Fantasy PHANTASMA: SCHOOL OF THE STRANGE

[MechaGhoul]

Achim idly tapped his right boot up and down as he peered down the aisles. Nothing suspicious yet, seemingly no kids acting up. Something was wrong. No way these kids weren't behaving properly for this long. He had to have missed something, or some student. He glanced towards Natalya, "Coming on the bus, didya notice any students actin' up?" Again he returned his attention towards the aisles, listening and watching. Eh, they are probably soothed by the greatest movie of the Star Wars Movies: 18. And that is when he noticed a paper airplane fly a pathetically small distance.


-------------


Susie stared at Lily as her eyes twitched a bit, and a nervous sweat rolled down her face. Holding onto her comic, and again raising it up, she just gave a simple nod at her. Susie's ears twitched when Anya began talking about her hobbies and the fact her father stomached down her food on multiple occasions. Either he had a stomach of iron, or he was allowed to live by a such a malevolent force that just wanted him to suffer that fate. ...Either way good parent, not wanting to uh, upset the child. She thought to herself. Her pupils then darted back down to the contents of her comic book, before idly peering back at Anya who asked on the color black. "Black tends to go well with near everything."

 

[CSA]

Lily smiled sweetly down at Anya and scratched behind her ears.


"I'll remember that, Anya. You know, I really like games with friends too. I like playing with you and Susie a lot. Sadly, I don't know too many good stories, but I could read you a book some time before bed if you wanted. Anyways, Susie is right. Black looks good on anyone, but I think red would look really good on you too."


"Ah... papa Hawthorne is a strong man. I don't care for boys very much, but knowing what he goes through, I can't help but respect him a bit."





"You'd look good in a lot, Anya. You're really pretty."

 

[MechaGhoul]

"Well erm, I c-could ah, loan uh, one of my story-books." Susie said to Lily, "And er, y-y-yes games ah, with friends are fun. And uh, different colors are better on different people. Like, I prefer black and dark purple to wearing spring colors." She shook her head, as she returned to reading her comic book.

 

[ComradeSenpai]

Anya's face lit up as Lily called her pretty. She pressed her hands to her face, and shook her hair a bit.


"Pretty?!" she asked, smiling. She let out a squeal of delight. She'd earned Lily's affection. She was hers now. This was friends.


"Wait.... That doesn't mean we're married, does it?"

 

[MechaGhoul]

"No. You two are not married." Susie stated rather quickly. "Just, a friend complimenting a friend. It isn't marriage. Friends compliment friends and it doesn't mean its a marriage. Okay? Anyway how are you enjoying the trip so far?" She said as she flipped a page of her comic book. Her pupils darted the page as she flipped to another page and began reading that page.

 

[CSA]

"I'd love to borrow your story books, Susie, though I'd still want you to read to us as well; you're really good at it. And I'm super glad that you're having fun with us too."


Lily smiled, hearing Anya delightedly squeal at the compliment. It was funny that she thought marriage was involved with compliments, and Lily was about to correct her, but Susie did it really fast. Lily's smile widened, practically overtaking her face.


There was no doubt now in the Alraune's mind that Susie liked her. She was far too protective of Lily's marital status, especially since the object of the confusion regarding it was a very mistaken nine-year-old child.


"Susie is right, Anya. Compliments don't necessarily mean that we're married," Lily said, scratching the Neko behind the ears. The girl really was adorable.


Then She turned to Susie. She tried to tame her exceptionally pleased smile, but it was hard. She only managed to get it down a little bit as she spoke to the Elf.


"You know, Susie, I'm always holding Anya and stuff. It honestly doesn't occur to me that... well, I just assume that you wouldn't want it because you don't like being touched. But, I dunno, maybe I shouldn't assume so much any more."


"Especially after all the things we did last night."





"Susie, would you like it if I put my arm around you? Just really gently? I mean, I'd like to, but only if you want."

 

[MechaGhoul]

Susie glanced back at Lily, focusing her attention away from her comic book. She lowered it as she smiled. "Well, I'm glad uh, you enjoyed the reading." She glanced back at her comic book as she idly flipped another page from it. It was a good volume. Her ears twitched a bit as Lily explained to Anya again, that no they weren't married.


Hopefully that would be enough for the Neko. As she flipped another page, she hit the unfortunate end of the volume and closed the comic book. Placing it aside, she glanced back at the pair, noticing that Lily was facing her with a rather zealous smile.


And then she spoke, and asked to put her arm around her. She blinked at Lily. "A-ahm, w-well yes ah-" Turning to the side she coughed into her left hand. "E-excuse me." She paused for a moment.


"Well er..." Susie took a strand of her hair and began idly twirling it. "I uhm, don't like being touched. Usually. But erm, s-sometimes I'm uh, less inclined to, mind. An aside, uh, just assuming things er, is not always the best uhm idea. B-but back to the point. I usually don't like being touched."


Susie paused in the twirling of her hair as she lowered her finger. "Ah, this, is one of those times where I am less ah, inclined to mind being touched. A-as long as it is erm, g-gentle and quick that is. I won't uh, mind. I'd enjoy it. Ce sera une belle expérience."

 

[CSA]

Lily continued smiling as she wordlessly slid her arm behind Susie, and wrapped it very gently around her. Lily almost shuddered in ecstacy, but managed to hold herself back enough that her body only shook slightly. She had wanted to touch Susie like this for a while, and now that she was able to, the magnitude of the joy she felt was that much greater.


"Yes, assuming too much is bad, isn't it?" said Lily, gently pulling Susie's body a little closer to her own. She stayed like that for a few seconds, before speaking again.


"Does it really have to be quick, though? I mean, it's entirely up to you. I won't judge either way, you know. Just... tell me when you're done."


"If only you knew how many people would literally kill to get the treatment I'm giving you right now."





Lily's touch was soft, gentle, and non-threatening, like her smile as she looked up at her Elvish friend.

 

[MechaGhoul]

Susie did not react, as Lily began positioning her arm around her. Her body jerked a bit forward, as Lily's arm shook a bit. Though Susie quickly moved back into position. Her face flushed a bit as Lily brought her closer. "Er it is ah, bad to assume too much." She glanced at the smiling Alarune. "Er a-ah, I would uhm, say this is er, enough for now. U-unless you'd like it a little longer, I suppose I could have it a little longer."

 

[CSA]

"Oh, I don't want to make you uncomfortable, but I really would like to do it a little longer," said Lily, gazing up at Susie with her wide, sweet, caring stare of manipulation. She put her other arm around Anya, and brought the Neko close to her as well. Lily was in bliss.


"See, Susie, Alraune are used to communicating their feelings through physical means. I'm personally quite eloquent with language as well, but still I find that most feelings can be better communicated through touch. It's a little frustrating for most Alraune when that avenue isn't open, and I just... want to take this rare chance that you're giving me to show you how much I care in my own way. I don't want to stop until you understand, but if it really does make you feel bad, I promise I will. My affection should never make you feel bad."

 

[MechaGhoul]

"W-well, er... I uhm suppose it can go a little longer." Susie noted as she glanced towards Lily. "But a-ah, I'll rather it ah stop sooner rather than later. Just so you know." Susie said as she stretched out her right hand behind her back and left it there. "I er, aah... Q-quick aside. So uh, enjoying the trip so far?"

 

[CSA]

"You know what? I really am enjoying the trip so far," said Lily, smiling. Of course, she wasn't enjoying the movies or a video game or anything. Somehow, she was enjoying herself without 'stuff'. Almost as if being together with other people was somehow fun in its own right.


"It's kinda nice, y'know, talking and stuff. And this bus is really sweet, I won't lie. Anyways, do you have any other questions for me?"


With that, Lily tightened her grip around Susie before gently releasing it and bringing her arm back. Just to remind the Elf how great she was at tightening things.

 

[MechaGhoul]

"Well that's good." Susie said with a nod, "And er, I ah, get what you mean. Bus is nice, but it's not the coolest thing I've ever flown on." Susie paused as she realized what she said. OH CRAP! NOW SHE'S GONNA ASK. Uh, just resist the urge to talk about the ship. Resist the urge to talk about the awesome pirate air-ship that is totally awesome and has so many of your friends doing cool stuff! Susie quickly tapped her fingers together in a nervous fidget before she shook her head, as Lily tightened her grip. She held back an expression as she brought it back, before glancing at Lily. "Oh. What did you do before coming to Michael Orange?"

 

[CSA]

Lily stared at Susie for a couple of seconds. She could only wonder what the Elf had flown on that was cooler than a way tricked-out flying bus. Lily decided to keep her answer short so as to ask about the means of her air transit quickly.


"Well, I lived in an apartment together with a water spirit named Aquara. I sold my body for money, and bought a lot of video games and anime and stuff. Also I paid rent I guess, but that was a small portion of my earnings. I made a lot," said Lily, "But I'm more interested on what you've flown on that's cooler than superbus."


Lily paused a second before blushing slightly and suddenly spoke up again, saying, "Oh, I mean, I sold my body parts. Not like... I sold reagents. Not other services. To rich people with nothing better to do with their money than take up magic or alchemy as a hobby in their later years in hopes of prolonging a life that has already been lived."

 

[MechaGhoul]

Susie glanced at Lily and just stared at her nervously, as she mentioned what she did for a living. But she did clarify as to what, as she gave a sigh of relief. "Oh, well I imagine you like it here better than back there?" Pausing for a moment, she remembered that Lily did in fact ask on what she flew on that was cooler than the Michael Orange Superbus. Blinking she glanced at her. She held up her hands and began shaking them, "Oh it's, not that big of a deal. It really wasn't."

 

[CSA]

"Well, school is kinda fun and it's easier to make friends here than in my line of work," Lily admitted, nodding, "but there aren't as many rich and crazy people at this school, so I can't buy as much as I used to. It's alright, though. I think that having you and Anya is nicer than a new game or a cute top."


Lily's eyes narrowed when Susie said that the thing that was cooler than superbus wasn't a big deal. If it was cooler than this, it had to be a big deal.


"So are you saying it was less cool than superbus, Susie? Because if not, then I think it's probably a big deal. And if it's a big deal, I want to hear the story."


Lily patted Anya's head.


"And so does Anya."

 

[MechaGhoul]

"Oh no, I'm not saying it was less cool than the bus." She raised up her shoulders and shrugged. "But uh, it's not something that uh, too cool to get worked up over. Uh yeah!" Susie said, as her pupils darted to the side as she pondered. "It's not so much cooler that uh, you'd want to actually hear about. I'd just bore you, y-yeah!" Twitching her fingers nervously she coughed as she glanced to the side. "Nope. You don't want to hear about it."

 

[CSA]

Lily stared at Susie for a couple of seconds before replying.


"OK, so, here's the thing. I would want to hear about superbus if I wasn't already aware of it, because it's pretty cool. The manner of flight-based transit that you are positing, which is theoretically cooler than superbus or at the very least certainly not less cool, is therefore also something I would want to hear about. It's, like, basic logic here," concluded Lily, nodding. She was certain that the Elf would see sense in this, because she was also smart, but just in case...


"Also, pweeease?" Lily asked, once again turning on her adorable, wide, manipulative puppy dog eyes.

 

[MechaGhoul]

"But why would you want to hear about the superbus? Granted, going through the line of thought like that leads to the conclusion that yes you would most likely want to hear about the flight method that I have spoke of. I get that. But why? Simply because it is an interesting device of flight?" Susie shook her head as she glanced at Lily.


Waggling her index finger, she began again."If it is just because it is an interesting device of flight, I can just go through history and talk about the other flying contraptions which were cooler than this one. Is it because I was on it personally? Then wouldn't it make sense to trust my judgement in telling you that it is not that big of a deal?" She glanced at Lily as she actively mispronounced please and stared at her.


Immediately glancing away from Lily she wrapped her arms around her torso. Her face reddened a bit, "N-Nope. Not going to tell. It'll just be an enigma you'll have to live with. Yup."

 

[ComradeSenpai]

Anya leaned against Lily's shoulder; as the other two talked about better flying buses, her eyelids drooped until she was overcome with a torrent of sleepiness. The last bit of consciousness she could recall was Yoda's evil clone turning good after his wiring short circuited, and sacrificing himself to destroy the Murder Star VI.


~~~~~~~AND SO TIME PASSES~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Richter's eyes drooped as he forced yet another scalding coffee down his throat. A city of lights passed beneath his feet as the bus lazily circled around high above the Eiffel Tower. Above the vehicle, clouds covered an ebony sky, dotted with a large, gibbous moon.


"Hmmm.... Better see who's awake." he said aloud, forcing the bus into a sharp dive. At the last moment, he pulled up, scraping a tire against a car, and bringing Better Olga through the Arc de Triomphe. Another wide turn brought it down, until it drifted directly into a Megalo-K-Mart parking lot. The doors hissed open, and Richter stepped out, pouring a near-boiling coffee on his face.


Across the street was a seedy looking hotel, the kind one would expect to see in a poorly made slasher movie, or perhaps those of a yet more dubious nature. It was perfect. Namely because Richter only brought about three hundred dollars for the entire trip, but still.


"Everyone off! I got a place to sleep for the night." he shouted back onto Better Olga.

 

[CSA]

"But... but that's not FAIR! Nobody but nobody can resist 'pwease'! Is she adapting to my charms? Is that it? No, no it can't be. I'm too perfect and beautiful and exciting. She must just really not want to tell me. That is the only conclusion."





Lily crossed her arms at Susie's adamant refusal and pouted. She was fairly certain that she could bend and contort her logic like it was a master yogi until Susie couldn't find a single reason to not tell her about the cool air transportation, but even so, the sly Elf would find something else. No, Lily would not get answers out of her this day. It was time for a strategic retreat.


And retreat she did, perhaps into more mild conversation topics or perhaps into napping or playing a game. Whatever she did, it lasted into the night when superbus took a sharp dive and the students were told to file out. Lily gently shook Anya awake as her tendrils handled the luggage.


"Hey, Anya, it's time to step out," said Lily quietly, "I guess we've found a place to sleep for the night."

 

[MechaGhoul]

Suzette quickly feigned falling asleep, to avoid further questioning from Lily, which turned into a real slumber. At least that was the plan. Waking back up she rubbed her eye as she glanced out the window, and couldn't help but have her mouth agape, as the bus passed the Arc de Triomphe. "NO WAY. OH JEEZ! THIS CAN'T BE! T-that's! We are here!?" Susie said actively bouncing up and down on her seat. She glanced at Lily as she began beaming a huge grin.


A state of euphoria rushed through Susie. She secured her suitcase as she bounced up and down on her seat as she watched the line of students. "Well yes, that could be a place to sleep, for some people." Susie began tapping her right foot in eager anticipation, ready for Anya and Lily to exit into the aisle so she could get out.


------


Achim rolled his shoulders around as he smirked. The students did behave, and he only had to get up once to keep that student Geoffry the Pigman to behave. That was fun, especially when he legitimately squealed to be let go, and promised he wouldn't act up again. He glanced towards Natalya as he grumbled a bit. "Tch. Guess I ain't gonna be able to show ya anything cool here." Achim said with a grimace. "Ain't even a Hellhole. Well this is gonna be somethin'." He said annoyed. "Eh, guess it is home to many authors of the written word. Suppose I can make due. Woulda preferred some Hellscape though. Fetch a decent bike..." He said as he began day-dreaming. It soon came to an end when Richter shouted for them to get off the bus.


Glancing around the aisles he rolled his shoulders back and forth. "Right, well, I'm going to need to find a decent gutter to sleep in." Achim noted as he headed out. He gave a knowing nod to Richter. "Have fun man. Need me, got the cell, and just check the gutters. I'll probably be there."

 

[ComradeSenpai]

"Already 'sleep", Anya mumbled, balling up into her chair. She cracked one eye open, looked at Lily, the closed it, staying curled up. This chair was far too comfy to leave. It was heated and well cushioned.


~~~~~~~~~~


"Whatever you say," Richter said, nodding at Achim as he crossed the street. The hotel lobby was dimly lit, and ringing the desk bell caused several roaches to skitter.


A greasy, rat-like man rose from beneath the desk, speaking to the vampire in a voice like wet scallops.


"I smell woman on you, leech. Here for a lovers' suite? Well, they're all lovers' suites here, y'know." he smiled, revealing broken teeth.


"I need board for about sixty." Richter said, placing a fistful of dollars on the desk.


"Quite the party, va-"


"Separate rooms."


The innkeeper reached onto a rack and gave Richter a stack of labeled keys, which he immediately took and sorted through, walking back outside. That's... that's three to a room. Cheapass.


The vampire boarded the bus, and began to toss keys around, one to the werewolf, one to the merrow, and one to the alraune, and so on, until all keys were distributed, saving one for himself. The teachers had their own dorm, after all.


"Three to a room. Get some sleep; we're touring at ten in the morning. Don't be late." he announced, taking a rest on the drivers; seat. As soon as the kids were out of here, he could share a passionate kiss with Olga before bed.

 

[MechaGhoul]

Achim walked down the street glancing at the shady looking hotel. Far too fancy for his tastes, he'd pass. He pulled out a cigarette from his jacket pocket, as he continued walking down the side-walk. Quickly he retrieved a worn lighter from the same pocket. Flicking the top open he clicked it, as the fire sparked up. Bringing the light to his cigarette, he watched it catch the flame and returned his lighter back. With a satisfied smirk he took a drag off his cigarette, and puffed out a cloud of smoke.


"Mmmgood stuff." he remarked satisfied. Scratching at his head he paused as he noticed a red-glow in the distance, from a street-light. Rolling his shoulders he headed towards it, but stopped as he past an alley nestled in-between a run-down building, and a pawn shop with the windows and doors covered with bars. It looked a decent spot to spend the night. Casually wandering into the alley he stopped as he glanced around as he noticed that it had no dead-ends, but went further on. He moved against the wall of the worn-down building as he laid down upon the bare concrete, tossing his cigarette into a pool of fetid water nearby.

 

[CSA]

"Wait, we're where?" Lily asked Susie, looking out the bus window. The Elf seemed really excited to be wherever they were, but Lily hadn't paid attention.


"At... a seedy motel? You're excited to be here?"


"Wait, Susie said that it was a place for sleeping for SOME people. Did she mean...?"





"B-but we can't, Susie! Even if we want to, Anya will be in the same room," replied Lily, blushing, "we'll have to find another time and place."


And with that, Lily quickly got out into the aisle, catching the key that Richter tossed to her. She gently grabbed Anya up with her tendrils and placed the sleeping Neko upon her flower. It would be a comfortable carrier for her to sleep on while Lily found their room and they could get settled in.