Chapter Text
Beneath the waves, down, further, all the way to the bottom of the ocean… When the sun shone and the water was clear, it was lovely. The water acted as a prism, breaking apart the light, reflecting it at the bottom in abstract patterns. Coral, seaweed, fish. The ocean was beautiful and colorful, but…
Despite this, something as simple as flowers didn’t exist down under.
Soft, colorful petals, spreading outward, letting out a sweet scent for the world to enjoy. Sou had never seen one before. Not until he met Kanna.
She tumbled through the sky on a cloudy day, carrying the scent of flowers with her. And a merman who had never experienced the feeling of salt on dry skin, the feeling of it floating through the air, and the strange sensation of it in his face noticed everything. He noticed her solely with his nose— a nose he’d never had any use for until now. His sense of smell alone drew him to her as she fell further and further down, nearly dampening her damaged wings in the ocean. Had Sou not caught this flower-scented fairy, she would have never enchanted another soul, and her body would have been swallowed by the ocean.
Her dress looked as though it was made of leaves, and flowers threaded through the waist of it. Vines dotted with small white flowers hugged her wrists and ankles and crowned her head of soft green hair. Her wings were white, glassy… they could be seen through easily. She looked quite young…
No, now isn’t the time to be thinking about that. She was shaking furiously, eyes shut tight, hyperventilating. Her skin was wet, her face covered in the saltwater of tears, but soft… he didn’t know it yet, but her skin had nearly the same texture as the flower petals she surrounded herself with. This little fairy hugged her knees to her chest, refusing to make herself any bigger.
“H-Hey, hey… Calm down…”
All his actions had to be gentle, or he would scare her. But he convinced her to open one eye. It was green, like the mature trees in spring, swaying in the wind. And immediately, her gaze captured him.
Despite the intimidation Sou felt from her, he wondered if it was something she did in defense. “I don’t know what’s happened to you,” he said softly, “but you’re safe here. I promise. It’ll be okay.”
A voice, escaping her mouth. It was high, fragile like glass… Shaking as though it was close to breaking already. “…I-Is Kanna really safe…?”
“Kanna…?” Did she have a friend with her before?
The little fairy’s body tensed up, but she showed her trembling hand, and pointed her index finger at her own face. “T-This is Kanna.”
“Ah, so your name is Kanna… Hello, I’m Sou. I come from the sea. You come from the sky, is that right?”
“…From the earth.”
The overwhelmingly calm scent Kanna gave off made Sou relax a bit. It helped him from becoming too freaked out as he handled her. “I see… Ahaha, I’m at a bit of a loss…” He hesitated, thinking about what he should say. “…An earth sprite? I’ve never been able to leave the sea, so I don’t know what it’s like on the earth. Can you tell me about some of your favorite things on earth?”
“Y-Yes… Kanna is an earth sprite. Um…” She pauses. “My favorite thing on earth is… flowers…”
“Flowers? What’s a flower?”
“A-A flower is…! Um…” She took one from the small branches in her hair and offered it to Sou. “This is… a flower.”
…As he kept talking to Kanna, she told him more and more about her world, and when prompted, he shared about his world as well. And it seemed as though his life of loneliness and monochrome gained a bit of color when he talked to Kanna, and learned about all the things he’d never had a chance to before.
Eyes of the blue ocean, eyes of the green grass. The two elements coexisted in harmony, and these two soon were the same. The fairy of the flowers, Kanna; and the merman from down below, Sou.
Today, they hid from the outside world. Even if rain fell, Sou didn’t really mind. However, Kanna found the thunder, pounding against the earth, frightening. Ever since their first meeting, the two of them would meet halfway— Kanna always had to leave home to see Sou, and in return, Sou made her visits as comfortable as possible. Heading inside a cave to protect her from the rain, waking up in the middle of the day, making her sweets because she could never get to the underwater materials. Though, seeing her eyes sparkle with delight was a gift in itself.
The rain was only background noise with how far they’d gone in. Kanna smiled down at Sou, whose head seemed to be in the clouds. “Um, Sou… Did something good happen?”
“Ah…” Sou was about to go into his description of the exciting night he’d had previous, but thought about it again. Maybe… not telling her was for the best… but she would probably keep pressing, if it was something so good he practically floated through the water like she did in the sky. “Well… You’re scared of humans, aren’t you?”
“W-What…?”
“Hm? Did you get over your fear?”
“N-No! Humans are still very scary, but…” Her shoulders rose. “Why are you asking me if I’m scared of humans?”
“Well, I met a very, very kind human last night…”
Images flashed through his mind. His tired, but sweet eyes; his body, larger than he expected, but when he leaned into it, it was like being next to a fire on a winter night. The water, as it evaporates from your skin, steals body heat with it… But being so close to him… Was it his warmth, or a blush that brought all of it back…?
“You met… a WHAT?!”
Kanna had taught Sou a lot about the world he admired so much. But there was one hole that she was never able to fill. And that was about humans. Legs, but no wings, no tails, no magic. Though… They were incredible regardless. They could dive to the depths of the ocean without scales or gills, and they built themselves iron wings to shoot up into the sky at will. No setbacks at all. But Kanna, frightened by the pixies who bullied her, could barely bring herself to talk to those of her own race. So humans, with their immeasurable prowess and power, with their incredible strength despite being not much bigger than her… She seemed to tremble with just the thought. The kind, gentle Sou was an exception to any rule— He had saved her life and calmed her down, and never stopped being kind to her. He was trustworthy, if nothing else.
Ironically, that which frightened Kanna only captivated Sou. In fact, it was the reason humans had piqued his interest. Ha… Not that he would ever tell Kanna that.
…
After a long explanation to Kanna, she seemed to have calmed down a bit. She sat down, letting her legs dangle in the water. Sou moved up and settled next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I hesitated on telling you because I thought it would make you nervous, but…”
“N-No, I think I understand why you feel that way towards him.”
“Hm?”
Kanna smiled, exhaling peacefully. “He treated you the same way you treated me when we first met. He calmed you down and reacted coolly in the face of the unknown, just like you did with me… Now we’re best friends, aren’t we?” Her head tilted to one side, hair falling along with it. “You like him, don’t you?”
“W-Well!!”
“Ehehe, it’s alright! He sounds like he’s very kind. Someday, maybe I’d like to meet him?”
Sou exhaled. It’s probably alright to talk about it normally with her… He was used to holding back all of his talk of his curiosities about humans with her, but she said it was okay, so… “He promised me he’d come see me again. Though, it’s raining today, and the clouds look bad… If the rain continues into the night, I doubt he will. At least, he’d better not be…”
“Where will he be?”
“Likely on the beach that’s close to here.” Sou’s tail swished in the water, creating ripples, blurring the mirror that was the surface. “Why?”
“Give me a moment…”