Seaside Wisdom [Van/Vi/Lil]

It was a nice, hot summer day and many people were out and about to enjoy it. That included Lilith, someone who greatly enjoyed being out to socialize, and Violet, who didn't. These two women found themselves on the same beach today...

It was a well-known fact, at this point at least, that Violet loved coming to the beach, so when they arrived, she was ready to get into the water and have fun. And then she noticed he had his shirt on… What was a small question turned into a stubborn argument between two people that did not really understand what the other was so worried about. “I am going to be so mad if you pass out again!”

Lilith was walking by in her bikini, with a bag over her shoulder, and a soda in her hand when the voice caught her attention. She looked over to see this couple talking on the beach, immediately noticing the woman's frustration and some rather clear... anxiety coming off the young gentlemen. Lilith pulled a beach towel out of her bag and quickly spread it, deciding to take up a seat and watch the soap opera.

Violet had finally managed to get Vanyel to come to the beach. But, even though he'd become comfortable enough to not feel the need to wear long-sleeves around the house and around her, as well as not being so secretive about his rather large and obvious tattoo from his yakuza days, he certainly wasn't going to do the same out in public. So, while he was in a pair of dark blue swim trunks, he also wore a grey short-sleeved shirt.

But...for some reason, Violet didn't like that. At first she just asked about it, but, even with the reasons he gave, the two eventually delved into a stubborn argument. Eventually, Vanyel groaned, hands slipping under his sunglasses to rub the length of his nose.

"Vi, I'm not gonna pass out, I'm gonna be fine! I was wearin' long sleeves that day in blistering heat! This is just a t-shirt, it's got short sleeves, a lighter color, and its breathable. Plus, it lowers the amount of sunscreen I'd have to use!"

Lilith crossed her legs and listened in. These two were just dorks.

“You’re not supposed to wear a shirt at the beach, especially when you're getting in the water. I’m in a bikini, so why do you get to cover up?” Violet said in a pout, clearly thinking that there was some sort of double standard here.

"I just...don't want to show off the tattoo. Besides, some guys and girls wear a shirt when they go swimming!" Violet just did not understand what the problem was. She liked his tattoo, and she clearly did not see the bad connections in it that he did.

"Fine..." Violet was pouting as she picked up her shorts and put them back on over the bathing suit, continuing the pattern with her hoodie. "There."

"Oh, come on, Vi, I didn't say you should start layering up. Now you're the one who's gonna pass out from heat exhaustion!" Violet puffed up her cheeks and turned away from him at this point. She even pulled the hoodie up to hide her face, using the new hat he bought her to help that. This wasn't bratty... It was insecurity.

Lilith decided it was then to start chuckling, and soon that chuckle end up being a laugh. Violet turned and looked over her shoulder at the woman that seemed to just appear behind them. She looked nervously to Vanyel, especially when the woman stood up and dragged her towel over. "You two are fucking adorable, ya know that? My own little romantic beach drama. What are you two fighting over?"

Vanyel didn't know what he was supposed to say or do in response, beyond caving and taking his shirt off, something he was not wanting to do. But, at the same time, he didn't want Violet to overheat and pass out from heat exhaustion like he had. He groaned, bringing his hands to his head. But, then, he heard someone laughing.

He turned to face the sound, seeing a woman with an eyepatch sitting there, very evidently watching them, and laughing. As she stood up and dragged her towel over, Vanyel instinctively started to lift an arm in front of Violet, but, she just seemed to be enjoying the "show," wondering what they were arguing about. With a mixed expression of confusion, wariness, and shock, Vanyel turned to Violet for a second, before finally biting the bullet.

"Uh...she's...wanting me to take off my shirt, just because we're at the beach."

Violet moved to hide behind Vanyel, not trusting the sudden newcomer even if Vanyel seemed to calm down. Even as Lilith sat back down on her towel near them, Violet was very wary. Lilith, on the other hand, pulled out a bottle of water that was still cold and handed it to Violet. “No, no… That’s what you are arguing about,” Lilith specifically pointed to Vanyel, but then shifted her gaze to Violet. “This pretty little thing is being pushy for another reason. Men don’t think the way women do, honey.”

“I know!” Violet said defensively, but then looked to the sand, face turning red. “I mean… Yeah, I know." "Yeah, sure ya do..." Lilith then looked to Vanyel, "What do you think she's actually wanting from you? Try to see it from her perspective. Take the things you know about her and dissect it like a little experiment." "Who are you?" Violet asked, clearly annoyed... "The name's Lilith, Lilith Blake."

What he was arguing about? Wasn't she the one who saw issue with him wearing a shirt in the first place? Vanyel's expression went from a mixture to just confusion, tilting his head to the side as the notion that men didn't think the way that women do. Well...actually, it wasn't entirely wrong. He remembered times when Violet had taken things a certain way when he had meant another, how she'd though herself as a reminder of his past.

As he was thinking about it, he wondered why this woman looked so familiar...until she said her name, then it started to make sense. He had remembered seeing her face and name across all sorts of billboards across various places, among other things. He also had been pretty sure that Gracen Arms had done business with her at some point, too.

"I mean...I guess that she wants me to be shirtless? She was freakin' out about me passin' out from heat exhaustion since it happened before, but, I was wearin' longer sleeves then, and we had been doing martial arts practice for hours."

‘Okay, so he’s a bit of an idiot…’ The smile Lilith had grew as Vanyel attempted to break things down and completely missed… the fucking… mark… ‘How precious.’

"No... That's... not right at all," Lilith just shook her head, chuckling. Yes, she was making fun of them both right in front of them. Looking to Violet, she raised an eyebrow at her. "Alright, let's try you... scaredy cat."

"What? Why me?" she said shyly, looking away.

"Does he read minds?" Lilith asked. When Violet didn't answer, she snapped her fingers in front of her face. "C'mon, hun. Does he read minds?"

Violet looked back to Lilith, glaring, "No!"

"Then why are you treating him like he does?"

"I... What do you mean?"

"Instead of being honest about why you don't want him wearing a damn shirt, you decided to make yourself more miserable by covering up?" Lilith said, reaching out and tugging lightly at Violet's hoodie. "That's just stupid, and bratty, actually. Why don't you try telling him why it is really bothering you?"

"It... bothers me... because..." Violet said, looking at Lilith still.

"No, no. Tell him, not me."

Violet looked to Vanyel, her face red and saddened, "I don't... usually wear a bathing suit when I come to the beach, and if I do... I wear it under... you know... my regular clothing... I thought that... Well," she put her hand over her stomach, feeling the knots tangle even more. "I thought... maybe if you're here... I can... Mm..."

Vanyel's expression only reflected further confusion as Lilith shook her head, saying that it wasn't right at all. How wasn't it right? It was something relatively recent that made sense as to why she'd want him to take his shirt off. He couldn't think of anything else that would correlate, not anything that wouldn't seem like a stretch, at least.

Then, all of a sudden, Lilith switched to Violet, and the sudden harshness made him start to protectively, instinctually, raise his arm in front of her again.

But, as Lilith dissected her, holding nothing back, Vanyel turned to look at her, his expression shifting to concern at the notion that she hadn't been honest with him. While, no, he couldn't read minds, it...did hurt a little that she felt like she couldn't be honest with him. As she turned to him and finally said what seemed to be the truth, Vanyel's expression softened.

With a slight smile, he lifted her hat up a little bit. At first, his lips parted, and his head leaned forward slightly, but, he was quick to stop.

"So, me bein' here, without a shirt...would make you feel more confident? At ease? You don't need to be embarrassed, Vi. I ain't gonna make fun of you."

'The boy has some protective instincts... I like it.' Lilith thought, a short glance to him as she was interrogating Violet. Once Violet turned to Vanyel, she crossed her arms and waited. Hopefully, she'd tell the truth... girls could be so dumb.

'These two are so cute!' Lilith thought as she watched them pay just a bit closer attention to each other. Lilith saw that little lean in, but why the hell did he stop!? That would have been perfect! 'Oh, he so shoulda just did it... What a dipshit...'

Violet raised her head to look directly at Vanyel as her hat was lifted. She was both ashamed and embarrassed at all of this. Her eyes widened, but only for that brief moment that he leaned closer. 'Was... Was he... about to...' Violet lowered her head again, looking at the sand. 'Yeah, right. That'd never happen...'

"No, no... I... I know... I'm sorry. I trust you not to do that... I know you wouldn't...I know that you wouldn't make fun of me, but..." Violet began curling in on herself, lifting her legs to her chest, and pulling the hoodie down over her face. "It's okay. I'm sorry. I'm being stupid... I-It's stupid... Just ignore me. I'm sorry..."

Lilith's smile vanished. She reached out and put a firm hand on Violet's shoulder. She was testing something. If Vanyel reacted in defense, she would just put a calm hand up and watch Violet's reaction. When Violet's shoulder was touched, gripped in an manner she was... all too familiar with, her head snapped around, eyes widened for a moment. The sheer panic in her eyes was clear; Violet was terrified.

'I've seen that look enough... over the centuries...' Lilith's expression was hard, almost mean for those who didn't know the protective motherly instinct that she had. Violet pulled away from her, and Lilith pulled her hand away from Violet. The older woman looked off, taking a deep breath before pushing up a smile.

Lilith looked to Vanyel, a fierce, threatening gaze in that single eye that was now bearing down on him. She watched him for a moment, remembered the protective behaviors she saw and how the girl reacted to him. 'He wasn't the one, but I am not sure how aware of it all he would be. That's none of my business...'

"You two are the cutest couple I have seen in the City of Lights, so far..." Lilith said after letting that intense look vanish in a snap, replacing it with a wide and welcoming smile. Violet tensed up, hiding her face in her legs and holding her hat further down. "Ahhh, to be young and in love... So, how did you two meet?"

As Violet started to curl in on herself, turning into basically a turtle, Vanyel crouched down to her level, wanting to reassure her. But, before he could get a word out, he noticed Lilith's arm moving out of the corner of his eye. The moment that it set on Violet's shoulder, Vanyel's hand snapped to her wrist, gripping it with enough strength to bend and warp the metal of a car. Of course, it likely wasn't anything to her, but he didn't care.

The mere thought that someone might want to hurt Violet immediately spurned him to protect her. His eyes burned with an otherworldly resolve, the look of a man who'd faced down against gods and walked with the worst of devils, yet still remained firm and unmoving. Even as she pulled her hand away from Violet, Vanyel's arm lifted in front of Violet, sliding a little bit further in front of her.

As she looked at him, that threatening gaze did nothing to shake him. No matter how strong she was, how influential and well-known, nothing would scare him or make him back down. But, then that look seemed to vanish in an instant, causing only tiny amounts of relief. Yet, he still remained incredibly wary and defensive of her, carefully moving to bring his arms around Violet and gently set his hands on her shoulders.

"It's okay, Vi. You're not stupid, and nobody's gonna make fun of you here. Even if they did, they'd have to answer to me."

Before he could continue, however, Lilith's comment about them being a couple suddenly made his face light up redder than an envelope on Lunar New Year.

"W-We're not...I-I'm her friend and roommate! We met on...this beach, actually. I kinda just...came up to her after seein' her form and wanted to give her some tips to help her with her martial prowess. Then...she asked if I could stay at her place and teach her."

Obviously, it left out the myriad of events that had happened over the course of that time, but, she didn't need to know that. At least, not right now.