driftfleet | Let's all hold hands and sing Kumbaya

[look he didn't choose this life

Sorey makes no attempt to be quiet as he comes running back just a minute and a half later, thrusting his hand out to yank Mikleo up onto his feet.] Let's get in the water first and then do it, [he suggests excitedly, mostly because he would like to throw himself into the waves like a doofus. Which he's doing now, bye meebo]

[WOW, RUDE, AND HE WAITED FOR YOU

Mikleo's not about to be left behind, anyway. As soon as he's on his feet he's rushing after Sorey, and while he may be shorter, he can be fast with the proper incentive. His dive is only marginally more elegant, and that's being generous. Who cares about finesse when the ocean is calling? So in he goes.

....

oh god

oh god and it feels amazing

There's a pulse, a rush of energy and life surrounding him at once, the likes of which he'd honestly never felt before. He spreads his arms, letting himself sink into it, the water swallowing him up like an oversized sweater. It feels like curling up in Gramps' robes on a cold day, like hiding under a blanket with Sorey and a book on his bed. And there's a strangeness to it as well, specks of earth clouding his senses, and it takes him a long moment to realize it's the salt in the water. He can feel the pockets of air bubbling up from the sand beneath their feet, the flutter of fins as sea life scatters between their kicking feet. He opens his eyes underwater, and the whole world comes alive with colour- rocks, coral, fish, the things he'd seen only in rust-coloured pages, black ink, and his dreams.

It's euphoric, beyond description, and it takes tremendous effort to kick off the bottom and surface again, reaching his hand out to find his partner.]

Sorey...!

[It's not enough to explain it, and he won't even try. He needs the armatus- this feeling is too incredible not to share.]

[While Sorey is a huge appreciator of nature not just because he was raised in the middle of nowhere, but because of who raised him, he just doesn't have the same connection with it as Mikleo. For Mikleo, Sorey imagines this must be like becoming one with a missing piece of himself. It's a little like what Sorey feels when they armatize, and through the threads of the pact he can hear Mikleo's pulsing joy loud as a drumbeat, but it's still muffled and distant.

So the second Mikleo reaches for him Sorey reaches back. He wants to know this, he wants to feel this with him. He wants to be as much a part of Mikleo's world as he can manage. Sorey isn't ashamed of what he is but he knows he's been giving the most unique of opportunities by becoming the Shepard: now, instead of just knowing or guessing, he can come so much closer to understanding.]

Luzrov Rulay, [he murmurs, almost too quiet for Mikleo to hear, and they bleed together like washed watercolors, mixing to form something entirely new.

Sorey lets Mikleo take the forefront in the transformation, content to sink back and focus on the sensation and picking apart Mikleo's feelings on it. He's always much more hands-on with the armatization in battle, but when it's like this, just for the experience? It's wonderful to sit back and enjoy it. He has no problems handing over his body to any of his seraphim but with Mikleo, especially, he trusts him with everything. Right now he wants to concentrate on how Mikleo feels.]

It's so...big.

[Mikleo's only response is a spark of laughter echoing through their shared mind, openly expressing delight in a way he so rarely does, and never to this extent before. Sorey isn't wrong about one thing- experiencing an ocean for the first time really is like a piece of himself sliding into place, one he'd never noticed was missing until he feels it. It's wonderful, beyond description. It feels even better with Sorey like this, and he lets that be known, too. Water is a part of him, and he a part of it, but it's not the only part that matters. To share this feeling, something beyond anything he's ever felt before, is just... perfection.

As soon as he recognizes that Sorey's granted him full control, he twists their body away from the shore, legs kicking, arms knowing instinctively how to make them move through the water as smoothly as if they'd always done this. He lets his power and influence spread around them, like flexing a muscle, and the water pushes them forward with every stroke. Alive. Alive. It's the one word he keeps coming back to, bouncing around in his head, and after the dying moon, after the sickness, after all the malevolence they'd endured, it's like all of it has been leading them to this place- alive--]

It is... like it goes on forever. Can you feel it? Like- a heartbeat--

--a soul, yeah. [Sorey wraps Mikleo's senses around him, pulls them into himself so he can really, really feel this just as Mikleo does. Or as close as he can get, anyway.

It's almost overwhelming; he can feel how the water moves around structures, around rocks and over sand, around the manmade pillars for the bridges. He can feel all the organisms in the ocean moving through the water, living in harmony with it. The people here respect and protect the land they live on.

It's...it's paradise.]

Mikleo...is this how it always is for you? You're amazing.

I'm not. I mean... this is...

[There's a ripple of somewhat embarrassed pleasure through their connection, and for a long moment he just lets them sink, drawn deeper into the ocean, the water surrounding them on all sides. The water's pulse is louder here, a rhythmic thumpthumpthump of what must be hundreds, thousands of different beings blending together into a single sound. There's so many that he can't pinpoint any specific one, though if the novelty runs out a little bit then he might think to try. He does want to explore and discover as much as he can while they're armatized, after all.]

It is, and it isn't. We've never been anywhere like this before. Elysia was as pure, but most of the water was beyond where Gramps would let us explore. And outside of his domain, the malevolence tainted too much for it to come close.

[He really isn't sure how to describe the difference between those experiences and what he is - they are - feeling now. They'd armatized before, of course, plenty of times, but it was always in battle, and they were so synchronized from the very beginning that they didn't spend any downtime like this. When the hellions were purified, the armatus dropped, and they moved on like usual. This is different, beyond any expectations.

He wonders if this is how it's supposed to be- if Shepherds who form pacts when there isn't a Lord of Calamity to fight get to just... co-exist with their seraphim. There are no humans truly like Sorey, but more of them might appreciate the value of life, appreciate the world, if they could feel that it's just as alive as they are.]

...It's going to be really hard to leave this place, I think.

[There it is, though.

It's not as if Sorey's unaware; he knows it's been hard for Mikleo to be on the ships, far away from a world with his element naturally occurring. He knows that Mikleo more often than not puts on a brave face; not to try and reassure, but because that's just how the situation is so he'll deal with it.

But sitting here, sinking into the darkness of the water without a single fear of drowning, allowing it to cradle them like a mother's arms, Sorey thinks about it again. Doesn't voice it, doesn't even really mean to let it seep over into Mikleo but it goes, all the same, like everything else he's ever tried to keep from him.

You could stay here.]

[The response is immediate, an unstable sensation passing through the armatus like a heavy wave crashing against rocks by the shore, the rumble of thunder in heavy clouds before lightning strikes. Mikleo jerks upright, hands spreading outwards to command the water with an airless exhale, halting their descent. He leaves them to hover there, unable to filter the emotions that an idea like that brings to mind.

that's wrong

you're being stupid

why would you say something like that?

this isn't home

are you going to stay?

There's a lot he could actually say to that, and if Sorey's really focusing, he might feel the threat of a storm brewing in the seraph's heart. If what he feels isn't enough, then he has plenty of words he could use, instead.

For now, though, what he does instead is relinquish control entirely, quietly shifting away from the forefront of their shared heart and pushing Sorey into the driver's seat as they begin to sink again.]

Your turn.

[yeah also if they end up splitting apart because of dissonance in their souls sorey will probably either drown or be crushed under the pressure of all that water around them. the only option he has is complete and utter honesty.]

I didn't mean forever. I guess that doesn't make it any better though, huh?

[no, sorey, you idiot, it absolutely doesn't. he can't really be upset that mikleo's upset though, since the suggestion was so half-hearted. he doesn't want to be apart from mikleo, but he can't focus on his own selfish desires. if mikleo will be safer, happier here, then...]

[Mikleo is bracing himself just in case that happens, ready to control the water if needed to protect Sorey. Just because he's annoyed doesn't mean he'll tolerate any harm coming to him. It's an anger born of love, after all.]

No, it doesn't. This world isn't the only place with an ocean- there's plenty back home that we haven't had a chance to explore yet, and once the malevolence is quelled, we can go there, too. I have no intention of missing out on that.

[Mikleo gives Sorey another nudge, mentally, trying to prod him away from those darker thoughts, trying to remind him that he's here, and he's not going anywhere.]

And didn't I already tell you that you're completely hopeless on your own?

Yeah, you do say that a lot. [Sorey moves them deeper, all the way to the sea bed. There's hardly any light here except for their glow and everything around them is still and eerie, save for the pulse of life that permeates through the water. He drags their fingers across the ocean floor and watches the sand cloud up around their hand.]

But, you know Mikleo, you never talk about your needs. While we're here, that's something we can concentrate on. If this is something you need, this connection to your element, shouldn't we find a way for you to keep it until we can go home?

[Mikleo is quiet for a moment, a thoughtful ripple of hmm passing through their connection as he considers those words.]

That's very different from suggesting that I stay here.

[If it's a matter of bringing more of his natural element to where they are, then he has less reason to object. To say anything else is misunderstanding something fundamental about who he is, and Sorey knows better.]

Clay keeps fish- they're in an aquarium on his room. I visit them sometimes, and it feels different than the water on the ships.

I didn't really mean it. [only a very little bit. sorta. look he's mostly learned his lesson from their fight over mikleo being a sublord okay, mostly. IT'S NOT WRONG TO WANT YOUR FRIENDS OUT OF DANGER!!! ...but maybe it's wrong to expect them to be out of danger while you yourself are not.]

Is that even big enough to make much of a difference? Maybe we can make something huge...like a tank or even an entire room. Like a pool.

[It's pretty wrong, but that's how Sorey gets sometimes, so Mikleo can at least forgive him for it. That doesn't mean he has to be gentle about reminding him, though.]

I'm not sure about a spare room on the Huntress, but the Iskaulit has plenty, doesn't it? And there's already a garden. We could set something up nearby. Give that ship something of a 'nature' hall.

[If it's possible, that'd be fantastic, but...]

Do you think it would help you?

[What's water not connected to its source, to its home? Would it be any different from filling something from the ships reservoirs? Mikleo can make his own water but it's clearly not the same as a planet's oceans, lakes and rivers. Sorey can feel it between them, in that strained thread that he's working hard to strengthen so that they don't fall out of armatization. He doesn't understand but god, he wants to, he wants to. He's just. Floundering because of it.]

If it would help, I'll do whatever you need.

[Mikleo's response is a thoughtful hum at first. He nudges his control back to the forefront enough to carry them further along the ocean floor, reaching their hands out to cup around a shell, gently lifting it out of the sand. It bubbles, obviously containing some kind of sea creature, though it stays safe within the shell while it's held.]

Sorey... notice that? Can you feel what's inside?

[He closes their eyes, blocking off that sense to allow all others to become stronger, like what Sorey used to do in order to let Alisha hear the seraphim. He can feel the same pulse of the water echoed in the shell they're holding- there's water there, too. Inside the shell. Inside the creature living there. It beats like a heart, like a soul, as Sorey had suggested earlier. It thrums quietly but perfectly in tandem with its surroundings, like it belongs there.]

It didn't feel like this when we practiced on the ship. You know why, right?

[Sorey closes his eyes and listens, really listens. He can feel it; the pulse of water (life) flowing around them, through their shared body, through the shell and the creature inside and he knows that the pulse doesn't stop at the edges of the ocean.]

Because there's nothing to connect to up there? [Sorey nudges the suggestion forward and together they put the shell back on the sand, watch it float-scurry away through the water. Even as it disappears into the murk and dark, Sorey can still feel it, can feel it through Mikleo.]

Yeah.

[Mikleo shifts his consciousness to the background once more, so Sorey can feel the water more deeply- through the shared body, and through his control of it. You learn better when you're doing things directly, after all.]

The difference isn't the water itself, it's what's in the water. There's life here. We're not flesh and blood the way humans are- we're born of mana. Mana is life. If there's no mana around, it doesn't hurt us, exactly, but... I guess it's kind of like feeling hungry for humans. When your body needs something in order to grow.

[His voice is a little uncertain; he's never felt hungry, not really, so he's not sure if the comparison lines up. But it's the closest thing he can imagine.]

[Not for the first time, Sorey wonders why Gramps bothered to change an entire village of seraphim for the sake of one human. He introduced human concepts, instructed their family in human rearing methods- heck, Sorey didn't even know Mikleo didn't need to eat until they left the village (though he had always suspected it wasn't as important for seraphim since he was always the only one complaining about hunger).]

Humans can die of hunger, though. [Sorey slips their fingers into the sand again, kicking up clouds of it, grains sparkling in the light of their paired glow.] If seraphim don't grow because they don't have mana, isn't that like denying your true self? Isn't that still dangerous?

[He wants to deny that - Sorey's worried about enough as it is - but the armatus makes it harder to be false, even when trying to reassure someone.]

...I don't know. I wish I did- I've never lived without nature before coming here.

[This "show" or whatever... would they even risk letting one of their captives die? Or would that just increase the interest of whatever sick audience they've gathered? He doesn't like thinking about it.]

I will say this: it doesn't feel like it's actively hurting me. I'm not sick or getting weaker. [Except for that one time, but that was different- there was mana, and it was poisonous. Not all of nature is good for them, it seems.] Still, it... wouldn't hurt to be preemptive. Even if it isn't dangerous, it might at least be more comfortable.

So do you think we should get some of the animals, too? And some of the plant life? How would we even keep that alive on a ship in space? [They've definitely got a lot of research to do if they plan on making an entire ecosystem. Still, Sorey will ask as many people and read as many books as he needs to if it means making things just a little more comfortable for Mikleo. He doesn't even know where to begin fixing the lack of wind on the ships for Zaveid and Dezel, but he can at least start here.]

[Mikleo glances at their surroundings, soaking in the sights; there's hundreds of different species around them, fish swimming contentedly wherever they please, various plants and coral drifting in the underwater current, shelled creatures crawling over the sand. It's beautifully natural, and he can't help the wave of unease that passes through him at the thought of disrupting it.]

I don't want to take animals away from this. This is where they belong, and I'm not looking for pets just to make me feel better.

[Plants care a whole lot less where they are as long as they can live and be healthy. What if they took an animal or a fish on the ship and they ended up miserable and lonely? He'd feel terrible.]

I'm sure we can ask around- see if there are aquatic plants that are sturdy enough to survive elsewhere.

[Sorey's already agreeing with Mikleo before he even finishes the sentence. Plants, sure, but removing animals from this seems cruel. People might have fish tanks and things like that, but to take something from its home just for their own benefit? That sounds like exactly what the Atroma did.]

Mmm. I think I saw something in town about specialists concerning the local flora and fauna. They might know how we can build a proper ecosystem with just a small tank.

I'm sure we'll figure something out. We have time for it.

[Assuming he can drag himself away from the ocean long enough to get anything accomplished, that is. But this is important- to both of them, now.]

So I don't want to hear anything more about me staying behind, got it?

Yessir. [And Sorey takes the opportunity to wrap himself around Mikleo, a second living, breathing shroud around them, beating just as soundly as the ocean that threatens to crush them with its power. He engulfs Mikleo and allows himself to be engulfed and pushes forward, as hard as he can, his most sincerest apology.

It's not as if I want to be without you.

Sorey wraps their arms around him quietly as they float just above the ocean floor, life skimming around them, investigating and flitting away just as quickly.

I'm so sorry.

He closes his eyes and it's easier that way to listen, to the worldly sounds muffled by volume and bubbles, to the spiritual noise and song of a world unspoiled and lovingly cherished. What their world could be. What it should be.

Please forgive me.]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject