Moonlight Picnic

The evening was growing still. On the horizon, a painting of oranges and pinks touches the sky as the sun slowly lowered over the edges of the earth. Through the courtyard, robes brushed against dew-covered tulips. Gently, a marked hand reached down to pluck a yellow one. The elven woman put it to her nose to gently inhale.

It smelled like… Home.

She looked back up. Stars were beginning to poke out, which brought her mind back to the pretty note her beloved had left for her on her bed. She lifted it, remembering the instructions the note had given her. It was almost time to meet him, and though they were close… She was nervous.

Genesis loved him. That much was certain. But she had no idea how to go on a date. Her kind didn’t perform these rituals, but she was always up for something new. As such, she tried to dress her best. Her mint-colored hair was done up with summer flowers and ferns, covering up the fact that her tips were still a faded pink.

Through the back of the castle, she followed the path up to him. Through a grove, as the light of the day faded into night. Until the only light she could follow was that of fireflies and the moon rising above. She sighed. Her heart was pounding, but she was at peace.
Suddenly, she came across a small clearing to where he sat. With his mask off, exposed to the world.

”Orais..?” She called, standing there with her hand beckoning out to him. ”You… Planned this..?” She smiled softly. ”This is incredible...”

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To see him without his mask was a rarity, but a treasured one at that. He really was a handsome man, and it was a sham he felt compulsion to hide that fact. To hide that identity. Even now after dating him for awhile, Genesis still didn’t understand his need to hide. But even she could sense the proverbial storm cloud over him. Maybe it was best kept in secret.

”It is wonderful, dearest.” She stated softly, before briefly bowing her head in gratitude as he handed her the glass. Watching him pour the fancy wine as she listened carefully to his words. ”I am flattered by this surprise. It has been too long… Hmhm...” She chuckled warmly, which almost sounded like an easy purr. She took a sip of the wine, before looking up at Octain’s outstretched hand. She softly placed hers in his. Warm and soft, like always. She looked up at his face. A smile was returned. ”Of course...”

She followed behind him. Dutifully to what seemed like the edge of the earth. She looked over… Only to see one of the most beautiful sights her eyes have ever been exposed to.

There it was. The whole island. He could see everything, including the island that reached for miles. It was truly breathtaking, and her airy voice hinted her impressed nature. ”Orais… It is beautiful...” She said, before looking at him. She pulled herself close to him to nuzzle his chest. A soft hum came from her lips. ”Thank you for showing me. Thank you for taking me here.”
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Gratitude swelled in her chest as she was flattered by the lengths Octain went to ensure perfection for her. The view, the secluded grove, and the perfect evening sky seemed to be all tailored towards them. She couldn’t be more pleased on this date, which already would leave a strong impression on her as her very first one ever.

Her ear against his chest picked up the delicate pittering of his heart beat. By its rhythm, she formulated that he was just as nervous as she. But that nervousness was beginning to fade into confidence, cushioned by whatever sentimentality she was feeling at the moment. Beautiful, it was. All of this was simply beautiful. Though she wouldn’t get too comfortable merely standing there. After all, the night was there’s.

An unexpected, boisterous giggle came from her as he literally swept her off of her feet. Her cheeks were stained red from blush, and her soft lips were drawn up in a bright smile. A outburst of giddy behavior was a rarity for her, but it was only a side she let a very selective audience see. That consisted of the man that was carrying her, like some sort of elven princess.

”I know you are a man of your word~” She teased lightly, just as she was set back down on the blanket. She was eager to get this date started, and even more hopeful for what this opened up in terms of possibility for the future. Her eyes looked over at the product of his labor, before lifting her wines glass to have it filled by his hand.

”To us.” She said, with a smile on her face.

Unfortunately, that smile wasn’t made to last.

His next question caused it to waver. She looked down, into the deep red wine that she had yet to touch. She was silent for a few moments, before finally speaking in a hushed whisper. ”Orais.. You have seen why I at least move around in the winter.” She stated. It was the obvious, to her at least. ”I suppose for the remaining four seasons that it is a force of habit, or a learned behavior.” Her marked hand reached up and tucked a tuft of pink hair behind her elongated ear. ”My kind is not welcome in the normal realm. Magic does not exist there, and neither do magical creatures. Outside of my protected home lies a land that holds numerable threats for my people’s safety. I simply must not stay in one area for a long time, lest my secret becomes exposed and something horrible happens to either me or my loved ones.” A sigh escaped her lips. She was looking down now, into the wine that cast a blood-red reflection of herself. ”It makes me question why I was born into a magic-free world as a creature that embodies it. It makes me wonder if there is a darker reason as to why outside world is the way that it is.”

Her voice was somber now.

”This place is my last hope to find an answer. For why my people have to hide, and why I was made in the first place.”
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She had heard it before. She was special, she had a gift. She was the only beacon of hope her family had, though here she was nothing short of ordinary. In a sense, this is what she had wanted all along. She wished for a world of magic and splendor, be it for purity or evil. The mundaneness of the outside world crafted her into an anomaly. Here, she was just a citizen.

Still, she couldn’t protest against the different sort of special she was in his eyes.
His words soothed her, even as he began to unravel his own tragic tale. The tale of the earth, what was to be, an how he fit in. She looked at his magic, to his face, to his eyes. If she stared long enough, it was as if each gold fleck within them held a lifetime’s worth of agony. She leaned in, putting down her wine glass.her elongated fingers delicately wrapped around his hands as she waited for her turn to speak. Of course, such a feat would become increasingly difficult the more he revealed about himself.

”...Orais...” She whispered, her eyes looking to the ground as he pulled her in. ”Thank you… For telling me. I know this all pains you, but..” Genesis inhaled once he kissed behind her pointed ear. ”It is in the past. As you have said, it is the future we must look towards.”

Her eyes closed. ”I… Have a substantial responsibility on my behalf. I must help my people. But it is not my kin who just matter. I wish for this whole island to be able to share the world we live in. I.. Hope I live to see that day. And I hope that you will as well.” The words came as a whisper, as if she were hesitant to share this far fetched desire. But those musings were far more than what the two could supply on their own. Together…

She kissed him back. Her hand cradled his cheek, before she looked to the stars. ”At least.. We have sanctum. We have each other. We...” She took his hand, folding it over her breast to hover before her heart. ”We are one. Yes, I believe we are.”
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