[se] an eternity of other things

MELITA

Fangorn waved his vines nimbly, pausing several times as if in great consideration. Maybe he’d try and munch on the mermaid. Maybe he wouldn’t bother. Maybe he was just being a good, courteous, kind little vampire gourd. It was difficult to tell.

But by then Melita had returned, and there was much great trying and munching to be had (how unfortunate too - to not have cheese beneath the sea). While she gave a portion of the meat one to her companion (who eagerly bit into it with a wild, vicious relish), she aimed for the chocolate one first. Pleased, she hummed some satisfied noises, legs hanging over the canal edge again, going back and forth as she continued to delight herself. “The chocolate is my favorite, but the others are excellent too. I don’t think there’s any way to go wrong.” She paused in the other notions, uncertain which Ludo would be delighted with. “I’m not sure. Maybe we just give it samplings of each?”

Then she opened her satchel again, allowing Hadama to take as many more as he needed.

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

There were no vampire gourds in the ocean, but there were plenty of things with sharp, pointy teeth, and Hadama respected Fangorn's space. He didn't seem the type to try and manhandle another person's companion, when it came down to it, but the gourd provided ample curiosity until Melita returned.

And what a glorious harvest she'd found! Halibut was all well and good, but there was a dangerous gleam of addiction growing in Hadama's green eyes as he partook of the baked bounty and attempted to save and savor every morsel. "Indeed. These are each incredible." He nodded at her wisdom even as he selected several more morsels - for Ludo, of course. But for himself as well. "Traveling with them will be a challenge... I think I will find a place along the Rainbow Road to set them out out for the god. If they survive that far." He considered the quandary thoughtfully.

"Is there a way to protect them from the water for a little ways?" Though perhaps that wasn't a problem humans had to contend with very often...

MELITA

“Oh,” she muttered around another bite of a pastry, diving headfirst into a delectable and delicious portion of the jam-filled concoction. She hadn’t thought about the ramifications of bread and dough hitting water, and she couldn’t picture the mermaid simply lifting it out of the water for a ways. Even if the thought made her giggle slightly. Her legs stopped kicking and skimming over the water though, mind left to finagle with this new set of quandaries.

Her nose wrinkled, gaze indicating she was lost in thought for a moment. “Maybe someone is trading waterproof bags?” Her thumb jerked back towards the market, but even her tone suggested the possibility wasn’t high.

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

He simply looked askance when she giggled, but when she settled into serious contemplation of his question he waited patiently and gave her time. Nibbling another of the pastries - chocolate, a flavor both sweet and with a delightful hint of bitterness at its core - he was perfectly content to linger as long as was needed.

The answer, when it came, drew a slow and thoughtful nod from the merman. "We have such things, too. Though they are not needed often." Hence his own lack of one attached to his belted harness. Such things were more common among those few who traded - overtly or covertly - with humans on a regular basis. It was something for Hadama to consider as a future investment, given their rarity. "Perhaps... the Rainbow Road is too far, this year." A setback he took philosophically enough, with only a small shrug. "Where will you set your offerings?"

MELITA

While the merman didn’t seem particularly put off by the notions, Melita’s nose still held its wrinkled adornments, mind clearly taken the matter to heart. Her eyes flickered over the canals, and the edges, wondering if those represented a possibility. “Maybe you could put them somewhere along the channel?” She imagined some of the other sea inhabitants might want to do the same – and it could be like a community gathering of sorts.

Her own offerings, or the meager amounts that would be left of them by the time she was through (breaking off another piece for Fangorn), wouldn’t be set by the ocean. An earnest smile reached along her features once more, as she popped a piece of the pastry corner in her mouth. “At my home, in Aumakua.”

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

"I do not know if they will reach Ludo if I do that," he admitted gravely, though there was a hint of wry amusement in his green eyes. "The food thieves in this city are bold." A particular raven came to mind when he said that, but he tilted his head thoughtfully. "Unless I wait until dark." Which just meant a different breed of thief would be about, but at least it seemed a little more likely that the intended recipient would snatch the sweets up before an enterprising 'purveyer' could make off with them.

"You live at the lighthouse?" Hadama gave her a look of new respect. "Do you tend to the light there?"

MELITA

“Hmm,” she pondered out loud, thinking around a corner piece of croissant. “You could have round-the-clock guards,” and she laughed, knowing the notions were outlandish, absurd, and silly. Her legs began swinging again, barely brushing over the water, skimming over the fringes. “And then they can punish the pastry thieves.” Humming softly, allowing another giggle, her framework of thoughts led her down another path. “Do you have underwater dungeons?”

At the inquiry of her home though, her eyes widened. No keeper of the light here, and certainly not Safrin’s, though she respected the goddess out of parallels for her own safety. “Oh, no. My uncle’s house was carved into the cliffs there. He left it, so I took it over.” She shrugged – no sense in leaving a home that had been only...partially burnt over the course of its years embedded into the rocks. “I work for Jack on the Ark.”

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

"Could I hire yourself and Fangorn to guard the offerings?" Amusement gleamed in green eyes, though his face was still stoic. "Then again..." he looked to the quickly emptying bag at Mel's side, and this time his silent humor was more obvious. "The dungeons might be too lenient. A thief who steals treasure such as this should be put to hard labor, replacing what was stolen."

Hadama savored another bite of chocolate pastry and nodded understanding of familial bonds and residences. Her vocation brought slow nod of respect, however, as he paused to give due respect to her and Fangorn. "That is the ship that sails the sky currents? What is it like, up there?"

MELITA

By the time they were done with them, the prospects of any pastries remaining seemed very slim, but Melita eventually slowed down, distracted by the prospects of guarding desserts. “I can’t say I wouldn’t snag them either,” she openly admitted with a Cheshire grin, tilting her head and polishing off the remains of the chocolate, licking her fingers as she did so. “Hard labor…,” she murmured, imagining what it could be. “Could stick them out in the desert for a while.”

The mention of the Ark brought another smile, remaining devil-may-care and outlandish. “Amazing! I don’t think I could begin to describe it beyond that.” Hopeful they’d go on another journey soon – she could imagine Jack scurrying out of the war’s path, unless Safrin sought his favor once more. “And I get to shoot the cannons!”

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

Her honesty was refreshing, and Hadama inclined his head in acceptance of it, fighting to hide a smile. "Better not to tempt you, then." He paused, then copied her in licking his fingers - not a common practice underwater - and looked quietly pleased at the last hints of flavor he managed to capture.

"The desert where the Flowerbirth god is?" he asked curiously, remembering his conversation with the scarred demigod. His amusement faded at the mention of such a place; a true hell for a mermaid, from what he'd heard of the place.

His relaxed enjoyment of the conversation returned with her smile, and he tilted his head in fascination. "Are there many things to fire them at, in the sky?"

MELITA

“Mhm,” she murmured. [say“I’ve been there a couple times, to give it some water, and to fight off a skeleton monster too.” A shrug of her shoulders followed, as if these were normal circumstances everyone encountered on a day-to-day basis – completely unfazed. Finally closing her satchel, so she didn’t snag any more of the pastries and leave nothing for Ludo or the spirits, she tilted and inclined her head further towards the mermaid and his inquiries, toying with Fangorn’s vines for a moment.

“Not yet,” came on a very Cheshire grin, as if it were a promise for molten depravity, vehemence, and violence later on. “I’ve shot at quite a few ghost whales though.” Unsuccessfully, but that didn’t mean she’d ceased trying.

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 blinked at the mention of a skeleton monster, but they had a few of those underwater as well and he simply nodded gravely. "It sounds dangerous," he observed of this driest of places in all the Drylands.

Mention of ghost whales a few moments later brought the conversation back around again to undead foes and he tilted his head in amused acknowledgment of the worthy targets. "They can be a... nuisance." He chose the understatement with delicate precision, humor gleaming in his eyes as he collected his own bag of goodies and considered it and the water of the canal a bit dubiously.

"It will be slow swimming to keep these dry." And it would take time to reach the shore if he wanted to leave them for the god outside of the city's hustle and bustle. "I have enjoyed our talk, Mel. I hope that I will see you and Fangorn again soon." He rose high enough out of the water to give her and the vampire gourd a small bow before collecting his offerings and swimming carefully back along the canal, holding his head and the arm with the bag out of the water - looking perhaps a little silly in his dignified retreat.

MELITA

Nuisance was an understatement, and though Melita could’ve proclaimed multitudes on the notions, Hadama had other things to do – so did she, really. “Good luck!” And she nodded along with his other commendations, while she tended to her satchel, companion, and goodies. Rising from the canals, and back to meandering tendencies, a hum under her breath and stoked dedications remaining in her prestige.

Eventually, she’d wind her way back to Aumakua as promised, and along the familiar pathways she’d leave a trail of pastry crumbs for the spirits that would glide along cliff tops and above ranges of the sea. And some croissants specifically for Ludo too, upon her doorstep.

{FIN}

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