Down by the Sea [Goblin]

[Juno]

Once the school started to break apart Lucien realized that she was no longer among them. He paused, treading water as he looked around for her further out. He had not thought to check behind himself and truly was surprised to have arms wrapped around him and the gentle weight of her leaning against his back. "How did you do that?" he chuckled, though he was quickly silenced by the kiss to his cheek. There was no mistaking that that had been intentional.

Lucien cleared his throat, raising one hand to hold her arm gently. "You're quite a fish, aren't you?" he praised, turning his head to peek at her out of the corner of his eye. "You want a ride around?" he teased.

[GoblinFae]

"Daddy doesn't call me Minnow for nothing," she laughed aloud while hugging him close. Riley slid from his back to swim around to face him while still keeping close to him. "Unnecessary. If we did that then I couldn't see your face as you marvel in all this. Much more fun then looking at the back of your head as handsome as that may be." She smiled brightly up at him feeling so at peace and right in the moment as the fish swam lazily about the lake, casting sparkling reflections across their faces and the stone walls.

[Juno]

"Well at least I can keep you entertained with that," Lucien laughed, his smile warm as he admired her openly, the light of the lake casting shadows wonderfully across her face. She was so happy and carefree, delighting in the simple pleasure of showing him a hidden beauty. Lucien was frankly in awe of her of her still, wishing so much that they could be closer without making their swim a little awkward.

"Is is safe down there, then?" he asked, tilting his head to look down at the bottom where their friendly school had wandered. "How deep is it? Truthfully I haven't done any diving in quite some time."

[GoblinFae]

She smiled and shook her head. "I've never had any trouble in all the years I've swam here. I can't say how deep it is though. When we were children we used to see who could swim the deepest but then we were much younger and not very good at holding our breath for very long. I do know the deeper you go the darker it gets. Why? Feeling adventurous?"

[Juno]

"Always adventurous," he teased, leaning in close with the intent to kiss her yet again but stopping himself before their lips could touch. Realizing what he'd done Lucien was quick to try and brush it off as intentional as he took her hand beneath the water and instead tried to swim just past her as he stared down into the depths.

"Hopefully you can drag me out if I drown," he chuckled before releasing her hand and letting himself sink. Once he was beneath the surface he turned to dive straight down, his eyes struggling to see the further he went, though he tried to let the glow above guide him as much as possible. He was startled by the return of the curious fish, the creatures mouthing him with an almost uncomfortable familiarity, affectionate as they were.

Even they quickly grew bored of him, though, leaving the thief to explore the depths, only needing to surface for air a handful of times as he made a lazy circle to take in the beauty of the hidden lake. He was simply amazed by the sights, certain he would love to make it his own home if it would have been possible. Occasionally, Lucien snuck looks at Riley's silhouette in the water. It really was not like him to be chaste but with her he felt the need to refrain from being a beast for her benefit. He was sure it would only make any prospects with her awkward if he manhandled the fisherwoman, her sense of propriety already seemed to be established with the way she cared for curfews and a "proper" courtship.

[GoblinFae]

Her heart raced and her lashes fluttered as he leaned into her as if to kiss her. But, when instead he pulled away to swim, Riley found herself frozen in place. Her fingers traced her lips where his own should have been. She felt herself becoming self-conscious. Was she not attractive enough? Did she do something wrong? Did she smell repulsive? Had her playful boldness been too much for him and this was his way of showing that while he enjoyed her company that was all he wanted?

Feeling rather forlorn, Riley watched him swim a bit from her place in the water before tiring of staying in one place. She took to following him on the surface just in case he found himself in a spot of trouble. However, after their lack of perfect kiss she found she had lost her interest for the time being in swimming around below with him as he explored. Instead she worked on taking the time to compose herself for when he decided to surface long enough to rejoin her. The last thing she needed was the added embarrassment of him asking what was wrong and bringing further attention to her plight.

[Juno]

It certainly was a beautiful sight but some of the magic was lost without her at his side. Lucien turned over to swim while facing the surface, watching her as he swam along lazily. He wondered why she did not join him. Once he grew tired of holding his breath he allowed himself to surface near her, paddling to her quietly. "Riley? Tired of diving?" he guessed, reaching out to pull her closer by her waist.

[GoblinFae]

She tried to smile but could not help but feel like it was a bit forced. "Just though you'd enjoy the exploring on your own without me showing off is all," she replied with a slight shrug. Riley squeaked slightly as he pulled her close. Her hands moved instinctively between them before coming to rest on his shoulders. After the previous failed kiss she simply did not know what to make of the situation. Shyly she kept her gaze lowered to where her hands were. "Did you get tired if your exploring then?"

[Juno]

"Not exactly, just bored of exploring without you. You're fun, you know. Aaaand you make this place even more pretty with your very presence," he told her confidently, thinking her reaction was purely of shyness. Lucien pulled her even closer for it so they touched chest to chest, though he had a bit of trouble treading smoothly like that.

"Is something wrong? Not feeling well?" he guessed, letting one hand snake up to cup her cheek when he notice how she seemed to keep her gaze averted. "Should I take you home?"

[GoblinFae]

"Thank you," she replied blushing slightly. "You flatter too much though." His touch made her blush more and her eyes lifted to meet his. Riley did not answer right away as her eyes watched his face, trying to read the emotions there but coming up blank. He was sweet and genuine, a sincere man but was there more? Did he feel for her as she felt for him? She just did not know.

In a soft voice with her eyes still meeting him she spoke, "You confuse me." For a moment her eyes dropped to his lips before popping back up again. "I don't know what you want from me."

[Juno]

When suddenly he found their eyes were meeting once again Lucien shut his mouth and searched her own silently. He was worried about her sudden fall from playfulness but he also could not deny how such a connection made him feel.

His cheeks took on a light color as he cleared his throat, unwilling to look away lest she see him as timid. "Confuse you?" It was surprising to him that she thought such a thing, uncertain of where it had come from. Her unexpected directness, though, certainly threw him off. "Want from you? I... I hoped to spend as much time together as possible. I enjoy your company and I was hoping that you might be interested in more than a companion if you felt the same about me. Eventually. That is for you to decide, Riley, of course," he assured her with a gentle, yet nervous smile.

Lucien hated showing a lady his cards but when she asked so directly there was really no way around being blunt. "Perhaps if you find you enjoy my company just as much we can pursue that. See where it goes, see what could....blossom from those kinds of feelings?" he suggested.

[GoblinFae]

"Oh," she intoned with wide-eyes and darker cheeks. "Oh," Riley repeated, unable to keep the smile from her face as she looked down between them. "I...I think I like that idea," she whispered while feeling as if a barrel of fish had taken resident in her stomach, flopping and fluttering all about in sudden surprise. "I thought you didn't like me," the young woman admitted nervously, still unable to look him in the eye. "Like that I mean."

[Juno]

"Well what gave you that idea?" he laughed, the sound something he immediately regretted as he was not truly amused. "And here I thought I was doing so well," he teased her, leaning forward to kiss her forehead.

"You're a beautiful, kind, and fairly adventurous young woman. Any man who doesn't see that or appreciate it is a fool, but I suppose I'm quite lucky they don't or you would be happily settled with someone else, huh?" He could tell she was anxious by the way she wouldn't look at him anymore. It took everything he had to not mention it or play off of it, but the thief was fairly confident he had her firmly hooked.

[GoblinFae]

"I'm a woman of the sea," she told him softly, "most around here are boys too afraid of the likes of me and the rest...well they're certainly not as lovely to be around as you." Riley blushed at her own boldness but she hoped to continue to show him how she felt for him. He was sweet and kind and it seemed he was as equally as adventurous as she was. His light kiss gave her some more confidence even if it was not the kiss she was looking for. It certainly was a start. Riley slid her arms up from where they rested against his chest to around the back of his neck, pulling herself completely against him in the process. "I suppose I just worried you were like all the rest."

[Juno]

The continued reminders of his lead against the locals in her eyes was a boost to his confidence, proud that he was already so much better to her. "Well I'm pleased you think me so lovely," he snickered, though his eyes went a bit wide as she pulled herself flush against him. He was certain he could not hide the way it made him a bit flustered to be able to almost feel her body as if there were no clothes between them at all.

"I would hate to be too afraid of you to ever speak my mind openly. The cowards," he teased, not really understanding how the local boys could pass up such an adorable gem. He supposed it was all for the better if he managed to get her for himself and bed her soon if he was lucky. "I must say, it makes us sound quite right for each other, Riley. We make a nice pair, don't you think?"

[GoblinFae]

She looked up at him with a mischievous smirk. "That is still to be decided," she whispered close to his face. "After all it's no good counting your fish before you pull up the net. You never know what might slip through your fingers."

Riley knew in that moment that she wanted nothing more than to kiss him. She wanted to tangle her fingers in his wet hair and kiss him until her lungs burned for air and even then she still would want to keep kissing him.

Instead, she leaned back some to see his face more fully. "Did you want to swim and explore some more? I don't want to keep you if there is more you want. That would be rather cruel of me after all don't you think?"

[Juno]

"Indeed," Lucien agreed distractedly, trying to hide his disappointment that she would not agree to such a thing yet. Perhaps she was just toying with him. He didn't truly know the circumstances of why she found herself unwanted by the men of the small city, but he realized then that it could just as easily be that she played with the hearts of men as anything else.

"Kind of you to think of me, Riley, but there is always more that I want," he teased, smiling easily enough despite how shot down he was feeling. He shrugged easily enough and slowly slid his hands away from their hold around her waist. It wouldn't do to act too comfortably if she did not return such feelings quite yet.

"If swimming is what you would recommend then swimming we shall do," he responded playfully, nodding at the school of fish making their rounds now that they were calmed from greeting their visitors. "Shall we follow them?"

[GoblinFae]

Riley internally groaned. He still had no kissed her. That was twice now it had seemed perfect and that he would and just when she was about to have her happily ever after he had pulled away and rejected her. The man truly was a massive question mark for her. He would wax poetic about how much he wanted her but then never do anything about it. She would kiss him and be close to him and still he did not take the opportunity that he was given.

'Perhaps he's just as scared of me as all the rest,' she lamented painfully. 'I really am just a monster woman no one wants.' Riley nodded her head while trying to smile even as she felt her heart sinking down into the soles of her bare feet. 'He doesn't like me the way I like him does he? I asked and he gave the only answer he felt he could without hurting me yet his actions are so clear. I'm not good enough.'

Her throat locked up painfully while she squeezed her hands into tiny fists under the water. "Race you down," she murmured before diving below the surface, letting the lake soak up her tears where he would never know. She swam with strong strokes without truly paying attention to what she was doing. It was only as the fish came up to greet her that she paused to watch them swim around them and bump up against them.

[Juno]

Oblivious to her fears, Lucien regretted giving her up almost immediately. He studied her guiltily and had almost worked up the courage to pull her back in when she dove. He called for her to wait but he already knew it was too late for that. The thief waited a moment, having no real intention of racing her as he scowled at the beautiful light dancing upon the cavern walls, envying their simplicity.

When he finally went down he was slow as anything, taking in the view of her down by the fish until he was upon them. He unfortunately did not have the strength she had and knew he would need to surface sooner rather than later. Still, he swam close and clasped her shoulder gently once he'd arrived, leaning in press a kiss to her temple in silent apology before reaching out with his other hand to offer to the playful fish. They mouthed him gently but didn't try to swallow his arm at least, though he was certain they could if they'd tried.

He turned his gaze up towards the surface, cursing his poor endurance as he tried to remain calm and make his breath last a bit longer to stay down with her. He watched as the fish, losing interest in them as "newcomers" again, moved as one to resume their circling about the lake. He nodded towards them and looked between them and Riley's face, hopeful she would follow him as he swam out to tail them lazily.

[GoblinFae]

She turned at his touch, bowing her head in acknowledgement before moving to the side and out of his way as the fish greeted him for a bit. Riley watched him calmly as he swam about, trailing behind him at her own leisurely pace before boring and deciding to gain his attention. She swam up beneath him, accidentally bumping chests with him in the process as she signaled her intent to surface for air. Once she felt he understood her intent, the young woman began ascent in an undulating in very fluid motion as if she were a fish herself or even a mermaid.