[SE] the family business

Melita

I never had a chance to be soft
I was always bloody knuckles

It might not have been an ideal place to meet, but Melita counted the Undercroft, with its unwinding tomes, and dry, underground aspects, far more secluded than anywhere else they might have managed, save for their own homes. There were several restless entities flickering through her mind, and after Vox’s broadcast, they were a whole lot murkier. A compelling, maybe, just as she’d had in the Feverlands, to hiss, scratch, and tear at the way the Family bullied and consumed.

But her uncle had been one of their victims too.

She slid into one of the seats at a wooden table, pretending to be looking at a few books about the last war, as if she hadn’t lived it herself, before placing her large bag upon its surface. Full of gifts and goodies; hunted down in other regions so she didn’t have to thwart with the idea of Sunjata already having anything and everything. While Fangorn nestled underneath her chair, Sila hovered nearby, her tail only lightly touching the veneer. Given who the Honeybee was, the blunt course of her speech rampaged first and foremost, the only refinements reserved for others who might be listening. “So…,” her fingers skirted, tapping against the table grains. “Congrats seem to be in order.”

and shards of glass
I wanted people to be afraid of hurting me

SuNJATA

the flood

It’s one of the rare few excursions these days where the Flood brings along his companion – but without the Greatwood harboring the void anymore, the only thing he needs to watch out for is the creatures infected by it roaming about. And having mostly kept his attention on ensuring he arrived to the Undercroft, a space the Flood had never been before, he finds himself taking in the décor before Petronella’s diving through it in search for her friends.

Helpless but to follow her, the Flood finds Melita shortly after, flashing her a small smile despite his ragged appearance, settling into the seat across from her and eyeing the large bag. His own sits beside him, the bag of holding a go to item lately for all the things it can hold despite being so small in size. “Yeah, something like that.” He says, his smile flashing for a moment toward a wince before he puffs out a sigh through his cheeks. “I figure you heard from the broadcast?”

rely a bit too heavily on alcohol & irony

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

Melita

I never had a chance to be soft
I was always bloody knuckles

Something like that caused her to arch her brow and tilt her head – because she wasn’t certain else it could be – she nodded. “Yeah. How does everything feel now?” The curiosity was an incessant thing with her – mostly because she hadn’t heard from anyone infected to healed – cured by Halo’s mending waters. Side effects could be intriguing, or maybe there’d been none at all; and given how it was cut off, for now, the craving for sagacity lingered in her mind. Was it beneficial? Did they need to strive and restore it quickly?

And how many more lingered out there – sick and unknown?

and shards of glass
I wanted people to be afraid of hurting me

SuNJATA

the flood

Humming a sound akin to ehh, Sunjata settles across from his niece and flashes a somewhat sad smile toward her. “Physically? Fine. Mentally though… well.” His nose wrinkles and he puffs out a sigh, gaze dropping to the bag on the table between them as he swallows down the variety of things he wants to say in lieu for the most important part.

“I can see who’s infected, now. And it’s… so shitty, Mel.” He frowns, his hand lifting to rake through his hair, taming some of the unkept portions of his hair. “I can’t stand to be in the same place as any of them. I can’t sleep...” The list goes on, and he stubbornly stares at the bag between them instead of her face.

rely a bit too heavily on alcohol & irony

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

Melita

I never had a chance to be soft
I was always bloody knuckles

Her eyes widened significantly at the mention of seeing who was infected – like somehow he’d had his own detector mechanisms built in. “Is it – like, what do you see?” She tried to make her voice a whisper, but she was leaning her frame so far forward in the chair that the thing had begun to creak under her movements, threatening to fly out from underneath her. What was more horrifying than being under the Family’s thumb? "Can you tell if someone is from the Family or not too?"

If he couldn’t sleep…couldn’t stand to be around them…now his skulking appearance around the Festival of Lights made sense. There’d been someone there, in the midst, struck with the sickness.

and shards of glass
I wanted people to be afraid of hurting me

SuNJATA

the flood

“Like they’re not really themselves..?” Sunjata says slowly, like he’s testing the words out before they slip past his lips. Lifting his gaze to meet his niece’s, his jaw works as he sees just how on the edge of the chair she’s become. His eyes widen at her question and he shrugs a tattooed shoulder, uncertainty flickering across his gaze momentarily.

He doesn’t really know. “I haven’t seen anyone from the Family yet. But I can see who’s infected. It’s like.. They have way too many eyes and too sharp of teeth in all kinds of shitty, awful places, and tentacles.” His nose wrinkles and he puffs out the sigh, head tilting slightly as feathers burst through his dark curls. “I see flickers of it sometimes in my reflection, even though I’m healed. And Ru, fuck, when I saw her I couldn’t stand to be near her and all she wanted was to be comforted because of Flora.” And he’d sent her away.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Sunjata realizes he shouldn’t be placing all of this on her shoulders, but it’s past his lips now. “But… She’s healed now too, at least.”

rely a bit too heavily on alcohol & irony

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

Melita

I never had a chance to be soft
I was always bloody knuckles

The description he gave wasn’t appealing, and her face went into a residual cringe. The fact that he’d seen Ru with too many eyes or teeth, some other eldritch beacon or quality was alarming – but the possibility of coming upon it almost anywhere made her sit back in her chair, the legs coming down onto the floor again with a thud. “That sucks.” The whole situation – her nose wrinkling in the uncertainty of it all. “So are you just going to…try and avoid all of them?”

Which was probably the best for most, but alas, we already know Melita’s next course of action.

Pondering over these circumstances, and probably far way longer than necessary, she dragged her bag back across the table, beginning to open it. “Well, maybe my gifts will make you feel better.” But he shouldn’t count on it.

and shards of glass
I wanted people to be afraid of hurting me

SuNJATA

the flood

The thud brings him out of his stupor – jaw working and muscles feathering over and over again as his nose wrinkles with the thought. “I want to. I don’t know how likely that’s gonna be, though.” He was one of the strongest and now, no longer under the Family’s thumb. He was forced to be a portion of those to heal and cleanse. “I’m going to start with King’s End at least. Get it protected.” Because that was the logical thing.

And to be able to go in front of his region and be transparent in what had occurred, that was another important thing.

His gaze flits to the bag she drags over, though, nodding slowly before confusion flares and allows the feathers to disappear. “You didn’t have to get me gifts, heuningby.” He says softly, but there’s a small smile if not also a tired one that grows along his face. But he waits, allowing her to show him nonetheless.

rely a bit too heavily on alcohol & irony

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

Melita

I never had a chance to be soft
I was always bloody knuckles

“That’s good then,” because King’s End had likely been a sitting duck in Sunjata’s infection. And Ru’s too, while she was thinking about it.

As for other, happier things, before it all came crashing down (oops), the Honeybee sported a gigantic grin. “Eh, couldn’t help myself. It screamed you.” From there, her hands went into the bag, and began pulling out a set of pots, pans, and utensils, clearly designed and ornamented as black dragons on the handles, in various forms of fire array. She moved them all into his wake, pushing them over, an expectant grin on her features, very proud of herself. “What d’ya think?”

and shards of glass
I wanted people to be afraid of hurting me

SuNJATA

the flood

Seeing her grin so brightly takes him out of the strange stupor he’s been in from recalling the nightmares that had occurred. And it’s that thought which has the Flood tilting his head, the small smile reflected on his face with a soft chuckle of “okay,” before she makes her grand reveal.

And honestly? It’s a really great fuckin’ gift. His grin splits his face in answer as he sees the variety of them, leaning forward to encroach on the table to inspect each one – plucking up the utensils first before he picks up the deep walled soup pot. “Mel, this’s awesome.” He says through a hum of his surprised laughter, breaking through the clouds that had cast in his mind over the past few weeks (and would likely return to it). “Guess I’m not too bad of a cook after all, huh?” He sets the pots down before he’s standing and moving to her side, embracing her in a tight hug whether or not she got the choice to indulge him or not.

rely a bit too heavily on alcohol & irony

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

Melita

I never had a chance to be soft
I was always bloody knuckles

She wasn’t certain what to expect of his impending reaction – but the smile said it all. She grinned in return, content with the impulsive find and purchase. “Good. I found them in a weird little shop in the Grounds.” As for the comment, she snorted, beginning to cast the notions aside. “I mean, maybe they’ll help you improve,” and if not, it was all part of the aesthetic.

Nor she did predict the hug – smushed against his side, but trying to return the favor with her arms outstretched. On rare occasions did she show other emotions besides the mercurial bits and pieces of her anger, rage, and brief bouts of melancholy, so she allowed a brighter grin to unfold against the seams of his clothes. “Glad you like them.”

and shards of glass
I wanted people to be afraid of hurting me

SuNJATA

the flood

Oh, he’s stoked to have them – his excitement radiating from him to the point that she doesn’t even need the attuned bond to feel the way Sunjata warms up to it, chuckling lightly under his breath to hear that they might help him improve. Which, honestly? If he had something he liked to use, it was probably going to help in the kitchen, too.

Her arms slip around him and he can feel the grin that blooms against his shirt and he wonders for a moment if they’ve ever had a time like this – coming up mostly empty in such a radiatingly happy moment, the Flood settles and doesn’t try to extend the affection for too long, releasing her and squeezing her shoulder gently. “They’re great. Maybe you’ll have to come visit later on and I can put them to use, huh?” He offers, bouncing a scarred brow and seeming somehow lighter for the gift now than he had when he’d arrived.

rely a bit too heavily on alcohol & irony

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

Melita

I never had a chance to be soft
I was always bloody knuckles

“I suppose,” Melita offered instead, with a light wrinkle to her nose. A family dinner sounded far more delightful and encompassing, maybe even with Ru involved, than other culminations brimming over the horizon. But it was a good ending to the day – to find he’d been healed, well and done with the void (at least with these circumstances), and her gifts had done exactly what was necessary. Then they could tend to research or explore the rest of the compelling Greatwood area – well before the rest of the inevitable unfurled, and a very different situation would soon be upon them.

[FIN]

and shards of glass
I wanted people to be afraid of hurting me