Hollow Waves | OFAF #1

21

Lance rubbed his eyes as he watched Chris put together breakfast. Cook was off to vacation for the month, which was for the best with everything going on. He would've preferred himself making breakfast, but he trusted Chris not to ruin simple pancakes.

He hoped Flynn and Sydney would come down of their own volition, but he knew they were upstairs, not daring to come out of the guest room. He heard their murmurs, arguing about whether or not it was safe to leave. He turned to Chris, "how's Morgan?"

"She's better. Her detox will finish soon. I'm thinking of moving her next to Eryn's guest house to stay away from the main house. It's too dangerous." Chris ripped a pancake from the pan and set it down haphazardly on a plate. A pile of red pancakes were half burnt, but the non-bloody pancakes seemed to be... edible.

Lance sat at the island table, crossing one leg over the other. He was worried about Lucinda and how everything went down. The Consul would be questioning them soon and Chris would have to testify against his own offspring. He trusted everything would be fine, but they would be interrogated for their reasoning of why they had the mermaids in their household. The best thing for everyone would be for them to return to Aqueria before then.

The door clicked open and Sagan stumbled in. She carried a faint scent of blood. A gash above her forehead mended itself together. Her arm had blisters in which they healed slowly as well. The scent of burnt flesh wafted toward Lance and Chris.

Lance scrunched his nose, "I'm assuming you didn't find her?"

Sagan huffed, "I lost her just by the border of Nevada... a fucking freight train hit me." She rubbed her face and threw herself into a chair, "the sun came up and I was too exhausted to keep pursuing. I'm starving and need a good night's rest, but other than that I'm okay. How's Denali... and everyone else I guess?"

Chris slid Sagan a cup of steaming blood, "I just made some pancakes if you want to have some breakfast with us."

"No thanks!" Sagan darted her gaze to the stack of pancakes and abruptly rose to her feet. "I'm going to make myself scarce."

Lance chuckled to himself. He was happy to note everyone was in fact good, but the two people he worried about were Eryn and Morgan. Eryn was able to keep herself in check last night, which he was happy about. The question was, would she be able to keep it up now with three mermaids in the house and her having to mentor Morgan?

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A knock sounded at the door, startling Eryn awake. She wasn't a deep sleeper, but after last night she had trouble opening her eyes. She groggily rolled over, clutching a pillow to her chest. The door opened a few seconds later.

"Hey, are you sleeping?" A hoarse voice tentatively said.

Eryn's eyes opened and she sat up like a dart.

Marina's eyes widened as she stared at Eryn's naked chest. She ripped her head away. Tattoos curled around her breasts and sternum was seared into her head. "I-I'm sorry, I'll wait for you to get ready." She turned around and stepped out of the room. A flash of something Eryn couldn't decipher appeared in Marina's eyes before she left.

Eryn threw on the nearest tank top and called for Marina. She stepped back in and gave Eryn a half smile. She was dressed for the day, in which Eryn was shocked. She was exhausted still and her hunger pricked the lining of her stomach.

"I wanted to thank you so much for helping me get my friends back," Her words were barely a whisper. Marina charged into Eryn and threw her arms around her waist. Eryn stiffened.

Warmth enveloped Eryn and all of Marina's curves pressed against her. She lifted her arms awkwardly, not wanting to touch her. Marina tilted her head up, her smile was so inviting, and her eyes were full of kindness... Eryn held her breath.