She quietly ceased her singing with that one verse of the sweet lullaby she recalled from the days of her dear childhood, from when it was she still had her mother at her side, nurturing her, giving her the love only she ever could. The days before sheād been forced away, far, far away. Knell remembered her motherās face, the sadness she bore for Canaanās death, and her voice. Her mother had been as a siren . . . beautiful in many respects; Maris was truly an amazing woman. And . . . how dearly she was missed by her daughter, that lullaby was one that Maris had sung to Knell many times to sooth her to sleep when fear had consumed her young soul, and staved off the needed rest. It always reminded her that she was not alone, she at least had a mother who loved her.
Knellās own voice mixing with such a placid song, it made for quite the listening. Yet, one verse was enough for her, for now it was. It was enough to remind her of the sea, of the warm and thick water. Yes, she did miss it, she missed the elegance she held onto within the ocean, being able to swim about so freely with no fear of injury by falling, being able to glide through the clear liquid with such freedom and speed . . . but she couldnāt deny that she was beginning to also love how very light air was as well. Even if she was restricted by gravity, air was so very easy to move about in, in a way, it was sort of liberating. āI wonder if this is what mother felt when she first came upon land.ā
Donāt know, but you seem like youāre a lot like her yourself Knell, so itās likely you and her share the same sentiments.ā Canaan answered her. This caused Knell to smiled just a bit as she remained with her head laying upon the cool stone of the bridgeās handrail, her face shielded from the pleasant night air. The Undine girl took in a deep breath as she thought about her mother, and about her homeāthe sea. She may not have been loved by those who were suppose to be her family, but the ocean was her home, even if she was growing to love the land more and more with each precious, passing second. No matter what unpleasantness had occurred with her, Knell was still loving the land very much. She just wished for Echo to be with her then . . . that they hadnāt of been separated earlier that day.
Oh, she hoped that she would be able to meet up with her dearest friend again soon. . . . Thinking about the look that had been on Echoās face as she had tumbled down into the forest that day, it made Knellās heart feel so heavy inside of her chestāas if it were sinking into the depths of her stomach. That look had been one of terror, of fear. . . . How she wished she had not stricken such emotions into her friend, because of a single mis-step she managed to scare her dearest one. Thinking on this made Knell released a forlorn sigh from deep within herself, her clumsiness would make her worry another. Yet, at the same time, there was an undeniable fact about her being separated from Echo that left Knell a bit at easeāthe separation had allowed the young Undine woman to meet Crane. Even if their meeting had not been under the best circumstances, Knell wasnāt upset or angry about that, no, she was actually glad to have met someone else who would be with her and Echo on her travels, she liked meeting new and nice people like him.
Listening to the riverās babbling below her, Knell shut her eyes to the world and simply allowed herself to be lost to it. The sound of water such as that was truly a soothing noise to a landbound Undine. . . . However, shortly into this little time of relaxation, she was broken from her water-induced trance when the sound of footsteps upon the stone bridge caught her earsāfootfalls which were approaching her. Coming out of state, the girl brought her eyes to open again, looking out at the river below her before the noise halted, right near her. āKnell . . . be mindful of this.ā Canaan warned, being ever cautious as usual. Blinking uncertainly, the pigtailed teenager pulled herself up to her full height and looked at the one who had come to stand very much near her, standing the same way sheād been against the handrail.
She simply looked at him, a bit surprised by how much taller he was then she, although Craneās height had startled her a bit, this was just a bit more of a shock. āNice night isnāt it?ā he spoke to her all of a sudden, startling her into letting out a bit of a squeak. But, he turned to her and gave a grin along with his simple question. His smile was . . . nice, it was a gentle and kindly one. Seeing it by the light of his makeshift torch was enough to let Knell feel at ease, though Canaan himself did not let up.
Releasing a breath of relief, she returned his smile with one of her own before speaking, āIndeed so, it would seem that the darkness has come to bless everyone with a reprieve from the harsh heat that the day has been giving unto us.ā Her voice was earnest, honest and as gentle sounding as her song before had been. Knell was happy to talk to someone who seemed so friendlyāmeeting nice people was something she enjoyed after all. Though she was more than ready to continue speaking with the man before her, something caught hold of Knellās attention, she became nearly entranced by what it was she heard. . . . A voice came forth from the quiet and still night air, permeating much as her own had done before.
It was a voice Knell knew so well, a song being sung in a tongue that only few knew, only those of Undine descent. . . . āWhal irruis rurd rairdal du dha weyar, Haes dhan faesul irrui fesc huna wasa irruis haesd raiar, Ferruw dha rraiddasailr wedasr er dhairr rhuw irrui dha nef du whasa irrui farulr.ā The voice was so captivating, so moving . . . ebbing and flowing as if it were the tides of the oceans itself, the voice was one of a truly divine sounding woman. And, such a moving voice could have only belonged to one woman, one dear woman. āWedsh er dha nuul sairar hairh efuya, rairdal er dha saiffrar railr irrui du rraaf, Lad dhan sallrasd dha dsidh du irrui, Yui wairr layas fa erula whal dha llairh warsuna irrui fesc eln sunllusd irrui waidh dhaais wesndh Wedsh er dha rruw llairh rairhd if dha wedasr raica rdesr. Thairr wairr rad irruis llaesr llruw eweirr eln fsailr irrui faesa, hasa irrui wairr erweirrr farulr.ā
And it was so nearby, the song came from so near, hearing it so close caused Knellās dear little heart to skip a beat within her chest, and her aquamarine eyes to widen as her whole form when still and silent. Her eyes turned glassy as only one though went through her head, āEcho. . . .ā It was her, that voice and that song, it could only have been Knellās dear friend singing. The Undine Lullabyāthe song Knell had taught to Echo when theyād become friends as a sign of the adoration she held for the strong Undine. She began to shake as she realized how very close Echo was to her now, and, it was in the light of a dimly lit streetlamp that Knell was able to perceive a figure. A tall and almost imposing feminine form silhouetted within the darkness, yet lit just enough for her to be known. āEcho. . . .ā Knell whispered quietly.
She was beginning to feel a bit dizzyālike a very heavy weight had come off her shoulders, had she truly missed Echo as this? So much she had not even known. . . .
And although another voice came into being nearby, the voice of a male whom seemed to be imitating the sounds of the Undine Lullaby, Knell seemed to pay it no heed. An unknown figure landed before Echo suddenly, but Knell cared not. It was happiness which plagued her soul now, pure elation. Without giving it a second thought, the Undine Princess suddenly pushed herself away from the stone handrail of the bridge; away from the stranger sheād begun conversing with, and took off into a sprint, running passed him. Tears began to fall from Knellās aquamarine eyes, resulting in shimmering white gemstones falling to the stone pavement below with barely notable āplinks.ā Not minding the new person whoād come before her dear friend, Knell ran right to her, still crying from the joy in seeing her.
With no warning, the pigtailed girl came to a disastrous halt, while sheād meant to stop before Echo, and embrace her, Knell managed to instead trip over her own foot right before her, resulting in her literally falling onto her friend. Yet even still, the teal-haired girl managed to wrap her arms around her friendās form, still managing to give her the hug she wanted to. āEcho, I am so sorry!ā she cried, apologizing for when theyād been separated.