coastal | overflow.

[FROM HERE.]

[Well, he's not wrong. Lili is still default bossy and arrogant - however that's likely just a personality flaw at this point. The idea of holding her rank over someone here when it doesn't even matter makes absolutely zero sense to her.

But still.

There's just a huff.]

Perhaps for you to not pass out on me.

[T b h.]

[ Also... a very good point. For a moment he just sits there, bites on the middle of his lower lip as his face twists a little. ]

Point taken. Just uh... one more thing, then I'll stop using magic for a while, will that make you feel any better?

[ . . . . well.]

Is that what's exhausting you so much?

[There's a small, minute nod.]

Just enough for you to regain your strength... I understand wanting to help - [even though she can never find a way to do so] - but it shouldn't be at the expense of your own health.

I didn't know you cared. [ He says it so offhandedly, jokingly but then right after he's shifting so he can utilize the space in front of them. ]

But probably. The world here feels... deader. It's difficult to explain, so I'm having to reach further. [ But then his hands are reaching out in front of him, and he has to concentrate hard to work the magic now. It's just speeding up the process more than anything else, speeding up as vines and flowers start to grow--and now she'll have more of an idea of how that water lily came to exist in the swamp.

He created it.

Eventually, after a few long and grueling minutes, she'll start to see the signs of strawberries--a good bunch of them too--appearing and he only stops when they're at the right stage. They're edible. ]

There. [ He blows out a long breath, leaning back against the wall now. ]

[So - that was his last thing?

She's surprised, watching it happen right before her eyes. It's beautiful and mesmerizing and it's... powerful. There's so much hope to be found in what he can do and it manages to make some of the paranoid pressure lift from her chest. This will be fine. Somehow, everything will be fine.

Then she reaches out to the strawberries, plucking two of them off easily. Even as she puts one in her mouth, she offers the other to him since he worked so hard for it.]

Rest now.... Nothing else, alright?

[ That was his last thing.

He only looks towards her when it's done, not really sure what to expect when he looks at her face. When she reaches to hold out one of the strawberries to him though, he can't help but grin. It's been pleasant this entire time of being here, to use his magic and for someone to be appreciative rather than live in fear. It's a part of him, after all. Something embedded since birth.

Something prophesied since before his birth. Emrys.

He doesn't eat the strawberry right away though, and instead rolls it over in his hand. ]

Nothing else. Promise.

[ He says it so softly too, with genuine happiness despite being in this shitty place. ]

[The genuine happiness causes Lili to glance over, surprised despite herself. She's not good at reading people, but there's something in his voice that isn't a negative emotion and that alone is enough to catch her off-guard.

. . . . ]

What is it that you are enjoying right now?

[So she'll be direct about it, because she doesn't know how to be any other way.

Why, Merlin? Why are you so pleased?

Lili.... honestly can't even fathom it.]

[ How bold. At first he just bites into the strawberry and avoids her gaze. It's weird that while his body still feels like lead from working so hard, from having to survive... his heart feels light. ]

Don't you think it's pretty nice to feel appreciated?

[ He isn't going into detail, yet. ]

[Only one thought occurs to her:

I don't know what that's like.

Perhaps there were moments of it - when Yona had called her a comrade or when Atsushi told her thank you for caring about him or when Kashuu asked for her company - but nothing that spoke of true appreciation to her. Nothing for anything that she thought was important or meaningful.

So even as she's eating the strawberry, her answer is quiet.]

It does sound nice.

Back home people fear magic. They fear the unknown, so anyone with magic are automatically considered an enemy. [ He looks down at his hands then. ]

I could do so much to help, yet back there no one can actually ever know the truth. If they did, I'd be sentenced to death.

[ He drops the leafy part of the strawberry onto the floor, right next to the plant he'd grown. ]

That's why I'm happy now. It's been a lot different here.

["Sentenced to death" rings a bell with her in an uncomfortable way, causing her to shift. Something tells her that unlike her lands where such a practice is outlawed, Merlin would not be so fortunate.]

How irritating.... to have to hide who you really are.

[There's a bit of an anger coiling in her words, irked at the foolishness of others.]

No one deserves to be treated like that.

[ He shifts a little. ] I even owned up to it once, but no one believed me. "Merlin's just an idiot, there's no way he could be a sorcerer."

[ There is definitely some bitterness in there. ] I don't know which is worse really.

[That gets her to bristle too, a shift of her posture as she straightens her shoulders and her anger flicks fire at her nerves.

Hm.]

.... idiots.

You are foolish and overwhelming at times but that does not give them any right to decide who you are.

[ He gives her a softer smile for that. Maybe he's starting to understand her a little better after all...? Her choice of words only gets that smile to crack into a grin though as he tries to hold back a laugh. ]

Overwhelming? [ What a funny word to use, Lili... ]

Regularly!

[NO, SHE'S STANDING BY IT even though the softer smile manages to embarrass her too. It seems that the strawberries have managed to get some of her strength to return....

Firmly looking away though!]

[ When she looks away even further he tries to twist a little to catch sight of her face. ]

Is that supposed to be a bag thing... or good? It's honestly hard to tell when you're making that face.

[Merlin, what the fuck, that’s just super rude.

Still though, it’s not like she can lie.]

It’s… It’s not a bad thing all the time but – don’t push your luck!

[What a stereotype tsun.]

[ He never claimed to be polite??? ]

I'm very good at that though. [ Still, he stops after that, reaching to pick them both another strawberry, offering it along with an apology. ]

Sorry. Once we're done here we should probably search around a bit, shouldn't we?

[ . . . huff. She'll take the offer but then pause for a moment, her brow furrowing.]

... Rest more first.

You've pushed yourself too far for the sake of others.

[ Lili... if he isn't using magic he's recuperating at least a little. He sinks down a bit, spine curving against the wall. ]

I'm more concerned with how long we'll be safe here.

I haven't heard anything so far.

It's fine - you'll likely extend yourself too far again later, so isn't a moment of peace like this good for you?

[Just to be practical.]

[ She has a very good point, but the silence is unnerving. ]

Has it been this quiet the entire time?

There have been the occasional rumbles - it's impossible for anything to be so simple for long here, after all.

[Which is said with a bit of a sigh.]

But... well, danger hasn't loomed too closely, which is all I ask at this point.

Not with those things out there, anyway.

[ It's hard to say how close they're getting or if other people are nearby, honestly. ]

Have you rested enough?

I haven't exerted myself as much as you have.

[A small, quiet sigh. She's not so useful.]

I'm fine.

merlin.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject