#rusted-shut

The grotto is more crowded than before, though Aurora doesn’t seem to mind. It must be the cocktails she thinks as she finishes another glass. Stacking it with the others as she takes a drink right out of a small splicer’s hands. Aurora only gives the splicer one dirty look before they attempt anything and just stumble away.

Isaiah had kept his promise and brought more drinks. But he also brought more company which was unnecessary, not needed and definitely not wanted. As the party goes on she lets herself unwind a little, chatting with a fellow one eyed splicer, as they raced to finish their (multiple) drinks.

He was accompanied by a tall splicer -even taller than Aurora- standing around, glaring at everyone. Even scaring some of them off. Aurora liked that.

Aurora didn’t know much about Ferdinand, but that wasn’t what either of them were here for. She bends down to place a kiss on Ferdinand’s cheek. She glances at Ferdinand’s companion when she’s done, he doesn’t seem any angrier than usual. She blows him a kiss, blood covering her lips.

Now, though, now he had no other choice. Monsters ran with monsters in Rapture, and the ADAM that sparked off his skin served as a constant reminder that he was no longer what he considered to be Pure. 

"Hey, Splice," he murmured, squeezing in next to the splicer and ignoring the man's grunt of irritation. "Nice place, as always." 

The hole in the wall that served as Ferdinand's home was uncomfortable at best, and Andrew had had to spend a few days carving away at the outer parts so that he could squeeze his shoulders through. Still, it wasn't too bad a place. 

"I don't know why you come here, you know," Ferdinand huffed out, wriggling around until he was more comfortably arranged, one elbow stuck into Andrew's side. 

"To piss off Faolan, why else? For your great company?" Andrew sniped, lips drawn back in a sneer. 

Why he'd decided to buddy up with Ferdinand was as much a mystery to himself as it was to the splicer, but it was easier to ignore the details now.

Ferdinand sighed, one hand pressed against his face. 

Andrew shifted his gaze to the side, shrugging his shoulders. He caught the hand that was pressed against Ferdinand's face, brought it to his mouth and kissed the knuckles of his hand. 

The water was high now, much too high for them to wade much longer. The distance between their heads and the ceiling was only inches apart, and their gasping mouths could barely breathe in without a mouthful of water. She shouldn’t be here; she was supposed to get out of the room before she flooded it, but things weren’t that simple. By coincidence a splicer was stuck with her, struggling against the rising water. Fortunately for him, he was much taller than Annie, so as the water nearly reached the maximum volume of the room, he got a better and much bigger breath of air than Annie.

Annie went under first, her lungs nearly drained. She felt her body spasm for oxygen, the pressure filling her head. She opened her mouth, letting out the small bubble of air she had left; she was going to drown. Then she saw him, the one-eyed splicer with his cheeks full of air.