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There are all sorts of hidden greenways through Philadelphia, if you know where to look. They're not as deliberate as in many other places, but they do exist. Here we see Wissahickon Valley Park, which feeds into the Schuylkill where Lincoln Drive meets 76. This is not that intersection.
This is, instead, somewhere between the Thomas Mill Covered Bridge and the Statue of Tedyuscung, where a pocket of protected woodlands follows the creek from Germantown Avenue down to the city. Often, there are people here, but right now, there's only one (1) semi-human in the gathering dusk, submerged beneath the surface of the creek.
They've been down there for a while, their eel-like tail slowly stirring the water as they calmly swim up and down the length of the creek. Every so often, Ziv surfaces, chucks a tin can or a brown glass bottle onto the shore in a growing pile, and then dives again. Then they submerge once more, and the only clue they're down there is a slow, deep-water glimmering, like The City's neon catching on the water's surface.
The gathering dusk is the perfect time to end an afternoon hike by the water, and so Sage has wandered carefully off the path and down toward the creek. The blue neon light that make up their mien is more than a little jarring against the lush green of the forest around them, but they don't seem to notice as they pull a small blanket from their backpack and spead it out at the creek's edge.
What they do notice, after a few moments, is the glimmer on the water. That achingly familiar, terrifying glimmer, especially here, where there should be nothing to remind them of The City.
A rock splashes into the creek, like it's been casually tossed in.
The rock comes down into the water, and a few seconds later, a head pops up. Well, part of a head, anyway. Just slick blue-black hair and all-black eyes. Ziv lurks in the shadows of the water like a crocodile, not bringing their nose up over the water's surface at first.
For a second, their irises are visible -- it only happens when Ziv actually makes eye contact -- these brilliant white irises, like hollow moons, which become visible in their black sclera and then disappear again, then appear once more. Ziv's tail weaves slowly in the water, an oversized tank top which says HIRE A SAMURAI clinging to their skinny frame as they push up a little more, so their mouth comes out of the water. "Hi."
"Hello?" Sage has leaned back from the water's edge now, their lights dimming and fading to a sort of pale gray as the look over the other changeling. They're in practical ripstop shorts and a tank top, and hiking sneakers all in warm pastels. Striking against their cool black skin, and not quite blocking out their glowing form.
"I didn't expect to see anyone out here," they admit.
"Yeah, well," answers the mermx, slowly treading water with curl after curl of their eel-like tail, "Me either." They don't come any closer because she's leaned back, just gesturing to the pile of refuse on the shore. "I like to swim out here, but I don't like it when the creek bed is dirty."
A pause, and an illusory little water lily pops up on the surface of the water next to them, that evidence of their Spring Mantle bobbing prettily. "I'm Ziv."
"I'm Sage." They smile at Ziv. "That's pretty understandable, I wouldn't like it either." Even this small bit of conversation seems to have relaxed them, and the glass tubes surrounding their body start to brighten, the cool blue still a little muted by the warmth of the setting sun. "I haven't gone creek swimming in ages."
A slow roll of their tail in the water, and they push back a little, making space between themself and the creek's edge. "Sage. Cool. You're new?" It's barely a question, their slim face tipping to one side just a little. "No, it's awful, I don't like worrying about cutting my hands. Also it's just gross." A beat. "Come swimming, then. It's clean. As clean as it can be!"
"Not really." Sage shakes their head and leans to unlace their sneakers. "I've been here since last fall, and focusing on setting my life up Ironside. To the detriment of my connection to the Freehold. At the moment, I'm working to change that." There's a beat after they kick their shoes and socks off, and they eye both Ziv and the water, not to mention the pile of trash that Ziv has extricated from said water.
"Don't mind me..." And they peel their tank top off. They're about as skinny as Ziv, really, and their sports bra is one of those greyish mottled ones. Built for function, not fashion. "How cold is it?" They push themself to their feet and trot forward, dipping a toe into the creek.
They push themself back, giving her plenty of space, and then let out a soft 'Ahh.' "Then I'm newer than you are," Ziv answers, lazily circling in the water as if it is, to them, the most natural thing in the world. (It is). Their gills, at the base of their throat, flutter and flare in the water. "Well. Returned, anyway. I've been gone for ten years, since I got back, basically."
Their tail curls slowly. "Oh, I don't care," they agree. "I spent eighty years naked, it doesn't -- it's not a thing." They turn their face politely to the side, though. "It's cool, but not frigid? A nice contrast to the air."
"I was in Chicago, before this, I showed up there in twenty fifteen." Sage's lights ripple as they slowly step into the water, very conscious of where they put their feet. "Ohh, this is nice." They break into a warm smile, and take a breath before propelling themself forward to dive in. A few moments later they come up, gasping and grinning, and find a place to stand again.
"Chicago, no shit? A lot of people pass through there, it seems. Or they spend a little time there and then come here. My girlfriend was there, last, I think. And uh... I dunno. Bunch of other people." A small flutter of their webbed hand, and a smile breaks across their face like sunrise. "It is, isn't it? Perfect remedy to a stinky-hot Philadelphia day."
"If you know Mearcstapa, he and I left at the same time, there was a change in monarchs." Sage's grimace shows exactly how they feel about it. "Who's your girlfriend, if you don't mind me asking?" They shift to float on their back, staring up at the sky as their smile returns. "It really is perfect. I spent a few hours after work in my garden, and then here, there's no better way to cool off."
"Oh yeah? I've met him," Ziv agrees, turning onto their stomach and floating gently in her direction. "... do tell me about the change in monarchs, you know Spring lives for gossip and there's a story there, I can smell it." Their webbed hands stir easily in the water. "Sato Rieko," comes the answer, along with a besotten sigh. "I have the dreamiest samurai cowboy girlfriend. And a cute rabbi boyfriend, so, really, I win all over." A beat. "What do you grow in your garden?"
"Oh, my god," Sage breathes with an almost giddy laugh, glass and neon sparkling as they flip themself around to look at Ziv. "Rieko is here? I had no idea she'd moved on to Philly. She breezed through Chicago for a week - not even."
Their eyelids flutter, and their eyebrow arches just so. "Oh goodness," Ziv answers. "... yeah, Eko's here." Their expression turns wry, then, with a splash of inevitability. "She's been here -- a little while now." They dive under the water, refreshing the water in their hair, and then surface again.
Another laugh, and the slight electric buzz underneath their voice gets a little louder. "Philly seems to change everyone. She's told me herself she had no intention of settling down anywhere. Certainly not in Chicago. Though that was at least a year ago, now. We didn't spend a lot of time together, it's difficult when you meet someone and know they're going to be gone from your life just as quickly."
"If I flatter myself, I don't know if it was Philadelphia so much," Ziv answers, adding, "though I'd also have to give her credit same." It's a thoughtful little curl of sound, that last phrase. "She didn't, and then she did. But -- I suppose I didn't give her too much choice. I ... took rather the opposite tack, I guess." Their shoulders rise and fall in the water. "I get it, though. I don't think I'd have been able to spend much time with her if she had insisted on blowing through like a Summer thunderstorm."
"That's precisely what she did in Chicago." Sage nods. "We didn't have enough of a relationship for me to really feel comfortable trying to get her to stay, only to let her know that I wasn't interested in much unless she did. I guess I'll have to go find her."
Because that's what you do with old flames, right? Track them down, and possibly reopen old wounds?
The Siren raises their eyebrows slightly, and opens their mouth, and then closes it again. It's not often that Ziv doesn't know what to say, but this, this is definitely one of those moments. "... we have a place in the Freehold Hollow. You could leave a message there," they eventually summon.
"Mmm." Sage nods again, a little more distracted this time, and slides a little further under the water. "I might just do that. We left things on fairly friendly terms, if a little bittersweet. Definitely something of a missed connection." Their arms float to the surface, and they stretch back out.
Something they have kept on, even though they partially stripped to swim, is what looks like a black velvet choker. A little more than an inch wide, it breaks up the glow of their neck entirely, a dark band blending into their skin.
"It sounds like she's found her people here - or a person, at least." There's no hint of jealousy in Sage's voice, and they smile quite sincerely at the other Lost.
"A person, at least," Ziv agrees; their brief 'I don't know what to say to that' washes away as easily as chalk on a stone when the river rises and falls again. "We haven't yet assembled a motley, which is one of the things on our to-do list, if such a thing can be said to exist." The mermx continues their lazy circle through the water, cautiously looking upstream and downstream to make sure no one's coming. "You never did say what you grow."
Sage follows Ziv's circles with their eyes, noting the lack of people around, as well. "Vegetables and herbs, in my backyard, and native flowers out front. I haven't attempted anything more..." and here their smile gets conspiratorial, "...outlandish, than that, though I do have a space for it if I decide to branch out there. But I'd just as soon barter at a market for that sort of thing. I have more than a few indoor plants, as well. Some because they're pretty, and some have one use or another. I'm very drawn to greenery."
"For a Spring, I don't grow as much as I might," Ziv agrees, "but I like greenery. I haven't really been settled enough to have my own garden, even if I wanted it. At least -- " A pause, there. "Well, mostly we sleep in my Hollow, unless I'm at Aaron's, and I haven't planted anything there, either. I should go to Market soon."
"I haven't made it to the Market here. Is it any good? The one in Chicago - at least, the one I went to the most - is fairly extensive." They duck under the water, their lights distorting under the surface, and reemerge after a moment with a contented sigh.
"Honestly, I haven't made it to Market here, either. I've only been here a couple of weeks, I think. Maybe a month? I don't know. It all kind of blurs together right now." A puff of breath turns into laughter from Ziv, then. "But I'm starving. Let's go get some pizza."
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