From Beneath the Waves

To have Olivia at his side, pleased to spend time with him rather than tolerant of his presence, was more of a comfort than Korin thought he could put to words. In a moment where he felt more alone than he ever had before, just having someone to sit with and talk to was probably all that had kept him from dissolving into hysterics.

He didn't like the thought of stealing her sleep, or annoying her by holding her hand for a while, but for now Korin thought it would be okay to be a little bit selfish.

"I should go back eventually and make sure my things are safe," he said softly after a small pause to think, eyes sliding shyly away, "but . . . but would it be okay if I stayed with you, just for a little while?" A day or two, maybe three, he wouldn't bother her forever. He just needed time away, to try and decide what he should do next. He felt at war inside, even though he had never known there were two separate sides to struggle between in the first place.
 
She was glad to see that she seemed to be helping him feel better, at least a little. She knew that sometimes it helped to just have someone there with you, to keep you company, to listen, to care, and she was happy to be that for him.

"Of course you can." She replied with zero hesitation, smiling reassuringly. "You can stay here with me for as long as you need to, as long as you want okay?" "If you want to you can bring your stuff here for safekeeping too, it's up to you, I've got plenty of space."
 
The speed with which she answered was as surprise as it was reassuring. Korin was so warmed by her generosity he almost wanted to hide his face in the pillow, overwhelmed with all the conflicting feelings inside him. He managed, instead, to just rub a hand over his face and sigh softly in relief, hand reating shyly over his mouth for a moment.

"Thank you," he said softly but earnestly, unsure how he would ever repay her kindness to him. "I just want to make sure nothing gets washed away, I- I don't want to take up your space." He had very little that would be appropriate for being on land, except for the things he thought she might be able to sell for whatever currency she used, but after a moment of conflicted thought he looked at her again as if trying to judge her sincerity. "Maybe . . . Just one or two things. Little things."
 
"Don't worry about space honestly, I've got heaps, there's even a storage space underneath the house." "Just bring whatever you want and we'll find a spot for it alright?"

She said all this casually, it was clear this was no big deal for her and she was sincerely happy to help. "I'll have to get you some more clothes." She said idly, more to herself, thinking outloud.
 
Korin wasn't sure what of his things were really worth bringing, given it was either helpful for survival only underwater or else a thing he had found in the ocean that didn't belong. He didn't need to gather interesting things from the surface world anymore, not when he was already there in person.

"Thank you," he said softly, beginning to feel a bit more calm as they simply laid together and talked, quiet music in the background and the world very still around them. "I'll think about it. . ." The idea of clothing was a strange one, but he supposed it would help him blend in, if he was going to stay farther away from the beach than he'd ever planned. "Will you need more pearls?" He was sure he still had some lying around. They came in so many different colors he had always liked to gather them, and they traded well underwater as well given how they were used in jewelry and other crafts. He could bring her more so she could sell them again.
 
She was glad to see that he seemed to be relaxing a little more, she did hope he could get some sleep. She was happy to stay up with him all night if he wanted her too, but she thought he'd need it with everything he was going through.

She wasn't sure what he was talking about at first, unaware she'd spoken her thoughts outloud. "Oh, right." "I think it should be fine."

She looked a little embarrassed, "I mean I still have the pearls you gave me before."
 
Korin was beginning to get a little tired as Olivia's company helped him calm down. Though he wasn't sure if he would make it from there to 'sleepy', he thought he might be okay eventually if she went to her own bed to sleep. Being alone with his thoughts wasn't a good feeling, but he wanted her to get her rest.

"Oh?" He blinked in surprise when she said she still had the pearls, wondering if it just hadn't been enough time or if she'd intended to keep them all the while. "Do you . . . not want to sell them?" Maybe she didn't want currency and just liked pearls. He tended to hoard some for himself because they were pretty, so he supposed he understood. He just thought she would use them to pay for the things she'd given him.
 
"Well no not really." She smiled a little, blushing slightly. "I can be a bit of a hoarder sometimes, like I find it hard to part with sentimental things."

"The pearls you brought me are so beautiful and the different colours are so unique, I just... I didn't feel like parting with them you know?"

She hoped he wouldn't be bothered by this, since he had wanted to trade. She still counted it though, she had just kept them instead of selling.
 
Korin was confused at first, wanting her to get compensation for what she'd shared with him when the currency system on land had always been explained to him as very difficult to maintain, but as she went on he found he was smiling a little to himself. It was a fond sort of expression, touched by her enjoying the gift he'd given her so much even if it was really more of a barter. He'd picked the pearls he thought were prettiest so they would earn more money, but the fact that she had liked them a lot was good to.

"That makes me happy." He said with unashamed warmth in his voice, and something almost loving in his eyes. "If I bring more, maybe you can make your favorites into a necklace." Then she would get to keep them close without worrying they would roll around.
 
Relieved he wasn't bothered by it, in fact he seemed pleased by it, she found herself admiring his small smile. She supposed she could sell some of the plain ones if she really needed to, but she was still reluctant. For now at least she had plenty of money, even with the extra stuff she'd brought to share with him, so she hoped he wouldn't worry himself about it. Still she could understand him being hesitant to owe too much, though considering she owed him her life, she didn't think that was possible.

His suggestion caused a bright smile to appear on her face, "that's an amazing idea!" Clear enthusiasm in her voice, "I'd love that." "Oh but only if it's not a hassle." She added quickly, not wanting to burden him with anything.
 
Korin smiled a little wider at her acceptance, already thinking of just what the necklace could be made with and wondering how different human jewelry might look. "I have more I can bring. I like looking for them, so I have a little collection." He mostly looked for the colored ones since people liked them more, but the white ones were very pretty, too.

"Humans wear pearls, too, right?" He asked, unconsciously shifting around a bit on the bed to get more comfortable, eyes curious still despite the length of the day and all the stress beginning to drag at him. "I found a string of them once, I thought someone might have lost it off a boat." It had been disconnected at the ends so it had taken him a while to realize it was a necklace, but it had been the right length. He'd traded it long ago but he still remembered what it looked like.
 
"Okay, as long as it's no trouble." She was quite excited by the idea, she was fond of unique trinkets and a beautiful pearl necklace made with the help of a friend from the sea who'd saved her life, was pretty damn unique.

She nodded at his question, "they do but usually they're made from all white ones and they need to be perfect." "They're sort of a rich people thing, so they might have fallen off a yacht."

She said with an amused smile, "here I can show you." She grabbed her phone and unlocked it, then after a moment turned it towards him so he could see the pictures of the necklaces. "I prefer uniqueness, and the coloured ones."
 
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"Have to be perfect?" Korin made a soft, thoughtful sound as he considered it. "But then they'd all look the same?" That didn't sound like much of a personalized item, though he supposed it wouldn't be ugly either. "I think it did come off of one of the very big boats, but it was long gone by the time I found it, just floating around on its own."

He shifted himself up a little and slightly closer to look at the pictures she showed him, fascinated still by her phone and all it could do, how clear and colorful the photos were. "They're still very pretty," he said, though with a slightly uncertain tone as if he were trying not to offend her. "The white ones are just . . . a little boring, I guess? I have some, since they're still pretty and they still trade well, but the colorful ones are worth more."

He sometimes hung on to them anyway when he wasn't in dire need of anything since he liked looking at them himself and had made Minamet a trinket or two over the years, so he still had some left over after giving Olivia a few. He was glad she seemed to like them more like he did.
 
"Yeah they do want them to all look the same." She said with a little shrug, "I can understand why but it's not really my thing." She put her phone down in front of her, and nodded softly.

"I like the coloured ones better too, the white ones are still pretty but they are kind of dull on their own." "Plus being uniform isn't all that interesting."

"I don't know a lot about pearls, but I think the coloured ones are worth more because they're a lot rarer?" "I mean up here at least."
 
"Yeah," Korin murmured softly, glad that he had the same view of the little sea gems as she did. "That sounds boring." Everything the same could be pretty, he just preferred to have more to look at, he supposed. Something that was unique or easier to differentiate from other's was preferable to being completely uniform.

"Mm, they're harder to find," he said with a little nod, tired but trying to think. "I think they come from different kinds of oysters or clams. I don't know how to describe it. They look a little different from the outside to me, but I don't know if everyone can tell." He'd always had a little less trouble finding them than others, but then he'd had more free time to do it since he was always by himself.
 
"I see, that's pretty interesting." She said with sincerity, she was very curious about his life underwater but she'd tried not to pry too much, especially in the beginning.

Now though she felt they'd grown closer, and he wouldn't mind the questions, since she never expected or pressured him to answer if he didn't want to.

"Is that what you did most of the time?" "I mean, how did you spend most of your time?" She asked softly, her eyes closing as she talked.

She was still listening but the warm bed, the soft relaxing music and his quiet familiar voice, were all making her feel relaxed enough to drift off a little.
 
Korin was growing very tired as they laid there next to each other, soothed by the presence of a friend and the gentle sounds around them, the soft bad and blankets beneath them, but he didn't want to close his eyes. There was still so much to think about, and he liked getting to talk with Olivia. Now at least he knew he could do it for longer than before.

"It was something to do," he murmured sleepily, giving a soft, thoughtful sound as he considered how to explain how he spent his days. "I make nets and ropes . . . find what I need to eat every day . . . help the reefs when they're hurt. . . I always liked to follow the human ships. They aren't always very good at filling their nets, or keeping their people inside. I liked to look at them." Studying seemed like the wrong word, though it was probably more accurate. He'd liked to learn what he could about them. Maybe even that had come from his past.
 
Though her eyes remained closed, she listened to his explanation with interest. His life sounded quite peaceful, tranquil even, it could be considered an ideal retirement.

However it also sounded like it could get a little dull, doing the same things day after day. More importantly, to her at least, it sounded very lonely.

"How do you help the reefs?" "With magic?" She asked curiously, her voice growing sleepier. She smiled in amusement when he mentioned following people's boats, "lucky for me huh?"
 
Korin was sure there were other things he did on a not quite daily basis, but thinking of them under pressure and while exhausted was surprisingly difficult. It was all right, though, that she seemed interested in at least some of what he said.

"Mm, sometimes with magic," he said thoughtfully, settling in a bit more after he'd moved to look at her phone. "Sometimes helping it grow or replant somewhere. Pushing out the things that hurt it or taking away any pieces that are diseased. Some of the reefs are very long." More space had the potential for more problems, sometimes. He liked to check and make sure they were okay, because he cared about them but also because it gave him something to do.
 
"Hmm that sort of sounds like how we care for the gardens and orchards back home." She murmured softly, wondering how many other things that were similar between their lifestyles.

"It can be hard work sometimes, but it's also kind of relaxing and even kinda fun, working all together." She smiled sleepily, "you know I think you'd really like them."
 
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