I'm the same person I was then

SUNJATA

the flood

Well, now he’s done it. Everyone moves away, despite the smile and the ease of which Sunjata moves and talks to Flora – leaving them like he’s the impending storm cloud and they vanish seeking shelter. It leaves Flora there with the question of whether they should talk now versus later, and the Flood’s smile twists a little more apologetic for having brought the rain into the party.

“We can now.” He murmurs, stilling on the outskirts of the party, avoiding the crowds so they can talk quieter. “I, uh.. Remember when we talked about your mom earlier this season and I mentioned she’d been distracted with an idea and not around that much?” Or at all, though he hadn’t wanted to mention that back when he thought she’d be back shortly after LongNight.

His nose wrinkles a little as he sighs and leans against the wall, letting the red light dance across his skin, turning dark navy blue tattoos wholly black under the light. “She’s still not home and I’m not sure if maybe she talked with you about where she went, but I’m getting worried. Deimos hasn't heard from her either.” And if Flora and Deimos hadn’t, well, he doesn’t have a good starting point to go off of.

did you get out all of that angry passion?
is it still formin'? Has it started to torture you?

yeah I got heartbreak that I reminisce about

Flora feels the shift before Sunjata even finishes settling against the wall; the way the air changes around him, the way the red light turns heavier rather than warm, as if Wildering House itself tilts an ear toward them. Apprehension climbs her spine like a cold tide, slow and unwelcome, and she forces herself not to grip his arm or demand answers too quickly. She remembers their earlier conversation instantly, the worry he’d swallowed down so neatly she’d almost believed him, But now it spills through the cracks.

When he says still not home, something tightens under her ribs. Her arms fold around herself without thinking, palms rubbing lightly up and down her biceps as though she can smooth away the sudden prickle of cold threading through her chest. Her curls shift with the movement, brushing her shoulders in soft, restless arcs. "I hadn’t heard from her," she says quietly, blinking up at him with worry widening her aqua eyes. "But I thought she was just—" Flora swallows, shrugging helplessly, [says]"—wrapped up in something again. Like she does. Research or building something new, or..."

But saying it aloud doesn’t soothe her at all; it only makes the wrongness crystallise. Hotaru disappearing for a few weeks was normal. This...wasn’t.

Her gaze lifts to Sunjata’s face again, sharper now, threading earnest concern through every line of her expression. "Have you asked Frey?" The question escapes her in a low breath, half hope, half plea. "They’d have to know if she was alright, wouldn’t they?"

real big things I still gotta figure out

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

SUNJATA

the flood

The house listens in, too, like it’s a big breath that’s held awaiting some terrible news. And while yes, it was awful, it wasn’t as though Ru had died. That was some amount of solace for them as they huddle away and the Flood ruins the otherwise perfect party. He scans her face as he waits for her answer, hopeful that there’s something she might have heard or known.

But then the shoe drops – empty and with nothing for Sunjata to go off of. He nods to her thought process, because that’s also what he had thought. And when she didn’t come home, Sunjata started to count the days. Days that turned into weeks. Weeks that turned into months. “I thought so too.” He admits, heaving a soft sigh. His arms lift, crossing over his chest as he leans against the wall to think more about what her whereabouts might be.

“I didn’t want to jump the gun if someone knew where she was.. but yeah, I might have to.” Reaching up to rub at the side of his face, it’s the betrayal of his thoughts and the dropping of his mask that his forefingers press against his temple, the faint grey stripes of hair interlocked within them. “I’m sure she’s okay, I just.. Wish I knew where she was.” If she wasn’t, Sunjata imagines she would have called to Remi from beyond, and that is an additional little solace Sunjata has. "Sorry to bring down the mood. The party looks great. I'm sure Danta's loving it."

did you get out all of that angry passion?
is it still formin'? Has it started to torture you?

yeah I got heartbreak that I reminisce about

Flora barely hears Sunjata as the words reach her ears—I’m sure she’s okay, the party looks great—all slide past without landing, like rain on glass. Her head shakes slowly, helplessly, curls loosening around her shoulders as something sharper and more urgent takes root beneath her ribs. Counting days turning into weeks, weeks into months, presses in on her chest until it’s hard to breathe around it.

She glances once over Sunjata’s shoulder, instinctive and unthinking, catching sight of Kaisel tipping back a drink before drifting toward Thalassa, the party still moving, still bright and alive. Fire crackles, laughter rings, and crrystal flashes red and gold, but it all suddenly feels obscene.

"No," she says, the word leaving her with a soft hitch, her gaze snapping back to Sunjata, aqua eyes too bright now. "No, we need to be sure." Her hands curl against her arms again, fingers digging in as though she can anchor herself in her own body. She draws in a shaky breath, then another, and then closes her eyes, shutting out the music, the firelight, the watching spirits, the weight of the house holding itself still around them.

Frey. The name forms silently, a plea rather than a prayer, urgent and raw. Flora tips her face upward just slightly, lashes resting against her cheeks as she reaches for that familiar, dangerous warmth; the presence that has always felt too close to comfort and too far away to trust. Please, she begs without words, heart hammering. Please tell me if she's okay.

---

Flora channels Frey!

real big things I still gotta figure out

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

Frey

The air thickens.

Not warmth; heat, sudden and intimate, blooming low and insistent as though the room itself has been breathed into, and suddenly Frey is there. Nude, shamelessly so, their body resolving in a way that makes desire feel embarrassingly obvious; all smooth planes and tempting curves, all invitation and threat. They are everything someone could want, and too much of it at once. The red light of the party licks across their skin, turning them molten, making it hard not to stare, harder still to look away.

The god steps close enough that Flora will feel them without being touched, their presence sliding along her spine, curling around her throat, sinking low in her belly with deliberate intent. Frey’s smile is slow, knowing, wicked. A finger lifts, tracing her cheek with maddening leisure, not quite a caress and not quite restraint, just enough pressure to make her aware of her own breath, her own heat, her own body reacting despite herself. "Of course she’s alright," Frey purrs, their voice silk and hunger, vibrating straight through Flora rather than reaching her ears. It’s reassurance wrapped in indulgence, certainty delivered like a lover’s promise.

Their gaze slides lazily past Flora, over one bare shoulder, eyes catching on Sunjata with open, unashamed appraisal before drifting further, taking in the fire, the meat, the alcohol, the bodies pressed close together in red light and crystal and anticipation. "Mmm," Frey murmurs, clearly pleased. "Nice party." The words carry weight, dripping approval and appetite, and the room seems to lean toward them in response.

Then, they're gone. Not vanished, but withdrawn, the way a hand leaves skin still buzzing, a warm rush of air sweeping through the hall like the aftershock of a kiss that should not have been that good. The heat lingers, the arousal doesn’t fully fade and no doubt a few guests will blink, flustered, suddenly aware of their own bodies.

SUNJATA

the flood

He watches as her face seems to embody the stress he’d been trying to avoid giving her – and if it’s any consolation once he does find Hotaru again, that she might feel some amount of relief in knowing that despite the whole thing that happened between Flora and her mother, that concern would still linger there in their relationship. For now, though, he nods, exhaling a soft sigh and making a mental note to go and see Frey when it seems that Flora’s taken it into her capable hands.

He's seen Frey so many times, perhaps more than most, and each time Sunjata’s affected by the god’s arrival in all of the same way everyone else’s is. The room seems to take a deep breath, inviting them, and Sunjata’s attention flits up immediately to scan their face – seeing all the bits and pieces of all of his loves, between Nate, Ru, and Lusea.

It doesn’t jar him as much as he thinks it would – and maybe it would later, to see Frey embody all of them so much in such a space that wasn’t just a shrine. But there’s something about the way that they say of course she’s alright that has Sunjata on edge – the scars of his face flaring with a lightning strike that races down each and every piece as Frey vanishes again once they compliment the party, leaving him feeling an odd mix between frustrated and relieved.

“Well.. Thank you.” He breathes out in a sigh as he takes in another breath to try and cool the heat reddening his ears. “So if she’s alright, then where the fuck is she?” It comes out in a whisper, one that has him wondering where he’d fucked up to send her off and away if she was alright.

did you get out all of that angry passion?
is it still formin'? Has it started to torture you?

yeah I got heartbreak that I reminisce about

The heat hits her all at once. It coils low and sharp, a sudden, intrusive bloom that steals the air from her lungs and has her biting hard into her lower lip to keep the sound from escaping. Colour rushes up her neck and across her cheeks, a telltale flush she cannot will away, and for one mortifying heartbeat her body reacts faster than her thoughts ever could. The god’s presence presses in, indulgent and unashamed, and Flora’s fingers curl reflexively into the fabric at her sides as she fights the urge to lean into it, but she forces herself to listen.

Of course she’s alright. The words land clean and certain, cutting through the haze of sensation like a bell struck underwater. Her brows knit instantly, confusion sparking even as Frey’s touch ghosts along her cheek and leaves her skin burning in its wake. The reassurance should settle her, should ease the knot in her chest, but instead it tightens, pulling inward, wrong in a way she cannot immediately name.

When the god vanishes, the warmth receding in a rush that leaves her unsteady, Flora swallows hard and lifts her gaze to Sunjata. There’s a question already forming on her lips, a fractured but that never quite makes it out. Instead she closes her eyes and reaches, not for divinity this time, not for indulgent certainty or half-answers wrapped in desire, but for the familiar thread that has been there as long as Hotaru has been a demigod, but there is nothing. No resistance. No warmth. No echo. Just an empty, silent stretch where something should be.

Flora’s breath stutters, the last of the heat draining away and leaving her cold in its place. Her arms fold tighter around herself, fingers digging in as if she can physically hold herself together through the sudden, yawning absence. When she opens her eyes again, they shine too brightly as she looks up at Sunjata, fear finally breaking through the composure she’s been clinging to.

"But if she’s fine," she says, her voice low and unsteady despite her effort, "why can’t I channel her?" Her throat works as she swallows, shaking her head once, curls slipping loose around her face. "I just tried," she adds quietly, the words heavy and wrong.

real big things I still gotta figure out

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

SUNJATA

the flood

Her voice becomes low and measured, unsteady despite what appears to be the strong attempt at keeping it under control. And Sunjata finds a way to push away the frustration building in him to focus on her, a soft frown tugging at his face as he shifts a little in place, her question reaching him with equal amounts of confusion.

But there isn’t much to do about it right now other than trust Frey’s word. “Maybe she’s some place like… the refuge.. where her abilities are a little less available?” He’d checked there not too long ago to no luck, though he imagines if she were that close to home she’d haunt the halls of their house at some point instead of leaving him alone to fend for himself.

He pauses again, though, reaching out with his lightning scarred hand to rest gently on her shoulder, giving her a gentle squeeze. “We’ll find her. And if Frey says she’s fine, let’s trust them.” He tries to prove that point at least, because if nothing else it will help him not lose his mind about it which has slowly been fracturing his mask as the weeks continued to go by.

did you get out all of that angry passion?
is it still formin'? Has it started to torture you?

yeah I got heartbreak that I reminisce about

Flora nods dully, the motion small and heavy as if her head is weighted with everything she does not know how to put down yet, and when she manages to answer it comes out thin and quiet, a soft agreement rather than conviction. "Yeah," she says, after a breath she has to work to steady, "maybe."

She lifts her gaze only when his hand settles on her shoulder, lashes fluttering as she swallows hard and tries to anchor herself in the present instead of the spiralling mess of what-ifs crowding her thoughts. Her fingers twitch with the reflex to reach for her parchment before she remembers leaving it behind on the kitchen table, given that her tight lace dress left little room for pockets.

Flora draws in a slow breath, nodding again as if to convince herself as much as Sunjata. "I’ll...I’ll see if I can find anything out, then," she murmurs, the words careful and composed on the surface even as her chest tightens. The idea of holding it together one second longer suddenly feels impossible, and before the tears can crest again she dips her head and lowers her voice, eyes flicking briefly toward the stairs. "Can you excuse me for just a sec?"

She does not wait for an answer, trusting him with that small request and slips away down into the kitchen, grabbing the parchment and a pen with hands that still will not quite stop shaking. She writes quickly, the note short and imperfect but honest enough, asking Kaisel to come and find her. Only then does she retreat into the small bathroom, closing the door behind her and leaning back against it as if the thin barrier might hold the world at bay for a moment. She presses her palms to her eyes, breathing through the tightness in her chest as she waits for Kai, knowing she will be okay once he is there.

~FIN

real big things I still gotta figure out

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3