Ariel lounged up on a rock brushing her hair with a lovely silver dinglehopper and waiting for Will to wake up. The sun was still pretty high though so for the moment she was enjoying her moment alone. She used to dislike being alone, but that was before...now she was comforted knowing that William was in their den resting, as soon as the sun set they could be together. She was slowly adjusting her sleep schedule to match his better but she still often woke before sunset and fell asleep before sunrise. Still, it didn't need to be perfect, it was just enough to be in love.

She blinked as she heard a sudden soft "PSSSST!" from across the water and turned her head. Her red hair billowed back and over her shoulders, her blue eyes sparkled with sweet naive brightness. Ariel screamed beautiful, easy, prey, she was too sweet to know that there could be danger around every corner. She was too curious to be properly cautious, and she was confined by the water...which was probably for the best.

She slipped off the rock and swam over to to edge of the lake lifting herself up onto the bank. "Why hello there!" She smiled down at a little otter, they were the tiny relatives of the normal sized oasis otters. Ariel had seen them often enough at her old den as they scampered about gathering reeds and keeping themselves busy. They seemed easily spooked though and often avoided larger otters. Xylia had told her that the predators often found the mini's to be easy prey, which explained their reluctance to be out in the open.

Squash was rarely away from Squish, the two little otters had found each other one dark night and they had been together ever since. Except that while Squish adored Squash and dreamed of them becoming mates someday, Squash seemed completely oblivious. Infact Squash had been preocupied of late, he had seen a lovely red haired otter in the lake and he had been spying on her. The sun was setting and he had finally worked up the courage to save her!

He HAD to save her, she was beautiful and Squash was convinced that the vampire otter who lived near this lake had enslaved her! Worse, the vampire had put her under his wicked thrall and the poor little mermaid had no idea of the danger she was in. Squash knew he couldn't defeat the vampire, but he could sneak the mer-otter away while the sun was still up. He motioned her closer and then gazed into her blue eyes enamored. "Miss, my name is Squash and I'm here to rescue you! Don't be afraid now." He quickly reached over and took her paw giving it a few reassuring pats

Contrary to popular belief, William was anything but asleep. He was seated next to a wall of his den, carving a flower out of a small chunk of wood, for Ariel. He wished he could get her one made of mother of pearl or some metal, but this was all he had. Originally, it had been his intent to get her a real one but then came to the conclusion that it would just wither and die eventually, and he didn't want that. He wanted this gift to reflect his feelings for her and this was perfect. It would never grow old, never die, never fade, like how he loved her. There was no letting go of his sweet Ariel.

He sighed as abnormally strong claws shaved off small bits of wood. He was glad she was off in the pond, since he wasn't working on the gift where she could see, and yet he missed her. He could see be looking down into the water entrance that the sun was still up, the water was still lit. That meant he was confined to the den, couldn't go out to see her, couldn't even go out to call her back inside. It was a good thing the trouble she could get into hadn't crossed his mind, otherwise he would be a nervous wreck during the day.

"Rescue me?" Ariel echoed in confusion even as she let the little otter take her paw. "Rescue me from what?"

Squash tugged her paw trying to get her to follow him. "Come along, quick we must get you away before sunset. That vampire will be back for you! I know of a small stream you can hide in tonight and then we'll move you somewhere safer!" He tugged harder trying to convince her to follow him.

"A vampire?!" She looked startled and started looking around fearfully. "I should go back in the den and tell William!" Yes, William knew the other vampires, he knew which ones were dangerous and which ones weren't. Maybe the little otter had only seen Melantha, who was just William's sister, or maybe he had spotted Angelus who was a danger to all.

Will was suddenly struck by a bad feeling and he frowned at the entrance to the den. Bad feelings were never good because he only ever seemed to get them when something bad was indeed going down. Worried that it might be Ariel, he returned the flower and the wood shavings to his hiding spot and ran to the back of the den, into the side room where he stowed his extra clothing, one of which was a long black cloak. Sunlight didn't burn him like it might other vampires, but it made him very ill, very fast. An hour and he was weak as a pup. Any longer than that and there was no telling how much of his control he would lose.
Sun sickness was as dangerous to Ariel as it was to him.

So he slipped into the black cloak, covering every bit of himself, and headed out of the ground-entrance, stepping carefully out into the harsh sunlight. It made his eyes hurt and his muscles ache even with the cloak.

Then Squash saw the vampire emerge from his den and let out a squeaking protest. "Quick miss quick!" He grabbed Ariel and hauled with all his might somehow managing to sort of drag her up onto the shore. Mainly because Ariel was kind and didn't really fight him, she was still a bit confused. Quickly the little otter grabbed a flint and struck it sending sparks out onto the bank. The dried bits of plant and wood quickly caught fire and a light breeze fanned a wall of flame between Ariel and the lake.

Ariel had been perplexed but unconcerned until the little otter pulled her out of the water. She couldn't be out of the water like this! It was dangerous if she got stuck she could...well she simply didn't like being out of the lake, especially without Will.
"Now just wait I think your confused abou-Hey! What are you-NO!" Ariel knocked the flint away but it was too late and she jerked back as the flames roared to life inches away from her.

"WILLIAM!" She cried and quickly tried to drag herself around the fiery wall towards the water.

Will's face quickly change from mild confusion and amusement to cold rage when the insane mini lit a fire in the dry grass, separating him from his love. Thinking of nothing else but getting Ariel safely back into the water, he ran to the nearest fallen log and used his abnormal strength to heave it over the flames, hoping to make a bridge. But he hadn't anticipated it being as dry as the grass and it went up in flames before he could cross it. Well, that's maddeningly unhelpful!

He only had one other option so he stripped his cloak from his body, his pain increasing tenfold at the exposure and whipped the heavy cloth into the water, soaking it through before throwing it on the flames and making a hole.
"The hell do you think you're doing?!" he growled in a threatening voice hoarse with rage as he advanced on the mini otter. The skin beneath his fur grew pale and his eyes were swiftly becoming bloodshot, his fangs bared at the little fool.


"Hurry miss we have to go quickly before he gets over!" The little otter grabbed Ariel's paw and tried to tug her away. He had to get this lovely creature to safety before the vampire came over and killed them both!

Ariel looked down at the little otter and shook her head. "No! No stop! You don't understand! William is my mate! He's not a dangerous vampire! Let go!" She pulled her paw away from the mini's scared of the fire and scared for William.

"Your just under a thrall miss, vampires they can convince you of anything! Anything at all! Please hurry now before he..." Squash's eyes widened as he suddenly saw the vampire come through the flames. He squeaked and started to back up quickly fearing for his life.

Will's head hurt and the world spun around him a bit, but that didn't matter right now. What mattered was getting Ariel back into the water. So as soon as the mini was away from his mate, he moved to her side and pulled her close. The fire blocked their path to the lake, so he would have to get her back in by skirting the edge until he came to an open place.

But while he tried to think of that way to get her back to the water, he could feel the blood coursing through her. He could smell it with the fear in the mini who tried to steal his beloved. The sun hurt him so much, he would need to feed. Ariel... No! He had to get her to safety.
"You'll leave my mate alone! And what the hell is a thrall??" he growled at the mini, some part of him wanted to tear him apart. It was the sun-sickness talking, of course.

Ariel clung to William sucking in quick little gasps of the dry air around them, she needed back in the lake fast. Everything felt so hot, the very air she was sucking in seemed to be drying her out inside and making her vision blur. Still she tried to move her tail, tried to block Williams fur from the sun even as the rays began to set. "William..." She murmured softly and nuzzled his neck. "We....we have to...get back in the den." He had to be out of the sun, she had to be back in the water, they didn't have time for the small ranting mini.

Squash panicked, the beautiful mer-otter was back in the vampires grasp! It looked like he was going to bite her! Had he cost the little mermaid her life? Then the words reached him matched what the red haired female had said. Mates? Was it possible the beautiful otter was really mates with the wicked vampire? Then Squish was there beside him tugging him away. She sounded angry but mostly just worried about him. He looked at the mer-otter again and suddenly realized, she wasn't the damsel in distress he had imagined, she was beautiful yes, but she loved another...and he...he loved her, any creature who could love like that self sacrifice...couldn't be evil. He suddenly felt like quite the villain, he turned to Squish suddenly ashamed of leaving her alone. Quickly he ushered her ahead and ran after her promising never to return.

William shuddered when the minis were gone and carefully slipped under his Ariel, setting her on his back. His legs threatened to buckle but he managed to stay up.
"Hold on." His voice was dry and weak and heat radiated from his skin, a fever spreading through him. With that, he moved as quickly as him could around the fire and around the edge of the lake until he came to an open spot where he dove into the water, never breaking a stride.

When he hit the water, his body went limp, exhaustion taking over.

Ariel felt the sweet water cool and blessedly...wet, every pore seemed to suck it in and she felt her senses come alive. She looked down to see William passed out and drifting down. Like all otters he could swim, but unlike a mer-otter he couldn't stay under without air. She dove down and grabbed him around his middle paddling towards the den. She shoved him up through the tunnel out of the water and onto the dry shelf he normally slept on. She pulled herself up half out of the water and quickly touched his chest giving him a shake.

"William! William wake up!" She moved her paws to press his chest desperate for him to respond.

"W-water," Will murmured, his eyes closed to try and control himself. "Put...me.. back in... water."
He needed to cool down, maybe it would make the craving stop. He knew that it wouldn't help, but there was a little bit of hope. He didn't want to open his eyes because he knew they would look red. He was dehydrated and he had strained himself trying to get Ariel back and damn it, he'd lost his cloak. His inner demon wanted to thrash that mini, if only for threatening his mate's life with that damn fire.

Meanwhile, outside, your friendly neighborhood guardians were busy putting out said fire.

Ariel quickly pulled William over and helped him stay afloat in the water beside her. She softly nuzzled his neck and chest her paw moving up to stroke his hair back. "What was that all about?" She asked still confused by the entire ordeal. She knew William had to feed, and she knew he wasn't going to be happy that his options were her or starving.

"D-Donno," Will replied, wrapping his paws around her and holding her close to him. He wouldn't feed from her, he wouldn't. Maybe if he just held her, here in the water, he would feel better.
"I'm sorry, Ariel," he whispered in her ear, nuzzling against her fur. He wouldn't feed...

"Don't, please don't be sorry William, this wasn't your fault...I don't understand what got into the mini...he kept saying he had to save me from the vampire. I was just afraid that Angelus was around...Xylia told me how dangerous he is." She clung to William feeling safer already back in their den together. "William...you have to feed...at least a little...you went out in the sun..." She lightly touched his chest and nudged him.

Will shuddered but he knew she wouldn't take his no for an answer. She never did, and that was just one more thing he loved her for. No matter what he did, she loved him and she never wanted to see him hurt any more than he wanted to see her hurt. If it came down to it, he had the feeling they would each give their lives for the other, though he doubted he could live without her.

So he moved one of her paws to his mouth. He kissed and nuzzled it weakly, finally opening his eyes. They glowed, but around the blue his eyes were almost completely red.
"Just a little, love. Stop me," he said in a hushed voice before biting into her wrist.

Ariel tried not to wince as Williams fangs pierced her and she nuzzled him pressing close and slowly relaxing. He was more controlled biting from her wrist she supposed but when he nuzzled her neck and bit there it didn't feel sore like this. Yet it was probably for the best, she knew William could have drank too much in his current state. As it was he would probably need to get out on a hunt as soon as the sun fully set. She slowly pulled her wrist away as she felt her head start to get light.

"There...better?" She looked at his eyes and relaxed a bit, he wasn't completely better, but he didn't look so sick anymore.

Not really, but Will would never tell Ariel that. He was better enough, but still very tired. Hunting would be hard, but he would have to do it when the sun finally set.
But for now he had his Ariel back in his arms and she was safe from the world. He wanted to tell her how worried, how scared he had been, wanted to tell her how much he loved her and the thought of something happening to her chilled him to the bone. But none of that came out.

All he managed was a small smile, a soft "Come here," and a push on the back of her neck with one paw so that he could kiss and nuzzle her as much as his current state of strength (Or lack thereof) would allow.

Ariel relaxed in Williams arms and happily followed the soft push to snuggle against him. Her muscles uncoiled and she breathed a soft sigh of contentment as he held her. "We should rest...once it's dark you'll have to hunt..." She murmured against his chest softly and slowly closed her eyes feeling oddly drained, who would have thought one little mini's infatuated crush could cause such troubles?