agreed. "If I don't go to bed, I might as well go home tomorrow and not spend another night. I'll end up sleeping for twenty- four hours."
"You can crash wherever," Ash told them over his shoulder. He was stretched out on the bed in his T-shirt and shorts, with his head hanging over the edge so he could peer into the book held by Casan and Sara, who were sitting with their backs to him. "Just step into the closet over there and grab whatever blankets and stuff you need."
The two obliged, leaving J'soon and the others to fend for themselves in the realm of entertainment. Ash flipped boredly through the channels on the oneiroplate, but found nothing of interest, and Casan said they were all too tired to concentrate on music or games anymore.
"That's what we need!" Sara responded to his complaint. "Something to wake us up, something we can all get into."
"Like what?" Ash inquired with a huge yawn, displaying his fangs terrifically.
Sara pretended to think for a moment, but in truth, she'd been saving this up all day. "How about Truth or Dare?"
"I don't know," Jay said warily. "You can get some weird ideas sometimes. Are you sure it'll be safe playing with you?"
"Cross my heart," she answered with a matching gesture and a smile. She turned on Casan and her host. "What do guys say?"
"Fine," Ashnod acceded; what could Casanith do but also agree?
"All right, then," the girl grinned, turning her brown eyes on Casan. "You go first."
"Me?" the boy stuttered. "Ah--I guess--okay." He glanced at each of them, settling on Ash. He didn't make eye contact, though-his eyes were fixed at the spot where the tiefling's shirt was riding up as he scratched at his flat stomach with one white hand. He noticed for the first time that there was a small tattoo of what appeared to be a dragon at his waistline, its head just barely peeking over the band of his shorts and the rest of it disappearing into forbidden territory. "Um, Ash--truth or dare?"
"Truth," he responded lazily. Sara snorted.
"What do you think about that girl in theatre class at school--the one you have to kiss in the harvest festival play next month?"
"Leila?" Ash asked incredulously, his slender black eyebrows rising almost to his spiky bangs. "Well, I guess she's pretty hot. Yeah, she's okay."
Sara could've cried as Casan's face fell. *And he doesn't even know that he's in love!* She decided to try and probe him, looking for anything that might give her struggling friend a shred of hope. "My turn!" she said quickly. She thought for a moment, then said, "Ash--truth or dare?"
"Truth," he replied with a wicked smile.
"Oh, come on! Fine, then. Do you now, or have you ever had, a girlfriend or boyfriend?"
Ash sighed. "No, and no. My turn."
They played until it came back to Sara. "Truth or dare, Ash," she asked.
"Truth--and don't say anything, because I did Jay's dare."
"You call giving me a lap dance a real dare?"
"I needed the money," Ash grinned.
Sara shook her head and chuckled; Casanith was still in shock from the tiefling's unexpected readiness--and skill. "Two questions: First, have you ever had a crush on someone before?"
"Yes, I'll admit to that, anyway. Three or four times, I guess."
"Okay. Were they girls or boys?"
"Girls," Ash said emphatically. Then he seemed to deflate a little, giving honesty prevalence. "Well, one was a guy."
"No way!" J'soon gaped.
"Yes, way," the tiefling said testily. "It was just for a while, and he was really good-looking, but he didn't want anything to do with me, okay? My turn."
Sara's chance came again soon enough. She played one round on Jay to throw Ash off balance, then came back at him on the next run. "Ash--truth or dare?"
Ash's eyes narrowed as he began to feel picked on. "Dare," he said defiantly, refusing to subject himself to another of Sara's cutting inquiries.
The girl grinned in triumph. "I dare you," she said with a predatory smile, "I double, triple, quadruple-dragon dare you, to kiss Casanith."
"You did not just say that!" J'soon said frantically, covering his eyes with his hands and burying his face in the side of the bed.
Casanith's eyes widened as he froze in near-comical shock, but Ash, still determined to outplay Sara, frowned and whirled on him. The other boy's mistake had been in moving up onto the bed with the bigger, stronger, and faster tiefling to make room on the floor for J'soon, and he didn't have a chance as Ashnod tackled him, straddled his hips, and pinned his arms to his sides.
"Sorry, but a dare's a dare," the pale boy muttered, then dove in at Casan's face.
Casanith would have flinched away if he had not been so amazed. Ash's kiss was at least theatrically enthusiastic, if not genuine, but his lips and tongue were ice-cold against Casan's. His mouth was covered by the other boy's, and he reflexively parted his teeth to suck at the tiefling's chilly tongue. He was glad that he was still dressed in his denim breeches, praying to whatever gods were listening that Ash wouldn't feel the heat and the reaction that was rapidly growing in the area he was currently astride. Before he could stop himself, he ground his hips up into the other boy, whose red eyes widened as Casanith's glazed over and closed halfway in ecstasy. Ash goggled further when Casanith's hands freed themselves, one twining into his long black hair, the other sliding up his thigh and around toward the base of his quivering tail--but he did not break the kiss.
"Ashnod Ephyon Darkling!"
All four of the friends started in surprise as Aschakha Darkling's voice rang in the room. Ash jerked away from Casanith, although he failed to remove himself from where he was sitting, and opened his mouth to explain.
"Don't say a word," his mother commanded dangerously. "Not one word! How many times have I talked with you about this? How many times have I told you the rules? Do you think because we've moved down here that things are different?"
Chagrined, Ash shook his head vehemently. "No, but let me--"
"No!" Aschakha growled, lifting a warning finger. "I don't want to hear it. If I have told you once, I've told you a million times--"
The foursome held their breath.
"--take your dishes down to the kitchen when you're through with them! Do you have any idea at all how hard it is to wash dishes that have food petrified onto their enamel?" She shook her head and bent to gather the stack of plates. "Well, just remember next time, all right? Please?" She came over to kiss him on the forehead, ignoring the incredulous boy underneath her son.
"I promise," Ash said, relieved and shamefaced at the same time.
"Good night," Aschakha said as she left. "Your father's already in bed, and I'm going there myself shortly. Make sure you take a bath." The door closed behind her.
There was a long silence in the room before J'soon began to chuckle with relief. The others soon joined in, and only gradually did the hysteria fade away into fatigue. Sara propped her chin up on the edge of the bed, observing the tiefling, who was still seated atop Casanith comfortably. "Are you going to move, Ash?" she asked innocently, winking at the sighing Jay.
Ash, who had been nodding even from his sitting position, snapped awake again abruptly. He stared into the eyes of the friend beneath him, who gazed back with a look full of uncertainty, fear, a peculiar sparkle of relief--and something else.
"No," he said aloud without thinking, not severing the connection between their eyes.
"I win," Sara said smugly, nudging J'soon. She grabbed the boy's arm and led him off to gather bedding, so they could sleep in the floor near Kendrick and Brenna.
Ash and Casanith, their fingers entwined unconsciously, never even blinked.