Boardwalk [OPEN] tw:boys being assholes throwing girls off things, drowing

[abster]

This town was freaking dumb. Okay, so there were nice people here. But so far she hadn't met any of her siblings or rather, she hadn't gotten the nerve up yet to meet her siblings. She was staying in a crumby motel that had toilet stains older than she was and some really unsavoury connections elsewhere. And she had about two hundred more bucks to her name after she'd fixed some broken pawned items and answered a couple of Covelist job wants. And still nowhere near enough money to get her back to Washington with her car. Which meant she might have to sell it or worse ask her father for help which was infinitely worse.

Watching as a couple of kids, well people her age, jumped off the boardwalk she rolled her eyes. It didn't matter if you were in Washington on cliffs or a boardwalk, kids were going to be idiots no matter what. She could just see Sam doing it a couple years ago. Ugh, that asshole.

"Coming through," Abigail gripped the rail as one of them bumped into her on their way past to throw themselves off it again.

"Jackasses," Abigail muttered under her breath as she passed the teenagers wearing letterman jackets for what she assumed was the local high school. Hearing them mutter to themselves, she felt them slide their hands beneath her arm and lift her up off the safety of the boardwalk. Laptop bag dropping to the ground, she began to struggle as they pulled her towards the edge where they had all been jumping off. "Get off me! Hey! Get your hands off me, don't I can't- HEY! QUIT I-AAAAAAAH!"

Abigail screamed as the boys threw her over the boardwalk fencing towards the deep waters of the ocean, flailing she shrieked as she hit the water and sunk like a stone. Kicking her legs panicked, her arms hit out as she tried to push against the water weighing her clothes down and pulling her down. She could feel her body fighting her, trying to change but she could do this, she could do it. Feeling the cold water strangle her, she coughed as she managed to break the surface and gasp air in and swallowed salt water before she was pulled beneath a wave.

"Dude, why isn't she getting up? Fuck, we're in trouble- hey! Hey! HELP! I think she's drowning!" One of the kids shouted, calling out as Abigail began to be the world's first siren to freaking drown.


ooc: come save abby from drowning!

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[scaledtokill]

His little girl was in trouble. It was strange, after all these years, to feel that protective instinct flare up. The desire to protect her and to hurt the people that had done this to her was overwhelming. If he didn't have Abigail to worry about right now those boys would probably be dead or wishing they were.

He'd been further down the Boardwalk when he felt her panic with his magic. If she hadn't been his daughter and hadn't been in the water he might never have known. As it was, he dove into the water instantly, shedding his shoes as he saw, gills spreading along his neck as he made his way to her as quickly as possible. Her body was struggling to shift to siren for to save her but she was fighting against it. He sent his magic out to her and shut down the desire to change. He wasn't a matriarch but he was good with his magic and it probably helped that she was his daughter. He wrapped his arms around her and used his magic to calm her down as he shot to the surface.

"You're safe," he gasped once they broke the water. "I have you, you're safe, Abigail."

[abster]

The water was cold but that wasn't the thing that was killing her, it was the need to breathe. She wanted to, she wanted to so badly and as she sank, she felt the need to shift increase. She couldn't, she wouldn't because that wasn't who she was. Panicking as she tried, in vain to resist she felt the urge to change wane abruptly and the need to breathe increase.

Feeling strong arms wrap around her, she gripped onto them tightly as her rescuer pulled her to the surface. Exhaling, she gasped and pulled in breath as she pressed her face against her would-be heroes chest. Hearing her dad's voice was kind of the last straw for hearing, shoulders shaking she tried not to cry as she held onto him tightly.

She was safe, he had her. He had her.

[scaledtokill]

"I've got you, I've got you," he repeated, holding her tight as he walked them both out of the water, not quite ready to set her down. If she wanted to let go he would let her but he couldn't deny how protective he felt about her. He had almost lost her (even if she was "his" in the loosest sense of the word). Robert was angry too, angry at those who had done this to her and angry at himself for being the sort of person who she hated so much she wouldn't shift even to save her life.

"It's over, we're out of the water now."

[abster]

She was relieved enough to half sob a very, very quiet daddy as he carried her out of the water. It wasn't quite the same as the last time she'd said it, she'd been happier than and full of excitement and hope at seeing him. Now though, now she was just relieved to be out of the water that she'd been too stubborn to shift in.

Shivering as the cold water gave way to cold air, she held onto him and coughed as she tried to get her breath back.

"Thank you," Abigail murmured. She didn't want to say it, she didn't ever want to owe him anything but... he deserved it. She could be angry with him later, she was too wet and cold and tired and hungry to be angry. Mostly she was just cold.

[scaledtokill]

It broke something inside him to hear that "daddy", memories of when Corry had called him that and when Abigail had said it when she was ten. Happier times, times when they were glad to see him and didn't hate him. For the first time in a long time he wished that maybe he'd been a better father and heard that more often.

"Let's go get you someplace warm," he said, heading back up to the Boardwalk to from the young men had wisely fled. Robert would find them though, he'd find them and make them pay.

[abster]

Shivering, she felt goosebumps prickle beneath her heavy jacket that was soaked with water. Trembling in his arms, she let him carry her for once and didn't even argue with him or yell at him or try to kick him in his junk. Teeth chattering, she shuddered as he headed up the boardwalk.

"M-my laptop, it's- I dropped it b-before they threw me." Abigail said. It was the one good thing she had that was hers. She had the car, she loved her car but she could part with it if she needed to and she was beginning to think she might have to. Her laptop though? That was a dealbreaker. "You're warm."

[scaledtokill]

"We'll get it, I promise," he told her, stopping down at the boardwalk to grab it off the ground. Abigail wasn't very big, but she was still an adult. Thankfully Robert was in excellent shape, never mind having a boost of siren strength. Still, he was glad that the dock where his boat was wasn't too far away.

"Got it. And I think you're just extra cold. We'll get you warmed up soon, I promise."

[abster]

When she was ten, the sugar high of all the cake and ice cream finally wearing off. She'd been fast asleep on the swing on the porch when she remembered warm, strong arms picking her up easily and carrying her upstairs. It was one of the only good memories she had of her dad, how it tickled when he kissed the top of her head. How she'd told him night daddy, how she'd told him she'd see him in the morning. He hadn't been there in the morning, he was gone.

"Shouldn't m-make promises, you never keep them." Abby murmured tiredly, shaking a little as she tried to curl up in a small tight ball against his chest as he grabbed her bag for her. She didn't cry, she was too stubborn to cry but for once she didn't pull away. "H-how're you going to do that? Magic?"

[scaledtokill]

Robert really couldn't argue that he did keep some of his promises because he hadn't kept the ones that matter to Abigail and that's all that mattered to her. To be honest, most of the promises he did keep would probably be seen as unimportant by others.

"No, no magic," he said with a laugh, though he could probably do that. He didn't think she would be comfortable with that. "I was thinking more a hot shower and one of those fluffy robes."

[abster]

The comment about fluffy robes made her smile. Gabby had gone through her own phase of 'it's so fluffy I could die' after seeing Despicable Me and probably would've killed to be in Abigail's position now. Being rescued by Flynn Rider, being held by her dad. Yeah, Gabby would've loved it. Abigail... not so much, even if the hand in his shirt tight and small wasn't exactly letting go.

"Oh, t-that sounds nice. They don't have fl-fluffy robes where I'm staying. C-cockroaches though, they have a lot of those." Abigail answered, teeth chattering as she glanced up at the ridiculousness of what she was going to assume was his boat.

[scaledtokill]

"The trick is to remember that cockroaches are creepy but don't actually hurt you," Robert said. He algae stayed in his fair share of roach motels to know that they weren't the most pleasant places but were affordable. "I don't suppose you'd let me help out so you can stay somewhere else?"

Robert didn't think she'd accept it but he wanted to offer instead of going some sort of underhanded route to make sure she was safe. Like trying to buy the hotel or something.

"And I know the boat is ridiculous."

[abster]

Abigail cracked an eye open to look at him as if he were the most stupidest person in the world for even suggesting that. She wasn't going to ask for his help, before she might've asked for her mom's but he'd poisoned that particular well by admitting he was the one supporting them all along. As if that made up for everything.

"What do you t-think?" Abigail muttered, shaking her head. She looked at him suspiciously when he said that. "I d-didn't say that. But it is. Why do you have it if you know how dumb it is?"

[scaledtokill]

"I think it would be perfectly reasonable for me to help you out, which means you won't let me do it."

Still, he had to offer. It would have taken very little to help her out and would have improved her situation quite a bit. He could have made her let him, too. His magic could have found one tiny part of her that wanted to accept and he could have just worked at it until she agreed. But he wasn't willing to do that to one of his daughters over something like this. Of course, maybe she hated it because it would take so very little?

"We could go house hunting together. Or apartment hunting. Or shitty-but-slightly-less-shitty-than-where-you-are-now motel hunting. And I have it because to stupidly rich people it doesn't look dumb, and I do a lot of business with them."

[abster]

"You would think it was p-perfectly reasonable. You know what I think is perfectly reasonable? Going and seeing Gabby. And maybe not k-knocking my mom up again," Abigail muttered, shivering as they entered the inside of his stupidly, ridiculous boat. It was warmer inside, clean, and okay, kind of nice even if it was the world's most dumb boat.

His word's made her stiffen; house, apartment... yeah, she wasn't sticking around and they weren't options for her even if she was. She wouldn't accept his money, she'd be a hypocrite if she did. The offer of a slightly less shitty motel was tempting though. Apparently the one she was staying in was the one her sister had been held in when she was kidnapped. Which was so wonderful(!)

"You could tell me n-names, that's it. I don't need help and I don't plan on sticking around that long." Abigail muttered. She hadn't meant to stay this long as it was but it was kind of hard to leave when she had no money and she wasn't letting Sam or her mom bail her out. "The emphasis is on stupidly, not rich. Why do p-people need this much stuff?"

[scaledtokill]

"I'll see what names I can come up with," he said, grateful that she was even willing to accept that much from him. He could definitely find some places that cost as much as she was paying now that were at least a bit safer. As for going to see Gabby? That was out of the question. He'd rather disappoint her later rather than sooner.

"And they don't need it. They just think it makes them better or happier to have things that most people can't ever afford is all."