gaaaaay | (no subject)

It's early evening as they walk along the shore, the last glimmers of sunlight fading into the sea line like licks of a dying fire. The hem of Rose's gown trails behind her on the sand, swishing airily around her ankles with every step she takes.

There's that shine to her eyes, the way she always gets when she talks about humans -- and it's been there for the last ten minutes, as she recounted in vivid detail her encounter with one particular human man earlier that day. She's made sure to tell Pearl all about it -- his broad shoulders and sun-warmed skin, the way he looked up at her (as they all do) with such endearing awe in his eyes. How he caught and skinned her a deer, which, per her understanding, is one of the greatest romantic gestures humans are presently capable of. It's so interesting to watch them hunt -- a dozen of them couldn't last a second against a single gem, but they make up for their weak psychique and dull reflexes with their own attempts at strategy and cobbled-together weapons.

"And then he kissed me," Rose concludes the story with a light, giddy giggle, and taps a thoughtful finger to her chin as she adds: "A bit rough, but it was charming in its own right, I found. Humans have such fascinating ways of showing affection!"

Threaded | Flat

Pearl twists her fingers together, her eyes on the sand as they walk. Beneath her feet, the tideline stretches forward in the infinite and ever-exasperating variety of this planet: glinting shells of various sea creatures, stones tumbled round by the water, tangles of aquatic flora, all washed up on the shore like so much battlefield debris.

She almost wishes she could lose herself in the detached act of cataloguing them, if only so she could tune out the things Rose is saying. She's hardly interested in this...all too enthusiastic account of the unimpressive creature that's been occupying Rose's time. A deer? Really?

But old habits die hard, and despite the roar of the ocean in her ears, she's heard and absorbed every word.

"If you're referring to kissing, it's hardly a behaviour found only in the human species," she says, finally. Her tone is level, but there's something brittle behind it.