Whispering Waves

[Mira Nightingale]

Midmorning was yet another getaway time, and Mira had shuck out of the house once again. The wedding was in a little less than a month, and the closer it got the more freedom was taken away from her. This escape had been miraculous, since both parents had been out of the house and the servants didn’t dare to order her to do anything. She’d have to be back before her esteemed mother and father got home, of course, but she had a least a few hours to relax and enjoy the warm day at the lake.

Walking along the small sandy shore of the lake, she was deeply immersed in thoughts. For a moment, however, she thought she heard a faint voice, or maybe it was just a sound. Turning to look behind her, and making her navy skirts swirl in the process, she saw no one and nothing there. That was strange, but maybe she was just imagining things.

She continued walking, her flat leather shoes, a gift from a friend, sinking a little bit in the sand as she proceeded. It wasn’t a big deal, though, since the sand was warm, pure white, and comfortable on her feet. Once again, however, she stopped, hearing something again. It was definitely a voice, she was sure of it. But, for some reason, it didn’t seem to be coming from behind her.

Turning her face toward the water, she listened to the waves softly lapping on the shore, the wind through the nearby trees, and the caw of a few birds flying overhead. There were no people noises at all, strange enough. Shaking her head once again, and starting to get a little worried, she started walking again, only to stop just as abruptly. She had definitely heard something this time… and there it was again!

Eyeing the water, like someone may be hiding, she unconsciously took a step closer. As a wave washed over her foot, getting the foot mentioned rather wet in the process, the voice became clear. It was a musical voice, and it was laughing happily. But… no one was there… were they?

[Verdan]

Verdan was walking down the lake shore, enjoying the silence of the day. He had not been to the lake in a while and had almost forgotten the beauty and peace of the water. He had forgotten how calming it was to just stroll down the shore, immersed in thought, seeing nothing but the ground in front of him. Verdan took a deep breath. Too many worries. Soon, he was going to be getting tested, fellow mages were trapped in the dungeons, according to what he heard on the streets, people were getting married. What kind of an idiot thought of marriage? Verdan pondered in slight anger.

He kicked at the sandy ground, sending a small cloud of dust into the air, from where it was carried out towards the lake by the gentle breeze. Walking along in such a fashion, Verdan did not notice the strange sounds that someone else who was more alert at the moment might have heard. In fact, Verdan did not hear anything. Or see anything. This led him to walking straight into the other visitor of the lake, tripping over his own feet and collapsing with a splash into the water. He looked sheepishly at Mira. "Hello there..."

[Mira Nightingale]

Mira swallowed nervously. That time, she had definitely heard a voice. But no one could be hiding from her in this open area, and even if they were she wouldn’t have heard them that clear. It was just very strange, and yet, curious, she wanted to find out more. “Hello?” she asked tentatively, unconsciously taking another step into the water. Her feet were now completely submerged, and the hem of her skirt was soaked, but she didn’t notice at all.

The musical voice laughed again. Mira took another step, still not even realizing she was walking out into the lake, although it was still very shallow at this point. “Hello?” she asked again, and this time got a reply. Mmmm, hello to you too, girl.

The voice was definitely a voice. Startled, and taking a step backward, Mira didn’t even see someone walking toward her until it was too late. They both collided, and both promptly fell over into the water, making splashes and getting drenched. Groaning loudly, since the voice was now laughing again, Mira tried to stand up.

[Verdan]

Verdan scrambled up to his feet quickly and pulled Mira up along with him. He gave her a quizzical look. "You seem concerned about something... worried... nervous..." he observed, taking a few guesses on her state of mind "Something wrong?.." he asked. "Can I help in any way?" Verdan shook his head like a dog, sending droplets of water cascading from his wet hair. "What are you doing here, anyways? And why were you wading into the water? And who were you talking to?" Verdan was exploding with questions, like he commonly was. Realizing something Verdan added. "And I'm sorry about walking into you like that, too... I guess I should pay attention to what I'm doing..." he spoke, handing his head slightly.

[Mira Nightingale]

The laughing continued, ringing around Mira’s brain in rhythm with the waves splashing onto the sandy shoreline. “Stop it…” she muttered to the voice just as someone helped her to her feet. Only when she blinked, one hand clutching her head, did she realize exactly who it was that she had bumped into yet again.

“Oh, Verdan! Hello.” she managed to say, although she was actually kind of embarrassed. First off, she was wet and her thin summer dress was sticking uncomfortably to her. At least it was a dark color, since otherwise it would be transparent and that would be even more embarrassing. “And wrong? Nothing is-“ she started to say, but stopped as the laughter stopped as well.

“Wading into the water?” she repeated, then gasped as she realized that she was a lot deeper in that she realized. “I… I didn’t notice.” she said, although the answer sounded weak even to her won ears. “I heard something and wasn’t sure where it was coming from.” she added after a moment, wondering if Verdan had heard the voice also.

((Yeah… don’t hear the voice, k? It’s a plot thing, lmao.))

[Verdan]

As Verdan pulled Mira up, she murmured something about "stop it." When he made sure that she was firmly on her feet, he abruptly let go of her, nearly sending her splashing back into the lake. Verdan eyed her up and down, seeing her condition. She was holding her head and seemed very dazed. Staring pointedly at her face, trying hard not to look anywhere else, Verdan forced out a greeting.

Damn... what a great day to wear dark colors. Verdan thought with slight disappointment and with heavy sarcasm. He, himself did not have his usual attire. He was not wearing his cloak, nor wielding his staff. He was wearing a very light cotton shirt and long thin pants, all of which were slightly too big for him.
((Hey, Verdan's a guy, after all. :)

Verdan gave Mira a blank look. "You didn't notice your feet get wetter and wetter, the cold water reaching higher and higher upon your legs, eventually reaching far enough for the chill to travel throughout your entire body?... Very interesting." After some thought, Verdan proceeded to reply to her second comment. "Oh, you probably just heard me approaching. I was most likely talking to myself, as usual..." he said, expressing lightheartedness and ignorance, a characteristic usual for him.


((Wasn't planning to.))

[Mira Nightingale]

“I wasn’t paying attention, and I wasn’t in that deep.” she replied slightly indignantly, crossing her arms unconsciously in the process. As a momentary pause settled over them, Mira shifted her weight from one foot to the other, noting with disgust the squelching sound that her feet made. She had liked these relatively new shoes too!

Taking a few steps back toward the shore, her skirts so much heavier than usual, she turned back around and nodded at Verdan, signaling that he should come as well. Once she was successfully out of the water she started squeezing it out of her clothes, although the process was proving rather unsuccessful in the first place. She’d have to let the sun dry her, and it was a good thing that today was a warm day.

“No,” she answered Verdan as he spoke again, “it wasn’t you. I know your voice. It was… someone else.” she stopped talking as she thought she heard something again, but the voice didn’t return for the moment. All that could be heard were chirping birds and the rhythmic wash of waves on the shore.

((Kk, that works for me. And, as for the wet clothes thing, lol... that's why I mentioned it in the first place. ^_~))

[Verdan]

Verdan involuntarily followed the slight blur of motion with his eyes as Mira crossed her arms, his gaze landing precisely where they crossed. After a moment of fighting with his own body, he forced his eyes to snap back up to Mira's face. As he heard the squelch from her shoes, Verdan looked down to her feet and smiled. Apparently, she liked them. "Might I suggest taking them off to dry?" he said, plopping down onto the ground and beginning to pull off his own shoes, similar to Mira's, and pouring the excess water out of them.

Having wrung out his shoes, barefoot, he followed Mira, wherever she was leading him, grumbling something about everyone telling him what to do. Soon forgetting his minor displeasure, Verdan watched Mira attempt to speed the drying process of her clothes with a dazed smile, a smile he did not realize was there. He himself did not bother with such minor things as wet clothes. They'll dry sooner or later. All he did was peel his garments from his body and tried to ignore his worries of catching a cold.

As Mira denied the possibility of it being Verdan whom she heard, he raised an eyebrow. Killing the urge to mention the fact that hearing voices is a sign of insanity, Verdan instead said something slightly different. "This marriage thing has gone to your head... you need to relax, stop worrying about it. It'll be fine, I'm sure." he said, feeling his body tense as he spoke the last words, knowing that it won't be fine. It will be anything but fine...

[Mira Nightingale]

Verdan suggested that she take off her shoes to dry, and Mira paused for a brief moment as she glanced down at her feet. “Good idea.” she murmured more to herself than to Verdan as she unceremoniously sat down and gently pried her shoes off of her feet. Placing them off to the side to air dry she tucked her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. This was going to be a long day, she realized with a soft sigh.

Glancing over at Verdan as he chose to shed his clothes instead of let them dry on his body, she glanced away just as fast, a faint red hue lighting her cheeks. It would be so much easier to just shed a few layers of these sodden garments, since she had countless skirts on underneath, but she wasn’t sure if she could. Modesty was her mother’s favorite word, after all.

“It is not the marriage.” she replied hotly, a frown creasing her formerly complacent expression. “There was someone talking and laughing. You just weren’t paying enough attention. That’s why you ran into me.”

[Verdan]

((

mira said:

Glancing over at Verdan as he chose to shed his clothes instead of let them dry on his body, she glanced away just as fast, a faint red hue lighting her cheeks. It would be so much easier to just shed a few layers of these sodden garments, since she had countless skirts on underneath, but she wasn’t sure if she could. Modesty was her mother’s favorite word, after all.

I didn't exactly mean that, but it works too...))

Tossing his shirt somewhere in a sunny patch, Verdan lowered himself next to Mira's huddled form. Unlike her, he did not try to compact his body. On the contrary, he laid back, and propping himself on his elbows let the sun wash over his bare torso. he squinted up at the sun as he enjoyed the moment of silence between them: just the waves lapping upon the shore, and the two of them sitting side by side, looking over the surface of the lake.

As Mira spoke, the silence broke and Verdan was once more overwhelmed with concern. "Uhh... laughing? I didn't hear anyone laughing..." No matter how much he did not want to say it, Verdan was now quite sure Mira was going slightly crazy: hearing things. Pretty soon, she's going to be holding conversations with trees and throwing herself at strangers. "Have you considered seeing a healer? The priests in Aesir are very good. My offer to take you there still stands, if you remember that day we met..." Verdan trailed off, remembering his original thoughts of Mira.

[Mira Nightingale]

“Why would I need to see a healer?” Mira couldn’t help but to snap, a frown making it’s way onto her normally happy face once again. “And I won’t go to Aesir to see a healer for no reason!” she continued, abruptly standing up and turning her back to Verdan, walking back down toward the water just to get away from the impending argument. She had heard someone! Verdan had no right to not believe her!

Standing once again at the shore of the water, she didn’t hear footsteps from behind, so she concluded that Verdan wasn’t following her. Well, that was his problem, not hers. Crossing her arms once again she looked out at the water, silently fuming. How dare he treat her like… like someone who deserved to be in the asylum!

He’s not to bright, now, is he girl? the voice came again, and Mira jumped, startled, as she realized that she had, in fact, heard the water talk. That didn’t make any sense… water didn’t talk… did it?

[Verdan]

Verdan did not follow Mira towards the shore. Let her cover the distance she wants to first, give her a few seconds to calm down. He suddenly appeared beside her, his hand around her shoulders. Talking as if nothing unusual just happened he answers her question. "You would need to see a healer because you are hearing things that nobody else does. I do not think that it is a good sign." he calmly replies to her snapping at him. "And that, in my opinion, is a very good reason. If you disagree, then I am truly and sincerely sorry for my words." he says softly, gently pulling her small form closer to himself.

[Mira Nightingale]

“You just weren’t paying attention. I’m not insane!” she cried back, although she didn’t resist Verdan pulling her closer. He was comforting, in a strange sort of way. Even though he was currently obsessed with pissing her off, she would forgive him. She always forgave everyone at some point, including her parents. They were forgiven for pushing her toward Lord Bryant because… because they were only doing what they felt would benefit their family.

Well, someone is a bit shallow. the voice continued, speaking in rhythm with the lapping waves, and ringing out from every drop of water in the area. Mira barely managed to stifle her smile and her laugh. Whoever was speaking, she already liked them.

[Verdan]

"I never said you were. Tell me one thing: have you heard the voice again since the time you mentioned it? Because from that moment on, I have been quite alert, and I really did not hear anything." he says, feeling a warm joy bubble up inside him as Mira allowed herself to be pulled closer to him. He had expected her to step away from him, resist, anything. He smiled inwardly, momentarily forgetting his worries.

Verdan looked at Mira, as she tried to conceal a grin. "Do you find my words funny?" he asked indignantly. "You think I'm a joke don't you?" Verdan frowned, then pouted, ending up making a comical expression instead.

[Mira Nightingale]

Shifting her weight from one foot to another, Mira took a little too long to reply to Verdan. “No,” she started, finally, “I haven’t heard it. The person must have gone away, or been far away to begin with.” She knew better than to say that she had, in fact, heard the melodious voice again. Verdan seemed to honestly not be able to hear it, and if he was so concerned about her hearing things he couldn’t, she wasn’t going to give him anything to worry about. A small white lie really couldn’t hurt.

Then, after sensing her bottled up laughter, Verdan pouted, making a hilarious expression on his face. That, combined with the water’s humorous, Since when don’t I exist? cracked through Mira’s carefully constructed barriers, and she broke out into a fit of giggles.