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ave atque vale - Printable Version

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ave atque vale - Ronin - 04-06-2021

Thread takes place directly after tell me your secrets and your sins



There's a storm brewing, within and without. Sheets of rain blow against the shoreline and howl through the streets of Haulani, and it's all but impossible to make out your hand in front of your face. That doesn't stop Ronin, though, the Star already drenched, braced and stalwart against the wind that tries to throw him off his feet. Even last year he would not have risked going outside in weather like this, but tonight? Tonight he can't be stopped.

He's heard on the grapevine that Sunjata is at the Halenani, which pisses off the already irate Star for a hundred and one reasons. He was going to be there for the Flood. That's what he's told Remi. And he will. He's just got a bone to pick with him first. Maybe a bunch of bones, actually.

And so, through stormy streets Ronin makes his way towards the Halenani, intent on ripping Sunjata out of a whore's bed if he has to. He'll apologise to Maeve later, if it comes to that.


RE: ave atque vale - Sunjata - 04-06-2021

There is a storm brewing, yet for Sunjata it’s only external as he slips from the Halenani, drunk and high and all combinations of bad decisions. It’s a wonder he can even walk through the alley, given everything, but he manages it. He manages it further when he realizes that he does still get to go embrace the storm, plated up with armor and horns on display, the only thing he doesn’t have out are his wings.

Because honestly? He’d probably blow over with one rogue wind.

He rounds a corner rather abruptly, sure that it’s the path to take home, when there’s something equally as big, not quite as tall, but feels like a wall regardless as he walks right into it. He stumbles back a fraction to scan what he walked into with a snicker as he finally realizes it’s Ronin. “[say]Sorry… Oh hi Ronin.[/say]” He chimes with an easy smile, swaying a fraction as he plants his feet. “[say]Oh! Did you… You heard the news, huh?[/say]” His accent slips thicker, mixing and melding with torchline’s slang as he peers at the Star with a flush to his skin and blown pupils.


RE: ave atque vale - Ronin - 04-06-2021

Oh, goodie. Sunjata has shown up before Ronin has to march into the Halenani and throw him out of a window. He doesn't really move as the other man walks into him, given that Ronin is sober as a judge and fuelled by anger, and in any other moment he'd realise that Sunjata isn't in a position to do anything, let alone fight him. But this isn't any other moment - it's this moment. And in this moment, Ronin's fist swings up to crack across the Flood's jaw with as much strength as he can muster, the sound swallowed up by the wind and the purr of thunder overhead.

[say]"Oh, I heard,"[/say] he snarls into the storm. [say]"What the fuck were you thinking, Jata? With Safrin?"[/say] Ronin can't help himself - he swings again, throwing his shoulder into it as well. It's jealousy, hurt, rage and worry all rolled into one, and he doesn't know what to do with it other than give his friend a pair of black eyes.


RE: ave atque vale - Sunjata - 04-06-2021

To be honest he probably should have expected it, the fist that is. But he doesn’t and it hits with enough force Sunjata may have actually, finally, cracked a tooth. Luckily for the Flood (or unluckily) there’s a wall behind him, one he stumbles back into, a sluggish attempt at bringing his fists up to try and block Ronin’s punches, before it fails inevitably. A hiss of pain leaves him, cutting through his inebriation with such sharpness he can’t help but to wince and squint through as the next punch arrives. “[say]Fuck, Ronin. Stop.[/say]” He pants, slumping into the wall.

His hands manage to come out, fingers uselessly gripping to the front of Ronin’s clothes as if that might stop the Star from another punch. Sunjata’s too far gone to actually be able to muster anything even close to a retaliation. So he leans over and spits blood out onto the street, runs his tongue along his teeth to ensure they’re all there. “[say]What I was thinking.[/say]” He begins, panting. “[say]I wanted to save Nate.[/say]” He manages, sucking down a breath against the sharpness of the pain. “[say]But, sorta backfired. No, really backfired. So go on. Be like Deimos and Hotaru and everyone else.[/say]” He pauses to wince again, leaning back against the wall. “[say]Go on ‘n tell me just how shitty I am. Remind me.[/say]” A humorless and cold smile crosses his face, bunching up the scar, bloody and full of frustration.

“[say]Remind me, Ronin, that my father was right about me. Please. Everyone else has.[/say]”


RE: ave atque vale - Ronin - 04-06-2021

Ronin doesn't want to stop, and as Sunjata comes flailing and pawing at his shirt, the Star is the one hoisting his (apparently) friend upright, slamming him back against the wall to keep him standing. [say]"You are shitty, Jata."[/say] The words are almost a snarl, and crimson feathers start to bleed into Ronin's dark hair, hissing against the rain. [say]"But it's got nothing to do with your father, or Deimos, or Hotaru. You did a shitty, shitty thing, and now you're out here running from it."[/say]

He slams him back into the wall a second time, blue eyes ablaze, the monsoon raging around them. [say]"So what?"[/say] he growls. [say]"So what if it backfired? So what if everyone left you? So what if you are just like your father? You've got a kid now, that you chose, and you are doing a fucking terrible job at being her father. How dare you."[/say] He wants to push Sunjata away, but he knows he'll only fall if he does.

[say]"I came here to really hurt you,"[/say] he mutters. [say]"For choosing to do something I warned you against. On purpose, after seeing what it was like."[/say] For taking something that belongs to me, but of course that goes unsaid. [say]"And now? Gods, you're so stupid."[/say] He wants to stay angry but fuck if he can manage it, the Star huffing out a deep breath and letting the storm howl through him for a beat or two.


RE: ave atque vale - Sunjata - 04-06-2021

A huff of pain leaves him when Ronin slams him into the wall, and Sunjata feels the sharp pain reverberating through his spine as the armor of his dragon shift comes up further under his chin and along his shoulders and back to try and give some sort of protection. He’s content to let Ronin continue to run his mouth though as he pools a bit more of the blood in his mouth to spit it out as well.

But when Ronin says he’s running from it, it cuts through his inebriation with a bit more fire. “[say]First off, Ronin, fuck you.[/say]” He hisses as he’s slammed against the wall again and Sunjata’s hands turn to talons that poke and tear at Ronin’s clothes. “[say]How dare I? How dare you. How dare you show up on the one day I got to check in on everything and try to forget the shit I did and tell me I’m doing a shit job.[/say]” He snaps, teeth sharpening as he goes to try and push Ronin off of him.

“[say]She is the only thing that’s keeping me together, Ronin, how fucking dare you.[/say]” Rain bows in on a wind, drenching them again and mixing with the blood that crosses Sunjata’s face, both from his mouth, his lip, and an eyebrow. He is in absolutely no position to poke the beast, but it’s the exact thing he does as realization dawns on him.

“[say]No no no no wait. I get it. You’re fucking jealous.[/say]” A sudden bark of a laugh leaves him.


RE: ave atque vale - Ronin - 04-06-2021

The fire and venom that start to punctuate Sunjata's words are echoed in the armor and the talons, and Ronin's sneer grows a little colder. [say]"Well maybe if you hadn't made a deal to tie yourself to Safrin like a dog I wouldn't have shown up at all. Because if you hadn't noticed, there's a leash around my neck too,"[/say] he snarls, his grip on the other man's shirt growing that bit tighter. He's meant to be calming down now, after getting this little bit of frustration out of his system, but the Flood isn't helping.

He's making it worse, in fact; it might be something of an anomaly for eyes as bright as Ronin's to grow dark, but he manages it. Starlight and fire fractures out of him in equal measure, and he leans in close to the Flood's face, barking laughter and all. He should deny it, because it's not true. Except it fucking is, and he can't run away from it even for a moment.

[say]"Say it again and think about what it means for you,"[/say] he invites. [say]"Say it again, like you don't think I'd leave your kid without a father. She'd be fine. Safrin would take care of her."[/say]


RE: ave atque vale - Sunjata - 04-06-2021

“[say]That so, huh? We all made deals. We’re all dogs in case you forgot.[/say]” He spits, prepared to suck down a breath though his back aches and everything else begins to burn and roil within him in the worst possible ways. He barks his laugh, he realizes the core root of the problem, and he announces it — like a fool, like an idiot that thinks once Ronin realizes it, it might make things better.

It doesn’t, of course.

Starlight and fire crackle out of Ronin, Sunjata withdrawing from it immediately, pinned next to the wall as he is. So he shifts, to a bat to evade Ronin’s wrath while pinned to the wall, and he haphazardly manages to make it to the ground in the middle of the alley before the wind slams him down.

And he shifts again, growing and growing until the dragon settles there with a glowing blue throat. Because the threat Ronin has made is not just about his life, but about his pact with their goddess. It affects the deal he’s made with Safrin over Nate. And it would ruin everything. [say]Don’t you fucking dare threaten me like that, Ronin. You’re better than that.[/say] Lightning crackles along his bared teeth. [say]You’re jealous but for shitty reasons. You’re always her first choice. And I’m fucking glad for it.[/say] I don’t want it. You can have her, he seems to suggest, waiting with lightning on a leash.


RE: ave atque vale - Ronin - 04-06-2021

They are all dogs - Ronin was never denying that. He was just making the point of who was the biggest, baddest dog in the fight. And Sunjata responds by turning into a dragon which, in the bigger picture, probably isn't the best indication that he doesn't want to fight. Ronin turns to watch his friend (former friend?) become a beast before him, head tilting up to raise an eyebrow, like he's quietly considering his options. Dwarfed as he is by the sheer size of the creature Sunjata has shifted into, he responds in kind through the Attuned bond.

[say]Or what?[/say] he wonders, examining the lightning caged at the dragon's throat, crackling along his teeth. [say]Come on then, Jata. Or are you all bark and no bollocks? You don't frighten me, and you don't intimidate me. You just disappoint me.[/say] He shakes his head. [say]Why would you be such a fool as to make a deal with her?[/say]


RE: ave atque vale - Odd - 04-06-2021

(just for fun, we're sitting at)

Ronin: 375/400, 96% health
Jata: 250/300, 83% health + drunk



RE: ave atque vale - Sunjata - 04-06-2021

Ronin doesn’t shift. No, he just stares with that look on his face, the one that Sunjata doesn’t know whether to hate him for or aspire for, and it’s a tangible thread of uncertainty that sharpens through the bond. He is disappointing. He’s heard it all month. He’s heard it since he was a child. He’s heard those very same words come from his Father time and time again.

He never learns though.

A deep, rumbling growl leaves Sunjata, vibrating through the alley and homes before the dragon shakes his head. It’s pointless anyway, to retaliate. Ronin can’t die. Nor does he really want the Star to die. He just…

He just wants to be understood for once.

But nobody would get it. Nobody does.

And Sunjata? He isn’t a killer anymore. He never wanted to be in the first place. He never wanted to be put in a situation like he was before, and he slowly feels himself slipping back into it as much as he rebels against it.

His head tilts up and he lets that lightning go into the sky, into the storm, crackling and booming before he’s deflating and a sense of unending sorrow and frustration and pain leaves him, straight for Ronin. He shrinks, shifting back into himself, sat upon the alley and doused in rain, legs folded beneath him and his head in his hands. [say]Because I love him. So much, Ronin. And I have to fight in the fucking war. And I’m scared. Fuck.[/say] Even through the attuned bond his voice is choked, it burns.


RE: ave atque vale - Ronin - 04-06-2021

Sunjata belts lightning into the sky and Ronin can almost feel himself drawing on his supernova. How sweet would it be to let it loose now, when the Flood least expects it, and rid the islands of its dragon? He doesn't, of course, because dark as the Star can get, it is always short lived. And empathy is such a burden in that it still pricks like a thorn in a lion's paw. Sunjata shrinks down and Ronin straightens up, huffing out a breath he hasn't realised he's been holding.

[say]"You would be a bigger fool if you weren't scared,"[/say] he rumbles, his jaw feathering. With slow steps that splash against the stone, he approaches the Flood; one hand reaches out to gently nudge against Sunjata's temple with bloodied knuckles, as if to persuade him to look up. The other Ronin holds out, a silent offer to draw him to his feet, to hold him up if that's what he needs. [say]"Now you need to be scared for more than just you, though. A child is in this, Jata."[/say]


RE: ave atque vale - Sunjata - 04-06-2021

Sunjata let’s the rain wash over him, lets it try to clear away the blood and pain and exhaustion that sinks into his bones, tries to let it change him. But it doesn’t. Instead, it begins to feel more suffocating, Sunjata feeling as though he’s become this wild animal where nobody understood him the way he needed to be understood.

The mutter from Ronin is heard but disregarded. The nudge to his shoulder is met with a slight flinch, but he still manages to look up through the cage of his fingers, blood smearing from where his hands had poked and prodded, and he spies the outstretched hand.

He doesn’t want to take it. He’d rather bite it off, truth be told, but then he’s just continuing to push people away. “[say]I know.[/say]” He says weakly, taking the hand and being hoisted up by Ronin in such a way that he nearly sags into the Star. “[say]I fucked up. I know. I just… I can’t get better if everyone keeps shitting on me about it, okay? I already know.[/say]” He grits out, inhaling a shaky breath as his head swims and pounds.


RE: ave atque vale - Ronin - 04-07-2021

Ronin won't begrudge Sunjata someone to lean on, and though his anger still burns bright, flaring out of him in bursts of starlight, he has come back to himself enough remember what Remi had told him. [say]"You did fuck up. You know it, at least,"[/say] he mutters, letting an arm move around the other man and heaving out a sigh that has even his clothes feeling more weighty with the rain. [say]"Want to come with me? I'll treat you to a nice, cold glass of water,"[/say] he offers, nosing down the street and away from the Halenani.

[say]"Might be a good idea to sober you up before you decide to go home. Who is looking after her right now?"[/say] he wonders, and if Sunjata doesn't object, Ronin will start to walk them across the cobbles, his arm still firm around the Flood.