adelphoi | (no subject)

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[ the surface is a perilous place, forbidden by her peoples, and not without reason. theirs is an ancient colony, hunted near to extinction and so to preserve the whole they must take care. it has been many generations since last they interacted with the land creatures in any formal capacity, commerce and communion with mankind strictly forbidden since time immemorial. so much time has passed that more than like they have become myth to any who do not know the secret of their existence, and that is just as they prefer it. long lived as they are, new births are rare and come slowly; it will be millennia yet still to replenish their numbers to what they once were.

but alisaie has ever had a taste for the forbidden, a curiosity for the unknown, and a fierce wanderlust. she loves her peoples and her home but it is not enough, it shall never be enough, and as she grows and comes of age she is more and more dissatisfied.

they cannot stop her visiting the surface. theirs are a free people, and the sea is vast, parties of hunters and workers always coming and going. no one tracks her, and she says nothing of her visits above, of how she peers at passing ships and lays on warm rocks beneath the sun to watch the waves roll over the shoreline. she does not fear mankind perhaps as she should, and the more she quietly, secretly observes them, the more assured she becomes of their goodness. their behavior is not so different from her own, from what little she can glean from the lives of the sailors she watches - they laugh and love and suffer and work together, and they build such strange, incredible things..

she has watched this ship for several days, following its path, blending with pods of dolphins to swim near the surface during the day, risking more under cover of dark, when she peers through the portholes and listens to their voices on deck. their language is foreign to her, but the tones of their words speak plenty, their expressions easy to read. it's a small group of men, few, but perhaps they are brothers, for how fondly they seem to behave toward one another, laughing and sharing food, roughhousing playfully, the small, fair-haired one especially, who seems always to be smiling about something.

storms at sea are common and set in quickly, often with little warning. it's late in the night when it hits, stirring alisaie from her doze nearby, the crack and groan of wood cutting sharply through the water, the shouts of human voices muffled, but discernible to her keen ears.

alisaie is off like a shot, darting through the waters toward the source, but there is little enough to be done - the ship is split asunder before she can even reach it, and her heart sinks for those on board; the sea is no place for man, who braves much to sail her waters. they have paid the price. ]

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[ It's been a few weeks now since Prompto had rescued Alisaie from the lab. At first, he'd been tense, having to lie through police reports about what happened that day at the lab, and cover his tracks in case anyone caught his trail. Fortunately, being somewhat well known for being a friend of the prince cast him in a friendlier light than he otherwise may have been, and so the detectives don't seem to consider him a suspect for the so-called arson. If it even was arson - there are too many rumors afoot and investigations into the lab have concerned more than just the fire and missing mermaid. Prompto can only hope the notoriety might save any other creatures in that place that have been treated inhumanely.

He keeps to his normal routines as much as he can, to not give any of his coworkers or neighbors the impression that anything has changed about him, and if he stays in more often than he used to, he can use the excuse of the fire to suggest that he needed some time to himself. But of course, really, it's so he can spend extra time with a mermaid.

It still seems unreal, even though he greets her every morning, bringing her fish for breakfast before he leaves for the day, along with some knick-knacks and photographs and picture books to keep her occupied. It isn't enough, and he wishes he could do more to keep her company, but this will have to do for now. At least he spends nearly all his time with her once he returns home from work, learning to communicate with her and seeing more and more of her smile day by day.

Perhaps at first...he sees a little too much of her, as it quickly becomes apparent that he can no longer use his bathroom on his own. The notion of privacy is difficult to communicate, but he tries his best, showering in his underwear and invoking use of the curtain when using the toilet, but there's no doubt she's certainly seen...more of him than he would necessarily like. But to be fair, she's basically naked all the time, so, whatever.

Still, between the lack of privacy and the size of the tub, he upgrades her lodgings soon enough, procuring an inflatable pool and setting it up right in the middle of his living room. His apartment is not large, and the pool takes up a considerable amount of space, but it's worth it, to get her a better chance to swim around. It isn't much, but it's better, and baby steps are all they can ask for right now.

This particular evening finds Prompto perched on the couch, eating some pizza while Alisaie chows down on some fish, a slide projector aimed at the wall from the end table next to him. Prompto narrates what's on the slides, explaining to Alisaie as best he can what it is, attempting to teach her as many words as he can in the process. He wears a soft, warm smile, because for how chaotic and stressful these last few weeks have been, there's also been something...pleasant about them. Something he can't quite put his finger on, but he enjoys this time they spend together, and he hurries home not only for her benefit, but for his own, as well. Even after everything that's happened, he is still is enamored with this mysterious mermaid girl, and he can only call it fate that has brought them together again like this.

He gesture to the slide with his slice of pizza. ]

Those're dogs. Pretty cute, right? Fluffy, like to play ball, jump around a lot...I wanted to have one here, buuut my landlord told me I couldn't have a pet.

[ He never said no mermaids, though!! ]

[ it has not been an easy time. though she would take this over her previous dilemma without a doubt, it is still not so easy to feel so cramped, so restricted, however necessary it might be. she is growing stronger by the day, bouncing quickly back from her ordeal, and while she cannot wait to return home and stretch her aching fins she is.. enjoying herself.

prompto is a good man, and it had not taken her long to truly accept that, to allow herself to believe that she had not been wrong, that his warmth and kindness are genuine. she looks forward to seeing him every day, and while her situation is in no way comfortable, she is learning so many fascinating things, and he takes care of her as best as he can while she convalesces. soon enough she will be strong enough to return to the sea.

but until then, his company is thrilling, even if he is a little.. strange. the concept of modesty is entirely foreign to her, for her life she cannot understand why he balks when she touches him, or shies away when he disrobes - why does he wear all of that stuff anyway? isn't it annoying? restrictive? gods, it would drive her mad.

anyway, she is licking her fingers clean when the slide jumps to another animal, a very furry one that looks quite jolly. she has seen land mammals before, during her taboo visits to the surface, and now and then when a corpse has sunk to the depths, but she has not seen one of these. dog. it's so adorable.. alisaie folds her arms over the edge of the pool and leans closer, resting her chin against her wrist. ]

.. cute.

[ Prompto grins at her reaction to the dog. They've done enough of these exchanges by now that he's started to cotton on to the things that she likes and dislikes, and she certainly seemed to have a soft spot for cute animals. Who doesn't? Maybe one day he can sneak a dog up here for her to meet...after sneaking a mermaid into his apartment, a dog should be easy! ]

Yeah, exactly! [ He chuckles warmly, switching to a slide of a dog playing ball with a child. ] They're good friends, too. Some of the best friends you can have.

[ He looks at her thoughtfully a moment, before asking: ]

Did you...have friends in the ocean, Alisaie?

[ She must have, right? She couldn't be the only one of her kind, and while he is loath to bring up a sensitive subject, he is endlessly curious about what her life was like beneath the waves, beyond this world that he knows. ]

[ it has not been easy to learn to communicate with one another in more than simple, basic ways, but they have come a long way. prompto is patient, and alisaie is smart, and though she cannot speak his language very well, she can understand it decently enough. it's always easier to hear a new language than to learn to speak it yourself.

after a thoughtful moment, she shakes her head. ]

No.

[ how to explain..? certainly the idea of friendship isn't foreign to her, but alisaie had not really.. had friends, to speak of, only - she furrows her brow, gesturing. ]

.. family.

Family...

[ There's so much more he wants to know about her world that he's afraid to ask, like if their society was organized in a similar way to his own, or where they lived, if they went to school, if they fell in love...but even if he could figure out how to communicate those questions to her correctly, it felt too much like prying to ask. He didn't want to make her any more homesick than she already is, so his questions come infrequently, and hopefully she won't feel threatened by them. He really does just want to know more about her.

Not that she has given him any reason to think she doesn't trust him. Not since that first day of her freedom, when she had nearly choked him to death. How...different she seems now. Perhaps not entirely comfortable, but...far more relaxed. There is an odd, enjoyable peace between them here. ]

I have a family, too. My parents...aren't around anymore, though. Nowadays, my friends are my family.

[ He clicks forward a few more slides on the projector until they reach an image of Prompto, Noctis, Gladio and Ignis out at sea, on that ill-fated voyage that had so intertwined his life with that of this girl who is now his most constant companion. ]

You ought to meet 'em, someday. They...might be able to help me get you home.

[ his words and meaning are complicated, and she's not entirely sure she understands, but then, they come from different worlds, different lifestyles, still, perhaps in some ways they are not so different. their similarities outweigh their differences in many ways. ]

Home..

[ the word alone is enough to make her heart ache, and yet alisaie remains hesitant, in no great rush to return to the sea. she has no idea whether or not she will be welcomed back - she has put her people in grave danger, exposed them and left them vulnerable, surely whatever punishment awaits her will be severe. banishment might very well be a kindness. and yet here, in this room, she cannot help but feel, in a way, that it has been worth it. she has suffered greatly, but she has also come to know him, the boy she had saved from the sea, who had left her so many thoughtful trinkets, who had opened her up to the possibility that humans truly could be good.

though her heart is heavy, still alisaie smiles as she nods. ]

Yes.

Home. I'll get you back there. I promise.

[ He's made the promise to her several times over. There's really no need for him to do so again. But he wants her to know that he hasn't forgotten, that he said he would make things right for her and he will. Whether or not he was deliberately involved in bringing her to his world, he's still certain if he hadn't been so determined to remain involved with her after his rescue, she wouldn't be here. He should never have left her those gifts on the rock.

And yet...he can't bring himself to regret that either. This time they have been able to spend together has been...wonderful.

He meets her smile with one of his own, his gaze warm and lingering, to communicate more than he can say to her with words.

But then his attention returns to the slides, and the next one up - ah.

It's a picture of a man and a woman embracing and kissing in the middle of a busy street, oblivious to all the bustle that goes on around them. Prompto's cheeks go a delicate shade of red. ]

U-um, this one is...well, it's...

[ How does he even explain it? ]

[ how will he explain indeed, because alisaie is looking at the screen with question marks written all over her face, her head tilted and her brow furrowed. this is not a custom she is familiar with. it seems.. affectionate? considering the embrace. but prompto's voice goes soft and nervous, and so soon enough she's turning back toward him again. ]

What?

[ what does it mean?? why did his face turn pink?? humans are so strange. and cute. ]

[ Of course she would ask about before he can think to skip ahead. His cheeks only redden further at her question. Alisaie had found so many things about the human world strange and unfamiliar to her, and this may yet be one other such thing. Sure, she understood the notions of friends and family, but...what about love? Falling in love? Would something like that even make sense to her?

...And yet, though he has no real reason to, he can't help but think that she must understand it. Perhaps this won't be so difficult to explain after all. ]

They're...in love. [ With a soft smile, he presses a hand to his heart. ] They're...like friends, and like family, too, but also...something more. Something...closer. And when people feel that way about each other, they...

[ He points a finger to his lips with a breathless laugh. ]

They kiss.

[ more difficult concepts. but her understanding of his language has grown in leaps and bounds, and so something of an understanding is forming. at least, she thinks so. perhaps he is referring to a.. mate? or a very close companion? it's hard to say, she hasn't learned much of the word love, this is the first he's really used it, so she isn't entirely certain of its meaning, or its weight.

but she seems to be in the right wheelhouse at least, in assuming that it is a gesture of affection. her people have their own of course, but this one is unfamiliar to her, and in all of her clandestine journeys to the surface, she has never seen this before. there is so very much nuance to their lives and cultures, and not all of it seems to overlap.

turning back toward the slide again, alisaie once more rests her chin upon her folded arms, gazing thoughtfully into the flickering image. ]

Hmm..

[ That should perhaps be enough, and he should move on now, but there's something in the way she continues to gaze at the screen that spurs him to go on in his explanation. Really, he should stop while he's ahead. He's never had a companion like that, he can't really know what it's like. And yet, his heart seems to know what his head does not, and he continues. ]

When you're in love...heh. It's like you're never alone, because even when you're not with that special person...you know they're thinking of you. It makes you warm all over, right from your heart, and you would do anything, anything you could just to make that person smile. Just to hear their laugh. Just to know that for one second, you made their life a little bit better. And they would do the same for you. It's...a partnership.

[ He gaze falls to her, watchful, even as she remains turned away. ]

They make you a better person, just from being around you...the make your world a wider, brighter place. They pick you up when you fall down, they finish your...sandwiches. And when you want to show them how important they are to you, that's when...you kiss.

[ He chuckles as his gaze falls down to his hands. ]

Must seem pretty strange, huh?

[ she listens carefully, but his meaning is difficult to distinguish. so much of what he says could be applied to family, or mates, or close companions, but she does her best to digest it all, to file it away to unpack later. much of her time, while he is away, is simply spent.. thinking. looking over the things he has given her, recalling their conversations, piecing together what it means to be a human. what his experience must be like. ]

No.

[ she says, softly, with a shake of her head. it is not so strange at all. still, she is curious. ]

Do you? [ she starts, searching for the words. ] Do you have.. love?

[ His eyebrows fly up, though really, it's not such a surprising question for her to be asking. Prompto had elaborated on what love was, and perhaps gave the impression that he had firsthand experience. He...doesn't, and though he certainly loves his friends, this kind of love is different. And no matter how many silly little crushes he's had in his life, he's not sure he can really say he's ever been in love. ]

M-me? [ A little, bashful laugh. ] N-no.

[ Though as he glances up to meet her eyes once more, he wonders how truthful that answer really is. ]

Guess I'm still searchin' for that special someone.

Mm..

[ though her age is ripe for finding a mate, alisaie has never really.. bothered to consider it. sure, she supposes that one day she would very much like a family, the idea of it has always been very dear to her, but she's not really stopped to consider how she would go about it. who she would choose to build this family with, and why. it's not been a priority.

mayhaps he is in the same predicament. she's not seen any sign of a mate or a partner, which he's just affirmed, but given his behavior it seems something he's interested in, something he wants. this comes as no real surprise, knowing him as she does now - he has a kind, loving heart, no doubt he would love to share it with someone. alisaie smiles gently. ]

Soon.

[ what human would not want him as a partner? he is kind and warm and gentle, even if he's a bit.. flimsy. and handsome, by human standards. that he's not found his Love already seems surprising, but she's nonetheless quite confident that he will.

until then, she's turning back to the slides. more, please! ]

[ FLIMSY...but her vote of confidence is appreciated — obviously, if the way Prompto's cheeks redden is any indication. He holds her opinion in high regard, and even if this is a concept she only just learned about, if she thinks he'll find someone, then he believes her. She isn't wrong in thinking it's something he wants. It's just, as he said, a matter of finding the right person.

But yes, on to the next slide. Still smiling broadly, he clicks onto the next photograph. It's not dissimilar in theme from the last, but this one features a group of couples dancing together on a dance floor. ]

Oh! This is dancing. That's like...moving your body to the sound of music!

Dancing..

[ she understands. her people might not have two legs, but that does not mean that they cannot dance - only that their dance is different. they have music, they sing, and they move to the sound of it. but gods, dancing on two legs, feeling so heavy, it must be so much more complicated.. and restrictive.

still, alisaie smiles and lifts her tail from the water to give it a wave; she can't exactly dance in a little pool, but still.. ]

[ He can't help a warm, gentle laugh as she waves her tail. She's got the right idea! ]

Yeah, yeah! Guess you have something like that where you're from, too...

[ He wishes she could tell him more about her world, but alas, she has no convenient photographs to help her communicate. Not to mention she may not even want to talk about it much. Might still be a...sensitive subject. ]

[ it's definitely a sensitive subject, not only because thinking of home is mildly terrifying, but also because she is hesitant to release any information she does not absolutely need to. it's not that she does not trust prompto, but.. it would be so easy for one slipped detail to catch fire, and after the terrible danger she has already put her people in, she's hesitant to risk any more, no matter how innocuous it might seem.

and of course, there's the fact that her grasp on his language is not yet strong enough for her to properly convey her experiences in the detail she's sure he would prefer. not to mention, it would be a lie to say she's not far, far more interested in his life than she is in her own.

as evidenced by the way she gestures to the screen once again. are there any more?? ]

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