𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚐𝚎 (superbass) wrote in worldsapart_ic, @ 2019-02-23 22:48:00 |
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Entry tags: | waverley merida |
It's soothing to just come out here and watch the waves, right?
WHO: Raine Sage & Waverley Merida
WHAT: Beach meetings
WHERE: At the Beach
WHEN: Friday; 22nd. 2019
RATING: PG
STATUS: Complete
Regardless of how the world turned, or what was happening on land or below, the ocean would always be Raine’s home, and she always had a sense of longing for it. Not enough that she subjected herself to the pain of shifting between her forms too regularly, she wasn’t good with pain and the length of time it took sometimes just didn’t sit well with her. Some of her siblings handled it better, that much she knew but not Raine.
None of that stopped her from visiting the beach though. Being careful to stay just far back enough to avoid the waves or any salt spray, Raine enjoyed watching the sway of the tide, feeling it sooth her as the sun and sand warmed her body.
It was a nice way to spend the afternoon, without any responsibilities until later this meant she could ease back and just enjoy that thin line between human and mermaid for a few hours.
---
Like many mermaids, Waverley wanted to spend her time on the beach but didn't often risk it because of the chance of being beached after getting caught by spray. But sometimes the pull of the sea was too intense. The pool at Midnight was directly fed by the ocean so she felt connected whenever she was there but it was only once a month and those days were lonely; she spend the whole weekend with her fins and only had company when she was performing. At least, now that Leandro had left. He used to come and swim with her. She missed him a lot. Him and her mid-western soul mate. It had been nearly five years but... she just didn't seem to be getting over them.
Today, though, she wanted to see the ocean. She took her shoes off, bare feet sinking into the sand as she wandered the shore, far enough away that she couldn't be touched by the water though there was a distinct longing within her to walk into the water and let it take her away for a little while.
She had been intending on keeping to herself, but she saw someone else, another woman standing looking out at the water with an expression Waverley knew often rested on her own face. That, more than anything, was what drew her over and she went to settle next to the other woman.
"Beautiful, isn't it," she murmured, watching out over the water, seeing some gulls fly overhead, cawing as they headed out.
---
Enjoying the feel of sand between her toes, Raine glanced over with a smile as someone mentioned the beauty of the ocean, something that Raine could vehemently agree about. "Oh, it is." In many ways, not just the visible ones. "All the untold wonders, the secrets it holds." And while Raine had enjoyed exploring some of those wonders, she knew there were countless others still held at the bottom of the oceans, moving with the tides, changing, slowly being buried with the displaced sands.
Oftentimes, Raine wondered how the humans could be so careless with such a majestic and boundless wonder, but they didn't get to see it the same, ignoring all the risks with their pollution.
"It's soothing to just come out here and watch the waves, right?"
---
Waverley nodded her head. "It is," she agreed casting her eyes out to the water. "I'd rather be in it, if I'm honest." But sometimes - especially a few years ago - she worried that if she went back into the water the temptation would be to not come out again.
She added, "I'm glad that the ocean still has its secrets," she murmured, feeling the sea breeze on her face. She drew in a deep breath. "Humanity doesn't always deserve to know everything. And they're more interested in the stars, thankfully." Waverley had never wanted to explore anything more than the land, and she'd gotten herself settled here and hadn't left, her desire to explore somewhat limited and restricted by the people she'd met here, the life she'd built. It was one of the reasons she hadn't gone travelling with Leandro when he had left. One of many.
Turning her head to look at the other woman, she smiled, holding out her hand. "I'm Waverley."
---
Raine could understand that drive, sometimes she wanted to just leap in, sink into the waves and let her change take hold. But the pain and the length of time it took stopped her, she had to plan things for shifting back to her true form, for enjoying the ocean again. She disliked the act of changing so much that if she wasn't getting the most out of the water, at least a few days in the ocean, then she didn't think it was in her best interest to do it.
Pain wasn't something Raine could really take much of.
Maybe reaching for the stars would stop them from destroying the corals then. "It'd be nice if they'd fix what they broke first though, if going to space was so important, the seabeds need care." Curiosity was all good and well, Raine was almost brimming with it, but it didn't need to be destructive. Not pondering too much on it, Raine turned to Waverley, taking the offered hand to shake, "I'm Raine."
At the least, they both seemed to have a fondness for the ocean.
---
"Well, I wouldn't give them too much credit," Waverley drawled, "they've got no idea how to fix what they broke on the basis that they're way too attached to ninety percent of the shit that's clogging up the ocean."
She had strong feelings about plastic and pollution; there was so much that she'd implemented at The Jam Jar to support reduction of waste. It wasn't much, but it was a start. And it was better than not doing anything.
"It's nice to meet you, Raine."
---
In many ways, humans weren't due a lot of credit. They were destroying their own planet, and acting like the people who were going to be here long after them, probably were here long before them, were somehow the ones who didn't deserve it. "And over fishing it."
She sometimes wondered how everyone else was getting on, if they'd found land to explore themselves, or if they were still fighting from the water. And if they were, how many of them were getting hurt because of it. "Likewise, Waverley." Meeting new people was nice enough, it opened up all these paths, and Raine found it refreshing. Finding out how other people lived, listening to their stories. "Do you come down to the beach a lot?"
---
Waverley snorted. “And over fishing it,” she agreed. “And dumping shit into it whenever they feel like it then complaining when sometimes it destroys their homes.”
The waves crashed on the shore and Waverley laced her fingers together to stop the urge she had to run out into it. She’d be at Midnight soon enough, three days of being surrounded by ocean water and fish in a pool and tank that were hers to use whenever she wanted. The pay certainly didn’t hurt, either, and the regular time in the water meant that she was never at risk of wilting.
“I do,” she said, “I have a pretty special relationship with this beach,” she admitted. After all, this was the one she’d washed up on the first time around, the first one that she’d encountered humans on. “I like it better off-season, though, tourists are a nightmare.”
---
Not to mention the fact that the ocean was only destroying more land because of what humans were doing to it. They seemed to forget that water made up more of the planet than land, that they were wasting what they did have by polluting the water, by altering the seabeds, by messing with the climate, to the point where natural disasters were just going to be a common occurrence. "There's just no telling them though."
It was a lovely beach, a nice spot really, to watch the ocean and the waves just crashing against the sand. It was soothing and alluring all the same. She wondered, idly, if this was what some mermaid's voices sounded like to people.
"They are the worst, right? They're just so noisy and nosy and leave a mess behind them." And don't get her started on divers, she hated them about as much as she hated oil rigs. Humans might need oil to power things, but there was no reason for divers to go poking about in the water where they didn't belong, hurting fish and messing with things.
---
“Well, it looks like they’ve spent hundreds of years fighting each other, as well as every supernatural creature that breathes, so if they can’t learn to live with other people, how do we expect them to revere the planet and treat it with respect?”
She shook her head, a few more gulls flew overhead, cawing brightly. She wondered what it might be like to be able to fly, if it would be as freeing as swimming, though she doubted it.
“God, they’re the worst. I run a coffee shop,” she shared, “and when tourists come in demanding a grande skinny almond decaf mocha with a cat foam decal on the top I just want to strangle them.” Give Waverley her regulars only ever day.
---
It was true enough, humans were so weird. They kept trying to kill each other and fight for land and break the whole planet. Made no sense. "I don't think they know how to make things last, or build anything worth keeping." At least nothing worth everyone keeping, someone would always want to break it.
Raine was wondering mostly if Waverley was like her, other, rather than human. They both seemed to have something of a distaste for humans in general, the ones who broke things at least. There were plenty of humans in Los Angeles, singular ones that Raine rather liked -a few activist groups her roommate was a member of in particular.
"I don't get that. Weird coffees. Put a flavour in it or don't, but stop trying to make them weird." And don't start her on decaf coffee. That was just stupid. People drank coffee for the caffeine, not the flavour.
---
“Some of their bridges are pretty neat,” Waverley offered, though it was only one object that humans had made that was remarkable. Skyscrapers, too, but she’d seen what happened when they fell. But a decade around them, weird though she thought they were, they were growing on her. She still preferred the supernatural community, with a few notable exceptions, though.
“That’s why you’ll not find that fancy nonsense at the Jam Jar,” she said proudly. It had been a small, struggling shop when she first joined and now it was one of the ‘must sees’ of LA. “Add syrup if you want but we serve coffee.”
---
"Oh, I like it there." She'd been in a few times since they moved to the city, and she did like it, they made nice food and everyone was friendly. "It's nice coffee, even with the shot of flavour."
She was maybe a little shallow, but maybe knowing someone while she went there would be pretty cool, it could be less of a jump in and get a coffee, and knowing that she was getting something from somewhere that a girl who liked the ocean like she did. "It's way better than those places that still use those horrible cups that end up in the water."
---
"We were one of the first coffee shops in LA to ban the use of those," Waverley said proudly. "Maybe next time you come by we can have a sit down and a chat?" It was always nice for her to meet others, more folk whose name she knew and could sneak out from behind the counter to chat with helped make the day pass.
Especially since it was apparent that an old friend of hers was in town and wasn't swinging by, and her other close friend was spending all of his free time with someone else. It was far past time Waverley found more people to be busy with.
"There's a lovely sushi place just up the road," she said, almost absently, "if you think you could eat something?"
---
It wasn’t exactly like Raine had mountains of friends already, she barely really had a handful of people she could talk to for personal stuff, and only one that she could talk to about the really personal stuff. Like when she needed her tail and the like.
So someone that she could build a friendship with, someone she shared some views with it seemed, that was appealing even without the promise of coffee and cake while she did it.
“That would be awesome, the chat over coffee and the sushi, now you mention it.” Brushing her hand down her ankles, even though she was just spreading sand everywhere, Raine turned that bright smile to Waverley. “I usually don’t mind eating alone, but sometimes you really just need some company, right?”
---
Waverley nodded, returning the bright smile with one of her own, relieved that Raine was agreeable to the idea. “Sometimes you do,” she agreed. “And this place is totally worth the hype. I think one of the chefs is mer.”
---
"Then they totally know what they're doing." Raine couldn't help but give Waverley's arm a small squeeze, already sure that if the chef was a mer, this would be the best sushi place ever. "We should go before it get stupid busy with hungry tourists."
---
Waverley smiled, "Don't worry, there's always a table for me, so we'll definitely get seated." She tipped her head, touched Raine's hand and then started moving. "C'mon, the ocean'll be there for us when we're done eating." No human food could really compare to what it was like underneath the sea but this sushi place was the closest thing she'd found to it.