V2Ch63 New Dual

The morning wasn't much better. I remembered what happened that night and felt bad that I had let Gert down. I couldn't seem to get out of my mental funk. Even though I feel as though I failed her, she continued to stop by my cell and talk with me on occasion.

One day Lewa had finally introduced herself to me. She was the third voice I had heard when I finally awoke for the first time on this ship. She was one of the more muscular female lizards. Her right arm was missing from the elbow down. She had a more reptilian head and snout. No hair, just scales, eyes, ear holes, nostrils and a wide mouth full of teeth. Her coloration was all black with a few spread-out red dots. She harbored some kind of loathing toward humans for whatever reason.

Her line of questioning was straightforward and angry. I answered no questions of hers to spite her seething anger at me. This prompted the declaration of a dual. Fortunately, there was a recent trade meet with a boat that was passing by. A male crewmember of the trade ship wanted to join and the Capitan allowed it. This recent addition to the crew wanted to climb up the ranks and pissed Lewa off enough to take the first of two duals.

I was let out of my cell and brought on deck where most of the crew had gathered to watch the spectacle. I had only heard about the newer crew member from Gert so I recognized him right away. He was covered in light brown fur with a few white patches. His left ear had an obvious scar on it. His ankles were jointed like a dog while his wrists were more humanoid. He had a bushy tail that wasn't quite as long as mine when I use Mother's power.

Aside from Lewa and the new beast-man, the middle deck was cleared out. All of the spectators were watching from the bow or the stern. The start of the fight was signaled by Lewa taking off her jacket and shirt, exposing her air sack boobs. It was the first time I had seen a lizard-woman use them. She inhaled and I watched them grow just enough to bounce around while she moved.

I had a front-row seat so that Lewa could "show me her moves." Her intention was likely to strike fear into me. I simply watched the dual with a bored look and purposefully yawned every so often. I won't lie, the dual was fairly impressive. They were both good but, Lewa held the advantage from the beginning. Her bare chest distracted the beast-man enough that he was making obvious mistakes. The fight ended with a rapier through his heart. His fur began to soak in his own blood. His body fell to the deck and she kicked him overboard.

It was now my turn. I lazily walked out toward her. I was given a choice of weapon. I took the smallest dagger available. My intention was to throw it and look like I lost the battle, get impaled, and surprise! I'm not dead. I was tired of being in the cell. I had enough of that in Uly Thyfe.

"Any last words?"

She asked.

"Oh, uh... How about a deal?"

"A deal? What's the point? You won't be able to uphold your end of the deal if I win."

"Well then, that can be your half of the deal. If you can kill me, I'll die. If you can't kill me... I want you to do anything I say. Just one thing."

"Done."

Her devious smile told me that she was confident about my impending death. I saw her ready her body for a full-on charge. I was relaxed and waiting for the call to start.

"WAIT!"

That's Eny's voice. I hadn't put a face to her voice yet.

"Capitan's orders! Put the human back in his cell. If anyone has harmed, or does harm to him, they'll walk the plank."

I was ready to reveal myself in a flashy way. That Capitan has some shitty timing. I still haven't seen him.

Eny walked up to me and took my right arm to escort me back to my cell. Lewa grabbed my left arm and harshly pulled me back.

"Tha...dagger..."

She held out a hand, motioning for the tiny metal blade that I still held. I raised my hand with the dagger in tow. I held it up by the tip of the blade. She reached for it and only managed to grab air. I had tossed the dagger up. I was about to catch it but she was quicker. She slammed the dagger, blade first into a wooden cargo drum that was next to me. The furious look she gave me was met with crossed eyes and my tongue sticking out.

I returned to my cell with Eny. She was on the small side but she had more human traits like Riksa and Gert. I almost laughed to myself as her coloration was almost like a day gecko. A vivid bright green with a few orange markings and orange hair.

"Why are you so intent on getting killed? The only thing holding her back is an order and eyes that can attest to her betraying that order. If you disappear one night and no one sees anything..."

"I mostly want to piss her off because she seems to hate me for being human. She has no idea who I am and yet she treats me like I ruined her life several times over. What's her deal with humans?"

"Some of the last surviving humans were pirates. They took her family from a passenger ship. They tortured her parents, killed her father and brother. Her mother was..."

"Okay, okay. I get it. Bad memories of bad people. That doesn't mean all humans are bad. She doesn't seem to understand or care about that."

"You seem... comfortable around us. I've heard that humans mostly feared my kind. Not that I've met any before you."

"I had a... Have, a wife. She is a lizard-woman. You could say I know the in's and out's of the lizard-people. I don't know where she is. I've been missing for a while. I don't know how long I've been gone."

She stared at me with surprised bright eyes.

"The last human-lizard marriage was supposedly decades ago. You know that humans are listed as extinct now, right? They've been missing from Cumios for over 200 years."

"I'm not from Cumios. I've never been to Cumios before."

"Grumpus?"

"Missing Star."

Yet another, surprised face.

"Ya know, it's called "Missing" for a reason."

"I was told that it was called that because it was originally an eight-sided star shape and two points were destroyed by a user of the potion of Rage."

This time she looked annoyed.

"I know I'm small for my age but, I'm not a child. I don't need you to tell me bedtime stories. I just wanted a friendly conversation and you decided to spout off a bunch of crap. I'll give you one more chance, later. If you want to talk to me then, don't mention tall tales."

Before she could leave, I called out to her.

"Eny..."

She stopped and listened.

"What if I 'AM' a tall tale?"

She left without a word.

Good job, Lake. Three for three pissed-off lizard-women.