03-07-2021, 11:41 PM
this ain't no place for no hero
She seems uneasy as she stands in the middle of the waterway facing him, like she is uncommitted to the place she holds against the rapids. It isn’t overtly obvious the way she stands, but Volos is quite keen on body language despite his young age. He knows when his father is forcing a smile, for instance, when Titanya leaves the island to go hunting for days at a time. He knows, too, that when she comes back there are secrets unspoken between the words and looks his parents share. He doesn’t like knowing these things, doesn’t like that there is an entire second world hidden inside the one that they live in. He likes black and white much better. He likes certainty, likes knowing that there is solid earth waiting for him under each next step.
He thinks maybe he just surprised this girl. Hopes that is the reason, anyway.
She says that her father is made of glass, and his brows rise quickly with this knowledge. “Glass?” He’s seen the effects of lightning on the beach after a severe storm - the sand twisted and climbing into shapes of glass - but he’s never known someone to wear it on their skin. His molten gaze slides to the girl’s pale skin, searching for the same effect on her and finding only an unusual glean instead. “Couldn’t he break easily, then, being so delicate?”
His gold eyes trail up to the blue of her own but are momentarily distracted by the flush of her cheeks. It makes him almost uncomfortable, like he’s unearthed one of her secrets that would otherwise be hidden if not for his prying. Volos looks away even though there is nothing to look at. The darkness stretches on for miles and miles, all the way across the ocean and back home. He knows, because he’s just traveled it in reverse. It is unnerving to think about, but he reminds himself that they still manage to find each other. Despite the blanket of darkness, they are not alone. This chance meeting in an unknown land proves that not all of their fears are as terrible as they seem, that they can be overcome.
“Amathea,” he says, liking the quiet, unobtrusive hush of it in an otherwise harsh world. He’s looking at her again and a genuine but gentle smile tugs at his lips. He doesn’t want to upset her again. “’Course I’ll help you. Do you think the river is safer to travel in? Our monsters seem to prefer the sea in Ischia.” The colt wonders if the next generation will discuss monsters as readily as the weather or if they will be a relic of the past by then. “Don’t worry though, I can fight any of them off if they try to hurt you. I’ve done it before.”
He thinks maybe he just surprised this girl. Hopes that is the reason, anyway.
She says that her father is made of glass, and his brows rise quickly with this knowledge. “Glass?” He’s seen the effects of lightning on the beach after a severe storm - the sand twisted and climbing into shapes of glass - but he’s never known someone to wear it on their skin. His molten gaze slides to the girl’s pale skin, searching for the same effect on her and finding only an unusual glean instead. “Couldn’t he break easily, then, being so delicate?”
His gold eyes trail up to the blue of her own but are momentarily distracted by the flush of her cheeks. It makes him almost uncomfortable, like he’s unearthed one of her secrets that would otherwise be hidden if not for his prying. Volos looks away even though there is nothing to look at. The darkness stretches on for miles and miles, all the way across the ocean and back home. He knows, because he’s just traveled it in reverse. It is unnerving to think about, but he reminds himself that they still manage to find each other. Despite the blanket of darkness, they are not alone. This chance meeting in an unknown land proves that not all of their fears are as terrible as they seem, that they can be overcome.
“Amathea,” he says, liking the quiet, unobtrusive hush of it in an otherwise harsh world. He’s looking at her again and a genuine but gentle smile tugs at his lips. He doesn’t want to upset her again. “’Course I’ll help you. Do you think the river is safer to travel in? Our monsters seem to prefer the sea in Ischia.” The colt wonders if the next generation will discuss monsters as readily as the weather or if they will be a relic of the past by then. “Don’t worry though, I can fight any of them off if they try to hurt you. I’ve done it before.”
v o l o s
@[amathea]: I'm so sorry this is late! moving sucks