Chapter 7: True Colors
Hopping into the jeep, Cal started it and then unlocked the doors. Miranda hopped in the back while Althea figured out how to open the door and jumped in the front passenger seat. Careful not to hit any of the surrounding cars, Cal slowly backed out of his parking space and drove down the parking lot to the exit, and then to Dark Star Lane, right next to the marina. This, Cal recalled by straining his memory, was where Aria lived, or at least where he thought she lived.
Her house was grandiose, a pseudo Victorian with a large sweeping front lawn and driveway. The charcoal facade of the manor was framed by a grove of various species of trees, such as oak, weeping willows, and various alpine trees. Several cars were parked in the large driveway and along the side of the street, next to the sidewalk. Smirking mischievously, the vision perversely reminded Cal of the Black Castle of Mordor in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings saga.
Looking back at Miranda and then at Althea as he shut off the engine, he smirked genially. "Time to break a leg, right?" he asked, trying to ease the tension that was becoming unbearable between the three of them. Althea smiled at his ill-fated trial of humor and Miranda sighed and opened the door, hopping out. Cal and Althea followed suit.
Locking the doors to his jeep, Cal put the keys in the pocket in his gi and slung his katana over his shoulder, tying the strap so it clung to his back. He then led the way up the sandstone walkway, half expecting the thing to open up in a massive bombardment meant to kill him and his friends where they stood. None such thing happened, though, and soon Cal found himself at the doorway, Althea and Miranda following closely behind. Knocking on the door and then ringing the doorbell, he heard footsteps hastily to answer the door. The door opened, light spilling out in an almost liquid fashion, and there Aria stood, gazing at Cal and Althea and Miranda with scrutiny in her crimson black eyes. "Hello, Aria," Cal replied pleasantly, expecting her to throw a punch at him by the way her glare sort of sparked and sent daggers at him.
"You're early," she said reproachfully, looking Cal in the eyes. "What happened? You usually are always late!"
"Hmm. . . ." Cal replied, nodding. "Well, the dance bored us, so we decided to come here directly. . . . You seem angry at my early arrival? Were you planning something that required timing on my part?"
Sighing, Aria shrugged. "No, not really. . . ." She then backed up and motioned for them to enter. "Come on in. . . ."
Cal carefully stepped through the doorway. "Now then, tell me why you've been behaving this way to me. I want to know what I did to make you hate me."
She looked over at Miranda and Althea, who were standing in the doorway behind Cal. Smiling, she said, "Why don't you two go mingle or something. Cal and I need to talk privately." Both Althea and Miranda looked quite out of their element in this house. They nodded, but they just stood there and looked around. Sighing in exasperation, Aria walked over to them and directed them to where the mainstream of the party was. "Go talk to people, or something! Cal and I gotta talk alone!" Reluctantly, Miranda and Althea walked to the center of the party and began talking to each other, trying to find out all they could about each other.
Aria came back to Cal and sighed again. "They're shy. What can I say? I was like them at one time," Cal said, knowing that she was expecting an explanation.
"Yes, quite," Aria began. She then sighed, and walked up the stairs in front of her, motioning for Cal to follow. He did, his legs tensing up in case something was to happen. He just didn't trust Aria like he used to. She was a lot warmer back then. He followed her through the dimly lit hallway out onto the front porch, which was facing the marina. She sat down on one of the benches of the picnic table and Cal decided to sit on the tabletop of the picnic table. She then looked at him, a peculiar expression written across her face. "I suppose you're expecting me to threaten you with death if you ever get close to me again, aren't you?" she asked bluntly.
Cal smiled. "No, not really. I was more expecting you to try and kill me right here and now because of something I did to you to turn you to ice. . . ." Cal replied straightforwardly.
Aria shrugged. A hint of a smile was on her face. "Cal. . . ." she said absently, looking out over the balcony to the reflection of the moon on the tranquil waters of the marina. After about a minute or so of silence, she looked back at him. "I suppose I should start this off by saying I'm sorry. I know I've been cold to you, lately. . . ." Cal nodded and just looked back at her curiously, not saying a thing. His eyes shimmered with the gentle light of the crescent moon. "It seems as though smiling is a rarity nowadays, and laughter is an unknown concept."
Cal nodded, his shimmering gaze never leaving hers. "I know what you mean. . . ." he said sadly. "Without your warmth, it seems as though life just doesn't have any meaning anymore. . . ."
"Why would you care about my `warmth', Cal? It certainly doesn't mean anything to me. . . ." she replied coldly. Seeing Cal's grimace, she thought about it and then said, "Sorry. . . . It's just . . . there's so much to think about. . . . So many reasons for hatred. . . ."
Cal nodded sadly. "There are no defined sides of good or evil anymore. . . . There are only opposing viewpoints."
"You seem so sure of this. . . ." Aria commented. "I'm pretty sure that there are at least some telltale signs of evil still left amongst the burnt and ashen ruins of a civilization gone straight to Hell. . . ."
"Yes, that is true. But, when you think about it, the opposite side also considers what we do as evil. It is all just moral ethics when it comes to this God-cursed war nowadays. . . ." Cal said, looking at her directly, his gaze meeting hers. "What went wrong? What did I do to deserve this from you?"
Aria thought about this for a second. "Cal. . . ." she began, "I-"
"I mean, we could have been something spectacular! We could have made the impossible seem possible! . . . At least, that's what I thought when we hugged for the first time. . . ." He looked away from her ever-so penetrating gaze. A lump was forming in his throat.
Aria could practically smell the love he felt for her, but somehow, she wasn't revolted by it, and at the same time she wasn't intrigued by it either. She put a hand on his leg and patted. "I've really been an enemy to you, haven't I?" she asked gently.
"What?" Cal asked, shocked that she said that.
She stroked his leg a bit further and then folded her hands up in her lap. "Cal, I know what you're going through. . . . Evan told me all that there was to tell between you two. . . ."
"He did?" Cal asked, a putrid sense of death upon him.
"Yes, he did. He told me how you are like a leech to him. How everything revolves around you when you're in your manic-depressive state of mind. He is no longer your friend. . . . And I, I'm sorry to say this, but he and you are enemies now. . . ." she said uneasily. Thinking about it all, she then asked, "I've done something to hurt you, haven't I? I can see it in your eyes. . . ."
Cal nodded. "I won't lie to you, Aria. When you ignore me like you've been doing for the past month, especially after we began this romantic charade, it hurts. . . ." Cal looked back at her and smiled. "I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I love the sound of your voice. . . . It calms me when it's gentle. . . . I've done nothing to hurt you, have I?" he asked uneasily, waiting with bated breath for the answer to the question that has made him almost kill himself multiple times.
Aria shook her head. "No. I've just had a lot on my mind lately. . . . Stuff that I can't utter here. . . . Evan, though, he seems to hate you. . . . Perhaps you did something to hurt him?"
Cal shrugged. "I couldn't care less about him anymore. He and I have almost gotten in several fist fights at school, and I've taken to haunting the drafting room during lunch because it's very obvious to me at least that I've not any friends besides Althea and Miranda. . . ."
Aria looked hurt by Cal's observation. "You have friends, Cal. . . . We've just been a bit preoccupied lately." She understood the intensity of the pain that she and Evan and others have put him through at that moment. The reason for this understanding was because when Cal said that, she instantly got a glimpse of his emotional pain. Shrugging, she smiled. "So, who's Althea? I've never seen her before and she looks no older than perhaps seventeen, maybe eighteen years old."
Cal looked at her and grinned. "You wonder why I don't see any distinct characteristics of good or evil? I'll tell you why," he began, hopping off the tabletop to sit on the bench next to her. "Althea is a demon."
"A demon?!" Aria asked, shocked. "But, that would mean that the war isn't over yet!"
"I know. I've sensed a sinister presence around my `friends' for quite a while now." Seeing the look of alarm on Aria's face, he added, "Not around you, though the warmth I sensed isn't there anymore. . . ."
Aria nodded. "I'm sorry. . . . I've been a bit depressed for a while too. . . . I can't explain it, either. . . ." she said apologetically.
"I know. I may've left you for a while, but you can still count on me. . . ." Cal said truthfully. The hilt of his katana was digging uncomfortably into his right shoulder blade, so he took it off and set it down on the tabletop. Looking back at her, he smiled pleasantly and put a hand on her shoulder. "You can trust me if you wish. I won't ever betray you. I know how painful betrayal is. . . ."
She looked at him with an unreadable expression. "Cal, I know I can trust you. . . ." she said distantly. "I'm just scared about the future. When we first hugged, and later, when we went for coffee together, you got me thinking about many things. . . . Those things were both good and bad. You got me thinking about how I'd react to adverse situations, like up on the Plane, with the battle of that ungodly creature Aukos. . . . Even though Evan was the leader, he wasn't a very good leader. He left many wounded comrades up there to die, and I saved as many as I could before the final charge to kill the demon menace. You, however, you saved those you could and then, by my side, slew the demon. I saw it. You made the final shot, even though Evan said he was the one to bring the beast down. . . . I'll never forget what you told me the day we were to go up and kill Aukos. You looked back at me and smiled that reassuring, charismatic smile of yours and said, Aria, my friend, if I am to die up there, I want you to know one thing about me. I'm up there, fighting not for the fate of the dimension, not for the hundreds of billions of people there who will die should we fail, but I'm fighting for the hope of saving and preserving the beautiful things in life. Things like sunrises and sunsets, poetry and the arts,' and then you looked deep into my eyes and said, and love.'"
"Gee, Aria," Cal said, smiling, "I didn't know you were inspired by that. I was just telling you that so you could understand me better. I was fighting for those things, yes, but I was truly fighting so I didn't have to see you die painfully up there. I would have killed myself if I let you die up there. . . ."
And so, Aria and Cal talked up there about what had been going on since Aria's sudden switch of character. "So, tell me about Althea, Cal. She seems to be quite in love with you. . . ." she asked happily, wanting to know the details of their meeting each other.
Cal nodded. "Yes, we're both in love with each other. . . . She's all I had when I thought you left. . . . I can't repay her with ten lifetimes worth of servitude. . . ." Cal said absently.
Aria nodded. "I know. I thought I was all alone. . . . But, when all else failed, the thought of a better tomorrow is what kept me going. . . . I'm glad you decided to come to my party, Cal. We've needed to have this discussion for quite some time," Aria replied happily, patting Cal on the shoulder. Then, a mischievous glint in her eye, she smirked and asked, "So, what's gonna happen in the future?"
He knew what she was implying, and he chortled quietly. "If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, well . . . I guess I could describe our first meeting as a bit taboo. . . . I'll let your very capable mind fill in the blanks." Cal winked at her as she blushed fiercely, her face turning beet red. Snickering, he then added, "Well, you asked, so I answered. Truthfully."
Aria nodded reluctantly, shocked by Cal's admitting he had made love to Althea so openly to her. She shrugged and said, "Well, I guess she's a lucky girl, then. . . ." She winked at Cal in an equally mischievous way. She then grabbed his sword and unsheathed it. "So, this is the infamous Monosaya ninjato you told me about, huh?" Her ravishing face was reflected in the mirror-finished steel of the katana. Its edge was razor sharp and it slightly distorted her reflection.
"I showed you Monosaya when you were over at my house, didn't I?" Cal then asked curiously, positive that she had seen the deadly killing sword he owned.
"Yes, I've seen it, just never unsheathed. . . . It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked, loving the effect the moonlight had upon its surface. It made it look that much more mystical with the light of the moon glinting off of the tip of its length.
"It is. . . . And so are you. . . ." Cal said, looking up at the moon, which was now wreathed in fluffy cirrus clouds. Beams of moonlight filtered through the shroud of the cloudbanks and illuminated the sky in a most beauteous way. It was like looking up at some sort of ethereal sky belonging to another planet. A car pulled up in her driveway and she walked to the edge of the porch to see who it was. It was a black Jeep Wrangler, and the man who stepped out was none other than Evan Johnson.
"EVAN! UP HERE!" Aria called, getting Evan's attention. Not wanting to waste his time walking through her house, Evan shrugged and leapt up to the edge of the porch, clearing it, and landing down behind her, his eyes closed tightly.
He then stood up and looked behind him, smirking. "Hello, Aria. How're you doing this time of night?" he asked jovially.
Aria walked back to the picnic table and sat down on the tabletop. "I'm fine. Cal's here."
Evan's eyes flashed a diabolic shade of blood red in the darkness briefly. "I see. . . ." he said angrily, in a hesitant sort of growl. He then glared at Cal. "The hell're you doing here?"
Cal shrugged good-naturedly. Looking up in the sky unconcerned, he then said pleasantly, "I'm just enjoying Aria's company. Why're you here, swine?"
Evan's jaw clenched at this minor insult as though he had insulted the honor of his entire family. "I came because Aria asked me to. You?"
"I came because I don't need a reason to see the ones I love. And yes, also because she wanted me to." Both looked to Aria.
Knowing what they were expecting, Aria got up and folded her arms behind her head and walked to the ledge. "I wanted both of you to come here and make amends with each other. I don't know both sides of your stories, but you two were best friends for a good five years before you changed. . . ." She then looked at Cal. "And before you and I became closer."
Evan's upper lip twitched unpleasantly into a sneering sort of position. "Why the hell should I apologize to this infidel of God?"
"Infidel of God?!" Cal repeated. "Just so you know, I would eagerly give my life for the cause of Light. I just have different beliefs than you do, you archaic-thinking, belligerent son of a shit-festering whore!"
A tranquil look came over Evan's face. He then looked evilly into Cal's frosty-gray eyes and said, "What was that?"
"I've different beliefs than you do, you archaic-thinking, belligerent son of a shit-festering whore," Cal replied, equally as tranquil.
"THAT'S IT!!!!!" Evan shouted, loud enough to cause an echo in the night sky. He then lunged at Cal.
Aria stepped in his way. "Knock it off, the both of you!!" she said angrily, pushing Evan away. Evan stalked to the edge of the porch and sat on the railing, breathing like a winded rhinoceros. Sighing, Aria then looked to Cal and said, "You should apologize to him for saying that."
"Why? He deserves much worse for what he's done to me. You know this, as does he!" Cal said, grabbing Monosaya and slinging it onto his back. He gripped its handle expectantly.
"I guess so. . . ." Aria said hesitantly. She then looked at Evan and asked, "Why do you hate him so much? He's not done anything to you that he can think of. . . ."
"I hate him because of his `beliefs'! They are the beliefs of a Satanist!" Evan growled. "I hate him because he's always complaining about how hard his life is, how painful it is when something doesn't go right, and how stupid people are. He's the stupid one. Everyone has their own shit to deal with." Evan looked into Aria's eyes and then said, "And I hate him because he brings all this upon himself!"
Cal laughed sadistically. "You poor creature! I've only complained three times to you since our friendship was first starting out, and that was because my mother and father were getting a fucking divorce! And, I only complained to you because I thought you were my friend. And because I thought you were the only one I could trust. . . . HAH! I remember when you said to me up on the Plane after I was possessed by that shit Tirlexx that in my darkest moment, you would stand by my side." He ripped off his gi and showed him and Aria the slash-scar on his shoulder. "Possibly the darkest moment I had was only about a month ago and you were nowhere to be found. I tried to kill myself but because of my cowardice, I couldn't. So, I took Monosaya and slashed my shoulder." Seeing Aria's shocked face and Evan's incredulous one, he added, "And you know what caused me to try and take my own life. . . ? YOU!!!! YOU AND THE REST OF MY SO-CALLED FRIENDS BETRAYING ME AFTER SO MUCH THAT WE'VE BEEN THROUGH!!!!"
Aria slowly walked up to him and gently ran her slender and dainty fingers across it. Unsheathing Monosaya, Cal pointed the edge to her and showed her the blood stain. He hadn't washed it off when he cut his shoulder and he had forgotten to do it ever since. She then looked into his eyes and saw a profound sadness behind the fiery hatred that was the outer shell of his merciless glare. "Cal. . . ." she whispered in a stunned, subdued sort of voice.
"I'm sorry, Aria. I didn't mean you," Cal whispered back. He was lying, and she could tell. Sighing, he resheathed Monosaya and then glared back at Evan, who had his teeth bared in anger and revulsion. "Come on, Evan. We've been meaning to have one final fight to settle our differences. Prove to me that you're strong enough to be the leader of the Divine Soldiers up on the Astral Plane!" he motioned for him to attack. "Come on! I know you desperately wish for me to die, so why don't you come get a piece of me? You know you want to!" He set his katana down on the picnic table next to his gi.
Aria stood up and got between the two. Looking like she was on the verge of tears, she said, "Stop it! Damn it, is this the only way you two can resolve this?!"
Evan pushed her aside roughly, sending her to the balcony's edge. "Yes it is. Get out of my way!"
Growling in anger, Cal's back leg tensed up and he lunged at Evan with all the hatred he had stored up, fueling his craving for vengeance. "YOU'VE BEEN ASKING THIS FOR A LONG TIME, EVAN JOHNSON!!"
Althea heard Cal's shout long before anyone noticed the slight disturbance up on the roof above them. Grasping Miranda's hand, she then hastily walked up the stairway she saw Cal move up, towards the balcony. "Where are we going?!" Miranda asked anxiously as the two leapt up the stairs three at a time.
"Cal and that other person, Evan, are going to hurt each other! I can't let him hurt Cal!" she said angrily as she spread her wings and flew up the remaining steps, landing lithely on the upper landing. They then ran headlong through the hallway to the opening to the porch and saw that Cal was pinned against the wall and Evan had his katana pointed at his throat, ready to impale him into the wall.
"STOP IT, FOR THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST AND LORD GOD ALMIGHTY!!!" Aria shrieked, seeing that Evan had every intention to kill Cal right where they stood.
"What's going on?!" Miranda asked as they stepped onto the porch.
Althea was beyond the reach of words, though. She raised her right hand and suddenly, Cal's katana was ripped out of Evan's grasp. The sword flew through the air and she caught it by the handle. "You shall not harm Calvin Lillehammer, Evan Johnson," she growled.
Using Evan's momentary lapse of concentration to his advantage, Cal grabbed Evan's left hand, which was pushing his chest and neck against the wall, twisted his hand backwards, and kneed him in the face. Evan staggered backwards and toppled over the picnic table. Cal breathed heavily and thanked her. She smiled and handed him his sword back. "Now,
EVAN, it is time for ends to be met!" Evan looked up as he saw Cal raise the deadly blade of Monosaya, meant for a downward cut that would surely end Evan's life. A deep slash wound was visible in Cal's naked side, bleeding crimson fluid all down his left side and onto the pants of his ninja uniform. The baggy upper left leg of the pants was matted against his muscular body. He acted as though it weren't there, though.
Aria had to step in, otherwise a Cal would kill Evan and be sent to jail for the rest of his life. She put a hand on his right arm and said gingerly, "Don't do it, Cal. . . . You'll be lowering yourself to his level if you do. . . . I don't want to see you get sent to jail, no matter how much he deserves what you'll deliver to him. . . ."
Cal looked down at Aria, breathing heavily. He then slowly lowered his sword and collapsed onto one knee. He then clutched the slash wound to his side, blood squirting out between his fingers. Both Althea and Aria rushed to him to see if he was okay. "F, fine. . . . I won't sink to his l, level. . . ."
A thunderous, evil laughter sounded from behind the picnic table, ricocheting off the charcoal facade of Aria's house. Evan stood up, his eyes glowing a bright shade of crimson red. In the darkness, one could actually see his aura growing and a sound sort of like wind rushing through tree leaves being emitted from him. His aura was a murky shade of light red in the moonlight. "Calvin, you fool! You can never defeat me!! HAHAHAH!!" he yelled as his eyes narrowed. He then rushed Cal at an unfathomable speed, grabbing him around his neck, and leaping off of the porch, carrying Cal with him. In midair, quite to both Aria's and Althea's surprise, Evan sprouted a pair of leathery wings and he flapped them, sending him soaring up to a height of a hundred and fifty feet. Cal, too stunned to try and defend himself, only looked up at Evan insolently. "You know what I love about you, Cal?"
"W, what, you b, bastard?!" Cal growled as he tried slashing at Evan. Evan just batted his sword away with his other hand, sending it falling to the ground an eternal distance away.
"Your inability to see the obvious! See ya, hee, hee, hee. . . ." With that said, Evan dropped Cal at a height of one hundred and twenty-five or so feet. "INTO THE VOID YOU GO! AHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!" And thus, Cal plummeted into the marina, making a horrendous splash. Laughing like a lunatic, Evan flew back to his jeep and took off, punching out the passenger-side window to Cal's jeep as he went.
Meanwhile, Althea, Miranda, and Aria were in an absolute and stunned silence, watching as the waves from Cal's very rough landing subsided. Then, snapping out of her stupor, Althea leapt off of the porch and flew to where Cal crashed into the wharf. Cal's left hand was all that was visible, for he had clung onto the edge of a lone piece of plywood in the marina and was holding onto it for dear life. He was very unconscious and when she lifted him out of the water, he wasn't breathing. "Cal?! Can you hear me?!" she asked nervously, frantically wondering what to do. "Please, tell me who this is speaking to you! I'm begging you!"
Still getting no response, she flew back to Aria and Miranda, hoping for the love of the Almighty to give her the answers she sought. Landing on the railing, she leapt to the picnic table and lay Cal's limp, unconscious, seemingly dead body onto the tabletop. "Help me! I don't know what to do! Help me please!" she shrieked nervously. Aria quickly ran over to them and grabbed Cal's wrist and pressed down, checking for a pulse.
"He's got a pulse at least!" Aria said anxiously. "But he's not breathing. I'm gonna do CPR." She then put her lips to Cal's and breathed into him for several puffs and then started pressing on his chest. The first try nothing happened. It was as though he was a dead fish, or at least that's what he looked like to Althea and Miranda. "Don't you dare think of giving up now, Cal! I'll never forgive you if you do!" Aria growled as she pressed down roughly on his chest. The cut on his left side bled more because of the pressure. She breathed into his mouth again and pushed on his chest again. Still there was nothing. And the same was for the third time. Aria was starting to get desperate. "Come on, Cal, fight this! Don't succumb to the throes of death! PLEASE!! I BEG OF YOU!!!" she screamed, half blinded by tears. She then checked his pulse. There was none. "NOOO! DON'T LEAVE!!" But he never moved. He never opened his eyes or took a breath. He never awoke. He was dead.
Miranda timidly walked up to his cold carcass. "Cal. . . ." she said sadly, a tear cascading down her cheek. It slid off her round, innocent face and splashed on Cal's slash wound, which instantly began to heal. Althea came up and put her head on his chest, crying for his loss.
Don't go. . . . Please, don't leave me. . . . she thought as she cried for him. She looked into his tranquil face and kissed him on his lips. "I, I love you. . . ." she whispered to him. "Don't leave. We need you. . . ." Her dainty hand brushed across his chest to where his heart was. "I need you. . . ." She kissed him one more time and then, suddenly, Cal's eyes opened and he gasped for air. "Y, you're alive!!" Althea whispered weakly, overcome and crying tears of happiness.
"Yeah. . . ." Cal gasped, feeling like he had just run twenty miles flat out. "So, that's what Hell looks like, neh? Hah! The big softy might be able to hold those malevolent spirits in there, but I broke out quite easily. . . . Thanks for waiting for me. . . ." he said exhaustedly, laying his head back against his gi on the picnic table. Miranda squealed with joy and ran to hug him, as Althea had already begun that.
Aria looked thoroughly relieved and too went to hug him. She then slapped him hard across his left cheek. "You big jerk! Don't scare me like that!!!" she said in both anger and joy.
Cal sat up, aching all over. "Oof. . . . That's gonna hurt in the morning," he said as he massaged the back of his neck. Althea still clung to him. He looked at Althea and smiled, then smiled warmly to Aria. "Sorry to scare you, Aria." He hopped off of the picnic table. "But we really gotta go. Two hours of this kind of crap and anyone can nearly die, right?"
Aria laughed quietly. "Yes, I suppose you're right. . . ." she said as she hugged Cal one more time. Althea reluctantly let go of him as he got his gi on. Grabbing the scabbard to his katana, he nodded and smiled to her. "Will you call me later?" she asked tenderly.
Cal smiled deeply. "Sure. . . . We gotta talk about some things anyway." Smiling, he wrapped his arms around Althea and said, "Take care, okay? I don't want anything bad to happen to you, and now we know that things are more indistinct between good and evil. If anything happens, call me or signal me and I'll be over as fast as I can." He then looked to Althea and Miranda. "Ready to go?"
Miranda nodded happily. "Yeah. Ready when you are, Cal!" Althea just clung to him as he held her with his right arm and nodded in his loving embrace.
"Take care, you guys. . . ." Aria said as she showed them to the door. Cal walked down the brick sidewalk and waved goodbye to Aria as he wrenched his katana out of some poor bastard's windshield. Shrugging, he twirled it and then slid it back in his sheath. Aria sighed and hugged herself as she leaned against the door to her house, watching Cal, Althea, and Miranda leave in his jeep. She smiled contentedly and then walked back inside to be the life of the party once more.
Cal looked into Althea's eyes and blew a kiss to her. "Thank you, Althea. . . . I couldn't afford to die there just yet. . . ."
They dropped Miranda off at her apartment in the downtown area, right next to the mini-mall that had Eclipse. And then, they went back to Cal's home to talk about what happen and make passionate love to one another. The digital clock in Cal's jeep read 12:46 AM. Sighing and getting out of the jeep, Cal walked over to Althea's door and chivalrously opened it for her. She repaid him with a lusty kiss to the lips using her tongue to dance with his. With that, the two lovers walked into Cal's house and locked the door. His mother stood there in the living room, stamping her foot irritably. "And where have you been?!" she asked.
Althea growled angrily at Cal's mother. "Listen, Ms. Lillehammer, Cal's had a rough day, so we'd immensely appreciate it if you would spare him the overindulgent, pissed-off, parent-from-Hell routine." With that growled, Althea helped Cal limp his way into the house.
Ms. Lillehammer looked apoplectic with outrage as Cal slowly hobbled into the living room. Sitting down in the armchair next to the large front window, Cal took off his gi and sword, put them on the table next to the window, and then got up and looked at his mother. "What? I got in a fight, big deal!"
She then scanned the large slash on his side. "You got that from a fight?" she asked skeptically, her eyebrows raised.
"Yes." With that said, Cal got up and went to grab a rag and some healing salve to clean and heal the wound. Althea sat down on the couch, remembering luxuriously how earlier that day they had almost fucked each other right there in front of the window, visible to the entire world. Her loins quivered with excitement.
Sighing, Cal's mother paced back and forth in front of Cal, her arms folded behind her back. She looked down at him incredulously. "So, what all happened at the dance?" she then asked after a moment of silence.
Cal shrugged as he applied the salve. "Not too much. . . . Did some dancing with Althea, met a new friend, danced with Althea some more, went to Aria's place to see what she wanted, got in a fight, and that was about it. How was your evening?" Cal then asked bluntly. He winced as he applied the gelatinous remedy to his wound. It stung like hell, but at least it cleaned the wound.
"Oh, the usual. Graded papers, watched TV, graded more papers, ate dinner. . . ." Ms. Lillehammer sighed and yawned, putting a hand to her mouth. "Well, you two keep quiet downstairs, alright? I'm going to bed."
"Good night, Ms. Lillehammer," Althea said genially, lying down on the couch.
"Good night, Althea." With that said, Ms. Lillehammer stalked off to the upstairs bedroom.
And so, with cleaning his wound, Cal got up and grabbed his gi, slinging it, along with his katana, over his shoulder. He looked out the window. "What are you thinking, Cal?" Althea asked tenderly, walking up to him and sliding her arms around his waist. She rested her chin on his shoulder and looked into his eyes.
Cal sighed and looked down at his wound. "I'm just thinking. . . . Tonight, I . . . I could have done something horrible. . . ."
"What?" Althea then asked gingerly.
Cal shook his head. "There are many things that you don't know about me, love. . . . A lot of those things I cannot tell you. . . . I'm sorry, please forgive me. . . ." he said sadly.
Althea grasped his hand tightly with her left hand while she hugged him with her right. "Cal, I know you've got more than your share of problems, but I want to try and help you deal with them. You've done so much for me in these past three days that it's the least I can do to repay you by sharing your pain. . . . Together, we'll never be alone. You said that to me yesterday, right after you got finished telling me your troubles. Please, tell me about your adventures up on the Astral Plane. . . . Perhaps I can bring those powers of yours more alive on this plane?"
Cal felt a surge of adrenaline jolt from his testicles all the way up his spine. "Y, you read my journal?"
"Yes. . . ." Althea said hesitantly, looking deep into his eyes. "It helped me to understand you better. And don't worry, it was only the latest journal. Not the first one. . . ." She gripped him about his crotch and grinned mischievously. "Tell me after we get through!"
Cal grinned, equally as mischievously, and allowed himself to be led to the back porch. A chill breeze was blowing in from the west, the moonlight a creamy beige on his pale ivory skin. Althea pushed him against the railing and undid the drawstrings behind Cal, making his ninja pants fall to his knees, where his first set of tie-downs was located. "You never cease to surprise me, Althea. . . ." Cal said lovingly as he was set on top of the railing.
Althea looked up into his eyes lustfully and grinned her fanged grin naughtily, her snowy-fair face half bathed in shadow. "Cal, you really scared me tonight, you know?" she asked in a wanton sort of voice. She then grabbed Cal's penis around its base and slipped it into her mouth. She sucked and sucked on it like there was no tomorrow, letting her tongue wrap around it every now and then.
Cal moaned with pleasure as he felt himself get serviced by Althea's very capable mouth. "Oh, love! I didn't mean to scare you!" he moaned as he grabbed Althea's head and wove his fingers into her mane of bloody red hair.
Althea loved the feeling of Cal's hard cock massaging the back of her throat, and eventually, she slipped a finger up Cal's ass, fingering him as she sucked him dry. With this new sensation, Cal couldn't take it anymore and came like a fire hose. Althea was sure to keep all of his semen in her mouth, not wanting to miss a drop of the milky-white elixir of love. "Don't scare me like that again!" she moaned as she kissed and licked her way up Cal's taut, muscular stomach and chest.
Cal grabbed her about her face and passionately kissed her, slipping his tongue in to dance with hers. He tasted his cum on the tip of her tongue and, most surprised, he found the taste to be rather erotic. "I'll try not to. . . ." he said as he grabbed her about her waist and held her close to his heart. He then looked up at the moon. "Let's go inside, love. I've a bit of a story to tell you. . . ."