Chapter 20.
Deep
Blue
Smile
ME: There are not enough apologies that I can come up with that'll make up for my lack of updates that past few months.
The first reason for such was pure laziness alone, the second was my computer having a heart attack out of nowhere so I needed to wipe my hard drive clean losing EVERYTHING (Including the very few writings that I actually had done in progress, DIVINE PUNISHMENT IS A BITCH! ARGH :() Finally, trying to recover what stories I could from my deviantart account so I could get back on track from where I left off and editing them back to proper form so that they would stop irking me to no end. I'm a neat freak like that.
All I ask is . . . . . Please don't hate me for my idiocies and flaws.
Try and consider this a type of very late Christmas gift at most, even though it's pretty much a filler chapter, one of maybe . . . Three, I think? Three fillers I will DO MY EXTREME BEST to upload before January's over. After that the next arch shall commence!
This filler takes place a few days after the events of "The Clashing of Waves". We find out a little more about Vince's and Cassie's background (AU mind you! NOT canon.) and sheds a little light on those "ghosts" I mentioned in the last chapter. It also has a little foreshadowing mixed in from future arcs I hopefully produce in the future . . . . Plus some cutesy fruitsy fluff from my absolute favorite Archipelago couple! . . . Muah, ha, ha.
Love it, hate it, it needs to BE WRITTEN! Plus, I hope you also enjoy the song selection! I found it on Youtube not too long ago and fell head over heels in love with utter SWEETNESS of it and figured it matched this chapter perfectly.
Typically, I OWN NOTHING! Poo! Please enjoy!
"There I was again tonight forcing laughter, faking smiles,
Same old tired, lonely place . . .
Walls of insincerity,
Shifting eyes and vacancy vanished when I saw your face . . .
All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you . . .
Your eyes whispered "Have we met?"
Across the room your silhouette starts to make it's way to me . . .
The playful conversation starts,
Counter all your quick remarks like passing notes in secrecy . . .
All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you . . .
Oh, Taylor, I was so enchanted to meet you too . . .
This night is sparkling, don't you let it go,
I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home,
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew,
I was enchanted to meet you too . . ."
"Enchanted" – Owl City
~X~
Tuff valued his alone time much more often than people would think.
Especially in the middle of the night, when the world was a tranquil as could be in the middle of the ocean. When the only sounds heard throughout the sub was the silent humming of the powered-down engine in the heart of the submarine, the thrum of the deep, dark water currents flowing against the metallic surface outside –
SNRLK-k-RR, Phweeeoooo . . . . SnNNR-Krr, Phweeeoooo . . .
. . . Aaand the sound of his brother's ever turbulent snoring echoing through the halls of the sub. Sounding just as bad as it did back at Pound Island. And the island before that. And the island before that. And the island before that . . . .
Probably eight years worth of islands if Tuff's math was right. As it usually was.
Tuff sighed to himself and shifted in his seat. His twin being as loud and as distracting as such really gave him reason to be grateful for his Insomnia; while it did drive him crazy at times that he himself couldn't actually sleep, it gave Tuff an advantage over Riley who would drop into a dead sleep whenever he was rightfully exhausted. Not that Tuff could blame him. After all, causing mayhem and running from those affected by it could be quite draining to those such as them, especially when started over the most random things.
When given some peace and quiet, Tuff would get some alone time to himself and his books, never minding the fact he had probably read them a dozen if not a hundred times over. Such as was the occasion tonight.
Tuff let out a small sigh. He was a real bookworm. One of the very few things that he was actually proud enough about himself to admit.
And that in itself is a real feat in his opinion.
Tuff had seated himself at his usual spot; in the galley at the table set right next to the porthole, a plain teapot filled with fresh tea and its scent wafting softly through the air in front of him with a matching cup set in beside as usual, allowing him a clear view of the expansive underwater world unfolding before him. Outside, two Yunities swam gracefully around a heard of a mackerel, their shimmering yellow/blue skin brightening up the deeps as their long, sharp horns treaded through the slow currents.
He gave a small smile as he saw the smaller blue one flip playfully over the larger gold one, squeaking delightfully. Just a little kid, having a great time swimming in the briny blue. Kids were the same everywhere . . .
Giving a short chuckle, he reached over to his cup and had another sip of his tea, smiling blankly to himself as he returned his attention back to the book in his hand.
Now where was he again?
". . . And Giulia gazed upon me with sad desperation in her eyes, her lips quivering with the tentative wave in her voice. "Horatio, surely there is more for me than that . . . Do you even love me at all? . . ."
Tuff's smile got a little brighter.
Oh, right.
It was just getting to his favorite part.
~X~
It was hot. Too hot.
And red. There was too much red. Red, burning everywhere.
All she could see was red.
She was alone. She was small. She was weak. She was scared.
There was nothing. Nothing but her and fire. Burning, impassible fire.
Her cheeks were wet. Her throat hurt. Her eyes stung. She couldn't stop shaking.
What was this place?!
Unless . . .
Was she home again? When did she go back?
". . . C-Cassie? . . ."
She whirled her head around. Was that – No. No. It couldn't be –
". . . C-Cassie!"
A noise escaped her. A hand reached out towards her despite the flames.
She leapt to her feet. She rushed towards it. She could save him. There was still time –
SHUNK!
She screamed. She fell to the ground.
Her tail hurt. Her tail hurt!
She turned her head.
A monster had her by the tail. A big, black monster with soulless dark eyes. Claws dug deep in her fin, spurting blood and pulling her back.
She screamed, "LET GO OF ME!"
The monster kept pulling, dragging her away. She looked back. That hand was still reaching out. "Cassie! . . ."
No!
No! No! No! She couldn't lose it! She couldn't lose him! Not again!
Her hands waved wildly at him, calling to him. "N-no! No! No! Please! Don't leave me!"
The hand drew itself back. Her heart dropped. "Don't leave me, please!"
"Please!"
"PLEASE!"
A dark hand slapped over her mouth, burning as hot as the fire. A dark voice came to her ear. "You already have, Silly Girl."
GASP!
Cassie's forehead dripped with sweat. Her cheek felt hot against the pillow even though she was sure her blood was freezing cold. Her heart thumped madly in her chest, making her breath haggard and short.
Her hands shook as she sat herself up. She clutched at the bed sheets so hard her knuckles turned white, her eyes burning as bad as they did in the dream.
A dream . . . Right, that's it.
'That's all it was, Miss Blue.' She scolded herself. 'Just an old dream.'
"You already have, silly girl."
A single broke from her eye and down her cheek. "Just an old dream . . ."
She bit her bottom lip. Suddenly, her hands flew up and slammed the heels into her eyes. Yes, it did hurt, but it stopped any other tears from getting out. She fell back onto her bed and pressed against her eyeballs as hard as she could without hurting them.
'Just count, Miss Blue. Just count. Like you always do. Just count in your head until you fall asleep. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven . . .'
'. . . . . Eight, nine, ten. One, two . . . Two . . .' . . . . She was pretty sure that she was on her sixth round of counting one to ten in her head.
Obviously sleep would not come so easily this time.
Not again.
Blowing air out from her lips like a horse would, she sat up again, swung her legs over the side, gripped at the bedside and sighed heavily.
Those nightmares again . . .
No way was she going to sleep anytime soon. Her nerves were way too rattled. Darnit.
She held up one hand and looked at it. Brushing her thumb against her palm, she saw how little her hand had changed.
Sure, it was bigger now and had very few calluses from gripped the hilt of her knife but it was still hardly any different from when she had been a little girl.
A very little girl . . .
"N-no! No! No! Please! Don't leave me!"
She clutched her hand.
. . . . . Maybe some tea would help.
Hopefully the Luck Brothers wouldn't mind if she made a pot . . .
She stood up, pulled on the moccasin slippers that lay neatly beside her feet, – One of the many gifts from Mother Logai, bless her soul! – Ran her fingers through her hair to quell a few of the knots built up from her slumber and padded to the doorway.
Would it be wrong to have a few muffins to go along with it? She better make a few for the boys just in case . . .
~X~
Tuff was on the edge of his seat.
He already knew what was going to happen in the next page. Heck, he had already read this chapter thirty-two times exactly.
But nothing stopped his heart from picking up each time he grew closer and closer to the scene playing out in the book in front of him.
He felt his leg bouncing lightly in anticipation as his fingers turned the page and his landed on the text starting right at the top.
". . . The room was as dark as a cavern, the only light source vanishing as the lamp rolled to a stop on the hard floor, leaving a trail of broken glass shards and a dimming flame behind it. Gladden wasn't as exhausted, however. The rise and fall of his chest matched mine as he clutched the drenched knife in his hand, the lifeblood dripping down and onto the rug.
I had been careless seconds ago. I had gotten too cocky. I had believed the old tyrant to be as fast and perspective as the old goat that he was. That was my mistake. He was old, yes, but he had still had enough vim in him to make credible those stories I heard about him murdering the original Lord Hall. Something I never took into account until he had nearly gouged my eye out when I tried to smother him in his sleep with the very pillow he had pushed his precious dagger through.
He hadn't taken my eye, but he did gain a sizable slash on the side of my head. My scalp stung as ribbons of bloods stained my hair and dribbled down my shoulder. Some of it got in my eye too, making it hard for me to make out Gladden's form in the dark. I was beginning to wonder if this night could get any worse . . ."
Tuff gnawed at his lip, completely engrossed in the words of Horatio Heath. So much that he didn't even notice the sound of soft footsteps coming up right behind him stop and a small shadow slowly fall over right on his shoulder . . .
" . . . Much to my displeasure, it did. Gladden must've saw the wince I was giving everything I got from my head wound to hide, for a second later, he tensed, leapt out towards me, the blade of the dagger raised and shouted, -"
"This is the part where Horatio tries to assassinate the corrupt Lord Gladden, right? But Gladden almost turns the tables on him instead?" The shadow asked curiously, before –
"GAH!"
"EEP!"
BANG! Clatter!
"OoH! My KNEE!"
BAM! C-clink!
"OoH! My HEAD! Oooh, Knee-Head combo . . ."
Cassie's hands had flown to her mouth when a now pained Tuff put both hands to his aching forehead and winced at the leg now stretched out from under the table, no doubt throbbing from where he had jackknifed it right into the hard, screwed-in metal. "Oh! Tuff, I'm so sorry, Are you okay!?"
Tuff's response was a painful moan. Geez, he had forgotten how hard this table was, owch!
Opening an eye, he saw that his book had flown from his hands and onto the floor by Cassie's feet after he had bashed the heck out of his knee from under the table and let go of it. His teapot and cup stayed placid as well, even after thumping his head hard while lurching over to catch the said book. So much for his Sharky sense . . .
Cassie's downtrend ears and her spotted tail-fin helped him relay her apology as she said, "Are you okay? I'm really am sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
Tuff couldn't help but be miffed at those words. As he gently massaged his temple, he pouted, "I was not scared. I was . . . Surprised."
Cassie turned a little blue at the expression on his face. The small pouting, put-off look he gave her while one of his hands were pushing down the never-ending spikes on his head was . . . To be frank, was too bleeding adorable.
She gave a small giggle behind her fingers in spite of herself and Tuff's confusion as he looked at her. "Right, of course, I'm sorry I surprised you." She air-quoted, making Tuff look even more putout. "I just wanted to see if what you're reading was what I thought it was. I recognized the writing style and got a little curious."
Tuff watched her ears draw back up and the casual smile on her face, prompted him to give her one of his own. ". . . Don't worry about it, all's forgiven." The blunt pain on Tuff's forehead was still there but dull enough so he could take his hand off it for a while. He took that opportunity to retrieve his book and inspect it for any damages, torn pages, folded sections, etc. "But yeah, you were right before. I was just getting up to the scene where Horatio escapes from Lord Gladden's chambers and makes his way out of the Manor De' Calla."
Cassie gave a small sound of recognition. "Mhn, right. The escape scene where he jumps out of the chamber window onto the rampart . . . ?"
Tuff nodded. "Then leaps onto his number one mistress's adjoining room balcony, startling the heck out of her cat when he steps on its tail. . ."
"Which frightens the barely dressed Lady Yena into calling the guards outside her door in a panic . . ."
"Which then, of course, Horatio decides to use to his advantage by leaping forward and ripping Lady Yena's robes right off her body . . ."
"Which was coupled by her ear-shattering shriek . . ."
"Which is dangerous to the hearing range of the Were-Orca guards . . ."
"Giving Horatio a chance to steal his own uniform . . ."
"Pull it on himself and sneak past the rest of the security, move quietly into the Lord's stables . . ."
"And race off the property with his prize Bagogi before the guards could even get down the stairs and out the door!" Cassie burst out excitedly, giggling a little at herself as Tuff joined her with a shy smile. "I know that scene by heart, I heard it almost every night when I was little."
"Me too. I first read it five years ago and haven't been able to get it out of my mind since." Tuff said, setting the book down and, remembering the vacant seat across from him, asked, "Would you like to sit down?"
Cassie saw the seat and nodded politely. "I would like to. Thank you." She took the invitation graciously and sat down with no hesitation. Sort of like that first night by the fire. Assuming correctly that he was finished with the book at the moment, Cassie waited before carefully picking it up and reading the cover in silence.
"Horatio Heath; Memoir of the Insanity Thief by Sir Yule Rodgeford"
"You have really good taste in literature." Cassie smiled at the bold words. "Sir Yule knew how to write a memoir . . . And to think in the beginning his goal was to arrest Horatio."
"That's what makes it interesting." Tuff pointed out, happily getting back to subject. "That the hunter ends up writing the story of one of most insensible thieves of all time. But when you really think about it, who better than the man who did all the chasing?"
"Very true." Cassie said. Handing the book back, she raised an eyebrow at the twinkle in his eye that shone throughout the whole conversation. "I had no idea you liked reading about biographies and memoirs so much."
Tuff shook his head at that. "It's not just that. I also find science journals, histories and botanical journals very fascinating. Classics are a really good read too; like Lorence of Titan Island, Bashkali or Tempen. Those were my favorite classics from back home."
"I've read a few works from Tempen and Bashkali." Cassie admitted. "I found the adventurous swashbuckling and the various outlaw antics to be very endearing; although, I think the only Lorence book I've read was . . ." She put a hand to her chin as she racked her brain. "What was it again, . . . "Tears of the Iron Crocodile"."
Tuff lit up at those words. "Really? That was the one our home collection was missing. I've always wanted to read that one!"
"I probably read that one about sixteen times." Cassie hoped she didn't come along bragging as she went on, "It was one of the books I grew up reading on."
Tuff felt a little envious hearing that. "Isn't that the one where Kalu the Sharkman came into the story? I always wondered how he had gotten involved in Lorence's quest."
Cassie's smile was devious as her now snowflake falling tail-fin went up behind her. "That's for me to know and for you to find out." She giggled. No wonder Vince loves saying that so much!
Tuff blinked and scratched at his cheek in embarrassment. "Heh, heh, guess I should've expected that. No sense spoiling the story. But, anyways, if I may ask, what are you doing up? I thought you had gone to sleep."
A nightmare about that fire. Those words froze on Cassie's tongue as her mouth went dry. Her throat felt like it had swallowed sandpaper and the burning in her eyes came back, almost as bad as all the burning, burning red –
"I couldn't sleep." The lie came easily to her, her stomach cringing inside her in spite of her calm smile. "I guess it must be because I'm still trying to get used to sleeping in a sub."
That bluff worked its magic on Tuff perfectly, with him smiling in understanding. "Yeah, I know what you mean, when Riley and I first started traveling, it took the both of us forever to get used to all the sounds of the mechanics and the gears in work. Until we got the hang of it, we were too wound up to even try and take a nap, convinced that there was something in there with us." The recollection of those first few nights of restlessness and paranoia – Including the feeling of Riley's arms crushing the heck out of his ribs each time a loud bang sounded – Made Tuff ran through his hair thoughtfully. "Having enhanced hearing is both a blessing and a curse."
Both a blessing and a curse. Cassie chuckled at the nostalgia of those words. "That's sounds like something that Vince would say."
Tuff gave her a look. ". . . You and he really have been friends for a really long time, huh?"
Cassie nodded. "Yeah. Like I said, he and I grew up together. If it weren't for the lack of resemblance, I would dare say we were brother and sister."
"You said something like that back at Pound Island; about you and he being raised by the same man?" Tuff recalled.
Cassie felt the burning get worse. She feigned it as sleepiness, adding rubbing a hand over her eyes for good measure. "Mm. He was a Dustrunner Avian; Faust Lithart. He took Vince and I in when we were both really little."
"Lithart?"
"Mhm-hm? Is something wrong?"
"No, it's just . . . Your last name's Matsyendra, isn't it?"
"That's right – Oh. You're wondering why my last name's different, isn't it?"
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude about it."
"Oh no, you weren't being rude. Faust wanted Vince and I to both be independent when we were older; he encouraged us to choose our names so we could be proud of ourselves and be just one person."
"Choose?"
Cassie kept her hands intertwined in front of her and gave a small smile. "That's right. Faust gave us our first names and we then chose our middle and last names. He always called our "first step onto the way of uniqueness"." The burning wasn't as bad as she spoke. The power of good memories she supposed . . .
Tuff gave a hum of intrigue at that. "Sorta sounds like what Mom told us once about Dad . . ." He thought quietly to himself. That slip earned a hum from Cassie. He winced. Oh, cripes! "N-nothing, nevermind." A thought came to mind, propelling him to change the subject. "How did you and a Were-shark end up in an Avian's care anyway?"
Cassie let out a small breath and her gaze fell to the table. Tuff said nothing about the far-off look in her eyes. ". . . I'm not really sure sometimes, to be completely honest. When I asked Faust that once, he told me that he had just been heading on his way home when he found me just curled up in a small abandoned beaver's nest. He almost thought I was dead until he saw my tail change when I started crying. Just a little baby girl all alone." She looked up at him. "The funny thing was that he hadn't even planned on keeping me; he said he was going to hold on to me long enough until my parents or someone arrived to claim me. As you can imagine, years rolled by before he finally decided to "keep me around" as he put it."
Tuff felt touched about the sincere love for that memory in her eyes. Red dusting his face once again, he joked lightly, "He must've been a tough ol' bird to get through to, huh?"
Cassie, to his relief, turned a little blue as well. ""Tough" wasn't quite the word I would use with him; he was always so calm, except when Vince I did something to get on his nerves then he would turn into a grouch." Tuff laughed at that. "It was during that time when he decided to "keep" me that Vince came in our little home too. I found him lying in the river, bleeding from a poacher's harpoon that was stuck in his shoulder."
Tuff cringed at the mental image. "Ouch."
"That's what he said when I poked him in the nose." Cassie tugged at one of her ears. She turned a little darker when she saw Tuff give her a bemused look. "W-well, I had never even seen another person besides Faust before; I thought everybody else in the world was made up of grouchy birdmen like him and little blue children like me. I had never even seen a shark before, let alone such a teeny, tiny one like Vince." She inched her fingers together to emphasize her point. "Back then, I was more curious than afraid."
Tuff felt his hands clench somewhat from habit. Great. He knew where this story was going. "I bet Faust nearly left him there when he found out about him right?" He muttered.
Cassie started a bit at the bitter tone in his voice, but seeing the slightest showing of sharp teeth in his mouth, she paused before shaking her head. "He was more concerned with the fact that someone had actually hurt a child like that with remorse; he told me so himself when I helped him cut out the harpoon."
Tuff blinked. Cassie could tell he hadn't been expected that. He hung his head in nothing but shame. "Oh, r-right, of course. You wouldn't even be looking for him if that were the case."
Cassie was silent. She might not be a physic, but she could tell what was really bothering him.
Cassie always went through problems in the past due to her relation with Vince, from insults to near attacks, it was second nature to her to always be a little resentful towards racists. Especially like a certain drunken colossus back on Pound Island . . .
Then there was the matter of half-bloods. Shark Half-bloods to be exact.
She always felt pity for them, because they were always being blamed for something or another whenever trouble came up, whether they were actually guilty or not. Back when Les, the jerk, was accusing Tuff and Riley for all the girls' murders only cemented that belief that not every half-blood was just a convenient scapegoat because of their ancestry.
She knew that Tuff and Riley had always been quick to get into trouble, that she knew for sure. But it never occurred to her how they both too could be as quick to judge themselves.
Maybe it had something to due with their childhood in Quillotia . . . ?
She looked down and saw that Tuff still had his leg stretched out. She blinked. Was it still hurting him? Maybe if she . . .
Meanwhile, Tuff felt ashamed of himself. He shouldn't have said anything about Faust and Vince. After all, where did he have room to talk?
He prided himself on not poking his nose too much into the business of racism and were-beasts, but it wasn't like he didn't have his own views on it. He couldn't just go and judge every Shark's upbringing and just assume it would be like his own.
Maybe not everybody was as bitter as the Quillotians whenever it came to that. His mother, Aunt Maddie, Uncle Sab, Mikel and Cassie should be proof of that, right?
Surely, not every Half-Shark lived the same like he and Riley did through their childhood.
. . . . Some of them probably didn't even live beyond their childhood, anyway.
"You're only lucky to have been born, little beast. Remember that the next time you –
Poke!
A rapid ache traveled up his thigh like a sting, making Tuff jump with a noise and thump his leg again, not as bad as before but still hard enough to make him hiss. Cassie jumped a bit as well, not expecting such a reaction. "Ooh . . . Geez, Cassie, what was that for?"
"Sorry." Cassie frowned apologetically. "I noticed your leg was still out and I thought it might still be hurting. I tried to be gentle."
Tuff looked down. Indeed it was. He had forgotten all about it when Cassie started to talk about Faust and Vince. He reached a hand down and rubbed at the tender spot on his knee; he winced. It was tender and still hurt around the bend of his knee that connected to his calve. "It does feel kinda sore, but I'll be fine. I've suffered worse."
"Oh really?" Cassie gave him a look that made Tuff feel . . . . Ehh, a little uncomfortable.
"Uhh . . . Yes?"
"Uh-Huh, and what would happen if I poke it a little harder –"
"No! No, no! That- That won't be necessary, it's fine! It's fine! Totally fine!"
Cassie shook her head at the panicked Sharkman. Boy, did that sound familiar. He and Riley really did seem so much like Vince sometimes . . .
Cassie stood up with a calm smile. Tuff looked up at her as she said, "Wait here for just a second. I'll go get some ice for your knee."
Tuff began to protest at her back, swinging his legs around to follow her. "Oh, Cassie, that's not really necessary, I –"
"Don't even try getting up." Tuff froze in place. She glanced back at him, her tail curling with swirls and springs. "Even a sore knee can come back to haunt you later. A little cold can cure anything." Turning all the way back around, she added, "Besides tending to your knee is the least I can do. You both are doing so much for me right now without hardly asking anything in return; I like to think that I can pay you back little by little in however I can."
Tuff's cheeks warmed up again at her honesty. ". . . . . Something that Faust taught you?"
He wasn't sure if Cassie was about to cry or not. Her eyes did shimmer the tiniest instant before they shut promptly and opened again, looking so wistful and sad it was stark compared to her smile. ". . . . . No, something that I taught me." Brushing a bang out of her face, she turned on her heel and stated, "If it's alright with you, I was going to get a cup to join you for tea and make a few muffins for breakfast later on. While we wait we can talk more about books. Is that okay?"
Tuff wanted to know more in that instant. He wanted to know why she had looked so dismayed just then.
Why she had lied when she said she just couldn't sleep. Her saw her lips quiver when he asked.
Why she had even started traveling in the first place and gone away from this Faust. Why – He gave her an easy smile. "No, that's okay. I know Riley would appreciate that. Do you know where they are?"
Cassie nodded. "I remember where Riley set them in the cabinets. I won't take too long."
A few minutes after, bearing an ice pack and her own cup as promised, Cassie kept to her word.
The two had kept delightful conversation with one another, more than happy enough to converse about the ever-evolving genre of books and their writers. They stayed strictly to subject, refusing to bring up anything more about Faust or Vince or anything even Shark-related in general. Neither minded, of course, although the awkward silence did get . . . somewhat tense when they strayed too close to that . . .
Giggles and laughs were exchanged now and again when given the chance. Tuff couldn't help himself when Cassie shared her guilty pleasure of reading incredibly sappy and cheesy romance books. The ones with the all-too confusing plots of the beautiful heroine being in love with some buccaneer or his evil twin or his evil master or – Cassie poked him in the shoulder with dark cheeks to end Tuff's good-humored tirade of nonsensical characters.
She sure got him back when he let it slip that one Dane Eska book he read when he was fourteen. Five weeks of his life he was sure never going to get back.
The hours that rolled by were peaceful to him. Cassie's smile got easier and easier and her eyes didn't shimmer as badly as before, at least not with the dark emotions he had noticed before.
Her eyes were what Tuff watched the most. Each time they brightened when she discussed a favorite moment in a book or shone towards him as he spoke of his own were particularly enthralling.
Then came the moment that the very same Yunities from earlier on, swum up to their window. Clearly, they were interested in the little blue lady that had come up to the looking glass and wanted to see her. Cassie, naturally, took it in stride, giving a laugh as the baby Yunity flipped and swirled around the porthole, eager for attention. It came up to the porthole, where Cassie pressed her hand flat against the glass, commenting on what "Real sweeties that Yunities could be".
Tuff never felt as tranquil while she aimlessly grinned at the Blue Yunity "nuzzling" her palm from the outside with its nose.
As the conversation died down slowly, Cassie and Tuff sat in silence and content, each being kind enough to fill each other cup with tea courteously. Cassie had been delighted to know it was an English breakfast blend and still pleasantly warm, not like this one blend she tried on Valley Island that was, according to her, simply rubbish! Cassie added on to it by kindly going and getting more ice each time the small pack against his knee grew warm under his hand.
However, it hadn't been long before the lull of the water outside, the warmth of the tea and the peaceful silence made her eyes grow heavy. The table's surface felt cold as she, unable to help herself, leaned down and rested her head on her folded arms. Tuff was still talking about the overall grossness of horror stories, but his voice started to grow fuzzy as gentle warmth floated through her.
Mmm . . . She really needed this. Tea and book-talk always does the trick.
Cassie reached a hand out. As her fingertips grazed the back of Tuff's hand, never making mind of the stiff silence that followed, She murmured tiredly, "Thank you for . . . F-for the tea, it was . . . lovely . . ." Before closing her eyes and falling into the gentle dark.
This time, with no nightmares to trail or burn behind her.
~X~
"G' Morning." Riley's voice echoed quietly in the galley.
Tuff looked up from where he had watched Cassie doze off. Riley stood in the archway of the galley bearing a blanket on his arm – Probably meant for him, no doubt. – Looking still a little lethargic with his hair still in a bed-head-type mess and the signs of a five o'clock shadow on his face but otherwise awake. He hadn't even noticed that the aforementioned snoring had stopped. "Oh, morning. I didn't even hear you get up."
With his free hand running through his spikes, though little was actually fixed by this, Riley yawned something dangerously close to a sleepy growl, "Yeah, Just got up not too long ago." Walking towards him and the sleeping woman, he smiled at the sight of Cassie's tail turning into clouds and stripes. "I figured you'd still be up here so I thought I bring you this," He held up the blanket. "But looks like you're doing alright without it."
"I guess, yeah." Tuff agreed with a hand on the back of his neck. He looked back down at Cassie's hand. Her fingers remained just on the skin below his thumb, cold against his warm skin when she had touched him. "You better give it to Cassie, her fingers feel pretty cold."
"Glad to know we're thinking the same thing, brother." Riley proceeded to fold the blanket open and carefully put it around Cassie's shoulders; Cassie shifted her head a little, her tail sweeping the floor quietly as her hand came off of Tuff's and clutched at the warm, fluffy blanket tiredly. "Trouble sleeping?"
Knowing instantly what he meant, Tuff nodded. "Yeah. She claims it's because she was trying to get used to the sub but I think it may've been more like a nightmare."
"From our run-in with that psycho Master guy?" Riley looked at him.
"Could be." Tuff rubbed his hands together for their own warmth. "God knows it can't be easy having a easy sleep after encountering someone like that."
Riley squatted down and copied Cassie's position on the table, breathing quietly so her sensitive ears wouldn't hear him. "She say anything else about herself?"
"Not a whole lot." Tuff said. "She said that she and this Vince character were raised by a Dustrunner Avian named Faust Lithart. Name sound familiar?"
"Nope." Riley shook his head. "Don't know too many Avians."
"Neither do I. Other than that, she's a book lover. She was rather quick to change the subject when Faust or Vince were brought up." Tuff stated.
"Guess it's sensitive territory." Riley guessed.
"Yeah . . ." Tuff agreed. "I wonder if she actually has a plan for finding Vince. I mean, it's not exactly smiled upon when looking for Were-Sharks of any kind."
Riley snorted. "Tell me about it. I'm sure she'll tell us when she's awake or sooner after." Cassie's ear flitted at the noise, with her sleeping on. "By the way, I know this isn't exactly a popular subject between us, but are you planning to mentioning that anytime soon?"
"That?" Tuff raised an eyebrow at him. Riley gave him that look. "Oh, right . . . No. I haven't thought about it and I don't think we should."
"I didn't say we should tell her." Riley pointed out towards the glare Tuff shot at the innocent porthole. "But I'm just saying that Cassie is lot smarter than she looks, sooner or later, if it comes down to it, she's gonna figure it out."
Like Tuff needed a reminder. He sighed quietly and ran a hand over his face. The ice pack under his hand was getting lukewarm once more, his knee numb but painless now thanks to the care of the blue-skinned woman in front of him. "I'm not gonna worry about that . . . At least not yet. We'll cross that bridge if we ever get to it."
"If?" Riley repeated.
"Yeah, if, Riley." Tuff glanced at his twin. "There's no guarantee that she'll be with us that long, anyway. Once we find this Vince guy, she'll –" Cassie mumbled a little into the blanket's fabric. ". . . She'll be out of our lives."
Riley made no comment on the catch he heard in his brother's voice. He simply looked back at Cassie, whose ear flitted again. His fingertips tingled at the sight of the moving, fleshy appendage. Watching it flicker with sharp green eyes, Riley had the all-of-a-sudden strangest urge to catch it. Squinting, he slowly raised a hand and reached out towards it –
"Riley. Look but touch. She's sleeping. That would be rude."
Fingers froze just inches from Cassie's fins, Riley's turning a little red at the monotone glare Tuff was most likely giving him. Chuckling lightly, he shot to his feet and scratched at the back of his head. "Why Tuff, whatever are you talking about? I was just trying to get that little piece of lint off her ear." He lied through his teeth.
The "I-Don't-Buy-It" expression on Tuff's face glared up at him as he sipped at his tea. "Uh-huh. If you wanna make your hands yourself useful, go into the kitchen and check on those muffins that Cassie started on before they –"
"Muffins?! Geez, why didn't you say something earlier?!"
WHOOSH!
Tuff blinked at the space where Riley had just been standing a second ago.
An exact second after, not even bothering to call back to Riley on his volume control or to even slow down, he groaned and put a hand to his forehead.
Brothers. What are gonna do?
He chose not to answer that.
Instead, he simply got up, very carefully rearranged Cassie's blanket where it had fallen off from Riley's gusty retreat, stuffed the book into his back pocket, stuffed the ice pack into his front and took the two empty teacups and now empty teapot into his hands, being mindful of the clicks and clatters.
He did all of this quickly but silently . . . Save the pause for when he gently brushed the bangs out of Cassie's face like she had done for him on Tealside Cove. As she had after bringing him back to life.
Ignoring the burn on his cheeks, Tuff turned on his heel and headed to the kitchen. Hopefully, Riley hadn't started devouring all those banana nut muffins by himself yet.
Me: Oh, don't get your hopes up, Tuff! After all who can resist muffins? I know I can't! XD
Hope you enjoyed this filler! I will update as swiftly as I can!
'Till Next time!