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"They call him Childe," her grandmother told them, an old smile making her crinkly face soften. "He controls the ocean, and all who live there."
Lumine gazed wide-eyed at Aether, who in turn looked towards her, in equal wonder.
They shuffled closer, tiny hands reaching for their grandmother's long, tattered skirt. She laughed, bending down with a great big sigh, and propping them on each of her knees. The candlelight licked at her glasses, making her golden eyes twinkle secretly.
"Again! Tell us again!" Aether giggled from his spot, making Lumine nod seriously in turn. She never got tired of hearing the story.
Their grandmother gave a crackly laugh, and an incredulous whisper of, "Again?", before settling further into her wooden chair by the window. She gazed at the waves calmly pattering across the sand.
"Once, there was a boy known as Tartaglia," she began, the soft whispers of the ocean taking the three of them somewhere far away in the past.
"He was the prettiest boy anyone had seen in quite a long while, and all the people in town liked him," she wiggled her eyebrows at the both of them, making them giggle. "All but one; This mysterious person could not stand whatever Tartaglia did, even if they were just children at the time."
"They say she was as beautiful as the sun coming up after a rainy day, her smile lit up every room she went in. She did not care much for Tartaglia, but he, oh, how he loved her."
Lumine laughed slightly. Who liked someone who did not care for them in return?
"One day, the girl fell gravely ill, and the village physician could do nothing to help her, for he needed a most special kind of seashell, one which was lying at the deepest depths of the ocean. One a normal person could not get to."
"Tartaglia had immediately seized the opportunity, and the entire town watched with great horror as he dove into the black abyss of the ocean, not hesitating for even a moment."
"They say when he came back up, the seashell he was holding in his raised hand shone brighter than any precious gem ever would. It was as if he'd caught a falling star. The town rejoiced, for now the girl would be healed."
"But as it has been from the beginning of time, a life for a life, lest the balance of the world is upset. And so Tartaglia could not stay, and they all watched as the beautiful, smiling boy turned into ocean water, the waves dragging him out towards the horizon and never to be found once more."
"It is said he looks over the sailors and fishermen, sending them plenty of fish to catch, and calming the waters when the weather rages. They now call him Childe, for they say to remember his true name would be too painful."
Lumine gaped in wonder, turning her head to stare out the window at the ocean again. The God of the Ocean had been a human once...?
"But that was a long time ago," their grandmother chuckled, "And no one really knows what the truth of the Ocean God's story really is. And I believe you two," she placed them back on the ground, taking their hands in either of her own, "Need to rest."
"But Granny," Lumine blinked up at the old woman, "What about the girl Tartaglia loved?"
Her grandmother gave an old laugh, before steering them towards the tiny bed in the corner of the room. "That's a story for another time."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Uhm," Lumine stared at her toes, wiggling them in the wet sand. "I-I brought you this." She placed the slightly-rotting apple on the ground, mentally wincing. "It's not much, but I can't get anything else."
She gazed up at the water, the sun slowly sinking over the horizon. "I hope you like it."
Lumine turned around and ran back towards her house, short feet doing nothing to help her speed.
The next morning when she came back and the apple was nowhere to be seen, a beautiful peach seashell in its place she grinned. Even if perhaps it was not from Childe.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Over the years, the story changed.
"He was a lonely boy who threw himself in the waves," the woman holding three crying babies told.
"He's been the God of the Ocean from the beginning of time," the tired farmer said, even if his eyes twinkled in an odd way.
"He saved a woman from drowning,"
“He-”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Twelve-years old Lumine struggled to hold the net in her hands, her entire body slick with cold sweat. The man in front of her shouted something at her, but the harsh wind stole his words away. He'd been teaching her how to fish, when the storm had dropped out of nowhere.
The clouds loomed ominously above them, the sound of waves crashing not too far away from them ringing about the ocean.
Lumine inhaled desperately, planting her feet even further in the boat, and blinking to keep the salty water out of her eyes. "I don't want to die, please, I don't want to die."
And somehow, as if by magic, their boat sliced through the waters, all the way towards the shore, where Lumine could see people had gathered, all jumping in panic and waving their arms at them.
She slumped on the sand, her grandmother's relieved tears dripping down her hair, Aether's arms warm around her.
She glanced towards the ocean.
Thank you, Childe.
She could almost imagine someone would wave back from the dark waves.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The girl tightened her grip on the slippery rope, planting her feet against the creaky wooden planks, the harsh wind stealing her grunt of effort away.
The rain plummeted from above, a distant clap of thunder making her bones shudder against her skin. Lumine grit her teeth, the cold starting to seep through her thin, ragged shirt. She prayed to Childe to let her live, violently pulling the oar, making the old boat creak with the effort it took to steer so suddenly.
The waves were crawling towards her like grotesque monsters, each one out for her throat. They reached their claws towards her, even if they always somehow seemed to fall just short of her boat, as if something was pushing them back. She could've sworn she'd seen a golden shimmer floating right in her boat, as if someone was sitting down with her. She was losing it.
Lumine slumped on the sand, throat burning as she coughed up what felt like the entire ocean. She turned over, hair and half the beach splattered to her face. With a deep, painful breath, she slowly pulled herself to her forearms.
She stared at the ocean, the sounds of the raging storm fading away. Childe, was that -?
She was so distracted by the water she didn't notice someone was approaching her until they stood above her, their shadow falling on her. She gazed up at the person, darkness making it hard to make out their features.
"Are you alright?" the person said, a boy. He crouched until she was at her eye-level, head tilting to the side. Lumine blinked, a stupid thought entering her head: she hadn't seen someone so pretty before.
She opened her mouth to reply, but a bitter cough scratched her throat again, making her bend over the sand between her and the boy. He let out a surprised noise, before his hand came up to her shoulder to hold her up.
"You weren't caught in the storm, were you?" he asked, making Lumine raise her head from where it was hanging between her shoulders just to give him a deadpan stare. He laughed sheepishly, raising his free hand in surrender, "Sheesh, sorry, sorry."
The sound of multiple footsteps falling on the sound made the both of them turn to see who it was that was currently running towards them at full speed. Aether and her grandma.
Lumine pulled herself to a sitting position, wiping at her wet face. She gazed around the empty beach, until her eyes landed on her almost ruined boat. She winced slightly.
"Oh my God, are you -," her grandmother didn't even finish her sentence before her arms came around Lumine, a sob escaping her mouth. Aether crowded in as well, propping his chin on top of Lumine's head.
She patted their backs in reassurance, before glancing around the beach one last time. Had she been alone the entire time...?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next time she's at the beach, she's seeing Aether off to his fishing trip. He's armed with the net they'd spent quite the while weaving, a rusty harpoon slightly bent at the middle in his right hand.
Lumine helped him push the boat in the water, laughing as he nearly lost his balance while trying to get in it. Aether smiled before waving at her, and settling back down in their boat, rowing away until his figure was about the size of Lumine's little finger.
“So,” she immediately recognized the voice, stiffing in her place and not daring to tear her eyes away from Aether, lest she wasn't actually imagining things and the boy she'd sworn she hadn't seen the other night was talking to her.
A hand waved in front of her eyes, making Lumine jump and reflexively turn towards the boy. He was even prettier in the daylight, as he grinned at her somehow both mockingly and mischievously at the same time.
“Do you remember me?” the boy said, tilting his head to the side, stretching himself languidly on the beach as if he owned it.
“I do,” Lumine said after a while, then hesitated, before continuing, “...Childe.”
The boy, Childe if her suspicions were correct, merely smiled even harder, as if this was all somehow terribly amusing to him. Lumine dared not think what would happen if he was actually just a boy from the town.
But, she ran her eyes over him in one fell swoop, even though he was dressed much as the usual person living in the village would – tattered, brown shirt, thin pants -, he somehow seemed much cleaner, and detached. As if he'd been studying people for long enough to be able to mimic their way of clothing, but not enough to feign the hardships of life.
“Ah, I see that's who you think I am,” the boy sighed, lips curling in bemusement, eyes (so much like the ocean, now Lumine noticed) turning to gaze over the horizon.
“Am I wrong?” she grit out, slightly perturbed by the way he was speaking, as if he thought himself better than her. But if he was the God of the Ocean, then he actually was.
“I didn't say that.” Childe smiled again, before raising a hand towards the sea, casually, almost boredly. “Here, because no one has managed to figure out who I am before,” he made a circle with his finger, and the waves licking at the sand started moving violently, creating a vortex.
Lumine brought her hands up to her face to shield herself from the aggressive water, ears rushing with the loud sound.
“The disappearing was a bit of a giveaway, was it not?” Childe grinned at her once the water has ceased moving with an abrupt 'whoosh' (sending another large wave of water on Lumine, who was beginning to think he'd done it on purpose), peering down at her curiously, but still in superiority.
She coughed in the crook of her elbow, before looking back up at him. Perhaps she was dreaming. She couldn't possibly be talking to the God of the Ocean, could she? There just simply wasn't a way that that was possible.
What did one even say to a God?
Childe was smiling at her again, almost looking down his nose at her. Her cheeks flushed when realizing he'd most probably received all the gifts she'd been leaving him over the years. Well, it was nothing to be embarrassed about. After all, they had to appease to the God.
“Thank you,” she started, slowly, carefully, looking at the water instead of him. “For taking care of our fishermen.”
She hadn't ever expected to be talking to a real God, so she had no way of knowing what they'd be like. Still, it seemed a bit odd to her how Childe was sitting next to her so casually, as if they were friends.
Aether was the size of a tiny ant by now.
“It's no sweat on my part,” the boy said, making a nerve in Lumine's jaw tick. She'd been told she had problems with anger before.
“The water is calm today, are you in a good mood?” Lumine asked instead, resting her chin atop her knees, turning to gaze at the ocean.
“Of course I am. I'm finally talking to the pretty girl who's been leaving me gifts all these years,” he said cheekily, making Lumine turn her head away from him, groaning lowly. She didn't regret sending gifts to a God, she just regretted Childe had actually gotten them.
“But you know, don't paint me as this chivalrous person, would you?” that made her turn to look at him in confusion, startling a bit when seeing his expression; he still had his smile on his face, but the colors in his eyes were swirling to create a deeper shade of blue, like the darker waters of the ocean. “I don't have to do anything for you.”
Lumine seriously doubted that. She raised her eyebrows, but said nothing. Best to not speak her mind around an all-powerful being.
He seemed to get what she was thinking anyway, and he turned to face her fully, almost looming over her. She didn't back down. He stared at her for a couple more moments, before turning to stare at Aether's tiny figure. A darker smile crossed his face.
“You won't do anything,” Lumine piped up before he could say anything, noticing where he'd been looking.
Childe's eyes seemed to glow in the darkness, sun having been covered by grey clouds. A wave rustled against the beach, almost in annoyance. “Won’t I?”
Before she could add anything else, his figure shimmered, making Lumine close her eyes for just one second. When she opened them, he was gone, but a faint trickle of a sky blue ran across the waves, towards the distance.
She jumped to her feet, brushing the sand off her clothes, and never once taking her eyes off Aether. Perhaps she'd been wrong? She shouldn't have provoked a God, what had she been thinking? Childe had somehow made her feel comfortable, as if they were old friends. She'd almost completely forgotten how much more powerful than her he was.
She ran towards the ocean, stopping when the water reached her knees. Lumine raised a hand to shield her eyes from the muted pale light, trying to discern where Aether was. She didn't take her gaze off him for one second when she finally spotted him. Her brother seemed to be heading back towards the beach. She furrowed her brows. Already?
Lumine immediately jumped towards him as he got close enough, eagerly helping him push the boat towards land, and glancing around nervously, if a bit amused. A tiny wave splashed her ankles, making her grin.
“Look how many I caught today!” Aether exclaimed, showing Lumine not one, not two, not three, but four fish. She gaped down at them, a hand coming to cover her mouth incredulously. “Ah, where did you find such a pretty seashell?” her brother continued, raising a hand to touch something on her hair.
She patted at her head, fingers catching on something smooth, and cold, which had definitely not been there before. She picked it out carefully, staring down at it.
A beautiful peach seashell, with tiny swirls of white crossing in intricate circles.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Have you been in the town before?” Lumine asked him, making sure the knot is secure, before throwing the net overboard.
Childe propped his hand on his knees, resting his chin on his palm with an air of boredom. “Yes, very picturesque, what can I say.”
She didn't know what that word meant, but she held her tongue, nodding as if she understood. “Then how come I haven't seen you before?” A beauty such as yours is not often seen around these parts, was what she added in her head.
“Perhaps you just weren't looking hard enough,” Childe smiled pityingly at her, as if she were a petulant child. He suddenly clapped, making Lumine jump, rustling the boat a bit. “Now come on, hop to it! That fish isn't going to catch itself!”
“What do you care anyway,” she grumbled, before focusing back on her net. She side-eyed his pleased expression with a disapproving gaze, before saying, “The boys in my town are nicer than you.”
Childe opened an eye to gaze down at her, eyebrows raised as if to say 'really?'. He turned towards her, leaning forwards, a hand placed over his heart with an exaggerated look of hurt on his face. “Did you just compare me to mortal boys, girlie?”
Lumine shuffled further away from him, which wasn't much considering they were still in a tiny fishing boat. She eyed him in disapproval.
Childe merely snickered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Granny, this is Child-Chilmen,” Lumine smiled widely, gripping Childe's forearm so hard it hurt her own fingers. What the fish, is it made of rock or something?
“Nice to meet you, lady,” he offered her grandmother one of his pleasant smiles, bowing to kiss either of her cheeks, and looking completely unbothered by the dents Lumine's fingernails had to be making into his skin by now.
Her grandmother stared at him closely, something shimmering in her eyes. “A pleasure,” she said at last, a tiny grin curling her lips. Lumine's eyes jumped from her to Childe, and back again. Had she figured it out? No, there just wasn't a way, was there?
Lumine kissed her cheek, before biding her goodbye and leaving towards the town, a tall tree in tow.
“'Chilmen'? Really?” Childe said once they were out of ear-shot, gazing down at her with an incredulously amused stare. Lumine grit her teeth, looking the other way.
“I don't want to hear it.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“It's all going to be alright,” Childe said, propping his chin atop her head, a hand coming to rest at the back of her neck. She clutched at his fake clothes, burying her head in the crook of her elbow even further. Lumine didn't make a sound, only allowing the tears to drip in tiny droplets on Childe's pants, where they glowed golden before disappearing like magic.
She wiped her eyes, digging her nails in her scalp. “I should've told her who you were. She loved telling your story.”
“Oh, she knew who I was.” Lumine glanced up so fast she nearly decked Childe in the face. He offered her a small, gentle smile.
Lumine sat on the sand, gazing towards the ocean. Her lips quirked upwards too. “I see.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“What do you even do this for?” Childe asked her, staring up at her from his place lying in the water.
Lumine tightened her grip on the harpoon, not taking her eyes off the fish. “Some of us need to eat, you know.”
Childe murmured something intelligible, before jumping to his feet and stalking towards her. “This doesn't even seem that hard, give me that,” he reached for her harpoon, but Lumine turned to keep him away from it.
“Stop moving, you're going to scare all the fish,” she said, gazing back down towards the water. Childe was surprisingly immature for a God.
“Hmph,” he sniffed, tilting his head to stare at the ocean. “I bet I could catch more than you.”
Lumine side-eyed him. She smelled a challenge. “You could? Even without using your powers?”
He puffed his chest, adopting an air of self-importance. “Of course I could. I'm godly by myself.”
She snorted, before nodding. “Alright, whoever catches three first wins. We'll see how good you are.”
“Then you're not allowed to use your harpoon either.”
Just as she'd suspected; he was completely incapable of catching even one. Lumine watched with bemusement as he progressively got more frustrated by the minute, red hair seeming to stand up like he was a displeased cat. She rolled her eyes, before shoving him aside with an elbow and bending over in the water.
“You have to stay perfectly still, like this,” she explained, not moving an inch, and never once blinking. “Then,” her eyes caught the silver glint of scales, hands darting immediately towards it. “-Here it is!”
Childe hesitated, before leaning over as well, eyes following Lumine's movements keenly.
“See, like this-!”
“Look how much you caught!” Aether exclaimed, short ponytail swinging from side to side.
Lumine pulled up the wooden chair under her, elbowing Childe with a smile on her face. “Childe helps when he gets competitive.”
“You can call me Ajax,” Childe said out of the blue, reaching for his plate. Lumine stared at him from her seat, blinking. Wasn't his name Tartaglia...?
“Alright, Ajax.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I don't remember fishing being this tiring,” Lumine said, slumping on the sand with a great big sigh. She wiped a hand across her forehead, coughing a bit. Her head hurt more than usual.
“You're getting old,” Ajax snorted, making Lumine turn towards him. How many years had passed since they'd met...? He still looked just the same. As if not a second had passed for him.
“I am, aren't I?” she murmured, smiling. The waves licked at her feet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lumine watched the pink bleed into red, wind ruffling her hair pleasantly. She'd just gotten dinner with Aether and his wife, and was now quite pleased.
“What a beautiful view,” she hummed, closing her eyes and smelling the sweet, sweet ocean.
“Not as beautiful as you,” Ajax said from her right, making her double over in laughter. She cracked an eye open to look at him, slightly taken off-guard by his smile.
“Don't laugh,” he said haughtily, making her start chuckling all over again, elbowing him. Before she could regret it, she turned and planted her lips on his cheek with a loud thwack.
“Hey!”
Lumine stumbled over herself, running towards the ocean, a shouting Ajax on her heels.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Hey, Ajax,” Lumine said, almost surprised to hear her voice as crinkly as her grandmother's had been some other time.
“Yes, girlie?” Ajax said, turning to grin at her from his wooden chair. The wind ruffled his hair, making it seem like the petals of crimson roses.
“You're not going to... remember any of this, are you?” she said, eyes turning towards the horizon. You're not going to remember me. Nor Aether, who's long gone by now.
Ajax tsked patronizingly, before throwing a hand over her shoulders. “Of course I will, girlie.”
I don't want to be alone.
I know. You aren't alone. I'm here.
Together, they watched the sunset one last time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Hey, Childe. Was there really a girl you became the God of the Ocean for?” Lumine asks one day, looking up from her basket of seashells.
Childe is off to the side, jumping on the water surface as if he is standing on the ground. “Of course,” he turns to smile at her, wiggling his eyebrows, “For you, the love of my life.”
Lumine glared at him, making the boy cackle obnoxiously.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
and some people say that if you look up at the night sky just closely enough, you can see a girl with stars in her hair dancing with a boy with an ocean in his eyes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We will see
Each other
Again.
If not in this
Life, then
In another.
(d.h.)