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The beach was beyond anything Myrna has ever envisioned. It’s so bright and shiny and colorful, the exact opposite of the Necropolis where she spends most of her days. Much warmer too—she finds herself sweating underneath her dress more than she probably ever did in her entire life up until this point.
Rowan is, of course, much more appropriately dressed. She stands tall and proud and almost naked and it’s extremely hard not to get constantly distracted from their conversation, which is also something Myrna never had to deal for before in her life. In the Necropolis, all women are dressed very… conservatively.
Perhaps because it might be frowned upon to show so much skin at a funeral, or perhaps because it is simply too cold.
To her great delight and utter fascination a spirit of compassion has joined them on their beach stroll and Myrna has been keen to observe Rowan at work with the spirit, the way she communicates with it, the way the Fade feels as she channels her magic. It is much more subtle than most rituals Myrna has ever seen and she can’t wait for their next exchange about the differences and similarities of their work.
Since her loose association with the Veilguard started through Emmrich and “Rook”, Myrna has seen so much more of the world. It is very big and exciting and overwhelming in a both wonderful and anxiety-inducing way.
And Rowan especially is such a beautiful enrichment to Myrna’s life. The shared knowledge and long conversations about their lives and experiences—so vastly different from one another—has kept her up for nights on end. She can’t even say she minds the lack of sleep. When she wakes up, her first thought these days is usually “Will I speak to Rowan today?”.
It’s frivolous and silly and terrifying. But Myrna chases the feeling anyway, which is deeply illogical.
“So you have really never seen a beach before?” Rowan asks curiously as she steps into the shallow waves and lets the water rush around her naked feet. Myrna is unsure about whether or not she should take off her shoes. It somehow feels inappropriate for her to do this. Feelings and thoughts like this are why she has preferred the company of the dead to the living since she can remember—which is perhaps one of the reasons why she never had any friends growing up.
“Never. I rarely ever leave the Necropolis and my family comes from humble means, so we never had the money to travel. Nevarra borders the Waking Sea in the South, but I have never seen it.”
Rowan hums and then, as if she can read Myrna’s mind, she encourages:
“You should try to take off your shoes. It is a lovely feeling to stand on the wet sand and feel the waves around your ankles.”
Myrna hikes up her dress and then takes some time to untie her laced leather shoes before stepping out of them, holding them loosely in one hand now. A moment of hesitation passes before she steps forward and, when the next wave comes, the cool water washes around her ankles, wets the seam of her dress and, just like Rowan said, feels utterly lovely.
She can’t help but give Rowan a rare smile and finds her cheeks heating up when Rowan smiles back at her.
“Insecurity and fear of being rejected. Disliked. Misunderstood. She cherishes this connection, she looks at you with adoration. She wonders what it might feel like to kiss someone when you smile,” Compassion’s voice comes up from behind them. Myrna’s heart stumbles in her chest as she processes the words, her ears not very hot in addition to her cheeks and everything else—except perhaps her feet which are still dipped in shallow salt water.
She doesn’t dare to look at Rowan.
“Compassion,” Rowan chides and shakes her head. “Have I not told you that it is considered impolite to speak of people’s thoughts out loud?”
Myrna considers to throw her entire body into the waves to escape this. Her ribs almost hurt with how hard her heart is beating.
“I apologize—,“ she starts, feeling a little panicked about this maybe ruining the connection she has with Rowan.
“You have nothing to apologize for,” Rowan reassured and then smiles at her again. It calms Myrna’s nerves a little bit as she fiddles nervously with her dress. “And I could show you, if you would like.”
“Show me?”
Rowan’s smile grows a little bigger.
“What it feels like to kiss someone,” Rowan explains softly. Her voice is so soothing and wonderful, Myrna has caught herself thinking she would listen to it for hours on end without getting bored. Her heart stumbles.
“Oh. Well. I… I have never…”
She trails off, bowing her head in embarrassment.
Two fingers gently tilt up her chin and then a pair of very soft lips is pressed against hers. It is even more wonderful than the cool water washing around her naked feet, more wonderful even than speaking to the dead and learning their secrets. This is how she knows that she is in deep trouble.
When Rowan pulls back she’s smiling again.
“It has been a pleasure getting to know you, Myrna. I would love to know you even more.”
Myrna seems to have lost her ability of speech. She blinks and swallows and clears her throat.
“I… Yes. Yes, I would love that very much.”