"Mm, I am your boyfriend," Zane replied when he was thanked. Wasn't it natural he was there for her? He may not be the most social human, but he knew at least some things. He blinked a few times in surprise at the look in her eyes, unidentifiable, but strange nonetheless. He opened his mouth to ask about it then closed it again and shook his head, not sure he wanted to know. There was several moments of silence before he rolled his shoulders to loosen the muscles and bent down to retrieve his dagger. "So what now he?" he asked as he straightened up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Allen felt the rush of cold water chill him to the bone as he was submurged in the cold water. He could feel Maksis leave his arms and head to the surface, and Allen rubbed his eyes before opening them. It took him a moment to judge which way the older male was facing before Allen kicked his way to the surface as well, breaking through the water and grabbing Maks from behind, wrapping his arms around the older's neck and resting his chin on the damp locks of the other.

As soon as his head broke the surface, Allen gasped for air, taking a few deep breaths before laughing. "Gotcha!" He exclaimed, looking excited. His wide blue eyes were filled with sparks of life, and a near cat-like grin was present on his face.

((Since Skype's being mean, I'll tell you my idea there. ;c Maybe Allen and Maks could find like... an underwater passage that leads to an area with skeletons of former people who were shipwrecked and find like... tools, artifacts, and a journal and such? O: ))

Zane grimaced slightly when Taylor suggested they keep sparring, not really wanting to try to fight his girlfriend again. The first time hadn't gone well, so why try again when it'd be the same result?

His body stiffened when she touched him again, his charcoal eyes flicking to her in slight surprise. What was she...? He made a soft, surprised noise when she kissed him again, taking a moment to respond before he placed his hands on her hips and narrowed his eyes. 

He couldn't really think of what else they could do, so he simply shrugged. "I'm fine with this," he replied, still wondering about that weird look Taylor had in her eyes a few moments ago.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Allen blinked a few times in surprise when Maksis started moving, clinging tighter onto the older male and raising his head more to try to peer past his wet bangs to see what Maks was seeing. He could push them away, but he didn't want to slip off Maksis. Allen could swim, he just thought it was funner riding on the other's back.

"Uh, I dunno," Allen replied, leaning more over the older male, trying to figure it out. "A cave?" Finally, he gave in and pushed his wet bangs away from his eyes, blinking a few times. Amazing how much clearer he could see without his hair in his face.

After a few moments, he grinned. "Let's check it out!"

Zane caught the motion of Taylor's gaze and tilted his head slightly to see what had caught her attention, an eyebrow raising when he realized what Taylor had done. Shadow couldn't be to happy about that. It was still interesting that Taylor was able to do something like that. It defied logic, but so did everything else on this island.

"If we ever get saved from this island, would we stay together?"

The question caught Zane off guard, and he quickly turned his attention back to Taylor. He hadn't really thought much about what would happen when they were rescued. Who would? All of them had lost their parents in the wreck. Even Zane, as emotionally detached as he was, couldn't imagine being able to go back to normal life after losing his parents and going through a war.

All six of them had gone through something few other humans could even hope to understand, let alone experience. They all shared a bond, one that would last for the rest of their lives

"I think we will," he replied quietly, answering her question before he firmly but gently pushed his lips against her's. He was actually starting to get used to the kissing thing, although he still wasn't particularly good at it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Allen let out a soft protest when Maksis wanted to check the strange hole out first, muttering something about how he wasn't a kid as he let go of the older male to allow him to investigate anyways. He waited only half patiently, then perked up when Maksis told him to follow. The childish, excited grin formed on Allen's face again and he dove in after Maksis.

"Would," she mumbled against his lips, knowing very well that they probably weren't going to be rescued. Though the idea of staying and dying on the island may have scared her when she'd first landed, now it felt wrong to think she wouldn't stay here with Shadow and the others. A normal life with Zane would only be a dream if she ever let herself dwell on it. That and normal probably wouldn't be possible because it's not like her newfound telekinetic powers would go away.

She chuckled and detached herself from Zane's lips, humming softly to herself as she nestled her chin just under the crook of his neck. "I'm ready for this," she murmured and kissed the underside of his jaw as she closed her eyes. A flicker of annoyance pushed against Taylor's barred mind and she chuckled again, but didn't let Shadow in to her mind; she only sent him a thought that clearly stated leave me alone.

Feeling a bit spontaneous, Taylor twined her fingers through Zane's and straightened to meet his eyes. Hers glittered with that same immature yet intimate want that was directed as Zane; she felt her face flush slightly as she tugged on his hand. Her gray eyes narrowed slightly as she saw Shadow's snout pushing aside the lichen. Grinning softly and continuing her hum, she pointed to the nearest ground-level cave.

"Care to join me?" she whispered, though there was no need to bring down her voice. She tugged on Zane's hand again and smiled.

-----

The tunnel was a farther swim than Maksis had anticipated. When his lungs were screaming for air, he finally managed to kick himself to an opening in the tunnel. He frantically swam to the top and coughed for air as he came up. After a few stuttering beats of his heart as air rushed into his lungs, Maksis's eyes widened as he looked at the small cavern they'd popped into.

Sunlight seemed to trickle in the very water that spidered down the walls of the cavern, illuminating the small confinement with a near eerie light. His mouth popped into a small 'o' as he looked at the treasure around him. A portrait caught his eyes and he practically raced over to it, kneeling down when he reached it. His slender fingers found the edge of the canvas and he rubbed some of the paint off in his hand.

"Oil," he murmured and wiped it on his jeans. "How did this manage to survive?" he asked himself as he surveyed the portrait of a young woman clothed in what seemed to be royal garb. Next to all of the art works lay a few sketch books and the artist within Maks was delighted to run his hands over the leather bound books, and open to find the secrets within.

Paintings of ships and scrubby men holding swords were the majority of the sketches. One stood above all the others because of the obvious time and work put into it. The man that stared loathingly back at Maksis had a trailing black beard, a small parrot perched on his right shoulder. The man had an ebony triangular hat resting on his head, and dark black locks spilled out from the hat. Earrings and other jewelry lined the man and Maks figured it was to show the man's wealth, but there was only one word that came to mind when he saw the man for the first time. Pirate.

"Allen, this must be one of those treasure troves where pirates used to stash their loot," he said and blinked, not even knowing if Allen had surfaced yet.