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The ocean’s waves roll across the dark sand. Feferi has had the luxury of never being afraid of the sea. Most of her dead friends have no interest in being near the ocean themed bubbles due to the fears of the wild creatures that swam beneath the current. The sun did not hurt anyone here; the dead need not fear its rays.
The Alternian sun, partially dimmed by the other bubble merging in, sheds a new and bright light onto the waters below. In all reality, Feferi didn’t mind being dead. The bubbles are hers, after all. Partially hers. She urged the Horrorterrors to create this place. The abdicated Empress has become the Empress of the dead, of an ever-changing land.
This is how she sees it, anyway.
With her toes the warm sand, she stares up at the lit up sky. Maybe, today, she would go for a swim. She loved the feeling the phantom water felt through her gills, she treasured it more than a landdweller would in regards to fresh air.
Before she can fantasize any further, the space next to her becomes immediately occupied with a vibrant red she can see in her peripheral vision. Jumping in surprise, she lets out a sound akin to a squeak as she turns fully to see Aradia sitting next to her.
Aradia smiles in her bright red garb, her wings fluttering just slightly behind her. She momentarily lays a gentle hand on Feferi’s shoulder.
“Hello.”
Feferi giggles in response, covering her mouth until she calms down.
“Aradia, I didn’t sea you coming at all!”
Aradia maintains a smile. Now that she thinks of it, Feferi hasn’t seen Aradia without a smile since her ascension to god tier. How interesting.
“No? Sometimes I forget I can startle people.”
“You definitely scared me half to death!”
Aradia tilts her head and grins. “No, if I scared you half to death, you would actually just die and then respawn somewhere else. Perhaps of some kind of pusher related injury that would have you convulsing until the life drained out of you.”
Feferi’s smile dims due to a strange discomfort at the imagery of that statement. “Yeah!” she agrees half-heartedly.
Aradia gives her a knowing look. “Good thing you’re not double dead, or the bubbles here would be lacking a reelly cool princess.”
Feferi’s mouth drops open at Aradia’s use of a fish pun, and a squeal escapes her lips as she pulls Aradia into a quick hug. Aradia stiffens, but soon relaxes and pats her on the back before pulling away.
“I thought you would like that. It’s the least I can do, what with you having a part in a place like this existing! Sometimes I’d rather be here than with the living.” She pauses, placing her index finger to her chin thoughtfully. “Well, I think I would always rather be here, actually. The dead tend to need someone to guide them, you know.”
Feferi shrugs, looking back towared the water. “Oh, it’s no problem! I thought it would be neat my-shell-f. Plus, I was supposed to be the next Empress, so I still have a duty to my people, you know! Even if they are all dead.”
“Well, without you, their bodies would rot to nothingness and decompose with the earth, or to the metal in the case of the meteor, and the only thing they would be doing is stinking up their respective vicinities while under the impression that they are floating eternally in a vast nothingness.”
Feferi humbly flicks her hand. “Oh, stop! But you’re right, none of us would be anywhere without me. It’s a shore a great thing I exist, isn’t it?”
Aradia laughs, but Feferi’s statement remains completely genuine. At least she looks out for the lower castes, even if they may not be intelligent enough to recognize what good she does for them. Aradia seems to appreciate her, and Feferi does not take that for granted.
“Yeah, it is,” Aradia says with a nod. “But for other reasons.”
Feferi tilts her head. “Other reasons? What, like being absolutely adorabubble?”
A barely noticeable burgundy colors Aradia’s cheeks while she grins at Feferi. “That’s a good part of it!”
Despite already knowing this about herself, Feferi manages to become a little bit flustered.
“Ah, reelly, you think so?”
Aradia nods, her hands digging into the sand. “Really.”
A calming silence leaves the two girls to staring back at the ocean, until Feferi finally speaks up.
“A-ray-dia?”
“Yes?”
“Would you want to, maybe, do something together in a cool bubble? Pike maybe, just us?” Now, Feferi’s cheeks are tinted fuschia.
Aradia’s grin widens. “I would like that. Where?”
“Do you know anywhere cool?”
Feferi places a gentle hand over Aradia’s, and Aradia casts a glance toward their hands.
“I know a really cool excavation site I found, it’s basically got troll skeletons jutting up everywhere! It’s awesome!”
Feferi makes a briefly disgusted face. “Maybe not that. What if I pick?”
Aradia’s thumb reaches up to touch the side of Feferi’s hand.
“Perfect.”