nothing fades like the light

[elio]

elio

The stranger, as much a vision as the world he paints around them, regards Elio with an openness he is not sure he will ever understand.

The ocean whispers against Elio's skin, reminding him that for now, he is not able to be the center of the universe. Here, standing amongst the fish of the sea and undisturbed sand, he feels so small - that feeling is only amplified by the steady amethyst gaze of Aegean. They are both small, in comparison to the creatures that live mysterious lives at the bottom of the ocean, but Lio thinks if Aegean is as small as a sea snake, he must be a minnow.

"Ah, well --" the golden stallion begins, finding a joke about how everyone seems to be moving to the beaches, then; but the words slip from the rolling grasp of his tongue, the two syllables that managed to escape being low enough to wash away under the illusionist's next words.

A fish, bright like the tropical birds that once swooped around them, swims around Aegean as if he is its caretaker. Elio smiles - small, nearly unnoticable - taken by the way it swirls and glides with seemingly no effort. When it comes closer to him, he reaches his muzzle out to greet it, eyes bright with curiosity.

"Nothing as pleasant as this," Lio says absently, stormcloud eyes still focused on the fish. He forgets where he is and who he is speaking to. "But when I am daydreaming, sometimes I have just enough optimism to think of peace."

i don't think i could stand to be
where you don't see me

@[aegean]