He watched her as she entered into the pond of water, slowly staring at her reflection before washing off the meat, after she finished he made sure to dilute any of the blood going around in the water and just make it look not so well bloody in that area so he wouldnt have to look at red water, or reddish water.
he nodded, "Your welcome."
he continued to not so secretly watch her do what she was, not knowing people to brurry there food in the ground before.
then he tilted his head at her praying before she returned to the pond.
She tilted her head back at him. “I’m not a wild animal, you know. I respect my prey.”
She went over by the rabbit meat and found a small patch of dirt between the grass and the pond. She looked up at Asuna. “Ah, water spirit. Try not to freak out.”
She cupped her hands over the dirt patch, and flames bloomed inside them. Carefully pulling her hands away, the ball of fire stayed, floating above the soil. Sage then looked around, finding a few sticks and sticking them through the meat, then staking them in the ground around the fire. As she did this, she spoke.
“So, it looks like you don’t get a lot of visitors. Do you have any other water spirit friends?”
He tilted his head at her when she spoke, scooping her hands in the dirt and yeah he did jump flincing backwards a bit at the sudden burst of fire before just straight up watching her handle it with much ease.
How does she?…
He just watched until he asked questions, he just simply shook his head.
"Not really."
(sage: kills, dismembers, skins, and cooks a rabbit)
(asuna: this is fine)
"Aw, that's sad," she remarked. She was waiting for the meat to cook, so she simply sat on the edge of the pond, facing Asuna, and grooming her tails with her fingers and occasionally her tongue.
Suddenly her eyes seemed to take on a warm glow. "Can you be my friend? I don't have a lot of friends either. I'm trying to find one right now, but he's so far away…"
"I mean, sometimes the um, bunny rabbits keep me company…" He just kinda stared, at the bunny as it cooked, rubbing salt in the wound.
"if you could maybe not kill them in the future that would um, be great."
He winced a bit as it cooked, he listened to her talk otherwise.
"Oh? Sure we can be friends i don't mind."
Sage glanced at the meat guiltily. “I’m sorry, but I gotta eat,” she said, almost pleadingly. “I’ll try.”
Her eyes lit up. “Yay! Okay, how long have you lived in this pond? Do you ever get lonely? I get lonely a lot these days. How come you don’t have a lot of visitors? Do you like it here? What’s your favorite food? I like sparrows.”
"O-oh its okay! just- please try not to eat as many in the future." he smiles at sage, noticing their glance. wondering if he should get out of the water.
"ever since iwas little, yes i do but the…bunnies keep me company….i don't know why i don't get a lot of visitors."
"My favorite food? hn…i dont know."
“Huh, I’ve always wondered what water deities eat,” she mused. She paused for a moment to turn the meat so the side that wasn’t facing the fire could cook. She winced when he mentioned the bunnies keeping him company.
“Oh. Well, I found this one alone, so I guess it’s okay. Maybe we can keep each other company. I’d like that. Would you?”
he thought about it for a bit, he really did need someone to keep him company besides the bunnies…he couldn't really talk to them, so he needed someone to talk to and she was already a great example of someone, and she had stayed too..
"Yeah, i would like that a lot, actually."
“Yay!” She smiled wide. “I like you. You’re a nice water deity. I’d share my food with you, but uh…” she cringed, chuckling nervously. Then her eyes lit up. “Oh! I should ask you, have you seen my friend? He’s like…. he’s taller than me, grayish black hair, kinda tan/dark skinned? And he’s got these clear blue eyes, blue as the water in your pond. Have you seen him? I’ve been looking for him.”
He thought for a moment or two, thinking if he had seen anyone of the looks. He recalled someone of similar detail going by every once in a blue moon or so.
"yeah, Actually. I have seen someone like that come here before, but they haven't been around here in a while now."
He still debated on whether or not to get out of the pond.
Oh yeah ! You could probably see his necklace with the dancing jewel on it floating in the water.
Her tails started to twitch and wag rapidly, and her eyes were as big as dinner plates, though she wouldn’t know what a dinner plate was. “Really? You have? Oh, that’s wonderful! I don’t want to wait till he comes by again tho-“
Her eyes locked on the necklace in the water. She finished with, “But at least I know I’m in the right direction! What’s that? It’s so shiny…” she reached out, curiosity making her impulsive.
He did tend to flinch slightly as she reached for it, but he let out an exhale. He needed to trust them, they wouldn't damage it if they thought it was shiny right?…
He took it off "There you can hold it, just be careful with it okay? It's special to me."
Was this a bad idea?
Probably
Was it going to come back and bite him?
Mhm most likely
Was he still doing it?
Yeah definitely.
“Yeah yeah, sure,” she said distractedly. She was vaguely aware of his discomfort, but she was very curious in general about her new friend. The necklace was special to him? She wanted to get a closer look. She quickly snatched it from him, then opened her hands to gaze upon the delicately made metal.
Asuna reached his hands forward and back and forward and back. He didn't want her to accidentally drop it or shatter it or do something to it. He looked a bit tense and worried but tried not to look that way DEEP BREATHING was a way he was able to stay SOMEWHAT calm..
(Oh shoot I just now realized he’d taken it off his neck akskksakmksskm)
Once she had it away from the water and saw the worry in his face, she slowed down. But perhaps she was still being careless, because she looked down to inspect the gem, rubbing her thumb on it, when her claw-like nail grazed its surface.
He let out a small whimper in pain, putting up a hand to his face as he felt the scratch, he quickly covered it up and looked away so that hopefully they wouldn't notice. "Please be Carefull-"
She made a small, “Oh no!” And tried to fix her mistake, trying to rub it away with her finger. Then she realized Asuna had whimpered, and looked up from the amulet to see him holding his hand to his face and his pained expression just before he looked away. Her ears twitched with confusion. “I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to! Are… are you okay?”
He took in a steady flow of breathe inside and out before moving to look back at her, trying to offer her a smile.
"yeah- yeah I'm fine. Don't worry about me, nothing wrong here." He kept his hand up to his cheek though. "It's okay, really. Don't worry about it."
Sage’s brow furrowed. She looked back at the amulet. “I just scratched it, it’s not broken. But I’m really sorry! You…” she looked back up at him. The attempted smile just worsened his expression. “You look awful. Are you sure there’s nothing wrong?”
"It's okay, just make sure to be more careful with it in the future, like i said it's important to me." He smiles at her, keeping his hand were it was because he was sure if he pulled away he would see blood and he didn't want her to worry not find out about the whole oh yeah my life force is tied to this amulet.
"yes I'm sure, really. Like i said, just be more careful with it."
She gave him a hard stare. “I smell blood. Are you bleeding? Is that why you’re holding your hand to your face like that? How are you bleeding? Is this…?” She glanced at the amulet, then back at him again. “Is this what I think it is?”
Then her stomach gurgled, and she remembered the meat. Glancing back, she saw the food starting to blacken from the flames. Sage quickly put the fire out with a flick of her wrist and turned back to Asuna.
"if i could ask…what do you think it is?" Did she find out already?..wait oh, she could smell the blood..he removed his hand from his face washing it off in the water.
"i just accidentally cut myself on the cheek and didn't want you to worry about it is all."
He rinses off his face so it wouldn't be as bloody.
“But-“ she tilted her head and furrowed her brow, starting to dislike how he was minimizing his pain right after he pleaded with her to be careful. “You whimpered right after I scratched it, and when I looked up, I smelled blood. It seems to me like this amulet is cursed or something. Tied to your body. When harm comes to it, harm comes to you.”
She handed the amulet back to him and grabbed a stick of rabbit meat. She started biting into it and eating the cooked flesh.
He took the amulet back with a sigh, putting it around his neck.
"yeah, you couldn't be more right I'm afraid." He out a hand on the back of his neck, looking away as she she was eating the cooked rabbit off the stick.
He looked down at the amulet, letting it rest in the water.
"its actually how i can control the waters, pretty weak deity right? I can be destroyed by destroying a simple amulet."
He then looked up slightly at her, before looking away again.
She swallowed her bite. "Really? Well, it's more cursed than I thought. I'd hate to have my fire tied to an object. Although…" her ears twitched. "You actually don't come across as weak to me. You're only timid, I haven't seen you do something that might be considered weak or strong. Besides, strength doesn't equate to indestructability."
Taking another bite, she said, "How did you even end up with it anyway?" Her words were muffled with the food in her mouth.
"Ah, well i don't exactly know. I would think that i was born with it around with my neck, or at least found with it as a baby, i have had as long as I can remember."
He looked at it before looking back at her, "Well it's nice then you don't think I'm weak, though i know other deity's who are much stronger then me."
He pushed the water back and forth in a tiny wave In front of him.
He opened his mouth to tell her about what could happen should he over use his abilities, then he stopped. Deciding on telling her something else.
"once, some humans came and found my amulet, i thought they could be trusted so i kinda asked for it back, but instead they almost killed me by damaging it up horriblely."
