(A/N: the lyrics of 'Un Giorno Credi' belong to Gigi D'Agostino [vocal
remix performed by Dirty Harry])
***
Love and Burden
by The Great Red Dragon
*********
Chapter 16
*********
Nani didn't mind driving a car of five down to the beach, but she got a bit irritated when Auron rolled down the window and stuck his head out like a dog.
"Hey!", she called out, and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and pulled him back inside.
"You can run around all you want when we get there, but keep it down while we're still getting there."
Auron sat back down in his seat, but was exceedingly jumpy nonetheless. Nani glanced back at him with curious and shifty eyes.
"What's got you so excited?", she asked him, somewhat suspiciously.
"I'm just happy", he answered.
"Just excited about going to the beach."
Nani turned back to the steering wheel with a small scoff.
"It's nothing special...", she said.
Lilo, already in her yellow and pink-striped bathing suit in the backseat, objected to this.
"I think its special", she pointed out.
"It's special every time we go."
Nani sighed under her breath; she knew she wasn't going to win an argument with her little sister.
Stitch, who was sitting next to her, smiled in neutral agreement.
"I think it's special, too", he told her, perhaps in an effort to calm her down.
It worked, and the conversation returned to peaceful grounds for the rest of the car-ride.
As the car rolled onto the parking lot overlooking the beach, the party saw that the beach was fairly filled, although this was a familiar and appealing sight to everybody except Reihana. It was a public beach, and (being a moderately small one) it didn't attract very much tourism. All the residents lounging on the sands and splashing in the water were people who had seen or at least heard of the Pelekais and 'their weird dogs'. Needlessly said, there was no real danger here.
Nani turned the keys to 'off' and set in the emergency brake as the others piled out of the car.
"Somebody get the towels", Nani called as she exited the vehicle herself.
Auron took up this responsibility, and grabbed the towels from the trunk as the others were led down towards the beach by an excited Lilo.
As they trailed down to the sand, Auron was vividly reminded by a lyric he had thought of;
***
"He will take you across the Rhine,
And together we will walk in a line
If you're ready to change your life,
Come on, follow me in your mind"
***
He didn't know why, but the scene of four Experiments, one little girl, and one young woman all walking in a line reminded him of it.
A few heads turned as the group of them made their way down the beach and towards the surf-shop.
Reihana glanced at the immense ocean nervously. Her long tail, usually extended to its full length, was now pulled close to her. She gripped the end of it tightly, as a frightened animal might put its tail between its legs.
Stitch noticed her uneasiness and gently rubbed his shoulder against her's.
"Hey, don't worry", he reassured her.
"Nothing will happen."
She nodded and managed a smile.
"Thanks."
***
Upon entering the surf-shop, they found David standing over his desk; filling out some paperwork. He looked up as he heard the door open, and smiled invitingly as he recognized the party.
"Hey!", he said in welcome.
"How's it, everybody?"
"Hey, David!", Lilo was the first to greet.
"How are you, Lilo?", the surfer asked, reaching down and rubbing her head affectionately.
He looked up at Nani, who came closer. Perhaps he was hoping for a kiss, but it turned out to be a simple peck on the cheek.
"Hey, David."
Failing to hide a look of great disappointment, he looked down at the four Experiments.
"And how are the four of you?", he asked pleasantly.
Then, he blinked and looked again.
"...You guys are always changing", he remarked.
"That, or some new friends have joined you."
"This is Auron and Reihana", Lilo pointed out.
"They're new here."
David didn't seem surprised, disturbed, abrupted or shocked; his smile just widened in welcome.
"Friends of yours are friends of mine", he stated friendily and extended his hand to Auron, who shook it in return.
Reihana seemed a bit wary of this gesture, but she accepted his courtesy without much hesitation.
David straightened back up before asking;
"So, you guys here for a swim, or what?"
Nani nodded.
"Yeah, we just wanted to come down here for a while and rent some boards", she said.
"Just for a couple of hours."
"Alright; boards it is", David said, turning around and heading towards a large rack that was lined with many different-colored surfboards.
"How many?"
As Nani answered, Auron and Rei found themselves looking around the surf- shop; having never been there before.
David's desk/counter was lined with several different seashells. The floor was sturdy linoleum, and Auron noted that it was probably spread over the sand itself. The wooden walls were decorated with different fly-banners and the American and Hawaiian state flag.
Now, David was returning with two surfboards; one under each arm. Nani pulled out her wallet to pay for the time, but her boyfriend objected.
"You know you guys don't ever have to pay here", he said, gesturing for her to put the wallet away.
Nani did so, but looked kind of uncomfortable, as she always did when he said this.
Of course, David had a response for this;
"If you really want to pay me, how about we do the big date?"
Lilo, obviously sensing boyfriend-girlfriend talk, grabbed one of the boards and Stitch took the others.
"We'll go on ahead!", she called, running out of the shop with the others behind her.
Nani eventually remembered that she and David were to be watching the play, and they went outside and sat on a bench; drinking chilled pineapple juice.
*********
Upon reaching the water, Lilo slid her surfboard onto the waves and immediately jumped on. Stitch sprang on after her as the board was carried onto the waves. He whooped enthusiastically as they drove into the raging water, showing absolutely no fear at the fact that he was in a spotlight for danger.
Auron stopped in his stride as he watched the surfing begin. He had never seen it up close, and certainly never so...gracefully.
Owen stepped up next to him, and, noticing his awe, interjected;
"They're just showing off, y'know."
Even if it was, it still looked so cool...almost as cool as rock 'n' roll (but not yet).
When the two of them (Stitch and Lilo) were flowed back to the beach, they were both wet. Lilo's hair was glistening (but it stayed gracefully out of her face), and Stitch's fur was damp (but its water-resistant ability was quickly dripping it off).
It wasn't long before Auron was anxiously begging;
"My turn, my turn!"
Nobody tried to hold him back as he grabbed one of the boards and splashed into the water.
"Slide it into the water and jump on top", Lilo called to him, and he did as he was instructed.
While the others began to watch with a mix of concern and amusement, Reihana was outright worried.
"But we can't swim!", she said urgently.
"What if he falls off?"
"Don't worry", Peka assured her, trying to sound calm, but worried herself.
"He can swim."
"Are you sure?", Rei asked anxiously.
Peka fell short on the answer to this
"...He said he could...", she answered slowly.
Just then, an inserted splash broke the natural rumbling of the waves, and everybody gasped and straightened up in stance.
"He fell in!", Lilo exclaimed.
"Somebody jump in!", Owen called, forgetting that none of them (with the exception of Lilo) were very good swimmers.
Their eyes began to skim the surface of the lapping water anxiously for any sign of Auron. Tensions grew as his surfboard bobbed unceremoniously out of the water and began to drift towards them.
Seconds turned to dozens, and a silent mist of terror began to creep up their backs.
Lilo was about to run screaming towards Nani and David, when Auron finally popped up from the waves, about only ten feet away from them, looking as if he had just had the time of his life.
"WHOA!", he exclaimed, shaking his bangs out of his face as he hurried back onto the beach.
"That was so awesome! Did y'all see me?! Did ya see me?!"
He didn't understand the looks of deep disapproval that the others gave him, in return of his glee.
*********
It turned into all-out fun, pretty much. Lilo, Stitch, Peka, and Owen took some amusement in watching Auron's child-like amusement at repeatedly falling off of his board and into the water, even though he was trying very hard. The fact that he was failing time after time didn't bother him in the least; anybody else would've been frustrated.
They all had a good time. Stitch and Lilo, being the professionals, surfed up and down small-to-medium-sized waves, in a state of fun ecstasy. Peka would occasionally stand up on her board to catch a drift, but then she'd shakily lose her balance and fly back down onto the board for safety. The majority of the time, she and Owen just floated around on one board (when they would drift too far from the sand, Owen would call out for somebody to tow them back).
Auron continued his temperless fun of a swimming and surfing mix. His ability of swimming seemed to be the envy, admiration, and sometimes irritation of the other Experiments (one time, he popped up right in front of Owen, who shrieked in surprise and almost fell into the water. Luckily, Auron was swift enough to swish up to the other side of the board and grab him under the arms before he fell in).
Only one individual didn't seem to be enjoying herself...was Reihana. She sat a good distance away from the water, watching as her friends played in the wet water-playground.
It looked very fun from her position...but also very dangerous. She was mune to the water, and it scared her. She did believe that her friends would hold their pledge to save her if anything would happen...but she would rather isolate herself from it than take any risks.
She sat down and pulled her knees close to her, wrapping her arms around them. She eyed the playful scene before her for only a minute longer, before lowering her head onto her knees.
"...Nago........."
No matter how much she tried to restrain, her mind always trailed back to the memory of her mate.
It was a strange turnaround for her...memories from the past that used to bring a good feeling and warmth to her now brought tears to her eyes.
"...Why?"
Reihana sniffed quietly and clenched her watering eyes.
Why did it still seem to her that his voice was still so near?
"...Reihana?"
"...Yes...Nago?"
"...What?"
Reihana snapped awake immediately.
No, it was not Nago; it was Auron, looking at her with some concern. He pushed some dripping hair out of his face and pulled up his surfboard beside him.
"...Why does he sound so much like him?", Reihana thought to herself quietly.
Auron blinked once and resumed his glance.
"Are you alright?", he asked her, some concern evident in his voice.
Reihana nodded (somewhat dully), and smiled softly.
"Yes, I'm okay", she answered.
"I was just...thinking a bit."
Auron cocked his head quizzically to the side and looked into her eyes.
"Have you been crying?", he asked.
"No", she answered instinctively, but she reached up and rubbed her eyes, somewhat giving herself away.
"Some sand just got in my eyes...but I wasn't crying."
Auron nodded in return, but it was almost obvious that he was far from being convinced.
"Okay", he said, before changing the subject.
"I just noticed that you were sitting up here all by yourself, and I was wondering if you...if you wanted to try it out."
To explain 'it', he pulled up his surfboard and presented it.
"Oh!", Reihana reacted in surprise.
"You mean...me taking it in the water?...no thanks."
She responded very quickly, which gave Auron the air to pursue the offering.
"C'mon", he urged.
"It'll be fun, you'll see!"
"No thanks, I'm comfortable right here."
"But you'll love it!"
"The water's too wet."
Her girly excuse made Auron laugh; Rei noted that his teeth were much cleaner than Stitch's or Owen's.
"No, seriously", Auron said, after his guffawing had died down.
"Let's go!"
Now, Reihana sighed in some exasperation, and lowered her head. Auron immediately realized that this was no joke, and that he may have just crossed a line of comfort.
But before he could start apologizing, Reihana explained herself.
"Auron...", she began slowly.
"I'm...I'm really afraid of the water. Jus seeing it in such large quantities makes me nervous...so I really don't want to do it, okay?"
At her confession, Auron nodded solemnly.
"Okay", he said.
"That's fine, too...but just so that you know...if you do ever want to try it, I promise that I won't let anything happen to you."
Again, the question flashed through Reihana's mind;
"Why does he sound so much like Nago?"
She remembered just how broken-hearted Nago would look when her 'stubborness' caused them to postpone fun...just like the surfing.
But...eventually, when Nago would finally push her into trying, he kept his word. The ride wasn't always fun for her, but what she had thought to be dangerous before couldn't be safer with Nago, who kept her from all harm.
It made Nago very happy...which made her happy.
Reihana looked up at Auron again...and finally agreed to try it out.
***
Auron slid the board into the water before Rei could climb onto it. She preferred getting her ankles a bit wet than to have Auron lift her, so he held the board steady for her as she balanced herself in a sitting position.
"Comfortable?", Auron asked her, once she was 'settled'.
"Kinda...", she replied, considering that nothing about the gently-rocking seemed stable.
Auron nodded happily and waded into the water until he had to swim. He pulled himself to the front of the board and gripped it with both hands to keep himself afloat easier.
"I'll pull you out", he told her.
"If I go too far, just say so, okay?"
"Okay", she replied, grasping the sides of the surfboard, deploring the fact that her hands were getting wet.
Auron nodded and turned around in the water, releasing the board with one hand to swim with. He began paddling out into the deeper water, easily pulling Rei and the board behind him.
Silent rumblings of tension began building in Rei's chest, as she looked over the side of the board, and saw the water growing darker and darker. She inhaled deeply, telling herself disciplinarily that nothing was going to happen.
They passed Owen and Peka, drifting in the opposite direction.
"Hey, Reihana!", Owen called out, standing up in excitement (to see her 'drifting' along as well).
"How's it going? Are you catching any fish-WHOAH!"
A wave had suddenly flowed in and turbulenced the boards. Owen was almost thrown in, but was once again saved from drowning, this time from Peka. As she lunged forward and grabbed him his backward-momentum was reversed, and he fell forward, onto the board, his face splashing into the water for a second before he pulled it back out with a horrified gasp.
After only a few seconds of fear and aftershock, Peka hid her face; she was giggling incessively.
"'Catch any fish?'", she quoted him, in-between gasps of laughter.
"You might've!"
While she might've laughed, Reihana was of a completely different emotion. She was physically unmoved by the wave, but had felt it pass under her like a shadow of dread. Now, she didn't dare to move a muscle.
Auron had turned around and noticed this.
"I'll stop here, okay?", he asked her.
Reihana nodded, even though wasn't anywhere near to being okay.
Auron let go of the board and dived under it, emerging on the other side, next to Rei.
"Try floating out here for a minute", he suggested.
"It's very relaxing..."
Reihana again and tried her best to look contented.
"I'll try it", she promised.
Auron smiled widely at her and let go of the board.
"Alright!", he said happily, and threw himself backwards and away from the board.
He began back-paddling swiftly and effortlessly, away from Reihana.
"Hey!", she called out, suddenly in alarm.
"Don't leave me here!"
"I won't!", Auron called back, still paddling on his back.
"I'll just swim around you a bit!"
True to his word, he made an angle in his swim, and began a slow circle around the floating surfboard.
*********
Rei watched him swim carelessly and playfully around her for several minutes. She wouldn't have admitted it to anybody, but watching him made her feel calmer than she was.
Perhaps it was knowing that he could rescue her if anything were to happen...perhaps it just the fact that she had a friend that she felt close to, more than the others.
And possibly, there was a smidgeon of attraction.
Whenever this suggestion would present itself, Reihana would violently try to force it out of her head. Not only did it hurt her to believe that she could not control her own thoughts of attraction, but it hurt her even more to think that she was letting Nago down, and desecrating his memory.
She kept telling herself that there would never ever be another Nago...meaning that she would never ever love again.
Her pact of celibacy was a hard one...but she had sworn herself to endure it and remain true.
...But Auron looked so incredibly sexy-
No!
*********
From his constantly-changing position of circle-swimming, Auron would occasionally dare a glance at Reihana. He was happy to see that she was now a bit more reclined on the board, which indicated that she was probably less anxious about being on water.
...It still bothered him that he could not look at her without his eyes tracing out the attractive lines of her body, in a way that he didn't look at anybody else.
He never thought that the hand of attraction would ever touch him...mainly because there had never been any other Experiments around for him to feel attracted to.
And even now, why was it Rei? Peka and Twyla were extremely good-looking as well, but he didn't feel anything like this about them...
So why Reihana, who had just lost her lover, and was still grieving?
His pondering of that question was cut short; he had looked up, and saw a wave building in the distance. It wasn't necessarily a big one, but definitely large enough to make quite a ripple.
Reihana had obviously noticed it too, and she quickly sat up straight and looked around desperately for Auron.
"I'm coming!", he called to her, before she could call him.
"Just a second!"
True to his word, he was by her in only seconds.
"Better get back", he said, grabbing the helm of the board again.
He pulled it around and began paddling steadily back to the beach.
Reihana dared a look back, and saw that the wave was growing even larger, and was drawing even closer.
"Hurry!", she urged.
"Don't worry", Auron assured her.
"It's probably gonna crash at least a few hundred feet from us...we'll just feel the ripple."
Reihana look to her right, and saw, not far away, that Peka and Owen were paddling their own surfboard back towards the beach with hasty persistence.
Less than ten seconds later, they heard the crashing and thundering of wave on water. The wave had fallen, and now its considerable force was sending a roll of force across the water, in the direction of the beach.
Reihana saw it approaching, and gripped the sides of the board as tightly as she could.
The mighty ripple pushed underneath them like a tank; lifting the surfboard (and Auron) up considerably on its wet shoulders.
Reihana's screech of terror was cut out by Auron's whoop of excitement, which was drowned out by Owen's screaming. In the distance, Stitch's shout of glee was very audible.
The wave had separated Auron from Rei and the surfboard. Rei noticed this when she opened her eyes again, and saw Auron a good fifteen feet away from her, looking around.
"I'm over here!", she called out, panicky once again about being apart from him.
He swished around and smiled at her reassuringly.
"I'm coming!", he called back, and started swimming towards her at a moderate pace.
"That was a big one, huh?"
Reihana nodded, and made to look over at Peka and Owen, to see if they were alright as well.
They were, but they didn't catch her attention. Something else did.
As her eyes began to head towards the other surfboard, Reihana noticed something in the water...right below her; in front of the board.
...Were there eyes in the water?
"...Hey, Auron?", she called, uneasily.
"What's this?"
"What's what?", Auron asked, as he swam closer to her.
Reihana began to say something in answer, but she never got to finish. She wouldn't know then, but the eyes in the water belonged to a big fish; not a shark, nor anything that would exceed but a fine few inches in size. It was just an abnormally large fish, which decided that this was the time to jump out of the water...right in Reihana's face.
As said before, it wasn't a dangerous fish, and it didn't hurt her, but it surprised her enough to throw her backwards...into the water.
What happened next went very quickly. It was in less than a second that Auron pulling back up towards the surface, but it was enough time for him to realize exactly why other Experiments were afraid of the water.
He had shot towards her the moment he saw that she was falling, but he couldn't be fast enough to get to her before she hit the water...and when she did, she immediately began to sink. There was no moment in which was still at the surface, even though she thrashed desperately. It was as if the water itself were pulling her down, more against her will than imaginable.
She was more than two feet submerged when Auron reached into the water and pulled her up with such force that it might have hurt her. He had seen into her open eyes when she had been under the water...and her terror had been inexpressible.
*********
He had barely a need to hold her; she had clamped herself so tightly to him that it almost hurt. Auron wrapped one arm around her anyway and looked around for the surfboard. She had somehow kicked it away when she had fallen off of it; it was now too far away to swim to (considering that he was holding Reihana). He was about to scream for help when Owen and Peka announced their arrival from behind.
"We're coming!", Peka called out as she and Owen paddled towards them as fast as they could.
"Hold on!"
Auron breathed heavily, but somewhat assuredly, knowing that backup was on the way.
He turned his attention Reihana, and tried to calm her down.
"It's okay", he told her breathily.
"Just hold on for a second."
She gave him no response. He feared the worst.
***
In less than a minute, Owen and Peka had managed to get over to them. Auron had trouble lifting himself onto the board with just one hand; the other two had to hoist him up.
"What happened?", Peka asked immediately, with extreme worry.
"She fell off the board", Auron told her.
"I'm not sure what happened...good God, Rei; say something!"
Reihana wasn't saying anything; her face was buried in his shoulder.
Peka hesitated, then gently placed her head close to Rei's. There was complete silence for a moment, then Peka reported urgently;
"She's not breathing!"
"What?!", Auron said, his voice rising in his fearfulness.
"Why isn't she breathing?!"
"Did she swallow any water?", Peka suggested.
"I th-think so...why?"
There was another pause of silence...before Peka realized what must be going on.
"She's choking!", she finally cried.
"She's choking!"
"How the Hell can she choking?!", Auron yelled back, but then immediately said to Reihana;
"Rei, spit it out!"
"Hit her on the back!", Owen yelled, remembering the only life-saving procedure known to him.
Reihana would not budge from her grip on Auron, no matter how much Peka tried to 'loosen' her. Eventually, she just slapped her on the back as hard as she could from right there.
There was an effect. Reihana raised her head from Auron's shoulder, her eyes closed. She made an upchucking noise that suggested that she was going to be sick...then coughed an entire lungful of water over Auron's shoulder, onto Owen's feet.
That seemed to bring her back to life. She coughed several times more, spitting up even more water. As her coughs subsided, they turned into quiet, uncontrollable crying, and Reihana put her head back into Auron's shoulder.
"Owen", Peka addressed, looking up.
"Paddle us back to the beach."
Under normal circumstances, Owen would've complained excessively about being made to do it alone, but now, he simply nodded and did so. The mournful look on his face suggested that he himself had done something wrong.
It was a slow ride, made even more pain-bearing with Reihana's sobs. Peka and Auron made only a few gentle attempts of getting her to talk before deciding it would be best to let her cry it out. So, Auron simply hugged her close and nuzzled her neck as she wet his with her tears, and Peka rubbed her back from behind.
Her crying eventually got quieter as they approached the beach. Owen paddled the surfboard right up to the sand, so they would bee able to lift Rei onto the beach without getting her wet.
Auron carried her to dry ground, with Peka supporting him. They sat down (Auron had to; Rei still wouldn't let go of him) on a warm spot and tried again to get Rei to say something...it was without effect.
Her tears were starting to have an effect on her holder. Auron tried to repress his own sadness, but seeing Rei in such a miserable way was having a toll on him.
Carefully, he lifted her into a cradle-like position and rubbed his face close to her's.
"I'm so sorry, Rei...", he whispered to her.
"Dear God, I'm sorry..."
Reihana sniffed once in-between her sobs, and Auron nuzzled her. He hugged and cuddled her in a way that he had never done before.
He so wanted her to feel better, and to do so, it seemed, was to pour a bit of his own spirit into her.
*********
By now, everybody else seemed to know that something was going on. Stitch and Lilo were swiftly drifting back towards the beach. David and Nani were running towards them from another direction. Apprehension and worry was evident on all of their faces.
Before the others had a chance to swamp them, Reihana brought her head up, her nose against Auron's.
"...It's not your fault", she sobbed to him.
"It's not your fault...you saved me."
Hope surged through Auron once again as she spoke. He smiled through his small amount of tears at her.
"You're gonna be okay", he promised her.
"I promise-...you're gonna be alright."
Reihana nodded and sniffed.
"...Th-thank you for saving me."
Before the others could see, Auron replied to her with a small kiss on her nose.
*********
(A/N: YES! IT IS DONE!!! MY LAZY BUTT HAS FINALLY REGAINED SOME OF its NEED TO WRITE!!! THIS FEELS GREAT!!! YEEEAAAH!!!
...Okay; I'm sorry about this taking so long [I'm kind of making that a habit by now, huh?]. I think the next chapter will be updated in shorter time; it contains some material that I really wanna write about, so at least I'll have some inspiration [with the exception of all my fantastic reviews; thank you all so much!].
***
Alright...Author-to-Reviewer parts!
BudgieBrain – Auron isn't going back yet because...well, he just got there! He's only been there for a few days. Besides, if you'll remember, Auron is concerned about the threat of another bounty-hunter...or whatever the Predator was.
RedPurity - ...I'm gonna have to get used to that name, now [but I still like it!]. Don't worry about Auron and Rei...in the future, there'll be 'more than meets the eye'...
Took-Baggins – yeah, that would've been a fun idea to put in. Maybe, after I finish the story, I'll correct all the mistakes, and maybe even add that part...thanks for the suggestion!
Bluefox Gantu's Lover and Mate – thank you SO MUCH for all of your support! I have to acknowledge it publicly: YOU ARE AWESOME!!!
***
Until then, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. See ya soon!)
***
Love and Burden
by The Great Red Dragon
*********
Chapter 16
*********
Nani didn't mind driving a car of five down to the beach, but she got a bit irritated when Auron rolled down the window and stuck his head out like a dog.
"Hey!", she called out, and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and pulled him back inside.
"You can run around all you want when we get there, but keep it down while we're still getting there."
Auron sat back down in his seat, but was exceedingly jumpy nonetheless. Nani glanced back at him with curious and shifty eyes.
"What's got you so excited?", she asked him, somewhat suspiciously.
"I'm just happy", he answered.
"Just excited about going to the beach."
Nani turned back to the steering wheel with a small scoff.
"It's nothing special...", she said.
Lilo, already in her yellow and pink-striped bathing suit in the backseat, objected to this.
"I think its special", she pointed out.
"It's special every time we go."
Nani sighed under her breath; she knew she wasn't going to win an argument with her little sister.
Stitch, who was sitting next to her, smiled in neutral agreement.
"I think it's special, too", he told her, perhaps in an effort to calm her down.
It worked, and the conversation returned to peaceful grounds for the rest of the car-ride.
As the car rolled onto the parking lot overlooking the beach, the party saw that the beach was fairly filled, although this was a familiar and appealing sight to everybody except Reihana. It was a public beach, and (being a moderately small one) it didn't attract very much tourism. All the residents lounging on the sands and splashing in the water were people who had seen or at least heard of the Pelekais and 'their weird dogs'. Needlessly said, there was no real danger here.
Nani turned the keys to 'off' and set in the emergency brake as the others piled out of the car.
"Somebody get the towels", Nani called as she exited the vehicle herself.
Auron took up this responsibility, and grabbed the towels from the trunk as the others were led down towards the beach by an excited Lilo.
As they trailed down to the sand, Auron was vividly reminded by a lyric he had thought of;
***
"He will take you across the Rhine,
And together we will walk in a line
If you're ready to change your life,
Come on, follow me in your mind"
***
He didn't know why, but the scene of four Experiments, one little girl, and one young woman all walking in a line reminded him of it.
A few heads turned as the group of them made their way down the beach and towards the surf-shop.
Reihana glanced at the immense ocean nervously. Her long tail, usually extended to its full length, was now pulled close to her. She gripped the end of it tightly, as a frightened animal might put its tail between its legs.
Stitch noticed her uneasiness and gently rubbed his shoulder against her's.
"Hey, don't worry", he reassured her.
"Nothing will happen."
She nodded and managed a smile.
"Thanks."
***
Upon entering the surf-shop, they found David standing over his desk; filling out some paperwork. He looked up as he heard the door open, and smiled invitingly as he recognized the party.
"Hey!", he said in welcome.
"How's it, everybody?"
"Hey, David!", Lilo was the first to greet.
"How are you, Lilo?", the surfer asked, reaching down and rubbing her head affectionately.
He looked up at Nani, who came closer. Perhaps he was hoping for a kiss, but it turned out to be a simple peck on the cheek.
"Hey, David."
Failing to hide a look of great disappointment, he looked down at the four Experiments.
"And how are the four of you?", he asked pleasantly.
Then, he blinked and looked again.
"...You guys are always changing", he remarked.
"That, or some new friends have joined you."
"This is Auron and Reihana", Lilo pointed out.
"They're new here."
David didn't seem surprised, disturbed, abrupted or shocked; his smile just widened in welcome.
"Friends of yours are friends of mine", he stated friendily and extended his hand to Auron, who shook it in return.
Reihana seemed a bit wary of this gesture, but she accepted his courtesy without much hesitation.
David straightened back up before asking;
"So, you guys here for a swim, or what?"
Nani nodded.
"Yeah, we just wanted to come down here for a while and rent some boards", she said.
"Just for a couple of hours."
"Alright; boards it is", David said, turning around and heading towards a large rack that was lined with many different-colored surfboards.
"How many?"
As Nani answered, Auron and Rei found themselves looking around the surf- shop; having never been there before.
David's desk/counter was lined with several different seashells. The floor was sturdy linoleum, and Auron noted that it was probably spread over the sand itself. The wooden walls were decorated with different fly-banners and the American and Hawaiian state flag.
Now, David was returning with two surfboards; one under each arm. Nani pulled out her wallet to pay for the time, but her boyfriend objected.
"You know you guys don't ever have to pay here", he said, gesturing for her to put the wallet away.
Nani did so, but looked kind of uncomfortable, as she always did when he said this.
Of course, David had a response for this;
"If you really want to pay me, how about we do the big date?"
Lilo, obviously sensing boyfriend-girlfriend talk, grabbed one of the boards and Stitch took the others.
"We'll go on ahead!", she called, running out of the shop with the others behind her.
Nani eventually remembered that she and David were to be watching the play, and they went outside and sat on a bench; drinking chilled pineapple juice.
*********
Upon reaching the water, Lilo slid her surfboard onto the waves and immediately jumped on. Stitch sprang on after her as the board was carried onto the waves. He whooped enthusiastically as they drove into the raging water, showing absolutely no fear at the fact that he was in a spotlight for danger.
Auron stopped in his stride as he watched the surfing begin. He had never seen it up close, and certainly never so...gracefully.
Owen stepped up next to him, and, noticing his awe, interjected;
"They're just showing off, y'know."
Even if it was, it still looked so cool...almost as cool as rock 'n' roll (but not yet).
When the two of them (Stitch and Lilo) were flowed back to the beach, they were both wet. Lilo's hair was glistening (but it stayed gracefully out of her face), and Stitch's fur was damp (but its water-resistant ability was quickly dripping it off).
It wasn't long before Auron was anxiously begging;
"My turn, my turn!"
Nobody tried to hold him back as he grabbed one of the boards and splashed into the water.
"Slide it into the water and jump on top", Lilo called to him, and he did as he was instructed.
While the others began to watch with a mix of concern and amusement, Reihana was outright worried.
"But we can't swim!", she said urgently.
"What if he falls off?"
"Don't worry", Peka assured her, trying to sound calm, but worried herself.
"He can swim."
"Are you sure?", Rei asked anxiously.
Peka fell short on the answer to this
"...He said he could...", she answered slowly.
Just then, an inserted splash broke the natural rumbling of the waves, and everybody gasped and straightened up in stance.
"He fell in!", Lilo exclaimed.
"Somebody jump in!", Owen called, forgetting that none of them (with the exception of Lilo) were very good swimmers.
Their eyes began to skim the surface of the lapping water anxiously for any sign of Auron. Tensions grew as his surfboard bobbed unceremoniously out of the water and began to drift towards them.
Seconds turned to dozens, and a silent mist of terror began to creep up their backs.
Lilo was about to run screaming towards Nani and David, when Auron finally popped up from the waves, about only ten feet away from them, looking as if he had just had the time of his life.
"WHOA!", he exclaimed, shaking his bangs out of his face as he hurried back onto the beach.
"That was so awesome! Did y'all see me?! Did ya see me?!"
He didn't understand the looks of deep disapproval that the others gave him, in return of his glee.
*********
It turned into all-out fun, pretty much. Lilo, Stitch, Peka, and Owen took some amusement in watching Auron's child-like amusement at repeatedly falling off of his board and into the water, even though he was trying very hard. The fact that he was failing time after time didn't bother him in the least; anybody else would've been frustrated.
They all had a good time. Stitch and Lilo, being the professionals, surfed up and down small-to-medium-sized waves, in a state of fun ecstasy. Peka would occasionally stand up on her board to catch a drift, but then she'd shakily lose her balance and fly back down onto the board for safety. The majority of the time, she and Owen just floated around on one board (when they would drift too far from the sand, Owen would call out for somebody to tow them back).
Auron continued his temperless fun of a swimming and surfing mix. His ability of swimming seemed to be the envy, admiration, and sometimes irritation of the other Experiments (one time, he popped up right in front of Owen, who shrieked in surprise and almost fell into the water. Luckily, Auron was swift enough to swish up to the other side of the board and grab him under the arms before he fell in).
Only one individual didn't seem to be enjoying herself...was Reihana. She sat a good distance away from the water, watching as her friends played in the wet water-playground.
It looked very fun from her position...but also very dangerous. She was mune to the water, and it scared her. She did believe that her friends would hold their pledge to save her if anything would happen...but she would rather isolate herself from it than take any risks.
She sat down and pulled her knees close to her, wrapping her arms around them. She eyed the playful scene before her for only a minute longer, before lowering her head onto her knees.
"...Nago........."
No matter how much she tried to restrain, her mind always trailed back to the memory of her mate.
It was a strange turnaround for her...memories from the past that used to bring a good feeling and warmth to her now brought tears to her eyes.
"...Why?"
Reihana sniffed quietly and clenched her watering eyes.
Why did it still seem to her that his voice was still so near?
"...Reihana?"
"...Yes...Nago?"
"...What?"
Reihana snapped awake immediately.
No, it was not Nago; it was Auron, looking at her with some concern. He pushed some dripping hair out of his face and pulled up his surfboard beside him.
"...Why does he sound so much like him?", Reihana thought to herself quietly.
Auron blinked once and resumed his glance.
"Are you alright?", he asked her, some concern evident in his voice.
Reihana nodded (somewhat dully), and smiled softly.
"Yes, I'm okay", she answered.
"I was just...thinking a bit."
Auron cocked his head quizzically to the side and looked into her eyes.
"Have you been crying?", he asked.
"No", she answered instinctively, but she reached up and rubbed her eyes, somewhat giving herself away.
"Some sand just got in my eyes...but I wasn't crying."
Auron nodded in return, but it was almost obvious that he was far from being convinced.
"Okay", he said, before changing the subject.
"I just noticed that you were sitting up here all by yourself, and I was wondering if you...if you wanted to try it out."
To explain 'it', he pulled up his surfboard and presented it.
"Oh!", Reihana reacted in surprise.
"You mean...me taking it in the water?...no thanks."
She responded very quickly, which gave Auron the air to pursue the offering.
"C'mon", he urged.
"It'll be fun, you'll see!"
"No thanks, I'm comfortable right here."
"But you'll love it!"
"The water's too wet."
Her girly excuse made Auron laugh; Rei noted that his teeth were much cleaner than Stitch's or Owen's.
"No, seriously", Auron said, after his guffawing had died down.
"Let's go!"
Now, Reihana sighed in some exasperation, and lowered her head. Auron immediately realized that this was no joke, and that he may have just crossed a line of comfort.
But before he could start apologizing, Reihana explained herself.
"Auron...", she began slowly.
"I'm...I'm really afraid of the water. Jus seeing it in such large quantities makes me nervous...so I really don't want to do it, okay?"
At her confession, Auron nodded solemnly.
"Okay", he said.
"That's fine, too...but just so that you know...if you do ever want to try it, I promise that I won't let anything happen to you."
Again, the question flashed through Reihana's mind;
"Why does he sound so much like Nago?"
She remembered just how broken-hearted Nago would look when her 'stubborness' caused them to postpone fun...just like the surfing.
But...eventually, when Nago would finally push her into trying, he kept his word. The ride wasn't always fun for her, but what she had thought to be dangerous before couldn't be safer with Nago, who kept her from all harm.
It made Nago very happy...which made her happy.
Reihana looked up at Auron again...and finally agreed to try it out.
***
Auron slid the board into the water before Rei could climb onto it. She preferred getting her ankles a bit wet than to have Auron lift her, so he held the board steady for her as she balanced herself in a sitting position.
"Comfortable?", Auron asked her, once she was 'settled'.
"Kinda...", she replied, considering that nothing about the gently-rocking seemed stable.
Auron nodded happily and waded into the water until he had to swim. He pulled himself to the front of the board and gripped it with both hands to keep himself afloat easier.
"I'll pull you out", he told her.
"If I go too far, just say so, okay?"
"Okay", she replied, grasping the sides of the surfboard, deploring the fact that her hands were getting wet.
Auron nodded and turned around in the water, releasing the board with one hand to swim with. He began paddling out into the deeper water, easily pulling Rei and the board behind him.
Silent rumblings of tension began building in Rei's chest, as she looked over the side of the board, and saw the water growing darker and darker. She inhaled deeply, telling herself disciplinarily that nothing was going to happen.
They passed Owen and Peka, drifting in the opposite direction.
"Hey, Reihana!", Owen called out, standing up in excitement (to see her 'drifting' along as well).
"How's it going? Are you catching any fish-WHOAH!"
A wave had suddenly flowed in and turbulenced the boards. Owen was almost thrown in, but was once again saved from drowning, this time from Peka. As she lunged forward and grabbed him his backward-momentum was reversed, and he fell forward, onto the board, his face splashing into the water for a second before he pulled it back out with a horrified gasp.
After only a few seconds of fear and aftershock, Peka hid her face; she was giggling incessively.
"'Catch any fish?'", she quoted him, in-between gasps of laughter.
"You might've!"
While she might've laughed, Reihana was of a completely different emotion. She was physically unmoved by the wave, but had felt it pass under her like a shadow of dread. Now, she didn't dare to move a muscle.
Auron had turned around and noticed this.
"I'll stop here, okay?", he asked her.
Reihana nodded, even though wasn't anywhere near to being okay.
Auron let go of the board and dived under it, emerging on the other side, next to Rei.
"Try floating out here for a minute", he suggested.
"It's very relaxing..."
Reihana again and tried her best to look contented.
"I'll try it", she promised.
Auron smiled widely at her and let go of the board.
"Alright!", he said happily, and threw himself backwards and away from the board.
He began back-paddling swiftly and effortlessly, away from Reihana.
"Hey!", she called out, suddenly in alarm.
"Don't leave me here!"
"I won't!", Auron called back, still paddling on his back.
"I'll just swim around you a bit!"
True to his word, he made an angle in his swim, and began a slow circle around the floating surfboard.
*********
Rei watched him swim carelessly and playfully around her for several minutes. She wouldn't have admitted it to anybody, but watching him made her feel calmer than she was.
Perhaps it was knowing that he could rescue her if anything were to happen...perhaps it just the fact that she had a friend that she felt close to, more than the others.
And possibly, there was a smidgeon of attraction.
Whenever this suggestion would present itself, Reihana would violently try to force it out of her head. Not only did it hurt her to believe that she could not control her own thoughts of attraction, but it hurt her even more to think that she was letting Nago down, and desecrating his memory.
She kept telling herself that there would never ever be another Nago...meaning that she would never ever love again.
Her pact of celibacy was a hard one...but she had sworn herself to endure it and remain true.
...But Auron looked so incredibly sexy-
No!
*********
From his constantly-changing position of circle-swimming, Auron would occasionally dare a glance at Reihana. He was happy to see that she was now a bit more reclined on the board, which indicated that she was probably less anxious about being on water.
...It still bothered him that he could not look at her without his eyes tracing out the attractive lines of her body, in a way that he didn't look at anybody else.
He never thought that the hand of attraction would ever touch him...mainly because there had never been any other Experiments around for him to feel attracted to.
And even now, why was it Rei? Peka and Twyla were extremely good-looking as well, but he didn't feel anything like this about them...
So why Reihana, who had just lost her lover, and was still grieving?
His pondering of that question was cut short; he had looked up, and saw a wave building in the distance. It wasn't necessarily a big one, but definitely large enough to make quite a ripple.
Reihana had obviously noticed it too, and she quickly sat up straight and looked around desperately for Auron.
"I'm coming!", he called to her, before she could call him.
"Just a second!"
True to his word, he was by her in only seconds.
"Better get back", he said, grabbing the helm of the board again.
He pulled it around and began paddling steadily back to the beach.
Reihana dared a look back, and saw that the wave was growing even larger, and was drawing even closer.
"Hurry!", she urged.
"Don't worry", Auron assured her.
"It's probably gonna crash at least a few hundred feet from us...we'll just feel the ripple."
Reihana look to her right, and saw, not far away, that Peka and Owen were paddling their own surfboard back towards the beach with hasty persistence.
Less than ten seconds later, they heard the crashing and thundering of wave on water. The wave had fallen, and now its considerable force was sending a roll of force across the water, in the direction of the beach.
Reihana saw it approaching, and gripped the sides of the board as tightly as she could.
The mighty ripple pushed underneath them like a tank; lifting the surfboard (and Auron) up considerably on its wet shoulders.
Reihana's screech of terror was cut out by Auron's whoop of excitement, which was drowned out by Owen's screaming. In the distance, Stitch's shout of glee was very audible.
The wave had separated Auron from Rei and the surfboard. Rei noticed this when she opened her eyes again, and saw Auron a good fifteen feet away from her, looking around.
"I'm over here!", she called out, panicky once again about being apart from him.
He swished around and smiled at her reassuringly.
"I'm coming!", he called back, and started swimming towards her at a moderate pace.
"That was a big one, huh?"
Reihana nodded, and made to look over at Peka and Owen, to see if they were alright as well.
They were, but they didn't catch her attention. Something else did.
As her eyes began to head towards the other surfboard, Reihana noticed something in the water...right below her; in front of the board.
...Were there eyes in the water?
"...Hey, Auron?", she called, uneasily.
"What's this?"
"What's what?", Auron asked, as he swam closer to her.
Reihana began to say something in answer, but she never got to finish. She wouldn't know then, but the eyes in the water belonged to a big fish; not a shark, nor anything that would exceed but a fine few inches in size. It was just an abnormally large fish, which decided that this was the time to jump out of the water...right in Reihana's face.
As said before, it wasn't a dangerous fish, and it didn't hurt her, but it surprised her enough to throw her backwards...into the water.
What happened next went very quickly. It was in less than a second that Auron pulling back up towards the surface, but it was enough time for him to realize exactly why other Experiments were afraid of the water.
He had shot towards her the moment he saw that she was falling, but he couldn't be fast enough to get to her before she hit the water...and when she did, she immediately began to sink. There was no moment in which was still at the surface, even though she thrashed desperately. It was as if the water itself were pulling her down, more against her will than imaginable.
She was more than two feet submerged when Auron reached into the water and pulled her up with such force that it might have hurt her. He had seen into her open eyes when she had been under the water...and her terror had been inexpressible.
*********
He had barely a need to hold her; she had clamped herself so tightly to him that it almost hurt. Auron wrapped one arm around her anyway and looked around for the surfboard. She had somehow kicked it away when she had fallen off of it; it was now too far away to swim to (considering that he was holding Reihana). He was about to scream for help when Owen and Peka announced their arrival from behind.
"We're coming!", Peka called out as she and Owen paddled towards them as fast as they could.
"Hold on!"
Auron breathed heavily, but somewhat assuredly, knowing that backup was on the way.
He turned his attention Reihana, and tried to calm her down.
"It's okay", he told her breathily.
"Just hold on for a second."
She gave him no response. He feared the worst.
***
In less than a minute, Owen and Peka had managed to get over to them. Auron had trouble lifting himself onto the board with just one hand; the other two had to hoist him up.
"What happened?", Peka asked immediately, with extreme worry.
"She fell off the board", Auron told her.
"I'm not sure what happened...good God, Rei; say something!"
Reihana wasn't saying anything; her face was buried in his shoulder.
Peka hesitated, then gently placed her head close to Rei's. There was complete silence for a moment, then Peka reported urgently;
"She's not breathing!"
"What?!", Auron said, his voice rising in his fearfulness.
"Why isn't she breathing?!"
"Did she swallow any water?", Peka suggested.
"I th-think so...why?"
There was another pause of silence...before Peka realized what must be going on.
"She's choking!", she finally cried.
"She's choking!"
"How the Hell can she choking?!", Auron yelled back, but then immediately said to Reihana;
"Rei, spit it out!"
"Hit her on the back!", Owen yelled, remembering the only life-saving procedure known to him.
Reihana would not budge from her grip on Auron, no matter how much Peka tried to 'loosen' her. Eventually, she just slapped her on the back as hard as she could from right there.
There was an effect. Reihana raised her head from Auron's shoulder, her eyes closed. She made an upchucking noise that suggested that she was going to be sick...then coughed an entire lungful of water over Auron's shoulder, onto Owen's feet.
That seemed to bring her back to life. She coughed several times more, spitting up even more water. As her coughs subsided, they turned into quiet, uncontrollable crying, and Reihana put her head back into Auron's shoulder.
"Owen", Peka addressed, looking up.
"Paddle us back to the beach."
Under normal circumstances, Owen would've complained excessively about being made to do it alone, but now, he simply nodded and did so. The mournful look on his face suggested that he himself had done something wrong.
It was a slow ride, made even more pain-bearing with Reihana's sobs. Peka and Auron made only a few gentle attempts of getting her to talk before deciding it would be best to let her cry it out. So, Auron simply hugged her close and nuzzled her neck as she wet his with her tears, and Peka rubbed her back from behind.
Her crying eventually got quieter as they approached the beach. Owen paddled the surfboard right up to the sand, so they would bee able to lift Rei onto the beach without getting her wet.
Auron carried her to dry ground, with Peka supporting him. They sat down (Auron had to; Rei still wouldn't let go of him) on a warm spot and tried again to get Rei to say something...it was without effect.
Her tears were starting to have an effect on her holder. Auron tried to repress his own sadness, but seeing Rei in such a miserable way was having a toll on him.
Carefully, he lifted her into a cradle-like position and rubbed his face close to her's.
"I'm so sorry, Rei...", he whispered to her.
"Dear God, I'm sorry..."
Reihana sniffed once in-between her sobs, and Auron nuzzled her. He hugged and cuddled her in a way that he had never done before.
He so wanted her to feel better, and to do so, it seemed, was to pour a bit of his own spirit into her.
*********
By now, everybody else seemed to know that something was going on. Stitch and Lilo were swiftly drifting back towards the beach. David and Nani were running towards them from another direction. Apprehension and worry was evident on all of their faces.
Before the others had a chance to swamp them, Reihana brought her head up, her nose against Auron's.
"...It's not your fault", she sobbed to him.
"It's not your fault...you saved me."
Hope surged through Auron once again as she spoke. He smiled through his small amount of tears at her.
"You're gonna be okay", he promised her.
"I promise-...you're gonna be alright."
Reihana nodded and sniffed.
"...Th-thank you for saving me."
Before the others could see, Auron replied to her with a small kiss on her nose.
*********
(A/N: YES! IT IS DONE!!! MY LAZY BUTT HAS FINALLY REGAINED SOME OF its NEED TO WRITE!!! THIS FEELS GREAT!!! YEEEAAAH!!!
...Okay; I'm sorry about this taking so long [I'm kind of making that a habit by now, huh?]. I think the next chapter will be updated in shorter time; it contains some material that I really wanna write about, so at least I'll have some inspiration [with the exception of all my fantastic reviews; thank you all so much!].
***
Alright...Author-to-Reviewer parts!
BudgieBrain – Auron isn't going back yet because...well, he just got there! He's only been there for a few days. Besides, if you'll remember, Auron is concerned about the threat of another bounty-hunter...or whatever the Predator was.
RedPurity - ...I'm gonna have to get used to that name, now [but I still like it!]. Don't worry about Auron and Rei...in the future, there'll be 'more than meets the eye'...
Took-Baggins – yeah, that would've been a fun idea to put in. Maybe, after I finish the story, I'll correct all the mistakes, and maybe even add that part...thanks for the suggestion!
Bluefox Gantu's Lover and Mate – thank you SO MUCH for all of your support! I have to acknowledge it publicly: YOU ARE AWESOME!!!
***
Until then, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. See ya soon!)