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the abundance after years of without - Melita - 02-15-2026
They’d all gone their separate ways after the dinner party – and that left ample amounts of time for Melita to ponder and plan. Rather than reacting wholly on impulses, she’d jotted down ideas as she completed several other tasks, then flew her skyship towards Halo. By the time she’d managed to put everything together, the calculations had actually taken days; a record for the Honeybee’s forethought capacity. As for the meaning behind that, she didn’t quite touch; leaving it angled in the air for her to mull over when she wasn’t sneaking through Iskra’s makeshift workshop.
Upon first glance it wasn’t…much. The demigod could surmise she didn’t know much about chopping wood, but he’d probably eventually need something much larger for his operations. More looks around axes and open spaces signified, at the very least, it would be very easy to decorate. [say]“All right,” [/say]she hummed towards her companions. [say]“Streamers first,”[/say] as she shoved her sleeves back, paying mind to the roaring hearth. Uncertain over how much time they'd have, she'd work fast.
Between Sila, Fangorn, and herself, a number of adornments, trimmings, and embellishments were added to the wooden, minimalist patterns; balloons tied to rafters, bright hues and colors mixed along strips of paper to signify banners. She’d found some duck patterned pennants too, and then placed a few she’d accrued over her wild magic incantations along window sills and any other solid surface – several in Ludo designed facets, and one that looked Goose-like.
Backing up and surveying the scene, she studied the domicile. Instead of looking like a plain area, now it was well…a portion of hod-podge, brightened melees. Crossing her arms over her chest, she frowned, tilting her head and addressing both dragon and vampire gourd again. [say]“I don’t know. Think it’s missing something?”[/say]
RE: the abundance after years of without - Iskra - 02-15-2026
The yule (unicorn mule) team struggles to move through the snow and frost. Although there’s less storms, the top layers melting make this more treacherous than some of the colder seasons. Deepfrost is actually the best, just not here. Iskra is trucking back his latest haul of wood he’d been collecting, always work to be done regardless of the time of year. While fire might seem out of place for other regions, even with these Longheat days, hearths still burn continuously here.
Stopping the team near his workshop, a small outfit nearby the larger logging operation, Goose leaps from the wagon and goes racing in, barking the whole way. [say]”The fuck got into him?”[/say] Iskra asks the team with a cocked brow. Normally Goose clings to his side, and it’s enough of an oddity that Iskra leans out off the cart and cranes to look around. Goose is also a chicken though, so nothing too amiss, surely, if he’d gone bolting off. [say]”Probably heard some ningos,”[/say] Iskra mutters, working to unhitch the team and put them away for the day. He’d unload the wood tomorrow and get to chopping it then when his bones were fresh.
Goose meanwhile noses open the door and barrels inside to leap up onto Mel, trading barking for licking and muddy paws searching for purchase on her.
RE: the abundance after years of without - Melita - 02-15-2026
It scarcely mattered if they were done – not when all three of them could hear the team and muttering outside. She hadn’t planned this far, where she might stand to make the big reveal, or if she was just going to remain there, deer in headlights look as he came in. Sila and Fangorn scattered immediately; dragon to the rafters and gourd behind the counter, but the Honeybee had no opportunity for a dash when Goose barreled within. [say]“Shiiiiit,”[/say] she whispered, still patting and intercepting the dog as he launched at her. [say]“Good boy – you want to come hide with me?”[/say] Uncertain if she had any treats still in her pockets, she rummaged around and tossed one towards the opposing corner, making a break for it by going invisible immediately thereafter.
Under the cover of intangibility, including sound, she could breathe for a moment. Opting to run towards the counter, she pulled herself on top of it like a concealed gargoyle, or some unseen demon. Perched and aloft, even with Goose sounding the alarm, she centered herself, took a long, slow, deep breath, before her pulse quickened with anticipation. Probably much more than when she plotted out an emboldened motion against former Stormbreak citizens or bullied passersby; this held meaning, significance, words she hadn’t yet put into formation but slid within her ribcage anyway. She could fathom and imagine an assortment of reactions; and though she’d watched him for a long while, she still couldn’t say there were any predictable conclusions and estimations towards one’s workshop being decorated in ducks, balloons, confetti, and streamers.
RE: the abundance after years of without - Iskra - 02-15-2026
The crunch of snow and ice underfoot carries well before Iskra’s boots plod into the threshold of the workshop. Once there though, they stop, frozen in place as if a deer who’s heard a twig snap in the woods and not a set of leather and lace. The silent halt stretches on for what seems too long, but is truly a second or two at most, then a loud laugh breaks into the space, breathy with incredulity.
[say]”W-hat?”[/say] The sounds rouse the boots back to life, and now they clomp into the messy workshop floor, idly knocking off ice and snow at the front board out of habit. [say]”What is all this Goose?”[/say] Iskra demands of the dog, the only creature he can see, attention otherwise wholly absorbed on cataloguing every new merry addition. The dog did not get the memo of the whole hiding thing, and is sat, staring up at where Mel had vanished, head cocked like he’s trying to ascertain where the fuck she went and why.
At Iskra’s voice his head tips upsideddown in true Husky chaotic fashion. A soft tail wag starts, but that’s the only answer Iskra gets before the dog’s neck rights itself. [say]”Meeeeeeeeeel?”[/say] Iskra calls out, turning slow as he walks through, lingering to brush a streamer with his hand. Her marker is clear, and he is suspicious, but also thoroughly delighted.
RE: the abundance after years of without - Melita - 02-16-2026
It was for the best that her invisibility contorted over sound and senses; he would’ve been able to hear the sudden snap of her grin, the molten edges of her heart. At his laugh her pulse quickened, granting herself a modest pat on the back, before settling in to watch, witness him placing things together – her gaze flickering back and forth from dog to man, and then settling on the latter. There could’ve been a whole assortment of responses and retorts; maybe a backlash or recoil for the sheer amount of things laden about his shop, hands ripping apart streamers or poking holes in balloons. But she knew Iskra, and he knew her, and the unpredictable chords were part of the dance.
Goose gave him no answer, and she snorted, granting a laugh that wouldn’t reach his ears. Wholly delighted, even at the furrow of his suspicious brow and the cautious turn as if she might pop out of nowhere, she rose from her crouch, standing along the counter, a towering inkling of chaos. Only when he called out for her, summoned like a demon, did she reappear – tangible again, brightened smiles and shout from her wooden throne. [say]“SURPRISE!”[/say] On that note, she tossed out the confetti she’d kept laden in her hands; pieces of roses she and Aithne had turned into slivers of reverie, hues of blue, white, and yellow to match her impending gift.
RE: the abundance after years of without - Iskra - 02-20-2026
Even when you’re half-expecting someething suspicious is afoot, body honed to an edge of preparation as best it can, it doesn’t stop the inevitable ripple of oh shit once the moment breaks. Especially, since part of what he’s straining for is some leading indicator of who, what, and where, and while he’s got a pretty good guess at the first two, the last one is largely the most important and the one he has the least advantage over with her advanced invisibility.
So Iskra startles on the spot, pulse spiking instantly as muscles twitch and his body jigs in place, an [say]”oh fuck!”[/say] lifting from his chest without intention. Even Goose, who knew, melts into a startled splay of nails over floor as he flinces and then dips down, borking in protest at the abrupt reappearance and the confetti shot.
The terror soon clips into a wild and bright humor, her name braided into a loud laugh, [say]”MEL!”[/say] It’s an admonsihment without heart, quickly dispersing into payback as Iskra lunges forward to grab at her and pull her off the counter.
RE: the abundance after years of without - Melita - 02-20-2026
Her smile was all knives and sunshine the moment the surprise rippled through the room. Half-menacing, half-amused, she proudly remained standing on the counter she’d stolen for the moment, watching as the rest unfurled into swears and barks, delighted beyond measure by the shock and bewilderment. It wasn’t often she got to witness the bombardment; most of the time she was making an escape, an evasion – like with Koa and the Dragoon quarters full of balloons, or that Attuned she bullied into thinking his house was haunted. But she had no reason to create diversions or abscond from this scene – not with Iskra here, and intentions, motives, behind her impromptu commemoration. Multiple, in fact, if she worked up the courage.
She could hear the halfhearted admonishment, as if he had to say it, and shrugged, leering downward as he plucked her away from the taller portions. Arms wound around her legs left her still hoisted aloft, and she preened from on high, glancing down and dropping a few spare portions of glitter and confetti from her hands and down to his hair. [say]“Do you like it? I thought we could celebrate making it through a family dinner,” [/say]by rough explanation as to why she’d turned his processing area into looking as though a streamer bomb had gone off. Sila and Fangorn appeared from their hiding places too, mostly to appease Goose, and while the Honeybee floated amidst her makeshift capture, her gaze pinpointed towards his, though it took a great tilt to her head. [say]“I have something for you too.”[/say]
RE: the abundance after years of without - Iskra - 02-20-2026
Ducking under the extra rain of her crafted confetti and glitter as he dives to reach her, the celebration adorns his hair like an accessory that means to linger. He gets his hands on her and yanks her towards him, the laughter still wreathing around them as he pulls her into a spin, slowly sliding her down and setting her feet back on solid ground. He doesn’t fully release her though, hands still bracing her sides as his gaze coasts back and forth between her eyes.
[say]”Like it?”[/say] he breathes, his smile a restless thing that shrinks and grows in response, never quite dimming all the way. [say]”Mel, I love it! I can’t believe you did all this.”[/say] It’s a display like none he’s had in a very long time. Secluding himself from friends and family meant celebrating things alone, or with Goose, which involves a lot more dog slobber and a lot less party decor. Her reason too, seems so small on the outside, but it’s an enormous thing in truth because it’s a step they’re taking towards building them into something more. Still, his laughter barks out full and deep at the explanation.
[say]”C’mon, it wasn’t that bad,”[/say] he jokes lightly, brushing a strand of her hair back over her shoulder. [say]”I mean, it definitely could have been a lot worse. Although,. What a bomb he dropped at the start.”[/say] He mouths, the heartless to her with lifted brows. Goose’s raucous barking of omg, there she is! has since turned into an impatient whine as the dog tries to squish between them, but he snorts and leaves them to it when Fangorn and Sila appear. Still worked up, the husky tries to initiate a game of chase as he darts past them in a circuit, barking in their face like a tag.
[say]”Oh? Isn’t this the something?”[/say] He glances back past her to the surrounding decor and the overall surprise of it all.
RE: the abundance after years of without - Melita - 02-21-2026
The spin should’ve thrown her off-kilter, but instead she was absorbed and amused, laughing as she settled back onto the floor, surrounded by scents of pine. Her nose wrinkled as he stared her down, but rather than give way, she did the same, searching for something in the breathless torrent. Another emotion stirred, but with a notion akin to sadness; that he’d think this simple scenery was enough – and while no one had ever celebrated her nonsense either, there was a boundless weight of determination set into her that wanted to see this one engulfed; a one-upping of commemoration every time.
Letting that slide away, her smile remained, despite the distinct clamor of heartless dominions. [say]“I mean, he’s always got something going on, but yeah – I had no idea that Ru had died and the whole heart thing…,”[/say] came with a shake of her head. It might have come as no surprise that each one of Sunjata’s ill-fated relationships had made Melita that much more likely to steer clear of such entanglements. Iskra was an exception, and she’d made space for him with no parameters in sight, but still some caution thrown into the wind. Her brows furrowed significantly, and then she blinked it away, trying desperately not to let the melancholic conditions find a thriving knot in here.
While Sila and Fangorn encouraged Goose by roaming after the dog in all manners – from ground to air – it at least gave Melita the opportunity she sought. [say]“Uhhh no, there’s more,”[/say] she winked and grinned again, ever the mischief in her gaze, sliding out of his grasp to saunter behind the counter to retrieve a box. Carefully chosen, wooden and large enough to hold something thereafter, it had been marked with pegasus’ burnt in amongst the sides, and she stood in front of him again, granting the bestowal with the pretense of her confidence. [say]“Here you go! But let me know if you don’t like it, and I can have things adjusted-,”[/say] and then she swallowed that nervous, apprehensive coil down again.
Once he opened it, there would be the initial outpouring of more flower confetti and glitter, as ever promised (in all manner of hues and colors, but certainly made to match the blends of the impending gift). Under all the fanfare lingered two pegasus’ figures, expertly molded and crafted by Nikander, wings capable of unfurling outwards, as if they were meant to take off. She’d purposefully painted both to resemble what she knew of his parents’ shifts – the vivid hues of Ampere and her strong, emboldened qualities, and the prowess, powerful, halting nuances of Gaucho. [say]“So you can have them by you all the time.”[/say]
RE: the abundance after years of without - Iskra - 02-22-2026
[say]"Isn't that always the case,"[/say] he muses, of people always having something going on. Not him, usually, but people, and he's certain she's not entirely removed of it. Maybe romantic drama, surely, he hopes, but demigod status alone has her and the others in the thick of Caido's drama often. Death, even, is just something for them to shrug at, Mort's halls little more than a gossip rather than a cage.
He's also happy to steer away from the nuances of the evening and the scrutiny of mortality or other dangerous affairs. So consider him thoroughly intrigued when she insists there's more, his grip loosening to let her slip away back to the box on the counter. He steps in towards the offering as she holds it aloft, his gaze immediately drawn to the woodburned pegasus on the edge. [say]"What's all this then?"[/say] It's not really a question so much as a sentiment that she shouldn't have, but there's no fighting back the giddy expression that's got hold of his face.
Eagerly he slides the lid off, glancing from Mel to the box as he does so. He's no idea what to expected, but it is a surprise to find the shapes of his parents, in so many words, tucked inside the box. Awe folds over the excitement, and with a newfound gingerness he reaches to withdraw them from their nestled hold in the box to hold them aloft, free and exposed. Ampere looks like the caught tempest she'd always been in memory, and Gaucho stands like the epitome of razing strength he'd always heard about. Emotion threatens to well behind his eyes, pricking them hot and wet, and he blinks rapidly against the risk.
[say]"Mel—I."[/say] His throat bobs as he swallows, and gently he places the pegasus down on the counter beside the box. He turns to look at her with unidivided attention once more. [say]"I love them,"[/say] he breathes, moved at her consideration, and all for a dinner party. [say]"Thank you, this gift is incredible."[/say] A tender smile cracks his features and he doesn't hesitate to draw her into a massive hug.
RE: the abundance after years of without - Melita - 02-22-2026
[say]“I’m not ever doing that dumb heart thing, by the way,”[/say] she added as an afterthought and a warning, in case he conjured any notions of that being sensical; she’d thought it was stupid then, and even more idiotic now that her uncle’s had been tied up in nothingness, death, and decay. Ru and Sunjata’s relationship had been built upon some significant, traumatic issues and a lack of confidence, faith, in one another – to both of their credits, there never seemed to be any assurances or convictions after Safrin, Nate, secret children, stabbings… [say]“Like, if people can’t trust each other, then,”[/say] she shrugged, in a why bother notion, nose beginning to curl upwards and brow furrowing before forgoing the path, returning to what she’d instigated beforehand.
At the question, she gave another Cheshire cat grin, figuring the gifts would naturally explain themselves once he lifted them from the array of glitter and confetti. She watched the play of emotions on his face, scrutinizing as ever, striving to determine the result before he voiced it – half-hesitant and hopeful, wondering if she’d cast the bestowals wrong, should’ve gone elsewhere, if it’d be too much or too painful. She wouldn’t have wanted any memory of her father, but he’d been a pitiful excuse for one; maybe her mom, just to see her one last time. But she’d known of Iskra’s closeness with Ampere, of the legendary beacon of Gaucho, and thought, maybe, it’d be enough –
Watching his eyes start to well had her beginning to panic, gaze widening and starting to form an apology along her tongue, but then the thereafter came; attention and consideration, gratitude and being swarmed, drawn in, absorbed into him. Rather than stiffening, as she might’ve done months and seasons before, she took a long breath, a sigh and token of relief, and drew a much warmer smile, losing its catlike configurations for real depth and emotion. Her arms came around and enveloped him too, tightening around his back, pressing her chin into the crook of his neck. [say]“Good. Though you might have to put them elsewhere. Not much room in here,”[/say] she meant as a joke (and because she'd caused much of it with the streamers and such), and plus, they should be in safer confines, out of the way of wood being chucked everywhere.
RE: the abundance after years of without - Iskra - 02-22-2026
A snort immediately shreds the notion that he’d ever want her to. [say]”Good,”[/say] he concludes instead. [say]”I think our hearts deserve to stay exactly where they are, full of everything they carry. Gods know I tried to drown mine a time or two, tried to make it feel gone, but…”[/say] He doesn’t mean to get melancholic now, so he rolls away the thought with a shrug. [say]”It’s better, to feel it.”[/say] Something he could say now that he’s made it through to the other side, but in those dark moments, he would have let his heart die too.
Not knowing near the amount of details about the whole event as Mel, he just nods along with the idea of trust. That has never been much the issue for him. Not outright, at least. Maybe it’s a lack of trust that roots his fears in place, that feeds his temper, that curls anxiety against every rib. Generally, the one he doesn’t trust is himself, and he thinks for good reason, but he’s been repairing that too. Every honey-lacquered moment with her has helped in that regard.
Those thoughts all drift away easily once he’s opened the box and become enamoured with her gift. It’s touching, being seen that way, known and remembered and cared for like he’d last known as a boy, and even then only but under the purview of a depressed mother that had little left to spare herself much less him. Kindness has ever been a slow offering from life.
He breathes her in as they embrace, and it feels like comfort. [say]”Oh, they’re definitely going in a place of honor. Which is not here,”[/say] he assures as he releases her gradually, lingering close still. His home is no grand display to write home about either, but it’s definitely better than this sorry shack. [say]”I have been meaning to spruce this place up,”[/say] he admits with a glance around. [say]”Something a little more permanent than your efforts.”[/say]
RE: the abundance after years of without - Melita - 02-23-2026
His answer earned another snort initially, the curl of her grin reforming as she glanced downward; not quite forgoing how much had built up in their hearts, but certainly intending to feel the weight of it all. His own seemed to still honor an abundance of grief and melancholy, and her eyes narrowed for a moment, coming to rest on his, sentiments burning along the back of her throat, and offering another instead. [say]“Exactly. And I know it wasn’t intended that way, but-,”[/say] there it was, just the same. Nodding that they’d resolved a non-issue, out there and flickering back into the hearth like it was nothing at all, she wondered why she’d even been apprehensive about several other things milling about that mind of hers.
Because, she did trust him. Her sentiments might’ve been hard fought and won, easy to smash and break apart when the fury was lit; but it’d never been that way when it came to Iskra. She occasionally worried about others, which was perhaps why she attacked first, brazen and bold, an instinctual lunge to the throat so another couldn’t do the same to her. But he wasn’t that way, and it made things that much simpler – if she could get out of her own godforsaken way. [say]“Soooo, on that thought,” [/say]which really hadn’t been, but she wasn’t going to be brave one moment and apprehensive the next when it came to defining them. [say]“Where did you want to go next? Can’t do a dinner in Stormbreak anymore,”[/say] which she gave one bit of a grimace, then a shrug. [say]“But the Celestine is still available, and I heard it got changed a bit,”[/say] so it’d be something new and different. Then, probably because she was gaining those audacious sentiments and didn’t want to wonder about it anymore, she tilted her head, kept her gilded stare on him as her tongue started an avalanche. [say]“If you want to go on more dates, I mean. Are we dating? I didn’t know what to say to my uncle, and we hadn’t really talked about it, and then you didn’t say anything, so,”[/say] her hands clenched, bothered by the uncertainty, but the things notched in her ribs eased, felt much better out in the open.
On the release though, she stayed in his orbit, granting another grin, a breath, an ease. [say]“You should still keep some of the glitter though. Are you going to make it bigger?”[/say]
RE: the abundance after years of without - Iskra - 02-25-2026
Focusing on the death of the heart is easy, now that it’s here, now that Sunjata is just a shadow of himself in regards to those feelings anyway. Iskra knows what she means though, that the heart had originally been made to represent trust, a symbol that extended beyond words. His sentiments about keeping their hearts exactly as is, feelings as they are, extends to that too though. Trust or not, it seems better to leave it set to sort out the usual way, especially if the alternative is something else decaying instead. So he instead faintly shakes his head, making a small face as she furthers her meaning, and it seems they’re of one mind in that regard.
[say]”Hm?”[/say] he muses aloud, putting the act of thought into display, one brow hiking up. Secretly, he’s thrilled to learn she wants another date, especially so soon, but he hasn’t planned it out—he does not plan much, truth be told. [say]”The Celestine could be fun,”[/say] he admits, only having been there briefly while intoxicated, so he doesn’t remember much. [say]”Guess it’ll be another picnic,”[/say] which is not said as a problem, but as a comment to the plans they’re building, especially since he’d chosen Stormbreak before specifically for the restaurant atmosphere. [say]”I would like to see how the remnants of the city are faring,”[/say] he acknowledges as well, otherwise not overly concerned with the rehab center of creatures. [say]”Although somewhere with trees might be most worthwhile in Leafchange,”[/say] he counters, considering the sea of gold and red leaves in some areas.
[say]”Oh, uh, definitely,”[/say] he says quickly, if suddenly nervous as she brings it up. One hand clamps over the back of his neck, trying to force the swell of nerves down with the pressure. [say]”I actually meant to uh, ask you about that more, after the dinner. I wasn’t really sure what to say, which is why I stayed quiet.”[/say] He’s fumbling, and acutely aware of it. He’s skipped some steps it feels like, jumping immediately to telling the girl he loves her, but not doing enough to ensure she’s secure that they’re dating, and he’s left constantly wondering if he’s too much or too little to her tastes.
The one thing he knows at least, is that everything is better when he’s with her. This is proof that she wants to continue, and despite everything else being unknown in the moment, that grants him enough courage to reach out and claim her hand in his. Fingers curl around hers, and he lifts his gaze from it to her amber eyes. [say]”I want nothing more than to date you, Mel. Boyfriend, girlfriend, it all sounds too simple for how I feel with you, but there’s nowhere else I’d rather be than your side, and no one else I’d ever want.”[/say] His heart has long been given over to her.
He smiles over the offer as she tries to pivot to something easier, like decor staying among the shack, but he holds firm for her answer for now.