Brynn Phytrelia 07

Chapter 07

The woman stood in the corridor, arms folded. She was tall, about Idris' height, with crimson hair and blue eyes. She wore a green flight jacket that was open, a black shirt underneath with pants that matched her jacket and black boots. She was smiling, quite pleased with herself. Idris pulled away a little, his eyes almost popping out of his head. His gaze swung over to the intruder and his attention seemed to be completely torn away from Brynn in just a mere moment.

"Tsela?! How did you...what..." Idris was shaking, enraged and terrified at the same time as he fumbled to speak.

"You forgot...it's not difficult for me to get aboard ships like these...especially when Ophelia is still so easily convinced by me..."

The new voice had the same effect on her as a bucket of ice water would have had. Turning her head quickly, she stared at Tsela for a moment, realized she was still in the arms of Idris, and scrambled out of them, landing awkwardly on the ground. "What do you want?" Brynn piped up, her voice cold, and warning. Already she could feel the heat beginning to form under her skin, ready to shoot out at any moment. Hands were placed on her hips as she stood there trying to be as tough as possible.

She raised her hand towards her face, turning it, curling her fingers in and examining her nails nonchalantly. "I just wanted to welcome Captain Chariton aboard." She gazed up at him, smiling once more. "I'm sorry if I interrupted anything, Idris. I'll just leave you and your..." She looked at Brynn, considering her, her expression showing disappointment and pity as she regarded her. "...Well, whoever this new girl of yours is."

She grinned again at him, a smile filled with malice and ice. "Should you need anything, please, call me. Or if your time expires before you..." She looked over Idris suggestively, her eyes lingering on his chest. "Well...you know..." Her next expression was filled with a different emotion, one that made Idris blush. He was visibly trembling. "Get...off...my ship, Tsela. And...don't you come...don't you come near me...or Atalanta...again...unless you have my permission." He pointed, though his hand was still trembling, his voice shaking as he commanded her. "I already told you that you weren't welcome on my ship."

She looked hurt...well, almost. She frowned at him and then pouted. "But, I was just dropping by to wish you well...what's the harm in that?" She seemed to purr her words, moving to lean against the corridor wall, one leg bent with her boot flat against it, one on the floor, with her back flush against the surface as she continued to watch Idris with no apparent intention of leaving.

Oh, Brynn didn't like her. Not one bit. She wanted to light the woman on fire from head to toe. "The new girl is Brynn." She snapped out, hands remaining on her hips as she just dared the woman to make a smart remark. And she definitely didn't like the look Tsela was giving Idris. "You dropped by, you wished him well, now I believe he asked you to leave." Nope, she was not keeping her mouth shut. Her eyes flashed with dangerous anger as she unconsciously took a step forward almost ready to start a fireball in her hand, just to serve as further warning.

Idris' reactions seemed to happen rather slowly. He looked over at Brynn a moment and then back at Tsela. "Just go...Tsela."

She smiled a little bigger, moving away from the bulkhead and shrugged. She walked away, strutting confidently as she made her way off the ship. Idris' gaze lingered on the place where Tsela had been for a long moment before he seemed to return to the proper reality. He looked up. "OPHELIA!"

No image appeared. Only her voice seemed to be present. "I apologize, Captain. I was not aware that-"

"Well you're..." his hands balled into fists, and he looked like he might have an aneurysm. "Don't...let it happen...again. Lock down the ship. If anything so much as touches my ship, you'll alert me, and you'll activate the security and intruder deterrent systems."

Idris was still trembling. He leaned against the wall and wrapped his arms around himself, his back slowly sliding down as his knees bent and he squatted, staring wordlessly at the floor. Trying to breathe easy, she didn't let her tension go until Tsela was out of sight. Growling a little after her, she looked over at Idris, waiting for him to finish barking orders at Ophelia. "Well...that's one way to kill the mood. Old girlfriend of yours?" She asked coldly, her temper not directed at him, but the woman, who as no longer even present in the room. Rolling her shoulders as if trying to rid herself of tension, she finally fully focused on Idris. Concern flooded her face. "Idris? You alright?" Quickly, she moved over to him, kneeling down on one knee in front of him, as she reached out to touch his shoulder.

He looked over at her from the floor as though only just noticing her in the room. He inhaled a sharp, shallow breath. "I...no...I-I'm...I'm fine." He smiled, but it didn't even qualify as weak, simply an expression to offset the deep frown that had formed on his face. He let go of himself and stood, slowly, and looked around, though he was still trembling. Then, as though finally hearing her words, he replied. "Tsela? A girlfriend?" He shook his head. "No...not...not quite...not exactly..." He looked crestfallen. "It's very complicated. Ask...ask me...some other time...please." He pleaded with her, and shut his eyes for a long moment, trying to regain his composure.

Surprised by his surge of emotion, or rather lack of, she quickly nodded. Gently, she wrapped her arms around him, only long enough to place a tender, loving kiss on his forehead. "Of course...I was only...never mind. Do you need any thing from me, Idris? Anything I can do?" She let her arms drop, but she didn't move away from him, keeping her eyes focused on him, worry etched into every feature of her face.

He seemed to flinch when she went to wrap her arms around him, but only for a moment, then he grew more receptive to her, his arms holding her close again. He didn't let her go. He closed his eyes for the moment that she kissed his forehead, and then looked at her, smiling. He reached out and caressed her cheek. "I'm fine, Brynn. I promise. I just...I was surprised." He hoped, futilely, that she would buy it...but only moments after he said it, he realized his words might only move to anger her further, and he immediately regretted it...but didn't act to correct his error.

"Surprised?" She echoed doubtfully, and immediately pulled back to look at his face, studying him closely for a moment. A look of pure disappointment was mixing in with that worry. "I may not be empathic, but I'm also not stupid. Glad you're okay..." Slowly she began to rise, breaking away from him. He just kept lying to her about things, and it was frustrating, and even starting to hurt her.

He shut his eyes a long moment and then moved, reaching out for her. He sighed. He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Brynn. I...I don't know...why I said that." He frowned, his expression filled with guilt.

"Lying becomes second nature to people. I know it just as well as anyone." She answered quickly, stiffening up as she stood, staring down at him with a blank expression.

"Tsela...has..." He seemed to be trying to decide the best way to decide how to word his explanation, but he seemed at a loss. "She's...a Gifted...but...her...her...what...she does...is...it's unique..." He sighed, shutting his eyes and trembling. "She blinks...and she's also mastered her ability to..." his mouth worked feverishly to try and find the right word. "...to...project. She can...create illusions...very...very detailed illusions. Like...she can make herself...look...different...so spectacularly...that it's nearly impossible to tell the difference..." He was trembling again. "She is also Captain Johansen's only niece..."

Arms slowly folded in front of her as she listened to him explain. Another Gifted. And here she had hoped to meet others like her and actually LIKE them. So much for that hope. "And...she's used that gift on you before." Holding up a hand she chuckled a bit, trying to keep the anger out of the laugh. "...I don't want to know details about that. You may lie all you want about that. My stomach is only so strong." Taking a few steps back, she leaned against the wall, letting out a soft sigh.

He shook his head. "It's...it's not what..." He smiled weakly. "She wasn't quite that nice about it. Let's just say her aunt and Kayla are not the only ones on Avenger who were close to Ariadne...and after her friend...after she...when she found out I was...here...last time..." He shut his eyes and shuddered. "She showed up...looking...like her..." He tried to smile, to hide his emotions, but his eyes started to water and she could see his composure wearing. "...I...I...despite...being alone, I was not able to sleep very well that cycle..."

Brynn was immediately appalled by what Tsela has done, her eyes widening and she looked towards the corridor she had gone off in. "That...She...How dare she. If I see her again, I will set her on fire a hundred times over." She growled, feeling suddenly very protective of Idris, just as she had before when Tsela had first appeared. Focusing back on Idris, she noted the tear and sighed softly..." I'm sorry, Idris. You, you didn't deserve that...not one bit. She...she's..I don't know..." Sighing heavily, she slid to the ground as well, stretching her legs out towards him. "You really loved Aria, didn't you?"

Idris scoffed at her and shook his head. "No...no...I didn't. Not even a little. But for some reason...she seemed drawn to me. Unfortunately, for her...she...wasn't very ugly...and..." He shook his head, sighing. "And...I wasn't...very picky..." He frowned. "I didn't love her, but...I can't...seem to get her face out of my head...now. But she mine as well have been just some girl."

Smiling faintly, Brynn studied him quietly, then looked down at her own lap. "They are all wrong to blame you so heavily. No wonder you beat yourself up so much...it's not...right." Feeling restless, frustrated, and all sorts of other things she jumped to her feet, lit a fire in her hand, and threw it right into a wall with a growl. Sighing heavily, as if that had made her feel better, she looked up towards the ceiling.

He sighed and looked up at her. "And there is no one but myself to blame, Brynn. I...she is dead...because I didn't save her. And while Tsela's behavior might have been moderately uncalled for...I understand why she did it." He smiled a little. "But the only reason I came back here is because...only a few of the people here really..." He sighed. "Only a few of Avenger's crew feel as Captain Johansen and the few others do. Much of them mourn her loss, but they maintain that it was Aria's fault that her life was extinguished..." He shut his eyes and shook his head. He moved to stand. "I need something..." He walked away towards the galley, wanting to escape what he was feeling.

Brynn only listened this time, frowning down at the floor until she heard his steps recede. Unhappily, she stared back up at the ceiling again and let out a soft groan of frustration. "Ophelia...what am I going to do with him?" Waiting a few moments, she went after Idris, seeing no other alternative. If she didn't love this man, she would have burnt him up cycles ago, or at least slapped him hard across the face a couple of times.

"Idris?" She called out gently as she entered the galley, frowning as she looked for him. "I understand if you want to be alone. I just wanted to...double check. I can go busy myself in the bedroom. I still want to mend my shirts..."

By the time she'd arrived, he'd already managed to set out an array of glasses, filled with the familiar, inebriating liquid. Three of the nine were already empty. He started to drink the fourth, stopping in the middle to look up at her. He smiled weakly, shaking his head. "I...I like you...here. I just...needed something..." He sighed and then finished the glass, slowly setting it down on the table. He shut his eyes a long moment and looked at her again. "There's plenty for everyone...unless you are determined to mend your clothes instead of having Ophelia recycle them..."

"Last time we drank together...we fought. And I slept alone in the bed and you slept alone in the cockpit. I'd rather not repeat that again. Besides, I think I proved I don't hold liquor well. I'll..." Eyes went towards the bedroom where she had mentioned fixing her shirt. "I only bring up mending the shirt because it'll keep my hands busy as well as my mind. I don't want to get in your way, Idris. I'm not here...to do that." Slowly, she sat down at the table, staring at the nine glasses, and shook her head a little. "I'll just watch. And take care of you when you need it."

"Heh. I am just disappointed that it did not have the effect it was supposed to. Unfortunately, for some people like me, along with intoxicating, it can also...make you...very amorous." He smiled at her. It already seemed to be taking its effect on him. He sighed and didn't manage to grab the fifth glass. He reached out and ended up knocking it over...which knocked over two more glasses. Suddenly, four was now two. He frowned and sighed. "Oops..." He moved closer to her, slowly, still seeming a little aware of himself...with a few subtle differences. "I wonder why it didn't affect you that way though. I've never heard of anybody, save I think one person, who didn't experience the other side effects..."

"Disappointed? We were in the middle of a fight. If I had given into the...amorous...effect, I'd have beat you up in the morning." She watched him closely, noticing that look starting to come over her face and she resisted the urge to smile back at him. And then the glasses fell over. Wincing, she quickly got up grabbing the nearest towel in the kitchen and began to mop up the liquid. "Maybe I'm just special, Idris. The alcohol didn't effect me that way." Shrugging, she focused on cleaning up the liquor he had spilled.

He sighed, frowning. "I know you're special, Brynn. You're sweet and...kind...and...beautiful...and...smart...and..." He seemed to lose his train of thought, looking around a moment as if the remainder of his sentence might come to him. "Besides, I think if it had affected you that way, I would have had the chance to really see you let go." He grinned at her and laughed a bit.

"I didn't mean...I..." Instead of explaining herself and what she meant, she just took the compliments. "Thank you, Love, you're very sweet." Laughing softly she continued to mop up the liquid, finishing up as he mentioned her letting go. "Idris, I can let go. You just haven't asked yet." She shot him a smirk, almost wicked in nature, before she grabbed the wet towel and went to put it in the sink.

He smiled at her and trembled, biting his lip. He watched as she walked over to the sink, his gaze louche and depraved as he watched her without inhibition. He left the other glasses and moved to stand, sneaking up on her. His lips were near her ear as he came up behind her while her back was turned, her gaze on the sink. "You know...it was so awful for...that hideous girl...to sneak on my ship like that...and ruin what we were in the middle of..." He nibbled on her ear a little, wrapping his arms around her abdomen.

A slow smile crawled across her lips as she heard him whisper in her ear. Without turning around, she placed her hands on the edge of the sink, quiet for a moment. "It was awful for her to ruin what we were in the middle of. But...maybe you're not in the best shape? Hmm?" Her voice immediately took on a teasing tone as she turned around in his arms. That smile still on her lips, she pressed her palms to his chest and began to push him back, maneuvering him till he was pressed back against a wall.

He moved awkwardly with her encouragement until he felt his back come flush against the wall somewhere between the dispenser and the table. His gaze looked back at the wall a moment and then forward at her. "Mmmm...I think I have been in worse shape than this, Sweetie...but, as of right now, I think I can hold my own." He leaned in and kissed her, his hands on her sides as his lips drifted down towards her neck.

"Good, you'll need too." She told him shortly, returning his kiss firmly. Feeling his lips begin to drift, she immediately pulled away, leaving just enough room so he couldn't kiss her neck. Grinning at him, she ran her hand down his chest, pressing firmly into his skin, before one hand slipped down, between his legs, and stroked him. One, firm, stroke leaving nothing to the imagination, or what she was planning on doing to him. As she let him have that one, teasing stroke, she leaned forward and nipped his earlobe, then moved down to his neck. She could already feel how tense and ready he was for her.

His head moved back towards the wall as her hands moved over his chest. His mouth dropped open as she teased him, his jaw descending as his eyes shut before it slowly closed again. As her lips moved over his ear and neck, he moaned softly, moving away from the wall towards her, his eagerness becoming more intense as his hands moved to her hips.

Brynn smiled at him as she not only watched him, but felt him tense up for her. Smirking to herself, enjoying this sort of power...she let him begin to move forward, then promptly shoved him back - a little harder this time, even keeping his hands off her. "Driving you a little crazy?" She whispered as her hands moved down again, this time working under his shirt, fingertips raking across his bare skin. Finally she grabbed the bottom of his shirt and jerked it off smoothly, but a little hungrily.

"Are you..." He sighed, lifting his arms to allow her to have his shirt again. "...trying to achieve some kind of record...for greatest understatement?" He inhaled a ragged breath. His hands moved again to try to hold her as his face leaned in towards her neck again.

She didn't bother to answer him, and once again, stopped him from kissing her neck. Instead of pushing him, though, she caught his lips in a hungry kiss, her tongue wasting no time in parting his lips. Hands grabbed the top of his pants now and immediately worked them and his underwear down to his ankles. As soon as they were free, her hands slid down and began to tease him, with light strokes. Strokes she knew would drive him mad.

He met her kiss, eagerly, and let his tongue move with her own. He mmm'd into her lips and lingered there, only breaking the kiss when he felt the remainder of his clothes stripped away. He accommodated her by stepping out of them and flicking them with his feet, sending them sliding across the floor. He felt his back move up against the wall as his mouth hung open. He felt her hands moving over him, his body moving to try to avoid her teasing, while somehow simultaneously seeking out more than what she was giving, unable to make up his mind if he wanted to move into her motions or escape them. He grunted, his eyes rolling a little as he tried to reach out and take her again, his movements slowed by her actions.

The next time he reached for her, she immediately took several steps back, breaking the deep kiss they had been sharing. Smiling at him wickedly, she held a hand up to stop him from approaching her. "Not yet...You can rush at me in a little bit...patience..." Her tone low, teasing, as her hands moved down her own body, grabbed the bottom of her shirt, and yanked it up over her head. Then just as slowly, she began to work her leggings down, leaving herself only in her black undergarments. She realized she was having way too much fun teasing him this way.

He tried to pursue her, until she made him stop in his tracks. He thought about it a moment, and moved back to the wall. He sighed, watching her, biting his lip. Without any visual deterrents remaining, she could vividly see the effects her movements and words were having on him as his length twitched and throbbed while he watched her strip down. He looked ready to pop when she was done, and he didn't take his eye off her as he watched, the desperation and eagerness shamelessly expressing itself in his eyes and his expression.