(SE) i could tell some lies to you

SUNJATA

so, collect your scars and wear 'em well
your blood's as good an ink as any

The land starts to cool and Sunjata quickly notices the variety of trees and foliage in the area begin to drop their leaves. He also starts to notice the shimmery, thin material draped along branch to branch along the path made toward the House of Midnight. And while, he wouldn’t really think twice about walking into a spider’s web, this one seems incredibly strong. So strong, in fact, that it takes some work for the Flood to be able to get rid of it.

Eventually, after a small amount of cursing and frustrated sighs, Sunjata lingers toward the beginning, using his water magic to create a large amount of water – aiming to try and use it to remove the strong webs out of the way of the path toward the brothel, trying to quite literally wash it away from the path from sticking to the random sporadic trees and plants that stick up along the path.

---

Open for anyone who hasn't met him yet! We're clearing out cloud spider silk!

go scratch your name into the clouds
and pull them all... d o w n

When stunted hand earns place
with man By mere monstrosity

When El finally stepped within the boundaries of Meadowreach, they expected to be greeted with the same beautifully lush scenery they had encountered when they first came here. Tired of the business of Haulani and secretly hoping to run into Sohalia again, El had decided to go back to Meadowreach, the gorgeous place they had literally stumbled upon on their journey to Torchline. Seeing the unicorns and saving them from death was one of El's more exciting experiences, and they wished to see the place again, expecting it to be only slightly different due to the change in season.

It was, however, much different than El expected, with lines and lines of what looked to be spider's silk running across the place from tree to tree, flower to bush. Their lips pursed as they surveyed the scene, disappointed and confused at what they saw. When they went to touch the silk, it proved to be much stronger than it looked, resisting significantly to the pressure El put on it. Frustrated, El turned their hand into a fist to curl around the silk, disintegrating it within seconds. However, there was much, much more where that came from. Before El could do anything else, they heard an annoyed groan and sigh coming from a place off to their left. Turning, they saw a man controlling a large volume of water, trying his hardest to clear away the silk. It was working, but not extraordinarily well.

"Hey," they called to him from where they were standing, "Do you know what this stuff is? Are you trying to clear it away? I didn't know Meadowreach would be like this during Leafchange..." They wondered whether it was normal for the place to get like this during the colder months. El had certainly never seen anything like it back in the Grounds.

Alarms are struck and shore
is shook By sheer atrocity

Hawke

SUNJATA

so, collect your scars and wear 'em well
your blood's as good an ink as any

Oh, it’s absolutely a mess, and Sunjata’s so focused on using his water magic to try and clear it out that he doesn’t hear them approach until their voice reaches him. It doesn’t startle him in the way of his body jumping or twitching, but it does in the way that navy blue feathers sprout and cascade down his neck, puffed up in his surprise as he looks over his shoulder toward them before lowering his water magic to better hear their question.

“I am trying to clear it away.” His accented voice rumbles, stepping back to wipe his hands off of the silk still connected to it, wrinkling his nose at it before he sighs. “It isn’t… Usually like this. I’ve never seen it before and I’ve spent a few years out here in King’s End.” He tilts his head back toward it, before he peers up through the clouds and finds a few spindly legs up in the clouds, dropping more along the flowery fields.

He looks back over toward them and offers a soft apologetic smile. “I think it’s whatever that is.” He points up to the sky with a lightning scarred hand.

go scratch your name into the clouds
and pull them all... d o w n

When stunted hand earns place
with man By mere monstrosity

El turns their head curiously as they watch blue feathers sprout up along the man's spine, then disappear. It happens so quickly they aren't sure it isn't just a trick of the light. The man had to have some other form in addition to his water magic. A powerful magic user, then. His demeanor is casual, however, as he replies to El, pointing into the sky. There's some type of haze that El had previously thought were clouds, but as they look at it more closely, they can see...are those legs? And more of the silk, visible due to its sheer volume, trailing through the sky.

"What in the shittin' hell's that?" they say, a rhetorical question that communicates their bewilderment effectively. It's becoming a bit hypnotic, the way the spiders bounce and float through the air, so they tear their eyes away to look back at the stranger.

"Guess I could help you, then. This place was so beautiful when I came here last." After this, they give a sigh, then go down to their knees to begin cleaning. They move to break some threads by hand, but when they begin to start cutting into their hands painfully, they give up and take out a small knife to start cutting.

"You live around here, then? In Wrenzoak's Refuge? I've only been there once, but it was nice when I went." They wondered if the spider silk had gotten all over the refuge as well.

Alarms are struck and shore
is shook By sheer atrocity

Hawke

SUNJATA

so, collect your scars and wear 'em well
your blood's as good an ink as any

Their rhetorical question surprises him with their wording, the Flood rumbling a soft chuckle as he squints back up at the sky. “Some sort of cloud… Spider?” He answers it anyway, because he also isn’t sure either. He can’t remember there being anything like this before the war. But, it isn’t surprising that Caido would end up having more tricks up its sleeve to keep the inhabitants on their toes.

“I appreciate the help.” He offers, returning to the spot he’d been at before, using his magic again and the grappling tendrils to try and pull them away from the main path, if only to get it off to the side so he can cut through them too. “It is one of the more beautiful places in King’s End.” He agrees, a hint belatedly, distracted by the work the both of them do, before he looks back toward them with the conversation, a small smile blooming on the scarred half of his face.

A low rumbled chuckle leaves him in agreement. “Glad to hear that.” He pauses briefly once he’s gotten the majority of the tendrils off to the side, stepping over and pulling a knife from his boot to start cutting through them too. “I do live around here. I made the Refuge, actually.” He casts them another smile, this one a bit more playful. “I didn’t really feel like leaving once the war was over, so I stayed. I made the House of Midnight, too.” In case they’d seen it on their travels or heard of it – but it was relatively new regardless, so Sunjata isn’t entirely positive whether or not word had spread so far.

go scratch your name into the clouds
and pull them all... d o w n

When stunted hand earns place
with man By mere monstrosity

El works quietly as Sunjata replies, nodding every so often as they pick up, cut, and throw away spider webs in efficient movements. When he reveals himself to be the creator of the Refuge, they immediately stop and look over to him, eyes widening a bit in surprise and awe. It's only a second later that they make the connection to Sohalia, whom they ran into last time they were here.

"You know Sohalia, then? She was very kind and helped me when I was here last. She said she knew the founder of the Refuge. I guess it makes sense you'd also be the one who made that brothel." They looked at Sunjata with the corner of their brow raised this time, expression matching his playfulness. They had never been to the House of Midnight before, but it looked impressive from a distance. If Sohalia wasn't against it, it must be a fairly decent place, El figured.

"The Refuge is quite beautiful, though. I would've stayed longer if I didn't have commitments in Torchline," they say after a bit, looking off into nothing and clearly thinking about Torchline and the things that happened since they arrived there. Their life really was very different now. After another few moments pass, Eleftheria gasps as they remember something and turns back to Sunjata. "And the unicorn poacher? Did Sohalia get a chance to tell you about him?"

Alarms are struck and shore
is shook By sheer atrocity

Hawke

SUNJATA

so, collect your scars and wear 'em well
your blood's as good an ink as any

The name Sohalia brightens the Flood all that much more, a small crooked smile forming on his face as he looks back toward the stranger with a confirming nod. “Yes, I know Sohalia. She helped me with a quest recently, actually.” Perhaps he should reach out and let her know that her help was appreciated and to see what new things she’s gotten up to lately. For now, though, this silk seems to be everywhere and he diligently continues to try and clean it up as he listens.

“Thank you.” He says, preening internally at the complement of the refuge, but even he knows it holds no candle to Torchline. “Torchline, I think, will forever be my favorite place even if I’m not there anymore.” He admits idly, continuing with the motions of cutting through and moving the silk until his new acquaintance gasps, capturing all of his attention once more, hands stilling where he’s got it wrapped in a small amount of silk.

“Oh, I haven’t heard anything about a unicorn poacher?” His brows pinch, looking away from them to scan the area as if remembering unicorns were relatively common out here. “What happened?” His curiosity certainly always gets the better of him.

go scratch your name into the clouds
and pull them all... d o w n

When stunted hand earns place
with man By mere monstrosity

Then Sohalia hadn't told him. El frowns to themselves as they take in the information, immediately worrying for the unicorns. In the best case scenario, the poacher had been too frightened to come back to the meadow, but El knows this is unlikely. They stop themselves from imagining the worst before turning to Sunjata to respond, hands motionless in their lap, spider silk clean-up forgotten for the time being.

"Yes, well, the last time I was here... It was when I met Sohalia, actually." Their eyes glaze over a bit, looking into nowhere as they recall the memory. "We were just relaxing here, then we saw the unicorns, which was amazing, but then I noticed someone. They were lying down on their belly holding a crossbow, clearly ready to kill." The focus returns to El's eyes as they finish the story, making contact with Sunjata's.

"I scared off the unicorns, so they were safe, but then the poacher attacked us instead for ruining their opportunity. We got out okay, but....so did they. And who knows whether there were more than just one?" At this, El falls silent, looking away, having nothing else to say. Their first reaction is anger and confusion at the realization that Sohalia never told Sunjata anything about this, but it quickly cools as they consider she may simply have never gotten the chance. She is a busy girl, after all.

Alarms are struck and shore
is shook By sheer atrocity

Hawke

SUNJATA

so, collect your scars and wear 'em well
your blood's as good an ink as any

He’s content to pause in his own spider-silk clean up at the time they speak, his attention slipping back over to them as he shakes off a couple of webs that cling to his lightning scarred hand. He notices their far away look, but it isn’t long before the attention is back on him and he tilts his head curiously, focusing on them while they finish the recant of what happened.

“Yikes.” He mutters under his breath, looking away from them to peer around the fields ass if wondering if anything out of place that he’s noticed could be related to such a thing. Nothing comes to mind yet, but at least now he has an idea of what to look out for, and so the demigod turns his attention back to his new acquaintance and nods his agreement. “That’s good to know, thanks for telling me.” And he pauses, because he truly doesn’t have reign over this land, but when it comes to who’s done the most stuff with it, he thinks he certainly falls under that category.

— Fin <3

go scratch your name into the clouds
and pull them all... d o w n