Depths Of Love (Saber x Nerida)

[Velvet-Inumimi]

The Tawudian Sea

Smack dab in-between the continents of Zentina and Exandry.

Known for its dense oceanic crops and kelp forest that often in sections reached all the way up to the surface even with their roots at the bottom of the sea.

The settlement of Lua Neamh

​

was nestled right in-between two such droves of seaweed jungles.

Structures made of coral and thick clay into living homes and markets for the aquatic-folk whom dwelled there.
Rooms lit up by the bioluminescent algae and fish bred and well kept for their light. A hamlet well suited for folk whom excelled in plant-husbandry and tending to marine-livestock.

However, the same things that created the abundant good-fortune for the merpeople who lived there, were also the source of it's most current troubles.

On either side, just beyond the north forest, was the divisions of Delphins and The Kani, their tensions growing tighter and tighter, Any day, one of those threads could snap and the people of Lua Neamh would be caught smack in the crosshairs.
Making an alliance with either faction before such a clash spelled doom no matter who they picked for it would be putting a target on their backs in regards to the other sect that was not aligned with.

The grand council had met, and, though no one is sure exactly what was said to bring forth such an idea, but, after a meeting that lasted 5 days with the counsellors barely stopping even to eat, they exited the grand-hall with a decision...to align themselves with a familiar, yet still outside, source.

Those brutes of obsidian and alabaster.

Most could still remember the eerie hush that fell upon the citizens, speechless for nearly hours as every resident seemed to absorb this decision, not even protesting due to the shock.

Somehow, someway, when word was sent to begin the talks of union, the roaming pod was actually receptive.

Naturally, the best way to strike a bond was through creating a mated-pair between the species, but how could they ask any to offer their hand to a stranger? Especially with such contention?...But, Elder Zuny recalled one little mermaid who actually had an interaction with that of the orca-descended people, before being torn away, for her alleged safety, of course.

And so now, that very guppy, now fully gown, was awaiting her own fate.

Cordelia Lunaris floated patiently, with her moonlight hands crossed in front of her scaly blue pelvis, her heart thudding loud enough she was surprised her lavender and azure seashell top was not heard beating like a drum. Her seaglass gaze was glued to the sand below as a small collective of council-members and guards waited just to the side of her, to meet the arrival of their guests.
To see the couple off before they began their courting...which was more or less a polite formality at this point, what with the wedding already being scheduled for after only 3 moon-downs from this day.

She was so nervous.

She kept pulling one of her hands up briefly and quickly to comb through her long ruby hair, even though none of the strands had wafted out of place, fussing with it unnecessarily.
Her webbed side fins attached to her wide hips kept flicking about, little flaps back and forth, as though her spotted tail was getting ready to launch her into the tides at any moment in order to flee.
She could barely remember what her old friend looked like, only the brief bubble of fun they had together, but that was well over a decade now...and within that decade, stories of blood in the water had plenty of time to filter into Cordelia's ears and take root in her heart, perhaps not as much root as some of the other more...passionately adverse mermaids had, but still, she couldn't just pretend there was no fear collected beneath her well-developed chest about what it would be like to mate with such a mer, paranoia of roughness and cold-hearted words...perhaps even pain being expected.

But Cordelia didn't have the option to decline...well, perhaps if she were heartless and cared not for the corrosion of her own kin, for if this covenant fell...so too would they.

The couch horn resonated, the guard at the very edge of the welcoming troupe blowing the instrument. The shapely mermaid's freckled shoulders flinched and her eyes widened even though they still bore a hole into the ground before her.

They were here...

This was it.

Cordelia swallowed harshly, gripping her hands so tight against her lower stomach that the creamy flesh was starting to redden.

Be still, be calm.

She could hear her mothers voice in her head.

'Do not let the storm above corrupt the tide below, you must control the undertow of your spirit.'

She exhaled slowly, a couple bubbles 'plip plip'ing out of her pale pink lips, and as she could see the shadows of new-arrivals in her peripheral vision, she -felt- the presence right in front of her and she bowed her head with her arms held out, "Welcome to Lua Neamh, may Atargatis favor all tides that you tread."

With that greeting out of the way, her cheeks hued with roses, she lifted her maroon head and her malachite eyes opened to take in the sight of her companion of the past, and her partner of the future.

 

[Saber]

Lua Neamh was a beautiful settlement like no other in any of the twelves seas. It's resources were plentiful and any creature of the sea would be elated to have an alliance with their people. Of course, anything that thrived was coveted by others and that led multiple threats. Most creatures of the see had their own territories that they coveted, but the Maki people were nomads. They would travel the seas to follow their prey, being primarily hunters, and different clans claimed different migratory paths. The Muito clan were the ones that would settle around Lua Neamh yearly for a few months before moving on with the season.

This year's migration brought about something unexpected. An ambassador from Lua Neamh approached the Muito clan matriarch with a proposal of a union between their people. Two different factions were on the brink of battle, the Delphins and Kani were much more aggressive then the docile merfolk of Lua Neamh, leaving them unprotected. The matriarch of the pod was open to the discussions, the resources that Lua Neamh could offer would benefit her people in more ways than one and in return, the pod would offer it's protection. The Maki were proficient hunters and lived their lives selling the weapons that were made from the bones of their prey, as well as any discarded materials from the land dwellers.

Kaia was the one chosen for this political union, since she had had amicable relations with a mermaid from Lua Neamh in her youth. Apparently that qualified her to be betrothed to solidify the merging of their people. It wasn't what she'd wanted for her life, but she would do what was needed to better the lives of her clan. It had been several years since the Maki had seen her short lived friend, and things had changed since then. Kaia had learned to be a proficient hunter and fighter, she even looked different. She had grown to the normal size of a young adult Maki, with that, came a defined, thick musculature, as well as a few scars from the battles she had fought to prove herself.

As she followed their own ambassador, she tried to remember what the little mermaid had looked like or sounded like. They glided effortlessly through the warm waters, light from the surface glittering through the water and dancing off of the tall seaweed. Her inky black hair fluttering gently through the water as they swam through the forest as her deep cerulean eyes kept forward in a bit anticipation, and a touch of anxiety. She wondered if her old friend would remember her at all, or if they'd have to start over completely.

When they broke through the forest, the settlement came into view and Kaia's blue eyes widened a bit in awe. She'd never actually swam through the impressive hamlet and only heard the tales of what it was like. Being a migratory people, the Maki never settled too close to other established communities. As they neared, a horn sounded to announce their arrival and Kaia righted her posture with a great flourish of her fluke to slow her momentum.

Merfolk were smaller in stature compared to the Maki, the young mermaid that had greeted her was to be her partner and the flash of blue-green eyes triggered a long forgotten memory of their first meeting when they were young in the tangles of seaweed. The sun was dancing on the mermaid's auburn waves that were floating on the gentle current and Kaia cleared her throat gently. She was cute, there was no denying that, but that was neither here nor there. What mattered was if they could get along and help their unified people prosper.

"Thank you for the kind greeting." Kaia bowed her head before she swam closer to the mermaid. "I don't know if you remember me, but my name is Kaia. I look forward to getting to know you again and our future together. I'm eager to see Lua Neamh, if you wouldn't mind giving me a tour."

 

[Velvet-Inumimi]

The first thing to greet Cordelia's comprehension was the feeling of a shadow casting down on her. It was like a stalk from the kelp forest itself, and her maroon head tilted back and upwards to look fully into the face of her former playmate.

For a second, there was the voices of her past, of her people before they suddenly changed their minds in the name of self preservation.
Coalescing in a cacophony of whispers that were crowding in her skull.
'The teeth of a devourer.'
'No wonder their ancestors are called Killer whales',
and even a few whispers as she passed by just the evening before,
'Wonder what the wedding night will look like...a blood bath?'

As her heart stopped, as if frozen in time, she focused on those marine eyes, and in a blink, she saw Kaia of the past.

That endearing expression on her face...something she had found so very -welcoming- when they first met, before all of that tore them apart, and their difference seemed so much less, especially when they were small.

As Cordelia was thrown into the past, it was as though her child-self briefly embodied the buxom mermaid, and her head tilted slightly to the left, as it always did when she smiled. Her pale pink lips quirking at the right corner, just like before whenever she made an observation from a place of affection.
And so, forgetting herself for a moment, or at least forgetting the expectations of who she was supposed to be, Cordelia's voice road the water like a leaf on a calm lake, admiration and familiarity sprinkled on her vocal cords, "Gods...Look how big you've gotten." She couldn't deny, the musculature and visible signs of strength Kaia had inherited over the years were very...ahem, pleasant to look at.

The elder closest to her, Elder Quin, with his tail a simple shade of gray-blue, hunched forward and having shriveled a bit due to age, suddenly straightened his frail figure, his brown eyes wide as a mix of shock and anxious disapproval swam in his irises. The tip of his tail quickly reached out to lightly 'smack!' the end of Cordelia's cyan and lavender fluke, the sting causing her body to flinch. The old merman was rather sprightly in the presence of impropriety.

Cordelia's hips jolted forward and her hands recoiled up to her shoulders in an effort to keep balance as the bite of the whack took a jab at her equilibrium.

That was all it took for her to figuratively smack herself up the head for saying something so impulsive to a guest, especially during a formal event where the way they were supposed to speak to each other was nearly written on a script for them to memorize.

Her hands slapped back down to her scaly pelvis and she bowed her head again. Her cheeks Heated up like bubbles from a sea-volcano. Her words trailed from her lips a bit more expediently, as though to make up for the lost time due to her 'changing the dialogue', "I– Of course I remember you. It would be my honor to show you around and make sure my intended feels at home, please, follow me if you would?"
She turned to her elders and the small guard, Quin still perturbed with arms crossed and his brows knitted at the center to the point they were almost touching his nose.
Cordelia was sure to look at the group as a whole, focusing on a point in the crowd where Quin would only be in her peripheral vision, before giving a silent bow and the little fins on her hips waved slowly back and forth before extending up and down, a formal goodbye that the crowd of Lua neamh returned.

Cordelia then swiftly twirled to face away from them, not being able to do so fast enough in her opinion, and waved her hand at Kaia, tilting her head to the right towards the structure of her settlement, "This way."

Luckily they were not followed, as this was a show of faith, allowing privacy and 'courting' as a sign of trust between both pods, letting the future pair have this time completely unhindered.

Cordelia waited until the two were out of earshot, her hands in fists against her hips while she bit her bottom lip before glancing over her shoulder and then to Kaia, her expression easing up once out of the scrutinizing eye of the council, her head tilting again as one hand reached to scratch at the back of her head, "Sorry about that...I dunno why I...uh...I guess I just saw you, and it's been so long, and yet at the same time, for a moment, it also felt like no time had passed at all," That warmth in her cheeks grew brighter, and the complexion of her cheeks went from coral to strawberry, "Ah, that's sort of weird so say too though, heh, again, sorry, I'm rambling, umm, so...how have you been?" Her ruby brows furrowed, the small-talk nature of that query at such a crucial time a regretful choice, yet she waited and didn't try to correct it.

Her mouth really needed a moment to figuratively pull her fluke out of it at this point.

 

[Saber]

"Gods...Look how big you've gotten."

Kaia stifled a laugh as she brought her hand up to cover her mouth and she heard her ambassador clear his throat loudly, in an attempt to hide his own laughter. When they had met all those years ago, they were roughly the same size, with the Maki being a few inches taller. Still, her build would've been a bit leaner and less intimidating than she was now. So the comment was very amusing. Kaia wasn't a fan of all the rules and traditions that came along with arranged unions, so to see the outburst from her future partner was a pleasant peek into her personality. She wasn't blind to the elder next to Codelia that had reprimanded the mermaid, causing her to straighten up and return to her proper posture.

When the mermaid beckoned for her to follow, Kaia merely nodded and waved at the Maki ambassador before following the shorter woman. It was nice to be out of sight of the others that had been watching in curiosity. The Maki never thought she'd be a topic of interest in her life, but the union between their people was drawing quite a bit of excitement, from what she could tell. Or what she hoped was excitement. When Cordelia began to ramble, Kaia smirked before folding her arms over her chest and waiting for her chance to speak.

"I've been well, thank you." Kaia said gently as she moved a little closer to Cordelia, the blush on the mermaid's cheeks causing the Maki to chuckle softly. Maki people had a reputation in the seas and it wasn't exactly...pleasant. They were proficient hunters and some clans could be particularly ruthless. The Muito had run into a few other clans that had been on the more aggressive side of the spectrum, their goal being to form one large clan of Maki that couldn't be challenged. Unfortunately, those were the Maki that got the most attention. Smaller clans, like Kaia's often were looked over since they were solitary and tried not to make too many waves when it wasn't necessary. While they were a powerful people, they never did anything without just cause. "I know we haven't seen one another in several years, but this shouldn't be a stressful occasion and there's no need to be nervous around me."

Kaia looked around the settlement and found she was curious of what the merfolk actually did. She knew that agriculture was a large part of Lua Neamh's prosperity, but there had to be more. Not that Kaia new much about farming anyway, but she was interested to see how the people lived their lives. Not to mention she wanted to get to know Cordelia more than what she barely knew of her already. How the Maki lived was much different since they were a migratory people and relied on following their prey. She wondered what most people in Lua Neamh did since they stayed within the settlement for most of their lives, she assumed.

"So what have you been up to all these years?" Her azure eyes stayed locked on Cordelia as she now had the chance to give the mermaid a proper once over. To get a better look, Kaia began to slowly circle Cordelia, taking in her curvaceous figure and brightly colored scales. "I don't recall your tail being this bright when we were kids."

 

[Velvet-Inumimi]

'There's no need to be nervous around me.'

It was difficult to not fall back into the old routine, as if Cordelia was being routinely possessed by the spirit of her own childhood.
Her face began to relax, the tension in her cheeks dissipating, though the pink hue remained as Kaia swam a bit closer during their talk, only a couple bubbles worth of biased memories of what the maki were 'capable of' at the rear-end of her skull.
With the reassurance, and it just feeling so familiar despite so long agon, what mostly looked back to the guest from the Lua Neamh's malachite eyes was familiarity, and a lack of fear of one so grandly sized being close.

For the moment she simply nodded, an assurance she would try to calm her nerves with a lily hand brushing through her ruby locks to make sure none wafted in front of her face, continuing to work on speaking with commonality as opposed to a sort of -rushing- manner.

The change from swimming beside to the orbiting of the brawny figure had Cordelia's gaze briefly glancing off to the side, once more making her nervous…but in a 'warm' way.

"Heh, no, my tail was all purple back then, the blue grew in almost 6 years ago I think? My mother was very pleased, she was beginning to think I inherited nothing from her side of the family." She giggled softly, placing her fingers in front of her lips before starting to playfully turn herself too.

Gradually, purposefully, the circling of the sonsy mermaid by the amazonian maki turned into a timed swimming twirl of two merfolk, almost a dance.

Mirroring Kaia's movements with a friendly flair.

"As for what I have been up to. Nothing too special, just tending the Mantu sanctuary once a week, shell collecting for the quarry, and of course raising my own Mantu," Cordelia's hands clapped before her expansive chest with a wide smile, "OH! You never got to meet Zippy! I got him a year after you left!" She broke their shared swirling, though her head reeled for a moment from the dizziness, as she was not inherently predatory-descended and so therefore she was not used to such circling, but with a left and right shake of her head to knock the equilibrium back into place, she chuckled and waved for Kaia to follow, "This way, this way!"

Excitedly she zoomed forward, and upwards.

Above the city was a large structure, whether it was a inactive volcano or just a sea-wall, was unsure, but now it was littered with all sorts of vegetation and caves, a few merfolk lounging about or at work on some sort of errand, but mostly, there seemed to be a specific type of animal hovering near or within the caves.

Cordelia picked a certain cave, the ease in which she entered that of extreme familiarity, "Ziiiiippy!"

"Mmmurp?"

The noise came from inside.

From the shadows emerged a mammalian sort of creature, skin a dark gray with two fins at its shoulders and then one singular tail, but also a large oval shell at its back. The most similar description would be something mixed between a manatee and a turtle. Its big black eyes shined with happiness as it made its slow swim over to Cordelia who hugged its huge head, the beast about the size of Kaia herself, if not just a little shorter. Her cheek snuggled against the top of its head while looking at Kaia, "This is my Mantu. Zippy, this is Kaia. Kaia, Zippy."

"Moourrr." The animal let out its low bassy trill as though to say hello.

 

[Saber]

Zippy?

Kaia thought to herself as she laughed softly at how excited Cordelia got at the mention of Zippy. She had heard of Mantu before, but she'd never seen any in real life. It was nice to have a change of pace to her migratory life and be able to take her time exploring, taking in the sites of Lua Neamh as the glided through the water. Even though the Maki loved her life, the thought of settling down for a while with her new companion was exciting to her. So she kept pace with the mermaid as they flew through the water and over the city scape. Kaia was marveling at the sights as they continued to a large structure that had caves dotted along its surface.

Cordelia floated into a particular cave and they finally slowed, Kaia staying behind the shorter woman a bit as she called out to Zippy in a sing song rhythm. Blue eyes watched in anticipation as a Mantu revealed itself with a deep bellow. The creature was clearly familiar with Cordelia as it slowly swam forward and let the mermaid snuggle its head. Kaia wasn't aware that Mantus were so large as the beast made Cordelia appear even smaller. She moved forward to gently placed a hand on the creature's massive head and gently rubbed its head.

"Hello, Zippy." She spoke calmly as she scratched Zippy under its chin and she thought she heard it purr. "It's nice to meet you." Cerulean eyes moved to Cordelia as Kaia smiled. "You are very cute."

Admittedly she was curious of the large beasts. Being able to travel the twelve seas always introduced Kaia to new oceanic creatures, though she hardly ever got the time to study them fully. Mantu had always been known to be curious and docile mammals, and the Maki woman was glad to have been given the opportunity to meet one face to face. While she was gently stroking the creature's head, she glanced at Cordelia and analyzed her a bit further. The way the mermaid's eyes lit up and how her nose crinkled when she smiled, these were small things that Kaia needed to pay attention to.

Having the mind of a hunter tended to help when it came to paying attention to things that most others would ignore. The pitch of someone's voice, or their body language when they were interacting with someone they liked. It was subtle changes, but still important. So Kaia continued to watch as Cordelia continued to give Zippy attention.

"Is there anything you'd like to discuss before our wedding?" Kaia asked as she rested her arm over Zippy's head. "I know this is a marriage of politics, per se, but I'd like to make sure we're both on the same page since we'll be spending the rest of our lives together. Since we're alone, I thought we could be more candid with one another."

 

[Velvet-Inumimi]

Zippy's half terrapin and half sea-cow face happily churred beneath the pet as Cordelia tilted to the side, to allow herself to lay closer to the shell of the creature, her hands idly touching along the foliage that was growing off it's body, beaming happily as the tow introduced themselves to each other.

Jade irises twinked when Kaia looked up to Cordelia, and, even though she was rather sure she had been calling -Zippy-, 'very cute', she couldn't help in this moment, that it felt sort of like Kaia was…Kaia was calling -her- cute.
Her simper crinkled bashfully as she tried to shoo away the girlish thought, though, it's not like that was a -bad- sign that it was a…nice musing.

"Y-You hear that Zippy? Say, thank you."

Zippy 'mooooaur!'ed again with apparent appreciation to which the ruby haired mermaid hugged the Mantu around the edge of its thick neck, trying to help snuff out the heat of her blush on his cool skin, but that seemed all for naught when Kaia, her -fiance-, touched on what Cordelia had somehow been avoiding even though they were basically in the middle of it.

"Anything I'd like to discuss?" She echoed, and her mind found a question right away.

Were they…were they going to mate on their wedding night????

They didn't need to reproduce for this union, but still, it was often expected, but then again, who would know if they had or not? Truly?

She opened her mouth, but as malachite's looked to cerculeans, her voice caught in her throat and she glanced away, bailing on the idea.

She swallowed down the lump in her throat before resting her arms on the opposite side of Zippy's head, the friendly creature perfectly happy to be a perch for them, "Umm, -well-, since this was sort of, arranged for us, I suppose it would be wise if we…if we desire to make it -only- a political union, or if…if we'd like to…-try- and see if we'd want to be an actual…pair?" Her gaze drifted off to the side, that strawberry hue spreading down to her neck, "I mean, I…personally it would be nice if the one I spent my life with, if we could have, if there's potential for…" Her lower lip jutted out into a pout as she had trouble getting out the words.

She let her head duck, hiding behind her flowing crimson hair before daring to look back up, with her face from the nose down hidden behind her crossed forearms, "Do you…want to date?"
Her nose crinkled as she verbally pointed out the oddity, "I mean, it's probably weird to go start dating while already being married, but, if we, -tried- we could, well if it doesn't feel right then we could just go to the whole, political partnership, ummm, thing."

 

[Saber]

Kaia grinned when she saw the blush bloom on Cordelia's cheeks. She could feel the anxiety that was flowing from the mermaid and Kaia wanted to do something to make her relax. She could tell that Cordelia wanted to ask her something that was weighing on her mind and even though she wanted to ask her out right, she stayed silent as her future wife began to speak.

"Do you…want to date?"

Azurite eyes widened a bit before Kaia blinked and cleared her throat. It was a little unorthodox since they were getting married in just a few days, but it was an endearing gesture. Of course Kaia would love to have some sort of relationship with Cordelia, if not romantic, at least friendly. Although she couldn't deny that she found the mermaid physically attractive, she was sure that when they got to know each other more, a romantic relationship could blossom.

"I think I would like that." Kaia answered with a smile and she leaned closer to Cordelia. She had to admit, being able to fluster the mermaid with only a glance and kind words was adorable. She hadn't even attempted to charm her future wife in any way other than being polite. "I definitely won't mind spending more time with you once we're married. So far I don't think there is anything that would keep us from having a successful romantic relationship in the future." She chuckled softly before reaching out and gently tucking red locks behind the mermaid's ear. "And you don't need to hide yourself from me when you get nervous. Though it is very endearing."

Kaia moved to mirror Cordelia's pose and tilted her head with a smile. Even though she was renowned in her clan for being a proficient hunter, she was always gentle when she interacted with other people. She didn't like the reputation that some of the other clans had that seemed to just carry over as a trait of her people. While Kaia could be ruthless and intimidating, that wasn't how she was naturally, and she wanted Cordelia to know that. Despite her appearance, she could be tame as well.

"While it was pleasure to meet Zippy," Kaia straightened up and gave the Mantu a gentle pat. "Would you mind taking me to where you live? Or, I suppose where we're going to live, right?"

The Maki was very interested see where Cordelia lived and what her personal space looked like. She'd never really been inside too many homes of other species since her people were migratory and she was curious to see. Perhaps if Cordelia could be comfortable in her own home, she would have an easier time opening up to Kaia about any apprehensions she had for their wedding. Other than the plethora of people that Kaia didn't know personally being in attendance to the celebration, she didn't have any qualms about getting married. If she'd had it her way, they would've gone somewhere more private for a smaller ceremony, but this union was something of a public performance, in a way.

Kaia offered her hand to Cordelia after a moment with a calm smile. "Perhaps we can get some of the nervousness out of our systems if we just do what makes us nervous." She wasn't sure how the mermaid was going to react, but she assumed it would involve blushing, but it was the easiest and most innocent gesture to hold one's hand. If Cordelia could get used to that, it might make their wedding night a bit less intimidating.

 

[Velvet-Inumimi]

Cordelia's simper widened at the corners when Kaia expressed approval at the idea, her eyeline flicking upwards with delight as she watched her future-wife lean in over Zippy.
A little skip in her pulse as she managed to maintain eye contact for awhile.
They were approaching the subject so logically, it likely should have ruined some of the romance, but, the multicolored tailed mer was giddy at the idea of getting to date her spouse.

Then, a very small touch, fingers pushing crimson behind a an ear, a little spark along her jawline.

Her lips sealed shut and her head ducked down when she was bid to not hide, almost reflexively hiding her face behind her fringe again, but quickly realizing that was quite literally what Kaia said she didn't have to do, so Cordelia's hands quickly combed the tresses backwards with a kind mutter of, "I'll try, but, no promises, heh."

The boxum lea-neahm nodded during the subject change, "Oh! Yes, of course, I'll take you right there."

She took a hold of Zippy's big head, gave him a smooch on the brow, as to tell him farewell, and then looked to see the brawny Maki holding out her palm welcomingly.

'–just do what makes us nervous.'

Something…less than chaste flashed behind those verdant eyes, the wedding night having been the first thing to prick her nerves after all.
Cordelia did in fact blush, it started from her chin and trailed up to her brow like a boiling kettle.
Though she dare not even try to insinuate that Kaia was referring to…

"R-Right!" Cordelia clamped her fingers around Kaia's and quickly swam forward, pulling the larger aquatic folk with her in a bit of urgency to run from her own sensual thoughts.
Soon, there made it too one of the many upside-down bowls of coral and clay, a little window with kelp curtains and an open door, "Here, home sweet home."
Cordelia realized she hadn't let go of Kaia's hand for a moment, her ivory fingers still about her orca complexion digits, even having laced their fingers together at some point during the path.
She thought about letting go…but she was being so…bashful already.

She cleared her throat with her other hand and pulled Kaia through the thresh-hold.

It was a cosy space.

A sizeable anemone whose tentacles had lost it's sting from the domestication, now fed by the mermaids in exchange for being a comfortable massaging couch.
There were divots all in the walls, big enough for a person to squeeze themselves into and lounge, with sea-sponges growing from the stonework.

And one shelf, which held many seashells, but along the seam of the shells was a little illumination, no doubt a story-shell. A creation of magic that allowed one to watch a story unfold with shifting images as soon as opening.

Another room, likely the bedroom, laid just to the left, though, Cordelia did not lead the way there, instead stopping beside the giant-anemone and debating on sitting down, "So…what do you think? It's a bit small, but, my people really only stay in their homes to sleep or lounge during gatherings."

 

[Saber]

Kaia smiled when Cordelia grabbed her hand and she allowed the mermaid to lead her through the water. She was enamored with the construction of Lua Neamh and let her eyes wander as she was led through the settlement until they reached Cordelia's home. It was quaint and Kaia almost had to duck to her head from bumping against the ceiling. Not that that would be an issue in the long run, since her fiancé had mentioned they'd hardly be there other than at night.

The Maki let her free hand gently brush along the anemone, only feeling a gentle hum in her fingers as it investigated her. Codelia had a lot of décor around the interior that made it seem homier somehow, something that Kaia wasn't used to since she only had a lance and some body armor that were permanent fixtures in her life. Other than that, there wasn't much practicality to keeping souvenirs or keepsakes when you had to carry everything you owned with you on the migration.

"It's a lovely home." Kaia answered when she finished examining the space. "I've never been in a house before. They're very interesting." In all honesty, Kaia was a bit confused as to why houses even existed, but she was sure there was an actual purpose for people that weren't nomadic. She was very interested to learn about the mermaids culture once they were married, or once they were comfortable enough to where Cordelia wouldn't grow tired of her constant questions. The Maki moved to examine the story shells and picked one up gently from the collection. She'd heard of story shells before, but she didn't know exactly what they were. Blue eyes glanced down at Cordelia as she held the shell up. "So what do these do?"

She didn't want to admit how curious she was to most of the things she saw around Cordelia's house. The urge to explore the baubles and trinkets that were scattered around was hard to push down, but she tried her best not to be over zealous. Things needed to move at Cordelia's pace to keep her comfortable. The last thing that Kaia wanted was to push too hard and make things awkward for the both of them. Even though Kaia didn't have too many issues with marrying Cordelia, she could tell that the mermaid was nervous to be around her. Whether that was because they barely knew each other or because Kaia's people were known to be violent, she wasn't sure.

"Can you show me how it works?" Kaia moved to carefully sit on the over sized anemone and was surprised at how comfortable it was. Most of the time she would just sit on any semi-level pieces of coral or a large rock bed when she wanted to take a rest. With a heavy sigh, she sat back and stretched her arms out along the anemone and enjoyed the comfort for once in her life.

 

[Velvet-Inumimi]

Cordelia's head perked up curiously when Kaia spoke of never visiting a home before...she knew that she was from a migratory folk...but did they really travel so often that they didn't have time to explore the dwellings of others?

...Damn. She suddenly wished she had made efforts to spruce up the place even further. Personally, she couldn't help but think that she had under-sold her fiancé's first time in an abode, and wished she had made it more grand.
However, that concern waned while the obsidian and ice designed merfolk made her way over to the shelf. Inspecting her surroundings with enough interest that perhaps her lack of experience with grander living spaces inherently gave her own a sort of grandiose feel to begin with.

'So what do these do?'

Another perk of her ruby head had Cordelia smiling, delicately taking the item from Kaia's hands, "That's a story shell! It, well, the name is pretty self explanatory, it shows you stories, sometimes fiction, and sometimes it's to share and document news from pod to pod."

'Can you show me how it works?'

Cordelia beamed as she watched Kaia swim over to the living-sofa, the tendrils forming to cup beneath her tail, curiously touching their occupant as though to adjust and make all the more pleasant a seating experience for the creature, "Of course!" She swam over, sitting beside the maki, though her hip lightly bumped into Kaia's, and she though of scooting an inch away, considering the cherry hue that bloomed over her cheeks, but she remembered 'Do what makes us nervous' and so she kept herself right there beside her betrothed.

Cordelia inhaled through her nose, held the shell in her palm like a compact mirror, and then lifted it open.

From the pearl in the middle of the clam, a light began to illuminate, "This is my favorite story," Like a moon beam the glow turned upwards, creating a sort of flat triangle of brightness about a foot tall and wide. In the light itself, There was the image of an alien. A being with two fins that traversed the world outside the water, 'walking' along. His hair with an undercut and his clothes shabby but his smile youthful and determined while holding a peculiar golden sphere with strange etchings in his hand, "It's called 'Treasura', it's about a fantasy creature called a 'human' and his search for riches. My mother used to have to take the shell away from me at night because I would just start the thing over at the beginning again and again after it was done."
She sighed wistfully as the images began to move, though they were silent as words appeared just at the very top of the illusion, out of the way of the story taking place. Silently narrating what was taking place as it happened, the dialogue written in different font so as to better differentiate between description and speech.

 

[Saber]

The way Cordelia lit up caused a bright smile to form on Kaia's face as the mermaid moved to sit next to her. They were close enough that their hips were brushing and the taller woman cleared her throat softly as she felt her own cheeks warm a little. It was interesting, the story shell and how it worked. The triangle of light began to flash with moving pictures that Kaia had never experienced before. Her eyes were flitting back and forth, trying to keep up with the motion as well as read the words that were popping up.

The Maki had heard the legends of humans several times. When the world was more primordial and had more land masses, apparently humans were rumored to rule the world and crossed bodies of water with hollow contraptions that floated on the surface of the seas. Of course this was all fantasy, stories you'd tell the children to keep them from breaching the surface too often in case a human was waiting with a weapon called a harpoon, but they were just urban legends. Most of the land that sat above the surface now could barely supply much life other than amphibious creatures.

As the shell continued to play, Kaia glanced down to see Cordelia engrossed in the story. She cleared her throat gently before lifting her arm and cautiously draping it over the mermaid's shoulders. Even though Kaia considered herself to be confident, she had very little experience in wooing any would be partners. So even though on the outside she seemed calm and stoic, her heart was beating so loudly inside her chest that she thought Cordelia might hear it. Still, she was a warrior, so she tried to keep her breathing even as she felt the warmth under arm that the mermaid was radiating.

The screen light dimmed after almost an hour of them sitting comfortably on the anemone. It had been an captivating story and Kaia found herself intrigued to watch more of the shells, but there would be time for that later. "That was very interesting. I've never seen anything like this before." She said finally, noticing that while the story had gone on, she was leaning a bit more towards her future wife. Kaia leaned back just enough so she could look down at Cordelia with a small smile. "So can you tell me about your marriage rituals? I'm sure they differ a lot from Maki. I would like to know what to expect on our wedding day and how I'm expected to act, so to speak."

 

[Velvet-Inumimi]

Cordelia's breath faintly hitched as they watched, so very aware of the feeling of Kaia's arm being draped around her. Her pulse rose higher than the waves during a storm in a matter of seconds, though she did her best to keep herself still and keeping watching the imagery that played out among the shell just before her.

Though she couldn't help but not be quite as attentive to her favorite tale with her curvy side against that warrior form.

The long scarlet haired mermaid had intended, originally, to just show her childhood friend and current fiance a few scenes, but as they sat beside one another, feeling so domestic together, she found herself letting the scenes play out before she knew it they had reached the end of the story and Cordelia closed the scallop gingerly.
Feeling a little woozy at the fact that the two of them had sort of drifted into a full cuddle there on the anemone.

Though she had managed to stay pretty still, even leaning into the frame of her more burly bride, as she glanced up to Kaia's face, her own was painted like red coral. Her smile was almost more like a squiggle line what with all the emotions trapped up within. She hoped her own blush wouldn't burn her black-and-white intended, "O-Oh yes, of course I can tell you about that. Umm, well, first we will be going to Shell Mates Cove, it's a little cave nearby, and the two of us are going to go in along, but it's filled with glowing algae so it's dim but not dark, and we will both be expected to pick out a conch shell that we feel represents our mate, just, what we see when looking at them that reminds us most of our mate, and then we will each take our discovered shell and go to the council member assigned to wed us, and we will recite a promise, doesn't have to be long, there is no official 'right' thing to promise, just, something we feel inside that we can make an oath to each other moving forward, something genuine, and then the shells will shatter into dust on their own and create a mark upon each of our wrists, to signify us as wed."

 

[Saber]

Kaia listened as her fiance explained the process of their union. It was a bit different than what her people considered tradition, but still seemed easy nonetheless. Though the thought of conveying a promise verbally to someone she barely knew gave her the mildest streak of anxiety. The Maki wedding was far more simple, a few words of their impending promises to one another and then a simple exchange of jewelry with a blessing from the elders. This ceremony seemed far more symbolic and Kaia hoped that there was no way for her to mess it up. She took a deep breath before clearing her throat and glancing down at Cordelia.

Even though she wished to spend more time with her future bride, this meeting was only intended to be temporary and only during the daylight hours. Apparently both sides were worried about what an extended amount of time between the two women could result in. "Thank you for explaining it to me." She offered a warm smile to Cordelia and tilted her head a bit as she examined the mermaid's features. While the curvy woman looked soft and gentle, she hoped that they could bond more so Kaia could unravel of her personality. Not the timid, nervous, blushing bride that had just met her mate after being separated for several years.

That's what she hoped, at least. While she knew the reputation the Maki had in the seas was mostly true, Kaia was optimistic that it wouldn't cause a rift to form between them. Not wanting to be too forward or physical, the brawny woman moved off of the anemone and spun with a gentle flip of her fluke to face Cordelia.

"Would you like to swim back to the meeting place with me?" She asked calmly as she offered a hand to Cordelia. "I would like to introduce you to my mother, if you're up for it, and admittedly, I'm not sure how to get back to them from here."

A white lie wasn't the best way to get what you wanted, but was there really any harm in wanting to hold your betrothed's hand? Not to mention that it wasn't a complete lie. With all there was to see in Nua Leamh, she had been too distracted (by Cordelia as well) to pay attention to the direction of her clan. Something that Cordelia could so easily help her with.