"May we just be merry in general and not give a shit what the older elves think!" He chugged the rest of his wine, wiping his mouth off with his sleeve. Saeriel gave a cheer to that notion and took a swallow from the wine. The burn was pleasant since she was used to it and she heard a chorus of voices around the bonfire join Victor's and her own in mirth. The warm feeling in her chest wasn't just from the wine, it was certainly because she was having a good time. She watched the entire scene about her. The soldiers clinking their glasses after a long day's work. The elders bickering playfully in their stubborn old age. The younger elves smiling and flirting among their peers. Saeriel knew that she would do all she could to protect them. She would never allow her people to be hunted by beasts again. She would never allow them to come to harm again. Another thought occurred to her. Her 'people' included not only the elves but people like Victor who were kind and good-of-heart. Her gaze followed her thoughts and she met his eyes.

He smiled broadly and Saeriel returned it but when he leaned toward her, kissing her on her lips she gasped, shock coursing through her alcohol-riddled mind. Her slow groggy thoughts tried to collect themselves. Is this really happening? Wow. He's kind of a good kisser. Maybe it's because he's a incubus. I could get used to this… She leaned in and then froze realizing her mistake. NoNoNoNoNo. I am a warrior! Not a lover! My father would shame me from the horizon to the nether realms! NO! She started to pull away but he was first to pull back. He burst into laughter, falling off the bench in doing so. Saeriel ducked her head as a slightly hysterical giggle fell from her lips. She hoped her blush came from alcohol and not at all a meager kiss from Victor. She raised a hand to touch her lips and her laugh grew louder. Forget it. She grabbed her mug and downed it without a pause. The burn was strong and her eyes watered but this time she smirked as the memories faded and so did her uneasiness. She leaned over to bench and helped him back up as he laughed away.

---

---

Several drinks later and towards the end of the feast, Saeriel was completely done for. Although she was a heavy drinker, she often didn't try to drown herself in it. She remembered having felt annoyed but she couldn't remember why. All she felt was a jolly warmth filling her full stomach. Even the other elves, mostly the guards, were to inebriated to care about the silly things and some of them danced to the music filling the glen. The lute player was somewhat handsome and he played throughout the rest of the night until everyone stubbornly went home. However, that was where her memories ended.

Saeriel opened her eyes and groaned, hearing the songbirds chirping outside. The morning light was coming through her window and she lay on her bed. She gathered all this within minutes. She glanced over and noticed Victor laying on the far side of her large bed. A raised brow was all she managed as a headache slammed her brain and she raised her hands to her head hoping to hold it together because she was certain it was disintegrating. After the pain managed to fade to a slight murmur, she slowly raised herself and moved off the bed. She walked barefoot on the sculpted stone flooring to her dresser to get new leather armor then to the bathroom where a stone tub was filled with water. She touched a hand to the water and felt power slide through her fingertips as the water heated and then came to a boil. It was an easy trick once you figured out what parts to transmute. It wasn't a full transmutation, rather, just a slight alteration of the molecules. She pulled back her hand and waited for the water to calm. Steam rose and filled the room until it felt like she was walking around the muggy swamps in summer. She peeled her leather suit off of her skin and climbed in. It didn't take long for her to get clean as she simply scrubbed away the dirty spots and was finished. She wasn't girly enough to feel the needs to use all those scented oils and fragrances. She just needed to be clean. Saeriel climbed out and pulled on her armor and left her hair hanging. Once done, she gave herself a once over and then moved back to the main room where she retrieved her bow and arrows.

She moved to the bed and lightly touched Victor on the shoulder, calling to him. "Wake up. I have to go hunting and such and I wanted to let you know. You can do as you please from now on okay? If anything, you should check on Lalana. She's been gone for a while.." Saeriel frowned as a pain-ridden thought occurred to her. "If she's sleeping would she be invisible to me? Oh gosh. You were the one who could, so you definitely have to check. I'll leave that to you. Also, if… If she's passed on..well that's good for her. I'll be happy for her." Saeriel murmured. She hadn't gotten to know the ghostly girl much but she had felt that perhaps she would make a friend out of her someday. She pushed the thoughts away and stumbled towards the door. When she opened it sunlight flooded the room touching on the bed and stove on the far side. She squinted and held a hand up to her face to shade her eyes. "It's way too bright out there." She grumbled feeling reluctant to be a responsible adult even though she surmised it was already afternoon which explained the abundance of light.

"I do not hear anything, so it would probably be best for you to go on without me. Your lightning speed and my wings cannot compete,"

Alistair nodded and turned towards the bay when suddenly a wall of air came raining down on him and the faery. The vampire turned around. It was Adonael.

"Can you hear that?” the angel said, ”That singing sound?"

Shaylee smiled and responded to Adonael. She said, though she could tell from the trees that there was a girl singing somewhere on the beach, it would be too far to travel in the pitch-black darkness of the night. However, since Alistair had both superhuman speed and fairly good night vision, the travel there would be a breeze.

”The only problem for me,” the vampire said in reply to Shaylee, “is that if I stay and sleep out here with you guys, I’m going to wake up on fire. The mountain seems a ways away and daybreak is slowly approaching, so I think I’m going to go up ahead and see if I can 1) meet the girl singing and 2) find somewhere under the sea I can stay. You’re both welcome to come with me, but otherwise I’ll see you both some time tomorrow when you come to the beach.”

After he finished talking, the nervous vampire waited somewhat impatiently to see what the other two supernaturals’ answers would be. He knew that his route to the beach would only have to be a little faster than a jog, but the imminent threat of the sun’s light crawling ever closer towards his area beneath the sky made the fear in his eyes faintly flicker.

With Adonael and Shaylee agreeing to the plan, Alistair said goodbye for the night. He would regroup with the two the following morning.

As the angel and the faery settled down to rest for the night, Alistair began making his way towards the sound of the girl's voice. From what he could hear, the voice was projecting somewhere near the bay, and it was singing some beautiful and charming melody. If the vampire was not such a curious specimen, he would have been driven by the sheer beauty of the melody alone. But perhaps the mesmerizing effect of the voice wasn't something he was willing to admit to having. So he decided to blame it, instead, on his natural inclination for inquiry.

Before Alistair knew it, the bay was in sight. He had been running at superhuman speed for quite a while now, but for some reason didn't realize where he his feet were taken him until he finally came within mere feet of the mermaid. "Mermaid?" Alistair said in his head. What an odd forest he must be in to shelter not only vampires, faeries, and angels, but mermaids too. The confused immortal stopped running, his feet now planted in the beach's fine sand. If it was that what he saw in front of him indeed was a mermaid, he had better make sure he didn't fall victim to any of the traps mermaids were known for having. His childhood education included many tales about mermaids, and they all included a brave sailor who was mysteriously lost at sea...

"Hello," said the vampire cautiously. He made sure to keep watch of his feet, as he didn't want them to go wandering towards the mermaid while his conscious wasn't aware of it. As he inspected the mermaid, noting all the little details that brought to life the creature that had once only been in fantastical drawings, the vampire couldn't help but walk nearer--utterly drawn towards the incredible realization of the mermaid's presence. Now that Alistair was off the frost-covered ground of the mountains, he could feel his feet liven with a certain warmth and comfort. He could also feel those feet move closer towards the mermaid, eager to bring the rest of him closer to the magical creature.

Lost in her music, the mermaid relaxed despite her exposure and her still useless limbs. Singing cheered her considerably, and were she not of mermaid origin, she herself would be easily drawn in by a sirens song, only to become lost in the tides. Making herself comfortable as possible upon the rock poking out from the sand and three feet of water, Aysu vaguely wondered if any humans would come. She had never yet used her song to entice. Perhaps it only worked when she was in the water? Her family and friends always followed ships and sang if they were inclined to prey upon unsuspecting humans.

The mermaid prepared to slip off her temporary perch when a sound caught her ears, making her freeze and turn towards the direction of the woods. With surprising speed, a figure approached her bay, excitement and trepidation bubbling rapidly inside her mind and gut. The singing ceased, the mermaid appraising her visitor for mere seconds before he spoke, his tone sounding anything but threatening.

Relaxing her shoulders, the mermaid let out a cheerful trill, recognizing at least that word, hearing humans use it all the time. She presumed it must be a greeting, or at least something good, as sometimes it was all she heard humans say to each other when she was close enough to hear the mortals. Smiling at the stranger, Aysu repeated the greeting bck to him.

"H-Hello!" she chimed in a soft, sing song voice, eyes riveted to the admittedly pale human. Strange, from boats they at least seemed bigger and darker. Deeming this a minor detail, the mermaid tried to stand, knowing with the human limbs she was at a severe disadvantage, even if she did figure out how to use them. She kept her eyes on the moving human coming towards her. An attempt to straighten herself and try to look at least more in control of herself and the situation, the sea creature yelped softly, losing her balance as well as her pride as she slipped, falling into the shallow water housing her rock.

"Kiiii!" she squeaked, trying to right herself on unfamiliar human legs as they began to shift back into her natural form.