Uozu Buried Forest Museum

Uozu Buried Forest Museum

Dolasach had seen Eolchaire's regaling of the times Caspian would indulge her with walking on water. Such a feat was not completely foreign to her, and she'd always thought about how surreal it would be to tread across the surface of something that some part of her had always feared.

She held Rafayel's hand tightly as she let him guide her onto the water's surface. In the strangeness of actually being able to walk on something so unsolid, she kept her gaze down to watch herself. Each step she took made the water beneath her feel ripple, and she could still see the river bottom clearly below.

Beautiful... And surreal. Just like she imagined.

Once they reached the stone, she observed Rafayel curiously. Was he really expecting something to be here when not once had she ever sensed anything off or different about this place in all her times visiting it?

"Rafayel, I don't think--"

But then she took was hit with the briefest flash of memory. As she looked down at him, suddenly, he looked... Off. He was still in elaborate godly attire, but it was... Different. His hair was different too, then when he looked back at her, for a moment it was someone else's face. Sharper features, a different kind of mirth--

"Caspian?"

She blinked and was immediately brought back to reality in time to witness the scroll materialize behind him. Instinctively, she knew right away what it was and grabbed it before it could have even the barest chance of falling into the water. Once it was in her hands, all she could do... Was stare at it.

"... This... I didn't... I never..."

₊❏❜ ⋮ 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."

In an Irish House, 1988

Detail – Mother of Pearl Box by Gregory Schultz Via Flickr: Korean Box 1550 – 1650 laquered wood with inlaid mother of pearl Taken at the Asian Museum of Art, San Francisco

Fatal Frame (2014)

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."