Dance

Lea Elisheva asks, "What would that be?"
Eiphraem Kang says, "... Mmmmm- Order magic."
Satsuki Shimasu says, "...Oh no."
Eiphraem Kang says, "... You doubtless possess a resonance with it..."
Lea Elisheva says, "Oooooooooo."
Lea Elisheva says, "That sounds cool."
Satsuki just... stares onward, at the horizon, in relative horror. There are no breaks - no, the eternal see-saw of Order and Chaos are destined to go on uninterrupted, forever.
(Satsuki Shimasu)
Eiphraem Kang says, "... Do not worry."
Eiphraem Kang asks, "I am certain you have seen... An excess of order magi of Huangzhou, Satsuki?"
Satsuki Shimasu says, "Far too many. They blend together at some point, as do Chaos magi. Order in particular is... almost /always/ simply a vehicle to continue old world woes."
Satsuki Shimasu says, "I am old and bitter. Pay me no mind."
Lea Elisheva says, "I just want to hug people."
Satsuki Shimasu says, "...Yes. I. I am sure that you do."
Satsuki Shimasu says, "There have certainly been /some/ good Order magi. Presumably."
Eiphraem slowly, his hand reaches for the grip of the light, slim blade bound to his waist. The edge slides from the sheathe, but he makes no abrupt, sudden movements with it. He holds the pale, bleached and glossy arcanium blades up towards the horizon, slightly illuminated where the sun has long since dipped down.
(Eiphraem Kang)
Eiphraem Kang says, "Ohtli Tezcacoatl always undertook her best. I found her a valuable companion, no matter her battle prowess. She was ever doomed to have her council ignored- Something I believe we all know well."
Eiphraem Kang says, "Lea. Please remove any foot-adornments, if you could."
Lea kicked her shoes off her feet, only to watch in horror as they were launched into the ocean.

Whoops.
(Lea Elisheva)
Lea Elisheva says, "...a-ahem..."
Satsuki Shimasu says, "Life is easier and cheaper when you forego them anyway. It is fine."
Eiphraem nods easily for a moment- But pauses mid motion when he hears the embarrassed clearing of the blunette's throat.

A snap of his fingers from his left hand, as he unwinds from his coils, passing by the pair. He drags his blade at his side- Carving a soft, rapidly washed away path in the pearlescent grains, cutting a sheer edge across the surface of the fluctuating water.

He exhales, softly. His magics do not attempt to against the tide- But calls in a deeper undertow, spinning underneath the waves in a longer drag to ferry her now-soaked shoes back to the shoreline, the water sliding back down and leaving her 'foot-adornments' sufficiently beached. Hopelessly soaked, and getting filled with sand with every other wash of the ocean, they are at least not lost.

"... Tell me, Lea. Do you think much on the magics that call to you? Did to practice them, or did they come naturally?"

He stands on his serpentine body, his tail sliding sinuously and glittering underneath the almost-gone twilight rays about where the water would be about knee deep for either of the women.

"Walk forwards. I want you to describe what you feel."
(Eiphraem Kang)

After taking a moment to mourn the loss of her shoe, and express relief over them being rescued. So, with that, she took a few steps forward into the water, and ruminated over Eiphraem's request to describe what she felt. While her instinct was to give a blunt and literal answer, Lea stopped herself before giving said answer, deciding to, well...

Let herself feel.

The ocean water washed over her knees, and she basked in the sunlight that was now shining down on her face. She appeared supernaturally calm and serene; like she often did, except more. Even her reflection on the water managed to remain still, somehow.

Now, Lea thought a lot about her magic, that's true, but she always had a lot of trouble vocalizing her emotions. So while she knew what she felt, she could only say it in a really simple, straightforward way:

"I feel like everything is gonna be okay."
(Lea Elisheva)


Lea Elisheva says, "And-"

Lea Elisheva says, "I feel like the water is a part of me and the sunlight is my friend."
"These are sensations, I can comprehend. Sharable. Transmitable- Though I prefer the soft, gentle stolen light of the moon."

Eiphraem puts his weight onto the sword, using it as a foci for his magic.

That sensation of 'feeling' becomes ever so slightly more literal, amongst the presence of mind, an almost electric prickle as he lets himself disperse.

The sea breeze is thick. Salty. The grains try to shift and almost slither beneath her feet, and the air feels cold. The hem of her dress feels heavy, but cool- A sieve the tide takes shelter in, letting it puff and billow with every ephemeral breath.

"Close your eyes."

"Let your other senses take over. Disperse into it- Become a part of it, with me." The beast's unearthly voice drones- It always does. The serpent's echoed words take surreptitious routes to reach their destination, but there's something soft underneath. Itripple through the water- Hopelessly gentle, carried along on a magi's sixth sense in such a transmissive, pervasive elemental immersion.

"Be a friend."

"And then, tell me how that makes you feel. Take a deep breath, before you do- That often encourages discussion. This is, in essence, a transmission of feeling." There's an almost slumber inducing note to it all- Eiphraem has mastered that tone that sends children into a dazed trance when they sit at their desks, awaiting the ring of a bell.

"Perhaps words do not suit you when you cannot feel the need to express and convince another, to make a change upon them. That is fine. Please listen- What I wish to have you learn is to find that sense of immersion. To reach out to that harmony."

"I want you to extend yourself, and when you have made yourself a part of these things-"

"I need you to ask something of it- But you do not need to use words. Youneed to ask it the way the moon asks the waves to move and flow with it's light, you need to ask it the way the sun tells you it is fine and asks you to feel warm. You command the elements you harmonize, that you can feel in this way, but today-"

"I want you to ask them to believe in you."

"I want you to ask them to feel you, and what you believe in."
(Eiphraem Kang)

Through the trance she entered whenever she gazed upon the stars, Lea had some measure of experience with harmonizing with things. The same principle should apply to this, correct? Except, rather than staring, this time she was asked to close her eyes, and take a deep breath. She was asked to not explain, merely to feel. She was not asked to express.

Merely to befriend.

And so she did, through dancing.

She communicated not through words, or through question, but through her action. The girl gracefully transitioned from step to step; every time her foot touched water, she spoke another letter, and every sentence was finished with a pirouette. She did not ask herself what she was feeling, but rather observed the feelings as they came in. And when one observes with a clear and open mind, the observer and observed become one.

And so, after a time, Lea's dance moves perfectly synchronized with the emotions she was feeling, whatever they may be. There was a sense of calm to her every movement, and a sense of flow that could not be achieved by the greatest of dancers should they make the mistake of allowing themselves to think. But Lea made no such mistake.

She spoke in a language that only she herself knew the words to, and that only the waters below her could respond to. Her tone was gentle, calm, understanding, and the water responded to this. After a time, the water began moving on its own; not through Lea manipulating it, but through the water listening to her. It was subtle, just like water, but the effect grew ever-so-slightly more profound as time went on. After all, water was not an element that could extend beyond the subtle, at least in the hands of a practitioner such as Lea.

Can you hear me?

A wordless question, spoken through rhythm.

Because I can hear you.

And so, the water responded.

Just as gradually and as gracefully as everything else up to this point, the water began to coalesce around Lea, forming a protective barrier around her. She stepped through the barrier, and the water, in its infinite gentleness, parted just enough to prevent her from getting wet. Several domes were left behind, standing as they were out of respect for the person who had befriended them.

And just as the water around her coalesced, so too did the domes she left behind, surrounding her one last time. The girl turned towards Eiphraem and finished her performance with a reverence, the water returning to the ocean below it. Not in the form of a collapse; it merely lowered back down, becoming one with the ocean once more.

She opened her eyes, and gazed at Eiphraem, but did not speak, as any words shespoke could only serve to undermine what she had just experienced.
(Lea Elisheva)
Eiphraem Kang does not interrupt.

To each their own, and Lea, of all people, his eyes watch as her foot rises. The weight feels, doubtless, slow and gentle as it clings, and caresses.

Malleable. Able to accept any touch, to adapt to what is put within it. While other elements are known for passion, there is none so known for it's resonance with the human heart.

For a moment, the silver serpent respects that conveyance in sight. He says nothing, with his face. With his words he uses as his desperate attempts to permit other souls to understand.

Eiphraem's hand extends, and like she steps down from the stage she made with the ocean, he offers her a graceful balance as they descend.

His palm is covered in callouses, extending along the insides of his fingers, in spite of the eternal moisturization. The serpent's skin is colder than that of any human- Due to the outer layer. Like the liquid she just felt and sang voicelessly using her body, it feels warmer when adjusted to.

It says something, too, that words do not.

Slitted eyes reflect her as much as the surface of the lapping waves that entreat Levengard's shores do, and his breath flutedly escapes through the slats on his face, his neck- And muffledly, from underneath his ribcage. Every little echo caries across the water.

It leaves behind an awareness to be told, like a gossip's chatter.

Mist flows in the air, an extension to be walked through and parted like a veil, flitting and swirling in imitations of the tumult below in the deep from every motion and movement of Eternia's seas.

He nods.

"I think you understand."

"You can ask this of more than your resonant elements, to ask that which you speak to move and carry; if you know how to listen to them. How to talk to them. I think, that is a good way to converse. In truth, I feel like that is what it is about. Convincing them. Some do this by absolute faith in their own will being in line with it, and convince them through their convictions, I believe."

"But your method? I liked it." His voice tumbles out in it's fluted repetition, quiet.

"I advise practice."
(Eiphraem Kang)
Up until then, not a single beat was missed in all of her dancing, but the moment she took Eiphraem's hand, exhaustion immediately set in, causing her legs to buckle. Her breathing was labored, yet she was still conscious, as she gazed upon Eiphraem, her voice hoarse, yet ultimately audible.

"...I didn't notice how exhausting it was until I stopped..."

She probably did need a bit of practice.
(Lea Elisheva)