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flitswitch) wrote2024-01-18 10:55 am
flitswitch) wrote2024-01-18 10:55 am
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Emiya peers at the information placard as Nero 'ooo's and 'aah's along with the rest of their tour group, eyes skimming the words to reconfirm what the guide has told them, what he just witnessed peering back at them from behind the glass.
"Merfolk..."
He's heard of them of course. Some of the once-mythical creatures that had turned out to be reality after all, now turned into a spectacle for all to see for a meager entry fee. Feels himself frowning as his eyes find the beings in question once more.
Two of them. Twins, apparently, given their near-identical appearances. Dark hair, snow white skin, stormy blue-gray eyes. Long, elegant finned tails, trailing from their hips, scales gleaming under the aquarium lights. It's difficult to make out their gender, but one of them is a bit larger, a bit longer, a bit stockier than the other. It's that one that watches the group with a flinty, almost challenging gaze, raised up on their hands on the flat rock they and their twin had been resting on. The smaller one - slender, lean, unnaturally pretty - remains laying on their side, their eyes flitting from face to face with a slow and wary curiosity.
Those eyes find Emiya's. Goosebumps rise on his arms as they blink at him, watching him for a long moment... and then moving on, finding the tour guide as she resumes her lecture.
"Ohh wow! She's beautiful!"
Emiya starts at the sound of Nero's voice, ripped back to reality. Finds her with her hands pressed to the glass, staring with starry-eyed admiration at... the larger of the twins, who stares back at her with a far less impressed expression.
"... she?" Emiya asks before he can rethink it. Hears Nero laugh and folds his arms tight, trying to ignore the heat in his ears.
"Yes! Who else could stand guard so ferociously but an older sister!" Nero puffs up with pride and certainty - and Emiya almost doubts himself when he catches the larger merfolk's eyes breaking from Nero's face for a split second to. Focus on her chest? "Not to say her brother isn't a beauty in his own right, but her spirit is truly splendid!"
"... right," Emiya mutters, deciding he's going to ignore whatever he did or did not see. Regardless of that, Nero's antics have thawed the sister's frigid stare into something softer, more confused, and Emiya's never related to someone more in his life. His eyes slide back to the brother, brows rising when he finds the merfolk's shifted closer to the edge of the rock, lying on his stomach as he, too, watches the spectacle Nero makes of herself.
... Emiya's mouth twitches. Curls in a smile as Nero offers an enthusiastic wave and cheers when the brother responds in kind after a second of hesitation. Feels warmth spread in his chest as the two merfolk share a silent conversation, their close ties clear in their lack of speech, before, to the delight of everyone in attendance, they dive into the water together to slip closer to the glass and their captivated audience.
Emiya steps back as others surge forward, content with his viewpoint, to avoid the crush of bodies. Snorts as Nero establishes her place with no small amount of righteous fury and jabbing elbows, his eyes settling back upon the merfolk that everyone clamors to.
In the water, it's far easier to see how they belong to the world of rumor and storybooks. It casts them in an ethereal glow, lazy currents rendering their image into something ever so slightly unstable, warped and shifting. Their hair floats loose and weightless around their heads as they bob and swim, and their eyes seem to gain a new light to them, brighter in the depths than the artifical light above.
Silently, Emiya concedes to Nero's earlier observation. There really is no word for them that fits better than 'beautiful', though at the same time it seems too small, too underwhelming to do them true justice.
The brother breaks away from the swarm, swims higher in the tank, moving above the heads of the tour group. Emiya watches in interest as his eyes scan the room, clearly searching for something he couldn't find in the faces still watching him with unconcealed awe. His brow pinches, mouth curling in the smallest of frowns that mars his face... and his eyes find Emiya's once more. Emiya blinks, feels the goosebumps pimpling his arms again as the brother stops and presses closer to the glass, his gaze fixed on Emiya -
Someone bangs on the tank. In the space of a heartbeat, the brother vanishes from sight. The sister remains only long enough to bare her teeth - a mouth full of knives, wickedly sharp - before she too swims away, into the depths of the tank and away from prying eyes. Despite the tour group's discontented grumbling, the guide moves to usher them along; Nero returns to Emiya's side as they settle into the rear together.
"Absolutely divine!" she gushes, hands clapped to her cheeks. Looks ready to dance with every step, ignoring Emiya's snort entirely. "No wonder they inspire such wonder and ardor! I might just write a story of my own!"
"It's impolite to write fiction about real people," Emiya teases, chuckling as Nero huffs at him. One step from the doorway when Nero suddenly gasps.
"Shirou! Shirou, look! I think he likes you!"
Emiya turns his head, surprised to catch the eyes of the brother peering at him a third time. Watches as those eyes widen a fraction seconds before the merfolk executes a turn so graceful, it nearly distracts from the fact he uses it to bolt behind the nearest rock formation. Leaves Emiya staring stupidly into space, a shiver slithering down his spine even as Nero laughs.
"Oh, he's a shy one. How adorable!"
Emiya drops his hand from its aborted rise. Forces himself away from the seemingly empty tank. "Come on. We don't want to fall behind."
Focuses on the rhythm of Nero's heels clicking on the linoleum and her chatter, crowding the memory of stormy eyes out of his mind.
"Merfolk..."
He's heard of them of course. Some of the once-mythical creatures that had turned out to be reality after all, now turned into a spectacle for all to see for a meager entry fee. Feels himself frowning as his eyes find the beings in question once more.
Two of them. Twins, apparently, given their near-identical appearances. Dark hair, snow white skin, stormy blue-gray eyes. Long, elegant finned tails, trailing from their hips, scales gleaming under the aquarium lights. It's difficult to make out their gender, but one of them is a bit larger, a bit longer, a bit stockier than the other. It's that one that watches the group with a flinty, almost challenging gaze, raised up on their hands on the flat rock they and their twin had been resting on. The smaller one - slender, lean, unnaturally pretty - remains laying on their side, their eyes flitting from face to face with a slow and wary curiosity.
Those eyes find Emiya's. Goosebumps rise on his arms as they blink at him, watching him for a long moment... and then moving on, finding the tour guide as she resumes her lecture.
"Ohh wow! She's beautiful!"
Emiya starts at the sound of Nero's voice, ripped back to reality. Finds her with her hands pressed to the glass, staring with starry-eyed admiration at... the larger of the twins, who stares back at her with a far less impressed expression.
"... she?" Emiya asks before he can rethink it. Hears Nero laugh and folds his arms tight, trying to ignore the heat in his ears.
"Yes! Who else could stand guard so ferociously but an older sister!" Nero puffs up with pride and certainty - and Emiya almost doubts himself when he catches the larger merfolk's eyes breaking from Nero's face for a split second to. Focus on her chest? "Not to say her brother isn't a beauty in his own right, but her spirit is truly splendid!"
"... right," Emiya mutters, deciding he's going to ignore whatever he did or did not see. Regardless of that, Nero's antics have thawed the sister's frigid stare into something softer, more confused, and Emiya's never related to someone more in his life. His eyes slide back to the brother, brows rising when he finds the merfolk's shifted closer to the edge of the rock, lying on his stomach as he, too, watches the spectacle Nero makes of herself.
... Emiya's mouth twitches. Curls in a smile as Nero offers an enthusiastic wave and cheers when the brother responds in kind after a second of hesitation. Feels warmth spread in his chest as the two merfolk share a silent conversation, their close ties clear in their lack of speech, before, to the delight of everyone in attendance, they dive into the water together to slip closer to the glass and their captivated audience.
Emiya steps back as others surge forward, content with his viewpoint, to avoid the crush of bodies. Snorts as Nero establishes her place with no small amount of righteous fury and jabbing elbows, his eyes settling back upon the merfolk that everyone clamors to.
In the water, it's far easier to see how they belong to the world of rumor and storybooks. It casts them in an ethereal glow, lazy currents rendering their image into something ever so slightly unstable, warped and shifting. Their hair floats loose and weightless around their heads as they bob and swim, and their eyes seem to gain a new light to them, brighter in the depths than the artifical light above.
Silently, Emiya concedes to Nero's earlier observation. There really is no word for them that fits better than 'beautiful', though at the same time it seems too small, too underwhelming to do them true justice.
The brother breaks away from the swarm, swims higher in the tank, moving above the heads of the tour group. Emiya watches in interest as his eyes scan the room, clearly searching for something he couldn't find in the faces still watching him with unconcealed awe. His brow pinches, mouth curling in the smallest of frowns that mars his face... and his eyes find Emiya's once more. Emiya blinks, feels the goosebumps pimpling his arms again as the brother stops and presses closer to the glass, his gaze fixed on Emiya -
Someone bangs on the tank. In the space of a heartbeat, the brother vanishes from sight. The sister remains only long enough to bare her teeth - a mouth full of knives, wickedly sharp - before she too swims away, into the depths of the tank and away from prying eyes. Despite the tour group's discontented grumbling, the guide moves to usher them along; Nero returns to Emiya's side as they settle into the rear together.
"Absolutely divine!" she gushes, hands clapped to her cheeks. Looks ready to dance with every step, ignoring Emiya's snort entirely. "No wonder they inspire such wonder and ardor! I might just write a story of my own!"
"It's impolite to write fiction about real people," Emiya teases, chuckling as Nero huffs at him. One step from the doorway when Nero suddenly gasps.
"Shirou! Shirou, look! I think he likes you!"
Emiya turns his head, surprised to catch the eyes of the brother peering at him a third time. Watches as those eyes widen a fraction seconds before the merfolk executes a turn so graceful, it nearly distracts from the fact he uses it to bolt behind the nearest rock formation. Leaves Emiya staring stupidly into space, a shiver slithering down his spine even as Nero laughs.
"Oh, he's a shy one. How adorable!"
Emiya drops his hand from its aborted rise. Forces himself away from the seemingly empty tank. "Come on. We don't want to fall behind."
Focuses on the rhythm of Nero's heels clicking on the linoleum and her chatter, crowding the memory of stormy eyes out of his mind.