[PLOT] I Swear, I'll Never Drink Again

[Twitchapher the 3rd]

The look of confusion on her face just wouldn't go away, the night was a blurred and dark after her short swim. Her fins fell as she looked worried to him. "Cabel? What happened? Why are you sorry?" What could he have done that was so bad? Nothing came to mind. He was a sweet guy after all...It just didn't make any sense to her.  

[Teigra]

The Guardians were indeed cruel, miserable creatures. If they'd had a shred of decency, they would have let Zinerva remember the night on her own and wouldn't have forced Cabel to have to explain to her what they'd done. What he'd done.

Heck, if they were half as powerful and benevolent as she'd led him to believe, maybe they would have kept this from happening at all.

"...Zinerva...I think we may have done something, while drunk, something more than just watching stars and maybe kissing," he started with an internal wince. Much as he hated to, much as he'd prefer to dance around the subject, he plunged ahead, sharing his suspicions, and more than suspicions, of exactly what they'd gotten up to on the beach the night before, tastefully leaving out any details. His cheeks were burning with shame long before he finished, and when he stopped talking, he could no longer meet her gaze, instead, dropping his head onto his arms on his knees.  

[Twitchapher the 3rd]

The naiad's cheeks flushed deep red as the memories came rushing back to her...Well..That would explain a lot, though it didn't explain him. She washed her face with water before getting up, her tail turning back into a pair of legs as she moved over to the fairy and sat beside him. "Cabel, I could say that I wasn't bother by this until I turned blue in the gills and yet I have a feeling you'd still be hunched over like this..." She looked down to the sand for a moment before looking back to him. "You spent a lot of time listening to my problems, maybe you could tell me about yours?" She wasn't too sure he'd talk but...It was worth a shot.  

[Teigra]

While he had his own issues, the Fae would have been lying to say that he wasn't also concerned with how she was going to handle this. What they did...he knew it wasn't a big deal for some, but for him? It was. It was very much a big deal. He didn't know Zinerva well enough to know how she felt on the matter. In a way, he was relieved that she was taking it this well. He felt for sure that she would hate him and blame him for what they had done.

He did.

He hadn't talked about the heaviness that weighed on his soul to anyone else in a long time. The last time he tried, well...it hadn't turned out as he'd hoped. He'd ended up frustrated and bitter, feeling even more sorry for himself than when he'd started. After a brief internal struggle, he had to hope that he'd found a more sympathetic ear this time. Or fin. Whatever.

"I have...had someone very special to me once," he started softly, his voice rough with restrained emotion as he corrected himself with a wince. "She was my entire world. She and Eudora, after we adopted her as our own. Her smile and laugh could light the entire Isle. I'd have given anything to make her happy. One day, maybe...we would have had children of our own." His voice cracked and he had to pause to compose himself before he could continue.

"She's gone now," he said after a long break. It was such a simple phrase, and yet not at all. The last he'd seen of her, a great corrupted beast of Dragnid had been hovering over her, fangs dripping, snarling viciously. Cabel had lost all sense, obviously, seeing only red as he leapt to her aid, swinging his staff at the creature's head and telling Nienna to run. He couldn't remember exactly what had happened next. They'd been split up, perhaps the beast knocked him out and pursued her, perhaps she'd gotten away. That's what he had hoped.

But she never came home.

"She's gone," he resumed, eyes peering sightlessly over his arms towards the water. "Everyone says I should accept that...that she's never coming back," his voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. "But, I just can't. I can't accept that she's just gone, like that. And what we did...I feel like I've betrayed her in the worst possible way..." he trailed off, silent tears tracing their way down his cheeks.  

[Twitchapher the 3rd]

She closed her eyes and listened to his story very carefully, only opening them once he had finished. This poor fairy. Life was so cruel. She simply warped one of her arms around him, giving him something to lean on. The poor fairy needed it right about now.

"Cabel," She softly spoke to him, trying to word herself carefully. "I agree, never forget her...Though I don't think you ever could. It's clear to me your love was stronger for her than the world and the sun...I could say a lot...Though I doubt it would help. This is a topic I know little about...Although..."

She paused and removed her arm from him, looking out to the water. "I do want to say one thing... Perhaps it will help...If she could see you...If she could see your sadness...To see this cloud of despair over you....How would she feel?" It was a simple question...But a dangerous one. She didn't want to make this worst then it is.  

[Teigra]

Such a simple gesture, and yet, so strong. Cabel drew strength from the casual one-armed hug, taking it as it was meant to be; a gesture of sympathy and support, nothing more, nothing less. There was nothing overly intimate about the gesture, nothing like last night; he felt no guilt in taking comfort in it.

And yet, he still hesitated before answering. "I know, in my head, that she wouldn't want to see me like this," he admitted sorrowfully. "That I'm a mess and I need to learn to pick up and move on. It's just..." He sighed How could he explain? "It's one thing to move on and try to live without waiting for her to come back every minute of the day. It feels like something altogether to betray her...or even...her memory...like this," he struggled to say. No matter what Zinerva said, it would still feel like betrayal in his heart.

He wiped his eyes, feeling a bit silly all of a sudden. Here he was, sobbing like some child, and this poor Naiad woman was having to console him! "Zinerva? Are you sure that you're okay with this? I mean, I know I have my other issues and all, but this isn't something I'd personally take lightly anyway. I mean, Nienna was the only one I'd ever been with..." he trailed off, his cheeks flushed. "Look, I...I'm very sorry for what happened," he continued, rushing along. "And it's nothing against you of course! Just, that I don't normally do this sort of thing and I don't want to give the wrong impression, and if you're mad, it's okay, I'd understand..."  

[Twitchapher the 3rd]

She shook her head again with a smile. "Besides my skin feeling like it's going to tear it's self off of me to get back into the water I'm fine....I'm more worried about you Cabel." She said rubbing her arms. She had gone into the water but for not long enough. It was already drying out once again and causing her pain. Sleeping on the beach was not the smartest idea. As much as she wanted to help him, it was getting to the point where she just was in too much pain to help. To be a naiad at times were limiting.  

[Teigra]

Her choice of words made Cabel cringe sympathetically, and he felt bad once more for seeming so dependent and in need of comfort. How pathetic was he? "Don't worry about me. Please," he added, feeling self-conscious. He hadn't had many Pae to worry about him in a long time. It made him uncomfortable to think about it now.

"You should worry about yourself. Come on, let's get you back to the water." It wasn't as if he was rushing to push her away; he really did appreciate her concern and understanding. It was just...still a little awkward, and besides, the thought that she might be enduring pain just for the sake of talking with him made Cabel feel ill. He climbed to his feet, brushed off the loose sand, then bent to pick her up. "It's the least I can do," he explained.  

[Twitchapher the 3rd]

She smiled and took his offer of help, standing up slowly. "Thank you Cabel...Now please..Don't beat yourself up over this for too long...I don't think she would want to see you so sad...Hanging onto her memory is one thing...Honoring it is another." She smiled to him softly once again before taking a few wobbly steps back into the water. She closed her eyes as the cool water lapped around her legs. She kept walking, waiting until the water was deep enough before diving under and like that, was gone back into her water world.  

[Twitchapher the 3rd]

((TIME SKIP POWERS GOOOOO~))

Zinerva let out a yawn as she looked out to the water before letting her head hang between her legs. It had been some time since she had been on land, not even to see her brother. To be honest she just didn't have time anymore. Not since her time was Cabel...Was that really the last time she had been out? Well...It was his fault...Though she could never blame him and was her fault that she didn't tell him...Couldn't tell him. This had all been a giant mess since day one. She slowly lifted her head to see the two toddler Sprites rolling around in the surf...Her and Cabel's sons.

It had been a rough few months for the female. She had left the safety around the Palace and moved out on her own. She couldn't let anyone know. Between her 'brother' being an angelic and her children being hybrids..She'd be in deep waters.

Her thoughts where interrupted from her blue son playing with her feet. She chuckled and smiled. She wanted to tell Cabel...It was his right after all even if all they would cause was pain to him. She trued to convince her brother to let her look for Cabel but all Aquos did was bring up two very good points. One, a pregnant sea naiad out of water for any length of time would endanger her and her unborn children and...They didn't know where he was. Her brother went to look for him but he was a tricky fairy to find.

Raising two boys alone...Zinerva would have never thought she'd be doing this. All her time was now spent rounding them up and trying not to let them get into trouble. And so here they were. On the beach. She figured the meeting of the two worlds they lived in would be enough to keep them amused for the moment...Until they got bored....She didn't have a plan b...Zinvera let out a groan as she tried to come up with said plan b...Which she felt she would need very soon.  

[Teigra]

Sorting through the wreckage of the HQ may not have resulted in the treasures that he'd hoped to find, but it had in some unexpected ones. Still, one could only spend so much time salvaging wreckage. Today found the brightly-colored Faery walking along the lake's edge, enjoying the sun and the feeling of the sands beneath his toes. It was a welcome break from the dirty work and monotony.

Still, Cabel had a rare day where he had no plans for anything he needed to do, except relax. Otherwise, he'd drive himself into the ground with the stress, and then where would he be? No closer to his goal, that was for sure.

So, made his way leisurely down the beach, dragging his staff tip in the sands and leaving wandering trails in his wake.  

[Twitchapher the 3rd]

Zinerva closed her eyes and flopped herself back on the beach. It had been so long since she was able to just...Enjoy the rays of the sun. She couldn't do it for long but when she could...Man it was nice. She closed her eyes and let the feeling of the warm rays spread warmth all over her body.


It was one of the toddlers that had spotted the approaching strange male on the beach. His mom was too busy and or possibly asleep at this point. The odd one was slow but never the less, they would cross paths. There was only one thing that a toddler like him could do...He sat on his bum and started to screech uncontrollably, startling his mother and just about everything else that could hear him cry.  

[Teigra]

Nearby, the toddler's brother was startled by his twin's sudden cry. Having previously been busy building a castle, which looked more like a shapeless pile of sand, the warmer hued brother jumped, alarmed. He grabbed a handful of sand, throwing it at his brother with a wordless cry; some sort of toddler-language reprimand, likely. After that, he put his hands over his ears, continuing to shout in gibberish at his brother.

The sudden eruption of chaos brought the Fae to an abrupt stop. What the...? Nearby, two colorful children played in the sands...Naiad children? They had fins, even on land. How odd...maybe they didn't get the whole 'magic legs when on land' perk until they got older. Just beyond the kids, an adult Naiad lounged near the edge of the water, likely their parent, Cabel assumed.

Wait...was that...Zinerva?  

[Twitchapher the 3rd]

Zinerva sighed as one of her son's started to cry...Then she got sand thrown around her by the other. Such was the way of motherhood. She sat up and scooped up her screaming child. "Hey hey it's ok nothing happened...Come on what's gotten into you?" She struggled to keep the toddler still as he fused and squirmed, his eyes fixed on Cabel and growling at him, his fae fins flared out which was a failed attempt at intimidation.  

[Teigra]

Amitola seemed much more bothered by his brother's shrill screaming than by the appearance of the stranger. That was interesting; screaming was irritating. Chucking more sand at his brother, he hoped that Mommy could get him to be quiet. Sand wasn't working.

Apparently, she hadn't noticed him yet. It was a wide open beach, but then again, she was a bit distracted at the moment. Cabel frowned, looking at the tots. The one in her arms looked much like her, but the one still on the sands, warmer hued, curious, meeting his eyes without hesitation...

Cabel's stomach felt uneasy. Like he'd eaten a hive of live bees.

Coming closer, he frowned again, stepping into the edge of her sight. "Zinerva?"