The day had been long and tiring, just the kind to end with a nice long soak in the bath. The ravishing beauty slowly sank beneath the soapy water til only her head and knees were visible. The look on her face was utter bliss, with he combination of lather, bath oil, and moisture on her skin highlighting her impossibly smooth caramel complexion. It was a sight most any man, and quite a few women, would've died for.
She was more than aware of this, of course. Which is why she made it a point to bathe alone. Besides, this was her private time. Time when she could temporarily forget the needs of the hive and indulge herself for a change. Though she wouldn't mind sharing that time with a certain someone... if only he'd look at her that way.
Diva sighed and sipped from her glass. Her eyes had a wistful far away look to them whenever she found herself thinking of Jinnai these days. Though, for the life of her, she didn't understand why. I mean, they'd known each other for what seemed like forever even though it'd only been little over a year. Still theirs had been strictly a working class relationship. Two people who were motivated by the same goal, the complete and absolute dominance of El Hazard.
Then, somehow, things had changed. She supposed it might've had something to do with remark about needing her to 'lay more eggs'. That had caught her completely off guard. The fact was Diva had never laid any eggs at all. The current Bugrom population were the offspring of the previous queen. Not hers. Only she'd been to stunned to tell him.
Before then, Diva had never given much thought to motherhood. Then suddenly there it was. But, for some reason, he'd been unwilling to co-operate. She tried taking matters into her own hands, but things hadn't gone any better. Jinnai had fainted before they could even begin. And it'd been his idea!
Does he not want me?
Diva bolted upright, seeming confused as she repeated the unspoken question, Want me? Where had that come from? And why did it seem to matter so much?
A familiar scream reverberated down the hall at that moment, startling her out of her thoughts. Diva made a face and sighed. "Better go see what's upsetting him this time." Still, she was glad for the distraction as it allowed her to focus on other things. Things that didn't involve....
Climbing out of the tub, water dripping sensuously off her form, she grabbed a towel, wrapping it around herself as she entered the hall.
___________________________________________________________________
Night had fallen by the time he stopped to make camp. It hadn't taken long. Years of experience traversing the wilds of Japan had taught him how to rough it. The fire was already going, the tent was pitched and his uh.... traveling companion (he guessed) was safely inside, sound asleep. And probably needed it too. Poor thing.
In the meantime he set about about making a stew. It'd been hours since he'd last eaten. Contrary to what most people thought, Ryoga's area of expertise wasn't limited to instant noodles. Those were just faster and easier to fix. But, every now then, he liked something heartier. Carefully lifting the lid so as not to scald himself, he stirred it a couple of times and sampled a bit.
Hm, not quite.
Not a problem, he had just the thing. Ryoga fished a bullion cube from one of the side pockets on his travel pack and dropped it in. A few minutes later, he took another taste. This time, nodding approvingly. He was no Kasumi, but he managed.
Closing the lid again, he decided to have a look around. He still had no idea where he was, but he hoped there was at least a hotspring. The idea of bathing in a stream of cold water didn't sit well with him. Being lost was one thing. But it was five times worse as a little black piglet; especially with wild animals about.
To make sure he didn't lose his way, he employed a trick from a story he'd read. He took out a ball of string, tying one end to his tent peg and the other around his finger. Then made his way into the wood, unraveling it as he went.
___________________________________________________________________
Inside the tent, Kalia tossed lightly in her sleep, clearly having a nightmare. The images that plagued her mind's eye tormented her, bombarding in a familiar red haze so that they seemed overlap and meld together. On some level, she knew what these images were, but they remained unclear to her conscious self. Wailing voices filled her ears and distorted figures were all around her. Who were they? And what did they want?
Then, without warning, she found herself waist deep in a pool of red, rapidly raising around her, threatening to swallow her whole. She fought to escape it, but her efforts only made it rise that much faster. Hands reached out from below, pulling her down. Panic was foreign to her, intensifying the emotion. She reached out, desperate for someone, anyone to save her, but no one came. The tide was up to her neck now, enabling her captors to tug at her face and hair. Soon her cries were silenced as water filled her open mouth, causing her to gag. It continued til rise until it enveloped her completely and then she was lost....
Kalia's eyes snapped open at that moment as she sat upright and let out a scream to wake the dead.
(Posted Fri, 23 Feb 2007 04:39)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.