Medusa: Fate's Game

Chapter 12

~~Chimera~~

"The sun will be rising very soon," he said.

"Fuck. Fuck fuck. We can't sneak into the city come sunrise. Fuck." The little queen stomped around, and punched him in the leg. She was only a little thing, and her punches were powerful enough to send her back a foot or two across the grass from its own force. Fate's Children punched hard, and he winced as her knuckles hit muscle. "Your fault."

"I am sorry."

The adorable bundle of fury rolled her eyes, and looked around at the terrain. Definitely not a nice place to be, against the cliff side with the trees thick and tall, tight against massive boulders.

"We'll need a place to stay for the day then. Hide from the manticore and all that."

"Medusa and I killed many. The noise would have attracted nearby manticore, if there were any nearby. Their bodies are hidden in the earth and woods." A bit of a boast, but the night had been very successful. Smiling, he leaned back against one of the huge boulders, and let his body slide down against it until he was on his butt, on the soft grass.

"So you think we'll be safe out here?" Otrera walked over his legs — she had to make a tiny hop to get over them — and marched the little area they were in. It wasn't a cave, but it was an empty area in the midst of the trees and rock. Good enough to sit and rest.

"I smell no manticore, and I doubt any will find this place." Barely more than a hole in the ground. "We will be safe. I will hear or smell any that approach."

"Guess I'll have to get some sleep here then. Staying up all day right here though? Ugh, going to get bored." She threw herself onto the grass on her back, and stared up at the sky through the small cracks in the canopy. The clouds were starting to break with sunrise, and while Chimera knew the sun had yet to pierce the horizon, the stars were managing a quick peek at them from the sky before they'd inevitably fade.

"Sleep," he said. "I will stay on guard."

"Always on guard! Come on, why can't you sleep like us?" Weightless, the little Amazon jumped back up onto her feet, and stood between his legs. With her standing between his ankles, and him sitting, he was still a little taller than her.

"It is difficult for me to fall asleep. To find slumber can take hours, perhaps a day."

"Hmm. Maybe try sleeping for a couple days then, stay up for ten? Us humans get pretty exhausted without regular sleep." Otrera started to undo her armor. A leather cuirass, custom fitted to her small but fit body, no doubt. A metal band covered over her right breast, strapped tight to her chest. Metal guards covered her right wrist and left shin, and leather straps dangled from her waist. All of it was placed on the grass, along with her sword and shield.

"Whatever happened to your second sword? It worked well against Bellerophontes."

"Left it with the resistance. They needed an extra sword, and a shield is better when you're trying to survive the fight." She winked at him, and took off her sandals. Soon she was in nothing but a tunic, and she raised her arms to stretch.

His eye caught her body as she did. There was little light, with the trees tall, and the sunrise young, but he could still see well in the dark. He could see how her short tunic exposed her legs when she raised her arms, how her small body was hard with muscle, but curved with a woman's physique.

"... you staring at me?" she said, and stepped closer to him until she was standing directly in front of him, between his legs.

Perhaps she could see better in the dark than he thought.