- usernames: deerbroken [641378] + kyar [320861]
link to red's form: the sand
link to blue's form: the sea
relationship:
for a moment, the desert held its breath.
khali stood, for the first time, motionless - had his body contained a single drop of water, he was certain he'd have cried.
before him, the latest mirage, the latest temptation at his weary soul, had grown closer, closer. now, he stood within its reach, and it hadn't fallen away. beyond his wildest dreams, the oasis was no mirage. it was real. water glistened against burning sunlight, but shadows cast inward from large, sloping trees. he felt himself shudder, shaking off a coat of dust as even the lashing winds of the open desert had fallen still. so overcome by the realization of hope, he almost missed the face of the stranger staring back.
Unaware of the approaching stranger, Medi had taken to the water in the oasis, a refuge from the harsh intensity of the desert sun. Though they’d managed to get further than they had before into the empty wastes, they could go no further past this point, and even then their skin felt as if it had been scorched in flame. The cool water in the oasis did well enough to calm the fire, though, and without a second thought they dove into the clear blue pool, emerging on the other side only to notice a strange face nearing the edge. They folded their arms on a rock against the shore of the pool, their head tilting as they watched the stranger, curiosity and caution both present in their glance.
one step. khali's feet slid along the sands as innocent grains dipped away into icy blue. a hand reached out to the stranger, mouth opening but lost for words. he wanted so badly to take their hand, to plunge into the pool and be free of this aching misery.
another. his foot toiled forward, toes sinking so suddenly into the pool he cried out in agony, falling and - for the first time - moving with ferocity backwards, scrambling from the oasis in an unexpected wave of fear. the water, like needles, bit at his skin as even the desert sand never could. it came with such violent shock he found his breath heavy, eyes turning wildly to the figure almost submerged in its pristine surface...
"who are you?" he cried.
that was the beginning.
Medi reaches out to take his hand, their eyes wide and shimmering with the light reflected from the water beneath them. As the other slipped, however, made a pained sound and pushed away from the pool, they seemed confused, retracting their arms back into the water as they watched. Perhaps they had the same affliction? Or something much different… They couldn’t fathom it, but stare on, regardless.
“My name is Medi,” they offer, soft-spoken as they move, hoisting themself from the pool to sit on the edge, their feet still dangling within the murk. Concerned for the stranger’s health, they raise their brow, fiddling with their hands that had only just touched the other’s. “Are you okay?”
“yes, i... think so. i’m khali.” slowly returning to the pool’s edge, khali adorned his face with harsh droplets and savored the foreign sensation, the company of the foreigner. though the water cut like blades, the feeling was so fresh - so unlike all he’d ever known. he felt an ache inside him - the water wore away at his very being. but in this moment, he couldn’t possibly care. the arc of the sun turned over the odd pair, and with time came trust - woven stories of faraway lands from medi’s soft smile mingled with khali’s borrowed memories of the desert travelers, stories the desert had shared with him exchanged for the tales of the adventurer. medi’s bright eyes pulled the empty space in khali’s heart. if before, the oasis had held hope, it was overtaken now by new adoration, this new nectar. medi grew in khali’s eyes brighter than the desert, deeper than the ripples of the pool. the night spun on with such incredible tales, he wished it might never end. as khali watched medi’s chest rise and fall in gentle slumber, he felt a sickening burn he knew well. without a word, the desert spirit stood, and sauntered off into the sands. hope. that horrible crushing poison. so badly he wanted it, but he saw how the desert wore on medi, how the water wore on himself. maybe someday he would return to find them there. if he could bear the heartache if they weren’t.
They tell their own tales at first as they sit alongside the desert spirit, speaking of the strange places they’ve been, of stone-walled fortresses and of towns nestled in valleys, of farmhouses in the plains and of bridges built over raging waterfalls. When their newfound companion begins to tell his own stories, they listen intently, eyes wide as they hang on every word. The air feels comfortable, after long enough time passes, and Medi finds themself yawning unexpectedly, covering their mouth for a moment with an apology on their lips for the sudden wave of tiredness washing over them. They offer to meet with Khali again, perhaps trying to find some kind of way for them to travel together, but it seems hopeless. “We could always try meeting here,” they try to offer, but Khali seems reluctant. Still, they hope to see him again, and mention it in a soft voice before they allow themselves to sleep.
And Medi would return again. But as much as they hoped and dreamed to see the desert spirit, their paths never seemed to align. Sometimes Medi convinced themselves that it was simply a mirage, a delusion caused by the sweltering heat to pass the time while they chose their next steps at the oasis. They refused to believe it, though, and every few months they found themself at the clearing by the edge of the desert, sitting by the water’s edge in hopes that a certain figure might pass them by again.
[1000 / 1000 words]
