I marched down the stairs till I got to the bottom, trying not to stomp my feet as I went. I turned and headed to the kitchen and another to the glass-domed area.
I closed the door behind myself and went to sit down in front of the glass, crossing my legs. I had really let that woman get to me, but Machariel’s attitude was out of line.
*Wataluga: Do you mind if we join you, or would you prefer to be alone right now?*
“It’s fine,” I said out loud, and all four of my elementals emerged from the Totem Tattoos on my body.
“Well, that bird is a hard one to swallow!” Grogvel laughed, making Wataluga vibrate, but the rumble felt normal now.
“You can say that again,” I groaned, staring out into the blue.
“You can’t fix them all, but I think each of the women has their own degree of trauma. This Machariel seems to have the same story as most Demon women. Taken advantage of by a stronger male. It can’t be easy for them to live knowing that and then be hunted after for something you didn’t choose,” Fireden explained as she sat beside me.
Wataluga came and sat on my other side, and the other two sat further down.
“I am sure that with time, you will come to some sort of understanding with her. There are very few men in this ship, so you might be able to show her that not all men are the same,” Wataluga said, but I gave him a sideways look.
“What do I care? She clearly is just going to keep pushing me away or expecting me to grovel for her. I am not that person, and I don’t really see the point in it,” I said, turning back to stare forward into the blue.
“Didn’t you invite them? You told everyone to come if they wanted, so they are your responsibility. If you didn’t want to deal with these problems, you should have kept your mouth shut. That is better than offering something that you don't plan to follow up on,” Windorf stated, and I winced.
That was true, and I had invited them on this ship, but was I really responsible for a person's mental state?
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was actually my job partially to keep everyone sane. If Machariel started to go off the deep end, that would affect the other girls.
As much as I said that I would just jettison her ass, I really wasn’t that type of person. I had just been made and said some things I didn’t mean.
“You are right, but that still doesn't help me figure out what to do about Machariel. She hates men, and I am one, so that inherently makes this harder than it should be,” I complained.
“I think that you might want to ask Nushi about that. I think she can give you a rundown of why Machariel is the way she is,” Fireden offered, but I wasn’t sure about that.
Nushi’s powers were so strong that she had been able to step inside Tiga’s memories and then remove Mark from Calabro, the Manticore. I was leery about asking her to look for my own reasons.
“While I approve of Nushi having her powers, I have a hard time asking her to look into specific people's minds for my own reasons. Her power is so incredibly strong that I am almost scared of its potential,” I explained, and all four elementals nodded their heads.
“I can agree with you on that, but that power has to be one of the biggest burdens in its current form. Nushi can hear all our thoughts all the time right now, as far as I know, yet she is able to hold herself together in large groups,” Fireden explained.
“Think about how loud it must be for her training with the other girls right now? Most of them don’t want to be there, and they will be complaining openly, but most of it will be unspoken,” Wataluga said, and I nodded with a sigh.
“Hey, I said I approve of her having it; I just think there must be a better way,” I explained.
“What is the point of you giving her the System if you are not going to make use of it? Do you know how many times you are going to need her help in the future? You should ask my daughter to stick close to her, and I don’t suggest that you put her in any danger. She is going to be the key to peacefully dealing with people that don’t want peace,” Windorf explained.
“I suppose you are right, and I will talk to Hydie and Nushi about them sticking together. I need to go talk to Nushi after this, but she is still with the other girls for now. I am just going to relax here for a while. I would like to try and figure out how to deal with Machariel, but I will just have to ask Nushi to do some digging like you suggested,” I said with a sigh, then looked up at a strange-looking shark or something swimming past the front of the ship.
I had seen a few things out in the blue, but none of them had breasts or arms, making this creature stand out. The creature had been black and white like a killer whale, but a much thinner shark-like body with a long tail.
“Did you just see that creature?” I asked out loud as I looked around for where the girl had gone.
“I am pretty sure that is Mati. She is Mary and Missy’s sister,” Fireden said, and the other nodded, and I joined them.
Then there was a thump and the squeaking noise of rubber on glass, and I looked up.
Mati, the Killer Whale/Mermaid, had her face and naked body pressed into the glass dome. She was also waving at us.
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