Lost City, Lost Kingdom, Lost Soul - Orm (Aquaman)

XIX - Legends and Truths

Tatiana sat back and looked up from her laptop. "I'm done."

Orm looked up too. "Your project? All of it?"

"Oh God no, just this little part. A chapter. I have no idea what I'll do when it's all over and done." That was not something she wanted to think about, to contemplate. Again, it was her life's work. What did one do when that was complete?

She exhaled a sigh and glanced at her watch - dinner time. "I don't feel like cooking tonight -"

"I can cook, if you'd like. I would be happy to."

She chuckled.  "I appreciate it, but I was thinking let's give us both a break and order in. Ooo, how does pizza sound?"

"Pizza?" His expression told her everything.

She glowed. "Oh, we're doing pizza!"

Less than an hour later two extra large pizzas arrived right to the door. She paid and thanked the delivery driver and brought the steaming boxes inside. 

"It's just like in the palace," Orm said.  "You say what you want to eat, and it arrives."

"Well then in that case it looks like we're both getting the royal treatment tonight!" She thrust the boxes into his face.  "Smell that - and it tastes even better!"

"I never expected Surface food to be so good," he admitted as they tucked in.  "And I thought that was just because you were such a good cook." He hadn't thought much of the Surface in general, if anything at all. 

She chuckled. Was it just the steam from the pizza lighting up her cheeks, or was she blushing?   "Well, thank you, but I'm certainly not the best. Like I said, I enjoy it. And I'm glad you're enjoying the food."

And the company. But he didn't say this out loud. Instead, he said, "May I read some of your project?"

"Oh - sure. It's still very in the early stages though, so a pretty rough draft." She passed her laptop over to him. "There's still a lot of holes. Actually, it'll probably sound silly to someone who knows so much about it."

"Then I will wait to read it until you are fully satisfied with it.  And I can help you fill in those holes." 

"Yeah?" She met his gaze, cheeks still pink. "Tell me the story of Atlantis." She grabbed her notebook and pen, holding them at the ready, looking at him expectantly.

He smiled. "Gladly. What do you already know?"

"Well Plato wrote about it-"

"Plato?"

"The philosopher, in ancient times. It was a continent, then it sank, and many believe due to the gods not being pleased."

"They very well might not have been." And by mercy, do the gods make known their will...

"Actually a lot of people theorize that my home is the real Atlantis, the island of Santorini. You'll have to check it out sometime, and I'm not just saying that because it's my home and I'm biased, but it is one of the most beautiful places in the world."

He thought that he might like to see her home, especially if she was showing him. Seemed like they both thought of their homes as some of the most beautiful places on Earth. 

"King Atlan was the first King of Atlantis," he continued.  

"Atlan, Atlantis, makes sense," she joked.

He chuckled.  "Yes, it does. In ancient times, we achieved exceptional power, ahead of anyone else anywhere in the world. But our greed became too great, and we sank, and thus, the Great Fall. We were a great civilization on land, and now beneath the water, we are exceptional." Suddenly, he thought of his own situation, his own great fall of sorts. My greed became too great...