driftfleet | Let's all hold hands and sing Kumbaya

[There's still something tense there; like a held breath or a teetering of balance but it's something that they can with through with time. The Shepherd's journey has both reforged and reinforced their relationship so many times, Sorey isn't even entirely sure he'd recognize them if he went back in time to see how they used to be.

The peacefulness of the deep helps a little; Sorey greedily sinks into Mikleo's senses, his kinship with his element suffusing Sorey's own heart with a tranquility he hasn't known since leaving Elysia.]

We don't do this enough, [Sorey murmurs between them, rolling lazily onto their back and drifting, their hair curling in the water, hand twitching as tiny fish nibble their fingertips.]

[For the first time since the conversation grew serious, Mikleo smiles, allowing the sensation - and the feelings attached - pass to Sorey, tugging gently at their shared lips.]

There's an easy way to fix that, you know.

[All either of them has to do is ask, after all. And he's not opposed in the slightest. If this is how it feels to armatize outside of combat, if experiencing this with Sorey right there with him is the reward for sharing his power... what reason do they have not to?]

[Sorey smiles with him, letting the ocean dictate where they drift.]

Too bad we can't be armatized all the time.

[There's a pause as Mikleo takes in those words, trying to decipher the degree of seriousness with which they were spoken. It doesn't really feel like something Sorey would joke about, but he doubts that it's a good concept to take seriously, either. What would that be like? Wouldn't they be sacrificing a lot? They'd have each other, yes, but for Sorey, would that really be enough?]

All the time?

[He's not upset, exactly, just... surprised. He loves being with Sorey- he always has. Like this, or just in his company as usual, it's never mattered to him. And sure, the armatus offers the sort of closeness that they hadn't dreamed possibly before leaving Elysia, but at the same time, what they share with each other becomes less of a choice and more an enforced state of being. His dark thoughts on the poisoned planet, Sorey's worries about the health of the seraphim... things he'd have liked to be shared when the time was right, when they were ready, not when emotions and tensions were already high. It feels good to be like this, but sometimes it isn't fair, either.

It's... probably not possible, so maybe he's overthinking it. Even so.]

...You'd miss the others too much, I think.

[Sorey can feel Mikleo really mulling it over, and that just makes him smile wider. Leave it to Mikleo to read too much into Sorey wanting to spend more time with him. Nerd.

Then again, he does have a point. Sorey reaches up to touch a huge sea bass as it lazily drifts by, his hand passing over its flank without hardly a twitch from it.]

That's true. There's something different about armatizing with everybody. Not just with the elements, or the personalities either. It's...interesting.

[Mikleo hums a response, an edge of curiosity entering his thoughts as he replies, legs kicking to seek out a different sort of fish. There are so many to look at this far down- so many fascinating colours and shapes, many of them drawn to the illuminated form of the armatus.]

You know... that's one advantage you have over us. We're connected more closely to our element, yes, but you have a chance to experience all of them. I'll never know what earth, wind, or fire feels like to the others.

[He's not upset by it - he loves water, always has, and he's content with what he is. But he's witnessed the strengths and weaknesses of each element, and he can't help wondering what it must be like to experience it firsthand.]

And we don't know what it's like to be human, either.

[And that, he does envy- if only because it's part of Sorey that he'll never truly understand.]

Edited (barfs, having to edit on recaptcha logs) 2016-09-01 03:46 (UTC)

[Sorey doesn't hide his surprise at that, at Mikleo being envious of what it feels like to be human. No one in Elysia had ever been anything but loving and accepting of him, but...well, Gramps made it clear what he thought of humans as a whole. That a seraph would want to know what it's like to be human, even his best friend, is. Well, strange.

He surrenders control to Mikleo easily, watching the ocean life drift past, some fishes inspecting them curiously, crustaceans scuttling along the ground beneath them after their trailing ribbons and hair.]

I don't really know what it's like to be human either, [Sorey points out matter-of-factly.] I mean, I know what it's like to be hungry. Or sleepy. Those sorts of things. But I'm still learning about humanity, just like you.

That's different, though. Learning can only tell you so much.

[He stretches their hands out, sweeping them gently through a school of tiny clustered fish; they scatter like an explosion of fireworks then come together again, weaving in and out of their fingers, cautious and curious as only fish can be.]

I could read countless information about these fish, study them for centuries, understand every fact about every aspect of their life cycle, and I'd still be no closer to truly knowing what it's like to be one.

[And that's fine- he lets that be known as best as he can, a ripple of calm passing through their connection. He doesn't mind. Sometimes barriers are just there to remind you that people who are different can still be together. It's what they've always believed, isn't it? It's what they've dreamed about. Humans, seraphim- fundamentally different, yet still able to coexist.

Sometimes it's okay to not know, as long as you treat that barrier like a window instead of a wall.]

[Mikleo always knows just what to say.

Whenever Sorey gets too wrapped up in his head or his heart, Mikleo's there with something wise or insightful to drag Sorey back out to see how the world really is. Sorey might take that for granted, he thinks; he allows his head to stay in the clouds because he trusts Mikleo to be there to anchor him firmly to the earth below. Maybe he shouldn't rely so hard on Mikleo to be his voice of reason. He's got his own troubles, after all.]

...so does that mean I'm like a fish to you?

[...And Sorey always knows just what to say to completely destroy any semblance of seriousness.

Well, it's not unwelcome, but Mikleo scoffs, the noise almost a chuckle in their shared mind.]

First I'm a frog, and now you're a fish... we might be taking these comparisons a little too far.

[Has enough time passed since that fight for him to tease about it? Because he is doing that.]

You've also called me a pig and a horse. I think maybe you have a fixation.

[Yeah, it's been long enough. It's still a sore spot for them both, but humor helps. It helps that Mikleo wants to be past it as much as Sorey does.]

Is it weird? Animals are pleasant to be around. Most of them are gentle and quiet, they're not greedy, and they're hard workers without complaint. It's a compliment.

[Also sometimes you smell like a wet animal, so. There is that.]

[W OW] You're saying nice things, but I still feel like I should be insulted... [sorey gives mikleo a little mental nudge, borrowing some of his power to push them more quickly through the water. they've got a lot of exploring to do if they want to find any ruins down here.]

I can't change how you interpret the things I say.

[Mikleo moves in sync with him, providing the direction- he can sense the water, but he can also sense the void between water particles as well- strange shapes, gaps in the element, other materials that don't belong. Much like something trapped in ice: you can tell by sight that it's there.

He doesn't know what it is, but the "something" is just ahead, waiting to be discovered. Underwater ruins? Perhaps a sunken ship? Either way, he's getting excited again.]

[punk.

and it should say something, for all of mikleo's reluctance to stay this way (and sorey's too, if he's being honest) that even though they've argued and grown tired of each other and vented their frustrations, their bond holds as strong as ever and the armatization stays firmly in place for as long as they're below. sorey trusts mikleo to keep him alive, and mikleo trusts sorey to use his powers.

they're two separate people, of course. two separate species even, but that's all big picture. when it comes to the two of them, they're just who they are. sorey and mikleo. two boys who were raised together their whole lives, and who have known nothing else more constant than the press of the other's back against their own.]

Let's all hold hands and sing Kumbaya

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