In The Days Since She'd Last Seen Rafayel, Dolasach Came To The Conclusion That Perhaps It Wasn't Enough

In the days since she'd last seen Rafayel, Dolasach came to the conclusion that perhaps it wasn't enough to go by *only* Eolchaire's writing and her own personal intuition when it came to social interaction.

At least, when it came to one person in particular.

Left with the most baffling, conflicting, and confusing mess of emotions, she returned to scouring the old goddess's tomes and even began writing out tomes of her own to try and make sense of everything. Somehow, she came to the conclusion that it would be best to finally try and mingle with the humans—definitely not because wanted to, heavens know that she’d rather continue living as a hermit goddess in her forest.

But… She needed to see if she felt this strongly (in many ways, mind you) about Rafayel, and Rafayel only… Or if others would inspire these kinds of feelings, too.

Deep down, she was aware that this was quite a stretch and only delaying an inevitable realization, but she didn’t want to declare anything without being absolutely sure of herself.

After convincing herself for the whole morning that this was a worthwhile endeavor, she donned much simpler attire that blended in with the villagers instead of her usual elaborate garb. Using a bit of her power, she even went as far as disguising her eyes to both be green and for her hair luscious waves to become as straight as a sewing needle.

She didn’t need a mirror to see just how unrecognizable she was. Being able to run her fingers through her hair and feel not a single wave or curl was completely foreign by itself.

Once ready, she finally ventured into the village. Truth be told, she wasn’t quite sure of what her plan was, other than to simply talk to people. Although, that was much more easily said than done.

Surrounded by dozens of unfamiliar faces, her nerves were on high alert, her anxiousness at most allowing her to greet the random friendly stranger who’d greet her with a simple, short nod. She hadn’t the faintest idea what to say, nor did she know what humans were interested in when it came to idle chatter. Some have her strange looks, some looked at her with the sort of interest that made her skin crawl.

What an utter nightmare.

She was on the verge of giving up and returning to the forest when a familiar sight caught her attention from the corner of her eye. She turned to get a better look and—

“What the—Rafayel?”

It can’t be.

Why here and… What was that he was holding? Meat? How did he afford—

Oh.

She caught sight of the furious vendor approaching him. Her sense of urgency taking over, she quickly approached Rafayel, grabbed him by the arm, and began leading him towards the nearest hidden corner she could spot at a running pace.

“I have no idea what you’ve done," she said, glancing up at him before sneaking a glance to the man in pursuit. “But there’s a very angry human coming for you and we need to hide!”

₊❏❜ ⋮ i'll chase you to the ends of the earth. ⚬𓂂

@dolasach

He is used to it; however, that didn't mean he accepted it.

Rafayel sighed as he let his head rest against his palm, the same thing being drilled into his mind by the endless sea of words spewing the history of Lemuria and the world on the surface repeated like a broken record from the elders. He seemed to be falling asleep and was immediately scolded for not paying attention.

Evidently, something came up that had the elders leave the vicinity for the time being and this served as an opportunity for Rafayel to escape. He had attempted in doing so a few times, but he was sure that this time he would be able to be successful. 

A blue fish swam around him and held his hand out, allowing the fish to swim over his palm. 

"Shall we head to the surface? It's a little boring right now and I'm tired of hearing the elders saying the same thing over and over again." 

The fish continued swimming over his palm before seemingly directing him toward an opening to which he was able to squeeze through. It was then he realized that he was out of the city walls of Whalefall City and was able to swim to the surface.

He thanked the fish before it disappeared back through the city walls and Rafayel didn't have to think twice as he turned away from Whalefall City to swim up to the surface; however, before he allowed himself to fully come out, he swam slowly as the damn words from the elders rang in his head. 

"The world on the surface is dangerous, even if those people worship our Sea God, there is a chance that someone will try to capture him."

"As the previous Lemurians have..." 

"Rafayel, you must never venture out to the surface world. Your people are here, that is all that should concern you." 

And the annoying part of all. "The Sea God will one day meet the Goddess of the Forest, and when that day comes, should he fall in love with her, it will be the beginning of the downfall of Lemuria."

Rafayel always thought it to be those stories to be something a parent would tell to their child to make them listen. And besides, Rafayel had always been, not only a rebellious soul, but one of sheer curiosity. 

Once he peeked out from the water, he spotted a woman by the shore. And he had seen a few other humans before, but something about her was different and he couldn't help but to swim towards the shore, closer to her. Who could she be? For some reason... he needed to know and while he doesn't know why he needs to, he simply just has to try; in a way, it felt as though there were residual feelings, feelings that weren't from him and that in itself baffled him.

So without thinking, his mouth opened to speak.

"Who might you be? You don't seem... human to me, although you do appear to be." He tilted his head briefly before letting out a laugh. "Ah, apologies. This is bold of me, I will admit."

Vita Sackville-West // Unknown

A leucistic moose filmed by municipal councilmember Hans Nilsson in the Värmland region of Sweden (2017) National Geographic

There was no hiding the sparkle in Dolasach's eyes when he told her that the flower crafted from pure water was hers to keep.

She looked to him briefly before her eyes settled on the flower again. Light, experimental pokes at the delicate thing tested his claims of its durability. When it indeed didn't break, a true, delighted smile graced her features.

"A gift from another god can hardly be considered small."

Thank you. It's wonderful.

Already, she tried to think of where she could possibly keep it so that it wouldn't evaporate or be aborbed into another plan. Perhaps it could stay near where she kept Eolchaire's writings—maybe she'd appreciate having something so similar to what Caspian would make for her laid near her only remnants.

She kept the flower carefully cupped in her hands as she listened to him, with one hand over it as an instinctual move to keep the wind from 'blowing it away. It stayed cool to the touch, and every now and then she'd take a peek at it to admire how it shone and sparkled in the light.

A reminder that she wasn't his personal bard sat on the tip of her tongue, suddenly held back by words she hadn't expected to hear him speak.

He wanted to spend time with her?

The only word she could think of came out in a breathless whisper.

"What...?"

The tenderness of his smile left her speechless, unable to think of a sarcastic or clever retort. What was he doing? What was he saying? With that twinkle in his eyes, and warmth in his gaze?

And when he gazed at her and spoke in a way that even she could understand was not referring merely to the forest—

Her cheeks flushed pink, and her heart tickled by such boldness.

How was she supposed to react to that?

Panicked, she looked away and stammered out a clumsy response.

"A-alright then, I'll be able to tell you're here whenever you next decide to venture to the forest," she said, taking a step back from him. Her eyes were still trained anywhere but his face.

"Again—you're on your own with finding what you're trying to find. Farewell."

And without waiting for him to reply, she phased into the tree she'd been leaning on and disappeared.

She made sure the flower came with her.

₊❏❜ ⋮ i'll chase you to the ends of the earth. ⚬𓂂

@dolasach

He is used to it; however, that didn't mean he accepted it.

Rafayel sighed as he let his head rest against his palm, the same thing being drilled into his mind by the endless sea of words spewing the history of Lemuria and the world on the surface repeated like a broken record from the elders. He seemed to be falling asleep and was immediately scolded for not paying attention.

Evidently, something came up that had the elders leave the vicinity for the time being and this served as an opportunity for Rafayel to escape. He had attempted in doing so a few times, but he was sure that this time he would be able to be successful. 

A blue fish swam around him and held his hand out, allowing the fish to swim over his palm. 

"Shall we head to the surface? It's a little boring right now and I'm tired of hearing the elders saying the same thing over and over again." 

The fish continued swimming over his palm before seemingly directing him toward an opening to which he was able to squeeze through. It was then he realized that he was out of the city walls of Whalefall City and was able to swim to the surface.

He thanked the fish before it disappeared back through the city walls and Rafayel didn't have to think twice as he turned away from Whalefall City to swim up to the surface; however, before he allowed himself to fully come out, he swam slowly as the damn words from the elders rang in his head. 

"The world on the surface is dangerous, even if those people worship our Sea God, there is a chance that someone will try to capture him."

"As the previous Lemurians have..." 

"Rafayel, you must never venture out to the surface world. Your people are here, that is all that should concern you." 

And the annoying part of all. "The Sea God will one day meet the Goddess of the Forest, and when that day comes, should he fall in love with her, it will be the beginning of the downfall of Lemuria."

Rafayel always thought it to be those stories to be something a parent would tell to their child to make them listen. And besides, Rafayel had always been, not only a rebellious soul, but one of sheer curiosity. 

Once he peeked out from the water, he spotted a woman by the shore. And he had seen a few other humans before, but something about her was different and he couldn't help but to swim towards the shore, closer to her. Who could she be? For some reason... he needed to know and while he doesn't know why he needs to, he simply just has to try; in a way, it felt as though there were residual feelings, feelings that weren't from him and that in itself baffled him.

So without thinking, his mouth opened to speak.

"Who might you be? You don't seem... human to me, although you do appear to be." He tilted his head briefly before letting out a laugh. "Ah, apologies. This is bold of me, I will admit."

"Already?"

Overwhelmed by both the eye contact and her own response, she looked away feeling a little embarrassed. What was that feeling? As if something reached out and grazed her heart with the gentlest touch?

"Time is what it is," she answered, huffing out a sigh. "And it seems that it's made it so that you wouldn't be able to accomplish everything you wanted to do today."

She couldn't tell how exactly she felt about it--or whether it was him or the question he'd asked that gave her an indescribable, tugging feeling in her gut.

How... Disconcerting.

She watched him as he occupied himself with his powers, fascinated by the display, though she found herself more drawn to the smile that lit up his features. For a moment, she tried to imagine if this was something that Eolchaire often experienced--trying to keep her eyes on one thing only to get distracted by the happy Sea God next to her.

Was fate playing a cruel game with them, trying to make an old story repeat itself once more with new characters?

It was hard to relax fully in Rafayel's presence. Part of her wanted to, because so far he'd proven himself to be more harmless than some of the humans she encountered. But knowing how things played out for the previous gods...

And now the Sea God had conjured up water animals of his own, too. Dolasach, not wanting to fall victim to whatever antics Rafayel had planned, watched the bird and fish closely and warily, convinced that he'd make them pop in her face. It would've been nice to be able to just enjoy their shenanigans.

"It was an accident with Caspian. If you try to do it to me on purpose, I'm summoning the wolves."

She continued watching the bird and the fish until Rafayel's gaze stole her attention. The question surprised her, but the shift from him simply walking into her forest uninvited to him actually asking her for permission coaxed another small smile out of her.

"If you'll make sure to bring gifts for whatever hunter animals you encounter, fine. You have my permission," she said. "The wolves will be hounding you until you give them the meat you owe, and you're on your own with finding the exact area where our predecessors met."

But then she paused, her smile fading as she thought over what Rafayel might be trying to do. Her own curiosity began to burn brighter than she'd expected it to.

"Do you really think Caspian left anything there?"

₊❏❜ ⋮ i'll chase you to the ends of the earth. ⚬𓂂

@dolasach

He is used to it; however, that didn't mean he accepted it.

Rafayel sighed as he let his head rest against his palm, the same thing being drilled into his mind by the endless sea of words spewing the history of Lemuria and the world on the surface repeated like a broken record from the elders. He seemed to be falling asleep and was immediately scolded for not paying attention.

Evidently, something came up that had the elders leave the vicinity for the time being and this served as an opportunity for Rafayel to escape. He had attempted in doing so a few times, but he was sure that this time he would be able to be successful. 

A blue fish swam around him and held his hand out, allowing the fish to swim over his palm. 

"Shall we head to the surface? It's a little boring right now and I'm tired of hearing the elders saying the same thing over and over again." 

The fish continued swimming over his palm before seemingly directing him toward an opening to which he was able to squeeze through. It was then he realized that he was out of the city walls of Whalefall City and was able to swim to the surface.

He thanked the fish before it disappeared back through the city walls and Rafayel didn't have to think twice as he turned away from Whalefall City to swim up to the surface; however, before he allowed himself to fully come out, he swam slowly as the damn words from the elders rang in his head. 

"The world on the surface is dangerous, even if those people worship our Sea God, there is a chance that someone will try to capture him."

"As the previous Lemurians have..." 

"Rafayel, you must never venture out to the surface world. Your people are here, that is all that should concern you." 

And the annoying part of all. "The Sea God will one day meet the Goddess of the Forest, and when that day comes, should he fall in love with her, it will be the beginning of the downfall of Lemuria."

Rafayel always thought it to be those stories to be something a parent would tell to their child to make them listen. And besides, Rafayel had always been, not only a rebellious soul, but one of sheer curiosity. 

Once he peeked out from the water, he spotted a woman by the shore. And he had seen a few other humans before, but something about her was different and he couldn't help but to swim towards the shore, closer to her. Who could she be? For some reason... he needed to know and while he doesn't know why he needs to, he simply just has to try; in a way, it felt as though there were residual feelings, feelings that weren't from him and that in itself baffled him.

So without thinking, his mouth opened to speak.

"Who might you be? You don't seem... human to me, although you do appear to be." He tilted his head briefly before letting out a laugh. "Ah, apologies. This is bold of me, I will admit."