Heart of Flame: Freshmen Year

Chapter 30

I would like to say I managed to stay awake, but that would make me a liar. At some point I had fallen fast asleep against dad's stomach. Maybe it was the combination of heat from the steam and the soft mat. I wasn't sure what the mat was made of since it looked like dry grass but it felt so much softer, almost like velvet. Maybe it was another underground Kaiju plant of some sort. Like the alien waterfruits.

"Sorcha, wake up little one." Someone murmured in my ear. I let out an annoyed groan and shifted my head in the dark corner of dad's plating and the ground. My nose twitched when one of the plant fibers tickled its way up my nose. I waited in silence for dad to say something again, but when nothing happened I began to relax and drift off to sleep again. I wish I didn't. As soon as I relaxed, I felt something warm, wet and muscular scrap across my back.

"Ew!" I cried out, leaping up and stepping back. Feeling saliva drip down my wings, I shuddered and attempted to shake it off. Large droplets sprayed themselves off, leaving massive puddles. I glared at my father, who looked rather pleased with himself.

"That was nasty!" I complained.

"Not really. You just have to get used to it." He pointed out, a smile playing on his face.

"Get used to you licking me?"

"Well yes. How else am I going to give you a bath?"

"With hot water and soap like a normal person?"

"We don't have soap here."

"I'll fucking bring some!"

"No need to yell. I'm right here." He said, a chuckle creeping into his voice. I glared at him, but he just continued to smile like an idiot.

"Why did you wake me up? I was having a nice nap." I pointed out, slumping back down into a sitting position. I winched in slight pain when I accidentally sat on my tail.

"I was wondering if you were hungry or thirsty." He said innocently. I paused for a moment, and I realized my throat was dry and my stomach empty.

"Actually, yeah." I said. And for everyone to hear, my stomach growled. Dad's grin grew wider.

"Good. The waterfruit should be easier to open now." He said, picking up one of the strange purple fruits. It amazed me to see something so large look like the size of a cantaloupe in my father's palm. I watched in curiosity as he grabbed hold of one of the green top petals and peeled it only partly open. The inside reminded me of a grape, but more gelatinous and a vivid shade of radioactive green.

"You aren't going to open it up all the way?" I asked.

"No. If I did, all of the fruit would spill out." He said. At first, that seemed rather ridiculous. After all, it looked solid enough. Then I noticed that some of the fruit was dribbling down the side.

"Oh." I said as father put the fruit down on the mat. It was easy for him to eat out of it, he just stuffed his face in and started lapping it up like a giant cat. Sizing it up, I wondered how I was going to get up there.

"Hey... Uh, dad? Can I get a little help?" I asked. He popped his face out of the top of the fruit to look at me. He had a look on his face like he had just realized that I couldn't get up there on my own. At least, not easily.

"Sure." He purred, laying his hand down. I climbed up and I had to steady myself when he raised me up to the top of the fruit. He placed me on one of the underside petals, which was just as green as the fruit it held. I also found it surprisingly cushion-y, like carpet, with small tube like growths everywhere. The creepy thing, though, was that they seemed to still be pulsing with life and the tubes where touching me, trying to get a grip on my ankles.