[ ??? she can practically see the question marks above his head, but they can find out how awkward it would be for a fish to climb another time. ]

Besides you? [ playfully, though he sighs into the end of it. ]

Truly, that is most of it... [ right, his words. ]

You captivate me Oriphi, in a way that is not supposed to be possible. I told you of the Sea God, but I did not tell you that I share his feelings, past and present; good and bad. And I know what dating is like, from his children and their lives in Shioshishio, as tangled as it often becomes.

It is not something I had considered myself interested in beyond words, until now. The reason I exist is in essence, a rebuke against such things—in breaking himself into pieces the Sea God dispersed his hurt and loneliness away from his soul.

Still, I wish to see your forest one day. And I want to show you my Sea. I want to keep seeing you beyond this place, in the same way, and more.