Fairy Bunking Chapter 4: Napalm Martini Binge

Ubermensch raised an eyebrow. "Was she wounded?"

Scarcity shook her head, "No. I just fell from the plant when the enemy arrived."

"And then she fell several more times, and probably gave herself a good sock to the head when you three startled her so," Claptrap added. "A bath is certainly in order."

Ubermensch nodded, then glanced at Apraxia. "Why don't you three go get cleaned up while Alacrity and I figure out our status."

Apraxia sighed with relief, took Scarcity in hand, and beckoned to Claptrap. "Yes, yes. You wouldn't believe what Ubermensch lead us through. And just try and see what color my beautiful vest used to be. You can't because it's covered in human chemical sewage."

Alacrity smirked, then offered the cloth to Ubermensch. "For your face," she said. As the others left towards a nearby brook, she took a step closer to him. "It was a tiring battle," she admitted, and continued with a confession, "and pretty ridiculous. They just don't make good soldiers," she motioned towards the brook.

Ubermensch accepted the cloth and turned it over in his hand, admiring the fine embroidery on the edges. "Perfidious made a good show of it in our skirmish, but I know what you mean."

He lifted, and dabbed his eyes, then noticed a deep red vertical line along Alacrity's corset. "You're hurt," he said with concern, and reached inside her armor, his fingers gingerly drawing aside the neatly cut corset to better see the wound. Though his attention was on the wound, which was deep but not mortal, his eyes couldn't help but follow the graceful curve of Alacrity's lithe torso. The desire to kiss her, to kiss her wound, overwhelmed him.

Alacrity murmured, seeing the growing desire in his eyes, "it's not that bad," then glanced over her shoulder. "I should really clean it, though."

Ubermensch withdrew his hand, the corset's elasticity drew the material back across Alacrity's exposed side, and he nodded in agreement. "I must be a sight," he said and smirked. "We should probably form a camp. You shouldn't travel today anyway, and I know Perfidious and Apraxia could use the rest."

The fairies spent several hours basking beside the brook, cleaning themselves of the filth of battle and other things, and took their time fashioning a small encampment. Apraxia found some lavendar, and after using most of it on himself, offered the remainder to the females.

As the sun slumbered just below the horizon and a full moon brightened the evening sky, the fairies stripped their armor from their bodies and lay naked about the encampment. While Apraxia was off on an errand to scavenge equipment from the enemy, and Scarcity snored in deep slumber, Perfidious regaled the other fairies with an account of that morning.

"And there was Apraxia," Perfidious managed to say between shrill bouts of laughter, "covered in mud, with this look," he made an exaggerated, dour expression and pulled the corners of his mouth down with his fingers. "So, he holds up his hand to his vest, and all of you know how much he hates to get even a speck of dust on his clothes, so he says: camouflaged." And he fell back on a bedding of leaves, full of laughter.

Ubermensch smirked, and gave Perfidious' tale ample time to sink in, before adding, "Almost as entertaining as the Squirrel." He winked to Alacrity.

"Wha?" He looked between Ubermensch and Alacrity. "She wasn't there."

"I was most certainly here," Alacrity said. "You were in the midst of one of your courtships when you completely and suddenly ignored me and started ogling some luscious squirrel." She smiled teasingly.