Can You Hold This For Me? *gives You My Heavy Heart*

can you hold this for me? *gives you my heavy heart*

“Hmph.”

Though she could tell he’s only teasing, she responded to him with a slight pout and a look away.

But that was likely the more fortunate option for him, because it kept her from seeing how he seemed soothed by her touch, and let him lean ever so slightly into her hand without her seeing whatever tenderness seeped into his features.

For better or for worse, she saw a little less of how much of an effect she had on the God of the Tides.

She turned to him again when he cleared his throat and listened closely to his answer. On one hand, she could tell that he was still giving a less revealing answer to preserve a bit of his own dignity, but in the other… Considering how Caspian was encouraging him to be patient, while Eolchaire encouraged her to give him a chance, it wasn’t too hard to figure out what the old Sea God told his predecessor.

But she still felt a little frustrated when Rafayel cut himself off. The nerve, right as he was about to say something juicy! Still, she kept herself calm and composed, focusing on the bigger picture.

“It’s a relief to have it confirmed that they did this purely out of their own volition,” she quietly commented. Though she didn’t like the the fact that Caspian had to go through this much effort to leave him something that the elders would never have the chance to mess with…

She perked up once Rafayel began explaining what Caspian had written down on Eolchaire’s half, but very quickly grew shy and a little embarrassed at how Caspian basically outed what Eolchaire wrote for her. Dolasach quietly cursed the old Sea God, because at least Eolchaire made the effort of making her comments more vague.

Rafayel’s teasing and gentle touch did absolutely nothing to help calm her down, and her face grew even redder right under his fingers. She huffed out her fluster and frustration and grabbed his wrist; she couldn’t maintain eye contact with him either, those sunset eyes proving far too overwhelming to stare into.

“I’m fine,” she managed to force out. She began to fan her face with her hand.

“Anyway, yes, Eolchaire did write to encourage me to try and give you a chance. A chance to—ah, nevermind. It’ll be revealed in due time.”

She narrowed her eyes at him before sighing.

"... To elaborate a little more, she rightfully anticipated that I’d be wary of you once we had the chance to meet, and that despite that, I shouldn’t immediately shut you out. That’s the chance she meant.”

“Of course,” she continued, her walls building up again now that she felt a little too exposed. “The chance I’m currently giving you hinges upon you remaining honest and sincere with me. If I sense I’m being made into a fool, you’re never setting foot in this forest again even if you still haven’t found everything Caspian left you.”

₊❏❜ ⋮ 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."

“We often forget that we are nature. Nature is not something separate from us. So when we say that we have lost our connection to nature, we’ve lost our connection to ourselves.” Andy Goldsworthy is a land artist and photographer renowned for his ephemeral, site-specific installations made from natural materials such as ice, rocks, sand, and branches. Created with an acute awareness of the landscape’s inherent changes, his sculptures intentionally blur the lines between art and nature. Andy’s transient works are photographed only once, right after they’re created, and explore the passage of time and our relationship with nature, emphasising the impermanence of life and the continuous interplay between human creativity and the natural world.

Our soul touched... Now, I'm partly responsible for your life.