#It's such a whiplash to write Neuvillette in his pre and post whipped state

[siderealscribblings]

8 Years, 7 Months, 3 Days - Loch Urania

"What's taking them so long?" Furina asked for the eighteenth time that hour. "I've been calling to them since dawn; where are they?” 

"Perhaps Oceanids don't share your respect for punctuality ," Neuvillette sighed, beginning to feel some of Furina's irritation. In truth, they had waited eight years for this occasion; arranging a formal meeting with a disembodied swarm of water spirits proved to be a task a decade in the making. There was no formal embassy to petition, no Oceanid capitol to send summons to, and seemingly no way to communicate with fickle creatures whose presence had quickly become part of myth. Loch Urania had once been a sacred grove for the Oceanids in Egeria's time; now it was the site of a desperate plea for faltering allegiance. 

I told her this was a waste of time, Neuvillette thought, but in true Furina fashion, she deliberately ignored him. She was still holding on to their endorsement as the feather in her cap that would cement her legitimacy. Their absence since the Calamity had been noted; Furina was excruciatingly aware of every ugly whisper in court that wondered why the Oceanids had disappeared as soon as their new archon had taken the throne. The longer they were silent, the more desperate Furina became to secure their approval, much to Neuvillette's increasing frustration.

("It's been almost a decade," Neuvillette reminded her after another doomed attempt to make her see reason. "If they were going to support you they would be supporting you already." 

"Let me concern myself with the loyalty of my subjects." Furina sniffed dismissively. "Don't you have anything better to do than rain on my parade?")

Their partnership had deteriorated to the point that if Neuvillette suggested Furina's favorite cake for dessert, she would suddenly be in the mood for pie. She had always been willful but as Neuvillette's powers slowly returned to him, her own lack of power made her desperate to assert dominance in their relationship. The more he tried to caution her against putting all her eggs in the Oceanids' basket, the more she doubled down on her insistence that their cooperation was necessary for their success. 

And when she gets her heart broken, it will be my fault yet again, Neuvillette thought with scowl. 

"Hello?!" Furina called, stepping into the chilly lake until the water covered her socks. "Excuse me?! It is rude to keep your Archon waiting, you know?!" 

Silence rebuffed her, the waters showing no sign of rising in the form of an Oceanid. It was almost funny, the sight of Furina discovering that her snooty, high-handed authoritarianism had no effect on creatures that had swam the waters of the world for millennia. Even the Oceanids had the dignity not to bow to this little not-Archon ; dignity that had been stripped from Neuvillette, along with the bulk of his former power. 

"I don't think lake spirits are interested in how long you've been waiting," Neuvillette said. "No matter how insistently you shout at them." 

"And how many lake spirits have you met, monsieur?" Furina asked, swiveling her hips around to glare back at him. 

"I am a lake spirit-"

"And the last of a species who barely knows himself," Furina countered. "So hardly an expert on the subject." 

"...fine, objection withdrawn," Neuvillette sighed, not wanting to get into another argument with Furina. "By all means, carry on yelling at the water." 

"Are you making fun of me?" 

"Are you not yelling at a lake?" 

"I-I am attempting to commune with my beloved AND VERY TARDY SUBJECTS!" Furina shouted the last part at the lake. "Perhaps my dearly cherished Oceanid children would like to MEET THEIR NEW ARCHON who has come A VERY LONG WAY and has waited A VERY LONG TIME...TO MAKE…THEIR MOST PLEASANT…ACQUAINTANCE!" 

Furina's voice rattled the reeds on the far shore, but after the echo faded she was left in silence once again.

"As I said; yelling…at a lake," Neuvillette sniffed as Furina sternly glared at the water's surface. "You're going to freeze to death before these creatures deign to reply to you." 

"Oh, and I suppose you think you'd have better luck?" Furina scoffed. "Egeria's children are my subjects; I don't recall any mention of them attending the Hydro Dragon." 

"They're not attending her successor either," Neuvillette said. "Spirits are commanded by nothing but power; not mortal power either, which seems to be the only power you have."

"Well my 'mortal power' is good enough to command the Hydro Dragon," Furina said, smirk widening as Neuvillette's scowl deepened. 

" You have my cooperation; not my obedience," Neuvillette reminded her. "But by all means, keep stamping your feet and demanding things of spirits older and more dignified than you are. Perhaps the Oceanids will obey you if you insist hard enough-" 

"That will do" Furina said icily, refusing to meet his eyes. "Your presence here must be frightening them; go inform the Captain that I will be communing with the Oceanids for the rest of the day...and while you're at it stay up there and keep your sour opinions to yourself." 

"As you command," Neuvillette growled, turning and marching up the path. "You can either freeze to death or join us when you are willing to face reality." 

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