In Too Deep (Open)

[Eli Triton]

Eli loved water. Everybody knew that. Swimming was his favourite thing in the world, nothing could put him off, didn't matter what the situation Eli would swim... right? If Eli wanted things to be normal, Eli would be swimming... wouldn't he?



He'd tried, he'd really tried, he'd gotten up and he'd put on his swim shorts and come down to the pool and everything was fine, only... only he'd gotten right up to the edge of the water and he'd frozen, stopped at the edge of the pool and found himself staring down at the wavering surface and he just... couldn't. He was terrified, he just couldn't force himself to take another step - in fact, when he'd tried, he'd ended up stepping backwards instead.



It was completely different, he tried to tell himself, the warm pool with its crystal clear, chlorinated water, it was worlds away from the dark, cold lake, and yet it didn't make any difference. His hand strayed to the amulet still around his neck, wondering...



He'd figured the amulet had done its job, turned him back and now he didn't have to look at it any more, so he'd taken it off and tossed it aside and within moments he was on the floor, skin feeling like it was on fire from even the dim light of the dorm room, lungs burning as he gasped for air that didn't do anything for him, reaching desperately for the amulet before he drowned on dry land. He got it back on in time, he also got the message, the amulet stayed, or his legs didn't.



He jerked his hand away, cursing himself for being so foolish, forcing himself to get back in the water by turning himself back into a merman was the single worst idea he'd ever had. He started to turn away from the pool's edge.



Eli loved water. At least, he always used to.

[Isla Triton]

Isla was fairly worried about Eli. He was back, which was great, but he wasn't himself yet. He was different in a way that Isla couldn't quite pinpoint yet and it made her worry about her cousin. She wished she could find a way to secretly sleep over in his and Admiral's room because she had woken up in the night worried that Eli might be gone again. And if he was right there, she wouldn't have to worry.

And it didn't help that her own feelings were caught up in the strange disappointed attraction to Louis. She couldn't seem to get out of her own head, not with the weight of everything still pressing on her shoulders. Eli still had the amulet too, which Isla had promised to return while also keeping the amulet as much of a secret as she could.

Watching Eli through the door to the pool wasn't making her worry even less. For a boy who had loved water so much, he seemed so afraid of it. She pushed the door open, stepping into the room as the steam and the humdity hit her with force. The smell of the chlorine was nearly tangible, but her focus was only on her cousin.

"Hey," she said, crossing the room to him. "Are you okay?"

[Eli Triton]

Eli practically flinched when he saw another figure nearby, relaxing after a moment when he realised it was only Isla, and he forced himself to look calmer than he felt and smile the way he usually did, it wasn't all that convincing.

"yea, of course I am," he shrugged, doing his best to sound steady and casual and not on the verge of a breakdown just because of a stupid pool "Was just thinking about going swimming, but uh... I don't know, I might not have enough time, I think I'm just going to... head off... I've got a lot of homework to catch up on."

As excuses went, it was at least sort of true, but it also wasn't particularly convincing to anybody who even vaguely knew him, let alone Isla who had been one of his best friends since childhood, Eli used to blow off just about anything in favour of swimming, he always managed to convince himself he had time.