[ChicletPrime]

Land of Secret Flame: 10

• UNDERWATER SHOT!
  
• (basks) oh boy oh boy oh boy. please don't drown this time, we need to stay awake for this, whatever it is. it has to be ruins. PALACE RUINS!?
  
• Rafayel's voice is all echo-y.
  
• a kiss
  
• oh
  
• wow
  
• shh, savor
  
• try what? and your voice sounds right again. 
  
• i can breathe underwater! scuba schmuba.
  
• my tears won't turn to pearls, you silly thing.
  
• why are you touching me around my eyes? dis-trac-ting. put a finger near my mouth and i'm going to bite it.
  
• what treasure are we looking for?  a conjured little fish to guide us.
  
• "is there really a hidden Lemurian treasure at the bottom?"  i am.. i am so dumb sometimes.
  
• aw, the little conjured fish kissed me too! i love you too, ocean.
  
• "because you have a familiar scent"  ... a familiar scent that is not just you, but also.. me.
  
• fire under the water to light the way. 
  
• oh, this is so beautiful in my mind's eye.
  
• no, i'm not scared. okay, maybe a little. i don't want to lose you, not that i'm going to say that out loud.
  
• "hold on tightly when the undercurrent becomes chaotic."  i will cling like a limpet, you don't even have to say it once.
  
• shit, i hope the EVER guys back on the beach didn't leap in here after us.
  
• a light like a heart in the depths.
  
• "this is the island's cornerstone. it once bore the weight of Lemuria's past and future. its part of Lemuria's long-lost Tome of the Sea God"
  
• Rafayel is so beautiful.
  
• "the crimson seaweed... resembles a field of fire."  /oh wow
  
• oh, the fluctuating light is from the engravings on the stone we're standing on.
  
• shhh. let's appreciate the ancient magicks for a moment.
  
• the Tome was supposed to contain prophecies about Lemuria's future? how did we know that random trivia fact?
  
• or are we picking that right out of Rafayel's head? because that would be ah-mazing as an explanation.
  
• "this part speaks about oblivion, not the future".  oh. that's heavy.  because we lost Lemuria and the world forgot.
  
• "those that borrowed power from the sea betrayed it in the end."  sounds like the same old human cycle, yes. "they mistook the sea's tolerance for submission and forgot about its cruelty."  ** PIN THIS FOR LYRICS LATER
  
• ".. but i remember. and i will reclaim this forgotten power."
  
• what, NOW? out of all times, now is ...  because you need it? because i'm here now?
  
• /wide eyes. too many romance novels, stop it, focus.
  
• he takes my hand and conjures a dagger.
  
• i feel like i should stop and breathe for a second. what are we doing, little sea god?
  
• I KNEW IT
  
• "only those who have a bond with the Sea God can awaken the Tome."
  
• oh shit, are we going to bleed in the water? are we going to .. uh. bond the old fashioned way that that involves the blade in your hand and not your other sword?
  
• we need to bleed. i adore this story.  embrace all the old fairytales, do!
  
• "you... awakened me."   yes! wake up! sleep no longer!
  
• (i am so carried away, its terrible)
  
• is this my memory? or .. his?
  
• yes, i like your scales and i like you. if you are on this beach to lure me into a watery grave trying to save you, i am just dumb enough to follow you in, yes.
  
• "this bond means you'll definitely come back to me. i'll always wait for you..."  but i never came back, did i? because i forgot everything so completely, forgot you.
  
• this is SO FREAKING PRETTY
  
• oh crap, all the gold symbols in the water plunge into Rafayel and he collapses. oh no, boyfriend! no be dying! its just power, EAT IT!
  
• power swimming time. back to the land! save the sea god from the...sea? maybe i should think about this a tad longer. but nope, i'm committed. back to my safety, not his.
  

Land of Secret Flames: 11

• now i know where the title of this chapter comes from. a sea of flame under the water.
  
• the black sea again, but now its crystal clear, no longer fuzzy in memory.
  
• oh. the Black Pearl is waiting for us.  that's.. spooky.
  
• boyfriend in distress! please be okay.
  
• "are you okay?!"  "No."  oh wow.
  
• oh double wow, blue sparkles everywhere. Rafayel, are you changing?!
  
• oh yes, lets touch him on the glowing, iridescent part of the neck, that couldn't possibly be dangerous or anything.
  
• (he's making those breathy little sounds of pain again. this is wreaking havoc on my attention span)
  
• oh, and now the air is starting to sparkle ominously too.
  
• oh wow, the entire sea is rising.
  
• /BIG WIDE EYES oh my fucking god. 
  
• literally.
  
• (if i die here, you can have all my stuff)
  
• the look on his face! Rafayel?
  
• and he shoves me off and onto my back and leans down over me
  
• "A follower? Or just a lowly sacrifice?"
  

i am going to die. i am going to die of staring into his very mad, very glowing eyes.

• there's a black storm all around us, just... called out of nowhere.
  
• he's just calling the sea up because he can, because he's out of control. Rafayel, was this your power all along, or did you just eat the last of your heart to take it from its grave?
  
• this is getting super fucking frightening. whispers and screams in the wind, and the waves crashing higher.
  
• (snap out of it!)
  
• "I.. have no need... for traitors!"
  

• holy fucking shit
  

• (wake up, Rafayel! remember me!)
  
• *invokes Resonance because nothing else is probably going to work*
  
• we're going to quote RULES at him? girlfriend what are you dooooing!? hang on, what did i just say? ".. authority granted by the ocean's covenant, i order you...."
  
• oh. oh, the mark on his chest is glowing suddenly.  please don't rip me apart and eat my still beating heart, you know me and you're not willing to let me go just yet. please remember.
  
• (snap out of it!) absolutely, you have both our permissions to touch the red glowing thing, HURRY
  
• what the fecking heck just happened.
  
• fecking. hecking. heck. i feel like i just ran a marathon.
  
• and he collapses on top of me.  yes. good idea. great idea even. let's just... let's just lie here a moment. until the whole ocean becomes less angry.
  
• /pet pet pet
  
• oh. um. he's scenting the hollow of my neck. hopefully i smell like very alluring, non-edible seawater.
  

i need more coffee and maybe some ceiling staring. that was... that was something else. AND A HALF.  follower or lowly sacrifice.  je-sus.

• yes, lets check if he remembers me now.
  
• man, i didn't even remember my hidden knife in the heat of the moment.  i guess i was super distressed.
  
• "He holds out his hand to me. the fragment in his palm emits a shining light that tugs at my heartstrings."
  
• aether core fragment! where did THAT come from? oh, it was in the tome?
  
• a price to pay. whatever humanity he's managed to claw to himself in order to survive on land? 
  
• "the Dead Deep Sea and the Sea God's power have been awakened. and since i accepted its power, I must answer its call"
  
• why the fuck did you do that, Rafayel?! was it just to keep it from EVER's grip?
  
•  "Even if certain futures have a predetermined end, I can't refuse..."  oh shit, noooo. this is like Shining Traces with Xavier. don't go, don't even think of leaving me! do not go gentle, please, fight for something different than whatever it is you see.
  
• i HATE having forboding, ominous feelings that i'm going to be left behind.
  
• exhausted, he rests in my arms
  
• /kisses the top of his brow while he sleeps