Lake placed his hand in the icy pond of water. The bitter cold nipped at his fingertips as he concentrated. His presence echoed out from the waters as he thought of where he wanted to go. He tried to focus but lost the connection when he thought about her. Without a sound, he melted into the water and let it consume his energy. As water, he could keep his mind clear. He needed to center himself and couldn’t do that if he kept thinking about Charlie.

He needed to become water. He needed to connect to the lake.

He travelled to the bottom of the murky pond and dripped into an underground river. He flowed endlessly and instantly towards his birthplace. Once he felt stronger, he pulled himself back together. He spent the last three hundred years forming a connection between his namesake and the icy pond to expand his powers. It took only a few weeks for the high of his accomplishments to be swept away. He floated to the top of the water and waded for a moment before he screamed and thrashed in frustration. The water splashed out with enough force to slice the trees on the shore.

After his tantrum, he decided to do something more productive.

Lake followed the magical vapor trails that connected him directly to the Healing Oasis. It had been a long time since he returned. Reaching out over thousands of miles to the place his sister called home made him feel desperate. None of the other water deities ever reached out to her first. They saw her as inferior because she was a lesser goddess. She had no real combat experience and rarely did anything but ask for help every few hundred years. He occasionally checked in on her progress, but Puddles was content enough to watch the oasis. She did not want to leave it.

Except now. With the woman he could not stop thinking of.

Knowing his little sister, his first creation, he could follow her familiar aura until he found Puddles again. The trail was hazy at times, but there’s always water in the air. He nearly broke off the attempt until he heard a familiar chirping sound. He focused on it until the aura danced around his vaporized thoughts. He felt it combine into something and could see as if he was there.

Puddles sat inside a large fountain with Squirt on her lap. She petted him like a dog as he whined unhappily. A ball of water surrounded the turtle, and he pushed it towards her.

“What is it? Is she close?” Puddles picked him up and held him at eye level

Lake felt as if he was there. The magic was strong enough he felt like he could reach out and touch her. Instead, he thought of something much simplier.

“Hey.”

“Lake?” Puddles titled her head, “I didn’t know we could use him to talk!”

“I didn’t either. I was trying to find you.”

“Me? Why?”

“The goddess I told you about. I found out who she actually was.”

Puddles quickly put the pieces together. Her face fell.

“Charlie?”

He sighed, “I didn’t know.”

“Lake!” She scrunched her face, “Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“I believed her to be an injured goddess and did not think it would concern you.”

“Did the possibility she was the anomaly, not occur to you?” Puddles sighed, “You’re supposed to be my wise older brother.”

“I am not omnipotent.”

It frustrated Lake that his creation reprimanded him like this. It was different when it was Charlie. Puddles didn’t understand what they went through together.

“Did you just introduce yourselves to each other?" She waited for him to answer, "Are you both idiots?”

He frowned when the turtle made an odd barking sound that mimicked laughter.

“I tried to identify her but saw nothing. I’ve been disconnected for—”

“Lake,” Puddles interrupted him, “You didn’t tell her you saw us, did you? She just found out?”

“Correct.”

“Well, it’ll be easy to explain everything when I come back,” She sighed, “She’s hardheaded but I should be able to—wait.”

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The goddess narrowed her eyes suspiciously when she didn’t hear the anomaly’s constant chatter.

“She is still with you, right?”

His corporeal form sank into the water but didn’t respond.

“Right?”

“Puddles…” He whispered, “Do you know how strong she is?”

“She’s basically almost been dead the entire time I’ve known her. Lake, if you don’t have her—”

“That’s what I’m worried about.”

His consciousness floated between places as his heart sank. If Charlie died, he would fail Ocean and never be able to forgive himself for letting her go.

“You should’ve stopped her,” Puddles’s hand caused ripples down her body as it rubbed her face, “Aren’t you strong enough to just trap her underwater and bring her to Ocean?!”

“When she realized I let your escorts go—”

“That idiot!” She groaned, “She never identified you, did she?”

He blinked, “That would… explain a lot.”

“So, you were just some guy that whisked her away to a frozen cabin and let her friends pass by without telling her anything. Am I getting that correct?”

“She should know I’m a god!” He clinched his fists, “I have the aura!”

“She’s immune to it.”

“What?”

“Charlie is immune to it. She’s immune to a shocking, infuriating amount of things,” Puddles rolled her eyes, “Apparently, common sense too.”

“Puddles, there’s something else.”

“Yes, brother?”

“I have a question about your father.”

The goddess closed her eyes at the heavy topic, “Okay… What is it?”

“Was he ever able to…command one of us?”

Puddles took a moment before she answered.

“Me but I was just an elemental,” She hesitated, “Should we ask Ocean?”

Lake let the question linger.

If an anomaly could control a god, then Charlie became an increasingly dangerous person. Maybe he was wrong, and she didn’t control him. Maybe his own emotions were swept up in her actions. Perhaps he was wrong.

Lake didn’t want to risk her life on it.

“No. I just don’t understand how she’s so..."

“Charlie? That’s what I’ve been calling it.”

“Charismatic is what I would say.”

The two gods sat in a silent connection before Squirt chirped again as if to move the conversation along. Puddles scratched under his chin to sooth him.

“Don’t tell me… You like her?”

Lake did not respond.

“Really? Charlie?”

He still didn’t say anything. Puddles sighed loudly because she knew of her siblings’ antics. All of Ocean’s children chased after mortal playthings.

“Lake… what did you do?”

“That is not why she ran away,” He adamantly responded.

“Are you sure? You didn’t…” She didn’t want to suggest it, “Our siblings are rather… well, you know.”

“I did not force myself on her, Puddles,” He said firmly with a disappointed grunt, “On the contrary, I tried to hold her off as long as—Never mind."

He stopped at his sister's disgusted scowl.

"That’s a separate issue," He continued, "She’s supposed to end up with me, anyway.”

“Is it, though?” She paused, “You didn’t say that did you?”

There was a long silence before he answered, “Why?”

“Lake, you absolute toad,” Puddles groaned, “This woman must think you’re some sort of psychopath.”

“I don’t understand the logic.”

“Did you explain any further than that?”

She took his silence as the answer.

“None of you guys ever listen to the mortals!” Puddles scolded him, “Most would be upset if they believed they were saved but their savior hid them from their friends, mated with them, declared they would end up with them, and then left them for dead.”

“I’ve been incorporeal for too long,” Lake let out an immature groan, “I didn’t think about that.”

Puddles hesitated. Her older brother seemed truly flustered and frustrated. She met the woman and understood that feeling completely. That seemed to be what she did to everyone. She knew Ocean’s orders were absolute and they would have to bring Charlie to her. The longer Charlie stayed out in the wilderness, the worse their chances of bringing her back alive were.

“Do you want me to head back to you?” She offered, “I can help you look for her. She might come to me.”

“What about the others in your group?”

“We’re already in Vlaminer. We arrived a few hours ago.”

Lake remembered Charlie’s constant worry about her friends’ safety. She neglected to mention a goddess was with them, but that just seemed like something she did now. He wondered what else she might have hidden from him.

“Stay with them. She’ll be upset if something happens to them.”

“Okay. Charlie knows we’re going to visit one of my siblings. I suggest tying her down and making her identify you.”

“I don’t know if that would help.”

“I’ve tried using Squirt to locate her, but it hasn’t worked. I’ll see if I can think of something else. I should be able to reach out to you through him, now.”

“Please do.”

“Do you…” There was a long moment of hesitation before she spoke again, “Do you actually like her like that?”

Lake took a moment to center himself. The tingling feeling and hurt in his chest was odd. He knew of River’s trysts with humans and that she fell in love easily. That didn’t seem to be the same as him. Delta took whatever mortal he wanted as his lover without their input. He didn't feel like either was the case for him.

Lake simply couldn’t believe she wasn’t an ascended goddess.

Since he met her, Lake wanted to protect Charlie at all costs. He wanted to make her safe and be a haven for her. He wasn’t sure what that meant, though.

“I have feelings I haven’t experienced before.”

“Gods taking mortal lovers isn’t uncommon,” She anxiously fiddled with the hem of her watery skirt, “I don’t know what Ocean has planned for her.”

“I don’t either. Have you told mother that you lost her?”

“I thought you would have,” She anxiously laughed, "I was waiting for her to reprimand me."

“I wouldn’t have tattled on my little elemental,” He chuckled, “Perhaps we don’t tell Ocean anything until we know more?”

“I think that’s for the best. Aren’t anomalies supposed to be the champion of whoever summoned them?”

“Exactly.”

“But we don’t know who summoned her –or if Ocean is friendly with them,” She lowered her head and whispered, “I don’t want her to get hurt, Lake."

“Neither do I, little sister.”

Lake snapped back to his body. The cold water folded against him. Now that he knew Puddles wouldn’t tell Ocean about her missing or her powers, he could relax a bit more. Hopefully he found her before someone else did.