The lake was beautiful and more wondrous than she had ever expected of a place so easily accessed. LIght shone off the surface with such grace and, just for a moment, she felt at home; at peace. This was one of those moments where, had she the capability, she would have been in true awe of the realm in which she now resided; of the nature that thrived here.

It was always this nature that drew her attention the most; it was a power that had not been familiar to her before her existence in this realm. For a moment, her thoughts shot to the light of the god Naota. He had been so familiar to her, somehow linked to the past that she knew so little of. But he was nothing like the life that sprung from the land here, yet somehow just as powerful.

Lucielle pulled her hair back into a loose bun; a style that she shared with the world very rarely. The light shone white from the highlights in her hair and if passerbys, had there been any, could have sworn that they saw a smile. She was in her element; light and slowly, but surely, she began to glow. In her time with the god Naota she had come to realize that this was simply her casting protect; though it was somewhat uncontrollable whenever an emotion crept into her heart. Even something as simple as true contentment.

She removed her shoes and dipped her feet into the edge of the water. The Lake’s waters were cold, but so soothing. It had been quite the long walk to get her to this place, and her feet were definitely telling the tale.

She looked around a few times before shrugging off her cloak and sliding into the water, making sure to keep her feet on the bottom of the lake; common sense ringing true for a change. She was not well versed in the ways of swimming.

She allowed herself to sink deeper into the water, letting it flow over her shoulders and cover her ears to bring quiet upon her. Everything was silent. Peaceful. It was a complete calm in the chaos of this world, a calm that she found herself needing more and more as time went on. This realm, as wonderful and powerful as it was, took a great deal of endurance to survive in.

Her lilac eyes fell closed in the light of the sun as the warmth of her own light grew stronger. She was weightless in the water and the void where her memories once lived began to ache. There was something familiar about this. Something that made her feel even more at home. Something that let her escape from everything at least for a moment.

SPLASH!

The girls eyes flew open at the sound and for a moment the shield that was around her ran the risk of being used, but the glimpse of a fish escaping the ripple in the glasslike surface of the water put her at ease. For a moment.

All at once she realized that she had drifted away from her safety zone; nearly 20 yards from the shore. How had this happened? Had a moment of freedom just landed her in more trouble?

Panic surrounded her and her light began to change; growing more aggressive with her emotion.

Her head bobbed under the water and her breath escaped her. This was drowning. This was what the people at the temple had warned her about. Though they had spoken to her as though she were a child that they had to remind to put on a shroud if it was cold outside. She had expected it to be hard to be put in this position; something that she never thought she could have simply stumbled into.

”Help,” she said as her head popped above the surface; her voice still flat and emotionless.

She needed help, but how would she be able to communicate this need properly? Emotions, worry, tone, yelling. None of them were her forte, and if there was ever a moment where she needed the skills, it would be now as her chest began to ache and her limbs became more frantic in their fight against the water.

”Please help,” she said a bit louder as she breached the surface once more. The depths pulled her under again before she was able to gain a full breath.

Is this how her time in this realm would end? All her items of the gods were too far from her touch; resting snuggly in her shroud. Her light, or magick as this realm called it, was too weak and unrelated to help her out of this bind. This is how she would end. Where would she go? Would she fall to another realm, or would she be gone forever?

For the first time, fear touched her heart. True fear. The fear of death.

She moved above the surface one last time and her voice finally found resonance.

”HELP ME!!!!”

Her light, having changed completely now, burst from her body; sending beams of light into the depths of the lake and into the sky above.

It wouldn’t help her, as powerful as it may be. She was lost to the water. And still sinking.

It was at the bottom of the lake that he finally found darkness, cold. This land was unlike any he’d seen yet, wrapped in eternal autumn. It was cool, bearable, but it was the water that called to him. Though he hadn’t been too far from the ocean, only a few days from the last time he’d touched, it still felt an eternity.

The dryness, the tightness of his skin had become almost agonizing until he stumbled across this paradise. Instantly he’d discarded it all, robes and staff and anything cumbersome, and plunged into the water. With the first intake of water to his lungs, his body began to shift into its rightful shape. The rigidity eased, gently expanding to add the weight required for much needed warmth. The remaining legs had kicked once, twice, before the familiar sensation of the scales spread. The shimmering lapis pieces interwove together like the tiles of a well shingled roof, encasing his lower half protectively into a single beautiful tail.

And here, in this form, with his back pressed to the mud at the bottom of the lake, is where he first saw the light. He’d noticed the girl before, in part. The ripples the came from her. The way the creatures beneath moved curiously close and then rapidly away again. He hadn’t thought much of it. She wasn’t the first human to rest in the waters since he’d arrived, and she surely wouldn’t be the last. He’d let it go, closed his eyes, and went back to his rest.

Then the light came. The quick piercing light through the darkness of his water, casting down against his face. His dark eyes opened in a narrow against it, transfixed on her form in thought. She’d spoken first, above water, muffled. He couldn’t hear it. Maybe she was calling to someone on land, he thought… but then she started to move more, her voice rose louder still. Though it seemed to take her a moment, there was obvious panic starting in. This he recognized well.

She was trying not to drown. He’d seen many humans succumb to the waters, but none in something so peaceful as a lake. Then you add to the fact that she was alive with the light all her own… How odd, he thought. His head tilted for just a moment as he considered this strange feat, but then it struck him.

This, of course, would kill the human.

Quickly Kuval whipped upward, casting the earth away with the shock of his movement; a ripple to the earth itself. Upward he rocketed, white hair cast behind, until finally he was under her. He stretched out his arms and leveled them under her form, carefully and easily lifting her to the surface of the water as he urged them up.

The pale locks of his hair clung to his rounded cheeks, making the shock of dark blue eyes all the more startling in contrast. He transfixed her with a curious stare as he held her there and, in as soothing a voice as he could manage, he spoke, “Whoa, whoah, hey… I got you…”

With that, he attempted a reassuring smile, lips tight to mask the occasional points of sharp teeth fixed into an otherwise human looking set. As if the smile was the most startling thing he’d done in the past few seconds and not emerging from the darkness of the lake beneath her.

“No more screaming; you’re scaring the fish…”

It was a blur of panic and blue and light. It had all happened so fast, even for someone like her who was able to slow down the most minute moment to create a thesis of wonder. She had been sure that the water would fill her; destroy her. She had known beyond a shadow of doubt, that she would be one of the cautionary tales, but then he was there.

Her arms gripped around her shoulders as she took her first full breath. It was a relief. Such a relief. In fact, had she the ability, she would have broken down into tears at the relief. She was alive after all. This man, she assumed by the voice, had chosen to save her life. People of this realm never ceased to amaze her.

She finally leaned back to see her rescuer; her lavender eyes studying him quickly. Her face was void of emotion, but she was certain that one may have seen a glimmer of thanks in her eye; or as close to that feeling that someone like her could get.

"Thank you," she mumbled as she leaned forward again; shifting her weight to keep them in balance.

It was an odd situation. She had very few instances with people of this realm in which she had to thank them. In fact, the last time that she had rested in water like this had ended quite differently. It was true that the god Naota had been able elicit thanks from her, but he somehow knew what emotion she was searching for before she was even able to remember the name of the feeling. But he was an anomyly. Maybe he just understood her light.

"Swimming isn't in my book of skills. I appreciate the assistance." Her voice was flatter this time; calmer. She wanted to make sure that her savior knew that wasn't some fool that skidded into something that she was not able to handle; though that was, if she were truly honest with herself, exactly what happened.

"I had only wanted to feel the cool water. It seemed like it would have been nice. I-" she paused for a moment; trying to find the words. "I thought that i was about to die. And you saved me. I believe that is enough precursor for me to ask your name."

She was switching subjects rapidly, and not very well. It was a habit that she had picked up from people in this realm. A habit that could certainly help her avoid facing her own foolish decisions.

Kuval’s tail moved fluidly beneath the surface of the water, ensuring they stayed above it with ease. Truth be told, the girl was light to him and it wasn’t a difficult task. He felt her arms wrap around his shoulders and heard a familiar voice in the back of his head remind him how vulnerable he could sometimes let himself be.

Still, her fear felt honest enough, however fleeting it may be. He gently locked his arms more around her, trying to assure her that they were safe no matter what shifting she felt she needed to do. They weren’t going under.

“You don’t have to thank me,” he said dismissively, ignoring the soft nips of fish below the surface. It felt like a tease. They were playing with him, teasing him for saving the human. He dismissed with with a swish of his fin and spoke again, “Swimming lessons might be in order though, I’d say. Lots of water between those big stretches of land. Especially if you have a tendency of ‘dipping your toes’.”

That being said, he started to gently move them forward in the water. In the distance, he’d seen the large lily pads from under the water. It seemed a good place to rest her down to catch her breath. He’d been curious about sun bathing on one himself, but simply got lost to the coolness of the water.

“My name’s Kuval,” he told her simply, attempting to blow a water logged lock of hair from his face. It remained unmoved against his dark eyes, “And yours?”

The beings strength was sound enough; proven in the small measures that were necessary for him to keep them steady. For the first time, she let herself actually look at him. He was very different than anything she had seen in this realm thus far; not that she seen a particularly large amount of creatures. The bottom half of the being moved as a fish, but with so much purpose.

What was he?

Her mind was only able to search the texts of her memory for a moment before she registered his words,

”You are correct. There is a great deal of water in this land, but for some reason the element is not a fan of me. However, you are incorrect in your thinking that I do not have to thank you. This water would have taken my life if you had not intervened.”

She glanced back at the water, her eyes squinting only slightly. Some, had they really been able to observe the face, would have believed it to be the precursor to anger. As they moved into the sun more, however, she found herself lighten as the burden of a budding emotion returned from whence it came.

”Hello Kuval. My name is Lucielle de Olapireta. It is a pleasure to meet you. Also, and forgive me for my forwardness, but may I ask what you are?” She motioned to his fin tail. She was sure that he would know what she was referring to, but thought it important to point the statement a bit.

She was curious, and not ashamed; as one could tell by the absence of her glow. However, she knew enough about this world to know that some things needed to be said directly, but with softness. Though she was realizing now, too late, that the softness may not have been very prominent.

Mental note. Make sure to lighten your statements. She would crack this code one day…

As they approached the giant pads, Kuval tried to figure out how he kept letting himself get in these positions. He knew, very prominently new, that his people were sought after. Their scales alone sold at a high price and, honestly, he’d used the ‘rarity’ of his own features for gain more than once. Still, if he was captured or killed the fun would be over.

That being said, he was currently in his primitive form and there didn’t seem a point to trying to pretend he wasn’t. Instead he just smiled proudly and spoke in an unguarded tone. Worse came to worse, he could always go back to letting her drown.

“I’m Syreni,” he answered and then, thinking better of it, found the human word to offer instead, “A merman.”

Gently he moved the girl up onto the pad, cautiously to ensure that it would support her as he thought. He was grateful to realize that it was more than willing to hold her small frame. With her there, he stayed in the water and crossed his arms on the top of the plant, “You should really be more careful. I’m surprised you don’t know how to swim. Shouldn’t everyone?”

He said it simply. For a moment he thought maybe the same should be said of his people, but then it’s not often you find his own kind falling into land. Likewise, most didn’t seem as called to it as humans seemed to be to the water.

“I won’t always be here to save you,” he teased, smiling a bit for her again.

A merman? What was that? She could decipher from context that it was someone that was part man, part fish. Well, part mer, but that didn’t make sense, so fish it was. In her time in this realm, she had read about a great deal of creatures, and even had some second hand stories about run ins with these creatures. Werewolves, vampires, demons, even angels were among the throng of stories, but never a merman.

Her eyes studied him, unwavering, as he moved her to one of the giant lily pads adorning the surface of the water. He wasn’t emanating anything that was threatening to her existence, but there was a light to him. A magick scent that her nose could decipher; even above the smell of the lake. He was a creature of magick; he had to be. She would have to remember to read up on this race whenever she returned to the library.

”I suppose,” she began with her normal emotionless tone, ”but I actually do not frequent bodies of water much anymore. They seem to something of a weak spot in my life. But I suppose not everyone has to have an affinity to every element.” She spoke flatly, but held a twinge of embarrassment in her light. She should know how to swim, but she didn’t. She couldn’t. The water was nothing but an entity that tried to swallow her up every time she touched it. It was an odd reality.

Had she the capability, she would have smiled at his teasing.

”I suppose that is true. You were definitely here at the right time. Though I am sure your presence alone was not what prompted you save me.”

He seemed like a happy person; one who actually understood the emotion. Perhaps he was truly kind. Maybe this was why he had helped her when he did not have to. He was her opposite in that, and made him all the more interesting. Were these creatures from which Kuval was born water bound? Could they gate travel from water to water? What abilities did their blood bore into them?

The questions were endless. But, finally, she settled on just one.

”But what does bring you to this part of the land? I would assume one such as you would prefer larger bodies of water.”

It was an attempt to be kind, or at least a mimic of actions that this realm considered to be kind, but really she was more curious than anything.

“Alright,” Kuval said finally. With one hand, he pushed a mass of white hair from his face again and continued, “Just be extra careful, I suppose.”

As he stayed still, resting his chin down on folded arms, he searched her features. It was interesting, to meet one so… what was the word? Flat? Surely she had emotion within her, but everything she said seemed calm and premeditated. He wondered how it was exactly. Could she not feel emotions? Or did they have to be at an extreme to be actualized? Or was it simply that she masked them, guarding herself away from that honesty?

Despite this, he could see an almost curiosity in her eyes. It was a look he’d grown to recognize. One that brought caution. This wasn’t exactly a good place for him to be cornered. The waters did have an outlet to the ocean, but getting there could easily present a problem. Even if he went at full speed, a few humans or a large cart thrown in the pathway could easily bar his escape.

But the question was already there, the moment was already happening, and Kuval was never really one to stray away from danger. It was a fact that often got him into trouble. Trouble much, much worse than this.

“You dip your toes in deadly water,” he answered slyly, “Why should I not do the same with land? It’s an interesting thing, isn’t it? A draw to the unknown. Sometimes we just want things that maybe we were never meant to or should have. I may be the depths, but my heart is just as strong as any humans’.

“We’re pretty far out though. Are you headed anywhere in particular, or just passing through? I’m building up for a bigger journey. Soaking it all in now.”

He became only more curious to her as he spoke. For the life of her, she could not figure out the lasting concern for her safety. She had sank, but she was better now, was she not? Perhaps she seemed more fragile in her current state than she had intended. She was already thin, which was something that the people of this realm could easily read as a sign of weakness, and the wet heavy clothes that clung to her now did her no favors.

She began letting her hair down as he issued his last warning of the water. At some point in her time here her hair had become a bit of security measure. It was not that she was uncomfortable with hair up, but she was marginally less uncomfortable with it down, and she had to take what she could get.

Her lilac eyes fell back on Kuval as he spoke about his reasons for being here. Why did he seem suddenly so guarded? Almost on the offensive? Was that what this response was? Then again, it could easily be her misreading the situation; it would not be the first time that she thought someone malicious when they were really just trying to keep an air of mystery about them.

"I apologize if I offended. Sometimes my curiosity gets away from me. There is just so little of this realm that I understand." Though her face kept the usual features about them, her eyes fell to her lap in her own version of an apology.

"I'm adventuring. That's why I'm here anyway," she began, "More accurately, I am doing my best to try to adventure. Like I said, there's not a lot that I know about things here, and since I have spent some time training with the god Naota, I felt that I was finally able enough to try to see new things in this world."

Rambling. It was a habit that she disliked to some degree, but one that she had picked up nonetheless. When she was on the receiving end it seemed like such a redirect. As though the person really didn't care what she was talking about. She couldn't help but wonder if it came off that way to others too.

"I apologize if I speak too much. It tends to happen when I first meet new people," she added; more for his comfort than hers. She knew she was able to cover a variety of topics very quickly, but that was not the case with the majority of beings here. The least she could do would be to acknowledge the action and attempt to slow it down long enough to figure out if Kuval was one of the select few that could keep up with the birdlike bouncing of her thoughts.

Truth be told, there were many things that were lost on Kuval in the moment, though he would have had much to say about it. Adventuring, yes. That was something he himself was in the process of doing, well, basically always. The journey for adventure was a never ending one.

It was this desire that had led him to so many places, and people. Briefly his mind had wandered to the witch and their time together… but no, now wasn’t the time to get lost in these thoughts. It seemed too easy sometimes. This woman here seemed one after his own heart, but those words didn’t leave his lips either.

No, he was entirely lost the moment he heard of her time with the god, Naota. His eyes flickered open wider and he straightened up, suddenly focused and intent on that thought alone. In fact, all words spoken after that were completely given to the lake without regard.

“Y-You know Naota…?” He asked, almost reverently, “You’ve trained with him?? I’ve been trying to find his temple! Can you show me? I think I came up on the wrong side, didn’t I? Oh please show me! O-Or point me in the right direction?

“What’s he like?” Kuval continued without thought, finding himself rambling. It was a rarity for him, really. Though he spoke casually, it wasn’t usually quickly or without thought… but it was Naota who had encouraged him out of the ocean itself and he still hadn’t seen him! “Is he as kind as they say…??”