Unipsi, lovely entity
chapter 85c: buffer
Iridana welcomed them with little to no lighting and a mandatory optional renouncement to their weapons. Idras didn’t need much light to see and Iris was no exception. However while Iris could see perfectly, Scilla didn’t and as soon as she entered the base she turned up the lighting. It revealed the usual crude architecture that however had been embellished. Iris had carved with something into the metal plates that composed the walls. On their left and right incisions defined wobbly figures resembling different Idras during the end of the spike war and performing military actions. Between figures, complex words in composite Estir. By their positions, they were all pointing at the frontal wall. This one was way more carved and precise. At the top of the 6-meter-tall wall they could see 4 figures divided into 2 groups looking toward the center of the wall. On the extreme left the Founder in his public gear. Moving to the right there was a smaller female figure. It was the Founder's daughter. She was armed too. In the middle an Estir word. Then moving to the right there was an undefined figure with contorted shapes. On the extreme right, there was Elvira Smolak in combat gear. Looking at the base of the wall there was instead Iris in her usual clothes, right in the middle of the wall. She had her head pointing down so her face was not carved. Her hands almost closed together as if she was praying and between them, a carved light source repelling her hair. The incision Iris however had enormous wings made of goo and bleeding bones that reached both limits of the wall. Those wings had disfigured eyes, wobbly mouths, and bleeding pieces of organs attached. The combination of the wings and the 4 top figures forced the obverse curiosity toward the middle. There more composite Estir, so complex and beautiful to be almost unthinkable. The strange, yet beautiful images convey both joy and horror. A peculiar sense of uneasiness hard to define as it exceeds the concept of sublime.
As the lights turned on Iris ran in front of Scilla
“tah dah!” shouted Iris.
“do you like it?”
Scilla was overjoyed. Even if she couldn’t read a word, to her it was only something beautiful.
“you did this for me?”
“yep”
“thank you”
Scilla hugged Iris and lifted her up. She then moved Iris around until she was able to keep her like a princess in her own arms. Once reached the princess carry position Scilla kissed Iris. Even if public kissing was not illegal in either culture, such public display of affection was rare both in the Federation and in the ETU. Yet the duo seemed unbothered. It should surprise nobody. They had been alone for so long that they had forgotten all norms and in Iris’s case, she never knew them from the beginning.
“Alba can you read that?” asked Nixie.
Looking at Alba, she was in awe. She loved composite Estir and to see such display of competence was astonishing.
“I...I wish I could. I can read only some words. Like there on the sides. I can read guerra (war). Unione (union). Sangue (blood). And I can read what is the top middle zone. Stelle (stars). Yet the rest is so… unbelievably complex.”
“I’m glad you like it” said Iris from the distance. She somehow heard them talking.
While for all of them, the incisions were obviously fake and pushed outside the boundary of reality for artistic purposes. Wiola believed otherwise. Those drawings may have been altered from reality to suit a more heroic narrative, yet something was telling her that such a strange representation of Iris was not far from reality.
Iris, along side Scilla, guided all of them into an immense dining hall with enough space for all of them. The table was particularly wide as it was meant to have a short side wide enough to accommodate 2 people. One of those sides could be used in the days before a wedding by the marrying couple. Family would sit by their relative side while friends were free to be seated everywhere. It was common knowledge among Esterians that the closer you are to your marrying family member the closer you seat. Being seated after just friends was extremely disrespectful and a sign of conflict. Empty seats were usually removed except on rare occasions when they symbolized someone passed away. In their case, the first 2 chairs beside Iris were kept empty while the others were filled with the 4 Esterians and the Ibarras. The empty spots were for 484 and ISAG.
The dinner passed peacefully, mostly led by Scilla and spent introducing each individual to Iris. Little by little Iris started to be more comfortable especially with alba, the chimeras and Aura. Maybe it was due to their closeness in behavior. As the dinner was ending Iris excused herself to return shortly after with a small box that she gave to Scilla. To her surprise, there were cookies inside. They were all deformed in one way or another. Yet with no hesitation Scilla pulled one out and bit into it.
“how are they?” asked Iris excited.
“mmh…”
“they suck… but…”
“I didn’t say that. I was elaborating.”
“so they suck again...”
“Frankly, no. I like them, but I think you would not consider them good”
“how come?”
“taste one”
Scilla proceeded to take another bite while Iris got closer and just bit off a chuck from the same cookie. As she chewed she just bolted her head back.
“they are salty”
“I know. Salty and sweet at the same time. Like salted caramel. Kind of an odd taste. Don’t know how you made them but I like them”
“mmh. But I was trying to make chocolate and nuts cookies… so I failed again. uff”
“if you say so. But save this recipe. As said I like them so I would like if you could make them again”
Iris smiled widely before kissing Scilla and disappearing again for some minutes.
“you seem really close. It’s kind of embarrassing to watch how sweet you are to each other” said Dhalia.
“are you envious?” replied Scilla.
“what? no. it’s just strange. Never believed you would be so affectionate in front of so many people”
“yeah you envious. Frankly, I don’t care how I look. I love Iris a lot and I show it just like she does with me.”
“what’s your plan once married? Will you return to the federation?” asked Csuicha.
“I will not. Not permanently at least. We will travel to all 16 planets and then choose where to live…”
“you don’t plan to live here?” asked Nuria.
“no we don’t. You will see when we go out why. Needless to say Weeping Sky will remain active, we will just live somewhere more peaceful. I already have some ideas”
“really?” asked Alba.
“yep. I just saw some photos but I think Iris will like it too. Then once we visit it we will know…”
“what will we know?” asked Iris reappearing.
“where to settle our new home. I have a planet in mind”
“which is?”
“I won’t tell you. But I’ll write it and I’ll reveal it once we see all of them. If it’s the same as your favorite one we will relocate there”
“mmh. That’s a strangely solid plan for you. How about we show our guests their rooms? And before we go, your weapons have been delivered to your rooms inside containment casings. Break them and you will be executed on the spot by the automatic defense system. I wouldn’t push my luck.”
“also I would like to add that you should not explore as you please. There are a lot of stuff that you can see but don’t want to see. I speak from experience” added Scilla. She was speaking about the automatic growth farms.
Then Iris and Scilla guided their main guests to their individual rooms belonging to the same cluster of squared rooms. They all consisted of the same all-in-one bedroom and a complete bathroom. Each had a window to the outside nature. They were all fairly tired from the travel and the toxic encounter, so they cut the night short and went to sleep. All except Iris, Scilla and Wiola. Scilla and Iris didn’t go to their room immediately so Wiola followed them in secret. Something wasn’t right with Iris, she just felt so. The duo went to the kitchen connected to the dining room that they used and Wiola eavesdropped.
“What’s on you mind Iri?”
“I don’t think I can do it”
“yes you can. You learned to control yourself for this moment. You can do it. I believe in you.”
“but I don’t. I’m floating even now because my blood is boiling.”
“they don’t want to hurt me. Friends can be mean to each other. It’s just how it’s.”
“but not all of them are friends and I want to hurt them...”
Wiola moved and one of her joints cracked. Iris heard it and floated toward the door with her mouth opening. Scilla immediately grabbed her.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“don’t even think about it. You can’t echoloc (echo localize) now. Everybody would hear you.”
Wiola saw Iris’s copper air flowing out of the door of the kitchen. They moved around like tentacles jumping in all directions as if they were probing the air. Wiola scared remained immobile until they moved away and then slowly left. She knew for sure that something wasn’t right and she was determined to get to the truth that same night.
After an hour or so Wiola went to Iris’s “room” which was more like an entirely separate villa. She rang the doorbell, which was just a computer terminal, to be welcomed by her sister. She was wearing a different set of clothes, lighter and more akin to a tracksuit.
“sis, can we talk?”
“eemmh. Sure. Get in”
Wiola noticed immediately the strange couches / pillow fort in the middle of the room. It was composed of 2 L-shaped sofas built to accommodate Leans placed to make a rectangular space filled in the middle and with a corned left without back support to enter and leave. Most of the space was occupied by a pillows and blankets fort.
“hi law sis Wiola” said Iris from the inside.
“H...Hi. Scilla can we talk… privately?”
“you don’t have to worry. Whatever you have to say, she can hear it.”
Wiola was confused as Scilla seemed to not understand the meaning of a private talk.
“I… I would say that I can go away, but I really can’t get out. But you could walk to a different room if you don’t want me to hear” said Iris.
“that’s exactly what I would like to do” replied Wiola looking at Scilla.
“but that’s not what I want…” replied Scilla.
“I know that you want to talk about her. You can do it here. She will never be a problem to...”
“I don’t believe you. 511 was a complete psycho. I doubt she is different”
“do you believe that she is threatening me?”
“what else could I believe? I also believe she is not what you are telling me. She is not an Idra. She is not even an Esterian. She is something else isn’t she?”
Scilla was dumbfounded. She wasn’t expecting so much deduction in just an evening.
“fair enough…”
“if you think she would survive, you can bring her in” said Iris.
“I think she will.”
“survive what?”
“did I ever hurt you?”
“no. why you ask?”
“then go inside and see for yourself the true Iris. But I’ll tell you. Even if you are my sister. I won’t share my wife.”
“the fuck are you talking about?”
“go in”
Wiola entered the pillow fort to see an unveiled Iris in the corner. Her hair was free to float around and grab onto her fort. She was also sort of tied up by a long yellow string. It didn’t look like Scilla’s work, more like a cat getting stuck while playing with a long rope. At the sigh of Iris, Wiola froze in place.
“hi law sis…”
No reply. Of course. Scilla soon followed and placed herself beside Iris squeezing her against the corner of the couch.
“I see that you managed to stuck yourself even more” said Scilla looking at Iris.
“this string must be bugged somehow. It’s just impossible to have so much traction that I can’t even pull it loser”
“if you say so. Maybe you are just weak”
Iris was not particularly strong unless mutated, but the issue was not on her side. Scilla had just tricked her and tied the 2 ends of the string together on Iris’s back so she couldn’t see it nor reach for it.
Then Wiola returned to her senses.
“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU!”
“Wiola, don’t shout, we can head you perfectly fine” replied Scilla.
“you think she will keep the secret?”
“of course she will.”
“are you sure you want to know?”
“yes. I want to know if…”
“I'll never hurt your sister. She is going to be my husband. My family. How could I even do something like that? Yet you are right. I’m not an Esterian. But I’m what I was supposed to be. Look at my eyes. What do you see?”
Wiola stared at Iris. Those eyes made no sense.
“you didn’t tell me what you are”
“because I can’t...”
“always fucking secrets. I’m not…”
“Law sis. Let me finish. I can’t tell you because I frankly don’t know. Lala (one of many nicknames given to scilla) do you mind if I tell her our entire story?”
“not at all. I told her some lies to sound less suspicious”
“I come from a different universe…”
one long explanation later and they were all peacefully lying in the fort. Following Iris’s instructions Scilla opened a wall in the front that allowed them to see the projector and let more air inside the now too-warm construction. Wiola and Scilla were side by side while Iris, still tied up with her arms stuck by her side, was moving around pushing herself against the couch's surface. Wiola noticed the knot on the string and looked at Scilla with an eyebrow lifted up interrogatively. Scilla looked back at her with a wide-open stare. She was asking to keep her secret.
“So what can you do… practically?” asked Wiola. Iris stopped crawling and flipped on a side to look at her.
“mmh. Shapeshift. There are limits and requirements but I can basically manipulate my body as I please.”
“then why are you trapped?”
“I… I can free myself whenever I want. I just find it funny.”
“what stops you from shifting more?”
“mmmh. That’s a good question. I would say stability and pain. There is a limit on how much I can change over a period of time. It’s like normal exhaustion. You can run only for a certain distance before giving up. Yet I can go beyond it at the cost of my own stability. Being unstable means that my body can shift autonomously but it also causes me pain. Just like if you try to run beyond your limits. I doubt I can die from it but I’m not too keen on trying. After all I like how I’m living right now”
“so… what now?”
“well I don’t know about you, but I plan to collect the arrears kisses with Scilla. Which adds up to 34 hours. But I’m generous and I’ll settle for just 20.” Iris turned to look away from Wiola and smiled to herself.
“you should make sure to take some pregnancy precautions with all that action planned.” joked Wiola. However, it went right above Iris’s head that immediately sat up shocked.
“what the fuck! SCILLA! You told me kisses were totally safe. I can’t get pregnant before…”
“Wiola tell her the…”
“Iris. Are you stupid?” said Wiola.
“hey, the fuck? Your sister just…”
“I said. Are you stupid?”
“why?”
“how the fuck could you even get pregnant from saliva?”
“I.. I don’t know. But you said…”
“yeah, I was joking. I can bet you have been kissing for years. So have you ever got pregnant in said years?”
“n..no”
“because you can’t. How did you even believe that?”
“well. Well you… you… you know more than me… on… on that stuff” replied Iris frustrated after turning her back at them. Scilla However grabbed her and pulled her closer into her arms. Iris was pouting.
“you two are both really childish” said Scilla.
“how is that my fault?” replied Wiola.
“you have guessed that she was an alien but you didn’t get that she knows nothing about how normal people live”
“it’s unfair that I’m the only one who knows nothing” said Iris.
“it’s nothing special. I’ll teach you with time. Don’t worry”
“I want to know it now”
“nope. You still have to wait”
The following day they all went for what Iris defined as a short hike into the forest. 4 hours in 4 hours to get out. With them a group of 10 robotic mules packed to excessive degrees. Almost at the end of their journey into the forest, Brillo showed up and was picked up by Iris who started carrying him. Soon after a group of more nymphs showed up and ran to them. They were clearly friendly and Csuicha made the mistake of picking one up that was rubbing against her legs. As soon as she had lifted the small creature, he started to shake before releasing a cloud of dense yellow pollen that attached to her, a couple of guards and Nixie who was beside her. Iris started laughing maniacally while Csuicha spat out the terrible tasting pollen that stuck to everything it could.
“you should not pick them up. You are lucky that Scilla immunized you before getting here. Or you would start to slow down and end up paralyzed”
“what the fuck. Paralyzed forever?” replied Csuicha.
“nah. Just for some hours, at best. What is important is that he was just trolling you. They are like us. Persistent hunters. Usually, they launch pollen on their enemies. Wait for it to kick in and then slowly impale them. Yeah not pleasant”
“not pleasant? The fuck is wrong with these things. They look cute but they are little monsters”
“no they are not. They are by far the most dangerous creatures on the planet, but they have a purpose. In this case, those are forest nymphs. They kill weak creatures or invasive species to keep the balance of the forest. They impale you with a carnivorous plant that slowly eats you and converts your body into nutrients. Basically, they recycle.”
“whatever. Is the creek we are walking by safe to bathe in?” Csuicha wanted to get rid of the polled on herself.
“yes”—”no” said Scilla interrupting Iris.
“But it’s safe. Look…”
Iris alongside Brillo walked into the water and they started playing with each other, soaking everything they had.
“see. Totally safe” said Iris while sitting in the water that flow just below her breasts.
“if she is in, why are you stopping me Scilla? This yellow thing stinks and itches”
“well. How about you start with a hand” replied Scilla with a grin.
As Csuicha approached the creek, she started feeling the cold air. So cold that soon the same pollen she wanted to remove froze. She touched the water and as soon as her hands were in she pulled them out.
“the fuck. It’s worse than ice”
“the water is around -8°C to -12°C.” said Scilla.
“how? Why is it not frozen?”
“because this creek is mainly fed by gravron-based water which has a really low solidification temperature”
“How the hell can she swim in it?”
“well, she is basically made of the same shit and she is a product of this planet.”
Fortunately for them just 500 more meters over a hill and they arrived at their spot. A shallow yet wide river of hot water. Said river was peculiar as it starts as a normal super cold river to then flow underground where it passes near a magma cave and then return to the surface hot enough to boil. Their spot was far enough to receive only perfectly warm water just like in a hot spring. There laying and fooling in the river, they spent their day to return only in the afternoon. Ready for the big day that was coming.