~ Calling Me Back ~ |CW|

Glittering turquoise water, effervescent sound from the ocean itself, a fresh ocean breeze gently caressing one´s skin. It was on days like this, she really felt alive and thriving. She had packet a backpack with some swimming gear. Some clear swimming goggles, and edge fins, in bright yellow. She had taken her new grey bikini on, and had a white shirt over it, but it would still be a little visible, the shape of the bikini under it. She took her googles on, but let them sit just on top of her forhead, at the start of her hair, while she found a safe spot for her bag and clothes in it, just near some rocks, but not so the water would take it. She loved to swim in the ocean, but wasnt very fond of the populated sandy area, where there wasnt any rocks or underwater life. Bathing beach, is what she would call it, but the thing she loved the most, was diving where the fish where, where the current went wild sometimes, where danger and beauty would meet each other.

She walked down to the water, with the yellow fins in her hand, before getting ready to go in. The water was relative calm, and some people were surfing not long from her. She walked out in the lunewarm water and closed her eyes for just a moment, while she thought back to all the times she had visited the beach with her parents and dived in the water. Her mother loved the water, almost more than her, which she found almost impossible. She looked alot like her mother, with the long raven black hair, and the deer brown eyes, innocently but mysterius, and her mothers small golden necklace on, with a gold seashell as pendant. A small smile formed on her lips, before she walked more into the water, feeling ever wave hit her, gently pushing her and then pulling her. She put on her fins one after one, before taking a hold of the googles and quickly making them wet, before shaking them and putting them on. She looked behind her, before she looked forward and dived into the water. She swam a little, before coming up, taking a deep breath of air, before diving under the surface and into the deep. She had a little inhaler looking thing, clicked to the side of her bikini. It was a very small oxygen container, a piece that she had designed with a friend not too long ago, still in the works, but it worked to give oxygen, 4 mouthful, small but still better than not.

There really was nothing like diving around here, it seemed so magical, with the fish and the small open caves and just in general the water and its clearness. It was like you could see miles ahead, and you almost could. She unhooked her inhaler and took a mouthful, before clicking it back, around the strap, before she dived under an open cave and smiled a little for herself. * This is really the best feeling ever *.

Anyone foolish enough to swim near the caves knew that the current was treacherous. Ellery couldn’t count the times on one hand when he was in the need of securing divers from drifting too far out or too far down. Most accepted him as a helping hand; other thought him to be a devil in disguise, trying to kill them and eat them. They weren’t wrong; he was a siren after all. But mostly, he just tried to help. Since he had taken over the leadership of the circle, he had been in the need of some time away from responsibilities and expectancies. The beach had always been his safe haven; both in France and here in Gaia. He found peace in the water, where he didn’t need to hide his true nature. Few had understood that, making it hard for him to even lead a normal life. Kenna understood; thankfully.

He had been swimming for no more than a couple of hours when he noticed something familiar in the water; a golden necklace with a specific pendant. Last time he had seen the necklace, however, was back in France; over two decades ago. Cléo… An angel, so beautiful that he lost his breath. He emerged at the surface, keeping his distance to the figure. It couldn’t be Cléo - she wouldn’t have left France. Would she? He swam closer, still keeping his distance to make sure he didn’t scare her off. Cléo had of course seen him in this form - his natural siren form. He had spent far more time with her in the water than anyone else. Would she even recognize him? Quite gently, he moved closer, as he saw her disappearing into a cave. He followed her but stayed under water. The pale violet scales of his tail glistened in the water and the tail fin spread out like a peacock’s tailfeathers as he swam ahead of her, showing her that he wanted her to follow him to the nearest air pocket in the cave. He turned towards her, gesturing for her to follow him. If it wasn’t Cléo, it was someone closely related to her; meaning that she surely wasn’t an enemy.

She knew the story all to well, how her mothers wings had been torn apart by a demon, and since then, they never quite worked as well as before.. but in the water she could feel like flying, like floating around, as when she had her wings. Alouette had never questioned it that much, but she figured that there was more to the story, other than her mother loved to float around in the ocean, even if it was freeing and a beautiful way to spend time. She stopped swimming when she almost touched the sea bottom. She looked at a little octapus in front of her, trying to blend in with the sand, before it turned slightly its own beautiful spotted beige grey color. She smiled a little at the sight, before feeling a little out of breath. She grabbed her container and put it up to her mouth, but when no air was comming out, she began to loose her cool. * Oh no!, not now.. *. She could already feel the faintness of the low oxygen level inside of her, but just as she was about to panic a little, she spotted something that gave quite a pressure towards her.

* What was that?! *. She looked around a little before giving a gulp in the water, when something swam past her. She looked at the creature with a shocked expression on her face, before following it with her eyes. * A siren!.. *. She didnt know if she should be scared, but then again.. siren´s always got such a bad reputation and that wasnt fair. She had met only one other siren, but this one, in its form and size, she had never seen anything like it. She suddenly didnt feel so scared, as he gestured for her to follow him. He was beyond beautiful and she was almost out of breath. She quickly followed him, before getting to the air pocket and swam up to the surface as quickly as she could. " Ghaa.. gh.. ahhh.. ". She coughed a little while slightly gasping for air, until she felt that she could breath again. She looked almost exactly like her mother, but just a younger version. She gently stroked some of her long raven black hair away from her face and, with an innocent expression and her brown doe looking eyes, looked at the figure in front of her. " T-Thanks, without you i properly wouldn´t have made it back to the surface, without swallowing some sea water ". Her voice was soft and had a light innocent clang to it, with the feminin french accent. She gave a slight chuckle from her, before she stroked her back hand over her full lips, to remove some of the excess water that was still dripping slightly from her hair, down to her face and lips, making her skin almost glittering. She moved gently in the water, to keep her self afloat, before looking closely at the person in front of her. There was something familiar.. but maybe it was just her imagination running wild, from the low oxygen. " So.. you are a siren ".

She didnt quite ask him, but more said the words to herself. She was just so overwhelmed by his beauty and also the fact that she was face to face with an actual siren. She had never seen one with tail and everything, it was almost like she had swam into a farytail book, but some would call it a nightmare book, because mermen and siren´s didnt have so much in common, in the friendlyness spectrum, in books and tales.

As they reached the air pocket, and the woman gasped for air, he simply looked at her with a calm smile. She wasn’t the first mortal to overestimate their air-tank out there; but no one seemed to take into consideration that they needed oxygen for going down and for going up again. He had witnessed tragic deaths caused by that, so where he could prevent them; he would. He kept most of his body under water, only letting from his shoulder and up be above the crystal-clear water in the cave. He looked at her, tilting his head slightly, as he tried to figure out if Cléo simply looked way younger than list time he saw her, or if the woman in front of him was a descendant of the woman he once knew. That question, however, was answered as the woman spoke to him. He felt his heart drop slightly, as he heard the voice; a voice that didn’t belong to the woman he had held dear a couple of decades ago.

‘’I’ve heard it tastes awful to those living on land,’’ he pointed out, with a slight chuckle, as she thanked him. The French accent she seemed to carry bounced back from his words, allowing her to hear the same accent but rougher from his throat. ‘’You’re French,’’ he stated, as she stated that he was a siren. The slight smile on his lips turned into a sincere one. ‘’Pardon me, miss, but have we met before?’’ he then asked, looking shortly at the necklace around her neck. The look could easily be mistaken for him looking at her chest, which wasn’t the case. He was, after all, not a free man in that regard; he had Kenna in his life and sought not for any other.

He swam closer to her, almost to the point where their chests would touch if one of them breathed in too deep. Curious, he tilted his head, investigating the woman in front of him. From her doe-eyes, tog her black hair and her cupid’s bow on her lips. She looked so much as someone he once knew - it felt completely out of order; him meeting her under water. The woman he thought of loved the water as well, but for other reasons. He remembered how they shared the waters; him gifting her The Siren’s Kiss, to allow her to breath underwater for a while and follow him as they fled the life on land. They couldn’t stay like that however, leaving him heartbroken whenever they had to return to land.

She couldn´t hold a little chuckle back, when he said that he heard that ocean water tasted awful for those living on land. " So what you are saying, is that those in the water, like the taste of salt? ". A little innocent smile formed over her full lips, before she looked around her, inside the air boble of the cave. The sides were a little rough, and the top over them also, but there was also something about the air pocket, a little magical moment, from the droplets, from when the tide that had filled to earlier. It suddenly hit her that he was french, from the accent, which made her open her eyes a little more, before she said that he was a siren and then pointed at him and said in a surprised tone, with the gentle voice, at the exact same moment he said it. " You´re french ". She looked at him with a surprised expression, as they had almost harmoniously said the same thing, at the same time.

When he asked her if they had met before, and then looked down at her chest, she couldn´t help but feeling a little embarassed, with him looking like that, before it hit her. She took a hold of the necklace around her slim neck, looking at it for a moment, with a little smile over her lips, before looking up at the stranger, slightly parting her lips, as she was about to answer him. She looked up at him, blushing over her freckled skin, when she saw him swim closer to her, too close... it wasnt something that she was used to, so she instinctively moved backwards when he got too close, however, she had forgotten everything about the pointed stone wall behind her. " Auch! ". She gave a little squeak of pain from her, before looking behind and moving away from the wall, right into his chest. She instinctly put her hands in front of her, which resulted in her hans on his naked chest. She looked up at him, with blushing over her cheeks and looked apologetic and embarrassed at him, with her doe eyes before removing her hands, and then looking down into the water, to avoid his gace, while she felt her heart race a little. " I dont think so, i would remember you if, i had seen you before ". But then again, it was like something.. maybe.. no it couldnt have been him.. she was only a child at that time.

She had met a siren before, but not in its siren form, a man.. talking with her mom.. but she never knew what they were talking about, but it had been while her dad wasnt there. Her mom had sent her to her room, and said that she wasnt allowed to come down, before she would get her, why she didnt know, but it could have been another person for all she knew. " W-Well, i better get up to the surface ".

The chuckle she’d let out assured him that his thoughts had been somewhat correct. It wasn’t Cléo in front of him; the being was too young for that. Yet, she looked like her in such a manner, that she could only be a descendant of the angel. ‘’No, that’s what you’re saying. I just stated that to those on land, salt-water tastes bad.’’ He said, with a slight tease in his tone. To his surprise, she pointed at him and stated the same as him; they were both French. He couldn’t help but smile, as it made him even more secure in his assumption of her.
Her reaction, as he looked at her necklace, made him wonder if something had happened to her mother. She had worn that necklace always; why give it away? Surprised, and maybe slightly frightened, the girl backed up as he had approached her. His hand instinctively moved behind her, trying to shield her from the rough stone walls surrounding them, but he was a little too late. With a squeak she jolted into his arms, and her hands placed themselves on his bare chest, while his hand rested on her back - not too low, as he wasn’t trying to press her against him. She looked up at him, as he looked down on her. Her blushing made him wonder if she even had met another siren before; she seemed a bit torn on what to do and think. Luckily, she answered his question - but the answer gave him no new information. He smiled a teasing smile, as he moved his head closer to hers, only to let his lips almost touch her earlobe; ‘’You don’t remember?’’ he whispered in a enticing voice, the French accept almost making it sound as he was trying to seduce her. In a way, he was. He was genetically designed to that. To seduce, lure them in and eat them. He rarely did such a thing; he left the unpleasantries to his brother. He breathed slowly, letting his chest rise and fall in a calming manner. He started to hum; the same old melody he had been humming for her mother once upon a time. He knew that if she was the girl, he thought she was, she would remember the melody. He had known her, but only as the daughter of Cléo. He had never spoken to her directly, as she had always been sent off to bed when he arrived; sadly enough - she had been a chance of a family. Another chance wasted.

‘’Why do you want to return?’’ he then whispered; still not moving away. ‘’What does the surface grant you, as payment for your presence?’’. His way of speaking wasn’t new; it was ancient and luring. He had done this for centuries - and he enjoyed it. Making shivers jolt down other’s spines, as they heard his pleasant and enticing whispers. ‘’Alouette,’’ he whispered, remembering the little girl’s name from back then. If it wasn’t her, someone had taken her body for their own use. There was no mistake; she was her mother’s daughter.

She felt the chill to through her, as he pressed against her, almost touching her earlobe with his salty lips, how her chest pressed up against his, each time she took a breath, how the cave seemed to have gotten warmer and more damp. She could feel the dampness on her silky smooth skin, how he almost caressed against her, when he whispered in her ear, with his enticing voice, making her heart beat faster, almost losing her breath for a second. When he started to hum, she looked at him in wonder. The melody sounding strangely familiar.. flashes in her mind started. Looking from her hiding spot, behind the door.. Her mom holding a man in the hand, her father yelling later the next day, glass breaking.

She shook her head faintly, at to almost get out of her trance like state, she felt she was falling in, before looking nervously at the man in front of her, still feeling his touch against her back, against her skin, almost prickling. " Why.. ". The words slipped thru her full lips and almost ekkoed inside the little air pocket. Her gaze fell on his lips for a second, before she heard her name and came to herself. Suddenly, she looked shocked at him before retreating a bit and quickly catching a mouthful of air, before pushing against the edge of the cave and being submerged, completely forgetting that she had taken her googles off, and also forgetting about how much air she actually had to have in her lunges, to survive the trip back to the surface.

* What happened!?.. how did he know my name!.. and his voice.. was i about to kiss him!? *. She felt conflicted and confused, that was not like her at all, behaving like that or feeling like that. Her heart was beating rapidly, and her body felt hot, almost overheating, and her sight was blurry, from swimming without googles. She swam as fast as she could and with her small slim frame, and her not so heavy body, it was each to gracefully move in the water, thru all the small cave systems, but because she couldn´t see, she turned the wrong way and ended up a place, where she couldn´t find a way up or down. * No!, please!.. * she tried to feel around her, but she was losing precious air.

She remembered something; he could tell that by the look on her face. What she remembered; he wasn’t sure off. Perhaps she even remembered him. The ‘why’ was about to be answered, when the girl panicked by him speaking her name. She disappeared down under the surface once more - this time to flee the siren. He sighed and started to count. One… two… three… four… five…
Five seconds was all she got. He dived under as well, with her goggles in his hand. How foolish of her to think that she could navigate the caves alone! He found her in a matter of seconds, swimming deeper into one of the tunnels leading to another air pocket. He shook his head, and with a mere whip by his tail, he bulleted through the water and caught up to her. He grabbed her wrist, stopping her from going further, as he forced her down on her back. He then placed the goggles around her head before he in a gentle motion moved so close to her that their cheeks met. He blew air into the goggles, removing the water from them before he quickly secured them around her eyes. He then - quite gently - places an arm around her hips, guiding her to the nearest air pocket. His tight grasp would ensure that she couldn’t get away from him, until they breached the surface of the new air pocket. He released her as soon as he was sure of her being able to breath freely, before his hands on both of her cheeks, forcing her to look at him. Pure concern was written in his eyes.

‘’Why would you do such a thing, you foolish girl!?’’ he scolded her, though his voice expressed only concern for her wellbeing. ‘’Don’t you ever try to navigate those tunnels when your emotions have a hold on you!’’. He released her, but he didn’t move away. If she wanted to, she could reach him with no problem. He felt his heart pounding; not from the little chase they just had played out, but from the thought of her getting hurt. She looked far too much liker her mother to him letting her get into trouble like that. ‘’If you want to return to the beach, at least let me guide you through the tunnels instead of running off like I was about to steal your voice!’’. Yes, he referenced Disney whenever he had the chance. He was quirky like that.
He sighed, shaking his head. ‘’I’m sorry,’’ he then said. ‘’I shouldn’t have spoken to you in that manner,’’. He pulled away, allowing her to make a decision. If she wanted to return to the beach, he would escort her, making sure she wouldn’t drown on the way.

She could feel the presure in her chest, how dry her throat was and how it began to flimmer for her eyes, before she felt a strong grib around her wrist. She felt how she couldnt do anything but follow the motion, before feeling the soft ocean bottom under her, the sand tingling against her skin, before feeling her googles. She could kinda see the shape of him, through her blurry vision and she closed her eyes, as she felt the air being blown into her googles. Again she blushed, when she felt his arm around her hips, guiding her, until another air pocket came to, and she emerged to the surface. " Pah!.. ahh ". She instinctly placed her hand at her throat, before coughing a little and looking in front of her, at the siren who saved her. Luckily for her, the cave wasnt all dark, but it reminded her, that she still hadnt seen him clearly, only in dim light and spottet him in the turquoise water. She looked away from him, when he released her, and she instantly took of her googles and wrapped them around her wrist.

She looked with shock at him, when he placed both her hands on his cheeks, and forced her to look him straight in the eyes. She could see the concern that was written all him, before his voice dominated the cave. * Is he actually scolding me!? *. She didnt understand him, was he trying to protect her or lure her into a false sense of security and then eat her. " ME!?. If you hadnt tried to entice me with your enchanting voice and almost making me kiss you, then none of this would have happened!, besides how dare you speak to me like that, you dont own me! ". She looked at him with a serious expression on her face. She moved closer to him, so their chest was only inches away from each other, before saying " And dont you dare try to use disney in this serious matter!. You could have cost me my very first kiss! ". She looked away from him, embarassed at her own words but also, almost like he insultet her, before looking at him, as she heard him saying sorry.

Her gaze was not serious this time, but rather gentle and apologetic, as she felt bad about raising her voice over him, even though he had started it all. She looked down a little when he pulled away, and with the gentle voice, calm and collected, she let her gaze fall upon him, before saying " No, i´m sorry.. i should have thought more about what i was doing.. but what you did was uncalled for! ". She could feel the anger again, from almost losing her first kiss, but also him scolding her, like she was his or something. " I´m sorry.. " She scratched her head a little, before looking around. She had been in this air pocket before. " Follow me ". She took her googles on, before taking a deep breath, until she submerged herself in water again and dived past him. She recognized this place because not long from here, there was a cave, blue water, as well as small glowing larvae on the wall that glowed brightly each time the water gently rose against the stones, making a sound so they would glow. You could sit and lay inside the cave. It was closer to the beach but there was no way inside the cave, only the path that they had swam.

She gestured to him under water, to follow her, before getting to the cave entrence and looking around the dim glowing bugs, and a little hole in the top, from outside, where a ray of light way coming, but not a big hole, a very small hole actually. She pulled herself up on the smooth rock, before taking of her googles and looking down into the water, to see if he actually followed her. She stood up on the rather slippery surface and looked up at the hole. The cave was 3 meters tall, and the light shined down on her, making her skin almost glitter in the light.

How she sounded like her mother. She even scolding him for scolding her. Making her kiss him? That had not been his intention. He wanted her to remember - not to fall under his spell. He sighed slightly, as she then proceeded to declare that he didn’t own her. Had he ever claimed that? If anything, she owned him. Her mother surely had told her of him, hadn’t she? If not, the girl might not even know his name. he felt bad for her; he had been so pushy that she had become frightened of him. He could almost feel the thought; she feared he was going to devour her. What a sad realization…
‘’Your first kiss!?’’ he looked quite shocked at her, as she told him to not use Disney in this serious situation. ‘’So, hold on… You’re mad at me for almost being your first kiss? My voice doesn’t lure you to kiss me! It tells you to do what you desire!’’. He would never force himself upon someone; being that through his voice or his strength. He couldn’t dream of it! Yet she seemed to fear that same thing. As he had apologized, she did the same - though, she seemed to hold a grudge. He couldn’t blame her, if she thought he had tried to seduce her.
He did as she asked and followed her into the nearby cave. He knew the place, but only because he had been there by accident. She had placed herself on a rather slippery rock, as he emerged from the water once more, letting her see all of him in the well-lit cave. His upper body was chiseled and with many scars together with sparse body hair. On his left arm, a tattoo of a feather glimmered slightly from the water and the light in the cave. His eyes, the same indescribable color as his mother’s, were fixated on her. ‘’Careful,’’ he said, as she stood up.

‘’Your mother never told you about me, did she?’’ he then asked, quite blunt. He needed to know. If Alouette didn’t know of him, it would be understandable that she feared him. However, in this light, if she had ever seen him, she would be able to identify him without a doubt; the man had not changed the slightest in the last couple of decades. He kept his distance to her, making sure she could leave any time she wanted. He had obviously scared her into thinking ill of him; he wouldn’t want to be the cause for her to fear him any further.

She looked at him when he said careful, before sitting down besides him, but with a little space between them, so they werent too close to each other. The long raven black hair was laying down her back and shoulders and her body was wet from the water and glimmering almost, in the light. The brown doe looking eyes, looked at him with a confused glimt in them. " My mother.. ". She studied him a little with her eyes, before moving closer to his face with hers. * He does look quite familiar.. *. She saw the feather tattoo and then it hit her. " Ellery ". She said his name, with such a soft and caring voice, almost like she was blessing his name, before she tilted her head a bit, moving a little away from him, but not much. " Your name is Ellery.. and you were my moms big love... ". She blushed a bit, when she said the last part, before saying. " You came home to us several times, and my dad hated having you over.. he was never home whenever you were there, because he knew my mom had a love for you.. ".

She quickly stood up. The man that she had seen so many times, always visiting her mom, and her dad throwing a fit in his rage, but as far as she knew, her mother didnt do anything with Ellery... well as far as she knew. Her father had always said.

' Flashback '

" Dad why are you sad.. "

" Not now Alou.. cant you see i´m busy ".

He walked away from Alouette, while talking low to himself, muttering.
" It´s because of that damn siren blood that runs in your mothers ancestors blood!, i knew i shouldnt have married her! ".

' Flashback stops '

" Wait!, you are the reason we moved from France! ". She couldnt believe it. He didnt create a split in the family, it had always been her mothers choice what she choose to do with her life, but still, to see him in front of her and * To think i almost kissed him *. She could feel the shiver up her spine, before taking a step back and then feeling her foot slipping under her. " Woah! ".

Unsure of if she even understood what he was asking her, he looked at her with a careful gaze. She moved closer, fixating her brown eyes on his face. His indescribable eyes looked back at her, still careful. He had already seen her swim to her death because she didn’t want whatever he was doing to her, and now she was the one close to him. Her mumble as she repeated his words made him wonder even more about if she even could understand his question.
When she said his name after recognizing the tattoo, he smiled slightly to himself. ‘’So, you do know my name, at least,’’ he stated. She moved away, just a bit, as she started to speak once more. Her mums big love? Certainly, that couldn’t be right. He had known her mother, and they had been quite intimate back then but… Her big love? He had never known. He looked a bit puzzled at her, as she told him about the situation in her home back when he was a part of their lives. He felt his heart drop a notch, but he tried not to show it. ‘’I never met your father,’’ he said, giving her the notion that she was right. ‘’But I never knew that he hated me being around Cléo.’’. Alouette stood up, and Ellery looked at her rather apologetic. He had no words for how it must have been to grow up in those surroundings.

He was about to move away, giving her some space, when she suddenly exclaimed that he was the reason they had moved from France. ‘’Now hold on!’’ he said, a bit flustered. He wasn’t the reason for them to move; they had problems even before Cléo met Ellery. He had done nothing to make them split. He was about to explain himself, when he saw her stepping back and lose the ground under her feet. Luckily for her, he was quite the agile and fast swimmer, so with ease, he moved over to catch her in his arms. ‘’I told you to be careful,’’ he said with a bit of a ‘know-it-all’-voice. He released her into the water with him, but kept a hand under her arm to make sure she would be able to be afloat.
‘’Allouette, I haven’t seen your mother in almost twenty years,’’ he said, looking directly at her. ‘’I’m not the reason you guys moved - I can’t be. I moved to the other end of France to make sure your father wouldn’t throw another fit at your mother for me being indiscreet,’’ he said. He had maybe crossed the line with her mother once or twice, but he had tried to remain friends regardless. If he was the reason they moved, it must have been because her father couldn’t handle the thought of Cléo wanting to be with Ellery more than her husband. He had nothing to do with that.

When she felt his arm around her again, this time catching her, she could really feel the embarassment, but also how ashamed she was, for not handling herself more gracefully in his present. She looked at his hand, before taking her arm away. " I can keep myself afloat, but thanks.. ". She thanked for both the catch but also for holding her, until she gained some control in the water, before leaning a little over the edge of the stone, above the water. And to think she actually blamed him for them moving. " But i was just so sure, but then again.. " She looked at the necklace, before looking at Ellery.

" I dont wanna talk about it ". She could feel the tears starting to press on, and she couldnt handle thinking about her parents.. their murder had been only a couple of months, but she tried to keep a lit on her feelings, because she had no other person than Nigel to confine in, and now that her mother and fathers home was sold and she had moved, she had no one here in England, well except for Ace, but she hadnt seen him in what felt like forever. She looked at Ellery and tried to play it cool, before saying. " I´m sorry for yelling, and sorry for blaming you ". It suddenly hit her. " Wait, did you think i was my mother?... and i have one question more Ellery. You said before that you werent trying to seduce me, but why did you say the words. Why do you want to return. What does the surface grant you, as payment for your presence?. What did you mean by that?". She looked at him suspiciously, but directly in the eyes, waiting for his answer, with a cheeky smile over her full lips, and maybe too close for what was normal, but he had done the same thing to her, so it was only normal, that he got to taste some of his own medicine.

As she removed her arm and thanked him for what he assumed would be catching her and securing her entering the water, he simply nodded at her. He kept his distance once more, making sure that she had the space she needed. Unlike her mother, she didn’t seem to enjoy his presence. He couldn’t blame her; he thought of him as a homewrecker. He had tried to be the opposite, but maybe she was right. ‘’You were a mere child when your family moved. It is completely understandable if you thought that I was to blame,’’. There was no hint of any negativity in his voice. Why would there be? He had blamed his brother for the betrayal he had committed, until he had learned the truth that lead to the incident. He still despised his brother, but he had accepted that it had a preface that made it more understandably.

He had said too much; the tears in her eyes stated that. Did something happen? She tried to play it cool, but he couldn’t help but feeling that she kept something hidden from him. Had it something to do with why she had her mother’s necklace?
‘’No need to be sorry. As I said, you didn’t have a reason to think otherwise.’’ He said, with a crooked smile. She tried to think of something else but her parents. He could tell, and it ached in his heart. He felt the same heartstrings being pulled whenever he thought of his father - oh, how he missed the man. Her question made him look directly at her, but he wasn’t sure what to answer. ‘’At first, I thought you looked remarkably alike, yes,’’ he said, with a bit of hesitation in his voice. What did she expect?
Her next question had him sighing. ‘’It was something I once asked your mother… Back when I was trying to convince her to stay with me instead of returning to your father.’’ He said. He didn’t like to talk about that time; it had been once, where her mother had exclaimed that she wished to stay with him, but she had an obligation to return to her husband and child. He had never thought of Alouette. He would have taken her in as well. He only knew her father to be violent and with a temper. he thought no harm of take Alouette and her mother and find a safe haven for the three of them. It was right before he had moved away; after the rejection.

She listened carefully to this words, some was harder to hear than others. It was strange, being face to face, with someone from her past, and especially her mothers old lover, and also love. " Maybe that had been for the best.. if you had taken her away ". She turned her back to him, before biting down in her lower lip, holding back her tears. All this walk about her mom, it was almost too much for her. She suddenly felt her heart fall, before turning to Ellery, with a fake smile and holding back, but her eyes was watery and blank. " Now that you know that i´m not her, then there isnt much more to discuss, is there ". Her voice had gone from soft, to hard and cold, as if she just wanted to flee, but not because of fear, but because she couldn´t take it anymore, the memories, the facade she had kept up.. thinking about all the good memories, but now this.

She hesitated, as if she was going to say something to Ellery. * Should i tell him.. but then again, why should he care?, he does not know me, and i dont know him that well, besides.. its as he said, years later and maybe she was only a fling to him?.. it sounds like that *. She sighted, before saying. " It was very plesant to meet you Ellery, thanks.. for the help, but i think i can find back myself ". She took on her googles, before looking down into the water, but something was stopping her... was it even a good idea to try to find out herself, and what if she lost her breath. She took her googles off, before saying. " You can just go.. its okay, i will just stay here a while.. ". She pushed herself up on the edge of the rock and just sat with her legs in the water, over the side. Suddenly his words from earlier, almost haunted her memory, before she pulled her legs up and hid her head against her knees, that was pushed up against her chest, and her arms around her legs. She could feel the tears running down her face, dripping unto her legs. She had a desire to kiss him, properly because she wanted to feel something other than lonelyness.

He felt her words like sharp knives in his chest. Why should he had taken her mother away? Why would it have been for the better? She acted like something had happened to them, and he needed to know. It might have been the case, that they weren’t anything more than lovers and friends back then, but he had cared deeply for her. Seeing her daughter - a clear image of her - in this state made him yearn to hold her close and promise her that everything would be alright. The angel stood with her back to him, hiding how her emotions overwhelmed her. He reached to her, trying to comfort her, but she turned towards him once more - making him drop his arm back down to his side.
The soft voice had gone harsh and cold. It made him shiver slightly. Although he moved backwards slightly, he noticed her readying herself to speak more. She hesitated, making him wonder what she was thinking. He needed to know. ‘’You are a terrible liar, Alouette. You’ve always been.’’ He said, as she stated it had been a pleasure meeting him and that she could find her way back herself. He bit his lip. They looked like they were only a few years apart; siblings, even. It was crazy to think that she very well could have been his daughter, if her mother had chosen to run off with him instead.
The angel placed herself back on the rock, and he felt how the water changed. She was crying. He swam closer to her, before jumping onto the rock himself. They almost touched, seeing as there was little to no room left up there. Most of his tail had left the water, leaving the fin to dance in the clear waters. ‘’Hey now…’’ he said, placing an arm around her. He wasn’t going to ask. ‘’You don’t need to tell me anything, okay?’’ he said in a soft voice; almost paternal. He wasn’t her father, but she needed someone to cling to; he could feel it. ‘’It does not do to dwell on the dreams and forget to live,’’ he said. She must have been old enough to know the reference; he had read the book to her once, had he not? Perhaps she didn’t care, but he remembered the memory fondly, of the three of them sitting in the living room, whilst he read out loud to her and her mother. She couldn’t have been older than a couple of years… the book itself was only a year older than her, and it had been read many times with her mother and him.

She couldn't hold back her tears anymore. She started sniffing a little, but when he put an arm around her, she couldn't hold back and began to sob. She leaned on him gently, her body against his before letting her sobs of sorrow echo through the cave. She couldn´t take it anymore, the emptyness, the lonelyness she had felt for months now, and still, it hadnt even been that long since she had come home and found them both, bloody and dead on the ground, in a struggle. His soft voice, made her stop sobbing for a moment, listening til the water, drip from his tail and his calming voice, reciting something from a book she had once read with her mother and him. She looked up a little, before hiding her face again. She didnt know how to look at him anymore or how to even feel. She gently stroked her tears away with the back of her hand, before looking up at him again, with the big glittering wet doe eyes, before looking away from him, trying to part her lips, to say something.. anything.. but it was if her voice wouldn´t come out, as if it was trapped.

* How could i ever say that to him.. i can never tell him how i found them... how i found mom.. *. She tried to gain some courage, before looking at him again, with a little smile, but it disappeared as fast as it was shown on her face. " Thanks.. for the comforting words, and.. thanks for not leaving.. ". It was as if there was a lump in her throat as she tried to speak again, tried to say the words. " She´s dead... Ellery ". The words pulled in her heartstrings and she could see the image before her, how she walked in after she had been at school.. the horrible smell, rotting decay.. the blood on the floor, the walls.. smashed lock. She closed her eyes, as if the horrible scene played in her head. She didnt know if they were killed for fun or if something or someone was after them.. or her as well, but it had been horrible. She remebered crying, calling the police, trying to wake them up.. they were angels afterall.. maybe it was a demon.. maybe someone with a grudge.. or maybe just.. a murder, picking their house at random.

He didn’t move an inch, as she just seemed to cave into her sorrow and finally allowed herself to react the way her heart needed to. His arm around her shoulder tightened its grip as her sobs echoed in the cave, and he gently rocked her from side to side. ‘’How could I leave you like this?’’ he asked, as she thanked him for not just abandoning her. He knew she needed to tell him something, but he could not bear to ask her. Yet, her words fled from her mouth by force, and left silence in the cave. He breathed in, deeply, as he moved his gaze from her, and down to the waters below them. those words - words he had not thought to hear of Cléo and her husband, since they were angels, now echoed in his mind, making him feel ill.

His jaw tightened, as he tried to remain somewhat calm. He wouldn’t want Alouette - a girl he had known since she was a child - to watch him crumble. Not even his oldest and dearest friend Nerobel had been allowed to see the siren’s true feelings. With Kenna, it was different. She saw through him and his façade, making it hard to lie. ‘’I won’t ask how.. And your father?’’. Something lurked behind the violet eyes; sorrow. He had once loved her mother dearly and had moved away to protect her from her husband’s wrath over him. Now, it all seemed at a waste. His voice was shaky, leading on to the fact that something in him had just shattered a bit. He refrained from looking at her, as to not show how it pained him.

She followed his gaze and could see how his jaw tightened, while she could feel his body becoming more tense, or maybe just her own, as if the cave was becoming almost suffocating to them, almost to narrow and closed off. She could feel it, slowly building up, before he broke the silence, with his shaky voice, a tone.. she had come to understand so well, from herself and the whole experience. " El.. i´m sorry ". She couldn´t say anything to make it better, she knew that.. but she so desperately wanted him to feel better, to help him, as he had helped her before, to hold him. Slowly she slid her arms around him, in a gentle grip, to hold on to him and soothe him, calm him, if he would let her. She didnt look at him, but the water, that had a little reflection of them, just barely there. She looked exactly like her mother in the reflection, with the pendant around her slim neck.

" My father.. is gone too ". The words was said in a low tone, gentle but with a few pauses.. like the words was clumping up in her throat, like she couldnt speak for a moment, before she could again. " I didnt want to tell you, but i thought that you deserved to know, since you knew us.. but it´s not my father, he didnt do it.. ". She stopped herself. She didnt want Ellery to blame himself, to feel as if he could have done anything, that if he had taken her and her mother away, that this could have been prevented. She could feel the pressure to say the word, say that they had been murdered, but would he ever leave her alone then?, in the apartment.. all by herself, waiting to see if she was next on the list?. She hesitated, before dropping it and closing her lips. * No, i´m not gonna make him worry.. i´m not his responsability.. *. She sat there, close to him, almost to a point, where she felt dry. The water had gone up a bit, and the current outside, was getting stronger and stronger. The air pockets was filled with water now, and the weather was getting bad.

He remained silent, as she placed an arm around him too. Like they sat there, he could almost feel her mother breathing down his neck, telling him to say something. He couldn’t. he couldn’t even bear to think of what had happened to them. All of them. He felt his eyes glaze over, making it even harder for him to distinguish between Alouette and her beautiful mother. It ached in him to say something, and as the silence had engulfed them, so had the water. The tide was coming in, threatening to rid the cave of its air. To him, it was no problem at all; to her, it would mean death. ‘’I’m sorry… We should be getting you back home,’’ he said, not sure how to express himself. He could feel his throat being dry, and almost screeching for him to return to the water. With his tail fin still there, and the water rising, there was no fear for him to turn back to human in front of her.
He released her, and moved out of her embrace, as he returned to the water. ‘’Come on..’’ he said. ‘’Just like when you were little,’’. He reached his arms out, ready to catch her. Some sadness was to trace in his voice, but he tried to hide it. Right now, a priority was to return her to the beach so that she wouldn’t suffer the consequences of the weather.

" Ellery.. ". Her voice was soft and filled with regret, over the words she had spoken and the tale she had told him. If she hadnt said anything, then maybe his eyes wouldnt look so sad. It actually hurted her emotionally and almost physically in her heart, to see him with such a look. Maybe she didnt know him, like her mother knew him, but the sudden chance and also what the topic had been.. of course he would be sad. " No please, dont say sorry.. it´s okay ". Her voice spoke with such care and calmness to it, so soft and gentle, like she was holding a hand out to him, with her words.. saying that it was okay to be sad, to cry or even scream... to let out the pain that was inside, like he had help her let it out, just a few minutes ago.

She let her arms down, when he let himself glide into the water. Her gaze was fixated on him, when he looked at her, before saying come on, and she should just do like when she was little. " I´m not a little girl you know.. i´m a woman now ". She got almost another flashback when she said the words. He had always treated her like a little kid, even when she didnt want him too. She blushed a little, when she moved over to the edge, before slowly pushing off and gliding into his firm embrace. She looked up at him, with her big almost disney looking gaze, before looking away from him, with pure embarassment. " I´m fine now ". She looked around a little, before feeling her legs move in the water. Before it was so easy, but now.. she could actually feel the force from the waves, gently pushing in towards the cave, and she could only imagine, how strong the current would be, once they got out. " Ellery i.. i´m fine really, i can find out myself.. i dont want you to get hurt because of me". It almost felt like he was the only family she had left, or the only piece of her childhood. She looked down, not realising when she actually took a hold of his arm, but she did. She looked at him with a worrying expression.

Even her voice sounded like her mother. He needed to get the feeling out of his head; he needed to be clear and concise. He couldn’t be cloudy and dream of the past, not when he risked someone he saw as his own daughter to drown. He couldn’t react on his feelings, because they were conflicted. A part of him saw her being her mother, as he yearned to feel those lips of hers. The other part knew what the truth was and fought for it to remain the truth. He needed to focus.
As he entered the water and reached for her to make sure she would enter the water safely once more, he heard her voice clear as the sun on a bright day. ‘’I don’t care, Alouette. We need to get you back to the beach; the waters a treacherous in this weather. Now, come.’’ He said, quite dominating - almost like a father would. He wasn’t her father, yet she was alone, and he couldn’t bear the thought. She needed someone - and so did he. Nathaniel had a son, though he never met him. Ellery had no one… He yearned for that.
He managed to catch her, as she entered his embrace. For a moment, he held her close, as she looked up at him and he down on her. How she looked like her mother. Had it not been because of the weather acting up, he maybe would have thought less of getting her back home and more of exploring if she was like her mother or not. ‘’again, you’re a terrible liar…’’ he sighed against her hair, as he too noticed the current beneath them.
‘’Are you seriously more concerned about a siren in the waters, than an angel with wet wings?’’ he asked, somewhat jokingly. What did she think, that he couldn’t swim? ‘’Come,’’ he said, as he noticed her having taken a hold on his arm. He pulled her back in, tight to his naked chest. ‘’You’ll need to focus on holding your breath, okay?’’ he mumbled on the top of her wet hair. Swimming with an arm around someone was difficult, but it was better than leaving her behind, or risking her getting caught in he currents. ‘’Tell me when you’re ready,’’.

Her name over his lips, almost made her shiver for a moment. The feeling of his strong arms, catching her, holding her tight into his beating warm chest. She looked up at him and for a moment, she felt the most safe and alive, she had ever felt. A rose color slowly showed in her cheeks, as she blushed and looked away from him, flustered, as if she was thrown off her emotional balance. Siren´s was known for their aluring beauty and Ellery definitely posessed that. She couldnt help but laugh a little, when he joked with her. " Yeaaah... now that i´m hearing it out loud, it sounds ridiculous ". She shook her head slightly, before smiling to him and then looking surprised, when he pulled her back into his arms. She couldnt help but blush even more, and was convinced that even the water couldnt cool her down or hide her red face from the embarrassment.

She had never held her breath under water for that long. She could already map the whole way inside her head and just the thought doing it in a strong watery current, what if something happened to her?!. She could feel the tension building up in her body, and the panic starting to take over. Her breath started to get shorter and more like hyperventilating. She could feel the sweat om her forhead and her grib on his arms, became much tighter. " I.. i dont think i can do it.. ". She could feel the fear in her body and suddenly reality hit her. " I cant El.. i cant ". She closed her eyes, trying to calm herself, but she couldnt.

He had noticed quite a few times how she would blush whenever he teased her. She seemed to have the same taste as her mother - not that it mattered the least, since he had Kenna and was completely content on that. ‘’Maybe just a little,’’ he agreed, with a little wink.
He felt how she began to panic. Her heart was racing, and her breathing quickened like if she was about to hyperventilate. He had few choices, as he couldn’t leave her there. Either, he could convince her by explaining that he didn’t swim like normal mortals - he was quite fast, and it would only last a few moments before they could each the surface. She wouldn’t believe him; she was too much like her mother. Instead, he decided to do something he had not done in many years. ‘’Listen,’’ he hushed her, in a soft and gentle voice. ‘’Trust me on this one, okay… I won’t hurt you,’’ he whispered, as he managed to turn her face towards him.
He leaned in, quick enough for her to not be able to pull away and placed a kiss on her lips. Soon, she would feel how her body would become nonresponsive, paralyzed by the kiss. He hated to do such things, as it was only used for hunting - however, he needed her to be still in his arms and hold her breath. With one hand, he managed to put her goggles on her, making sure they were sealed tight, before he covered her mouth and with a tight grasp around her, he dived below the surface of the water.
The current around them was strong, but no match for a siren. Without much difficulty, he made sure they landed at an air pocket only a few meters from the exit of the tunnels. He removed the hand from her mouth, allowing her to breath once more, as he looked at her. ‘’Nearly there,’’ he promised her in a gentle voice. ‘’I’m sorry,’’ he then sighed, as he felt poorly from forcing her. He repeated the process of covering her mouth and dive, until they reached the surface. The clear sky had turned dark and gloomy, and rain hit hard on the waters. He kept his grip on her, as he slowly moved closer to land. Within a matter of minutes, she would regain full control of her body - ridding it of the paralysis. And she would without a doubt be mad at him for both stealing her first kiss and not asking her permission first.

//smid lige en pm hvis det ikke er ok - så skriver jeg det om

// Det okay //

When he said she should listen, she turned her gaze to him, still with panic in her eyes. While she listened, she couldnt quite understand what he was trying to say, before she felt his lips against her and suddenly felt her body become stiff and unmovable. * Ellery! *. She screamed inside, but nothing came out. She followed him with her eyes, still with the surprised expression, frozen in place. She felt the googles get on and how he tightened them a little too well, but she couldnt say anything to him about that, so she just looked. When he was about to cover her mouth, she took as much air she could inside her nose.. before she felt herself emerged in water. It was horrifying, not being able to move, and also how she could do nothing but look, while everything felt almost like being in a washing machine. When they got to the air pocket, she could feel her body slowly gaining some feeling, but not near enought, for her to actually be able to move or even do anything.

When they finally reached the beach and she felt the sand under her again, she began to struggle inside, to move just inches. Inches became more and more until she was finally able to move. She could feel her legs kick in the water, before she got out of his grib, if he would let her. She took of her googles and landed on all four, before she coughed and tried to get the dry feeling in her throat out, also her eyes was irritated. " How could you!?. Couldnt you just have slapped me or something!? ". She blushed and could not look at him at the moment. * how could he, it was my first kiss, and he knew it!.. now i will never forget that image ever!.. *. She sighed a little, before she turned around and sat down in the wet sand, while the water gently washed up and touched the tip of her feets. " But ". She could feel the struggle to find the words, before she decided to lay down in the sand, while looking up at the sky, where rain was falling down, kissing her skin, with its cold drops. She could feel the cold and she shivered ever so slightly from the cold wind, that came and caressed her. " It´s fine, lets just pretend it never happened... but thanks for getting me out ". She would still not look at him, which was why she had closed her eyes, while laying in the sand, trying to calm her heart a little and her body.