Welcome to Gaia! ::

((HOT DAMN CAOI. Though, I can only see her upper half. D:

Okay, roll ******** me sideways with a telephone pole.))

He had just barely let the angel down on safe ground, that another body zoomed past him.

...He was honestly starting to hate pools. His fit of dizzyness seemed to have passed, so it was rather ready to catch the Dude's arm.

((No drowning on Sei's watch ! Damnit guys.))

Dusty wasn't sure what had happened. They hadn't won... but they hadn't lost? Otter buddy was gone....

Either way, it seemed like nobody was in danger of dying. That was good. He took a bleary look around, and then let his tired fingers drop the sword to the ground. The clattering was very satisfying to hear - a total lift of responsibility. Still, he thought, he would have liked to have made better use of his weapon.

That was for some other time. For now - dripping, beginning to shiver - his only concern was to collect as much of the Fa'e as were still remaining, and then probably get the ******** out of there. The free food just wasn't worth it.

((Dusty will be helping out where needed to get people to safety, then collecting his sword and leaving. He'll get his knife later. Been a lot of fun, but I need to log off and snooze. Awesome adventure, Akina! <3))

Caoimhe lifted her eyes to Addie, trying to focus on the toddler through her blurry vision. The toddler brought an unexpected stab to the girl's heart, though no one else would understand why. She needed to stop crying, she knew that, but the youth couldn't. The things she had seen... they would haunt her for the rest of her life. "Hi," she said, voice choked and wet. It had been so long -- but they were all still here? The events that had passed at her birthday party had only been the start of her journey, one that had aged her beyond the physical changes.

The selkie felt... changed. Underneath, she felt the same stubbornness and lack of respect, but maturity had set into her much more strongly, her mind suddenly did not think only of herself. It thought of her people -- Fa'e and selkie alike -- and of their plight.

Raking a hand through her disheveled hair, she cleared her throat, sniffling. The girl was defeated, and she found it hard to look at Addie, though a part of her wanted nothing more than to hug the toddler and tell her how sorry she was for being so rough with her. What of Sati? She... she should apologize, shouldn't she? Caoimhe didn't know if she had the strength for it, but she fought to do one thing.

Lifting a finger, she tapped Addie on the round of her bare stomach. "You were very brave, Pip," she said, voice heavy with a sadness only she held. She did not know Adelaide's real name, but she hoped the child would take the compliment and perhaps... oh, just breathe. Just breathe and remind Caoimhe that she was still living.

Upstairs, the guardians who had fallen asleep would suddenly wake up, each one more confused than the next about what had happened.



(( I have to sleep now too! All that remains is the wrap up. Caoimhe isn't going to stick around long, especially once Gristla shows up. Thank you so much to everyone for being so active tonight! I never thought we would get this far in a single night. <3 Amazing! Now Mik just needs to not die... ^^ ))

Mik was not a small guy, so add in his wings and the fact that he was completely soaked...yeah, he was pretty heavy. He was also completely oblivious to this fact, as well as that Caoimhe had disappeared at all - or anything else, for that matter. He'd missed just about everything save his own encounter with a finwife, followed by his brush with death in the pool.

Finally, though, he began to cough. Coughing with broken ribs (or being lugged around) really wasn't pleasant, and it was enough for him to start to come to.

Sati had not even thought of fighting back as everything she knew of the Demon King was that it would be a swift victory. For him. If Kali how not been able to defeat him, then how would a half-Fa'e like her have a chance?

She lost all sense of time, but then she wasn't being held anymore, and he was gone. As if he'd never been there...except for the destruction that she noticed when she finally started to move, to look around what was left of the party.

'Addie?' she called weakly, her throat still sore from when the fish man had grabbed and almost throttled her. She couldn't see her daughter anywhere, and she bit hard enough on her bottom lip to draw blood. What if they had taken her away? She looked around for their party host, Caoimhe now to see if she knew where her daughter was.

Caoimhe couldn't think. She vaguely registered the gifts being handed her, the light kiss from Addie, Sei's outstretched hand, the Dude's concern. It was all kind, very kind, but none of it mattered to the selkie girl. She was a ghost of her former self, movements listless. Dried blood was caked under nails, red cuts on her forearms. She rose slowly to her feet, careful not to touch anyone, even Sei who offered his hand. Holding the kitten toy in one hand and the knife in another, she crossed to the decimated birthday gift table and set them both down. The tears had subsided, replaced by nothingness.

Following behind Quinn, Gristla and Mrs. Kates stepped into the foyer, both freezing instantly. Mrs. Kates pressed wrinkled fingers to her lips. "Oh my god..." Her eyes took in the shattered glass, the destroyed furniture, the visibly shaken Caoimhe. "Oh, angel," she whispered, crossing quickly to the youth.

Caoimhe stiffened and inched away. "Please," she said, fighting eye contact. This was all embarrassing enough -- to have her business paraded about in front of these people. In a way... she felt closer to the Fa'e than she ever had, and yet... so alone. She wanted to look to Sei, or Dustin, or Mik... even Sati or Silver, or even Kia. And the Dude, who wasn't even Fa'e. They had all played a role in this, and they had all been brought to danger because of her. And they were not the only ones. There were others who had suffered far more for her actions. So many more...

She shook the thought away, only to feel Gristla approach. The large feline didn't say anything. She buried her face in Caoi's leg, nuzzling and nuzzling until the girl was certain skin might come off. Gristla was a physical creature; she wanted to know what happened but first -- she needed to bring Caoimhe comfort. But it was too much. Didn't they all understand? She was embarrassed... mortified! How could she go on from here? Hell, she couldn't even afford to pay for the damage done to this house.

As if on cue, Carmichael burst into the room -- one hand on each cheek. He looked frazzled, like he had just woken up in a strange place, which was precisely the case. "What did you do?" he said, accusation hissing in his words. He noted the change in Caoimhe, but did not mention it. Instead, he jutted a finger at her and started to shout. "You are in HUGE trouble! You are going to pay for all of this? You got me? These owners are going to fry me! I'll never work again! And it's all your fault!" He advanced on her, jabbing her in the chest with his finger.

Gristla let out a deep rumble, but Carmichael ignored her, his face quickly reddening. Normally, Caoi would spit out an insult, or throw a curse, or punch him. But now, after all this, his jabbing finger felt like a knife.

She couldn't handle it.

Turning on her heel, she took off at a run, leaping high over the pool. As she began to fall toward the water, the surface of the pool began to rise, breaking into bubbles of water. They swirled around her in a narrow column and then popped just as quickly.

All the water fell back into the salt water pool. Caoimhe did not.

She was gone.

Gristla and Mrs. Kates would handle everything from here, apologizing and escorting the others out. They promised to tell Caoimhe any messages they had, and assured Carmichael that they would figure out a way to pay for repairs. The food had been paid off, but much of the equipment was damaged and so Helen got a similar promise. Once the house emptied, Gristla and Mrs. Kates waited up all night for Caoimhe to reappear. She did not.

In the morning, when their lease on the house was up, they returned home, praying that Caoimhe would return home to them soon.