Hello Darkness, My Old Friend (Mordred)

[Aiden Mumble]

There was a pool of water that had gathered just outside the city and on the edge of the woods. It was plenty far enough away that people wouldn't be wandering too often near it. Even if they did, it wasn't likely that they would think to look in the pond and find a mermaid in there. Yet, there most certainly was. The pool was just deep enough that you could wade into the center and have the water reach your waist. Aiden would have preferred something deeper, but she had been running for a while and was desperate for somewhere to hide. People had filmed it. It was only a matter of time before the whole school was on top of her about it. Her phone lay somewhere near the bank, out of sight, but not out of mind. Despite being underwater, she thought she could hear it buzzing every so often and her heart jerked painfully.

Don't think about it, She insisted. She needed to stop thinking about everything or she was going to lose it again. She lay on the muddy bottom, her long hair sprawled around her face. Her dark shirt billowed about her small frame. There was a silvery-gray tail where her legs used to be and it glinted in the light of the fading afternoon. People were probably getting worried about her by now. Or they were trying to hunt her down for hurting Lorelei. Both options sounded horrific. It was better just to stay in this tiny sanctuary and never come out. Every now and again she blew bubbles toward the surface in an attempt to distract herself from the racing thoughts. She tried to bury herself in a pile of lies.

Nothing had happened. She was fine. No one saw it. Nothing happened. She was fine...

[Mordred Le Fey]

He'd received Lorelei's texts within seconds of the videos appearing online. He'd watched a couple of them before responding to the text, eyes wide and cursing. This was not good - but hey, at least Aiden hadn't stabbed the kid, so she was still one up on Mordred. He fired a reply to Lorelei, telling her to see to her face and leave Aiden to him, and had immediately left the house, barely stopping to grab a jacket, firing a text off to her and calling her, knowing she wasn't going to answer.

This was bad. He'd felt something was off with Aiden, had known that she was barely holding it together, but she'd been retreating from him, and he'd still been dealing with the aftermath of his own shit. Not, he thought to himself, that that was any excuse. He felt responsible - he should have been there for her, he shouldn't have let her get to this point. He'd failed on that front, but he was going to be there now, he was going to help her. He cared about her too much, and he'd recognised himself in that video, when he was in front of Lorelei.

What was it about that kid that brought this side of people out? He hoped she was ok - but since she wasn't bleeding to death this time he figured he wouldn't face the Summer wrath if he put Aiden first. She needed him more than Lorelei did - and Lorelei had 100 siblings she could turn to if she needed them. Aiden had him.

She'd definitely drawn the short straw.

She hadn't replied or answered her phone to any of his fifteen phone calls, but Mordred, having a feeling something was coming and he might need to find her in a hurry, had turned on tracking permissions on her phone without her knowing. Looking at the map he frowned - she seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, and he wondered if she'd tossed her phone in anger. He really hoped not.

Reaching the edge of the woods, he looked around, confused. He couldn't see her, but his phone was telling him she was right here. He walked around, calling her name and checking the map, stopping when his map said he was right on top of her. "Aiden! Aiden?"

He looked down, and saw her phone on the floor. Panic immediately struck him, and he picked up, looking around frantically. "Aiden?!"

Shit... where is she...

[Aiden Mumble]

Aiden felt a thrill of shock when she heard Mordred's voice. It was muffled an distant, but it was definitely there. Was it coming from the phone despite her not answering it? Was that some kind of magic thing he could do? He couldn't have found her, this was a random pool in the middle of nowhere how could he have possibly found her unless...fuck. That sneaky little shit. Aiden had turn on tracking permissions on his phone when he had melted down of course he had done the same to her. Only, Aiden had thought that she'd been holding it together better than she must have appeared. Sure she'd been bringing a lot of people home and drinking, but that wasn't outside of normal. Had he found the letters? Had her father said something? Aiden began to panic. She didn't want to deal with this. The whole point of coming out here was to avoid all of this. If it was the best case scenario and it was her phone that was talking, she'd just have to destroy it. If it was Mordred in person...well hopefully it wasn't Mordred in person.

Aiden only let her eyes breach the surface, but quickly realized it wasn't her phone at all, but that Mordred had tracked and located her after all. Aiden narrowed her eyes at him dangerously. He seemed frantic, but she didn't care. She wanted him to leave. He was a reminder of the outside world she was trying to abandon.

"Go away Mordred" She said and, though her mouth remained under water her words were clear and strangely musical upon breaking the surface. It was a mermaid thing. Having said her lot, she vanished back into pond and floated near the bottom. With any luck he'd catch the hint and return home.

[Mordred Le Fey]

He heard her voice and looked around, confused and getting more worried by the minute. Her voice sounded odd, and he couldn't work out where it had come from - she wasn't anywhere to be seen. He looked down at her phone in his hand, and noticed the pool for the first time. Frowning, he stepped forwards, to the edge of the pool, and looked in, his eyes widening.

What. The fuck.

She was in the pool - which was weird enough in itself in the first glance. He had a horrible feeling that she was trying to do something crazy and hurt herself in there, but as he took the scene in more he realised that definitely was not what was going on. He stared, mouth open, completely lost for words. So Lorelei had been on to something after all... Mordred tried to tell himself that now wasn't the time.

"Erm... Aiden? Aiden... look, I'm not going anywhere, so you might as well come out and talk to me." He raised an eyebrow, dropping to the ground and sitting on the edge of the pool. "And there's the small matter of the fact that you have a fricken tail..." He wondered if winding her up was a good move, but if he knew Aiden at all he knew that she wouldn't be able to stay quiet if he pissed her off enough.

[Aiden Mumble]

Aiden stared at him with her shockingly blue eyes, her gaze intense and irritated, as he looked down into the pool and spoke to her. His voice was muffled and distant, but she could understand him. She glared at him, hoping that would be enough of a warning to leave her be, but of course he took a seat. Aiden blew out a trail of bubbles in annoyance when he acknowledged her tail like it was some big surprise. She kicked her tail and turned away from him, stirring up dust in the pond and obscuring her for a few moments until it settled again. She wrapped her arms around herself defensively. It wasn't weird that she had a tail, what was weird was that he thought he could convince her to come out of this pool under any circumstances. This was her home now, everywhere else was too terrible to bear.

Aiden knew she was being ridiculous. She knew that she would starve if she stayed in the pool forever, but what could a day or two hurt? Just until some other video drew people's attention away from her. She may miss a few tests, but who even cared about that anymore. She already was going to miss her midterm dance recital and have to explain to her parents that she'd couldn't be a dance major anymore. Her parents. Aiden huffed again. What did she care what they thought anymore? They couldn't even be bothered to tell her that they were going to have another member of the family. They were going to try to raise another child after what they put her through and she was inevitably going to have to take care of it since they wouldn't. For five months they had forgotten to tell her. Had they even been thinking about her at all since she left home?

Don't cry. Everything's fine. They're not having another baby. Nothing happened. No one saw the fight. She was fine...

[Mordred Le Fey]

He saw the glare. He noted the glare. He ignored the glare. A part of him wanted to laugh as he saw the trail of bubbles reach the surface and break, but he swallowed the impulse - something new and different for him that really wasn't easy. Sighing as she moved and swept up dust, he shifted a little, making himself more comfortable. He figured he might be here for a while.

He sat silently for a few minutes, picking at a few strands of grass next to him. He wasn't sure how to handle this - at least when he'd lost it he hadn't been able to turn into some kind of creature and head where Aiden couldn't follow. This complicated things a little bit. He sighed, putting the two phones on the ground and crossing his legs, looking down into the pond.

"So... that latest fanfic was something, huh?" He said conversationally. "Lots of drama." He watched her carefully. "So what exactly was it in that story that made you completely lose your mind?"

[Aiden Mumble]

Aiden kept her body turned away from him as the minutes stretched on. How long were they going to do this? Why did he even care? Did he feel obligated for some reason? Sure Aiden had stopped him from ending his life, but she did a pretty shitty job of taking care of him after the fact. Someone else had coaxed him back on his feet while she kept closer and closer to a total meltdown. Not that she'd reached that point yet. No, no, this wasn't a melt down, she just needed to cool down. This wasn't like the duel, she'd just punched Lorelei. It wasn't that bad, right? this wasn't the same. She was fine and everyone was going to move on from this and everything could go back to normal in a few days. She was not breaking today, not after a lifetime of keeping it together. Or, at least, keeping it mostly together. She could come back from this. It wasn't like everyone knew she was damaged now or anything. All those phones... no no. It was going to be fine.

Finally Mordred broke the silence and Aiden rolled her eyes out of sight when he brought up the fan fiction. She could do without ever hearing someone mention it again for the rest of her life. What a stupid thing to punch someone over. Apparently Mordred thought so too.

"I didn't-" Aiden spun around to retort the fact that she had lost her mind, but stopped short to recalculate. Yelling at someone that you didn't lose your mind sort of proved that you did. Aiden clenched her teeth. "Mordred, what are you doing here?" She shot at him with her oddly mystical voice. It threw off the whole angry vibe she was going for, but when had being mermaid really helped her except to hide at the bottom of bodies of water. Even that wasn't working out this time.

[Mordred Le Fey]

He raised an eyebrow, unable to stop himself from smirking a little as she reacted to his question. He knew she wouldn't be able to stay quiet - Aiden didn't let things slide, and Mordred knew how to push people's buttons better than anyone. He didn't want to wind her up, he didn't want to make her any angrier than she already was, but he needed her to engage. If he had to piss her off to get the ball rolling on that, then so be it. He was more than capable of dealing with the aftermath of that.

"Gods your voice sounds weird like that." He muttered, picking at a few more strands of grass. It was odd, musical and not what he was used to - although that could be said for this entire situation. Sure, he was used to magic and mythical creatures, but sitting talking to your roommate in mermaid form wasn't exactly something he'd been expecting to do today. Talking his roommate down from a total meltdown, sure, but in mermaid form? Not so much.

"What do you think I'm doing here?" He asked, rolling his eyes, but his voice was gentle. "Come on babe. Talk to me. What's going on?" He sighed, watching her in the water. "I'm worried about you. Although I have to say, that was a damn good punch."

[Aiden Mumble]

He commented on her voice and she went right back to sulking with her arms folded and eyes turned away. He was right, it did sound weird, she hated it and it made her want to continue the conversation even less. She was as stubborn as they come and he was either going to have to say something truly awful or come in and pull her out himself if he wanted her to leave the safety of this pool. She was content to stay there for a good long time and she was pretty convinced there was nothing he could do to change that. He might as well give up now or resign himself to making the edge of the water his knew home.

Babe. The nickname made her bristle despite the fact that they had call each other such pet names in the past. She didn't want to be called "babe" by anyone currently. That was part of the whole meltdown. She knew her relationship with Mordred wasn't a boyfriend-girlfriend type of deal, but even he didn't get to call her "babe" today. Still she said nothing, but ground her teeth a few times in irritation.

She sigh once he finished speaking, his words forcing a sort of resignation out of her. Of course he was worried. She'd been in his shoes. She couldn't deny the fact that he was allowed to be worried, but he shouldn't be. "Don't worry about me, Mordred" She said, but her voice lacked the fire it had contained before. "I'll be fine" She said with a tired expression. She would be fine. She just needed some time is all. This wasn't a breaking point, it was just a set back. Her shell was still there it just needed some repairing is all.

[Mordred Le Fey]

He was starting to get irritated - this would be a hell of a lot easier if she wasn't a mermaid, and skulking at the bottom of a pool. He sighed, thinking about how best to approach this. He needed her out of that pool, he needed to get her home where she could deal with her shit and he could be there for her, he could help her the way she'd helped him.

"Look, don't make me come in there after you. It's fucking freezing out here, and these jeans will take forever to dry." He needed to get her out of that water, he needed her to have legs. He wished he'd brought some booze - he might have been able to coax her out with the promise of alcohol. He figured it was worth a try anyway. "Come on, let's go home and get a drink. You could probably do with one after today, huh?"

He racked his brains, trying to remember the story he'd read briefly that morning, trying to work out what would get her out. He could be supportive later, he could help her deal later, right now he figured that anger was the only thing that was going to get her moving. If he made her mad enough then maybe she'd come for him, she might want to fight him - and that he could deal with.

"So, what are friendship sticks? They sound fucking weird..."

Come on, out you come...

[Aiden Mumble]

"If you come in here I'll drown you" Aiden said flatly, turning away from him again. Being underwater was probably the only time she could actually take someone in a fight. It helped that she could breath underwater while many of her enemies could not. Today her enemies included Mordred if he thought he could wrestle her out of the water. Couldn't he just give up? She wasn't worth fighting for anyhow. He mentioned the cold and once again Aiden was grateful for her genes. Her mother lived deep in the ocean where it was often very cold. She could handle cold water pretty well. However, she wasn't her mother and she wasn't raised in Atlantica. She had far less of a tolerance. She would get cold eventually. Still, she could last longer than Mordred.

The idea of getting a drink got her attention. She wanted to have ten thousand drinks. She should have thought to grab something along the way. However, Aiden wasn't stupid and it wasn't going to be that easy. Staying hidden was more important than drinking at the moment. That was a pretty big deal. That's how badly she wanted to avoid the backlash from her actions. She'd stay sober for an eternity if it meant she'd never have to hear a single person mention the fight or Lorelei's fan fiction again.

Oh. And of course Mordred decided to mention the fan fiction just then. Aiden huffed out another wave of bubbles and tensed instantly. Why the hell was everyone bringing up friendship sticks? Those were a secret between herself and her parents whom she utterly hated at the moment. Friendship sticks reminder her of how hard she tried to gloss ever odd thing in her childhood over. Friendship sticks could heal every ill of her childhood. Her parents left her someone on accident? They could have friendship sticks when she got home and everything would be better. Forgot parent-teacher conferences? Friendship sticks. Lost Aiden's favorite stuffed animal on vacation? Friendship sticks. They worked for so long, but Aiden was grown now and she used alcohol instead. Neither, it seemed, would be enough to fix the trench she'd dug between herself and her parents over their horrific forgetfulness this time.

"You're fucking weird!" Aiden shot back, swiveling her tail and approaching the surface. "Friendship sticks are no ones goddamn business."

[Mordred Le Fey]

"I'd like to see you try." He scoffed a little at her, unable to stop himself from laughing slightly. "Come out here and say that to me." He was getting frustrated, by was trying everything he could to stay calm - she didn't need him getting annoyed and angry as well, he knew that would end one of two ways; either they'd end up physically fighting each other and causing some real damage, or they'd start that way and end up having aggressive sex. Neither option would solve any issues either of them had, it would most certainly make matters worse, and no matter how appealing the thought of rough sex with Aiden was, he had been trying really, really hard to be a good guy for Meredith recently.

So he really needed to stay calm. Which was very difficult for him, and not something he was remotely used to. And she was really pushing his buttons right now. He took a deep breath and glanced at her phone, wondering if threatening to call her parents might encourage her out of the water.

As she moved towards the surface at the mention of friendship sticks, he shifted slightly. "Really, that's the best you've got? I'm fucking weird am I? Fair enough..." As she got closer, he reached down and grabbed her under the arms, hauling her out of the water and onto the grass. Standing over her, he raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "Enough of this. Talk to me. Or I'll pay Todd never to serve you a drink anywhere in this town again."

[Aiden Mumble]

Aiden's hair swirled around her as she glared out at Mordred, making her look more like some kind of sea monster rather than a pretty little mermaid. She felt more like a sea monster. A giant mass of rage and fear with ten thousand defensive abilities, ready to be set off by the slightest touch. She was safe in the water. Unless her mother randomly showed up, Aiden didn't know of any other mermaids or water creatures hanging around the school. She was safe so long as she didn't breach the water's edge. She had created a bubble for herself which would have served its purpose well if Mordred hadn't seen to physically remove her.

Aiden shrieked in shock and anger as he literally fished her out of the pond. She swung her tail around wildly, trying to use the power and weight of it to off set his balance and send them both tumbling. "Mordred!" she shouted vengefully, not able to think of a proper insult in the mitts of being pulled out of the water. He let go and she thought the run, but couldn't for several reasons. Firstly, her tail took a few seconds longer to change back than she would have liked. If she didn't sprint imminently and catch him off guard he would definitely catch her. He would probably catch her even if she didn't get a head start and, finally, It felt a bit childish despite everything.

"Go ahead!" Aiden sputtered, soaked and annoyed. "Todd likes me better now anyway." Her tail began to melt away as she spoke, scales dissolving into skin until her legs at last separated. Thankfully her shirt was long enough to cover the important things. The pants she was wearing didn't survive the transformation. "I don't want to talk to you, Mordred, did I not make that clear?" She seethed, pulling some hair away from her face and struggling to her feet. She wrapped her arms around herself defensively. She felt...exhausted. The fire was dimly burning inside her, but she didn't want to fight Mordred. She wasn't mad at him, not really. She just wanted to go to bed.

"Let's...just go home..." She said feebly, staring at the ground. She felt like she was some kid, lost and tired. She just wanted to nap and drink and repeat.

[Mordred Le Fey]

He couldn't help but stare as her tail began to slowly disappear and turn back into legs. It was just weird - he'd seen a lot of weird stuff in the past but this was something else. He finally shook himself out of his staring match with what was now her legs - even if he had taken the time to notice that they were really nice legs - and brought his attention back up to her face. "Bullshit." He said with a raised eyebrow. "On both counts. Number one, Todd loves me and nothing could ever overtake the love he has for me. And number two - you do want to talk to me. Or at least, you need to."

His expression softened as he looked at her standing in front of him, wet, probably cold, definitely looking like her world was coming to an end. He pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders, pulling her into his side as he did so, and guiding her away from the pool. He walked with his arm around her, partly to stop her attempting to bolt, but mostly to give her some comfort, to try and show her that she was not alone and he was here for her. He wasn't going anywhere.

[Aiden Mumble]

Aiden ignored his words. She didn't want to talk to anybody, nor did she need to. She just needed to let this all pass. The video would become less popular, she'd feel better about this tomorrow. Or, more likely, she'd be able to control feeling terrible about it better tomorrow. She just needed some time to lock it away with the rest of the things slowly devouring her heart and then she could go on living like before. She would survive, at the very least, which was better than falling apart. She was strong. She didn't need any help. Yet, she didn't push Mordred away when he draped his jacket around her and she didn't shrug him off when he put his arm around her. She didn't need help, but she was freezing now that she was out of the water. She didn't need help, but her legs were rather shaky from the transformation. She didn't need help, but it would be far more effort to avoid it in this moment then to just let it happen.

Aiden sigh heavily. She couldn't escape now even if she wanted to. She felt the pressure of his arm around him and something welled in her chest. She felt her throat tighten, but swallowed hard. She was not going to cry. If she started, she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to stop. She focused on breathing and picking places to step with her bare feet. Where were her shoes? Long gone somewhere between the tea shop and the pond. There they would remain, forgotten and with them, Aiden hoped, the memory she was running from.