You catch your betrothed in a moment of song to Adonai. James finds out that he isn’t the only one with a good voice, either.
Requested by Xochilt
Your fingers are stained purple when you put berry after berry into the basket around your arm, enjoying the light breeze tousling your veil and the pleasant warmth of the sun. It isn’t often that you get to spend some time all by yourself and it’s a nice change for once, scavenging some fresh fruits by yourself. You had found a good patch of mulberry shrubs and have been carefully picking them from their stems in the past twenty minutes, popping one into your mouth every so often whilst you hum a melody that doesn’t necessarily resemble one you know.
On the other side of the stream you have been following ever since leaving camp, there are a few pomegranate trees standing proud and ripe for the harvest, and you make your way through the shallow water by stepping on a few slippery stones, careful to not fall. You momentarily dip your fingers into the creek to get the stains off, finding it difficult to do so. Deciding that it doesn’t really matter, you walk over to the tree to get some pomegranates for the others as well. You are aware that Ramah enjoys them as well as Simon Peter, so you put in a few extra just because you can.
Your basket is getting quite full and admittedly heavier the more fruits you gather, so a few minutes later, you start making your way back to the camp. There have been a very days of rest and recreation whilst Jesus prepares for something that He hasn’t really let anyone in on yet, making it so that most chores have already been done — like mending ripped tunics or fixing holes in sandals — and leaving people with a bit of time for themselves. A rare occurrence, let alone for a few consecutive days. Not that you’re complaining.
Every few steps, you find yourself kicking a pebble into the small stream, enjoying the cool of the water in contrast with the heat of the sun. With your gaze fixed onto your feet, you don’t notice him until you hear him instead.
You halt in your own humming in favour of the melody coming from behind a small formation of rocks. A singing voice — you are instantly aware who it is — reaches your ears, and your heart skips a beat upon hearing the soft timbre of it. Little James is a reserved man, you have learnt by now, but once out of his shell, there is way more to him than meets the eye. Carefully, you sneak towards the rock formation, curious to take a peek without imposing too much.
Little James has taken off his sandals and soaks his aching feet into the coolness of the water, enjoying the way it relieves some of the tension in his blisters. Weeks on the road aren’t easy, and even less so with an ailment like his own, which makes every step hurt his entire body at a certain moment. He sits on a semi-flat rock with his back resting against a larger boulder, a spare tunic providing some comfort as a pillow. His state of relaxation has him slip into grateful song, singing Psalms, giving them melodies of his own interpretation, a work of worship between him and Adonai.
Breathlessly, you listen, wondering if you should stay or not. After all, the moment seems intimate, almost like a prayer, but his voice is mesmerising and you feel your heart swell at the sound of the voice you had grown so fond of. Betrothed to him or not, you know that this is between him and God, so you step away after listening for another second to give him some space.
Snap.
Your sandal crushes a dry twig before you can even register it. You physically flinch at the sound, the song from James’ lips momentarily halting as he turns towards the source of the sudden disturbance. He gives you a small smile, as if he had known you were there, and muses a greeting. “Shalom, (Y/n).”
Your cheeks flame with sudden embarrassment. “Uh, shalom.” you softly say, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to impose on your privacy, nor to break into such an intimate moment…”
“That’s alright,” James reassures you, patting the spot next to him. “Will you sit with me?” You bite your lip, still feeling a little bad about eavesdropping on him, but your beloved doesn’t seem to mind it. You place your basket of fruits onto the ground and take off your sandals, placing them next to his before taking out a handful of mulberries and bringing them with you to the shore, taking a seat next to Little James carefully.
You wince a little when you dip your feet into the water, appearing colder here than where you had washed your hands in it earlier, but you get used to it quickly. James smiles gently at you. “This is nice,” you admit, sighing happily as you sink your feet up to your ankles. “What a lovely spot you’ve found here.”
James hums in agreement and accepts a few berries you drop into his palm, saying a short prayer of them before putting one in his mouth. “The others went into town,” he says, “To get supplies. I figured that I could explore our surroundings a bit and found this place.”
You look out at the horizon. Several trees are standing throughout the plains, an occasional pair of hare ears sticking out above the grass. The pastures are gently disturbed by the wind and a few clouds drift in the otherwise bright blue sky as the sun slightly starts to lower, a curious hint of orange starting to bleed into the expanse of heaven. You swallow a berry and smile at James. “You have found a small bit of paradise.”
Little James chuckles. “I’d be careful to use terminology like that.”
You hum and nudge him gently with your arm. “It’s a figure of speech.”
James steals a few berries from your hand.
“Thank you for letting me sit with you.”
“Of course, (Y/n). You’re my betrothed. What’s mine is yours and the other way around.”
You giggle softly as he says that. “I don’t think that applies just yet.”
“Hm, let’s consider this as a means to practise, then.”
The two of you lightly chuckle before you clear your throat, squinting against the lowering sun. “I couldn’t help but be drawn to you by the sound of your song.”
“That’s sweet of you to say.”
You give him a meaningful look. “James, I’m serious. You sound wonderful.”
He flushes as he looks at his hands, which are fiddling in his lap. “Thank you.”
You hum and momentarily rest your head on his shoulder before sitting up straight again, polishing off the rest of the berries. “I wish God had given me such a talent.”
“I am sure that He has,” James says, “What are you good at?”
You let out a small noise and rub your neck. Put on the spot, you blush. “I… Uh… Well, I…”
“Come on, there is plenty you are good at.”
“I may be able to do things properly, yes,” you breathe, “But… There isn’t necessarily something that I excel at, like you. Matthew is great at making calculations, knows what we need. Mary has such a big heart, cares for others so easily and naturally. Thomas is wonderful at cooking, knows just what to add and what to leave out. Me… I’m just me,” you shrug. “I don’t have a special talent.”
“Hey now.” James puts his hand over yours. A sudden swell of panic rises in your chest until you realise there isn’t any kind of chaperone here to chastise you for touching each other before you’re married. Back when you were just friends, this gesture was fine, so you don’t see an issue with it, now. “Don’t talk about yourself like that. You are a beautiful woman with many strengths.”
You give James a soft smile, your cheeks turning darker. “Ah, you’re just saying that.”
“I’m not just saying that. Hmm… Have you ever tried singing? I know you like music.”
“I like to listen to it, yes,” you breathe, your eyes sparkling upon the mention thereof. “I enjoy the way I’m able to feel connected to Adonai through music.”
“That wasn’t my question.” James patiently murmurs, squeezing your fingers gently. You look up at him with a curious glimmer in your eye, yet something nervous starts to brew under the surface as you realise the implication of his words.
“Would you like to sing something for me?” he asks politely. The way the sun falls over his face makes him look almost angelic, with that little smile of his and the wind playing with his curls. Your heart swells inside your chest in adoration.
“I don’t know. What if I’m no good at it?”
“Nonsense.” says James, “I’ve heard you hum melodies plenty of times, and you can easily reach these notes. I am certain that you can sing, too. Do you want to sing the Shepherd song?”
Neither of you know if there is an official title to David’s Psalm, but you know the one he is referring to regardless. You take a deep breath and nod.
“Okay. Try to find your key for a moment, okay? Don’t rush it.”
He moves his hand up, holds it in front of his chest for a moment, and then down again, a motion to help you guide in your breathing as you sit up straighter. It is sweet how he tries to calm your nerves, and you take a few seconds as he starts to hum the melody to the Shepherd song.
“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul, He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His Name's sake.”
Despite wavering a bit on the first notes, you manage to regain yourself and find the right key. James grins as he continues to hum the melody, gesturing with his hand for you to keep going.
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me. Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over.”
You are beginning to feel more and more confident the longer you sing for him. You even manage to hit the high notes, and the proud smile that covers his face only guides you further into the flow of the song.
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the House of the Lord for-ever.”
You drag out the final words, concluding the song with a smile on your face. James grins and gives you a look.
“Oh, wow, that was great!” he praises, “And before you mention it, no, I am not ‘just saying that’. You have a great singing voice.”
Tucking some hair behind your ear, you look away.
“Thank you, James. That’s sweet of you.”
“You deserve the compliment,” he mutters, “You know what I think?”
“Well?” you curiously ask, looking at him as he plays with your hand inside your lap. You can’t recall the moment he took hold of it, but you don’t want him to pull away.
“I think we should try singing together. Like… I could sing the harmony whilst you sing the actual notes. Or… We could sing a duet next to the fire, for the others.”
You let out a soft gasp. “A duet in front of the others? I don’t know about that, I’m not used to singing in front of others the way you are…”
James gives you a reassuring smile and squeezes your hand before releasing it.
“I know, but it’s something you will have to get used to. Maybe for one or two friends first? And… We’ve got plenty of time to practise. We could sing Psalms together, or Songs of Solomon, all for the Lord.”
The idea is quite appealing to you, and you grin. “I would like that a lot,” you admit, “As long as you’ll allow me time to get comfortable.”
“Of course, my love.” James murmurs. You smile, tucking some of his curls into place.
“In that case, where shall we start?”
“First,” he says, putting his arm around you to pull you back against his shoulder, “First, we will enjoy the sunset, and… I will sing something for you. You had interrupted me earlier after all.”
“I suppose that it is fair,” you muse, resting your head against the crook of his arm, sighing happily as the warm sun lights your face, setting the plains in front of you into a curious hue, almost as if the grass is on fire.
Dusk is filled with another gentle melody from Little James as he sings another song, this one especially for you, your heart swelling with love and adoration for him and with gratitude that God had entrusted you with such a wonderful husband-to-be.
I've been on a pokemon AU mood as of late so I might as well expand the cast and assign Gym Leaders. Each gym has it's own gimmick that gets more hindering the higher up the trainer goes.
1st Gym: Ross (bug) - the main trio's teacher. They challenge his gym on their way out of the university city as the final test to formally begin their journey. His gym is in the school and the challengers fight their fellow students tournament style, that way he can get through multiple students at a time. A lot of pokemon in this gym has moves that lowers atk, sp.atk and accuracy.
Occupation: Teacher
Signature Mon: Leavanny
TM: Struggle Bug
2nd Gym: Noa (normal) - a classmate who moved back to his hometown. Instead of challenging gyms, he straight up promoted in his hometown after he graduated. He will never live the lazy bum life he wanted. His gym is just his mansion and he literally lives there. The goal is to get to his bedroom to wake him up as the challenger fights his servants. Lots of stalling tactics with protect and substitute and sleep and rest in his servants' team movesets.
Occupation: Scion, Student
Signature Mon: Komala
TM: Rest (for irony points as his main Komala can't actually use it and it remains out of reach from him)
3rd Gym: Natalia (water) - the current contest hall master who doubles as the gym leader. Aims to promote her town's tourism with events and commerce through her performances. Her gym is aquarium show based and each round is a stage. Challengers move from stage to stage until they get to the biggest one with Natalia on it. It "rains" all over the gym and it can't be changed. Between Scalds giving burns and all kinds of poison moves, the gym does a lot of chip damage.
Occupation: Contest Hall Champion and Judge, Student
Signature Mon: Toxapex
TM: Scald
4th Gym: Haruji (grass) - Shizuke's grandmother and the current shrine guardian for a legendary pokemon. Her gym is a grove and each round is laiden with traps that trigger as soon as the fight begins and automatically applies a random status on the first pokemon in line. Uses similar tactics as Shizuke with effect powders and leech seeds.
Occupation: Shrine Guardian, Berry Shopkeeper
Signature Mon: Shiinotic
TM: Giga Drain
5th Gym: Gavril (ice) - Fiona's older brother. He took over the gym after their mom retired to seal away a legendary pokemon. His gym is at a slope where the challengers slide across the slush and fight trainers on the way down to where Gavril is. Snow is a constant and can't be changed. Set ups are also prevented with rapid spin and ice spinner. Pokemon on both sides have a higher chance of getting frozen than usual.
Occupation: Pokemon Racer
Signature Mon: Abomasnow
TM: Ice Spinner
6th Gym: Travis (dark) - Zephyr's dad who runs a casino, which is also where his gym is. There's some kind of gimmick that involves slots messing with atk and def stats every time either side loses a pokemon.
Occupation: Professional Gambler
Signature Mon: Liepard
TM: Foul Play
7th Gym: Chihiro (electric) - a flashy girl who's gym is in a tall glass fashion house and works closely with Natalia, trading materials in exchange for her creations. Her gym's got a lot of elevators and conveyor belts. It's similar to Travis' gym when it comes to messing with stats, but hers messes with speed and turns. Every few turns her pokemon gain priority because of the tower's mechanisms. Electric Terrain is also on.
Occupation: Pokemon Accessory and Fashion Designer
Signature Mon: Pawmot
TM: Volt Switch
8th Gym: Leo (fighting) - Keagan's cousin who went on a pokemon journey a year before. Lost to the champion and ended up as a gym leader. His gym is a flashy stadium. There's a level cap that keeps all pokemon entering the gym stay in that level and Leo's team being ten levels over it.
