Greatwater Lake i don't like human nature unless all candied over with art

Night crept lightly over the wilds, washing the horizon of the liquid ambers and pastel pinks of sunset and clearing light from the land until all were bathed in soothing blackness; the original state of the world. A distant story, one her mother had told, perhaps, had found its way back to her consciousness and as Saarthal stared at her flickering reflection in the water, she recalled its details: it told of the making of the world, of a God saying in the blackness of chaos and the universe 'let there be light', and the world was alight with this new invention. Her mother had lived through faith (was she still alive?) but Saarthal steered clear of it.
Even now, she tucked the story away into the corner of her mind and flopped onto the ground, turning until she lay on her back and faced the sky, lit with a billion flickering lights, and wondered at the galaxies far away, and if there were beings in those stars. But beautiful as it all was, and startlingly peaceful, Saarth felt unbearably alone for she was not a creature made to withstand her own company for long, a situation exacerbated by the fact that she belonged to a species which thrived in a team. A team she had no idea how to find.

well -- despite his uncertainty, cam stays with them, and he makes no move against the situation, and it comes to rest. they make a motley crew, him and ibis and mal and cam, all cast from elysium's light in one way or another. 
he wonders if cam has told mal about his father -- if he should, in any case.

in lieu of that okeanos takes himself on a little walk, letting himself drift further from the reaches of the forest than usual (he tells @Ibis what his plans are, of course). pointedly he curves his path down and away from elysium, retracing the path he and ibis took the first time to arrive at neverwinter. no real reason beyond an itch in his bones, but he must have left later than he thought, for night has fallen by the time he looks up and realizes he's reached the lake again. okeanos stops, first realizing with slight dismay he'll need to rest before he can head back, and then noticing the figure of the girl blanketed against the earth. he follows the direction of her snout up at the stars. last time he was here, he'd woven that story with ibis about cerulean and her drake -- it takes him a minute, but he finds the star they'd named, and feels comforted. 

without realizing it he'd allowed himself to drift closer to the girl; afraid of frightening her or being rude, he says politely, "beautiful night, isn't it?" and gestures skyward, hoping he hasn't misinterpreted her posture.

A gentle breeze brought a stranger's presence to Saarthal's attention though she did nothing to indicate her knowledge. It mattered little to her - yes, what if it was a murderer, a serial killer here to take her life? What, then? Death - the most natural thing in this universe, most likely. She'd come to the conclusion long ago that she was not afraid because she no longer had anything left to lose, not right now, not when she felt like she was alone in this universe, a singular creature fighting against the current of life and being borne backwards, helplessly, continously, despite all her efforts to propel forward. Forever, the waves brought her back. There was no one, nothing, just the stars and the moon, the chirping of insects and the wind's caressing touch, like the ghost of a lost lover. 
The stranger spoke and Saarthal shifted, leaning slightly with a tilt of her head to squint at the boy. The silver sheen of moonlight limned his outline, a contrast of darks and lights, a juxtaposition of colours - he was sorta cute in a boyish, scruffy way, sorta big, sorta tall, and polite which was always a bonus for first interactions. "Yeah," Saarthal replied, turning her attention back to the sky after her initial assessment of the stranger, "makes you think, doesn't it? How tiny we are in this universe...how pathetic our existence is." Saarth paused, quiet for a second, then, content with her moment of philosophical contemplation and having decided she was done with sharing for the night, turned to the stranger with an impish smile and said, "You've got really great eyes, dude. They're really pretty." Ah. Let her have her fun with her corny pick-up lines and lopsided grins. It wasn't often she had company. And anyway, unlike some of her sentiments, this one was rather genuine: he had the most astounding green eyes she'd ever seen, and she'd seen quite a few.

that this is an imposition does not occur to him until she fixes him with her gaze. sorry, nevermind, he thinks to say, but she beats him to it, her words warming him up even as he feels himself rushing to disagree. "i think it's nice," he starts, and then stops as she compliments his eyes, making him blink owlishly a few times. "oh! um, thank you," okeanos says (no one has ever really complimented him, and certainly not on his physical attributes, and in that tone), flustered, before remembering her previous comment and continuing.

"i think it's nice," he starts again, "being - reminded of our place, i mean. we're small, but we're a small part of something so much bigger, you know?" his tone is mild -- he's not picking a fight, only offering his point of view, and he settles to sit, his tail thumping against the ground pleasantly. he's more interested in this theological debate, but should he return the compliment as well? it seems rude not to, and, well, "your eyes -- they're nice too. very shiny," he offers, squinting a little at how terrible it sounds out loud. well -- well! he's trying.

Saarthal grinned, rakish, and laughed softly. The boy's flustered reaction and dorky attempt to return the compliment brought a quirk to her lips and a flicker of mischievous amusement to Saarth's copper eyes. She canted her head, tongue slipping out to wet her lips and regarded the stranger with newfound interest - both for arguing against her obviously 100% accurate and factual statement about their absurd existence in this apathetic universe and his adorable and slightly cringe-inducing compliment. 
"Shiny eyes, that's a first," Saarthal replied with a teasing smirk and a toss of her head, but decided not to torment him further. Despite not wishing to engage further in this meaningless discussion, the stranger seemed interested and even in this state and mood, Saarth was a people-pleaser. She supposed it was okay; this topic was one she enjoyed (secretly). "Part of something bigger..." Saarthal mused, "the universe is indiffierent to our existence, it cares not if we live or die, if we kill or help. We're part of an apathetic world, our lives holding no true meaning - except reproduction, I guess. Sex. Not even interesting sex, just normal, dude and dudette sex. We're nothing, dude. Ash and dust." She turned to him with a smile, teeth bared in a way that was more feral, more to emphasise a point, than sincere. "You could kill me now, cute stranger, and no one would care." Maybe I'd even thank you as my dying words. Who knows?

after a moment or two, okeanos lets himself drift to the ground, settling on his stomach like a rather small sphinx. his ears twitch back sheepishly as he teases -- he knows it's a bad compliment -- but he doesn't speak, listening intently to her instead. she talks so differently than his mothers and their gentle, warm spirituality, their firm belief in karma and lives woven together. but: he also thinks about ariel and lily's death, and his mouth twists.

she says several things that he doesn't  know what to do with. sex, for starters: he's not innocent in the sense that he more or less knows what it is and how one goes about it and why, but he's certainly virginal, and talking about it makes him want to fidget. also, she calls him cute, and what is he supposed to do about that? okeanos takes a beat to reply, letting his tonge swipe nervously against his lips. instinctively he wants to ask -- surely she's got friends or family that would care if she died -- but, well, she probably doesn't, if this is what she's telling him. so instead he says, quietly, "i would care," and gives her a searching look. he wants to explain -- even if the universe doesn't care, the people you meet, they remember you, parts of you, and that must count for something, we're all touching each other somehow (and, yes, in the sexy way too, he supposes), but he's not sure how to without sounding hopelessly naive. so he tries to put it all into his expression instead, open and a little vulnerable, as one tends to be at this time of night.

Saarthal glanced at the stranger, searching his (jeez, his eyes are really freaking pretty) green depths for sincerity. There was a strange vulnerability in his expression that she hadn't expected to see, a raw openness; his soul unlocked, bared for the world, bared for her to see. She blinked and her lips quirked in a half-smile, melancholic in nature but gentle, honest in her own way. "I suppose you would," Saarth conceded, allowing the moment to last longer than a second before a characteristic shit-eating smirk took over her features and she threw herself back onto the ground with a sigh. "So who're you? I can't call you Pretty Eyes forever...unless you want me to."
She gazed back at the sky, its darkness soothing the chaos of her inner world. The stars flickered in the distance and the sterling girl liked to think they were blinking down at her in approval - even though she knew the stars were just burning balls of fire light years away and utterly indifferent to her existence. The truth was, everyone needed a little magic in their lives to survive and Saarth knew whatever she said, whatever she'd said to the stranger, however true it was...she could no longer afford to be pessimistic. Or too blatantly realistic, for that matter. Not if she wanted to keep her life. "I'm Saarthal, by the way."

sorry for the wait my dear<3

for a moment, he worries it'll be too weird and she'll leave. the thought bothers him, though it shouldn't -- they've just met, she certainly doesn't owe him any company. only there's something interesting about her. he can't help the relief in his expression when she finally speaks, trying to bury it under a sheepish smile in the face of her charming smirk.

saarthal, she introduces herself, after more or less asking for his name. (secretly, he wouldn't mind if she kept calling him 'pretty eyes', but he doesn't know how to put that into words, nor does he think it's exactly appropriate.) "my name is okeanos," he offers, glancing up at the sky alongside her. there's the star he named cerulean, he thinks. gemini looks more distant today, and oh, that one is.. leo, maybe? still looking up, he says inanely, "so, do you think about strangers killing you, often?"

no worries! :)

"Okeanos," Saarthal repeated, rolling the word around her tongue. It felt familiar, though not in a way she could pinpoint; she assumed it was something she heard in passing back in her natal pack, there were always travellers coming through from all sorts of exotic places. Those were the days...she remembered how she would run to greet the newcomers, flirt with the pretty ones and have some fun. Now - nothing ever happened, just stargazing and a boy with his pretty eyes and too-nice words.
"Honestly, so much that I can't believe I haven't made it happen simply by the power of my mind," answered Saarthal with a nonchalent toss of her head, eyeing Okeanos slyly out of the corner of her eye. "But who knows right? Maybe today'll be my lucky day. What do you say, pretty boy? Fancy having a go at me?" Saar's ears twitched and her lips curled into a coquettish grin. Ah, let her have her fun whilst she still could.

her answer startles a genuine laugh out of him, his mouth curving into a warm grin as he catches her sly glance. "oh, i think we pretty firmly established i'm not the type," okeanos says, ignoring the warmth thats rising across his neck and the way have a go at me suddenly reminds him of that boy and ibis, what they'd been doing. that's not what saarthal means here, of course, even if she does think he's pretty. or maybe she just tells everyone she meets that they're pretty.

anyway: "if anything, you'd probably be able to get one over on me," he continues, trying to match her banter, and wiggles slightly as if to demonstrate his physical ineptitude. "i'm not the most -- ah -- i spend most of my time looking at the stars and cataloguing plants, so. not exactly the killer type."

Saarthal's grin grew wider at Okeanos's laugh, a mischievous gleam entering her gaze as she shifted, turning to face him straight on. "It's never too late to try," she teased, "'c'mon, have a go, fuck me over." There was something strangely enthralling about him - despite the fact that she didn't often go for dudes - something that drew her forward, wanting to unravel his mystery before they inevitably parted ways. Saarth's methods had always been pretty hands on, rather unlike stargazing and plant-logging (even though her official profession and speciality was medicine, she was still debating her interest in that area), but maybe Okeanos would be kind enough to play along. "I'm a star-gazing, plant-cataloguing girl myself - aspiring medic here. Although, probably more plant tearing, killing and collecting than cataloguing....Eh, small difference," Saarth leaned forward, playful now, flirtatious, "c'mon, Okeanos, come at me. It'll be fun!"

he blinks at her owlishly -- it's hard to tell if she's joking, or rather, to what degree she's joking, since everything about her thu far has come off with some degree of irony. he hesitates until she speaks again, warmth blooming in his chest when she echoes his own interests. but she doesn't drop the game, and okeanos doesn't want her, suddenly, to think he's not able to keep up. (he is definitely not able to keep up, but that's neither here nor there.)

"okay," he hears himself saying, "like-?"

okeanos is not entirely graceless, though not speedy, and his arc forward is oddly dexterous if cautious. there's no end game in mind; he doesn't open his mouth to seek purchase in her fur, instead opting to fall into her like an oversized tumbleweed, perhaps to pin her down, though he leaves plenty of space for her to dart away if he's terribly misread the scene she's set.

He seemed hesitant but Saarthal didn't mind. Enthusiasm was all that mattered, and sure enough, Okeanos shouldered through and gave a go at the game Saar had woven out of nowhere. A ridiculous game. A game to distract the girl from the prowling demons in her mind. But - ridiculous nonetheless, because when Okeanos launched himself forward, cautious, gentle and strangely kind in manner -however kind someone who wanted to crush her with their body could be - Saar could've easily danced out of the way, teased, aggravated (things she was probably too good at) but instead she only moved slightly out of the way so that he pinned her down but not enough to crush her. Saarth's eyes were alight with a curious fire as she met his eyes and she panted lightly, giggling at the absurdity of the situation she had conjured and at the strange, nice man who'd decided out of the kindness of his heart to entertain her. Maybe the world wasn't...that bad after all. "See?" Saar teased with a wide smile and crinkled eyes, "you've got it in you, after all."

time feels dilated as he is met with no resistance, settling over her. more a large blanket than a threat, but it is strange -- he's never been so close to someone who wasn't his immediate family. he can feel the lines of her, where they meet him, where he spills over her. a fierce blush rises from his neck across his cheeks, hidden by the thick dark fur of his face. "guess so," okeanos stammers out, unsure what the proper protocol here is -- does he get up? does he make another move? 

in the end, he opts for what feels the most natural and moves to curl his teeth against her nape, where it meets her shoulder, in a gentle mimicry of roughhousing. his eyes search for hers as he does, a little nervous, but maybe more curious, repeating his previous question nonverbally: like this now? 

Saarthal laughed lightly and remaining uncharacteristically quiet as teeth met her nape, a curious smile tugging on her lips; she shivered lightly, a memory surfacing from the black boiling cauldron of stuff. The sensation was uncannily familiar and a pang of longing zapped through her veins, curling around her heart, squeezing until it ached. Bruising, painful - the pain felt good to drown in. She remembered now, how it felt. In any case, it would not do to dwell in that right now, not with - Saar glanced at Okeanos and thought, partly amused, that he seemed to be growing more and more handsome as each second passed; his eyes remained startling pretty...though she had a softer spot for blue ones - him on top of her. Instead, Saar grinned and leaned to brush her nose against his cheek, "you're too gentle," she said, "though you seem to be enjoying this."

ugh i love them?

too gentle she chides: sheepishly he lets go of her nape and says, honestly, "i don't want to really hurt you." he's not an idiot -- he knows he is large, and capable of inflicting harm, if he were so inclined, even without training. especially in a situation like this, with saarthal vulnerable under him (at least, that's how he perceives it). still...

he withdraws, just a little, easing his body off hers. then his eyes flash, some kind of determination glinting in them, and he shoves towards her again, a little faster this time, and with a little more force. once more he aims for her nape, less an approximation of roughhousing and more roughhousing, though there is a lingering sort of hesitation in his movements -- well. he's trying.

<3

"You're not going to hurt me," Saarthal said easily with a rakish smile and a toss of her head, "well, not unless I want you to..." trailing off, her tail flicked amiably and she tilted her head at Okeanos. Saar noted the newfound determination in the man's frame, grinned toothily and waited until the last moment before jumping out of the way. "C'mon, kid," Saarthal teased, dancing lightly and then without thinking much, as was usual with the majority of Saar's actions, the sterling girl's ears slid back against her skull and she charged straight at Okeanos without any intention of stopping. Truth to be told, she wasn't quite sure what she wanted to accomplish given that her opponent was one hell of a man and there was little chance she could topple him but...well, she wanted to see what he would do. Dominance was always appealing. Well, until it wasn't. But she digressed.

were he human, he would swoon, dazed by her careless confident (and entirely unsure what to do with it). she dodges him easily--he shifts, thinking he's meant to chase her--and then she's coming at him unexpectedly. if he wanted, he could hold his ground, easily, or meet her halfway and knock her to the ground once again. but okeanos has no real interest in winning--he's more interested in saarthal's goals.

when she's about to make contact he drops and rolls onto his side with a playful bark, letting her collide into him. being the one on the ground feels easier (he's less worried he'll accidentally crush her), and so he takes advantage, kicking lightly as he tries to get a grip on her nape, not unlike a large cat.

so sorry for the late repy!

Okeanos seemed to have got his head around the game which Saarthal was both pleased and...slightly less pleased about. She crashed into him with a soft "oof" and then, blinking rapidly, registered the new situation. Ah. Deducing his intentions, Saar relaxed into his grip, allowing him to grab hold of her. She wanted to see what he would do with this new dynamic. It would be interesting, she felt, to see if he would do what she expected him to do...or if he'd surprise her isntead. Saar wasn't quite sure which one she preferred. She hoped...nah, better not to voice her thoughts aloud in case she accidentally jinxed it.