Archive of Our Own

Whether one was born within or had relocated to Sharlayan later in life, it became expected to know of a few things: Thaliak the Scholar, the Forum, and the Leveilleurs. Now, whether one met the latter two or not, ‘twould likely be from a proposal submission or meeting Master Louisoix at the Studium (while he had been there). G’raha became well-acquainted with the three by accident - or… perhaps instinct would be a better reason. He’d been young, just shy of the age other adolescents would be considered old enough to become an adventurer. Once he turned sixteen summers, he would be able to help Galuf and the Students of Baldesion in an official capacity - and he could further pursue his own studies into Allag and his tribe’s relationship with it as well. ‘Twas late at the harbour, trade ships docked for the night, and rather quiet, which was why G’raha’d come. Just a stroll to calm an excited mind and hopefully attain some sleep.

When he noticed white among the dark waters, his eyes were swift to pinpoint two terribly small figures bobbing on the waves, and his stomach dropped. From where he stood, the young children could not be even ten, and one seemed to be waving their hands above the water whilst the other just floated. How had children so young managed to get into the water, he’d wondered before his mind replayed the stages of drowning. In his panic, believing that two young souls were dying before his eyes (or Hells, one was already gone), he made two mistakes:

1. The waters around Sharlayan were frightfully cold.
   
   
2. The children were not without a chaperone.

He’d pulled off some articles (mainly the looser ones), knowing full well how the soaked clothes would weigh him down before jumping. The frigid waves immediately bit at exposed skin and seeped into the clothing he retained, but he was determined to help the children. The noise he made obviously caught their attention and both - thank the Gods, they were both somehow alright - turned his way… terrified? One even moved away when he neared, but the one who’d floundered earlier seemed calm.

“A-Are you b-both… a-alright?” G’raha’s teeth were chattering; they should all return to the shore as quickly as possible. However, neither child made to swim back, staring at him with curious eyes. That perplexed him - it also disrupted his brief adrenaline burst, leaving him to begin feeling frightfully chilled and worsening his shivers. He’d only once before entertained attempting to swim in the waters around Sharlayan, but after dipping a hand then, he never did. Now this was his mistake as he struggled to tread water while the kids had seemingly little to no issue - how? He didn’t understand; but he did at least feel himself beginning to sink. At that point, he should have considered heading to shore, but he couldn’t leave them even if some matter of magick protected them. They shouldn’t have been out so late…

But he shouldn’t have been out either. What if Galuf was looking for him? That night, G’raha could’ve drowned; and when his strength finally waned, both children had then attempted to keep him above water. That’s when he saw it: the scales, the tails, and the fins.

Oh…

As he recovered back at the Leveilleur estate from his brush with hypothermia, G’raha found himself brought in on a secret that went back to Nyunkrepf and the Sixth Umbral Calamity. ‘Twas a secret even Lady Ameliance hadn’t known until shortly before her Bonding with Lord Fourchenault, but Galuf knew because of Master Louisoix: the Leveilleurs were merfolk. At least, because of magicks that carried for fifteen hundred years, the Leveilleurs and several families that originally formed Sharlayan were merfolk - mayhap not true merfolk as in the ancient legends, but close enough. It was a secret kept for a peaceful life, and from then on, it was a secret G’raha was to keep as well. However, children were children, and as they often wont, they could be difficult to manage even with such secrets to keep. 

Both were brilliant, of course, but they had energies that even he had slight issues keeping up with. Or, perhaps he should say Alisaie had energy that could be difficult to contend with. Where Alphinaud didn’t much enjoy swimming, his twin may as well live in the water. If G’raha was not busy with Student work, Alisaie was dragging him to the pool at the Estate or one of several hidden shores around the isle to swim. Though Urianger normally minded the twins, apparently the poor fellow couldn’t swim; thus, G’raha, being able to swim himself, meant he quickly became Alisaie’s favourite person. Alphinaud would come with them as the twins rarely separated from the other, but it was G’raha who ended up in the water, watching opalescent scales glimmer almost pink in the clear waters as Alisaie swam circles around him, bringing back her findings from the sea, and then swimming off again. She had impulses to burst from the water and gallop upon her large flippers in a similar manner of marine-based beastkin, rushing down her brother to throw some of her aquatic discoveries on him - usually some manner of small creature like a starfish or the slimiest sprigs of kelp. They would tussle, G’raha would break it up, and then carry Alisaie back into the water so Alphinaud could resume enjoying the beach with Urianger.

Those were such simple years…

When Master Louisoix took leave to Eorzea, Alisaie had to be stopped from swimming after the ship as it left the harbour. No one was surprised that she was upset, but she nearly seemed inconsolable. G’raha remained, at least, stationed at the Annex while Galuf and Krile headed to the Isle of Val and the Students’ main base. He had his own studies to do on the Allagan Empire and his Archon thesis to finish, but he could also be there for Alisaie as she began to attend the Studium. The pains of losing her Grandsire never seemed to fade, and the separation seemed to worsen when Urianger left for Eorzea as well. Alphinaud began to not even bother coming on their swimming ventures anymore; and G’raha worried, because it was inevitable he would one day leave himself.

“But… you’ll come back, right?”

Her voice was soft and her finned ears drooped. They sat upon the shore of Alisaie’s favourite beach, her tail half curled around him and her flippers clinging to him as her arms held tight - like hugging him would prevent him from leaving her as well. He wished he didn’t have to, not while the divide between herself and her father grew following Master Louisoix’s passing and the friction between herself and her sibling worsened. Alphinaud was excelling at the Studium, pushing himself farther, and almost seemed like a different person from that child G’raha remembered. He’d certainly seemed to just deny his mermaid half entirely these days, and G’raha had even heard him scoff once before when his sister wanted to go out. And whether or not Alphinaud noticed, somewhere beneath his shadow Alisaie had faded, just passing her studies and struggling with everything else. So easily could G’raha imagine her fleeing into the sea and never returning, the waves having long been her preferred domain.

Yet, she shouldn’t flee - not like this.

“Of course I will. Once I’m done, I’ll come right back,” he said, rubbing her back gently. “I wouldn’t dare leave you to swim alone for too long.”

“You better not…” His ears flicked as she buried her face against his shoulder. “I’ll swim to Eorzea this time if I must and find you; there’s no one here who can stop me any longer.”

He chuckled and stared when she lifted her head just to pout and glower at him directly. “That will be wholly unnecessary, I promise…”

Gods… if only he’d known what leaving to Eorzea would truly entail for himself. He never forgot his promise, but settled down in the Syrcus Tower. Red eyes burning, he hadn’t really thought about those memories for quite some time. Mayhap a folly on his part, throwing himself so much into his studies; and where had it gotten him now? Smiling bitterly as his consciousness began to fade, he wondered if she was at that shore, waiting for him to return. He’d promised not to be away for so long, but it seemed like yet again, another promise to that girl would be broken.

“I’m sorry, Alisaie… I pray you’ll find someone to swim with you forever…”

…

How long ago was that?

Time and space were peculiar like that, and difficult to measure across accurately.

Oh, he did not hold it against her as she practically raged at him on the First. 

He’d barely reintroduced himself as the Crystal Exarch, but her eyes had been narrowed the entire time - if only he could change his voice, but even hiding that much, Alisaie had grown into a brilliant and perceptive young woman. Woe was being a miqo’te sometimes, where much of their physical changes remained consistent at twenty summers until about forty, lifestyle depending. Still, he wasn’t quite sure what gave him away after his voice - he thought at least his crystallised hand would spare him longer, but nay, such was wishful thinking. If anything, he blamed his aether - Alphinaud and Alisaie had always been sensitive to others’ aether. She avoided him for several days after, but he remained patient - ‘twas the least he could do after making her wait for what may as well be centuries.

When she did finally storm back into the Ocular, it was with an all too familiar pout that he’d hadn’t seen for so long.

“... We’re going swimming.”

Not an open invitation, just a factual statement.

He chuckled and complied, but it just wasn’t the same on the First. Not that she was different; not at all. Her tail had grown and her fins and flippers were longer and more elegant; and the scales that lined her body were beautiful and iridescent as ever, even beneath the oppressive Light. However, for as elegant as she’d become - so graceful she continued to swim - crystal limbs were not wont to float. Still, he missed sitting on the shore with her, both reminiscing and catching up on events (from her perspective. Books he read only detailed so much and none seemed to speak of her); it nearly made him forget what continued to be inevitable for himself for the sake of both worlds. Imagine his surprise to be returned in full to the Source - to see the reality of space and time distortions. Centuries for himself became a meagre several years since his original self departed from Sharlayan, but how much time still changed.

How much the twins had changed.

Had he really been slumbering long enough for them to have grown? And it must have been shortly before his botched summons to the First for their souls to have taken their adolescent appearance then. To be escorted into the Dawn’s Respite to recuperate from his longer slumber only to have them stand and tower over him, Alisaie’s exhausted demeanour but with oh so familiar pursed lips and puffed cheeks… he was glad to be back.

“We're going swimming… once you’ve rested.”

Factual statement as always. Not an unknown sentence to a number of the Scions by now, but it’s not an open invitation the way she stares directly at him. It’s not the first time, nor would it be the last, and he escorts her each time she demands. Though things become frantic, those few demands seem to ground him and calm her, and allow them to take on the following day as they come. Once the Final Days had passed, he made no sound to argue. Instead, he nodded and smiled, gladdened for the moment to be in Sharlayan. “The usual shore then?”

“Yeah! C’mon, let’s go!”

It’s as though no time has passed yet, he had to acknowledge it hasn’t stood still.

No longer was he watching a young girl darting about the waters, diving into the depths to resurface with shells or starfish, and galloping over the sand on overly sized flippers to her age. This woman was in perpetual fluid motion, a serpentine ribbon of glimmer opalescent pearly scales against clear waters, and taking her time moving over the shore when she rose from the waves. Her tail was much longer, with plenty of fins and flippers along almost pure muscle and sinew; if he sat down, she could wrap it around his body several times, and she did. Over his lap and layering once, she rested her head on top of his with her arms wrapping around his neck, ensnaring him entirely and pleased about it. A hand drifted to just within his reach and he took hold, cradling her hand within his palm in order to trace the delicate webbings that bound her clawed fingers together. They’d been so small what felt like not long ago, but such dexterous and deadly ligaments they’d become - still gentle as she drew her hand away and skimmed the length of his ear, making it twitch.

“I missed this,” she hummed, her cheek pressing against the crown of his head. In his chest, he felt a warm rumbling bubble up. They’d gone swimming plenty of times since his return, but he understood. He tilted his head as her hand drifted to his chest; he couldn’t ignore how his heart thrummed against his ribs, but he could occupy himself nuzzling her chest, listening to her own pulse race.

“I thought you would find another by now. One who needn’t remind you of… everything,” G’raha sighed, guilt weighing somewhat on his heart. “Mayhap they could transform too, or perhaps had the blessing the kojin shared.”

“Never. You already promised, and I already decided.” He felt her tail squeeze. “And you better not be planning to go off like that again… or sacrifice yourself.”

“Intend to come after me once more?”

“Aye. After all we learned, there’s nowhere you can go that I won’t try to follow and bring you back from,” she huffed, and he laughed faintly. She wasn’t wrong. Traversing the Shards, crossing the Aetherial Sea, going to the edge of the Universe… but she needn’t come after him, not this time nor again. Bringing his hand to his heart, he smoothed the webbing as he again held her hand and kept it there.

“My apologies. I shan’t make you seek me anymore. I shouldn’t have the first time… when you needed me,” he whispered. “Never again… I will always, always join you.”

She said nothing at his soft admission, but a minute of silence, and he felt her lips brush against his temple. Her tail came undone as her hold loosened, and he didn’t attempt to hold on as she slithered back towards the tides. Flippers helped carry her along, just to the edge where more water laps and gathers sand, pulling it out to sea - that’s where she turned her head to meet his eyes. Scarlet gaze glinting with mirth, her own crystal blue shimmer just as her scales - just as the ocean - echoed her smile. And as she hastened her retreat into the water, he hurried to his feet to swiftly make after. He would never stop swimming with her.