The Sky's Eternal Sunset

Those Ocean Eyes

I've been watchin' you for some time
Can't stop starin' at those ocean eyes
Burning cities and napalm skies
Fifteen flares inside those ocean eyes
Your ocean eyes

No fair
You really know how to make me cry
When you gimme those ocean eyes
I'm scared
I've never fallen from quite this high
Fallin' into your ocean eyes

Ocean Eyes by Billie Eilish

(⁠◠⁠‿⁠◕⁠)(⁠◠⁠‿⁠◕⁠)(⁠◠⁠‿⁠◕⁠)(⁠◠⁠‿⁠◕⁠)(⁠◠⁠‿⁠◕⁠)

Sora doesn't see fin nor scale of Roxas for most of the next couple days. He's busy searching for things, and Sora tries not to think about the reason why.

A bonding gift.

Betrothal bracelet.

Essentially, engagement jewelry.

It makes his chest hurt just imagining Roxas making it for someone who isn't Sora.

Unfortunately, Remus makes it impossible for him to get his mind off Roxas by giving Sora a little refresher course on what the mer is likely putting together in the form of a little slideshow accumulated from the past ten years. It contains photographs of various bonding gifts that the pod members wear; both Rusalka and Marakihau. The styles are as varied as the mer who wear them, each unique in their own way. Necklaces, earrings, bracelets, arm bands, and hair pins featuring anything from bone, shells, pearls, beach glass, and various human things found in the ocean's depths. And no two are the same.

It makes him wonder what Roxas's will look like.

In the time that he would normally be teaching Roxas, Sora instead assists Riku and Kairi in their data collection for the Aquan translator. The more they record, the better the machine gets at correct translations. It no longer confuses the word 'near' for 'rear', much to Kairi's relief and Sora's disappointment. It's becoming reliable enough that Kairi feels confident in using it for interviews and taking family histories.

When he's finished helping his friends, Sora spends the rest of his time sitting on the bay dock and doing his observation drawings. It feels nostalgic going back to what he did last year. Watching and sketching and learning about the mer as a passive observer. He notes that they observe him back sometimes, watching and commenting to one another about him.

Oftentimes, he wonders what they say about him, but other times, he's sure it's nothing he wants to know. Not all the mer in the pods are actually fans of humans. Some of them only stay for the safety the bay provides and do their best not to get involved with the scientists if they can. There's a handful of mer that Sora has only ever seen from a distance.

Remus says it's old fashioned thinking, but Sora suspects history plays its part too. Yes, the scientists are nice and kind, but they are still human. Can't trust them completely after what their forefathers did. Sora can't really blame them, but it's a shame really. The best way to move forward is together.

♉Not teaching today, Sora?♉a voice asks, and Sora looks up to see Axel approaching the dock.

⛎Hey, Axel,⛎Sora smiles and gestures to join him on the dock. With one arm, Axel vaults himself up easily and takes his seat. ⛎No, no teaching today. Roxas needed a break.⛎

♉Reading too much work for him?♉ Axel guesses, and Sora shakes his head.

⛎No, it's not that. He said he needed time to look for some things,⛎ Sora reveals and turns to a fresh page as he sketches.

♉Things?♉ Axel asks, a perplexed look on his face. ♉What kinds of things?♉

⛎Shells I guess? Or maybe pearls?⛎ Sora shrugs, uncertain. ⛎I don't really know what mer look for when they make jewelry. Is it seasonal specific? Is the color palette taken into account? Does the personality of the recipient mer affect the type of jewelry made?⛎