Finana edged closer to half-dragon Selen, fully glad that her helmet, fashioned in the manner of a great fish, covered the look of despair on her face. The field of white flowers in bloom before them were like stars on a green sky of grass; almost shining in the moonlight. The great, full moon, in all its brilliance, loomed over the Knight of the Waves and the half-human half-dragon, showing its ethereal quality to the two. Yet however beautiful the field of white flowers, or Selen’s dress, or even Selen herself was, it would not alleviate the abhorrent pain in Finana’s heart, for the half-dragon beside her, the one who has been with her through thick and thin, triumph and defeat, joy and gloom, was about to fly away to the lonely moon beyond the earth.
Finana had donned her signature suit of silver armour, enamelled with scales. A light-green cloak emblazoned with the mermaid of house Ryugu was fastened at her back. At her side was the ceremonial longsword of house Ryugu: “Tsunami”, the pommel the head of a trout, the handle ebonwood, and the guard fashioned with two small obsidian gemstones on both sides of the guard with a large diamond at the center (though Finana rarely used this sword as she found herself using a poleaxe more often than not).
Selen wore a long, violet and white dress of satin and velvet decorated with sapphire and amethysts around her collarbones. The dress was patterned with subtle, intricate gold lacework. The sleeves were long, elegant, violet flowers with white petals, with the opening of the left sleeve having a larger opening to accommodate her large, black claw. Her thick, violet hair was styled into two loose braids held in place by two pink ribbons, and here her head wings resembled a feathery, violet and white crown. Her violet tail was something truly out of this world; it was violet, long, and seemed to move with its own sentience. Her skirt was of great volume, and the way it moved with her walk and tail was mesmerizing (not that Finana could see it now since they were both sitting down on smooth rock); and around her long neck was a small, elegant golden chain with a large obsidian centrepiece; dark as the night sky. The chain was quite special to both women, though, as it was a valuable gift from Finana; from her own personal treasury.
“Must you leave so soon, Lady Selen?” Finana asked.
“I must, for I do not belong in this land of trees and water and soil. My home is there,” Selen pointed at the great white egg in the sky.
“Where the land is white stone, the air is light, and dark rules the sky. Where there are no trees, no seas, and no grass of green,” The half-dragon’s eyes of pink tourmaline and bright sapphire looked solemnly at the moon, and then, looked down at the sea of flowers before them, still shining in the moonlight.
“You belong here, Lady Selen. Why must you say that you don’t?” Finana’s shakiness in her voice was muffled by her helmet.
“Dame Finana, I am not a human. I am a dragon. My black wings allow me to glide in the air like a crow. My eyes are mismatched; the right one the colour of hyssops and the left one the colour of hydrangeas, I have fangs like a spider, and my left arm is nothing close to a delicate human’s,” Selen stood up, looking down at Finana, and showed her her arm, black all the way to the shoulder with a large claw that could grip a man’s head. “I have a duty to uphold up there. You knights are bound by duty to protect your lord, the innocent and your king. I have my own vows too, and I must uphold them.”
“Vows? This is the first time I’ve heard you say anything about vows. What vows could you possibly have up there? Where there are no trees and water and soil.” Finana asked.
“I had a dream. I dreamt of a dragon hatching from its egg with wings, scales, and ears black as ember on the moon, all alone. A mere child, isolated up there.” Selen pointed at the moon. “I must be there for him. It is my duty as a lunar half-dragon.”
The gentle breeze that emanated from the seafront made the half-dragon’s soft, braided hair sway like the flowers on the field before them. The moonlight, perfectly placed upon Selen’s face, as if it was the subject of a painter’s masterpiece, illuminated her milky skin, and made the small tears on her amethyst and sapphire eyes shine like diamonds. The obsidian centrepiece absorbed the moonlight like how soil would absorb water, still dark as the night sky above.
By the gods, this is unfair. Finana thought. How can she look so perfect while crying?
“Say something, Finana. Say something. Please.” The tears on Selen’s face started to fall down. Each tear that fell seemingly produced two more.
Those tears are wasted on the ground, Finana thought solemnly. And my time is wasted hiding.
Finana could not hide anymore, she knew. She had to face Selen. Why was she hiding in the first place anyway? The love of her life, about to leave her and this land for good, faced her true. Her Selen did not hide her face or her head wings or her mismatched eyes or even her giant black claw. When she told Finana that she had to leave, she told it well, and told it true. Finana could not even remove her helmet; hiding her tears from Selen. Finana hid behind her helmet, hid behind her family’s treasured longsword, hid behind the memories that she held with Selen, hid behind Selen. She had found herself addicted to Selen’s warmth, a warmth that hid all her worries; a warmth that blinded her to reality.
What a knight I am, Finana thought. Selen is in a dress and I am in a full set of plate, yet somehow she has more courage than I do.
“Have you nothing to say, Finana!?” Selen dropped to her knees, crying. She wiped her tears with her hands, but they would not stop pouring.
Pathetic. Pathetic. Pathetic. Finana kept telling herself.
“We’ve been through so much, dame. This could be our last moment together, and you say nothing. Do I mean so little to you that you refuse to speak?” Selen said.
Little? No. You mean everything to me. Finana wanted to cut her own throat.
Finana’s early memories with Selen started to pour in. She recalled their first meeting in the crater in the heart of the Ethyrian Forest. She remembered her wariness around Finana and her entourage inside the inn, gone at the first sip of alcohol. She remembered her walks with Selen around the walls of Oceanslaw. She remembered their first voyage together to the eastern continent of Niji and how Selen got seasick and stuck to flying. She remembered her contagious laugh; her bright smile; her radiant eyes; her sweet voice; her fragrant hair; her soft hand; her strong claw; her soft lips; her soft thighs; her seductive neck; her musical moans; the bite mark on her nape; the addictive scent of her sweat mixed with rose perfume; and her after-night jokes and shenanigans. She remembered how they marked each other’s necks, thighs, and napes with bites and kisses. She remembered how she giggled when she attacked her neck. She remembered how good it felt to put her lips on hers. How needy she looked with her thumb in her mouth. How good it felt to pull her tail. She remembered waking up to the sun kissing her face, Selen, peacefully sleeping behind her; without a care in the world. She missed that feeling. She missed all of those feelings. Now, those feelings were about to go to the moon, leaving her only with memories. Fond memories, to be sure, memories she will likely remember until her demise, yet memories they will remain; never to be experienced again.
What am I doing? Have I always been this craven? I’m supposed to be a knight, damn it. Knights don’t allow maidens to cry in the songs. So why am I sitting here? I don’t think of her this little, do I?
Finana truly didn’t. They’ve been through so much together. In the two years that they were together, they became closer than two bricks in a castle wall. They japed, they cried, and stood in comfortable silence together. She had been the sunshine in her rain. The shimmering light that guided her to happiness and respite from the darkness of the death that surrounded her knighthood. Finana could not take it anymore. She was done.
By the grace of the gods, I am a knight. The pride of my house, the leviathan on the field, Finana told herself.
Finana stood up and with two hands, removed her helmet, and with dexterous hands, removed her gauntlets.
The cool air of the field and seafront did not stop the sweat on Finana’s face and hair from accumulating from inside the helmet. Her short, light green hair, the colour of Paraiba Tourmaline, was slightly messy due to it being inside a helmet. The sweat on her hair and milky face made them shine under the moonlight. Finana made an attempt to slick her hair back with her left hand, but her hair went down right after she removed her hand, making a parted fringe. Finana’s amethyst eyes were fixated on Selen’s. Finana admired the half-dragon’s crying face for a second, looked down at the ground, and then took in a deep breath.
“Lady Selen, I beg of you, shed no more tears. The sight wounds me so,” Finana said.
Finana walked closer to Selen, grabbed her by the shoulder and the back of her head, and licked a tear from her sapphire eye, salty as seawater. Selen winked and winced at the action, letting out a whimper in the process, but she let Finana lick the tears from her other eye. Finana tousled Selen’s hair, put a braid close to her nose, and sniffed it lovingly. Selen’s hair smelled of ash mixed with various herbs and rose petals; a sweet, homely scent which seemed to calm the both of them down. Finana stepped back half a pace and looked at Selen dead in the eye. She placed a hand on Selen’s cheek, rubbing it gently.
“My Lady, forgive me. My demeanour was not of a knight’s. Do not take my silence the wrong way. This could very well be our last moment together, but my silence stemmed from cowardice. I did… not want to say the wrong thing. As I stand, I realize that the colours of night have helped me hide for far too long. Hide I did, and hide I kept doing. I thought that doing nothing would be better. That we should savour this moment. That we should take our time. But…” Finana paused. “We don’t have much time, do we?” Finana let out a smile equal parts in sadness and glee.
Selen held Finana’s hand, which was placed on her cheek, said: “Forgive me too, dame. This may be our last moment together so I… was too eager to hear your voice,”
Both women giggled at their silly misunderstandings. They sat back down on the rock. Finana held Selen’s hand, and Selen wrapped her fingers around hers. Together, they enjoyed the soothing sound of the waves in the distance, the cool breeze, the field of flowers before them, and the stars in the night sky.
“What do the stars look like on the moon, Lady Selen?”
Selen took a moment to think. “Hmm… I’ve never really thought about it. I guess, though, from there, they look brighter and sharper. I wonder why?”
“Shall we lie down?” Finana asked, Selen nodded.
The women lay down face up, hands still intertwined with one another. From this angle, they could comfortably see everything in the night sky. The stars were like glitters over black cloth, each one shimmering with the brilliance of gold in sunshine.
“How much do you know about stars, dame?” Selen asked.
“Next to nothing. I know that they’re almost as beautiful as you, though.” Finana and Selen moved their head sideways and met each other’s eyes. Selen was slightly red while FInana had a snarky grin on her face.
“How sly! A knight mustn’t use tactics like that! How dishonourable.” Selen closed her eyes and puckered her lips.
“What’s with that face? You hunting for a kiss or something?” Finana said, her grin larger than before.
Selen went beet red. “I mean… I would not mind,”
Finana went beet red along with the half-dragon. And she calls me sly, this halfwit dragon!
Finana leaned in closer, slowly. She could feel the half-dragon’s warm breath getting warmer the closer she got. Selen’s eyes were still closed, lips still puckered. Every second seemed like an eternity to Finana. She felt so close, yet so far. Take your time, don’t overthink it, Finana told herself. She took the little time she had to build her resolve and admire the rare face that Selen made. She liked her long, thick black eyelashes. She liked how her hair fell to the side with the position Selen was in. She liked how her right head wing seemed to rest comfortably in between the rock and her head. She liked how milky her skin was under the moonlight. She liked how the golden chain with the obsidian centrepiece that she collected on her travels before she met Selen looked on her long neck. She liked how silly yet innocent her face looked with her lips puckered.
Finana closed her eyes and finally pressed her lips against Selen’s. Selen’s soft, supple lips felt like heaven to Finana. They held the position for a few seconds until Selen pulled away, making a smooch. Both women opened their eyes and were fixated on each other. Finana’s amethyst eyes met with Selen’s amethyst and sapphire; both sensing the heat and desire within.
Selen stood up, still grabbing Finana’s hand, pulling her up. Selen led the way to patch of grass and without warning, pushed Finana on top of it. Finana’s armor clanged and it made her back and right shoulder ache, but she did not mind when she saw the half-dragon sitting on top of her crotch. With eager hands, Selen attempted to remove Finana’s scaled pauldrons which guarded her shoulders, completely fumbling the fastenings that helped secure them. Finana grabbed Selen’s hands, rubbing them to calm her down. Selen looked at Finana’s face with wide eyes and was met with Finana’s reassuring smile. Finana first gently pushed Selen back to undo the fastenings of her greaves. Like it was second nature, Finana calmly unfastened the fastenings on her greaves and skirt, stopping right before the fastenings were completely unfastened. Then she began unfastening her plackart and breatsplate, also stopping right before it was completely unfastened. Then she lay down on her back, doing the same for her pauldrons, a smug look fresh on her face. There was no need for words, Finana knew when she saw Selen’s amethyst and sapphire eyes. First, Selen, slowly this time, completely undid the fastenings and removed the greaves with delicate hands. She did the same for the skirt, plackart, breastplate, and pauldrons, leaving Finana with only mail. Finana’s heart beat faster, and she could tell that Selen’s was beating faster too. Underneath Finana’s ring mail was a beautifully tailored padded aketon, coloured white. The aketon was simple yet delicate, the fastenings engraved with golden waves. Finana’s leggings were black and so were her boots. Finana put a finger on one of the fastenings and slowly moved it along the small leather belt, gesturing Selen on exactly what she wants her to do. Finana’s face seemed even more smug than when she gestured Selen to finish removing her armor. Selen pulled the mail leggings slowly; the links making soft, sharp, ringing noises as Selen slowly removed the ringmail leggings from Finana’s boots. Finana signalled Selen that she wanted to stand up, and Selen retreated. Finana raised her arms, then bent over, almost touching the ground. Afterwards, she began to shake her body. A ridiculous motion, to be sure, but the mail on her torso, like it was a normal shirt, came seamlessly off of Finana’s torso. Finana threw the mail on the ground, and lied down once again; inviting Selen with openness.
Under the moonlit sky, Selen stood over Finana, directly looking down at her. Finana’s sly smile seemed to excite Selen. Like how a champion in a tourney would taunt their opponent. Selen slowly but surely descended until she sat on top of Finana’s crotch, exerting all her weight on the knight. First, Selen grabbed Finana by the cheeks with one hand and promptly kissed her. It was a long kiss. Nothing like the kiss earlier filled with innocent passion. This kiss had a unique flavor: malicious desire, and both Selen and Finana indulged in it. Engaging and then disengaging, Selen pulled away, breathing heavily. The fish below her was red and breathing heavily like she was, yet that sly smile still remained on her face. To Selen, it seemed like her smile turned from sly to mocking, so Selen attacked the fish’s neck. It tasted like sweat, smelled like sweat, and was dripping in sweat, but Selen found it addicting- enchanting, even. The sweet and sour scent and salty taste of her neck drove Selen mad. The fish had grabbed Selen’s hair, gripping lightly. Selen retreated for a slight moment, and then promptly left a hickey on the Finana’s neck, causing her to tighten her grip. Selen loved the feeling of FInana’s strong, rough hand gripping her hair, but she had to pull away. She had to see Finana’s face. The smile on Finana’s face was still there, but the sly and mocking nature was no longer there. Finana’s intent was clear: she wanted more. The leviathan had challenged the dragon, and there was no way that the dragon would refuse. Well, that’s what Finana thought anyways.
Selen slowly but surely undid the little gold-engraved belts which bound the aketon. There were five belts, but Selen stopped at three. Once she undid the third belt, Selen pulled apart the aketon apart, revealing Finana’s milky, white skin to the night sky above. Unexpectedly, though, Selen put her ear onto FInana’s chest, listening to her heartbeat. It was pumping blood fast. Finana, though, was nonplussed. Was she disappointed in Selen stopping her advances? Or was she relieved that she did not press any further? Maybe even both. She was not certain. Human emotions tended to be more difficult to understand in these intimate moments, Finana observed.
“Why the sudden stop?” Finana asked.
“I don’t know. I just… wanted to hear your heartbeat.” Selen said.
“What happened to all that eagerness earlier? You went so fast that you fumbled the fastenings,” Finana chuckled.
Selen let out a soft giggle in return. “I don’t know either, you fish. Just shut up and let me listen.”
Finana let Selen listen a little longer. Although her heart was beating at the speed of a jousting horse, Finana felt oddly calm. She liked how Selen’s hair felt on her chest. She liked how she could look at the night sky above. She liked how even on their last day together, they could still enjoy silence. They could still enjoy each other’s company. They could still act like a tomorrow where they sit inside the walls of Oceanslaw would come.
Finana put a hand on top of Selen’s head and started rubbing her hair. She liked how this felt too. To her, it seemed like anything she did with Selen would guarantee her utter joy. Selen simply being there was enough to make her week a week of glee. Of course, that joy would soon be gone, whether Finana liked it or not.
Such delicate emotions I have, Finana thought.
“Would you at least visit?” Finana asked.
She was met with silence.
“I expected as much,” Finana said.
While rubbing the half-dragon’s hair, FInana took in a deep breath and started humming a song. Her tone was subpar and shaky, but there was an undeniable beauty in it. Finana closed her eyes, seeing only black. Selen’s hair on her fingers felt like a harmonious instrument that complimented her singing, even if it barely made any sound. The song sounded lonely. Like the moon in the night sky, the song was all alone in that darkness above. However, the song was also comforting. Like rubbing Selen’s hair, it was comforting. Like having Selen beside her, it was comforting. Like looking back on memories that would fade with the passage of time, it was comforting. Comfort: the only thing Finana will ever cherish in this world. For Selen was her comfort, and it would all disappear.
“Selen?” Finana called. “I would hear your laugh one more time.”