𝖲𝗉𝖾𝖼𝗂𝖺𝗅 𝖒𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋: π–³π—π–Ίπ—…π–Ίπ—Œπ—Œπ–Ί

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

"Mouth breather!"

"Gill β™€πŸΆ!"

"Someone stop them, they're gonna kill each other!"

Y/n promised to behave, all she wanted was the chance to fight some borisin. She used "learning experience" and "extra training" as her excuse, yet the first thing she did was get into a fist fight.

It took some time to separate the two of them, and they were berated by their respective comrades before being left to sit off to the side next to one another.

Y/n irritably rubbed her cheek where she'd been punched rather hard by the Insumousu woman, while her blonde attacker irritably rubbed her chin from where she'd been kicked.

There was a long, drawn out silence as the blue eyed woman rested her head on her hands with a huff.

Y/n heaved a sigh, looking away with a scowl on her face as she internally spouted curses, though she jolted when the woman beside her tapped her shoulder.

"Hey, Xianzhou girl."

"Girl?!" y/n demanded, looking over her shoulder to glare at the woman, "I'm older than you are, show some respect!"

The blue eyed woman raised a brow, "You act like an impulsive teenager, so I'll treat you like one. I believe... we got off on the wrong foot."

"You mean fin?"

"Watch it, I'll kill you."

The Insumousu woman sat up, offering her hand to y/n with an even gaze, "My name is Maya. You are?"

Y/n gave her hand a scowl before looking away with a growl, catching the eye of one of her companions. He stood a distance away, watching her.

She narrowed her eyes at him.

Be nice, he mouthed back.

Y/n flipped him off.

He raised a brow before turning to the Vidyadhara beside him and tapping his shoulder. Y/n watched as the two men conversed, and flinched when the Vidyadhara gave her a glare.

She let out a quiet groan before reluctantly taking Maya's hand and shaking it, "My name is y/n."

"Y/n, huh?" Maya echoed before sneering at the h/c haired woman, "Stupid name for a stupid girl."

Something in y/n snapped *her patience*, and she jumped to her feet again, "Take that back, sardine, or I'll fry your πŸ‘!"

"Lay a hand on me and I'll break every bone in your body!" Maya spat back as she got to her feet as well.

"Youβ€”!" y/n's vulgar stream of words was cut off before it could even began as she was smacked over the head by Yingxing, resulting in her crouching and holding her mouth with a pained look.

"Sorry about her, don't mind anything she says." the man said with a small nod to Maya before grabbing y/n by the ear and dragging her away, "Come on."

"Butβ€”!"

"No. Keep acting up and I'm telling your mother."

Maya and y/n didn't interact much over the course of the next few days, as y/n stuck close to Dan Feng's side while Maya did her own thing, but they frequently met on the battlefield.

They couldn't really attack each other there, as they had a common enemy that wouldn't hesitate to kill them both should they turn against one another.

However, neither gave up the chance to take verbal jabs at one another even in the midst of a battle.

"You're looking a little tired there, Xianzhou Girl. Need a break?" Maya jeered and y/n's eye twitched.

The two Borisin attacking her were unfortunate enough to be the targets of her frustration as she sliced one in half and punched a hole right into the other's face.

"I'm fine, thank you very much." y/n forced out through gritted teeth, internally seething, 'I want to cuss her out but Yingxing will strangle me if he catches me arguing during a battle... and if he doesn't, Dan Feng will!'

"Nothing else to say? I expected a smart comeback."

"You're not worth the energy."

"So you are tired, mm?"

"I am not!"

Y/n threw her sword and Maya leaned out the way, glancing over her shoulder to give the unlucky borisin who'd been hit in the throat a look of surprise.

"Nice aim."

"🚚 off!"

Maya chuckled as the fuming y/n continued tearing through the enemy, the blonde taking the sword for herself and killing the few stragglers y/n missed.

To avoid being scolded whenever she did get caught arguing or doing something she wasn't supposed to be doing, y/n wandered away from her group of companions and sat by the water.

Maya somehow always found her.

On one occasion, y/n had taken a seat and cleaned her weapons in silence. Maya swung by and sat nearby.

There was silence between them for a long moment.

"Shut up." y/n grumbled.

"I didn't speak." Maya replied.

"You're breathing too loud."

"You just don't like me." Maya told her before taking a deep breath, "Ah... isn't the sea breeze nice? The waves, the sound... it's all quite relaxing."

Y/n didn't reply, simply remaining silent. She was pretty sure the only thing that would come out of her mouth was some kind of insult. This woman was infuriating.

"You're quite the impressive fighter, y/n." Maya commented, "It's not everyday I come across someone so talented with a variety of weapons."

"I have good teachers." y/n replied curtly.

"You and that Vidyadhara man... Dan Feng, your way of using the spear is very similar to his." Maya commented, "As well as how you use your fists."

"That's because he taught me, stupid. And I modeled my hand to hand combat style after the spearmanship he taught me." y/n said with a heavy sigh.

"Could you teach me?"

"Teach you?"

"You punched a borisin's head off. I'd like to do something like that." Maya hummed.

"No." y/n said in a flat tone.

"Why not?"

"Too much work."

"As a form of repayment, I can show you around the land cities. I'll be your personal tour guide." Maya offered and the h/c haired woman scowled, "No? I'll also show you a special spring that supposedly extends someone's life."

"I'm already set to live more than 1000 years if I'm not killed or go crazy first, I don't think I want to live longer than that." y/n groaned before leaning back, "Too much of a hassle..."

Maya only chuckled, "Hehe, that's only a rumor. The spring has properties that help with repairing muscles and revitalizing the body. Perfect for relaxing and napping."

Y/n perked up, "You have my attention."

"I'll only show you if you teach me what I want to know." Maya reminded her and y/n rolled her eyes.

"Fine, okay, I'll teach you."

"I look forward to working with you, Xianzhou Girl."

"Quit calling me that!"

Y/n wasn't the best teacher in the world.
Scratch thatβ€” she was god awful.

She learned better visually and with actions, while Maya was more accustomed to learning verbally. Y/n was also horrible at explaining things, so they were at a bit of a stand still.

Maya, on the other hand, didn't refuse to uphold her end of the deal despite y/n's poor teaching.

Everytime they trained together, they'd walk to the spring together and eat fruits while they soaked in the water, spending the entire time talking.

Y/n talked about her home, her mother, her older brother, her weapon collection, her friends.

Maya talked about her love of riding six-eyed flying fish, the celestial palace at the bottom the ocean which she promised to show to y/n.

She asked about y/n's long life, asking if she lived forever, and y/n told her of the looming danger of becoming stricken with mara should she live long enough.

Y/n asked about Maya living on land, to which the woman explained how her people spent their youth on land as their bodies changed with age until they were better suited for living underwater.

They had lots to learn from each other, and there were a couple of things that they helped each other learn about themselves.

Turns out, Maya had quite the natural talent for hand to hand combat. As y/n got better at explaining things to the blonde, Maya's improvement sky rocketed faster than y/n could've ever anticipated.

On the other hand... y/n was quite good at dancing.

Y/n was fortunate enough to still be on Thalassa when it was time for Divine Fall Day, a celebration to honor those aboard the Daiyu who died when it crashed into the planet years ago.

There was food, singing and dancing... Maya was particularly excited about the dancing, and as day turned to night, the blonde went from showing y/n around to trying to convince her to dance.

"I don't dance."

"You fight, do you not? That's a form of dancing."

Y/n groaned as Maya took her by the hand and dragged her so that they were amongst the dancing crowd, lightly swaying her from side to side.

"Come onnn, don't worry about your friends seeing you, this is a time to celebrate!" Maya urged, "If you'd like, I can show you how."

Y/n didn't reply, watching as Maya began to dance. She was graceful and a force to be reckoned with, like the waves against the sand. Not once did her blue gaze leave y/n's even as she turned and twirled.

"Come, dance with me!" Maya insisted.

Y/n nodded and awkwardly followed the movements the blonde woman made, falling into a rhythm as she slowly and slowly got better at it.

For a while, it seemed like the world around them just disappeared. It was y/n, Maya, and the music. Nothing else.

"You're good, very good." Maya chimed as y/n got more and more confident, her beginning to lead while the blonde followed, "What was that you said about not dancing."

"I... usually don't." y/n corrected herself awkwardly.

Her heart was racing in her chest as she danced with Maya, but it was nice. Nothing like how it would beat in the midst of a battle or when she was upset... she felt like she was floating, actually.

Later that evening, starskiffs were sent off to the sky, another tradition of Divine Fall Day. Maya had taken y/n to the highest point at one of the land cities where the two of them watched the skiffs fly into the night sky.

As they sat together, Maya leaned over and rested her head on y/n's shoulder while the young woman's face immediately began to burn up with embarrassment.

Oh... oh my.

"This is nice..." Maya hummed before looking up at y/n, the light from the moon making her blue eyes shine, "Thank you for coming here with me tonight, y/n."

Y/n blinked, then rubbed the back of her neck.
"No... thank you for bringing me here. I..."
She looked back up at the sky.
"I really like this."

Maya chucked lightly, her hand finding y/n's.
"Let's do this again, then."

Y/n's breath hitched, a warm smile settled on her face.
"Yes. Let's do this again."

Eventually, it was time to return home.

The borisin had been driven out, and y/n couldn't just stay. She had a family to return to, a home, responsibilities... but she didn't want to leave Maya, either.

"Come back soon, alright?" Maya hummed as y/n was preparing to set off, patting the h/c haired woman's shoulders with a warm smile, "We can dance together again, swim, watch the starskiffs, whatever you want. I just want to see you again."

"I'll come back!" y/n exclaimed, eyes bright, "Definitely! As soon as I can, I promise!"

"Hehe, you'd better." Maya chuckled, playfully rubbing her fist against y/n's cheek, "Or I'll beat your πŸ‘."

They stood awkwardly for a moment, unsure of what to do. In the end, Maya stepped forward and gently took the back of y/n's head, pulling her closer until their foreheads lightly bumped together.

"Stay safe, okay, y/n?" she hummed with a smile.

Y/n nodded, "You too, Maya. Until next time."

As she returned home, y/n was giddy and excited for the next time she'd go to Thalassa. Delighted as she told her mother and brother about the woman she'd met.

She was too excited to notice the uncertain look that the two of them shared as she rushed off to go train.

Y/n knew she was a long life species, and that Maya was not, but she was naive to think it'd be that easy to go back when she wanted to.

It was one expedition after another, some lasting for a decade and other lasting longer. She just couldn't find the time to go back, and when the opportunity arose... she was scared.

"Won't she be mad at me for being gone for so long?" y/n whispered, hugging her knees close to her chest as she sat beside Jing Yuan, "What if she... you know?"

"You won't know if you don't go." Jing Yuan pointed out, "You might be scared, but you'll regret it if you pass up the opportunity to go see her again."

"It's been over a century, hasn't it? Won't she be..."

"You don't know that."

"But what if she is?"

Her friend reached out and pinched her nose, causing her to choke in surprise as she was forced to change her breathing method so suddenly.

"Since when were you hesitant to do anything? What happened to the impulsive gremlin we all know and adore, hm?" Jing Yuan inquired and y/n glowered at him.

"She lived. For another century."

"Just go, you made a promise and you should keep it like you did all the others." Jing Yuan insisted, "Besides, you want to go see her, don't you?"

Y/n remained quiet, thinking of the blonde woman who'd annoyed the πŸ’© out of her and also managed to catch her heart in a chokehold so effortlessly.

She did make a promise... she always kept her promises one way or another, so...

"I'm going to go see her."

Y/n was terrified, to be honest.

What if Maya didn't want to see her?

What if Maya would be angry with her?

πŸ’©, what if Maya didn't remember her?!

What ifβ€”

Y/n slapped herself across the face.
'🚚ing hell, y/n, quit overthinking.'

She was waiting by the water, silent as she waited for her friend to appear. It was a relief when she was told that Maya was indeed still alive but had to live underwater, but y/n was worried.

What was taking so long?

Did she not want to see her?

Y/n frantically patted her cheeks, "Stop, stop, stop-!"

"Oh? Now that's a face I haven't seen in a while."

She paused, and looked towards the water.
There Maya was, resting her head on her hand with an amused expression. She looked older, way older, but y/n recognized her instantly.

What was it? Ah, yes, her eyes.

"Maya." y/n whispered.

"Y/n." the elderly woman greeted, "My, you look like you haven't aged a day. Still as gorgeous and youthful as the day I last saw you?"

Y/n edged closer to the water with a weak smile, "But I'm more mature aren't I? No reason for you to continue calling me Xianzhou Girl, right?"

"I might consider it, since you took so damn long to come back." y/n winced, "But... I'm a forgiving old lady."

Y/n looked down at her hands sheepishly.
"Sorry..."

"Don't apologize. Come, tell me what you've been up to. There's lots to talk about, isn't there?" Maya hummed.

Y/n obliged, moving further into the water so they could talk and Maya could remain comfortable.

There was indeed lots to talk about, enough for day to turn to night, but there simply wasn't enough time for y/n to tell her everything.

Maya seemed to be getting sleepy, and y/n stopped talking when the woman rested her head on y/n's shoulder.

She wrapped her arms around Maya, hugging her closer, "Heh, is all my yammering boring you?"

"No, no, not at all..." Maya murmured, "Just... coming up here to you took a lot out of me. I'm old now, you know?"

Y/n's shoulders seemed to droop a little.
"Right... sorry, you should go back."

"No, I'd like to stay here with you." Maya murmured, "I've almost forgotten how lovely it is to be held by you. This is... nice. I like the ocean, but I like being in your arms more."

"Do you now?"

"Mhm, you're quite comfortable."

Y/n exhaled, a fond smile settling on her face before it faded a little. She knew the signs of someone dying. She only knew death on the battle field, but the last breaths of any dying individual were clear to the woman.

Maya was dying, wasn't she? She was old, swimming up to meet y/n likely took everything she hadβ€”

"Maya?"

"Hm?"

"I love you." y/n said, "I mean, likeβ€” really love you. I wish you were a long life species like me, so we could spend several lifetimes together. A much of a hassle as it is, it'd be worth it if you were with me. You could meet my family, we could spend so much time training together, watching starskiffs and dancing... but..."

"But I'm not." Maya hummed, "And that's fine. The time I did get to spend with you was enough for me, and..." she glanced up at y/n with a smile, "It's nice knowing that you requite the love I have for you."

"What do you think it would've been like? If we could've been together?" y/n asked in a weak tone.

Maya looked up to the sky "Mm... I've actually thought about this a lot. Let me tell you all about it."

Maya told her everything, the dreams she had of them being together, all the lovely things they did, the dancing, the singing, all of it. So many happy memories y/n would've loved to share with her.

"You know, one dream of mine did come true." Maya murmured, her voice having become quieter, not as easily heard over the sound of the waves.

"It did?" y/n inquired and Maya sighed.

"Yes. Spending my last moments in your arms."

Y/n fell silent, a horrible stabbing feeling in her chest.
She'd felt it before but it was... way too intense.

"Do me a favor and live a nice, fulfilling life that you can fondly look back on. Okay?" Maya asked, "Can you do that?"

"I... can try."

"No, no trying."

Y/n remained silent, then laughed, "Yes, I'll do it."

"Good, good..." Maya exhaled, "That's... good."

The two sat together in silence, and y/n stayed right there holding Maya as the warmth left her body.

It was a long while before she rested her face in the woman's hair with a small sob. This wasn't fair...














































































































This peace... this silence.

I wonder...

Is this what you felt, Maya?


You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net