i come from the water Who: Gabe and Persephone Where: the lake When: afternoon
Most of the time Gabe hated what he'd become, but that was taking only the negative into mind. He had a tendency to forget that he could change at will and that the more he did it the less painful it would be. With nothing to do this particular afternoon, he decided to go for a run, but this time in wolf form. There was a bit of a hang-up, as he shifted in his room, then realize he couldn't open the door, but once he figured out how to handle the obstacles in his way he was off, running out into the countryside, seeing Scarlet Oak through different eyes. Every other time he'd done this, he'd had a purpose or been in a panic. This time he could just enjoy it, the wind in his hair, running faster than he ever could as a human.
When he finally slowed down, it was only to drink from the lake, never thinking of how he wouldn't have done so as a human. Seconds later, he jumped in, letting the cool water wash over him. It felt wonderful, though he quickly found that he was a much better swimmer in his human form. With a quick look around, he shifted back, then began to relax in the lake. It was so nice out here, with the sun beating down on him and the calm water surrounding him. He could do this all day.
Persephone really preferred her little pool by the waterfall to the river and lake, mostly because there were fewer people there and she could be in her natural form without worrying about anyone seeing and forcing her to change back. Luckily that girl the other day, Chance, had just thought she was a mermaid and not pressed it too much. Definitely not a mermaid, Persephone thought as she drifted along on the bottom of Redleaf lake, looking for some mussels or something to have for lunch. Had she decided to stay in her waterfall then by this time Alejandro probably would have come by suggesting something else but no, that was not what she needed today, he could go play with one of his human women and just leave her alone. Flipping over onto her back she squinted up at the surface just as something went swimming by. Was that a wolf? Okay, it was a wolf at first but now it was definitely a guy. Huh.
Pushing herself nearer to the shore, Persephone surfaced with a sound and, with a silent sigh, shifted into her human form. Because being seen with turquoise hair and gills was not high on her to-do list - and she recognized the swimmer now that she could see him from above the water. Gabe Winters, captain of the hockey team at school and boyfriend of the girl who had been killed so shortly ago, Claire. He's a were wolf? But that mean... oh... oh that's terrible! He definitely needed someone to talk to then. Still hanging by the shore, Persephone raised one hand out of the water and waved. "Hey! See that you thought a swim would be a really good idea too." The fact that he was clearly naked and that she was was not even a blip on her radar because really, only humans worried about that sort of thing.
Gabe wasn't used to people popping up out of nowhere, but that was exactly how this felt. Had he really been so distracted that he didn't hear her heartbeat nearby? Granted, she wasn't that close, and it was only feint at the moment, but he still felt like he should have noticed her before she spoke. Instead, the surprise showed clearly on his face, his own heart racing as he tried to think of a good explanation for his lack of clothes. Maybe she wasn't close enough to notice. Gabe wasn't body shy by any means, but he also didn't strut his stuff around girls he barely knew. "Hey, Persephone," he smiled, waving back. "How's it going?" He knew her name, and they'd talked a few times, but that was about it. Why she was out in the middle of nowhere, swimming in a lake was just as much a mystery, but who was he to ask questions.
Oh look at that, he remembered her name! Persephone knew it was pretty unique and so people she talked to tended to, but Gabe was one of those guys who always seemed to have a lot of other people around so she would not have been surprised if he forgot. How nice of him to remember. "Pretty good, just decided that a swim would be nice." Informing him that she had been looking for her next meal down at the bottom of the lake was probably not a good idea. Humans did not do that sort of thing, which she had picked up on quickly. There were quite a few things that she had yet to manage to wrap her mind around but she liked to think that she had all of the basics down. Enough so that she did not come off as unknowing as she used to. "Have you been doing okay?" That was an acceptable question, right, she could ask that? Death really was that thing ondines were terribly unfamiliar with since they only did it if they got married and had a kid.
While he knew she meant well, Gabe hated that question, mostly because there was no good answer for it. The answer was no, but he couldn't admit it, not that easily and not to someone he wasn't close to. But to say yes implied that he was over the whole thing, which sounded more like a lie than anything else. His smile faltered and he sunk a little deeper in the water, feeling protected by it for more than just coverage of his body. "Kind of," he said, going with the vague in between. "Depends on the day." As much as he wanted to move on and put it all behind him, it wasn't that easy. The distractions Gabe came up with the take his mind off things were usually the last things he needed to be doing. "Everything feels kind of... false. Fake. Nightmarish, except I don't wake up." He shrugged, as if it was nothing. "School starting might help, but we still have a while." Starting college was supposed to be exciting, but he had yet to work up the enthusiasm it deserved.
Huh. Persephone did not quite understand that look since it was not one she had often seen, but the nearest she could figure painted it as something unhappy. False, fake and nightmarish did not really help either. Wolves mate for life, right? You saw him as a wolf and that means he's one and if this is that bad then maybe they were mated and that's like being married so it must have been really hard to lose. That sort of made sense. Persephone was still a little unclear on all the details of that sort of thing since her studies leaned more towards intellectual matters, but she thought she might be close. Even if he was shrugging. Now that was something she got - human's tendency to hide their stronger emotions so other people did not see. "I'm sorry," Persephone offered, "but you're right, school starting is always fun. And you're going to college now so that should be a really big change. Are you going to play hockey there too?" Because other than his name and connection to Claire that was really all she knew about him.
"I don't know," he said. "I've thought about it, maybe just trying out for the team, but I don't know what I want to do." His life had been going full speed in one direction, only to suddenly turn and take another course. He'd seen himself with Claire for the rest of his life, and now he was back at being a teenager and alone. Gabe had taken mating for life seriously, but he'd never considered something like this happening. "I think I'll feel it out once I get there. See how classes are, if I can manage something like that. They always say college is harder, but I don't know that I believe them," he smiled. "You've got one more year left, right?" He was pretty sure she was just a year behind him, but he could have been wrong. She stuck out because she had such a unique name, and because Gabe was good at remembering things like that, but he couldn't recall what she was involved with or how far behind him she was. At least he knew her name.
Hockey was a fun sport to watch if only because people were skating around on frozen pieces of water. Persephone liked playing on ice, even if it was not anywhere near as nice as water itself, though she highly doubted that she would ever be able to do it herself. If only because she was small and fragile and hockey seemed to be excessively violent. If all they did was shoot pucks at the net then that would be nice, but no, there had to be the hitting and tripping and blood... she tried not to shudder, but she did. "If you do, then I'll watch for you! Because I heard hockey is really big there." Right? And it was close enough that she could get away with seeing the college for herself before Alejandro caught her. "Yeah, I've got a year left and then I'm hoping to go to college. My mom's not so sure about it, but I'm talking her into it." In other words, she was going to do it and tell Ripple when she had already left. "Hopefully, you'll be able to adjust really well and enjoy yourself." Forget about the bad things that had happened; Persephone always wanted people to forget the bad things.
"Yeah, hockey's big," Gabe smiled, daring to swim a little closer. It was really only the lower half of his body that he had to keep concealed, so he figured he was fine so long as she couldn't see through the water. "I'd like to be part of something, even if it's not hockey. But I'll let you know if I go with it. I could use someone out there cheering for me." He'd been the hot shot on the high school team, but it was back to being the baby once he was in college. That was the only thing he wasn't looking forward to, but the payoff would be worth it. "You've got time then. She probably just doesn't want you going far from home." University of Michigan was close enough to ease those worries, at least for his mom, and now she wanted to keep him close just to make sure he was okay. "I hope so," he said. "I... it's different than I imagined it would be, but that doesn't mean it has to be bad." He'd sucked it up and moved on once before. Now he just had to remember how and do it again.
"I am excellent at cheering," Persephone grinned. She had not really had any interest in the cheerleading team at school because that took time away from learning and that was the whole reason she went, but she did the whole 'go team!' thing pretty well. Something about having an innately cheery nature or something along those lines, to be sure. Was he talking about the whole moving thing? Persephone had never actually moved her living location since she had always been in the river, but people thought she had moved. Because otherwise they would have questioned why a new teenager had suddenly arrived out of nowhere. Because I'm an ondine had not seemed like a good revelation at the time. "Nah, it should be cool, I've heard all sorts of good things about college. All the classes and people and free time..." Away from a pod, and the same old waterfall without Alejandro always there to throw a bucket of water on me. "I think it'd be fun to go somewhere far away. Maybe on the ocean." Even if she would never go in the ocean. Far too many dangerous things and currents. Nothing like the safety of the rivers and lakes inland. "But if the school here's good, that could be nice." University really needed to just be determined by where you lived like high school.
The more Gabe thought about it, the more he thought that college could be good for him. Just as he'd come to Scarlet Oak after Cynthia's death, the new faces wouldn't know what he'd gone through. School would take up his time and maybe keep his mind off the more somber things. It was something to hope for, at least. "I'd like to at least visit the ocean, even if I'm not going to school there. It'd be fun to road trip or something, if it wasn't so far away." They'd have to drive halfway across the country to get to a warm beach and it didn't quite seem worth the effort. "Got any plans for the rest of the summer?" he asked, finally swimming towards the shore. He'd wanted to keep a distance between them, due to his lack of clothes, but he could only tread water for so long before he began to get tired. As he got closer, he began to wonder what she was wearing, since he'd not seen any sign of a swim suit on her either. It wasn't exactly something he could ask about, though he figured he know soon if he got any closer.
Road tripping was one of those things Persephone understood only because people talked about it. The idea of getting into a car and driving for a long time was not understandable to her because she could not do it. What if there was no water at the end of the day? What if she had to submerge herself in a tub instead of a nice, fresh body of water? Just the thought caused her to shiver and sink a little lower into the water, reassuring herself that it was really there. "No, visiting the library a lot I guess," Persephone replied. "Shopping with Alejandro because he thinks I need more clothes... um, not much." She tilted her head a little to one side. "Though something interesting did just happen, I just found out someone I know from school is a werewolf. That's always fun."
"Who's Alejandro?" Gabe asked. A guy telling a girl she needed more clothes was kind of odd in his mind, since most the girls he knew had more clothes than they could ever need. Telling them to go shopping was rarely necessary. Her shopping habits weren't near as interesting as learning she'd recently met a werewolf, and Gabe did his best not to appear nervous about the information. "You did?" he asked, his heart beating hard in his chest. Had she seen him? She didn't seem too freaked out by it if she had. But maybe she was talking about someone else. "That's cool. Anyone I might know?" Since being turned, he'd met a number of different weres and was surprised by how many were in the area.
Oh. "He's kind of like... a friend of the family." Calling him her father was weird and Persephone was not about to make things weird for herself. Even if the kelpie had an infuriating habit of introducing himself as such to anyone that they met on shore. The fact that he was black and she was extremely pale caused more than a few raised eyebrows before she managed to explain that no, he was not. She had no idea who her father was and that was really not all that unusual for an ondine. Spreading her fingers over the top of the water, easy to do because floating in the water was more natural than breathing air, Persephone nodded. "Yeah, and I'm pretty sure you know him better than anyone else since he's you." She blinked up at Gabe, head tilted a little to the side. "I saw you swimming as a wolf." Good enough of an explanation, right?
Oh crap. Gabe sunk beneath the water to hide a mixture of embarrassment and panic, only to see that she was no more clothed that he was. That sent him right back to the surface, fairly certain she'd managed to get a blush out of him, impressive especially in that she wasn't even trying. "Okay, um..." He ran his fingers through his hair, slicking it back as he laughed, because, really, nude girls made him giddy even when he should be focused elsewhere. "I didn't think anyone else was around. It was probably stupid of me, but I was out running, and then I jumped in, but it's easier for me to swim as a human and you have a really nice rack." Yes, his face was red, but he was grinning too, a more genuinely happy emotion than he'd had in weeks.
Now why was he blushing like that? Persephone tilted her head a little to one side as Gabe sort of rambled, blinking down at herself to see if there was anything wrong. Sure she was naked but that was perfectly normal for her. He's a were but he's still like a human with what he thinks. It had not occurred to her that this might be any sort of a problem... wait, she had a nice what? "Pardon me?" Persephone blinked, eyes wide as she tried to remember what 'rack' meant. No, she had nothing to put things on. Then it hit her and she thought about it for a moment. "Yes, I suppose I do. Thanks for noticing." Because Persephone did not understand modesty as it stood and when she was complimented on something she accepted it graciously. "And there's nothing stupid about going running, with all you've been through I think everyone could understand. You were a pretty wolf though."
There were a lot of other things he could have complemented, but those were the sort to get him slapped. Having voiced one, he was praying he could hold back on the rest. That she didn't respond in anger kept his grin in place, even if he was a little curious about how she remained so cool. "You're welcome," he smiled. Thanks for putting it on display. It was so not the thing to say and he knew it. "I don't really tell people what I am, since it just brings up more questions. Though with what happened... it's kind of obvious that I must be a werewolf, since I'm not a vampire." For those that knew he was with Claire the night she was attacked, it was process of elimination. They hadn't released his name on television, thank God, but that didn't mean others wouldn't figure it out. "Thanks," he said. "I can change back, if you'd like."
Persephone remained calm because being naked was really no big thing for her. In fact, until she had taken an interest to life on shore and among humans she had never felt a need to cover up at all. All of her cousins and such went about in nothing and even Alejandro was the same. Seeing someone without clothes on was as unremarkable to her as them seeing her clothed was. "I don't really know what happened past the vague details, but I get keeping it a secret even if I think it's neat." Persephone had a fondness for other supernaturals, especially ones who decided to hide their nature since she was required to do that as well. So did wonder why Gabe just took her being naked so casually and did not think about why she was. Most people tended to pick up on that right away. Well, clearly he had picked up on it but... it made sense to her. "I don't mind you like this, I can't talk to you when you're a wolf. Unless you're uncomfortable?" People could be odd like that.
"Well... when people find out I'm a were, the first big question is if I'm bitten or born. It wouldn't be a big deal if I was born, but being bitten I-- I don't want people to be scared of me," Gabe said. Since the Light of May, people were more aware of the distinction between the two, and everyone remembered it was the bitten weres who became monsters when they lost control. For Gabe, it had only happened twice, both times when his mate was in danger, but the line could be different for everyone. "I'm comfortable if you are," he said. "It's the first time I've skinny dipped with a girl I didn't know, even if that wasn't the intention. Not that it's a bad thing. I'm just... amused." And distracted. Gabe was having a hard time focusing now that he knew she wasn't wearing anything. His mind kept wandering off into the gutter, no matter how hard he tried to keep it out.
Bitten were... oh right, the ones that could not keep control of themselves during the full moon or when they lost their cool. Persephone supposed that it might not be so much fun to be one of those even if you did get to run around as a wolf and have better senses. Not that she had any desire whatsoever to be anything other than exactly what she was. She did not even want to have a soul of her own like the legends said she could if she got married and had a kid. Her mother had never gone and done it so why should she? Ripple seemed completely content. "I don't see the big deal about nudity," Persephone responded honestly. "It's just a body, it's not like you haven't seen one before." Hopefully. He was old enough and he had had a girlfriend so it only made sense that Gabe was not completely new to a naked girl. It was kind of funny though. Persephone had never actually been naked in front of a male who was not Alejandro and so she had never seen the reactions. "You have seen naked girls, right?" She had to make sure.
Gabe responded with a wolfish grin that said more than he than words ever could. "Yeah, I've seen naked girls, just never in a situation where I could look but not touch." He wondered how she could be so comfortable in her skin, as he'd never met anyone with so little modesty. It was somewhat fascinating, considering how very body conscious most teenage girls were, and a little bit dangerous. He liked to think he was good at practicing restraint, at least now that he was a werewolf, but Gabe didn't think he'd be able to handle naked girls running around all the time. Not that Persephone was running around; she was just swimming. "Do you always swim nude?" It seemed like a reasonable question... and reason to come back to think lake, at least until the water got too cold.
Persephone knew that sort of grin. Alejandro got that grin all the time when he was talking about women on land and it made her blood boil in a way that ended with throwing things at the insufferable creature. No one could be as infuriating as a kelpie and of that Persephone had yet to be proven wrong. The ondine tried for a moment to wrap her mind around what Gabe had said before just accepting it. If it's multiple girls then yeah, definitely has to be a bitten. Born wolves don't do that. They were the loyal ones. Had Gabe mentioned the fact that she was comfortable like this, then Persephone would likely have been confused as to why she should be any other way. It was her body; she could flaunt it or hide it as she pleased. No one had ever given her a good reason to hide - unless she was playing at being a human on shore - so she did not think she had to. Nodding at Gabe's question, she reached up to toy with a piece of hair, frowning at the flash of dull color. "It's how I prefer to be," she admitted. "I don't like clothes. That's why I always have to go shopping for more, since I never want them, I never buy enough. Do you always swim this way?"
"Not unless I have to," he answered. "I can't wear clothes in wolf form, so when I shift back this is what I'm left with. It's not that I don't like it, but that most people don't find it social acceptable." Most people meaning all normal humans that he'd ever met. If people had shown up nude to Charlotte's pool party at the beginning of the summer, someone would have freaked. Gabe wouldn't mind all that much if all the girls bought in, but he could do without seeing the guys' junk himself. "Normally I wouldn't ask something like this, but... are you completely human? Because I don't know any human girls who don't like shopping," he said with a goofy little grin. It was more than that, since he didn't know any human girls who didn't like clothes. Like, at all.
Socially acceptable was one of those things that Persephone was still a little fuzzy on. Because the things always seemed to vary depending on the situation and really, they needed to make a guide book for that sort of thing for people like her who had been taught completely different. Lack of clothes was a normal thing for her after all, like clothes were normal for him. Which was why she saw no problem with him being naked and her being the same. Though the question was dangerous. "Maybe," she replied with a bright smile. She was not. But what was she going to do - tell Gabe that she was an ondine? Her mother would pitch such a fit and Alejandro would be no better. The kelpie might have fits just over the fact that his 'ward' had gone and revealed herself to someone. "Maybe not." She glanced down at herself and back up at him, tilting her head curiously. "Why, do you think I look abnormal?"
That kind of an answer was proof enough for Gabe, but that didn't mean he had a clue as to what she was. His knowledge of various supernaturals extended to his circle of friends and what was covered on the news. It was limiting, to say the least. "Looks aren't everything," he said, biting his lip through a grin as he swam closer. It was something he wouldn't have done ten minutes ago, putting her close enough to touch and easy to see through the water. "You look human," he said, head tilting slightly to the side before his eyes dropped. He knew he shouldn't look, but he couldn't help it; she was nice to look at. Too nice, in fact, if he wanted to remain in control of his body. "But then I look human and sometimes I'm not."
Oh, right. A normal looking body did not mean that she was necessarily human. Persephone had known that... Just like she knew that she was blushing because she had gone and said something that probably made it obvious she was no regular human. Or human at all. Even her blood was different from theirs and did not fit into their types, hence why she had never been able to give at the school blood drives. Also because he's staring at you. Not just because he thinks you aren't human either, you've seen guys look at girls like that. "I'm glad I look human." Even if she hated her hair. But she still was not going to tell him what she was since it was far too dangerous. Smiling she decided to change the topic a little, voice teasing in that way she had heard girls at school take on. Because anything was better than letting him try to think about what else she might be. "Do I look good, though?"
If that wasn't an invitation to leer, then Gabe wasn't sure what was. "Hmm," he smirked, slowly circling around behind her, as if trying to make a decision when in reality he wouldn't have been looking in the first place if the answer wasn't a definite 'yes'. "Very good," Gabe whispered over her shoulder, his body close enough that he could feel the heat of her own. As he moved back around in front of her, his fingers trailed in the water, skimming the soft skin of her arm. When he stood before her again, his fingers grazed her waist. "Can't you tell?" His own body was evidence enough, damn teenage hormones getting the best of him. It wasn't like he could do anything about it... well, not too much, at least. That didn't stop him from wanting though.
Truth was that Persephone was very aware of how good she looked, she loved to stretch out in front of a mirror or still pool of water and look at herself just to make sure that nothing had changed. Even if she was convinced that she was prettier in her natural form with her real hair. Gabe seemed to be appreciative of her body though. See, she told herself when the were wolf was back in front of her. Other people can see it too, guys can know I'm pretty. I'm not a kid at all. Alejandro was the only guy she knew who looked at her like she was some sort of hapless child who still needed to grow up the rest of the way. "I know I'm pretty," the ondine finally responded with a smile. His hand was oddly distracting there, the slight warmth coming from his fingers making her body do something strange that was only supposed to happen when she was around Alejandro. Though Gabe was nice to look at too, she had to admit that even if only to herself. "I just like to know that other people don't forget. Not a whole lot of guys see me naked either so..." Her fingers went up and rested against his arm. "Do all weres have muscles like this or is that a hockey thing?"
"Very pretty," he said, laughing softly. Persephone was quite the opposite of what he was used to, as Claire had been so lacking in self confidence that she often questioned his interest in her. Here was a girl that not only knew she looked good, but proclaimed it aloud. It was just one more thing that Gabe thought a little quirky, but at the moment didn't bother him. "Why would we forget? You don't have to be naked for us to tell." Gabe, like most guys, could have imagined what Persephone looked like nude without actually seeing it for himself. Not that he was complaining! He preferred first hand knowledge any day. "I'm gonna say it's a hockey thing, since I've had the muscles longer than I've been a were," he grinned. Having her fingers on him only made the knot in his stomach tighten, his cock a little harder, and his breath a little faster. It also made his fingers more daring, sliding up her rib cage, his thumb brushing along the under side of her breast as his other hand decided to rest upon her hip. "Do you like them?"
Persephone shrugged her shoulders slightly. "If one person doesn't notice it's enough reason to wonder whether or not other people see it too," she pointed out. All it took was one person to unbalance something and no matter what Persephone thought about herself she wanted other people to know she was pretty too. It was just a little thing, her vanity, and occasionally she wondered if maybe it was wrong of her to care but then she got over it and decided that it was okay for her to have this one flaw. Other people appreciated it. She could see that Gabe was appreciating it and her body was humming its approval of his appreciation. So this is what those books talked about. And the other girls. Some of whom had giggled about Gabe and other athletes from school at the lunch table. Funny that she never had and here he was, touching her in ways that Persephone was certain Alejandro would pitch a fit over. Which was probably why she felt a little bit of herself resolve so that she did not slip away and back towards the river. A tiny rush of recklessness because it would bother the kelpie, Gabe had said she was very pretty and it felt nice to be touched in this new way. Nibbling at her bottom lip she nodded, tracing her fingers over the hard muscles of his arm and then over the abs in his stomach. He seemed to like being touched. "Yes, I like how they feel. I bet you could lift practically everything." Or snap me in half.
"Not everything," he said, thinking 'only what matters.' At that moment, that would have been her, with her legs wrapped around his waist and-- It was not going to go there, so he needed to put that out of his mind right that instant. It could always go somewhere else; just not there. "Touch all you want," Gabe said, watching as her teeth nipped at her bottom lip. As her fingers dropped down to his stomach, he brushed his thumb over her nipple, then cupped her breast. He still couldn't believe she was letting him do this, and he still questioned why, but it felt too good to touch her to just stop because of his own doubts and questions. Those would always be there, lingering for one reason or another, and right now the distraction was more important. She was beautiful, uniquely so, and now that he knew how it felt to touch her, he wanted to know how she tasted as well. Leaning in, he finally went for it, lips pressing lightly against hers with just a hint of tongue.
Permission to touch was something that Persephone noted but had not really expected to hear voiced since she had been certain Gabe did not mind at all. Not judging off of his reactions and how her touches seemed to encourage his to go just a little farther. And despite anything else that had been tumbling around in her head - including a vague remark about how this was not what would qualify as good behavior - having Gabe's hands on her felt wonderful and made her heartbeat at least double when his hand covered her breast. Her breath caught somewhere in the back of her throat, her entire body tensing just a little. Flattening her hand against Gabe's stomach she slid it up, reaching his chest just as he kissed her. There were a lot of things that Persephone had not done but she had never really put a lot of thought into some of them - like kissing. Her fingers pressed harder against his chest before releasing the pressure so she could loop her arm around his neck for leverage to help her lean up to kiss him back. Gabe Winters - hockey star and all-around popular guy kissing and touching her. So not what she had expected when she got up that morning.
It really wasn't what Gabe had been thinking about that morning either, but that didn't mean he didn't like it. In fact, this was just the kind of thing he needed at the moment, a hot girl to take his mind off the one he lost. It wasn't like he was professing his love to her or anything, just... enjoying himself. Immensely. Her arm wrapped around his neck and Gabe took that as permission to really kiss her, lips and tongue teasing hers as he gently squeezed her breast. She felt so soft and fragile that he was instinctively careful, as if he could somehow harm her by moving to hard or fast. When his arm slid around her waist, he pulled her body against his own and moaned softly in response. It was more stimulation than he'd allowed himself since Claire's death and he couldn't help but be sensitive to it. He wouldn't think about that now-- nothing would kill his hard on like thinking about his dead girlfriend-- but later it would surprise him that he'd managed to be there at all. It was a good thing, perhaps, that he could forget, even if just for a little while.
First time for everything and this was, in addition to several other things, the first time that Persephone had ever let someone pull her against them like that. Her natural instincts demanded that she fight against it because now she could be broken so much easier but those instincts were trampled by a completely new set of them. New instincts demanded that she mimic what Gabe was doing. Enjoy the feel of his body with all of those muscles pressing against her under the water. And even had she wanted to pull away she doubted she would have been able to. Which - somehow - made her shiver because she sort of liked it. Hearing his moan made her sure that Gabe was enjoying himself too. Good, she thought, toying with the ends of his hair. He needs to enjoy something after having Claire do that. The fact that some people would tell Persephone that this was another one of those things she should probably not do, but since she was unaware that anyone might think it was wrong - other than Alejandro and he deserved to be made upset - she was just going with it. She had always been good at tending to people and animals that had been damaged in any way.
The last time Gabe had tried to reign himself in was before he and Claire had mated, and that had only lasted a couple of weeks at most. Prior to being turned, he'd been far more wild, though few would have guessed how few girls he'd really slept with. Seeing as how he was two for three of them dying on him, that was enough to keep him from jumping too far too fast. It was nice to just kiss Persephone, to feel her body and listen to her heartbeat and wonder what she was thinking. She was so comfortable being nude, but had she not known that he would want this once it was put on display? Gabe realized his mind was running rampant again and he quieted it down, smiling as he nibbled on her bottom lip. "You taste human," he said with a little laugh. "Even if you're not." Maybe she was. Maybe she was just a little odd and didn't realize how she set herself out from the crowd. Kissing her again, Gabe decided it didn't matter either way. Did he even know any normal humans anymore? He couldn't come up with a single one in his group of friends.
Persephone had never worried about reigning herself in because she had never been in a situation even similar to this one before. On top of that, even if she had, then she was pretty sure she would not have had a problem with it either. Unlike Gabe, she did not have to worry about what would happen if she let herself go, which she didn't even know if she was capable of since her knowledge on this topic was based off of stories she heard from her mother, cousins and Alejandro. Her own experience was sorely lacking and a nagging voice in the back of her brain was saying that Gabe could tell and was going to laugh at her no matter how pretty or naked she was. "Do I?" Amusement sparkled in her eyes. Good thing she had not found a mollusk to eat before after all. Breaking the kiss, she leaned down to kiss his neck, tongue darting out, and after a moment she looked back up at him, free hand brushing back a piece of her still-damp hair. "You taste like a human to me too, and I know you're not. Doesn't really matter though, does it? It's not like I'm going to eat you." That was for mermaids and some of her darker cousins. Persephone did not eat people for one and for two, he was making her feel amazing, so there was no way she would let someone think of him as food.
Gabe was almost certain she was inexperienced, but he had no idea how much so or he might have slowed down already. He figured she'd kissed a guy at least, though probably hadn't made out wearing absolutely nothing. He knew he had never been in this exact situation with someone he was just getting to know; how often could such a thing really happen? She might have been inexperienced, but he really couldn't tell based upon her kisses. And if she wanted him to stop any time soon, moving down to his neck really wasn't the way to go about it. Goosebumps rose on his skin as her tongue brushed across his neck, and one hand slid down to squeeze her ass. "I wouldn't mind a little nibbling," he teased. "It's the biting I'd like to avoid." He'd had way too many different creatures try to snack on him lately; Persephone was cute, but he wouldn't let it go that far. Since becoming a werewolf, biting made him significantly more nervous.
Inexperienced was probably an understatement and Persephone would have admitted it without batting an eyelash because it was true. What she knew about anything that happened with guys had been learned from stories told by Alejandro, her mother or one of the other ondine who shared the lake with them. And they were not shy about that sort of thing, which probably lent to why Persephone was not either. "I don't bite," she informed Gabe. It was actually a sort of point of pride for her that she did not bite or otherwise harm people. Sure it was not as common for ondine to engage in such things as it was for, say, merfolk or kelpie, but it still happened and had she wanted then Persephone would have been capable. Except she did not ever want to hurt someone. Help not harm. Far as she could tell what she was doing right then was helping keep Gabe in a good mood instead of letting him feel bad about something. ...and okay, yeah, she was enjoying herself a bit more than she had thought she would. She did decide to nibble a little on his neck in response to where his hand had gone. "So you like that?" Curiosity about what was and was not acceptable was definitely starting to come into play and the ondine was considering taking notes on what she had learned.
"Neither do I," he responded, wondering if she was something like him, something with sharp teeth and a bite that left more than teeth marks behind. Now wasn't the time to ask, as his mind drifted clear away from the question the second she began to nip at his neck. Gabe bit his lip as his eyes rolled back, his hand smoothing over her rear in praise. "Yes," he laughed softly, his voice getting deeper the more he pushed this. It reminded him of the sort of games he played when he was younger, when touching was everything because it was all he got. In an attempt to reign himself in, Gabe took a deep breath. "You've never done this before." It should have been a question, but came out as a statement. There were girls that played naive, but he had a hard time believing this was an act. She was too innocent, and he was afraid if he let this continue he'd spoil something that should mean more to her than curiosity for curiosity's sake.
Now why was his voice changing? Was it because of where her teeth had gone? Frowning a little bit Persephone pulled back and eyed the skin. No, it looked perfectly alright and she could not see anything that should have affected his voice. Though she had to shake herself out of her thoughts when she realized that she had been asked a question. Or what seemed like it should be a question, only it sounded like it was lacking the question mark at the end where it needed to be. "No," she replied honestly. Lying was not something she saw the part of nor took part in. She really did need to write down what she had witnessed though, especially that bit at the end when Gabe's voice had gone deeper because that was starting to bother her. Maybe her mother or Alejandro would know the reasoning behind it. "Mom was saying something about how she's surprised about that." With how Ripple had been in her youth it was surprising to see that her daughter was not that much like her, though enough so to engage in something like this. Which Persephone would argue had half-been done because she wanted to make Gabe feel better. "It was fun though, you're a really good kisser and we should try it again sometime." Which meant not then. It was fun and all but her attention had been drifting little by little and her stomach had growled at her, reminding her about that meal she had not found.
"I won't be the one to corrupt you further, then," Gabe said with a low little chuckle and a soft kiss on the lips. One to remember him by, perhaps, since she thought he was good at it. That was a part of his ego that hadn't been stroked in a while and he found that he enjoyed it just as much as he used to. If he could get through the grieving process, maybe he would enjoy being single again. It seemed a long way off, but this hadn't felt possible the week before and there he was. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'd be up for it again anytime." A free make out session with a hot girl? Yes, please! Her growling stomach made him snicker softly, and he took a step back, his hands drifting away from her. "Miss lunch?" he asked. Wolf ears might be annoying at times, but they let him in on insights he'd never catch otherwise.
Corrupt? Persephone's eyes widened and she reeled through the thoughts she had on corruption, something that had always sounded terribly awful and wicked to her before. She was not being corrupted, thank you very much! Her nose wrinkled a little but she still smiled brightly up at him and nodded, touching her stomach. "I was going to find something to eat before you showed up and I got distracted." She was still sure that she would be able to find some mollusks before it got much later and she had to head back to the rest of her family. Since her mother had insisted that she actually spend the night with them once in awhile. Then a thought struck her. Gabe already thought she was not human and she knew he was not so... maybe it was not as bad. "Tell you what, Gabe, if you can figure out what I am then I'll let you kiss me again. You can even have a few clues if you want." Really, she did not think he would be able to get it no matter what because she had found hardly any references to her own kind in any books that she happened to flip through. But it would be interesting to see if someone could get it. "It's a game, to help you keep your mind a little busy when you need it."
The way her eyes widened, Gabe knew that he'd said something that surprised her, though he really wasn't sure what. They hadn't been talking long, but it was long enough for him to know that she interpreted things differently from him, and that was probably enough. If it bothered her, she didn't say so, and instead moved on to playing a 'what am I?' game. That certainly peaked his interest and it was a healthier thing to ponder than the deaths of girlfriends past. It was hard not to dwell on the worst in his life when he didn't have something to distract him, and what she was offering was a perfect fit. "I need at least one hint to start with," he smiled. From there he could start narrowing it down. This was something he wanted to figure out on his own, if he could, even though he had a number of friends who would be excellent sources of information. He couldn't ask them too many questions without them wondering why.
What was a good hint? Persephone reached up to toy with a piece of her hair, twirling it around her finger as she tried to think of something that would not give it away right away. Saying that she lived in the water was far too vague since several different species did and the last thing she wanted was to be called a mermaid. Which would be completely wrong anyhow. Gills were also too vague so what was... specific enough? There's a reason I don't play this game, I never know what to say! She could always say that her race had no boys but what if he went and thought she was a siren? A pout came onto her face just at the thought of being confused for one of those murderous things. Gabe would never want to see her again if he thought that she was one of them. There was something that definitely separated her from merfolk though. "I have to give you two, because I don't think that one is enough. Now one is that I never, no matter what, have a tail. And!" She held up a second finger, smiling now. "We can live forever or be as mortal as you, depending on our choices and what we do. Think you can maybe figure me out?"
His mind was already spinning wildly. She never had a tail, which likely meant she wasn't a were... though he already knew that much. She didn't smell like a were, or an animal of any sort, and he'd been close enough to know, even with the water around them. That she could live forever or be mortal was definitely a more intriguing clue, since few races that he knew of had that option. Vampires were immortal, but there was no choice they could make that would make them mortal again. And she definitely had a heartbeat. Was there a choice a siren could make to be mortal? He wasn't sure, but he thought they turned into birds, which all had tails. Since that exhausted the list of immortal beings as far as he was aware of, Gabe realized he had some work to do. "No tail and a choice for immortality," he said to himself. "Do you start out mortal? Because even humans fit that category." If they decided to let a vampire bite them, then they could become immortal. "I think I'm over thinking it," he smiled. "I don't know, so I've got some research to do."
It was almost like Persephone could see the gears turning around in Gabe's head and she wondered why she had never done this before. Far too much fun to pass up making someone think so hard. She shook her head at his question. "Nope, I'm immortal right now and I haven't done anything except be born and grow up. I guess it's like the reverse of how mortals can choose to be immortal by becoming vampires; we can choose to be mortal if we decide that we want to." Something about a soul, but Persephone was still unsure she bought that and did not want to say something if she did not believe it to be true. Who said that she did not have a soul to start out with? "Oh, and not just mortal, I could be human if I wanted. But is that enough, can you figure out what I am? Just don't tell anyone, my mom would be furious with me if she found out I was sharing since we're supposed to be a secret. But I don't think you'll tell, you feel like a good person." And she meant feel, not seem, because Persephone always had little feelings about certain people and Gabe gave off the good sort of vibes that she liked and associated with herself.
That really put a different spin on things and Gabe decided he didn't know of any creatures that started immortal and could then choose not to be. At least not without tails. That part definitely amused him and he decided he'd need to figure out why she put that part in. If she wanted to be clear that she wasn't a siren, there were other ways to do it. "I promise I won't tell anyone," he said, knowing that it was a promise he would not break. Since becoming a werewolf, he had a better appreciation for this sort of thing and he completely understood not wanting people to know. If her race wasn't one that was out on the table yet, then it was even more important to keep quiet about. In saying that, she'd given him another clue, though it broadened the search further into races not yet discovered. She could be anything. "Thanks. I'm... I'm glad you think so." He'd heard some not-so-nice things about himself lately, mostly surrounding Claire's death, and it was nice to meet someone that knew so little about him, but still thought well of him. "So, I'll track you down when I have a guess?"
Seeing the confusion on Gabe's face just made Persephone feel better about the little game since, clearly, it was not going to be one of those things that he just knew. "You're welcome." Why she should think he was anything but good had not occurred to her because Persephone would never had let anyone who gave off an untrustworthy feeling anywhere near her. Especially not in the ways that she had let Gabe in because her skin would have gone and crawled right off of her body. "And yes, I look forward to seeing you again. You can find me somewhere around here around this time of day, or at the library." She shrugged her pale shoulders. "I like to wander, but I'm never too far from the water for long. Stay well, Gabe." And with that she pushed back out into the deeper part of the water, and then kept going to the opposite shore where she climbed out and gave her hair a shake to get most of the wetness out. Turning, she waved at the were before picking her way through the trees towards the house Alejandro kept. She had notes to write down.
Gabe made a mental note to check into beings that related to the water, since that seemed to play into her way of life. He could always be wrong, but it might be worth a shot, especially since she said she was never far from it. "You too," he waved as she swam off, and watched her as she climbed out of the water. She was definitely comfortable in her skin, that was certain. She didn't seem to have a towel or a set of clothes waiting either. As soon as she was out of sight, Gabe climbed up on the shore himself and immediately shifted back into his wolf form. She might be comfortable wandering into the woods without clothes, but there was no way he'd make it home as a human. Running off, he smiled wolfishly; today had been a good day.