You should study harder, [ he chides, though the spark of humor in his eye makes it clear he's not really being serious. ] You can learn some fascinating things about the world. [ A beat and, more musingly: ] Like that mermaids and humans once shared a common history.
[ Setting his book aside, Yu leans back on his hands, looking out over the water thoughtfully. ]
[ Yosuke groans at that, though the joke isn't lost on him, evident in his grin despite himself. ]
Yeah, yeah, tell me something I haven't heard before...
[ Here, have him dramatically resting his head on the edge of the deck, like this is some great burden. Knowledge. Bleh! Yu's question is a good one, though. It's enough to get Yosuke to look back up after a short pause. ]
I don't know. Everything, I guess? You guys don't look like the paintings we have, not anymore. And there're a lot more of you now than there were before, I know that much. And we used to be mostly out at sea, so...maybe it's just different for everyone.
Teasing? Teasing. That's what's happening, yes. And Yosuke is playing along. Yu finds his mouth has worked its way into a grin without his really thinking about it. ]
I could bring more of my books, [ he murmurs, testing, teasing some more.
Yosuke goes on, though, and Yu sits up again, tilting his head. ]
We looked different, huh? [ Over a thousand years ago... ] We wore different clothes, I bet. I'm sure the art style is pretty different, too...
[ A beat, and he finally can't contain himself: ] So, what do you use to write and paint?
[ Bring more books? Yosuke's not a big reader, but what he implies from the joking offer is that Yu is saying he'll come back. Specifically to talk to Yosuke. ]
I guess not, [ he murmurs, perhaps more thoughtful than the question warrants. ] The world is a different place, these days.
[ Not to mention full of Shadows. Yu pauses, as a thought occurs to him, and he looks at Yosuke a bit more sharply. Not angrily, but with more focus. ]
Yosuke, have you noticed the fogs that sometimes come over the town? Have they ever seemed strange to you?
[ The fog. Yosuke looks up and around them as if he's expecting the fog to come rolling in any second now, but for once it's clear. He nods despite not finding any. ]
It's always been foggy here in the spring and fall, but...I don't know. It's not how fog should be. It's just kind of there. It's not...wet. It's like fog without any water.
We've noticed it too. [ ... ] My uncle is a detective, so he's trying to investigate, but... I don't think the police are getting very far. [ He knows they aren't. ] What do you think it is?
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[ Setting his book aside, Yu leans back on his hands, looking out over the water thoughtfully. ]
What do you think changed?
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Yeah, yeah, tell me something I haven't heard before...
[ Here, have him dramatically resting his head on the edge of the deck, like this is some great burden. Knowledge. Bleh! Yu's question is a good one, though. It's enough to get Yosuke to look back up after a short pause. ]
I don't know. Everything, I guess? You guys don't look like the paintings we have, not anymore. And there're a lot more of you now than there were before, I know that much. And we used to be mostly out at sea, so...maybe it's just different for everyone.
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Teasing? Teasing. That's what's happening, yes. And Yosuke is playing along. Yu finds his mouth has worked its way into a grin without his really thinking about it. ]
I could bring more of my books, [ he murmurs, testing, teasing some more.
Yosuke goes on, though, and Yu sits up again, tilting his head. ]
We looked different, huh? [ Over a thousand years ago... ] We wore different clothes, I bet. I'm sure the art style is pretty different, too...
[ A beat, and he finally can't contain himself: ] So, what do you use to write and paint?
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You should! --I mean, if that's cool.
[ Don't get too excited there, buddy. ]
Uh...ink. What do you use?
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Yu's brows lift beneath the fringe of his hair. ]
Ink, and paint. But... [ You're. In water. How... ]
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But what?
[ Besides, they don't actually write underwater, so that's kind of a cop-out. ]
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Yu pauses, tapping his fingers on the wood of the dock as he reassesses his approach to this whole idea. ]
Where do you keep your art? Up here, we have museums, and art galleries. Do you have the same thing?
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[ This isn't quite where he expected the conversation to go, but. ]
...There are some places, but I'm not sure what you'd call them. Temples...?
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Yeah. Temples is the right word. A place of worship... [ To himself, quietly: ] Do we have the same gods?
[ He seems to catch himself, and huffs, the sound apologetic. ] Sorry. I shouldn't be asking stuff like this.
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Doesn't everyone? Like...they made the world and everything.
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Most people do, [ he says, leaving out all the context that statement needs. ] It could depend on where they're from.
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...Like from different rivers? Whoever is closer?
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Far away from here, people believe different things than we do. Not just from different rivers, but across the ocean.
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...So they don't know?
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I guess not, [ he murmurs, perhaps more thoughtful than the question warrants. ] The world is a different place, these days.
[ Not to mention full of Shadows. Yu pauses, as a thought occurs to him, and he looks at Yosuke a bit more sharply. Not angrily, but with more focus. ]
Yosuke, have you noticed the fogs that sometimes come over the town? Have they ever seemed strange to you?
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It's always been foggy here in the spring and fall, but...I don't know. It's not how fog should be. It's just kind of there. It's not...wet. It's like fog without any water.
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We've noticed it too. [ ... ] My uncle is a detective, so he's trying to investigate, but... I don't think the police are getting very far. [ He knows they aren't. ] What do you think it is?
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[ They don't...really have mermaid detectives, but by lexicon alone, he can make a guess as to what his uncle's job is.
To Yu's question, he shrugs, his fingers tapping the edge of the dog. ]
I don't know. But we don't trust it. When it's that kind of fog, we don't really come out.
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So Yosuke and his kind don't know what it is, either... he's not sure what he thought he would get by asking. ]
Sorry, [ he says with a smile. ] I don't mean to worry you. It's just something that's been on all our minds, lately.
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Does it bother you?
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I'm concerned about it.
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[ He is curious. What exactly does it feel like to humans? ]
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[ Again: he knows it isn't. But he doesn't want to give that away. ]
I'd like to learn more about it, if I could. [ That part, at least, is true. ]
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I can ask around. Maybe someone knows something more than I do?
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