Post wave. Post vacation. Post... long period and unknown gap in space time, Laetus emerges from a portal into his home, his drake companion on his shoulder. He takes a look around, taking in the sight and scent of a home he has been away from since the wave first showed up. It seemed everything was intact, though he expected as much.With a smile, he turns to his portal and offers a hand. "Everything looks good. No leaks or water monsters." He said through the hole in space.@FoxalypticWorld
"Water monsters?" Maddie asked as she took his hand and appeared in his room next. Bandit came in after her. He was still a little beaten up, but not bad enough to be crippled by it. "Were you expecting a water monster, LaeLae?"
Looking around, Maddie grinned at returning home. "I should probably call my sister to let her know we got back safely. She was worried."
Maddie hadn't told Laetus about her first phone call with Sariah, yet. She didn't know what to say about it. [/paarsehtml]
"Well, I hoped not... I'll tell you about it later." He told her with a nervous laugh. He hadn't explained everything that happened quite yet. Part of him still felt guilty for letting that thing escape. It wasn't like he was hiding anything, but that he just hadn't told her. "Make your call, I'm gonna make sure everything's ok." Laetus headed toward the direction of his room, giving the entire place a once over. He took some extra time in the bathroom, letting out a sigh of relief once he felt it was all clear. He had already burned that towel... He feels like an idiot.
Maddie nodded as she dialed the number on her phone and went to the kitchen, turning her back to the rest of the apartment. She had a hushed, short conversation with Sariah before ending the call and looking around for Laetus.
"So what happened, Kiwi? You took awhile to come back for me. I thought I was gonna be stuck in Paris forever." She smiled tightly at Lae.
Laetus floated back to the livingroom and sat on the back of his couch, legs hanging behind it. "Yeah, it um... got hectic. I told you there were some... well, horrible people running around. I... Tried to help. After seeing you were right, I couldn't just ignore what was happening..." He let out a sigh. He seemed oddly serious and tense talking about this. His usual smile seemed weak, and what was there seemed fake.
"Oh," Maddie said as she ran her hand gently over Bandit's head. He sat with a huff by her feet and leaned on her leg. "What happened, Laetus? You seem so...down. Was it really that bad?"
"I... Failed, Cherry-chan. I couldn't stop this... water... thing. One of the killers was a like... renegade water golem or something to that effect. I tried to stop it, make it so it couldn't hurt anyone anymore but... It took advantage of my portals and escaped..." Even his fake smile fell. "I let the thing get away. It was my fault, and if anyone else got hurt..."
"It must have been bad," Maddie said. "Don't worry about it, Kiwi. All that matters is that you tried. You can't wonder about what could have been." Maddie smiled softly at her boyfriend, but it was a struggle. She was thinking about all those people, too.
Maddie had expected death, though, unlike Laetus. Tsunami's, even on magical islands, killed people. That's why they were called disasters.
"It was stupid of me though." He said, letting himself flop back in defeat. "I didn't think at all. I was trying to contain the thing, but like the idiot I am I thought 'hey, I should portal in a towel to fight the water monster.' No wonder it escaped me!" He was really frustrated with himself, made clearer by the groan at the end of his self loathing rant.
Maddie walked over to Laetus and flopped down beside him. She cuddled up to him, quiet for a time. She breathed slowly. "Kiwi, that wasn't a bad idea. Things just happen sometimes." She kissed his cheek. "Don't beat yourself up. Please. I'm proud of you."