Water Falls, Water Flies
By jyll#7485 & Soko's_Croissant#5202:
KEICHI “I’m glad you're not showing up to my mixer in one of those togas of yours,” his cousin said. Keichi tried to not be too distracted and focus on walking but Michelle was really annoying. “They're not togas, they're robes that are supposed to make it easier to fly,” he spat out. “Besides, I'm not doing any Aven stuff today. I'm just regular old human Keichi.” True to his word, he'd hidden his wings and the feathers that usually rested behind his ear. Though, for sentimental reasons, he'd kept the feathers hanging from his earlobes, intending to pass them off as earrings. He'd thought that they tied his outfit together nicely. A turtleneck, beige slacks and shiny black dress shoes, because he wasn't too sure of the dress code. God, Michelle was right. He did need to get out more. “Whatever you say, Flyboy. Whether you showed up looking like a nerd or someone from Ancient Greece, some of these people are still going to fall for you.” The two of them had the same dark complexion and looked very alike, almost like brother and sister. But while his eyes were lavender, Michelle’s were a much darker purple. Considering their similarities, she wasn't really complimenting him, but herself. “It's the Romans who wore togas,” he automatically corrected. “Wow, so you're suddenly taking History? What, got bored of psychoanalysing people?” “I see the building,” Keichi said in lieu of an answer. He quickened his pace and Michelle looked up curiously, the nightclub coming into view. “Okay, geez,” she said. “Slow down there, I'm the one who booked this thing. You don't even know where the room is.” At that, he slowed down a bit after reaching the door. Michelle let out an amused huff and pushed the door open. She feigned as if she was letting him go first but, not one for courtesy, squeezed in at the same time as him. Making their way into the building, things went from zero to one hundred for Keichi’s oh so sensitive ears. Thrumming, thunderous music pulsated through the air. He couldn't help but wince. “Hey,” Michelle said. “My best tip is to just be yourself, alright?” She laid a comforting arm on his shoulder. Yeah. Michelle was right. That was really all he could do. If it didn't work, he'd try again some other time. His lips curled into a smile and he opened his mouth to thank her but was cut off by a gasp. “Woah, hey!” Michelle tried to look nonchalant but her giddy tone betrayed her true feelings. “Keich, could you wait here a sec? I see someone I know. I'm just gonna go talk to him real quick.” He shooed her away with a strained smile. “Oh, no. Sure. Go ahead.” In her excitement, she didn't take the time to look at his face. If she had, she probably wouldn't have run off towards the dance floor. Keichi sighed. He was sure she couldn't take that long. He let his eyes roam the room for something to do whilst he waited and his sight landed on a bar. “Drinking does make people more confident,” he reasoned. He strolled over to the bar, sitting on a stool and quietly observing the bartender, who was cleaning a cup and had his back to him. He tossed a glance back at Michelle. Oh, she'd be a while. Her and her mystery guy were dancing now. “What drinks do you recommend?” he asked the bartender. “Surprise?” the man grunted. Keichi hesitated a bit before nodding, deciding to live a little. A few minutes later, the man came out with a cup of reddish amber liquid. Keichi wasn't well versed enough in alcohol to identify it, but he assumed it was some kind of mix. He'd barely made his way through half of the barman’s recommendation when the other man spoke up. “Are you and that girl you came with an item or something?” Disgust overtook Keichi’s features and he recoiled. “Hell no, she's my cousin! Why would you ask that!?” “You came in with her but she left with someone else. Not to mention you've been staring at her and her date this whole time.” “She left?” Keichi wheeled around to scan the dance floor for his cousin. Nothing. “Damn. Do you know where they went? She never told me what room they were having the mixer in.” “Ah, probably somewhere in the back,” he man supplied, wholly unhelpful. Keichi heaved a sigh but decided it was best not to annoy the man who looked like he'd poison someone's drink if he had the chance. Keichi took out his phone and searched for Michelle’s contact. He tried to call her number but the phone didn't even ring. He dragged his hands down his face. “Ugh, why can't you ever switch your phone on, Mish. ” He probably sat at the bar, spam calling his cousin, for the better part of ten minutes before he started to wonder if he should just try looking for her. His head thunked against the table and he pulled his neglected drink closer to him. Not long after, a hand tapped his shoulder and he held back a jolt, just so the cup wouldn't slip from his grip. He whipped his head around only to find himself staring back at a casually dressed young woman who looked just about his age. A natural, easy smile rested upon her lips, her eyes studying him cautiously. He hoped that it wasn't too strange for him to study her in turn. Her hair was an eye catching bright blue, a few shades darker than that of her eyes. Her wavy locks curled elegantly in pigtails, swishing like waves and resting on her shoulders. She sort of reminded him of a painting. Locking eyes with her, his statement felt justified. The white pupils in those eyes gave off a very pastel feeling. Though, he was sheepishly pulled from his musings when she spoke. "Hey, sorry for interrupting your sleep,” she said, sounding rather innocent for someone who had just finished scaring the life out of him, “But have you seen a man here who’s kinda tall, has dirty blond hair and a little scar under his eye?” Something nigged at the back of his mind. Mulling her words over in his head, the description did sound a bit familiar. “Kind of paleish, wearing a leather jacket and the scar looks like a boomerang?” Keichi asked, the words flowing out before he could even connect the dots. Her eyes brightened, and Keichi was reminded of sunlight on a deep blue sea. “Exactly like that!” Coral said with a fervent nod. Oh. Hopefully Michelle hadn't stolen this girl's date or something. “My cousin went off with him somewhere. If she remembers me, she might come back with him here?” “Do you mind if I wait with you?” The question was asked while Coral pulled back a chair and sea-froth eyes stared back at him with hope. “No, go ahead.” His next words tumbled out of his mouth at the risk of sounding like the nosy barkeep. “Uh, is he your date?” Coral cringed a little as she answered, eyes straying to the table for a quick second. “No. I have other business with him. It's… work related.” Keichi nodded in understanding, taking a sip of his strong tasting drink. God, he messed that up. His throat tingled with the warm burn of the surprise drink— which he really ought to get the name for. Just as things were settling back into an awkward silence, he heard a throat being cleared. The girl propped her elbows against the counter, asking, “So what are you here for?” He cracked a smile. “That sounds suspiciously like an opening line a prisoner would give to their new cell mate.” Seeing her lips curl in amusement, it seemed like her smile before was most likely just her resting expression. “Oh, come on, you know what I meant…” she paused for a second, as if trying to remember something. “Uh, you?” she finished. After a second it dawned on him what she was fumbling around for. “It's Keichi. Keichi Roscoe. You?” “Coral,” she said, and nothing else. “It fits.” He thought he'd murmured it, but he must've spoken much louder than he thought. Coral’s eyes widened a little at his declaration. He scrambled to clarify his words. “I mean, it really suits you. You look like the ocean. As in, um, your vibes,” he finished, eloquence coating his every word. Vibes? Really, Keichi? She laughed, eyes crinkling as she leaned back in her seat. “Heh, thanks, I guess.” In general, she moved a lot as she spoke. This time, she ducked her head down, letting out a small chuckle that she tried to conceal. “It kind of makes me happy to hear I give off that feeling.” Keichi spent a few seconds doing nothing but searching and staring. “Do you have a strong connection with the ocean?” Coral startled. “How'd you know?” With a grin, Keichi proudly announced, “I’d know that look anywhere. I'm cas crazy about the sky as I bet you are the sea.” He tacked on, “It'd be awkward if I misread you. If I'm wrong, please go easy on me, I don't have a fully fledged psychology degree yet.” Relaxing into her seat, Coral said, “Woah, do tell.” His brain didn't usually lag this much all in one day. Maybe it was the alcohol. He looked down at his drink then back up at Coral. Ah, to hell with it. This wasn't the mixer but he was having a perfectly fine conversation with someone who genuinely intrigued him. “A lot of people say the stars are beautiful but it's not only them that are worth admiring. I think the sky is always amazing. I'm the kind of guy who wants to sit at the window seat in an aeroplane just so I can take a hundred pictures. And I’m currently just a student, but yeah. I plan to get there some day.” Coral’s face lit up, an attentive expression displayed across it. She dragged her stool closer and eventually they were sitting shoulder to shoulder. “Do—” she started before getting cut off by a growling voice. “Are you actually gonna order any drinks?” The bartender. Again. Ugh. “I’ll have what he's having?” Coral half-questioned. Keichi nodded. “And I'll have another. You can put them both on my tab.” The man skulked away to make more drinks and Coral looked at Keichi, distinctly surprised. “You don't have to do that—” “I want to.” He sensed she wasn't someone who would just leave it at that so he added on, “After these drinks we can go looking for your co-worker and my cousin, if you'd like. Since they're probably together. Think of your company as repayment.” He paused. “I only mean that in a ‘you don't owe me anything’ kind of way.” Two glasses of amber liquid clinked against the counter as the barman set them down. He promptly shuffled away, probably to feign disinterest in people's conversations. Coral gathered one of the glasses in her hands. “Okay, just this once. And right after, we’ll go searching.” That turned out to be a bit of a lie. Keichi found himself engrossed in hearing Coral speak about the ocean with such passion. He swapped slightly edited stories about his admiration for the sky, seeing as he was keeping his wings and status as an Aven a secret. Occasionally, she'd sprinkle in an anecdote with a friend or two's name and he would attempt to match the energy of her stories with similar ones of his own. Throughout it all, the two of them found themselves ordering more drinks, thus losing their filters more and more. Between a lapse in songs, Keichi caught sight of a flash of wavy black hair, the same texture as his own. He paused in his recounting of his first taste of the whirlwind that was college, squinting at a clock by the bar. Coral nudged him. “Everything okay?” “We forgot about your guy. Coworker dude or something. And my cousin,” he replied. Coral tossed a glance at the clock, her tan skin paling soon after. “We’ve been talking that long? Ah, I hope my friends don't get too worried.” She mumbled something else under her breath, but the words were lost to the bar noise. Keichi squinted into the crowd. Oh, that was definitely Michelle. And she was still with that guy, too. Focusing on the area for a bit, it seemed that there were bathrooms near the dance floor. Ah, so that's why she'd gone there. Keichi couldn't help but pout. Wow, she hadn't even gone back for him. He furrowed his brow. “Oh, wait, you came here with friends? Are they looking for that guy too?” “Yeah,” Coral said, after a bit of hesitation. “But if they'd found him they probably would've already come to get me.” “Well, I see my cousin over there. If you're up for it, we could follow her since she's still with that guy.” “Sounds like a plan.” As he got to his feet, Keichi found himself the victim of jello legs. He grabbed onto the counter to steady himself. Coral offered him an arm, but he didn't really understand why. She rolled her eyes good naturedly. “Grab on. We definitely drank a little too much. Let's support each other.” He didn't put too much thought into the action of locking arms with her. It was a bit scary how much he just wasn't thinking about it. Like it was just natural, second nature. The corridors of the club were significantly quieter than the main space where the dance floor and bar were. It almost made him wish he'd retreated here so his sensitive ears didn't have to suffer the thunderous beat of the so-called ‘music’. They easily followed Michelle and the blond. Keichi was pleasantly surprised by how quiet Coral could be. No wonder she was able to sneak up on him. When Michelle stopped in front of a door, pushing it open, Keichi opened his mouth to call out to her but hearing the sound of chatter made him stifle the words in his throat. With caution, Keichi and Coral peeked around the doorframe. The place had a sizable group of people, some talking, some eating and some drunkenly belting out lyrics. Cushioned seats, a round table meant for a large group of people and a mini stage complete with speakers as tall as him, probably for karaoke, decorated the place. Michelle, followed by the man, jogged over to the round table where other people were nursing drinks and having jovial discussions. “Hey, I was just catching up with someone,” Michelle said, looking over at the blond. “This is Owen. Did we miss anything?” “Only the worst rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star that I've ever seen,” one of the table's occupants snorted. Owen stared at the doorway for an uncomfortable amount of time. “Michelle, I'd love to stay but I think I should get going. Work stuff, you know how it is.” Michelle frowned but let the matter go. “Fine. We got to catch up again some time though, okay?” Owen nodded, his movements seeming hurried. “I had a lovely time with you.” He briskly walked towards the door, shutting it behind him as he exited the room. His eyes darted around what he should've thought was an empty hallway. Like some kind of boogey-creature, he skulked away from the door, growling, “Who’s there?” When he received no answer, he reached into his pocket, fishing out a gun. And then another one from his other pocket. Keichi’s heart went manic, eventually settling in his throat. He didn't think it was something he'd be able to swallow. If ‘Owen’ turned back, everyone in that room was in danger. If he continued walking through the club, other partygoers would be in danger. And if Keichi stood by and did nothing, Coral would be in danger. He swallowed hard. His back prickled with the need to release his wings and fight. His foot took a step forwards, ready to dart out of the corner, with speed and the element of surprise on his side. Needless to say, when Coral all but jumped out of the corner and directly into Owen’s line of sight, though his skin was dark, he felt like he'd paled drastically. Figures that when Keichi finally made it to the mixer, everything had gone to the dogs. “You're going to put the weapons down and tell me everything you know,” Coral said, getting into a fighting stance. What did she think that would do against weapons? Also, what? Owen looked unimpressed. He pointed a gun at her, white light swirling mystically in its barrel. Coral sighed. “That never works.” Owen fired a beam at her but it… dissipated within her. The sight of the beam seemingly piercing through her almost made Keichi’s gut cave in, but Coral stood in her place, unwavering. Her chest rippled as if the beam had been thrown onto a water surface. With Owen startled, Coral used that opportunity to rush forward. He raised his gun to shoot another beam. Water coated Coral’s arms as she whipped the gun away from his hand. As Owen stumbled back, he brought his other arm back. Keichi’s eyes caught a flash. Snapping into attention, his wings unsheathed as fast as a sword cuts through tofu, the four limbs ripping through the fabric of his turtleneck. He propelled himself forward and scooped Coral up into his arms, sliding out of the blast’s range. “Careful,” he huffed out. Coral stared at him with big, wide eyes. The newly returned feathers behind his ears fluttered in embarrassment from the force of her gaze. Coral smiled. “Thanks.” She shot a hand out, throwing water to aim for the remaining gun in Owen’s hand. In retaliation, the man fired the energy blasts madly. Keichi made use of both his wings and legs, running circles around the man, occasionally taking flight to throw him off. Owen’s aim grew sloppy and grip on the gun careless, but even Keichi himself was startled when the gun went flying out of the man’s hand. Coral smiled up at him, a sphere of water floating in her palm, which she promptly chucked at Owen’s face, sending him crashing to the ground. Keichi watched as water coated one of Coral’s arms and flowed unto the ground, slithering towards Owen and tying his hands back onto a sentient puddle. “Nice wings you got there,” Coral grinned, her free hand pointing at his wings while her other remained in its waterfall-like state. Keichi smiled back. “Looks like we're both a bit more interesting than we described.” He set her back down on the ground. “For date part two, do you want to try it without the secrets?” Coral’s ever present smile waned and she seemed to deflate. If he was to describe it he'd say it was like waves becoming eerily still. A calm before the storm, so to say. In this case, the storm had to be disappointment. Was he too forward? Keichi fumbled to dismiss his offer, saying, “I didn't mean to overstep. You can just um… ignore that.” “No, no, it’s just…” She looked away, as if occupying herself with examining Owen and tapping his head with her foot. Eventually it seemed whatever thoughts she was carrying weighed too much on her. Her shoulders sagged. “Now that we’ve seen each other’s secrets, at least, I guess I can come clean. A little bit.” He kept silent, waiting for her to continue. “I have a dangerous job, to say the least.” Her voice was quiet, almost guilty, and it worried him. “I can’t promise that I’ll have the time for another date.” He watched as she methodically encased Owen’s body in water, leaving his head out in the open. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, really! It’s not like I don’t want to! In fact I do, I enjoyed every conversation we had tonight and I’d love to be able to talk to you more, maybe bring you to the ocean, ask you to take me to the sky, but you— I can’t…” As she rambled, fumbling over her words, Keichi tried to pick on the key parts of all she said. It almost felt like a rejection, like she was saying goodbye. At that, a wave of disappointment washed over him. Coral was too good to be true. Of course their time together would only be short. Though, if she was turning him down, why not get it over with? Underneath it all, there seemed to be something else. He didn't think she was someone who would lead someone on and drag a rejection out. “But I…?” he asked after a second of silence. She said nothing as she stood up, and Keichi began to think that maybe he did overstep, and because of that she would clam up and leave. He reached for her, but she turned to face him. Her expression made him pause. “I don’t think you’d appreciate dating me,” she said, softly. The absurdity of her statement made Keichi blink and he stared at her in confusion. “Why would you think that?” She looked down at her feet. Owen still laid, unconscious. Coral’s eyes wavered, and beneath the calm before the storm Keichi sensed a deep wound. He found that he was starting to dislike this particular expression of hers. Words of comfort sprang up his throat, but before he could even speak, she continued. “Do you not mind that I can die at any time when out on the field? Are you alright with dating someone who might leave you behind like that?” His heart had never gone back to its rightful place after seeing Coral jump into battle. But hearing this, it positively sank, as stones would into one's stomach. So it was that serious. Appraising her overall countenance, Coral didn't seem upset at the thought of having to do her job. It was something that she'd already accepted. The realisation made his brain stutter and eyes burn. Resigned acceptance, he'd felt that a long time ago as well. They were even greater kindred spirits than he'd first thought. His mouth was dry as he said, “I’d be saddened to see you die, but at the same time, I think I understand destiny and duty. To make a long story short, when I was young and had just grown my wings, people saw that I had four and mine were white and told me I was their prophesied hero.” A small smile formed on his lips. “The prophecy ended up being fake in the end, but before I knew that, as I got to know the others, I started to think that I wouldn’t mind dying for them.” Coral seemed to have a hard time looking him in the eye, but he let her take in his words before he continued. “You seem to be content with your job, and if it fulfils you, I wouldn’t want to take that away from you. If you’re okay with it, I’d accept that possibility.” “There's something else as well,” she said. Bringing her sad pastel eyes up to look at him, she continued, “And I don't know if you’ll believe me.” He gave her a flat stare. “I probably will to be honest. I've seen things.” Coral still looked unconvinced so he went on to elaborate, “That prophecy I told you about? It made immortal knights from another dimension rain down from the sky.” Coral furrowed her brow. “I thought you said it was fake.” Keichi shrugged. “Most of it.” Wait, was this her deflecting? Or was he just this bad at keeping things on track? “But that's besides the point.” It seemed that she had been deflecting, but not because she didn't want to talk to him. Coral remained silent, eyes as far away from his own as possible. Her mouth parted a few times, perhaps unconsciously. From that, it looked like the issue was a lack of words. She didn't know what to say, how to put it. Even worse, fear was holding her back from actually going ahead and saying it. But resolve seemed to well up in her ( not funny, brain ) and she let her lips run loose. “I’m a cursed being not from this world.” Ah, maybe that's why she didn't want to tell him her situation until he mentioned the Dark Knights. Scanning over her, he couldn't help but wonder what she meant by ‘cursed’. Was it self deprecating? Were her water powers considered a curse? Was it something else? Whatever it was, it couldn't be too bad. This so-called cursed being was the one who kept him— a stranger— company. She helped him stand when he had gotten tipsy, laughed, joked and swapped stories with him even when she had important business to do. She could've easily ditched him and went to search for Owen instead of sitting with him. Coral must have gained some confidence back, because her smooth voice pulled him out of his thoughts once again. “I mentioned I’m here with friends. They’re also my teammates. We’re here in this world with a mission. This guy,” she paused, gesturing to Owen with her foot, “happened to be involved in some way, so we tracked him down here.” The idea that Michelle had been hanging around some strange man involved in inter dimensional affairs disturbed him. He'd have to thank Coral somehow. She looked like she had a thousand more words to say and this was obviously very difficult for her. He stayed mum, posture open and expression neutral. “We’ll have to return to our home world after we’re done. So…” He could tell her next words were hard for her to say, and frankly he already had a feeling where this was going. “So there will… there can’t be a next date.” She looked at him as if awaiting anger or mocking laughter. She looked ready to be scorned, abandoned, disbelieved. Part of him wondered who had hurt her so. Why she guarded herself like that. “Ah,” he started, trying not to sound choked up. “I'll miss you then. You were the highlight of my day.” Coral’s face flashed with a dozen emotions, most of them along the lines of surprise or shock, before her lips curled back into the smile that completed her look. Her eyes still held a deep sadness in them but her gaze was appreciative. They both liked each other. Circumstances just wouldn't allow them to meet again. Keichi let himself return the smile, leaning closer towards Coral. Her hair had gotten loose from its pigtails during the fight, it seemed. He raised a hand in an attempt to perhaps tidy it or tuck some of the hair away and out of her face. Though, the sudden rising and falling cadence of a voice made him draw back, abashed at his forwardness. “I mean you can just invite him to come with us, you know. He’s allowed to visit from Grandia.” Keichi had to pause for a second to let his bird brain boot up. That was not Coral speaking. He even didn't recognise the person. But not long after, another voice piped up which seemed to catch Coral’s attention. “Wynd, shut—” A heavy, emotionally drained sigh and a bark of laughter had him turning his attention towards the newcomers. One person with short black hair walked towards them with a nonchalant air about him, waving a friendly hand in greeting. Behind him, a lady with lavender hair was storming towards him, swathed in metaphorical storm clouds of wrath and looking ready to bonk him over the head for interrupting. Another black-haired guy who looked similar to the first guy had his head in his hand in embarrassment. The guy looked like he didn't want to be associated with the others right now, making Keichi think that maybe it was him who sighed. Another guy with long red hair was dying with laughter, looking for all the world like a crazed hyena with his cackling. After taking a quick glance at the mortified Coral, Keichi takes a gander at the strangers’ identities. “Uh, so these are your friends?” “Yep, in the flesh. I’m Wynd.” The first guy steps forward with a cocky gait, shamelessly offering his hand for a handshake. He was unsure whether or not to take it before the lavender haired lady chose for him. She grabbed the back of the man’s head and pushed him aside, looking embarrassed for him. “We’re sorry for interrupting your date. We’ll just collect the body and leave.” Keichi held back a snort at how ominous that sounded. Coral waved her hands wildly. “No, wait, Anna! I— Oh God, it’s not—!” He swore he could see steam coming out from her ears as she reddened, heating up like she was going to evaporate. It was oddly charming. However, the ‘ready to abandon humanity and turn into a puddle’ expression left her face in a flurry of hysteria and confusion. “Just let me get this straight!” she started. “So we can just invite people to come with us? That was allowed? ” Anna stared. “Why wouldn’t it be? It’s an unofficial rule that it’s alright to recruit people from Otherworlds if we deem them worthy.” She nodded, with a serious face, towards Keichi, which… did that mean what he thought it did. More importantly, why wasn't she freaking out about his wings? Were all people from ‘Grandia’ this chill? “And he is,” Anna finished, sending him into a stupor. Him, worthy? The other two guys, the redhead and embarrassed one who was possibly related to Wynd, caught up to their small crowd, walking over to them. The embarrassed guy, though not seeming so embarrassed anymore, definitely shocked Keichi when he smiled, teasing, “Our Coral is all grown up now.” “Rain, you and Wynd are only a year older than me.” Shaking her head, Coral turned back towards Keichi, a look of shame—but also, deep, genuine relief—clear on her face. “Well, uh, this is awkward.” Seconded. He did his best to ignore the peanut gallery, but one could only pretend so hard. His best bet was to focus on the sound of Coral’s silky voice.
She continued by saying, “So it turns out we can actually see each other again?” His ear feathers fluttered lightly in both shyness and deep awareness of the people watching them. After searching his face for a bit, Coral pulled him off to the side, glaring at her unrepentant friends. She yanked him closer and spoke directly into his ear, preventing the others from hearing. “Maybe I’ll take you up on that offer then, if that’s alright with you?” An uncontrollable grin split his face like lightning against a dull grey sky, and Coral laughed, which only made him beam harder. She matched his expression then, this time, spoke at normal volume. “Now let me introduce you to Anna and the idiots.” And Keichi? His heart soared, doing loop de loops in his chest. __________________ CORAL Coral shrunk back into the cushions of her seat, hunkered in the corner of this corner-most table. (Yes, that was a word.) She ran through today’s plans in her mind, as if flipping each little point unto their little heads in an attempt to make better sense of them. She groaned, sinking her face an inch into the table. “Okay, but I’ve never really… dated before.” Her team paused in their discussion. Beside her, Rain patted her back. She heard him chuckle. “It’s alright. We never thought you did.” Okay. She relaxed. A pause. “...wait, what?” Wynd leaned forward, resting his elbow on the table. “Vulcano can handle most of the embarassing work.” Said guy grimaced. “Shut up. You’re hard carrying this too.”
“And I’ll do much better than you, ” Wynd said, his grin widening. As Vulcano bristled, Coral straightened up, indignant from being ignored. “Hey—!” Rain sighed. “ None of you have ever dated, you idiots. Stop with the false bravado, Wynd. You look like a lopsided triangle.” Coral didn’t know what lopsided meant, but it sounded like an insult, judging from the warped expressions of confusion and offence on the two said idiots. As the guys fell into their usual rapid-fire banter, Coral turned to Anna. The older woman sat straight as a coconut tree, with only her head leaning slightly forward as she squinted at her notes. “Anna, what exactly do I do?” Coral said. While she had no problem making friends, making dates was a different question. Anna looked up from her writing and sent her a small smile. “Just be yourself.” Quite the rough instruction, but Coral couldn’t help the tiny burst of relief in her chest. Looking down, she reached for the still half-full plate of this Otherworld’s “potato strings”. Stuffing a handful into her mouth, she waited for Anna to have enough of the awkward glances sent to their (noisy) table and shut the guys up. __________________ Not long after the mixer started, Coral found that “herself” meant to be lost as a sheep and awkward as a crab. The strangers in the room fell quickly into conversation with her friends. None of them had realised how strange it was for their supposed “dates” to be replaced by random people on the actual day. She mumbled pleasantries and polite nods, peppering them with laughter as needed. As much as she kept her mind alert regarding her mission, Coral couldn’t help but let her mind wander. She could sense the unease on everyone’s faces too. Their target was late. Anna tapped her shoulder. After a quick excuse to leave, Coral took her drink and the two headed near the door. “How’s your drink? Would you like seconds?” You seem the least busy among us. Can you go look for our target? Coral hesitantly took a sip. “Uh, I think I’d prefer it a little more bitter?” What does he look like again? Anna gave her the look , which meant Coral was now guaranteed for a scolding at the end of their mission. She coughed and back-pedalled. “Actually, I meant it’s fine the way it is, but I think I’ve had enough.” Alright, I’ll go. Anna nodded, smiling her usual in-the-act smile that never failed to give Coral the hibby-jibbies. Whispering be careful in her ears, she took Coral’s glass and headed back to their table with her head level and shoulders relaxed. A picture of grace. The polar opposite of the mess that was Coral’s nerves. Leaving through the door, Coral slipped out of the room and melted into the shadows of the corridors. In her head, she recited the target’s description. Tall, dirty blond hair, a little scar under his eyes . She slinked past groups of people huddled into their own world, eyes scanning the crowds. None of the jumping, dancing, and laughing faces resembled the description. Noise and music vibrated the walls of the club, and Coral had to physically restrain herself from running back to the room. Opting for the bar, Coral spotted a guy falling asleep on the bar counter, his drink neglected by his head. She hesitated for a few seconds, before deciding Heck, I have a job, I gotta do this and tapping his shoulder. He stiffened, almost flinching before grasping his cup so it wouldn’t slip. Turning his head, she watched lavender eyes blink into focus, scanning her. White feathered earrings dangled from his ears. Coral had to stop herself from staring as, within the darkness, they almost seemed to glow. The lights from the bar gave his midnight hair and bronze skin a soft silhouette, and though Coral felt a bit bad for disturbing him—his eyes looked so tired that maybe his eyebags had bags—something in his presence calmed her down. Coral saw him blink and immediately was reminded that she stood there gawking like a stupid statue. Words spilled from her mouth. “Hey, sorry for interrupting your sleep,” she said, dropping her hand back to her side, “but have you seen a man here who’s kinda tall, has dirty blond hair and a little scar under his eye?” The guy looked to the side, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Kind of pale-ish, wearing a leather jacket and the scar looks like a boomerang?” he said, and Coral was surprised to hear his voice clear and devoid of sleep. Anyway , Coral collected herself. She asked the right person. “Exactly like that!” An almost-regretful expression began to form on his face. “My cousin went off with him somewhere. If she remembers me, she might come back with him here?” Perfect . Thoughts of unease began to drain out of her system. Coral welcomed the opportunity to relax and do her job. “Do you mind if I wait with you?” she asks, though she didn’t even wait for his answer before she’d settled into the chair beside him. He blinked. “No, go ahead.” Coral grinned before scanning the bar and observing the faces of the people around them. Nothing much stood out to her, so she let herself relax a tiny bit and turn towards her new acquaintance. “Uh, is he your date?” She felt her grin twitch and had to tell her lips to stay in place. “No. I have other business with him. It’s…” Confidential? Important? Life-or-death because maybe she’ll receive an earful from Anna later and Wynd will steal all her chocolate stash? “Work related.” Despite her utterly shameful excuse, he nodded as if he understood, taking a sip from his glass. He seemed to blink again in surprise—maybe something in the drink? Coral almost asked but thought better of it. Thoughts rushing a mile a minute, she fumbled for a way to spark conversation. Leaning forward, she cleared her throat. “So what are you here for?” The guy smiled, tilting his head as if amused. “That sounds suspiciously like an opening line a prisoner would give to their new cell mate.” Coral smiled, liking the joke. “Oh, come on, you know what I meant…” Right, she never asked for his name. “Uh, you?” It took him a second. “It’s Keichi. Keichi Roscoe. You?” “Coral,” she said, hiding the rest of her identity in the curve of her lips. Before she could bring herself to ask her first question again, his next words stopped her. “It fits.” Coral froze. What should she say to that? He raised a hand and waved it between them. “I mean, it really suits you. You look like the ocean. As in, um, your vibes.” For all his aura of quiet mystery and calm serenity—which Coral found herself slowly getting used to—he sounded genuine in his words and actions. She couldn’t sense any fault in him, no hints of underlying intentions. You look like the ocean. She never thought that would ever sound like a compliment, coming from someone she knew for ten seconds. Laughing, she leaned back, almost finding herself sinking into unwanted memories. “Thanks, I guess.” She found it strange how relaxed she had become, and no she wasn’t drunk nor did she feel any ill energy in the dim club. “It kind of makes me happy to hear I give off that feeling.” He just felt… warm, she mused. Coral could count on one hand how many people made her feel that way, in her whole life. Like gears falling into place, waves collapsing on sandy shores, their conversation flowed. Their thoughts and ideas weaved into each other, as seamlessly as sky meets sea on the horizon. For the first time tonight Coral was at peace. It was like meeting a friend for the first time since a lifetime. There was a brewing wish inside Coral’s head—a wish to prolong this moment of rare peace—but she squashed this wish the moment it reared its head. As Keichi told tale after tale of his passion for the sky, mirroring her own attachment to the ocean, Coral watched him move. His gestures were shy, but adorable in its own right. Maybe he wasn’t aware of it, but his hands flexed with the lilt of his voice, his eyes shone with every memory leaving his lips. Ah , his eyes reminded her of the moon over the calm waters; she used to hole up in her cave as a child just to watch those nights in peace. Noticing Keichi pause mid-speech, she nudged him. “Everything okay?” The clock had ticked by, and she allowed herself to forget her mission. Just a little bit. Well, up until Keichi remembered her job for her, though. “We forgot about your guy. Coworker dude or something. And my cousin,” he replied. Coral didn’t even try to correct “coworker” . Turning to the clock, an animated picture of Anna’s glare and Wynd’s annoying face taped itself on the clock’s hands. Oh no. “We’ve been talking that long? Ah, I hope my friends don’t get too worried.” They wouldn’t. At least, not yet. They might get a little angry though, she muttered to herself. Keichi glanced at the crowd before a thought seemed to occur to him. “Oh, wait, you came here with friends? Are they looking for that guy too?” Not really? But also kinda? “Yeah,” she said. “But if they’d found him they probably would’ve already come to get me.” “Well, I see my cousin over there. If you’re up for it, we could follow her since she’s still with that guy.” “Sounds like a plan.” Keichi stood, then stumbled. Coral studied his figure, methodically examining if she’d missed a notable injury of his. He didn’t seem to have one, but, just in case, she offered him her arm. He tilted his head, almost imperceptibly, glancing from her arm to her. The sight was rather endearing. Rolling her eyes, she said, “Grab on. We definitely drank a little too much. Let’s support each other.” Keichi smiled, a tiny curve on his small lips. Coral looked away to avoid staring. While doing so, she gave herself a mental pat for acting chivalrous; perhaps she’d learned a thing or two from her friends. Or maybe not. Thinking about it more, none of them were role models for chivalry. They followed Keichi’s cousin Michelle. Blending into the shadows, the two of them slipped through the crowd and into the corridors. The music faded away, leaving only their bated breaths and soft footsteps. Despite the drinks she had, Coral’s senses still worked well. Her eyes watched every shadow, even as they mainly kept track of one woman. As Michelle entered a room, Coral halted, eyeing the gap between the door before it closed. She caught a glimpse of her target. She snuck closer. Keichi, somehow, seemed to have gotten the memo. Peeking around the doorframe, she took note of the room. There were several people, though only their target was recognizable. Groups gathered in different sections and corners, whether belting out songs or hunkered over food and drink. Michelle jogged over to the big round table situated to the side, farthest from the source of the music. She greeted the table’s occupants, one of them saying what seemed to be a joke, before “Owen”— Coral pulled Keichi to the side, ignoring his surprised gasp. She led him back to a previous corner, crouching down. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, she performed her usual pre-battle routine, feeling her Vessel inside her like flexing a muscle. Seconds later, just as she predicted, the target stepped out of the room. Gazing both ways in the hallway, he kept his form low as he walked forward. “Who’s there?” he said before reaching towards both his pockets, pulling out two guns. Coral weighed her options, quickly glancing between Keichi and her target. She could quickly encase Keichi with water and keep him away from the battle that was sure to take place. Or she could signal her friends, somehow. Or she could ask Keichi to call for them. No, her priority should be to get him away from danger. She’d be damned if he got hurt. Only the obvious choice left, then. Rushing forward from the shadows, Coral raised a hand. Whatever Keichi’s reaction was, she didn’t dare to look, for fear of revealing his position. She looked the target in the eye. “You’re going to put the weapons down and tell me everything you know.” And hopefully something that would speed this mission up and get things over with. To no one’s surprise, the target raised an eyebrow as he hoisted his gun. White light swirled, and the energy in the air prickled. Well . Coral sighed, preparing her body to welcome bullets. As usual. This world wasn’t very original in that respect. Her Vessel flexed, Vessality coursing awake in response to her command. The white bullet shot through the air and through her body, white light neutralised by water. She heard a gasp to her side. Ack , hopefully Keichi wasn’t too creeped out. The target paused, surprised, for all of three seconds. But that was plenty enough time. She dashed forward. He raised his gun. Raising her arm, she willed it to mould into its water state. Ducking her head, she slashed her arm. Her water arm whipped through the air, sending his gun flying to the other side of the hallway. He stumbled back. Alright , Coral crouched forward. A flash. Before she could blink, she was in the air. Coral was used to battles, how each second mattered and passed in the blink of an eye. But she was not used to being, quite literally, yanked away by a new (cute) friend who, apparently, had beautiful white wings. And four of them, at that. Let it be said that Coral did not squeal in surprise. She gazed up at him as he held her. He slid away to a safer distance, four wings ( four! ) flapping behind him. “Careful,” he huffed, eyeing her. Coral hoped she did not look too stupid, curled up in surprise in his arms. But maybe she gawked a little too long, because the little feathers behind his ears fluttered. In embarrassment? Wait, those are actual feathers— No, wait. Presence of mind, Coral . “Thanks,” she said, wisely. And even more wisely, she whipped a hand forward, sending water from her arm towards the target’s remaining gun. Unfortunately, a switch might have occurred in the target, sending him into trigger-happy mode. Minus the happy. With just his one remaining gun, he fired blindly. Coral’s muscles tensed by instinct, but Keichi kept his firm hold on her as he zipped around the target. Considering that the hallway wasn’t the biggest of hallways, he was doing an impressive job avoiding the shots. The constant movement sent her reeling the first few seconds, but after several shots Coral got the hang of it. Holding onto Keichi with one hand, she readied another handful of water with the other. Any moment now. And— The gun’s barrel flashed. A water ball shot through air and coated it, absorbing the shot and throwing the gun away. When Keichi looked down at her in surprise, Coral grinned, another round of water leaving her hand and flying towards the target’s face, sending him to the ground. Now to restrain him. Making her arm water, Coral let it flow towards “Owen”, merging with the remains of the earlier water ball around his head. With practised care, she formed aquatic chains from the puddle on the floor, tying his hands together. As she did so, she pointed at Keichi’s wings with her free hand. “Nice wings you got there.” Keichi smiled, without any sign of awkwardness or confusion. “Looks like we’re both a bit more interesting than we described.” He lowered her to the floor. She tried not to be too disappointed. “For date part two, do you want to try it without the secrets?” She tensed, eyes darting to the floor right away. Was he angry? Her heartbeat quickened, and Coral found that a little too ironic. She was just in combat a second ago, even if short-lived, and here her nerves were acting up with just one question . In the corner of her eyes, she saw him raise his hand. “I didn’t mean to overstep. You can just um… ignore that.” Great. She was making him uncomfortable too. “No, no, it’s just…” Avoiding his eyes, she decided instead to try and focus on her target, testing if she, well, accidentally killed him or something. What a travesty that would be. She and her team would have to do a whole lot of cleaning up. Not to mention, how would she explain it in the first place? Oh, I messed up ‘cause I was too distracted with keeping up pretences, you know, actually enjoying the night and a date? That would’ve made a lovely excuse. Anna would ground her for sure. Her mission grade would sink deeper than the ocean. She’d cause her team so many hassles, she’d— Damn it, where were her thoughts going? Coral sighed, her chest almost caving in. She was so bad at the secrets side of being a Guardian. “Now that we’ve seen each other’s secrets, at least, I guess I can come clean.” Not fully, of course. He didn’t deserve to be roped into everything. “A little bit.” Keichi said nothing. She was too afraid to check his expression. “I have a dangerous job, to say the least.” What a vague statement . “I can’t promise that I’ll have the time for another date.” Excuses, excuses. Trying to think of other things to say, she busied herself with controlling her water, encasing her target’s body in water. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, really! It’s not like I don’t want to! In fact I do, I enjoyed every conversation we had tonight and I’d love to be able to talk to you more, maybe bring you to the ocean, ask you to take me to the sky, but you— I can’t…” Coral felt strangely tired, but her energy still pulsed and nothing in her Vessel was amiss. It’s like… keeping this a secret from Keichi was draining more out of her than anything else. “But I…?” he said, and she realised she had stopped mid-speech. She couldn’t think of anything to add yet, so she stood up, keeping her head down as she did so. “I don’t think you’d appreciate dating me.” And by God was that the truest yet most humiliating admission she’d ever said in the past decade. She glanced up, watching him frown. “Why would you think that?” She looked at “Owen” again, her attention scapegoat, kinda. This time, though, Coral was truly at a loss. Her lips quivered as her thoughts raced. And whatever thoughts that had won out scrambled out of her mouth like a waterfall. “Do you not mind that I can die at any time when out on the field? Are you alright with dating someone who might leave you behind like that?” Silence filled in the gap between them, and all that was left for Coral to hear in the wake of her thoughtless brain dump was her heartbeat rising in her chest. “I’d be saddened to see you die, but—” She almost jumped when his words cut through the air, the emotional walls she was preparing to build. “At the same time, I think I understand destiny and duty.” Coral braved a clearer look at him and watched as Keichi’s features softened into a solemn portrait. As if he were watching a memory in front of him, not only her. “To make a long story short, when I was young and had just grown my wings, people saw that I had four and mine were white and told me I was their prophesied hero.” As he said those words, the smile he put on made her heart ache. “The prophecy ended up being fake in the end, but before I knew that, as I got to know the others, I started to think that I wouldn’t mind dying for them.” It was as if a stone had begun to form in her throat, blocking off whatever response she wanted to say. “You seem to be content with your job, and if it fulfils you, I wouldn’t want to take that away from you. If you’re okay with it, I’d accept that possibility.” Did she win some kind of lottery before they stepped into this Otherworld? She did not deserve this level of acceptance. Not one bit. Voices, old and very old, woke up in the recesses of her head, clawing their way out into the open. “There’s something else as well,” she blurted out, attempting to drown out the ruminating voices with more rational thoughts instead. “And I don’t know if you’ll believe me.” “I probably will, to be honest. I’ve seen things,” he said with no hesitation. But he probably hadn’t seen things things. “That prophecy I told you about? It made immortal knights from another dimension rain down from the sky.” Huh. Coral frowned. “I thought you said it was fake.” Keichi shrugged. “Most of it.” This Otherworld was weirder than she expected. “But that’s besides the point.” Coral fumbled, looking anywhere other than his eyes. Not the moon eyes. Anywhere but the moon eyes, or she’ll cave. But the silence he let in between them seemed to double over on her shoulders, and her eyes, once again, found his. As was to be expected by the child who longed for that moon over the waters, she fell into its gentle invitation. Her mouth formed the cold, hard truth in its rawest form. “I’m a cursed being not from this world.” Her lips have loosened, and like a broken dam the words continued to pour. “I mentioned I’m here with friends. They’re also my teammates. We’re here in this world with a mission. This guy,” she tapped the target’s head with her foot, “happened to be involved in some way, so we tracked him down here.” Freeing herself from the gravity of his eyes, she resolved not to see his further reactions. To save herself from the embarrassment sure to come. Her words paused at her throat, as if stopped by a clam shell. And yet, like the idiot she was, she pushed them out. She tried, tried to stop herself, but her self-control was far too weak today. …just how much did she drink? “We’ll have to return to our home world after we’re done. So…” It’s strange how her shoulders felt especially heavy. She could feel her Vessel still pulsing with energy, and though she’d just been through battle some seconds ago she wasn’t as nervous then compared to now. Telling the truth to a new friend she found endearingly special drained more out of her than that. She felt her voice tremble, but she clenched her fist and soldiered on. “So there will… there can’t be a next date.” Like the idiot she was, she couldn’t stop herself from seeing his reaction this time. And looked. God, she shouldn’t have. He looked so confused, eyes hurriedly scanning her face. I’m so sorry. “Ah,” he said. His voice shook as if desperately trying to return to its initial shy stage and it broke her a little more. God , she messed up tonight, huh. “I’ll miss you then. You were the highlight of my day.” The weight in her shoulders lifted, overshadowed by her racing heartbeat that just increased tenfold. She snapped her head up, eyeing him in absolute disbelief. There was nothing but sincerity in his face, as always. The lavender moon shone within the dim lights of the hallway, and here she was, once again pulled into its gravity. Even if this was more temporary than anything she’d ever experienced, Coral was glad she’d met him. “Likewise.” Her voice didn’t break there, thankfully. Keichi’s smile remained intact as he studied her. Was he trying to memorise her? It was a sweet gesture—very sweet, in fact, that the thought made her heart race a little more like that was even possible. But she didn’t expect him to raise his hand up to her face. What— “I mean you can just invite him to come with us, you know. He’s allowed to visit from Grandia.” It took Coral an embarrassing second to digest three things: one, someone else just spoke; two, that voice was familiar; and three, that voice was Wynd. “Wynd, shut—” A loud sigh followed by boisterous cackling. Coral’s head snapped behind them, spotting Wynd walking nonchalantly towards them. Behind him, she spotted Anna storming towards him, eyes hidden beneath the shadow of her hair. Even farther behind her, Rain stood with his head in his hand with Vulcano doubling over himself in laughter. Face burning, Coral contemplated whether to run off into the city and look for the nearest body of water to hide in or just melt into the puddle right here and now. Maybe she was halfway through the latter one already. “Uh, so these are your friends?” Keichi spoke up beside her. God, she couldn’t even bring herself to face him. “Yep, in the flesh,” Wynd shamelessly said as he walked up to him with his hand raised for a handshake. Coral’s fist ached to slam Wynd’s face into a wall, but Anna—bless her—grabbed the back of his head and pushed him aside. “We’re sorry for interrupting your date. We’ll just collect the body and leave.” “No, wait, Anna! I— Oh God, it’s not—!” Coral fumbled over her words, not knowing where to begin. Can they address the thing Wynd said first? Like, visiting? Asking him to come with her? “Just let me get this straight! So we can just invite people to come with us? That was allowed?” Anna tilted her head. “Why wouldn’t it be? It’s an unofficial rule that it’s alright to recruit people from Otherworlds if we deem them worthy.” She nodded towards Keichi. “And he is.” Coral observed the fluttering of Keichi’s ear feathers and tried not to stare in wonder again. Rain and Vulcano had now walked up to their little group, with the latter’s laughter devolved into little chuckles. Turning to her, Rain smiled, almost fondly. “Our Coral is all grown up now.” “Rain, you and Wynd are only a year older than me.” Shaking her head, she turned to Keichi, who stared at them all in both awkwardness and amusement. “Well, uh, this is awkward.” Wynd and Vulcano almost devolved into laughter (again, for Vulcano), but a look from Anna silenced them. “So it turns out we can actually see each other again?” Coral desperately blocked out whatever expressions her friends were making as they stood to the side, but seeing the awkwardness still in Keichi’s expression, she pulled him to the side while giving the others her best glare, to which they just shrugged. Pulling his arm to speak more clearly to his ear, away from the others’ earshot, she said, “Maybe I’ll take you up on that offer then, if that’s alright with you?” The happiness on Keichi’s face made her chuckle, the grin on her face falling into place without her control. Like always, lavender moons, beautiful nights, calm seas—they give her peace every time. The relief she felt so vividly within her being made her earlier apprehension seem like it never happened. “Now let me introduce you to Anna and the idiots.”
