A day on the beach

[not_heavens_adam]

Who: Johnny and open!
When: 4/9, midday into evening
Where: On the island
What: Soaking in the sun
Style: Whichever!
Status: Open

It was almost twenty months since he'd arrived in the bubble. In those months, there had been three separate times where he had the opportunity to go into the sun without the fear of turning to ash. The first had been when he'd been turned into an angel, unfortunately it had been raining and with everything else going on, he hadn't had the chance. The second had been when he'd switched bodies with Rinoa, not something he was going to complain about since he did get a chance to walk on the beach, but it hadn't been him. The last had been when he'd reverted to a twenties and human version of himself, but it had never crossed his mind to take advantage of the sunlight since, for that 'Johnny' he hadn't lost it yet.

When he'd awoken on Monday, it was a little amusing to discover how unsurprising it was to find his senses dampened like someone had thrown a wet towel over his head, but after so many curses where he lost those senses, it was just the sign that coral was having it's fun.

It hadn't taken him too long to discover, this time, it was because he'd become human again. Of course, at the price that he couldn't actually touch anyone himself, but as unnerving as that was, they could still touch him and that meant he wasn't going to begrudge this curse too much. Especially since he could now do the impossible.

He'd already asked Sola to come up and meet him a bit later, and that was what the picnic basket he set on the beach was for, but he had some time for himself and he fully intended to use it. Calmly, he stripped and folded his shirt, followed by his pants, and set his shoes on top of the clothing so he was left in nothing but his underwear. Then he took off, intent on jumping right into the ocean for a mid-day swim.

After a while, he went back onto the beach to sprawl out on a towel (still without his clothes), to let the sun dry him off, not unlike the cat-demon when she wasn't doing her household chores.

((OOC: Running into Johnny when he's in the ocean or on the beach are both fine!))

Comments

[replicatedcourage]

I'm really not sure! I was just told to make sure Sola and Her Highness meet during this week, that's it.

[She looks at Sola and somehow, despite her expression being utterly unreadable thanks to her intense glow, she seems rueful.]

Thoughheobviouslyneedsalotofhelpinthegrowingupdepartment.

[He totally caught that and he's gonna just stick his tongue out at her in irritation and obstinacy. Kind of...proving her point, but he hates attention being paid to his actual age and it's not fair to do it when he can't even argue!]

[zelda_hylia]

[Zelda takes on an intensely thoughtful expression. Talking with the pair had pushed her initial idea from her mind. Though holding Hylia's memories has granted her an amazing amount of knowledge, it's also made her a little flighty. It's difficult for her to focus for long with so much streaming through her mind, a mind that's meant for a mortal. She just doesn't have the ability to perceive it all at once, not yet. Maybe not ever. Nila's words bring her original purpose back to mind easily enough, though. She lowers her head for a moment.]

I see. I see... surely I can't hold on to these memories forever. They are too much, and I haven't gone through the ritual. This may be the only time in this lifetime that I hold them...

[Her head raises again, and this time she speaks as Hylia.]

I am truly sorry. When I chose to become mortal, I did not foresee an existence such as yours. You have suffered greatly for my lack of foresight. If you would like, I can correct that now. Would you like to become one of my children, Sola? A Hylian, with a Hylian soul.

[replicatedcourage]

[A stillness washes over Sola at those words and he sits frozen, staring at Zelda with his tongue still peaking out of the corner of his mouth. It would be comical if the shock and awe weren't so vivid. It's everything he's ever wanted, to be a whole person, a complete person with his own place in the world. To fill that gaping hole in his existence with something akin to the light that all other natural beings possess.

His heart jumps to his throat and his mouth is suddenly dry. He's afraid if he makes any sudden move, any wrong motion that he'll wake up with a jolt and none of this exchange will have happened.

One minute passes.

Then another.

And time snaps back into place, chugging along at its normal pace. Sola finds himself nodding, eyes still trained on Zelda's face, and the thudding of his heart against his ribs lessens just a little when the nod doesn't turn the world around them to dreaming.

It's real...

He looks to Johnny, wide eyed and with some spark there that's barely been before. Something that started small, has been small the entire time the Hylian has been in Vatheon, but suddenly is plain as day in his expression.

Hope.

Not for others, he's always had that, but for himself.]

[zelda_hylia]

[Out of all the things she could ever dream of giving her children, hope is the one she wants to give them the most. It's easy to be content when everything is as it should be, she wants them to be able to stand strong even in the darkness.

Hylia steps over to Sola, thinking of all the things she wants for him. To be able to hold on to his courage, for him to never have to let go of the bright outlook his innocence has given him even when he does grow past it. For the rest of this life to be one that he can look back on when he passes on and feel satisfied. She thinks of his next lives too, dreaming up the possibilities and gathering them all together to pass on to him. She thinks of his song, mentally composing it from start to finish and weaving it into the symphony that represents her people. Holding all those ideas close, she leans in and gently draws Sola's face towards her own, placing a kiss on his forehead and bestowing that divine plan upon him.

To most people, he wouldn't look any different. Sola will be able to feel the difference though, no longer an existence without a purpose or a plan. Whether he chooses to follow through on the things she hopes for him or not is up to him.]

[replicatedcourage]

[His forehead feels warm, not as if he'd been kissed but as if Zelda were pouring in all the possibilities of life, now and future. His head momentarily buzzes with potentiality, with what he could accomplish in this life and next. There will be a next. And another. Until all the stars run cold and wink out together at the end of time, Sola will be reborn again and again in his time.

Just like everyone else.

His eyes remain closed, his expression rapturous, and two tracks of tears roll down his cheeks unheeded. He's full of promise, the emptiness he's always felt banished in that instant, in that kiss to his forehead. He feels alive, he feels important, he feels worth something.

He feels complete.

Suddenly Sola throws his arms around Zelda's waist, burying his face against her stomach, and cries. It's overwhelming, wonderful and strange to be whole and he can't express how grateful he is other than near silent and paltry thank yous whispered over the lump in his throat against the fabric of her dress.]

[zelda_hylia]

[She doesn't need to hear the words he can't speak right now, she can hear his thoughts. She holds his head to her abdomen and lets him cry it out like a child - her child, one of Hylia's many children, full of hope.

No longer requiring Hylia's memories, Zelda allows herself to be at the forefront of her mind. She can feel the guilt over the pain she caused Sola washing away along with his tears. She hurt him, yes, but wasn't birth always a little painful? In the end she didn't ruin his life at all.

That gives her hope, too.]