Despite the normal lack of emotion that graced Lucielle's demeanor, she felt her eyes grow wide at the sudden change in pace of the boy's words. He was excited; even she could tell that. She had seen this excitement before during her time in Suishō no Kyūden. The followers of the Northern light would appear with a smile touching their lips and leave with an even wider one. She had heard from these followers that the god had gained a great deal of love from the people of this realm, but this merman was the first one that she had met outside of the gods crystalline domain.

She paused for a minute; letting her thoughts settle before curling her lips into a smile. Happiness was one of the few emotions that she had learned how to control to some degree in the time since her first days here. It was the one emotion that she had actually began to seek out unsolicited. It was something warm. Something familiar.

"Well," she began with a soft inhale, "I do know the Northern Light. He was the one that taught me to appreciate my own light; and even how to control aspects of it." As if on queue, a soft glow touched her skin; as warm as the emotion that summoned it.

"He is kind. Quite kind. Almost as though he is a part of your family. He is to me, what I assume other people see their older brother's to be. An inspiration. A protector. And a teacher. I am sure that you would love him as so many of us do." Her smile softened gradually; not so much falling, but fading. Her emotions, while strong, were still somewhat feeling. Though the glow still wisped through her aura.

"Yes," she began again; her tone flat once more, "I would be happy to show you the way to his temple. I know the path fairly well. Though I generally travel through the power of the gods." She motioned to her satchel and the orb of swirling light that sat nestled inside it. The god items that were given this past winter had made her life a great deal easier in the way of travelling, but they only really allowed for one passenger at a time.

"I will do my best to recall the landmarks and maps that I have read to ensure the fastest route to Suishō no Kyūden." She paused; finding a twinge of pride in finally pronouncing the name of the temple correctly, "However, if I may ask, how do you travel? I mean, since there is not a safe waterway that leads to his temple. Are you able to walk, or do you require a kind of flying spell?"

As the girl spoke, Kuval felt his expression grow brighter. It was a blessing, a miracle, that he’d run across her. He’d been trying in vain to find his way, but it would be so much easier with a guide! The brightest of smiles stayed on his lips as she spoke.

It was finally going to happen. He was finally going to meet Natoa, led there by one of his own angels in the water. It was like it was meant to be… Like something had sought him out in his own space to tell him it was time, at last!, it was time.

“I have a map,” he spoke up, an attempt at being helpful, “And I have a Guiding Light…! But I’m not entirely sure how to use it… It’d be a lot easier if I could have figured that out.”

All of his previous fear seemed to have washed away, dropped like a stone to the bottom of the lake, forgotten. She was one of his. Surely she was good… He hoped. Either way, the thoughts were long gone as he spoke again simply, “I can be human enough.”

For a moment, a sadness washed over him. Something that suddenly struck him, that he wished to ask Naota about… but he shook it away for now, focusing instead on the journey at hand. Smiling again, he continued, “How long do you think it’ll take us to get there??”

"The guiding light could be quite useful. I was, unfortunately, not able to get craft one during Naota's time. Though the renewal was not without fruits." She spoke directly; trying to make decisions that were good for the both of the. She had heard of the power of the guiding light, but never expected that she would be in need of one; what with the ripid fire magick that she already held in the items on hand.

"And of course, if the item doesn't work for us we can simply use the map." She was excited to see that she would have a comrad in her travels. It had been quite some time since she had left the gem strewn temple and she was no longer well versed in the skills that it took to be alone with no incident. Kuval, however, seemed to understand the risks of travel and, judging from the fact that he had made it to this lake unscathed, he was more than able to defend himself.

Her mind ran over the possibilities in the moments before she spoke again. This was what was best, right? She was notorious for making incorrect or unhealthy decisions. Would this be one that would be celebrated at the time of their arrival, or would the god Naota be stuck correcting her mess.

Guilt and doubt were two other emotions that she had rapidly tried to get ahold of. Not because she wanted to, but because it was dangerous. If she ended up struggling through the emotions with no preparation, who knows what kind of power could have burst from her? Especially since they had been growing more and more pointed. That being said, she had them under control. She simply disliked having to process them.

"Most of the god items that I have seen are activated by the users intention. For instance, the Globe of the Northern Lights determines it's activation by your desire and mental picture of a specific place." She tried her best to explain the process without sounding pious. It has not been too long ago that she had been staring at the items with glazed over eyes.

"Better yet, do you happen to know any magick? You may be able to activate the light through your normal processes. Either way, I would say it should take no more than a few days on foot," she guessed with as much confidence as she could muster.

She wanted, more than she was willing to admit to herself, to know more about the race from which this being was born. But the fact that he seemingly tensed up when she asked before, she had no choice but to hope that he would end up trusting her enough to share. And in her experience, confidence, even if it was fleeting and somewhat ill placed, lead to some level of trust.

Though his excitement wanted nothing more than to start the journey now, Kuval tried to contain himself. After all, not everyone was as instantly ready as he. In fact, he’d learned that most weren’t always up for the jump as he was and maybe it was that which broke so many of his friendships. Hard to have friends when you’re constantly moving or putting yourself in danger.

Again, for just a moment, his mind went to the witch and the results of their last visit. Aside from Misu, Dorian was the only other creature that the Syreni really thought of as a friend… but that relationship was complicated, to say the very least, and right now wasn’t the time to go thinking on it… again.

With a sigh, Kuval shook his head, “I don’t know any magick. Not intentionally, anyways. Sometimes I can do stuff without thought, but I don’t know if it’s magick or just something I happen to be born with? It’s kinda confusing when I try to think of it from human eyes.”

Maybe it was an attempt to keep himself from trying to make her move, but Kuval turned and pulled himself up onto one of the nearby lily pads with a sigh. Though this pad was said to easily hold a human, he wasn’t so sure if it would has him in this form… but he wasn’t ready to change yet. As he stretched out on the soft warmth of the large leaf, he let himself revel in his primitive body before their journey began. The humans seemed to like his other form more, with its tightness and muscles and, well, that extra appendage he didn’t possess here… but he liked this one. It was comfortable, with its warmth offering rolls and movement forgiving skin.

The sun beat down on his tail, fins still lightly toying with the water like an oar off the edge of a boat. He liked, too, how the rays changed the colors of his scales. They were beautiful like this, he thought, shimmering and bright. Though his skin had darkened from exposure, he felt his tail had never been so beautifully bright. The shades of lapis shifted and changed, offering lighter tones that changed every time he moved.

Yes, even out of the water he still preferred this form… Most of the time.

“So tell me, Lucielle, what brought you all the way out here anyways? I don’t imagine you came to this lake in particular to almost drown,” he said with a small smile, crossing his arms underneath his head leisurely, but he didn’t close his eyes. No, best to be careful right now, just in case there was anyone else around that may want him. He really should change, he knew, but not yet…

He didn't know magick? She wasn't sure why that confused her so much. It wasn't all that long ago that she was left with no trigger to her own light. But for someone like him, a creature that had to have been born of magick, to not have a grasp of the power was something of an anomaly. Then again, most of the beings that she had any significant contact with had been creature of magick that actually practiced the skill.

She knew very little this Kuval. She didn't know if had tried to use his magick, which she was sure had to glimmer somewhere within him. Perhaps he had other skills that he was able to protect himself with. Her magick had been a defense mechanism. He memory shot back to the ease with which he had lifted her from the water. He was definitely strong. She supposed that could be the strength that he used to survive.

As he moved up on his own lily pad, her eyes could not help but to fall to the cascade of scales that adorned his bottom half. Out of the water, it was even more beautiful than she had assumed before. Part of her had thought that the flashes of blue that she had seen during the rescue were nothing more than after effects of her light burst, but seeing him like this she definitely had a different understanding of what had happened.

He definitely had the capability for magick. There was no way that a creature could be born of such beauty and not have other gifts.

"Well, like I said before, I wanted to adventure. This realm wasn't immediately kind to me during my first days here and I, unfortunately, secluded myself due to this fact. After spending some time under protection and growing my own durability, I figured it was worth giving it another shot."

It was a shortened form of what had actually driven to her to this point. In all reality, she felt as though she needed to see more of this world before really settling in anywhere. In her days with Naota, she had found a place that she wanted to call home. A place that she wanted to bring people to. Perhaps even join the clergy of light. But before she committed to anything, she felt as though she owed herself this.

"I chose the lake," she continued, "because one of the worshipers at the temple mentioned how beautiful it was. And despite my aversion to the element, I wanted to the see the water here. And now I have." Her eyes rested on him for a moment, the azure hues of her new companions scales grasping her attention more readily than she was prepared for.

"Anyway," she began again; Kuval's sapphire tail reminding her of her previous thoughts. "If you would like, I may be able to show you how to use some basic magick. Just enough to activate the guiding light if need be."