Some old deer died so I got the day off work so I finally typed up everything in my notebook from like the last month which means I have nine (9) documents open right now which means it's tag filling time
@zmwrites hi hello you're about to get a lot of these <3 thanks ilu
“We never came here,” Kaithr says, joining them. “This was H’tera.” They pointed back along the coast. “Only came up as far as the temples.”
Fin nods and grins. “Well, that explains it.” He wraps an arm around Kestrel, nudging her. “Show me around?”
“Sure.” She glances at Kaithr.
“You know where to find me when you’re done.” Kaithr shrugs.
Kestrel and Fin, asking totally-not-a-parent permission to go roaming. They didn't ask for pocket money, so that's dumb
tagging @winterandwords, @stuffaboutwriting, @amapofyourstars if y'all feel like it?
I absolutely totally meant to put this up earlier than I am. Eh.
It’s here now.
Writing! It’s recent! I still kinda like it enough to post!
Mostly because it’s Fin and vague character exploration. It’s my friend @werebudgie‘s Christmas present that I finished like two months late but whatever. We were all late. Time is irrelevant.
So are titles.
~
Rosé stepped through the gateway first, hair a mess and looking harried and flustered. Eeks, two steps behind her, was more concerned with the muck coating his shoes.
Well, they hadn’t been expecting him, but… it was fine. The more the merrier, and all that. Fin grinned and swept Rosé into a bone-crushing hug, lifting her feet off the ground because he could. “‘Sup bestie!” He grinned into her hair, messing it up even more. “So nice to see you in the sunlight.” She smelt of flowers, and the sour tang of Haven under all that.
Rosé laughed and thumped at his arm. “Put me down you horrible squeaker.”
“Sorry, Cheeps.” He placed her back on her feet and grinned. “I can’t be contained.”
“It’s terrible, and you should feel bad.” Kestrel hugged Rosé, though not as exuberantly as Fin. “How’s it?”
Fin nodded to Eeks. “Nice to see you about.”
“You don’t mind, do you?” Rosé asked, glancing between them as she untangled from Kestrel. “Eeks was saying how he’d never been out of Haven, so I thought this would be a good first world to visit.”
“No, of course.” Kestrel smiled, something hidden and tired in her voice. “The more the merrier.”
Fin hid his smile at her echoing his thought.
“Speaking of-” Rosé glanced back over her shoulder. “We might have managed to slip away from her, but-”
"Rosé, I am here, Rosé."
Rosé rolled her eyes. "So you are."
Pim ducked her head as she came through the portal.
Eeks stepped sideways to be out of her way, holding the train of his coat off the ground in one claw.
"I thought it was just... you coming?" Kestrel asked, the confusion in her voice only barely concealed.
"Mum kicked her out the house too." Rosé rolled her eyes again. "So she decided to follow us."
"Rosé, I thought you said it was ok? That I could come along, Rosé."
"If you can keep up," Rosé said, almost too sweetly as she dropped her bag. "Can you?" She shot to half form and smaller, and was away into the sky.
Kestrel shaded her eyes to watch her go. "Yup, ok. Fun." She punched Fin's arm. "Tag. See you later?"
"Alright." He nodded, slinging Rosé's bag onto his shoulder. "Have fun. Eeks, hey, give me your bag as well, I'll take it uh-" Fin glanced at Kestrel, raising an eyebrow.
“Just put them in mine,” Kestrel said. “We’ll work that out later.”
Eeks hesitated before handing it over. "Please be careful with it."
"When am I ever not?" Fin grinned, slinging it over the same shoulder as Rosé's.
Eeks flinched as it thumped into place.
Kestrel snickered. "C'mon, Eeks. We'll catch up."
Pim started as if to follow them.
Fin held out his hand to stop her. "What, and leave me all alone on bag duty? For shame, Pim." he grinned.
Pim blinked down at him. "Fin, I am sorry if you are shamed. But should I not follow them? If I am to come along with Rosé, Fin."
"Sure, you've come along with her this far. But they're going to be doing dull things like research. And I bet it’ll be underground where the sun don’t shine and there isn’t any sea." Fin wrinkles his nose. "Wouldn't you rather take a dive with me?"
Pim drew back and seemed to think about that, eyes glittering in the sun. “Fin, I would like that, Fin.”
“Cool.” Fin grinned and beckoned Pim to follow. “We’ll just dump these with someone else and take a dive, right?”
“Fin, I do not think they would like their bags to be dumped, Fin.” She kept pace with him easily.
“No? Maybe you’re right. We’d better just place them gently somewhere they’ll be safe.” Fin smiled back and up at her.
He led her to the walkway of the hut that Kestrel shared with Lark and Raven, because Rosé would probably be in with them. He didn’t know about Eeks – probably in with him, if he was honest – but his bag could stay here as well.
“Hi-” He cracked the door open, and Lark shrieked. “Stop screaming, it’s just me – I'm just dropping bags off.”
“God- ffffuck off- Fin,” Lark gasped. “Knock next time.”
“Sure. Rosé’s here.” He slid the bags in. “Out with Kestrel. Whenever you’re... uh...” He grinned and didn’t wait for her retort.
Pim was waiting at the end of the walkway, head cocked and eyes glittering. “Fin, is everything alright? She sounded distressed, Fin.”
Fin laughed and patted her arm, leading her on past the huts and down to the small jetty. “Nah, they’re fine. Caught them at an awkward moment, but they’re having fun.”
Pim frowned.
Fin was still laughing as he turned to walk backwards down the jetty, looking up at Pim. “They’re adults, they know what they’re doing, alright? But that’s not important now. You know what is?” He took a step backwards and felt his heel go over the edge of the jetty.
Pim reached out a hand to catch him as he rocked forward to steady himself. “Fin, you should be careful. You almost fell, Fin.” She trailed off, looking past him.
Fin grinned and stepped sideways to lean against the last post. “What d’you reckon?”
Pim stared at the sea, her mouth just the smallest bit open and her eyes gleaming with the reflection from the waves.
Below the jetty they stood on, the water was clear and sparse, fluffy, grass-like seaweed grew from the rocks and swayed in the waves. Just before the end of the jetty the ground fell away in a ragged cliff and the water turned deep and dark.
“Fin, this is... this is not like Haven, Fin.”
“It really isn’t.” Fin grinned. “It gets even better down below.” He pushed off the post and over the edge, splashing into the clear water and down.
He’d started changing shape before he’d jumped, expanding and smoothing and sealing together; when he surfaced to take in a breath because his human lungs hadn’t had enough in them, he was fully formed as a dusky dolphin.
Pim was still on the jetty, watching. The first of her larger legs were hooked up higher, almost cautiously covering her human torso as she leant forward and stared in, her eyes wide.
Fin chittered and spat water at her and she pulled back, spluttering.
He swam back a bit, calling her to join in.
Pim turned and slowly lowered herself over the edge of the jetty, using her hands and the first two sets of legs to help the descent. As she slid into the water, she gasped and straightened out her tail, flaring it a little. Then she let go and splashed the remaining distance, sending a small wave out over Fin.
He rolled with it and clicked, ducking under the water and on.
Pim followed, keeping pace with him, human torso upright and twisting to scan in every direction. Behind them, the islands that made up Holt; the smoothed down tops of old mountains, with the gate at their heart and Kaithr’s lair in the tunnels below. On every other side, nothing but the sea.
Pim swam forward, reaching a hand into the water, letting it trickle down from her palm.
Fin dived under and twisted, slicing the water like a knife. More than anything, this was where he knew he'd come home. So many things about Leritheyar had changed, but this sea, the ocean- they were eternal.
When he surfaced again, because Pim couldn't follow him down, he shifted back to human and trod water beside her. "What d'you think? Better than Haven, right?"
"Fin, it is very... clear. And clean." She leant forward, dipping both hands down into it. "It is nothing like Haven, Fin."
Fin nodded and spat out water as a wave washed over him. "You understand why I left?"
Pim nodded. "Fin, I understand. If I... Tabhartas will not move back here."
"No, but if you want to come and swim in a clean sea at any point, I'm your dolphin." Fin kicked and rolled over backwards, diving down.
Pim followed him and he stayed human for as long as he could, until his lungs began to burn and the water was growing cold around them. Still enough light to see, but it was getting dim. The seafloor still wasn't in sight; the cliff was a long drop down. He'd never see it as a human, never get down far enough for the light to fade away completely without help.
Fin twisted and kicked up, shifting on the way until he breached again as a dolphin, took in a breath as he propelled himself up and over and back down, passing Pim as she turned to follow him up.
He marked confusion on her face and let out a series of clicks that could almost be laughter, and she followed him again, down into the depths. Twisting sideways, he rolled and struck out along the edge of the island, trusting that Pim would follow him.
Fin sent out clicks and whistles, mapping their path along the edge of the island. He felt Pim behind him, surfacing to breath and keeping a steady pace behind him, and had to double back to make sure she didn't fall behind.
"Fin, it is beautiful." She smiled at him as he surfaced beside her. "There is so much I have never seen before, Fin."
Fin whistled at her rather than change back and swam at a leisurely pace beside her, just under the surface of the water.
Pim glanced at him and took in a deep breath before plunging down into the ocean.
Fin flicked his tail and shot after her.
The cliff was less severe here, more ledges and level descents. Places where things could grow and live.
The worn-down stubs of branches and trees loomed into relief under the waves, coated with coral and seaweed caught about the bark. Fish darted out of sight, slipping lower into the tangle of a forest that hadn't felt air in hundreds of years.
Pim let out a line of bubbles as she reached the first of the trees, trailing a hand against its softened edge.
A crab scuttled out from under a crack in the bark and further down, out of reach.
Pim laughed, the sound burbling in the water as the bubbles escaped.
Fin clicked back at her as he wound his way amongst the trees, the movements well practised. He came down here often enough, but rarely with anyone. Kestrel couldn't hold her breath long enough for this.
He twisted to look back at Pim, seeing her vague shape and tracing the expression on her face (eyes wide, mouth closed but smiling, hair a halo about her head) with gentle clicks.
She joined him and slipped under, moving on into the sunken forest, deeper down the side of the mountain.
Fin rolled and followed, twisting in and about the trees in a widening circle, aware that every living thing in the vicinity was fleeing from them.
Eventually, Pim swam for the surface.
Fin followed, weaving back and forth behind her to keep an eye on her, so he didn't get too far ahead. He shifted back to human as he surfaced, treading water as Pim shook her head, pushing her hair back from her face.
"Fin, it is beautiful."
He grinned, bobbing backwards. "Right?"
"I have never seen the undersea like that before."
"Yeah, Leritheyar's pretty special." Fin nodded, patting at the water. "C'mon, let's go explore more." He kicked back, changed forms, took a breath and dived again.
Before Pim could follow, Fin launched himself back out of the water and over her back, whistling as loud as he could.
Pim laughed and dived as Fin splashed back down, and he outstripped her into the forest until the impetus of his dive was exhausted.
Pim swam steadily down into the trees, reaching out to examine everything she could with a careful consideration, squinting in the water as the light became dappled above them.
Fin nosed about the old trees, startling crabs into snapping at his nose and fish into fleeing further into the depths from hiding places amongst the coral that grew in the crooks of branches.
He lost sight of Pim in the forest and doubled back, clicking and whistling, to find her near the base of a tree, sorting through the twisted branches of a bush that had coral running through it. He drifted above her and clicked again, defining its shape in his senses. There was something hidden at its base, which was maybe what she was reaching for.
She looked up at him and smiled, propelling herself up to join him. She ran a hand over his side and Fin shivered away from her, from the touch of human hand on dolphin skin.
Pim pulled back her hand and clasped at her wrist, holding it close to her armoured torso as her face fell.
Fin clicked at her and swam away, inviting her to follow him down through the trees, out into the open ocean.
She followed at an upward slant, heading for the surface again.
It took Fin a while to realise she wasn’t following him, and he doubled back to look for her.
Pim was at the surface, swimming back towards the islands.
He surfaced and clicked at her, circling around in front of her.
She pulled up short, backing up so that she wasn’t within range. “Fin, did I hurt you?”
Fin shook his head, unable to speak as he changed from dolphin to human again. “No,” he said when he could. “It just - feels weird, that’s all. Sorry if I worried you.”
Pim tilted her head. “You did. I thought I had hurt you.” She had her arms folded over her chest, and her front legs pulled up defensively, almost shying away from him.
Fin kicked to stay floating and near her, and tilted to look up. “Sorry, Pim. But really - I’ve said it before, right? I don’t think you could hurt me if you tried.”
“I could, Fin.” She started to grin. “I was built for combat.”
“Yeah?” Fin swam backwards, grinning. “Maybe if you could catch me.”
“Fin, do not challenge me.” Pim was grinning too, leaning forward as she swam to meet him.
“Oh but I do.” And he rolled over and dived, changing on the way.
He felt Pim’s hand grasp at his foot, but he was changing and slipping free, sideways along the coast. He surfaced to take in a deeper breath and dived down, back amongst the trees.
Pim followed, steadily but surely keeping track of him as he darted down, chasing fish from their hiding places.
They darted in rainbow sheens about the softening branches and Pim pulled sideways to watch them, smiling, the chase forgotten. She drifted in the current, adjusting so she didn’t hit anything, and watched.
Fin cavorted amongst the branches, clicking and whistling to keep track of her, to map the side of the mountain out for himself as it fell away before him.
The drop became sheer but he didn’t dive down it; instead, he launched upwards and out again, arcing through the air before he splashed down again, over and under and down into his sea, his world.
The islands belonged to Kaithr, the air to the mages and the birds. Down here, he shared with Kestrel and Lark but he was the undisputed master under the waves. They had nothing on him and no other world he’d been to had anything on Leritheyar.
He circled back, swerved past Pim and twisted to come up on her flank, snapping at the fish that came close enough to feint at.
Pim twisted her torso to watch, slow in the water, too slow.
He rolled and clicked and grinned at her, weaving under and up ahead.
Fin registered the splash, clicked something small-ish dropping from above, but ignored it until it was in range and unfolding itself out into-
Oh.
Kestrel reached out paws and caught at his dorsal fin.
Fin twisted out of her hold and flicked her upwards with his nose, chasing her back to the surface. At the last, she twisted and held on and he boosted them both up and into the air, slapping his tail against the surface for a little bit extra.
Rosé was still shifting back to full budgie above them; she swerved, squawking at them, to avoid the splash as they both crashed back down.
Fin surfaced after Kestrel, laughing as he shook water from his hair and blinked it from his eyes.
Kestrel was half-form, jacket-less and with her hair plastered in strands like weeds against her neck. “Having fun, are we?”
“You betcha.” Fin grinned, splashing at her. “What’s new?”
Rosé circled, almost as if checking that they’d finished playing about, before landing as a full budgie on Kestrel’s head.
“News from Haven,” Kestrel said. “Rosé’s a big sister now.”
It took a while for the dots to connect, and Fin stared at them both uncomprehending until- “Oh. Oh! Tab’s had her kid?”
Kestrel nodded. “Yeah, a - holy-” She backed up, staring as Pim Rosé from the water behind Fin, covering him in her shadow. “Ok that looks badass.” She tilted her head up, as if she could see Rosé that way. “We should have something like that.”
Rosé cheeped at her and took off before she slipped backwards into the sea.
“Kestrel, Tabhartas is no longer pregnant?”
“That… is what ‘Tab’s had her kid’ means,” Rosé said, landing on Pim’s back and changing to full human. “They said it was a girl.”
Pim turned her head to consider Rosé. “We should return. We should meet your… sister.” She started swimming towards the shore, carefully going around Fin and Kestrel.
Kestrel shot a glance at Fin and changed forms, sleeking to otter and shooting ahead.
Fin swam closer to Pim and hauled himself up onto her back beside Rosé. “Get much studying done? Of the sea life, I mean.” He grinned at her.
“Of course.” Rosé studied her hands. “What else would I be studying?”
“Oh, you know…” Fin smirked and nudged her. “How did Eeks find it?”
There was the slightest tint of a blush against Rosé’s cheekbones. “I think he enjoyed himself. This is really different from what he’s used to, so it might have been overwhelming, but it was good. I liked it.”
“Can’t believe you had fun in Leritheyar without me.” Fin mock-sighed, still grinning.
“You could have joined us, you know.”
“Oh, we had a grand old time, didn’t we Pim?”
“There is a forest below the ocean, it is beautiful,” Pim said, not looking back. “I would like to come back and see more of it.”
Rosé looked up from her hands at the back of Pim’s head, frowning. “Are… you alright, Pim?”
“Yes, Rosé. I have had a wonderful day with Fin, and now you have a new sister.”
Rosé glanced back at Fin, raising an eyebrow.
He grinned. “It’s a magical place. Should’ve brought her here sooner, taken her down under the sea.”
“Maybe we should’ve.”
“After all, it is better.” He spread his arms wide. “Down where it’s wetter-”
Rosé laughed and slapped a hand against his chest, pushing him away. He slid down Pim’s back and tumbled into the water, changing as he splashed down. Within moments, he was racing ahead of them, towards the beach where Kestrel and Eeks stood waiting.
happy sts! if you had to pick flowers to represent your characters, which would you pick? - llesbianwrites
happy sts! Thanks for your question :) who doesn’t like a bit of horticulture in the morning haha
Is it cheating if I start with some of the characters who are named after flowers lmao
I say that
But Leiri genuinely does fit the symbolicism of some lilies so well??? that was unintentional. specifically the Taiwanese lily because there’s this belief that harming the lily will harm the environment, and when Leiri gets linked to the world, that... that happens? Although it’s more the twisted environment messing up Leiri, but hey. You get the idea.
Basil I would pick yellow carnation bc he’s a jaded bugger who’s up here expecting disappointment and rejection from everywhere on account of his Terrible Childhood.
Red Scarlet gets clematis bc she’s a hardy little bugger that doesn’t give up and is very hard to get rid of
Fin gets Coreopsis bc he is a sunshine child despite everything
