forum want a good ol’ romance // oxo // closed

Started June 18, 2020 by @PaperHats business

tune

Scipio dropped his smile as soon as he noticed Xellis. "Mhmm. Just figured these needed to be watered…" He set the watering can down and came up to Xellis's side. "I'll let you lead the way. I don't exactly know my way around outside yet."

“Well it depends on where you want to go,” he said, adjusting the strap of Arci on his back. The mimic looked sound asleep. “I mean, it’s spring all around here, and basically just rolling hills. Closer to Audomar’s area, it turns to mountains and winter. Towards Ivodyr’s area, it gets more like groves and springs. Then Kieshara has the more industrial type place.”

Scipio nodded a bit. "Well, let's avoid the last one. I'm not a big fan of industrial." He started walking off, humming softly to himself. "How long are we going to be out here?" He asked curiously as he turned his gaze up to Xellis.

“Dunno,” Xellis replied, turning just short of the courtyard and motioning for Scipio to follow. “We can portal back at anytime. And I’d say we go to the springs. They’re really nice.”
He began walking down a path spanning between fields of beautiful green grass. They rolled on hills in the distance, the scenery seeming as if it spanned on forever.

"Alright." Scipio followed Xellis closely, seeming to relax once they were more out in nature. He smiled gently and stuck his hands in his pockets as he walked. "Is it kind of just always nice outside here?" He asked.

“In Zayanzar’s realm, of course. It’s always spring on the verge of summer. Clear skies, green plants, nice weather, the like. It’s the best time to adventure the world,” he said happily. His footsteps were barely audible on the dirt path below, and he took a deep breath in.
Carefully, he glanced over, giving a small smile to Scipio before quickly looking back and attuning his attention back to the path.

Scipio nodded a bit as he looked around. "That makes sense, I guess… what does she rule over or whatever? What's she the goddess of?" He asked curiously. He focused his attention onto the soft crunching of the pebbles on the dirt path that they were walking on.

“Culture, socialization, travel, that jazz. We all rule over connected things. Like, Elandorr rules over the art of wandering to lose oneself, I rule over traveling to learn and subside curiosity, and Hala rules over worldly connection,” Xellis explained.
The path started to descend a hill, and it was clear they were losing altitude in order to get where they were going. Trees began to sprout up on either side of the pathway, vines hanging down and the air growing just slightly warmer.

Scipio nodded again and gently ran his fingertips along the rough bark of the trees they passed, humming quietly to himself. He also touched any vines that happened to be in his reach. He hadn't gotten a lot of opportunities to go out into nature like this when he was alive, so it was intriguing to him now.

Xellis found himself watching Scipio with both a gaze and heartbeat that was different. His heart was too fast for his opinion, so breaking that look and stationing it forward helped a little.
What am I doing? he thought regretfully, but pushed it away, wishing to pick up his pace a bit.
Xellis breathed in deeply, watching as the fields turned to deeper forest and the air became damper.

Scipio didn't seem to notice Xellis watching him as he continued, his gentle touch a harsh contrast to his normal prickly demeanor. He was still smiling softly, unbeknownst to him, of course. He seemed to be too distracted by the scenery to keep up the asshole act.

The spotted trees turned into a grove as they kept walking, and soon the sun was shaded by the large abundance of leaves. It wasn’t long before Xellis hopped up on a mossy rock, overlooking a small pond, like a beautiful hidden spring. He gave a smile, nodding to Scipio.
“Set up camp, this is the place,” he said happily. Without further notice, he slipped his shoes off, Arci as well, his shirt off, and plummeted in to the middle of the spring. Reappearing just moments after, his red hair falling into his youthful golden eyes, he gave the other man a smile and began floating on his back.

"Ah, um… alright…" Scipio hesitated before taking off his shirt, socks, pants and shoes and overlooking the pond. I'm sure it's plenty safe… He paused again for a few seconds, but soon jumped into the spring as well. "Shit, this was a bad idea…" He struggled to keep his head above the water and just forced himself over to a place where he could reach the bottom of the pool.

“Can you… can you not swim?” Xellis asked hesitantly, treading the water as if he was part fish. Truth was, he’d been swimming in that spring for the majority of his life. And expertise is something a couple million years could offer.
He swam over to beside Scipio, holding out an arm.
“Do you want me to help? I’m not sure how.. but I could try?”

"No, I can't." Scipio pushed his wet hair out of his eyes, sighing softly as he tried his best to keep his head above water. He stepped back again where the ground was a bit higher. "I never really learned how… never needed to." He eyed Xellis's arm warily, not entirely sure what the god expected him to do with it.

“It’s ok,” Xellis said, letting his arm back down. “You can just chill on the side of you’d like. I could… try to teach you? I mean, I’ve never taught anybody, and it sort of just comes naturally to me…”
He cocked his head up to Scipio, unable to keep himself from smiling.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t find it funny— I’m sorry,” he said, voice broken by stifled laughing. “I just.. if you knew you didn’t know how then why would you jump in?”

Scipio glared at Xellis, huffing indignantly. "The water's deeper than I expected. Shut up." He stepped back again and crossed his arms. "How would you even teach me?" He asked, reluctantly keeping his eyes on Xellis. His cheeks were noticeably a bit flushed.

“No frikin clue,” he said, stroking back and going beneath the water for a moment before coming back up. He took his hair, stroking it to the side.
“Just… hold you? It’s what Zayanzar did to me, but mostly she just tossed me in and said figure it out. To me, that’s pretty decent parenting.”

"Clearly that strategy won't work for me. I basically already tried that." Scipio huffed again, glancing around the water. He kept up his glare, but he looked noticeably nervous. He didn't like feeling incompetent.

“Ok then treating you like a child and holding you in my loving embrace is next on the table,” he said jokingly. “How ‘bout it, Sunshine?”
Xellis gave a cheesy wink over in Scipio’s direction, accompanied by a teasing smile.

Scipio flushed and huffed again, looking away. "I'm not a child. I'm eighteen. And don't call me sunshine." He stepped back again and stumbled a bit, his heart skipping a beat when his chin hit the water. He didn't quite fall, but he was visibly nervous once he was fully upright again.

“Alright, alright, whatever. Missed chance,” he mumbled teasingly. “Just take it slow. I’ll save you if you have to have me to. Just be careful.”
With that, he disappeared under the water, reappearing on the other side of the pond and sitting atop a rock. He ruffled out his hair, the drops flying.

Well, don't go that far away, dumbass! Scipio hesitated before stepping further into the water. He paled when the water got closer to his face, his heart speeding up. I hate this. His breathing picked up a bit as he got closer, and he soon had to step back again. I can't. I don't know how.

Xellis gave a small considerate frown, feeling for him.
“If you need me to do something, just ask, alright? I’ll help,” he offered, not even sure what he should do if asked. He paddled his hands in the water absently, looking around the spring. It was surrounded by tall trees and mossy earth, casting a nice shade on the pond. His eyes then rested on Scipio, and he tilted his head to the side.

"I-I don't… know where to start…" Scipio replied quietly, basically just standing cluelessly in the water. He didn't seem to understand the concept of treading water. "I just… I can't…" He sighed in frustration as he tried to keep his head above water.