Tempest. // gruvia au

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    The boy watched in hushed silence as the waves rythmically crashed against the shore. Gray had always loved this spot;  the memories of standing on these rocks so fresh that his younger self was as a solid ghost of memory, dangling his feet over the edge and feeling salty wind between his toes.  Further in the illusion their was Her, pulling her sheer fabric layers of skirt up, as if the wind wasn't blowing it back for her. And, as she dashed to catch up from behind, Gray's small babysoft hands hanging from tall cool clasping fingers on either side.

    If he remembered it so well, it was because the people were so detached, so unreal, that they existed in a different time, a different world, a different reality. Eight-year-old Gray was a different Gray so that he didn't have to feel the past one's loss; but he kept the three alive inside of him as ghosts, carrying these memories with him- never lost nor truly let go.

   The one highlight of his memory was a constantly alive, moving, breathing, living art piece. It connected this time to the last, and always seemed to be the one constant reality for Gray. The Juvia Ocean, in all it's sparkling, azure beauty, always took his breathe away.

      The boy looked towards the horizon, a light breeze sifting through his hair. It tasted of salt. The wind made his cheeks numbingly tingle from the cold, wet from the spray of the Ocean's waves.

       Gray peeked over his shoulder. Ur, his mentor, was a tiny figure in the distance. Lyon, the other apprentice, was even smaller, nodding enthusiastically at whatever Ur was telling him. Gray felt a drop in his chest as he remembered the loneliness. Those two always stood so close to eachother, and looked at eachother with a familiarity only shared experiences could have brought. They had a close relationship, and, even though Gray shared a special bond with Ur as well, sometimes he would find himself just tagging along with the two or not being able to hear whispered conversations between them.

"They won't notice," he muttered to himself softly. Slowly and hesitantly, he dipped a toe into the translucent water. Ur told him to stay out of the water, because, apparently,

"The tide can sweep you under in a matter of seconds. Gray, what did I tell you?"

Gray jerked his foot, now submerged in icy water, back as he heard his mentor finish his thoughts. The slate gray rock he was standing on became splashed with water droplets from Gray's dripping foot.

If Gray had been standing closer to the two, he would have guessed he would have heard Ur sigh, and see Lyon's annoying superior smirk. He could practically see and hear it all vividly now, yards away.

"We're going back to the village, alright? Come back before dark."

"Alright!" Gray hollered back, his voice being yanked back in him by the tingling in his throught from shouting.

"And do I need to tell you to stay out of the water again? I don't want you drowning."

Gray hollered back another 'alright.'

"Gray," Lyon spoke up this time, the white-haired boy cupping his face so that his voice boomed. "Just so you know, I wouldn't mind it if you drowned."

Gray was about to yell back a retort, before thinking better of it and biting his tongue. Instead, he rolled his hands into tiny fists. He just wanted to be alone already. Gray scoffed in impatience as he watched Ur scold Lyon.