estoria | I'll tell you a tale of the bottomless blue

Entry tags:

I'll tell you a tale of the bottomless blue

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'!]

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[ it's a simple pleasure, watching her in the water. it's the same kind of fascination that has rin glued to the tv when FINA nationals are going on; when the olympic swimmers take the stage. the angle of descent. how to bend one's limbs to best cut through the water. he started as a technical swimmer, but looking at her -- he can't help but think of haru. there's nothing technical about the way she swims.

--but that's not the point, not right now.

he rummages through his bag, emerging a few moments later with a smaller cloth parcel. ]

Yeah.

[ he's in higher spirits than when she saw him last, grinning freely, almost childishly. but it looks natural on him. honest. ]

Close your eyes, got a surprise for you.

[ good thing he'd thought ahead. whatever she's done with the jacket he gave her, it's definitely not on her person now. ]

[Her eyes light up with surprise and delight.] Present? [It's her turn to look rather childish, before she eagerly closes her eyes and holds out one hand expectantly.

After a moment she opens one eye slyly, then quickly closes it. The jacket... Well, she still has it! Just, you know, not on her person. It was with her other few possessions wherever she had last found shelter]

[ he'd gone back and forth on the suitability of buying a girl a bathing suit top. the shopping center with its overabundance of skimpy and skimpier bikinis had traumatized him to some extent, and had him thanking all the gods and their progeny out there that his own sister had never tried to corral him into a shopping trip.

which had then devolved into a fugue of sadness. he would've gone on a thousand awkward bikini shop outings with her if it meant she was here with them.

all that said, rin emerged from the shop fed up with the highlighter fabric that seems to be the current fashion, armed with a relatively modest bikini top in a leopard print.

maybe most people wouldn't have chosen leopard print, but this is rin matsuoka. fashion is his thing, okay.

he waits until oona closes her eyes - giving her a sharp look when she tries to peek - and unwraps the cloth parcel in quick tugs. he'd already removed the tags and cut out the cloth branding from the back, so there shouldn't be any issues of comfort. ]

Alright. You ready?

[ got to build up the suspense -- ]

Open.

[She squirms while waiting, impatient but putting the effort in to keep her eyes closed anyway.

They pop open the second he says it's okay too and zero in on the top in surprise.] A top? [She moves forward curiously, not put off by the gift (it IS a gift, after all), so much as just surprised he went with that.

Jeez, she knew humans had issues with her exposing her upper half, but Rin seems to be taking it up a notch here. She reaches for it anyway, not one to turn down a gift.] You chose it for me?

Yeah.

[ he's a teenage boy, alright, expecting him to offer the gift without some measure of embarrassment is to expect a miracle. the way he's watching her, carefully cautiously, waiting for her reaction, should be indication enough of how much he cares about her response. ]

You like it?

[ a throwaway question, offered casually. like he wants her to believe that he doesn't care either way.

maybe it's not just that he's uncomfortable with her bared upper half. she'd given him a gift, too, whether or not she understood its full ramifications: after a few months in this place, meeting a mermaid had been something straight from the sort of dreams that adults tuck away as flights of fancy and nothing more. meeting her had reminded rin of the enormity of what he's facing -- it's not just about destruction and terror and anger.

it's about a fish in the face, too.]

[Oona laughs a little again. While she holds no value to clothing, most humans tended to do so. She has no idea if this could truly be considered fashionable, but she has seen animal print favored a lot at her work...]

I do. Like it, mean. But, do not understand why. Did I do something good? [She can't really remember doing anything particularly worthy of reward, besides, you know, be her usual ~~bratty~~ awesome self.

Her gaze slides slyly to him, mouth turned up in a playful smile] Or is this apology for winning the race, when you clearly should have lost? [SHE'S ONLY TEASING, really.....]

[ fashion is a subjective sort of thing. besides, rin is one of tellus's fashion consultants — that has to count for something, alright.

rin is visibly pleased by her reaction, the slight tension in his shoulders loosening. he laughs, the warm sound of it rolling in his throat. ]

Oi, I won that fair and square!

[ he's even spent a good amount of time boasting to haru about it. and needling haru into joining their next race.

basically: oona's going to be roped into many a race for the rest of their communal stay in tellus. better get used to wearing animal-print tops. ]

Haven't had a race like that in ages. I just wanted to give you a reason to keep coming back for more.

[ rin's challenges do tend to sound like thinly-veiled come-ons. he doesn't realize it himself; best not to point it out to him. ]

Ha! So you think! Was not fair at all, because I lost.

[Oona's a grown adult... really....

Her eyebrows raise in amusement, mostly because she realizes he has no idea how that sounds.] Ah, is that so? If you want to see me so bad, need only say so. Do not need to hide behind reasoning like racing.

[She's teasing him, really.]

[ well, he'd already known she was a sore loser. she'd better get used to it, because he's going to continue giving her a run for her money.

besides, it's not like he's trying to hide it. he had wanted to see her. ]

It's not like I can summon you out of thin air.

[ accio, mermaid!

he has been keeping an eye out for her for a few days, after all. granted, he could have sent her cerevice a message, but he'd felt awkward about the whole thing. this was easier.

which brings up another question -- ]

Where are you gonna go once the flood recedes?

Could send message on the thing. [Jeez, even she knows that!!

The question throws her off a little and she stares openly before looking off.] Where...? Do not know. Apartment was destroyed. Suppose will just wander and sleep wherever. At work could possibly sleep in dressing room or something?

Hmm... Did not think about it. [Yeah Oona hasn't thought that far ahead yet. She was kind of batting on a "cross that bridge when I come to it" thing.] Apartments are being rebuilt, yes? Suppose will wander to friends' places once in a while...

[Stop the hobo mermaid]

[ right. well, there goes that. ]

Yeah, yeah.

[ and rin raises an eyebrow when she continues.

so she's going to wander around, kiss more people, and possibly get herself into more trouble. a pretty girl doing shit like that? c'mon. rin might have high-flying ideals about romance and the like, but he's not naive. ]

You know you can get your own place, right?

[ and then rin frowns, drawing his own (erroneous) conclusions. ]

Where the hell are you working, if they're not paying you enough to make rent?

Yes, know that. [but effort...] Had apartment before, was destroyed when floods came. Could get another, suppose.

[The question gets an amused look from her though, and she tilts her head] Pleasure District. Dance and take off clothes, and men throw money at me. Mostly men. Make plenty to make rent, but there is good food and pretty things to buy. So, often, spend money on that.

Money does not have meaning for me, so often it sits useless. So, spend it right away to free space. [Space that is then taken up by pretty, useless objects. She seems to realize something though and frowns, talking more to herself now than him] Ah, but will have no place for pretty things if I do not have some place to stay...

[True priorities.]

What — ?

[ rin didn't register much beyond the "dance and take off clothes" bit. not that oona doesn't have a right to do what she wants with her body, and not that rin has any right to pipe up about it, but suddenly he feels very stupid about the shirt he'd gotten for her.

which makes no sense - what does that have to do with her chosen profession? - but sometimes logic doesn't necessarily fall in line. ]

You know there are... other jobs. Where people don't, you know. Look at you. And stare at you. Are you seriously okay with that?

[ he's derailed entirely from the line of thinking re: her apartment, because.... seriously. stripper. why?

she is different from him, sometimes unfathomably, but - for all of rin's tendency towards ostentation - there's something about the clinical way she admits to men throwing money at her that bothers him.

it's not his business, but -- that doesn't seem to matter. ]

I do not have skills for those jobs. They are human skills I do not have the patience for-- working with money, or having to be nice to people who are rude to me. I do not lie. I will not lie. Things like that do not do well in other jobs.

I am good at dancing, and it is fun.

[She tilts her head, watching him with narrowed eyes, assessing how he's seeing this.]

When was captured, had people looking at me often. Staring. Taking notes, running tests. Here, they see me because I allow them to. My scars make humans uncomfortable. I like that.

[The corner of her mouth curves, a feral little smile that's not kind at all] It is hard for them to deny what humans have done, when it is in their face like that.

[ there's not much he can say to that, though he does stare at her for a long moment, swallowing convulsively to avoid letting the emotion show on his face.

it's hard to imagine anyone wanting to hurt someone like oona.

he likes that edge of viciousness, though. rin has that same urge. to master that which has hurt him. never has he faced what oona has, but he can understand - to a point. ]

Yeah. If you have any business cards for the place - [ club? well, whatever ] - where you work, give them to me. I might know some guys who'd tip well.

[ it's not much of a peace offering, but it'll have to do. and if his voice sounds particularly gravelly - well, she'd best not comment on it, as he's not likely to take it well.

a moment, another. he masters himself quickly enough, the threat of tears lingering but no longer urgent. ]

I have upset you. [She says it softly, the harshness leaving her to be replaced with an awkward sort of guilt. Rin's a good kid; she doesn't feel bad about her choice of profession-- she really does enjoy it and her motives are not nearly as viscous as she pretends them to be--but she does feel bad when her own selfish desires to lash out at everyone that's hurt her has some collateral damage.

But she inclines her head, acknowledging the peace offer for what it was.] Will send you them, then. Thank you.

I-- [Oona pauses, not sure what she was about to say, or where she was going to go with this when she started. After a moment she continues]

...I have made decision. Decided, you are good person, Rin. For a human.

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I'll tell you a tale of the bottomless blue

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