Brelione//DruigxOC

strengthened

"what is it that you are in such a hunt for that you cannot find?"he asks. the floor of the boat has been littered by tumbles of stone, crystals of carnelian and agate. each one is beautiful, yet none hold the blue hue that i search for so desperately. my hands have raised along so many bits of land, tugging on blue stones that live so far away, not native to this new location.

of course i could always have sersi morph it but there is something about finding the perfect stone that is beyond rewarding. i place my fins at the bottom of the boat, back to normal the moment they touch the air, i tug on his hand, using the boat to push off of as he is pulled into the water.

he lets out a yell, a loud and heavy splash as he collides with the water, groaning as he comes to the surface. hair completely messed up, soaked and sticking to his face, mess of darkness as he huffs. "just like old times, ay?"he asks as i take his face, fixing the hair that has become so messy.

"just like old times,"i whisper back. it still is a struggle, the sound, the echos and the colors. but every once in a while, once every couple of months, i bust out my voice just to be sure that it is still there.

he hums, hands on my face as he pulls me towards him. his lips collide with mine, kissing me as the boat falls astray, the splash so grand that it sent the wooden boat on its way to the other side of the lake. and in a moment of weakness, he pushes me under the water.

he knows that it cannot hurt me, a smile on his face as he kisses me again, the blue surrounding us. bubbles tickle our skin, streams of light dancing where they hadn't now that the shadow of the boat is gone. he takes in a deep breath, the bubbles let him breath.

his hand falls to my shoulder, holding tight. despite how many times i have allowed him to walk in the water, he's still always afraid. he watches, mesmerized at the flashing of the scales under the sun, my body bare of clothing that always slows me down.

shall we return soon? his voice comes to my mind though he is well aware that he can speak down here. i nod, watching as he lets his band stick out to touch a passing fish. they're not native to anywhere he have been, and my creation comes swimming towards us. my first sentient creation, the one that had everyone freaking out, the one that sprite wrote stories about, placing them in mailboxes and windows for all to know. she's small and gold, circles of blue and white in her scales.

her eyes are green like mine, i call her lee. he watches her the way someone would look at a child, grazing her scales almost like he's being sure that she is in fact real. i take his strong arm, linking our arms as we walk along the stones, bringing him to a place that i know he will enjoy. under the tails of the plants there almost always sits an oyster. oysters that seem to produce endless pearls, something he loves. 

a hopeless romantic, he takes my hand, lifting his arm up as i spin under it, making him grin as we approach the seaweed. it's then that i finally let go, letting the laws and rules of water return, he moves down, hands out in search of an oyster as i watch. there's something about watching him become so excited when he finally grips a shell, holding it tight to him as he lifts back to the surface. i follow close behind, not without fetching another for him.

he takes in a breath, inspecting the oyster he has found, it's dark color, the weight in his hand. bringing the boat over, he tosses it inside. "hmm, i believe we've got a wedding to prepare for."he says, stepping on the water that forms itself into a stair, helping me into the boat. his face is rosy as i get dressed, checking for the millionth time that my necklace is still on. the scales have retired, gone from my skin as they wait for the next time they can make an appearance.

reobserving my stash, searching for what can be used in jewelry and what i could hide for humans to come across. moss agate is a perfect piece of sersi, the hues a bit darker than her dress. the water takes us back to the sand, some fifty feet from where the domo resides. it is far less hidden nowadays, no elaborate path, no moss covering its surface.

it's inside a large something of a temple, grand and beautiful and high enough that i can see almost everything. the others hardly spend time in it anymore, neither do i, finding that there are infinite amounts of things to do here. and although the location is beautiful, it has something sinister within it, something i can't quite place. but i ignore it, my lover and i entering to see that ajak and phastos are yet again bickering about what humanity needs. and phastos saying for the millionth time that they are ready for his inventions.

but i easily break it off, telling them both that they must come see me for their gowns later in the night. but thena, thena will be the focus today. it's about time i finally begin her gown. and she seems to have agreed, druig kissing my forehead as he lets me be to the sewing room but not without his dramatic commentary. asking how he'll cope, how he can ever recover from our departure.

it takes thena declaring that it is enough for him to leave with a long, heavy sigh. and then the tears came as i began to make a wedding gown for one of my dearest friends. starting simple with a relatively thin white fabric against her skin to build off of, to have a base model. and even that has got me in tears, her smile only making more stream down my face. "oh please, get it out now i cannot have you crying on my wedding day."doesnt she know that her wedding will be flooded by my tears? i cannot see how i would be able to sit through it without coming to hyperventilate at least twice.

i take a deep breath, hands like a fan against my eyes. "but that does not mean i cannot cry at yours, remember that."she says, hand on my shoulder lightly. "now, show me that brilliant skirt you have done."it was a skirt that i had put together that i was beyond proud of. it was a midnight project full of me stabbing my finger and becoming frustrated with the ever so heavy fabric. it would have to be a tie on, as to not make the dress itself excruciatingly heavy.

i nod, fetching the pearl colored skirt, beads and detail along every piece of it lace and flowers and pearls pressed into it. beyond gorgeous and far beyond perfect, costing gold and jade and rubies to last a century. it didn't cost much, really, not for me. and beneath the lace and pearls and beads, was yet another base with a type of adhesive technology from phastos, not sticky to the touch yet it could cling to other fabric when activated.

and activating it was so very simple, twisting a tiny metal piece easily concealed. i hear her gasp, hands coming to cover her mouth in excitement as i bring the skirt around her, turning the metal as it comes together perfectly. i could leave it on the base, weight has never been a problem for the strong and mighty thena. now she begins to cry, my hand coming to point at her and my feet leaving the ground as i make my point.

though my feet do not come back to the floor, making her eyes widen. "oh-this is getting absurd!"she laughs, hands coming to my shoulders and pushing me back to the floor. "i see the air has come to make you adapt, next thing you know you will be flying like ikaris."she says, grinning. i shake my head, eyes small in my smile that pains my cheeks. "look at you, becoming the most powerful of us. you're gonna be taking care of me some day,"she sighs.

but she quickly follows up. "only kidding, i'll always be strong."she jokes, watching as i go to grab more fabric for the top of the gown. "i don't know what i'd do if you weren't exponentially talented, imagine if i had to have a stranger make my dress."she says. and feeling brave as i always do around thena, her strong presence bleeding into me, i reply. "couldn't imagine,"i say, watching as her face falls in utter shock.  it doesn't go away for a moment, head turning.

"you just-you-oh my!"she shouts, coming from the pedestal as she shakes my shoulders. "how unreal this is-"she says, so excited that it would scare the others who hardly see her smile. "6500 years and i have never heard you, oh my-i wonder where your voice belongs? europe, do you think?"she asks. i shrug, not quite knowing where it is meant to blend.

"i can officially say that i have seen and heard everything there is to see, i am satisfied with life."she says, smile still stuck on her face. "and are you better now, do the sounds and colors still overwhelm you as they did?"she asks, only faltering slightly when i nod.

"but that is alright, we love you as you are. with and without a voice, remember that. do not feel like you must speak for us to hear you."she says. she sounds like such a mother, turning many things into a motivation or pep talk. but i wouldn't have things any different.

i enjoyed this. you should've enjoyed this. BECAUSE WE ALL NEED A SOFT AND FUN CHAPTER.  xoxo-H.