estoria | We could run like wild things [Open!]

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We could run like wild things [Open!]

Who:

mermaiding & YOU
When: I mean, you know... (IC: 11/27? Probably??);late at night
Where: the pool
What: Oona's found a pool and tries to overcome her anxiety with swimming. But it's after hours and someone's bound to get the wrong idea.
Rating/Warning: Oona skinny dips and is probably going to be naked through 99% of her interactions with people here. Also descriptions of near-drowning. Also angst?? I swear Oona's brand of ridiculous obnoxiousness will be back after the initial post...

[She'd known of the pool's existence for a little while now. It wasn't as though she'd been actively seeking it out--partly because it wasn't the sea and therefore wasn't good enough, and partly because she wasn't sure how to feel about water now.

As a mermaid, water was part of her life in every way. It was part of her, a deep connection she could never sever and yet... Right now, the thought scared her. She was a mermaid; she knew that, boasted about it as proudly as she pleased, but after spending so long in her human form she couldn't help feel a little anxious. What if it didn't feel the same? What if she somehow forgot how to swim, how to make the water part of her?

What if she just didn't feel anything?

It wasn't terribly late at night-- late enough that the pool was supposed to be closed and locked up tight, but it wasn't this night. Maybe it was a glitch, maybe someone had royally fucked up closing it-- who knows and who cares? Oona counted it as a blessing as she looked around to see if anyone was around (totally not suspicious in the slightest!) before entering.

Her heart is pounding in her chest hard enough that she's a little afraid it might burst out. The pool water is undisturbed, clear and tempting as she teeters at the edge of it, debating.

The last time she'd been in a pool, she'd been held captive in it. When turning human her new cell still had a deep tank, but Oona had never entered it in the year she'd been in it except to bust it open and escape. At the time she'd been in too much of a frenzy of blood and revenge and desperate to escape to bother thinking more about it.

Oona takes her time undressing (clothes, after all, have no meaning to her beyond "I need to cover up so the humans don't lose their fool minds"), giving herself a chance to come to terms with this.

And then she jumped.

The water was cold, but Oona had lived in colder. The initial splash was dulled, all her senses muting as she allowed herself to sink to the bottom.

First she had to fight her instinct to start breathing immediately--she had no gills in this form--and to move her legs as one. She forced herself to stay relatively still, except for the movements required to keep her submerged so deep down. If she didn't think about it too hard it was almost--almost--like she could pretend she was home again. Her ears strained for the familiar noises of her family, her skin prickling for the currents of the water that didn't quite exist here.

Then she opened her eyes--still sharp, still able to pick out the details as easily as if she was using goggles.The chemicals stung her eyes some and the illusion of being in the sea was ruined, calm replaced with bitter disappointment. Her scars began to ache a little, her chest aching as she held her breath.

It burned, and her anger burned with it as she fought against her rising desperation to surface for air. No. She didn't want to give in to this awful human desire for air. She wanted to stay down there, to breath in the water and let it consume her entirely, to go back--

But the need for air is stronger and Oona isn't a complete fool. She kicks powerfully and breeches the surface with a ragged gasp, coughing a little. Her next exhale is a scream of rage, however, her fists splashing ineffectively against the water, and she dives again.

Another scream, muffled o course by the water. But she screams until her air runs out and surfaces again with a choked sob; she can pretend for a moment that her angry tears are just the water from the pool and maybe if she tells herself that enough times she's believe it to be true.]

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[He doesn't tend to stay late at the gym, but on occasion, it happens. Lately, he's been realizing more and more that the stagnancy of things is killing him even more than the ridiculous events and danger did--he has never taken wastes of time well, and here, all he is doing is wasting time.

So he stays later at the gym, practices and practices and practices, and Tenka is at work at this hour, so he isn't around to scold Sousei and drag him away from his practice.

And Taiko isn't there to pick him up, tuck him under his arm, and physically carry him off--well, not that he's small enough to be carried off anymore anyway. Regardless, he is walking out of the gym, finally having managed to work up a sweat, when he hears that scream, and immediately he turns on his heel and strides towards the pool, not running, but in confident, quick strides, prepared for anything this place can throw at him--

Well, anything but Oona, and he arrives just in time to hear and see her sob, and he feels as though he's treaded on something very personal, then. But it's too late to back out now. (Still, what must it feel like to be a mermaid away from the ocean? Certainly, worse than a wolf away from its pack).

Slowly, he strides over to the edge of the pool and crouches there, for a moment patient, waiting for her to catch her breath, before he finally speaks.]

Oona.

[She knows he's there, his footsteps echo in the empty room and fro the corner of her eye she can tell it's Sousei. While Oona doesn't outwardly acknowledge him, she's grateful that if someone had to catch her in an embarrassingly raw moment that it was him.

When she finally looks at him, she's the picture of indignant anger, like how dare he be there at this time. But it's only there for a moment, keeping the act up too taxing after her outburst of energy, before her expression becomes something--less. Sullen. A little ashamed, maybe, and she averts her eyes. She blinks rapidly as if to clear the water from them--water, she mentally insists, not tears--and tries to think of something to say.]

S'cold. [Because clearly that justifies screaming her head off.]

[you know, he' knows it's an excuse, and he's entirely willing to accept it anyway. If she wants to talk about it, she will. For now, crouched there and looking at her (completely focused on meeting her eyes, he may not have even realized she's naked yet), his response is entirely sincere.]

Do you require a towel or blanket?

[Because she's cold, clearly.

Until she feels quite up to talking about it, he'll just try to resolve the problems, real or not.]

[Kaoru is, quite honestly, the sort of person that you wouldn't want to have around in an emergency situation. Equally likely are the possibilities of poking around just for the sake of curiosity, or ignoring the disturbance completely. Too much hassle, usually. Too involved. Too close to people.

But there's something about the rage in that scream that makes Kaoru pause. It's something familiar to the point of being unpleasant, but it's also something that resonates greatly, and the direction that the scream had come from is the one that he starts walking toward. ...Well, there's nowhere to be, anyway - nothing to do this late at night. Kaoru is only out and about at all because (usually) no one else is. It's a breath of fresh air, walking around in the dark where no one can see the unpleasant, unfriendly expressions that are worn most naturally.

The door is opened soon enough; Kaoru moves quietly, but in such a large and empty room, the footfalls echo regardless. Rather than saying anything immediately, he pauses near the line of bleachers stacked against the wall, hands folded, brow furrowed.

Eventually, softly:] Being alone in a place like this at night may be dangerous, Oona-san.

[ Yang makes a habit of wandering, checking out sources of information during times when most of the people in the city are safely tucked away. It's a habit of hers by now, after getting off from work, although what brings her to the gym is an idle whim. She doesn't expect to see anyone there.

She hears it first, though, a scream so raw that Yang turns instinctively towards it, not even thinking about potential risks as she heads for the sound. And again, there's no thought of hesitation when she spots the source. Instead, she kicks off her boots and jumps into the pool herself, grasping for her friend's bare shoulders.

What, they're both girls, she doesn't care about her lack of clothing. But her eyebrows are drawn together, her eyes narrowed with concern. ]

Oona-- hey!!

... Towel. [It's said in a quiet voice as she treads the water, resisting the urge to sink under it again.

She says nothing for a few moments, staring s hole into the opposite wall as she collects her thoughts.] Thought-- [A pause. Silence, and then:] Do not know. Thought it would be fine. But, it is different. Want it to feel the same.

[Oona screws up her face, realizing she's probably not making much sense.] Do not feel it like I used to. Is... Cold. I feel cold.

[He stands at that, boots clicking on the pool tile in the silence as he walks over to the stack of towels. "It is different", she says. He's not surprised.

It's not the ocean, after all. There is nowhere Oona can go that's like home. Sousei, at least, has the home with Tenka, that they made as traditional as they could, and....there's the dojo, even if it's not quite right. But for Oona, there's nothing.

He's silent, absorbing that, and steps back over to the edge of the pool, setting the towel safely out of the way of the wet and offering her his hand to pull her out of the pool.]

I understand what you are saying.

[He can tell that she has some insecurities about being understood, and so he'll first dispel those. He knows what she's saying.

He just doesn't know how to fix it.]

[She doesn't need his hand to pull her up, and for a second she considers ignoring it and doing it herself anyhow. But there's something in the gesture, an offered, open hand, that gives her pause.

Oona swims over and takes his hand after a brief hesitation, using her other hand to help push herself up onto the pool's edge. Her nakedness clearly doesn't bother her, but she still hugs herself as the cool air hits her. Her scars are contained to only her throat and upper chest apparently; there's one clean, surgical looking scar that extends down the length of her stomach and below her belly button, and a few on her sides.

Her gaze goes back to the water, expression wistful and full of regret.] Can not return. Even when we all go home, can not go back to the sea. It is different now. I am too different now.

[Belatedly she adds a:] Thank you. [Though she knows he doesn't mean he understand her situation--she doubts anyone really could-- she still appreciates that he can decipher her words.]

[She laughs, a bitter sound, and her smile isn't kind as she spares him a glance.] Worried will drown? A mermaid, drowning... You are funny, Kaoru.

[But the smile disappears and she looks at her hands as she treads the water, watching it move between her fingers.] A bad fake. Pools are not oceans or lakes or rivers. Should not be surprised it is so awful to swim in. No life, no feeling. Stupid... Humans are so stupid.

[It's easier around Kaoru to vent her anger and hatred about humans, Kaoru who understands, who almost never tries platitudes about not all humans; Kaoru who just accepts and agrees and lets her gnash her teeth. Her anger surges again and she splashes at the water, moving with purpose towards the edge of the pool.] Hate them. Hate this. Hate everything!

[All Oona can think is how lucky Yang is that Oona realized she was there and recognized her before she jumped in, because her first instinct is to attack. And it would be suicide to attack a mermaid like Oona in her own element.

But Yang is lucky and Oona is not so inclined to try and drown her--yet. But she does try to jerk away, hissing in anger at the disturbance caused by her jumping in so suddenly]

What!? Think I was in trouble? Am mermaid, do not insult me! Water will not hurt me! Am fine! Was-- There was bug! [Not that Yang said, you know, anything about any of that. Projecting much?]

[His eyes don't wander, for whatever it's worth, fixed on her eyes--not because he's embarrassed (who do you think he is, Takeda?) but because it's rude to not look someone in the eye when you're talking with them. It's as simple as that.

He only helps a little with pulling her out of the pool, and then, neatly, he flicks open the towel and drapes it around her shoulders, an easy, simple movement.

Which he will then proceed to act as if it never happened.]

There is no need for thanks. [As far as he's concerned, if she's struggling communicating, it's only natural to be honest with her--to tell her when he understands her, to tell her when he doesn't.

More importantly:]

Why will you not be able to return to the sea when you go home? [That much, he doesn't understand.]

[ . . . . well, he was probably looking for Sousei to see if he stayed late. Or maybe he was there to do some practice himself, Tenka's reasons for being places are always pretty shady. But the sound of a splash into the pool this late at night does earn his attention and curiosity.

So easily diverted as he is, he went to go investigate.

His eyes widen when he notices Oona, screaming and angry as she is.... and he shakes his head faintly when she dives back in. Then it's just stepping out of his shoes and rolling up the cuffs of his pants before he goes to sit at the edge of the pool, letting his legs fall into it, kicking his legs idly while he waits. When she surfaces again, he opens his hands to her and calls out for her attention-]

Hey pretty girl, what're you doing?

[She hisses on instinct, turning to face the sudden voice. She hadn't heard him approach or sit down thanks to the water dulling her senses somewhat (another fact that makes her aggravated all over again), but thankfully he recognizes before she does something more drastic than splash at him.

Which is exactly what she does, tossing water at him in vague frustration.]

Flying, obviously! What does it look like? [Her tone is scathing, but immediately she regrets it. It's Tenka, after all, and he's calling her pretty like only he does despite her scoffing.

Oona looks away, watching the ripples of the water as it calms, trying to follow suit] Thought no one would be here...

[Oof. He winces vaguely at her tone and just raises a hand so the water doesn't fly into his face but otherwise doesn't really move. Eh. It's fine, he's going home after this anyway. He can stand being a little wet - especially since he can tell that Oona's upset about something. It doesn't even seem to register to him to worry about anything else.]

Yeah, this place normally gets locked up, doesn't it...?

Do you wanna be alone, Oona-chan? I can go, but I was worried. [Not really because she's in the water by herself - she's a mermaid, after all - but--] You look unhappy.

[She pulls the towel around herself, finally tearing her eyes away from the water to look at him at his question. It's not an easy thing to explain; he doesn't even have mermaid protocol or anything to fall back on, since it's mostly just her own personal feelings on the matter.

So for a long moment she says nothing, taking the time to sort her own thoughts and feelings on the matter so she can explain; he asked, and she stands by her personal mission to never lie.]

Scars do not mean much to my people. Fights happen, there are dangerous things in the sea. But these... These are different. Humans caused these. Humans, who only knew us through stories and songs, know we exist. Put everyone in danger. Can not face them with that in mind.

And I... I have changed. Coming of age journey changes everyone a little, but this different. No one would recognize me. Family probably thinks I am dead. Would be better for that to be thought, instead of them knowing truth. Instead of seeing me as I am now.

Am not the daughter or sister they know anymore. Do not... know who I am anymore. [She speaks carefully to make sure she's not misunderstood; despite what she tells Tenka about wanting to see her family again she's still apprehensive.]

['Do you wanna be alone?'] No.

[She hates it. Mermaids were social creatures by habit, need companionship and close bonds with others; Oona, for all her bluster and pushing people away, wasn't the exception. She liked being by herself at times, but it made her inability to leave others alone more clear.]

You... You worry too much. Stupid aniki. [But the heat is gone from her words and she looks everywhere but at him. The silence stretches for a few seconds before she suddenly speaks up again]

Had goals once. Dreams. Wanted to join mother's family in the north, marry a fisherman. A human. Head full of romance. Had short hair too. [She points to her chin] To here. Wore shells in it, and starfish once. [Oona pauses again before continuing quietly] Am not that person anymore. Thought the water would help, but can only think of what used to be.

[That takes a moment for him to absorb it. He can't speak about her experiences or her culture; it is different from how humans deal with things, and anything else would be presumptuous.

But nonetheless, he crouches back down next to her, glancing at the now smooth surface of the pool, before shifting his gaze back to her.]

The cruelty of humans, to capture you, is not your fault. [So that they know mermaids exist now... that should not be something that is solely her responsibility.] Do not bear responsibility that is not yours on your shoulders. There is enough there already.

[... As for the rest... Everyone changes a little, she says, and she's right. But...]

You will continue to change, and find yourself. [Whether that's enough of a reason or not for being able to go home... he thinks that's not the right question.] Do you want to return to your family?

[And as usual, Kaoru doesn't try to placate her. Her anger is something that belongs to her, and she should be able to express it as long or freely as she'd like.

His shoulders rise a little, but no other outward gesture is made to show agreement or disagreement. What's said, on the other hand-]

They dislike things that they don't have fine control over.

[Whether that's a body of water or other living beings. The smell of chlorine in here is sharp and acrid, and the entire environment is grossly artificial from the unnaturally blue-green water to the blinding florescent lights overhead. The buzz is something that Kaoru can hear - not as loud as neon, but still ever-present. A reminder of how far from natural this place can be.]

—But I was more concerned that you might be attacked, or bothered by CERES employees, perhaps. This isn't an area that many people are near at this hour... What would you do if someone were to try harming you?

[ . . . he understands, faintly. To wish that you could be what you aren't anymore. He's reminded every single morning when he passes the Orochi medicine in his room to instead have what substitute medicine Cerealia had given him. It doesn't compromise his sanity anymore, but it still doesn't remove the Orochi cells in his blood.

He's still not human. He's still not the child who would climb on his father's back or spar with Sousei. What he'd give to be that carefree again....

But regardless, he just kicks his feet lightly in the water, watching the distorted image of his own legs. Then he reassures her gently-]

.... This isn't your water, Oona-chan. This is pool water, meant for humans.

I think what you need is a big, beautiful ocean.

[Nor ally Oona would jump at the chance to pin more blame on humans, but she can't help but feel uncertain about it. Surely there was something she could have done to prevent it.

--no, probably not. She can agree with that much. It was the humans fault, but she's not sure how well the others of her kind would take it, if they'd believe that or use her as a scapegoat of sorts.]

Miss them, yes. Brothers and sisters, my mother and father. But... [Her face screws up again, blinking back tears.] Am... Afraid. [Its said with great difficulty admitting even that much.] Has been nearly 25 years. Do not know if I can face them as I am. If they do not recognize me, or worse, if they do not like me... Do not want to disappoint them.

[Oh... in a way, that is so much easier to understand. Being frightened of something like that...isn't that just something that's so very understandable? She has been through a lot, has been away from home for years, and she doesn't even know if her family will accept her now.

Similarly, Sousei does not know if he has made Taiko proud, or if he has disappointed him. Is Koyuki happy with him, or upset with what he did not manage to do?

They are dead now. He can't ask them. But... this mermaid, who still comes across as so young, even if it has been 25 years--she can still ask them. She shouldn't miss the opportunity while it is there.]

It is natural to feel afraid. To be able to acknowledge and face that fear is what courage is.

[It's what she's doing.

He won't lie to her, or give her empty platitudes. But...]

I am not the most familiar with the concept of family, but what I know of it... [scant as it is...] ...suggests that it is too important a thing to be truly lost forever.

[And he relaxes then, a little more certain. Yes, it took ten years, but--now he's certain.]

They will not be lost to you forever. Have courage, Oona.

[She laughs a little despite herself, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.] Sound like Tenka, saying things like that.

[It's something to think about though, but later. Right. Is it's a little too much to broke over all at once. She wants to hold onto that hope that one day everyhing will be okay; the world will shift back into balance, she'll have her family again. Her dreams of starting her own clan or joining another might be gone, but maybe she'll have stability again. And for now, stability is all she can ask for.]

You say stupid things like him too. 'Not familiar with the concept of family' [She does a bad imitation of his voice then before going back to her own] Stupid. Have family here. Do not be blind.

True.

[Her lips curl in an unpleasant smile, her mind turning to just how true it really is. Humans with their need to control and understand, but too haughty to simply ask...

His question gets a snort of amusement and Oona raises her hand, idly swirling the tip of her finger in the water. It begins to move, slowly at first as Oona gets a handle on the magic she hasn't used in years, but eventually the whirlpool begins to form, the water thrashing violently with Oona calmly to the side.

She smooths her hand out over the water and everything calms again; Oona looks rather proud of herself.] Suicide to attack me in my element. What would I do? Kill them, of course. Am naked, not defenseless.

[Her smile turns amused, almost teasing, as she turns it on Kaoru.] Planning something? [She's joking, of course, and it figures that talk of murder and teasing Kaoru about it would cheer her up.]

Has been some time since I could use that magic. Maybe you should lure someone here so can make sure have not gotten out of practice.

[...wow!! Rude!! Don't insult him by saying that he sounds like Tenka!!! (Except he knows it's a compliment, because Tenka has always been the most inspiring person in Sousei's life.)

He does huff at that, a little more lightheartedly. Her impression is terrible--it's amusing.]

Yes. I am aware of that--though it took me some time to see it for myself. I believe you do as well.

[For now--they will be her family, because as they've both realized...family is important.]

[Her heart aches for the sea at his words, just as anxiety curls in her stomach.]

What if-- [Her breath catches and she chews on her bottom lip before continuing.] Am... am afraid. What if it does not feel the same? What if it is empty, like this pool?

Am more afraid of that emptiness than anything else. Without bond to water, do not know who I am.

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We could run like wild things [Open!]

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