• Event • The Lights on the Water [Ashan Seasonal]

[Oracle]

As the trio raced through the forest they could see a glimmer of pale liquid moonlight that radiated just ahead of them on the path. The light filtered through the luminescent trees and lit the trail well enough to see. The cries and bitter shrieks of Vyrelle could be heard behind them as the Heartmourn somehow managed to hold her off and buy the group some valuable time. His loud booming voice rang out as he roared with indignation and rage.

"I won't let you have them!" he cried sharply into the night.

"I won't let you have me!

Trees shook and crashed as they battled, so for now Arlo, Vega and Vivian were safe.

The group came sprinting into a dark clearing where the bright white light originated from. The trees here were dark and bore none of the bioluminescence that the rest of the forest possessed. At the center of the glade rested a perfectly still pool of water that glistened with that silvery light that they had spied at a distance.

When the Heartmourn had spoken of a “well” one would imagine the sort of thing with a cute little roof equipped with a bucket for hauling water.

This was not that, but it must be what he had been referring to.

The water was crystal clear and the light seemed to be coming from something beneath the surface.

Looking closer, the pool was very deep; seeming to be at least thirty feet in depth and at the very bottom floated a glowing pale figure of a young woman that was chained by the legs to the bottom of the pool where a single lock rested that was in the shape of a heart. She was apparently unconscious, sleeping or dead as her eyes remained closed. The girl possessed a long swath of rosy blonde hair that drifted in the water and she wore a soft white dress that matched Vyrelle’s own clothing. It was not just any dress, but the type that one might spy a bride wearing at a wedding.

Arlo though would find that his attention was stolen by something else. There was a strange smell in the air, especially near the pool that made his hair bristle on end. The women would be unable to detect any such thing, but with the sharp nose of a raccoon he was able to discern that there was something very ‘not right’ about the water. The aroma was bitter and smelled of danger that made his whiskers twitch warily.

To their backs the sounds of struggle between Vyrelle and the Heartmourn had suddenly gone quiet. The thunderous booming call of the Heartmourn had utterly vanished but the pallid glow of Vryelle could be seen approaching through the trees.

The group had very little time to act before she would be upon them, and if she had the power to turn Arlo into a raccoon, what else might she do to them now that she was truly incensed?

!	Message from: Oracle
	Everyone ,feel free to contact me if you have any questions! I plan on posting again in roughly one week. Impacts You have found the well that the Heartmourn was referring to and Vyrelle is in hot pursuit. You now have roughly two minutes before she reaches your position.

[Arlo Creede]

Weasels, ferrets, Arlo was pretty sure that the two were one and the same. "Polecats too," he shot back behind him, to Vivian, as he dashed through the underbrush, a more direct path through the forest than the two women were able to take...them by their current size and stature being compelled to stick to the path, and him, not. The only real difference, he added, being that ferrets were weasels that had been bred into pets and sold to unsuspecting parents as suitable pets for their children.

And while he appreciated the offer to carry him along the way, it wasn't necessary. What he currently lacked in speed and length of stride, he more than made up for in adaptability and surefooted-ness. Arlo wouldn't slow them down and judging by all the shouting and the thrashing about behind them, they couldn't afford it. If only he'd been in his usual form, he'd have stayed and fought. The follower of Cassion wasn't accustomed to feeling helpless, like he did now, and he didn't much like it.

And there it was, or at least it must be the well they'd been looking for. It was more like a naturally occurring one though and not the kind that were dug or drilled then reinforced with brick and mortar. And while it was a sight to behold, something wasn't quite right. He lifted his nose in the air, it twitched, and his whiskers with it. And having taking a sniff, what passed for lips curled back and he bared his razor sharp teeth. "There's something not right about that water. Something very wrong in fact." No matter how compelling the sight was at the bottom of that pond, the potential for disaster was at least its equal. And they were also, it appeared, running out of time.

But one look at Vega...and well, he didn't even have to look at her to know what she'd do given half a chance. "Don't you do it. Don't even think about it," he said. "There's got to be another way. We'll find it and if there's not..." Well if there wasn't and it resulted in him living out the rest of his trials as a raccoon, it was a small price to pay. "Just don't you do it." Don't go plunging into that water, he meant. And if she tried, he was close enough and would clamp down on whatever bit of her clothing he could get between his teeth. If Vega went, she wouldn't be going without him.

[Vega]

Trees shook and the sounds of the fight and the roaring of voices echoed behind them and tears stood out clearly in Vega's eyes. When Vivian, who thus far had shouted a lot and waved her sword around but done no actual thing of use as far as Vega was concerned, included the ferret in her offer to carry, those same eyes, filled with tears as they were, turned a deep crimson. If it sounded like she was joking about what she'd do if the ferret who, by his own cowardice, nearly got the Heartmourn - or one of them, her Arlo among them ~ killed, then it sounded wrong. But there were only so many things that Vega could experience before she started to learn and her fury was tempered in a way it never used to be. Arlo knew her well enough to know. If Nauta came within striking distance of her, she would not hesitate. Not for a moment. Vivian and her flibbertygibbet half baked ways were of no consequence to the mixed blood.

Instead, she moved. There wasn't a second offer of carrying Arlo from her - she'd offered once and he knew the offer was there. If he wanted it, he'd let her know and she'd already be bending to get him. It was their way. Vega's mind was whirling and she realised that she could help them, she could buy them time.

"Xiur, I'm right sorry about the bother," she prayed, internally. "But I'm jus' gonna try an' protect him. Please, don't let 'im die. No matter what, no one deserves that. No one. If it's yer will an' all, I mean, you're the Immortal." And she used a "Fog Bank" to hide their escape. It would, hopefully, confuse and confound Vyrelle, buying them a few more moments and those might be what they needed. She could only hope, she thought with a slight smile and a prayer to Xiur that Heartmourn's curse be lifted. Thathe be given the chance to live his life. Buy himself something to wear. That kind of thing.

And then, there they were. The well.

Vega saw it and she saw the girl there and she started to move. But Arlo's voice rang in her head and she stopped, turning to look at him in confusion. Her eyes swirled a mass of colours and then turned a rare, oh so rare, single colour. Bright pink eyes looked at him and she shook her head. "I'm not goin' nowhere without you, you dweeb," she had been, of course, but that wasn't the point. "Not now, not ever. It's a'right, he told us what we've gotta do." He had, of course. Heartmourn had. It took Vega a few trill to work it out, because she was all heart and emotion, slower on the uptake than many. But he'd told them. And in telling them, he'd told them something else, too.

Suddenly, absolutely, the moment her eyes had changed colour, Vega knew - or believed she knew - what they had to do. There was no going down there, not for either of them. She knew him, knew him too well and she knew that he would dive in there rather than let her go. Pulling her bow, she charged it with the ability granted by Xiur, the "Shooting Star" ability, which caused the aim of her bow to emit a ray of starlight for her to aim by.

Please Xir. If it's yer will. They're both trapped, aren't they? Both of 'em Her prayer was heartfelt and then, using every ounce of strength she had, and having taken just a few trill to aim, Vega fired. The ability helped her aim and she hoped and believed that the prayer would, too.

And her aim? It was at the lock holding the body there. She'd fire, and keep firing, aiming always for the heart shaped lock. Solid pink eyes did not deviate from what she was doing.

[Vivian Shiryu]

Vivian listened grimly to the sound of the fight behind them, then looked down at Arlo as he mentioned a polecat. "What's a polecat?" she asked in confusion, before shaking her head, trying to put the thought out of her mind. When they finally reached the well, it wasn't even remotely what she had expected. This wasn't a place where people came to draw water, this was a big hole in the ground that just so happened to be filled with water. Which, to be fair, was probably how wells started. However, it was what at the bottom of the well that got her attention. Vyrelle's body, chained to a rock and wearing a wedding dress. Their objective, either free or destroy the corpse.

Truth be told, Vivian had been trying to find a way to retrieve the corpse without jumping in, as she couldn't swim and really didn't handle being submerged very well, when Arlo spoke up. The news that the water was dangerous was almost a relief, but it also made their job a lot harder. Then the sound of the fightning between Vyrelle and Heartmourn stopped and Vivian turned around, noticing the light behind them. "We're running out of time." she growled, looking down at one hand. After a moment, sparks began to form in her palm, gathering together into a single bolt of lightning. Her skills and her Palenon given powers had proven remarkably useless against Vyrelle's ghost, but the corpse was submerged and water and lightning didn't generally play very well.

She saw Vega pull out her bow, and briefly Vivian regretted not bringing either of hers along, but she agreed with what Vega was trying to do. She waited until the redhead was in-between shots, then threw the lightning bolt into the pool as well. Possibly, it would just electrocute the water, not doing much at all. Possibly, it would destroy the chains, or the stone, or the corpse. It was magic water, and she was far from an expert. Still, she did what she could, and that meant using her Lightning Manipulation.

It took a bit for the ability to recharge, and if it had any effect, she'd use it again as soon as it ready. But she knew they were running out of time, and Vega at least had more tools that might be useful here. When it became clear that Vyrelle was closing, if they hadn't gotten her hassle solved, Vivian would step forward and try and by them some more time. Vivian didn't believe she could defeat Vyrelle's ghost, but she hoped she could keep the whispy pain in the ass focused on her for as long as possible.

[Oracle]

A blanket of dense fog spread through the forest as Vega used the powers granted by Xiur to cover their escape. It wouldn’t stop Vyrelle but it might give the group a precious few trills to reach the well.

It was perhaps a blessing in the end that Arlo had been transformed into a raccoon. His keen nose had picked up the deadly poison within the pool before Vega had a change to go jumping in. This knowledge of course meant that they simply couldn’t venture into the water and that they would need another means of retrieving the body.

Vega and Vivian were of the same mind and both attacked the problem in their own unique way. Vega drew her bow and a thin beam of starlight helped her carefully take aim. While she was doing this Vivian summoned forth the power of her Palenon mark in the form of a bolt of lightning. Vega’s arrow sailed through the air before plunging into the toxic water just as the lightning was set loose. There was a faint splash and the hum of electricity as the arrow flew true and smashed into the lock. Perhaps it was the combination of the lightning and the arrow, but regardless the lock lay shattered and the body began drifting toward the surface.

Just as the pale body broke the surface, the water itself began to glow faintly with a soft ethereal blue light. Just at that moment Vyrelle herself broke through the fog and came floating into the clearing with a murderous look upon her face.
“What have you done!” she said with a horrified gasp. The ivory floating wisp of a girl immediately went silent when she noticed the blue glow emanating from the pool.

“No….no I’m not done yet.” She whimpered softly, all of her wrath dissipating in an instant to be replaced by fear and dread.

The water within the “well” began to rise in beautiful arching strands, lifting the body into the air. Radiant glowing droplets of liquid pooled together and a shape began to form amid the swirl of water and mist. The terrible poisonous scent that Arlo had previously detected had vanished and the glade was filled with the aroma of bright clean water. A sinuous body formed from the bands of water that wove themselves together until it resolved into the shape of something almost familiar. It was the shape of a veshla; one of the aquatic drakes that dwelt within the waters of Lake Lovalus. Although this creature was far larger than normal and it possessed a longer more elegant tail and neck. A presence like no other filled the clearing; it was both ancient and alien. The water forged serpent turned its bright luminous sapphire eyes toward Vyrelle.

“No, please Lovalus.” Vyrelle whispered, her eyes fixed on the body being held suspended in the air by the power of the rippling and fluid water serpent.

“I didn’t mean to hurt them, it was just a game!”

There was no hint of mercy within the eyes of the Induk of Lake Lovalus. The girl had made her last trespass, abusing the gift that had been given to her. Vyrelle had been saved, or at least a part of her had been when the spirit had found her drowning in the depths of its domain arcs ago, pursued by a man who thought that he had the right to claim her for his own. The Induk had loathed the sight of this man trespassing into its waters in pursuit of the girl, so it had acted. Vyrelle Duvier had died that trial, but a small bitter part of her had been preserved and allowed to live on, while the man had been transformed into something hideous as punishment. But now Vyrelle had gone too far, toying with weak, fragile mortals and drawing them out onto the Lake so she could punish any men that she could get her hands on.

The cold radiant eyes of the Induk looked at Vyrelle icily before turning it’s gaze to Vega, Arlo and Vivian as if waiting to see what they might do or say; not that it particularly cared.

!	Message from: Oracle
	Everyone ,feel free to contact me if you have any questions! I plan on posting again in roughly one week. I'll post sooner if everyone else gets their replies in early. Impacts Teamwork Unlocked!: Working together, Arlo, Vega and Vivian protected each other from harm and reached their goal. There will be an extra reward at the end.

[Vega]

Vega knew, without a doubt that she owed her life to Arlo Creede.

Her life, the life she lived right now, she would never be living were it not for the boy who had sat in the tree who she had met when she was a girl, all elbows and knees. Her life, their life was an amazing thing to her and it needed them both. Her and him. So, in a real sense, they owed their life to each other - and that meant a lot of things to both of them. But when he'd said 'just don't you do it', Vega had known there and then that, if she went in that water, then he did too. She knew that as much as she hoped he knew she meant it when she said that she wasn't going anywhere without him.

Life was handy like that, she thought in an instant. He went where she went and she went where he did. It was a good job they were both going in the same direction.

But the thought, the feeling, was as fleeting as a heartbeat and she aimed her bow. Vivian stepped forward and, together, the two women did what needed doing, together. Vega dropped to her knees as the lock shattered, her hand on Arlo, although there was no ear scratching - she just needed proximity to him.

There had been tears in her eyes as they arrived here, and, as they watched what transpired, a single tear trailed down her cheek. Looking on, she watched and she held on to her small and furry woodland creature boyfriend and she prayed. Let light guide them both, she asked of the Immortals. Stars light or the light of the light of courage, let it guide them. "It's a'right, Vyrelle, I promise. I've done it," she said to Vyrelle. "It's nothin' to be scared of." She'd died, passed on, met the twins and been judged. She understood the fear this young girl felt and she did so at a fundamental level. She watched and, as things unfolded, she lowered her head to Arlo, raccoon form as he was. "I love you," she whispered, apparently from nowhere.

And Lovalus, the spirit of the Lake, she guessed, looked around. "I'm sorry to ask an' all," she said, softly. "But she's turned a lot of men folk into small furry woodland animals, an' I was wonderin' if maybe you'd be able to put that right an' turn them back, please? But as for her an' Heartmoun, well..." She stopped. She'd been about to say something but then she realised that what she was going to say was quite something else. "Well, I don't know what they did, neither one of them, but I know they've paid for it a thousand times over an' lived in torment an' torture a thousand times more. Both of them trapped an' jus' becomin' more an' more the shape they were put into." Was it the Lake who had put them in those shapes? Vega didn't know, but if it was then it was even more true, what she said now.

" Everyone deserves a second chance if you can give it to them. Can you?" Smiling slightly at the Induk of the Lake, Vega thought that it was a good job that she was who she was and Arlo was who he was. Because frankly, this was like to wig out almost anyone else. Thank goodness Pepper had legged it, she considered. It would be too much for her and Vega would hate to see her upset. "An' if you can, would you, please? It seems like the right an' fair thing to do."

Sometimes, Vega thought, it would be better if she'd been born without the ability to talk. Because when she thought it, she just had to say it.

[Arlo Creede]

His Vega was magnificent, Arlo mused, and not for the first time. Not even the first since they'd stepped foot on the island. And it was a good job, since once he'd been transformed into a raccoon, early on, he'd been as good as useless from beginning to end. Maybe not as useless as the ferret who'd hightailed it out of there at the first sign of danger. But still..."I love you," he shot back when Vega said it, but she already knew anyway. Just like they both knew that if she'd insisted on going into that poisonous water, he'd have been right there with her, latched onto her pants' leg by his teeth.

But where Vega went, he went, and the same was true in reverse. In this case though all he could do was stay out of the way of the blades and arrows, and Vega and Vivian went to work. And the lock was broken. When the ghostly looking body drifted up to the surface and the water glowed blue, Arlo sniffed the air and fired off a quick sneeze in response. "All clear," he muttered, and joined Vega as Vyrelle protested what was taking place before their eyes. She didn't seem to be a threat to them any longer at any rate, though he was still a raccoon.

The induk of the lake however was fascinating and he watched and listened in silence. The judgment seemed a little harsh, he thought, and he wasn't surprised at all when Vega spoke up. Of course she would. Wouldn't be the woman he loved if she didn't. But yes please, if the creature could restore him back to his usual self, Arlo asked hopefully? If not, life for him and Vega from now on, was going to be both complicated and interesting at the very least.

[Vivian Shiryu]

Vivian noticed the effect her and Vega's actions had, but she was still prepared for a fight when Vyrelle came upon them. She had not, however, expected her dread and her fear. And she really hadn't been expecting the well water to take the form of a giant Veshla. She had only ever heard rumors of some sort of spirit in Lake Lovalus, and she had always disregarded them as nothing but stories told to entertain or frighten children. Apparently, her skepticism had been very much misplaced.

She did, however, frown briefly at Vyrelle's protestation that it had all been a game. Whatever her reason, whatever her current condition, toying with peoples lives and physical forms, especially innocent people, was no game. She turned back to Lovalus, noting that the spirit was looking at them now. She wasn't quite sure what it wanted, but she didn't feel it would be wise to ask. When Vega asked for the transformed men to be turned back into people, she simply nodded her agreement with Vega, and Arlo when he joined in, in requesting to the undoing of the transformation. When Vega asked for leniency for Heartmourn and Vyrelle, she considered that a moment. Truth be told, she could care less what happened to Vyrelle, though she was more forgiving on Heartmourn based on her limited information.

Then, she set her shoulders and stepped forward a step. She was a Lightning Knight of Rharne, and her personal feelings couldn't be allowed to interfere with the duties that came with the title. "Punishment without end is not just. I do not know what Heartmourn or Vyrelle have done, but for what I've seen them do this day. However, Heartmourn admitted that their current condition was his fault, and gave us time to reach you. Vyrelle...whatever she was when you gave her the power she wields, she has become a danger to all around her. This has to end, Lovalus. Whether it be death or freedom, and I think both would welcome either as a release, it must come to an end." she said, her tone as calm and controlled as she could make it, though there was a waver in her voice as she spoke.

[Oracle]

Lovalus turned its bright cerulean gaze upon each of them. Looking into the eyes of the spirit left each of them chilled to their core, it was as if trying to understand something as vast as the ocean but with only a single glance. Lovalus was ancient, even by Immortal standards, she had existed since the lake itself had first been birthed upon the surface of Idalos and looking into her eyes was like staring into an endless abyss.

When Vega spoke to the spirit she felt calmer and almost serene. She had been touched and scarred by flames in the past, so it felt as if a small part of her was healed by being in the presence of the great water spirit. As if Lovalus’s presence in and of itself was a balm to the many wounds she had endured. She felt whole and happy in knowing that she might somehow convince the Induk to end this brutal cycle of hatred.

As for Arlo the Spirit seemed to focus on him for only a split second before turning her liquid gaze to the Lightning Knight. Lovalus turned her head faintly as Vivian spoke. Her argument was clear, concise and lacking the gentle human emotions that Vega had conveyed. A cool brush of approval glided against Vivian’s mind as if in response. A spirit did not and could not understand mortal emotions, but there was a certain alien intelligence to Lovalus, and she clearly seemed to understand the Knight’s logic.

Vyrelle listened as the two women spoke, her body trembling as Vega spoke with such heart and conviction. Her pallid glowing figure flew lower to the ground until her bare toes touched down in the dewy grass. She stepped slowly toward the radiant serpentine form of the Induk with tears glimmering in her eyes. The girl was only a wisp of what she had once been; now she was only a pale shadow of her former self, filled with bitterness and hatred, but somehow in these few moments she looked and sounded more ‘alive’. Faint brushstrokes of color bloomed across her skin and hair until she was no longer the pale moonlight specter but a young woman with soft blonde locks and rosy cheeks; albeit she remained translucent.

“I’m ready to go.” She whispered softly. “I’m tired of being alone and miserable….please.” Lovalus lowered is great serpent’s head down to the girl’s level before a masculine voice broke through the dark surrounding the glade.

“No, you’re not leaving alone.”

It was the Heartmourn, or at least what was left of him. The man that Vega hand tried to help earlier stood at the edge of the clearing, he was somehow both Heartmourn and human at once. His body had returned to that of a man but he retained flecks of leaves and growing among his hair and patches of bark that grew across his arms and fingertips. At the center of his chest remained the exposed gleaming amber stone that pulsed with his heartbeat. The Heartmourn’s body was battered and beaten from his confrontation with Vyrelle, but he was indeed very much alive. For a moment his eyes flashed toward Vega before turning back to Vyrelle.
Vyrelle turned to him, looking very much like the girl he had once known, with that telltale frown at the corners of her lips.

“No Esher.” The girl said firmly with a sad smile. “Following me has never been a very good idea.”

She smirked gently before looking toward Vega, Arlo and Vivian.

“Th…Thank you. I got lost in the game….I forgot what living was like and…I hurt people. Just take care of him for me.” She whispered before turning away from everyone and walking toward the gleaming spirit who wrapped her watery coils around the physical body of Vyrelle causing it to dissolve into a cloud of crystalline and glittering bubbles. The spirit of Vyrelle herself suddenly vanished in a flash of light, as if she had never been and Esher cried out in grief. Even if she had despised him, they had been together now for a very long time.

Lovalus’s form began to radiate with light as the form of the serpent began to unravel into gleaming bands of water that swirled around the glade and high into the air over the island. One of the streams of liquid reached out and encircled Arlo who would suddenly feel rather strange as he began to grow in size. The fur and stripes were simply washed away as if they had never been and within trills he was standing beside Vega once again as a man. Although he was very much a naked man, but thankfully his clothes were somehow in a pile at his feet.

Swirling ribbons of water spiraled high into the sky as light in the hues of aquamarine and sapphires danced above. The men that had been transformed into creatures across the Isle were all sought out by the power of the Spirit as the mischief of Vyrelle was undone in one fell swoop.

Esher…the Heartmourn was laying collapsed on his knees as his eyes remained locked on the place where Vyrelle had vanished. Tears streamed down his face even as luminescent water washed over him and his human form was fully returned. However the glittering amber heart in his chest somehow tumbled out and into his hands just as the space it had occupied was healed over with bright pink flesh. Similar to before he was rather naked but he didn't seem to care.

He had cause all of his by pursuing Vyrelle when she had simply wanted to be free…Why then he was the one left behind?

Was this a reward for his suffering or was this to be his true punishment?

“What am I supposed to do now…?” he whispered with fear.

!	Message from: Oracle
	Impacts Logic Master: Vivian spoke clearly and concisely and was the real reason that Lovalus decided to be merciful. Mercy and Hope: Vega spoke with emotion and convinced Vyrelle to give in and accept the idea of moving on. Details You may all do a wrap up post. I will be grading in a week. Thank you for participating in this event!

[Vega]

Vega held tightly to Arlo as it all transpired, his furry form a strange thing to gain comfort from but, fundamentally, he was him and him, she loved. She told him so, too and he returned the sentiment. Vivian spoke and her words were logical, clear and precise. Vega's came from a different place, of course, she was all heart and mouth her father told her and that was probably closer to true than she'd like to admit. But they both spoke and the Spirit of the Lake was there and was doing whatever it was going to. Vega had to try, had to attempt to get mercy and hope in here. It was only fair, after all.

When she spoke to Lovalus, though, and the Spirit looked at her, Vega felt a sense of calmness wash over her. Like water, cool and soothing and washing over her burnt skin except it wasn't her skin that was scarred, though there were still scars aplenty. But she felt calm, and for that she smiled. Vyrelle said that she was ready to go and Vega felt a sense of almost overwhelming sorrow and grief for the young girl. She hadn't asked for what had become of her, even though what she had done was dreadful - Vega meant it completely when she said that she, and Heartmourn, had paid their dues a thousand times over.

The Heartmourn came into the clearing then and he told Vyrelle that she was not going alone. Vega, who Arlo would know loved a good romance story, grinned in delight. "You go for it, Hearty" When he looked at her Vega nodded her head, encouragingly. "Hope. Always hope, remember that," she whispered to him, kneeling there next to Arlo, her hand on him. But Vyrelle refused and she looked at the three of them and asked them to take care of Heartmourn. Esher. By this point Vega had tears in her eyes and she had sniffled more than once. But she nodded her head. "I promise," she said to the girl. "Rest easy. It's a'right there, and they'll be there to meet you, take you where you've got to go. It's misty, but don't be afraid. There's nothin' to be afraid of there." In the time since it had happened, that hadn't been true for Vega, and she didn't know when it had changed, but she realised in that moment that it had. Her arm around Arlo tightened and she watched Vyrelle.

As she dissipated, swirling streams of light flew around them and one of them wrapped around Arlo. Vega felt him begin to change and moved her hand away so as not to hurt him. Quickly, he was back to himself and she flung herself into his arms and kissed him. "Damnit, that's better. You were cute as a raccoon but... oh.. oh my." She realised that he was naked and stepped out of his arms - perhaps accidentally putting herself between him and Vivian, before hissing to him. "Put somethin' on, for U'frek's sake before I find out if anythin' thumps when I scratch you behind the ear in this form," with a grin. Then she raised an eyebrow and said no more.

But, before Arlo could get dressed, Vega heard Heartmourn's cry and she moved to him. Kneeling down in front of him, Vega took his hands in hers. "Hey, hey, it's gonna be a'right. We'll look after you, a'right? I'm Vega, Eva if you prefer. This is Arlo, an' we'll look after you, I promise. If you wanna you can come an' live with us. We travel on the land an' the sea with our family, an' you know. She wanted you to live. It's not your time yet, that's all. When it is, she'll be there I'm sure, but right now you jus' gotta live. An' that's hard." She could hear the chuntering and muttering coming from her recently-raccoon-shaped love and she said something which she knew he would not just understand, but agree with.

"You've jus' lost someone you love, an' that's hard. An' it seems like livin' isn't possible right now but it is. An' we'll help you." Glancing up at Vivian, she nodded. "This is Vivian, an' she's part of we. If you don't wanna live with me an' Arlo, there are other options for you. We probably need to get you somethin' to wear, though. But we can deal with that. I know it feels like you've lost your heart," Her hands closed over his, holding on to the crystal which had once been his heart. "But you didn't, I promise." She didn't take her eyes off Esher, but called back. "You decent there, Creede? Grab your spare trousers out of the bag, would you?" The domain bag had it all, after all and so, hopefully, he had something which would cover Heartmourn's lower half at least. Either way, her hand reached back for Arlo's and she held on tightly, relieved beyond measure to have him back to himself.

Assuming that happened, Vega wasn't helping him dress (Arlo might physically throw her over his shoulder for one), and she glanced at Vivian. "I don't know much about Rharne, or the Lightnin' Knights, but it's an honour to meet you," she said, offering her hand. She motioned to where Vyrelle had been and the well. "Would be nice if people got a tradition of putting pretty stones an' sparkly things in there an' dedicatin' it to her an' Lovalus, wouldn't it? Mark a spot where things turned out a'right in the end." She looked at Esher and frowned slightly, sending a prayer to Xiur, thanking him for what he had done in that moment with Heartmourn. "Should call it Hope's Well, I reckon." Whether they would or not, Vega didn't know, but it felt right to her.