Chapter 3: At the Market Place
Althea woke up two hours later. Cal was up and about, going through his daily regimen of training in his fighting style of Ninjutsu. Doing an aerial drop-heel that shook the floor itself when his heel connected with the carpet, he looked over at Althea and smiled. "How are you?" he asked in a caring and gentle tone of voice. The digital clock on his dresser read: 1:13 PM. Sweating slightly and still naked, Cal came to sit down next to her to see how she was.
Althea smiled at Cal's curiosity and said, "I'm feeling great. My butt is a little sore, though. . . ." She gently massaged her puckered opening. It was swollen from being violated like it was for the first time ever. Seeing Cal's look of concern, she then said, "I loved how you made me feel, Cal! It was like going to Heaven. I'm going to have to return the favor to you when we get back from shopping. . . !" Sighing lovingly, she laid her beautiful head against Cal's muscular left shoulder. "I'm sorry if I'm a burden to you, Cal. . . . I never wish to displease you. . . ."
Cal patted her head reassuringly, looking down at her and smiling. "You'll never displease me. And, just for the record, if I thought of you as a burden, I would have let you know by now. You have nothing to fear from me. Do you understand?" he asked in all seriousness. She nodded, her hair swaying and her ribbed horns brushing against the side of Cal's face. She then noticed that he had yet another scar on his body, one that she failed to see earlier. It was a large slash across his left shoulder.
Rubbing her dainty right hand across it gently, she asked, "Why do you have so many scars, Cal? Why did you say that you had no love left in your life when you were making love to me?" Cal looked down at the beige-gray carpet and sighed. He still felt a substantial amount of pain in his heart from realizing something that no one should have to endure realizing several weeks ago. His realization was simple, in all seriousness. It was the magnitude of it, though, that nearly made him kill himself multiple times. He had realized that he was alone. His friends had forsaken him, his parents had disowned him, and it seemed that whomever he got close to decided to betray him. This was especially painful, considering that the girl of his dreams and he were very close for a change, hugging at the end of an encounter, calling each other up on the phone every night, et cetera. And then, all of a sudden, she and he were no longer like that. It was as if, overnight the girl had changed into a different person entirely, not the sweet, caring, compassionate woman that Cal so loved and would do anything for. All that Cal could sense from the girl's gaze now was demonic and cold malice. "What happened?" Althea asked gently.
Cal looked down and wiped his eyes with his left hand, willing himself not to cry out with the pain he was feeling in his heart. Gritting his teeth, he shook with the effort to be strong. "It's nothing. . . ." he said sadly, his jaws clenched with the effort of it.
Althea could sense the incredible pain in his heart. She looked into his icy gray eyes and said, "Cal, something is very wrong. . . . Please tell me? Please?" Her eyes shimmered brilliantly in the afternoon sunlight. They were glazed with tears. She could barely stand such emotional pain and she knew that Cal would be destroyed by it if he didn't let it out.
Sighing, unable to bare this burden any further, Cal got up and swiped his hair out of his eyes. "Very well. . . . I'll tell you why I said that. . . ." he said, his voice cold with sorrow and anger. "You're the only person who's ever been able to make the pain go away, at least for a short time. The only other person who was capable of doing that was a girl I know, or knew, named Aria."
"Is she dead?" Althea asked gingerly, looking at his tense body compassionately.
"Not physically. Her emotions towards me are, though. . . . We used to be so warm with each other, now it has turned to ice. . . . And, my best friend has forsaken me, calling me an idiot and leaving me in the dust. . . . My other friends left shortly afterward, following the first. Now, I'm totally alone. My parents couldn't care less about me." He turned away from her, closing his eyes tightly and groaning inwardly from the ache he nearly always constantly felt in his heart. A tear escaped his right eye and cascaded down his cheek. He refused to shed more. "And I can't understand why. A couple of months ago, when Aria and I were so close, I was the happiest I'd ever been in my entire life that I can clearly remember. Now, my sword seems to wish to taste my blood, and sometimes I wish it would, for it would end my suffering. . . ."
Sensing his pain, Althea got up and walked over to him, sliding her arms around him comfortably. She put her fingertips to Cal's lips and whispered in his ear, "Your pain is so immense. Let it out, lest it destroys you." Sighing, she then said, "I want you to understand one thing, Cal . . . I will never try to hurt you like the others around you have. You're so sweet, I can't imagine why they would do this, but I promise you this: I will never try to harm your heart. It's in enough pain already."
Hearing these words ebbed and eroded the pain Cal felt in his heart, at least a little bit. He opened his eyes and looked at her happily. "I'm glad you're at least by my side, Althea. We're similar in that aspect. You've fallen from Heaven and are alone down here. I'm an outcast and alone as well. But, together, we'll never be alone. . . . Never to hurt each other so viciously. . . ." Cal hugged her around her waist. "I'm so glad I found you. You're a blessing to me."
Althea sighed lovingly in Cal's passionate embrace, loving the contact and the closeness of each other's beating hearts. "You're a blessing to me too. . . ."
They continued to hug and cuddle each other for another five minutes, when Cal said, "Well, what say we get dressed and go shopping to get you some things, hm?"
Althea smiled, then said, "Sure! But, there's a small problem. I'm pretty sure your people would be afraid of me because of what I am. I don't want to cause any trouble."
Cal smiled. Laughing, he said, "Yes, I know. I thought of it while you were sleeping." He then walked into the basement and came back with a makeshift robe-like toga of black cloth, designed to at least conceal her voluptuous breasts and other delights. "Anyway, if you use your old sash to bind this together, and I wear my ninja uniform, we can just say we're going to a costume party. Halloween is only a couple of days away, y'know. . . ."
"Halloween? You mean the Day of the Dead?" Althea asked curiously, putting her silken white loincloth on and then getting her black robe-like toga on. She rather liked it, but she needed the sash to close it tightly around her slim and taut waist. However, her sash was nowhere to be found. "Say, Cal, do you know where my golden sash is?" she asked curiously.
"Oh, it was dirty, so I put it in the wash. . . . It should be done about now." Cal went off to check.
He came back two minutes later and handed it to her. The golden sash shimmered brilliantly in the gentle light as she tied it around her slim waist, making the toga hug her hips and show off her breasts and curves nicely. However, the toga happened to be too long, so she mentioned it. "Well, no problem. I'll just cut off a little bit so it goes halfway up your shins. Is that okay?" Cal asked, kneeling down in front of her.
"Could you make it end just above my knees, please?" Althea asked. "My old robe ended there. I'm not used to much else. . . ."
Cal looked up and smiled genially. "Well, certainly. But, you should think about what you want to wear. We usually don't wear togas or robes unless it's for a costume or something. . . ." With that said, Cal proceeded to cut the toga off just about three inches above the knee. "How's that? Is it to your liking, love?" he asked curiously, looking up at her beautiful face. She was incredibly attractive, and bringing her along was bound to get some questions asked. Grinning, he imagined the look on Aria's face if she saw whom he was dating now. He also imagined seeing his best friend, a bastard named Evan, when he had Althea with him. They'll be so jealous they might shit! Cal thought deviously as he got up.
Althea spread her wings and flapped them just to test the resistance of her new attire. The versatility of the fabric was better than her old robe, and she accidentally overdid it with flapping her wings. A small wind was emitted and it flurried around the room, rushing through Cal's hair and fanning out her own toga and maroon hair. She smiled at Cal, who was looking a little windswept. "I love the toga! Thank you so much!" She threw her arms around him and kissed him.
He hugged her back. "Anything for you, lover!" he said after the French kiss. "Now then, I've gotta get my ninja uniform on. . . ." He hugged her tightly once more and then grabbed the matte black uniform's pants and slid them on. After tying the drawstrings behind his back, he then did the leggings, making the pants baggy above the knees and skin-tight below them. Getting a sleeveless black shirt on and tucking it in, he then got the robe on. He tied it behind his back as well, giving it that ever-so familiar vee-neck-like appearance. rolling the robe's baggy sleeves up a little, he put on gloves that covered his entire forearms and slid his middle fingers through the loops at the opening in the gloves, where they protected his knuckles. He then grabbed his blackbelt and tied it, making the uniform conform to his body nicely. Looking back, he asked, "Well, how do I look?"
Althea was impressed at how mature he looked in his uniform. Only a person like Cal could make his uniform have a chic touch of dark intrigue such as that. He then put on his black split-toe tabi boots, which went up all the way to his knees, and then slid his katana in his belt. Smiling, he said, "Ready when you are, Althea!"
"Great! Let's go!"
And so, the two walked up the stairs and out of the house, Cal grabbing his wallet and keys on the way and locking the door. Putting his wallet in a little pocket inside his robe, he grabbed the keys and unlocked his jeep's doors. Walking around and opening the passenger-side door, he ushered Althea in. He then walked back around and got in the driver-side door started the vehicle, taking his sword out of his belt and setting it on the back seat. Althea looked around curiously as Cal pulled out of the driveway and drove down the street towards downtown.
Where should I take her first? Cal asked himself silently as he drove through the somewhat deserted residential street. "Ah, I got it! We'll first visit Eclipse! I'm sure they'll have some clothes to your taste, Althea!" Eclipse was the local magic and fantasy shop, and Cal often went there to either meet up with "friends", or to shop for mystical items and weaponry. He was very much into fantasy and magic, and that's where he got his katana set as well. He even applied it with his fighting techniques. By channeling his negative energy into an attack, he could use the enemy's ki energy against them. This method of attacking with negative energy was called Haragei, and he learned it from one of the magic books that the store sold.
Althea smiled. "I'm sure that whatever place you take me to will be adequate enough to suit my needs, lover. . . ."
Sunlight filtered through the overhanging branches of old weeping willows and oaks that lined the edge of the sidewalk, giving the ambience a somewhat ethereal taste. Althea looked around, seeing children playing ball in one of the larger yards and then in another, an old man reading a thick novel underneath the shade of one of the larger oak trees in his
yard. A woman dressed in a white blouse and gray miniskirt walked briskly out of the gateway to her house and down the sidewalk to destinations unknown. This place is so beautiful, Althea thought. It is a shame there is so much suffering here. I can hear the cries of the innocent perishing horribly and for no reason, and here I am, in this small town with the man I love and who loves me back, and we're going shopping. . . . Seeing a vision like this could almost make one forget about the rest of the world. . . .
Cal looked over at Althea curiously. "Hey, what's up? You've been awfully quiet these past couple of minutes. . . . Something on your mind?"
Althea snapped out of her contemplative trance. "Oh, nothing. . . . I was just thinking about how beautiful a place this is. . . . When I originally fell from Heaven, I thought I was doomed to an eternity of suffering and brimstone. But, then you came and took me here. . . . I can never thank you enough, Cal. You're so kind and sweet, I still have a hard time believing that your friends abandoned you for no reason. . . . I won't ever do such a hideous thing to you! You have my word!"
Cal smiled. "You're the sweet one. You had the patience to listen to a pathetically emotionally weak person drone on and on about his problems. I thank you for that. I felt better after I let it out a little. . . ."
Althea reached over and grabbed Cal's hand and held it comfortably, looking him in the eyes. Cal drove to Eclipse without letting go of her hand, finally euphoric since the good incident with Aria. He pulled into a parking space in front of the entrance to a small shop situated in a relatively large shopping plaza. Since it was Monday, the shopping plaza was relatively deserted and the parking lot was easy. Cal shut off the engine after making sure he was straightened out in his parking space and then the two of them walked into the shop that had a glass door with the word "Eclipse" painted on in big letters.
The inside of the shop was one of the weirdest places Althea had ever seen. All along the right wall were books dedicated to magic and other fantasy subjects, like mythical creatures and cultural legends. Towards the back of the store were several racks of clothes, and beside the racks was a dressing room. A counter right beside the entrance held several crystalline items, like a crystalline dragon, a crystal ball, et cetera. An elderly woman came to greet the two onlookers. "Well, hello there! How are ye doin', Cal?" she asked in an Irish accent.
"Pretty good, Jen. How 'bout you?" Cal replied, looking about the shop.
"Aye, not bad. Not bad. Me hubby's still in the hospital with the pneumonia." She then noticed the beautiful woman demon behind Cal. "Who's this lovely young lass, Cal? A new friend of yers?" she asked as Althea wandered to where the clothes were.
Grinning, Cal said, "You may say that. I met her yesterday and now we're best friends. Hell, more than friends, but still, she's someone I can open up to. I'm just going to buy her some clothes, 'cause her old set was destroyed."
Jen nodded, smirking. Her wrinkly old face showed understanding. "So, has Aria's attitude changed any t'wards ye?"
Cal shook his head. "No. I can't understand it, either. We were so close to making at least my dream come true, and all of a sudden, she changes completely. . . ."
Jen patted Cal on the shoulder. "Aye, ye meet people like that sometimes, lad. What more could ye do? From what ye tell me, she and ye were only distant acquaintances until a couple fortnights ago. Perhaps she was tryin' te get yer hopes up and then dash them across the pavement like some great seven-year-old watermelon?" Cal chuckled quietly, amused with Jen's description of his hopes. "Ah, a smile! Have no' seen one of those on yer face since Aria was bein' a wee bit more than cordial to ye!"
"Heh. . . . Yeah, you're right. I've been a bit gloomy lately. . . ." Cal admitted. Smiling, he then said, "Well, anyway, with this new one, I doubt I'll have reason to be gloomy for a while. . . ."
Jen nodded. "Aye, that would be great. I like it when me customers are happy. So, what's her name?"
"Althea."
"Ah, that's a lovely name, that is. . . . Yes, I can sense that Althea has a good spirit, though troubled by a wee disturbance that she dares not say. . . . Has she been here in our community long?"
"Not really," Cal replied. "She's been here perhaps two days, not more and probably less. I found her on the side of the road leading out of here to the Devil's Backbone rock strata." Seeing her questioning look, he added, "That's an ideal place to do my martial arts training. And, it isn't a bad place for astronomy and contemplation either. I go there a lot nowadays because," he sighed, "to tell you the truth, I'm lost. I don't know what I did wrong to make my friends forsake me like they have. . . ." He looked down at the crystalline statue of the dragon in the display case, its translucence filtering the light and giving it a rainbow-like hue to it. "Has Aria mentioned anything to you about what I might have done wrong? Same with Evan? I know they confide in you like I do, Jen. . . ."
"Ar, when I ask them why yer not with them, they only reply, 'Cal is a dumb ass who's like a leech.' Well, at least Evan does. Aria just shrugs and looks away. And then they usually talk about other things or look around and possibly buy something they were looking for." Seeing Cal's look of despair, she added, "I'm sorry, lad, but perhaps it is time to get new friends. Ye still are me number one customer. That Evan, ye just don't pay him attention, ye hear? He is no' a good friend, if he says those things at the mere mention of yer name." She then smiled. "Look on the bright side, lad. At least yer gettin' a head start on learnin' aboot human nature. The stars say that yer gonna need this experience later in yer life."
Althea walked through the racks of peculiarly designed clothing. It was all very cheap, but still, it was rather unorthodox. Most of the clothes there were probably designed for either Satanic or Pagan rituals, and there were others that may've been designed when the designer was either drunk, at wit's end, or about to have a nervous breakdown. And, then again, some were probably designed just for the hell of it. She looked at one interesting dress and a pair of high-heeled black leather boots that went up to her calves, and grabbed them and walked into the dressing room to try them out.
She carefully slid out of her black toga and let it fall about her ankles. She then let her loincloth drop too, revealing her semi-hard penis and pubic mound. Her crimson pubic bush surrounded her cock gently, very sparse. Noticing that there was a mirror there, she had to check herself out. Hmm. I look alright with leathery wings and horns, don't I? she thought to herself as she eyed her magnificent body up and down. Well, I should get to trying on this weirdly intriguing dress and pair of boots.
And so, she carefully slipped into her dress with minimal effort. It was a black, satiny thing with a zipper in the back and no sleeves, a tube top. It glimmered daintily in the dim light of the changing room. She turned around to view herself in the mirror. Not bad. . . . Not bad at all, as a matter of fact, she thought to herself excitedly, liking how she looked in it. I think I'll get Cal to tell me what he thinks of it. After all, he's the one I'm trying to look beautiful for, she thought sensibly. She opened the door a crack and poked her head out. "Cal?"
"Yeah, Althea and I are going to the dance at the high school, when I ask her, that is. . . ." Cal said happily, looking about the shop. He then heard his name get called. "Ah, pardon me. She calls."
Jen nodded and let him leave. "Behave, Cal," she said teasingly, getting an evil grin from Cal.
Cal walked up to the dressing room door and saw Althea poking her head out. "What's up, love?"
"I need your opinion on this, Cal. Do I look good in it?" She stepped back and allowed Cal to enter. For a brief second, he thought Althea changed back to an angel, but she was still a demoness. She looked so good in her skimpy black satin dress.
Cal smiled, closing the door. "Do you honestly want my opinion, Althea?"
Althea cringed hearing this. "Yes, please." She was dreading the answer.
Cal walked close to her and set her down in the chair in the corner of the room. Kneeling down, he said, "I initially thought an angel was in here, wearing that." He kissed her on the lips gently. "You look fantastic. Like a siren beckoning unwitting sailors with her looks and her song."
Althea breathed a sigh of relief. "Whew! You had me worried for a second there, lover!" she whispered as she kissed Cal back, equally as gently. Cal reached behind her and unzipped her dress and slid it off of her excited, undulating body. Her nipples were hard with excitement and her penis stood erect, ready to be sucked and fucked. Cal kissed down her heaving chest, stopping briefly to kiss her nipples and suck on them. He took off his knuckle-protecting gloves and dipped his tongue into her bellybutton, then down to her hard cock, which he grasped around the base gently.
Looking up, he whispered, "No loud moaning in here, or Jen will know we're up to something. If you must moan, you should bite my hand! I like the pain!" With that said, Cal started licking the head of her cock, getting it nice and slippery. Her breathing increased as Cal licked her cock up and down, up and down. "I love you," he whispered slipping her cock into his mouth gently and wrapping his tongue about it.
"Oh, Cal. . . ." she moaned quietly, running her hands through his hair. Cal began to kiss the head gently, running his tongue over the soft, sensitive underside of her penis, licking at it with vigor. He raised his right hand and put it on her chest, looking up at her passionately. She took his hand and sucked on the fingers, suppressing her moans. She looked down at him, sucking on his index finger like it was his cock, she felt him passionately lick up and down on her big rod repeatedly.
Her heart was beating like a trip-hammer and her chest heaved up and down dramatically as she suppressed the urge to groan loudly and lustfully in carnal desire. She was approaching orgasm, and it would prove to be difficult to keep quiet. After all, during the throes of an orgasm, Althea wasn't known for her silence. "Don't stop! Don't stop!" she whispered breathlessly as he relentlessly fed his throat her cock, deep throating it and letting it massage the roof of his mouth as it entered and exited repeatedly. Cal then slipped two fingers into her asshole and forcefully started to finger her. Althea moaned a teensy bit louder this time, but not loud enough to hear outside the changing room.
Looking up, Cal stopped the sucking and let her hard cock slide out of his mouth. She looked down at him in confusion, wondering what was wrong. He got up and lifted her up with his muscular right arm. "We'll finish this later. That's just a tidbit for you!" He then ripped his fingers out forcefully, the sensation making Althea arch her back and cum all over his face. Cal quickly dodged the blast and let it hit the door behind him.
She moaned in both agony and ecstasy, in the throes of a silent orgasm as she realized that Cal did that on purpose. She had to smile, though, for his ingenuity was seemingly unquestioned when it came to combining the matters of mind manipulation and sex. Sighing, she kissed him on the lips hard, her tongue sliding in and exploring his mouth. Pulling away, she smirked devilishly. "I can't wait!"
"Neither can I!" Cal replied deviously, a mischievous glint in his eye. with that said, Cal helped her get dressed and then checked his clothes to make sure there was no sign of their "play session", and then grabbed his cloth glove and slid it on, slipping his middle finger through the finger loop at the end of the glove. Grabbing the dress and shoes, Cal and Althea exited the dressing room, getting a curious look from Jen. "We're gonna buy these, Jen," Cal said, smirking. Seeing her eyebrows raised, Cal quickly thought up an excuse. "We had a hard time getting the dress off over her wings."
"Ar, that could pose a wee problem, now couldn't it?" she said, smirking. Cal had a sinking suspicion that she knew all along what they did in there, but he thought nothing of it. He knew Jen well enough to know that she believed what he did was his business and what she did was hers. "Why didn't ye take the wings off, though? It would have been an easier time gettin' that dress ye want off and on."
Cal smirked. "You're not going to believe this, Jen. The wings don't come off."
"What do ye mean, lad? Why don't they come off?" Jen asked, having a nervous feeling that she already knew why they didn't come off. "Un, unless, by God, is this woman friend of yers what I think she is?!"
Althea nodded slowly. "I fell out of Heaven yesterday, and Cal was so kind to me. I'll never leave him unless he wishes it!" She slid her arms around Cal and hugged him, looking like a school cheerleader for a second.
Surprisingly, Jen didn't seem to be afraid. "Ar, that was the great disturbance I felt yesterday then, is it? Well, Althea, I believe that what people do is their own business, but are ye here as a herald of the Apocalypse?" she asked curiously.
Althea shook her head rapidly. "No, no! I swear I'm not! I honestly don't know why I fell from Heaven, only that I displeased Lord God Almighty in some way. . . ."
Jen's eyes showed compassion. Sighing, she said, "Ah, ye wee lass. . . . 'Tis alright te be afraid of the unknown. I advise ye to stick with Cal. He may be just the person ye need te get back up in Heaven."
Cal shrugged. "What's so important about me? No one seems to think anything is, so . . . how much for the shoes and dress?"
"Don't ye be mindin' what yer so-called friends did to ye, Cal. They obviously haven't the keenest sense of what's important, like ye do," Jen said firmly. "The dress is ten dollars and the shoes're twenty." The shop door opened just as Cal handed Jen the money. "Ye have yerselves a good--what is it?" she asked, seeing Cal's expression.
A tall, gangly boy with a face somewhat reminiscent to that of an underfed buzzard's was standing in his way. He had on a grim expression, his eyes a poisonous shade of green. "What?" the boy asked. "What're you doing here?!"
"Evan. . . ." Cal said, nodding his head to him. "Are you going to get out of our way, or do I have to force you to?"
Evan took in what Cal was wearing. "Last time I checked, Halloween is two days from now. Why're you dressed up like that?"
Cal didn't like the edge to his voice, and could tell that this would very easily escalate into something violent. "We should go outside and discuss this, Evan. I wouldn't want to disturb the harmony in Jen's shop." Looking behind him, Cal motioned for Althea to follow him. She nodded and the three of them walked outside, Cal waving goodbye to Jen.