Dolasach - Of Ivy & Seafoam

Between the realization that they’d both been given flashbacks to memories that weren’t theirs and the revelation that all this time, Caspian and Eolchaire had left something for them in her forest… Dolasach was stunned.

She stared at the seal, then back to Rafayel and the scroll. The parchment was familiar, extremely so—it was the same kind that Eolchaire had written all her times with. A growing suspicion—or perhaps, more aptly described, hope—made her move closer to Rafayel’s side to try and read what the parchment’s contents were. She doesn’t let go of his hand.

“Eolchaire… Left a message?”

Now that the seal Caspian made has been made visible, the text on the scroll itself became visible too. On the upper half was a language Dolasach couldn’t read that she quickly deduced was Lemurian; below that was a much more familiar language—that of the forest that Eolchaire wrote everything in. She noticed that there were Lemurian annotations and comments on Eolchaire’s half, and at another glance, she saw that she’d written some of her own on Caspian’s.

“They both left messages… And it looks like they wrote these together, too.”

Her voice trailed off, a certain ache letting itself be known in her chest. Even with just a quick skim through, she could tell that at least Eolchaire wrote her message expecting a certain outcome—that whatever happenedk to her would make the next Forest Goddess wary of the next Sea God.

One line immediately stood out to Dolasach: Give him a chance.

She looked up at Rafayel and tugged on his hand.

“Maybe… Maybe we should read this when we’re on solid ground,” she suggested, turning towards the riverbank. “Come on. I doubt the words will disappear if we walk away from the rock.”

₊❏❜ ⋮ 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."

The way he put his cool hand over hers both surprised and confused her, and the way he responded made her all the more curious as to what exactly Caspian wrote to him.

Warm and fuzzy? Did being up here on the surface for too long really start bringing him down with an illness?

Her brow furrowed some more as she gave the scroll one more glance. She pressed her hand to his forehead, then to his neck while using her other hand to compare her temperature to his. To her mild surprise, he was cooler than she expected him to be, even if he didn't have a fever.

This 'investigation' didn't teach her anything. And since she'd been so engrosses in reading Eolchaire's message, she'd missed every silent sign of Rafayel's growing affection and fondness for her, as well as his minor crisis regarding how he felt about her.

"Well... What did Caspian tell you?" She hestitantly responded to his question with another. Her eyes drifted back over to the scroll as she withdrew her hand.

"I can tell you what Eolchaire wrote for you," she offered, pointing to her annotations on Caspian's half. "They're all little messages encouraging you and her voicing her support."

Which still confused her. Though now that she'd read Eolchaire's half, it began to dawn on her that Caspian's message for Rafayel must be primarily him telling Rafayel to give her a chance as well.

And the thought began to make her cheeks flush pink, too.

₊❏❜ ⋮ 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."

will you meet me in the ancient trees,, ?