05-10-2020, 11:25 PM
[font=trebuchet ms]/tl;dr: last paragraph
"I wouldn't have-"
"Yes, you would have. Don't lie to me."
The tide washed up around her, reaching up to her stomach, staining her fur with teal specks of light. The glow, strange, ethereal, swirled within her thoughts in-between the snatches of long-lost voices. The plankton were as ghosts, surrounding an obelisk, still, staring.
She was cold.
"You have to stop blaming yourself for everything that happened."
She shivered, the chill of the water so different from the warmth of those who had once watched over her. Bonfires, sweaters in the ugliest colors imaginable, tea, all of it so far away. If she reached far enough, risked burning herself in the flames, she could find that warmth again.
"We're proud of you."
Was that still true?
Shaking her head, Rin surged forward into the water- with a deep breath, she ducked under, submerging herself fully in the shocking, numbing cold. Some spoke of "cold comforts," but in its own way the cold was itself a comfort, something to drive away the growing heat of summer- the last remnants of a lost warmth. She let her thoughts wander in the silence of the water, crafting useless metaphor after useless metaphor. What did it matter, so long as she was fine when others needed her?
If she could be relied on when they needed her, that was enough.
Breaking through the surface, she sucked in a breath, then let it out almost as quickly. Treading water, she swept her gaze over the grotto. She thought she could see others gathered on the edge, watching the bioluminescent waves light up the sand. Well, she might as well go talk to them.
Swimming over until the water was shallow enough for her to stand in, she blinked the water out of her eyes. "The water's glowing because of bioluminescent plankton," she said, glancing around. "It's safe to swim in." Turning her head to look at the picnic blanket set up near the entrance, with various treats laid out, she added, "Or you can just sit by the water and eat. Up to you, really."
"I wouldn't have-"
"Yes, you would have. Don't lie to me."
The tide washed up around her, reaching up to her stomach, staining her fur with teal specks of light. The glow, strange, ethereal, swirled within her thoughts in-between the snatches of long-lost voices. The plankton were as ghosts, surrounding an obelisk, still, staring.
She was cold.
"You have to stop blaming yourself for everything that happened."
She shivered, the chill of the water so different from the warmth of those who had once watched over her. Bonfires, sweaters in the ugliest colors imaginable, tea, all of it so far away. If she reached far enough, risked burning herself in the flames, she could find that warmth again.
"We're proud of you."
Was that still true?
Shaking her head, Rin surged forward into the water- with a deep breath, she ducked under, submerging herself fully in the shocking, numbing cold. Some spoke of "cold comforts," but in its own way the cold was itself a comfort, something to drive away the growing heat of summer- the last remnants of a lost warmth. She let her thoughts wander in the silence of the water, crafting useless metaphor after useless metaphor. What did it matter, so long as she was fine when others needed her?
If she could be relied on when they needed her, that was enough.
Breaking through the surface, she sucked in a breath, then let it out almost as quickly. Treading water, she swept her gaze over the grotto. She thought she could see others gathered on the edge, watching the bioluminescent waves light up the sand. Well, she might as well go talk to them.
Swimming over until the water was shallow enough for her to stand in, she blinked the water out of her eyes. "The water's glowing because of bioluminescent plankton," she said, glancing around. "It's safe to swim in." Turning her head to look at the picnic blanket set up near the entrance, with various treats laid out, she added, "Or you can just sit by the water and eat. Up to you, really."
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