Arc 1 Part 5
Pearluna rolled up her white lab coat’s sleeves as she picked up a crawfish and held it up for Vil to see. “First you grab have one hand grip the tail and the other grip the head like so.” Her right hand was on the tail while her left was wrapped around the head where the claw arms reached the body. “Twist the tail and pull.” Her right hand first twisted the tail. There was a cracking sound as she then followed up pulling the tail off. “And that’s step one.”
“Okay… so like this?” Vil did his best to copy the vampire’s motions. He winced as parts of the crustacean’s hot armor poked his fingers as they started to grip it. As he started to twist and pull the tail, with force, the tail slide off the head fast enough to flick some of the inner juices onto his face.
The vampire giggled. “Looks like you got one with a loose tail. Here let me.” She put her crawfish head down and picked up a napkin. She then reached over and wiped the juices off of Vil’s face.
When she finished, the vampire gripped the crawfish tail. “Now you straighten the tail and bend it back a bit to help make it easier to get the meat out. Once that is done you use your thumb at the bottom of the tail and push the meat out like so.” She made it look so easy as she handled the tail. The meat almost slid out without any resistance. When finished she discarded the exoskeleton on one side of her plate.
“Now before you eat the tail meat, you need to look at the top right here.” Pearluna showed Vil a brown color strand going down the length of the top of the tail. “Just pick this up and put it where your discarded parts will be.”
Vil now had a question. “What’s wrong with the brown part?”
“It’s crawfish excrement.” The witch replied simply as she put said brown strand with the discarded exoskeleton. She then held the tail meat in front of herself. “And that is how you get the tail meat out of a crawfish.” She then put the tail in her mouth and started to chew. “Mmmhh oh how the flavor just explodes in the mouth!”
Vil started to push the tail meat out of his exoskeleton but it got stuck. “Um it’s stuck.”
“Okay if that happens grip where the red top armor touches the bottom.” Pearluna demonstrated, already with a new tail torn from another crawfish head. “Pull them apart and it will make it easier to get the meat out with less armor wrapped around it.”
The blacksmith adjusted his grip with his fingers. He pulled followed by a resounding crack as the exoskeleton gave way. He then tried to push the tail out of the remaining exoskeleton. Now the meat came out. He checked for crawfish excrement and found none. “Here goes.” He said as he put the meat into his mouth.
The flavor of the seasonings exploded in his mouth. The meat was smooth and the umami was all over his tastebuds. The heat from the spices set fire to his mouth but was not uncomfortable. As he swallowed he saw Pearluna smiling at him.
“Well, what do you think?” She asked.
“It tastes amazing!” He exclaimed. “So what do I do with the head?” He held up the head of the crawfish.
Pearluna picked up one of the crawfish heads she had. “Well you can try to suck out the meat from the head like so.” Her lips wrapped around the opening where the tail and head were separated, Vil then saw her start sucking on the head.
When she finished, she gripped one of the claws and tore it off. “Another and more difficult thing to do is to either pull the meat out of the claws and legs or suck them out.” She then put the claw end on her lips and started to suck the meat out. She then made a disappointed face and pulled the claw out. “But the meat sometimes just won’t come out. I just recommend to people new to eating crawfish to just eat the tails. It’s less stressful.” She put the rest of her crawfish’s body parts with the empty tails on her plate.
Vil took the vampire’s advice and discarded his first crawfish head and started to work on his next. He repeated Pearluna’s instructions as he gripped the crawfish ‘Okay twist and pull. Now try and push the meat out like she showed me.’ This time the tail meat did not resist and slipped out of its exoskeleton prison.
The blacksmith started chewing on his second tail as he reached for his third. “Now you’re getting it.” The witch smiled at him. “After a while it will be a process you can do without needing to look.”
The pair continued to eat until Pearluna decided to ask. “I’m curious, when you said you are a blacksmith I expected you to only be making weapons and armor. After all you invited me to make your creations enchanted. So I figured we were making weapons for the most part. But I did not expect you to be well versed in carpentry. How did you learn this?”
Vil swallowed a tail before speaking. “My teacher was a dragon named Kunin. He had taken a more human form but still had his horns, wings, and tail.” He picked up his cup of water and took a sip before continuing.
“It’s nice to hear that the dragons are branching out of their home.” Pearluna commented.
“He told me that he came to our village to enjoy a simpler lifestyle. I was an orphan in the village. The whole town pitched in to raise me. But when Kunin saw that I was interested in watching him work the village forge, he took me in.” Vil reminisced. “Granted he started me off with just cleaning before letting me even touch a hammer. He always said, ‘If you want to learn a craft, you will familiarize yourself with every part.’ Sometimes I wonder if he knew what my affin was before I did.”
“Sounds like he was the closest thing you had to a father.” Pearluna put another crawfish tail in her mouth.
“He was, I mean is. He’s still alive.” Vil clarified. “But even I was caught off guard when he had me start making wooden toys and not work with metal. He wanted me to be familiar with every material that can be shaped by hand. We basically became the village’s main source for building materials and tools.”
“What made you leave?” The vampire inquired. “It sounds like you were happy there.”
“Kunin actually wanted me to leave. He said that I should ‘go out and seek what you don’t have and cherish it when it is found.’ I still don’t know what he meant.” Vil tore off another tail and started to push the meat out. “But right now I want to be financially stable before I go looking for whatever he wants me to find.”
Before Pearluna could think of a response, she and Vil heard heavy footsteps approach their table. “So how’s our pair of guests doing this fine afternoon? The crawfish agree with you? I just finished making what was left in the crate.” Captain Ajun bellowed.
Pearluna sucked on a crawfish head before responding. “It’s very good! Your own seasoning mix?”
“You are correct and wrong little witch! I just add more of the hot stuff as the crew demands till they are satisfied.” The alligator head laughed and started to walk away. “Enjoy the rest of the afternoon!”
As the pair watched the captain walk away to join other sailors, Pearluna stared at Vil. “How about another plate before we go?”
“I like the sound of that.” Was Vil’s response as the two got up and got another serving.
They enjoyed their afternoon meal in peace as the sailors were entertaining themselves. When the witch and blacksmith finished they decided to head back to their room to let their stomachs settle.
<Scene Change>
“Ahhh that was good!” Pearluna said as the pair entered their room. She immediately took her coat and hat off as Vil sat on the edge of the bed.
“So what now?” Vil ran his hand through his hair. Aside from him getting seasick earlier and eating, there seemed to not be much else to do.
Pearluna gave him a soft smile. “I was thinking that you do something for me since I done a lot for you today.” She was referring to her giving him a massage and teaching him how to eat crawfish.
Vil saw no problems with that. “You are right. I do especially owe you for the massage.”
“Perfect.” The witch then undid her bowtie and put in her hanging lab coat’s pocket.
As she started unbuttoning her dark blue shirt, Vil immediately turned his head away from her. She saw this action and sighed in disappointment. When she finished unbuttoning her sleeveless shirt, revealing her simple black bra, she hung it next to her coat. She then removed her skirt, revealing her short shorts and then proceeded to take off her shoes and sat cross legged next to Vil.
Vil just stared straight at the ground, trying to give the witch privacy. He then heard her sigh. “I appreciate the thought but…” Suddenly Vil felt his left hand be grabbed and then placed on a soft smooth surface. He turned his head and saw that Pearluna had placed his hand on her bare stomach. “I have been on beaches. I have seen shirtless boys that tried to feel me and met boys too scared to even shake my hand.” Vil, face completely red, was now trying to pull his hand off of her.
Pearluna would not budge. “You are a kind person but please answer this, do I come off as that shallow even after our morning escapade in your sleeping bag?”
Vil had stopped struggling against her vampiric strength and thought about what she said. He saw that her cheeks were a little rose colored for the predicament she put them both in as well. But she is right, she had defused his morning accident of sleeping on her chest. She even did not made it awkward when she massaged him on the boat.
Vil took a deep breath. “No, you have been very kind and patient. A little teasing when you rested your head on my chest this morning but you never got aggressive.”
The witch smiled. “Thank you. Now are you comfortable enough to give me a massage?”
Vil tried to pull his hand back. “Can I have my hand back, please?” The vampire still pressed his hand onto her stomach.
“Your face is still red. I’ll let go when it stops.” She replied as the rose color from her face had receded.
Vil took a deep breath and felt the color slowly leave his face. Obviously it was not enough because Pearluna still had not let his arm go. He couldn’t fight her vampiric strength, so he had to make her let go.
Suddenly Vil had an idea to make Pearluna let go. She had unknowingly placed his hand on what was hopefully vulnerable to this new tactic. He started to wiggle his trapped hand’s fingers on Pearluna’s stomach to tickle her.
Pearluna’s reaction was immediate. Her face tried to fight her laughter and keep Vil’s hand in place. Eventually she burst into cute giggles but still held Vil’s hand. Pearluna stayed in this giggly state for a while before she had to give what Vil wanted. “Okay!” She giggled. “You win. Just stop the tickling!” She had let go of Vil’s hand.
Satisfied Vil rested his hand back onto his lap. “Nice to know you have a cute weakness.” He saw the witch just roll her eyes playfully at him.
“Well now that you got your nervousness out of the way…” Pearluna then proceeded to lie facedown on their bed. She moved her long white hair to one side and followed up by undoing the back part of her bra to give Vil access to her whole back. “It’s time for you to get started on repaying my massage. First pickup the lavender oil and put some on your hands.” Vil saw where she put it next to the bed and proceeded to follower her directions.
The blacksmith saw where she put it next to the bed and proceeded to follower her directions of applying the oil onto his hands. He then repositioned himself and lay his hands on the vampire’s shoulders. Her skin was smooth and soft like her stomach was. “I will guide you and will let you know if your hands get close to where they shouldn’t be. And please no tickling.” He could see her smiling at him with her head laying sideways towards him.
“Okay, start by pushing your thumbs and move them in circular motions.” She directed. Vil did as he was told and his thumbs glided across Pearluna’s upper back. “Aaah that feels good. Now keep performing that motion and move your hands down the spin.”
As Vil neared Pearluna’s mid back, she mentioned. “You can press down some more.” He did so and could now feel her spine under her skin as he reached the vampire’s lower back, the lavender smell was getting more pronounced. “Move your hands more to my sides so that your thumbs are away from my spine. Then continue the circular motion and work your way up my back.”
Vil did so, it was simple enough. He had to press his fingers against her sides to keep balances so that the pressure from his thumbs did not recede. As he got to the top of her shoulders, Pearluna spoke again. “Nicely done. Now repeat the pattern going down my spine then up my outer back.”
As Vil started to do so he had to ask. “How long should I do this?”
Pearluna gently released a pleased sigh. “Aaah until I tell you to or I fall asleep. This is just the basics, I don’t want to overwhelm you with any of the more complicated techniques I did for you.”
The massage went on for a while but Vil did not mind. He eyes slowly got lost in looking at Pearluna’s back from performing the repeating pattern. Eventually he looked up at the small window in their room and saw that the afternoon sun had completely set. However, Pearluna still had her eyes open and she clearly was still enjoying the massage.
She noticed him looking out the window as well. “That’s enough.” She reattached her bra’s back part. Pearluna then rolled over and sat up.
“Yeah, it’s getting late.” Vil responded but then he saw the vampire shake her head with a soft hint of mischievousness.
“Oh you’re not done.” She placed her feet on Vil’s lap. “I gave you a massage and taught you how to eat crawfish.”
“Pearluna it’s late. I can do something for you tomorrow.” He tried to push her feet off but she kept them from moving and she shook her head.
Vil just sighed. I looks like he’s going to have to force her again. “Okay, but remember you asked for this.”
Pearluna looked confused as he wrapped on arm around one of her ankles. But that confusion was replaced with her giggling uncontrollably as she felt the blacksmith’s fingers start tickling her sole. “No! I want a massage, not tickling!” She laughed.
“Till you tell me to stop or you fall asleep, those were your instructions.” Vil continued sliding his fingers on her smooth soft pale skin, keeping the vampire in her giggling state.
It took a while but just like before Pearluna gave up. “Okay!” She laughed “Stop! You can do something tomorrow!” After uttering those words, Vil honored them and let her foot go.
Pearluna started to put herself under the bed’s covers. Vil then asked. “What about your shirt, like last time in the tent?” He was keeping his shirt on, he expected her to do the same.
A little worn out Pearluna replied. “You tired me out. Besides you are not a threat to my purity.” She rolled up against the wall. “That should be enough room for you.”
Vil blew out the candle in their room and used the moon’s glow through the window to slid into the bed covers and remained on his side. He turned his head to see Pearluna staring back. Smiling, Vil bid her “Good night.”
“Good night.” She replied softly. The pair then drifted off to dreamland.
