Unlikely Friends: Volume Two

Chapter Nineteen

The strange creature looked at the three brave men one by one. She beamed with pride at their courage and willingness to go on a quest in such a dark time.  In her mind's eye, she had already selected them long ago for this expedition. It was only a matter of time until the men had grown enough to be prepared for such a journey. Lamby looked away from the men and met the small girl's green eyes. "What's your name?" she asked the girl, a tiny tug at the corner of her lips. The strange creature was already well aware of her identity but had decided to play along anyway.  If the men were going to bring her on this trip, they would eventually ask the question themselves. Either way the catlike girl would be forced to come up with an answer eventually. It was only easier this way.

The small girl looked down at her feet, ashamed. She traced a bare foot along the soft grass and focused on the feeling between her toes. She was avoiding everyone's curious gaze, embarrassed at her own lack of answer. Her cheeks blushed a bright red as she felt each persons' wondering eyes on her; their unspoken questions burning through her skin."I don't have a name," she said meekly, still staring at her feet. She shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot as the men tried to wrap their heads around such a thing. Lua squinted at the orange haired girl, biting back his judgmental statements.

Normally he would ask how it was possible to have no name at all. Did she have no friends to give her at least a nickname? The girl just kept revealing more and more how weird and  pathetic she was the longer she hung around him. Also that wasn't even mentioning the fact she was taking all of the attention off of his agonizing suffering! Mike Tyson had cheated on him after all!

Still, Lua held back as he observed the vulnerable girl. Her orange cat ears lay pinned back, making her anxiety evident. He noticed how her whiskers twitched slightly each time a shameful tear threatened to fall from her glowing eyes. "You kinda remind me of my cat," Lua broke the silence. Her green eyes hesitantly traveled up to meet Lua's. She kept her head bowed, peeking at him through her wild hair. "Whats your cat's name?" she quietly asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"Pea," Lua answered, unable to look away from her glowing gaze. There was something captivating about the cat girl and he couldn't quite place what it was. Turtles and Potato listened closely to the low conversation, both equally surprised that Lua was focusing on something other than his cheating boyfriend. The girl's whiskers twitched excitedly at the name as her ears slightly lifted from her head. Still she kept her head lowered as she maintained eye contact and whispered in a hushed tone. "I like that name."

Lua swallowed nervously before hesitantly nodding in agreement. "You could use it," he generously offered with a slight shrug, his voice lowered. Why was he suddenly feeling so weird? His body was tingling everywhere as if electricty gently sparked over every inch of his skin. Lua knew it wasn't the same as the lust he felt towards beautiful men. This attraction was something else entirely: he wanted to protect her. The girl immediatly lifted her head and grinned brightly up at Lua, showing off her tiny, sharp fangs. Her little tongue flicked out in excitement. "Pea," she purred dreamily as she drew the name out slowly, savoring how it felt in her mouth. She smiled cheerfully at Lua before finally breaking eye contact.

She faced the strange creature and beamed as she introduced herself. "Hi, my name is Pea!" The men, eager to start their overly drawn out mission, didn't notice the lingering, knowing stare the two animalistic girls held. The trio had run out of patience, the quest had been dangled in front of them the last few chapters. Turtles cleared his throat, eager to get this journey over with.

The strange creature looked towards the boy as he prompted her, "...the quest?" Turtles nervously waited, hoping his apparent impatience hadn't offended the sheep."Ah yes," Lamby nodded as she recalled their previous conversation. "You must be warned," the lamb lowered her voice and spoke in a serious tone. "If you do not work together, you will fail." Lua rolled his eyes, completely fed up with this entire charade.

"Do you even have a quest for us?" The dainty boy asked. The strange creature smiled before responding. "I'm running out of ideas," she admitted with a slight chuckle. "Your alternate version is arguing about Rick and Morty with Stinky right now and I find myself thinking of green blobs for some mysterious reason. I'm also really high."

The group stared at the sheep in absolute confusion. With their eyebrows raised and mouths agape, they tried to wrap their minds on the bizarre gibberish she had just spewed. Lua recoiled in horror as new conspiracy theories begin to form. What  if she was going braindead like Grimm? What if the herd was haunted?

Turtles, on the other hand, clenched his fists tightly. What the hell was she talking about? Didn't she realize how serious the situation was? BranChan was in danger, Turtles just knew it. They had been waiting so long for the sheep to deliver the damn quest that now Turtles was just annoyed his character was not advancing whatsoever.

Potato, however,  didn't even bother trying to understand anything at this point. He knew Lamby would throw them into a new story full of plot holes eventually. There was no reason to get upset over something he had no control over. The former villain stuffed his hands in his pockets, waiting for whatever the hell the strange creature came up with next. He watched, expressionless, as Lamby took a deep breath before finally revealing their quest. "I want you each to deliver me one pink flower," the lamb instructed, smiling at the flabbergasted group.

Potato's eye twitched slightly. He expected at least something a little more creative.