11-22-2019, 03:56 PM
She held them both in a sphere of salt water, and let time crystallize around them. He was here, and so perfect in the filtered light. What else could she ask? When all the stones fell, when all else was accounted for, he was here with her. That's what mattered.
Besides, she found herself thinking. If he loved someone else, even if it wasn't a love returned, why would he let himself be drawn into these interludes with her? Some dangerous rationalization that let her believe that he wouldn't jeopardize love just to be with her. That deep down, there must be more to what he felt if it would let him touch her the way he did.
With everything he has, that is what she had waited to hear. He trusts her, and it pulls at her heart with bittersweet strength. Would she have said the same if he had asked her?
Her skin shivered when he kissed her, the gentle touch a spark to flame she hadn't known had existed until him. How dreadful was this. How hateful that she could fall so easily under his spell and leave regret for the next day.
This was not what good girls did. This was not how sweet, innocent daughters behaved, and she felt that perhaps there was a thread of not so sweet inside her. That little flame that burned so warmly for him and was ready to ignore all reason when he was concerned.
"Stay close," she whispered, voice a little distorted by their aqueous bubble. Then she walked, straight into the water, and the bubble kept its shape around them. As the sea enclosed them it became as clear as glass, the wet sand that might never have touched the air exposed beneath their feet. Bits of seaweed and algae drifted past their bubble, fine grained sand whirled where the pocket of air pushed past.
The damp bulk of his wings still radiated warmth where the sun had touched them. He was a distracting, impossible to ignore presence when the quarters were this tight. Her eyes drifted between the sea before them and the incongruous sky creature beside her.
This was her home, her real home. Where the scales and the fins made sense. Her smile grew with every step, eyes shining as the weight of the sea increased above their heads. This was where the trust came in. The gentle waves pushed and prodded at the intruding air, curious about the strange phenomenon the sea daughter was making. Air filtered in from the water much like it did through her gills when she swam, salty and cool.
Along the bottom of the waves they went, until the stony ridge that protected the isle came into view. Vivid color emerged as they neared, purples and oranges, mossy greens and warm reds. It was a riot of life with tiny fishes darting in and out of the natural caves. This was her garden.
"This is where I go when the surface is too much for me." She murmured, lips parted in blissful wonder. The ocean never ceased to amaze her, to salve whatever wounds life had inflicted. None so far had been quite as painful as the ones she'd felt today. Perhaps in a twisted way it made sense that she would try to heal with the one who hurt alongside her.
She leaned against his shoulder, damp feathers tickling her side. The light danced on the rainbow of scales, a tiny hermit crab skittered in and across their bubble, hardly seeming to notice anything had changed. "What do you think?" She asked, almost hesitant. Even more than the cove they'd just come from, this was her secret place. The heart of her. And she was sharing it with him.
She fit against him so well, it only seemed right to lay her own kiss to his neck. An answer to the one he'd given her. Her lips brushed the white hair, drank in the warmth of him. She wanted to taste him again. To remember the clean pine and wind and sweat of him. Her lips parted to let her teeth scrape gentle behind his ear, focusing just enough to keep their bubble strong. The rest of her wanted to fill with him, here where no one but the fish could see them.
@[Pteron]
Besides, she found herself thinking. If he loved someone else, even if it wasn't a love returned, why would he let himself be drawn into these interludes with her? Some dangerous rationalization that let her believe that he wouldn't jeopardize love just to be with her. That deep down, there must be more to what he felt if it would let him touch her the way he did.
With everything he has, that is what she had waited to hear. He trusts her, and it pulls at her heart with bittersweet strength. Would she have said the same if he had asked her?
Her skin shivered when he kissed her, the gentle touch a spark to flame she hadn't known had existed until him. How dreadful was this. How hateful that she could fall so easily under his spell and leave regret for the next day.
This was not what good girls did. This was not how sweet, innocent daughters behaved, and she felt that perhaps there was a thread of not so sweet inside her. That little flame that burned so warmly for him and was ready to ignore all reason when he was concerned.
"Stay close," she whispered, voice a little distorted by their aqueous bubble. Then she walked, straight into the water, and the bubble kept its shape around them. As the sea enclosed them it became as clear as glass, the wet sand that might never have touched the air exposed beneath their feet. Bits of seaweed and algae drifted past their bubble, fine grained sand whirled where the pocket of air pushed past.
The damp bulk of his wings still radiated warmth where the sun had touched them. He was a distracting, impossible to ignore presence when the quarters were this tight. Her eyes drifted between the sea before them and the incongruous sky creature beside her.
This was her home, her real home. Where the scales and the fins made sense. Her smile grew with every step, eyes shining as the weight of the sea increased above their heads. This was where the trust came in. The gentle waves pushed and prodded at the intruding air, curious about the strange phenomenon the sea daughter was making. Air filtered in from the water much like it did through her gills when she swam, salty and cool.
Along the bottom of the waves they went, until the stony ridge that protected the isle came into view. Vivid color emerged as they neared, purples and oranges, mossy greens and warm reds. It was a riot of life with tiny fishes darting in and out of the natural caves. This was her garden.
"This is where I go when the surface is too much for me." She murmured, lips parted in blissful wonder. The ocean never ceased to amaze her, to salve whatever wounds life had inflicted. None so far had been quite as painful as the ones she'd felt today. Perhaps in a twisted way it made sense that she would try to heal with the one who hurt alongside her.
She leaned against his shoulder, damp feathers tickling her side. The light danced on the rainbow of scales, a tiny hermit crab skittered in and across their bubble, hardly seeming to notice anything had changed. "What do you think?" She asked, almost hesitant. Even more than the cove they'd just come from, this was her secret place. The heart of her. And she was sharing it with him.
She fit against him so well, it only seemed right to lay her own kiss to his neck. An answer to the one he'd given her. Her lips brushed the white hair, drank in the warmth of him. She wanted to taste him again. To remember the clean pine and wind and sweat of him. Her lips parted to let her teeth scrape gentle behind his ear, focusing just enough to keep their bubble strong. The rest of her wanted to fill with him, here where no one but the fish could see them.
@[Pteron]