safe || leo valdez x oc

sixty-three: aruna and leo travel through time

ARUNA

~•♡•~

aruna stood with leo, her body now a dull ache, as though it'd been left in the past.

or, she should say the future.

her hand was still on leo's shoulder, but her grip was looser. they were both breathing heavily, trying to look at the world around them.

"where are we?" leo asked.

aruna slowly turned around. behind her, she could see sandy-colored walls surrounding a city. there was a temple on the highest hill, painted a brilliant blue with banners of similar shades. she could faintly hear people beyond the walls talking, laughing. the sun was low, giving everything an orange-yellow tint. shrubs and trees lined the walls, and further beyond, they got thicker and greener.

aruna wiggled her toes, and with leo, she looked down. their feet were in the sand, their pants rolled up. the sand had pieces of sticks and rocks sticking out.

aruna looked back to where she had been facing. opposite the sun, a full, brilliant moon was beginning to rise, the sky turning dark. the dark sea seemed to stretch endlessly, shimmering silver in line with the moon.

"ancient greece." aruna said. she dropped her hand from leo's shoulders, and instead, linked with his. he squeezed her gently, almost as if he was trying to affirm her of his presence.

aruna could hear talking. she and leo turned to the left.

a girl was walking in the water, about mid-calf deep. she wore a silver dress that hung loosely on her body. she didn't bother pulling up the ends of it, allowing it to get soaked. her arms were long and graceful, her form rather fit. her black hair was let down, rippling in the wind. her skin as not as pale as aruna's, but close to it. her nose was straight and wider, her lips a little thinner. her silver eyes almost seemed to glow. on her neck, a necklace with a moon charm was dangling between her collarbones.

she turned behind her. aruna could see a boy running up to her, wearing a red tunic and brown pants. he had no shoes, and didn't bother rolling his pants up as he moved through the water. his hair was curly and somewhat long, his skin well tanned. his arms were quite thin, which aruna found unusual, considered most boys in ancient greece were warriors capable of throwing half their body weight in with one arm.

the girl spoke greek, but aruna could understand just fine.

"do you have to walk so slow?" she complained as she crossed her arms over her chest.

the boy rolled his eyes. "well sorry, lena. not all of us want to move everywhere as fast as possible!"

"ugh, i don't move fast! in fact, i move at a leisurely pace because i like to intake my surroundings. but you," she jabbed a finger at him as he continued walking to her."you consistently move like a lame elder!"

leo smiled and looked at aruna.

"she's like you."

aruna felt saddened and nodded. "and he's like you."

"oh, well pardon me for not moving at the exact pace you wish." archimedes threw at her as he continued walking to her. "i'm either too slow or too fast, too dumb or too smart, too engaged or too disinterested. make up your mind!"