#dinglhoppr

❛ again? ❜  the  incredulous  question  posed  to  the  canine  before  him,  waiting  for  their  game  of  fetch  to  continue.  with  a  halfhearted  smile  and  a  shake  of  his  head,  eric  tossed  the  stick  once  more.  sending  the  fluffy  mutt  scurrying  after  it,  once  again.  he  knew  max  was  just trying  to  help—  he  was  very  intuitive  for  a  dog—  a  distraction  from  all  the  moping  and  sulking  eric  had  been  doing.  despite  the  effort,  it  was  unsuccessful.  he  could  not  get  ariel  out  of  his  head.  

he  had  wanted  to  search  for  her.  desperately  demanded  a  boat  to  go  out  and  find  her.  he  couldn't  face  losing  her  again.  in  the  end,  though,  that  is  what  he  feared  had  happened.  he  spent  hours  staring  out  at  the  waters.  searching,  hoping,  for  a  sign  that  she  was  alive.  that  she  had  escaped  the  sea  witch.  that  she  was  safe.  but  he'd  yet  to  see  even  a  flick  of  a  tail  fin.  

with  a  deep  sigh,  eric  comes  to  the  realization  that  perhaps  it  were  time  to  face  the  idea  that  he  would  never  see  her  again.  then  another  realization  hits  him,  where  had  max  disappeared  to?  ❛ max? ❜  he  calls,  expecting  the  dog  to  appear  in  front  of  him,  stick  in  mouth.  but  he  doesn't.  eric  doesn't  even  hear  paws  approaching.  awash  with  concern,  eric  turns,  his  eyes  first  falling  on  fluffy  paws.  but  beside  those  paws  stands  a  pair  of  bare  feet  beneath  a  tattered  blue  dress. 

in  an  instant,  eric  is  on  his  feet.  emotions  set  free,  tears  prick  his  eyes  as  he  rushes  to  her.  when  he  wraps  his  arms  around  her,  he  does  so  tightly.  both  in  an  effort  to  prove  to  himself  that  she  truly  has  returned  to  him.  that  he's  not  imagining  her  there  with  him.  and  to  convey  how  relieved  he  is  to  see  her.  words  simply  would  not  convey  that.   especially  not  any  he  could  come  up  with  at  this  moment,  not  in  this  state  of  emotion. 

Ariel.

What a rather peculiar name for an equally peculiar woman. Beautiful it sounded rolling off his tongue.. fitting for such a pretty face. In all of his travels spent exploring both land and sea, Eric had never come across somebody who captivated him as much as she. A breathing enigma; a mystery.. one that Eric only wished to know more about if only she let him. Unfortunately though, it didn’t take much at all to make Ariel shy away. Most of his questions went unanswered, her quick to excuse herself or change the topic completely. She wasn’t being rude, Eric knew that. If anything, she was just timid. A fish out of water. And he knew better than to push. The last thing he wanted was to spook her away and run the risk of never seeing her again. Still, what little he did know about her.. it wasn’t almost enough to quell his everlasting curiosity. Especially now, the two of them perched upon the wooden deck of one his many favourite harbours, nothing but the stars and gentle breeze from the sea to keep them company.

Although the view was breathtaking with moonlight illuminating each ripple the tide made, it was nothing Eric hadn’t seen before. Instead, his gaze remained solely fixated on her, porcelain blues staring pensively as though trying to gauge what was going on in that head of hers.

“..There’s still so much I’ve yet to learn about you.” His gentle voice finally broke the silence that had settled between them, one that was free of awkwardness, filled with blissful tranquility. “I mean.. I know your name. If that’s even your real name.” A teasing but gentle smile appeared on his face, one that settled easy on his lips. “I don’t even know what your favourite colour is, or.. how you like your eggs in the morning.”Did she even like eggs? To Eric, it was the little things he loved to discover about a person. If she spared him only the finest detail about her today? He’d be a happy man. “Is there anything more you wish to learn about me?” Maybe if he opened up first, she’d follow suit.

Wishful thinking on his end perhaps, but it was worth a try.

"don't touch me." she hates how she stumbles. odette throws out both hands in front of her to break her fall. she scrambles up from the shallow ends of the lake and pushes herself up into a standing position — wobbly legs and all. she reaches for the cloak she haphazardly left the night before to wrap around her. god it was always so humiliating on the rare occasion someone caught her mid turn. it’s hard to ignore the fact that the stranger helped her reach shore in the first place. she probably would’ve drowned if the other didn’t help her. odette wraps the cloak tighter around herself and shivers. she doesn’t recognize the other: a girl with red hair that glows softly in the moonlight with warm, friendly brown eyes. but she doesn’t trust anyone, let alone strangers. especially those who are at her lake ( it’s not let lake, she’s just been staying there. the other woman is the first human she’s seen in a month ). odette wields her words like a weapon and her expressions like a shield. her jaw sets. “who are you anyways? do you just happen to take casual midnight swims?”