Artful Tenacity

There was a quiet pleasure in having her meet him in the liminal zone between sea and land, that ever-shifting space where both existed simultaneously, part of both worlds. The sand was warm on his stomach, even in Deepfrost; the sun could hit more potently than it could penetrate the waves, but the water was decidedly cool with every foray it made upon the beach.

Her question gave him pause, and this time there was a considerable silence as he turned it over in his head. "I... do not know," he admitted slowly. "I have shared sweet foods with drylanders before. But other than that... I have no comparison." Though to him it was human tastebuds which were different than the norm.

Hadama had given her his attention as they spoke; the trembling hesitation as she utilized magic was noticed but not understood. Green eyes returned to her face with a faint look of quizzical concern, but the steadiness with which she answered his question seemed to belie any unease with the topic of conversation. "My father often makes salad of it for the family," he agreed solemnly. His gaze was drawn to the dancing flames for a moment, contemplative. "Is that how you eat it?"

Evie

i'll plant a row of daisy seeds
in the space beneath each eye

Where it is warm to him perhaps it would be cool to others, but even in winter Torchline is far warmer than the Grounds could hope to be. It makes it easier to linger in his presence for longer, to turn a brief meeting or exchange into something more. Something conversational and pleasant.

Curiosity tilts her head, thumb rising to trace the edge of her lower lip in habitual motion of consideration. "It would be fun to explore, don't you think? And your only sacrifice would be trying new foods," she winks, smiling, and though it is far from her normal level of charm it is something closer to normal. Lets her breathe a little easier. It buoys her through the anxiety of the next few moments, though she is stalwart in ignoring his concern - soft though his eyes may be in the rest of him, Evie has not been swayed by those things in the past, and she won't now either. "I have eaten it dried into little square strips as a snack, or ground finely and shaken over various foods - that is how I prescribe it for children who need more nutrients, as most children dislike eating anything green even if they are not technically vegetables." She laughs softly. "Though admittedly I haven't tried it as a salad, or using it as the main component in a meal. Perhaps I will now."

so they'll remind you of your beauty
when they bloom each time you cry

"A difficult sacrifice," he intoned solemnly, his stoic expression giving little away except for the silent laughter that twinkled in emerald eyes. "But if it is for my people, I will make it." He considered the possibility of food, and of needing his hands to eat it, and after a few moments of thought he shifted to pull his tail beneath him and push himself more upright. He was not flexible enough to sit folded for long with any comfort, but he braced himself on where his hip would be if he'd had legs so he had one arm free and let his lower half trail back into the gentle surf as it constantly washed over him.

Being so far out of the water made his skin itch with the dryness, and he was grateful for the distraction of Evie's description of seafood culinary options. "I will add these to my list of things to try." Dried food wasn't exactly common, undersea. Neither was powdered, for reasons he trusted Evie could imagine herself. "Do you cook food often?"

Evie

i'll plant a row of daisy seeds
in the space beneath each eye

As a friend of men like Deimos, Evie is well-trained at spotting the subtle shines and sparkles of emotion beneath stoic veneers and poker faces alike. Her own is far less reserved, tempered by the weight on her shoulders alone, eyes crinkling with the weight of her smile. “You’re an honorable man, Hadama,” she intones seriously, grinning. “Unfortunately I won’t be remaining in Torchline, but I can prepare some things before we meet again.” Evie pauses, and as the flames crackle beneath her flint work, she considers the presumptuousness of that sentence. “If you’d like, of course.”

Evie sets about using her magic again to bring stones to their sides on rolling waves of sand, which she uses to prop the shells on. Pausing as she watches him readjust, she hesitates. “Are you alright? I can use my magic to create a little pool for you in the sand, and the waves can fill it.” She’d help him tunnel back out after of course, but she didn’t want him uncomfortable on her behalf when she could give him a lip to rest his arms on, or deeper water than the shallowest stretch of waves reaching for them. “I do cook food most everyday. Though considering how often I’m around plants, I don’t mind eating them raw at all.” She was no vegetarian by any means, but having far greater knowledge of what could safely be eaten off a plant meant Evie ate far more of them than most people.

so they'll remind you of your beauty
when they bloom each time you cry

He tilted his head in regal acknowledgment of her compliment, but that underlying quiet humor remained. Emerald eyes dropped to watch her call fire with tools that never ceased to fascinate, even if he was far more familiar with the element than most of his people. It gave him an excuse to stay silent and consider her sudden - if courteous - reticence. "I would like very much," he assured her simply.

Again the earthen magic that was so curious and he watched the rocks roll idly, but her offer caused him to pause and examine the beach around him more closely. "If it stays connected to the sea..." he said at last, slowly, as he tested the idea out. "But if the water is cut off from it, I will suffocate." The gaze that met Evie's was clear and solemn, with a sober intensity. "I would appreciate your help, if that is possible." A tidepool, at least a temporary one, that the waves could freely lap into and refresh, would certainly be more comfortable than his current position.

As for cooking and eating, something seemed to spark in his eyes and he grew thoughtfully silent; the distraction of a mind at work, turning over an idea both complicated and intriguing.

Evie

i'll plant a row of daisy seeds
in the space beneath each eye

She lets herself smile at his confirmation; coyness is too far for her to grasp, so it leaves her stuck with the vulnerability of true pleasure and slightly pink cheeks, but it’s a sacrifice she’s willing to make. Loneliness has killed more people than sickness and starvation in her years as a healer. Evie doesn’t want to add herself to the roster of patients she couldn’t save. “What temperatures of water can you withstand? I only ask because I anticipate being in Halo soon.” The hope of a visit is clear in her tone even if she is no longer juvenile and flirtatious enough to twist the words more enticingly.

His sobriety is well-registered, and after a moment of contemplation her chin dips obligingly. “I can do that,” she assures, and sets her palm flat to the wet, compacted sand below, bidding it to deepen beneath Hadama’s body until he has a comfortable pool. Then it stretches beyond, like a child’s moat out into the sea for the water to flow and renew naturally with every wave. “Is that better?” One hand remains on the sand in case he has any requests or concerns. The other - used to needing to concentrate on many things at once in her career - continues to tend to the mussels to ensure they’re cooked evenly throughout.

so they'll remind you of your beauty
when they bloom each time you cry

He smiled with his eyes far more than with his mouth; a man of subtle expressions and careful considerations of each word before he spoke. Those eyes smiled at Evie now, until her question drew a small gesture of regret from the mermanta: an upward turned palm and the shrug of one shoulder. "In the deeps, it is very cold," he rumbled slowly. "Where the sun never reaches. But I can only swim in water that is not frozen." And from all that he had heard, there was no such water in Halo. Not in sufficient quantity for a mer to survive in.

And even if rumors of the legendary Lost Sea were true, it was as ice-locked as the rest of the region.

He saw her hand go down; watched it curiously, wondering what display the magic would take. He was unprepared for the way the sand suddenly shifted and slid beneath him, and both eyebrows went up as he caught his balance against the easing of pressure along his tail. Soon enough the shallow but far more comfortable tide pool was complete, the ocean lapping in with every rush of surf.

"Much better," he agreed, surprised and grateful as he stretched out and rested his elbows on the sandy edge of his little pool, green eyes considering Evie with fresh admiration. "What draws you to Halo?" His gaze slipped to the cooking mussels, but only briefly; curiosity did not yet win over courtesy, however strange the scent of baking shells.

Evie

i'll plant a row of daisy seeds
in the space beneath each eye

She can’t help the shiver that plays along her skin at the mention of how cold it could be, empathy creating bumps along her arms. “That makes sense. But where the mountain range breaks and leads into The Climb, the ocean is accessible there. Would it be too hot instead? I don’t know if the volcanoes influence the heat of the ocean in that area, even when they’re on land.” And she won’t propose meeting somewhere closer to Halo out of convenience if it means putting Hadama at risk.

His surprise - and appreciation, of course - has her small smile twitching a little at the corners, pleased. It’s simultaneously a great opportunity for herself to appreciatively admire the stretch of his body in the much clearer water. Though she averts her eyes before it becomes rude, the graceful curves and animalistic inclinations are captured in her mind to revisit later.

The shells pop open obligingly once the steam inside is too much for the shell to hold against, releasing their aroma and signifying their readiness to be eaten. Evie folds her legs beneath her for better leverage as she separates the mussels into two piles on the largest stones on each side of the fire as makeshift plates. She procures one of her jars of spices from her bag, sprinkling it lightly over the meat inside so that they might mix in the time the food cools. “I lived there seasons ago, training in a magical academy, so it’s the only other land I’ve ever lived in for any amount of time. I’d rather take some degree of familiarity when moving. Though it’s ironic - I have…too much history in the Grounds. Generations of my family, born and raised there, and then me. Just…me now.” It’s all quite awkward, out loud, when she can’t stomach being less vague and Evie knows it - sad blue eyes apologetic for her inability to open up, but also inability to not mention it.

Smiling tightly she instead gestures to the mussels for a good distraction, eager for him to try one first so she can watch his reaction. “Anyway, my good friend lives there, and the land desperately needs a healer. It seems like the right place to make a new home, even if nothing else speaks to me personally yet.” It would grow on her surely. The Grounds had, with all its horrors and struggles. Evie didn’t need a storybook ending, a beacon of signifying light or sudden deep love for her surroundings to convince her it was enough. Suitability was all she needed to start out with. The rest would come in time.

so they'll remind you of your beauty
when they bloom each time you cry

"I have not been there," Hadama admitted slowly. "I have been told it is not... hm. A hospitable place for my kind." The sea might not boil, but the lava beds beneath their thin crusts under the ocean floor made the water temperatures inimical to most of the larger forms of mobile sea life, including merfolk. "There are volcanoes beneath the waves as well." He thought for a few more moments and then offered: "But I could meet you at the northern border of Torchline. There is a river boundary. Just north of the Miana Pool." It would be less far for the human to travel if she came on foot, at least.

Wearing only a harness which his supplies were attached to and the jewelry of his own making, Hadama had a poise and unself-conscious grace that took neither pride nor shame in being looked at. He was comfortable in his own body and was used to the gazes of drylanders who were as fascinated and curious about him as he was about their own strange bifurcated tails and stubby tentacles.

But his curiosity was far more piqued by the smell of the steaming clams and how they popped open, and the jar of spices that Evie chose to apply. Green eyes followed the jar with avid interest in spite of his calm expression before focusing back on the healer and her tale. He nodded a slow understanding to the desire for familiarity, but his gaze turned thoughtful at her final words on the subject and he inclined his head in sober understanding of what wasn't said in the silence between those words.

'Just' and 'me' were a tale all their own, and he met blue eyes without asking more than she was willing to give.

He reached for a mussel, large fingers plucking up the hot shell without evidence of discomfort; but then, his hands and forearms showed the tiny scars of spark burns despite his watery home. "A healer is welcome everywhere," he agreed, raising the mussel to his nose to sniff curiously at the spices that had been applied before slipping his thumb into the half-open shell to pry it the rest of the way. He pulled out the meat with deft fingers and popped it into his mouth; his contemplative expression quickly changing to one of surprise as he chewed and swallowed and then reached for another almost immediately.

"What is that?" he asked, nodding towards the jar of spices which had caught his attention earlier.

Evie

i'll plant a row of daisy seeds
in the space beneath each eye

Volcanoes beneath the ocean are an enticing idea, but Evie must put it away to consider at a later date considering their current conversation. Blessedly, Hadama suggests an alternative before Evie is forced to admit that she has not traveled far enough from the Grounds to know viable coastlines upon which to meet him. Her smile is relieved when it comes. “That sounds perfect.” After they’ve set a time (in the wibbly wobbly future) the healer commits the directions to the location to her memory, determined not to need help.

That same tenacity is apparent even beneath the weight of her words and all they imply. Hadama’s solemn gaze lets her know he hears what goes unspoken, and the silence she is met with is the best thing she has heard since returning from the Wilds. Much as she would like to reach out physically in some way, she is too keenly aware of how different their worlds are, and can only vaguely envision what certain gestures maybe horrifically misconstrued as. Instead she lets the food do the talking for her, eagerly drinking in Hadama’s reaction as her teeth bite onto her lower lip in a vain attempt to smother her smile.

“Complementary pre-mixed seasonings. Finely diced garlic, shallots, oregano…” trailing off, she plucks her own mussel but does little more than trace the half-open shell, watching the merman. “Do you like it?”

so they'll remind you of your beauty
when they bloom each time you cry

With plans tentatively in place for a future meeting, and painful past memories gently laid to rest for the moment, they could focus on the present and the meeting of land and sea.

Specifically the flavors of land and sea, which Hadama was learning were a surprisingly harmonious combination. "Indeed," he answered first to her question, reaching for another shell to crack the rest of the way open. His words may have been simple, but his actions spoke eloquently of his approval of the flavorful mix. "Very much."

He didn't know which flavor was which, and they blended so well together that it was hard to tell where one ended and another began, but it certainly opened a whole new depth to the mussels, above and beyond the enticingly piquant flavor and more tender, less chewy cooked meat. "I do not know where to harvest these... but I can trade for them in the market." Another bite, and another immediate reach for another. "Next time, would you teach me how to make it?" he asked, emerald eyes bright.

Evie

i'll plant a row of daisy seeds
in the space beneath each eye

She eats at a more leisurely pace, more captivated by his profound but understated reactions than filling her own stomach. While she had never made a career of it like Amalia, the Evergreen couldn’t deny the inherent pleasure of watching someone enjoy what you had made, especially food.

“The spice stalls would be happy to trade you pre-mixed versions, in water-tight vessels at that. Unfortunately they can’t get wet, but there’s endless other combinations to try.” Which means even without her help, Hadama would have days upon days to try the flavors of the land. But her smile is warm and pleased at his request, always happy to teach and mentor. “Absolutely I can. I’ll bring everything next time we meet.” But for now they have a plentiful meal before them, and the future can wait.

- FIN

so they'll remind you of your beauty
when they bloom each time you cry