Why do I keep attracting Villainesses?

He didn't want to do anything to ruin the emotional moment, so he simply wrapped his own strong arms around their shoulders and held them close against his chest, letting his tail drift lazily beneath them.

Their last time together back with the whirlpool wasn't exactly on good terms.

They had argued, things had gone out of control, and they'd been separated without ever knowing whether they'd ever see eachother again.

So, he decided to make up for all of his past mistakes with this quiet embrace at least.

It wasn't much compared to the worry he had caused them, but he knew that at least it was a decent start, a quiet way to apologize to them for leaving their sides so abruptly last time.

He held them tight, letting them know that he was alive and well.

Persephone completely cried her eyes out in his arms, her shoulders shaking violently as thick tears mixed instantly with the salty ocean water around them.

She buried her face directly into the crook of his neck, sniffling occasionally, her body trembling with a mixture of relief and residual fear.

After a short while of floating together in the silence of the deep, Artria finally let go of his shoulder and swam back a bit, using her own blue fins to keep herself level in the current.

She wiped a hand across her face, looking at him with a soft, unsure smile that was full of unsaid questions and deep happiness.

Persephone, on the other hand, absolutely refused to let go of him for even a single second.

She remained clinging tightly to his chest, her arms locked around his back as if she were utterly terrified that she would lose him all over again if she loosened her grip even a fraction of an inch.

She held onto him like a person drowning, ignoring the world around them as she breathed in his familiar scent.

"I'm so sorry..." she eventually managed to say, her voice breaking beneath the surface of the water as a small bubble escaped her lips.

The words were heavy with weeks of built-up pain and guilt that she had been carrying around ever since the whirlpool incident.

"It's all my fault, I'm so sorry, but I was just so angry back then."

"I wasn't thinking straight at all," she continued, her fingers tightening their grip on his wet shirt until her knuckles turned a pale white color.

She buried her face back into his chest, her shoulders shaking all over again with even more emotion. "Even now, just a few seconds ago, because of my stupid temper, you almost—"

"Shsssh... It's ok," Jacob said softly, interrupting her before she could spiral any deeper into her own dark thoughts.

He began gently stroking her hair, his broad tail moving back and forth slowly in the water.

"It's alright, really. It was only a simple mistake. There is no point in beating yourself up over it now that everything is fine."

He was right since what truly mattered was whether she was willing to learn from that mistake or not.

Jacob's voice was so calm and filled with genuine warmth that Persephone gradually stopped crying altogether.

She let out one last shaky breath, slowly raising her head from his chest to glance directly up at his face.

She looked at him with wide, watery eyes, searching his expression for any signs of hidden anger or resentment from their past argument.

To which Jacob merely smiled back warmly, his eyes crinkling at the corners to show her that he truly meant every single word he had just said to her.

He didn't hold a single grudge against her for what had happened back then, nor did he blame her for the shark attack that had nearly smashed into his boat.

"For what it's worth, I am just really glad that I finally got the chance to see you both again," he said with a bright, wide grin that spread across his face.

He looked between the two sisters, his heart feeling lighter than it had in days. "You seriously have no idea how much I missed you both."

"I'm sure you both have a lot to tell me. Come, let's get going." he urged them.

"Jacob!!!!"

" Speak of the devil." Jacob muttered beneath his breath.

That voice no doubt belonged to non other than Priscilla.

The cat-like captain sounded completely frantic.

" I almost forgot about her," Jacob said with an awkward, slightly embarrassed smile, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.

He looked up toward the bright light filtering down from above, realizing that he had left his captain alone on the boat for far too long.

"First things first, I guess I have to officially introduce you both to someone up there," he added, gesturing toward the surface.

********

Moments later.

Priscilla stood completely frozen by the wooden railing of the First Hornet, a highly conflicted and deeply stressed look plastered across her face.

She held her heavy sword tightly in her right hand, her white tail swishing back and forth with a wild, uneven rhythm that showed just how unsettled she truly was.

The massive swarm of terrifying sharks had long since vanished into the deep blue sea, leaving the water around the area completely still and quiet, yet Jacob still hadn't resurfaced from his sudden dive.

From his incredible display of strength in the time she's known him, she was completely sure that he could handle himself perfectly fine in the water.

And yet, despite that logical thought, a small part of her just couldn't help worrying about whether something might have gone horribly wrong down there in the dark currents.

She kept pacing along the edge of the deck, her large white ears twitching at every single splash or ripple in the distance.

"No need to fret, Captain! I'm right here," Jacob said the exact moment his wet upper body bobbed cleanly out of the water right beside the boat's hull.

His dark hair was slicked back against his head, and he waved his hands towards her.