ATTINA:
Attina had cooked a nice salmon and tofu (for the veggies) dinner for everyone. It was almost easier to wrangle everyone now, because there were so few of them. Andrina and Adella were such big presences that dinners felt so small without them. But, she’d already called them both and told them that she was moving. It had been nice to slide into it that way, but they were also the oldest. She had no idea how the rest of her sisters were going to react.
It was nice to have Panic there for moral support. And her dad, of course. Who was aware that tonight was going to be the night.
Attina was not nervous that they were going to be angry with her. She was actually nervous of the opposite. That people would want her to leave. That they would tell her that why did it matter, why was she making a big deal of this?
She waited until the dinner was winding down. One of the sisters actually got up to put her plate up because Attina was procrastinating.
“Wait—“ she barked, when the sister stood. “Uh, please, sit. I, er—we—“ she glanced at Panic. “Have something to tell you.”
Attina took another breath. “PanicandIaremovingtoAustralia.”
AQUATA:
Aquata almost choked on her salmon. “Australia?” she repeated.
This was the thing: Aquata was learning to let go of the idea that all of her sisters would stay in the same place forever. Especially after talking to her at the wedding, Aquata now understood that this wasn’t just a phase for Andy and she probably wasn’t coming back. And even though Adella had gotten the brunt of Aquata’s crisis about the family splitting up, Aquata had eventually made her peace with it.
She maybe expected Tina to leave, eventually, especially since she didn’t have her wedding in Swynlake. But Australia?
She coughed and cleared her throat, her expression going neutral. “That’s a long bloody plane ride.”
ARISTA:
Arista chewed on her tofu, happy to just sit among her family. Dinner nights were always so lovely. It was how they all caught up on things. (Well, at least the ones who were still in town).
Her brows shot up, Aquata had a point. It was a long plane ride. “Australia? Like forever?” Australia seemed pretty permanently away from Swynlake. But she trusted her sister to not make decisions unless she had already thought it over like a million times. “You think you’ll be near where Jake’s from? Maybe he can give you some pointers or teach you slang.” She tilted her head, trying to think back to all the weird things she’d heard her sister’s boyfriend say over the years.
ALANA:
"Australia?!"
To be honest, Alana had a moment of fear. It struck her suddenly and she looked at the dinner table, at the empty seats where Andrina and Adella once sat. She felt something twist in her gut, but then she looked at Tina and that twisting feeling transformed into a swell of pride.
"Ohmigosh that's so great!" she exclaimed. "Wow, more excuses for me to visit."
MELODY:
Well, that was far. Was the first thought as Melody digested the news. She wasn't all that surprised though. Each of the girls were moving on in their own way she wondered who would be next truly.
But this wasn't supposed to be sad. Not at all. "When are you planning on moving?"
PANIC:
Panic watched everyone's reactions grimacing ahead of time almost expecting for it to go terribly. Though it wasn't that bad not yet. "It's a long plane ride for sure but we're planning on getting a big enough place you guys can all visit whenever." Panic offered leaving Tina to answer Arista because really who knew especially with school.
"Toward the end of summer, we need to be there by Late August so we want to settle in a bit."
ATTINA:
Attina hadn't announced something like this since...well, since her pregnancy. And she'd done that one on one, because as much as she insisted on these dinners and everyone sharing their lives with each other, she always found it a little overwhelming to be the focus of the attention.
It was nice to have Panic there to help her, because she was trying to untangle her tongue while all her sisters and cousin stared at her. She knew it must be shocking and probably felt like it was coming out of left field and she felt herself about to word vomit everywhere a bunch of excuses.
Panic corralled everyone first and Attina shot him a grateful look before nodding.
"Yes, late summer. I will, uhm, I'm--I accepted an PhD studies offer at the National Australia University in Canberra for Marine Biology. It's not near Jake's, unfortunately." She had already looked that up, because of course she knew where her sister's boyfriend was from. "But, I'm sure he can give us plenty of pointers."
AQUATA:
Aquata was stunned.
Andy had always been a loose cannon. Adella had always wanted to get out of Swynlake from the beginning. But Tina? Tina, who basically ran Whosits and Whatsits, who went to every community event, who had a house here and friends and, okay, probably a lot of bad memories too, but who seemed more a part of Swynlake than anyone else?
It was like one of those moments when you were a kid and realized the teacher didn’t sleep at school. Attina had her own life. But.... Australia was really far.
Aquata didn’t really know what to say. She didn’t want to make a scene, or be the unsupportive one (again). But for someone who liked plans and routines, who liked being able to keep track of everyone, it was a lot to process.
“Congrats, Tina, that’s cool,” Aquata said flatly. She needed to go for a swim. She looked at Panic and smirked. Humor was a little easier than being sincere. “Better be a mansion. I’m not getting on a twenty-hour flight for any old cottage. Or maybe I’ll just swim there. Probably faster.”
Aquata made a face to show she was joking, because she didn’t want to freak Attina out, but honestly, it did sound like a fun idea.
ALANA:
Alana was still processing this. First Andrina had left, which seemed like a given and honestly, Lana had been surprised it hadn't happened sooner. She missed Andrina so much, her absence like a loose tooth she kept on prodding with her tongue. Adella had left second, which hadn't been a surprise either; she'd already left once the first time and she'd never wanted to stay in Swynlake. She had big dreams and a little town in England didn't exactly lend itself to them.
And now Attina --
Maybe this had been coming from the beginning. Maybe Attina dreamed of things too, dreamed of the ocean and helping save it. Maybe it was obligation that had kept her trapped in Swynlake, that obligation growing into fear and spreading across the rest of them. Maybe that's why Andrina had broken away, why Adella had always dreamed of bigger things. Maybe it all went back to Attina and the fact that she had stayed in the first place, instead of leaving.
Alana always wondered why she was working in a shoppe when she had a Master's degree.
Alana didn't know what she'd do without her big sister. It was one thing for Andrina and Adella to go off -- but Attina?
She wasn't sure where to look. Looking at Attina might make her cry. Looking at Aquata might make her scared. So she looked at Arista, who was soft and smiling and with a deep breath, Lana tried to relax herself.
(She wondered, briefly, if she would ever leave Swynlake; she'd thought about it a lot as a teenager but now... well with her own place and her own life separate from the legacy of her family, it didn't really bother her as much. She wondered, out of all of them, who would go and who would remain).
"Oh my gosh, do you have a new place picked out already?" asked Alana. "Is it by the beach? Please tell me it's by the beach."
ARISTA:
Arista, of course, was sad to see any of her sisters go. But she knew they all had to do some exploring of their own some time. She had left for a time to find perspective and where her music came from. Andy had left to grow and spread herself far and wide so she could experience everything the world had to offer. Adella had dreams that were outside of Swynlake. And so while she had been sad for those instances, she was happy for them because she knew they were becoming who they wanted to be most in the world.
And though the sadness over Tina hit her heart particularly hard as Tina had been the most patient and the most kind to her growing up (they of course were not without their fights as seen over the last couple years) but Arista knew that Tina had put a lot on hold and been through so much in town that it only made sense that she too at some point would want to find something different out there. And that didn’t mean they were losing her. They were just gaining distance while she became an even brighter version of herself.
She looked between her sisters, they all has their respective reactions but one thing was clear, they loved their sister and wanted to see her happy in their own ways.
She smiled softly, her voice matched her smile as she looked at her eldest sister, “I think you really deserve this, Teens.”
MELODY:
Melody sighed softly but nodded, this was good. The degree was amazing. And it would be good for Attina and Panic, she was sure of it. Or at least she hoped. Just like she hoped all the others girls were happier doing whatever it was they were doing right now.
It felt lonely in a way, seeing everyone move on but making her life more steady here. Would she be like them too one day? Would the rest of the Triton's be like that?
"Congrats Tina. That's going to be such a cool program. " None the less Melody would take each day by day and today was Tina and Panic's day.
PANIC:
Panic nodded giving the girls all a smile, a brief glance over to JEFF too. "We'll be near the water and no little cottage don't worry. Though maybe not a mansion big." Panic grinned with a raised eyebrow in Aquata's direction.
"Enough room and good scenery, it'll be worth the flight." Reaching over Panic gave Tina's hand a small squeeze. This was going a lot better than expected and part of him wondered if it was because some of the others girls had left. Strangely enough this was more common than you would first think.
ATTINA:
No one was yelling. Everyone was smiling--some more reserved than others. The air was a little stilted, awkward, and nervous, but...no one was yelling. That let Attina know, more than anything else, that this was the right decision. She had let out the breath she was holding and managed a tentative smile herself.
There were little tears shining in the corner of her eyes, but she nodded, squeezing Panic's hand back when he reached for her.
"Yes, of course. You are all welcome to visit, at any time. And we'll all FaceTime and text. It will be like I'm not really gone at all."
"We'll miss you too, Tiny, but don't worry. You're going to do brilliantly," Daddy said, reaching over to squeeze Attina's shoulder. She smiled over at him. "Your mum would be proud."
"Daddy," Attina said, those tears trembling--much more closer to falling. "You must promise to keep me informed of everything. I'll miss you all so much."
There was a tradition in English mermish culture where upon a mermaid’s eighteenth birthday, they were presented with a string of pearls that their parents had gathered for them since their birth. It was meant to symbolize cycles of the moon, and gratefulness for life. Pearl strings, traditionally, wrapped several times around the neck. Especially lucky mermaids could wear theirs as belts around their waist. Some wore them woven into their hair.
For mermaids on land, especially those with many children, these necklaces were much shorter, but all the more precious.
Each of the Triton daughters had one of these necklaces, given to them on their eighteenth birthday. Usually at a dinner for them, where all their family gathered to celebrate. Except, apparently, Ariel was too cool for that. She just had to spend that time with her boyfriend. And no, she was not excused just because the Election Ball was the same night. And yes, maybe their whole family couldn’t gather anyway because it was forever broken: considering Andrina--
Considering Mom--
“Tiny, honey,” her dad’s voice broke into her thoughts. “I think that batter is whipped enough.”
Attina’s shoulders dropped and she sighed a bit. “Sorry.”
Triton just squeezed her shoulder as she moved over towards the skillet, pouring the pancakes in perfectly round circles. Ariel’s gift sat, perfectly wrapped and square in soft green wrapping paper, on the edge of the counter. The house began to smell like pancakes and freshly squeezed orange juice, which Triton was putting through the juicer when Ariel clomped down the stairs, ready for school for the day.
“Happy birthday!” Attina said when she saw her sister.
“Happy birthday, darling,” Triton echoed, coming around the side of the island so that he could lean down and scoop Ariel into a tight hug. Mostly so she couldn’t see the tears in his eyes as he held her. “Can’t believe my littlest baby is all grown up.”
[tw -- none really except general fighting/anxiety/depression]
ATTINA
The Tritons had gathered for dinner, happily provided by Benjamin. Upstairs, Attina had a suitcase in her old room. Alana hadn't noticed yet. It had only been a day, and she'd been in class, and only used that room sometimes, besides. It wasn't unusual for Attina to be at the Triton house, though she had spent the entire morning and most of the evening sulking in the pool. She's scared the shit out of Benjamin when she'd come out. The only people who had any idea something funny might be happening were Andrina (for obvious reasons) and her father. Even Ariel was oblivious, though Attina had insisted that she come by for dinner. Now, they were all sitting around the table chatting--the clamor of plates passed back and forth and voices asking how each other's days went, meant that Attina's own empty plate went unnoticed by everyone but her father. Who had scooped some salad onto the plate, like Attina was a child who couldn't feed herself. Her heart was pounding loud in her ears. Eventually, though, she knew she needed to speak.
"Hey," she said. "H-hello. I--" Most people kept talking though a few eyes turned towards her. "E-everyone, I have something to say." She managed to make her voice louder that time. Once everyone's eyes turned towards her, Attina swallowed harshly. "I-I know you--you all might be upset with me, and I-I'm sorry but--some--some people found out. A-about us." Her eyes darted from her father's to Andrina's and back down at her plate. She couldn't bare to look at anyone else. "I-I tried to stop it. I went...to the sea witch. B-but there was--it--just made everything worse. I'm so sorry." Her voice trembled and her head hung.
Triton took over then, glancing at all of his daughters. "You must all stay alert," he told them. "I doubt that we have anything to worry about. Despite--what happened. Attina's decision to trust Paul may not have been entirely ill-conceived. We have no reason...to think he will retaliate with violence."
Attina swallowed thickly. She didn't know if she believed that. She had hurt him. Had taken his memories. "I didn't mean to--to put any of you in danger," Attina murmured, a few tears dropping from her eyes. "I was just--just trying to do what was best."
ALANA
Alana was nursing a day-long hangover. Her class on Fridays was a lab that’d ended the week before so to celebrate, she and Mags and the rest of the gang had gone out to get absolutely smashed. It’d been a fine night, not that Alana could remember most of it (but that, she supposed was what made it a fine night indeed). She’d been curled up on the couch in the game room for most of the day, bottle of Gatorade at her side, claiming to her family who’d asked that she felt a cold coming on (Aquata knew better; Arista did not) and had binged most of Making of a Murderer for the third time.
Now it was dinner and the headache that had plagued her all day was just starting to ebb away and she felt like she could eat a few scoops of whatever Benjamin had prepped and perk right back up to meet Mags for drinks.
She sat at the table, helping herself to some hearty portions (she’d probably just throw up later, lol) and was eating some of the mashed potatoes when Attina spoke.
/Oh great,/ thought Alana. /She’s probably just announcing her latest boyfriend./
And then Attina spoke. And then Daddy spoke. And Alana dropped her spoon.
Something inside of her – something that hadn’t reacted when Ariel had gone off and run away to Jim, had gone off to the sea witch, had done all that terrible shit – felt like it snapped. Because Attina should’ve known better, because Attina should’ve known better after Ariel, because Attina was supposed to be the one taking care of them –
“What the fuck?!” she exclaimed, sitting up. “Jesus bloody fucking Christ – Attina – didn’t we have to deal with Ariel’s fucking fuck-up already?! Don’t you know better?! What the fuck – what did we do? You sound just like Ariel a month ago.” She let out a dry laugh, gesturing towards her younger sister and then putting on a false falsetto. “/I just wanted to fix~ everything /– there’s nothing to bloody fix – “ She inhaled sharply, picking her spoon back up, feeling her heart thrum in her throat, and swallowed. When she spoke next, her voice was calmer. “What happened?”
She felt – Attina had always been the one to guide them out of trouble, to keep the porch light on if they wandered home too late, to lend an ear to whisper secrets to, who seemed to have some sense of everything when there was none. Lana took a deep breath. “What are we doing about it?”
ARISTA
You know, before all of this craziness happened and like everyone was going to sea witches and wishing things away, Arista had actually liked dinners. She got to see all of her sisters in one place for once, which was always super interesting. She'd find herself people watching their interactions and then getting excited when they asked her about her own things going on. It was a nice tradition.
Now, all Ris could do was stare at her plate, make side comments to some of her sisters, and watch whatever clock was nearest, phone or otherwise, to when she'd be excused from the table and not have to sit in one place for so long. Her leg bounced under the table and she fidgeted, fighting the urge to drum little pieces on silverware because Daddy didn't like it and other people usually found the clanking of silverware annoying.
Then Attina started speaking and Arista looked up from her plate, furrowing her brows because why would they be upset with Attina? She was the one who never made mistakes. She was the one who helped all of them, who raised them, why would they--Oh. Wow. The new redhead's eyes went wide and before she could say anything she heard Alana starting off, angry, upset. Sea witches again. It was kind of a bad idea, even Arista had to admit. But her heart, though she tried to keep it closed off, had been growing back into place over the last couple weeks and she couldn't bear to see Attina cry the way she was.
"Well... I mean, it'll be nice not to lie to everyone all the time now that they know." She brushed her hair from her eyes and shrugged. "I was never a fan of secrets and now we don't have to keep this one anymore so that's kind of a relief. Like secrets always come out anyways eventually so like it was bound to happen." She did feel better that it was a possibility not to lie to people anymore. It was always the hardest part for her. Keeping things from people she cared about. "As for the sea witch, yeah, I don't know why people keep going to her, she really only makes things worse in a like 'careful what you wish for' type terrible trope or whatever. Total trouble."
While Alana was acting up more than she did for Ariel's blunder, Arista didn't think this was as bad. It wasn't selfish. She was just trying to protect all of them because she made a mistake. She wasn't trying to change all of them and make them, not them.
AQUATA
You know, Aqua had thought that she was just going to have a nice family dinner. Well, as nice as dinner could get with seven girls. But what she wasn’t expecting was for this to turn into a fucking round table regarding an apparent fuck up. ~Some people found out~ was what had come out of Tina’s mouth and Aqua could just feel her heart instantly sink. Not just one person, but multiple people.
“Some people found out, or you told people?” Aqua spoke out harshly, waiting until a few of her sisters had finished speaking, “Are you fucking kidding me? No fuck this, I’m over all of the bullshit going behind our back shit. Once, just fucking /once/ can we come together to talk about shit before it happens?!?” Her voice was loud, much louder than she had been expecting it to raise, but Aqua didn’t care.
She was tired of it. Tired of feeling like no one could trust one another to help with their problems, and instead trying to fix it themselves by going to the bloody sea witch. How did they not know that she wouldn’t solve anything? She’s literally called a witch for a reason.
ADELLA
Now, what Adella Triton was not about to do, was put up with this shit. And you know what, Aquata was right. Not that Aqua (probably) saw Adella look to her and pointedly nod in agreement at ~some people found out, or you told people~, but her sister was abso-fucking-lutely right. "Apparently not, Q," Adella deadpanned, glaring at Attina from across the table before closing her watering eyes and taking a deep breath. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. In- and as a stupid, annoying tear slid down her cheek, Adella let out her breath in an exasperated huff.
"Fucking hypocritical. /You/ told somebody our secret, when you're constantly on our arses about not telling someone. I've never told any of my boyfriends, JULIE doesn't even know and do you know how much it kills me to have a secret from her? My host sister in Venice never found out, even that night I was so homesick I cried in her arms and poured out any other detail I could about my family because I missed them so much. My roommates in London never knew, even Suresh, who was-" and Adella bit her tongue, to keep from saying ~~holding my hand when the doctor in London confirmed the hearing in my ear had continued to deteriorate~~, lest she reveal now of all times that she, too, was harboring a secret from her family. One she hadn't even told Ris, not that she'd talk to her long enough for her to; or Ariel, because it would make her so very sad; or Attina who she wants to tell more than anybody else because she's so, so fucking scared...wantED. Right now? She doesn't even want to look at Attina, let alone share her secret.
And, apparently, Attina can't be trusted with secrets.
"Not even Suresh," she started again. "Who even now texts me every day around lunchtime to see how my day's going, because he became my big brother when I was alone in London and needed a family. You're not the only one with people you love - loved, whatever, Atty. I could've forgiven the sea witch - an actually, it's not - I'm not. I'm not actually mad about the sea witch."
The brunette pressed her knuckles to her eyes to will the tears back inside her tear ducts. God, don't cry. They'll call you dramatic. Ris will never be your sister again if you make a scene. "I can't forgive you putting our lives at risk. I can't ~fucking~ believe you right now." She took a look around the table, to see if anybody was at least looking like they agreed with her, and pushed her chair back. "And now you expect us to have dinner together like everything's f-f-fine?"
Fuck, there goes a few tears, and there's the wobbly voice.
ARIEL
Now, you know, Ariel hadn't really been looking forward to coming home for dinner. Sure, with the exception of Arista, all of her sisters were talking to her again, and she'd fixed things with Daddy for the most part - but the echo of what she'd done still weighed heavy on her soul, even more-so when she was in this house, so devoid of memories of their mother it made Ariel feel a little sick. But Attina had insisted and Ariel thought that, maybe, if Arista could stand being in the same room as her, there might be hope yet still.
Funny, how she'd thought this evening might turn disastrous because of her. And then Attina had gone sputtering on about how people had "found out" about them and how she'd gone to the sea witch and tried to fix it and people were suddenly shouting over each other one right after the other and Ariel felt like the room was spinning.
It was like being on the other side of what she'd gone through just a couple of months ago. Only it didn't make sense. Why would Attina go to the sea witch after what had happened to Ariel? Why would she risk losing her family like Ariel had almost lost them?
There was so much to react to. There was the stinging from Alana's digs at her, each insult like a tiny knife jab-jab-jabbing Ariel in the heart and making her curl in on herself a little bit. (There was the hurt and the anger Alana hadn't expressed directly at Ariel, she thought. It was finally coming through the cracks.) Arista didn't even seem to care, not really, and while that stung in a deeper way, Ariel also understood it. (What Ariel had done was selfish. What Attina had done was thoughtless and hypocritical. Ariel was worthy of more punishment, clearly.) Aqua was - well, as always, the blunt, obvious, pissed-off voice of reason. (This gave her just the tiniest bit of comfort, though she felt for Attina, because hearing the truth so plainly always dug at you painfully at first.) Andrina was silent, and Ariel didn't know why, to tell the truth. (Where was all the anger and rage? Had Ariel drained it out of her completely?)
And then there was Adella.
Maybe, if Ariel hadn't been through what she'd been through the past month, she'd be saying what Adella said. She'd be nodding along as her sister looked around for support. Instead, it felt hard to breathe, and the room became too small despite how large it was, and Ariel had that tight feeling in her chest and that feeling of dread and doom looming over her ready to crush her underneath it.
How must Attina feel? How must she feel? Ariel knew how much this hurt. Ariel knew what it felt like to watch your whole family get so angry at you - to be so hurt by you - and the Triton girls never held back with each other. It was like her worry for how Attina was reacting to all of this piled on top of everything Ariel was already feeling, and she suddenly felt at war with herself.
Because despite all the worry for her sister and looming doom and fear and hurt, there was also the sensation of feeling tricked. Tricked into coming over for what was supposed to be a dinner where she could see if things could be normal again only to have her entire world rocked and shaken and tipped on its axis all over again. And Attina had done that to her.
But there were bigger things to worry about, since Ariel understood (better than anyone could) that Attina hadn't done this to /her/. This wasn't about anyone individually. It was about a choice Attina had made - to be vulnerable, and to tell someone the truth, finally, to trust someone with that - and how it had backfired on her. This was about how she'd become desperate to fix that mistake and though Ariel didn't understand how she could think going to the sea witch could help after what she'd done to Ariel and all of them, she did get the frantic, desperate panic one feels when all they want to do is fix their own mess and make everything okay again.
She didn't say anything. She locked eyes with her eldest sister from across the table and tried to calm her rapidly beating heart. She tried to breathe normally but every inhale was done through the weight on her chest pushing down, down, down.
It was re-living everything that had happened to her but watching it happen to someone else she loved at the same time. In that moment, though she was the youngest of the seven sisters, all Ariel wanted to do was wrap Attina up protectively and try to sort all of this out one by one.
Since she couldn't do that (and a part of her still felt like she didn't even really have a place in the family to speak anymore in the first place) all she could do was gnaw her bottom lip bloody and scratch at her arm and wait for a break in all the talking and yelling. "G- Guys-" she started, unsure and scared to be speaking at all, despite how relieved she was to have her voice back, still. "Guys?" she asked, a little bit louder, and finally, she cleared her throat.
"Can we- can we breathe? Can we- I don't know- Please stop yelling. Attina didn't mean... She didn't mean to..."
Ariel hadn't meant to, either. The room spun some more. She couldn't meet anyone's eyes now. A part of her whispered that her Mum would know what to do, but Ariel did not know what that was, and Mum wasn't here, and there was no bringing her back. No fixing anything, not that way, anyhow. Not with sea witches and trades and trying to do things yourself.
"Everyone's right. Everyone is. Attina and I, we- we've both been stupid to try and fix our mistakes by ourselves. We deserve the anger. We deserve the backlash. We do. We do. I'm not saying it's not unfounded, that th-there's no right, b-but-" God, she was so scared. So scared that she was talking to all of her sisters at once like this because she didn't deserve it; had no place to talk, and the insecurity of that taunted her with every word she spoke. "F-From now on, we can try and fix things together. Instead of getting mad and not speaking or just yelling and being upset and angry, we... We gotta try and help each other. Now more than ever, j-just in case we /are/ in danger. We have to- W-We have to help each other, and look out for each other, and... talk... to each other..."
Ariel cast a hesitant glance around the room, tears shining in her eyes and chest still heaving with every breath. All of her insecurities spun in her head along with the room as she looked around, but this wasn't about her, and she tried to focus on Attina to make the spinning stop, because Attina was her, she was Attina, she /understood/ and she just wanted all of this to stop. All she'd ever wanted was for them to be able to talk as a family. That was all she ever wanted. Her heart /ached/ for it. Maybe later, she'd be upset about digs and other, bigger things. But right now she just wanted her family to be safe and /whole/. One unit, leaning on one another and having each other's backs.
ANDRINA
Andrina hadn't spoken. She didn't need to-- because this wasn't a surprise to Andy, not like it was to her sisters. She knew. She'd gotten the frantic texts, she'd arrived home to a shaken Attina who had already faced an angry Perdita and a confused Paul Patts. She knew more than any of her sisters besides Tina herself, and so there was no need to add her voice to the pile. And hey, she'd learned from the fight with Ariel. Anger didn't suit an elder sister. It never had. That's why she'd spent all those years sifting through her emotions, playing go between, staying "cool" and effortlessly logical when she was needed to, pushing her annoyance all the way down. Hey, just look at this scene, yeah? Sisters yelling, scoffing, tears in Della's eyes, Ariel trembling like a frightened rabbit cornered by a pack of wild wolves (though the wolves were looking at Attina now.) And you know what topped it all?
Daddy was watching, ladies.
So Andrina-- Daddy's little girl, always Daddy's little girl-- said nothing. Her eyes flicked from sister to sister, down to her plate, and then-- now-- she looked to Daddy. His was the only voice that mattered. He was the one steering the ship.
ATTINA
Nothing that they said surprised her. Arista, with her soft voice, lost under the crowd. Alana and Aquata and Adella’s shrieking. Ariel’s weeping. And, above it all—Andrina’s silence. Daddy’s silence. Those were the things she heard most of all. The rest of the cacophony of sound crashed over her, tugging her under it and she let it.
She crawled as far into her shell as she could, a hermit crab escaping curious fingers, and she hunkered down. Attina wanted to put her head between her knees. She wanted to crawl under the table. But, she didn’t, because she deserved their fury and their disappointment. She knew she’d been hypocritical. She knew she shouldn’t have told anyone. Of course, she had kept the secret so close to her chest that it had rotted her. And the one time—the one time she’d felt comfortable enough—it had blown up in her face.
Yes, she understood the irony. Yes, she knew that she had put them all in danger.
That was why she’d tried to stop it.
Her head bowed, Attina tore apart her paper napkin in her lap, twisting the pieces around her fingers so tightly all she could feel was the tingle of them, like they were going to pop off, one after the other. It was the only thing that kept her from just bursting into sobs. As it was, the tears streamed down her face silently. She needed to look at them. She needed to not be a coward.
“Girls,” Triton said, before Attina could look up—and under the heavy sound of his voice, she couldn’t look up. “Girls!” He barked it loud enough that as soon as it had started, it had stopped, all eyes snapping to their father. All except Attina, who kept her head bowed.
“I know you are all upset, and you have a right to be.”
Attina let out a pathetic little sound at that.
“This is a serious situation, as you have all pointed out. And regardless of what Attina has done, we will need to stay vigilant. Attentive. Stick together. It is more important now than ever before. We have never faced a potential threat like this. If—if our safety is compromised here, I am not above us returning to Bournemouth to live.”
Attina shrunk. She didn’t want to leave. She didn’t want to leave her friends. She knew, if that happened, her sisters would hate her. All of them, for being the one who had uprooted them.
“I don’t think I need to stress the gravity of this and I expect everyone to behave appropriately in the weeks to come. Stay close. No trips to London, for at least the next month. Overnight trips anywhere are out of the question. I expect you all home at a reasonable hour, even you Andrina.” His eyes flicked to his second eldest.
“This is not a punishment, it is for your safety, so I do not want to hear any arguing.”
“I-I’m sorry,” Attina gulped, though her words were barely more than a whisper, only whoever was sitting nearest her (Daddy was on one side), would be able to hear.
ADELLA
"You don't want to hear any arguing." Adella said quiet, robotic, and emotionless, like it was never meant to leave her mouth and was always supposed to be an inner thought preceding what she meant to say. She didn't register that she'd even said it as she took a breath, ran a hand through her hair, and turned her attention and frustration from Attina to her father.
Her anger was chomping at the bit to be unleashed, but Adella knew better. She was twenty-five yet so easily felt like a child in front of her father. She chewed on her tongue to keep from saying something genuinely horrible out of anger. Adella was angry, and headstrong, but she didn’t want to actually hurt her father like the night when she happily showed him all of her acceptance letters to universities all over the country, one in Ireland, even, and he showed her the one to Pride U - that she herself never applied to under her name - and told her there would be no further discussion.
She’d said something truly terrible that night, had opened her mouth and accused him of being a, quote, /‘controlling, abusive, junior dictator with no sense of her agency.’/ She’d been proud of the last word. Agency. A word she’d recently gleaned from feminist texts.
Her pride had been squashed when she saw her father’s face, replaced with horror and disgust directed only inwardly. Adella’d run away that night out of shame more than defiance. Oh, Adella knew she was /right/, of course, about how she should be allowed to go to whatever university she wanted if scholarships kept the cost reasonable. But she was wrong about most everything else, and even the most /miniscule/ shred of truth in the controlling bit was said just to hurt him.
(At seventeen, she didn’t understand it. At twenty-five, she understood why Jeff Triton came off as controlling at times. That didn’t make it any less frustrating, but it no longer made her hate her father.)
Adella closed her eyes and took a deep, even breath. /No trips to London, for at least the next month./ Well Mary’s sea-urchiney titties. Who else could that possibly directed at?
(Technically all of them. But she was the one always gallivanting off to London for just-for-fun extra acting classes, auditions on the weekends she wasn’t working, parties celebrating the successes that had come to her friends but not yet herself, or birthday parties for those same friends. Adella Triton had come home to Swynlake in body only, her heart and spirit were still sharing a flat in London with three other aspiring actors.)
“I never should have come home. This is completely unfair,” Adella began, with more bite than intended, before visibly reigning herself in. She hoped Daddy would see that and at least say to her ‘I understand’ before dismissing her argument. An acknowledgement that he has a point, before overruling her.
Again, she loved her father. But hated how she felt like a child still in front of him. Acknowledgement would make her feel a little adult at least.
“Dad,” she pointedly left off the second syllable, the intent was only to sound grown up, not to sting, and she hoped the softer but still sure tone she took conveyed as much. “I know this is serious. It has always been serious, even when mom was here the threat was serious. But it. It’s. The /world/ is dangerous, okay? I can get hit by a texting driver on the drive to school, a building can collapse - but we can’t just put our entire lives on pause. You said at least a month. Okay, but what if a month goes by and then two, then three, then five?”
“So I can’t go to London this summer at all? For any chance to work toward my goals? I’m not arguing against extra precautions, and hypervigilance, I’m not discounting the threat. I’m not. And I’m scared out of my - excuse my language - /fucking/ socks, but my life is more than just being afraid. At least, I /want/ it to be.” Adella closed her eyes and pushed back her chair. “I’m going for a walk.”
She brandished her phone from her pocket. “You have a GPS tracker,” her voice was soft, tired. She paused, in case he would try to stop her.
/Try./ He’d succeed, with even a gentle request. Adella was still, annoyingly so, afraid to really truly upset or hurt her father.
ALANA
Alana’s first thoughts when Daddy announced the whole thing were “Well could be worse.” She was frustrated, of course, having just been granted freedom after her grounding. But he’d let up on that and he’d let up on this, especially after Paul Patts proved to just be a regular chump and not someone actually out to kill them.
Mind you, not like she wasn’t aware of the dangers of their secret lettin’ out. That’s why she told no one, ever – not Mags, not Eddie – and why she’d never felt the urge to tell anyone. She’d seen the news, read the forums, browsed articles written by “woke” journalists. Admitting you were a mermaid was akin to near ostracization; not even that people would judge you for being Magick and all – people would judge if you were a bloody /human/ or not. That’s the kinda shit that Lan understood – secret like this got out, no one would ever buy make-up from her again. She was all ready to duck her head down and mutter her agreement, when Adella stood up. Alana blinked.
Oh. My. God.
She wanted to laugh – really, she wanted to right then and there and she even more wanted to when Adella wriggled out her phone and pulled up the GPS tracker and Jesus bloody Christ did no one in this family understand that the best way out of a fight was to keep your head down and only strike when necessary.
“Oh my god, Della don’t leave,” said Lana, standing up and grabbing Della’s hand before she could run out. “It’s not gonna be more than a month. I got bloody arrested and I got my freedom back-- you know what? Tell me, d’you really think you’re gonna get any parts if the world finds out you’re a mermaid?”
She let out a short bark of a laugh and it did not quite meet her eyes. “This isn’t about bloody drunk driving –” Her voice caught here and she dropped Adella’s hand.
“It’s not drugs or whatever the hell – it’s about a secret that couldn’t just /kill/ us, but ruin our bloody futures – you think anyone’s gonna buy products from an /animal/?” She sneered, lip curling up. Adella was crying, but Alana felt something twist, like she was holding a knife and she knew she could make it hurt and it would make them all hurt but it felt /good/ that way.
“That they’re gonna cast you as anything but a token sex icon? That they’ll hire a mermaid marine biologist or let Aquata compete in the Olympics or buy albums from a mermaid singer – goddamn, do you think I /want/ to miss the hottest parties of the school year? Of course not – but I also want to have massive, hot, amazing parties in the future and I won’t have a chance to do that if the world swears me off for what I am.”
“So yeah – fuck, it sucks, okay. But we act all nice and good for the next month and make sure nothing gets outta hand and then you can go off to London.” She inhaled sharply, glaring around the room, then dropped back into her seat. “Or run off now. Fine. Just run away instead of dealing with things.”
ARIEL
Everything was moving so fast. First, Daddy had said something about moving if they needed to, and Ariel wanted to scream /No!/ She had even found herself gripping the table, ready to stand without thinking, when Adella beat her to the punch. Her older sister was crying, and wanting to leave, and if Alana hadn't also beat Ariel to the punch by grabbing Adella's arm, she would have tried to stop her, too.
And then Alana was ranting on about them being mermaids and how it would ruin their futures and- and Ariel laughed. She actually laughed, though she hadn't meant to- the sound was hollow and choked through tears because-
Well, because a month ago, Ariel had been forced to accept that she would never have the future she wanted. You couldn't sing or act without a voice, for goodness sake. Her future was over before it had begun, and she had had to accept it. (Never mind the fact that she still had trouble feeling worthy of having a future at all. That was a different problem she was working on herself.)
Never-the-less, Ariel laughed, and the room kept spinning, only now instead of her insecurities taunting her in her head, there was just one word, repeating itself over and over and over.
Secrets, secrets, secrets, secrets, secrets - like an ominous threat; like a chant from a cult; like a password you had to know in order to get into a club you never wanted to be a part of.
Ariel didn't know why, but a part of her always assumed that, eventually, her family would stop hiding who they were. That they'd finally be free from the shackles of their secret, able to be themselves. How many times had Ariel pictured herself doing interviews on television where she talked out against magick prejudice and poachers and all of that?
It wasn't that Ariel didn't see it as an issue at all. In fact, it was the opposite. She knew it was an issue. That's why she didn't want it to be such a huge, awful, terrible secret anymore. "Are we going to hide forever?" she finally asked, and it was like she could feel all of her family looking at her. Ariel felt sick to her stomach and she wrapped her arms around herself to stop them from shaking.
She laughed again, hollow still, and now tears slid down her cheeks. "I- I-I love being a mermaid. I- I always thought I sort of hated it, but I don't. Not- Not really. I hate that I have to hide who I am. I hate the secret of it." Her gaze flicked upwards, but Ariel's eyes only searched for her father's. "A-And I'm not saying you guys don't love being a mermaid or hate keeping it a secret either. I just- Forever? Not being able to tell anyone who we are? Lying our whole lives? I don't-"
She shook her head, and stood up then, and hoped she wasn't sounding... preachy, or something. "I want to be an actress. I want to sing. I'm so, so happy that I have my voice back so that I have a chance at doing that again. And I want Adella to act, and I want Aquata to be in the olympics, and all of us to be successful in whatever we do- b-but- I don't think it's right to not use those platforms to- to talk about the fact that we're treated like animals. To raise awareness. To- To try and- To try and make things change using our success. I mean- What's the point in having a voice if you can't even /use/ it?" And she was crying harder now, though she tried to reign it in with a shaking breath.
She'd meant it as a metaphor. But it had hit herself too close to home. What was the point in having a voice you couldn't use? What was the point?
ANDRINA
Andrina glanced at her father, whose expression was grave and tired and sad. He rubbed at his eyes, and Andrina saw the weight of all seven of their lives on his shoulders. That's what he had to consider whenever he made decisions. Did Andrina agree with him? Barely, honestly, but she saw the weight and she'd always think about how when Andy was younger and they'd all play in the water, she'd swim up to him and ask him to toss her high into the air. He never once said no to her-- and he always caught her. Since Mum died, Andrina had started catching her father too.
So it was time to speak.
"Ariel, no one is saying-- forever. That's-- that's not what this conversation is about. We're talking about now, and the very real, very present threat that one of us could get hurt," she said. She spoke softly and calmly, meeting her sister's wet eyes. "It totally sucks, you're right. And hey, maybe one day we will have the chance to use those platforms to make a difference. But we need to get those platforms first and we won't, we just...won't, if people know. That's all Lan is sayin', that's-- why it's important that we all stick together, now more than ever. Stick together, lay low, and it'll blow over. We'll just take it a day at a time. Together."
"Thank you, Andrina," sighed Triton from the head of the table, leaning back and wiping his own eyes.
ARISTA
Arista had remained quiet during Ariel's initial fear and fright where she was literally shaking trying to talk to all of them. And part of her that she hadn't felt in a long while, reached out for her. Those big sister instincts that she'd crushed down trying to find a better version of herself who didn't need anyone, were now rising to the surface and bubbling up. Her arms got that little urge to go and hug her like she used to, but she shrugged it off. It wasn't the time. She hadn't hugged anyone, not even Q or Tina, in the last three months, not like she used to. Hell, she hadn't let out a giggle in front of them either, not like she used to. But right here, right in this moment, looking at her sisters, all of them reacting in their own ways. She just wanted to hug all of them.
Hug Lan who was saying exactly what she'd say to Adella about leaving not helping anything, plus missing all those parties wasn't fun either.
Hug Tina because she was crying and Ris knew she'd done her best and it was eating her that it wasn't good enough.
Hug Adella to make her stop leaving and running away from everything
Hug Q, even though she was silent and muttering under her breath about how stupid things were, she needed a hug too. Especially since there weren't going to be more overnight visits with Thomas and that seemed like a real downer. But more importantly, Q always put on that brave face when she knew the whole mermaid thing could influence her dreams of swimming.
Hug Andy for being calm, even though she should be freaking out like everyone else. She was supporting Daddy. She was being what she always was when Attina faltered, she'd take up the sister mantle and be the Mom. Even though she was more of the wine Aunt.
Hug Ariel, even though she had been selfish and gone to a sea witch to change them, she was still her baby sister.
Hug Daddy, because even though he steered the vessel, he had the weight of getting all the passengers through safely. Even if that meant going down with the ship and putting everyone else on life rafts. She knew he was doing his best and he just really deserved a hug.
But she didn't. Instead she just sat in her chair, quietly taking everything in before speaking, actually for the first time in a long time, directly to Ariel. "Movements take a while to get momentum, but I really don't think forever is how long it's going to take Ariel. I mean, I think in our life time there will be a lot of change that happens. I mean, unfortunately, we have to rely more on allies to make that happen because we aren't in a safe position to speak out." Her eyes moved across the table, to each person, "We need to stick together. We're a family. And all that has been happening between all of us has not been like familiar...." She squinted a moment, that wasn't the right word, that probably killed the momentum she was going for, "Familial, or whatever. Families have secrets, but we do not have secrets from each other and we do not try to fix those secrets with other secrets because that just leads to more secrets and then you're like in one of those mirror reflecting a mirror things and you're just stuck with reflections you don't like and there's like a thousand of them never ending--" She realized she was rambling, just as she had used to. Definite progress. But she'd keep her celebrations for another time.
She sat up, pulling her hair into a messy bun, sighing out, "One day at a time. Together. Just like Andy said. I like it. I second it."
AQUATA
Aqua rolled her eyes. And then rolled her eyes some more as her sisters continued talking, and talking, and talking, and bloody talking. Was she happy about the whole extra curfew shit that her father was imposing on them? No, not really. Did she understand why it was necessary? Um, hell fucking yeah she did. This was a big deal. This was not just Tina running to the sea witch. This was people knowing that they were mermaids, and the chance that this would get out, and the same shit that happened to their mother happening to them.
“Holy shit, can everyone just fucking get over themselves and listen to what our father and Tina have to say?!?” She finally spoke, leaning back in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest.
ATTINA
All of the arguing, yelling, crying, and speaking jumbled in Attina's ears. She heard the rushing sound of her own heartbeat, her own panic, louder than anything else. She didn't know what to do, what to say. She could only sit there and hang her head when faced with the reality of what she had done. Broken her family's trust in her. Done the one thing that she always admonished the rest of them not to do. She'd been so--stupid. Caught up and in love. She had thought that things may be--alright. She had been so convinced that Paul loved her.
Why would she ever think that, right?
So, she didn't speak. She sat, clutching her hands in her lap, her shoulders shaking and taking quiet, hiccuping, gasping breaths. Her father's voice was the only thing that she heard--and it was tired and worried, which only made her cry harder, because she had done that to him. Tina, who was always on her father's side. Tina who helped him with everyone. Who reminded him of birthdays and sports games and music recitals. They had always been a team, her and Daddy, even before Mum had died. She would follow him around and try to be just like him. Just like Mum. She had tried so hard. Just like her father, she had just wanted to keep everyone safe.
"I know that it is unfair," he said, quietly, after a moment, "like I said, I am not doing this to punish anyone. It is for your safety. Your safety is all I care about. This will--blow over, but until then we have to make sure that we have each other's backs. Be mad at whomever you want, but remember--this family comes first. We protect each other. I love you all, with all my heart," Triton's words wobbled in his throat, but he did not cry. Not right now. In front of his daughters. "We will weather this storm like we have weathered them all, together. Just remember that you love each other and the rest will come easily."
Archetype — The Ruler
Birthday — April 25, 1967
Zodiac Sign — Taurus
MBTI — ISTJ
Enneagram — 6; the Loyalist
Temperament — Melancholy
Hogwarts House — Huffleclaw (with a Slyth model)
Moral Alignment — Lawful Good
Primary Vice — Pride
Primary Virtue — Diligence
Element — Earth
Overview:
Mother — JODY Triton (nee Poole)
Father — Cyrus Triton
Mother’s Occupation — homemaker?
Father’s Occupation — mer-government?
Family Finances — uh all mermaids are rich are mermaids a communist dictatorshiP?
Birth Order — Oldest
Brothers — None
Sisters — JEAN, JUNE, JULY, JANE, JILL, JADE
Other Close Family — Octopian, Trent -- brothers in law; Jewel, Jasmine, Jetta, Jem, Jennite, Jasperine, Julia -- nieces; Jordan -- nephew; Athena’s family.
Best Friend — Sebastian and Scuttle
Other Friends — Mufasa, The Prince ??, Benjamin
Enemies — uh humans? lmao
Pets — nah fam.
Home Life During Childhood — More introverted but still friendly, didn’t get in much trouble (Athena was the #rebel). Kind of a nerd, his sisters’ deaths made him stoic. He loved them a lot and was kind of the peacemaker of them. Liked to explore, spent time collecting things/cleaning. Loved the environment.
Town or City Name(s) — Boscombe Reef off the coast of Bournemouth; Swynlake, England
What Did His or Her Bedroom Look Like — it was under the ocean?? do they live in caves?? do they have infrastructure? do mermaids sleep in dens do they have "blankets" (makes no sense) and mirrors and toys??? BUT UH pretty clean and neat?? like if he did have toys and, sure, he had toys, they were always put away.
Any Sports or Clubs — mer-debate, mer-student council, stuff like that
Favorite Toy or Game — mer-chess, mer-monopoly (and the regular versions)
Schooling — fish school? HAHA get it? puns.
Favorite Subject — history but also really liked science and finds it v applicable to his job
Popular or Loner — was very friendly and had friends, but they were mostly “school” friends. liked to be rather solitary, but lots of people liked him.
Important Experiences or Events — his sisters’ deaths, moving to land, marrying/meeting athena, athena’s death, his daughters’ births
Nationality — er English? I guess?
Culture — Merculture
Religion and beliefs — Merreligion
Physical Appearance:
Face Claim — Sean Bean
Complexion — had acne and has scars, but otherwise dark, tan, leathery skin and kinda red sometimes
Hair Colour — Copper-y brown/red but going grey
Eye Colour — Blue
Height — 5’10
Build — Stocky and powerful
Tattoos — a whale across his chest, multiple smaller ones--probably all the girls’ birthdays somewhere listed under a fancy letter “A”
Piercings — had a nip piercing, ear piercings -- still wears ear piercings when dressing up
Common Hairstyle — on the longer side but nicely groomed--def going grey but still pretty brown/red, beard is super nicely groomed it is his best feature ofc (alana makes him special beard cream)
Clothing Style — DAD™ wears cargo pants, sandals and socks, CROCS, hawaiian shirts, etc
Mannerisms — strokes beard when thinking, talks with hands, frowns when deep in thought
Usual Expression — resting bitch face, but he’s actually so soft
Health:
Overall (do they get sick easily)? — decent, probably gets colds every now and then but overall pretty robust health-wise
Physical Ailments — n/a
Neurological Conditions — depression, PTSD, anxiety
Allergies — seasonal allergies
Grooming Habits — rather good, sometimes falls to the wayside bc depression, but mermaids pride themselves on their appearance, esp concerning their hair
Sleeping Habits — insomnia which gets worse the more worried he is. Goes and sits in his office a lot at night. Doesn’t sleep very well at all. It makes him tired. Probably falls asleep watching TV in the evenings
Eating Habits — eh, he can forget to eat if he’s busy and is a snack addict. But he always has dinner with the girls when he is home.
Exercise Habits — not suppppppper active, but he swims which is really good for you, isn’t unhealthy but isnt like JACKED
Emotional Stability — about a 7. He’s pretty stable unless the girls are giving him hell or something happens in Swynlake that throws off the sense of safety.
Body Temperature — Normalish
Sociability — 4-5, pretty average. He has been masquerading as a human for al ong time but sometimes he makes little mistakes and says weird things. Doesn’t really seek out conversation but can hold one very well. Not shy, just quiet.
Addictions — uhh coffee probably
Drug Use — nah
Alcohol Use — occasionally, likes a good craft beer; RARELY gets drunk
Your Character’s Character:
Bad Habits — indulges with food, dwelling on the past
Good Habits — good grooming, good listener, organized, quick learner
Best Characteristic — the biggest heart, he cares deeply about his fam and community
Worst Characteristic — stubborn, suspicious, anxious
Worst Memory — his sisters and athena’s death
Best Memory — marrying athena! His daughters’ births!
Proud of — his daughters, his company
Embarrassed by — his daughters -- benjamin probably lol
Driving Style — too damn cautious, grandma, soccer moms you if the car stops too fast, Safe Driver ™
Strong Points — resilient, strong, detail-oriented, smart, studious, hard worker, meticulous, community-oriented/family-oriented
Temperament — stoic, laidback til u piss him off
Attitude — cautious, realistic, lil sassy but like subtle
Weakness — his fears and anxieties
Fears — losing his daughters
Phobias — ??
Secrets — he’s a MERMAID
Regrets — not being with athena/being able to save his sisters/wife, def relationships w lana and ariel
Feels Vulnerable When — when he doesn’t know what is going on, lack of control, when his girls are upset with him
Pet Peeves — littering, not being listened to, putting their feet on the dashboard
Conflicts — wants his daughters to be independent v wants them to be safe; family versus community: mermaids are community oriented and it is hard for him to not fully be himseLF and not be useful -- would choose fam over community.
Motivation — be a good community leader, keep his daughters safe, give back, keep the lake/ocean/community safe and clean, be a good dad
Short Term Goals and Hopes — daughters succeed academically, board stuff, community safe
Long Term Goals and Hopes — safe and happy for his fam, WANTS GRANDBABIES
Sexuality — heteroflexible/demisexual
Exercise Routine — swims p regularly
Day or Night Person — wants to be a day person, but his depression/insomnia force him to be a night person
Introvert or Extrovert — extroverted introvert
Optimist or Pessimist — pessimist with realist leanings
Likes and Styles:
Music — Jimmy Buffet and dad rock, also Jazz
Books — biographies!
Magazines — nat geo, home improvement magazines, men’s health, takes teen vogue quizzes w the girls
Foods — p much likes everything, lots of fish, also likes sweets and junk food
Drinks — craft beer, water, coffee
Animals — his marine counterpart is a turtle!! But he likes most animals--just not in the house w a bunch of daughters,,
Sports — eh not particularly
Social Issues — left-leaning on most social issues, but more fiscally conservative. Big running points are always SAFETY SAFETY. Big on environmental stuff
Favorite Saying — “if life gives you limes, make margaritas” - Jimmy Buffett
Color — Green, like Athena’s eyes /tear
Jewelry — wears bracelets, rings, necklaces, mostly hemp and beaded stuff, occasionally metal if Dressing Up
Websites — watches TED talks, loves youtube (for animal vids), is that dad that comments on everything on facebooks, decent w the internet bc y’know he runs a company,
TV Shows — home improvement, cooking shows, bad reality telly, historical dramas (mad men, house of cards), sitcoms
Movies — tbh likes romcoms on the lowkey, hates horror, will watch anything hte girls want (but horror)
Greatest Want — keep his family safe, happiness for his girls
Greatest Need — learn to let go, safety/security/peace
Where and How Does Your Character Live Now:
Home — lives in the Woods, five bedroom, three floors, mansion
Household furnishings — relatively modern but also homey
Favorite Possession — his photo albums and his wedding ring
Most Cherished Possession — HIS DAUGHTERS!!!
Married Before — to the LOVE OF HIS LIFE Athena
Significant Other Before — probably one girlfriend
Children — Attina, Andrina, Adella, Arista, Aquata, Alana, Ariel
Relationship with Family — has a good relationship with his sister who is still alive and that fam, they live on land these days tho closer to the shore tbh?? They probably work together. Really close with Attina, Andrina, Aquata. Has a good relationship with Arista too. Strained relationships with Ariel and Adella and Alana (in that order of most to least strained lol)
Car — 2012 Honda Odyssey in grey -- “The Humpback”
Career — CEO of Triton Industries, a nonprofit that works towards ocean clean up.
Dream Career — Uh, probably exactly what he is doing tbh
Dream Life — being able to move between the land and the ocean freely without fear of repercussion, athena alive, all his daughters happy, retired with grandbabies
Love Life — non-existent /tear; tho tbh probably gets hit on all the time. This makes him uncomfortable.
Talents or Skills — good at chess, good cook, handy around the house, knows sign language/french/spanish, can sew a bit, play an instrument ?? (something brassy maybe the trumpet or drums)
Intelligence Level — 8, he’s v intelligent.
Finances — they rich af holla @ sunken treasure
Your Character’s Life Before Your Story:
Past Careers — uhhh worked in mer-government tbh probabyl like environment conservation
Past Lovers — like one girlfriend, he was not very smooth w the ladies
Biggest Mistakes — being too controlling, letting athena out of his sight
Biggest Achievements — watching attina and adella graduate, all his daughters being safe and (mostly) happy!!, his company, his solid place on the board
I Wonder, It’s Frightening (or: how to let go) ~*~ [Self-para]
In which Attina tells her father what she and Panic have been planning...[takes place: June 25, 2021]
[tw -- none, though this made me tear up ngl]
Attina found her father in his study. It was Friday afternoon. She and Panic were over to have dinner and get ready for the Pixie’s pride party with the family. Daddy had just gotten back from Bournemouth and Triton Industry. Most everyone was busy with their own things. Panic had started dinner in the kitchen, but Alana and Jake hadn’t gotten to the house yet. Ariel was out celebrating her graduation with a few friends. Arista was running lines in the kitchen with Panic and Aquata had a board obligation. She would be around for dinner, but not until a bit later.
The house was as quiet, something that could not often be said for the Triton house.
“Daddy?” Attina called, knocking on the half-opened office door.
JEFF rarely closed it. Attina couldn’t remember a time that it was shut. That was something she had always admired about her father. He always made himself available to his daughters. No matter how tired he might be, or how much he wanted his alone time.
“Hullo, Tiny,” JEFF said with a smile. “Come in.”
Attina scurried into the room and immediately moved to curl up in one of the arm chairs, pulling her bare feet up and crossing them. She glanced around. How often had she been in this office? Had she always noticed that painting hanging on the wall? Or how it smelled so strongly of her father that it felt like a hug when you entered the room.
JEFF had put down his pen and taken off his glasses, rubbing at his eyes for a moment. When he looked back at Attina, his blue eyes were tired, but sparkling. His brow was pulled down over them, though, and she knew she was probably worrying him. Attina didn’t often seek her father out. She had always been more dependent than that. And, yes, she loved her father, but she only felt as if she needed him some of the time. Sometimes, growing up, it had felt like maybe he needed her more.
That was the problem, wasn’t it? Attina felt like her family needed her. She had always felt that way. In a way, she didn’t want to give it up, either. It was selfish, maybe, but she knew herself better as a big sister than as a wife. In this family, she knew exactly where she belonged. Panic and Attina carving out their own future felt as scary as pitch black darkness.
“Is everything alright?” JEFF asked cautiously, his eyes searching her face.
Attina smiled. “Yes. I think so. I mean--it is. It’s just--complicated, I guess.”
“Funnily enough, that answer did not make me feel better.” JEFF leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his protruding stomach.
“Sorry, yeah. I am just trying to figure out the best way to say this, I mean I had a plan on the way over here but now I’m a bit nervous, I suppose.”
JEFF smiled again, though this time it was softer and he leaned forward, reaching his hand across the desk, laying it palm up. Attina smiled too, her eyes immediately filling with tears at the gesture. It was exactly what she needed. She reached to take his hand. His fingers curled over hers. The callouses and the warmth of it so very familiar to her.
It made her hesitate again. Wondering if this was the right thing to be doing. If leaving now was right. If it would ever be right. If she was just...making a huge mistake.
Or maybe the mistake would be staying.
“Teeny,” JEFF broke her out of her thoughts, squeezing her hand and giving it a little shake.
Attina laughed and shook her head, ducking it so that she could sniffle. “Panic and I are planning on moving,” she told her toes.
There was quiet. Her father’s hand was still around hers.
Attina’s heart clenched and she looked up, searching her father’s expression. She didn’t know what she expected, but it wasn’t to see her father smiling, his eyes crinkling in the corners.
“Really? When?”
“Oh, uhm--the end of July, if we can manage it.” Attina was blushing. She wasn’t sure why. Part of her still felt like crying. Her heart was in her throat. “I’ve--well, I got into a PhD program at the Australian National University. F-for Marine Biology.”
JEFF’s smile split his face then and he laughed a bit. “My daughter, the doctor!”
“Well, I--I wouldn’t be a real doctor,” Attina fumbled.
Her father got up from his chair and crossed to the little table below a window where a glass bottle of whiskey was. Attina turned to watch him from where she was curled up in the chair.
“What are you--aren’t you upset?”
JEFF stopped what he was doing (pouring a finger of whiskey into a glass). “No, I’m not.” He continued pouring, then moved to the second glass. “I’m sad, I suppose.” He set the decanter back down and looked out the window, over the back garden. “I’ll miss you, but I think you should go.” He picked up the glasses and came back over to where she was, handing her one. She looked up at her father, still baffled.
He sat in the chair across from her, his elbows on his knees. “I know you’ve sacrificed a lot for this family, Attina. To take care of your sisters. And me.” He huffed a bit--she couldn’t quite tell if it was a laugh or not. She stayed quiet, simply watching him for a moment. He took a sip of his drink. “Sometimes, I think you may’ve had to take too much care of us.”
“I enjoy it,” Attina interjected, beginning to feel a bit...uncomfortable. Exposed. As if someone was seeing her tail for the first time. As if her father was really looking at her and seeing her for the first time.
“I know you do, sweetheart, you’ve carried the burden beautifully. That doesn’t mean it was right of me to put that on you. You deserve to do what makes you happy. I have always known that you weren’t going to manage the antique shop forever. Some of your sisters, I’ve no idea where they are going to end up, but you--you used to have such big dreams. I am so proud of you for pursuing them. Though, I’ll admit--I’m glad it’s taken you so long.”
Attina laughed a bit, though it was wet and blubbery. She reached up to dab at her eyes with her wrist. She sniffled. “Thanks, Daddy. I--don’t know if it will stick...”
“It will.”
“That’s what Panic says.”
“He’s right. You’ll be just fine, Attina. And we will be fine too.” He reached out for her hand again and she slipped hers into his.
“Will you?”
“I promise we will. You get to go live your life now. You have suffered so much here, baby. Your deserve your own life with your husband, your career, and--more children one day.”
Attina’s eyes blurred again and she set her drink down before she dropped it. JEFF moved forward and wrapped her in a hug. She clung to his shirt, not crying but blinking away the tears. Her heart felt as deep and unknowable as an ocean. Even with her father’s blessing, she still felt--
“I’m scared.”
“That’s okay. Your mother and I were scared too, when we decided to move to Swynlake. But, it was the right decision for us, in the end. Maybe you’ll regret it at times, but you’ll know you did the right thing.”
“Thank you, Daddy. That’s exactly what I needed to hear.”
JEFF chuckled and she felt it rumble like a wave against her ear. She wished she could capture that sound, that feeling, with magic. “I’m good for some things.”
Attina pulled back but only so she could lean up and kiss his cheek. “I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you too, Tiny.”
“I want to tell everyone together...in a few days, so--can you keep it to yourself for now?”
“Of course, but don’t leave it for too long. I am sure everyone will need some time to get used to the idea without our fearless leader.”
@andrina-the-amazingsupergenius, @ariel-the-rebellious, @melody-the-unwritten, and featuring Daddy.
[tw -- none really?]
Attina
Dinner was always a busy time for the Triton clan. It was extra busy these days, with Melody (and sometimes her parents, though never at the same time. Tonight was Melody night) included in the foray. Attina liked it, though. Each day the tight restriction around her chest grew less and less as nothing happened and Paul stayed far, far away. She was still paranoid, but little by little, she felt like she could breathe again. Attina was glad for it, because she loved June. It was her favorite month of the year. School was out, which normally meant a trip down to the seaside to see their cousins. Not to mention it was just nice having everyone not as busy with school--so they could spend more time together. And it was her birthday.
This year there was even a prom! And, she had a date! (A friend date...probably. Maybe?)
Things were going swimmingly and beginning to look up.
The ringing doorbell was lost under the sounds of laughter and ten people all chatting over each other, as well as the clattering of cutlery and dining ware as the table was set and the food distributed. The person at the door had to ring it several times before someone heard.
"I'll get it!" Benjamin called, flouncing through the crowd to go to the living room and open the door.
Attina hardly paid attention as she scooped noodles onto everyone's plates as they came her way (it was pasta night tonight, with a buffet of different sauces to choose from.) She heard her name though.
"Tina! It's for you!"
Attina furrowed her brow and passed her ladle off to one of her sisters before heading towards the door. The person on the doorstep wasn't familiar. She furrowed her brow and stood, hugging herself around her waist, feeling unsure.
"Attina Triton?"
She nodded.
"You've been summoned."
"I--what?" she asked, her breath no more than a whisper, as she felt her entire organ system crash down into itself.
"Summoned to a court hearing. All the information is in this envelope. Have a good night." The man tipped his hat and scurried away.
Attina stood there with the door open on the whole wide world and looked down at the letter in her hands. They were shaking so hard she couldn't even read her name on the front, tears blurring in her eyes. She slammed the door shut hard and a tear, and then another, leaked out of her eyes. She stumbled back towards the island counter and stood in the middle of the crowd of people, feeling faint.
It was her father who spotted her first. "Teeny, what's wrong?"
She handed him the letter, lips trembling, breath caught in her throat.
Attina knew who it was. She knew what it was.
As JEFF read silently, the rest of the group quieted, sensing the storm brewing on the horizon. Once he was finished, he looked up, face drawn and serious. Looking at each of his daughters in turn.
"We are being sued," he said, voice carefully controlled, "for assault and battery."
Attina felt her knees buckle.
Andrina
Things /were/ looking up, here in ol' Tritonland. It seemed like the worst of the damage had passed in terms of recent sister scandals. Tina was more and more herself these days, poking her head out of her little hermit-crab shell at least twice a day now so she could come chat with her sisters. And hey, there was a lot to look forward to, too-- prom, end of the year, even the play, which Andy was plotting to convince Tina to play her harp for. Of course, Andrina also knew her sisters better to think the happy-go-lucky days would last. Something was gonna happen. Maybe Ris and Dell would get in another fight or Lana would slip up and miss curfew-- who knew, who cared. She was trying to enjoy it while it lasted.
When the knock on the door came, Andrina barely heard it. She was busy pouring parmesan on her noodles.
When everything quieted, Andy was the last one to look up, busy spinning those noodles around.
But when Daddy spoke-- Andy was the first to react.
Her carefully spun noodles slipped off her fork and landed in slump on her plate. "Wait, /what?/" she blurted. "Who the hell--is /Paul/ suing us?!" She looked up and around, like she always did, looking for the one person who she always looked to first: Tina. And when she found Attina she was still by the door, and she looked white as foam. "Shit, Tina," Andy said, and she scrambled up from her seat to go to her sister's side.
Melody
Melody almost always still felt like she was on edge waiting for the ball to drop in any form. She had come here after shit hit the fan for the Triton and she had comes after shit had hit the fan for herself. It almost felt foolish to assume everything would keep working out so well. But she hoped. She hoped from the bottom of her heart after all who wouldn't love the noisy and fun dinners she had gotten so used to coming to.
But as everything quieted Melody had to be one of the first to look up. Glancing over Attina, glancing over her uncle and suddenly her heart squeezed uncomfortably. Her fork full of food went back down to the plate as she stood up straighter as if she could go fight for this 'new' part of her family even if she didn't know what she was fighting.
Sued.
It rang in her ears and she wasn't sure if she was the one that should have felt that. Not to the extent of everyone else. Holding her breath for a second she opened her mouth multiple times as if she had something to say but couldn't word it. She did stand though because even in her confusion she needed to do something and she found herself walking over to her uncle to look over the papers. God did she know anyone in law that could help fight this. How did she help.
Ariel
Everything was not back to how it had been before February. Ariel didn't know if it ever could be the same, after what she'd done, and after what Tina and the rest of the family were facing at the moment. However, everything was slowly improving. There'd been no word from Paul, and Ariel honestly, truly believed he was a good enough person that he would realize why Attina did what she did. That he might be mad at her or hate her, but not threaten their safety. She believed that, because it was easy for Ariel to have faith in people.
Even if she was struggling to have faith in herself. Having moved back home (although she still essentially lived with Jim part time, much to her father's annoyance and disapproval) she was trying her hardest to repair the relationships she had splintered with her sisters. Were things made a bit awkward with Melody's presence? Perhaps. (Ariel didn't know what to say to her. She hadn't been able to say much of anything to Melody before. Where did she start now that she could say everything?) However, she was trying her best at everything: School, therapy, mending relationships, and moving forward.
So she was enjoying the night when there was a knock on the door. She'd even smiled as she tried to see who'd come to visit Tina - a friend, maybe? - though that had quickly fallen into an expression of confusion, and then, shock.
Sued? They were being /sued/? "W-Wait. What do you mean 'we're' being sued? We're /all/ being sued? /All/ of us? By who? It can't be Paul, i-it- he's been so distant, I-" Ariel looked over at Attina, at the paleness of her features and the way she swayed on her feet. She rose from her chair. It was Paul. It had to be Paul. And he had to be suing- "Attina- he can't- he can't sue you. He wouldn't. This has to be something else. It has to be."
Attina
Attina's ears rang, and rang and rang and rang--like a phone in a house where everyone was too preoccupied to pick it up. She felt her knees buckle, but there was Andrina, propping her up. Her sisters called out--one after another, each more indignant than the last. Melody's soft voice ringing out too. All of it was just sonar to her ears. Too low or too high a frequency for her to understand. All she knew was the fact of the matter, the simple kernel of truth:
Paul wanted his revenge.
And he knew this was the best way to get it. Everyone in town would know that Attina had been sued, they'd all wonder why. They'd whisper about her. They'd make assumptions--that she was crazy, that she had done something to him.
She collapsed partially against Andrina with a sob choking her, her hand slapping out against the door frame. Her eyes sought the only steady thing that they could think to find.
JEFF Triton stood among the throng of his daughters, his face dark and thunderous. "Paul Patts--" he spat the name like he'd be sick if he swallowed any of it "--is suing our Attina, for assault and battery." He said the words again like he didn't believe them. And she knew he was in shock too. It was why he hadn't moved towards her. He did, after another moment, like he had been jolted--prodded from behind. He strode right up to his oldest daughter--looking taller and broader than a god.
Attina reached out for him and pressed her head against his chest. "What--what do I do, Daddy?"
"We get a lawyer and we go to court," he declared, as if it was a call to war, not a summons to the small Town Hall courtroom.
Andrina
Andrina caught her sister. She was always there to catch her sister. And as Attina's weight shifted against her, she felt the weight of this news too, like a spontaneous mudslide smashing into their house.
It felt like they'd finally gotten back to normal, or as close as a house full of dramatic, secret mermaids could get to normal. After literal months of bullshit-- spells, dreams, Ariel treating her own family like a pack of sharks out for her blood-- they'd been on the road to okay.
But here was another shark. Another whirlpool, sucking the Tritons in. And all Andrina could do was try to hold onto Attina, until Daddy walked over and took that burden from Andrina too. His words thundered as they always did. They were strong, aggressive, certain. Andrina, though, wasn't so certain. She glanced up at her father, her thoughts gathering. It'd be best if they settled this, not went to court, right? They couldn't take this to a trial. A trial could expose everyone and then Attina would never come out from under the covers again.
But that was a conversation to have later; Andrina would slip into her father's office, calling his name sweetly, and she'd voice those concerns and more. She had learned from watching her mother how to soothe the particular beast that was her father; Andy liked to think she did it best out of her sisters. She got away with the most so far, hadn't she?
For now, she just nodded and looked at the rest of her sisters. A united front was what was best. "Right-- yeah. We'll kick his ass, that's what we'll do. It'll be okay," she said, confidently. She reached forward to squeeze Attina's arm and she said it again. "It'll be okay, Attina. We're gonna get through this."
My Dear, Sweet Child ~*~ [Self-para, feat. Triton]
In which Attina calls her father...
[tw – anxiety, some yelling, minor thoughts of agorophobic tendencies]
Further Reading {in order}:
Poor Unfortunate Souls
#justbrothings
Two Can Keep a Secret
Just a Token, Really. A Trifle.
Rake ‘Em ‘Cross the Coals
“Hello?”
“Daddy,” Attina said and her voice wobbled.
There was just a beat of silence. “Attina, is everything alright?”
“C-can you come o-over?” Attina sniffled. She had moved from the floor to the couch with Ella’s help before her friend had left.
“Of course, sweetheart. I’ll be there soon. Is your door locked?”
Attina nodded, then remembered she was on the phone. “Yes.”
“Okay, I’ll be there soon. I love you.”
“I-I love you too,” Attina said, the tears burning her eyes, because he might not. He might not love her anymore, after he found out what she’d done.
She stared, almost canatonically out of the window until she heard the knock on the door. There was nothing inside of her head except the feedback loop of panic. She jumped at the sound, and her name on her father’s lips on the other side of the door.
Clambering off the couch, she scurried to the door. Unlocked it.
Her father stood there in one of his casual suits. He had been on his way to Town Hall to discuss some things for the Board. Because the whole town was falling apart--dragons and demons and hell ripping open. He had important things to be doing. Attina was keeping him from that, because she was stupid. A stupid, scared little girl.
She felt like a little girl. She felt seven years old, getting scolded for pulling Andrina’s hair. Her lip trembled and her father put a hand on her shoulder, sliding it to the back of her neck, brushing at her sweaty hair there. She whimpered a little and Triton pulled her into an embrace, right there in the doorway.
“I’m sorry,” she sobbed into his chest.
He didn’t say anything, just held her tighter. So tight it felt like nothing would ever be able to touch her. She was too small. Her father too large.
After a few moments, he nudged her gently and she dutifully scurried back into the apartment, over to the couch, curling up small, her bare feet crossed over each other, knees pulled up to her chest.
“Why don’t you start from the beginning?” Triton suggested softly as he lowered himself onto the couch next to her. Close enough she felt the cushion dip, but he wasn’t touching her.
“I-I told--Paul,” she ripped off the confession, peeking at her father beneath her wet eyelashes.
His face was set and stoic. She couldn’t read his expression. This frightened her, made the knots in her stomach tighten and tighten. She swallowed once.
“A-and a-after...he--he cheated on me,” she explained (she hadn’t told her father that, though, she assumed he probably heard it through the rumor mill--if someone was stupid enough to bring it up around him), “I went--to the sea witch--”
She saw her father stiffen slightly and her voice got watery--more desperate. “I-I--she t-took his memory. Just--just of our secret. All she wanted were my memories in return. E-everything was fine--”
Her father stood up from his seat abruptly.
Attina flinched, the words pouring faster from her mouth, like a faucet opened wide. “It was fine! A-and then, Roger--his--Paul’s friend--found me at work, asking about--about if I knew anything weird about Paul and that he’d forgotten things--things about me. Which--which meant Paul had told him and I-I panicked and I went back to Ursula--”
“DAMMIT ATTINA!” Triton bellowed, making Attina flinch and draw back into the couch.
“I-I’m sorry,” she whimpered, wishing she could disappear. Wishing she could take it all back. “I-I didn’t know what to do.”
“You come to me!” he snarled at her, whirling around to face her. Triton was not a large man, but he had a presence like a swelling wave. “You come to me! Not to a sea witch. Someone who is only ever out for herself. Someone cursed. That isn’t how you handle this. Of--of all of you, you should know better, Attina!”
“I know, I know,” Attina sobbed, her hands over her face, weeping. “I know. I’m sorry! I just--I didn’t know what else to do. They were all going to know and everyone would know and I-I didn’t want you to be in danger. A-any of you.”
There was a long silence, like the silence before thunder rolled, the static felt in the air.
Her father crossed to her and sat down again. His hand reached out and took one of hers. He squeezed it, his other hand coming up to touch all of her fingers. One after another.
“Nothing is going to happen to any of you,” Triton told her, his voice quiet but fierce. He looked at Attina. “I promise, I would never let anything happen to you. You’re my whole heart, Attina, you and your sisters.”
“I know,” Attina sniffled, tears still running down her cheeks. “I’m sorry.”
“I know,” Triton replied softly. “We are going to figure this out, alright? Who--” he started to ask, but thought better of it and nodded to himself once. “You should stay with me for a while, yes?”
She knew it wasn’t a suggestion, but it didn’t matter, because there wasn’t anywhere else she wanted to be than under her father’s roof. She’d be safe there. That was the only place that she would be safe.
Once she got there, she wouldn’t leave.
“What a-about Andy?”
“She can come too. Or--maybe Adella, Arista, or Aquata can stay with her.”
Attina nodded and let out another wet breath.
“You pack your things, teeny, I have a few phone calls to make.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek. Attina closed her eyes, squeezing them tight, wishing she was a little girl again, and the scariest thing in the world was the imaginary monsters under her bed, that her father could banish with a kiss just like this.
