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neoninky · 11 months

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TWST Fic "Her Lost Voice" Chapter 9

Not me watching Sleeping Beauty and taking notes in preparation for Diasomnia's impending victory

Hey it's still May 19th so Happy World Eel Day, everyone!

Speaking of eels-

Let's pick up where we left off yesterday with everyone's favorite tweels storming the castle/siren club lol

Chapter 9: The Miserable, Lonely, and Depressed

As soon as he heard her voice say his name, the sleepy fog flooding his system evaporated. It had been way too long and now here she was.

"Floyd...?"

The miniature Leech twin regained all of his energy and then some in an instant. He beamed up at the siren as she slowly swam over to her bed, the dumped flowers completely forgotten, and curled up in front of her pillows so she could get a better look at what was apparently her beau. Floyd excitedly dove into her hands and wrapped himself around her thumb, hugging it since he was too tiny to give her a proper embrace.

"Lunaaa! I missed you!" he chirped in his much smaller voice as he nuzzled his cheek against the pad of her thumb like an affectionate kitten.

Luna's heart melted for a moment at the sound of Floyd's familiar and honest glee. How she missed it and him both. But that didn't distract her from her immediate frustration. Granted, now it was even more difficult to stay angry with him.

"Floyd," Luna huffed in a whisper that was trying to sound stern but knew it sounded lackluster, "What are you doing here?! If they find out, they'll kill you!"

The tiny eel didn't seem to hear her. That or he just didn't care. Floyd just squeezed the parts of her hand he could fit his tail around excitedly as he planted tiny excited kisses on her skin. Luna felt her resolve starting to crack. Good grief, why did he have to be so damn cute?

"Floyd, please."

He finally gave the siren an annoyed pout. So much for her never getting upset with him for doing something reckless, "I don't care about them. I'm here to rescue you. If you wanna be mad then be mad at Sevy, not me."

Luna sighed and gave Floyd's tiny head a very gentle pet with the tip of her finger, "I'm not angry with you or Seven, honey...I just don't like you putting yourself in danger! I'd rather you'd stay away from me and far from here-OW!"

The siren scoffed and glared down at her miniature boyfriend who had bit her finger. He kept nipping at her while giving her a sour glare like a pouty, rebellious child.

"Floyd, stop that!" Luna hissed quietly.

"Then take that back! I know you don't mean it so why did you ignore me for so long?!" She could hear the frustration make his voice crack as he stared her down, the end of his tail whipping against her fingers.

Luna's frustration reached its peak and her words spilled out of her mouth before she could give them thorough thought, "Because I love you, you idiot!"

Floyd's eyes went wide and his tiny jaw went slack as he felt his brain grind to a halt. Luna looked away from him as she felt heat bloom on her face.

"The thought of something happening to you or you getting hurt because of me absolutely kills me, Floyd. I'm sorry. I didn't know what else to do to protect you..." When she looked back down at him, Floyd was still completely frozen in shock, making her feel even more embarrassed, "Floyd. Goodness, j-just say something! ...Please?"

In a matter of seconds, Luna saw him completely thaw his way out of shock and b-lined right back into hyper glee in record time. His smile was as wide as his eyes and his tiny tail was wagging like crazy.

"You love me? Really? REALLY?!"

Luna now couldn't deny it even if she wanted to. It was a first and frankly, Floyd Leech was definitely not the type of person she imagined herself committing to. But then she met him, flirted and romanced him, and he not only reciprocated but chased after her in earnest. Especially when she tried to break things off. And the big difference was that it didn't feel like a game or a transaction. Luna couldn't lie to herself anymore. This silly, wild boy actually made her feel happy. Floyd made her feel so good and never pretended to have feelings he didn't. It was all genuine with him...which is why this had all been so hard. So here she was being hit over the head with her own clumsy confession and feelings that had been bubbling under the surface for months now. There was no point in trying to play coy now.

The warm smile on her face set Floyd off like a little firecracker, "Yes, honey. I do."

Luna almost squealed when he suddenly darted up to her face and smooshed his into her lips. She guessed that was as close to a legitimate kiss as he could get in this form. While he had been a bit confused and conflicted about how exactly he felt before, Floyd's brain pretty much threw all that out the window right then and there.

Luna let a genuine giggle slip just before kissing Floyd on his tiny head. He suddenly looked irritated and grumbled, "I wish I wasn't tiny...this makes it even more awkward..."

He became bashful out of nowhere which only confused the siren. Floyd was pretty straightforward all around so this seemed very strange. His ear fins were wiggling and twitching as he looked back up at her, "Hey Luna...?"

Floyd knew that he was definitely doing things out of order here which was frowned upon when it came to mating rituals but honestly, he and Luna had technically already mated in the physical sense before so it was already too late to 'do things by the book' so to speak. His mother would be livid at his lack of preparation but hopefully the fact that she's getting another daughter-in-law would distract her. Normally the male would give his chosen mate a proper gift in the form of jewelry or some other trinket when proposing they become official mates. The female would then wear it like a human woman would a wedding or engagement ring to symbolize that she had taken a mate and was essentially off the market.

Floyd, unfortunately, forgot that part until just now...so here he was about to do the mermaid equivalent of proposing to his girlfriend without a ring. It still meant just as much to him regardless and he hoped the same was true for Luna as well. He just hated the fact that he felt so goddamn flustered all of a sudden!

"Luna, I wanna ask you-"

Floyd snarled and nearly spat acid as a sudden knock on the door interrupted their moment. The scared look that was on Luna's face made his guts twist and turn. He didn't like seeing her that way at all. Luna quickly whispered for Floyd to hide as she opened her jewelry box and shepherded him inside before going to the door. Fortunately, it was Seven on the other side of the door. This only irritated Floyd even more. As soon as Luna let him in and shut the door, Floyd popped out the jewelry box like an angry jack-in-the-box.

"HeyheyHEY! You couldn't wait a few more minutes?!" the tiny eel hissed.

Seven was unphased as usual, "Afraid not. Luna needs to be back on stage in the next three minutes."

Luna gave Seven an understanding nod before picking up her seething beau into her hands and cooed to him, "I'm so sorry Floyd honey. Just please wait a little longer."

Floyd's temper was almost boiling him alive. It was so bad that even Luna's pet name for him barely put a dent in it, "Let's leave right now! You have the key right here!"

Seven rolled his eyes. Jade had warned him ahead of time about his twin's impatience, "If you leave now, it'll only cause more of an unnecessary commotion. Wait until the show is over and the guests all leave. Then, and ONLY then, Luna can open the portal and you two can sneak away because no one will even realize she's gone until tomorrow. And you need to stay quiet...my younger brothers are still outside lurking about. Not to mention, I haven't seen Proteus all night."

Floyd looked like he was ready to take a bite out of Seven when Luna calmly interjected, "Seven, I'll be right there. Just give me a moment with Floyd, ok?"

Her step-brother left without an argument. Luna turned her gentle smile back on, making her lover cool down a small margin.

"Floyd honey," she tried again, this time actually seeing Floyd start to relax, "Please wait for me. Just a little longer. Then you and I can leave together, safely, quietly. Then we'll have all the time in the world to talk and more."

The tiny Leech whipped his tail with acute sass as he crossed his arms and pouted up at her, "....ok."

Luna set him back down on her vanity and planted another kiss on his turquoise hair, "Thank you, darling. It won't be much longer. Then you can be back to your normal size and have me all to yourself."

His expression didn't change but the excited thump of his tail betrayed him making Luna giggle, "Stay hidden and quiet, honey. I'll be back." -

Jade remained waiting in Seven's box, still as a gargoyle. He was quietly pondering how much time they had left when Seven returned and casually sat back down in his seat. He knew that eyes were on him constantly so he had to remain vigilant and calm. Thankfully he had one hell of a poker face. He kept his eyes to the stage as he quietly addressed Jade.

"As soon as the last song ends, return to the front doors with the other staff and unlock them. Wait until the crowds start to leave and then exit with them. Don't break away from the crowd until you're away from the club. You only have about an hour left on the potion so move as quickly as you can without looking suspicious."

Jade said nothing but tapped his manta tail on the floor twice to indicate he understood the instructions.

The crowd below started to quiet down as the lights dimmed. Luna took her position behind the curtain once again, this time with a rekindled spark in her eyes. Just a couple more songs then it'd all be over. Finally...

The youngest of Seven's brothers yawned as he circled around the club once again. This was getting boring but he knew if they didn't do this then the lot of them would get a face full of electricity from Proteus...or worse. He yanked on the uncomfortable collar the three of them had been forced to wear by the sadistic ray: the material alone was rough and rubbed against the skin but it also had metal bolts attached to the outside to make the charges all the more potent. He was about to turn around when a strange smell suddenly hit his senses. It seemed a bit old but also extremely out of place....it was then he noticed it was coming from the vents.

He suddenly let out a whistle to call his older brothers over. The two larger eels made their way over and saw the youngest pointing to one of the vents. He didn't have to explain when the other two caught the same smell. All three pairs of eyes narrowed as they broke apart, each one entering a different vent to track down the infiltrator. It was definitely the smell of another eel but not one of their own.

It didn't take the three brothers long to track the smell to the back hallways where all the sirens' quarters were. But which room was it in? The three silently filed into the empty hallway and accessed the situation. The two elder brothers left the youngest to keep looking as they returned to the main floor. Surely Ventuno and their father would need to know about this. Meanwhile, the youngest continued to sort out all the smells along the doorways, searching for his target like an aquatic bloodhound.

Don Muraeni hadn't budged from his seat all night. He had plenty of gentlemen come to his own box to discuss business in between performances. The more foolhardy of them tried to make offers on purchasing Luna for as their own personal siren but each one was swiftly and rudely dismissed by the Don and his snickering heir. Ventuno just took it as even more entertainment, knowing his father would never sell Luna to anyone or give her to their sons when she already brought him in profit aplenty. He wasn't exactly put off either by the fathers trying to push their daughters onto the Don's son in exchange for some other kind of boon. No agreements were officially made but it was clear that Ventuno had plenty to choose from if he were interested. His enjoyment was rudely interrupted when his two younger brothers silently shuffled into the box, trying to whisper something urgently to him as their father continued to chat with another colleague of his.

"The hell do you runts want?" Ventuno spat before grabbing another crab off of the platter next to him. He lazily crunched the tiny creature between his sharp teeth, half-listening to whatever it was that his brothers were saying but as soon as he heard a certain name, he started to choke, "What?!"

"Ventuno...cover your mouth, boy."

Don Muraeni's sinisterly smooth tone made all three sons freeze. The eldest cleared up his own cough as soon as possible and quickly dismissed himself, "Father, there's some riff-raff inside that these slugs can't handle."

The Don held up a hand to silence his colleague as he turned to narrow his eyes at his now whimpering younger sons and his snarling heir. His voice seemed to turn the air colder all around them.

"Take care of it. Now. Or would you rather continue to disrupt my business and suffer even greater consequences?"

The sons knew better than to answer that and quickly dismissed themselves before the Don had to ask a second time. Ventuno snapped his teeth at the shaken brothers before shoving past them in an irritated hurry.

Floyd had settled on taking another nap to make himself feel better but he was once again interrupted by a noise coming from the other side of Luna's door. He saw a shadow from underneath the door and smelled a scent he didn't recognize. His fins prickled up on edge when the doorknob started to rattle. Outside in the hallway, the youngest of the numbered brothers snarled as he fiddled with the lock, trying to pick it open. Whatever that smell was, it was coming from inside Luna's room. He turned and yanked on the door handle when picking the lock had failed him.

Floyd quickly dove back into the jewelry box on Luna's vanity and pulled it shut as he wrapped his tail around the coral portal key. He felt his whole body tense up and flood with instinctual adrenaline in the process. Had he been full-sized, he'd just knock the door off its henges and sucker-punched the intruder himself. Whoever showed up next had the same idea. Floyd heard a gruff voice bark at the first intruder, telling him to 'piss off', seconds before the handle was ripped off and the door forced open. The Leech twin couldn't see him but Ventuno's deep snarl and the stench of aggression told Floyd all he needed to know. The Muraeni heir leered around the empty room, occasionally tossing things aside as he sniffed about.

"I can smell you in here, you Leech bastard, where are you?!"

The last song had reached it's second chorus when Jade noticed some movement coming from the sides of the room. He remained silent but tapped Seven on his shoulder with his tail before gesturing to the sight of Seven's younger brothers swimming towards the back hallway in a hurry. Seven cursed under his breath but rose from his seat in a calm manner.

"Stick to the plan...throw them off track."

The three younger numbered brothers heard Ventuno thrashing about in Luna's dressing room and felt uneasy about the entire display. The eldest had already snarled and threatened each of them for not doing their jobs and letting some outsider sneak in...and now that the adrenaline of the hunt had started to wane, they realized that they were in fact in forbidden territory and that Ventuno was absolutely destroying the headlining diva's room with no clear signs of stopping.

"The hell are you three doing back here?!"

All three brothers turned and nearly died on the spot from fear when they saw who was yelling at them. They cowered under Seven's icy glare like a pack of scared sardines.

"Get back outside before Father sees you. You know you aren't allowed back here," he commanded in a cold but blunt tone as he made his way towards the ruckus.

The three younger brothers quickly made their way back towards the front doors that were now open and hid amongst the leaving patrons. They shuffled in between the gentlemen and their packs as they exited the venue, going unnoticed by most. The three of them seemed to share alike mind and moved together like a school of much smaller fish. They came to a united halt as one of the manta mermen suddenly swam in front of them, nearly bumping into the eldest. The manta gave a polite apology before disappearing into the flow of the crowd. When the eldest of them picked up on another scent trailing behind the manta, the other two suddenly stiffened as well. It was very similar to the first foreign musk they discovered earlier. Did that mean...there were two of them?!

The eldest snarled quietly as his dark eyes honed in on where the stranger had disappeared in front of them. The manta ray was further ahead moving at a steady pace. The other two brothers followed the first as he began to follow the strange manta at a safe distance. What the brothers didn't see was the smirk on Jade's faux-face as he began to pick up the pace even more once they reached the edge of the lot. He could feel the potion's effect start to fade and knew he was on a tight time frame. The further he lured them away from the club and away from Luna and Floyd the better but he had to get back to his home turf quick.

It wasn't quite as easy for him due to his larger size but Jade had taken mental notes during his and Cowrie's last 'chase'. He continued to face forward, never letting on that he knew he was being followed as he took different twists and turns down this street and the next. All the while, Jade kept his eyes and mind sharp. It wouldn't do him any good to get himself lost. The trio moved together like a pack of wolves. If one of them bumped into a dead end, the next brother took the lead down another path trying to get ahead of Jade to cut him off. Jade picked up speed as he began to recognize his surroundings. Even in this form, he was too quick for the trio to get ahead of him. He was almost to the border when he began to feel a twisting pain in his torso. Jade cursed silently in his own head as he almost crash-landed into the square as the manta fins morphed back into his normal eel form, throwing off his balance. He quickly turned down the alleyway that led behind the Leviathan Club and hid himself the best he could. His body fully changed back as he quietly tried to catch his breath. Around him, he didn't hear or see anyone. Jade waited in silence for several minutes before looking about the area himself...nothing.

In front of the Leviathan Club, the street was full of usual patrons either enjoying the late evening or heading home. Jade didn't see the three brothers anywhere nor did he smell them. He exhaled in short relief before heading straight back home, not knowing that four pairs of glowing eyes were watching him from further down the street. The tall, imperious figure hovering in the middle of the three rough hunters grinned as his red eyes burned with mirth. Each telling whisper the brothers gave him filled him in on the night's events including the suspected intruder in Luna's room and how it had smelled very closely to how Jade Leech had smelled.

"My, my, it would seem hiding in the square all night paid off. Thank you, boys, for chasing the young Leech my way. Let's let him go for now. I have a feeling Don Muraeni might need some assistance rounding up a runaway soon..."

The three brothers knew better than to argue with him as all three of them answered in submissive obedience.

"Yes, Proteus."

Floyd quickly swam underneath the vanity as an angry Ventuno knocked the jewelry box and other items off of it as he continued to turn the room inside out. He held the key tight by the end of his tail. His ear fins perked up as he heard a familiar voice enter the room.

"Ventuno! What are you doing?!"

The only thing that could overrule Ventuno's boiling temper about his enemy hiding in plain sight was his inexplicable desire to either throw Seven under the bus or knock his lesser brother's teeth out. Either way, for Ventuno, the opportunity literally just came through the door.

"I should be asking you that, Seven. Or better yet, what aren't you doing? I was just told by our younger brat brothers that a Leech somehow got in here unnoticed like a rat. I can smell him all over this room. Why couldn't you, hmm? I wonder what Dad will have to say about this...especially since you already fucked up once."

Seven clenched his jaw shut as he allowed the arrogant family heir to laugh in his face, "I've had securities checks done around the clock since we opened, Ventuno. If there was an intruder then we would have found and dealt with him already...but I guess your method of destroying business property works just as well," he added sarcastically.

His older brother growled and got up in Seven's face, baring his teeth and tensing up his tail fins to show dominance, "Listen, just because you're the toughest dog in the pack doesn't mean you can talk back to me so freely. Or do you want another scar on your throat? Maybe this time, I'll rip out your vocal cords and mount them in the dining room right next to a nice, open plaque I'll be saving for your head...'Sevy'..."

Seven felt his hold on his temper start to ebb as his brother used the nickname Cowrie had given him. Ventuno sneered as he watched Seven's eyes narrow, "Oh I'm sorry. Did I hit a nerve? I forgot, that was the lil' maggot's pet name for you, wasn't it?"

"There's nothing in here as you can see, Ventuno. Get out," Seven's tone was cool and collected as usual but Ventuno wasn't finished with him just yet.

"Ooh, poor Sevyyyy..." his tone was laced with amused malice, "You were too late to rescue the little brat from becoming shark food. Damn, what would Stepmother think?" For the first time, Floyd saw Seven's tail tense with anger and shake like the end of a rattlesnake's. "Oh was that supposed to be a secret? How you were her favorite out of all of us? It's adorable how the guilt is tearing you apart, you pathetic sap," Ventuno swam around his younger brother with the smuggest sounding taunts Floyd had ever heard,"Or actually now that I think about it...didn't you just sit back and watch as Stepmother became shark food too? Wow, that soft-hearted bitch even gave you a name without telling Dad...you act like you're above all this but you're just as greedy for a place at the table as the rest of us-"

Floyd heard a loud thump as he saw Ventuno suddenly hit the ground right in front of the vanity. He quickly zipped out from his hiding place and went behind the overturned bed before Ventuno could spot him. Fortunately for Floyd, the eldest Muraeni son was preoccupied with Seven's hand holding him down by his throat. All Floyd could hear was Ventuno struggling and choking as Seven's voice turned dark. His curiosity got the better of him as the tiny twin peeked out from his new hiding spot to watch Seven almost strangle the arrogance right out of his older brother. For the first time, Seven's usually empty eyes were on fire with cold rage.

"I know you haven't given a single damn about anyone besides yourself since the day each of us was born, but don't you dare assume that I'm the same as you, you fucking parasite. And don't you dare insult her like that," Seven's snarl sounded like the beginning of an earthquake as his ice blue gaze pierced right into his older brother's angry eyes. For a moment, Floyd was convinced that Seven was really about to choke every last breath out of his brother...until he didn't. Frankly, Floyd was a tad disappointed. Seven let the asshole go with a final warning.

"There's nothing in here for you to find. Get the hell out."

Ventuno coughed and sputtered as he flailed on the ground, trying to get away as soon as Seven let him go. He snarled as soon as he got his breath back and rose back up, trying to bolster what little dignity he had left, "Ok Seven...I'll leave..."

Before Seven could even blink, Ventuno's tail whacked the bed and knocked it back against the opposite wall. He smirked as he looked down at Floyd who had curled up in a tiny spiral to duck out of the way of the large piece of furniture.

"Well, well, seems we have an infestation after all!" Ventuno chuckled with a sinister grin. The grin quickly faded in a matter of minutes when a large spark of magic suddenly went off in the smug Muraeni's face, temporarily blinding him. Before his vision could clear, Ventuno felt a blunt something hit him in the head twice so hard he swore he had been hit by a bus. Floyd now back to his original size just blinked in both disbelief and wonder at the culprit. Seven sighed in either relief or frustration at how quickly this entire operation went south. Possibly both. The metal piece of her broken bed frame sank back to the ground with a hollow thud as Luna glared at her now unconscious stepbrother.

"Change of plans," she huffed, quickly addressing Floyd and Seven after shutting what was left of the door, "Floyd, give me the key."

He obeyed without question and Luna pressed the key to the wall just to the side of the broken door. The same kind of mirror-like portal opened and she gave Seven a desperate look. He cursed under his breath, "Luna, we don't really have time for goodbyes here. You gotta get going."

"You're right, there's no time for a goodbye," Luna suddenly wrapped her arms around Seven in a tight hug, "Heart's Lyre."

Before Seven could argue, he felt his entire body lock up in a weird paralysis as his arms crossed behind his back. The look in Luna's eyes was both apologetic and determined, "Proteus saw Jade. I heard your brothers talking about it just before I rushed back here. If he knows, your father will too if he doesn't already. You're coming with us. Floyd, let's go."

Floyd gave Luna and Seven a push into the portal as Luna kept her arms around Seven and dove in after them as the portal closed after him.

Luna's body hit the sand hard as the portal seemed to throw her and the others out the other end like a shot. She tumbled more times than she could count and swore some of the sand got into her lungs as she gasped and coughed upon finally landing, her ears ringing.

...Lu.....Lunaaa... "LUNA!"

A familiar voice echoed to her before she felt a pair of arms envelop her. When she could finally open her eyes properly, Luna felt her throat tighten. Elise's beaming smile greeted her old friend as she hugged her close, "You're here! You're really here!"

It took Luna a moment to realize that, yes, Elise actually was speaking to her. Her sister's excited cheer rang out as the younger eelmaid hugged Luna from behind, wrapping her tail around her older sister affectionately, "Luna!! You're ok!!"

"Wh...where...?" Luna's brain was still trying to make sense of everything that was happening way too fast. The giant coral garden surrounding her didn't look familiar at all. Floyd somehow ended up across the way and was currently being helped off the ground by a very relieved-looking Jade as Azul kept patting his back to help him cough up some sand. Luna sighed a few her nerves out seeing that he had made it in one piece. A groan coming from behind her proved that Seven made it as well. The dazed eel pushed himself off the ground and shook the excess sand from his hair, ears, and back. Cowrie pried herself from the sisterly hug and full-on tackled him, squealing with glee, "Sevyyy!!" Everyone was here...they made it.

Luna turned back to Elise and held her face as if she wasn't sure if her friend was real or not, "Elise...you...wait you can talk now?!"

The princess just laughed as tiny inky tears prickled at her gem-colored eyes, "It's a long story. We can talk about all that later. I'm just so happy that you're here! We're all together again, finally!"

Luna's lips quivered as the sentiment hit her in full force, "Yes...Yes, finally."

The two girls squealed as Floyd suddenly wrapped them both in a tight hug nuzzling Luna's cheek before giving her several kisses on her face. Luna broke down in laughter and embarrassment, now noticing that Elise had somehow escaped the hug and joined the rest of the group as they just hung back and watched Floyd explode like a happy puppy.

"F-Floyd! Calm down! I'm not going to disappear, I swear!" Luna's usual cool-headed veneer was all but destroyed at this point and any attempt to regain it or hide behind her hands was rebuffed by her excited beau.

"Never," Floyd was relentless. Elise and Cowrie were both a fit of giggles at the display. Azul and Jade both had looks that were somewhere between relief and exasperation. Seven was just lost entirely...until he saw Don Leech and his wife enter the garden with two very different reactions to what was happening.

Everyone froze as a stern 'AHEM' from Don Leech broke the atmosphere. He hovered, arms crossed, hair looking like he had been asleep until not that long ago, and an irritated yet confused scowl on his face. Madam Leech, a surprise to no one, looked fully prepared for the day already even though it was technically very late at night and merely blinked as she observed the beautiful, embarrassed girl in her other son's arms...until realization hit her like lightning. She looked at Luna and then Cowrie. Seconds later, she connected the dots, seeing how similar the two girls looked, and gasped in delight. Her husband wasn't nearly as enthusiastic. How could he be when here he was, peacefully asleep in bed, when suddenly he was very rudely awakened by a loud ruckus in his garden which was now full of rowdy young people. One was his enemy's kid which he was convinced he would NEVER see again. The other he knew exactly who she was and whose siren diva she was...and here she was in the arms of his son. His headache from the other day came back in record time with a vengeance.

"Everyone. Inside. NOW."

Inside Don Leech's office, the three eel boys all stood in front of his desk as if it were a prison lineup. The twins looked like they knew fully what to expect. Seven looked like he was wondering how in the hell he even got there in the first place. The three girls all sat comfortably as they could in this tense atmosphere on the large couch behind them with Madam Leech perched nearby, poised elegantly, calmly but still very much like a protective mother hen. Azul stood off to the side of Elise, silently grateful to not be put on the spot for once during this whole affair.

The Don glared daggers at the three boys as he heaved a deep sigh, "Days ago, my property was trespassed by Muraeni thugs that chased his own daughter onto my territory....and my son, Jade, tells me then that she is his to be his mate. And you," his eyes darted over to Seven who flinched for a split second, "You, one of the Muraeni boys, show up, beat up my other son, and tell me the same thing. Now, in the middle of the night, you show up yet again with no warning whatsoever with the main diva of my rival's very exclusive sirens club in my garden of all places. Care to explain what the hell is happening here?"

Seven cleared his throat, "Sir, I apologize for this very...strange...situation. Obviously, you know who my other sister is. I was the one who helped her escape here."

"Jade and I helped too," Floyd pipped up casually making Jade and Seven sigh heavily.

"Thanks, Floyd..." Seven grumbled. So much for taking the brunt of the blame.

Don Leech slowly rose from his seat and stared at all three boys before leaning over to address Luna directly, "Luna Cerith is it? ...As in the same Luna Cerith that is the not only the headlining siren at the Siren's Cove but the eldest daughter of the past diva and ex-mate of Don Muraeni himself, Junonia Cerith?"

Luna felt her hands trembling as she kept them folded in her lap, "Yes sir. The very same. I wasn't aware you knew my mother, sir..."

"We've never met," Don Leech's gaze softened momentarily while speaking to the very nervous eelmaid, "I just did some further digging on my rival's history when I found out my son was planning on taking his daughter as his mate. When I did, I found out about you and your brother," both Luna and Seven tensed up at the implication, "I didn't expect to actually see you in my home...again."

He threw a look Seven's way before addressing the three boys with a renewed glare, "With that said...am I to believe you three idiots somehow snuck into the Siren's Cove, in the dead of night, to kidnap Don Muraeni's prized siren singer that has been no doubt at the very top of his radar and still is and bring her back here, into my house?"

The three boys all muttered some form of affirmation to the father's very dangerously poised question. He continued in a very deceivingly calm tone, "Tell me. Why would you do this exactly?"

Seven swallowed as he felt himself begin to crack under the pressure but before he could answer...

"She's my girl," Floyd said bluntly, "I didn't like how they kept her all locked up so I rescued her."

A single pin drop would have sounded like a landslide at that moment with how quiet that office was. Any faint hope that the father had that maybe, just maybe his assumptions were incorrect were shattered. Floyd fully expected his father to react the same way he did when Jade told him about Cowrie: the agro snarling intimidation tactics, the staredown, the whole nine yards. Instead, his father looked into his eyes with the most stoic expression on his face that Floyd had ever seen...which frankly was way more terrifying. Floyd tried to silently stand his ground as Jade had done before but he felt his tail start to twitch anxiously behind him.

His father took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly before speaking, "So...not just one of my sons, but both of my sons have decided that out of all the women they could choose, they choose the two that are absolutely, undeniably off-limits and from the absolute last family they should ever associate with at all...because of course, they would..."

Their father's expected snarl started to build with every word but stopped when Luna's gentle voice politely interjected, "Don Leech, sir...if I may?"

The Don's felt his brow twitch but he still extended his hand, giving Luna permission to speak. The twins scooted to the side to give her room to approach their father's desk. The siren floated forward with Cowrie in the middle between her and Seven.

"Thank you, sir. What you said is very true...the Muraeni family is the very last family anyone should associate with. And that is exactly why my brother and your sons have done what they did for me and my sister. Don Muraeni is a monster and he's abused Seven, Cowrie, and myself for years, in several malicious ways," Luna paused only to give the twins a soft smile, "Jade and Floyd are wonderful boys who have risked so much to help us. My sister and I love them and owe them so much for just that. As for Seven, he risked everything to help Cowrie and me. Because of that, I brought him here to your home. I ask that you forgive my overstepping and accept my gratitude for extending your kindness and generosity to my brother and sister, sir."

Luna bowed her head to the Don and Seven did the same. Cowrie grunted as Seven and Luna placed their hands on the back of her head, making her mimic them. The Don felt the entire room watching him, waiting for a response. He looked at the three siblings and contemplated what the elder sister had said carefully.

"Something else I've discovered that seems off. None of you have the name Muraeni...?" he asked curiously.

The three of them raised their heads again to meet his calculating gaze and Luna shook her head, "No sir. I never took the family name Muraeni even after the Don became my stepfather. Cowrie is biologically his but she shares our mother's name as I do. And Seven..."

Luna hesitated, knowing that this was a somewhat touchy subject. Seven was never actually allowed to even discuss this topic even within the family but if Don Leech was really so concerned about his and his sisters' lineage then now was the time to bring it to light.

"I'm Seven. Just Seven. I have my father's genes but that's it, sir. The only one allowed to have the family name is the Don himself and his heir, Ventuno. The rest of us are just numbers. Our mother never tried to give us proper names."

Elise felt a heavy sadness settle in her chest as she listened to Seven talk about himself as just a number as her eyes took in all the scars on his arms, neck, back, and tail. She hadn't known him that long but his voice always sounded so even, so sure until now. The sound didn't change but really taking in his form and listening to his words...he just seemed so tired. For a moment she, and Azul judging from the look on his face, felt like she was intruding on a very personal moment. The two octopuses shared a look of understanding but remained still and quiet as the rest of this strange drama unfolded in front of them. The proud Don had a look on his face like he was considering his next move as if this were all just a game of chess.

"Your biological mother didn't. But you seem like an anomaly compared to your other siblings, Seven. You went to the surface for a time for schooling like your sisters did when you were about sixteen years old, correct? In that time, you were documented having a name that wasn't 'just Seven'...but you were the only son who did go up top." Don Leech pulled a file of documents from his desk and placed them on the top for all of the younger eels to see. Right on top was an acceptance letter to none other than Night Raven College with the name 'Indigo Cerith' as the addressee and an ID photo of a younger, human Seven wearing the school's uniform.

It was Luna and Cowrie's turn to be shocked. The younger sister cut through the tense atmosphere with a confused chirp, "What?! Sevy you never told us that!"

"You never asked," he grumbled with a heavy hint of embarrassment before looking at Don Leech, "How did you find this information...and why?"

He just snorted as if the boy told a funny joke, "I'm the leader of one the strongest and most influential families in town, boy. You really don't think I have eyes and ears everywhere? As I said, once you came here to ask me to accept Cowrie into my household, I called in a few favors to find out exactly who you were. In the process, I learned about Luna, her mother, and you....and frankly, though they are trained sirens, I have no reason to suspect any foul play from your sisters. Everything about them checks out. You, however, are awfully suspicious and I don't like suspicious visitors coming and going as they please..." The family leader rose again and stared directly into Seven's wide ice blue eyes with the look of a hunter, "So my question is this...who are you really, and why have you come back here, boy?"

Seven took a breath, not looking away from the elder eel who was silently challenging him, judgment and sentence at the ready the moment he said one wrong word.

"I'm..."

Damn we just can't get away from these cliffhangers huh? lol don't worry the next chapter is coming right up!

Tagging: @wysteriadelights @1ndigowitch @iscarlettappel @marcepanna @honey-milk-depresso @foxwitchaine @nuitthegoddess @evieyouknow @aiimee9 @espada188

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