ᗩ ᗯOᖇᒪᗪ ᗩᑭᗩᖇT (demy x bunny)

[Bunny]

The water had always called to her and perhaps her mother had known that when she had dubbed her Nerida. Sea Nymph, Mermaid. Like a fish, she had taken to water when her mother had first taken her to swimming lessons. From there her love for the water had only grown and the progression had happened naturally. Swim team, real life mermaid and free diving. It was how Nerida had ended up at the Blue Hole at Lighthouse Reef in Belize. It was a beautiful site, with coral along the edges. A popular place for tourists to come visit. Nerida had been flown out to do some modeling along the coral with her tail. The pictures had honestly turned out beautifully; her personal favorite had been one of her sitting on some coral.

Work done though and her tail safely back in her rooms, Nerida wanted to do some free diving. It was how she found herself out on the water as the sun was just starting to rise. This early, the Blue Hole was almost deserted. Dressed in a black one piece swimsuit, that still managed to show of a fair bit of skin, Nerida idled her boat and then turned it off as it coasted across the glassy water. There was something about being in the water, without all the extra equipment that came with diving that made her feel... alive. Stepping up onto the side of the boat, hands rose above her head, her body arching before she dove forward. Nerida cut through the water like a knife, her small toned body diving deep with the motion.

She had seen a particular out cropping yesterday while taking pictures that she was dying to check out. It had seemed like an endless void of blue and Nadia was not one to suffer from thalassophobia. The water didn't scare her. It was like coming home. Strong kicks propelled her forward, one after another. She went deeper until the whole world around her was nothing but a pure and endless blue. She only wanted to go a little further before going back to the surface. A filter of light sparkled from behind a rock formation. Curious, Nerida swam closer, it was like... sunlight.

It was confusing, seeing this golden light so far down and she knew she could last a few minutes more before her lungs began to burn from the lack of oxygen. The light here was brighter and flickered against the surface of the water. It was puzzling and intriguing. As Nerida swam towards it, the water should have gotten warmer, but it was like ice and where the current had been gentle, suddenly it was raging. Pulled to-and-fro she hit the side of the rock hard, her head slamming into stone. Gasping, the last of her precious air left her.

Panic built and she kicked hard, trying to make it to the shimmering light. It.. was different now. Not as bright and unless she'd hit her head harder than she though, even with the distortion, it wasn't possible. Lush greenery and almost Grecian columns. Lungs burning she kicked, propelling herself upward. Breaking through the water, she gasped in air greedily. Her vison swam and Nerida frowned, a hand lifting to her head. Fingers came away crimson.

"A concussion. I have a concussion."

It was the only explanation for what she saw, wasn't it? Pushing her dark golden locks from her face, Nerida looked around. She'd come up in a fountain? There was greenery and pale stone and... Swimming to the edge she listened hard. There was no sound. Her voice had seemed loud.. so loud a moment ago. There was no breeze, no insects... nothing. The bright blue of the sky, the sun beating down seemed normal and yet, Nerida felt like she'd found herself in another world. Pulling herself from the water, she felt her head swim as a wave of nausea hit her. Rumbling from the fountain she bit back a cry. Panting she rolled to her back, eyes closed.

 

[demy]

The lack of sound was sterile.

A collection of lush greenery spreading out from the fountain, spiraling upwards into a caging of columns that looked somehow new and old. A rustle would break the calm, the sound loud in the silence. A few more rustles with an unknown source. Should the young woman look for the source she was find three children looking back at her from the other side of the large fountain-

If they could be considered children in her eyes. They were stark, gangling and dressed in loose tunics and pants with simple embroidered patterns. There skin was simple dark but a depthless black the bleed into their hair.

A spattering of gold lines and designs decorating them in different ways.

There eyes were just as black, boundless and unreadable.

The tallest, perhaps oldest stood furthest back, staring. The two others similar in size though one appeared to a girl and the other a boy, were pointing.

The girl speaking, a chirping voice that darted across the water.

A unknowable language.

 

[Bunny]

Eyes closed she hadn't seen them approach, it was the chirping though that made her eyes open. A soft groan as her head turned to the side. Her eyes widened and she fought back a curse as she tumbled back into the fountain.

At first glance, Nerida might have been willing to think this was some kind of joke. Some sort of.. cosplay? Their skin, hair.. eyes.. they were all dark, as if gobbling up the sunlight. Golden patterns along their bodies and clothing.. But their body shape, it wasn't human. One one hand, she was almost sure she was hallucinating. God, she hoped she was.

Sputtering, she surfaced again, to find them all still there. Her head gave a painful throb and she closed her eyes against the brightness of the sun as she took a deep breath. Slowly her eyes opened again and she frowned slightly.

"Hello?"

Her voice felt rough, even to her. She didn't feel well, she was hallucinating... she needed to get out of the water again.. Or she would risk drowning. Pulling herself from the water again she braced her hands on the side of the fountain, fighting the wave of nausea that hit her. Lifting her head slowly she squinted at them. "Hello? Where am I?"

 

[demy]

The smallest childern had began chittering back and forth.

Her stumbling seeming to catch their curiosity even further, while the eldest continued to stare. Their conversation stopped abruptly when they spoke. Watching her struggle to emerge from the large pool of water. The small female took a hesitate step forward only to be stopped and pulled back. The eldest glanced back into the density of the wild garden.

Black fingers were drawn up and a moment later a shrill whistle echoed in the tiered space. The childern vanished, the eldest dragging the smaller childern back into the foliage where they quickly vanished without a trace.

Minutes would crawl past..

If time worked the same way in this strange place. Than without a rustle, a new being emerged. It echoed the smaller ones. A night-like appearance with golden markings. His clothes were small detailed, composed, functional and robe-like. The most imposing aspect was his size.

The human girl faced with a alien like male that towered at 7 feet easily if not a little more. He was lean but sturdy, with strict features but a gentle disposition. His eyes were black and bottomless.

He watched her much like the other one had-

Head tilting he stepped closer, slowly as if approaching a wounded animal.

 

[Bunny]

The sound coming from the stranger children Made her wonder if she had hit her head harder than she first thought. A frown on her lips as she struggled to pull herself from the water again.

She noticed one of the children, if that was what they were, was heading towards her, as if to offer help, before she stopped. Pulling herself free at last from the water, Nerida closed her eyes for a moment, the world giving another vicious spin. closing her eyes tightly Nerida waited for the spinning to subside.

The whistle however made her jump, her eyes flying open. The noise had seemed sudden and Nerida could feel her heart racing as she watched the strange children leave.

Staring after them, she frowned some, a hand rising to her head, fingers splaying across her forehead. She needed help, both medical and otherwise.

Nerida knew for a fact she was hurt and she also had no idea where she was. Oddly enough, she hadn't jumped to illogical conclusions just yet. Odd, perhaps, but some small part of her hoped beyond hope this was just some freakish cosplay.

Lifting her eyes once more to where the children had vanished through, Nerida was debating if she should follow them when like a ebony ghast, a man moved into the clearing. He was silent, like everything else seemed to be. He was the first chip in her sanity that this.. wasn't quite what she hoped it was. Nerida felt like Alice down the rabbit hole.

It was his eyes, more than his height that shattered that pipe dream she'd been clinging to so desperately.

Watching him with the same careful gaze, her own more warry than anything else as she slowly approached her. Nerida shifted slightly, though she didn't take a second tumble into the water behind her as her head tipped back, keeping his face in view best she could as he slowly approached.

 

[demy]

This was not the first time something strange had emerged from the pool.

It was the reason the grand nurseries childern were not allowed to wonder the garden alone. It had been years since the last, well before his time but the caretaker had read accounts in the long-kept records. His black eyes observed carefully, lingering a few meters away from what appeared to now to be a strange child. They were similar but different and yet he could see an intelligence in their mult-color eyes. She also appeared to be hurt. This sparked more an urge for response from the caretaker than anything else.

It was in his nature. With a small head tilt he closed the remaining distance before bending down to carefully examine his unexpected charge. Everything within the nursery was his responsibility.

An unexpected child was still a child.

Dark hands reached out and denying any fuss he gently cradled her head, examining for anything concerning. Giving her a moment to settle under his touch the towering supposed male went ahead and scooped her up. The creature was light and tucked easily into his arms.

He started back through the trees moving up the different levels of the garden towards the distance structures along the rim.

 

[Bunny]

Watching one another in silence, Nerida didn't know what to make of the man.. creature? While his form was unlike anything she had ever seen before, she didn't feel threatened. Though, Nerida might have felt mollified to be seen as a child, had she known what he assumed her to be.

The distance was closed, his footsteps silent and she watched him still, wary. Blinking a few times, Nerida's eyes too sensitive to the light shining above them, she missed the last few steps that brought him to within touching distance.

Much like a child, she did squirm and try to push at his hands when he touched her head, but the movements made her stomach roll as her world spun. It was clear he didn't mean to hurt her. Settling, Nerida watched him with large, owlish eyes. Cuddled to his chest she shifted slightly and while she wanted to protest his "man handling" she found the solid presence comforting and she leaned against him some. She didn't however go as far as to lay her head on his shoulder, though the idea had its appeal.

Letting her lashes fall, the gentle gait of the man as they moved through the trees.

"Where are you taking me?" The question was soft and drained.. her strength ebbing for the moment.

 

[demy]

There had been some fussing but the strange male was a caretaker and used to dealing with childern in all manner of moods. It was his purpose to watch over this place and young ones placed under his care. Some of his curious wards had wanted to come back with him but he had sent them from the garden. There was ever possibility something else could emerge. It was one of the reasons they were not supposed to down the bottom of the garden alone.

This part of the garden was dense and more wild, though as they travelled up it grew more maintained. The upper levels hosting flora and strange delicate insects. The human woman would most likely find them similar to butterflies though these creatures were pale and luminescent.

Ivory stairs travelled up into each higher section.

He had heard her speak-

Though the language did not have much meaning to the male. His eyes dipped down, a series of soothing chirps softly flitting from his mouth. The creatures unease brushed against his mind, some threads of confusion and fear.

They would eventually come to the entrance of the garden, a towering arch. moving from there were long hallways of white stone, arched windows in the stone overlooking the strange place she had found herself. They would love along at a faster pace, entering another doorway, a narrow passage of steps taking them down to what was their final destination.

The structure of the room was a sloped, smooth stone.

A stone pool was filled with clear water and a imprint in the stone was filled with soft padding. This is where the male settled his newest ward.

 

[Bunny]

He didn't answer her, at least in any language she knew of. Though his face dipped towards her and he did speak. She supposed it was meant to be words of comfort. It didn't quite have the effect he'd hope. The odd, chirping sounds made softly and almost in a soothing tone made her heart race. Less and less Nerida felt like this all could be explained away easily. If it was some sort of LARP, it was by far the most elaborate and dedicated one she'd ever heard of.

Something told her it wasn't a LARP though.

Firstly, they wouldn't kidnap random injured women. Secondly, this was way more advanced than she believed any LARPS were.

She didn't squirm further. Already exhausted and hurting, there was little point.

He moved quicker, as they entered a hallway and then through a door and down. The motion was almost soothing and it made her want to close her eyes and sleep. Sleep sounded so good. Just close her eyes for a moment.

That self preservation that had been present when she'd first surfaced fading as sleep tugged at her.

Gently laid in a padded imprint in the stone she let her lashes drift close. Her words were soft, mumbled even.

"This place is pretty...