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+---- Thread: (SE) i think we're haunted (/showthread.php?tid=6219)
RE: (SE) i think we're haunted - Sunjata - 09-28-2021
The walk continues and Sunjata listens as Maeve responds – the mention of weekly deliveries is a good idea, but as for needing some right now? It sounds like he will be hauling. Which is fine, he doesn’t particularly care one way or another, but as he goes to speak and respond, Edmund has tugged at a curl of his hair and Sunjata’s gaze and head angles toward the child with a raise of his brow. “[say]Good morning Edmund.[/say]” He finally decides – despite the fact it isn’t morning. It’s a bit of a drawled out greeting, knowing he’d been awake but Sunjata hadn’t quite acknowledged the child.
Hopefully that would suffice enough.
As for the rest of it, though, the path they take winds through dispersing crowds as the sun sets, dipping everything in a pale purple and golden hue – reflecting in Sunjata’s steel to match the colors of the sky with surprising ease. “[say]I can haul some back to the Halenani.[/say]” He offers finally, gaze finding Maeve to see if she’d prefer that.
RE: (SE) i think we're haunted - Maeve - 09-28-2021
Sunjata acknowledges the babe and it's probably best that he does. Edmund cocks his head to the side, dark brows drawing together as the Flood's mutterings as if he's considering his words before another gummy smile flashes across his face. [Say]"Bababa."[/say] It isn't entirely clear what he's babbling, but it's safe to assume it's his own form of greeting to match Sunjata's. It earns a soft laugh from Maeve and the familiar warmth that comes from watching her son spreads through her chest, chasing away some of that hollow cold that has settled back around her heart, brining a much needed reprieve.
Jade flicks up to catch sunset colored steel, her own eyes seeming to reflect the purples that paint the sky, nodding in response to his offer. [say]"If you wouldn't mind I'd really appreciate it. While Safrin has given me many things the gift of shifting isn't one of them."[/say] Maeve teases lightly as they push into the shop. It's the same man who was working when they built the Skyport with Ronin and his eyes go wide at the sight of them.
They flick between Maeve, Edmund, and Sunjata. The gears clearly turning in his head. Perhaps doing math or simply noticing a resemblance between the three that isn't exactly there, but could be given their history. A wrong assumption, but one people likely make anyway. Before he can ask questions, she gets right to business, making her request in a tone that leaves no room for small talk. [say]"I'll just get a cart loaded up, miss."[/say] With that he slips out the back and leaves the alone once more.
RE: (SE) i think we're haunted - Sunjata - 09-28-2021
The babbling is not something Sunjata understands – but ironically, does sound quite similar to the very language he’d named Kamaria in. Dorobo, specifically, was a place Sunjata had exiled himself to when he’d ran from his father with Saartjie. And it was in that language specifically that baba certainly translated to papa. So it’s with a few slow blinks that Sunjata realizes that’s not quite the case – though stepping into the shop and seeing the one that had helped he and Maeve with the Skyport certainly doesn’t help and Sunjata’s nearly about to say something if only to wipe some sort of misplaced recognition on the man’s face, but he doesn’t get a chance to.
“[say]You could ask to become Attuned.[/say]” Sunjata offers Maeve a bit gruffly, reaching up to try and shift Edmund again so his arms don’t fall asleep. The shopkeep sounds more than pleased to load up the cart himself, without their help, and Sunjata huffs a quiet sigh as his gaze flickers back to Maeve.
He’s silent for a moment, gaze scanning Edmund again with those grey green eyes, before they flicker back to Maeve. “[say]How many people did we pass by that think I’m his father?[/say]” It’s perhaps a bit blunt but Sunjata’s had quite the emotional day and he’s more than his fair share of exhausted to try and make his words sound pretty.
RE: (SE) i think we're haunted - Maeve - 09-28-2021
It's a thought. Attuning. One she's not so sure she's ready to pursue. There would be benefits, but as it stands now Maeve isn't sure she's interested in taking that jump. Still, she tucks it away for later. [say]"I could, but I'm not sure it would be the most fitting for me."[/say] Her shoulders lift in a shrug, watching as Edmund continues to squirm in Sunjata's grasp, going still when the Flood fixed him with a look. He blinks up at Sunjata with eyes that seem the perfect combination of the Nightshade and the Flood. The resemblance is uncanny, but that's all it is.
Still, his sudden question draws her gaze back to his, brows pinching together before she heaves a soft sigh. It was bound to come up. Even if they knew the math. Even if it wasn't possible. People had their own thoughts about what happened between the two of them. With Edmund now here, looking like a mixture of them it was hard to ignore, but she did her best. Her lips press into a thin line, jaw feathering before her expression softens altogether, [say]"Probably more than we would like to realize."[/say]
Maeve takes a step forward, reaching towards her son and running fingers through his curls, [say]"He isn't, though. We know that. People will talk and assume, but they always do. They did before. They will continue to do it now. We know the truth. Isn't that what matters?"[/say] It matters to her, but she doesn't have anyone in her life who cares now. Locke didn't even fully believe her. If it wasn't for the fact that she knew she hadn't been with Sunjata at the time for it to be possible she might have questioned it too, but that wasn't how it worked.
RE: (SE) i think we're haunted - Sunjata - 09-29-2021
“[say]Suppose it isn’t for everyone.[/say]” He says offhandedly before his blunt question is aired – one that pinpoints his gaze with Maeve’s, slipping past Edmund’s own gaze to stare directly at his mother. He can see the way her jaw feathers, the way her lips press into a thin line, but Sunjata isn’t sorry about it – he needs to know, wants to know.
And her answer isn’t at all reassuring as she says that more than they’d like would think he is, and it causes him to work his jaw too, his gaze snapping away from her and away from Edmund to look anywhere else but there. Even as she steps forward and runs her hands through her son’s curls, Sunjata’s gaze is stormy and trained on a speck on the counter of the shop. “[say]There wasn’t a child involved before.[/say]” He says quickly. “[say]We do know the truth but that doesn’t matter, Maeve. I knew the truth my father was around and yet everyone just assumed I was wrong or hallucinating.[/say]” His gaze drifts back to her.
“[say]And I had a mob attack me while I was governor, because people thought they saw me do something I didn’t.[/say]” He readjusts so that he might hand Edmund back to Maeve.
RE: (SE) i think we're haunted - Maeve - 09-29-2021
It does matter. She knows it does, but what is she supposed to do about it? There isn't a way she can change everyone's mind on the matter. Not about this. Not about them. Despite the way he snaps, Maeve keeps her voice even as she responds, taking Edmund from him as he begins to fuss. [say]"What are you saying, Jata? That they're going to attack a child if they think he's yours?"[/say] Why does it matter? Truly? Edmund is a baby. He's done nothing and his paternity doesn't mean a damn thing. He's her child. That's the part that matters. All the rest of it is simply details that no one else needs to know.
[say]"What would you have me do? Make a post on the notice board? Provide a timeline for each time we fucked? Locke isn't here to claim him and you're more than welcome to state you have no claim to him if that would make you feel better, but I don't know what you want me to do."[/say] Maeve finishes with a heavy sigh, shaking her head as she brings Edmund closer to her chest, rubbing his back and gently shushing him as he begins to whimper, tears threatening to spill. [say]"Do you want to go to Safrin and ask her the paternity? Make her replay the night I became pregnant? Aside from that I don't know what to tell you besides he isn't yours and I'm glad he's not. I loved Locke. I still do even though he's disappeared to gods knows where. Edmund will know who his father is and it isn't you."[/say]
The Nightshade doesn't bother keeping her voice down. The shop is empty. Even if it wasn't, let them hear. That's the whole problem isn't it? The fact that people are associating her baby with him?
RE: (SE) i think we're haunted - Sunjata - 09-29-2021
She takes the child from him and Sunjata idly rubs his arms, before they’re folded across his chest. He works his jaw, his gaze landing back on her with a dark raise of a brow. There’s a humorless snort that leaves him, the shake of his head that has his earrings moving over his shoulders, has his longer grown out hair curling and bouncing with the movement before he settles, lips parting and about to respond but she speaks again.
And it really doesn’t help things, does it? He can’t help the way he instinctually begins to protect himself, those dragon scales and plates covering his neck and chest – and Maeve would notice just how different they look. All the scars that are new on his person are cracked, jagged, broken in places in this dragon shift. His head turns and with it, the scales flex further, spreading apart in what looks like quite the deep gouge into armor that otherwise seemed impenetrable. “[say]I don’t need to talk to Safrin about it. I know we know the truth. The issue is what rumors can do.[/say]” He doesn’t need the rest of Caido out there assuming that the child is his, doesn’t need it to get back to anyone that could make his life harder when he’s trying to have a fresh start (as much of a dream that might be) let alone the complications of it all.
He’s not saying that Edmunds in danger if he’s associated with the Flood, but he also isn’t denying it.
“[say]I’m not a good person, Maeve. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that. You don’t want him to be associated with me.[/say]” His gaze narrows. "[say]So correct them when you notice what they're thinking. You can read people. It isn't that hard.[/say]"
RE: (SE) i think we're haunted - Maeve - 10-03-2021
The tension does nothing but make Edmund uneasy. He fusses in her arms, whimpering and huffing, on the verge of tears and Maeve does all she can to keep him from crying. She paces slightly beside Sunjata, rubbing Edmund's back and pressing a kiss to his temple, shushing him gently as she bounces him in her arms. Scales spread across Sunjata's skin, giving away how vulnerable he feels with the clear need to shield himself from her as if she can actually hurt him, but she doesn't hold that power anymore.
She scoffs, shaking her head at him, [say]"You think I'm not going to correct people should they say something? Of course I will, but I am also not going to snap at anyone that looks his way. Yes, I can read people. I know what they're thinking at times and I won't let the rumors spread, but you and I both know that they will choose to believe whatever the fuck they want."[/say] They both know it. They've always known it. It has nothing to do with Sunjata being a good or bad guy and if anyone tried to lay a hand on her son they would lose their life. She might not have fangs or claws or shifts, but she'd rip their throats out all the same.
[say]"None of us are good people, Jata. Locke wasn't. I'm not. You're not. None of us are. We all have blood on our hands. Things we wish we never did. Things we want to change. We can't. We're left with the scars of our sins and there isn't anything we can do to hide it no matter how we might try."[/say]
RE: (SE) i think we're haunted - Sunjata - 10-03-2021
Sunjata can’t seem to focus on her even as Edmund begins to grow uneasy. It’s exactly how Sunjata feels inside, a warping mesh of discomfort sinking deeper into his gut. A scarred hand rises to run through his hair before he’s gesturing to the door the shopkeeper had disappeared behind. “[say]You didn’t correct him when he quite obviously just assumed.[/say]” Sunjata raises a brow her way but still focuses on anything else.
There’s a shake of his head, tugging at the broken and jagged scales of his dragon shift that spark along his neck and chest, a deep breath held in before it’s exhaled in a quiet and slow sigh. Her comment of blood on hands has him snorting, an unamused sound leaving him as he folds his arms across his chest and finally looks at her, stormy dark gaze lingering on the pale panes of her face. “[say]There’s differences though, Maeve. Did you see that Trial I had where I killed my father?[/say]” He pauses, making sure that she had some inkling of what it was. “[say]That was a rite of passage in Korofi. I had to do the same thing in a muddy pit filled with fourteen other boys to kill our way out of. And I was the one that made it out.[/say]” His head tilts avianlike, his gaze boring into her face.
“[say]So believe me when I say that I am the last person he should be associated with. If you want to talk about blood on hands, I think you need to mention the buckets of it too.[/say]” It wasn't just about having blood on his hands, it was about the rivers of it he'd choked on for over a decade.
RE: (SE) i think we're haunted - Maeve - 10-04-2021
Maeve sighs heavily, trying desperately to keep Edmund calm and not snap at the Flood herself, turning her back to him for a moment so she can breathe. Her jaw feathers and her shoulders are drawn tight, but she manages to collect herself. The Nightshade turns back to him, shaking her head, [say]"Because we're conducting business, Jata. Once we were done I planned to say something, but I'd rather not make things more difficult than they need to be."[/say] The last thing they needed was to piss off a vendor who is meant to be supplying her girls with firewood for the length of the season.
The Accepted stops pacing, looking up at him as he poses his question, offering a small nod in response. She did know what he was talking about. Maeve had watched it happen with everyone else in Torchline. Her expression is a complicated mix of emotions, heart aching for the man before her, wanting to say that it didn't make him a bad person. [say]"And if you didn't fight you would have died. You did what you had to so you could survive. Not that it changes things or washes away that blood, but it isn't your fault. It's the fault of the society that made you do it in the first place."[/say] The queen murmurs softly, bottom lip catching between her teeth as Edmund finally starts to settle again, whining quietly.
[say]"Listen, Jata, I won't let people continue to think he's yours. I will correct them. Not because I think it would be so awful for him to be associated with yo, but because it would give you peace of mind. You can tell me all you want that I shouldn't care about you or be involved, but you're my friend and I get to make that choice."[/say] There wasn't any heat in her voice. This was a conversation they had many times and it always ended the same. With her saying she would continue to be there for him whether he wished her to be or not.
RE: (SE) i think we're haunted - Sunjata - 10-04-2021
“[say]It doesn’t have to be difficult.[/say]” He mutters, keeping his arms crossed. She’s charismatic enough to huff a laugh, to flash a smile, to make a joke and explain. But he takes it for what it is, tries to calm his feathers and emotions, working his jaw as everything softens, as he lets a bit more about himself slip out unintentionally. It was something that continued to happen, just another little tidbit of information that looked into the window that was this scarred, traumatized man.
He doesn’t really have the heart to repeat himself as he had so many times before – of explaining how the weeks leading up to the Trial that he’d hoped he had. That something within him had snapped when the gun showed up at the Trial and broken the rules, and he somehow managed to get ahold of it. How he’d been numb and broken when he’d been the last one standing, hauled up out of that pit of death.
How that pit of death grew within him and soured, poisoned him from the inside out.
He works his jaw again, swallowing hard as the plates move against his neck and click together as they catch on the grooves torn into the scales. He doesn’t have anything to reply with, nothing that would change her mind, so he nods – ducks his head, figures an agreement has been made even if it isn’t one he completely agrees with. “[say]Okay.[/say]” He decides instead, waiting a bit impatiently for the shopkeep to be done with the cart so that he might haul it back for her.
RE: (SE) i think we're haunted - Maeve - 10-05-2021
No. It doesn't have to be difficult. She doesn't want it to be difficult. Except others make it difficult. Her fussing baby makes it difficult. The way Jata can't look at her makes it difficult. Maeve draws in a breath, shaky, but deep. It's all so complicated. Too much to deal with on top of everything else. Maeve finally gets Edmund to calm down, letting both heavy subjects drop, pasting a smile onto her face as the shopkeeper comes back. [say]"Alright. Cart is in the back and all loaded up."[/say] The shopkeeper informs them, offering a faint smile to the both of them, seeming to notice the tension in the air.
[say]"Thank you. I appreciate it. This little one's father would usually do that kind of thing, but he's away on a trip. Thankfully our former governor here was kind enough to offer help."[/say] The words come easily. A lie that isn't fully a lie. It does the trick and the shopkeeper blinks, a faint flush rising to his cheeks, clearly put in his place for his earlier assumption. Maeve glances over at Sunjata, offering him a small smile, hoping to soothe his anxieties a touch with her words. It might not do much, but it's a start.
With their business done, Maeve heads out into the back with Sunjata close behind her, stopping by the cart. [say]"Do you mind..?"[/say
RE: (SE) i think we're haunted - Sunjata - 10-05-2021
She’s able to switch into a smile to offer the shopkeeper when he returns, yet Sunjata continues to stare at a speck on the table, arms still crossed as he waits. The announcement of the cart being ready to go has his arms unfolding, preparing to slip toward the back and shift to take it back to the home section of the Halenani. As he stretches out his neck a bit, the scales begin to disappear – pulling back into his scarred skin, leaving pink scars behind where the scales had been torn apart as they’d appeared.
Maeve’s comment has him glancing back up toward the shopkeeper, nodding to confirm it, before his gaze flickers across to Maeve with another small nod – content with it. And before they know it, they’re in the back and Sunjata’s taking a deep breath, beginning to shift, slowly at first as the horns spiral from his head. “[say]I don’t mind.[/say]” He offers her easily, letting go of the hold he has before he’s shifted completely into the nyala shift – shaking out his longer mohawk-like fur along his spine, his long tail sweeping out behind him as his hooves bring him toward the front of the cart where the harness sits.
He steps into it, only needing Maeve to tighten the buckles on it before he can start bringing it back for her. And with it, comes a steel gaze hidden within the dark tones of his much smaller face, this shift mostly scarless aside from the missing patch of fur along his neck where it looks like an arrow had punctured through long ago (because it had, when Vai had accidentally shot him).
RE: (SE) i think we're haunted - Maeve - 10-07-2021
Maeve shifts Edmund into the sling on her chest once more so her hands are free. It takes a bit of maneuvering to get him situated and her basket in the cart, but she manages. [say]"I appreciate it."[/say] She murmurs before moving to help him into the harness. With a few tugs and buckles done, Sunjata is strapped into the harness, ensuring he'll be able to easily pull the cart through the streets. Thankfully they won't have to contend with too many people in the roads at this time of evening. Edmund can't resist reaching forward and giving Sunjata's neck a pat, in awe of the creature before him, seeming to have abandoned fussing in favor of trying to hold onto his fur.
[say]"Alright, you should be good. I'll walk along with you to make sure that people stay out of the way."[/say] She shifts to his side, keeping a hand on one of the harness straps, using it as a guide though Sunjata doesn't need the help navigating.