“Ugh. I guess you’re right.” I stabbed at some fruit and grabbed a boiled egg. I picked up the yogurt and eyed the label. “Premium Goat’s Milk”. Great. I guess around here, I was the cow. We found a seat and munched for a few minutes in silence. Swallowing the tasteless egg and yogurt was torture. At least the fruit was ripe. A long-legged redhead with absolutely enormous breasts came over and sat down next to us.
“I’m Ava. I’m one of two elves here.” Her ears were a dead giveaway.
“Where is the other elf, one of two, Ava?” Vivica smirked.
“You tell me. I haven’t been able to find her. I’m told her name is Amara.” She kicked her leg over her other leg and jiggled her foot. Her hair was voluminous and shiny, and her eyes were bright and seeking. Her button nose had a sprinkling of freckles on it. She was quite cute. Her breasts definitely elevated her up quite a bit. I could imagine that the shapeshifters were going to go crazy for her figure. I hoped I was going to be able to get in on that action. What was wrong with me? I was starting to feel like a dieter in a chocolate shop. When was the last time I was around this many people at once? It was almost dizzying. She put her hand on my knee.
“Where are you from?” She leaned in enough so I could smell her perfume. It smelled like freshly mown grass.
“I’m from around.” Where was I from? We never stayed in one place more than a few weeks.
“Well that’s informative.” Ava smiled, but her eyes were stormy. I wondered how many people had ever told her no in her life.
“I’m not the sharing type.” Did I mind Ava or anyone else, knowing that I didn’t have a traditional home growing up? Of course not. But, I would be damned if I was going to give her a win in this power game she thought she had going on. Ava put on a strained smile and turned towards Vivica.
“Well, what about you sweetheart?” Sweetheart fell from her lips like sugar. This chick was good. Vivica lapped up the attention.
“I’m from a little town a few hours south of Derry forests. Really rural. More cows than people sort of deal. It’s a charming place. I kind of miss it.” Her face turned cloudy and her mouth turned down at the corners. I was going to have my work cut out for me trying to erase that look from her face. My heart might be coated in steel, but it was all marshmallow on the inside.
“Farm girl, huh?” Ava leaned in and twirled her hair. What did she want from us? Her sentiments were warm, and her body language was spot on, but I didn’t trust her. She was an elf after all and this was a competition.
“Total farm girl. Before I came here, I was milking cows and helping my father plow the fields. It’s a very simple life. I wanted more. You know everyone around me knows everyone else. There isn’t anything new or exciting around for miles.” Why hadn’t she told me that was the reason she joined? I didn’t like how much information Ava was getting. She wasn’t trying very hard and Vivica was spilling her guts. I needed to divert attention away from her and quickly, before she revealed more weakness than she already had.
“I was born in the city.” Vivica’s eyes popped. I’d told her about my nomadic childhood, so this was in direct contradiction to what I had said before. I could only hope she wouldn’t correct me in front of Ava or get upset. Please catch on Vivica. “I grew up in a slum of sorts. We never had enough to eat. There were rats and cockroaches everywhere. Sometimes I can still hear the scratching.”
Ava wrinkled her nose. “That sounds terrible. It must have been really traumatic for you.”
“Totally. I was also in an abusive relationship. Any type of submissive and dominant dynamic sends me into a panic. I really hope that there isn’t anything of that here. As soon as one of those shapeshifters expects me to obey, I’m toast.” I could see the wheels turning in Vivica’s mind. She tilted her head to the side and pursed her lips.
“Don’t forget your history of Goblin fever. You had that at least three times, right?” Vivica chimed in. You clever fox. I could kiss you right here in front of everyone.
“Oh yeah, that was the worst. No sanitation in the cities. I caught Goblin fever every winter when I was in primary school. My leg will never be the same.” I rubbed my knee and winced.
Ava smiled. “Well, you’re okay now. That’s all that matters.”
I leaned in really close to Ava and put my hand over my mouth as if I was whispering a secret in her ear. “Well, actually one of my legs is shorter than the other. I limp a bit, but just don’t tell anyone. I don’t want to get kicked out of the competition before it gets started, okay?”
“Cross my heart.” Ava motioned the crossing of her heart with her fingers. “We’re all friends here, aren’t we?”
She smiled so broadly that it appeared as if her teeth sharpened. Almost as if she could taste the juiciness of the knowledge I’d just imparted. Now I was sure, she was fishing for advantages to exploit. Now that we’d given her some, she was going to go away.
“Well, ladies. It’s been a pleasure. I’m going to get going. I want to eat a bit more before we have our doctor’s appointments. Don’t want the doctor to think I’m too frail to breed.” Ava smiled and stood up. With a wave, she sauntered off to another table, presumably to pull the same stunt. Vivica leaned into me and grabbed my thigh.
“How did you know?” Her face was filled with concern and worry.
“She’s an elf. That put me automatically on guard. It isn’t that they are evil. Charm is one of their strengths. In this type of situation, where we are all in a competition, everyone is going to exploit their strengths. Hers is to charm the pants off of all her enemies. She uses smarts instead of strength.”
“I’m so glad I have you here,” and she needed me, no question.
“I’m glad I’m here too. You just have to be more careful. I’m surprised they even invited humans to participate. This is quite the cutthroat competition.”
“How am I supposed to exploit my strengths when I have none? I’m hopeless.”
“That’s not true. Even humans have strength. You proved it just now. Without me telling you what was happening, you were able to figure it out. Humans have more developed empathy than a lot of other species. Use it to your advantage. Also, most people want their children to be able to move around freely in the world. Humans have the largest territory in the world and there’s no one hunting humans. Well, except for vampires.”
“That’s true. You’ve made me feel so much better.” Vivica reached over and placed a dry peck on my cheek. My face burned. I looked around to see if anyone saw.
“Relax. Even if someone did see, that was a friendly kiss. Humans do it all the time.”