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 Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2020 12:04 pm
"Yes, mother, I know..." Time and time again that dear mother of his scolded him for daydreaming. He was supposed to be focused especially today of all days.
The prettiest of crystals his family owned, and the finest of fabrics they had were draped across his body, along with a soft, braided fluff of moss covering his shoulders. Apparently, today he was to be a doll, not an actual person.
But even if he wanted to run away and go hide among the caves for a time, he knew better. This was the Elders' will, and he could not go against them.
Today... He was to meet his intended.
He had no desire to. No, his interest laid with the surface above, that just recently let them reunite with their long-lost cousin race. It was right there. A whole new world that could be explored, new people to meet, and new adventures to be had! His whole life he dreamed of such a thing, though aimed at going further into the caves that no one else had seen and came back from!
But no. Here he was, a pretty little doll going to someone he was sure was gross and ugly, all for the sake of ensuring that not all of their youth escaped and went on to find lovers elsewhere. Maybe before the hole opened up, he would have been happy to do this, finding honor in tradition and knowing his place, but now this was nothing except a burden on his free-spirit.
"Now you sit here and behave yourself. He'll be here soon!" His mother straightened up the crystals that donned his streaked hair, before nodding to herself and leaving their little rock garden outside of their home. Here, he was left alone, floating and staring out to the big, vast empty that his house seemed to face.
... Pekelo would enjoy the last few moments of his freedom for now, while he waited with dread for whoever this man was supposed to be..
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Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2020 5:45 am
No matter for how long it was planned, or how many reassurances he had that it would be a successful union, Vaiarii felt unsure of meeting his intended. It felt, to him, as if these things would've happened easier if they'd happened naturally... How difficult would it really have been to just let them meet when they were smaller and see how they got along?
Alas, these decisions weren't Vaiarii's to make.
They approached the open tunnel that served as entrance to the other family's home. He might have been more comfortable if their meeting was to take place on his territory, but... those decisions weren't Vaiarii's to make, either.
From where they entered, he could see the softly glowing violet scales and eyes of his betrothed. Vaiarii stared, the glowing pale blue globes of his own eyes shining like beacons through the dark as his gaze scraped over the other boy, floating drearily in the scape of crystals and plants. Trying to be as inconspicuous about it as possible, he leaned nearer to his mother and grumbled out a, "Why does he look like that?" When the woman blinked and shot him a confused look, Vaiarii elaborated. "The clothes. The braids. The crystals. It doesn't seem very functional..."
"Oh." As if she hadn't bothered to look before, his mother's focus went to the boy, regarding him up and down before she decided. "I believe it's meant to impress you."
"How?"
Her arm encircled him, clasping at his shoulder and giving Vaiarii a reassuring shake. "Darling, remember. They are of a different service than we are. That is the point of this, after all. I'm sure it's just too ensure a confident choice. They don't want us to question whether or not they're as talented with their herbs and plants as they say they are. Look," she gestured to the other boy. "I'm sure he's grown those mosses himself."
Vaiarii immediately felt embarrassed by her pointing and assertions, as if the other wouldn't see that and know they were talking about him. But the deed was done. His mother stalled at the edge of the rock garden and gave Vaiarii a nudge to keep him moving. "Go on, and be polite," she instructed.
He shot her a wary glance, one that lasted only a second, as if beseeching her not to abandon him to this fate. But she ignored him, and Vaiarii drifted forward through the waters as begrudgingly as the other boy looked. He hadn't dressed any more differently than usual. What if the other boy was a huge snob and just wanted to snip at him about clothes or something? How was he supposed to be polite to some random stranger that didn't share any of his interests?
He was standing before the other before he could think any more on it. "Uh. Hello. It's nice to meet you. I'm Vaiarii."
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Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2020 6:19 am
Pekelo's eyes were focused on the vast darkness before him, and he felt their approach before he saw them.
Ugh... Great. Just.. fantastic.
Slowly, he turned around to see them better, only to see the woman pointing fingers at him. Immediately, he frowned. If he didn't have a headache before, he had a headache now. The woman didn't even TRY to hush her voice.
He wanted to rip off these excessive bits of clothing and toss them into the caves below! It wasn't as if he wanted to wear them! But no, he was forced to stand here and look like an idiot. Atleast his intended was the disgusting blobfish he was dreading...
"Hello." he finally spoke up, but addressed the mother rather than Vaiarii himself. "Please head inside. My mother is waiting for you, and had a few things she wanted to discuss over a few refreshments."
Pekelo raised his gaze and gave a cold smile to Vaiarii. "I would like to spend a little while alone with my intended, to get to know him better, if you would not mind."
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Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2020 8:25 am
Not interested. That was the first and immediate impression Vaiarii got from the other boy, as he spoke over Vaia's shoulder to address his mother. The words alone wouldn't have been especially offputting, but the tone was dismissive, and the glare didn't exactly lend itself to a convincing smile. Vaiarii glanced back at his mother, hoping that she could make up some excuse to stay nearby (as unhelpful as she was), but knowing there was no excuse to be made.
She departed for the inside of the home with a terse smile angled toward the boys, leaving Vaiarii and his new friend alone in the garden.
Vaia folded his arms across his chest as his focus went back to the boy before him. He should keep trying to play it cool. Despite his betrothed's obvious disinterest, he hadn't done anything rude? Just... nothing especially welcoming either. Even so, if Vaiarii could at least not make it immediately worse. The words, 'I'm not thrilled about this, either,' were on his tongue, but he pinched it between his teeth and tried for a strained smile of his own.
"So... Your garden is nice," he tried slowly, voice low and uncertain. "We don't keep one at my place. Takes up too much space. My mama's beasts would destroy it, anyway. Hard to keep nice things with them around."
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Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2020 8:39 am
The very moment that Vaia's mother disappeared into the house, Pekelo took off the moss wrap and threw it over his shoulder, letting it land on a rock behind him. The same went with the ridiculous robes he wore, the silks, the crystals, all of them chucked unceremoniously behind him, until he was stripped of everything except what he normally wore, a simple pair of trousers and a thin top that hardly covered anything.
"Hmm? Ah, right, yeah. This one is boring. They only really use it for decoration. The actual garden, where we grow everything we use for our medicines and spices, are hidden away. Whew! That's way better!" The last crystal was torn from his hair, and thrown onto the rocks below.
"So what was your name again? I think... Vaiarii? Please don't think I'm going to wear that just to please you or anything. Do you know how hard it is to move in that?!"
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Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2020 10:41 am
"Oh." What else was he supposed to say when someone unceremoniously rebuffed any of Vaiarii's compliments while shucking layers of clothing so quickly Vaia might've thought they were infested with parasites? With a pinched brow, he watched the garments drift down to lay on the stones before returning his gaze to the other boy.
He tried to keep a neutral expression, but he couldn't help the thread of annoyance that made his lip curl. "Yes, Vaiarii. That's what I said barely a moment ago." 'But you're too self absorbed to realize I'd been talking to you.' "I didn't get yours yet." His mother had undoubtedly mentioned it once or twice during any of their previous conversations, but Vaiarii found it difficult to keep track of a name without a face to commit it to. And it felt polite to give an introduction yourself, rather than expected someone else had already done it.
This boy didn't give off any impression of 'polite,' though.
But Vaiarii could still be calm. It wasn't so bad. They both just had... bad impressions of each other from the surrounding circumstances. He was sure of it. He tried not to grit his teeth. "Fortunately, I haven't told you what pleases me, so I'm not sure why you think this would be it. But if you are interested in getting to know me better, as you said earlier, I could tell you."
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Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2020 11:50 am
".. Right, you did, didn't you. Sorry, sorry, I kinda was focused on not dying from embarrassment from being seen like that when you show up looking so casual" He hoped that made sense. While he could come up with a whole bunch of excuses, might as well use the one that made most sense.
"Pekelo. I'm Pekelo. It's.... A pleasure to meet you? I'm happy you are not my worst night mare. I wouldn't put it past my mother to have tried to match me up with someone awful." Looks could be deceiving though, so he wouldn't rush to make any judgements in his favor just yet.
Ah, but that face though. It was clear he was getting on Vaiarii's nerves, and that only served to entertain him.
"Do you mean the clothing? I doubt that was meant to impress you specifically, but your mom. After all, they are the ones who want this arrangement, and I assume my own mom wanted to just... Show off, I guess?" The whole topic left him uncomfortable. Those clothes, that jewelry. None of it was him.
Who he really was remained to be seen.
"Doesn't look like you did anything to really impress me either, so I guess we're even. I suppose I can spare you the time for us to get to know one another better... As long as you don't mind sneaking out of here and going somewhere else instead."
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Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2020 6:33 pm
It seemed like an odd reason to just outright ignore any attempts at communication Vaiarii had tried to make initially, but... it was a reason, he supposed. He should try to relax. It wasn't like Pekelo was intentionally trying to irritate him. He just didn't want to be in this situation any more than Vaiarii did. It was fine. Even if 'looking casual' didn't sound like a compliment. His nose crinkled, and he glanced down to his tight, long-sleeved top. "This is what I always wear," he asserted.
...Which he supposed was the definition of casual.
Vaiarii frowned. "It seemed better than giving you an unrealistic impression?" He tried to reason. "Better than whatever you were going for. I don't know why you and your mother consider crystals in you hair and moss draped over your shoulders to be impressive or worth showing off. The match is for survival," as it was explained to him. "Not-"
Well, children had been mentioned, so he couldn't really say, 'Not for courting,' but it wasn't the priority of the arrangement. He hoped. But it had sounded like that might be a long term goal... He flushed, the dark color in his cheeks hidden in the nearly black waters, and he grumbled, "Not to look good, anyway..."
Pekelo wasn't very good at saying anything pleasant. "I'm happy you're not my worst nightmare, either," he replied. "But I don't think my mother would wish that on me. She is a good woman at her core, with concern for the future." Concerns that he didn't think Pekelo cared about at all. "No. No need to spare me anything. I wouldn't want to inconvenience you. Run off, if you like. I'll wait here until our mothers are finished their discussion because I have no reason to go anywhere else. There isn't anyone around to bother us already, and I'm not an idiot who strays off into the caves on a whim looking for something to kill me."
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Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2020 7:34 pm
”See? And that makes sense. I should have come to see you with who I really am. I didn’t choose what I wore, my mother did. Given the fact that we’re to be married, and to probably have kids one day, it actually makes more sense for me to show up bare for you, doesn’t it?” It was a tease, a playful suggestion that had him swim closer to Vaiarii and nudge his shoulder.
While yes, Pekelo would have preferred to go explore the cares and maybe meet someone who had the same ideals as he did... He still did not want to go against their commands. The depths, while fascinating, still scared him, the tiniest bit.
“... You aren’t a lot of fun, are you?” Were they honestly close to the same age? He couldn’t recall meeting someone with as big of a stone stuck in their a** as this boy was.
“I’m not running off into danger. I did say there’s another garden, I was thinking we could check that out. Look. I’m trying to be casual. That’s the easiest way to get to know someone, right? I do want to get to know you. It’s like you said, this match is for survival... And I’d rather learn to like the person who will be my mate. Especially if they’re willing to learn about the real me and not the doll my mother expects me to be.”
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Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2020 8:29 am
Vaiarii frowned, the blush that had crept onto his cheeks from earlier never quite abating. Of course he knew what the implications of the arrangement were. He wasn't a child, but he didn't usually have to deal with people like Pekelo. No one who went around just talking about being bare so casually. "That's- I suppose... You wouldn't have much luck hiding who you 'really' were, if that was the case," Vaiarii grumbled, glancing away as he rubbed a hand through the fine hairs at the shaved side of his head.
This meeting was... not very pleasant, was it? He'd guessed that it wouldn't be the most comfortable affair for anyone involved, but he and Pekelo didn't seem like they had much in common. Besides not wanting to be here, anyway.
"I just think I have a different idea of fun than you," he retorted. Exploring and running off to nowhere wasn't fun. It was just stupid. There wasn't anything in these caves besides darkness and predators, and Pekelo seemed careless at best, an easy snack for anything bigger than him. It wasn't going to be Vaiarii's fault if he ran off and was never heard from again. Even the reassurance that he wasn't 'running off' felt like an afterthought...
"Why would we have to sneak away, if we're just going into one of your other gardens?" Vaiarii questioned at the comment from earlier. "I don't get what's wrong with this garden. No one is here besides just us, already."
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Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2020 8:52 am
"... Are you dense?" Pekelo hadn't intended his words to be an insult as he tilted his head, sizing up Vaiarii with squinted eyes.
"We're sneaking away because if we don't leave, our moms are going to be out here again soon, and then we'll not be able to talk to one another, since they'll be too busy blabbing amongst themselves. To them, we'll just be an... An accessory to the conversation." The idea that Vaiarii's mom not being the same as his own barely crossed his mind.
His thoughts weren't respected. His ideas, his wants and needs, all of it was constantly ignored, in favor of appearing perfect to any outsider.
But that wasn't something to talk about right now. Pekelo only sighed and took Vaiarii's hand in his own, giving it a little tug.
"It's not even far. Down the slope here, and right into another cave. This garden is for show, the other garden is way cooler and bigger. We could maybe go around it for a while and talk a while." He paused for a moment, something finally clicking in his head.
"Hey, are you maybe mad at me? Did I do something wrong?"
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Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2020 9:42 am
Vaiarii didn't get it. He didn't understand. "I don't need to sneak away from my mother," he replied, tone inflected as if in question. It sounded like Pekelo had a worse impression of Vaiarii's mother than he even had of Vaiarii. Which, why? Had they ever met? She had been part of the negotiating of this arrangement, so maybe it wasn't too surprising that Pekelo wasn't thrilled by the idea of her, but, "My mama wouldn't keep me from talking to you. That's why we came here," he asserted definitively.
Leinani just wanted a functional child, and she had that in Vaiarii. There wasn't need for her to lord over his every action. This arrangement was... just a precaution for the future. To keep him from being alone in a dangerous and unforgiving place. And she wanted it soon.
...He didn't want to think of why she wanted it to happen so quickly.
The other boy reached for his hand, and Vaiarii didn't try to fight it. He still didn't really know what the issue was here, why they couldn't just sit against some of the stones in this garden and talk about whatever Pekelo thought they needed to talk about elsewhere. But as long as they were staying on the property, maybe it didn't matter too much where they went. He allowed Pekelo to tug him.
"I'm not mad," he replied. "I just think you're reckless and careless and unappreciative," Vaiarii said with a shrug.
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Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2020 10:48 am
"Well... Maybe your mom is like that, but mine is." It was too early to go into such details about his life, but Vaia already felt like he was pushing him into a corner.
Sure, he liked to judge people, but feeling it sent back to him didn't feel especially great.
Atleast Vaia was coming along with him.
"... You've just met me and are already calling me all those things. No wonder my mother chose you, you sound like her clone." He muttered, stopping when they reached the entrance of a cave just below where they stood before. He felt more comfortable, less spied on.
"Your mom sounds nice, she really does. I'm not unappreciative but... I'm not the kinda kid she wants. I'm not perfect, I'm not demure or quiet or content with just fitting into the role they gave me. Does that make sense?" Pekelo shrugged and let go of his hand, heading deeper into the cave he lead them to.
"Ehh, whatever, right? We're stuck in this whether we like it or not, Vaiarii, so how about you just, I dunno, be a little nicer to me. We're not the same, we don't do the same thing, live the same way, have the same parents, or even probably share the same dreams. So just, instead of calling me all those rude things, just either leave, or take what you see with a little more confidence that you being dead isn't the first thing I want to see happen."
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Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2020 6:13 pm
"I said them because they're true," Vaiarii retorted hotly as he tried to keep a growl from slipping into his tone. "At least, they are from my perspective. You haven't done anything besides judge me and make assumptions of me and my family since- well, since before you even met me. And none of them were good assumptions, by the way. You're very negative. I'm dense or unfun. You don't pay attention when I speak... How am I supposed to feel under the circumstances?"
It wasn't like he'd chosen this, either. But Vaiarii accepted the benefits of it. He accepted that if it were left to him... He probably wouldn't seek any type of camaraderie outside of his home and his beasts. He had too much to tend to without throwing other people into the mix.
They came to a stop, and Vaiarii quieted as they did. His pale blue gaze slid down into the darkness of the cave Pekelo had led him to. "I don't really understand," he admitted in a grumble. "My mother does what she does for me. If she expects something, I try to give it to her. I think it would make her happy, and our family better. She doesn't expect anything... unreasonable. And I like to think myself capable."
"I'm sorry it's not the same for you, though. But with that being said, I'm not going to be nice to you if you can't be nice to me. I won't pretend otherwise." He swam forward into the cave, keeping his shining eyes open for anything less than expected.
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Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2020 5:48 am
”This whole situation is messed up.” Pekelo groaned miserably.
Vaiarii was right, but so was he!
They already butt heads, how were they going to get along? A handsome face wasn’t going to be enough to make up for that sorry mama’s boy personality.
“You must be an only child then. And they dote on you and love you like you are the most precious thing in the world. They give you the ability to speak up and consider your feelings and desires, don’t they? Good for you. You must be so happy to dream of nothing more than hunting and meeting the bare minimum of survival.” He dared not look at the other man, swimming faster and going deeper into the cave.
When they entered the light again, they were met with a large, open cavern, where there were hundreds of rows of glowing coral, kelp, and other things neatly arranged.
Rather than being lit solely buy the glowing crystals that normally lit their homes, a soft glow came instead from the coral itself, each piece placed strategically to provide plenty of light. Severely small species of fish floated around as well, settling between places that were hidden from sight.
While this site normally would make him excited, Pekelo only swam forward to pick up a small hand shovel, and started down a row with a frustrated expression.
“Fine. Be that way. Then get out and go back to your mother and whine and cry about me. Maybe they’ll break off our engagement there without either of us being sent to the Depths.”
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