Re: How Gay Can We Make This (Twin and Blue)

[BluePawProductions]

Shiloh didn’t miss a beat, even though poor Yoko was dying beside him. “Well, maybe. To be fair, it’s easy to just be whatever when you’re already the clown. The little creamer here has a reputation to uphold.” He placed his hand over his heart and did his best to act like a serious guardsman. “Strong, silent sentinel.” His façade broke easily with his childlike smile, “He can’t just run around being foolish like I can. The woes of serious work~”

Shiloh knew he was seen as the idiot by a lot of the market, but he tried to let it roll off like water on a duck’s back. If they all thought him a fool, at least he had nowhere to go but up. He could be himself and if they thought it was stupid, he hadn’t lost a thing because they already thought so. Well, of course, he wasn’t always totally himself, but he tried now and again. At least with kind company it was easier and safer.

Kaliko gave a grin and agreed, “I thought you might like to have your own. I always feel weird borrowing, especially something like a swim suit. I don’t know if I could.” Her grin widened to a happy smile as she added, “Mora and I went shopping recently anyway, so I’d probably have gone out of my way to get mine since it’s new anyhow.” She normally didn’t get the chance to shop and certainly wouldn’t spend money on something as frivolous as a swim suit, but Mora happened to find her a real cute one that matched- Though she wasn’t sure how she felt about bikinis. She was just glad there was a little pair of shorts she picked out with it at least. She could play sports and run around without having to worry so much.

She happily joined in, cleaning up some dishes dutifully. She always did like to find something to busy her hands and occupy her time. She was always helping.

Yoru, in the meanwhile, dug through the bag to make sure that she actually had what she’d really wear. If it wasn’t full coverage, she was not getting in it. She was bailing and going home…. Mmm, good. Luckily for her, Mora was paying attention. An old, baggy sweatshirt and a wetsuit’s full coverage pants were inside the bag, along with a normal swim top just in case. Good. Good. She took the stuff out in her arms, ignoring any weird looks, and padded off to go steal a room.

Shiloh did look up, but didn’t find it weird, he just turned back to Yoko as he started to speak and asked, “oh, am I supposed to wear one?” He tipped his head curiously. He had thought he’d just get in the water in normal jeans. Maybe that wasn’t how it was supposed to be. He knew he could swim from the time an opponent had flooded the arena and he just knew how to do it, but he hadn’t actually done it recreationally before, for obvious reasons.

[TwinTigerPaw]

Yoko blushed. He didn't have that job anymore, and any reputation he had at the market, it was all mostly negative. The only shiniko that didn't hate him were the ones in Crota's house, Kovu, and Shiloh. Everyone thought he was an abomination. Not because he was trans, it was his powers... They thought he was just as disgusting as a phantom.

He tilted his head at Shiloh and listened to him as he didn't really know much about swimming. "Well, you don't have to. Swimsuits are just made with a water-friendly material, that way you do get all weighed down and have to wait for your clothes to dry." He explained. "It just makes life easier on swimmers." He added in and looked over at Kaliko. "Ah, oh. You don't have to clean all those." He said as he picked up his bowl and went to help out.

Sadin was getting changed in the washroom and stopped to look at his scar. It looked healed over but it still was a little sore. He sighed as he put on a black tank top on. If other people were at the beach, he wouldn't want to make them feel weird seeing his huge war scar. Then he'd have to tell the story of how he got it. His phone beeped and he checked it. A text from Val. It was a selfy she took of herself holding her soup. She still looked tired, but she was happy. The caption said, 'Thanks for the soup, bruh.' Sadin smiled and texted back to her before heading out of the room.

[BluePawProductions]

“Mmm…. I wouldn’t want to go against the norm I suppose,” Shiloh offered back after some thought, then smiled gratefully, “I’ll go change I suppose. Just don’t let me forget to change back. It’d be hard to explain to my dema how I ended up losing my clothes and coming back in a swim suit without leaving the market.” He gave an easygoing laugh that was all too chill, considering the consequences he’d face if he were caught doing this.

The giant of a boy padded off and slipped into one of the rooms, changing and folding his clothes into his hood. Good, good. Now-…..Wait. What? Was he only supposed to wear trunks?

~~~

Meanwhile, Kaliko was helping Yoko with the dishes, washing them up and setting them to dry with her hair pulled into a loose bun, her white streak draping down on one side. She had a delicate air to her, but cheery as the sunshine. She was already completely prepared, wearing her swim suit under her normal clothes.

Yoru came to join them but didn’t really help with the dishes just stuck her hands in her worn out beach hoodie pockets and twiddled her thumbs tin everyone got there. It wasn’t long before Shiloh returned as well, but he made a bit more of an announcement of his entrance. His deep voice asked curiously, “Are they supposed to basically be boxers or am I don’t this wrong?”

The boy was jacked and had geometric tattoos on one side of his chest and shoulder, wrapping around his forearm as well. There were fresh bruises and little scuffs from fighting in the arena, as well as a littering of fainter scars that would hardly be noticeable even up close. The most prominent ones were on his cheek, which was nothing new, and on his shoulder opposite the tattoos. That particular one was a deep, mangled burn scar that seemed to be quite old and healed over but definitely not faded at all. That’s where Yoru caught herself staring with a bit of curiosity and confusion. When he glanced at her, she jolted to the realization that she was snooping through ideas about his life and answered him, “Yeah, you’re basically doing it right. We’re close enough to the beach that a coverup is pretty pointless anyway.”

[TwinTigerPaw]

Yoko and smiled as Shiloh decided to try out the usual idea for swimming and left to go change. He looked to the dishes and got to work on cleaning them all up. Sadin had rejoined them and helped them relocate everything to the dishwasher and nodded.

~~~~~~~~~

When Shiloh came back and asked his question, Yoko was sorting out the different plate sizes and nodded with what Yoru said. "Yea. You can wear a shirt or a tank top over your swimsuit if you want but that's only if you feel the need-" He said as he turned around and stopped to stare at the ripped man. Those abs. Those tats... Yoko shook his head and quickly agreed with Yoru.

Sadin looked at Yoko, and then at Shiloh, catching that stare before looking at Yoru with a smirk. "Hey kid, don't you need your swimsuit too?" Sadin asked him. Yoko blinked. "OH! I- I do! I'll be right back!" He bolted out, his face red. He was waiting for everyone to be out of the changing room anyways, he's still shy. Sadin grinned and looked over as Gau came back in. He was in his more athletic looking swim trunks and had his hair tied back out of his face.

"Alright kids, make sure you put sunscreen on, I don't want you guys to get sunburns. Ves would probably kill me if I let that happen." He said, chuckling. Taddle and Clockwork came over, letting Gau apply some of the stuff to their noses and cheeks for them, and handing them the bottle so they could get their shoulders and backs.

Sadin nodded. "I would become a lobster." He commented, and smiled.

[BluePawProductions]

Shiloh didn’t seem to mind the eyes. Many fighters ended up fairly exposed when fighting, whether that be to protect their clothing, limiting their obstruction to mobility, or just the damage sustained. He knew he at least took off his cloak and fought in just pants and a plain shirt that he didn’t mind getting utterly ruined. Most professionals did that anyway, so it was good practice. Thus, all the eyes on him hardly fazed him. He just grinned when they sent Yoko scurrying off. He was a sweet guy.

When the idea of sunscreen was brought up, he waved it off with a chill smile and offered back, “Ah, nah, I got natural sunblock.” He paused to motion to his dark skin, noting, “I don’t really burn.”

Yoru, however, took the bottle and a nice big squirt of the sunscreen, rubbing some onto her very limited exposed skin. She was pale as a paper, so she needed it. She understood the sentiment of lobster life. Shed didn’t want to get wrecked by the sun. Even Kaliko took a bit, since she had her pale streaks and patches on her skin. She thought it was unfair she had to sunscreen to keep from burning, but she rolled with it anyway. Just part of life. A small price to pay for fun in the sun~

[TwinTigerPaw]

Sadin smiled. "Heh, well hope it doesn't burn you anyways then. The sun is pretty unforgiving." He commented and looked Shiloh up and down. He looked like a fighter, that was for sure but he didn't look like one of the extremely popular ones.

Meanwhile, Yoko was getting ready. He put on a baggy shirt, and swim trunks. The shirt was so wide on his shoulders that it looked like it was cut to rest on his shoulders. He blushed but breathed. He'd deal with this. Thankfully he picked out a midnight blue shirt, that way it wouldn't become see through when he didn't get in the water.

Now that he was ready, he headed out, putting his sandals on and heading to meet up with everyone. "Okay! I'm ready!" He said as he stepped in with everyone. Gau smiled and nodded before heading out. Taddle and Clockwork would follow. Taddle grabbed out his arm floaties. He could swim but keeping his head above water was still hard for him.

[BluePawProductions]

(And then Shiloh spontaneously combusted because he was too hot, hot damn, call the police and the fireman.)

[BluePawProductions]

The dark boy grinned and assured Sadin, “I work outside a lot. It’s never bothered me before. I just get darker.” Yoru took a moment to glare. “But hey, at least I only /look/ crispy, right?” He joked around lightheartedly. He did notice the boy’s appraisal, but it was a pretty normal thing for him. Shiniko, in his experience, were like products, after all. He was appraised all the time. Granted, not very highly appraised, but that’s how it went for a start-up, right? He was sure he could raise his value with enough hard work. Yes. Definitely.

Despite being in swim trunks, he didn’t exactly have /beach/ shoes. He just put his boots on and got trackin’, tucking his little bundle of things aside to get them later. He assumed the beach wasn’t too far away, so he could wait and change back here later. He honestly looked a little silly from about the waist down due to the pairing of trunks and then freakin’ boots, but he didn’t care or notice.

Kaliko and Yoru joined in as well, letting Gau lead them to where they needed to be.

[TwinTigerPaw]

Yoko quickly applied sun screen to his arms, face, shoulders, and legs. He definitely would burn. Before they left, Gau had set out a red mug filled with some hot black coffee. With the two new shiniko to Gau's house who's powers effected phantom behavior greatly, Vlad had to get creative about how he got his coffee. Usually popping in if Yoko and Kovu were out, or off in their zen room.

Having left the goods for their little feline friend they all headed down to the beach which was probably just a good five-minute walk. Gau had with him his own beach bag. The contents were several massive beach towels that they could sit on, and a huge umbrella that he placed in the sand to create I nice shady spot. And lastly, a cooler filled with iced drinks. Freshly made lemonades and orange juices from Gau's secret room in his house.

The seller had all kinds of stuff in it. Wines, coffee, many kegs filled with different drinks that he kept down there. This was all alcohol-free stuff he brought with him. There was even some iced teas in there and some water bottles. Taddle beamed.

"Whooaaa!!! Look at how clear the water is today! and the breeze feels so nice! Not too wavey either!" He said as he looked over the water. Sadin was watching as well, but his eyes looked more like he was watching for big waves so he'd know when to run away.

[BluePawProductions]

When they approached the beach, the salt in the air picked up Kaliko’s pace. She could smell the ocean long before they reached it and eagerly bounded with her bag over the hill to look out over the sandy coastline. Stunning, every time! Turning to beam over her shoulder at them, she encouraged the crew with an enthusiasm she had yet to show to the house. “Pick it up slowpokes~ We’re here!” She called before disappearing over the edge and sprinting out onto the sand, setting down her things so that she was ready and started helping Gau set everything up for everyone else. Yoru came over like it was no big deal, but Shiloh had his mind BLOWN.

Coming up the plank steps that led up over the hill to the beach, he slowed as his eye line lifted to see over the top. He felt a wave of wonder wash over him and was awestruck immediately. Standing at the crest of the hill, the cool sea breeze wafting across him and ruffling his hair as the summer sun beat down on his skin, the powerful rumbling crashes of waves muffled by the wind…. It was like nothing he’d experienced before. And that view! It was like he’d reached the edge of the world. A long strip of sand where the land ended and then just nothing, an endless expanse of water. With how he was feeling, a humbled sort of glory, he knew that he must not have been able to see this in life either. This was new….and it was probably the coolest thing he’d ever seen.

The boy was so starstruck by the beach that he lingered back as everyone passed him for several paces before he remembered to keep walking. He stepped out on the sand tentatively, like maybe he wasn’t supposed to or like it was some sort of foreign thing. He’d seen sand, of course, but there was so much of it that he almost wondered if it would just let him slip through it with his weight. To his relief, it allowed him in its presence and he trailed behind the crew, a nervous excitement tingling across his skin as they got closer to the water. It sounded strong and beating- alive.

As everyone settled in, Kaliko turned excitedly to Sadin and Yoru and eagerly spouted, “We should enjoy the water while we’re here. Do you two like to do wat-“ She noticed the look on Sadin’s face and pursed her brow sympathetically. “Or we can take it slow if it makes you nervous.”

Yoru shrugged and replied, “It’s not a big deal for me.” She padded past and stood just far enough that the water washed up over her ankles when the waves came in. She didn’t want to leave Sadin behind, so she’d keep an eye on what he wanted to do.

Kaliko gave a tentative smile to the boy and offered, “What do you want to do?” She didn’t want to push hi-

The girl got distracted partway through her thoughts as she looked up, nudging Sadin and smiling as she noted, “Hey, look who came to keep an eye on you~”

Vesuvius was sitting contentedly on a set of steps leading from the sidewalk down to the beach and gave a small wave to his kiddo from there. He remembered that Sadin was nervous about water and had come along to make sure everything went well, but he didn’t want to intrude, so he was just in the observer role, enjoying the breeze from his spot all the way up the beach. He’d be out and headed home, but it wasn’t too out of his way to stop by. Besides, he’d just have to do paperwork when he got home. This was a good procrastinating opportunity.

[TwinTigerPaw]

Yoko smiled and watched Shiloh. He seemed to be in awe of the sight. Upon reaching the beach he took off his sandals, leaving them on the groups resting spot and skipping fast across the hot sand to the water. It was so nice! "It feels so good!" He beamed.

Sadin looked over at Kaliko and back to the water before he was nudged. He looked over, seeing his dema hanging out and watching the group. "Oh its Ves. I didn't know he was going to come out here too." He said softly and waving a little back. Yoko looked over and followed their gaze.

"Whooaaa," Yoko said, staring at Vesuvius. "That's your dema?" He asked. "I've heard stories about him from the market, never expected him to be so.... Dad like." He said with a snicker. Gau had left the shelter of the umbrella and was walking out to the water. He gave a smirk, flicking his hand to make a small wave splash everyone that was close enough, or in the water. Yoko was soaked and he had this helpless wet dog look on his face but he laughed.

Sadin had ben smart enough to back away from the splash but he was smiling and snickering a little. "Hey, no cheating Gau!" He said. The water dema laughed and looked over his shoulder. He could hardly make Ves out anymore.... His vision wasn't getting any better. Sadin put a small hand on the demas arm, catching his attention. The boy pointed to his dema with a determined expression on his face.

Gau blinked before sighing. "Fine, you win... Kaliko, make sure no one drowns." He said as he walked back over to the cooler, and got out two ice cold lemonades before walked over to his brother, with a very... unconfident walk.

[BluePawProductions]

Shiloh followed Yoko’s lead, slipping off his boots and starting to step off the towel and immediately spooking back on top of it for a moment. It was hot!? He looked up to Yoko and noted that he was happily bounding along to the water. So maybe it wasn’t burning hot?... He carefully set each foot down and let the warm sand sink in around his toes. It was a weird sensation but somehow relaxing…. Huh… Weird. He slowly started walking, feeling how differently the weight shifted on the sand until he had picked up his pace to catch up. Everything was so novel and new and great!

Just as he got to the ocean, he was splashed in the face by a gush of salt water, sputtering and shaking it off. It felt different. It was sort of cooler, it a way. His eyes cast to the dema and his shiniko to gague whether or not this was okay, then found himself smiling and laughing along with them. “You look like a drowned kitten,” He giggled at Yoko, wading in deeper to join him.

Yoru got splashed, but dodge back from most of it, getting her pants soaked but only a few specks on her hoodie. “Oh so that’s how we’re playing it then, huh?” she sneered, letting the sand beneath her transmute up her bare feet and legs until she was coated in sandstone. Taking a quick few steps forward, she jumped and landed full force with her feet in the water, making a huge splash that soaked Shiloh from behind and got the dema himself a good rinse. Unfortunately, it was right then that he got distracted. She saw Sadin grabbing his arm and her slight smile lowered, now pensive and worried about the situation. Her eyes were clearly keeping on the two demas from where she was. She was more worried about what Ves was thinking than either of them being angry or scared.

As the dema left, Kaliko gave a boy and obediently replied, “Yes sir. I’ll keep an eye on everyone.” She rested a hand on Sadin and Yoru’s shoulders since they were closest as if they needed some sort of mother hen to keep them from getting themselves killed. Yoru’s eyes broke from the demas for a moment to slowly glare the fires of hell at the woman.

~~~

Vesuvius, in his little nook of the beach, wasn’t oblivious to what was going on either. He got a little antsy when Sadin went over to Gau, wishing he could tell his kid to leave him be so he could have a good time and be blissfully unaware of his presence. Unfortunately, his silent willing didn’t work, as it never often did, and Gau was alerted to him being there. Vesuvius’s stomach unsettled a bit and he shifted his shoulders as he watched the look on Gau’s face shift. Unlike his kin, he had the opposite problem with his eyes. With an eagle’s sharpness, he didn’t miss a single feature of tense worry on that man’s face, nor how his body subtly shifted to let out a sigh. It….wasn’t exactly a great sign.

When Gau stopped by and got lemonades, then continued to make his way over, Ves’s face itself shifted. He was glad in that moment that the other dema’s eyes were so bad he couldn’t see, because he felt like his heart had jumped off his sleeve and plastered itself to his face for a moment. He managed to burry it in an awkward if not calm look.

The way his brother approached was…nervous, tentative… He was afraid… And that cut deeper than anger would have. Ves had to lean back on the steps and take a steadying breath to force himself not to get up and try to excuse himself. It ached against his ribs as he recalled the feeling of Gau’s throat tight in his fingers, the glint of his own burning eyes in the milky gaze of his brother. He could almost taste the heat on his breath, gritting back his teeth. And now Gau was afraid… He’d been hoping the small detail Kaliko had mentioned was him beign jumpy about the kids being hurt, but that was just hopeful thinking. He supposed he had good reason to be afraid, but it didn’t mean it hurt less.

As Gau approached, wordlessly, Ves figured he must have been expected to be the first to speak. “You should be having fun with the kids,” He found himself saying in an off-kilter greeting, “I’m just here to make sure Sadin’s alright. Don’t let me stop you from having a good time, Gau.”

[TwinTigerPaw]

Yoko snickered at Shiloh. He really did. "I guess I do!" He smiled and laughed, but stopped to watch Sadin and Gau. However, Sadin quickly ducked out of the way of Kaliko to run into the shallow water, and splash at them.

"Ah- Hey!" Yoko yelled and laughed. Taddle had joined in the second splashing had started. Clockwork, however, opted to lay on his beach towel and catch some sweet, sweet sun rays.

~~~~~~~~

Gau casually sat down and passed one of the lemonade to sit by Ves' food and he gave a soft breath. "Its hard to enjoy anything when you're on shaky terms with your family..." He admitted. "The beach isn't going anywhere so I can spare time to try and make amends, don't I?" He asked, looking over to look his brother dead in the eye. He was close enough can he was able to make out the other dema's face.

"We've had about, I'd say a month or more of time to be apart, breath, and think... I've been doing a lot of thinking about what I did..." Gau said, casting his gaze to the ground. His face wasn't really readable, but you could tell that he felt guilty.

He took a moment before looking back over to his brother. He didn't look scared, or afraid, there was only a look of worry, and pain in his eyes. "If there had been any other way, I would never have-- ..." Gau couldn't hide how big of an emotional softy he really was about this. His voice had squeaked a little and he cut himself off to look to the side. Embarrassed that his deep ass voice still did that.

[BluePawProductions]

When Shiloh was soaked from Yoru, he shook off just in time see Sadin duck and dark away from Kaliko, who pleasantly watched him actually brave the ankle deep water. She seemed contented by it. It was a good thing he was willing to face what made him nervous. She wasn’t in her playing mode of running around and instead opted to keep an eye out on the others, as she was told to do. She knew Gau had particularly been kidding, at least somewhat, but she did feel a sort of responsibility when no demas were watching over the hosues.

Yoru, however, immediately kicked water back at Sadin, standing against his flurry of attacks.

~~~

Ves did lean forward to pick up the drink laid at his feet, pulling him away from the steadying steps. As he did so, he gave a small mumbly sound of concession when the other dema mentioned it was hard to have a good time when things were the way they were. Settling the drink beside him where it was more safe from the sand, he listened to Gau, but was almost startled when he looked up to find them eye to eye. He had been expecting his brother to avoid his gaze, he supposed, and was surprised to find otherwise. Good surprised or bad surprised had yet to be seen. Though…. The words did seem to say that he wanted to patch things up, which was at least a good start.

He parted his lips to answer, but was uncertain what to say, instead lingering and trying to read Gau’s face. Thus, his brother went on and started to say he’d been thinking about it all. Ves was particularly quiet, the events that transpired recounting themselves, right down to the finest details. He could feel his heart and stomach sink just slightly, remembering the terror he had when he saw that bloody hand trail down the hallway…when he’d known she’d been there… and that look in Gau’s own face matching that when Ves himself had instead become a terror against that house. He too, was thus unreadable and complicated, but tense and quiet.

Gau met his eyes gain and continued, either masking or relinquishing his fear, but cut short with a choked sound, turning his face away…

Ves didn’t know what to say…

Settling his hands around the glass and letting his elbows rest on his knees, eyes settled on the sand in front of him so as not to stare down the embarrassed dema, he let his mind run. He was quiet for a time, feeling the heavy weight of his brother being upset rested upon his shoulders… He didn’t want to just say that everything was okay that had happened and sweep things under the rug, but they weren’t…how Gau seemed to think they were either. He wasn’t…angry right now. He wasn’t holding it against him like-….

‘Heaven above…why do I make things so complicated?’ he silently moaned inside as he took another breath and prepared himself to speak.

“I’ve not…been angry, this whole month,” He spoke slowly and deliberately, with clarity like he’d thought about what he’d say the entire time they’d been apart but never uttered a word, “I was…admittedly angry at first. It’s just-“ He shifted his hands on the glass with a considering pause. “I know I get far too angry and… I know that I get angry when I’m scared… But you should know-“ No, those weren’t the words he wanted. He paused to rephrase again, thinking carefully as he decided, “I didn’t wait this month out because I was too furious to look at you or anything… You were never in danger of that.” His brow settled in a concerned, heavy way but kept his eyes on the shifting sand. It was then he decided how he was going to say what he exactly needed to say.

“I know how I am, Gau. I understand why you would think the way you do of the situation. It wasn’t the case, but I understand it. I wish that… that I hadn’t been so furious at the time or that things hadn’t gotten as close to tragedy as they did, but my anger subsided to regret within days. It’s not how you thought,” He concluded that line of thought, “which is I guess probably a relief to hear.” Or maybe frustrating, considering how long they both stayed away.

Now it was for the harder part for him to say. He settled the lemonade down beside him so that he didn’t tense up or harm the glass and instead laid his hands together with a slow, deliberate calmness to match his chosen tone. “As far as the situation with Akinaten goes,” He said with a certain discomfort audible in his tone but at least not anger, “I will never be okay with what happened… I’ll never be okay with her. It may be blind but…I do think that we could have found another way without her.” His eye trailed closer, glancing up to Gau but then back to look over the ocean at his kids as he spoke. “I just- I felt…betrayed, yes…confused, yes…But mostly I was just…I was scared. I didn’t know what to think but I just couldn’t handle thinking of living that again. And when I found out-“

His brows pursed together and he looked like he was struggling to speak the words, but he managed, “Just tell me it was the only time. You haven’t allied with her?” The question was a heavy one, one he hated to even think to ask but one that he needed to hear.

[TwinTigerPaw]

Sadin grinned while he had a water fight with Yoru, and Taddle was such help. Splashing them both relentlessly. "Hey, you little punk!" Sadin grinned and splashed him back. Yoko grinned and giggled. He liked these hangouts on the beach, they were nice and refreshing.

He looked over to Kaliko curiously. "Hey, Mis Kaliko? Do you think when my dema is done talking to Ves, I could go meet him? I heard nice things about him and I don't want to be a stranger if I ever need his help." He said, poking his fingers together in a shy manner.

~~~~~~~

Gau's eyes had a shimmer of relief that things may not have been fully damaged completely. Being able to talk to Ves when they were both more level headed. It took the weight off the water dema's shoulders. He looked back to watch the two groups of shiniko playing and having fun his voice shook.

"No. That was the only time. The last time I will speak to that woman outside of dema meetings.... I made sure that what she got in return would never come from you or your house...." His eyes narrowed, and he almost looked as though he would break down. "She... 'Borrowed,' and I used the word borrowed as a loose term... She borrowed Tex... Him the day you left for Canada. She kept her word and returned him alive, but he was tired as though he was run ragged..." Gau said.

He covered his face with a hand and rubbed it over his forehead. "Ves, I really do deeply regret what I did... That deal I made with her. Even though she saved Vlad from that bastards torment. It wasn't worth what she did to Tex, and it wasn't worth what I did to you... This whole time I was scared I had lost one of my only real family members. That's mostly why I never got too close all this time, I didn't want to make things worse..."

Rubbing his hand down his face he looked over at Ves and took a breath. "So, how is he by the way. Both of them actually. Vlad and Alex? I Don't see the cat too often anymore, he's made himself scarce after the little accident not long ago." The water dema said, wondering how things were going.

[BluePawProductions]

Yoru gave a smug look when the water fight started, shaking her stony self off slightly as if to demonstrate the true power of her awesome armored might! As a wave came in, she leaned back and let herself fall flat into the oncoming rush, stony-cased body sinking to the bottom to render their attacks obsolete. Soon as she was under, she dropped her armoring shell and let her skin return to normal, swimming with the wave and letting it suck her out further. She popped up moments later, treading water out past their reach. Shaking her hair out as the red chalk drained out of her bangs, she stuck her tongue out at the group. She was untouchable! AHA!

Shiloh’s face advertised how incredibly impressed he was, and he immediately took it upon himself to clumsily wade out towards her, feeling as the water got deeper and deeper until it was up on his chest and the smaller waves rolled past him. He was seemingly blind to any nervousness he could have felt, consumed by his curiosity to follow the now determined leader of beach prowess.

Kaliko watched the display and gave a giggle, but kept a close eye on Yoru, not so incredibly confident in the petite girl’s athletic abilities. She smiled softly though, when Yoko asked her if he could meet Ves. “Well, it’s not up to me, but I don’t think you need permission, dear,” She answered sweetly, “He’s very approachable. I think he’d be glad to say hello.”

~~~

Ves’s demeanor grew heavy and somber when Gau began to explain the price she’d taken for her half. He knew she must have asked for it, particularly. She wasn’t one to bargain and he could almost be certain she asked for exactly what she got. She may have been one to subscribe to the crimes of opportunity method, but she was a dema of perception. Akinaten had foresight to see exactly what she could do, he’d give her that.

“It was too high a price,” Ves offered his brother with a consoling look. He….couldn’t say he understood how or why he’d given up Tex- even with such a promise. To take such a risk with her was mind-boggling ot him and he had to force himself not to think of it in a negative light. They were making amends, not starting a new argument, after all.

When Gau announced his regrets, Ves couldn’t deny that it was a relief in some ways. He didn’t particularly like how upset Gau was, obviously. He didn’t like to see his brother in pain like this… But it did mean that his regret was genuine and it meant he wasn’t likely to do it again. Ves knew he couldn’t rule over others’ decisions, but he didn’t want to have to take blind guesses at their loyalties…or question the safety of his children among them. The fact that Gau genuinely regretted aligning himself with Akinaten did him some good. He could never and would never get past what she had done… It made him quick to become nervous among questionable loyalty.

When Gau persisted, though, and mentioned that he was afraid he’d lost his family member, something wrenched inside Ves against his ribs, not just for the worry his kin had been going through but also for the fact that it was in question at all. “Come now, brother,” He eased with a weary smile, “You should know better than that by now.” He gave a slightly more humorous smile to try and add, “I’m more difficult to get rid of than that.”

When Gau moved on to his questions, though, the war dema left his comment behind and instead replied, relinquishing his own worry about what was earlier stated. With a breath on the wind like he was quite tired in his bones, he answered, “Vlad’s alright for the most part. I’m sure he’s still wrestling with everything to some degree and things will take some adjusting to, but he’s alright overall. It’s going to be a while before Alex is fully on his own two feet, though. He’s nervous and I can tell he’s still shaken, but physically, he’ll recover.”

[TwinTigerPaw]

Sadin puffed up his cheeks in frustration as Yoru back peddled into the deeper water. He could swim, actually. It was just his memories of what happened to him. That of corse was a river, and not the ocean, but the idea of being pulled by a strong current made him uneasy. He breathed in, however, and started after Yoru to swim after her.

Right up until he was neck-deep in the water, and saw a wave coming, which caused him to retreat back to the shallower waters. He didn't fully go in swimming, but he braved deeper waters for just a moment, and that was a small achievement in itself.

Yoko smiled and nodded. "Oh, alright then, I'll go over there when he and Gau are done chatting then!" He said before following Shiloh out and smiling. The water felt really good, and he could still see his feet as he got further out. "We should look for sea shells!" He said happily.

~~~~~~~

Gau smiled a little at Ves with his remark about how it would be a lot harder to get rid of him. He smirked but listened to his brother carefully. "Glad he's at lease partway back to his usual self. I hope that Alex will get there too." The water dema said and took a sip of his lemonade.

"By the way, while you were in Canada, and all the crazy was going down with Alex, Chisei up and went missing. I doubt that him being a human now will post him as any threat to anyone. Tch, even sweet little Juliet could kick his butt. I thought I'd give you the heads up that I don't know where he is now. Yoko tracked him all the way to an airport. He might not be in japan anymore." Gau said. He rubbed his face like it was problematic anyways. "I know I should have taken him somewhere else, but Vlad wanted him where he could find him."

"Anyways..." He breathed and looked back at the playing kids. "Sorry I keep dropping bombshells, it's just. Things have built up over the weeks, yah know? So use to having another dema to talk to about these things." He added.

[BluePawProductions]

Yoru snickered as Sadin came closer, paddling back, but eventually returning forward as he retreated. She started like she was going to come into the shallow end, but paused when she saw Kaliko begin to approach Sadin as he came back to shore. She hesitated, thinking she saw what was going on. It was something she didn’t want to put a stop to, since she was fairly certain it was a good thing. Something she herself wasn’t willing to do.

The nurse had nodded to Yoko and agreed with him as he ran off to join Shiloh, then caught sight of what Sadin was up to. She seemed to glow with a certain pride over her recently healed patient. She felt almost a part of the house after staying there so long to keep an eye on everyone, especially after so many long nights and getting an extension for taking care of Alex. She had a certain house-like pride, then, when he began to conquer his fear and thought that now was a good idea to help him in a psychological sense. He’d had a small victory, but maybe she could keep up the momentum.

Coming up around him and padding out a little deeper than him as if to pull him along by some invisible force, she smiled brightly at him and asked, “You wanted to get out there with Yoru?” She offered both hands for him to take without a second thought and stood with her back to the waves, letting them wash up against the backs of her legs and the wind to rustle her streaked hair. “I’m a good swimmer. I’ve got you. We can go out there together if you want.” Her shimmering, pale blue eyes reflected the light playing off the water as she waited with a gentle sort of patience, her offer laid out for him to take or leave at his will.

Shiloh had meanwhile made it out as far as Yoru and was marveling at how large the distant waves must have been if he was already this deep in. When Yoko came up along side him, he smiled widely and easily rested himself on the surface of the water. “I bet we could find anything under there. It’s really clear,” He noted, “Just show me what to do and I’ll be on it.” He gave a good natured grin and playfully bowed with his arm across his chest like a butler for a split second. “I am thy obedient servant, good sir.” His grin widened into a smile as he had to correct his balance in the shifting water and make sure to keep his head above water.

As he was looking down into the crystal clear ocean, he noted without really thinking, “Y’know, I bed it’d be really neat out here at night.” He could almost envision how the moonlight would gleam across every feature of the moving tides.

~~~

Ves gave an agreeable hum when Gau said he hoped Alex would recover as well as Vlad had so far. As he began to explain the Chisei situation, though, he listened seriously. “Well, it’s no secret I don’t like him, so I don’t exactly mourn his absence from your house. I know that Vlad wanted him close to home, but I honestly feel like the less contact he has with his former dema, the better… Besides, I think people are underestimating the amount of trouble that man may still be able to get into. He’s weak and fragile now, but his mind is still just as sharp as it was. He may be able to get a lot done through others, may even be able to rekindle old alliances. That would be very bad for us. Or even smaller than that, easier, he could still hurt a shiniko if they weren’t expecting it.” He rested his elbows back against the steps as if they were armrests and noted, “Not saying it’s ideal, but I just know I wouldn’t have been comfortable keeping him near my house. It’s not good for him to be out on his own, but at least you don’t have to worry about it.” The real question was how that bugger escaped from Gau’s. It was pretty crazy, but he wouldn’t pry right now.

When Gau then moved on to express that things had gotten hectic and built up, though, Vesuvius let out a hefty sigh and let his weight sink back against the steps as if he were going to just melt into them. “No kidding.” He agreed readily, “It’s been insane. Half my house is in recovery after the different incidents, most of them are still working through some sort of emotional thing, Asher nearly got eaten, Tartarus of all people practically has me under probationary watch, my daughter has been home about a month and already found a bad boy to fawn over, and there are a lot of small conflicts in the house about differing views now.” He thought he was done, but immediately added, “Oh, and I made a new mountain range out in the arctic because things went so bad. So yeah, I definitely feel you on that. Things have really built up, but I already exploded and got that out of my system. Not sure if I have the steam for it again.” It was a half joke, though true.

[TwinTigerPaw]

The boy had gotten back to being about knee deep when Kaliko met him in the water and went a little further out. Sadin's eyes followed her and he watched to see what she was doing. He blinked and thought about it for a moment. Did he really want to get out into the deeper water?

After a moment of thinking and looking around, he finally decided to try. Kaliko, Yoru, Gau, and Ves were all there, and all watching. They wouldn't let anything happen to him. He took a deep breath and held his hand out to accept Kaliko's offer.

Yoko smiled and blushed as he went under water for a moment to locate a sea shell and show it to Shiloh. He eventually came back up with a very pretty one. He shook water from his head, sending a sparkling spray all around him. Yoko held up the shell. "Here." He said. "This is what some shells look like." He explained.

~~~~~~~

"Well. I hope that whatever happens, we don't see trouble from him again... We could use nice days like these to heal our bodies and minds..." The water dema said.

Gau nodded and smiled. "And didn't Val catch a COLD, of all things, from being out in a blizzard. I didn't think she was capable of getting one of those!" He said, feeling like things were a bit more normal now. He and Ves could speak again, and they were able to light-heartedly talk. "Poor kid, I hope she get's well quick too. Bless Sadin as well, he offered to cover her shift today since she was still not feeling well. For a grouchy little child, he has a big heart. Kind of like another stubborn brat I know." He teased, giving Ves a funny sideways grin.

He listened about Ashes and sighed. "Damn... So there was some kind of phantom attack involved. Sadin said that Tina told you guys about one that caused all the chaos after Chisei reared his ugly head." He commented. "Things have been busy here too... Three new shiniko, one after another. All market children." He added.

[BluePawProductions]

Kaliko beamed as Sadin held out his hand. She was a nurse through and through, working both on people’s bodies and minds regularly since she was on the market and had to deal with very broken people. She was thus inclined to try to help people in whatever way she could whenever she could. So, seeing Sadin was hampered and deterred by a fear of water, she naturally wanted to help him grow and overcome it. Him taking her hand was the first step and it was a big one.

“I got you,” She assured him with a steady but gentle voice, carefully taking both hands and guiding him along as she went backwards, keeping his focus on her so he wouldn’t panic. She was lucky that the water was mostly calm that day. The breakpoint of small waves was early on and she soon was deeper in, just letting the water rise and fall around them in gentle, rounded rolls. Sometimes her toes would lift off the sand and she would smoothly glide with them. “See? It’s nice out here,” She encouraged, “It’s easier to float on saltwater. You can give it a try. I’m a good swimmer, so I’ve got you.”

~~~

Nearer to the shore by a bit, Shiloh was watching Yoko dive under and retrieve a shell. The small gem glittered and shone in the sunlight- And oh! That was a cool shell too!

The tall boy took it carefully in his hands like it was delicate and would break at first touch. It looked fragile, anyway. He carefully thumbed it and intently looked over its fine detail. “So you just want some of these?” His eyes scanned the water, thinking somewhere in him that he knew he would want to know where they were before diving under. Saltwater wasn’t supposed to feel super great in open eyes, he noted. Finding a good cluster, all he had to do was bend down and reach under. The water went up to the shoulder, but turning his face sideways, he was able to reach the bottom without diving under, grasping several in one big hand before bringing them back up to examine.

“Any of these?” He asked curiously. He didn’t know the first thing about this or why they would need shells. They seemed like fancy rocks in a way, though he knew what they were. But, if they made Yoko happy, that was good enough for him.

~~~

Ves rubbed between his brows and muttered, “Yeah, Val’s down for the count for a bit. The girls had a disagreement about Vlad, apparently. I can’t be exactly sure what happened, but those children can’t seem to stay calm for two seconds. Val ended up standing out in the blizzard for a while in protest, I guess.” He shrugged, “Human spirits are baffling things. Sometimes I swear I’ll never understand them”

As for when Gau moved on to Sadin, Ves did allow a small smile. “He’s not such a grouchy kid as you think. He’s been pretty sweet in general. Just stoic in a way, I suppose.”

When Asher was brought up, the dema seemed to be mostly silent, in thought, quiet. It wasn’t something he wanted to discuss right now, but he did comment on Gau’s situation. “Three?” he repeated back as if the dema was crazy, looking out at the children in the water. He had to wonder which ones were now his… “Gau, I hope you know you’re completely insane,” He replied back, only a small hint of humor to his tone but mostly genuine concern. “This whole situation with Asher just proved that everything was a whole lot more complicated with them than people like us know. We’re not experienced enough to fully understand what drives them. You better pay very close attention to them or I fear it could get out of hand and fast.” He seemed heavy as he noted aloud, “We’re not doing them any favors if we don’t understand them on their level, but they’re very secretive, from what I understand. It’s difficult to find a balance.”

[TwinTigerPaw]

Sadin kept his eyes on the nurse, allowing himself to trust her, and also working on swimming. He was good at swimming and floating. Even so, he kept his eyes on Kaliko. He had to keep his mind off the waves. He cleared his thoughts of the memories from when he died. He wouldn't let that get in his way, he needed to try at least.

"Yea." He said softly as he decided to look around, just for a bit, but refusing to look back in case the distance discouraged him.

~~~~~~

Yoko smiled. Shiloh seemed to like the Shell too. He watched as the taller male almost sat down and pulled up a hand full of shells to look at. They were all lovely! His eyes shined as he looked over them all, picking out the purple ones.

He liked purple. He looked over them all, his eyes shining with wonder. "They're so pretty! I wonder if we could make necklaces from these!"

~~~~~

Gau smiled. "Hope she recovers well. It sounds to me like she just wanted to do what you would want her. I remember she was very bitter towards Vlad for a while, so perhaps she was hoping to do her best to act as her dema wished." He said. "I hope that the conflict clears up too. No need for senseless drama within your own house." He added in and smiled. Ves had a point about Sadin, he was a sweet kid. Just took a little time to warm up was all.

He looked over at Ves and smirked. "I understand how the market kids can be... It's not easy.... The one with blond hair, sweet little face. His name's Yoko. Would you believe me if I told he he guarded the entrance before I took him in?" Gau asked. "The other two are probably relaxing in the new zen room back home. Luca and Kovu." The water dema smiled nervously and glanced at Ves. "Well, I'm even crazier... One of them is like Sadin and Alex..." He added.

[BluePawProductions]

Kaliko swelled with pride as her little patient came out into deeper water with her. He was doing so well! She kept her bright smile, feeling the ocean’s heartbeat ebb and flow around her. Each movement brought a gentle tug between her fingers where his lay and she was just so pleased that he’d taken this step with her. Maybe one day he’d even get over his fear completely, starting with this step. Who knew, he could eve-

Wait a minute….

She was….holding both of his hands…. and he was trusting her with his fears- OHMYGOSH she was going to die! Why had she thought this was a good idea!? What- what was she thinking!? OHHHH If Mora could see her now, how she’d tease her forever! What kind of idiot just went and- And with the crush!?... Crush? SHOOT! He really was!!!

She had trapped herself in this situation and now could do nothing but helplessly turn red with no freedom to hide her face by burying it in her hands as she normally would. Why had she done this? Why had she not foreseen this? Why was she not better at just /hiding/ her flustration like everyone else!? OOOoooohhhhh this was how she died.

~~~


Shiloh was well pleased by the reaction he got from Yoko. Apparently his finding was a good one. He wasn’t sure how to judge the quality, but he did have to admit that they were quite lovely. With an encouraged smile, he agreed, “I bet they’d look real pretty all strung together. You think your dema has the tools for it at your house?”

~~~

“Yeah, I’m sure she was just doing what she thought I’d want… Still, it’s quite the mess all around. Everyone trying to do what they thought was best made a lot of chaos at once,” He answered as he leaned back on the steps with more comfort and watched the kids, “I supposed it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have expected them to be ready. It was too fast. They hadn’t worked together like that in a long time…. It was too much to expect of them, I suppose.” He rubbed his forehead and decided that was enough of that, though. He just nodded and agreed, “I hope it all clears up as well.”

He listened to his brother and his eyes widened as he explained the situation further. “Brother, you certainly are something else,” he breathed out, “What am I ever going to do with you?”

[TwinTigerPaw]

Sadin watched Kaliko's face turn red. For once he was kind of clueless. He blinked and gave her a worried look. "Kaliko, your face is red. Are you okay?" He asked. He had not registered the red as being blushing just yet since they were in the sun. He wasn't sure if that was the reason why, or if maybe she was getting sick?

Definitely would be bad if the nurse got sick. Sadin balanced himself and looked at her seriously. "Just let me know if we need to swim back, the ocean is no place to get sick." He said.

~~~~

Yoko smiled and looked at the shells before looking at Shiloh. He gave a slight nod. "Yea he might. We can go ask and get that real fast!" He said as he turned to make his way back through the water. "Let's find out!" He added.

~~~~

Gau smiled and blushed a little. "Well, what are you going to do with me. I hope you don't batter and fry me!" He said with a heavy chuckle and grins. Gau slapped his knee and looked back out at the waters and sighed. "Heh, I pretty much has always been a crazy old fish, haven't I? I guess I just needed to add one more thing to my plate." He said with a smile and watched as Yoko was leaving the water.

He would see the blurred image of the little blond coming with his dark roast friend. "Hm, looks like I might have to introduce you to one of the new children." The water dema said while looking at his now empty lemonade bottle. He pointed to the lemonade he gave Ves, "Don't let it get hot by the way." He chuckled.

[BluePawProductions]

Kaliko managed an awkward smile and offered, “I’m- I’m fine. I just remembered something and it’s a little embarrassing to forget is all.” That was…technically the truth, right? Right. She uh… she was sure it was in some way. She didn’t want to outright tell him what it was, but she also didn’t want him to think she’d either burned to a crisp or was about to throw up and pass out on him, though her queasy stomach told her that her nerves would very much like to follow that course of action.

“You’re doing a great job,” She beamed, trying to take both their minds off of it, “Did you used to do a lot of swimming?” She didn’t have to ask if he’d stopped due to some incident, as she was sure he had, given his reaction to water earlier. She just thought maybe learning something more would help her understand where his fears came from.

~~~

Shiloh was just along for the ride. Keeping the shells gathered to himself, he followed behind the bounding Yoko with ease. He didn’t go running across the beach since he felt pretty conspicuous as it was, but smiled warmly as he watched his small friend scurry up the coast to his dema. The view from back there wasn’t so bad, he silently mused as he padded up the sand behind him.

~~~

“Pff, well, I doubt you’d taste very good with how out of date you are,” Ves tried to go along with the joking. Maybe it would lighten things up, though the dema felt so tired and worn down of late that itw as hard to keep up his relaxed demeanor. He nudged Gau and added, “Yeah, you’ve pretty much always been the weird old fish, but I’ve always been the hot-headed ginger, so I guess it evens out.”

Noting the child run up the bank, he put on his least intimidating air and softened, easing into the steps with as much relaxation as he could muster. He fingered at his lemonade glass but had yet to pick it up by the time Yoko arrived. “Greetings, child,” He offered politely, “What can we help you with?”

[TwinTigerPaw]

Sadin listened and just kinda let it slide. He guessed it was just nothing. He blinked at Kalika and smiled. "Oh, thanks. I guess it's not as bad if there are more people around." He said and then nodded.

He gave a nod. "Yea. My high school had a swim club and team. My mom and dad thought it was a good thing for me to go into since swimming would come in handy for any accidents that could happen. I only stopped being a fan of water when I died." Sadin explained calmly. "I fell into a flooded river in winter. Hit my head on some sharp rocks. Didn't feel a thing from how cold I was." He was calm about how he explained it. He must have come to terms with it a long time ago.

~~~~

Gau chuckled and laughed at Ves' comments and just tried to contain himself so he didn't look like a fool. When Yoko approached with Shiloh a bit behind he looked up and smiled. "Hello, Kiddo." He said. Yoko Smiled at them both and then looked Ves up and down.

His face turned red as he blushed a little. "You're Ves right? I-I've heard stories about you, but I wasn't expecting you to be so sweet looking!" He said but caught himself. "I mean! Ah, um. Are you very strong looking? Like super macho!" Gau chuckled a little more.

"Yoko, it's alright. Ves is a big tough dema but with shiniko, he's softer than a marshmallow." The dema said. "Now then do you need anything?" He added.

"Oh, yes I do! I was wondering if we had anything to drill holes in these sea shells! Shiloh and I want to make necklaces." The small shiniko explained. Gau nodded. "Yes, we should have d Dremel the tool shed somewhere." He replied.

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