_

[EG Water]

"Alright" Mike replied, pocketing the crystal. He walked around the railing awaiting for Syrah to meet him. The sea breeze was nice, and overcast clouds seemed to be in every direction

Mackenzie finally made it to the breakfast bar. "Mmm" he licked his lips as he grabbed a plate and loaded waffles onto it, grabbing butter packets and a syrup bottle along with silverware. He carefully carried everything to a table where he was going to dine. He sat down, and began to dress his breakfast with liberal amounts of syrup. He started chowing down, because waffles are his favorite breakfast food.  

[SKBCTayuyaFluteofDeath]

Syrah spotted Mike by the railing and strode over to lean on the railing beside him. "Hey there," she smiled.  

[EG Water]

"So...What's the plan?" He asked her looking out to the sea. "Do you wana stay or go?" He asked her. Something inside him knew the answer, but he wanted to hear her say it.  

[SKBCTayuyaFluteofDeath]

Syrah looked out at the water. "I...I'm not sure." She chewed on her bottom lip, thinking. "My home is the sea, and I know Mackenzie is trying to find Atlantica, but I don't know how long I would be able to stay with you."  

[EG Water]

"The sea is practically where we are going to be" he paused. He then turns to face Syrah with almost shimmering emerald eyes, "I just need you to know the fate of the planet rests with us...and if its any consolation, I'd like to spend that time being around you" he spoke calmly while gazing into her eyes.

Mackenzie finished his plate shortly after loading it full. He yawned and smiled cutely as he got up from his chair to stretch out and get a drink.  

[SKBCTayuyaFluteofDeath]

Syrah blushed and looked away. "Of course. I'd forgotten." She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I'll stay with you as far as I can, but I'm not sure how welcome I'll be in Atlantica."  

[DecafKitten]

Animeprincess_9400

Thaelia snuck herself aboard once more, having just finished with some business concerning her ever so annoying mistress. She had her orders, as well as Blythe's. Speaking of Blythe, Thaelia had been doing some research of her own on the collar as well as the binding spell that her mistress intended on using. Not even she herself could comprehend why she had been searching for loopholes or odd ways to break such a contract without some form of suicide. Why did Thaelia care what happened to anyone aside from herself? She bit her lip as she fancied herself up inside her room, brushing the tangles from her hair and getting herself dressed in appropriate human clothes afterwards. Expensive clothes, as always, for even one such as Thaelia had a sense of pride within her. Once she was ready to be seen by others, she lurked outside, sticking to the shadows for the most part. As she stepped on deck, she quickly caught Blythe's gaze, and offered him a faint smile.

Blythe lay in bed, although he knew he should get up and find his friends. The night before he had went for a swim in wolf form... and had found it harder to change back to human and resist the call of the sea. It had been a struggle not to just swim down and let the wild side take over. It was an effect of the collar... not only did it give control over him to some degree, it also made it harder for him to remain human. It unlocked the beast in him, slowly making him more animal than man. His skin itched, his body yearning to change... and he felt an almost irresistible urge to find Thaelia, yet another symptom of the collar. With her being the only mermaid he had spent a lot of time with lately, the wolf in him had began to see her as his mistress; hence the need to be near her, to protect her, to be at her beck and call... It was a very bothersome feeling and he was unsure of what to do.. He couldn't resist the wolf for much longer, especially when they were to go into the sea.

With a growl, he leapt out of bed, yanking on the outfit he had left out of his luggage, which happened to be a button down black shirt he left open and a pair of black swim trunks. He strode out of his room in search of... well, pretty much anyone of the group, fighting the wolf's urges. Some of the people he passed gave him strange looks; he looked exhausted and unhealthy.  

[M3Gnificent]

Perhaps without realising it immediately, Blythe had passed right on by Thaelia. She couldn't help but feel perplexed, perhaps even slightly concerned. Her collared companion did not look to be very well. Hesitantly, she approached him from a small distance behind, the expression of her face almost vaguely resembling worry. Assuming she was even capable of sympathy for more than a fleeting second, of course. "You should get some rest or something. You look as if you were nothing more than a corpse long taken by the sea." It might have sounded chastizing, but her words were not intended as such.

 

[DecafKitten]

Caught up in fighting against the wolf, Blythe had managed to block out Thaelia's presence for merely a second. Suddenly her presence hit him almost painfully and he whirled to face her, the wolf showing in his eyes before he reined it back again. "Rest won't help..." he muttered, running a hand through his hair and resisting the urge to claw at his neck where the 'collar' tattoo branded his skin. "It's the collar..." he added, avoiding her eyes. The wolf calmed slightly at her presence, yet at the same time wanted to lay at her feet and expose his belly, a sign of submission... and not exactly a normal thing for a man to do, don'tcha think? Thankfully, Blythe controlled that urge.. for the time being at least.  

[M3Gnificent]

Quietly, so as to not be heard by prying ears, Thaelia murmured to the wolf in reply, "To dwell on it is to give the wench what she so desires. This is her method of toying with you. It is so that she can claim to have only the loosest claim on you whilst still holding her blade to your back. To show apathy is to ultimately insult both her pride and petty mindgames without risking worse." Thaelia's throat almost hurt to speak so much, even if only as mere whispers. "This knowledge probably helps little to not at all, but one a more positive note, at least you still have a better chance than I of breaking free of your bonds and escaping alive. It is fleeting and extremely unlikely, but still a chance." As per usual, she flund, she was utterly terrible woth words.

 

[DecafKitten]

"It is not so easy as that," Blythe replied, pulling her into a nearby small storage closet, so as not to worry about passerbys hearing their conversation. "It is the power of the collar, not just the witch. It calls to my true form and I do not know how much longer I can resist. Although I prefer this form sometimes, this is not my true self.." he gestured to his body. He dropped down to sit cross-legged on the floor of the small room, his head in hands. Glancing up at Thaelia, he was hit again with the urge to submit to her. With a visible mental inner struggle, he resisted again. "Already, my wolven desires and urges are becoming stronger and harder to ignore and resist..."  

[M3Gnificent]

Thaelia let out a soft sigh. Had things been so simple, she would have simply ordered him not to have those urges. Even one such as she knew that such a stupid order would hold little fruit beyond just troubling poor Blythe even worse. All she could think to say was, "It sounds as if resisting them entirely will only bring you suffering, yet submitting to them completely will do no better. All I can suggest is to give way to some lesser urges some of the time and to ease your way into resisting them completely. Like gradually building an immunity to them, assuming that sort of thing would even work." She could not help but feel a little uncomfortable, her words not showing as much certainty as she would like. Looking perhaps a little curious once the situation was given further thought, Thaelia asked shortly afterwards, "Forgive my intrusiveness, but what exactly do you feel compelled to do, anyway?"

 

[DecafKitten]

Blythe actually blushed, looking a bit sheepish, unsure how to describe the somewhat embarrassing urges of his true self. "Well... sea wolves were created to be loyal, very loyal, companions... very connected to their.. master. Almost to a very.. extreme point. When a wolf is without a master, but is around a mermaid or a (insert name I can't remember right now here) who does not have a wolf companion nor a very strong connection to anyone else, they become... attached to that person, seeing them as their master and wishing to do such things as... roll over and expose their belly, a sign of submission, or never leave their master's side and protect their master... Wolves also can get very possessive of their masters and easily jealous.." he explained, looking down at the floor and feeling rather like he was explaining the birds and the bees or something similar. He realized Thaelia was a very reclusive person and he didn't want to cause her to see him as some type of psychotic wolf stalker.  

[M3Gnificent]

Thaelia nodded, seeming to have come to understand the situation a little better. At least, she did until she'd actually spoken. "A self preservation instinct from generations and generations of subjugation. That makes sense." She figured that it was simply his species' natural instinct to try and earn the master's favor as best as they could, perhaps even going so far as to eliminate any competition for master's affections as to increase their own chances. She offered a small smile, gently reaching out to gently ruffle Blythe's hair. That's what humans claimed dogs liked, right? Wouldn't wolves love the same, seeing as how they are so closely related? "Does...does this sort of thing help?"

 

[DecafKitten]

Blythe looked rather surprised at Thaelia's reaction. He had expected her to be withdrawn and freaked out, not understanding and smiling. He wasn't sure she quite understood the situation exactly. "I'm sorry, I know it's a rather awkward situation... I thought you would be rather not fond of the idea, since you seem to prefer your own company..." he replied, eyes widening a bit when she ruffled his hair. "If a wolf could purr, I would..." he replied with a charming grin. Not many people noticed, but his canine teeth, although not as sharp and big as fangs, were more pointed than normal humans.