"Devotion in the Dark"

Log Date:
	2/24, 3/9, 3/10, 5/12/01

Log Cast:
	Kaiulani, Benja, Ronan (NPC emitted by Kaiulani)

Log Intro:
	For the last many months now Kaiulani has been living in a kind of
stasis, caught between the strictures imposed upon her by her cousin and
Decemvir Sarojin to uphold her responsibilities to her family... and her
increasing fascination with the mysterious guardian who has shadowed her 
most of her life, and who has now begun to reveal himself in maddening 
glimpses. She has attained bits and pieces of knowledge about her nameless
protector -- the sound of his voice, the fact that he can sing, his ability
to acquire or even make lovely things for her, a secret place where he is
likely to hide. And most captivating of all, how it feels when he kisses her.
	The problem is, she knows only how to find him in a dark tunnel...
and so she has never seen his face. Nor has she managed to win from him
his name, though she has discovered that he knows hers. And she has yet to
feel his thoughts within her own.
	Reason tells Kaiulani that at least in some respect, her cousin is
right -- she is obsessed with one who is almost more enigma than man. It has
made her withdraw from contact with her kin and her guards; even her sister
Alamoana has seen very little of her as Kaiulani haunts the Korallion, her
thoughts preoccupied by her shadow-guardian. It is almost comforting, 
especially in the wake of disturbing rumors about the state of things between
Sarojin and Okalani, mother of his heir and the High Priestess of Pasiphae.
More and more, it begins to seem to Kai that she must eventually choose
between her kin and her protector, and she no longer knows which of them is
truly the more dangerous...

*===========================< In Character Time >===========================* 
             Time of day:  Night (Dawnside) 
          Date on Aether:  Sunday, November 28, 3907. 
           Year on Earth:  1507 A.D. 
       Phase of the Moon:  Waning Crescent 
                  Season:  Fall 
                 Weather:  Clear Skies 
             Temperature:  Warm 
*==========================================================================*

Not that, technically speaking, she's really _happy_ about Sarojin having 
  returned to Pandion waters -- after all, the circumstances about which she's 
  heard recurring rumors aren't exactly pleasant -- but, well, Kaiulani is 
  _happy_ about Sarojin returning to Pandion waters. Her guards aren't, but 
  the impetuous young maiden has managed at last to figure out exactly what 
  mix of imperiousness and diplomacy to accomplish to keep them at a distance 
  and give her the breathing space she so sorely craves. Every so often, on 
  the forays she's made out into Haven the last many weeks, she's glimpsed 
  Sangwyn's dark figure keeping tabs on her... but as long as he does it from 
  a distance, she tells herself, she's _fine_ with that as well.
Tonight, though, she's waited until that late hour when she's almost certain 
  her guardsmen must be asleep. Vigilant they are, but they're not omnipotent.
Tonight, Kaiulani streaks out into the ocean in a blur of pearlescent white, 
  dimmed only by the thin halter she wears. Some modicum of caution keeps her 
  from heading straight to the cave where she'd last encountered her 
  mysterious guardian, on the off chance that Sangwyn might rouse himself to 
  follow her...
But even via a convoluted route, that is exactly where Kaiulani is going.

Neither is Benja ominpotent, or at least he does sleep once in a while. And 
  tonight, he has chosen the caves to take his rest. Well, in truth, he's 
  chosen it quite a few times in the vain hopes that a particular little 
  maiden will find her way back to the secret entrance he last shooed her 
  through.
There is a small pool just off to one side of that entrace, it is refilled 
  with every rising of the tide, and is long and wide enough to allow the 
  shark hunter to sleep in the water, comfortably protected on every side by 
  rock. It could probably fit three or four people comfortably, but he is the 
  only resident.

Outside it's a clear night -- but the crescent moon that floats in the sky is 
  a minimal one at best, and it does little to augment the light of the stars. 
  Inside the tunnel, however, even that dim wash of light doesn't reach very 
  far. Wading up out of the chill surf, Kaiulani pauses there in the darkness, 
  hands stretched out to try to feel her way.
_Waters! How can the Lirites live in the lightless depths?_
Cautiously she advances, slipping along the rocky crevices that form the 
  outermost reaches of the tunnel. One bare foot splashes into the very edge 
  of the trickles that lead into the pool where the hunter is taking his 
  repose... though a trifle more apparent is the small noise of self-directed 
  annoyance the maiden makes at herself. Clumsy!

Only the softest sounds of tripping waters announce movement within the 
  otherwise still pool the young woman happened to disturb. Hair slicked back 
  against his head as it breaks the surface, he listens more carefully for the 
  sound he thought he heard which woke him from his drowsy half sleep. It is 
  the patter of her delicate little feet upon the cold hard stone that brings 
  the smile to his unseen face. His song soft enough to attempt to keep from 
  startling her, and holds a sultry rumble as it echoes quietly off the walls 
  about her in a tune now familiar to them both.

A flash of an even purer white than that of her skin is the smile of Kaiulani 
  as that voice rises up out of the gloom. She freezes against the rock 
  against which she'd slipped, and then her voice rises up to join the 
  hunter's own -- soprano striking a sweet euphony against the baritone. For a 
  few moments she loses herself in the sung chords, but she cannot suppress a 
  breathless whisper of greeting for very long: "Hello...!"

It is an easy tune to get lost in, especially given the voices involved and 
  the passion that hides within each note. "Hello, Pandion Kaiulani," rasps 
  the quiet voice from the direction of the pool. "I was not sure you would 
  come back." Simple words, yet the sincerity is evident, and it shows no 
  lacking for the masculine essence of the waiting man. A hand is extended 
  with more trickling sounds of water, finding her foot with gentle fingers. 
  The back of his hand can be felt then against her ankle as he opens his hand 
  to assist her down into his pool. "Come..."

The maiden who dives freely through the ocean waves is not quite so agile upon 
  rocks, but she is just as fearless. She hunkers eagerly down, her own hand 
  seeking out the one she can feel against her skin, freely trusting in its 
  guidance. "Well of _course_ I was going to come back," she answers, her 
  voice still pitched in that giddy, conspiratorial hush. barely louder than 
  the splashes that herald her slipping down into the water. "I had to find 
  the right time... even though my cousin's gone home my guards are still here 
  and I have to elude them...!"

Benja moves enough to give her room to come into the water. It is shallow 
  enough at this portion to stand easily on the bottom, reaching to about 
  mid-chest on the shark-hunter. The liquid laps softly against flesh, 
  swirling about her as she joins him. "They did not follow you?" He asks, 
  though he does not seem all that interested in it. Far too distracted by 
  having his lady love back with him again in seclusion. The smile can be 
  heard in his voice, "You enjoy evading them, don't you?" he teases her good 
  naturedly, voice low and rumbling softly. He keeps a respectable distance 
  from her, for the moment.

Here, too, Kaiulani must try to feel her way. Her feet find the bottom easily 
  enough, but her hands are still seeking input -- and one of them is loathe 
  indeed to release the hand of her protector. "Well, granted," she admits in 
  smug tones, "I only had to elude Akane and Sangwyn tonight because my 
  sister's distracted Ronan, and Sangwyn's the tough one, but I didn't see him 
  as I came out tonight. I looked! And I picked a long route to get here." 
  Laughter bubbles in her whispered words as she draws a little nearer, 
  abruptly curiously demanding, "Can you see when it's this dark...?"

Confusion edges the voice of the man as he responds, "No. Can you?" Thats an 
  odd question when there is no light to see by. Her searching hand inevitably 
  finds purchase against the bare skin of his chest, defined ridges rising to 
  meet her delicate fingers. He had no doubt that she would be clever if she 
  returned. She has always been an adventursome one, and quick in mind, from 
  what he could tell. Strong webbed fingers keep a firm grasp upon her own, 
  until she decides to let go at least... and perhaps a little longer 
  afterwards too.

The Children of Water are tolerant of the cold, but even when standing 
  chest-deep in a night-chilled pool, flesh is warmer than stone or sea-foam. 
  Kaiulani pauses as her free hand comes to rest upon that strongly muscled 
  chest. "I," she begins, and her voice goes a little hoarse as she does so. 
  Then she swallows and tries again, "I was thinking about the Lirites on the 
  way here... Lirites swim in the darkest depths." A beat, then her voice 
  wings up again into mischievous triumph. "So you can't be a Lirite, if you 
  can't see in the dark...!"

More confusion, "They can see in the dark?" Not that he really knows what a 
  Lirite is, but hey. His belly ripples in reaction to her touch, shivering 
  with its own reaction to the sensation of her fingers upon him. Inhaling 
  softly he chuckles, water racing down his chest from his hair as he shakes 
  his head a bit. "I no Lirite.. no thi.. I no think." He corrects himself mid 
  sentence. Still not at top notch with the spoken language.

She's very near now -- the displacement of the water, the way she draws the 
  hunter's hand up to be held between them, and the sheer closeness of her 
  voice all signal it. "Well, you'd probably be able to tell," Kai answers 
  wryly, words spilling out of her a little overswiftly, for she's quite 
  conscious of the connection between both of her hands and the figure just 
  before her in the pool. "They're practically fable, but they _are_ still our 
  people -- and there's even a-a couple in Haven, I met one! Her eyes 
  glowed..." Unconsciously she leans just a trifle closer, straining to see, 
  without success. "You can't be Lirite," she decides, "your eyes don't glow. 
  Unless you have them closed!"

Benja is silent for a moment, either from just the dream-like enjoyment of the 
  sensation of her hands upon his skin, or perhaps in indecision. Is she 
  making fun of him? "Eyes open." He replies quietly, his voice husky and 
  aided in its caressing tone by the bounce of the soundwaves upon the water 
  and walls. "You ... wish Lirite?"

Dream-like, indeed. Kaiulani sucks in a soft breath, exulting in the way that 
  her unseen guardian's voice -- so close! -- soaks through her, seeming to 
  set her every nerve vibrating. Speech, she resolves in a rush of reaction, 
  is horribly underrated among her people. At the same time, though, there's a 
  delicious, alarming nervousness welling through her too, and it makes her 
  try to disguise her gasp with a giggle. "No, silly," she gently and slightly 
  breathlessly chides, a dainty fingertip poking playfully against the chest 
  she's located, without lifting too far away. "I'm just trying to figure you 
  out, is all!"

His chuckle as well has that breathy, rich sound to it that is a unique 
  tribute to his obvious masculinity. His fingers are not smooth against her 
  own, but they are firm and confident, and the trickle of water can be heard 
  again as his other hand slips further around her waist and then moves flatly 
  up her back. "Am I puzzle?" He teases her, knowing how his adventurous 
  little lady must love things that intrigue her, given her propensity for 
  rushing off into dangerous places due to her unquenchable curiousity and 
  daring.

The heavy wet mass of the maiden's hair falls along that arm behind her now, 
  errant strands clinging to the hunter's muscled limb, and Kai swallows at 
  the sensation of the hand against her shoulderblades. "Yes...!" comes her 
  answer, still a little breathless, a little giddy. Deprived of sight, she 
  finds touch and sound seeming oddly magnified... and accordingly more 
  potent. "You've... kept me going for years, you know...! Only see you in 
  bits and pieces -- and you haven't a-answered my calls -- I-I-I have puzzle 
  pieces but they're not making a picture yet...!" And oh, Waters, but it's 
  maddening!

If it were not so dark, perhaps she would see the grin that spreads upon his 
  lips as he hears her speak in real life, what he's only wished he could hear 
  her say before.. She thinks of him! She noticed him even before he began 
  making himself more obvious! A chill of excitement wanders through him, and 
  he leans a little closer to nuzzle his nose at her soft wet locks of hair. 
  That hair he has loved from afar for so long. "You know me, Pandion 
  Kaiulani? Know I was there?" A hopeful tinge in the low voice that sends 
  wisps of warm breath against her forehead.

Held, nuzzled, Kaiulani momentarily forgets to breathe -- but even as that 
  part of her brain blanks out, the part in charge of the actions of her arms 
  sends them seeking to twine about the sturdy form before her. Her head 
  quivers for a moment with her small but rapid nod, and then she confides in 
  a whisper, "I remember... when I was small... a boy... but I can't recall 
  his face... and being distracted away from the coral where the octopus was 
  sleeping... and..." Abruptly, her voice turns shyer. "You were holding me... 
  when the shark bit me and I think I fainted... and... when I fell out of the 
  tree in the park and hit my head...!"

Bringing such things to mind causes emotions within the sharkhunter that he 
  had never realized before. His hand releases hers and moves about her back 
  to join the other, pressing her in close to his chest, safely there in his 
  arms where none of those dangers, those chances that he might just have lost 
  her, can harm her. He swallows and smiles against her hair, breathing into 
  it with unsteady breath, "I ... killed that shark. It no hurt you again." He 
  murmurs in a soft rumble, "Dogs and bad man dead too." He does not know that 
  the guard he did not save survived. He was going to hit Kaiulani, he should 
  not live.

Sarojin could order a hundred men to guard her, and Kaiulani would not feel as 
  protected, as safe, as _cherished_ as she does now. Eagerly she snuggles 
  into that warm embrace, resting her cheek against her guardian's chest. "You 
  can kill sharks--" she begins, her tone admiring, but then she starts within 
  the arms that cradle her close. "Wait... Akane and Ronan... my guards... 
  they said that after they fought the dogs, someone attacked them... or at 
  least, Akane says someone hit _him_..." The beginnings of shame that this 
  could have slipped her mind begin to color her voice now, along with 
  something that might be just a hint of uncertain trepidation. Unseen, Kai 
  bites her lower lip, and then she anxiously blurts, "Did you hit my guard?"

Is he wearing a cloak? The arms that are wrapped around her seem to add a 
  gentle warmth down her sides past where the arms should reach. Why would he 
  wear a cloak in here? His nod can be felt in this close proximity, "I kill 
  sharks." He is Benja. The guardian. That's what benja do. At her start he 
  loosens his grip just a bit, but not enough to let her go. Not yet. He looks 
  down to where he would be able to gaze into her eyes if there were any hint 
  of light, and answers with a slightly dangerous sort of growl in his tone, 
  "He no guard!" Anger edging forward at the thought, protective, animalistic 
  protectiveness. "He had club, try to hit you." His arms tighten a little 
  around her again. "He no hurt you. I save. I save other boy too so he no 
  hurt either."

Kaiulani gives another little gasp at that proclamation. Fleetingly, the back 
  of her mind registers another puzzle piece falling into place -- the 
  roughening of her protector's command of his language, the primal vigor of 
  the growl surging up within the formerly smooth baritone and making her feel 
  all at once as though she'd reached for the tail of a dolphin only to 
  discover she'd found an orca whale instead. "But--" Kai falters for a 
  moment, wanting to utter a name, having none to voice. Then she hastens on, 
  "But Akane told my cousin he'd drawn his sword to try to use it to lift the 
  branch off me -- I-I-I know he doesn't like me very much, he thinks I'm a 
  child, but I don't think he'd want to hurt me--" At least she _hopes_ not; 
  there's a touch of doubt in her voice now.

"Excuse!" Benja protests with certainty and conviction. "He was going to hit. 
  I saw raise branch to bring down on you." More of that growl, territorial. 
  "He .. no die? ... Will kill then." The muscle in his jaw twitches as his 
  teeth grit together in determination. "No hurt Pandion Kaiulani." Tenderness 
  riding upon his tongue as he speaks her name.

_Kill?_ For the first time, the maiden grows slightly frightened -- and not 
  entirely certain whether the fear stems from her uncertainty about what 
  manner of man this is that holds her now, that he could so easily growl of 
  killing... or from the thought of what her cousin would do if he heard this 
  threat now. "You can't...!" she cries. "Oh no, you can't -- if he means me 
  harm, Sarojin will hear the falsehood in his thoughts a-and punish him, but 
  if you... if you.." The fright spikes up again as Kai wrestles with the 
  daunting realization that her protector is _dangerous_, and that he has a 
  temper. Unfamiliar with violence as she is -- shielded, in fact, throughout 
  most of her life from violence and danger by the efforts of this exact same 
  man -- she begins to feel a little queasy, unable to stop the recollection 
  of Sarojin's ardent warnings to her. Finally she adds, shaken, unable to 
  actually speak directly of killing, "If you... if you attack Akane again 
  m-my cousin will never rest until he catches you...!"

Benja blinks in the darkness at the reaction she gives. His life is one of 
  violence. He is a hunter. Killing any who would harm Kaiulani is as natural 
  to him as breathing. "Thoughts?" He asks as if that makes no sense, and then 
  slowly he withdraws his arms from about her to catch her upper arms in his 
  grasp, gentle, yet firm. "No let hurt. If cuuuuzzzin catch, will splain. I 
  no let hurt. /I/ am guard, no man with branch. He hurt! He use dogs as scuse 
  to hurt!"

Confused, dismayed, Kaiulani feels two strong and conflicting reactions within 
  her -- one of uneasiness at the feral, almost primitive quality of her 
  unseen guardian's demeanor, and one of still unbroken trust. The arms 
  beneath those gently, firmly grasping hands are starting to shake a little 
  now, but she tells herself that the touch is familiar. These hands have 
  killed a shark to protect her, and they have never harmed _her_. "Sarojin 
  can take the truth out of Akane if he has to," she mumbles then, her voice 
  quite small. "My cousin's mind is very strong..." A beat. Two. Then she 
  appends, sounding decidedly frightened now, "He has said he will take the 
  truth out of you, too, i-if he catches you. And that y-you would not 
  remember it when he was done... he can do it, you know! H-he is Decemvir, 
  a-and if he does not do it himself he can call in the strongest minds among 
  our people... I... I do not want him to hurt you! I beg you..." And within 
  the darkness, in a sudden splashing of the water about her, she preses 
  herself against the hunter's chest once more. "I beg you, do not anger 
  him...!"

Benja frowns, though she cannot see it, and he drops his hands from her arms, 
  standing stiffly before her. "Is against rules." He states firmly, his voice 
  not betraying any nervousness this idea might give him. He will not allow 
  himself to forget Kaiulani. Not ever. No matter what anyone does to him. "If 
  this is what he will do, then no let him catch." Resolute, firm. "Why he 
  want to hurt? I do nothing against him. I guard you. He not like you?" 
  Sudden worry of his own enters Benja's voice as his hand reaches out again 
  for one of her own. "If are not safe with him, I will take away. Someplace 
  safe."

Feeling him move in the darkness and the water, the Pandion girl starts but 
  does not hinder his motion -- though her hands still try to follow him, for 
  she is loathe to break the contact between them when she cannot see the face 
  and frame that go with the voice that rumbles at her in the gloom. "Sarojin 
  does not trust you," she desperately blurts then, "none of my family does, 
  except my sister... because you haven't a-answered my calls, you see... _I_ 
  believe in you, I've _told_ my cousin, but he hasn't listened, and--" And 
  then Kai stops her own flow of babbled words, that sick feeling mounting 
  within her. "My cousin... wouldn't hurt me..." she says then, but her tone 
  has turned weak, doubt lacing through the whispered syllables. She'd like to 
  _think_ he wouldn't hurt her, but then again she'd like to think he wouldn't 
  hurt the mother of his own heir, either, and there _are_ rumors going around 
  the Korallion...

Defensive, and yet strong, Benja's hand tightens upon her smaller digits just 
  a bit. His mind has seized upon that doubt in her tone and he cannot be free 
  of it. "It no hurts ...it /does/ no hurt you that he does no listen?" He 
  asks pointedly, correcting himself midway. "I am protector, but he want 
  hurt. Leave you no guardian but man who try hit you. No. Sound wrong. 
  Danger." His free hand lifts to touch her face, finding it easily in 
  relation to the rest of her body and stroking one finger along the flawless 
  flesh. His voice is a low rumble of unpracticed seduction as he steps nearer 
  still. "Pandion Kaiulani safe.. for always."

"They... are saying... in the Korallion... that he might be... plotting 
  against Okalani..." Even as she gives voice to a rumor she's striven to 
  discount up until now, Kaiulani feels all the more ill just by the act of 
  speaking it. She has touched her cousin's mind, more than once -- and sensed 
  no danger. But for all that it galls her to admit it, she is young and 
  untried; how could she possibly hope to plumb the depths of the mind of a 
  Decemvir over twenty years her senior? She begins to tremble, though as that 
  damp, rough finger finds her cheek in the darkness, it is not entirely from 
  fear. "You... w... want me to come with you...?"

Benja closes the remaining distance between them, his finger sliding down her 
  cheek and under her chin so that he can lift her mouth to his. His lips are 
  firm and soft as they seek to claim her own, though he will not force her if 
  she chooses to move away. "I want you..." He begins in that masculinely 
  sultry voice against her lips. "...to be with me. Always." He swallows 
  softly, his voice breathy with regret and pain as the next words come, 
  "..but know you can not. Still, I will guard. Keep safe. Always." He doesn't 
  know who Okalani is, and he's not really one for plotting in his current 
  state, so isn't exactly sure what that means, but it sounds bad. "No let him 
  hurt you." Sincere, laden with love that consumed him years ago.

No, that trembling in her now has nothing to do with fear. Kaiulani makes a 
  small squeak of a noise as that strong hand finds her chin -- and as she is 
  kissed. With that kind of closeness she cannot help but replace her arms 
  about her protector's sturdy frame, and as soon as the kiss is broken and 
  the husky voice addresses her again, her fingers conduct a more delicate but 
  no less determined search. There -- his chest. A shoulder, the line of his 
  neck, up higher till she finds an ear, wet hair. He is a puzzle, indeed, but 
  the more pieces she finds the more the craves. But even Kai herself is 
  surprised when, driven by the mounting need to win more pieces of the 
  puzzle, she hears her own voice whispering, "I could...!"

Benja thrives in her embrace, his large frame not entirely towering over her, 
  but fitting quite nicely within her reach. His head turns as her fingers 
  wander into his hair, sending a warm shiver through him and threatening to 
  stoke more passion that she likely realizes. His hand rises to catch her arm 
  just below the elbow, and his lips now find that delicate little wrist. He 
  does not pull her hand from his hair, but leaves it there so that he can 
  kiss and suckle softly upon that dainty wrist. A faint and very brief groan 
  comes from his throat at her whispered encouragement of his fantasy and the 
  warm moisture of his tongue is supplanted by the coolness of his breath, 
  "You cannot, Pandion Kaiulani..." Pain in his voice.

"Why not?" the maiden cries, her own voice going a trifle hoarse as she 
  wrestles between a pang of frustration -- and a pang of something else 
  entirely as her questing hands begin to tell her more of her mysterious 
  protector. Let her begin to try to gauge his size -- bigger than she, 
  well-muscled, broad-shouldered, the kind of frame she can well imagine 
  belonging to a man who can kill sharks. His hair -- short, she decides, not 
  sure what half-remembered fragment of a previous encounter is also supplying 
  'dark' but willing to run with it. And the force of his personality -- she 
  can hear it in his words, feel it in his movements against her... and in the 
  touch of her lips against her wrist. "Th-there is no one else... my cousin 
  keeps me stuffed away like a pearl in an oyster, he won't trust me, he won't 
  let me..." And she trails off, for oh, that attention to her wrist does feel 
  very good indeed. Her last few words take on a tinge of breathless need even 
  as she struggles to speak: "It's... not as if my family needs me... and I 
  want to see... oh..."

Gills flex on his neck as he fights another swallow against the lump rising in 
  his throat with each of her reasons. But, his lips do not cease their 
  exploration, sliding further down from her wrist, to her forearm, kissing, 
  licking at her flesh in open declaration of his desire for more of her. "No 
  one else," he whispers distractedly, then gives a shake of his head as his 
  other hand snakes around her waist again and pulls her closer against his 
  body. He cannot find the will to voice his counterpoints to this enthralling 
  dream she spins within his head. To have her all to himself, no more 
  watching from a distance. To have her as his own every day... And all to 
  himself at night. He does not respond to this, not wishing to destroy the 
  illusion just yet. Not yet. Let her tell him how she can be with him, let 
  him feel her skin against his lips, her taste upon his tongue, just a little 
  while longer. His lips inch closer toward those supple shoulders.

"No one," asserts Kaiulani, voice growing more breathless. Sangwyn has told 
  her he desires her -- but he guards her because Sarojin has ordered it. This 
  one, this hunter of sharks, guards her because of _her_. It is a giddying 
  thought, and the sense of power and rightness within it makes it all the 
  more so. "I could live _in_ Haven... with you... couldn't I? I want..." 
  _Wanting_. Again she trails off as her hunter sets that course up her arm, 
  and for a moment her thoughts blank on what she had been trying to say. What 
  is it she wants? More of _that_, that's what she wants. Her voice goes 
  higher in involuntary reaction, not quite a squeak, but dizzied indeed. 
  "The... one I want," Kai mumbles. "Trust you...!"

Benja's mouth is warm, his tongue soft as it sweeps slowly over her supple 
  shoulder. His hand slides along her arm and around the back of her 
  shoulders, into her hair. Oh how he loves that hair, it's so beautiful to 
  watch as it floats about her, even when she is not in the water. With every 
  word she encourages the euphoric fantasy that unwinds within his mind. His 
  breath grows just a bit deeper. "Your cousin... kill me, if live Haven," he 
  whispers distractedly against the top of her shoulder, her neck is so close, 
  so smooth, so inviting. His body is firm and growing warmer by the minute 
  as he holds her tightly against him. He cannot find the words to argue 
  against her coming with him right now... so best to state random facts that 
  might hold some sort of sway toward reason. "He... Mmmmm.. want you trust 
  me, Pandion Kaiulani... always." Nothing in the world would he desire more 
  than to take her right now and run away with her, find some quiet little 
  spot in the ocean and live out their days together... He tries very hard to 
  remind himself why that cannot be, that he is not good enough for her.. that 
  it will end soon, must end soon... mmmmm...but not just yet.

Whatever soft, warm cloak he must be wearing, even wet, seems to Kai to 
  contribute to the cocoon of safety and delight his embrace is weaving around 
  her -- and his voice, so close to her ear, sets her to trembling. So does 
  what he's doing with his mouth, which sets off a distinct softening of her 
  slight body against his own. "Y-you don't have to call me by my whole name, 
  you know," she gasps. "Just Kaiulani, o-or Kai... you can call me Kai if you 
  want...!"

That stops Benja short. His lips pause in their attention upon her shoulder 
  and she might even feel him blink in confusion. Most of the communication he 
  has done has been on land, and he has tried very hard to avoid Atlanteans 
  for the most part, so the convention of a surname and a proper name was 
  lost on him when he heard her name. He assumed all of it was what she must 
  be called. Still, there is a delicious taste to just the name Kaiulani, one 
  that he would never want to shorten. He smiles as her meaning sinks in and 
  returns his heated mouth to her shoulder and neck, drifing his fingers down 
  her spine as he suckles upon her flesh and whispers in that masculine, deep, 
  rumbling voice, breathy with desire, "Kaiulani..."

Her trembling increases in reaction, making her one arm tighten about his 
  waist and her other raise up a little higher so that her fingers might find 
  better purchase in his ocean-slicked hair... and making her form begin to 
  turn fascinatingly pliant and yielding, warmth in her flesh rising up to 
  meet the heat in his own. "Tell... tell me your name?" she begs, her voice a 
  descant above his, equally breathless, soft and tiny yet quite palpable as 
  she turns her head towards her protector in the darkness.

His name. A name he took partly because of her, since he knew no other name 
  given to him. Benja, the guardians. Those who watched over the playful, 
  adventurous creatures they always wished they could be... from a distance. 
  From their own world above the waves, where their charges would rarely see 
  them. To tell her his name will surely lead to her cousin finding out... to 
  her finding him on shore... to her unlocking all of his dark secrets and 
  discovering he is not worthy of her. Yet with her here so softly enticing in 
  her passionate willingness to be held and let him kiss her skin, how can he 
  deny her anything she asks? Even with this moment locked safely in his 
  memory for the rest of his life, along with that first smile, and the sight 
  of his comb in her hair... he can endure anything and die a happy man. The 
  risk is great, but his heart pounds with the desire to reveal everything to 
  her, to have her know him thoroughly. The reasons for his hiding begin to 
  blur in his mind, overshadowed by the longing to be known, to shout out that 
  SHE is with him, that she is his. His lips find their way to her ear, softly 
  brushing kisses against it. "Benja is my name, Kaiulani," he whispers 
  huskily, caressing her delicious name with his tongue. "Say it." A request 
  and a passionate demand in one, how he has longed to hear her lips utter his 
  name...

He'd denied her this very request before -- and so for a fraction of an 
  instant, the maiden cannot quite believe what she has just heard. And then 
  cognizance pierces through the shock, in a brilliant burst of wonder and joy 
  that flares out from her thoughts unchecked. Her guardian might not be able 
  to sense it, but still the surge of emotions is there, potent enough that it 
  overflows right out of her mind and into the glad responses of her body and 
  her voice. Kaiulani practically leaps up off the pool's bottom in her urge 
  to wrap her arms about her hunter as tightly as she can, one foot kicking up 
  behind her. "Benja...!" she cries, almost a beat before he has even finished 
  uttering his impassioned request. And then she says it again, her voice 
  shaking, but turned full and thriving all the same as if those two short 
  syllables fill her with a rush of new and heady strength: "Benja...!"

A deep throated mmmm sound emerges from the shark hunter's throat. Another 
  fantasy come to life. Her eager body against him and his name upon her lips. 
  What more could he ever ask for? He is astonished by his present good 
  fortune and the wonderful feelings she invokes within his body by pressing 
  so close while speaking his name. If he were of any other disposition than 
  the strong warrior type, his knees might buckle, but he keeps them steady 
  and firm with a bit of effort. Strong, firm arms wrap around her and hold 
  her tightly against his chest, his breath is heavy against her neck, his 
  nose buried in her hair. "Kaiulani..." He nearly moans, "Come away with me." 
  He won't argue any more, if she'll come, he'll take her. To Hades with her 
  cousin.

And right about then is when a distant voice echoes from somewhere far away in 
  the tunnels, a voice which calls out Kaiulani's name with sentiments 
  entirely different than the rumbling ardor of her protector. "Kaiulani! I 
  know you're here somewhere, my lady! Come out, I beg of you!"

In Benja's arms, the maiden freezes, eyes going wide and her head pivoting in 
  the direction of the faraway voice. "Ronan," she squeaks. "It's Ronan...!"

Benja groans quietly in rumbled disappointment. No. No. Not yet. His arms stay 
  about her as he whispers very quietly in her ear, "If you get your things. 
  Put them one by one in our place. I collect and keep til can get away." 
  there is an earnest quality in his voice now, a need to prolong the fantasy 
  that she might actually run away with him just a few moments longer. He 
  knows that once he lets her go she will begin to unravel the truth of his 
  handicap and see how unfit he is for her... but just for a few more moments, 
  lets pretend...

"My lady..." The voice out of the darkness is anxious, concerned. Not the 
  tones laced with barely concealed contempt uttered by Akane, her older 
  guard, the one that Benja had struck. This one is a younger voice, and one 
  could almost believe it friendly. "My lady, I _know_ you don't think much of 
  me and my brother, but I beg you, think of your sister and how she'll react 
  if you persist in this...! Your family..." The words echo strangely through 
  the tunnels, growing soft and then loud again; is the young guard moving 
  through the network of passages, trying to find his wayward mistress?

Kaiulani, half her attention on her distant guardsman and half upon the 
  whisper in her ear, bites back a groan of her own. "A-Akane... Sangwyn... 
  they might be here too," she whimpers, and then all at once she buries her 
  face against her guardian's chest, squeezing him with as much fierceness as 
  she can muster. "Benja, I don't want to leave you...!"

Benja would be more than willing to keep her here in his little pool, 
  concealed in the darkness and silence of one indistinguishable pool amongst 
  what must be thousands in these caves. He hears the voice of the young guard 
  and those he does not know why the man speaks aloud rather than calling with 
  his mind speech, he is glad he does. Easier to keep an idea of how far away 
  he is that way. The names of the others though do not fall easily upon his 
  ears. A low growl comes to his throat, protective, possessive.
It takes a good deal of self-control to not burst out of the pool and go in 
  hunt of the other two men right now. His muscles tense beneath her delicate 
  hands giving some indication of his silent thoughts. However, a moment 
  later, he pulls back, brushing his cheek against her own to guide his lips 
  toward hers. His mouth is gentle yet passionately insistent, his kiss deep 
  and filled with longing and restrained desire. His tongue is soft and 
  caressing and just as strong as the rest of him. When at last he releases 
  her mouth, lest he be unable to retain his self-control, he whispers 
  heatedly, "Go out where you came in, they will not be sure were here. ... I 
  will guard, you will be safe. Always safe, my Kaiulani." He ventures so far 
  as to call her his own. For in his mind, that is what she is, be it illusion 
  or no, she belongs to him, with him. He will never be shaken in that idea, 
  even if he knows he is not worthy of her. She has held his heart for longer 
  than he can remember, he belongs to her too... if she would have him.

With all her heart she dives into the kiss, as fearlessly as she dives into 
  storm-tossed waves. The sensations of passion shooting through her are new, 
  dizzying, exciting -- and even as Kai's own self-control frays under their 
  influence, she tries to mimic her protector's demonstrations of his 
  affection. When at last their mouths part she is panting, her heart pulsing 
  within her breast. "I will," she vows. "I'll bring the lovely things you 
  have given me... guard them... keep them safe for me... Benja!"

It is with the greatest of reluctance that he loosens his grip on her and lets 
  her float away from him, shivering in the sudden chill that is left behind 
  where her warmth had caressed him. His smile can be heard in his voice. "I 
  will, Kaiulani." He promises, listening for her retreat and safe passage 
  into the sea.

"Kaiulani," Ronan entreats from afar, "my lady, come out--"

And Kaiulani, finding it almost impossible to pull herself away from her 
  protector's brawny form, kisses each of his hands before she disengages at 
  last. His big muscled hands, that have both killed sharks for her... and 
  brought her such lovely treasures and held her with such gentleness. "I will 
  return...!"

And that is the last of her presence, as her voice slides away into the 
  darkness... and as her wet bare feet pad away to lead her guardsman away 
  from her true protector.

[End log.]