❖ triton's domain。

@☼ valentin solberg despite valentin offering his help, melos gave the vines one more try but his efforts were for naught as he slipped off once more. letting out a sigh, he finally gave up as he jumped back onto the ice platform, giving in to accepting the man's help. he offered the man a small nod of his head before heading up the steps, barely sparing him another glance. he needed to get to his necklace and his notebook first if he was to even think about communicating with the other person. he should be used to being unable to talk by now especially since he'd never even heard his own voice before — except for the voice in his head; the one that everyone had, the voice of their thoughts.

upon reaching the top, he turned to the other man and held up his palm, gesturing for him to wait for a moment before breaking into a jog as he went over to his bag, collecting his necklace — closing it to keep the magic within it before pulling his notebook out of his bag as he headed back to valentin. "thank you for your help." he quickly scribbled onto his notebook before holding out his necklace, pointing at the words /melos/ written across the top of it. "that's my name, melos." he added into his notebook, showing him his writing.

@☼ melos syreni "oh. oh!" valentin says rather loudly, as realization begins to dawn upon him. he wonders if he should learn sign language — or if he just has to try and understand the context behind the nonverbal cues, because clearly, he isn't the best when it comes to communication. he's more used to the voices of the spirits in his head, to their giggles and whispers against his ears, and they are connected to him in ways that many others cannot be. it's one of the many magical things he's grown up with, courtesy of his life mostly being inside the enchanted forest that his adoptive mother gracefully protects. "so that's what you meant by up!"

he's quick to stand up, and he walks toward the cliff, eyeing the other' steps carefully. "that's... not very safe," he says, but he stays below the stranger anyway, just in case the other falls once more. that is something that definitely shouldn't happen — valentin did not save the other just for him to fall back down to the ocean below again. "well, you might get more annoyed with this, but you know... i can just make us something to climb up on?" he offers rather hesitantly. of course, he doesn't miss the look of annoyance in the other's eyes earlier — valentin knows expressions, but not the other nonverbal cues, no. he isn't that familiar with communicating with humans as much, despite the amount of people he seems to know within the campus.

well, that's what happens when one hangs out with the fairies and spirits too much, he supposes.

without another word, he flicks his hand to the side, palm open as ice begins to form from the platform valentin is currently standing upon. it quickly morphs into a ladder that would easily hold both their weight at the same time. while his creations aren't as grand as his mother's — he's heard tales from his aunt, the current queen of arendelle — his are almost just as strong. when it's done forming, he turns his attention back to the lad above him. "come back down here! you might fall again, uh... mister stranger!"

@☼ valentin solberg melos's eyebrows furrow in annoyance as valentin almost immediately kicks into an endless chattering and at his question, it only leads melos to sigh silently. how the hell was he supposed to communicate with him when he had no voice? he rubs his temples from frustration as he pointed at the both of them once more before pointing upwards before finally deciding that it was pointless. he doubted the other would get what he wanted to say. he didn't seem to get it the first time and it instead led to him talking endlessly, and melos most certainly did not want to risk him triggering him into more pointless-- at least, pointless until melos got his notepad so that he could at least communicate with him, chatter.

he looked around before finally opting to climb up the vine that dangled down the cliff, looking up as he approached it. it was high but it was.. doable, much better than just standing around hoping for elsa's son to finally get what he was trying to say anyways. he was frustrated, he was disappointed and most importantly, he was really cold. by cold, he meant he was about to turn into a fish popsicle if he didn't get off the ice anytime soon. he was pretty sure his mother wouldn't appreciate having a frozen fishfinger for a son.

besides, melos didn't exactly have a choice either. as much as he wanted to thank the stranger- or valentin, for attempting to save his life, he couldn't. he wasn't sure the man would understand sign language and he sure as hell wasn't going to try. not when up somehow seemed to mean 'talk to me' to him. giving one of the vine a few strong tugs before deciding that it was strong enough to carry his weight, he started climbing upwards although he struggled at the first few attempts, finding himself slip down the slippery plan in less than a few steps.

@☼ melos syreni the suddenness of the other's movements surprises valentin, but he doesn't question it. that reaction is only right, after all. they are both strangers — they don't know each other, which is rather surprising coming the son of elsa. he knows most people in the campus, given his friendly nature, but he hasn't encountered the man before him beforehand. he watches the expressions that flicker on the stranger's features, though valentin finds it hard to completely comprehend each of it. valentin realizes, but only now that he has thought about it, that the stranger hasn't uttered even a single sound since the whole fiasco.

valentin follows the stranger's gestures, eyebrows furrowing in slight confusion. he doesn't understand immediately, which causes the lad's aqua eyes to be painted with worry, and his lips only curl into a deeper frown. "up... oh!" he says, visage immediately brightening up as he finally understands — or so he thinks — what the other is trying to say. "i just thought you were going to jump... were you?" he asks, and his bright expression disappears just as quickly as it appears. a cold breeze envelops the two of them — though valentin doesn't feel it. like his mother, the cold never bothered him anyway.

"i didn't mean to into your... personal agenda," valentin continues, and he's now fidgeting in his seat, fingers playing with the hems of his uniform. the ice is strong and stable underneath their weight, seemingly unbothered by the temperature that isn't even low enough to form it. "it was just you were in front of me, and i... just couldn't stop myself from jumping!" another realization dawns upon the light-haired lad, who voices it through a small noise of recognition. "oh—right, right, are you okay, uh... sorry, but what's your name again?" he asks, cheeks a bit flushed in embarrassment at how much of a mess he is while talking — obviously an effect of earlier events. "my name's valentin solberg. i think the ice gives me away, but i'm elsa's son, yes."

@☼ valentin solberg melos was ready, he'd pretty much prepared himself up to the very moment that he allowed gravity to claim him, to bring him down into the depths of the ocean but it all came to a startling stop when he'd felt something, no, someone grab onto his hand. the next thing he knew, he had someone falling off the edge of the cliff with him.

that wasn't what he wanted and if that person couldn't swim, there was no way in hell that melos would be able to save him, especially when he, himself had no way of ensuring his own safety in the ocean. yes, he was a merman but that didn't mean he knew how to swim.

fear enveloped him as they fell and so, he did what he knew how to do best when he was afraid. he closed his eyes, expecting the ocean to welcome the both of them into its cold water but.... that cold wave of water never came. instead, he felt himself collide with the other person followed by a thump as they landed on something solid? he was confused. how could they have landed on something solid?

cautiously, melos opened his eyes to find himself looking into another man's who had the most evident look of worry on his face. his words confused him. was he mistaking something? did he think that he was going to kill himself? if anything, the stranger was probably the one who was more likely to- wait, it didn't so perhaps the stranger did have a way of protecting himself. without uttering a single word, he sat up, creating distance between him and the other as he realized that they were now sitting on ice, cold hard ice. that explained why he could see his own breath.

who are you? melos wanted to ask him. heck, he wanted to talk to him but there was no way. he didn't have his notepad with him. it would've been plain stupidity if he'd brought it with him when he was going to jump into the water so he did the only thing he could do. he pointed upwards and then at the both of them.

@☼ melos syreni valentin hears the call of the spirits from the ocean.

he misses his home greatly, he supposes. the enchanted forest is a place of freedom; a place where he could simply dance with the spirits and sing with all the creatures. but of course, like his mother would say, he has to learn. he has to face the world that is beyond the place he's grown up in, and that is the very reason why he stands here at this academy. but he cannot help the longing for his home back in the north, which is how he's ended up by the forest, nearing the cliff that gives the most breathtaking view. it is the place he frequents to whenever he wants to be alone — and of course, there aren't that many people that know of this place, that he's certain of, or this would have been crowded by the other students.

he believes that, which is why when he arrives at cliff, he is filled with surprise when he finds another individual standing on the edge. immediately, he's filled with worry and panic all at the same time — the stranger stands a little too close to the edge, that it feels as if he would fall if the breeze blows a bit more strongly than before. valentin isn't even given the chance to call out, to tell the stranger that he should probably step back for safety, when the man leans forward—

—and falls.

"wait!"

without another moment's hesitation, valentin breaks into a run. he gets to the edge fast, his legs moving as quickly as they could, and the other's already within his reach. grabbing the stranger's arm, valentin makes sure he's holding onto the other securely—but he loses his balance, the soil beneath his foot giving up at his weight and too much movements.

and he too, falls with the stranger.

his wits are quick to come back, however, and he stretches his arm in front of him. ice forms from the cliff and spreads out beneath the two males—big enough to cushion their fall, albeit rather too solid to be of any comfort. nevertheless, valentin pulls the stranger closer to his chest and turns the two of them over so that the stranger is above him as they fall. the ice kisses valentin's back earlier than he expected, and there's a loud thud that accompanies it. his heart beats too quickly for him to calm down, but the two of them are safe and it sends a wave of relief over his being.

not minding the distance — or lack thereof — between him and the stranger, he looks down to look at the stranger with a worried look. "are you alright? i'm sorry, but—i just couldn't let you jump off like that. life's got better plans, mister!"

@☼ valentin solberg 19 years.

it had been 19 years since melos had last stepped into the ocean, 19 years since the traumatic accident that led to the loss of his voice happened. 19 years since his life turned into the deepest, darkest abyss with no way out of it. it was almost as though he was trapped in the darkest parts of the ocean with no escape. he'd been afraid of the ocean ever since he was at the mere age of 2 which was simply unheard of for a merman like him, especially when he was a prince of the ocean-- his grandfather being triton and his mother, ariel. his older sister, melody was the opposite of him. she loved the ocean and had never understood why he found it so difficult to step into the place that was meant to be home for both of them.

yet, today was the day that melos had decided to take matters into his own hands. he was tired of living his life in emptiness, he was tired of the fear he felt every single time he looked at the ocean. it certainly didn't help that he, too, felt a sense of longing for the ocean. perhaps it was the merman half of him that was calling out to him and perhaps it was about time that he stopped ignoring it.

the ocean was his home, an important part of his roots and that was something that couldn't be changed. he had to either face it or live the rest of his life shadowed by his past so there he was, sitting by the edge of the cliff facing the ocean. waves crashed against the rocks at the bottom violently, reminding him of his own emotions at that particular point of time.

in his hand, he held a seashell necklace that was perhaps a replica of the one that his older sister had except that instead of melody written across it, it had melos. when opened, it showed the most beautiful scenery of his grandfather's palace, his other home as well as merfolks, the people whom he was meant to share similarities with. it was breathtaking. from the necklace, there was a tune that sounded exactly like the one that his mother would sing to lull him to sleep every night and from her tales, he knew that it was the song that she'd sung when she was longing to be on land to be with his father, then-prince eric, now-king eric.

with determination coursing through his blood and mind, melos put the opened necklace down on the rocky floor as he stood up. the wind picked up on the melody, causing its notes to chime loudly through the air, covering even the loud sound of the waves below.

it was time.

he was going to face his fears now, he was going to finally return home.

hesitantly, melos took steps towards the edge of the cliff before spreading his arms, peering down at the blue water before exhaling softly. 'i can do this.' he thought to himself. he may have lost his voice, perhaps he won't ever get it back but he was most definitely not going to lose his home. he wasn't going to live without being able to return home any longer.

closing his eyes, melos leaned forward to allow gravity to pull him down towards the ocean, his home.