785/Coralline of questioning

Coralline of questioning
Date of Scene:	18 November 2023
Location:	Yumegahama Ward
Synopsis:	Miya and Coco meet up. The former wants to address an outburst the latter had when Sunbreaker pressed her buttons.
Cast of Characters:	Coco Kiumi, Miya Sakamoto

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Coco Kiumi has posed:
Having your own private building to manage as please comes in quite handy. The chances of someone bothering you are quite nonexistent, that's why it's the ideal meeting place with friends if you want to make sure nothing is going to come between you and them.

For a student, that would also mean life in the dorms isn't necessary, but that's not what Coco bought it for. She enjoys too much having her friends close by to transfer off the school. She still keeps good care of it, and with good reason, since she has her own garden of the underwater variety here. Makes it a cool chatting subject too.

That's not what she is there for today, though. Her friend Miya had something private to talk to her about, so Coco wasted no time in showing her this place. No matter what she has to say, there is no location more suited to it than this.

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
There's been much swimming and amazement and, Miya being Miya, getting into the technicalities of how the water system works in the pool. But yes, this is not the main reason why Miya was here.

The discussion has hit a lull. Sitting on the edge of the pool, in her one-piece swimsuit, Miya faces this moment of awkward silence by looking down into the water; she mekes it slosh with a movement of her foot.

The surface distorts and ripples, but as time passes, it slowly returns to reflect her appearance, and possibly that of Coco as well if she's sitting or swimming nearby.

"By the way, thanks for taking care of me when I was a plushie," Miya starts, quiet.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco hadn't initially thought Miya would have come here to swim, since she wanted to have a talk, but then again, the pool's purpose was to provide a place to do so when the beach wasn't clear enough of people, so she doesn't hesitate in joining the brunette (it's quite useful having your own swimwear always with you as soon as you change forms). Maybe they may have even spent some time exploring the sea plants she has been taking care of on the regular.

When Miya reemerges, Coco does the same, letting herself float on the water's surface just next to Miya, enjoying the fresh relaxation the water gives her. That's short lived though, because when Miya starts speaking, the mermaid pushes herself next to her, taking care not to have her fin brush against her.

"Of course, Miya", Coco replies simply, giving her friend a smile.

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
Another movement of Miya's feet, another slosh. "I believe you're aware that, while in that form, I was still able to hear and see, and..."

Inhale.

"...I did not know you had gone through so much." She turns her face up, to look straight at Coco with pained eyes. "That must... have hurt. Must hurt still, rather."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco keeps silent for a while, accompanying the sloshing Miya causes with that of her own tail. The rippling of the water makes for a surprisingly interesting sight in this occasion.

"I, well, yeah", she finally says, her expression as if cornered. "I... wasn't really thinking of it at the time, I didn't even want to have that outburst in public", Coco comments, moving her fingers through the water. "But I realised that must have been the case later, and I was sort of hoping you were too focused on your transformation to have paid any mind to what I was saying."

"It does hurt still, even with all she has done, I just can't let go of her, I miss Sara too much", her melancholic face speaks. "Trying to get her back is just as important to me as stopping Gaito's menace", the mermaid reveals.

"If only I had been able to mend her heart, none of that would have happened. And now she has been living apart from me for years, while to me, only a few months have passed since the events of 4 years ago", she breaths shakily.

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
"It was a weird transformation, yes," Miya admits. "It felt... felt."

More sloshing as the water catches the light in irregular mesh-like lines. "But it's okay. I am not sure of what you were afraid would happen if I heard, as, in fact, I did, but... if it had anything to do with my opinion of you, rest assured that my opinion of you was not damaged in any way. Quite the opposite!"

She takes a moment to think, and then she continues, "Sometimes, when a new building settles, some cracks may form in a wall." She even mimes the movements with her hands. "These are normal, and actually, if you think about the whole process, they are a reminder of just how much load is normally handled by the structure as a whole, a testament about how quite impressive a building is when it does NOT show them! So... well..."

She returns to look down to the water again. What to tell Coco about her sense of guilt? Miya is not entierely privvy to the events. She does have a hunch that Coco might be being too harsh on herself, but she cannot know for sure. Would it be wise to address this particular point, at this moment?

Ultimately, her uncertainty leads her towards approaching the subject from different angle.

"This is where I'd offer to help, but I am not naive. I do realize that I'm an outsider to this situation, and there's little to nothing I can contribute to help with the actual mending of the relationship that you haven't tried already." Not quite turning her whole face up, but definitely turning her look up to Coco, she adds, "But... I... can be around and listen if you want?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco shakes her head. "You don't have to hide your words behind a joke, Miya. But if you truly feel fine, then I am glad of that."

Coco watches the slow back-and-forth movements of the yellow tail as she listens to Miya's reassurances. "Thanks, but you see, I failed both as her friend and one of the mermaid princesses. I couldn't help her when she needed it, and everyone is paying the price for that, as now Gaito's minions are looking for us, and they aren't the type to care about collateral damage when they do, rather they see it as additional motivation for us to come out."

"And I am afraid too. Afraid of how much the world has been put on fast-forward for me. Afraid of dealing with the fact everyone is out of nowhere 4 yeard older, myself included..." She makes a small wave with her hand, watching it crash against the wall of the pool.

"I want to see Sara again, I want to spend time together as we once did, I miss her lots, but I know it's not possible, I know she hates me, and it's my fault because I failed her as a friend."

"The last thing I remember when Sara gave me to Gaito was the crumbling buildings of my kingdom, the panicked voices of merfolk I ought to protect, and when I acquire awareness again, Hippo is front of me, trying to get me away from there as fast as he can, with the Black Beauty Sisters chasing after us, preventing us from freeing Noel as well."

"I am scared of confronting people I knew. They all act happy to see me, but in the time of my absence, those experiences have settled, and they have had to deal with experiences it was my duty to keep them safe from. They are different, and looking at them in a now-then perspective, it's all the more terrifying." A particularly strong movement of her tail impacts the wall of the pool, forming cracks on it and bruising the tail.

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
Miya keeps silent during Coco's entire explanation.

"I..." Miya begins. And then goes silent. A long, still silence which ends only when she lets her shoulder drop. "...I don't know, really," she finally concedes, defeated, looking down at her hands. "I'm just some human whose biggest responsibility has been leaving home and go live alone in a boarding school." A short pause. "Well, and fighting the Nefarious Forces that Threaten the Very Concept of Structural Stability on behalf of the Kingdom of Building, if you count that one. But I'm technically still 'in training' as far as that one is concerned, so..."

"...How do you comfort each other in your kingdom? Do you..." And then she remembers that day at the grotto. She lifts her arms a little; they're kept apart, slighly, in just a hint of the beginning of the full gesture. "...hug?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"It's ok, really, you don't have to worry about it", Coco says. It's true, she can count on the fingers of one hand how many people are in a similar position to her. In fact there is Hannah, with her traitorous uncle and then who? Probably just Coco.

She accepts Miya's hug, holding the brunette close for about 10 seconds, pushing her tight against her own body as if there could be some sort of salvific quality in that. But then she undoes the hug before looking at Miya in the eyes. "Thank you a lot for being here, Miya", she smiles at her. "I am going back underwater now." And she does just that, pushing herself off the wall and letting herself sink like a stone.

There she sits among the algae, hugging her tail to her chest, looking at all the plants she has grown there. A good thing of being underwater is nobody can see you cry.

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
"Thank -you- for being here," says Miya.

After Coco sinks in, she lets the water slosh, ripple, and set once again. A wobbling reflection looks back at Miya with concern and melancholy.

She pulls her legs out of the water, stands up, picks up her towel and swings it over her shoulders. She starts walking away from the pool for now. Coco clearly needs some time alone. That is fine.