In time you'll find, I've got baggage too

Maea

give me shelter, or show me heart

Holding on to his dorsal fin, Maea let him carry her off to another reef. He approached more carefully this time, and she kissed his rubbery hide before swimming off to inspect the shells he had found. Among the corals were both mussels and clams, along with other creatures she did not have names for. A huge, red octopus angled its way among the outcrops, and she watched it with fascination for a time, before it sauntered off into a crevice that looked too tight for her to follow.

Turning her attention to the shells instead, she inspected them more closely. A few were open to the sea water, but closed quickly when she approached. Pouting a little, she withdrew her knife and began to pry a handful or so of the smaller ones from their rocky perches. She had seen the sailors and seamen in the harbor eat these things raw, and she wanted to try it.

watch me fall apart
and I'll be yours to keep

SUNJATA

the flood

but is this what you want? what you wanted?
do you need love? am i enough for you?

He watches her depart after a moment, and he swims nearby the corals but far enough to not frighten off the colorful fish that surround the area. And with it, he realizes shortly that there’s a section of it with a decent amount of height to it, more and more of those oysters dotting the sides. He glances toward Maea briefly, watching as she picks at an oyster, before he shifts back into himself halfway, leaving his bottom half his orca form to approach and inspect the corals themselves.

Vibrantly colored, he breaks the surface of the water to get some breath into his lungs, and then he disappears again, reaching for two oysters specifically before finding a rock breaking the surface nearby. Languidly, he climbs up onto it to shift back into himself more fully, pulling his legs together and using a claw to pry open one of the oysters as well, fishing around inside for something harder than the soft flesh of the inside of the oyster. It comes up empty, and so he sets it to the side, reaching for the second one to do the same.

There he finds two of them, but as he pries it open he finds the inside is a dark vibrant blue, as well as the pearls inside – almost an iridescent hue of teals, purples, and blues, and he smirks to himself as he pours a small amount of the liquid out and lifts the shell to his lips.

in time you'll find i've got my baggage too

Maea

give me shelter, or show me heart

She was vaguely aware of him shifting and joining her on the reef, but remained focused on her task. To avoid accidents with the sharp knife and the stubborn clams. Once she had her pockets full however, she looked around to see where her man had gone, and swam up towards the surface when she spotted his silhouette against the sun.

Maea came up to the surface by the rock he had found to perch on, and smiled up at him as she leaned her arms against the ledge. Watched him swallow the content of the shell with some interest.

"Is it as tasty as it looks? I've never tried," she commented. Her voice was a little raspy from the salt that had come in contact with her vocal cords, gained an uncanny dual nature... and she did look a little like a mermaid where she hovered, hair slicked back over her head and floating freely in the waves about her shoulders. An odd fish, no matter where she went.

watch me fall apart
and I'll be yours to keep

SUNJATA

the flood

but is this what you want? what you wanted?
do you need love? am i enough for you?

It doesn’t take her long to join him, and he lets his gaze flicker to her with a smirk when he finishes the one oyster as her arms fold along the rock and she peers up at him. “I prefer them cooked, but they’re not bad.” He muses, leaning back against the rock and partially shifting again so his legs become fins. If she’s to look like a mermaid, perhaps he could at least fit the part too. But her voice is distracting enough, the hoarseness of it with the saltwater that seems almost sultry enough that he lets his gaze linger on her a fraction longer than before.

“Here, I’ve already opened this one.” He reaches for the previous one, going to hand it to her. “Watch out for pearls, however, wouldn’t want to swallow those.” He offers with a quiet hum of a laugh, propping himself up on an elbow and letting the sun dry off the saltwater along his skin and his fin, waving his tail briefly against the rock.

Speaking of pearls, he ensures they’re in the space at his side, hidden from her and hadn’t slipped off the rock, waiting to see what she thinks of the oyster in the first place.

in time you'll find i've got my baggage too

Maea

give me shelter, or show me heart

"It would be interesting to try both," she shrugged, but accepted the shell he gave her. At his warning, she poked at the slimey contents of it with a dubious look, but found nothing within the strange looking creature that felt anything like a pearl. Not that she had seen any in her life, really... but at least there was nothing hard in it to choke on.

Mimicking Sunjata, she brought the shell to her mouth and tipped the contents into her mouth. The texture was... strange, and her expression was a study in suspicious delight. Half grossed out, half delighted, and she still had not decided what she really thought of it, by the time she had swallowed. At least the taste was pleasant. Salty and very flavorful.

Reaching down into her pockets, she produced the clams she had gathered and placed them on the rock beside Sunjata. "Show me how to open them, and I'll trade you half," she offered, with a smile like she was feeling very generous indeed. Maea heaved herself out of the water to sit beside him, the rock small enough that she had to sit very close indeed to fit.

But would she choose another rock to sit on? One of the several that marked the reef, where waves clucked and rushed to mark their existence? Of course not.

watch me fall apart
and I'll be yours to keep

SUNJATA

the flood

but is this what you want? what you wanted?
do you need love? am i enough for you?

He gives her a nod to that, agreeing that they should definitely try both just to see what she thought of it. But at least she tries this attempt, and he watches her curiously as she tests it out – propped up on his elbow still, he places a hand to rest his head as he watches her test it and then surprisingly procure more from her pockets. She tells him to show her how to open them, and he sits up a small amount, however much the partial shifting would allow him to in order to give her a bit more room.

It’s not much, and as he reaches for one and she settles in close beside him, he leans toward her to plant a kiss on her side before laying back to get the most out of both hands to try and show her. “You’ll probably need a knife, but I know you have one of those.” He looks up to her with a teasingly roguish grin. “But anyway. Like this.” He shows her, holding the oyster flat and using a claw to get into where the hinge of the oyster connects – twisting it around until it loosens.

Then, he swivels the claw around the inside of the top of the shell to loosen the meat within, before he pries it fully open and spies a single pearl, vibrant white and much like her in its beauty. Handing the shell to her, he smirks. “That is a pearl.” He points to it with a claw, raising a brow to her, seeing what she thinks before he reveals his surprise.

in time you'll find i've got my baggage too

Maea

give me shelter, or show me heart

He shifted position to give her room to sit, a rather chivalrous move that gained him a warm smile and a gentle stroke of the cheek as he kissed her side. He showed how to open the clams then; Maea watched closely, and breathed an awed sigh as he showed her the pearl lodged inside.

"Oh, that's beautiful!" she said, and reached to pick it up, and turn it between her fingers. It was vibrant and shimmered in the sunlight, almost perfectly round and weighed next to nothing in her hand. She offered it back to him. "Are they worth anything?"

Reaching for a shell of her own, she tried to mimic his easy opening of the clam. Of course, the first thing she did was poke the tip of her dagger into the flesh beneath her thumb. Not deep, but enough to sting, and for her to hiss as she dipped her hand into the sea to rinse it clean. That was not a good move either; the salty water made the burn even worse, and she bit off a few juicy curses before attempting to pry the damn shell open again.

This time she was more successful, but alas did not find a pearl inside. Scraping it loose from the shell, she swallowed the oyster and deemed it payment enough for the bloodshed. "Alright... I think I've a taste for these," she admitted, and reached for another.

watch me fall apart
and I'll be yours to keep

SUNJATA

the flood

but is this what you want? what you wanted?
do you need love? am i enough for you?

“They can be. I’m not sure about Torchline but they were popular back home.” He rumbles with a small smile, but then she’s trying again and he watches her work, popping his head up on the rock, letting his tail flick idly until she ends up cutting her thumb. His brows furrow a small amount as she sticks it into the water, cursing vibrantly, and he chuckles lightly to her use of colorful wording.

“Go slow, they’re slippery.” He teases, giving her a playful wink before she downs the oyster and he picks up another one. Prying it open as he had the first three, he finds its another dark shelled one internally, and he fishes around for a pearl but comes up empty as well. He swallows this one before taking the shell and turning away from her to place the two dark pearls within it before handing it over to her. “I found these ones in the second one I opened.” He tells her with a small smile, waiting to see what she thinks about the different hue.

“If we find enough of them we can make it into a necklace.” He suggests, a hand lifting to brush away her wet hair from her shoulders, touch light and gentle as he taps his fingers along her arm.

in time you'll find i've got my baggage too

Maea

give me shelter, or show me heart

"Thank you for the warning," she told him with a wry smile, rolling her eyes that the advice came after the damage had already been made. She took another oyster, managed to open it without problem this time, but found yet again that it was empty of pearls. All the better to eat, though she realized the saltiness of them to be a bit of a problem. Mhe was growing thirsty rather quickly.

Looking over to see what Sunjata wanted to show, her eyes widened at the sight of the dark blue pearls laid within the oyster shell. Against the dark backdrop, and in the light of the sun, their hue was as vibrant and changing as the deep sea itself, and infinately beautiful. "They're amazing," she breathed, awed to realize he must have found both of them in the same shell; their color was almost identical, with only minor differences to make each pearl unique.

"Good idea. They would bring out your eyes very nicely." Maea smiled at him, thinking he meant to make one for himself. Reaching for the white pearl, she placed it between the blue ones within the shell; they complemented each other well, like night and day. "That already looks good to me," she told him. "Maybe you don't need more than that, with the right setting."

His fingers tickled pleasantly where they played with her hair, pushing it aside, touching her skin. Maea leaned into the touch, fell back to settle beside him. She felt surrounded by blue. The ocean beneath her, the endless sky above, flooded with light and with the taste of sea and salt on her tongue. "I think I could get used to this," she sighed, smiling, and turned her head to kiss him gently.

watch me fall apart
and I'll be yours to keep

SUNJATA

the flood

but is this what you want? what you wanted?
do you need love? am i enough for you?

He nearly grins wide and without abandon as she tells him the pearls he’s found are beautiful. He agrees with the statement, head nodding to her until she comments that they’d bring out his eyes. A bark of laughter leaves him as he shakes his head. “No… Not for me.” He tells her with an amused smirk, fingers trailing along her spine. She adds the white one and gives her opinion on it and he nods to that, a similar roguish smirk crossing his face. “They’d look quite nice on you…” He says, closing the oyster to trap the pearls within as she leans back against the rock to face him.

She tells him she thinks she could get used to this, and he offers her a nod, a small crooked smile along his face. “I could too.” A quiet agreement, leaning forward to kiss her gently too — hand still playing with her damp pale hair. He leans back a bit more fully, to where he can prop his head up with a hand, black and white tail on full display flicking idly in the sunshine.

“Just gotta find a place here first.” He says softly, tilting his head toward her in thought.

in time you'll find i've got my baggage too

Maea

give me shelter, or show me heart

She blushed when he corrected her, saying the necklace would be for her. Maea tried to protest, to say she didn't need anything, that they would be wasted on her. But his fingers trailing down her spine stilled the words on her tongue, and that rogue smile suggested he wouldn't really listen unless she absolutely hated the idea. Which... she of course did not. Not when he looked so happy with this little project.

"You" spoil me, she told him softly instead as she learned back in the sunwarm rock, and the kiss she gave him was warm too. He returned it, playing with her hair that already was starting to dry in the sun and wind.

"What would your ideal location be?" Maea asked, her fingers caressing his face, tracing the line of his jaw with loving attention. "A house with color by the sea... but there is a lot of sea to choose from in Torchline. Do you want people nearby? In the town, outside it, or.. more isolated, like Aumakua?"

watch me fall apart
and I'll be yours to keep

SUNJATA

the flood

but is this what you want? what you wanted?
do you need love? am i enough for you?

“I aim to please.” He teases her lightly again, a breathy laugh leaving his throat as he focuses on her and the dancing fingertips along her skin. He focuses on the attention given to him as well, the fingertips that trace his stubbled jaw caressing his face, bringing up things he had contemplated but ultimately never quite decided on just yet.

“I think after everything, perhaps a bit further away from people.” He purses his lips somewhat, searching her face for a reaction. “Not having to worry about things getting stolen at the very least.” A wry smile crosses his face to that — knowing already how Torchline seemed to fit the less than savory. “But maybe not too far… I don’t really know. What do you think?” He asks, brow raising.

in time you'll find i've got my baggage too

Maea

give me shelter, or show me heart

Settling down, resting her head onto the rock, Maea let her eyes trail up from his face and into the blue above as she considered. She did not mind the idea of being isolated - her farm had been almost half a days travel from the settlement - and knew both the pro's and con's of it.

"Somewhere high up, so the water can't reach the house, even in a storm or flood," she mused aloud. Her hand kept stroking idle lines on him, trailing down from his face to the strong neck. "With a view... and not too big, so there's not so much to clean. And maybe space to grow some things."

It felt surreal, to plan the making of a home like this. Maea felt a little dizzy just at the thought, at what it might be like to open a door and find Sunjata waiting on the other side, with a living room and a kitchen that was only theirs, where their hands were equally familiar with all the drawers and shelves, and traces of them could be seen all around.

It was... So beautiful a vision, and still so very foreign. Maea swallowed against a lump forming in her throat, and reached out her arms for him, in a sudden need to feel him close.

"This is really happening?" she asked, sounding a little choked, but happy. So very, insanely happy. "It's not a dream?"

watch me fall apart
and I'll be yours to keep

SUNJATA

the flood

but is this what you want? what you wanted?
do you need love? am i enough for you?

She looks up from his face to the sky, musing aloud things that Sunjata definitely thinks are good ideas. No tide to be swept away on, but still the option for sand dunes and grasses to peek out over the front, to open the door and spy the rushing waves below. A place almost like where the lighthouse is, he thinks quietly to himself. A way to trail down the cliff side to the waiting beach below.

He leans into the touch that trails along his neck, muscles shifting there with a small smile that crosses his face. “I like that.” He rumbles quietly to her, shifting on the rock a bit more before she’s reaching for him and he rolls a small amount on the rock to embrace her — tail flapping against the rock with the movement.

He searches her gaze with a brighter smile this time. “I can pinch you if you want me to.” He jests, shifting a small amount to pull her over to him so he can lay a bit more comfortably with the fin. “But it’s real… Provided you still want to do it?” He trails off, gaze flitting from her to the sky, unsure if she’s too worried about the seriousness of it to want to go through with it.

in time you'll find i've got my baggage too