William:
Will lifted a paw and rubbed at his eyes. Somehow he knew the sun was setting, he always knew. It was his body, his biological clock. He knew when to wake up and when he was running out of time before the sun came up again. He felt more rested than he had in a while. Had he ever slept that well? He couldn't remember.
A shiver passed through him and the chill sleep had staved off settled in his bones. He realized he was on the water shelf and the weather hadn't warmed enough for him to be comfortable doing that. Why in the world had he... And then the previous night came back to him. The fox, Ariel, her letting him feed from her, taking her to his den... Damn, he was some kind of messed up.

Ariel:
Ariel had felt as weak as a newborn bobcat kitten, and so she had slept and rather soundly at that. One vivid blue eye slowly pulled open and then she sat up a bit startled to find herself somewhere strange. She looked at Will and slowly smiled relaxing again and resting her head on her paws. "Mmmm is it evening already?" She gave a small yawn and blushed lifting a paw to cover her mouth. Goodness but she felt she could just go right on sleeping, still she forced herself to sit up a bit. Ariel wasn't given to indulging in laziness, she was too eager for all the things life had to offer and show her.

William:
"Yeah, about that time," Will replied with a yawn of his own, though he didn't try to hide it. A shiver passed through him before he could fight it down and he inwardly grumbled over it and the fact that he was cold. But he didn't want to let go of Ariel just yet. He still had one paw wrapped around her and she was resting mostly on his chest. It was a nice feeling, but his reluctance made him worry that he was going down the same path as before. He should just take her back to the river and save himself the trouble.

And yet he couldn't toy with the idea for very long without feeling like an idiot. He didn't want to let her go. And he didn't trust the rest of the world. Here, he could keep an eye out for her. And Mel knew she was here in case something happened to him. Troubled by his thoughts, he sighed and rubbed his paw across his eyes again.

Ariel:
Ariel snuggled a bit closer to Will's chest her tail still submerged in the water. It felt odd to have her fur dry, though she had dreamed of the sensation of waking up in the sun and stretching four paws instead of two. She still only had two, and there was no sun to speak of, but she still felt oddly warm inside, like a dream had still come true. Maybe it was Will, maybe his friendship was the thing she had needed, someone who understood what it was like to be different, so different you had to be isolated.

She gazed up at him and watched him rub his eyes. "Still tired?" She asked curiously unaware of his sleeping patterns. The more she found out about Will the closer she felt to him, she wondered about his family, what his sister was like, if he had others? Her mind seemed to tingle trying to dig up anything she could remember, things Xylia had shared with her little tidbits about the normal otters who lived such fullfilling lives.

William:
Will smiled a bit and shook his head.
"No, not really. Just have a lot on my mind," he replied and gave her a short squeeze. He noticed her fur was dry and found it interesting. It felt softer to him than other otters' fur. Maybe because she was in the water more often than any other otter he could think of. He couldn't resist rubbing his paw over her back and twirling it a bit in her hair.

"Huh. How backward is this? You're half dry, and I'm almost completely soaked through," he asked with small, amused smirk.

Ariel:
She murmured softly and closed her eyes pleased by his soft touch, the sensation was so rare. She snuggled closer against his chest and then let out a soft laugh as she nodded.
"It's strange isn't it?" she opened her eyes and smiled up at him then frowned as she pawed his damp clothes. "You must be cold though...your not used to being wet."

William:
"Yeah, but I'll live," Will replied with a short shrug. True, he was cold and not used to being this wet, but in the end it was worth it. It actually made him look forward to the warmer weather. Normally he hated it when the world warmed because the nights grew shorter. But if he could wake up like this every evening... He shook the thoughts from his mind. It was dangerous territory.

"We should probably go outside, though, I suppose," he added even though he made no move to do so.

Ariel:
She softy rubbed his chest and nodded when he said they should go out. Hopefully some of the suns warmth would still linger and he could get dry and warm. She looked around and then blinked hmmm... "You'll get all wet again getting out though won't you?" She tilted her head and frowned a bit. Pity he didn't seem to dry out as easily as she did, just a little while away from the water and she felt her throat rasp in pain.

William:
Will actually chuckled a bit and nodded.
"Yeah, but I'll be okay. Just means I'll have to set them out to dry for the evening." He liked his clothes, mostly because he didn't have any fancy coloring. He was like his grandfather, mostly wearing the clothes to show off. Thankfully he wasn't completely clothed, so he had less to dry. And his boots weren't wet, either. Maybe he would start wearing them less, he thought while wiggling his toes a bit. They were a little cumbersome and didn't really add too much to his appearance.

"Come on," he finally said, moving to slip them off of the shelf and fully into the water.

Ariel:
Ariel swam in an excited loop once she was back in the water fully, her hair went wild around her for a moment. She dove down and then swam back to circle Will and follow him out. Her memory of this place was awfully hazy, but she was glad he had brought her to a place where they could be together. It was as if they had their own private world where water, land, night, or day didn't matter. She could feel the rush of energy as the water hit her fur, her skin soaking it up eagerly.

William:
Will swam with her through the tunnel of water, smiling over her enthusiasm. Did she know how graceful she was under the water? The way she swam was almost like a dance. Hell, it was better than any dance he had seen on land. He swam around her, taking his time before heading to the surface. There was a small smile on his face as he moved around her. Part of him wanted to say something, which would likely be a stupid move on his part. Thankfully he was saved by the fact that he couldn't really communicate under the water.

He looked up to the surface and saw nothing but moonlight above, so he spiraled up to the surface of the water and towards the shore.

Ariel:
Smiling she twirled around hims once her fin grazing his back before he shot up and she swam after him. She popped out of the water and flipped her hair back. "Quite the secluded little den you managed to find. Thanks for sharing it with me..." She added softly and swam over to lean on the shore bank. He was soaking wet again, no doubt uncomfortable. She was soaked as well, but for her it felt as natural as the air he surrounded himself with.

William:
"I didn't really find it. I actually paid a muskrat to build it for me, with suggestions on some features I wanted," Will replied as he climbed out of the water, on the side of the lake where the bank fell straight down into the water several feet. He pulled the tie from his hair and stretched the strip of cloth out on the ground to dry, removing and setting his vest next to it. He followed that with both sash and pants, suddenly feeling rather plain-looking in his unclothed, unmarked, beige-colored fur. He shook himself of the water, sending droplets flying.

Ariel:
"Paid a muskrat?" She tilted her head curiously just as when she had heard of Lovett's shop. the idea of payments and selling things was a confusing one to her. She lived off the bounty of the water and never had a need to pay anyone for anything. Her eyes widened a bit as she watched him remove his clothes. She had never seen Will without some scrap of material covering him.
She averted her gaze for only a moment before curiosity won out and she looked him over. His fur was a perfect even pale peach color and she thought he looked almost angelic with his hair down. She gave a small giggle and then blushed and stifled the sound.

William:
"Yeah," Will replied as he focused on smoothing out his wet clothing. "I guess trade is a better word, though. My old territory was very marshy and he thought it would be a better home for his family and I had been looking for a cleaner area, so we traded. In exchange for building the den, I gave him a few pearls for his mate and check the old area once every couple of nights or so just to make sure no one's trying to move in on him."

He didn't notice her look until he heard the giggle. Giggle? He looked up, frowning over why she would giggle at him. And then he saw the blush. He wasn't entirely sure what had caused it, so he tilted his head.
"Ariel? Are you okay?"

Ariel:
"Ohh thats nice of you!" She smiled and brushed a paw along her cheek hoping the blush was gone. Will was protecting a family, he had protected her from the fox, he was such a sweet guy. She coughed a bit and ran her claws through her hair pulling it into a ponytail for a moment before letting it go.
"Yes...yes I'm fine. I've just never seen you undressed."

William:
Will pondered how to follow that statement. He knew there were some otters that were more human-like when it came to clothing, those that felt naked without their clothes. He just used them for decoration, to make himself appear more interesting. He looked away and shrugged.

"I usually don't wear them when I swim or sleep. They're mostly to make up for the fact that I have a very plain coat pattern," he replied, running his claws through his hair to sort it out a bit.

Ariel:
"Really? Because you know you look rather angelic without them on...thats what I was just thinking..." She blushed a bit to admit it and let herself sink a bit lower in the water. She had tried to decorate herself once a long time ago in the deeper salty water before the reserve. Starfish and beautiful underwater flowers had tamed her wild hair. Now she had just her clams which suited her well enough. If she didn't have them she had a feeling her chest would get colder easier and make singing both under and above the water a bit more difficult.

William:
Will gave her a confused look for a moment before turning away again.
"I'm no angel, Ariel," he finally said, standing and trying to figure out what he should do. Hunting would be a good idea, but he wasn't really hungry just yet. Maybe he should go out and at least take some time to think about things. He was starting to gain an affection for Ariel and he only had a few options of how to deal with that.

He could just continue on with the affection, but then he might get burned again. He could try and be cold again, but... that wasn't working out too well for him and he didn't want to hurt her. And then he could just take her home. And likely kill himself in the process. Figuratively speaking, of course.
He had no idea what to do that wouldn't end in one of them being hurt.

Ariel:
Ariel frowned a bit at his statement and shook her head unable to understand why Will thought so poorly of himself. She disliked his sudden silence the way he seemed deep in thought. Dark thoughts no doubt, she hoped he wasn't upset with her for the wet and cold. She pulled herself up a bit on the bank and frowned. "Am I going to stay here now?" She asked softly uncertain as to what he had planned for her.

William:
"Do you want to?" He couldn't stop the question before it came from his mouth. Will inwardly smacked himself, but turned his glance to Ariel anyways, wanting to see her face as she told him that she didn't want to. For he knew she would. She wanted to go home and he really couldn't blame her. And what would he tell her then?

No, he couldn't let her leave... Not now.

Ariel:
"Will...this is...really beautiful...but..." She frowned slightly and looked down. "This isn't my home..." She finally sighed softly and looked up at him. It had been easy to forget that he had kidnapped her, that she had no way to escape this place if she had wanted to leave. For a while he had imagined it was just William having her over, letting her stay a while as a friend. But the hard truth was there and she couldn't understand why he wanted her around at all. She seemed to upset him an awful lot and she was starting to feel quite the burden with her inability to leave the water for too long. Still she supposed that was the only reason she was trapped.
"I just don't understand..." She started and then paused a moment, she understood he was lonely like her, that he was different, that he didn't like holding her this way. "why you even want me here..." She trailed off.

William:
Will looked away, unable to answer her last question. It hurt to actually hear her say that she didn't want to stay. Maybe some little part of him had hoped she liked it enough to treat this place as her home. And it was crushed over her denying its hopes.
"I should go hunting, now," he finally said, standing and looking into the forest. He didn't need to go hunting, he wouldn't even start starving until two days from then. But he needed to get away, needed to clear his head. And his mind wasn't very clear in her presence.

Ariel:
"Do you have to go?" She asked uncertainly frowning at the thought of being left alone again. It wasn't so bad when she could travel the rivers and explore or hunt up clams on her own. She loved to collect interesting human things that washed down river. Here though, the water was still and isolated,fish darted around but there was nowhere to go, no friendly voices to coax her from beneath the water.

William:
"I..." Will started and grit his teeth. Be nice to her, a part of him wanted to do. But he was conflicted and hurting and even a little worried over what would happen in the future. He couldn't allow himself to get hurt again, not like before.
"Yes, I have to go," he finally said and started walking away.

Ariel:
"Oh..." She watched him turn away and frowned slightly her brows drawing unhappily together. "Bye..." She murmured softly and slowly sank back down before looking around. He had left her in a new prison it seemed, she dove back down under the water and into the secluded little dam. Part of her wondered if she shouldn't try and find a way out of this new place, perhaps here there was a connection to a river or out that she could fit through. Yet she didn't have the energy to go looking for deep nooks and crannies. With a soft sigh she rested her head on her paws and closed her eyes sadly.