[M] Splashdown (Holey & Midoripickle)

[Holeypaladin]

The Imperial Sky Frigate Golden Stag wasn't build for heavy combat. Rather, it was a light vessel belt for speed and maneuverability. There were definite advantages to both, when it came to airship naval tactics, but it meant the vessel wasn't as heavily armed or armored as were the heavier battleships.

And so, when it came under attack by a blue dragonflight over the skies of the vast ocean, there was a problem. "Fire the cannons!" came the order of the ship's captain. "Give the wyverns a broadside, see if we can clear a path to hit the dragon!" The thundering sound of tech weapons fire roared as the salvo of projectile weapons began to blow holes through the flight of wyverns, dropping many of them out of the side while the vessel continued its attempts to keep its distance.

The Imperial Arcane Knight known as Manfred wasn't actually part of the crew, in that he didn't fall under the commander's chain of command. Technically, he outranked the commander, though he didn't try and give orders of his own. Rather, he was assigned more to augment the forces of this vessel in its journey.

For the time being, he was in the crow's nest, using a spell to augment his own visual sight in order to locate the dragon. But something was wrong... where the dragon should have been, was only a large wyvern. But then he located the creature out of the corner of his eye. "Above us!" he shouted too late as a blast of lightning blew a hole clean through the light armor of the vessel, severing the mast upon which he was standing.

As the knight plummeted down to the ocean below, he was vaguely aware of the continued thunder of cannon fire along with the lesser thunder of musket fire atop the deck itself. In his fall, he was spiraling too far out of control to keep track of the progress of the battle, and before he knew it he had landed in the ocean with a splash. Feeling himself rapidly lose his consciousness, it was all he could do to hold on to the wooden mast with the rest of his strength in hopes that he wouldn't drown as his vision faded and he blacked out.

[Midori-Hime]

The ocean was gentle and calm this day, a stark contrast to the battle above. The creature known as Lorelei finally emerged from the depths of the ocean to enjoy the surface for a while. All merfolk knew the dangers of venturing to the surface, as there there many creatures, not just man, that hunted them. But she was willing to chance spending a short while in open waters.

Though as she neared the surface, Lorelei gave a pause. Up above she could hear the distant rumbling, almost like thunder. But it was strange and much too bright to be a storm. Any sensible merfolk would likely turn back and vanish back into the depths, but Lorelei was an adventurous and curious one. Still, she proceeded with caution as she neared the surface.

As she surfaced, Lorelei took a large gasp of air for the first time in a long while. However, the thunderous sounds were much louder now and quickly captured her attention. Lorelei then froze at what she saw, watching as the strange ship battled with a large dragon just overhead. It was terrifying, and yet even though she knew she should flee, she was mesmerized by the sight.

Just then a bolt of lightning was fired at the ship, sending debris falling into the ocean. Lorelei's eyes widened and she quickly dodged the fallen pieces of the ship. She ducked back under the water, just in time to miss a large piece of wood. Though as it rose back to float at the surface, Lorelei saw a figure clinging to it. A man, she realized, though she never had any interaction with humans before. She'd heard stories, some good, some horrible. But the thought of just leaving him to possibly drown just didn't sit well with her. Quickly Lorelei swam over to the unconscious human and pulled him into her arms, even if many would think it was unwise. Frowning, she shook him, trying to wake him, but he wouldn't open his eyes.

Unsure of what to do, Lorelei could only think of one thing. She knew of a island not too far from here and it was the only chance he had. So she took him there, carefully carrying him away from the battle to the shore of the small island. Laying him on the sand, Lorelei leaned over him and then quickly pressed her head to his chest. His heart was still beating, she realized with relief. Though how would she wake him?

[Holeypaladin]

Manfred'd condition wasn't very good. Despite his best efforts to cling to the floating mast, eventually his strength gave out, and he found himself falling into the salt water of the great ocean. He lacked the energy to cast so much as a water breathing spell on himself due to the injury and fatigue he had suffered in the fall, and with his vision rapidly fading into darkness, he realized that this was most likely the end for him.

He was unconscious by the time he mermaid found him and carried him to shore. Exhausted and passed out, he shouldn't have ever awoken. However, he was also made of sturdier stuff than most humans, and after some period of dreamless sleep, he eventually awoke to a bright light shining in his eyes. He was on his back, and the first thing he saw as his blurred vision came into focus was a beautiful, naked girl leaning over him.

"An angel?" he murmured, or at least attempted to, as he instead spit out a bunch of water. Still out of it and delirious, Manfred was of the impression that he had died and gone to one of the Seven Heavens, and as such, he figured this girl was the paradise he had earned from his hard work in service to the Empire. As such, he wrapped his arms around the mermaid and pulled her close, kissing her deeply and stroking her soft, wet hair.

[Midori-Hime]

Lorelei continued to lean over him, worried that he might not ever wake, and yet didn't know what else to do but wait. But just before her worry became too serious, she saw his eyes flutter open. She gasped softly, looking down into his eyes with a curious gaze, her own a deep ocean blue. Her expression turned from confusion to worry again as he tried to speak, but only coughed up water. Quickly her hand came down to gently turn his head, making it easier for him.

But he was alive, she thought with relief, even if she wasn't sure she should be relieved just yet. He could very well be a bad man, the sort that her kind warned about, but she hoped he was good. Now that he was conscious, Lorelei relaxed just a little. Until he grabbed her. The sudden embrace startled her and she immediately feared that he intended to harm her after all. But of all the thoughts that rushed through her mind, she certainly did not expect a kiss.

Her blue eyes went wide, frozen for a moment before she jerked back from him sharply. Lorelei stared into his eyes with a mix of confusion and disbelief, slowly bringing her fingers to touch her lips. Though his hands were still lost in her long, tousled, Venetian blonde hair. She shifted back from him warily then, though as she looked to where her tail should be, there were only two long, milky white legs. Lorelei frowned a little, but perhaps it would work in her favor to be seen as a human. At least until she knew she could trust him.

Turning her attention back to the human, Lorelei looked him over carefully. She didn't see any wounds, any blood. The maiden's brow then furrowed, her lips trembling as she seemed to be trying out words. Looking back into his eyes, Lorelei muttered. "Y- Y-you... H-hurt?" She asked finally, still searching for the right words.

[Holeypaladin]

The knight's mind snapped back to attention as the naked girl suddenly pulled away from him. If he was dead and this was Heaven, wasn't she supposed to be a bit more receptive than that? He blinked at the sun in his eyes, covering them a bit as he tried to take in the girl's words. She wasn't really... speaking. Was she unable to talk? Eventually, however, she did manage a couple words, though they sounded foreign. He had no idea what sort of accent it was, but she definitely wasn't a native speaker of the human language.

Trying to sit up, he winced in pain. "Ugh...." he mumured. "Yeah... it hurts...." Most of his pain was due to internal injuries... bruising, perhaps a broken bone or ten somewhere, but the dragon hadn't actually drawn any blood and his armor had protected him from external injuries from the fall, so there was that at least. He was more confused why he was still alive, as he should have drowned in that ocean... and this girl...

"Who are you...?" he asked, gazing at her body. While she was incredibly beautiful, she didn't have the wings that an angel should have, meaning they were either concealed, or she was something else. "Where am I? Am I dead?" He was indeed quite confused, but the real question on his mind was why there was such a beautiful girl in front of them who seemed to feel no shame about being naked in front of him.

[Midori-Hime]

Lorelei frowned deeply as he was obviously in pain. Quickly she put a hand to his chest, gently pressing him to lay back down. She then took a moment to look at the strange clothing beneath her hand, feeling over it curiously. Clothing itself was foreign to her, but she'd never seen anything like this before. The maiden then suddenly looked back into his eyes as he asked her a question. She seemed to consider his question for a moment, but wasn't sure how to answer.

Her long waves of golden hair probably reached the middle of her thighs when standing and as she sat now, it draped over her modest chest, hiding most of it. But she seemed mostly unphased by her nudity. To be honest, she never understood most of the strange clothes humans wore.

Lorelei tilted her head at his other questions, but only smiled. Gently she shook her head, seeming to find it amusing that he thought he was dead. Then she looked around them for a moment. Suddenly she pointed behind him enthusiastically, gently patting his shoulder before pointing again. Behind them, hidden among the trees, was a cliffside manor. From where they were on the beach, not much more than the roof could be seen. Though she wasn't sure he could walk in his condition, which would leave them in a bit of a predicament.

[Holeypaladin]

The knight allowed himself to be pressed onto his back, continuing to gaze at the beautiful naked girl above him. She seemed to be rather curiously interested in his armor. It was as if she had never seen armor before, and well... if she always ran around naked like this, perhaps she hadn't seen clothing before either. He imagined it would be cold running around naked, but perhaps she was some sort of fairy... he heard tales of forest nymphs who shunned the concept of clothing, after all.

"Are you a nymph...?" he asked, trying to figure out what she was, but it seemed the girl either didn't understand him, or didn't have any desire to speak to him. Noting the way she pointed, he strained to look in the direction she indicated, though it still hurt to move. "Oh..." he said, "Is that your house?" Trying to collect his strength, he took a deep breath. Injuries aside, it wouldn't do much good to lay down like this, and judging by her stature, there was no way this pretty girl could carry him.

"Irisv ezoukeic, sia," the knight incanted words in Draconic. While he was no expert in restoration magic, he at least had some degree of competence in the realm of self-healing, as it was essential in most combat situations. He didn't have a whole lot of magical energy to spare, but he used what he did have in order to heal the worst of his injuries... at least to the point where he could stand and walk. Feeling the soothing restorative energy course through him and ease his pain a bit, he slowly climbed to his feet, though walking was still a chore, as he still had quite the limb to his stride.

Reaching out towards the girl, he asked, "Help?" before leaning ever so slightly against her, resting his arm on her soft, bare shoulder in order to have her help walk him over towards what he had understood to be her house.

[Midori-Hime]

Lorelei looked back to the man in surprise, awed by the strange language he spoke. They carried a raw, powerful energy that made her shudder. But it sparked her curiosity rather than fearing it. Yet the man only surprised her further as he suddenly rose and stood up with only a little effort. Looking up at him, her eyes slowly wandered over his form in wonder, though his gesture quickly captured her attention again. He expected her to help him walk... Well, there might be a little bit of an issue there.

The maiden looked down at her own legs hesitantly and attempted to follow suit. Though as she rose, Lorelei wobbled greatly, just barely managing to keep herself from falling. Her arms flew out, struggling to keep her balance as her legs continued to tremble. But after a moment, she finally steadied and looked to him with a triumphant smile.

However, the man's weight on her shoulder definitely made it all the more difficult. But they were quite the pair and managed to help each other stay on their feet as they gradually started up the hill. It was a bit of a walk, and while the man seemed to grow more unsteady, Lorelei became more confident with her steps. Eventually they would emerge from the trees at the hilltop, where the manor sat. It was actually quite dilapidated and clearly no one had lived there in years. But at least it was some sort of shelter.

[Holeypaladin]

As he stood and examined the beautiful naked girl, the knight quickly realized that she didn't seem all that well balanced... as if she wasn't used to walking on two feet. This made for quite an amusing duo between the two of them... with her poor balance and his injuries, managing to walk the entire distance to the manor seemed quite impossible. "What... are you...?" he asked, yet he had reached the point where he didn't expect the girl to even answer him.

Glancing around, he noted two large branches that could be used. Securing them, he held one under his arm and handed the other to the girl, showing her how he was gripping it as well for support. Then he wrapped his arm around him again, holding on to her to support her while using the branches as a sort of walking cane to allow for additional support. In this manner, he approached what he had initially thought to be her house.

However, upon reaching the shelter, it was clear that no one had lived there in quite some time. Perhaps it was the holiday residence of some nobleman once, but that nobleman clearly didn't visit this place anymore. Shrugging, he approached the building, holding the girl close. Glancing over at her pretty face, he said, "Thank you.... I wish I knew your name," as he approached the dilapidated shelter.

[Midori-Hime]

She looked to him in surprise as he handed her a large branch, looking down at it for a moment before she followed his example. It did help a bit, though she was still just generally uneasy on her feet, rather than because of an injury. She looked ahead at the old manor, which was just a little further before they could both rest. However, as the man spoke again, she met his eyes with a deep gaze.

She seemed to be deep in thought before she put a hand to her chest, just over her heart. "Lorelei..." She said then, her voice soft and warm. She smiled at him and then tilted her head curiously. Slowly she reached out, making the same gesture to his chest. Lorelei continued to watched him expectantly, just as they came to the front door.

It creaked and groaned as the door was pulled open. It was dark inside the manor, and quite musty as well, but it was dry. The manor was still furnished, though everything was covered in a layer of dust and cobwebs. The entry way continued on until it opened up into a open room with a large staircase, but there was a room immediately to both the left and right. One seemed to be a sitting room with a large fireplace and some sofas covered in cloth.