[se] an eternity of other things

MELITA

Melita had made reckless ambition a habit as of late, and for the moment, she clambered along barefoot on the edge of the canals, testing her balance. A few swaying moments back and forth elicited a few giggles, worthwhile laughter while Fangorn watched on from a safer vantage point (could vampire gourds roll their eyes?), not even hiding his snort. Presuming she’d be fine and safe even if she did fall, given the anklet resting along her skin, she was only fueled by dexterity, audacity, and emboldened endeavors.

Hums began under her breath, coaxing away the source of any inhibitions or apprehension. Unaware of what stormed away, Torchline placid in its autumn approach, she merely began to proclaim actual intentions for the day to her companion. “We need sweets for Ludo this time,” she uttered, another wobble beginning through her arms, before righting herself again with a satisfactory grin. “Maybe we can find some shaped like skulls or something.” Or masks. Or dolls. Toys of any assortment.

This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight

Hadama had been swimming slowly along the bottom of the canals, letting his thoughts of the morning's observations settle into patterns - like trying to reassemble pieces of broken shells to create a cohesive whole. He would think better with food in his stomach, however, and the trading for dryland delicacies could be difficult without assistance.

It was the shadow that drew his attention, wavering in the water and causing the light from above to flicker fitfully. He rolled onto his back, noting a swaying human there, and he twisted back upright and rose to the surface, steely-haired head breaking into air in time to hear the woman's intentions, even if he didn't see to whom she spoke. She didn't seem in danger of falling, after all, and Hadama considered the situation before speaking.

"What kind of sweets are offered on land?" he asked curiously.

MELITA

Had Melita not met Delta previously in similar circumstances, she might have fallen off the edge in surprise. Instead, her eyes rounded, feet wavering slightly until she safely planted them on the other side of the fringes, on ground rather than the lips of the canals. Righted and not in danger of descending into the water, the energetic voice responded in turn. “Oh, hello!” She peered, head tilting vaguely, having never seen this mermaid before. Unabashed and unafraid, she shrugged her shoulders. “Quite a few!” Pausing, brows furrowing slightly, there seemed to be a range of emotions rankling along her features until she settled on curiosity. “Do mermaids eat sweets?”

This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight

Hadama watched the fiery-haired woman's balancing antics with calm, quiet laughter in his eyes, though his face expression didn't change from polite neutrality. "Hello," he greeted back with a solemn nod as she found a less precarious vantage from which to speak. "I am Hadama. It is nice to meet you." The introduction was added with growing confidence in dryland customs and ritual words.

Her question was a good one, and he tilted his head thoughtfully. "There are sweet fish. Halibut. Grouper. Swordfish. And sometimes there is fruit that has fallen into the sea. Is that what you mean?" He looked up at her with his own curiosity. "What do humans consider sweet?"

MELITA

Surveying from her vantage point, the youth eventually collected herself into a crouch, needling once more towards the edge of the canals, intrigued, inquiring, nosey to a fault. “I’m Melita.” She paused for a moment. “Pleased to meet you too!” And then a moment later, as if the notion might have flown straight off her tongue and without any forethought at all, she hastened another response. “Do you know Delta? I met her here before.” Presuming, probably, that all mermaids banded together. Or were they like the rest of the kindred, human spirits, capable of bending and blending along other sea formations? Away from one another? Established territories and kingdoms?

But none of the things the merman presided amidst sounded sweet to Melita – though she did well not to wrinkle her nose. “We have things like candy! And cookies! And all kinds of pastries! Um, chocolate, caramel, honey, fruity flavored things…”

This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight

She didn't move like the other humans he had seen, and Hadama watched her with quiet fascination. He took in her name and tucked it away against future need, but at her question he could only tilt his head in uncertainty. "Delta? I am unfamiliar with that name. Who is she?" A human? A merfolk? Something else entirely, like the demigod he'd met by the shore?

Her response to his own question only raised more, and Hadama slowly swept the thin whip at the end of his tail through the water as he pondered these new words. "I do not think I know any of these, except the fruit," he admitted. "Where do you find them?" Drylander foods were particularly fascinating, and he was always interested in learning more about them.

MELITA

Her nose wrinkled slightly, briefly lost in thought before the next one launched in rapid form. “Oh, a mermaid!” Hadn't she been a princess or something? Melita couldn’t recall – it clearly hadn’t stuck to her mind in between all the other nooks, crannies, distractions, melancholic venues, and impending war. But with his unfamiliarity, all the other inquiries lost their hold, and she shrugged her shoulders.

It seemed her own rambling had postured another question anyway. Standing upright, she pointed towards the bazaar. “We can get them at the markets. Or, I suppose, some people make them.” Which was not her – most of the time. The honeybee could probably manage it without burning the house down. “Do you guys have stuff where you all gather and trade?” Under the water?

This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight

"Ah, the princess," Hadama nodded in recognition at last now that his memory had been jogged. "I have never met the royalty myself." He didn't quite shrug, but there was a motion of his manta wings that might have been something similar.

He followed her pointed finger towards the markets and his tail twitched eagerly beneath the water. He held himself to a solemn nod above it, however, as he began to swim slowly towards a branch of the canal that would take him in that direction, looking to see if Melita would join him. "We do. Some things are the same. Others..." He trailed off thoughtfully. "Food, especially, can be different. We do not cook things as often as humans do." Green eyes glinted with humor as he met her eyes. "What are these 'pasties' you mentioned?"

MELITA

Melita shrugged too – pondering over how mostly anyone could call themselves royalty once they got into the position. One only had to look at Maeve and Aurelia – fashioning themselves as Queens rather than Governors. Titles, sometimes, and little else.

Not expecting him to follow along, but amused by it all the same, the honeybee strove to catch up, winding along the canals in her effervescent, energetic fervor, snatching up Fangorn so he was left grumbling in her arms, vines snaking around. Wrinkling her nose at the notions of “not cooking” (because some meat needed to be just that), she became all the more distracted by defining pastries. “Well, they’re dough of flour, shortening, and water, and then used as a base for all sorts of baked dishes, like pies, croissants, fillings…” Her eyes darted to a nearby stand, pointing towards the aforementioned delights, the aroma of freshly baked chocolate-glazed somethings drifting along the canals. “Do you want to try some? I’m getting treats for Ludo and the spirits anyway.”

This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight

Curiosity killed the catfish, as the saying went, but Hadama seemed willing to risk it for the chance to try these fabled 'sweets' and he moved with slow but certain intent. He was careful to swim at a pace that Melita could easily match and that wouldn't interrupt their conversation however, especially when green eyes alit on the mysteriously sentient Fangorn with bright fascination.

He held his questions back for the moment as the honeybee girl sang the recipe and praises of pastry dough and Hadama heard a number of words that were not usually spoken of underwater. "Flour is even less common than baking," he admitted, eyes following Mel's finger. He swam to the edge of the canal closest, nose filling with unusual and delicious scents, and he gave a slow, fervent nod. "Thank you. I would." He watched the current customer exchange a few small items with the baker, and then reached up to take off one of his several earrings, offering it to Mel. "I would like to offer Ludo something exotic this year, too. Perhaps this will pay for my share? The earring was shaped from shining cold forged copper, and engraved with a design of tiny twisting kelp leaves and bubbles.

MELITA

How would flour even work underwater? She took a few seconds to narrow her eyes and ponder the subject, but even then, it didn’t fare well, when there were hordes and hundreds of other things to decipher and be distracted by. Like that of the earring – coming to a crouch at the edge of the canal again, lowering her palm so that it might drop along her flattened, calloused surface. “This is quite nice,” she uttered, followed by a low whistle as she studied the filaments and etchings, somewhat ashamed it’d be going towards pastries of all things. “It could probably get you a a lot of them.” If that’s what he wanted to do, shrugging her shoulders, allowing him a moment to rethink the notions. “I’m going to trade some meat,” and she showed him an array in her bag, lifting the satchel opening for a moment, as more of a less gilded option.

This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight

"Thank you. The engravings on this one came out well," he agreed, quietly pleased with himself and with her compliment after the earring changed hands. He tilted his head in acknowledgment of her appraisal of its worth in pastries, the corner of his mouth twitching towards a rueful smile, though he controlled it before it got too far.

"I did not come prepared for trading today." An admission he gave with a philosophical shrug. "This is the smallest thing I have with me." He paused thoughtfully, then looked at Melita directly. "If you like it, you may keep it for yourself. As part of the trading fee." A hefty tip for the middleman, but the extra value had to go somewhere, and he'd rather it go to someone whose name he at least knew. "In the future I will plan better."

He turned his attention to the vampire gourd, studying it properly before giving it a solemn nod of greeting.

MELITA

“Hm. Well, all right,” and because she had a penchant for shiny things (especially rocks – perhaps she was part crow in another life), she pocketed the earring, regaining her prior standing from the crouch. “Give me a moment.” Her gourd, however, surveyed the mermaid with a mixture of curiosity and neutrality, and watching the brief interaction, she snorted. “This is Fangorn,” she noted before turning abruptly towards the market, following the aroma of promised pastries.

Buzzing along, it didn’t take her more than a few bounding, leaping strides before she swept into the nearest stall, eyes sweeping over the semblances of victory. A great haggling began between her and the merchant, cheeky overtures and extended, capricious elements, but by the end of it her trade was finalized, and she returned to the sea-dweller and companion with a bag filled to the brim with delicious prizes.

Settling down on the canal edge again, feet dangling in the water, she procured several for his choosing. “This one is filled with strawberry jam,” a luxury for this season, “this one with chocolate,” and then she hummed, digging into hers already. “This one has ham and cheese.”

This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight

"Hello, Fangorn," Hadama greeted the vampire gourd solemnly. Taking note of the grinning gourd's sharp teeth he didn't extend a hand but he did swim to the edge of the canal to await Melita's triumphant return with the spoils of her haggling war.

Green eyes lit up at her return with the delicious-smelling bag of treats and he started to reach for the strawberry jam-filled pastry first, until she mentioned ham and cheese. "Cheese is something else we do not have," he murmured, reaching for that one without a second thought. He took small, neat bites meant to savor every crumb, eyes closed in a pose of near-meditation at the experience. Once it was gone, he chose the strawberry jam one, and then finished the snack with the chocolate.

"I do not know which one is best... they are all very different. And very good," he admitted contentedly as he delicately licked the crumbs from his fingertips. "Which is your favorite? And do you know which flavor Ludo might prefer?"