Origin ARS 3 (Origin A.R.S.) (9 page)

“No, no... I need it to be in a bowl or something...” she said.

“A bowl?” he asked her.

She nodded and he shrugged. The man looked through his inventory and pulled out his cooking pot. “How about this?”

“Sure! As long as it can hold enough water.” she said with a smile.

“How much water do you need?” he asked. More to the point, why would she need it to be in a bowl or a pot? Did she need to heat it up?

She tapped her finger to her chin and then looked at his bottle of water. “I think maybe one of those, possibly two...”

“Alright...” Scott poured the bottle of water into the pot and Ero stood on the rim for a moment to inspect its contents.

“This might be enough, but... add in a little more?” she asked.

“Sure.” said the man before taking out another bottle of water. He poured it into the pot and it was nearly full.

“OK!” She stuck her finger into the water then pouted. “It’s a little cold... Go heat it up on the fire for me, please?”

Scott nodded to her. So, she did need to heat the water. Good, that made sense at least.

He set up his cooking equipment and let the continuously burning flame do its work. It did not take long for the water to begin to boil.

“Oh, now it’s too hot. Can you cool it a little, Scott?” asked Ero. She looked at him with wide, hopeful, eyes.

“Sure.” He poured a little of the water out and then added more from another bottle. Ero placed her finger into it again and then squealed happily.

“This is just,
perfect
! Thank you” said the fairy.

Scott started to say that she was welcome, but the tiny naked girl hoped into the pot and started to splash around. He stared at the odd little scene for a moment then asked, “Ero? What the hell are you doing?”

“Huh?” She stopped splashing then rolled over and walked to the edge of the pot. She gripped the rim with her hands and said,” You asked me to make the water sacred...”

“You’re taking a bath in my cook pot, Ero...” said Scott.

“Well, yeah, silly. How do you think a fairy makes water sacred?” She stared at him with wide and confused eyes. There was a small hint of a smile on her lips, however.

Scott blinked and attempted to process that for a moment. “Are you serious?”

“Of course! Water becomes sacred when a fairy immerses her body inside of it for a period of time. The smaller the fairy and the larger the body of water, the longer it will take.” said Ero in a matter-of-fact sort of way.

“Are you saying that the water I drank at your spring was made sacred in this way?” Scott felt a little green around the gills, which was strange since he did not have gills at the moment.

Ero acquired a shy expression and looked down. Her tiny little face became tinged with red. “Yeah...”

Scott suddenly developed a nervous twitch around his left eye. It looked as though that region of his face had decided to spontaneously break out into Morse Code and had begun to signal for help. A thought crossed his mind, an old saying from his homeland that was spoken in the highest circles of society.
Girl, you so pretty I’d drink yo’ bathwater...

“Scott, don’t worry... I’ll make this batch extra sacred just for you, OK?” Ero smiled cutely, but did not look at him. For once, the girl actually seemed to be slightly embarrassed.

“You really don’t have to make an extra effort for me...” said Scott, and he meant it. She
really
did not have to do that.

She suddenly thrust her body forward and exposed herself once more to his view with a mighty, but tiny, bounce. “Yes, I do! If it’s for you, I need to do my best...”

“Ero...” said Scott. Her earnest and hopeful expression was almost heartbreaking for the man. No one had ever wanted to take a bath with all of her might on his behalf before. It was strangely heartwarming.

“Scott... Please let me do this for you.” said Ero. She bit her bottom lip and looked to the side. Her wings fluttered gently and caused the water in the pot to begin to ripple slowly from one side to the other.

He had no desire to use that water in the future, but if it meant so much to her, her could put it in a bottle and keep it for emergencies. “OK, if you want to...”

“Really! Great... Um... it would help if you would look at me while I do it, alright? I need something to focus on...” said Ero.

Scott was confused again. “You need someone to focus on when you take a bath?”

Ero giggled loudly then shook her head. “No silly, that’s just for regular sacred water. Extra special sacred water comes from the feelings of love and passion that a fairy feels while immersed in a body of water.”

“Wait... Are you saying that you plan to....” said Scott. His eyes grew wide at the implications.

Ero blushed cutely then giggled in a gentle way. “Yes.... Please watch.”

“Ero, we’re best friends and all, but if you do that in my cook pot I’m not going to think about anything
interesting
for a solid month.” said Scott. It was his only pot! He could wash it later and the memory of giggling naked fairy booty bathing in it would probably not bother him that much. However, if she did extra special fairy magic in that pot he would have to toss it. He would never be able to look at soup the same way again!

Ero gasped at him as though he had just spoken the most obscene of obscenities. “What? Why!”

“I cook in that pot Ero.... Everyone eats out of that pot.” he said.

“What, do you think I’d ruin the flavor in the future?” she pouted at him and then her eyebrows pressed together. Her eyes began to shimmer softly. The poor thing was on the verge of tears.

“No, I’m sure everything would taste amazingly sweet from now on...” said Scott.

Ero’s tearful pout softened a little and became a gentle smile. “Really?”

“Yes... But that’s not the point. Would you want to eat out of a pot that I took a bath in?” asked Scott.

“Yes. Every day.” said Ero.

“The hell... Are you serious?” asked Scott. What was wrong with that girl?

Ero shook her head slowly then looked at him with gentle and sincere eyes. “Anything that has ever been close to you is something I can appreciate.”

“Ero...” said Scott, his voice trailing off. What had gotten into her?

“I know you love Rhea, well Origin, I love her too. Even before I spent time with her, I loved her. All fairies do. I just... I want to spend time with you, too.” said the fairy girl.

“We spend most of our time together... I mean, I’m with you more of the day than anyone else.” said Scott.

She nodded softly. Tiny little tears began to trickle down her cheeks. She sniffed once then looked down and to the side. “That’s not what I mean.”

Scott moved forward and picked up the pot. The warm water sloshed around a little and she swayed from side to side, but her expression never changed. He brought the pot high enough for Ero to be eye-level with him. “Ero, what do you really want to tell me?”

She sniffled gently then leaned over and hugged his hand. “Scott, Rhea has already said it was OK and I’ve been waiting.”

“Ero, I...”

“No... You wanted me to talk, so you listen for once.” said the girl.

Scott was taken aback at her suddenly aggressive response. She had not acted like that toward him before.

“I’m your guardian spirit... But more than that. Rhea said it herself, it’s like we’re married...”

Scott started to speak put she pouted at him and he closed his mouth. It was time to listen to the little fairy and not open his big mouth.

“I laugh and play, and make jokes, and try to get you to like me by being super sweet. It’s easy, because I really do not know much about the world and its fun to be excited. But... I really need you to understand something.” She said.

Scott did not try to interrupt her this time. He waited to see what she would say. Slowly, the little fairy turned her head toward him and she looked at him with tear-stained eyes. She spoke in one breathless clump of words. “I don’t mind sharing you with Rhea. In all honestly, I love her like a sister. At least, that’s how I think a sister would love a sister. Though, I sort of have strange inclinations that sisters should not necessarily have.”

Ero took a breath and released it slowly. Her eyes darted to the side and she wore an expression like she was searching for the right thing to say. A brief moment passed and she looked at him again. “We’re together forever, Scott. I can’t just be your friend when I’ve wanted to be more than that since the day we met.”

“Ero, I care about you too, but...”

She shook her head. “No, no buts. I love you, you overgrown idiot. I’ve been inside your head for weeks and I know you care about me, too. I know it upsets you that you are torn between two people. Stop fighting it! We’re both willing to share you, so why are you so afraid to accept it?”

Scott frowned at her. “It never works out, OK! Every single damned relationship I have been in has fallen apart around me, and I rarely know why!”

Ero leaned her body against his hand again. “I know that.”

“Why then... Why push this?” asked Scott.

“I’m not going anywhere, Scott. I’ll always be with you.” Ero rose from his hand and looked him in his eyes. “You accepted me, and now we are forever. It’s
going
to happen anyway.”

Ero gestured at her body and cocked her hip to the side. “Do you really think you have the willpower to say no to this, forever? Please...”

Scott winced then looked away from the overtly sensual girl who had possessed his cute little fairy friend. “Your powers are useless against me woman...”

Ero giggled sweetly. “Maybe in the waking world, but just you wait. Rhea is a little jealous, but she has accepted what you have not. It’s,
so
, gonna happen.”

“What if I don’t want it to happen?” asked Scott. He had no heat in his voice. If anything, he sounded like a frightened child unable to fathom the horror of the thing hiding beneath his bed. Ero was the creature who waited until he fell asleep so that it could consume him body and soul.

The fairy rose up and stood on the rim of the pot, using nothing but her toes. “It’s cute when you think you have a choice.” She leaned forward and kissed him on the nose.

“W-what happened to my sweet little BFF?” His eyes were wide, both shocked and strangely excited.

“I’m still here, and I’m still super-excited about everything. I just needed to take action and let you know the truth. We’re a forever sort of thing. One way or another, you’re going to have to accept that.” said Ero. She smiled sweetly at him then fluttered her wings. That’s right, just do what the cute little fairy suggests and you won’t get hurt.

“I... Ero, I... Don’t want to hurt anyone...” said Scott. He did like the girl, and he knew how he felt about Rhea... sort-of. Nothing about this made sense, though. He could not have two different girlfriends. It was impossible to make that work without someone getting hurt!

Ero sighed gently then kissed him on the chin. She leaned back and said, “Then stop hurting yourself.”

“What do you mean?”

The fairy rolled her eyes. “I’m smarter than you, remember? Do you think that I could not tell that you blame yourself for every break-up that you’ve ever been in?”

“I have almost no real experience with this sort of thing and even I could tell that!” said Ero.

“I’m not sure what to say.” said the sorcerer. He would rather forget the whole thing and go murder-punch a few more fish.

Ero smiled softly then patted him on the cheek. “Don’t say, just feel. If it makes you feel better we can wait till Rhea returns and we can have this conversation again when she is here. We have a lot of things to work on anyway.”

“OK...” said Scott. He blinked twice then looked out to sea. What the hell had he gotten himself into
this
time? A certain promise that he had made earlier came to the forefront of his mind and he sighed loudly.

The waves lapped gently at the shore as Scott gazed out to sea. One again he had taken on the guise of the fisherman. His scales and fins gleamed in the midday sun. There was a lot on his mind at the moment and he was uncertain what to do about any of it.

Rhea would return in a few hours. A conversation that was long overdue, but unwanted would have to take place. The sorcerer did not know what to do, what to say. Their relationship had just started to become coherent. They had just moved beyond the angst and bullshit to start to have something more innocent and enjoyable, something good.

He took in a deep breath and then sighed slowly. His hands gripped at the sand and crushed it into two small handfuls. Things could go badly, there was little doubt that there would be hurt feelings and a lot of it had to do with him.

Scott looked down at the sand then closed his eyes. He cared for both girls a great deal. He could even say that he loved them, and do so with a straight face. People had fallen for each other in far less time than they had spent together. Sure, such whirlwind romances rarely lasted for a lifetime, but they did happen.

Rhea had come into his life out of nowhere. Ero had been much the same, though the build-up was a little longer. Scott was not as stupid as he liked to act at times. He had a good idea why the three of them meshed so well. He sighed once more then nodded. “We are some lonely ass people.”

He wanted to kill something. His fingers practically itched because they were not actively doing so even at that moment. There was something wrong with him, something disturbing had started to build within the man and he did not think that he should like it so much.

Scott closed his eyes and thought about the situation that he had gotten into due to his resistance to jumping into a relationship. He was now torn between two women, and neither of them was exactly
normal
.

One was a literal goddess who would live forever and did not fully understand human thought processes. Rhea was the form he knew, but she was not the true face of the girl he had started to fall for.

Ero, she was a fairy so he had thought that they could remain good friends due to their biological differences. However, that was not entirely the case. At some point she would be able to change her size to one that was more human, and keep it that way when she wanted. Even now, she was capable of being full-size while visiting him in his dreams.

Both of those girls meant a lot to the man, but he was not one of those people who could feel pride in that fact. He was terrible at maintaining relationships. How could someone like him manage two of them at once without hurting someone who he cared about?

Rhea had already given her blessing, in a begrudging manner, but that did not mean that she was happy about the situation. Ero claimed that she loved both Scott and Rhea, but she was mostly interested in
interesting
things that involved Scott.

“Dammit, can’t I just have a normal fantasy world adventure? Why do I have to deal with relationships!” Scott said it loudly, but with little heat. He enjoyed his time with the girls, it was just frustrating at the moment.

“Like, I know what you mean.” said a familiar voice.

Scott turned to the new arrival and nodded. “Hi, Neira.”

“Hi, tall, finned, and handsome. Are you, like, swimming my way?” asked the mermaid. She exaggerated a flutter of her eyelashes then crossed her eyes for added effect.

He laughed at her softly and then shook his head. “I’ve got enough trouble with pretty girls for the moment, Neira.”

“Oh, do you?” she asked.

“Yeah, I need uglier friends.” he said, before a smile formed on his lips.

She stuck out her tongue at him and then flopped out of the surf. Scott walked over and picked her up then carried her over to his sand dune. The girl leaned her head against his shoulder. She enjoyed the closeness of the moment, could get used to being carried around.

After Scott put her down she adjusted her position then patted the sand next to her. “Sit and tell big sister all about it.”

Scott sat down and smiled at her. “Since when are you my sister?”

“Since you grew fins, but still refused give me babies.” said Neira. She pouted at him cutely then eyed his closest fin casually.

“Fair enough.” said Scott.

“No it isn’t. You and Rhea have, like, no idea what you’re doing to Me and Kiley... We have to dive into the ocean just to cool off.” she said with a smile.

“Who knew a mermaid was so hot-blooded.” said the sorcerer.

Neira pushed against him with her shoulder and then sighed. “Yeah... We, so, can’t help it. We don’t get to meet new people that often.”

Scott glanced over at the girl then pushed against her with his shoulder as well. She smiled in response, but said nothing.

The sorcerer said, “We’ll rescue your people. I am sorry that it is taking so long.”

Neira nodded. “It’s fine. This happens now and then. Usually the queen will summon help from the deep, but she’s away visiting her lover in Anatola.”

“The queen could defeat the Shar-Shar?” asked Scott. How strong was their queen?

“Oh, shyeah, totally. She’s, like, super strong. A few hundred Shar-Shar are no big deal for her.” said Neira.

“A few hundred? I thought there were, like, one hundred.” said Scott, while mimicking her speech pattern.

Neira winced then looked away. “Well, there were a hundred... but that was the raiding party.”

“How many Shar-Shar are we looking at?”

She coughed and then said, “Only six or seven hundred...”

Scott stared at her blankly for a moment. He should have felt used, betrayed, disgusted. She had lied to them or at least omitted something important. However, he felt none of that. What he did feel was curiously excited. “Are they stronger than the ones we have been fighting here?”

Neira snorted. “Not even. Most of them are a little weaker, actually. Their chief is way stronger, but not by much.”

Scott blinked. How could someone be way stronger, but not much stronger? Whatever, did it really matter?

“I know it is really rude to ask this, and you can tell me it is none of my business. But what level is your queen and the Shar-Shar chief.”

“That’s rude to you?” asked Neira in surprise.

“Well, not to me personally, but humans seem to find it rude to ask.” said Scott. He honestly did not care if someone asked him to reveal his level. He would be able to make that choice.

“Oh, so that’s why I can’t see yours? Humans hide their levels, right?” asked Neira.

Scott considered what she said for a moment. “I am not hiding mine on purpose, though I don’t mind it being hidden.”

“I see. I have only seen a few humans before, so I wasn’t sure.” said the mermaid.

She tilted her head to the side and looked him in the eyes. “Anyway, can’t you, like, see my level?”

He started to tell her that he could not, but then he thought about something he had just changed. When he had gained his survival skills he had acquired several new abilities. He had figured out how most of them worked, but the observation skill eluded him.

“I should be able to see your level?” asked Scott.

“Shyeah, totally.” She leaned back and posed cutely for him. “Go ahead. Look at me,
closely
.”

What could it hurt? Scott stared at the girl for a moment. Nothing happened at first but after he relaxed his gaze slightly brief images began to flicker around her. He lost sight of them for a moment, but after taking a few deep breaths the images slowly faded into view.

He had not spent more than a moment looking at anyone or anything recently, unless you counted Rhea and Ero. Now he wanted to see levels and stats, so when his eyes centered on Neira with a relaxed gaze her level rose up above her head!

“You’re level thirty-four?” asked Scott.

She clapped her hands happily. “Good job. Now reward your teacher.”

Neira closed her eyes and puckered her lips. She opened her left eye after a few seconds passed. “Not even a little kiss?”

“Ah, sorry...” said Scott. He really did not want to make things worse than they already were.

Neira pouted at him then nodded. “Right, can a girl get a handshake at least.”

Neira stretched out her hand and Scott took it then gave it a firm and friendly shake. The girl made a goofy face when he released her hand, and she kissed the back of it. “See, I got my kiss anyway.”

“Right.” said Scott with a smile.

She stuck her tongue out at him and then flapped her tail a few times. “Scott, you seem like a nice guy. You should, so, stop stressing. If she loves you, she loves you.”

“Neira, I don’t know...”

She shook her head then bumped him with her shoulder again. “I’ve never had a boyfriend, but I’ve been engaged for a while. I don’t love Kiley any less when she notices someone else or I catch her kissing another girl. Other girls are pretty too, you know.”

Scott gave her a sour expression, “Humans aren’t so laid back...”

“Too bad...” she said.

Neira leaned back against the sand and looked up at him with a cute expression. “If you can’t love someone enough to accept that they can love someone other than you, is it really love?”

Scott looked away from the beautiful sight of the reclining mermaid. She made a good point. It would
never
fly in a normal human relationship. He certainly wouldn’t like it if Rhea or Ero decided to play tonsil hockey with other guys on the side. “I guess I am a jealous sort of person. I wouldn’t like it if Ero or Rhea went around loving another guy. So, I expect them to have the same issue when I love another girl.”

“Right, but you’re wrong.” said Neira.

“I am?” He was pretty sure that he had it right.

“I said love. I didn’t say mate. Love is love. Mating is just... Mmmmm” said the girl, her voice trailing off.

He watched her moan for a moment. It was certainly an interesting sight. Ero would have loved it if she had not needed a nap after he had raised her level to six. Scott would never get the image of her
fairygasming
out of his head.

“You’re pretty wise, Neira.” said Scott.

She smiled at him. “Right, I am totally wise and stuff.”

Scott laughed a little and she pouted. She had been serious when she had agreed with him.

“I’m glad to see that you’ve cheered up.” said Neira. She folded her arms across her chest then puffed out her cheeks like a blowfish.

It was an adorable sort of expression, but he was immune to it after having dealt with Rhea and Ero for a while now. It was hard to believe that he had only been in this world for about two months. He had known Rhea for about half that time and Ero for a little over a week! Yet, they were all confessing their love like they lived in some sort of RPG-based daytime television soap opera.

Scott muttered, “These are the
Games of our Lives
...”

“What?” asked Neira.

He shook his head then rocked forward and stood up. “Nothing important... Thanks for the talk
big sister
.”

“Yay! You said it.” She clapped her hands together once and then smiled. Her eyes were wide with joy and mischief.

“Sure, just don’t ask me to let you call me
daddy
.”

She laughed at him, and then her face turned bright red. “What kind of family is that?”

He shrugged. “Well, I am from the South...”

“South what?” she asked curiously.

Scott looked at her for a moment then shook his head. “Doesn’t matter... I’m going to go do a little hunting to clear my head. I’ll be back in an hour or two.”

“Hey, wait! Can’t I come with you?” asked Neira. She looked at him with a hopeful expression.

“You could, but what about Kiley? She’ll be here all alone.” said Scott. Honestly, he wanted to hunt alone at the moment. He would not press the issue, though. He mostly just wanted to kill something.

Neira pouted at him then sighed. “Well, you’re right. I shouldn’t leave her alone...” admitted the girl reluctantly.

Scott nodded at her then asked, “Do you want help getting back to the ocean?”

“Oh yes, help me.” She smiled prettily at him, opened her arms, and flapped her tail.

He narrowed his eyes them smiled. He had only met two mermaids so far, but they seemed to be innocent and loving girls. They were a bit too free with their love in his opinion, though most guys would probably think of this situation as some sort of jackpot.

The sorcerer leaned down then hefted the girl into his arms. She immediately snuggled against his chest and made a happy little noise. He smiled at her then started off toward the ocean. Let her have her fun. On the way he could not help but wish her the best. She had originally seemed interested in boys, but more comfortable around girls. Now, she was just as comfortable around him as she was around the girls here.