<5> Vinnia nodded slowly as she looked down into the clear waters, and it became quite clear to her that she was buck naked. Her cheeks almost couldn’t flush as cold as the water was, but a look over at her brother proved that he, too, had disrobed completely to submerge himself next to her. She kept silent for a long moment before another giggle left her. “You are ridiculous,” she uttered between giggles. “Perhaps,” he admitted. “But it’d be much more suspicious if he caught me bringing you home in soaked clothes.” “Fair,” she conceded and looked to him again with another giddy giggle. “You’re naaaaked.” “As are you,” he returned logically. “And clearly still intoxicated.” “Only a li’l,” Vinnia shot back. Her weak gaze seemed strongly fixed to the relaxed Artaan, and before she knew what she was doing she began to shuffle amid the cold water. Her rump planted itself upon several different stones beneath the gentle waves she made, until finally she found herself leaning against Artaan’s bare shoulder. The hunter did not move away, though his eyes did go wide briefly with fright… though the feeling was surprisingly fleeting. “Vinnia…” he started. “I’m sorry,” she cut him off quietly. Her horn softly pressed into his bare shoulder as her gaze drifted over the calming waters. “I’m so… so sorry, brother. I… I have no excuse to satisfy you. It shouldn’t have drank so much, smoked so much....” Artaan looked down at her with a sideways glance. “Not around strangers,” he corrected her gently. Vinnia’s brow arched, but she didn’t look at him. “Oh?” “Do you think of me as stiff as the Stormwind guard?” Artaan remarked curiously. “I have had my fair share of ale and herb, but often only with a few trusted friends. The hunter’s mind must be sharp, aware, and quick to react, which is everything these vices inhibit. It does not make them any less fun, but they must be used with discretion and care.” A long pause ensued as the both of them let his words hang in the air, and with another sigh he added, “I’m sorry… I do not wish to lecture.” “I understand,” Vinnia returned quietly and nuzzled his bare shoulder for a brief moment. “I’m not stupid, Artaan. I knew what I was doing was risky, but I did it anyway because it sounded fun and I knew it would piss off dad.” She took a long look down at her half-submerged body as her mind continued to work itself back to proper consciousness. “I’ll be honest… I don’t remember much of tonight. The elves seemed kind to me, but after the fifth ale I… I don’t remember anything at all.” Her eyes slowly looked back up to him until he met her gaze to ask, “I could tell by your tone that something bad happened… but… what was it?” Artaan grimaced, and slowly he nudged her off of his shoulder as his muscular arm draped itself over her bare shoulders to pull her head against his chest tenderly. “Luuria said you were in trouble. When I arrived, they had taken you upstairs to a bedroom, where….” Vinnia’s face instantly grew horrified and somehow even paler than before. She did not resist his gesture in the slightest, rather she was silently thankful to have him to collapse against. “By the Light… did they…?” “No,” her brother assured her firmly. “I arrived just as they were about to. There were three naked elves standing around you, but none had their hands on you.” The mage looked utterly dumbstruck as she looked back to the water. “I… really?” Artaan exhaled slowly. “Really.” “You really saved me,” she murmured quietly. “They would’ve taken everything from me had you not intervened….” “They had no weapons, thankfully,” he remarked. “But the fate they had in store for you was likely much worse.” His upper body readjusted just a bit in the water before a brief wisp of curiosity got the best of him. “By taken, do you mean…?” Vinnia’s head nodded slowly. “Yeah. Never been with a guy before.” “Huh,” was all Artaan could muster. “You sound surprised,” the mage countered and looked up at him with a half-smile. “No, no,” Artaan quickly backpedaled. “I just… you know, partying and all….” “Have you?” she prodded innocently. “Have I what?” “Done it.” “Done what?” he insisted innocently. “You know what,” she returned flatly and gave his hair-covered chest a flat-palmed, gentle smack. Artaan grimaced and sighed once more before giving in. “Almost once,” he admitted somewhat sheepishly. “But I declined her.” This wasn’t something the siblings had ever really chatted about before, but hearing her brother open up a bit seemed to intrigue Vinnia all the more. “Why?” she asked innocently. “She was not for me,” he replied simply. “Plus, she was being particularly… pushy. A friend had brought her to one of our drinking nights, but rather than stick with him she gravitated toward me. She did not want me for *me*, rather what I had to offer her.” “That makes sense. I guess that’s part of why I haven’t, y’know, taken that leap yet,” she added. “I want it to be with somebody I love. I mean, I want it to be *fun* of course, but… I don’t like the thought of waking up alone after something like that.” “Me neither,” Artaan agreed. “Time tells all. You have grown very beautiful, Vinnia. You don’t need me to tell you to be careful, but I will tell you to be wary of males. Beauty and lust can cloud one’s judgment horribly.” Vinnia shrugged. “It can do that to girls too, you know. I know Luuria’s been around the region plenty of times by now, but she’s not *really* in it for love, I don’t think.” “To each their own,” he rumbled with a gentle smile. The moon was yet quite high in the sky, and off in the distance two lonely chimes rang out from within the crashed Exodar. “How are you feeling?”