If I Had You (Lona/Nicholai)

[Ilona Deera]

Ilona loved people watching. There was always the chance that she would see something interesting and there wasn't anything better than drama. But watching the merfolk wasn't nearly as watching the Upperworlders. It was for that very reason that Ilona found herself swimming to the surface.

There weren't many people on the surface today. All of the girls stayed far away from the water (which was smart considering her habit of drowning them), and there weren't many boys around. Overall, there was nothing that interesting.

Sighing, Ilona decided to swim closer. She got so close to the beach that she was practically beached herself, but that didn't really matter to her. What mattered was that she was a near a boy, a cute boy.

"Hi there," Ilona giggled, waving at the boy.

[Nicholai Legend]

Nicholai was patiently looking over at the sky with a mildly bored feeling.

That is, until a mermaid popped out of the water.

"Hi there," the mermaid giggled.

"What the--" sputtered Nicholai. "You do realize that the king hates magical creatures, right?" He brushed hair out of his face with a sandy hand and frowned. "You're a mermaid. Figures."

[Ilona Deera]

Ilona giggled again as she watched the boy, unconciously batting her eyelashes. She knew the king hated magical creatures, but did she care? Not really. He could have his fun time trying to get to the bottom of the lagoon; Lona would much rather stay near the surface and flirt with boys than cower in the depths in fear of the king.

"What the king hates is his problem, not mine," Ilona said, tossing her red hair over her shoulder. Right now I'm too preoccupied with you, she thought.

"I'm Ilona, what's your name?" the mermaid asked, drawing swirls into the sand with her finger as she spoke.

[Nicholai Legend]

"Nicholai," said Nick guardedly, pressing his lips together. "Hm." He grimaced. Man, he really did hate mermaids.

[Ilona Deera]

"Nicholai," Ilona murmered. "I love your name. It suits you," she grinned, slicking water into the air with her tail.

"So, Nicholai, what're you doing at the beach?" Lona asked, twirling a strand of red hair between her fingers.

[Nicholai Legend]

"And what is that supposed to mean?" asked Nick, completely caught off-guard. He straightened his cloak and tried for the badass expression. After all, he was supposed to be a drop-dead scary sorcerer. "And i'm at the beach because I'm bored."

Right. Such a badass sorcerer.

"And I need to cast a ...spell..." he said falteringly.

So amazing.

[Ilona Deera]

Ilona giggled again, not answering his question. It was fun seeing his aloof demeanor falter for a second.

"You're bored?" Lona asked, quirking an eyebrow. I can help with that...

Another giggle escaped her lips as Nicholai kept talking, he stumbled for words. "A spell? So you're a sorcerer? I've never seen someone cast a spell before, can you cast one?" Lona asked excitedly, leaning closer on her arms.

[Nicholai Legend]

"Not in the public!" Nick said with a sort of scandalized air. "You joking? The king'll have my neck. And I only cast spells if I want to."

However...

He grinned slightly and wiggled his fingers. Without a sound, Ilona's hair turned blonde. "There. I casted a spell."

That ought to teach her for flirting with him.

[Ilona Deera]

Ilona didn't see the big deal. Sorcerers were powerful, weren't they? Why fear the king so much?

"There. I casted a spell."

"Wha--?" Lona started to say, but she cut herself off with a shocked shriek when she saw what exactly he had done. Her hair! It wasn't the rich, velvety red it once was anymore. It was yellow. A golden yellow.

"You turned me blond!?" Ilona yelled, glaring at the sorcerer in front of her, her brown eyes flashing dangerously.

[Nicholai Legend]

Nick waved his hand idly, turning it back the exact same hue it as before. "Don't worry; it's not like I can't reverse the spell," he said. "Tell me, are you one of the warriors of the deep?"

[Ilona Deera]

Ilona calmed down considerably once her hair was back to its normal shade of red, but she was still angry. The only thing keeping her from drowning him was that he was cute. Plus, she did ask him to cast a spell.

"Tell me, are you one of the warriors of the deep?"

"Of course I am. You didn't actually think that I would bother showing my face to the merfolk if I didn't fight for my people, did you?" Ilona asked incredulously. A merfolk who didn't defend their people was nothing in her eyes.

"And you? Have you ever used your spellcasting in a battle?" Lona asked, tilting her head slightly in sudden interest.

[Nicholai Legend]

"Yes, I have," said Nicholai, a bit of pride swelling up in him. He remembered his first fight vividly -- a fourteen year old boy against an eighteen year old sorcerer. And he had won. "It's hard, but it's worth it. So does that mean you've ever fought a sea serpent?"

[Ilona Deera]

"Sea serpents? Like a walk in the park. Ya know, if I could walk," Ilona laughed, swishing her tail even more to emphasis her no-leggedness.

"They usually take a few merfolk, though. Their more agile, so, despite our advantage with speed, they take more time to take down," the red head admitted, smiling sheepishly.

"And what about you? Have you fought any creatures like sea serpents?" Lona asked curiously.

[Nicholai Legend]

"Nope, I've never had the fortune of fighting a sea serpent," said Nicholai. "But don't mermaids usually have some kind of potion to turn them human for 24 hours?"

He shuddered. "I have, however, fought a griffin. Nasty. Honorable as they are, a touch of dark magic turns them dark and wild. I had to fight one to prove myself to the sorcerers."

[Ilona Deera]

Ilona's eyes widened as she processed Nicholai's words. "There's actually a potion for that? I can actually walk around on the beach and lie in the sand without worrying about having to haul myself back into the water?" she asked excitedly.

She had heard of a potion to 'cure' mermaids, as that lovely fae had put it (she didn't last long enough to explain her wording), but she had never thought that it meant giving her legs! Imagine what she could do with legs... Get your mind outta the gutter, Lona, she told herself, glancing at Nicholai. Ah, what the hell, why not?

"I've seen some griffins fly overhead, but I've never seen one up close. Are they as majestic as they look from afar?"

[Nicholai Legend]

She was looking at Nick in a way that made Nick feel like he was going to blush, and he most fervently hoped that he wasn't. She said something about griffins and he coughed, replying, "Y-yeah, they're just sooo majestic. That is, until they try to gouge your eyes out."

[Ilona Deera]

She didn't know why, but Nicholai's words made her laugh. And not just a chuckle or a flirty giggle, no, she laughed. Her entire body shook as she did, and she gasped for air.

"I see your point," Ilona giggled once she'd caught enough oxygen in her lungs. "Just cuz they're pretty doesn't mean their safe."

[Nicholai Legend]

"Exactly."

Nicholai tilted his head. "Say, isn't there a portal that leads to the Resistance? You should join."

[Ilona Deera]

Ilona felt her nose scrunch up in a cross between confusion and repulsion. "I don't think that's a smart idea," she said.

"It's not that I don't agree with what the Resistance stands for, it's just that they're, um, too nice? No, that's not the right word. They're, well, no, I'm too aggressive...with everything," Lona tried to explain properly, but she didn't think that she did that good of a job at it.

"Bleh, I'm better at speaking to fish," she muttered, mentally facepalming.

[Nicholai Legend]

"Ah," said Nicholai, fairly confused. "So you aren't going to join?"

[Ilona Deera]

Ilona tried to shrug, but it was kind of painful with all of the stress she was putting on her shoulders and arms to keep her in the position she was in.

"I don't think so. Well, I might if they decide that throwing a spear through random people is tolerable," Lona said, a half smiling pulling at her lips.

"So, are you in the Resistance?" she asked, starting to feel uncomfortable with the questions being directed at her.

[Nicholai Legend]

"Yes," said Nicholai. "I got conned into being in the resistance by Aurora Danaera." His voice got slightly sour. "Not that she doesn't deserve to lead, but she's a bit young."

[Ilona Deera]

"You got conned?" Ilona giggled, the thought amusing her greatly. She just couldn't imagine the guy in front of her getting conned. "I really can't imagine that."

She listened to Nicholai talk, loving the sound of his voice. It was funny how she completely forgot about flirting with him once they started conversing.

Though the thoughts still rung through her mind. Ilona bit her lip, her mind trailing off into the not so clean thoughts, and every few seconds her eyes would subconsciously flicker towards the dark haired boy.

"Age has nothing to do with whether or not you're a good leader," Lona said, barely paying attention.

[Nicholai Legend]

Now that the mermaid wasn't trying to blatantly flirt with Nick, he found that he rather enjoyed talking to her. "Yes, conned," said Nick. "She knows I've got a debt to pay and a soft spot for her. And yes, age has nothing to do with being a good leader, but everyone else is wondering if she knows enough to be a good leader."

[Ilona Deera]

A spark of jealousy danced through Ilona as Nicholai talked about having a 'soft spot' for the Resistance's leader. She made a mental note to drown this Aurora character the next time she came to the lagoon.

"Well she obviously knows enough if she could con you into joining the Resistance," Lona said, hoping that it didn't sound as icy as she thought it did.

She had no right to be jealous anyway; none of her flirting had worked on him at all, but that didn't stop her from being bitter.

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