Well, this was my first official story on the MGU forum. A few weeks ago I read Desperately Clinging to the Illusion by ShadowKnux372 . It was really good, though it affected me really badly. I was left for a weekend with a gnawing pain in my shoulders over the ending of the story. Then I began thinking about the story some more and wondering about Mils, why did she do what she did? After reading it again more and more questions started popping up so I went to ShadowKnux himself and began asking questions about the characters, a storm started building in me. I wanted to write a story with some pain, but also redemption and some humour. A happy ending to a sad tale. Receiving ShadowKnux's blessing I began my story which changed titles a few times before finally receiving the name it has today. After toiling for a few weeks I have come up with this tale, starting just after the events of ShadowKnux's story. I tried to keep the style in line with Desperately Clinging to the Illusion for continuity's sake while adding a bit of my own style. I highly recommend reading Shadowknux's Desperately Clinging to the Illusion before reading this story.
As this is my first time writing a story for this quality driven site, I hope you enjoy.
If you enjoyed this story why not try Just Desserts, a tale of peace, heartbreak, reconciliation and justice.
Spoiler: show
Redeeming a shattered dream
It has been a week since then. Oh, how I would rather my burdened mind not take the depressing trip into that dark place, but I feel the pull once again. It is relentless, like the undertow hidden below the lucid depths of a rocky cove. Once caught it is impossible to resist.
I find my thoughts being drawn inexorably to Mils, betrayer! Unfaithful! I feel my chest heave as a sob rips itself from my very being. In a haze I hurry up the steps, my boots creaking on old, yet well varnished wood. A bag of produce in my hand, I cannot wait to show her our prize.
I feel my heart climbing in my chest, I know what is coming next, I've seen this scene before. I do not want to see, yet I know it is inevitable. The door creaks open and there she is, enjoying the carnal pleasures she is supposed to only enjoy with me. Her aqualine features distorted into an expression of heart-stopping pleasure beneath the Sida brooch I gifted her, a symbol of our attachment.
"Hyaaa! Ha...do~"
"Mils!"
"Hado~ Mils......feel....good!"
Was I wrong? Did she really love me? She never loved me! She was only with me for my essence, my seed! Impossible! She could have left me so long ago! Why this?! Oh Goddess! Why this?! Thoughts skittered through my mind, questions, answers, maybes and possibilities.
She looked at me surprise painting her face for but a second, she had obviously not expected me home this early. Surprise melted into confusion before being washed over by a sweeping shiver of pleasure.
"Hyaauuu!"
My vision swam as my eyes filled with tears. I can't watch any more, wrenching myself away from the heart-rending scene of me fleeing down the wooden stairs as the scene fades away. The cogs and wheels of reality begin their slow dance as it reasserts its dominance over me once again.
Coming back to myself the first feeling I register is pain, my body is literally wracked with sobs which seem to tear my being to shreds. Was I wrong? How much had I really changed? I had thought proudly that I had improved myself, become stronger, found a purpose for myself and had shown her such love.
The Sida brooch, it had been an attachment present crafted from purest tourmaline and resembling the Red Sida flower. A symbol of our love. Was it all a lie? Had I deluded myself about her behaviour? Had they been laughing about me? Mils giggling and saying how stupid I was in her cute, halting voice, her partner laughing with her in jest?
Back then I had noticed a smiling Nureonago, her warmth drew me, a battered moth to a flame. I had accepted her embrace with a broken smile, I needed comfort, but it would never go further than that for me. They may say return her smile and you are hers forever, but that was not my intention back then, never again. Mils would be my first and last Slime.
After I had composed myself as well as I could given the circumstances, I took a shaky step back and bowed deeply. Zipangu is a mysterious land, customs run as deep as the forests which blanket the ancient mountains in a shroud of mysteries and secrets.
I knew then that as compatible as I might be with her, I could not return her affections as she wished. Thanking her in the local tongue I smiled once more before leaving the lamppost which had proven to be a beacon in the reefs of sorrow which had threatened to maroon me a broken soul. Turning one last time she had stretched a slick, long sleeved arm, reaching out for me, a sad smile still present on her delicate features. I shook my head sadly sending a small halo of water spattering around me. I bolted into the rainy night.
So here I am, a week later, working at the same weathered trading post, I have decided my prospects in Zipangu are not heading toward the destination I had hoped for and have had an idea. I will find a ship and leave this dismal, rainy country behind for the far off land of Minami Akrufia a southern country relatively devoid of slimes. A fresh start.
My mind slides back to Mils, sending a deep, raking sigh through my being. What is she doing now? More than likely wrapped around her new lover. I have to exhale shakily at that, I can feel the tears threatening, just out of sight, as a day when the smell of rain lingers in the air, ever-present yet imperceptable, threatening to deluge the land at any given moment.
I can only hold the swirling miasma of sorrow off for so long before it engulfs me once again. Clapping my hands sharply against my face I claw my way back to control, I can't breakdown at work, if I lose this I will never make it onto a ship, will never be able be able to leave this place and Mils. That bastard Hado! how could he steal his own tenant's wife? I thought the people of Zipangu were honourable! With these angry thoughts jostling my mind I find strength to perform the drudgery that will drag me through the week, I will have to tell my superior that I plan on leaving his care at the end of next week, the sooner the better.
Ever since "that" day it has rained religiously day and night; big heavy drops which pelt the wooden roofs like a staccato beating of tiny drums, breezy drops swirling on their one way trip to the ground, indeterminable feathery drizzle, changes in strength and quantity have been the only day to day difference.
Another regular occurrance is that I have seen that same Nureonago each night of this week on the dismal walk back to my inn; The Sparkling Wave, a decent little proprietary situated near the outskirts of the town, the weather worn, wooden exterior belies the brightly polished, well kept interior. Each time she stands vigilantly below an old rusting lamppost in the blattery rain. She always favours me a pitying smile, as if I'm merely prolonging the inevitable.
I have to get out of here!
And so today is the big day, last night had been a very close call. I had noticed the Nureonago had not been attending her usual nightly vigil beneath the weatherbeaten lamppost. This had struck me as rather strange. On arrival at The Sparkling Wave I noted the knowing twinkle in the grizzled innkeeper's roguish, slate grey eyes, thinking nothing of it I had ascended the creaking, polished staircase to my inn room. Thank the Goddess I had looked down and noticed a strange pearlescent trail leading under my door.
'Eventually a Nureonago will even turn up at a man's home. Once she arrives at the man's home she will start living there and behaving like his wife.'
Thank the Goddess again that I had read that book a while ago. I almost got ambushed by her. Turning around I hurried out of the inn setting a brisk pace and putting as much distance between The Sparkling Wave and myself as possible. Trudging through the debilitating, incessant deluge I threw a lightning fast glimpse over my shoulder and recognised a feminine silhouette watching from the window of my "ex" room.
That night I spent a miserable night crammed under a dilapidated stone bench in that demoralising, unrelenting rain worrying about life and my marital status.
Today however things are looking up, last week I had informed my superior at great length that despite my wonderful treatment, I would be resigning and vacating my post within a week's time.
"You have been a wonderful help, it has been a pleasure having you under my care."
My superior had said these much needed words and given me a solid clap on my shoulder. I bowed deeply as is the tradition in Zipangu and had returned to work smiling. If I could just remove "her" from my mind it would be perfect.
Today, a week later, after narrowly escaping a marital ambush and heading towards the port I am happy to say things are once again gaining a rosy tint.
The day is bleak and grey, but I have arrived at the formidable quays of this town, proud galleons rock and sway, dancing to a slow and unwritten rhythm performed eternally. Images emblazoned upon various billowing sails create a riot of hues. Gulls and various sea birds screech above and around me as they scrounge for scraps, tidbits thrown to them by the many weathered fishermen stoicly waiting for a fish to take its final bite.
A teal haired mermaid lounges on one of the many barnacle encrusted buoys. Languidly carressing her flaxen hair she throws coy, furtive and yet wanton glances towards me. Ahead, golden rays slice the iron grey skies, creating a mosaic of heavenly gold and cold grey steel.
"I guess after the darkest day the days can only brighten.."
Chuckling to myself I wonder where I read that saying, whoever wrote that must have been a wise old sage.
"Zee..Zee."
A pain stabs through my soul, why? Why now? I had felt so good. Why do I have to hear this voice again? Why do I have to perpetually relive this pain, is it a kind of punishment? Karma for misdeeds of another lifetime? A sapphire blue appendage snakes its way onto my shoulder.
"Found.....ZeeZee."
I turn my head slowly, it's like turning a spoon through molasses as my gaze takes in the sleek, fluid face of my betrayer, my shatterer of dreams. Repressed grief masked by white hot fury rages in my taught musculature, she doesn't even have the grace to disappear from my sight forever.
"Mils."
She squelches over to me, a relieved smile painted across her face.
"Mils.....have.....fun.......ZeeZee........early......why.....ZeeZee...cry? Mils.......wait.............no.........ZeeZee..........
wait.......wait......ZeeZee....not........come........wait.........wait...........never.....come.......Mils........sad.........look.....
..find.........ZeeZee."
I can feel the pain churning through my emotionally battered body, a hollow tightness in my arms, gnawing into my shoulders. Flowing over to me she places her two aqueous hands on my shoulders and presses herself onto me. Unabashed, her smile grows as she embraces me from behind, a questing appendage traces a leisurely path down my body.
"ZeeZee.....come........home.........Mils........ZeeZee.......go.......home."
I slap her appendage away spattering it into a shower of azure beads. Indignantly tearing myself out of her embrace I take a step away.
"Home.. Home? Don't touch me!"
She appears confused, a cloud of perplexion drifts across her features as she looks down at the spatter of cerulean jelly staining the cold, hard cobblestone paving.
"No? Mils..........miss...........ZeeZee..........miss.........taste........miss.......smell Why.......not.....touch?"
Images assault my mind, a chain strung together in a maddening rosary of grief and locked within a protective sheath of anger. Calming myself I stare off into the distance, searching, searching. I notice the mermaid is no longer present, her barnacle encrusted throne vacant. Finally drawing a breath I return my focus to the beryllian maiden.
"I touch jelly, I touch slime, I don't touch "scum." I am leaving this miserable country."
That remark draws a sniffle from the woman standing before me as azure beads form at the corners of her eyes.
"Mils.......not........dirty.........not........scum........Why........ZeeZee........mean? Zi..pan..gu .......fun. Home......fun .........Why........Mils.......ZeeZee........leave?"
I look at my ex-love, allowing mirth to cross my features as if she had told me a particularly funny joke before continuing.
"You think you're coming with me? Why would I ruin your fun?"
A look of shock crosses her face, I never knew blue slimes could show shock. She seems to giggle nervously, her gaze drifting around aimlessly as though a mosquito circling its target. The mermaid seems to have relocated to the quayside. Positioned between two regal galleons, her chin cradled between her sleek, dainty hands her gaze falls straight upon the two of us. Does this girl have an interest in personal dramas?
"Not........come........with?"
Mils raises her glossy hands and pokes a liquid tongue out of her mouth in concentration. Two fingers warp, bending like warm tallow heated over a flame. Slowly she coaxes her fingers to flow around each other and after a great deal of huffing manages to form what looks like a firmly tied knot. A pleased little smile pulls at her mouth as she nods satisfied.
"Mils........ZeeZee...........attached...........Mils............come..........with."
A surge of anger sears my heart, she, she, did those things with the landlord and still thinks we are attached? I slice a hand through the knot, showering the cobblestones with another spray of slime, shaking the blue gel off my sodden hands distastefully as if touching a filthy object.
"No Mils, you ruined everything! We are not attached! Not anymore!
She shrinks back, a shiver ripples across her mellifluous form as if the words are a hot slap in the face. It is Mils's turn to feel pain as her mouth twists, eyes bulge and an expression of disbelief works it's way onto her lustrous face.
"No..........Mils.......not........under.....stand......Zee..sniff..Zee.........ZeeZee.......not.......love......Mils? Mils.....ZeeZee .......not..sniff..a..sniff..attached?
Stopping this is no longer a possibility, the anger stripped from my ragged emotions is replaced by a bitter, empty sadness, wind skirling through desiccated bones protruding from barren, desert plains. My rant continues. More and more images of the past race across my mind, all the love we showed each other, then the bag falling forever onto the wooden floor, ripples of pleasure crossing her features beneath the Sida brooch, produce scattering across the floor. White.
'Hyaaau! Ha--do~'
Over and over again, an incessant deluge of pain. Emotions held back for the last couple of weeks well up, rising rapidly, a chaotic flooding river crashing over its banks.
"How long Mils? Did you have "fun" at all of the inns too? I thought we were attached! I improved for you! You were the only one I could live with, I loved you and look what..sniff..you did..sniff..to me! Dear Goddess, I hear you again and again calling "his" name when you..sob..said you loved me! You betrayed me! You never..sob..loved me did you? You only..sob..wanted my seed!"
A look fills her face, a person struggling to solve a monumental puzzle and then realisation dawns on her visage. She buckles in on herself, a tortured look of pure agony on her liquid face. She wrings her hands, fingers merging and passing through each other.
"Mils.......love.......ZeeZee........sniff........not.......want........seed.........only.........ZeeZee.........wrong."
"I'm wrong? I'm wrong?! I saw his seed in your body, white, clouding my Mils! Dirtying my Mils! You said we were attached but you, you did that with "him!" You loved it, you wanted it! You were wearing the Sida! I tried so hard not to cry but I couldn't.. Sob..you looked right at me and kept on shivering for him, my Mils with someone that isn't me! I'm sure your new lover is waiting for you. Why don't you go back to him and tell him you're attached to HIM instead?!"
She utters a long, pained, keening wail as she collapses, gobbets of liquid sapphire streak from her eyes to the waiting cobble below. Are blue slime truly capable of this? I always thought they were able to show more emotion than they were credited, but this is, this is beyond what even I could have imagined. Her turgid inner depths clearly visible through the window of her translucent, azure body appears to be siezed by a roiling storm of turbulence, compressed slime swirls as a tempest over the ocean. A swarm of terrified bees.
"Oh.........sob........Oh........sob..........What.........Mils......done? Mils.......sob........Mils.......sorry......sorry .......Mils.......sorry!"
I turn sharply on my heel and begin stumbling away still caught up in my own tears, I can hear her rising behind me, a gurgling of slime, a deluge in reverse interspersed with sobs and sniffles.
"ZeeZee.........sniff.........ZeeZee.....not..........go........sob..........not.......leave.........Mils."
I stop, turning to the heartbroken being, my tears still as fresh as morning dew.
"I'm leaving for Minami Akrufia, why don't you go have fun with your Hado?! Go have fun with HIM. I'm not coming back, I won't interrupt you two ever again."
"ZeeZee........sob.........wait.....Mils...........Not........want........sniff.........Hado!"
She reaches out her hand pleading, her eyes beseeching, like a lost kitten trembling in the frigid rain.
"ZeeZee."
Picking up my pace, my jaw clenches painfully. Postponing this any longer than necessary is not helping me, I must board and put this pain behind me for good.
"Zee...hic..Zee!"
Her voice is saturated with a tone of desperacy. Turning to her she has followed me oozing ever closer.
"What should I do when I get to Akrufia? Maybe I should find a field to cry myself apart in. What do you think?"
A look of utter horror, another first for me with her kind etches itself into her aqualine features.
"Zee..sob..Zee.........Not.........kill..........self........for......give............Mils..........please!"
I turn toward a mammoth galleon, more a small ark than ship. The bow emblazoned with a violet haired scylla wearing a metallic crown, a large bowsprit rears out above. Depictions of mermaids dance below around the periphery of the tough, wooden surface. "The Queen of the Ocean." Truly titanic masts housing furled white sails seem to scrape the sky itself. This must be the ship, apart from other humans I note many diverse mamono boarding via the broad, solid gangplank. Lamia, Harpies, a few many-limbed Arachne, even an elegant looking Alraune, her vivid flower blossoming from an ornamented pot of considerable size. Heavy bags held by tails, frail looking limbs or wheeled on by gaudily dressed porters are slowly loaded aboard. I suppose even mamono like to travel the world this way, especially from a "friendly" port.
"ZeeZee.......Wait! Ri........lo...........................Rilo!"
When did she master saying my name? She called me ZeeZee as a petname. In the past she couldn't pronounce my name at all, so I had suggested something much easier on the tongue like "Zee" she had always had trouble saying it and had opted to add an extra Zee.. She loved saying ZeeZee and had never used my real name until now.
"Rilo.................Rilo..........come........back! Not.........leave.......Mils........please!"
I hand my ticket to a sturdy seaman, dressed in a spotless white shirt and trousers of sumptuous royal blue velvet. His hips, hung with two large, gold buckled belts seem to be a major attraction to the mamono on deck. Large gold earrings dangle from his ears glittering in the unexpected golden sunlight. After checking the tickets he nods and gestures to the polished deck with a flourish of a thick looking hand. Glancing back, Mils clutches her head, her hands merged with her gel approximation of hair as if denying reality. I cannot deny the needle sharp pang of guilt I feel for behaving as I did, but it had been coming as surely as an approaching wave will crash upon the shore.
Turning I make my way toward a large, gilt silver door set into the polished, wooden superstructure. Various carvings of graceful dolphins, elegant mermaids and windswept oceans embellish the smooth surface in an effusion of artistic skill and expression. Making my way to my cabin, I am met with a modest room, a reasonably sized wooden double bunk of fine, polished mahogany has been built into the port corner of the room. A sleek, teak desk and wardrobe complete the room. A window of fair size allows a rather lacking view of the ocean, but at least it allows light in. Flopping bonelessly into the bottom bunk I gaze listlessly at the polished reinforcing beams above me.
The gravity of the situation hits rather like an unexpected and unwanted avalanche, I have actually ended our marriage, our attachment. A low moan escapes my previously pursed lips, tears, but these unlike my previous tears of self-pity over the betrayal are the cleansing tears of acceptance. The ship undulates and shivers. With an, as yet blurry glance out of the window I notice we are drifting, casting off from the city port.
Swinging my feet off the modest bed I head for the aft deck, the rumpled coverings of my bed left with a "me" shaped indentation. A radiant lamia sashays past. Her garnet red hair is tied into a plait and pinned strategically into a spiral encompassing the back of her head. A long tail of hair resembling a pony's tail hangs loose as a swaying, cascade adorned with various dazzling gems. Her serpentine coils gleam, bracelets tinkle musically in her wake.
Heading out of the large intricately wrought, silver doors I take in the view of the quayside slowly slipping away. Mils is gone, probably left when she realised I wouldn't hear her excuses. I still feel misgivings about the way I treated her though. With guilt fogging my mind I need to find something to do. Thinking about it, if I head to the bow of the ship I can get a closer look at that bowsprit, most are carved from wood but this one seemed to be hewn from an unusual material, it may be just what I need to occupy my mind.
It appears I am not the only being with the idea of making use of the bow of this ship. Near the bow the deck widens into a spacious, gently curved sun deck. Sweeping a gaze across the deck, several lamia luxuriate on scalloped, highly polished, wooden sedan chairs. The subtle curves of the masterfully crafted chairs have been carved to the likeness of a scylla's reaching tentacles. The lamia appear engaged in flirtatious banter, the recipients being a pair of random human males passing by.
A small quartet of harpies on the opposite edge of the gleaming, polished deck have decided to take full advantage of the warm sun and sweeping chairs as they revel in the morning sunshine, preening their feathers and chattering excitedly, I wonder what they are talking about.. Never mind, I can see the bowsprit.
It's.. It's carved from mother of pearl?! Great Goddess! Where did they get this much? The gilded carving is indeed a massive, sculpture of opalescent mother of pearl. Yet another scylla, her sublime gaze scans the horizon, as if searching for her next great adventure. Lithe, carved tentacles clutch the bow of the ship, the craftsmanship is exquisite to say the least.
Leaning against a full, pearly posterior, contemplating the crystal blue skies ahead, the ocean shimmers radiantly, the sun dancing gaily off the ceaseless surface. Dolphins gambol and cavort just ahead of the keel, leaping from the water in a display of their acrobatic prowess. The lulling slap of water against wooden hull, the flap of the enormous, billowing sails and a cool salty breeze playing through my hair simply blows my troubles away as though a dandelion in a cool breeze or mist driven away by the warm morning sun. This is my next great adventure. Mils or no Mils I will have to enjoy life again from now onwards. I have left my pain behind in Zipangu.
Wheeling to face the glossy, scoured deck I find myself caught in a sapphire full body embrace. This sleek, rippling sensation can only be...
"Rilo!"
"Mils?!"
Her cool, moist embrace tightens, her lipid head buried in the crook of my neck. The harpies and lamia have quietened down, looks of wistfulness painted upon their faces. Her azure body heaves with ripples of emotion.
"Being held by a male, so good~"
A wide eyed, pink plumed harpy, her hair resembling liquid cherry blossoms, eyes us, a small wing talon planted in her mouth enviously. Another harpy, this one with long, flowing hair of deepest indigo, adorned with ruby red ribbons, heaves a huge sigh before glaring at Mils.
"Slimes have all the fun."
"Ah! How enviable!"
Earrings tinkle softly as a lamia, a real thing of beauty with a mane of blond hair as molten gold, and a shiny two-toned brown and orange tail ogles the two of us jealously.
"Rilo! Rilo! Rilo! Rilo! Mils......sorry...............Mils............sorry...............Mils.....love........Rilo!
She repeats my name as though a mantra. Placing my hands gently on her cerulean shoulders I try to shift her away, but this proves to be about as useful as a carriage... Without a horse or wheels and merely causes the slime girl to cling even tighter. Sighing in resignation, I sink to the deck, She obviously does not plan to release me any time soon. Reclining fluidly into a pose more like a woman sitting in a park on a clear summer morning with her beloved, Mils joins me on the deck. I eye her curiously.
"I, I don't understand. What about Hado? I thought you wanted to be attached to him."
The words spill over my lips uneasily. Mils merely flashes me a look which appears to be disappointment with a healthy sprinkle of annoyance tossed in.
"Rilo.........silly.............not..............listen............Mils."
She taps a dainty, translucent blue fist against her head with a soft plop, the age old sign of someone doing something that no smart person would do.
"Mils.....not......want.........Hado................Mils....Rilo.....attached."
A curly haired harpy, her lime hued locks shifting in the breeze utters a dreamy sigh, her lips slightly parted, her wing talons clutching her flushed cheeks. It seems Mils's little show is causing some of the nearby mamono girls to conjure up their own floral-hemmed fantasies. I still feel wary, I had been in excrutiating agony the last few weeks over her betrayal and do not want to experience that kind of bone-sucking, soul rending pain again any time soon. Steeling myself I ask a question burning in mind since that dreaded day.
"Why? Why did you do it Mils? I thought we were attached."
The azure woman doesn't even have to think about it, the words flowing as water from a slightly blocked mountain spring.
"Mils..........lonely........bored.............Hado........say....fun..........say.............Rilo...........not.......mind."
That bastard! My mind a burning, red hot poker of rage. He took advantage of her naivety to try to steal her. He, he.. Subduing the angry beast raging in my mind I feel a sense of clarity suffuse my being. Well, he doesn't have her now. Doubt still clouds my heart though.
"I'm, I'm not sure that I can trust you Mils. You could have said no. You hurt me once, I really don't want to feel that pain twice."
The aqualine girl appears crestfallen at first, but this expression is rapidly quelled as a new expression breaks upon her sleek, sapphire face. A look of brave determination, a maiden prepared to face a difficult challenge.
"Mils...........prove........Rilo...........trust........Mils!"
Well, it seems she is serious about this. Rising slowly it takes a few seconds to stamp the stabbing pins and needles out of my feet. Although it is not all that necessary I hold out a hand for Mils who regards me with a grateful expression before slipping a dainty palm into mine. With this she simply pours herself upwards, a waterfall in reverse. I always find it interesting when she does that.
"Mils, I really do need time to think about this, I can't just take you back like that, not after..."
To her credit, Mils maintains a stoic bearing. A sad smile evident on her glossy face, a hint of tears at the corners of her eyes. She simply nods.
Nodding to the harpies and lamia, who all seem to be lost in the haze of their own reverie, probably imagining their own meeting of that special person, a dramatic romance more than likely with the two of them standing by the bowsprit pretending they're flying... Maybe with those harpies the man will be the one doing the pretending. However for me, my cabin is calling, I want to get some rest after my wretched previous eve.
Crossing the bow deck I make my way towards yet another gilt silver door set into the highly decorated wooden superstructure. I am not alone, it appears Mils has decided to tag along slipping silently behind me. Walking down the reasonably lit passage, a vine-like pattern of pearl traces the walls as if tendrils of ivy questing toward the sun. Random paintings provide points of interest at various intervals. I glance askance at the azure woman shadowing my steps. A thought suddenly suggests itself, something I just hadn't thought about yet.
"So how did you get aboard?"
Giggling the slime returns my look with what can only be described as a conspiratory grin.
"Mils.........clever.............sneak.........up.........rope.........no............one........looking."
I have to admit that look was undeniably cute, not the smartest of plans, but it seems to have worked.. For now at least. The question is, where is she going to stay? Had she even thought about that? I must have been many miles from my body in thought at that point, because as we emerge into a grand foyer I stroll headlong into something. This something is rather soft and sticky, it feels almost like Mils. It also chortles gently to itself in glee.
"You should watch where you walk sir... Otherwise you might find yourself in a bind~"
I look up panicking, whatever this is it appears to have the upperhand at the moment. A body the hue of carnelians. Sleek and trim. Large eyes and a small mouth drawn into a lust laden smirk, a smooth, fairly round face framed by what appears to be a jellied likeness of long hair. I find myself face to face with a gorgeous Red Slime. Looking me squarely in the eyes she grins warmly.
"You want to stick with me sir? I promise it will be un-for-get-able."
As her gaze glides over me, drinking in my features I notice a sudden change in her demeanor. It starts with a shadow falling across her eyes followed by a stormy scowl which seems to obliterate the previously warm smile which had occupied her face. A gel eyebrow twitches ominously. Looking down I notice a familiar azure hand on my shoulder.
"So..."
The carnelian woman glares at Mils her chin raised ever so slightly.
"What do you want... Thing?"
Mils seems to do a little bit of chin raising of her own before replying.
"Mils.........'with'.........Rilo."
The Red Slime appears to consider these words before looking at me pointedly.
"Are you really 'with' this, this... Vulgar, blue?"
"Mils.......not......vul...gar!"
Her sapphire chin raising even higher, Mils glares down her nose at my red captor. For her part the red woman appears to be holding her own... For all of two seconds! I guess red slimes just don't get along with blues.
"You stay out of this! Probably don't understand what vulgar means anyway."
Muttering under her breath the red turns to me, a lofty expression masking her sleek features. Her tone drips with distaste.
"I guess there is no accounting for taste is there?"
With what can only be described as liquid reflexes Mils insinuates herself between the two of us, a glare still very much present, her chin raised as high as what would be humanly possible. Using the bulge of her curving, mellifluous hip she forces the red woman away from me. Apparently she has used her digestive capabilities to spring me from my sticky captor's unescapable embrace. With one smooth arm hanging over my shoulder she raises her delicate hand to reveal the Sida brooch sticking fast to the approximation of her ring finger. Waving the back of her hand in the carnelian woman's face as if to make a point she produces a smirk of her own.
"Red..............mean. Rilo..........taken!"
The Red Slime simply goggles at what appears to be a wedding ring. I guess she would take it as a slap in the face that her "inferior" cousin has done what she could not yet achieve. Her head drooped in defeat, she squelches off sighing and muttering to herself. I catch a quiet "not fair" and "husband" mumbled mournfully in parting.
Looking at the clinging cerulean slime who appears to be quite pleased with herself I realise what we're doing.
"Excuse me Mils, but I do not remember saying that we are attached you know."
With a dejected sigh, the blue woman peels herself achingly from my shoulder. I feel rather bad about it, but she said she had something to prove to me and I still need to come to terms with whether "us" will exist again. Taking in the area around me though, I can truly say this place is really amazing. The wooden walls exude the fragrance of warm, far off lands and are carved to a gentle curve and polished to a fine, smooth finish. In here too, traceries of scylla, imposing ships, oceanic vistas and sinewy vines adorn every smooth surface. I still cannot help but wonder where all of the mother of pearl comes from. Perhaps if they cultivated whatever they got it from in vast farms it would be possible, but there is just so much.
Large paintings have been fastened to the lacquered wooden surface. Scenes depicting haughty, swashbuckling scylla engaged in battle on burning galleons, or captaining great vessels through raging stormy oceans. By the looks of things, whoever made this ship appears to hold scylla in amazingly high esteem. In the center of this great hall, an opulant gilded staircase spirals up around what appears to be a large highly polished grandfather clock. The curvy railings have been picked out in dazzling goldleaf, while the stairs appear to be carved from some kind of creamy material, either ivory or marble. The entire ornate structure disappears into the polished ceiling above, presumably towards one of the upper decks. The low, comforting tick of the impressive clock tolls away the seconds as they fade into oblivion never to return.
After an uneventful trip down yet another decorated passageway we arrive at a familiar door. Turning to Mils I favour her a questioning glance.
"I forgot to ask you, where are you going to stay Mils?"
The seemingly oblivious Mils points an azure finger at me and my cabin.
"Mils..........al...ways..........with...........Rilo?"
Oh dear, that won't work. I was right, she really did not think about where she would stay once onboard. Looking back at her I cannot help but smile apologetically.
"Mils, I am sorry, but only attached people stay together like that. When you were with Hado you gave up our attachment, give me some time please."
She looks at me, wide-eyed with incredulity. Her gaze drops despondently as she appears to examine the base of her ooze. Her shoulders shake a little as a cerulean tear drops to the floor.
"But............Mils..........have........no.......where..........to.......go."
"Eh-Eh-he-hem!"
Facing the source of the disturbance a familiar lime tressed head greets my eyes. That harpy from before, was she following us? The avian girl appears concerned, sauntering over to the two of us she turns her eyes to me.
"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation earlier..."
She peers at me nervously as if I am about to accuse her of eavesdropping.
"If she can't stay with you, I would be happy to keep her with me."
Shifting guiltily she eyes Mils before turning her gaze back in my direction. My brow furrowed in thought, I finally meet her eyes quizzically.
"Are you sure it would be okay? Why would you take her in? I'm sorry miss, but you don't even know her."
The harpy gives her locks a tight shake. Taking two beryllian hands in her wing talons she glances first at Mils before turning a determined gaze on myself.
"I could never leave a maiden in love like this! This is what songs are made of, can't you see how much she loves you?"
Taking a breath she continues babbling, gesticulating, her lime green wings cutting large flamboyant arcs through the air. I can't even get a word in edge ways.
"I was enthralled by that romantic scene at the front, you two should be together. Whoever that, that 'Hado' was I would have dropped him off a, a cliff!"
Mils wears a serious expression on her face, nodding vigorously every time our harpy admirer mentions how the two of us should be a couple. Looking back at our "guru of love," I cannot help chuckling. Her face flushed from her antics, lime green, wavy locks glisten like the ocean as she huffs noisily, staring at me. I have to concede to her.
"If Mils wants to then I don't mind, miss...?"
"Plumeria, but you two can call me 'Meria.' "
"Okay Miss...Meria, I will leave it to Mils then, but please be careful both of you."
Meria, looking pleased peeks at Mils, a look of expectation plastered all over her face. Mils seems to be thinking the situation through herself, a sleek finger poised in front of her lips.
"Mils...............have...........no.......where. Stay.........Ria."
"Ria..."
The harpy giggles joyously
"I like it! Come Mils, my cabin is upstairs, we are going to have sooo much fun. My friends and I rented a big cabin, they all want to meet..."
Meria leads the cerulean girl back down the passageway and towards the spiral staircase hall, rambling about her friends, romance and various other topics which I cannot hear as they fade out of earshot. Mils for her part follows the excitable avian girl, but throws intermittent, longing glances back at me.
Fumbling my key into the keyhole with a long drawn out yawn, I open the cabin door onto my pristine looking room. Hmmm.. My bed covers have been pulled perfectly straight, looking in the wardrobe, the limited belongings I had acquired after "that" day have been hung up neatly, loose buttons sewn back into position with almost fanatical devotion. The window hangs ajar, the smell of the ocean permeating the room. I never expected this kind of cabin service for the amount I had paid for my ticket.
My comfortable bed though, is the only thought on my mind at this time. Snuggling into the warm blankets the calm lapping of the ocean below and the soft flap of my curtains lulls me rapidly into the realm of dreams.
We have been on our voyage now for two long weeks. Let me tell you, I have had some head-scratchingly weird experiences. For the last two weeks I have had these amazingly pleasant dreams.
The dreams are all different, but typically reach a point where some vision of ground shattering beauty appears before me and proceeds to seduce me. The feeling is so pleasant that the sensation lingers long after I have awoken, a haze of bliss. Using her smooth, soft, ample bosom she seems to milk my seed right out of me. When I awake I feel spent every single time this euphoric dream hits.
Mils has also arrived at my room every day, she always favours me with a sad, smile. Her eyes pleading to be with me again. During the first week she appeared as ever, beautiful. Her smooth, sleek aqualine features refracting the pearl laden walls. She accompanied me where ever I chose to go, speaking to me in her cute halting voice, informing me about her nights with the harpy girls.
Today however she seems different. I have noticed a gradual change in her appearance over this past week and have grown increasingly concerned about my precious... Did I just say "my precious" slime? As this week wore on she had looked increasingly pale, her usual cerulean sheen becoming less and less vibrant and rather more and more wan. Her eyes appeared less lustrous as well, her gel like hair increasingly limp and haggard. Why have I not noticed this sooner?
Plumeria the harpy who had offered to take in Mils is waiting outside. Mils is also waiting outside again, however the lime-head calls me over. Using a wing to shield Mils from our conversation she looks at me, her expression considerably distressed she tells me that Mils has been getting weaker the past few days. She also tells me she doesn't know what to do. Rushing over to Mils I take her wan hands in my own. They are so liquid, too liquid. She smiles at me, a weak, tired thing. This is not right, something is very wrong. Looking her in the eyes I have to ask.
"Mils, when was the last time you ate?"
The slime mumbles to herself inaudibly. A fear begins to grip my heart.
"Mils!"
"Mils..........eat..........har...py...........eggs."
Plumeria nods vigorously in agreement. Well, at least she has been eating something over the last two weeks. A thought occurs to me, searching her frail looking eyes I notice something I hadn't noticed before, a slight anxiety.
"Okay Mils, when was the last time you fed?"
The worn looking slime girl tries to look away, but I won't let her, she tries to stare over my shoulder, anywhere but my face.
"Mils!"
"Hado. Hado..............last..........time.............Mils............feed."
She looks down in shame, small blue beads forming at the corners of her eyes.
"Rilo..............hate.................Mils."
No, why would I hate her? This explains her appearance. I have heard that Alraune nectar, tree sap and even the whites of eggs should be sufficient to keep a slime alive, but nothing can compare to a human's seed. She hasn't fed in- I tick off the weeks on my fingers, four weeks. She must be so weak right now. She wanted to prove something to me, was it that she could be faithful?
I put an arm around her mellifluous shoulders and pull her into a gentle embrace, her eyes widen for a second in shock before an expression of serenity manifests on her tired face. Sighing gently she looks back, that wistful and beseeching look returning to her eyes.
"Yes Mils, you have proven yourself to me. I will take you back, but only this once."
The frail slime girl gasps, her hands streaming up to her mouth. The lime tressed harpy claps her wings together a broad smile stretched across her cheeks. Now however, is not the time for this, thankfully my door is still open so with much haste I manuever her back into my cabin. Closing the door behind me I turn to her before taking her hand in mine.
"Mils, do you want to be attached again?"
My aqualine girl bobs up and down and nods emphatically. Something scuffles in the cabin.
"Yes............Mils..........love............Rilo. Mils............want.............be...............attached!"
She appears to surge in one motion onto me, the pressure of a jellied pair of lips upon my own becomes very real, very quickly. Looking up at her face she already appears to be undergoing an influx of colour. Her face a striking azure shade with small rosy patches on her cheeks. The desk rattles ominously. She finally extricates herself from my face, tears of ecstacy clinging to her eyes.
"Rilo...........Mils...........miss............Rilo..........so..........long..............Mils..........so..........sorry."
Shushing the emotional slime with a finger, I notice the Sida Brooch is still present on her finger. Beaming happily I whisper into the location where an ear would be.
"Then you are my wife again and we are attached."
Tears of joy well up at the edges of her eyes.
"Now Mils you need to feed, don't you?"
Wiping cerulean tears from her now bright eyes, my azure woman nods. Her body already seems to be flowing everywhere, poring over my face and body as if a suddenly blind person trying to remember a long lost friend.
"No."
A cute yet, enraged voice cuts in from across the room.
Mils however continues her desperate assault.
"Stop......it!"
A large unused drawer shudders violently, glancing askance at the drawer I realise I had forgotten about something ever since I boarded.
"Let...........go................Kōyumi.................husband!"
The drawer flies across the cabin room and bounces off the cabin wall.. Now that is a well made drawer . The seething Nureonago draws herself from her hiding place. Looming above us a scowl mars her otherwise delicate face. I had not really taken a good look at her features before, what with the state I was in was it any wonder?
Midnight blue gel hair cascades as though large dollops of paint from a painter's brush and frames a sleek almost pointed face. Her body the colour of fresh snow seems to shimmer with a pearlescent sheen. A slick, soaked kimono swathes her form, though it appears to have been fastened in a rather revealing manner around her cleavage. It is only after closer inspection that I realise her clothing is a part of her body itself.
Mils glares at Kōyumi before her otherwise angry expression is replaced by a confident smirk. Drawing herself up she shifts around my body to embrace me from behind. Her arms around my shoulders she places a lingering kiss upon my cheek, all while gazing confidently at the now rabid Kōyumi.
"Mils............Rilo............attached..........Kō......yu......mi..............not..........even..........know...............name."
This seems to enrage the Nureonago even further, I thought Nureonago were always meek. It seems that even though we are not married or attached, she has become the implacable wife.
"Ooh...............You.............you.........thieving......cat!"
Oh yes, definitely the Zipangu implacable wife. Those blissful dreams were probably her doing, as well as the perpetually clean and tidy cabin. She must have got on board the same way too. I guess slimes of a feather ooze together. The halting argument continues on either side of me though.
"Mils .........not..........thief! Mils................first!"
The Nureonago appears indignant about that point and begins scowling again. Her ethereal forehead creased in anger.
"Mils..............eye.....sore! Leave...........Kōyumi...............sight!"
My beryllian girl splutters angrily scowling straight back at the marital usurper.
"Mils.........not............eye.....sore. Kō...yu...mi.....................eye...sore!"
Eventually the argument degenerates into a slimy brawl, the two angry slimes fighting it out in a swirling mass on the cabin floor. Oh this will not end well, I decide to try defusing the fight. The squabbling has become unintelligable at this point.
"Ladies, ladies, is this anyway to behave in front of a man?"
Two pairs of as yet angry eyes glare back at me.
"Husband.........stay...........out..........of...........this!"
"Rilo.........stay...........out..........of...........this!"
Well I guess I deserved that. Taking a seat on the edge of my bed I have to end this argument between them, but how? An idea suggests itself, that's it. I think I know what to do. With all of the experiences I have had in the past month I have become a lot stronger emotionally. It is time to give them a shock. Taking on a mock look of anger I glare at the two of them. I cannot help but notice both flinch.
"The attachment is over again Mils."
A look of shock overwhelms Mils's sleek face while a look of triumph plasters itself across the Nureonago's features. Time to end that too.
"The same goes for you too Kōyumi. You are not my wife either.."
The look of triumph shatters immediately replaced by a rapidly growing expression of utter disbelief."
Good, thankfully slimes are quite simple in some ways so they believed it. I stroll across to the cabin door and saunter out, listening intently I can hear some scuffling going on in there but it doesn't seem like fighting anymore. Leaning back through the door I catch two obviously distressed faces staring at each other.
"If when I come back you two are still arguing, then you are both out. Understood?"
The two slimes stare at me, their faces still a picture of horror and disbelief. Someone places their hand on my shoulder, I cannot help but notice the thickness of the powerful hand. My eyes follow the hand to a powerful arm which connects to a pristine white shirt. The seaman from earlier, he regards me with interest.
"Captain Neri would like to see you sir. Says she needs to have a chat... Now."
The calmness of his voice belies the menacing undertones. Oh dear Goddess, the captain? I don't have a choice in this matter, so with a gesture of my hand the man leads me down the polished passageway towards the spiral staircase hall. I had been up there for my meals the last couple of days, but climbing the ivory stairs I note we are heading to a level far above my comfort zone. The staircase finally gives way to a large deck, three large wheels, polished to a high sheen protrude from the wooden surface and standing behind one of them, her strong yet dainty hands wrapped around the largest wheel is the captain herself.
Captain Neri, this is the first Scylla I have ever seen with my own eyes and what an interesting being she is. Her long, curly, citrine hair surrounds a smooth oval face. Stray crinkly strands hang before a pair of sultry emerald eyes, her full lips are pursed in concentration. A large, foppish black hat, embellished with two red ribbons and a large plume perches jauntily on her head. Moving down, her obviously curvy body is draped in a silken bodice. Puffy, heavily embroidered sleeves give way to sleek richly tanned hands. A heart, cut into the upper portion and decorated with intricate embroidery and a ruby red ribbon emphasizes her ample bosom. Moving even further down, her waist seems to flare out into a wide, bell shape. Powerful, lithe tentacles seem to form a skirt below her.
"Ah, Rilo isn't it? Come join me by the wheel if you would be so kind."
She does not even turn to look at me. From the the tone of her rather musical voice I can tell this is more of a command than a request, walking over a little shakily, wondering and fearing what this may be about the Scylla finally turns to look at me. Looking me up and down with an appraising glance the captain speaks once again.
"Mister Rilo, you boarded my ship with a ticket for a single cabin correct?"
Oh dear, I can see where this is heading already, nodding warily I try to ascertain her intentions. The seaman also seems interested, poised with his arms crossed his hair fluttering in the breeze.
"And yet I cannot help but notice I have an uninvited guest on board~"
I try to deny her accusation, but my mouth defies me, preferring to stay clamped shut. The sails flap noisily above us.
"I have two options for you Mister Rilo... Option one, you can buy her a ticket."
Finally getting my tongue and lips back under control, I can only shake my head dolefully.
"Captain Neri, I used most of my money just to get this ticket, I don't have enough for another one."
Nodding to herself as if having already anticipated that answer, a serpentine tentacle weaves around my body before tapping me gently on the cheek. The sultry Scylla stares at me whimsically.
"That brings us to option two-'
Before she can complete her sentence I attempt to duck out of her tentacle's rather powerful embrace.
"Captain Neri, I am taken!"
At first the seaman standing nearby snickers, however his chuckles louden as his rumbling, derisive belly laugh fills my ears. I cannot help but notice Captain Neri is chortling herself, an amused smirk painted on her tanned features.
"Oh dear, Mister Rilo, whatever are you proposing? I am spoken for myself, my first mate-"
She gestures proudly in the direction of the seaman whom I now realise is in fact one of the most important people on this ship, second only to the captain herself. The man grins back at me, his broad grin displaying a healthy set of teeth.
"- is also 'my' mate. He is my husband. What I was going to say is I want to hear your story, but more importantly I want to know what our stowaway is doing on this ship. If what I am told proves sufficient, I may accept whatever money you have left in return for our uninvited guest's right to stay on board."
The swashbuckling Scylla takes a seat on a polished wooden couch carved in the likeness of a large, scalloped shell. Tasteful, plush silk cushions positioned strategically allow her to lounge languidly while motioning for me to begin. Her husband takes his place at the wheel, his searching eyes scanning the azure horizon. Scratching the back of my head awkwardly a jumble of emotions tumble through me. Relief, she won't be turning me off the ship at least. Worry, will Mils be okay? Doubt, what if she doesn't find my story satisying? Awkwardness, must I really tell her everything? As these emotions and thoughts vie for dominance an emotion I hadn't even noticed trounces the others, waving its hands aloft in victory. Honesty.
"Erm.. Captain Neri, before I tell you that, I must confess there are not one, but two uninvited guests."
The scylla raises an eyebrow in consternation, motioning for me to explain. I swallow unintentionally.
"A Nureonago, Kōyumi, has been stowing away in my cabin, I had no idea she was there till this morning."
Captain Neri steeples her fingers in thought before nodding to herself in agreement. Returning my gaze she
simply waves my concern away dismissively.
"A Nureonago? That will be fine, Miss Kōyumi can pay for her voyage by helping out with housekeeping duty."
That is right, I forgot. Nureonago are programmed from birth to be expert housekeepers, which means Kōyumi will be able to work her way across to Minami Akrufia's distant shores. Setting aside Kōyumi I begin recounting the rather long tale of what has happened up until this point. I tell her about my lonely life, my chance encounter with Mils and my first ever romance. Neri appears dreamy eyed, so far so good. Soldiering on I relate our journey to the land of Zipangu, of finding our home and the seemingly eager landlord Hado who had offered us an apartment.
A lump begins to take hold in my throat as I divulge "that" horrible day, returning home early finding Mils in a carnal embrace with Hado, the pain and my tears, Kōyumi and the weeks leading up to my trip on Neri's magnificent vessel. Captain Neri wears a look of incredulity, probably in response to my claim regarding my almost successful escape from the marital desires of a Nureonago.
"Tell me, Mister Rilo, why is she on the ship if she did something so wretched as hurting her own male?"
Ah, so that was what that look was in aid of. Mentioning that I will tell her during the course of the story, the absorbed Scylla motions for me to continue. Continuing with the next section of my tale, I recount my outburst on the quayside and Mils's poignant apology. I also explain how Mils had snuck aboard to follow me, how she starved herself to prove she could be faithful and would not take another man's essence again.
"For a Meliae of her kind, she truly has learnt some interesting emotions hasn't she?"
Captain Neri gazes out at the ocean wistfully, a finger bridging her lips.
"She has determination, I had that kind of determination myself once, I still do in fact."
Turning her gaze on me the Scylla nods gently.
"Mister Rilo don't let her go, she made a mistake once, but has proven that she never wants to make the same mistake again. She definitely loves you... I have no doubt of that."
Turning to her husband she calls him over whispering in his ear. The strong man looks at me, a level look in his eyes.
"According to the captain's wishes you, Mister Rilo will pay two thirds of any money that you have available to you on the ship. In exchange your Mils will stay in the same cabin as you along with the Nureonago. Miss Kōyumi will perform housekeeping duties around the ship in exchange for her continued presence on this vessel."
Wow! That was really unexpected, she did not even put me in the brig. I expected far worse than this. I really guess there is nothing for me to do but to pay what I can and be on my best behaviour throughout the remainder of the voyage. Captain Neri raises herself with a sigh and takes the wheel from her husband once again. With a brisk beckoning gesture he escorts me silently along the winding route to my cabin. I wonder how the girls are doing.
Upon arrival at my cabin the first mate finally turns to me, gratitude evident upon his rugged features.
"I should thank you Mister Rilo, my wife has been in need of something to relax her mind. With her decision to turn from piracy, she seemed fine, but has not been her usual self this past month. I don't think she has heard a story quite like yours in a long time."
He pauses for a few seconds, seemingly lost in thought before continuing with a start.
"Well now, setting that aside.. Let's settle our payment shall we?"
Opening the unlocked cabin door, I am greeted by Mils and Kōyumi sitting side by side and apparently waiting patiently for me. Whatever they discussed amongst themselves while I was away, it seems they are on very friendly terms. Giving Mils a tickle on the top of her slippery, gellish head and regarding Kōyumi with a warm nod I reach into the wardrobe and retrieve my small leather pouch containing the last of my funds. The two seem to be grinning at each other. The sturdy first mate enters my cabin and eyes the two women curiously before joining me at the desk.
"Two thirds, two thirds..."
Muttering to himself the man spills the coins onto the sleek, shiny surface, he pores over the silver coins seperating them into two small piles, not exactly a good deal of money as there wasn't that much to begin with, but enough I guess. Satisfied he turns only to be met by a dubious looking Kōyumi, the Nureonago looks at the two of us before squelching in the direction of the desk.
"Kōyumi..................count...................first."
Well, I guess accountancy can be added to housework. After counting the coins herself the Nureonago allows the able seaman to take the larger pile. Bidding us farewell he closes the door behind him leaving me alone with the two beautiful slimes once again. Sitting down on the bed, Mils is the first to speak up.
"Rilo, Mils..............Kōyumi................not...........fight."
Kōyumi nods in agreement, a determined smile pulling at her mouth.
"Kōyumi...............older.............sister...........Mils.............listen..........older..............sister."
The sapphire slime nudges the Nureonago, a slightly disapproving look dominating her lustrous face as if telling Kōyumi to go on with her explanation.
"Mils.................first. Mils..........have.............pri........ori.......ty."
Kōyumi winces at that, struggling to say the last few words. It must have taken a lot out of her to put herself in second place. I cannot help but feel rather sorry for her, Mils however has other plans.
"Mils.............Kōyumi.............share. Be.....come...........one."
Kōyumi blushes a deep scarlet at that, she stares at Mils as if she has turned into an Ushi-Oni, a truly bizzare mamono which apparently enjoys breaking minds during her sexual revelry. I have never heard of this before, what is she proposing? Some type of fusion? My cerulean girl seems to pick up on my confusion as she looks at me, an almost mocking smile playing on her lips.
"Slime.................share.................husband..................become..............one............slime............make........love."
Now it is my turn to blush crimson, she really has no qualms about speaking about that sort of business does she? Oozing over to Kōyumi, Mils places a delicate digit on her currently rosy cheek and whispers something which makes the Nureonago's rosy blush deepen to the hue of rubies. Enfolding Kōyumi in a tight embrace the two seem to swirl round each other. The effect is enough for me to feel a sense of vertigo, my eyes confounded by the swirling mass before me. However once completed a slime with the resemblance of Mils wearing a slick, turquoise kimono stands before me. With a passionate grin the slime surges in my direction.
"Now...........Mils............feed. Mils............never...........hurt...........Rilo...........again."
I will leave it up to your imagination what ensued. What I will say is that as the Queen of the Ocean drifted into the golden hues of the setting sun, a new life had begun. It is true what that ancient sage once said;
'After the darkest day the days can only brighten.'
This saying is so true and represents our days after the lowest point in our lives. Life was not always perfect, from time to time Mils and Kōyumi would have their squabbles. Sometimes tears would be shed or angry words said. However in the end life turned out well. After Mils's first division, the ever dutiful Kōyumi took the child under her slippery wing and taught her the skills of housekeeping, keeping the young slime out of mischief so that one day she too could find her person only for her. Mils never again had "fun" with another human, always competing with her sleek rival at being the most devoted.
As for Kōyumi.. The devoted, hardworking Nureonago divided one day, bringing forth a young slime of the same calibre as herself and as the days led one into another in that unending cycle that waits for no man, woman or even mamono I finally knew that I had redeemed my shattered dream.
=-FIN-=
It has been a week since then. Oh, how I would rather my burdened mind not take the depressing trip into that dark place, but I feel the pull once again. It is relentless, like the undertow hidden below the lucid depths of a rocky cove. Once caught it is impossible to resist.
I find my thoughts being drawn inexorably to Mils, betrayer! Unfaithful! I feel my chest heave as a sob rips itself from my very being. In a haze I hurry up the steps, my boots creaking on old, yet well varnished wood. A bag of produce in my hand, I cannot wait to show her our prize.
I feel my heart climbing in my chest, I know what is coming next, I've seen this scene before. I do not want to see, yet I know it is inevitable. The door creaks open and there she is, enjoying the carnal pleasures she is supposed to only enjoy with me. Her aqualine features distorted into an expression of heart-stopping pleasure beneath the Sida brooch I gifted her, a symbol of our attachment.
"Hyaaa! Ha...do~"
"Mils!"
"Hado~ Mils......feel....good!"
Was I wrong? Did she really love me? She never loved me! She was only with me for my essence, my seed! Impossible! She could have left me so long ago! Why this?! Oh Goddess! Why this?! Thoughts skittered through my mind, questions, answers, maybes and possibilities.
She looked at me surprise painting her face for but a second, she had obviously not expected me home this early. Surprise melted into confusion before being washed over by a sweeping shiver of pleasure.
"Hyaauuu!"
My vision swam as my eyes filled with tears. I can't watch any more, wrenching myself away from the heart-rending scene of me fleeing down the wooden stairs as the scene fades away. The cogs and wheels of reality begin their slow dance as it reasserts its dominance over me once again.
Coming back to myself the first feeling I register is pain, my body is literally wracked with sobs which seem to tear my being to shreds. Was I wrong? How much had I really changed? I had thought proudly that I had improved myself, become stronger, found a purpose for myself and had shown her such love.
The Sida brooch, it had been an attachment present crafted from purest tourmaline and resembling the Red Sida flower. A symbol of our love. Was it all a lie? Had I deluded myself about her behaviour? Had they been laughing about me? Mils giggling and saying how stupid I was in her cute, halting voice, her partner laughing with her in jest?
Back then I had noticed a smiling Nureonago, her warmth drew me, a battered moth to a flame. I had accepted her embrace with a broken smile, I needed comfort, but it would never go further than that for me. They may say return her smile and you are hers forever, but that was not my intention back then, never again. Mils would be my first and last Slime.
After I had composed myself as well as I could given the circumstances, I took a shaky step back and bowed deeply. Zipangu is a mysterious land, customs run as deep as the forests which blanket the ancient mountains in a shroud of mysteries and secrets.
I knew then that as compatible as I might be with her, I could not return her affections as she wished. Thanking her in the local tongue I smiled once more before leaving the lamppost which had proven to be a beacon in the reefs of sorrow which had threatened to maroon me a broken soul. Turning one last time she had stretched a slick, long sleeved arm, reaching out for me, a sad smile still present on her delicate features. I shook my head sadly sending a small halo of water spattering around me. I bolted into the rainy night.
So here I am, a week later, working at the same weathered trading post, I have decided my prospects in Zipangu are not heading toward the destination I had hoped for and have had an idea. I will find a ship and leave this dismal, rainy country behind for the far off land of Minami Akrufia a southern country relatively devoid of slimes. A fresh start.
My mind slides back to Mils, sending a deep, raking sigh through my being. What is she doing now? More than likely wrapped around her new lover. I have to exhale shakily at that, I can feel the tears threatening, just out of sight, as a day when the smell of rain lingers in the air, ever-present yet imperceptable, threatening to deluge the land at any given moment.
I can only hold the swirling miasma of sorrow off for so long before it engulfs me once again. Clapping my hands sharply against my face I claw my way back to control, I can't breakdown at work, if I lose this I will never make it onto a ship, will never be able be able to leave this place and Mils. That bastard Hado! how could he steal his own tenant's wife? I thought the people of Zipangu were honourable! With these angry thoughts jostling my mind I find strength to perform the drudgery that will drag me through the week, I will have to tell my superior that I plan on leaving his care at the end of next week, the sooner the better.
Ever since "that" day it has rained religiously day and night; big heavy drops which pelt the wooden roofs like a staccato beating of tiny drums, breezy drops swirling on their one way trip to the ground, indeterminable feathery drizzle, changes in strength and quantity have been the only day to day difference.
Another regular occurrance is that I have seen that same Nureonago each night of this week on the dismal walk back to my inn; The Sparkling Wave, a decent little proprietary situated near the outskirts of the town, the weather worn, wooden exterior belies the brightly polished, well kept interior. Each time she stands vigilantly below an old rusting lamppost in the blattery rain. She always favours me a pitying smile, as if I'm merely prolonging the inevitable.
I have to get out of here!
And so today is the big day, last night had been a very close call. I had noticed the Nureonago had not been attending her usual nightly vigil beneath the weatherbeaten lamppost. This had struck me as rather strange. On arrival at The Sparkling Wave I noted the knowing twinkle in the grizzled innkeeper's roguish, slate grey eyes, thinking nothing of it I had ascended the creaking, polished staircase to my inn room. Thank the Goddess I had looked down and noticed a strange pearlescent trail leading under my door.
'Eventually a Nureonago will even turn up at a man's home. Once she arrives at the man's home she will start living there and behaving like his wife.'
Thank the Goddess again that I had read that book a while ago. I almost got ambushed by her. Turning around I hurried out of the inn setting a brisk pace and putting as much distance between The Sparkling Wave and myself as possible. Trudging through the debilitating, incessant deluge I threw a lightning fast glimpse over my shoulder and recognised a feminine silhouette watching from the window of my "ex" room.
That night I spent a miserable night crammed under a dilapidated stone bench in that demoralising, unrelenting rain worrying about life and my marital status.
Today however things are looking up, last week I had informed my superior at great length that despite my wonderful treatment, I would be resigning and vacating my post within a week's time.
"You have been a wonderful help, it has been a pleasure having you under my care."
My superior had said these much needed words and given me a solid clap on my shoulder. I bowed deeply as is the tradition in Zipangu and had returned to work smiling. If I could just remove "her" from my mind it would be perfect.
Today, a week later, after narrowly escaping a marital ambush and heading towards the port I am happy to say things are once again gaining a rosy tint.
The day is bleak and grey, but I have arrived at the formidable quays of this town, proud galleons rock and sway, dancing to a slow and unwritten rhythm performed eternally. Images emblazoned upon various billowing sails create a riot of hues. Gulls and various sea birds screech above and around me as they scrounge for scraps, tidbits thrown to them by the many weathered fishermen stoicly waiting for a fish to take its final bite.
A teal haired mermaid lounges on one of the many barnacle encrusted buoys. Languidly carressing her flaxen hair she throws coy, furtive and yet wanton glances towards me. Ahead, golden rays slice the iron grey skies, creating a mosaic of heavenly gold and cold grey steel.
"I guess after the darkest day the days can only brighten.."
Chuckling to myself I wonder where I read that saying, whoever wrote that must have been a wise old sage.
"Zee..Zee."
A pain stabs through my soul, why? Why now? I had felt so good. Why do I have to hear this voice again? Why do I have to perpetually relive this pain, is it a kind of punishment? Karma for misdeeds of another lifetime? A sapphire blue appendage snakes its way onto my shoulder.
"Found.....ZeeZee."
I turn my head slowly, it's like turning a spoon through molasses as my gaze takes in the sleek, fluid face of my betrayer, my shatterer of dreams. Repressed grief masked by white hot fury rages in my taught musculature, she doesn't even have the grace to disappear from my sight forever.
"Mils."
She squelches over to me, a relieved smile painted across her face.
"Mils.....have.....fun.......ZeeZee........early......why.....ZeeZee...cry? Mils.......wait.............no.........ZeeZee..........
wait.......wait......ZeeZee....not........come........wait.........wait...........never.....come.......Mils........sad.........look.....
..find.........ZeeZee."
I can feel the pain churning through my emotionally battered body, a hollow tightness in my arms, gnawing into my shoulders. Flowing over to me she places her two aqueous hands on my shoulders and presses herself onto me. Unabashed, her smile grows as she embraces me from behind, a questing appendage traces a leisurely path down my body.
"ZeeZee.....come........home.........Mils........ZeeZee.......go.......home."
I slap her appendage away spattering it into a shower of azure beads. Indignantly tearing myself out of her embrace I take a step away.
"Home.. Home? Don't touch me!"
She appears confused, a cloud of perplexion drifts across her features as she looks down at the spatter of cerulean jelly staining the cold, hard cobblestone paving.
"No? Mils..........miss...........ZeeZee..........miss.........taste........miss.......smell Why.......not.....touch?"
Images assault my mind, a chain strung together in a maddening rosary of grief and locked within a protective sheath of anger. Calming myself I stare off into the distance, searching, searching. I notice the mermaid is no longer present, her barnacle encrusted throne vacant. Finally drawing a breath I return my focus to the beryllian maiden.
"I touch jelly, I touch slime, I don't touch "scum." I am leaving this miserable country."
That remark draws a sniffle from the woman standing before me as azure beads form at the corners of her eyes.
"Mils.......not........dirty.........not........scum........Why........ZeeZee........mean? Zi..pan..gu .......fun. Home......fun .........Why........Mils.......ZeeZee........leave?"
I look at my ex-love, allowing mirth to cross my features as if she had told me a particularly funny joke before continuing.
"You think you're coming with me? Why would I ruin your fun?"
A look of shock crosses her face, I never knew blue slimes could show shock. She seems to giggle nervously, her gaze drifting around aimlessly as though a mosquito circling its target. The mermaid seems to have relocated to the quayside. Positioned between two regal galleons, her chin cradled between her sleek, dainty hands her gaze falls straight upon the two of us. Does this girl have an interest in personal dramas?
"Not........come........with?"
Mils raises her glossy hands and pokes a liquid tongue out of her mouth in concentration. Two fingers warp, bending like warm tallow heated over a flame. Slowly she coaxes her fingers to flow around each other and after a great deal of huffing manages to form what looks like a firmly tied knot. A pleased little smile pulls at her mouth as she nods satisfied.
"Mils........ZeeZee...........attached...........Mils............come..........with."
A surge of anger sears my heart, she, she, did those things with the landlord and still thinks we are attached? I slice a hand through the knot, showering the cobblestones with another spray of slime, shaking the blue gel off my sodden hands distastefully as if touching a filthy object.
"No Mils, you ruined everything! We are not attached! Not anymore!
She shrinks back, a shiver ripples across her mellifluous form as if the words are a hot slap in the face. It is Mils's turn to feel pain as her mouth twists, eyes bulge and an expression of disbelief works it's way onto her lustrous face.
"No..........Mils.......not........under.....stand......Zee..sniff..Zee.........ZeeZee.......not.......love......Mils? Mils.....ZeeZee .......not..sniff..a..sniff..attached?
Stopping this is no longer a possibility, the anger stripped from my ragged emotions is replaced by a bitter, empty sadness, wind skirling through desiccated bones protruding from barren, desert plains. My rant continues. More and more images of the past race across my mind, all the love we showed each other, then the bag falling forever onto the wooden floor, ripples of pleasure crossing her features beneath the Sida brooch, produce scattering across the floor. White.
'Hyaaau! Ha--do~'
Over and over again, an incessant deluge of pain. Emotions held back for the last couple of weeks well up, rising rapidly, a chaotic flooding river crashing over its banks.
"How long Mils? Did you have "fun" at all of the inns too? I thought we were attached! I improved for you! You were the only one I could live with, I loved you and look what..sniff..you did..sniff..to me! Dear Goddess, I hear you again and again calling "his" name when you..sob..said you loved me! You betrayed me! You never..sob..loved me did you? You only..sob..wanted my seed!"
A look fills her face, a person struggling to solve a monumental puzzle and then realisation dawns on her visage. She buckles in on herself, a tortured look of pure agony on her liquid face. She wrings her hands, fingers merging and passing through each other.
"Mils.......love.......ZeeZee........sniff........not.......want........seed.........only.........ZeeZee.........wrong."
"I'm wrong? I'm wrong?! I saw his seed in your body, white, clouding my Mils! Dirtying my Mils! You said we were attached but you, you did that with "him!" You loved it, you wanted it! You were wearing the Sida! I tried so hard not to cry but I couldn't.. Sob..you looked right at me and kept on shivering for him, my Mils with someone that isn't me! I'm sure your new lover is waiting for you. Why don't you go back to him and tell him you're attached to HIM instead?!"
She utters a long, pained, keening wail as she collapses, gobbets of liquid sapphire streak from her eyes to the waiting cobble below. Are blue slime truly capable of this? I always thought they were able to show more emotion than they were credited, but this is, this is beyond what even I could have imagined. Her turgid inner depths clearly visible through the window of her translucent, azure body appears to be siezed by a roiling storm of turbulence, compressed slime swirls as a tempest over the ocean. A swarm of terrified bees.
"Oh.........sob........Oh........sob..........What.........Mils......done? Mils.......sob........Mils.......sorry......sorry .......Mils.......sorry!"
I turn sharply on my heel and begin stumbling away still caught up in my own tears, I can hear her rising behind me, a gurgling of slime, a deluge in reverse interspersed with sobs and sniffles.
"ZeeZee.........sniff.........ZeeZee.....not..........go........sob..........not.......leave.........Mils."
I stop, turning to the heartbroken being, my tears still as fresh as morning dew.
"I'm leaving for Minami Akrufia, why don't you go have fun with your Hado?! Go have fun with HIM. I'm not coming back, I won't interrupt you two ever again."
"ZeeZee........sob.........wait.....Mils...........Not........want........sniff.........Hado!"
She reaches out her hand pleading, her eyes beseeching, like a lost kitten trembling in the frigid rain.
"ZeeZee."
Picking up my pace, my jaw clenches painfully. Postponing this any longer than necessary is not helping me, I must board and put this pain behind me for good.
"Zee...hic..Zee!"
Her voice is saturated with a tone of desperacy. Turning to her she has followed me oozing ever closer.
"What should I do when I get to Akrufia? Maybe I should find a field to cry myself apart in. What do you think?"
A look of utter horror, another first for me with her kind etches itself into her aqualine features.
"Zee..sob..Zee.........Not.........kill..........self........for......give............Mils..........please!"
I turn toward a mammoth galleon, more a small ark than ship. The bow emblazoned with a violet haired scylla wearing a metallic crown, a large bowsprit rears out above. Depictions of mermaids dance below around the periphery of the tough, wooden surface. "The Queen of the Ocean." Truly titanic masts housing furled white sails seem to scrape the sky itself. This must be the ship, apart from other humans I note many diverse mamono boarding via the broad, solid gangplank. Lamia, Harpies, a few many-limbed Arachne, even an elegant looking Alraune, her vivid flower blossoming from an ornamented pot of considerable size. Heavy bags held by tails, frail looking limbs or wheeled on by gaudily dressed porters are slowly loaded aboard. I suppose even mamono like to travel the world this way, especially from a "friendly" port.
"ZeeZee.......Wait! Ri........lo...........................Rilo!"
When did she master saying my name? She called me ZeeZee as a petname. In the past she couldn't pronounce my name at all, so I had suggested something much easier on the tongue like "Zee" she had always had trouble saying it and had opted to add an extra Zee.. She loved saying ZeeZee and had never used my real name until now.
"Rilo.................Rilo..........come........back! Not.........leave.......Mils........please!"
I hand my ticket to a sturdy seaman, dressed in a spotless white shirt and trousers of sumptuous royal blue velvet. His hips, hung with two large, gold buckled belts seem to be a major attraction to the mamono on deck. Large gold earrings dangle from his ears glittering in the unexpected golden sunlight. After checking the tickets he nods and gestures to the polished deck with a flourish of a thick looking hand. Glancing back, Mils clutches her head, her hands merged with her gel approximation of hair as if denying reality. I cannot deny the needle sharp pang of guilt I feel for behaving as I did, but it had been coming as surely as an approaching wave will crash upon the shore.
Turning I make my way toward a large, gilt silver door set into the polished, wooden superstructure. Various carvings of graceful dolphins, elegant mermaids and windswept oceans embellish the smooth surface in an effusion of artistic skill and expression. Making my way to my cabin, I am met with a modest room, a reasonably sized wooden double bunk of fine, polished mahogany has been built into the port corner of the room. A sleek, teak desk and wardrobe complete the room. A window of fair size allows a rather lacking view of the ocean, but at least it allows light in. Flopping bonelessly into the bottom bunk I gaze listlessly at the polished reinforcing beams above me.
The gravity of the situation hits rather like an unexpected and unwanted avalanche, I have actually ended our marriage, our attachment. A low moan escapes my previously pursed lips, tears, but these unlike my previous tears of self-pity over the betrayal are the cleansing tears of acceptance. The ship undulates and shivers. With an, as yet blurry glance out of the window I notice we are drifting, casting off from the city port.
Swinging my feet off the modest bed I head for the aft deck, the rumpled coverings of my bed left with a "me" shaped indentation. A radiant lamia sashays past. Her garnet red hair is tied into a plait and pinned strategically into a spiral encompassing the back of her head. A long tail of hair resembling a pony's tail hangs loose as a swaying, cascade adorned with various dazzling gems. Her serpentine coils gleam, bracelets tinkle musically in her wake.
Heading out of the large intricately wrought, silver doors I take in the view of the quayside slowly slipping away. Mils is gone, probably left when she realised I wouldn't hear her excuses. I still feel misgivings about the way I treated her though. With guilt fogging my mind I need to find something to do. Thinking about it, if I head to the bow of the ship I can get a closer look at that bowsprit, most are carved from wood but this one seemed to be hewn from an unusual material, it may be just what I need to occupy my mind.
It appears I am not the only being with the idea of making use of the bow of this ship. Near the bow the deck widens into a spacious, gently curved sun deck. Sweeping a gaze across the deck, several lamia luxuriate on scalloped, highly polished, wooden sedan chairs. The subtle curves of the masterfully crafted chairs have been carved to the likeness of a scylla's reaching tentacles. The lamia appear engaged in flirtatious banter, the recipients being a pair of random human males passing by.
A small quartet of harpies on the opposite edge of the gleaming, polished deck have decided to take full advantage of the warm sun and sweeping chairs as they revel in the morning sunshine, preening their feathers and chattering excitedly, I wonder what they are talking about.. Never mind, I can see the bowsprit.
It's.. It's carved from mother of pearl?! Great Goddess! Where did they get this much? The gilded carving is indeed a massive, sculpture of opalescent mother of pearl. Yet another scylla, her sublime gaze scans the horizon, as if searching for her next great adventure. Lithe, carved tentacles clutch the bow of the ship, the craftsmanship is exquisite to say the least.
Leaning against a full, pearly posterior, contemplating the crystal blue skies ahead, the ocean shimmers radiantly, the sun dancing gaily off the ceaseless surface. Dolphins gambol and cavort just ahead of the keel, leaping from the water in a display of their acrobatic prowess. The lulling slap of water against wooden hull, the flap of the enormous, billowing sails and a cool salty breeze playing through my hair simply blows my troubles away as though a dandelion in a cool breeze or mist driven away by the warm morning sun. This is my next great adventure. Mils or no Mils I will have to enjoy life again from now onwards. I have left my pain behind in Zipangu.
Wheeling to face the glossy, scoured deck I find myself caught in a sapphire full body embrace. This sleek, rippling sensation can only be...
"Rilo!"
"Mils?!"
Her cool, moist embrace tightens, her lipid head buried in the crook of my neck. The harpies and lamia have quietened down, looks of wistfulness painted upon their faces. Her azure body heaves with ripples of emotion.
"Being held by a male, so good~"
A wide eyed, pink plumed harpy, her hair resembling liquid cherry blossoms, eyes us, a small wing talon planted in her mouth enviously. Another harpy, this one with long, flowing hair of deepest indigo, adorned with ruby red ribbons, heaves a huge sigh before glaring at Mils.
"Slimes have all the fun."
"Ah! How enviable!"
Earrings tinkle softly as a lamia, a real thing of beauty with a mane of blond hair as molten gold, and a shiny two-toned brown and orange tail ogles the two of us jealously.
"Rilo! Rilo! Rilo! Rilo! Mils......sorry...............Mils............sorry...............Mils.....love........Rilo!
She repeats my name as though a mantra. Placing my hands gently on her cerulean shoulders I try to shift her away, but this proves to be about as useful as a carriage... Without a horse or wheels and merely causes the slime girl to cling even tighter. Sighing in resignation, I sink to the deck, She obviously does not plan to release me any time soon. Reclining fluidly into a pose more like a woman sitting in a park on a clear summer morning with her beloved, Mils joins me on the deck. I eye her curiously.
"I, I don't understand. What about Hado? I thought you wanted to be attached to him."
The words spill over my lips uneasily. Mils merely flashes me a look which appears to be disappointment with a healthy sprinkle of annoyance tossed in.
"Rilo.........silly.............not..............listen............Mils."
She taps a dainty, translucent blue fist against her head with a soft plop, the age old sign of someone doing something that no smart person would do.
"Mils.....not......want.........Hado................Mils....Rilo.....attached."
A curly haired harpy, her lime hued locks shifting in the breeze utters a dreamy sigh, her lips slightly parted, her wing talons clutching her flushed cheeks. It seems Mils's little show is causing some of the nearby mamono girls to conjure up their own floral-hemmed fantasies. I still feel wary, I had been in excrutiating agony the last few weeks over her betrayal and do not want to experience that kind of bone-sucking, soul rending pain again any time soon. Steeling myself I ask a question burning in mind since that dreaded day.
"Why? Why did you do it Mils? I thought we were attached."
The azure woman doesn't even have to think about it, the words flowing as water from a slightly blocked mountain spring.
"Mils..........lonely........bored.............Hado........say....fun..........say.............Rilo...........not.......mind."
That bastard! My mind a burning, red hot poker of rage. He took advantage of her naivety to try to steal her. He, he.. Subduing the angry beast raging in my mind I feel a sense of clarity suffuse my being. Well, he doesn't have her now. Doubt still clouds my heart though.
"I'm, I'm not sure that I can trust you Mils. You could have said no. You hurt me once, I really don't want to feel that pain twice."
The aqualine girl appears crestfallen at first, but this expression is rapidly quelled as a new expression breaks upon her sleek, sapphire face. A look of brave determination, a maiden prepared to face a difficult challenge.
"Mils...........prove........Rilo...........trust........Mils!"
Well, it seems she is serious about this. Rising slowly it takes a few seconds to stamp the stabbing pins and needles out of my feet. Although it is not all that necessary I hold out a hand for Mils who regards me with a grateful expression before slipping a dainty palm into mine. With this she simply pours herself upwards, a waterfall in reverse. I always find it interesting when she does that.
"Mils, I really do need time to think about this, I can't just take you back like that, not after..."
To her credit, Mils maintains a stoic bearing. A sad smile evident on her glossy face, a hint of tears at the corners of her eyes. She simply nods.
Nodding to the harpies and lamia, who all seem to be lost in the haze of their own reverie, probably imagining their own meeting of that special person, a dramatic romance more than likely with the two of them standing by the bowsprit pretending they're flying... Maybe with those harpies the man will be the one doing the pretending. However for me, my cabin is calling, I want to get some rest after my wretched previous eve.
Crossing the bow deck I make my way towards yet another gilt silver door set into the highly decorated wooden superstructure. I am not alone, it appears Mils has decided to tag along slipping silently behind me. Walking down the reasonably lit passage, a vine-like pattern of pearl traces the walls as if tendrils of ivy questing toward the sun. Random paintings provide points of interest at various intervals. I glance askance at the azure woman shadowing my steps. A thought suddenly suggests itself, something I just hadn't thought about yet.
"So how did you get aboard?"
Giggling the slime returns my look with what can only be described as a conspiratory grin.
"Mils.........clever.............sneak.........up.........rope.........no............one........looking."
I have to admit that look was undeniably cute, not the smartest of plans, but it seems to have worked.. For now at least. The question is, where is she going to stay? Had she even thought about that? I must have been many miles from my body in thought at that point, because as we emerge into a grand foyer I stroll headlong into something. This something is rather soft and sticky, it feels almost like Mils. It also chortles gently to itself in glee.
"You should watch where you walk sir... Otherwise you might find yourself in a bind~"
I look up panicking, whatever this is it appears to have the upperhand at the moment. A body the hue of carnelians. Sleek and trim. Large eyes and a small mouth drawn into a lust laden smirk, a smooth, fairly round face framed by what appears to be a jellied likeness of long hair. I find myself face to face with a gorgeous Red Slime. Looking me squarely in the eyes she grins warmly.
"You want to stick with me sir? I promise it will be un-for-get-able."
As her gaze glides over me, drinking in my features I notice a sudden change in her demeanor. It starts with a shadow falling across her eyes followed by a stormy scowl which seems to obliterate the previously warm smile which had occupied her face. A gel eyebrow twitches ominously. Looking down I notice a familiar azure hand on my shoulder.
"So..."
The carnelian woman glares at Mils her chin raised ever so slightly.
"What do you want... Thing?"
Mils seems to do a little bit of chin raising of her own before replying.
"Mils.........'with'.........Rilo."
The Red Slime appears to consider these words before looking at me pointedly.
"Are you really 'with' this, this... Vulgar, blue?"
"Mils.......not......vul...gar!"
Her sapphire chin raising even higher, Mils glares down her nose at my red captor. For her part the red woman appears to be holding her own... For all of two seconds! I guess red slimes just don't get along with blues.
"You stay out of this! Probably don't understand what vulgar means anyway."
Muttering under her breath the red turns to me, a lofty expression masking her sleek features. Her tone drips with distaste.
"I guess there is no accounting for taste is there?"
With what can only be described as liquid reflexes Mils insinuates herself between the two of us, a glare still very much present, her chin raised as high as what would be humanly possible. Using the bulge of her curving, mellifluous hip she forces the red woman away from me. Apparently she has used her digestive capabilities to spring me from my sticky captor's unescapable embrace. With one smooth arm hanging over my shoulder she raises her delicate hand to reveal the Sida brooch sticking fast to the approximation of her ring finger. Waving the back of her hand in the carnelian woman's face as if to make a point she produces a smirk of her own.
"Red..............mean. Rilo..........taken!"
The Red Slime simply goggles at what appears to be a wedding ring. I guess she would take it as a slap in the face that her "inferior" cousin has done what she could not yet achieve. Her head drooped in defeat, she squelches off sighing and muttering to herself. I catch a quiet "not fair" and "husband" mumbled mournfully in parting.
Looking at the clinging cerulean slime who appears to be quite pleased with herself I realise what we're doing.
"Excuse me Mils, but I do not remember saying that we are attached you know."
With a dejected sigh, the blue woman peels herself achingly from my shoulder. I feel rather bad about it, but she said she had something to prove to me and I still need to come to terms with whether "us" will exist again. Taking in the area around me though, I can truly say this place is really amazing. The wooden walls exude the fragrance of warm, far off lands and are carved to a gentle curve and polished to a fine, smooth finish. In here too, traceries of scylla, imposing ships, oceanic vistas and sinewy vines adorn every smooth surface. I still cannot help but wonder where all of the mother of pearl comes from. Perhaps if they cultivated whatever they got it from in vast farms it would be possible, but there is just so much.
Large paintings have been fastened to the lacquered wooden surface. Scenes depicting haughty, swashbuckling scylla engaged in battle on burning galleons, or captaining great vessels through raging stormy oceans. By the looks of things, whoever made this ship appears to hold scylla in amazingly high esteem. In the center of this great hall, an opulant gilded staircase spirals up around what appears to be a large highly polished grandfather clock. The curvy railings have been picked out in dazzling goldleaf, while the stairs appear to be carved from some kind of creamy material, either ivory or marble. The entire ornate structure disappears into the polished ceiling above, presumably towards one of the upper decks. The low, comforting tick of the impressive clock tolls away the seconds as they fade into oblivion never to return.
After an uneventful trip down yet another decorated passageway we arrive at a familiar door. Turning to Mils I favour her a questioning glance.
"I forgot to ask you, where are you going to stay Mils?"
The seemingly oblivious Mils points an azure finger at me and my cabin.
"Mils..........al...ways..........with...........Rilo?"
Oh dear, that won't work. I was right, she really did not think about where she would stay once onboard. Looking back at her I cannot help but smile apologetically.
"Mils, I am sorry, but only attached people stay together like that. When you were with Hado you gave up our attachment, give me some time please."
She looks at me, wide-eyed with incredulity. Her gaze drops despondently as she appears to examine the base of her ooze. Her shoulders shake a little as a cerulean tear drops to the floor.
"But............Mils..........have........no.......where..........to.......go."
"Eh-Eh-he-hem!"
Facing the source of the disturbance a familiar lime tressed head greets my eyes. That harpy from before, was she following us? The avian girl appears concerned, sauntering over to the two of us she turns her eyes to me.
"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation earlier..."
She peers at me nervously as if I am about to accuse her of eavesdropping.
"If she can't stay with you, I would be happy to keep her with me."
Shifting guiltily she eyes Mils before turning her gaze back in my direction. My brow furrowed in thought, I finally meet her eyes quizzically.
"Are you sure it would be okay? Why would you take her in? I'm sorry miss, but you don't even know her."
The harpy gives her locks a tight shake. Taking two beryllian hands in her wing talons she glances first at Mils before turning a determined gaze on myself.
"I could never leave a maiden in love like this! This is what songs are made of, can't you see how much she loves you?"
Taking a breath she continues babbling, gesticulating, her lime green wings cutting large flamboyant arcs through the air. I can't even get a word in edge ways.
"I was enthralled by that romantic scene at the front, you two should be together. Whoever that, that 'Hado' was I would have dropped him off a, a cliff!"
Mils wears a serious expression on her face, nodding vigorously every time our harpy admirer mentions how the two of us should be a couple. Looking back at our "guru of love," I cannot help chuckling. Her face flushed from her antics, lime green, wavy locks glisten like the ocean as she huffs noisily, staring at me. I have to concede to her.
"If Mils wants to then I don't mind, miss...?"
"Plumeria, but you two can call me 'Meria.' "
"Okay Miss...Meria, I will leave it to Mils then, but please be careful both of you."
Meria, looking pleased peeks at Mils, a look of expectation plastered all over her face. Mils seems to be thinking the situation through herself, a sleek finger poised in front of her lips.
"Mils...............have...........no.......where. Stay.........Ria."
"Ria..."
The harpy giggles joyously
"I like it! Come Mils, my cabin is upstairs, we are going to have sooo much fun. My friends and I rented a big cabin, they all want to meet..."
Meria leads the cerulean girl back down the passageway and towards the spiral staircase hall, rambling about her friends, romance and various other topics which I cannot hear as they fade out of earshot. Mils for her part follows the excitable avian girl, but throws intermittent, longing glances back at me.
Fumbling my key into the keyhole with a long drawn out yawn, I open the cabin door onto my pristine looking room. Hmmm.. My bed covers have been pulled perfectly straight, looking in the wardrobe, the limited belongings I had acquired after "that" day have been hung up neatly, loose buttons sewn back into position with almost fanatical devotion. The window hangs ajar, the smell of the ocean permeating the room. I never expected this kind of cabin service for the amount I had paid for my ticket.
My comfortable bed though, is the only thought on my mind at this time. Snuggling into the warm blankets the calm lapping of the ocean below and the soft flap of my curtains lulls me rapidly into the realm of dreams.
We have been on our voyage now for two long weeks. Let me tell you, I have had some head-scratchingly weird experiences. For the last two weeks I have had these amazingly pleasant dreams.
The dreams are all different, but typically reach a point where some vision of ground shattering beauty appears before me and proceeds to seduce me. The feeling is so pleasant that the sensation lingers long after I have awoken, a haze of bliss. Using her smooth, soft, ample bosom she seems to milk my seed right out of me. When I awake I feel spent every single time this euphoric dream hits.
Mils has also arrived at my room every day, she always favours me with a sad, smile. Her eyes pleading to be with me again. During the first week she appeared as ever, beautiful. Her smooth, sleek aqualine features refracting the pearl laden walls. She accompanied me where ever I chose to go, speaking to me in her cute halting voice, informing me about her nights with the harpy girls.
Today however she seems different. I have noticed a gradual change in her appearance over this past week and have grown increasingly concerned about my precious... Did I just say "my precious" slime? As this week wore on she had looked increasingly pale, her usual cerulean sheen becoming less and less vibrant and rather more and more wan. Her eyes appeared less lustrous as well, her gel like hair increasingly limp and haggard. Why have I not noticed this sooner?
Plumeria the harpy who had offered to take in Mils is waiting outside. Mils is also waiting outside again, however the lime-head calls me over. Using a wing to shield Mils from our conversation she looks at me, her expression considerably distressed she tells me that Mils has been getting weaker the past few days. She also tells me she doesn't know what to do. Rushing over to Mils I take her wan hands in my own. They are so liquid, too liquid. She smiles at me, a weak, tired thing. This is not right, something is very wrong. Looking her in the eyes I have to ask.
"Mils, when was the last time you ate?"
The slime mumbles to herself inaudibly. A fear begins to grip my heart.
"Mils!"
"Mils..........eat..........har...py...........eggs."
Plumeria nods vigorously in agreement. Well, at least she has been eating something over the last two weeks. A thought occurs to me, searching her frail looking eyes I notice something I hadn't noticed before, a slight anxiety.
"Okay Mils, when was the last time you fed?"
The worn looking slime girl tries to look away, but I won't let her, she tries to stare over my shoulder, anywhere but my face.
"Mils!"
"Hado. Hado..............last..........time.............Mils............feed."
She looks down in shame, small blue beads forming at the corners of her eyes.
"Rilo..............hate.................Mils."
No, why would I hate her? This explains her appearance. I have heard that Alraune nectar, tree sap and even the whites of eggs should be sufficient to keep a slime alive, but nothing can compare to a human's seed. She hasn't fed in- I tick off the weeks on my fingers, four weeks. She must be so weak right now. She wanted to prove something to me, was it that she could be faithful?
I put an arm around her mellifluous shoulders and pull her into a gentle embrace, her eyes widen for a second in shock before an expression of serenity manifests on her tired face. Sighing gently she looks back, that wistful and beseeching look returning to her eyes.
"Yes Mils, you have proven yourself to me. I will take you back, but only this once."
The frail slime girl gasps, her hands streaming up to her mouth. The lime tressed harpy claps her wings together a broad smile stretched across her cheeks. Now however, is not the time for this, thankfully my door is still open so with much haste I manuever her back into my cabin. Closing the door behind me I turn to her before taking her hand in mine.
"Mils, do you want to be attached again?"
My aqualine girl bobs up and down and nods emphatically. Something scuffles in the cabin.
"Yes............Mils..........love............Rilo. Mils............want.............be...............attached!"
She appears to surge in one motion onto me, the pressure of a jellied pair of lips upon my own becomes very real, very quickly. Looking up at her face she already appears to be undergoing an influx of colour. Her face a striking azure shade with small rosy patches on her cheeks. The desk rattles ominously. She finally extricates herself from my face, tears of ecstacy clinging to her eyes.
"Rilo...........Mils...........miss............Rilo..........so..........long..............Mils..........so..........sorry."
Shushing the emotional slime with a finger, I notice the Sida Brooch is still present on her finger. Beaming happily I whisper into the location where an ear would be.
"Then you are my wife again and we are attached."
Tears of joy well up at the edges of her eyes.
"Now Mils you need to feed, don't you?"
Wiping cerulean tears from her now bright eyes, my azure woman nods. Her body already seems to be flowing everywhere, poring over my face and body as if a suddenly blind person trying to remember a long lost friend.
"No."
A cute yet, enraged voice cuts in from across the room.
Mils however continues her desperate assault.
"Stop......it!"
A large unused drawer shudders violently, glancing askance at the drawer I realise I had forgotten about something ever since I boarded.
"Let...........go................Kōyumi.................husband!"
The drawer flies across the cabin room and bounces off the cabin wall.. Now that is a well made drawer . The seething Nureonago draws herself from her hiding place. Looming above us a scowl mars her otherwise delicate face. I had not really taken a good look at her features before, what with the state I was in was it any wonder?
Midnight blue gel hair cascades as though large dollops of paint from a painter's brush and frames a sleek almost pointed face. Her body the colour of fresh snow seems to shimmer with a pearlescent sheen. A slick, soaked kimono swathes her form, though it appears to have been fastened in a rather revealing manner around her cleavage. It is only after closer inspection that I realise her clothing is a part of her body itself.
Mils glares at Kōyumi before her otherwise angry expression is replaced by a confident smirk. Drawing herself up she shifts around my body to embrace me from behind. Her arms around my shoulders she places a lingering kiss upon my cheek, all while gazing confidently at the now rabid Kōyumi.
"Mils............Rilo............attached..........Kō......yu......mi..............not..........even..........know...............name."
This seems to enrage the Nureonago even further, I thought Nureonago were always meek. It seems that even though we are not married or attached, she has become the implacable wife.
"Ooh...............You.............you.........thieving......cat!"
Oh yes, definitely the Zipangu implacable wife. Those blissful dreams were probably her doing, as well as the perpetually clean and tidy cabin. She must have got on board the same way too. I guess slimes of a feather ooze together. The halting argument continues on either side of me though.
"Mils .........not..........thief! Mils................first!"
The Nureonago appears indignant about that point and begins scowling again. Her ethereal forehead creased in anger.
"Mils..............eye.....sore! Leave...........Kōyumi...............sight!"
My beryllian girl splutters angrily scowling straight back at the marital usurper.
"Mils.........not............eye.....sore. Kō...yu...mi.....................eye...sore!"
Eventually the argument degenerates into a slimy brawl, the two angry slimes fighting it out in a swirling mass on the cabin floor. Oh this will not end well, I decide to try defusing the fight. The squabbling has become unintelligable at this point.
"Ladies, ladies, is this anyway to behave in front of a man?"
Two pairs of as yet angry eyes glare back at me.
"Husband.........stay...........out..........of...........this!"
"Rilo.........stay...........out..........of...........this!"
Well I guess I deserved that. Taking a seat on the edge of my bed I have to end this argument between them, but how? An idea suggests itself, that's it. I think I know what to do. With all of the experiences I have had in the past month I have become a lot stronger emotionally. It is time to give them a shock. Taking on a mock look of anger I glare at the two of them. I cannot help but notice both flinch.
"The attachment is over again Mils."
A look of shock overwhelms Mils's sleek face while a look of triumph plasters itself across the Nureonago's features. Time to end that too.
"The same goes for you too Kōyumi. You are not my wife either.."
The look of triumph shatters immediately replaced by a rapidly growing expression of utter disbelief."
Good, thankfully slimes are quite simple in some ways so they believed it. I stroll across to the cabin door and saunter out, listening intently I can hear some scuffling going on in there but it doesn't seem like fighting anymore. Leaning back through the door I catch two obviously distressed faces staring at each other.
"If when I come back you two are still arguing, then you are both out. Understood?"
The two slimes stare at me, their faces still a picture of horror and disbelief. Someone places their hand on my shoulder, I cannot help but notice the thickness of the powerful hand. My eyes follow the hand to a powerful arm which connects to a pristine white shirt. The seaman from earlier, he regards me with interest.
"Captain Neri would like to see you sir. Says she needs to have a chat... Now."
The calmness of his voice belies the menacing undertones. Oh dear Goddess, the captain? I don't have a choice in this matter, so with a gesture of my hand the man leads me down the polished passageway towards the spiral staircase hall. I had been up there for my meals the last couple of days, but climbing the ivory stairs I note we are heading to a level far above my comfort zone. The staircase finally gives way to a large deck, three large wheels, polished to a high sheen protrude from the wooden surface and standing behind one of them, her strong yet dainty hands wrapped around the largest wheel is the captain herself.
Captain Neri, this is the first Scylla I have ever seen with my own eyes and what an interesting being she is. Her long, curly, citrine hair surrounds a smooth oval face. Stray crinkly strands hang before a pair of sultry emerald eyes, her full lips are pursed in concentration. A large, foppish black hat, embellished with two red ribbons and a large plume perches jauntily on her head. Moving down, her obviously curvy body is draped in a silken bodice. Puffy, heavily embroidered sleeves give way to sleek richly tanned hands. A heart, cut into the upper portion and decorated with intricate embroidery and a ruby red ribbon emphasizes her ample bosom. Moving even further down, her waist seems to flare out into a wide, bell shape. Powerful, lithe tentacles seem to form a skirt below her.
"Ah, Rilo isn't it? Come join me by the wheel if you would be so kind."
She does not even turn to look at me. From the the tone of her rather musical voice I can tell this is more of a command than a request, walking over a little shakily, wondering and fearing what this may be about the Scylla finally turns to look at me. Looking me up and down with an appraising glance the captain speaks once again.
"Mister Rilo, you boarded my ship with a ticket for a single cabin correct?"
Oh dear, I can see where this is heading already, nodding warily I try to ascertain her intentions. The seaman also seems interested, poised with his arms crossed his hair fluttering in the breeze.
"And yet I cannot help but notice I have an uninvited guest on board~"
I try to deny her accusation, but my mouth defies me, preferring to stay clamped shut. The sails flap noisily above us.
"I have two options for you Mister Rilo... Option one, you can buy her a ticket."
Finally getting my tongue and lips back under control, I can only shake my head dolefully.
"Captain Neri, I used most of my money just to get this ticket, I don't have enough for another one."
Nodding to herself as if having already anticipated that answer, a serpentine tentacle weaves around my body before tapping me gently on the cheek. The sultry Scylla stares at me whimsically.
"That brings us to option two-'
Before she can complete her sentence I attempt to duck out of her tentacle's rather powerful embrace.
"Captain Neri, I am taken!"
At first the seaman standing nearby snickers, however his chuckles louden as his rumbling, derisive belly laugh fills my ears. I cannot help but notice Captain Neri is chortling herself, an amused smirk painted on her tanned features.
"Oh dear, Mister Rilo, whatever are you proposing? I am spoken for myself, my first mate-"
She gestures proudly in the direction of the seaman whom I now realise is in fact one of the most important people on this ship, second only to the captain herself. The man grins back at me, his broad grin displaying a healthy set of teeth.
"- is also 'my' mate. He is my husband. What I was going to say is I want to hear your story, but more importantly I want to know what our stowaway is doing on this ship. If what I am told proves sufficient, I may accept whatever money you have left in return for our uninvited guest's right to stay on board."
The swashbuckling Scylla takes a seat on a polished wooden couch carved in the likeness of a large, scalloped shell. Tasteful, plush silk cushions positioned strategically allow her to lounge languidly while motioning for me to begin. Her husband takes his place at the wheel, his searching eyes scanning the azure horizon. Scratching the back of my head awkwardly a jumble of emotions tumble through me. Relief, she won't be turning me off the ship at least. Worry, will Mils be okay? Doubt, what if she doesn't find my story satisying? Awkwardness, must I really tell her everything? As these emotions and thoughts vie for dominance an emotion I hadn't even noticed trounces the others, waving its hands aloft in victory. Honesty.
"Erm.. Captain Neri, before I tell you that, I must confess there are not one, but two uninvited guests."
The scylla raises an eyebrow in consternation, motioning for me to explain. I swallow unintentionally.
"A Nureonago, Kōyumi, has been stowing away in my cabin, I had no idea she was there till this morning."
Captain Neri steeples her fingers in thought before nodding to herself in agreement. Returning my gaze she
simply waves my concern away dismissively.
"A Nureonago? That will be fine, Miss Kōyumi can pay for her voyage by helping out with housekeeping duty."
That is right, I forgot. Nureonago are programmed from birth to be expert housekeepers, which means Kōyumi will be able to work her way across to Minami Akrufia's distant shores. Setting aside Kōyumi I begin recounting the rather long tale of what has happened up until this point. I tell her about my lonely life, my chance encounter with Mils and my first ever romance. Neri appears dreamy eyed, so far so good. Soldiering on I relate our journey to the land of Zipangu, of finding our home and the seemingly eager landlord Hado who had offered us an apartment.
A lump begins to take hold in my throat as I divulge "that" horrible day, returning home early finding Mils in a carnal embrace with Hado, the pain and my tears, Kōyumi and the weeks leading up to my trip on Neri's magnificent vessel. Captain Neri wears a look of incredulity, probably in response to my claim regarding my almost successful escape from the marital desires of a Nureonago.
"Tell me, Mister Rilo, why is she on the ship if she did something so wretched as hurting her own male?"
Ah, so that was what that look was in aid of. Mentioning that I will tell her during the course of the story, the absorbed Scylla motions for me to continue. Continuing with the next section of my tale, I recount my outburst on the quayside and Mils's poignant apology. I also explain how Mils had snuck aboard to follow me, how she starved herself to prove she could be faithful and would not take another man's essence again.
"For a Meliae of her kind, she truly has learnt some interesting emotions hasn't she?"
Captain Neri gazes out at the ocean wistfully, a finger bridging her lips.
"She has determination, I had that kind of determination myself once, I still do in fact."
Turning her gaze on me the Scylla nods gently.
"Mister Rilo don't let her go, she made a mistake once, but has proven that she never wants to make the same mistake again. She definitely loves you... I have no doubt of that."
Turning to her husband she calls him over whispering in his ear. The strong man looks at me, a level look in his eyes.
"According to the captain's wishes you, Mister Rilo will pay two thirds of any money that you have available to you on the ship. In exchange your Mils will stay in the same cabin as you along with the Nureonago. Miss Kōyumi will perform housekeeping duties around the ship in exchange for her continued presence on this vessel."
Wow! That was really unexpected, she did not even put me in the brig. I expected far worse than this. I really guess there is nothing for me to do but to pay what I can and be on my best behaviour throughout the remainder of the voyage. Captain Neri raises herself with a sigh and takes the wheel from her husband once again. With a brisk beckoning gesture he escorts me silently along the winding route to my cabin. I wonder how the girls are doing.
Upon arrival at my cabin the first mate finally turns to me, gratitude evident upon his rugged features.
"I should thank you Mister Rilo, my wife has been in need of something to relax her mind. With her decision to turn from piracy, she seemed fine, but has not been her usual self this past month. I don't think she has heard a story quite like yours in a long time."
He pauses for a few seconds, seemingly lost in thought before continuing with a start.
"Well now, setting that aside.. Let's settle our payment shall we?"
Opening the unlocked cabin door, I am greeted by Mils and Kōyumi sitting side by side and apparently waiting patiently for me. Whatever they discussed amongst themselves while I was away, it seems they are on very friendly terms. Giving Mils a tickle on the top of her slippery, gellish head and regarding Kōyumi with a warm nod I reach into the wardrobe and retrieve my small leather pouch containing the last of my funds. The two seem to be grinning at each other. The sturdy first mate enters my cabin and eyes the two women curiously before joining me at the desk.
"Two thirds, two thirds..."
Muttering to himself the man spills the coins onto the sleek, shiny surface, he pores over the silver coins seperating them into two small piles, not exactly a good deal of money as there wasn't that much to begin with, but enough I guess. Satisfied he turns only to be met by a dubious looking Kōyumi, the Nureonago looks at the two of us before squelching in the direction of the desk.
"Kōyumi..................count...................first."
Well, I guess accountancy can be added to housework. After counting the coins herself the Nureonago allows the able seaman to take the larger pile. Bidding us farewell he closes the door behind him leaving me alone with the two beautiful slimes once again. Sitting down on the bed, Mils is the first to speak up.
"Rilo, Mils..............Kōyumi................not...........fight."
Kōyumi nods in agreement, a determined smile pulling at her mouth.
"Kōyumi...............older.............sister...........Mils.............listen..........older..............sister."
The sapphire slime nudges the Nureonago, a slightly disapproving look dominating her lustrous face as if telling Kōyumi to go on with her explanation.
"Mils.................first. Mils..........have.............pri........ori.......ty."
Kōyumi winces at that, struggling to say the last few words. It must have taken a lot out of her to put herself in second place. I cannot help but feel rather sorry for her, Mils however has other plans.
"Mils.............Kōyumi.............share. Be.....come...........one."
Kōyumi blushes a deep scarlet at that, she stares at Mils as if she has turned into an Ushi-Oni, a truly bizzare mamono which apparently enjoys breaking minds during her sexual revelry. I have never heard of this before, what is she proposing? Some type of fusion? My cerulean girl seems to pick up on my confusion as she looks at me, an almost mocking smile playing on her lips.
"Slime.................share.................husband..................become..............one............slime............make........love."
Now it is my turn to blush crimson, she really has no qualms about speaking about that sort of business does she? Oozing over to Kōyumi, Mils places a delicate digit on her currently rosy cheek and whispers something which makes the Nureonago's rosy blush deepen to the hue of rubies. Enfolding Kōyumi in a tight embrace the two seem to swirl round each other. The effect is enough for me to feel a sense of vertigo, my eyes confounded by the swirling mass before me. However once completed a slime with the resemblance of Mils wearing a slick, turquoise kimono stands before me. With a passionate grin the slime surges in my direction.
"Now...........Mils............feed. Mils............never...........hurt...........Rilo...........again."
I will leave it up to your imagination what ensued. What I will say is that as the Queen of the Ocean drifted into the golden hues of the setting sun, a new life had begun. It is true what that ancient sage once said;
'After the darkest day the days can only brighten.'
This saying is so true and represents our days after the lowest point in our lives. Life was not always perfect, from time to time Mils and Kōyumi would have their squabbles. Sometimes tears would be shed or angry words said. However in the end life turned out well. After Mils's first division, the ever dutiful Kōyumi took the child under her slippery wing and taught her the skills of housekeeping, keeping the young slime out of mischief so that one day she too could find her person only for her. Mils never again had "fun" with another human, always competing with her sleek rival at being the most devoted.
As for Kōyumi.. The devoted, hardworking Nureonago divided one day, bringing forth a young slime of the same calibre as herself and as the days led one into another in that unending cycle that waits for no man, woman or even mamono I finally knew that I had redeemed my shattered dream.
=-FIN-=
Slimes eating harpy eggs..that's quite original. The protein fluid would fit well with them, so that's a clever idea there. I'll be honest, I loved reading about the harpies. Every little bit! 
