The Direct Approach

Casper joins Rathiel at his side as he emerges from the pool, shaking his head. 

"No luck then?" 

"I am afraid so, no end in sight. it goes downward for quite some time too, I doubt we would be able to make the journey. Without simply getting lost.

"Then what are our other options?" Engee asks, dodging the flow of water that has begun falling from the cave roof. 

"There is only one that I can think of, and it would be to go out through the top." Casper crosses his arms and looks upward. 

"Is that even possible?" Rathiel shifts his one wing uncomfortably. 

"It will have to be. There is no way any of the others could reach us down here, so we need to reach them. I didn't nearly kill us all to... kill us all." Casper offers with a shrug. "It's the only way I can see." 

Engee nods. "Once this place fills with water it will be a long swim to the surface." 

"I can do our best to get us there quickly. I may only have one wing but it should be enough to move us through the ocean quickly." 

Casper stretches in the center of the chamber, working his legs and arms and the power of the mark that now saturates nearly his whole body. 

That Hunter must have been alive for a very long time to have acquired all that power. It was easily several dozen times stronger than Casper was, and even though he shared some of it with Engee, he should easily be strong enough to accomplish this feat he thought. 

"Are you two ready?" Casper asks, finishing his stretches. 

They both nod, and Casper lets out a slow exhale. 

 Heat radiates from him, the ground beneath his feet begins to melt every so slightly and air shimmer around his skin. 

He didn't know just how much power he had, so he figured it would be a good idea to play it safe and use only about 20%. 

The ground erupts as he launches himself into the air, and in a fraction of a second he makes contact with the ceiling. 

His body rushes through it as if the solid stone wasn't there at all. His vision goes black, consumed by the surrounding stone until his extended fists breach the other side, making contact with ice cold water. 

Casper is spit out into the bottom of the ocean, left drifting in the dark until the water sucks him back down the hole he created. 

With a rush Casper tumbles downward, bouncing off the sides of the tunnel, back into open air to splash down in the rapidly filling cave. 

Recovering quickly, Casper looks up to see the entire chamber rumbling, cracking, and breaking apart. 

"Oh fuck." Casper brings his arms to brace as the ceiling collapses down on all of them. 

Massive segments of stone crash into the water and earth below, sending waves of churning water bouncing around the cave. 

Their bodies are pulled and lifted in every direction, more fissures forming to let in more water to form pockets of rip currents interrupted by segments of falling rock. 

Stones break over Casper, but the weight is too much to bear while treading water and he is sucked under. 

Another stone crushes him to the floor, he breaks it apart. A rapid pulls him into the wall with cracks as the cave buckles under the weight of the ocean above. 

A sucking sensation works at Casper's back as the water travels further downward, trying to escape. 

Positioning himself with his feet against the wall, Casper launches off and makes it only a few feet before the wall cracks even more, sucking him further inside of it. 

The world spins once again as Casper tumbles further down, colliding with rock, shattering segments until the fissure stops, pinning him in a small ravine, water cascading and flowing over him, pounding him into the ground. 

Casper sucks in a breath before the ravine fills past his head. Using his hands he tries to claw at the rock, but despite all of his strength, the stone itself is too weak to support him and crumbles under his hands, sending the torrent of water back into him, pressing him back into the rock. 

He could hold his breath for a while, especially with the mark, but that didn't mean he just wanted to sit here and wait. Soon the entire cave would fill and he would loose his sense of direction. The worst case scenario then would be accidently burring himself deeper while trying to escape. 

Kicking his feet into he rock, Casper took to a more extreme method of climbing. He punched the stones all the way down to the elbow, anchoring his arms like pitons as he works against the torrent baring down on him. 

His eyes struggle to make out anything in the foggy water. He could see through the dark just fine but the sand and dust kicked up from the stone obscured the world of water beyond the marks ability. 

Pressing forward, he felt the rock widen slightly, the flow lessen, enough to no longer require burring his arms in the walls but not no longer enough to tell the direction he came from. 

Casper willed the mark to heal his body, to work through the ache in his lungs. The mark itself couldn't replenish the air supply but it could heal any damage caused by a lack of it. 

This meant while Casper could in theory stay underwater for functionally ever, it wasn't a pleasant experience. 

His body yearned for a breath, a breath he struggled not to take. His lungs insisted they were drowning. His muscles burned, trying to feed on fuel that no longer existed.

Casper clenches his jaw, and places one hand to cover his nose. He could heal from the lack of air, but it would be so much harder to heal if his lungs filled with saltwater. The persistent damage would drain him faster and now didn't seem to be the appropriate time to be testing the limits of his endurance less it fall a little short. 

He fishes around for a time, exploring as many paths as he dare in search of some form of an exit or a way back to the main chamber, assuming it even existed still. 

For a brief moment he releases his hand from his nose, and in that brief moment he lets water flood his sinuses and mouth. 

He spits the liquid, struggling against the desire to finish the breath by bringing both hands up to cover his face. 

By now he had hoped Rathiel and Engee had managed to make it to the surface, Engee only had a fraction of his strength and with how much he was fighting, he doubted she would be able to survive nearly as long. 

What an awful fate. To survive the impossible from within the belly of an ancient hunter, to very likely becoming a mother, to die to the ocean in spite of it all... 

Casper blink a few times as his eyes strain to see a faint glow in the distance. 

Shit, was that Rathiel? He thought. 

If he was still down here then Engee would be too. He needed to get to them, he needed to save them. 

Casper pulls himself closer and closer to the light. The dust and debris barely settled enough to make out its location in the oppressive dark. 

Coming up upon it, he sees a hand extend from the murk. 

Without second guessing, Casper grabs hold of it. 

The second their arms are linked Casper feels the ocean pull at him, trying to drag him back down as Rathiel Accelerates upwards at an incredible speed. 

Slowly the light returns in gradients of blue, Rathiel a lighthouse flying above him as they go higher and higher and higher. 

Casper didn't even realize at first just how much the marks durability was working to keep him alive, that was until the got to a place where sunlight managed to pierce the void, and the pressure lifted enough to no longer threaten instantaneous death. 

Hundreds of feet at a time, even at these speeds it takes them several minutes before they see the top. 

Casper's body struggles, burns, aches, until they breach the surface and return to fresh air. 

Casper sucks in a desperate breath as he is thrown into the sky, only to fall back down once again along with Rathiel, both men hitting the water with a massive splash. 

Turning around for a second, Casper treads back to the surface and looks around, relief washing over him as he spots Engee not too far away.

Rathiel emerges then, gasping for breath as well between coughing fits. 

"Where are we?" Engee asks, looking around at the wide expanse of ocean. 

"Good question." Rathiel coughs a few more times before finally settling himself. "It's still too bright to tell based on the stars... no landmarks..."

"We can't catch a break, can we?" Casper groans, swimming over to meet the distance between them all. 

"Of course we can, we survived didn't we?" Engee asks, pulling Casper in for a hug. 

"Thanks to Rathiel, damn." Casper chuckles, breaking the hug and extending his hand for the half celestial to shake. "I don't know if i would have been able to find my way back without you." 

"You saved my life in the hunter, I saved yours in the cave. It's what friends are for." Rathiel winks. 

"Well, speaking of what friends are for, what are the chances our other friends are searching for us?" 

"Thodhan and Dorain would almost certainly try." Rathiel nods his head. 

"I'm pretty confident a few of mine would as well, though Alex might try and dock the ship for repairs fist." Casper notes. 

"Can't you just fly up and see Rathiel?" Engee asks. 

The half celestial shakes his head solemnly. "It was easier to move through the water because of the pressure. It keeps me in one place. It would be nearly impossible to fly in the sky with only one wing however." 

"We can tread for a while I'm sure, and it would be more dangerous to try and swim in a random direction." 

"Are we waited till night then?" Rathiel asks. 

"We needn't wait that long. I have searched through a number of futures and I see another ship, a merchant vessel crossing these waters several miles in that direction a couple of hours from now." Engee points off towards more ocean. 

"How confident are you it will come to pass?" 

"Right now? Not very, it is nearly impossible to tell what is most likely for us. But I see the ship in a number of my visions, it feels partially consistent so it may be worth our effort." 

Casper things for a moment. 

"Then I will instead choose to put my faith in our companions. The future is a fickle, unreliable thing, and the star is known to show us what it wants us to see. I think our best bet is to tread water, conserve our strength, and rely on them to do what is right." Casper concludes. 

Rathiel nods his agreement. "They have many resources at their disposal, as do we. come night if we aren't found I can use my light to act as a beacon for them as well." 

"A very good idea." Engee smiles. 

"Maybe we can pass the time in some way?" Rathiel half jokes. 

"I know a method Casper and I could employ to pass the time." Engee offers with a faint smile. 

"I didn't mind the first time, but I think I would mind now." Rathiel coughs. 

"We can wait till we are back on the ship." Casper offers. 

'Perhaps you wait even later? With how that cave looked after your escapades I'm worried our ship will crumble." 

Casper laughs, and Engee maintains an innocent smile. 

"Fair enough, besides... Engee you were right, especially after today I think it's high time follow my heart a bit more. If not for either of you I could have died, and if I died I would have left alot of words unsaid and things undone. I may be marked but I am far from invincible... I wonder how many more times I will need to learn that lesson." 

"It's one you've learned before?" Rathiel asks. 

"Unfortunately yes." Casper sighs, his mind flashing to the family who nursed him back to health, shame gripping him now. "Let's leave it at that." 

The silence only lingers for a while, before conversation picks up once more. 

They talk for hours about nothing in particular, simply passing the time with stories and questions. Rathiel reminisces about Janus and Szostes, telling them of the time their party had gotten kicked out of a gran ball specifically because Janus was trying for a threesome with Dorain and a princess. He talks of Szostes's religion, about how little he knew and how much more he wanted to learn. 

Casper times some time to tell stories his father had told him, about the adventures he had gone on in his youth. The story of his mother, the single strongest warrior his father had ever seen, taken too soon. 

"If you don't mind my asking, why did happen to your mother?" Rathiel asks cautiously. 

"I don't mind... I suppose it's similar to what you said in side the hunter really." Casper looks up to the dimming sky, watching the ocean reflect the colors of the sunset. "She just fell ill, not long after my birthday my father said. Some women get very sick after childbirth, and despite how strong my mother was, disease stops for no one. A life cut far far to short for no reason other than the fates decided that's how it would be." 

"I am sorry to hear that friend." Rathiel offers. 

"So was I. for as much as my father talked about her, it sounded like we would have been the best of friends. Maybe it's cruel to say I don't miss her though. I just never got to know her. She is as much a stranger to me as she is to you. I never talk about her because I don't know her." 

Engee nods her understanding. "I am much the same way... so much of my own life is trapped in fragmented memories. I was far too young to recall their faces, let alone their voices or names. All I have ever known were the Acolytes." 

"You are rather wall adjusted for being raised in a cult." Rathiel teases. 

"To me, everyone was raised in a cult." Casper adds. "All these laws of the kingdom... such nonsense." 

"That is exactly why we are doing something about it all." Rathiel smiles, and stretches. "It's about that time then..." 

Casper watches as the half celestial begins to glow that radiant gold, his own light battling against the purple and orange of the clear skies above. 

The conversations continue well into nightfall. The three gather close then, as the ocean grows cold and the wind cuts through their skin. Casper channels the mark to keep the water warm around them, more for comfort than anything else. 

"Please someone with better eyes tell me if I am seeing things?" Rathiel asks pointing out towards a small spot of black against the otherwise cam horizon. 

Casper narrows his vision and focuses the mark to extend his senses, identifying the shape of a ship headed in their direction. 

"That is most certainly a ship!" Casper shouts out, excitement making it's way through every bone in his body. 

"Oh thank the fates." Engee sighs, letting her head rest back in the water. 

"Casper, can you throw me?" Rathiel asks, moving over to position himself in front of him.

"Absolutely. Casper interlaces his fingers to make a platform for Rathiel to stand on. The half celestial places his hands on Casper's shoulders and get his one wing out of the water to dry it off. 

"Ready? Thee, two, one-" Casper kicks with his legs and lifts with his hand, sending Rathiel up into the air and Casper down into the water. 

Casper watches as the half celestial soars in a wide arc, a streak of golden light trailing behind him as he twists uncontrolled in the air to land back into the water. 

"It looks like they are adjusting the sails, they are moving faster!" Engee claps her hands together, sending up a shower of water. 

"Finally~" Casper nearly moans the words, and watches in quiet anticipation as their ship grows in size on its approach. 

Before they know it, they can hear the shouts of their companions on the main deck calling out to them. 

"Grab hold!" Annabelle calls out, casting down a large net from the side of the ship.

Casper, Engee, and Rathiel scramble up the side and throw their naked bodies onto the soli deck of the ship without a second though to the sound of cheers and gasps from all the gathered parties. 

Casper stands tall, only to be barreled into by Annabelle who hugs him tightly. 

"I told them..." Alex rolls her eyes nearby, watching as Thodhan and Dorain both wrap their arms around Rathiel. 

Casper returns Annabelle's hug, his mind suddenly incredibly aware of all of the things he wanted to tell her.

"And I told you." Elisayra scowls up at Alex, who gives a look of resignation. 

"You did, you did." 

"Told people what?" Casper asks, breaking the hug with Annabelle before he found himself too distracted to speak. 

"Alex wanted to dock the ship first for repairs, I wanted to look for you." Elisayra says confidently. 

"Unfortunately she is right..." Alex confirms. 

"And what is this about telling them?" 

"Peter and some of the others were certain you weren't alive." Annabelle says softly, keeping her arms on Casper's shoulders as she stares into his eyes. 

"Well, I am. We all are, thanks to Engee and Rathiel." Casper adds, watching the pang of guilt hit Annabelle at the mention of Engee's name. 

"I... I am so sorry." Annabelle starts, but Engee holds up a hand to stop her. "We can talk later..." 

"Speaking of though." Laihal saunters over, making a show of looking Casper up and down with hungry eyes. "Now everyone can see our little Engee is in fact a woman, perhaps we pick a more feminine name for her?" 

"I don't think that is the top of our priority list." Engee offers, squeezing the water from her long hair out onto the deck. 

"How about we just shift it slightly, how does Angie sound?" 

"Sounds like a lot of A names to keep track of." Engee notes, looking to Annabelle and Alex. "Besides, I've been called Engee enough by now that switching it might create some unwanted confusion. I still need to hide my sex in cities too." 

"Oh alright. I just thought I'd ask." Laihal also makes a show of looking Engee up and down, flicking her eyes between the black haired woman and Casper with a knowing smile. 

"Where are Peter and the others?" Casper asks, looking back down to the ocean. "It would have been nice to be teleported as opposed to waiting for the ship to fully arrive." 

"They are in the brig." Annabelle says with a stern look towards the lower decks. 

"The brig? Why?" 

"We see the sky lose it's color." Elisarya jumps in to explain, her small hands finding a comforting spot in Annabelle's as she recognizes the woman getting angry. "Alex noticed that it was originating from somewhere on the horizon, and when the color return it all started from that same spot. We thought it might have been Engee or maybe even Rathiel, so we tried to sail in that direction." 

"Let's just Peter and the others didn't want to take the risk. We did." Alex adds, moving closer to Casper, nearly butting into Annabelle. "Why don't we get you all some clothes on?" 

Casper looks between both Annabelle and Alex, down to Elisayra holding Annabelle's hand, noting a distinct lack of Nephinae, a teasing Laihal and a tired Engee, he breaks away from all of them. 

"Thank you all, truly, but I think I need just a little time to myself before I get dragged off in different directions. Just... a moment to breathe." Casper rubs the back of his head. 

"Of course." Alex is the first to back off, followed by a slightly shocked Annabelle, unsure of what that meant. 

Without so much as another word, Casper heads to the captains quarters, and throws himself onto the bed, noticing but choosing to momentarily Ignore Nephinae as she cleans. 

Truth be told, Casper was overwhelmed. He wanted to tell them all everything he felt, but his was exhausted, his body hurt, his mind was a flood of mixed emotions and honestly? He got cold feet. 

He had been with Engee just moment ago and now he was going to confess his feelings to them all in front of her? That wasn't the best approach surely. Not only was that next to impossible to reconcile with his own cultural norms but it was embarrassing. Literally laid bare before them... tomorrow, he could do it tomorrow...

A warmth on Casper's back surprises him for a moment. He had noticed Nephinae's approach to his bedside but he never expected the full elf to touch him so suddenly. 

She must have felt his flinch too, because she pulls her hand away as soon as it makes contact, a little noise coming from her mouth that sounded very out of character for her. 

Flipping around to his back, Casper pulls the bedsheets to cover his indecently exposed body. 

Nephinae sits on the edge of his bed, her hand curled around the sheets, he cheeks red as she looks elsewhere. 

"Nephinae?" 

"I am sorry, I don't know what came over me. Nephinae shakes her head, embarrassed. "I... thought maybe you would like it, if i rubbed your back and sang for you?" 

Casper cocks his head slightly, surprised by her soft and gentle tone, the tension she carries in her shoulders as she speaks to him, the faint trace of longing that lingers on her words. 

She looks to him then, her eyes soft, her expression nearly unreadable. 

"You told me to speak honestly with you... so I pray your short absence from us hasn't changed that, because I wished to tell you that I was worried for you Casper." 

Casper smiles up to her, shifting the blankets to cover himself even more. 

"Thank you Nephinae, that means a lot to me, to hear you say that. I'm sorry I made you worry though..." 

Nephinae shakes her head, her fingers scrunching up more of the sheets. "I dare say you misunderstand me, Casper." 

"I do?" Casper asks, watching her more carefully now. 

Had he misunderstood something? 

"I... dare say you misunderstand me greatly in fact." 

"I'm not the best when it comes to understanding people I am afraid. Really Nephinae you'll have to forgive me." Casper offers a sad smile, watching as she lingers, her breath quickening, her face growing more red. "I've made a bad habit of assuming in the past. I would ask that you please be direct with me if you feel I'm failing to understand in some way." 

"Direct...." Nephinae Repeats. "It wasn't until your absence, the fear of death, did I realize how much I missed your presence. Now I smell you're scent and Engee's intertwined I see your auras are connected and I think-" she pauses, getting flustered, unable to continue that specific thought.

"That, I am sorry, Engee and I-"

"No, this is not a problem, don't misunderstand," she practically begs. "Please Casper I would ask you to understand that this is not something I feel often. I believe... it is possible that I care for you the same way I care for Mistress Alex." 

"Can you tell me in what way that is?" Casper cocks his head. 

Perhaps it was because his mind was still a bit of a mess, but that didn't seem very direct to him. She cared for Alex as a person? As a servant? In a professional sense or something else? She mentioned missing him, but then again Elisayra seemed to have missed him yet the way she held Annabelle's hand was- 

Every thought and idea leaves Casper's mind as he feels Nephinae's soft lip press into his own. 

His eyes go wide, looking at her closed lids, feeling the sensation of her hand around the back of his head, her other on his bare chest. 

The sweetness of her breath fills his lungs with the scent of fruits. 

A strand of hair falls from her face and brushes Casper's cheek, their bodies locked there for a moment in time. 

Casper's heart skips a beat, while Nephinae's thunders, her lips work against his own, turning the brief connection into something more, something dangerous but only for a moment.

As quickly as she kissed him, she pulls away, and runs to the door. 

Casper manages to squeeze out the hint of her name, a question left hanging in the now empty room as the door closes before her quick escape, leaving him in stunned silence for a time, his mind racing.

"That... was direct..." Casper says out loud, pressing his fingers to his lips, lingering on the taste of her. "This... was the same way she felt towards Alex then?" 

He felt dizzy, so Casper rested his head on the pillow and ran his hands through his hair. 

She didn't mind him and Engee? But after all she had said about Elven culture... he finally had his clarification on one thing, how she felt about him and Alex, but it ended up leaving him with even more questions.

Questions for tomorrow... 

That was of course, assuming he could sleep at all. 

Every time his eyes close, he sees the sky turn red, hears the roar of the star, feels its power as it consumes everything. 

Flashes of the nightmare, the promise, the future?

That's what that was, wasn't it?

Questions for perhaps another day then...