I'll tell you a tale of the bottomless blue

[mermaiding]

Who: mermaiding & you!
When: 2/24ish?, ICly
Where: Wherever there's still deep flooding
What: Oona struck a deal with Maris and got her scale back, meaning she can turn back into her mermaid form. She's finally taking it out for a spin.
Rating/Warning: Vaguely NSFW, because mermaids do not wear clothes.

---

[She hadn't expected it to go easily. The process of removing her tail had been painful and clumsy to begin with-- she had never used that magic before, and she had never had to replace said tail either. She knew, in theory, hwo to, but it had taken her a few times to finally get the magic right.

The process had been just as painful-- was it always going to be painful, or was she just inexperienced, doing something wrong? Every movement ached as her muscles got used to the familiar movements of swimming again.. or maybe it had something to do with this crash of energy? Who knew.

She did feel tired, but that wasn't important right now. She decided against going her full form (there was no need for someone to actually mistake her for a monster and try to kill her right off the bat), but the more familiar half-form that most people associated with mermaids was fine enough.

It felt like flying, twisting through the waters, her gills burning with unfamiliar use. It had taken more time than she'd like to admit to get used to using them and she'd spent far too long accidentally trying to use her lungs and choking herself. But now that she was getting used to it, she wasn't sure she'd ever actually leave...]

[Option A]

[She'd never get truly tired of swimming around, but the space isn't that large, so it isn't long before she gets bored--and that's when she takes to terrorizing poor passer-bys. She waits until someone's standing near the edge of the water and slowly surfaces, watching to make sure their attention isn't on the water itself and...

GRABS THEIR ANKLE.

And immediately bursts out laughing at their reaction. Maybe it's you she grabbed? Maybe a random NPC whose panicked screams make you feel like jumping in to help out or investigate? Either way, Oona's clearly having a grand ol' time.]

[Option B

[There's definitely something moving in the water. You might see a flash of golden hair, or light reflecting off blue scales. Maybe you see a light, glowing faintly deep below...

Either way, it entices you to look closer. If you kneel on the ledge and lean over the water to try and get a closer look, you're in for quite the surprise. Oona's stirred up the debris and dirt below to mask her ascent to the surface; male or female or anything inbetween, it doesn't matter; lean in close enough and you'll suddenly find a pretty mermaid breaking the surface to press a kiss to your mouth.

It's a quick one and she swims away a bit right after with a bright laugh and a grin]

[Option C]

[Okay, so maybe the drain on her energy was more than she was anticipating. She pulls herself up out of the water, only barely managing to get herself on land before she curls up on her side and promptly goes to sleep. Her tail dips into the water, occasionally swaying absently and causing ripples in the water.

She may even start snoring softly, but either way it's probably not a good idea for her to just remain there hanging out, right?]

[Option D]

[WILD CARD. Got another prompt you wanna try out? Maybe Oona manipulated the water to splash a nice wave at your character? Maybe you dropped something in the water for Oona to discover?

Go crazy it's all yours'!]

Comments

[cordated]

Yes! You can swim freestyle with almost any stroke, although most people go for the front crawl since it's the fastest. [ he's not certain how well technical swimming jargon holds up when it comes to mermaids hailing from the deep blue, but he figures the particulars act the same way — living creatures go for what works best.

he glances over to asses the ledge, gauging the distance between with a humming note of affirmation before nodding, expression bright with relative anticipation. ] It's settled, then.

[ makoto's not exactly the type to swim for anything beyond the sheer, visceral enjoyment of being with his friends like the hokey, incorrigible sap he is, but if she'll willing to throw down bets, he'll gladly oblige. ] What do you want if you win, Oona?

[mermaiding]

Those words mean little to me. [But she's not annoyed or anything; if anything she just looks amused and a little curious to know more. She hadn't met any humans before that took swimming so seriously until meeting Rin, Haru, and Makoto.] But, I understand, more or less.

[As for the issue of a prize... What did she want? She scratches her cheek, thinking about it.] Well, if you win, could give you kiss like I did for Rin. If I win... ah, can you cook? Cook me something! I like eating.

[cordated]

I can teach you the definitions if you want! They're just different ways to swim.

[ he isn't invested with the same transfixing compulsion that impels haru and rin to the water, but he can't disavow the significance it has in his life. the fact of the matter is that makoto wouldn't have turned out the way he did if he never took up the sport in the first place.

his gaze turns refractive five seconds before his body catches up his brain and then he's fumbling and displaced, accidentally inhaling a few gulps of water instead of air. ]

Y-Y-You kissed Rin?! And he won? [ bear with makoto while he attempts to acclimatize. eventually, he sobers, one hand scrubbing modestly along the nape of his neck. ]

Um, I ... I don't think you'd enjoy anything cooked by me. [ understatement of the century. makoto's cusine might end up getting oona killed. ] Haru's a really good cook, though. If you race him, you should ask him for that.

[ but in a halfhearted attempt not to disappoint, he wracks his head in vain, attempting to come up with an adequate substitution on the pop fly. ] Is there anything else you might want from me?

[mermaiding]

[She instantly scowls.] It was accident that he won. I was distracted by the water, and other things. Was... eh, was too... [Arrogant, but she doesn't want to admit that out loud. Instead she lets out a harsh huff of breath] But yes, kissed him. He is not so good at it, honestly. But, will get better with practice. Maybe. He did not seem eager to be kissed by me again.

[She honestly wasn't sure if she should feel insulted by it or not...] Is he? Then, will have to race him. I like eating. [It's one of the view things she'll openly admit about humans and being on land-- the food variety is amazing.

His question is met with a hum, however, as Oona tries to think. Really she just wants food...] Suppose we could simply say you owe me. Ah, or, could buy meal. Or buy something pretty. I will take something pretty. [Oona really is a simple mermaid of simple pleasures.]

[cordated]

[ she kissed rin. granted, it could've just been the quick peck he'd gotten instead of one of those decadent affairs he'd caught sight of those few times he found himself in the pleasure district, mouth-to-mouth encounters full of tongue and teeth and —

he immediately tamps down on that line of thinking and refrains from questioning her further, even if it is slightly liberating to know that rin's about as a good a kisser as makoto himself (abysmally bad when it comes to matters of romance and the fledgling heart). ]

He'd race you even if he didn't win anything, I think. The way you swim is so natural. Haru would definitely admire that. [ makoto scrubs hastily at one cheek. ] ... And I like the way you swim, too. [ scandalous. the tips of ears are tinged in red, a color that bleeds out of his cheeks under duress. ] Oh! Like a date, or a present. I can do that.

[ makoto would be fine obliging her with outings or curios regardless of their race, but he can't turn down her challenge now. he's not doing this for rin or haru's benefit, for once. it's for himself (and oona too, by extension). he aligns his sights with the ledge she initially pointed out. ]

Give me a signal when you're ready!

[mermaiding]

Thank you. [She looks... surprisingly, a little embarrassed by the praise, her cheeks turning pink with a mix of that and pleasure. It's been so long since she's had her tail back to swim with, the fact that she still hadn't lost her touch... Well, it was nice to hear.

Besides, who didn't like hearing things like that?

Right, a race! She had to focus! She blinks and shakes her head to clear it, angling her body towards the ledge now.]

On count of three? [A pause. They counted down, right? Right.] 3. 2. 1. Go! [And she's off, keeping in mind that she has to keep to the surface more than she would have liked. She won't dishonor this by cheating, though, just feeling the water glide across skin and scale and how free she felt in her natural habitat. It wasn't the sea, exactly, but it was still water, untouched b chemicals and the like humans seemed to like to dump in their pools.

The race hardly mattered anymore in the face of this.]

[cordated]

[ makoto never stood a chance.

it's not a matter of inexperience. even if his line of expertise was the front crawl instead of the backstroke, he wouldn't have been able to beat her. she was entrancing in theory and in practice, the gliding sleekness of her slender form only eclipsed by her ease in the water, undeterred, like she was made for shores silted with the essence of the sea. and oona shone, glinting bright scales refulgent under the glare of noonday by his side and gaining on him without an ounce of resistance. kicking out in forward propulsion, makoto never allowed even a margin of disappointment to slip in when she slipped past him entirely. belatedly, his palm grazed the slab they denoted as their end goal long after she finished.

grappling the ledge, he heaves himself onto the ledge, laughter careening in his lungs, some effusive tumble of soft humor and glancing disbelief. ]

Wow. ... Wow, I ... I lost! I really put my all into it, too. I tried so hard to win.

[ there's not even a hint of acridity in his tone when he claps the flat of his palms down over his kneecaps, gazing back at oona with an expression caught between oozing fascination and yielding remorse, as he'd been completely outstripped by her in the last leg of the race. ]

Thank you for taking me seriously, Oona. I always, always wanted to have a race just like this.

[mermaiding]

[She watches him beneath the water for a moment, not surfacing right away when he begins to pull himself up. The water distorts both their features some, but her eyes are focused and piercing.

Was he disappointed? Apparently not, though she can't understand why. When she had lost to Rin, she really had been ready to pull him under the water and drown him for it. Was it simply not in Makoto's nature to get angry about these things?

Probably he just wasn't a terribly sore loser like Oona was.

These boys were entirely too endearing for her to take.

She broke the surface and listen to him, not bothering to hide her surprise at being thanked. What did she say to that? 'You're welcome' didn't seem to make sense here. After a moment she pulls herself up as well to sit next to him, letting her tail dip into the water]

You are not upset. [An observation, not a question, and Oona can't help but look a little impressed by it all. What a good attitude to have...]

Of course took you seriously. Why would I not? Was beaten by human before for, eh... What is the word, underestimating? Him. Will not make same mistake again.

[She pushes her lengthy hair over her shoulder and begins to wring it out some. In retrospect she didn't miss this part about being in the water-- she'd found she rather liked her hair better when it was dry and soft, but this was a small price to pay to be in the water again. It hadn't seemed so bad when her hair had only gone down to her chin, either...

Oona glances to him] You swim well. Was impressed, truly. [Which is high praise coming from a mermaid of all people.] You and Rin and Haru... You are different with water than other people are. A...respect, suppose. Do not normally see that in humans.

[cordated]

[ he stares out at the expanse of water in suffusing fixation, as if his perspective since his arrival on tellus has exponentially widened when all makoto really retains from his world is his voracious desire for remaining close to the people most important in his life. it's been ages since he's talked to haru, instead of talking past him. longer still for rin, their conversations a vocal tripwire for what could never be given proper elucidation: makoto was a coward.

but sitting next to oona with the sun turning her mermaid hair into tendrils of spun gold, her scales catching the tangible solidity of warmth and burnishing with it affords him the courage of surreality. it's like they currently exist in a time dismantled from all else, their futures and pasts at a standstill, the present widening with every inhale. ]

Back home, we used all be on the swim team. We even swam a relay together. Two, actually! Although we were disqualified from the second one.

[ makoto's fingers fold into restless knots in his lap, dripping steadily onto the cemented outlook as he smoothed down the fabric of his bunching shirt. ]

Swimming professionally in the Olympics is Rin's dream. No matter what, he's determined to give the water his all. He never does things half-heartedly.

[ his expression softens, quiet and overly sentimental. ]

Haru loves the water, too. When we were kids, he'd tell me the water was alive. You'd know it was true from watching him swim. He's so talented. I don't think there's anything he couldn't do if he put his mind to it.

[ the next part of his explanation comes out in a confused jumble, vowels and synonyms clumsily blurring together in his mouth. ]

As for me, I'm ... not so special a person as the two of them. I just wanted to swim alongside my friends, but somehow it ended up becoming an irreplaceable part of my life.

[ affably, he turns to face her directly, head tilted at a slant, as if perceiving her under a different, changed state, like somewhere along the way the outcome of the race had abruptly ceased to matter, paling in comparison to the experience itself.

a sight he's never seen before. ]

So I'm really glad I could be here and meet you. You're like them. You really love the water with all your heart.

[mermaiding]

[There's not much she could say here, and yet, at the same time, a lot. More than she probably has time for.

So she watches and listens, accepting his words even as he stumbles through them. It's the most she can do, but his praise makes her embarrassed. She blushes and looks away, running a hand through her wet hair. The sun feels good on her skin and hair, the water chilling her slightly; it felt good, though, a reminder that she was alive and still feeling. The water that dripped from her hair and down her skin felt like a caress of a long-time lover she hadn't seen in a while.

The water was part of her; she couldn't separate herself from it fully.

After a moment she opens her mouth and makes a soft noise, rising and lowering in pitch. It's like a croon and a whistle, an inhuman melody to sing of the sea she loves so much. And, mixed in there: Reassurance.

he doesn't have to be 'special' like he seems to think Rin and Haru are. Loving the sea, loving to swim-- even if it's just for fun with friends-- that's enough.

She lets the song end and takes a breath, tilting her head up towards the sky and closing her eyes as she listens to the notes die out.]

...Water does not care if you are human or not. It does not care for your reasons to swim. Once you are in it, everyone is equal, and the sea can be as harsh as it is kind.

Swim for your friends, swim for glory, or for the love of it. It does not matter. You are in the water anyhow.

[cordated]

[ so life has its limits, whether it pertains to moral singularity of failing his friends or failing his ambitions. shortcomings weren't ever mutually exclusive to begin with. it was a matter of causality.

his hands clasp and unclasp, and he's ready to cast off back into the waves, rattle off some weak-kneed excuse of a work shift he doesn't have, of checking over a friend he's neglected to converse with for a solid week, of staring back at her and finding her impassive, expression resolved into one of plain indifference. at seventeen years old, he's still burdening others with the blistering deception of issues that aren't issues at all. inadequacy necessitates an intent to change, to become better, but only resuscitates panic in makoto.

and he's got one leg lifted up to the ledge to flee, mouth brimming with meek, discombobulated apologies when the sonorous implacability of her voice breaks the silence. high notes rising, low notes crooning fluid; a type of fallacy, pitches discrepant and still, still melding together.

it's reassuring that she doesn't mean to hurt him, that past the sinews and tendons of their biology that there might be a likeness in their derisive infatuation with the sea.

the ocean that they both know, similar and dissimilar at once. ]

Thank you for hearing me out, Oona.

[ his fingers scrunch down over hers, squeezing. ]

It means more than I could ever say.