"The Water Flows,"
beneath the moon, a tearful farewell,
Mother's voice, soft, she implores,
"Stay, my dear, in this realm we dwell,
Follow not where the current soars."
Daughter's gaze, a flicker of sorrow,
Yearning heart, aching to borrow,
Yet mother's plea, she must obey,
In solitude, she shall stay.
Dragon's form, the mother takes,
A whispered loss, her love awakes,
Slowly, she melds with the water's crest.
Flowing to a distant quest.
The water flows, their souls entwined,
A promise made, time will remind,
One day, their spirits shall reunite,
Loves embrace, resplendent light.
Within the ebb and flow, they trust,
Separate paths, but hearts robust,
In shadows deep, hope softly glows,
As eternally, the water flows.
The air grew heavy with an awkward silence as Maka's mother recited the poem with an exaggerated flamboyance. She moved like water over stones. Her nakedness shimmering in the fading lights of the twin suns. Sparkles implied at the dragon's scales just underneath. Her hair weightless, moving with unseen currents as she performed. She was ethereal and serpentine in beauty. And embarrassing.
"what's with the odd way of speaking?" both asked as if conjoined. Maka exchanged a glance with Kea, their eyes reflecting shared embarrassment. Kea tried to suppress a smile while Maka shifted uncomfortably, wishing for the ground to swallow them whole. Sensing the tension, Maka mustered the courage to interrupt. "Mother, maybe we can skip the recital this time?" Her mother's expression fell momentarily, but she quickly recovered with a sigh. "I suppose my artistic flair is lost on you, dear."
Maka's cheeks burned with a mix of guilt and frustration. "It's not that, Mother. It's just... a bit much." Her mother offered a half-hearted smile, acknowledging the critique. "Very well, I'll tone it down. But remember the water flows, and so does my poetic spirit." Kea couldn't help but chuckle.
"and if this is your way of telling us to stay? Father has beaten you to it," she said. A heavy sigh followed as Mizuchi, Maka's mother and a water dragon goddess, rolled her eyes and feigned disappointment. The corners of her mouth turned downward. Deep but not-so-deep lines played across her forehead. She was a little vain.
"Mikoto has... hasn't she?" she whispered. "It's just I didn't want you to think that..."
"What?" Maka said, with a tilt of her head. "that you didn't care?" Her eyes shifted, and a softness rolled over her like a warm blanket. "who was it that called me to her when I was afraid?" Cheeks blushed. "or when father was distant and a little angry," She breathed, holding her breath, enhancing her small chest. Kea shook her head and rolled her eyes at her girlfriend's attempt to overcompensate.
"she was afraid," Mizuchi whispered, eyes dimming momentarily.
Mizuchi bit her lower lip as she tried to hold back her chuckle. As her daughter tried her best to use a cute attack. she even slowly shifted her hips and posed a little.
A cute attack. It is a vampire ability. An attack using one's physical attributes. To draw your prey closer. Works best when the person using it has the assets to present. And at currently ten years old, dragon age. She does not. She is more preteen, human age, not yet sixteen.
Mizuchi reached over and patted Maka on the head. She growled and thinned her eyes, but still, her cheeks blushed as she enjoyed her mother's attention. Kea, almost jealous of the relationship, stepped closer, putting her arm around her waist and pulling her close.
"why are you leaving now instead of..." Kea asked. Wondering why she hadn't left with Mikoto.
"I needed to give her time. I don't want her to know that I am following." The water dragon said as she stepped away. And stood at the edge of the rim of the burned-out hollow created by the railgun blast.
"sounds like a stalker," Makka grinned.
Mizuchi stumbled, shaking her head, "I wouldn't call it stalking, but….it does have its merits" She smirked with a quick wink.
She raised her hand. "Now, not to flood the gardens." She raised her hand higher, and the ground surged and slowly rose and collapsed, creating a large earthen dam. It was nearly nine hundred meters long, with an ascending grade as it moved away from the gardens. She chuckled, "Got lucky with that one." She smiled, "Or else it would be a rather deep ravine for her to travel on." She smacked her hands and turned around. Maka and Kea looked like two confused kittens as they watched and listened. "I used the water to force the blast upward. Otherwise, we would just have a deep depression," she pointed across the gardens to the river port, "and it wouldn't help her travel."
"you wanted her to go?" Maka asked, a little hurt coming across her face. Her mother nodded, "Of course.. she needs to. It will do her some good to get out and see what this world offers."
"But what about..." Kea interrupted. remembering Mikoto was waiting for Anastasia to return."Even that," Mizuchi said. "You've been talking to your mother?"
Kea nodded.
"Bahamut maybe be dead, but there are others." She said, "Without her armies and friends, she will need to know what is happening before she gets to his city." She stepped into the enormous burned-out river bed. Running her bare feet over the colored textures and coarse melted rocks. "It houses one of the only working portals in this realm." she grinned. "Perfect." She said of the touch of stone underneath her feet. The charred patterns reflected in her eyes. She scrapped her big toe along the surface, eyes swirling in the colors of water, blues, and greens. It sounded like a poof or pop of air, followed by water burbling.
"Now, now..." she whispered, " this will not do..." she knelt, placing her hand over the small hole, "come now... let's not be shy?"
It answered with a loud buckle and crack that spread across the burned surface, and the water surged high in a geyser and spread and fell in a heavy deluge. Sheets of water rolled and crashed, splashed over the rim. rising quickly to her waistline. She held her hands out in front of her, and the churning water held like a wall waiting to fall.
"I will see you again, my most precious daughter," Mizuchi whispered, her voice carrying on the waves. The geyser erupted, pushing higher. With it, Her figure transformed, taking the geyser and turning into elusive eel-like dragon form, its sinuous body gliding, drifted down, crashing into the water below, creating a surge that pushed it forward into a newfound freedom.
"Show off," Maka playfully remarked, puckering her mouth. She heard her mother's soft chuckle in response. Mizuchi emerged and submerged with mesmerizing fluidity, her form almost translucent as she blended with the water currents. "yep…" she heard her mother say as she faded into the element.