Crystal Falls

* she sighs deeply and looks down* well honestly I dident ... This is just as far as my wound would let me to befor I neede to rest

Mori nodded. "Ah, I see." He didn't want to scare her by telling her that this place of choice was not very wise. He just hoped that she would not get caught here.

There was something about today that had the adult woman in a rather foul mood. Christmas, what bullocks. It was a holiday that was washed over by gifts and a man in a red suit; however, that wasn't what had Sakuda's gears grinding. It was simply The fact that she had nothing to do, and she hasn't for awhile. Seeing so many people getting together and having fun was annoying--especially for the lonely wolf sitting by the falls. Her hands cupped her chin, and her knees crossed Indian-style, and what seemed like a soft scowl upon her face. It wasn't normal for the bubbily girl to be so put-down, and her appearance would state otherwise.

She wore bright colors; a flaming red tank top, and a whitewashed pair of high-waisted shorts, and a rather cute bow clipped in the side of her hair that matched the blush top. Her feet were bare, as per usual, but they looked rather abused from all the walking she had been doing lately. Her body wasn't healing like it used to, due to her getting older and her mood flying south. Really, she'd become a mess.

Aella had of course been out for a swim. The mermaid wound up in locations that one might think a strange place for a mermaid to be. That was only because she got bored very easily, and would attempt to go do things on the surface, but she was finding that she had a growing dislike for the land. It was almost as if with each day that passed she ended up spending more and more time in the water; even her room had a pool in it to keep her from growing too agitated at being constantly dry and...clothed. Perhaps the clothing was one of the worst parts about living out of the water. She wasn't used to having to wear something, and so it agitated her...That and the constantly changing weather...It was disgusting.

Something broke the redheaded mermaid's train of thoughts though...Up on the surface...She could see someone sitting on the ground. The thing that gave this person...or creature...away was the clothing that they wore. The vibrant colors had caught the mermaid's attention, and that honestly wasn't something that one would want to do. Determining how close the person was to the water a grin slowly made its way across Aella's lips, and swiftly, but silently, she made her way to the surface, her hand reaching out of the water to grab the other being's foot and pull them into the water, dragging them downward.

At the sudden wet feeling gracing Saku's foot, the woman only had a second to look at the appendage before her back slammed into the ground, her body tearing across the edge and into the water, with only a second of a scream to be heard-- if there was anyone around to hear it, anyway. Beneath the surface of the water, Saku's cry turned into silent bubbles, and her eyes immediately began to sting from the invasion of the liquid.  Her poor, poor ears were consumed I'm a matter of a blink. She wiggled fiercely against the pulling on her foot, panic rushing through her mind.

She was not going to drown. Not on freaking Christmas. Even if she was alone and grouchy, she still deserved to breathe air. Her mouth shouted to have the other let her go, but it was lost among the bubbles if she continued to try to speak, she'd run out of air. This realization made her even more annoyed.

As soon as the other being came into the water, Aella shifted slightly. It was irritating with all the squirming, but what had she expected really? An agitated huff of oxygen left the mermaid's mouth as she lost her grip on the other's foot due to the struggling, but it wasn't too much of a worry to her since the gills on the side of her neck worked to keep her body supplied with the necessary gas to live. Quickly she directed her body upward and moved the water with her muscular tail to push herself towards the person in the water with her. Reaching outward she grabbed the being's waist, her other hand moving to cup the woman's cheek. It was an attempt to calm the other, make it easier for her to finish her purpose as she so often did to others. Most didn't put up a struggle with her.

With a few blinks of recognition the mermaid stopped what she was doing, pushing the woman upward and away from her before turning tail, literally, and swimming off toward the cavern behind the waterfall. Had she noticed that the person she pulled into the water had been someone she was acquainted with earlier than she would have let go sooner, or more likely not have even pulled her into the water to begin with.

Without a grip on her foot, the wolf girl focused on containing what oxygen she had left and looked upward to the light shining through the water. Her legs flailed weakly, her heart still racing from the unexpected dip into the cool water. Though her struggle was in vain, for her waist was soon caught in the grasp of the being once again. Saku growled, her eyes glaring at the face of her napper. Slowly, she began to shift her expression. From one of anger, to one of disbelief. Was that...? She didn't have much time to dwell upon it, for her body was launched uowsrd, enough to where her head broke the surface of the water. The woman inhaled greedily, her lungs slightly burning from the liquid that seemed inside during her speaking underwater. 

Whenever she recovered her breath, the wolf blinked her eyes, a bit confused. "Aella," she asked the air, her voice sounding a bit husky. Her head turned this way and that, squinting to see another head pop up... But none ever did. This made her even more confused. Why on earth did she tug Sakuda under the water, and then push her back up? Was it a game? Thinking back to the water, Sakuda shrieked and scrambled back towards the edge, slipping as she tried yto get out of the watery depths.

Aella moved swiftly, figuring she'd be in a lot of trouble with the other woman. Heck, she knew that she'd be pretty pissed if someone she knew tried drowning her...and what she also knew was that Sakuda could easily beat her if she surfaced or made it up onto land. Turning her head at the disturbance in the water she stopped moving and stared at the scrambling form. The struggle got to her deeper instinct, and there was a desire to return and drag the other under once more, but the nagging of actually being on good terms with the other woman won out.

Turning once more the mermaid made her way behind the waterfall before surfacing. Blowing outward she shot a tiny bit of water from her mouth before grabbing onto the edge and pulling herself up and out of the water. Once up on the land of the cavern behind the waterfall she pressed her hands tightly to the ground and pulled, moving herself backward and further away from the edge and hopefully into better concealment.

After several moments of struggling to get back on land, she successfully slid her stomach across the ground as her claws dug into the earth. Somehow, she got herself fully back on land, with her clothes weighing her down. She huffed strongly, wrestling her tank top off to it couldn't chill her to the bone, leaving her in her denim shorts that didn't absorb too much of the water. With a but of relief, she managed to get to her feet, shaking her hair and then slicking it back to prevent it from blocking her vision. 

After a few moments to collect herself, the wolf woman found herself looking out to the water, still pondering where the other had gone. She was sure there was an explanation behind what had just happened. "Aella? Where'd you go?" To be honest, she was rather excited to see the other now that the fear had vanished. The other began walking along the water's edge, keeping an eye out for the mermaid.

To be honest, it was rather...cold. It was more of that nasty, changing weather that she had been thinking about earlier. Being at a depth meant that it was a bit warmer, and perhaps it was the part fish in her that found the water more comfortable with this temperature, but she certainly didn't like it up here. With a slight shiver, she sighed in defeat and slid herself forward now, back towards the water, and into it with a rather quiet splash.

It would probably be fairly easy for Sakuda to spot her swimming around since she was a bit closer to the surface, but Aella was busy looking for a way out. When she found herself fairly trapped without having to interact with the other woman she sighed. The only exit seemed to be the one up on land, and she wouldn't be able to make it out without having to go passed Sakuda, and besides...she'd have to wait to dry off so she could walk out. Slowly making her way back to the surface, her head poked out of the water, and with a reluctant voice she uttered the single word "hey..." as she glanced downward towards the water, her face red with embarrassment.

She was about to give up in her search, figuring the other found some way to leave, when Aella spoke up. The blackette smiled brightly, trotting over to where the other resurfaced. With a huff, she plopped down, ankles crossed, and a smile on her face. "Hey, you! What on Earth were you hiding for?" Her arms reached out, signaling that she wanted to hug the other. It was the first time in awhile that she had seen someone she could stand for more than a few minutes. It brightened her whole day that the other had showed up out of the blue. It made Christmas seem a bit less lonely.

"What was up with tugging me in the water? Did you want to get my attention, or...?" Sakuda's brow rose high while the other curled, showing a very confused expression. She really couldn't figure out why the other did that, especially when the water was so cold. However, Aella wasn't exactly normal. That's what Saku liked about the other. That among other things.

Shifting slightly, Aella looked a bit nervous. What was she hiding for? Well it seemed like a perfectly good question now, but before hand she was more worried about her face not being bruised or anything, after all she relied very much on her looks. "Um...Well..." She blinked slightly, noticing how Sakuda reached out for her. It had been a while since she had seen the other woman, and particularly since she had actually interacted with anyone at all, and that caused her to be a bit awkward once more. There was only a slight hesitation though before she moved forward cautiously in the water and placed a hand on each side of Sakuda so that she could pull herself out of the water enough to press herself gently into Sakuda in a sort of a hug.

"I um...I didn't realize it was you..." She left the sentence at that, figuring that since the other woman was smart she'd get what was being unsaid. She'd meant to make a kill, but hadn't meant for it to be her.

A soft bubble of laughter left the blackette's lips as she wrapped her arms around the other woman, squeezing her body to the other's in a form of greeting, like a welcome back. It had been quite awhile since they had interacted with one another. It felt good to hug someone again, even though that someone was cold. And naked. The realization made Sakuda's cheeks dust over with pink, for she hadn't exactly forgotten anything. Her arms loosened enough to where the other woman could escape back to the waster, her head tilting to the side.

"Hey... Ah, you braisen girl!" She scolded the other with a frown. It was quite clear now what Aella had intended to do. "You're supposed to look! And why are you drowning people? Did someone make you angry?" Her mood seemed to be shifting, the subject along with it. "Oh gosh, who did it? I'll punch them a black eye!" She lifted her fist for emphasis, but it was clearly not going to move towards the other woman. Unfortunately, Sakuda liked to believe that Aella wouldn't do it to her, even on purpose.

As Sakuda squeezed their bodies together Aella moved enough that she could rest her chin gently onto the other's shoulder; her way of returning the hug without having to get out of the water or accidentally pulling Sakuda back in. Lifting her head back up a brow raised just slightly as she caught the slight blush on the other's face. Remaining somewhat close to the other she purred out the words, "What's the matter?" As her tail lifted out of the water some in a flirty way. She was acting rather similar to the first time they had met.

The scolding caught her attention though and she leaned back. "Look? Well...You were very distracting with your bright colors and all...You know how I am...If it's bright or shiny, it's as good as mine..." The mermaid shifted her hands around some before allowing herself to lower back into the water. "No one made me angry...It's what I do, remember?" Aella didn't have to be angry to be drowning anyone, it was just in her nature...a bit of sport.

"EH?" Saku leaned back a bit, willing her blush to go away. "Nothing! I'm just cold is all," she grumbled out, making up excuses that were half true as she tried to not seem as perverted as she usually could be. Unfortunately, it seemed like they had good enough chemistry to bounce comments and interpretations off one another. So the blackette simply sulked to herself, eyes locked on the other's face, preventing them from wandering elsewhere.

Blinking in thought, Saku found herself nodding. "Ah, so it was my fault. I DID wear bright clothes, didn't I?" She half-smirked, mentally adding a flirty joke to Aella's possession comment on owning the bright and shiny things. "Well, jeez. I'm glad you let me go though. I was really thinking I would of drowned. That's suck," she admitted, going back to cupping her cheek within her palm. "So, what are you doing way over here? Since you didn't know I was around, were you just swimming around?" The blackette glanced over the scenery, seeing nothing that's really spark the other's interest, except the water.

A light giggle passed between Aella's lips at the response to her flirtatious question. "Well...That could certainly be fixed rather easily." She shot a quick wink at the other before adding without missing a beat, "You could wear more clothes next time...Or not sit so close to the water." She arched a teasing eyebrow at the other.

The mermaid caught that little smirk and rolled her eyes just slightly, knowing that Sakuda had thought of something dirty to say. "Yes well...It was an honest mistake. Besides...I could have totally done CPR, I hear that's the new thing that mermaids like to do...Save people from drowning instead of drowning them." She pursed her lips slightly in thought before adding, "I'd probably be pretty good at it...CPR, I mean. Not saving people's lives all the time. That honestly sounds so boring." Quickly Aella stopped her rambling, answering Sakuda's question truthfully, "Well...I went out for a walk, and then I remembered...I quite dislike walking. It's annoying, and boring...And all that extra weight you guys have to deal with...ugh. It's kind of disgusting."

Her mouth opened to retort, but nothing came out at first. Instead, she gaped at the other, lips forming words eventually. "W-well! You probably shouldn't be pulling people in the water!" Even though she understood that it was in her nature, she couldn't help but to find some way of excusing herself. "Besides, I had enough clothes on, they just got soaked, so I had to take some off!" She glanced down at her own scarred and pale stomach. Little goosebumps appeared here and there, showing that she was a bit chilly. Her lips pressed together, arms coming to cross over her stomach in an attempt to cover it.

"CPR?" The other looked slightly taken aback for a moment, for she was rather surprised how mermaid could be so nice enough to save someone rather than drown them. Then again, Sakuda doesn't talk to a lot of mermaids. Another slow smile crossed her face. "Oh? You think you'd be good at it?" Her flirtatious personality faded as quick as it came, and an embarrassed blush overcame her face. "Disgusting??! Hey! We were born this way and cannot help it," she whined, looking down at her body with unease.

Tilting her head to the side, Aella feigned thinking over Sakuda's statement while her lips pursed slightly, and after a brief moment she nodded some. "Probably." It didn't bother the mermaid that the werewolf had pushed responsibility onto her; it was true...She was responsible for it, and it wasn't as if it were only land dwelling creatures that had a problem with it, plenty of mermaids had turned their backs on her for doing what she does. She wouldn't even dare to think about what her child might think and say of her. "Well...You could always go back to my place to warm up, I could meet you there...Though it would probably take a few hours for me to dry off because of this wretched weather."

A somewhat cocky grin crossed over Aella's face then. "Well...I don't think, I know...but I could always practice on you if you need a reminder." Just the same as Sakuda, Aella was rather quick and easy to change topics. "No, not you. I mean sure, legs are pretty weird, but I mean all that extra weight...How can you stand to move around in it constantly. It's so much easier to move in water."

"How quick you are to invite me to your place~ just because I'm soaked, too." She giggled at her own response, and then felt bold enough to look directly at the mermaid, her lips forming a smile. It was almost as if she became more confident the more they spoke to each other. It was quite strange, for normally she was over confident. "Well, we could always just warm each other up... I'm pretty sure we're familiar with that, hmm?" Another bit of laughter followed that, her blush trailing down her neck, spreading further the more she thought about what she had said.

"Ah, I know how CPR works, but if you ever need practice, I'll gladly volunteer to be your dummy," she replied cooly, overly enjoying their conversation, their flirting. It was refreshing, that was for sure. Though, Aella did make a point on weight. "Well, we are used to it. You have to know, I'm a descendant of the Wolves and humans. Both creatures have lived on land for what seems like ever. Although, it IS easier for me weight-wise underwater, I can't move as quick as I could on land."

"Well, it is my fault for the situation that you're in now. It's the polite thing to do, is it not? I offer you warmth and the chance to dry off in my...oddly charming and comfortable home, and you might just decide to stay there. The bed needs to be broken in after all...since I don't sleep in it." While she honestly meant it in a somewhat innocent way, she gave her voice enough of a flirty tone to possibly mean more, wondering how Sakuda might take it. It was true that she didn't sleep in the bed, she often fell asleep in the pool at the foot of it instead. "While that's certainly very...enticing, we'd still have to wait a few hours for me to dry off in this weather, unless you feel like carrying me." Aella made a motion towards her fish half then.

"I meant a reminder about how good I am at it." The mermaid winked once more then. She went silent with thought though before shrugging slightly, "And I am slow and overly clumsy on land. You win some and lose some, I suppose."

"You've got a point there, Aella," she admitted, since it was the other woman's hand that started it all. As Sakuda listened to the other, it became more apparent that there was another layer to their conversation. Sakuda welcomed the change with open arms, it definitely brought a thrill. An uncontained smile was brought forth. "Is that so? I'd be happy to assist you in that endeavor if it came to it," she purred, biting her bottom lip to keep from giggling. She couldn't help herself on how cute the other was being. "I wouldn't mind to carry you, and you know that." Her body leaned back slightly as she said this, figuring that if it came to it, she'd have to lift the other bridal style to distribute the weight of the tail.

"Oh? It may need to happen, how my memory has been selective nowadays," she sighed with fake sadness to it. Really, she liked playing along. It was too much fun. "It is true, but it's also a good thing. We wouldn't want someone who could do everything, right? THey'd be a force to be reconed with."

"Despite all my rambling...I do have points sometimes." Aella could make fun of herself with no problem, that is if she wasn't too busy preening herself. Noticing the smile she scowled just slightly, glancing toward the water as it made a slight sloshing sound as she lifted her arm out of it so that she could tuck a piece of loose red hair behind her ear. "I think we both know I could certainly use the exercise." She gave a slightly exaggerated sigh as she shrugged her shoulders some. "I know you wouldn't mind it, but it's a little embarrassing...Besides, I'm heavy."

Feigning offense she gasped some, "Your memory is selective and that's one of the things you decide to forget? I'm hurt, really." Once again Aella shrugged her shoulders, "If I could stand to be on land for a decent amount of time I could probably get pretty good at walking."

"Only sometimes," she asked with a cheeky time, raising an eyebrow at the other woman. Saku just loved making some trouble when she could, didn't she? The blackette hummed quietly, tilting her head as she observed the other. "Well, I didnt. You look plenty good enough to me," she stated in a matter-of-fact tone, but then again, she had no preferences. At Aella's next words, Sakuda snorted. "Embarrassing how? And you're not heavy if I carry you the right way. It's all about figuring where to put your weight." The whole time she brushed off the situation like it was nothing, because Sakuda was a damn strong person, thanks to all her friends she liked to pick up and toss around.

"It works out in my favor to get fresher memories, why are you complaining," she asked teasingly. Quite a show these two made when they wanted to work at it. "All it takes is practice!"

"I don't know...I usually get straight to the point." She gave a somewhat suggestive look before looking downward again, playing with her hair some. "You say I look plenty good enough to you, and then right after you say you need to figure where to put my weight. Sounds like you're saying I'm fat." Glancing upward she arched an eyebrow. Aella didn't feel that way about herself, but she was just giving Sakuda a bit of a hard time. "Embarrassing how? Are you kidding me? Being carried around without any legs and without a top? Honestly, it's fine if it's just you...but there's probably going to be a lot of people out and about."

Aella pouted slightly at Sakuda then, "I'm complaining because even though I get to help you refreshen those memories, I wasn't good enough to remember." It wasn't really how she felt, but she actually knew of some people who would feel that way. Feeling that way would make her feel somewhat...desperate.

Sakuda glanced away. "Don't I know it," she mumbled, avoiding eye contact for a moment while she collected herself. Being straight to the point was a bit hard for the blackette, but it could be fun if she ever decided to give it a shot. "Just because I said I needed to figure your positioning, it doesn't mean you're fat," she snorted, a slight smirk coming into her features. "Actually, it'll just look like I'm taking you somewhere you can swim," she commented, but then followed with an eye roll. "Not today. Everyone is inside their homes, being friendly and making out under a mistletoe." This was said with clear annoyance, but she didn't bother to explain herself. 

"Ah, you overthink things too much," she told the other, reaching over to give an affectionate per upon the other's head. If she did feel that way, it made Sakuda wonder herself. Why would it be so important for Saku to remember, if Aella was a seductive mermaid, with probably more sleeping partners than just Sakuda. Now she was overthinking, and it made her frown slightly.

Aella didn't really have anything to say to the first bit of stuff, but the statement about everyone in their homes certainly got her attention. Was that a hint of jealousy? "Oh, well...Their loss for needing a plant to be able to do that. You don't need something like that to get a kiss out of me." She knew it was Christmas, but it wasn't really all that important to her. The holiday wasn't all that big of a part of her culture, and she was used to being alone anyway, so to her today was really just the same as any other day. It was slightly better though since she did have Sakuda to keep her company.

"Well...I might be part fish, but I am still a woman, and I hear that's a trait that all women have, overthinking things." She shifted a bit as Sakuda gave her a pet though she wasn't moving away. Her eyes closed for a moment before reopening as she gave the other a smile. In all honesty, Aella kept to herself too much to be bothered with sleeping around. Most of the time she would just lay around and act melancholy and miss her child. The seductiveness that she held was more for luring people to the water to drown, and she found it was a lot easier to do with men, and though it wasn't really fair...She held a bit of a grudge against them for the one man she had been with, and so they mostly ended up drowned.