To Have and To Hold
Interlude
By Aa-chan
Interlude : One Last Wish .
Even as the sunlight trickled upon his naked scaly flesh, fed him warmth and life through the cold, unyielding barriers of inky-blue water, Revalla knew that the only thing to swim within the Kaipouan Oasis today would be a pattern of water lillies - and besides the point of being beneficial to the herbivorous, they had an odd reputation of floating atop the water rather than beneath where he felt susceptible to lurk within the murky shadows, and wait. Just wait.
Webbed fingers easily slopped through the weightless-seeming aquatic dryness, brushing at one of the ridged fins which lined both his cheekbones, beady onyx eyes boredly watching the few lingering bubbles which exited by way of breathing out through the water current (such as most creatures of the water did), as he continued his ponderance in silence. Once a year, as noted, the villagers that resided amongst the giant oasis seemed to entertain themselves by shouting - be it their voices, or some rubbish called 'music' - nearly all praises known within Gaia pertaining to flowers. "Flowers-this," and "Flowers-that," and "Flowers-for-the-Oasis!"
Revalla didn't think the latter extremely necessary.
As he thought of it, however, he tilted his head upwards in order to glance up to the water's surface. Sure enough, the shadows that resembled the spread out pads of lillies were admist, almost threateningly in state. His hearing traits had already caught on to the ongoing blabber of people, and their talks of floral since then, but now, they were growing stronger, as they usually did. Tomorrow night would bring a play; the next would take place at the Damcyan Castle, where the royalty there would finish up the damning three-day tributal to flowers with a dance - of which he was sure it had something to do with dirtiness, foul play.
But yet, all the villagers returned by early morning, drunker than Titan himself, by which he was tempted to rise from the water, and attack a random passerby who jousted about living even after holding his breath for thirty seconds. In less than three could the Water Hag prove him and his onlookers dead wrong.
The desire was great, and easily achievable, but a choice.
Since the Crystals' of Gaia's return to their rightful providers - Water, Mysidia. Wind, Fabul. Fire, Damcyan. Earth, Toroia. - the great goddess which embraced the Blue Planet had broken through the chain that had bounded her, and her sister, SeLunYa (or Luna, as most knew her as), to the gates of Oblivion, making her free to judge and rule the inhabiting creatures once again. The permissable desire that Zeromus, the evil that had first taken over Luna before proceeding to Gaia, had granted upon the world's creatures to attack and kill instantly had been prohibited by the Earth Maiden herself, though she took some pity on the stupider creatures who didn't know roasted chocobo from a fresh orchard apple. The punishment to come afterwards was death of their own, unless rightly justified.
It just wasn't worth it, he had decided. He was sure that somewhere out there, someday, evil would rise again, and the killing could continue as though it'd just been a short break.
* * *
Oh, but it can, Revalla, it can.
The frightening feature of Water Hags certainly wasn't helpful in displaying inner surprise, especially at the sound of someone else's voice. Even though he had glanced around, and saw nothing, his visage still remained in an annoying smirk as though it'd been branded there.
"Evil rise? What Revalla do to help Evil rise again?"
For starters, if you could kindly give me a bit of your skin, I'd appreciate it.
Revalla blinked..
Your SCALES, stupid..
"Revalla not stupid," he grunted, creating an overly large bubble that he was sure would possibly attract anyone looking at the oasis at the moment. "Revalla don't have any'thin' to picks it off with.".
The voice sighed. Those charming nails of yours wouldn't help at all? His shoulders raised almost humanlike before taking a talon against his scales. The sharp raking of his nail down an arm not only caused the needed particles of scale to fall off, but possibly more than what the advocate needed.
"There you go," he said, nodding vigorously, ignoring the sharp, sucking sound of the talon being ripped from his arm, and dark, massive blood which flowed freely from the rather huge gash resulting from the prior action. "What Revalla do now to help Evil rise again?"
A golden mist rose from the ground, embracing, and began to swirl underneath the fallen scales. One by one they disappeared like diamonds; slipped into the warm desert sand, only to leave behind a sparkly residue of memory.
Yes, yes.. This is more than enough, gloated the voice. With proper culture, perhaps I could take the remorseful excuse for stupidity out of splice, and actually create a useful population of you creatures. Thank you, Revalla. You've served me well, and deserve a rest; Forever, of course. Maybe you won't need to breathe anymore, so you'd better make this one your last! Farewell.
* * *
Dark-blue eyes, wide and full of curiosity, peered down into the depths of the Oasis water, just as their owner's chubby little hands had finally finished tossing the last of the handfulls of petals, as a priest would bless his people with the sweetened nectar of incense..
"Something's.." the rifts of her angelic voice spewed past her small lips as she slowly kneeled, a digit outstretched to tap the water insignificantly.
Ah, little one.. You shouldn't be alone..! The girl's eyes widened, a hand immediantely clamped to her head. Her gaze never wavered from the water, though - Afterall, that's where the screaming thought, and a flash of gold within her peripheral vision had emitted.
"Come on, sweetie, Mama's got to get back to the Flower Booth to help Aunt Rikara sell things for the festival," sang out the tones of a dusk-soprano voice. The child didn't have to glance over to see the rifts of a dark-blue skirt flare around a pair of legs, nor up to see the familiar visage of a smiling woman, dark-brunette curls just barely toppling over her shoulders.
Instead, the girl continued to sit there, ignoring the woman.
"Alana Noelle, did you hear me? The king and queen are going to be here soon too, and I want to see the surprised looks on their faces when they see some of our best flowers, so come on!"
"Mama.. Look at the water. It's darker than usual," the girl mumbled, barely audible to her mother, as she reached down to touch it once more.
"Alana Noelle!" the woman instantly dropped her basket of roses in order to swipe up the child in her arms.
"But.. Mama, I.. I wasn't gonna fall in.."
"You know that the Oasis water is supposed to be left alone for the Flower Festival days," whispered the woman, soothingly. "You see all those beautiful flowers out there on the water?" she nodded, finally resting her gaze for the first time upon the Oasis, in which she lightly grimaced. "During the days of the Flower Festival, they're supposed to provide a small portal in which the souls of demons past can escape through to finally meet the Great Beyond. For any monsters still living in the water, they're our thanks to Gaia for no attacks ever since .. Well, you were just born then," she flustered, hurriedly. "Perhaps there's a demon in the water, and Gaia's punishing him right now. If you interrupt the cycle, you'll likely interrupt justice.
"Now then, are you ready to go help Mama and Aunt Rikara sell some flowers? We'll dress you up like we did last year, and maybe you can dance with Polomu'san again, depending on if you'll wear that pretty dress I made you, or not," she lightly shrugged her arm in order to keep her daughter in balance before reaching over to pick up the fallen basket, which, luckily, had retained the floral objects.
Alana hadn't heard a word her mother said after the explaination of Gaia's Justice; although she was only two, she knew by her mother's voice that the murkiness in the Oasis water further proved her theories about life and death as they would seem so to a child.
Interlude
By Aa-chan
Even as the sunlight trickled upon his naked scaly flesh, fed him warmth and life through the cold, unyielding barriers of inky-blue water, Revalla knew that the only thing to swim within the Kaipouan Oasis today would be a pattern of water lillies - and besides the point of being beneficial to the herbivorous, they had an odd reputation of floating atop the water rather than beneath where he felt susceptible to lurk within the murky shadows, and wait. Just wait.
Webbed fingers easily slopped through the weightless-seeming aquatic dryness, brushing at one of the ridged fins which lined both his cheekbones, beady onyx eyes boredly watching the few lingering bubbles which exited by way of breathing out through the water current (such as most creatures of the water did), as he continued his ponderance in silence. Once a year, as noted, the villagers that resided amongst the giant oasis seemed to entertain themselves by shouting - be it their voices, or some rubbish called 'music' - nearly all praises known within Gaia pertaining to flowers. "Flowers-this," and "Flowers-that," and "Flowers-for-the-Oasis!"
Revalla didn't think the latter extremely necessary.
As he thought of it, however, he tilted his head upwards in order to glance up to the water's surface. Sure enough, the shadows that resembled the spread out pads of lillies were admist, almost threateningly in state. His hearing traits had already caught on to the ongoing blabber of people, and their talks of floral since then, but now, they were growing stronger, as they usually did. Tomorrow night would bring a play; the next would take place at the Damcyan Castle, where the royalty there would finish up the damning three-day tributal to flowers with a dance - of which he was sure it had something to do with dirtiness, foul play.
But yet, all the villagers returned by early morning, drunker than Titan himself, by which he was tempted to rise from the water, and attack a random passerby who jousted about living even after holding his breath for thirty seconds. In less than three could the Water Hag prove him and his onlookers dead wrong.
The desire was great, and easily achievable, but a choice.
Since the Crystals' of Gaia's return to their rightful providers - Water, Mysidia. Wind, Fabul. Fire, Damcyan. Earth, Toroia. - the great goddess which embraced the Blue Planet had broken through the chain that had bounded her, and her sister, SeLunYa (or Luna, as most knew her as), to the gates of Oblivion, making her free to judge and rule the inhabiting creatures once again. The permissable desire that Zeromus, the evil that had first taken over Luna before proceeding to Gaia, had granted upon the world's creatures to attack and kill instantly had been prohibited by the Earth Maiden herself, though she took some pity on the stupider creatures who didn't know roasted chocobo from a fresh orchard apple. The punishment to come afterwards was death of their own, unless rightly justified.
It just wasn't worth it, he had decided. He was sure that somewhere out there, someday, evil would rise again, and the killing could continue as though it'd just been a short break.
Oh, but it can, Revalla, it can.
The frightening feature of Water Hags certainly wasn't helpful in displaying inner surprise, especially at the sound of someone else's voice. Even though he had glanced around, and saw nothing, his visage still remained in an annoying smirk as though it'd been branded there.
"Evil rise? What Revalla do to help Evil rise again?"
For starters, if you could kindly give me a bit of your skin, I'd appreciate it.
Revalla blinked..
Your SCALES, stupid..
"Revalla not stupid," he grunted, creating an overly large bubble that he was sure would possibly attract anyone looking at the oasis at the moment. "Revalla don't have any'thin' to picks it off with.".
The voice sighed. Those charming nails of yours wouldn't help at all? His shoulders raised almost humanlike before taking a talon against his scales. The sharp raking of his nail down an arm not only caused the needed particles of scale to fall off, but possibly more than what the advocate needed.
"There you go," he said, nodding vigorously, ignoring the sharp, sucking sound of the talon being ripped from his arm, and dark, massive blood which flowed freely from the rather huge gash resulting from the prior action. "What Revalla do now to help Evil rise again?"
A golden mist rose from the ground, embracing, and began to swirl underneath the fallen scales. One by one they disappeared like diamonds; slipped into the warm desert sand, only to leave behind a sparkly residue of memory.
Yes, yes.. This is more than enough, gloated the voice. With proper culture, perhaps I could take the remorseful excuse for stupidity out of splice, and actually create a useful population of you creatures. Thank you, Revalla. You've served me well, and deserve a rest; Forever, of course. Maybe you won't need to breathe anymore, so you'd better make this one your last! Farewell.
Dark-blue eyes, wide and full of curiosity, peered down into the depths of the Oasis water, just as their owner's chubby little hands had finally finished tossing the last of the handfulls of petals, as a priest would bless his people with the sweetened nectar of incense..
"Something's.." the rifts of her angelic voice spewed past her small lips as she slowly kneeled, a digit outstretched to tap the water insignificantly.
Ah, little one.. You shouldn't be alone..! The girl's eyes widened, a hand immediantely clamped to her head. Her gaze never wavered from the water, though - Afterall, that's where the screaming thought, and a flash of gold within her peripheral vision had emitted.
"Come on, sweetie, Mama's got to get back to the Flower Booth to help Aunt Rikara sell things for the festival," sang out the tones of a dusk-soprano voice. The child didn't have to glance over to see the rifts of a dark-blue skirt flare around a pair of legs, nor up to see the familiar visage of a smiling woman, dark-brunette curls just barely toppling over her shoulders.
Instead, the girl continued to sit there, ignoring the woman.
"Alana Noelle, did you hear me? The king and queen are going to be here soon too, and I want to see the surprised looks on their faces when they see some of our best flowers, so come on!"
"Mama.. Look at the water. It's darker than usual," the girl mumbled, barely audible to her mother, as she reached down to touch it once more.
"Alana Noelle!" the woman instantly dropped her basket of roses in order to swipe up the child in her arms.
"But.. Mama, I.. I wasn't gonna fall in.."
"You know that the Oasis water is supposed to be left alone for the Flower Festival days," whispered the woman, soothingly. "You see all those beautiful flowers out there on the water?" she nodded, finally resting her gaze for the first time upon the Oasis, in which she lightly grimaced. "During the days of the Flower Festival, they're supposed to provide a small portal in which the souls of demons past can escape through to finally meet the Great Beyond. For any monsters still living in the water, they're our thanks to Gaia for no attacks ever since .. Well, you were just born then," she flustered, hurriedly. "Perhaps there's a demon in the water, and Gaia's punishing him right now. If you interrupt the cycle, you'll likely interrupt justice.
"Now then, are you ready to go help Mama and Aunt Rikara sell some flowers? We'll dress you up like we did last year, and maybe you can dance with Polomu'san again, depending on if you'll wear that pretty dress I made you, or not," she lightly shrugged her arm in order to keep her daughter in balance before reaching over to pick up the fallen basket, which, luckily, had retained the floral objects.
Alana hadn't heard a word her mother said after the explaination of Gaia's Justice; although she was only two, she knew by her mother's voice that the murkiness in the Oasis water further proved her theories about life and death as they would seem so to a child.