[Venat's smile holds no sadness or qualms; it is naught more than radiance.]
It is in Azem's nature to appear when needed, then vanish off to the next adventure or crisis. And given her nature, it may be for the best in any case. She needs stability more than she knows, and this land has precious little to offer her.
[Speaking of which, she leans in a little closer to him, getting that much more comfortable. Though it changes nothing, Venat knows that whim or fate or whatever force brought them here could separate them easily and without warning. That is not a call to avoid such an attachment, though; such separations are inevitable. She ought to be dead and nonexistent; he is human, his lifespan measured in vanishing fractions of the time she has spent alive. Their parting will come, in one form or another. One cannot live in fear of that; instead, one must appreciate what they have when they have it.]
[ Their thoughts follow similar paths, as ever. The volatile nature of this reality has not been lost on Maruki since the day he arrived. Every day he wakes up here again is unexpected. Everyone will leave, if not by the whims of their captor then when they finally find a way to break free themselves.
His goal is to return. It always has been, always will be. But the time spent here until then is nothing short of precious. People he would never otherwise meet, experiences he would never otherwise have. He won't waste it. And he certainly won't ever pull away from those he's already let into his heart.
Venat leans in closer, and Maruki makes up any scanty remaining distance, an arm wrapping around her back to pull her in tight against his side. That radiant smile is met with his own warm one, and he bows his head against hers as he asks: ]
Can I share something with you? It might sound fanciful or foolish, but it's backed by every bit of research that I know to be true.
[Venat lifts her free hand to her mouth. As ever, the gesture is pointless, hiding neither her smile nor her laughter.]
Wherefore comes the idea that you need ask? If you can imagine me ever answering that question in the negative, you've a more powerful imagination than anyone I have ever met by leaps and bounds.
[Silly, silly man. In fact, his question raises several of its own, but for once, Venat chooses to deal with none of them. They are just winding trails that likely lead nowhere; until she finds one wide enough worth following, far better to stay put where she is. It's quite pleasant here, as it happens.]
[ Maruki laughs in return, soft and self-effacing. ]
It's rhetorical! I know you'll say yes, I just like asking...
[ And he likes hearing the affirmation, too. It's not that he needs the reassurance, really. He never hesitates to share a single thought on his mind with Venat, a byproduct of the comfort that sprang up so easily between them, so early on. It simply feels good to know, and to hear, again and again, that she is listening, that they both are. ]
For as different as this reality is to my own, and to those that everyone else comes from, the collective unconscious underpins them all. It may go by different names and have slightly different functions depending on the reality in question... the Paths, the aetherial sea... but I feel confident saying that in the grand scheme, they all draw from the same source.
[ He has never found more comfort in a concept than the collective unconscious; has never desired more power over something, either. In time, he'll learn what it would mean for him, and while it may significantly abate that desire, it will only strengthen his belief in these statements. ]
So long as the collective unconscious exists, memory persists within it. Beyond death and beyond realities. So, in that way...
[ A beat, a breath. A promise so serious to him that it's very nearly an oath. ]
I won't ever forget you.
[ It's an impossibly heavy statement, for reasons he's yet to reveal to Venat. The weight is there, present in the fierce conviction behind each word. ]
[She hasn't the heart, nor the desire, to tell him that studies of the aetherial sea have proven that once a soul is submerged within it, the sea slowly but inexorably washes clean all the memories that come with it, until at last the soul is pure and ready to return to the world once more.]
[But reality has little part in romance, even for practical people.]
I cannot promise you the same, knowing what I do about the ultimate fate of my soul. [She reaches across herself, then, to place a hand gently on his cheek. If before she had taken memory for granted, his words have given her cause to mend that error. In that moment, then, she locks gazes with him, and burns his eyes into her mind and her soul, so deeply that they will last until it inevitably disperses.]
But I will remember you for as long as there is a me to do so. And even once that ends, we will have made the world a better place even if through no other way than what we have shared, and will share. That effect will ripple on, and though those ripples may drift far from the shore whence they started, they will touch and shift all the more for doing so. In that respect, you and I and we will never be forgotten, until the very last moment, where time itself no longer has meaning.
[ Every word radiates through him. Like a clear note struck on a bell in an empty room. Like the wings of a dove in flight. Like crystalline-bright light, splintered into kaleidoscopic fractions dancing in the sun. Like a wish.
Maruki is a man who puts an exceptional amount of weight on words. Simple kindnesses spoken in times of need, genuine praise for work well done, reassurance when he forgets what he already knows to be true, affirmation that someone feels the same as he does. Talk isn't cheap, not to him. And words aren't only words, pretty and romantic but ultimately meaningless. They are significant, tremendously so; sacred.
Venat will die. He isn't naive. He has known this since the very day they met in dreams. She will die beyond death, the very essence of her soul rendered discorporate.
Yet memory persists. If not in the way that he knows, then in the echoes of all reality.
It's no small thing. It's the most phenomenal thing of all.
They are the most phenomenal thing of all, he thinks. A force to be reckoned with that will be felt throughout time, simply because they've allowed themselves to come together.
Maruki is entirely silent as her words settle over him like powder-fine snow. Venat's eyes – brilliant, ethereal, glowing with all her conviction and all her radiant joy – locked inexorably on his, her touch lingering on his face, her heart bared just as much as his.
All at once, his face splits into a smile like he's not felt in long years. A luminous thing that glows from within. It aches, and if he has learned anything in Somnius, anything by being with her, it is that it's not such a bad thing, to ache. ]
I'm so grateful your soul made this detour before its ultimate fate. More grateful than ever.
[ He mirrors her motion, cups her face in one warm palm, thumb skating over her cheekbone for a moment before he draws her in closer. The motion is slow, tender, almost impossibly so. He's well aware how unexpected all of this is to Venat; it's why he's waited months for this moment: To meet her halfway, to breathe her in, to press his lips gently to hers, like a promise. It's a soft kiss, but Maruki is nothing but steady, assured. He'll anchor her through something entirely new. It's the very least he can do. ]
[She'd known this would come some day. Unfamiliar with living a relationship, she's nonetheless no such fool as to be unaware of what they entail. And though she'd been hesitant to take any step herself, for fear of misreading a situation or going about it the wrong way or otherwise making an idiot of herself...]
[Now that it's here, all she can really think is, "at last". No fear, no hesitation, merely an Azem's love of adventure, and a Venat's love of experiencing the world.]
[She leans into him, captures his kiss, and returns it with all the warmth and joy that are her nature.]
[ It's a profound relief, to be embraced so wholly – physically, spiritually. Maruki's entire body sighs into it. There will be more moments together, hopefully many more, but there will never be this moment again. He wants to commit every bit of it to memory: Their hands resting gently on one another's cheeks, the warm summer air hanging still around them, Venat's radiance poured into every tender moment of that kiss.
He's smiling as they part, a flush sprawling across his cheeks. He feels giddy, weightless and breathless, and utterly content. ]
Venat.
[ Said quietly, reverently, like a final seal placed over his heart.
He tips his head up, presses another kiss between her brows, then backs off just enough to be able to see her properly, still grinning.
[She is smiling, of course. How could she not be? But her expression has yet to catch up with her thoughts, as that quick mind of hers catalogues, sorts, analyzes, and decides.]
[Thus, after a moment, her smile goes from bright to blinding, a delighted joy in her eyes.]
I say... I begin to understand what all the fuss is about.
[ Every time he thinks Venat looks as joyous as she can, she somehow manages to ratchet that elation up exponentially. There may be no upper limit to her warmth, her delight in new experiences, her love for the world. It soothes in a way that little else can.
Maruki laughs at that – certainly not at her! – and his brows shoot up past his messy flop of fringe. His hand drops to rest against the side of her neck, tucked into the cowl of her robe. ]
Is that so? Like I've said before, there are some things that us mere mortals got right.
[How could she possibly have any limit to her delight? The world is amazing, people are amazing, and with each moment new and amazing things happen afresh. And that does not even account for the old things she is just now discovering -- this being the most obvious case in point.]
I think I might be able to meet those standards you've set... with sufficient practice, of course.
[Of course, one must not forget that Venat also has a capacity for mischief.]
[ If there is one thing that first drew him to Venat, there are a hundred, but that mischievous nature of hers is high up on the list. Maruki is a man who can and will drown himself in his own sorrow if given half the chance; he has always needed, will always need people around him who simply allow him to have fun instead. It's always been easy to laugh with her, to flirt, to be teased. And it's no different now.
He flushes brighter at that, exhales a stunned little laugh. ]
You really are unbelievable...
[ But dear god, he won't waste a second of this opportunity given.
He leans in close again, brushes their noses together, smiling, whispering: ]
I like many things about you. [Close as they are, her smile is more heard and felt than seen, but that makes it no less distinct.] But in this moment, chief among them is how often we share the same thoughts.
[And that? That spells the end for words, at least for quite a while.]
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2024-09-30 01:42 pm (UTC)It is in Azem's nature to appear when needed, then vanish off to the next adventure or crisis. And given her nature, it may be for the best in any case. She needs stability more than she knows, and this land has precious little to offer her.
[Speaking of which, she leans in a little closer to him, getting that much more comfortable. Though it changes nothing, Venat knows that whim or fate or whatever force brought them here could separate them easily and without warning. That is not a call to avoid such an attachment, though; such separations are inevitable. She ought to be dead and nonexistent; he is human, his lifespan measured in vanishing fractions of the time she has spent alive. Their parting will come, in one form or another. One cannot live in fear of that; instead, one must appreciate what they have when they have it.]
no subject
Date: 2024-09-30 07:46 pm (UTC)His goal is to return. It always has been, always will be. But the time spent here until then is nothing short of precious. People he would never otherwise meet, experiences he would never otherwise have. He won't waste it. And he certainly won't ever pull away from those he's already let into his heart.
Venat leans in closer, and Maruki makes up any scanty remaining distance, an arm wrapping around her back to pull her in tight against his side. That radiant smile is met with his own warm one, and he bows his head against hers as he asks: ]
Can I share something with you? It might sound fanciful or foolish, but it's backed by every bit of research that I know to be true.
no subject
Date: 2024-09-30 07:52 pm (UTC)Wherefore comes the idea that you need ask? If you can imagine me ever answering that question in the negative, you've a more powerful imagination than anyone I have ever met by leaps and bounds.
[Silly, silly man. In fact, his question raises several of its own, but for once, Venat chooses to deal with none of them. They are just winding trails that likely lead nowhere; until she finds one wide enough worth following, far better to stay put where she is. It's quite pleasant here, as it happens.]
no subject
Date: 2024-10-01 12:29 am (UTC)It's rhetorical! I know you'll say yes, I just like asking...
[ And he likes hearing the affirmation, too. It's not that he needs the reassurance, really. He never hesitates to share a single thought on his mind with Venat, a byproduct of the comfort that sprang up so easily between them, so early on. It simply feels good to know, and to hear, again and again, that she is listening, that they both are. ]
For as different as this reality is to my own, and to those that everyone else comes from, the collective unconscious underpins them all. It may go by different names and have slightly different functions depending on the reality in question... the Paths, the aetherial sea... but I feel confident saying that in the grand scheme, they all draw from the same source.
[ He has never found more comfort in a concept than the collective unconscious; has never desired more power over something, either. In time, he'll learn what it would mean for him, and while it may significantly abate that desire, it will only strengthen his belief in these statements. ]
So long as the collective unconscious exists, memory persists within it. Beyond death and beyond realities. So, in that way...
[ A beat, a breath. A promise so serious to him that it's very nearly an oath. ]
I won't ever forget you.
[ It's an impossibly heavy statement, for reasons he's yet to reveal to Venat. The weight is there, present in the fierce conviction behind each word. ]
There's an end to all things, but not that.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-01 10:33 pm (UTC)[She hasn't the heart, nor the desire, to tell him that studies of the aetherial sea have proven that once a soul is submerged within it, the sea slowly but inexorably washes clean all the memories that come with it, until at last the soul is pure and ready to return to the world once more.]
[But reality has little part in romance, even for practical people.]
I cannot promise you the same, knowing what I do about the ultimate fate of my soul. [She reaches across herself, then, to place a hand gently on his cheek. If before she had taken memory for granted, his words have given her cause to mend that error. In that moment, then, she locks gazes with him, and burns his eyes into her mind and her soul, so deeply that they will last until it inevitably disperses.]
But I will remember you for as long as there is a me to do so. And even once that ends, we will have made the world a better place even if through no other way than what we have shared, and will share. That effect will ripple on, and though those ripples may drift far from the shore whence they started, they will touch and shift all the more for doing so. In that respect, you and I and we will never be forgotten, until the very last moment, where time itself no longer has meaning.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-02 07:08 am (UTC)Maruki is a man who puts an exceptional amount of weight on words. Simple kindnesses spoken in times of need, genuine praise for work well done, reassurance when he forgets what he already knows to be true, affirmation that someone feels the same as he does. Talk isn't cheap, not to him. And words aren't only words, pretty and romantic but ultimately meaningless. They are significant, tremendously so; sacred.
Venat will die. He isn't naive. He has known this since the very day they met in dreams. She will die beyond death, the very essence of her soul rendered discorporate.
Yet memory persists. If not in the way that he knows, then in the echoes of all reality.
It's no small thing. It's the most phenomenal thing of all.
They are the most phenomenal thing of all, he thinks. A force to be reckoned with that will be felt throughout time, simply because they've allowed themselves to come together.
Maruki is entirely silent as her words settle over him like powder-fine snow. Venat's eyes – brilliant, ethereal, glowing with all her conviction and all her radiant joy – locked inexorably on his, her touch lingering on his face, her heart bared just as much as his.
All at once, his face splits into a smile like he's not felt in long years. A luminous thing that glows from within. It aches, and if he has learned anything in Somnius, anything by being with her, it is that it's not such a bad thing, to ache. ]
I'm so grateful your soul made this detour before its ultimate fate. More grateful than ever.
[ He mirrors her motion, cups her face in one warm palm, thumb skating over her cheekbone for a moment before he draws her in closer. The motion is slow, tender, almost impossibly so. He's well aware how unexpected all of this is to Venat; it's why he's waited months for this moment: To meet her halfway, to breathe her in, to press his lips gently to hers, like a promise. It's a soft kiss, but Maruki is nothing but steady, assured. He'll anchor her through something entirely new. It's the very least he can do. ]
no subject
Date: 2024-10-04 05:03 pm (UTC)[Now that it's here, all she can really think is, "at last". No fear, no hesitation, merely an Azem's love of adventure, and a Venat's love of experiencing the world.]
[She leans into him, captures his kiss, and returns it with all the warmth and joy that are her nature.]
no subject
Date: 2024-10-05 10:50 am (UTC)He's smiling as they part, a flush sprawling across his cheeks. He feels giddy, weightless and breathless, and utterly content. ]
Venat.
[ Said quietly, reverently, like a final seal placed over his heart.
He tips his head up, presses another kiss between her brows, then backs off just enough to be able to see her properly, still grinning.
For once, he doesn't have more to say. ]
no subject
Date: 2024-10-05 09:40 pm (UTC)[Thus, after a moment, her smile goes from bright to blinding, a delighted joy in her eyes.]
I say... I begin to understand what all the fuss is about.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-05 11:25 pm (UTC)Maruki laughs at that – certainly not at her! – and his brows shoot up past his messy flop of fringe. His hand drops to rest against the side of her neck, tucked into the cowl of her robe. ]
Is that so? Like I've said before, there are some things that us mere mortals got right.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-07 02:24 pm (UTC)I think I might be able to meet those standards you've set... with sufficient practice, of course.
[Of course, one must not forget that Venat also has a capacity for mischief.]
FRANKLY THIS THREAD COULD GO FOREVER IN MY HEART but we can wrap on yr reply if you want :3ccc
Date: 2024-10-11 12:37 am (UTC)He flushes brighter at that, exhales a stunned little laugh. ]
You really are unbelievable...
[ But dear god, he won't waste a second of this opportunity given.
He leans in close again, brushes their noses together, smiling, whispering: ]
Practice all you like. We have nothing but time.
It WILL go on forever in our hearts!
Date: 2024-10-11 03:31 pm (UTC)[And that? That spells the end for words, at least for quite a while.]