Chapter Four: Into the Water

Kabuki's eyes opened by the slightest degree. A quivering hand rose to touch his cheek slightly and command him to close them once more. "Treis, I'm fine now. Worry not my sweet."
"But Kabuki," she cried heavily into her free hand's palm. "You're hurt it's my fault. I did this to you. There is no one else to blame."
"I don't blame you at all. In fact, I sort of envy you."
"Why would you envy me?"
"Because you have my affections, deep and unrelenting. And these, these emotions I feel, are more powerful than any I've known for any other." Kabuki cupped her cheeks and moved in for the most passionate kiss ever given.

A large high pitched scream arose. Mori's body threw forward from the bed he made out of Treis' barret. "Mori?!" Treis looked down at him. Her foot was crushing his left wing. She was picking some odd greenish purple berries she had found out of the brush. Apparently she knew nothing about them due to their poisonous nature. Mori sprang up still covered in a slight bit of moisture from sweat. His body grew back to human proportions and slapped the berries. "Hey!" She pouted and smacked him in the face. "Those were mine. I can't eat a peice of toilet paper and be good for an eon like you!"
"Toilet paper? You honestly think I would touch anything such as that, let alone eat it?" He placed his hands on his hips and gave a scowl.
"Don't you look at me like that meal theif!"
"So it's okay to eat Veioni Berries?"
"Well duh, berries plus hungry treis equals happy treis with full belly."
"And when you're bleeding from your eyes don't complain to me. Those berries will kill you before they even reach your bottomless pit of a stomache."
Treis nodded, this slowly allowed the words to sink in. She touched her bag that was against her hip. "I didn't bring any food for myself but if you want," She looked up at Mori with a smile, "You can eat my shirt."
"W-what?" Mori's antenna perked.
"You do realize I have a backup in here." She pointed to her bag. "Right?"
Treis cocked her brow and handed it to him. What was he thinking these things for? She looked at him in the daylight. The bruises and cuts aquired earlier from the beating kabuki delivered were still visible. Once a breeze blew along the trees above them allowed more gaps for light. At the time the greenery was slightly yellowed by the touching light but soon transferred to an almost pastel tone a the grass and shrubbery became accustomed to the lights. These cylinders of light met with more now. Treis didn't notice as much before but Mori was awkwardly pale, his skin barely had any tone to it and seemed more corpse-like than anything. A blueish tint could be seen where his veins were, it seemed to add to his already frail appearance and apprehend Treis' attention. This paleness was splotched with the colour of healing bruises though, some were purplish still, but others had adopted a blackish tone showing that they're almost done with the healing. She looked up from his body to his face. It was only a more depressing sight. His eyes, finding no pleasure in meeting with the eyes of another individual, refused to meet with hers to initiate any form of conversation. Though those eyes were a brilliant red they only showed through the closed appearance he produced, this forbid unwelcome looks and any hopes on getting a good glance at him. His mossy coloured hair was making a shield between her and looking and his face giving the gorgeous eyes even less chance at being seen. It's like he was hiding himself, not his body, but soul. Maybe he was fearful of allowing his emotions to be known.
"Of coarse!" He grinned ear to ear. "It's not like I was thinking of eating the one you were wearing! Eh heh he... heh.." In that instant a light glow seemed to arise from him. Treis caught on to this and gave him a soft and inviting smile herself.
She crossed her legs so she was more comfortable. "You know what Mori?"
His expression changed slightly back to it's original form of pathetic yet poetic shyness. "What?" Even his voice reverted from it's brief confident tone.
"You should smile more often. It makes you look a ton better." His antenna rose to her words. Treis placed a hand on his shoulder to boost this happier tone a bit more.
"R-really?" He blushed slightly giving colour to his flushed cheeks. She gave a brief nod. "Then I'll.... um.... smile," he strained to produce another authentic grin but failed miserably and gave a cheesy Miss America smile in it's place. Treis couldn't help but burst into a fit of laughter. He frowned and gave a blush. "W-what's so funny?"
"Well... okay. Hehe," She tried to halt her sudden outburst but with little avail. "Hows-hehe- about this instead. Don't avoid smiling any more." She had another fit of giggles again before leaning back and falling into the grass. "That'll get you more cuteness points."
"You human girls are freaks." His brow crinkled with concern. She only gave him a slightly phychotic smile in return. "I stand by my statement." He sighed stroking the wing she had stepped on earlier.
"Sorry about that." She stopped smiling herself.
"It's nothing."
"It looks like it hurts."
"It's really nothing."
"But I hurt you I should-"
"Just," he spoke above his average tone which seemed oddly aggressive for him, "drop it."
"O-okay." Now Treis was the one not trying to meet him eye to eye. Her bangs completely shielded her eyes though, different from the thin and transparent curtains of Mori's hair. What sounded like a hiccup rose from her voice.
"Treis?" He crawled over to her. His antenna flattened to his head making him seem almost human, his eyes and hair only contradicted this illusion (wings too).
"I just... um... I'm leaking." She made her new and apparent crying seem like a odd human factor. Perhaps this was a defect as far as humans go, at least that's the illusion she tried to produce for him.
"You know crying is the same in all species correct?" He smiled pulling her hand away from her face. She gave a few sniffles and looked away. All she could see was two blurry red shapes looking at him with her eyes as teary as they were.
"It's just... I'm sorry." She wiped her eyes with her wrist and looked up at him. "I didn't mean to hurt you.. then piss you off."
"I'm not angry. I'm just used to this sort of thing so don't worry about it."
"You shouldn't be so used to getting hurt." She sighed looking at the still body of Kabuki. He too looked frail, but in a different manner. Kabuki was almost killed. His body was limp and healing. Unlike Mori, Kabuki's frailty was a rare event. His usual attitude of assertion and his posture gave a completely different tone to his being. This frailty was a fall from power.
"He's done it for so long. I've known him for so long... I suppose I just..," he paused thinking about what he was about to say. "..I got used to it."
"You shouldn't have. I mean what would your family think."
He chuckled softly and looked over at Kabuki. "In all reality, this jerk's the only one I can really call anything close a family. I'm from a nest of 27 thousand. All of us Sectart are really not close to anyone. Hell, our own husbands and wives and children are replaceable if anything happens to them. I've been studying you humans for some time now. You all have this odd ideal of lifetime with one individual. I guess I will never understand it."
"Oh." She looked up at the parting and joining leaves. "Well... we want this so we have stability... I think. I mean- um," she couldn't fabricate a answer that would seem intelligible. "We want to be kissed and hugged with one person. We don't want to taint our relationships with outside hands." Her blue eyes cast up to him. "Does it bother you that I'm so dumb for a human?"
"Dumb?!" He nearly screeched. "How dare you say that! I think you're amazing in your amount of intelligence! It takes much longer for us Sectart to develop."
"Really? How long did it take you to fly?"
"29 years," He grinned proudly. "I was a early bloomer!"
"I see. That is a lo--------ng time." She applied her fingers to her lips. "Did you walk first?"
"I was only a infant give me a break!" He squeaked. "You humans are overachievers." He shrunk and began nibbling on Treis' spare shirt. "Oh thank you for the meal too."
She laughed to herself while looking at the cute expression on his face. He seemed to give off a mix of the 'I'm a newborn kitten' look and the 'I can live in your wallet and out cute your kids' look; which was adorable. "Would you like for me to look for more fibers for you?"
"I would love that!" his face lit up once more giving Treis another chance to smile.
Treis shifted a bit and then noticed a shadow was cast over her. "Hey Treis." Two strong arms wrapped around her and gave her a quick squeeze. "Thank you... for saving me." It was Kabuki and his voice sounded overly seductive. "How can I ever repay you?"
She turned to him with a smile. "Well you saved me from getting killed so I'd have to say we're about even." She looked at Kabuki's belly, about the same area as where the mannequin was shot and she corked up the wounds, but rather than scars the skin tone changed to various shades. "You skin." She pointed. "Was it alwa-"
"What did you do?!" He completely undid his shirt and looked at his torso, which earlier contained many bullets. 'My perfect skin! Ho-how could you do this?!" He looked at Treis pleasing for an answer. "You should have left it. I would have regenerated like I usually do... but this.. my gods...." He looked as if he was about to cry. "Oh no... oh no no no!"
"Kabuki it's okay... it um. It actually looks cute. Girls love polka dots ya'know."
"Liar!" He threw his shirt aside in a pure act of drama and then realized the stupidity of such a action. He lifted his hand and pointed to the shirt. "Mori fetch."
Mori sighed an began to stand up but a arm blocked his path. "Kabuki stop ordering Mori around. Poor thing has it hard enough."
"Hard enough?" He cocked a brow. "The kid is my servant. He's-"
Treis interjected before Kabuki could finish his statement. "He acts more like an adult than you so grow up and stop being such a damned bully!"
"Treis," he groaned and rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll be a bit more.... self sufficient." He grumbled as he went to fetch his own shirt. Mori looked at Treis with a slightly amazed expression. She blinked not knowing what was so interesting about taking a stand, due to her natural ability to defy most of the general public.
"What was that?" His mouth went agape after the statement as if the jaw was too heavy to lift back up after opening his mouth.
"Being.... assertive?"
"That was awesome..." Mori smiled at Treis fully. "You actually got him to be... not mean to me!" He hugged Treis. She blushed feeling the clamminess of his chest but nonetheless enjoyed it in comparison to the overly warm and hard feel of the night that she slept next to Kabuki. Mori was gentle and didn't seem to force himself further against her in the embrace, she blushed slightly before parting from his arms. He peered down at her cheeks. "Are you getting a fever?" His face shaped itself to the expression of concern. She glanced up at him seeing the splotches of sunlight hit him. "Your cheeks are all red. Would you like me to fetch you some water?"
"N-no. I should be fine Mori," she went dreamy eyed while speaking. "You've got the loveliest red eyes," her voice was but a coo.
Mori cocked a brow. "I think I'll get you that water. I think you're going senile." He walked into the woods. And came back moments later with water cupped and dripping from his hands. "Um.. how do you hold water at this size?" He watched as the water seeped from his fingers' slight indentations. "Do you have a cup or a bucket or something?" Treis shook her head. "I suppose I am pretty useless then." His antenna drooped. She shook her head and placed her fingers beneath his own stopping the flow of water.
"It's fine. Don't worry so much, Mori." He glanced down to his hands. "We all need assistance at times." His eeys shifted back upwards to look her in the eye. "So please don't worry, Mori." She nuzzled sipped from their hands and gave a sweet smile. "See. It's good. Would you like some?" He blushed and shook his head left to right slowly. "Okay then." She let her fingers away slowly and stood up. "I should get going." She did a quick turn-about and walked toward Kabuki to help him button his shirt back up, only stopping momentarilly to think to herself which produced a slight reddening of the cheeks and slightly laugh to herself.