Weak To Fire

6

Y/N was glad that her and Mereoleona had finally settled their differences. Everything seemed a whole lot easier now. It was a bit like every little bit of tension had resolved between them and they could all just take a deep breath without choking on all the thick air between them. Either way, Y/N was glad that they got along now. Not that they had been talking much, because Mereoleona had been busy doing whatever she was doing all day and Y/N had been relaxing in her lake, but she was sure that they'd get along just fine. She hoped so, at least.

Normally she'd go on a walk during the day, but today the water was just what she needed. Sometimes she had these days where she could spend an entire day just bathing and relaxing and enjoying herself in the water without ever leaving it. Today was one of those days. She really liked just leaning against her favourite rock and letting the sun shine on her face while she was splashing the water surface with her toe from time to time. At times, she let herself sink under the water surface and stayed there for an hour or two, before coming back up again.

The lake wasn't full of life or anything like that, but there was a good number of fish in there and she enjoyed watching them sometimes. It wasn't like she needed to come up for air, either. She was a water spirit, she could stay under the water for as long as she wanted. That was one of the advantages she had. She hadn't seen it as an advantage for a few hundred years, because what kind of power was that? It seemed pretty boring when it was everything she knew. But over time she had learned to appreciate it. It was good when she was trying to hide, it was good to move through water quickly and it was a brilliant way to pass the time.

But most of the time it was just relaxing to be in the water and lean back and enjoy the feeling of the waves gently lapping against her body and the sun shining on her. Y/N liked how weightless she felt when she was in the water. She could just float around for a whole day and it would pass by feeling like an hour. She wondered how easy it was for Mereoleona to let go of everything and just float. Y/N knew that most humans could do it, but a lot of them were too nervous to completely let go and enjoy the sensation of floating on the water surface.

Maybe she could somehow convince Mereoleona to try. Y/N could imagine that the fire magic user wouldn't be too happy hearing that she wanted her to just trust the water. Fire users tended to like to keep control of things. Keep a tight rein on themselves and every situation in their lives. Y/N got it to an extent - but just having everything under control almost seemed boring to her. Where was the fun in that? If they just let go for a little bit, they'd all be way more relaxed and have way less issues with their explosive temper. That was Y/N's theory at least.

She hadn't really noticed what was going on around her while she was thinking about it, but when she heard the water splashing and realised that it wasn't her making the noise she opened her eyes and turned towards the direction the noise was coming from. It was already getting dark - that weird time when the sun had already gone down, but it wasn't fully dark yet. Some of the brighter stars were already out and the moon was shining down on the lake. Y/N really liked this time of the day, since it felt like it was a portal between two different worlds.

The noise she had heard came from Mereoleona who was carefully making her way into the lake. She caught Y/N looking and Y/N could feel her face heating up, but all Mereoleona did was give her a nod. She didn't seem to mind being naked around other people, which surprised Y/N a little, but she was glad that she didn't seem to mind it much at all. It didn't make her feel so weird. Still, she looked back up into the sky just to give her some privacy, at least.

Still, she could see her out of the corner of her eyes and soon Y/N found herself paying way more attention to Mereoleona than to the night sky. She was an absolutely gorgeous woman, there was no other way to say it. She was tall and curvy and strong. Y/N really didn't want to look that much, but she couldn't take her eyes off her. Y/N thought about closing her eyes for a second, but by the time she would have had time to do that, Mereoleona had already submerged under the water. To Y/N's horror she was swimming towards her quickly. Had she noticed her looking?

"Hey! You mind if I join you?" she heard her calling from a distance. Y/N opened her eyes, hoping she didn't look too panicked. Why would she join her? Surely she still didn't like her because of what happened yesterday, right? They had cleared the air, but were they on such good terms already?

"Uhm... No, of course not. Go ahead." Y/N answered and moved a little, so she was leaning against her rock and not floating on her back anymore. She wasn't sure whether Mereoleona wanted to make some conversation or just... be around Y/N. Neither really made sense to Y/N, but she figured she'd just see what was going to happen here. It was pretty obvious even to herself that she was crushing hard on Mereoleona and if she got a chance to maybe talk to her she wasn't going to pass it up. After all, it could get pretty lonely out here, when she was all on her own.

"Sorry, I wasn't sure whether you wanted to be by yourself or would like some company, that's why I asked." Mereoleona said with a smile as she found a good place on the rock beside Y/N to lean on.

"Oh, I mean, I'm by myself all the time, so I don't mind some company. So... what did you do all day in the forest? You were gone for a good while after breakfast." Y/N wanted to know. Mereoleona laughed to herself.

"I was just training for a bit. I like to stay out in nature most of the year. Gives me enough peace and quiet to focus on getting stronger. But it does get a little lonely sometimes." she replied.

"It really does. I like being out here, too, but... well, sometimes I wish there were more people around. I... I'm not usually as annoyed as the other day, sorry about that again." Y/N said.

"It's alright. Don't worry about it."

"So... where do you usually live? Like when you're not out in the wild to train, I mean." Y/N asked. She was a little curious as to where Mereoleona came from. With that much mana emanating from her, she had to be from a pretty high born family. Only nobles usually had that much mana.

"The capital, unfortunately." Mereoleona muttered. Y/N's eyes widened. What the hell did she mean, unfortunately? Y/N would murder to be able to live there permanently, but the problem was that she was a water spirit and even though she could technically live in a bath tub, it was far from ideal.

"Really? I love the capital. I wish I could visit more often than once every few years. But I just don't have the energy for it. It takes so much preparation." Y/N replied mournfully. Mereoleona raised her eyebrows.

"Really? I hate it. It's too big, has too many people and most of all too many people that think they're it, you know? Too many rules, too. It kind of sucks, but maybe that's because I've spent my entire life there. Still, I'm always glad when I can leave again." she told her. Y/N sighed.

"Well, I really like going there. Maybe it's different if I can just be there for a short while every few years, but I like being around people. I like having things to do, you know?" she replied. Mereoleona smiled.

"Yeah, I guess. Makes sense when you're tied to a lake for centuries, I guess."

"Yeah... Well, looks like you'll just have to take me to the capital when you go there next." Y/N said with a grin. Mereoleona laughed quietly.

"I might. But don't get your hopes up."