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"Awaken, Reva, and claim the waters of this stream as your own… For surely as I speak and walk, you shall as well. Your every step as soft and graceful as the lightest morning mist, your beauty as the fresh dew-dropped flowers of spring."
The moon shone brightly, standing alone in an inky black night sky. Gleamingly bright blues, greens and teals clung to her skin, coating the occasional patches of scales that covered her body with vibrant color. Her silver highlighted platinum blonde hair coiled and curled, resting gently against bare and uncovered skin and yet shying away from her pointed ears, as the girl lay alone upon the barren soil by the river. Slowly, she awoke to her surroundings, confused and disoriented.
"Oh nymph of the glorious river of crystal waters, take my hand and rise with my help. The divine creature you are may not be thine own creation, but I shall love, care, and protect you as such you were."
As her vision began to focus, she looked in the direction of the voice and saw him, the being who was speaking to her. He was similar to her in appearance, holographic silver scales occasionally showing up in patches on his dull seafoam grey skin despite being mostly covered by loose white fabric. part of his silver hair tucked into a little bun behind his head contrasting to light stubble, his piercing light blue eyes staring into her icy sapphire ones. The biggest difference between them that she could catch with her observation was his ears, which appeared to resemble fins, as well as the fact that he had a tail with fins of its own.
Besides that, there seemed to be something else that didn't quite match herself, although she couldn't put it into words. She just sensed it's disturbance. And yet as he stood before her with an arm outstretched, as if by miracle she understood what she was, and she knew his name as if she had spoken it a million times.
"Poseidon… Why are you here to see a new and lowly river nymph such as I? Why bother to give me a name personally, when I am not even a subject of thou's domain? I wish to understand the purpose of such behavior," the nymph's voice was as gentle and soft as a spring wind, but it was full of curiosity.
"My darling, you may not be under my rule, however that does not mean I hold no care. And otherwise, I was curious about the new development of a large and significant river in this practically empty area. In any case I am glad I came to the decision to supervise, for had I not, I would never have met such a divine beauty as thee." He smiled genuinely, as he handed her a tunic of fine silk, imbedded with elaborate pearl embellishments and silver accents for her to wear.
"I'm afraid I cannot accept this gift, my divine Lord of the Sea. It is far too lavish for one such as myself, being a common nymph. I deserve something far more plain, though I appreciate the gesture," she spoke softly, emphasizing his title in comparison to hers.
"Dearest Reva, you are truly going to disrespect a god by not accepting this gift in your favor? Have I not shown my sincerest interest in you? All I ask of you is that my gifts and housing be accepted by you," Poseidon had asked, causing the girl to sigh and finally accept the gift. It was true that it was quite nice and comfortable, although wearing clothes that nice had unsettled her slightly. It as all fine though, for Poseidon cared deeply for her so much so that he had offered one of the many bedchambers in his ocean palace. He even began to call her 'Illumi,' because in his words, she was the most beautiful of lights there was, shining bright as the sun, but her light was a beautiful silver glow that made the moon practically pale in comparison.
Although after living together for many a year, it felt to Reva as if he was pulling away somehow. Slowly, she noticed the greedy and selfish ways of the mortals. They always took the resources they wanted and needed - salt and fish from the oceans, fresh water from streams, and food and other resources from the land, and they rarely ever gave back if they even did at all. It was always 'Expand the empire!' Or even 'We need more resources." It saddened her to watch all that went on, but she could do nothing.
Over time, she slowly grew weaker as the river of which gave her life was being drained aand dammed up for the mortals' wellbeing. It was because of this that every night, she snuck out of Poseidon's palace though he had told her to stay, to lay upon a grassy field and gaze at the beautiful night sky. And on this night when she was at her weakest, the moon was a complete milky white orb.
"Oh moon, shining brightly as a pearl amongst an ocean of ebony, tell me - It must be lonely up in the night sky all on your own. If it were up to me, there would be a million twinkling lights up there beside you, to keepyou company. Then maybe, the lonliness wouldn't be so strong…" She had said, before a gentle rustle could be heard behind her.
"Darling Reva, why have you defied my rule? It was meant to keep you from harm's way. If you wished to see the moon, I would have been delighted to escort you here myself." With a great difficulty, Reva sat up to see the man who addressed her, to see Poseidon.
"I fear that my time is running out. It gave me sorrow to watch as you had seemed to forget about me, all the while my very lifeblood was being drained. My body has been put under strain, and I can barely move. If you had truly ever loved me or cared for me, then please don't allow us to spend our last moments together on the mortal plane as ones with venom onour tongues and poisonous intent in our breath. I beg of you," she said soft and quiet, savoring her time.
"My Illumi, I hadn't the faintest idea you had felt that way. My every intent was to keep you close and protect you, but I have failed. I still hold you quite dear, I hope you realise." Full of sorrow and regret, he seated himself on the floor to hold her close as they watched the sky together. They were that way for her final hours, as her physical being faded away to nothingness, as if it had never existed from the start.
Poseidon closed his dampening eyes, as he had recalled the feeling of her beside him before she had vanished. It was only after he had opened his eyes did he see lights appear in the sky. Suddenly, he was flooded with emotion, and he came to understanding.
"My dear Illumi, I shall come to observe your beauty every night. I will miss your presence, but my adoration will not cease. For surely now, you are an infinite being and will not disappear from the sky. And thus more, I will call your lights stars. "
Forevermore, he stayed true to his promise, and she never left his heart. For as soon as he were to forget her, then and only then would she be lost to him. Each day they were separate, his longing grew, desparately grasping at any remnant of her and the memory of her, to no avail. All he had left was to gaze at the sky, and watch her lights glow bright with teary eyes.