[SE] Tryin to play it cool

COLT

You put my fire out each time I lit it
See your demons in the mirror and they keep grinning
Got my backbone back, four years you kept it hidden

The day is sweltering. It's as if Longheat has attempted to resurface with a vengeance, a sharp reminder that they aren't into winter yet, despite all the shaggier coats the animals are getting and the ways the leaves and grasses have turned. It had been a hot streak for a few days now, but this one is the worst by far, made all the more so with a mugginess that the gathering clouds have added to the mix. They're the sort of clouds that looked like they might drop rain, although she has a guess it'd be hot rain, barely any relief at all.

She's got her hat pulled down, trying to fan the sweat clinging to her for some respite, but all it really does is push the thick, heated air around in a miserable manner. Her hair is frizzy along the top, and it sticks to any part of her skin it touches, much like her clothes do. Her jeans are tight, not giving her the usual easy bend, latched onto the moisture instead. Her blue button up shirt is darker along her back and under her arms, and its pressed flat against her waist where movement has set it against her accumulating perspiration. 

She's sucking down a cold beer in town, leaning against the railing in some shade, hopeful a nearby breeze might pick up and take all this away. She's even gone so far as to buy a round for everyone at the pub, a moment of bliss for them all amid the newfound hell, though if they're not careful just their hands will heat up the booze, so they have to drink it quick.

Some things are meant to be, looks like we weren't
When I ran away from you my flame returned
Guess it's safe to say that now the bridge is burned

better get to diggin' while my body's getting cold.
i keep tryna fight it so just promise when i go, you'll bury me low

It’s hot outside. And while Sunjata usually didn’t mind it — tended to prefer the heat of it (it reminded him of home in all the ways he actually liked), that he wears hardly anything. A pair of shorts, no shirt, a bit of sunscreen to make sure he doesn’t completely burn himself out here even with the cloud cover that sweeps in. All scars and tattoos are on display, his steel gaze bright and surrounded by the constellations of freckles that are as dark as possible given the lingering sun he’d received in Longheat.

Children have been outside playing amongst the golden stone pathway, seeking out any kind of breeze, and so Sunjata has taken a few moments to use his water magic and create a kind of water park in the middle of the square — much to the kid’s pleasure — before he’s taking a quick break to let them dry off, leaving their childlike awe and wonder and laughter behind to slip into the pub. Spotting Colt, the Flood flashes her a smile and a nod, before he’s ordering a cold glass of juice, craving something slightly sweet before he’s forced to go back outside again.

SUNJATA

COLT

You put my fire out each time I lit it
See your demons in the mirror and they keep grinning
Got my backbone back, four years you kept it hidden

The screaming laughter of children at play drifts over the stagnant air every so often, persistent enough that eventually Colt's attention turns towards it in curiosity for the source of such joy. It's a little further down, not quite able to see it all clearly, but she catches glimpses of the small kids running back and forth through streams of water and huddling under a drizzle that drops over their heads. She might have figured their parents arranged some sort of sprinkler system in the middle of town, except for the tall man that comes into view not long after, a drink of water all on his own.

She returns his unspoken greeting with one of her own, hand waving as she smiles back. As soon as he's inside ordering his drink though, she's on the move, gathering whatever willing participants she can from around her—after all, she'd just paid for their drinks, the least they could do is listen to her schemes.

So after some hushed whispering over tucked in shoulder and furtive glances to keep a bead on where the Flood is at, she and the group of townsfolk she's assembled have a plan. The folks that live closest to here dart off to fetch whatever large pitchers or buckets they can, using sinks and hoses and available taps. It might seem counter intuitive to be inspired to run around beneath all this heat, but the promise of more cold beer on Colt's dime, and better yet, a good natured laugh at the Archon's expense, is plenty motivator for most people in King's End.

With the nod from one man who has his back pressed against the alley, Colt bites back a laugh and instead nonchalantly calls out, "hey Flood!" Waiting for him to step back outside, not particularly wanting to incur the wrath of the pub owner and be barred from its doors by doing this inside, she keeps the pail of water she's been handed tucked behind her back. It's obvious, but she's relying on the confusion and the timing to keep it unexpected as she dumps it at him with a lift and a swing, dousing him from head to waist. Empty bucket still in hand, a laugh peals free while she jumps the rail and skitters down the alley. "Tag, you're IT!" she hollers as she goes, her team stationed around the city with various armaments of water.

Some things are meant to be, looks like we weren't
When I ran away from you my flame returned
Guess it's safe to say that now the bridge is burned

better get to diggin' while my body's getting cold.
i keep tryna fight it so just promise when i go, you'll bury me low

She seems to be in a good mood, Sunjata notes as he orders the refreshing juice and waits for it to arrive. It doesn’t take long, not needing to be mixed or anything, and he downs it pretty quickly - quick enough that when he slides the glass forward and pays for it, he hears Colt’s voice from outside.

No, he hasn’t noticed a variety of people leaving, nor the way she’d spent the time he’d worked on cooling off rounding up the variety of townsfolk here in order to create some insane web of a game. So he’s none the wiser as he steps over to the door, passing through it only to be met face to face with a pail of water that soaks him to the bone. “Oy!” Sunjata says with a bright laugh, using his water magic to drag it from his clothes in a whirlwind of rain around him as he spots her darting away.

And not one to be left behind, he lets the water combine back into a thin stream that spins around him as if at the ready for her to pull out another bucket of water as he chases after her. "Water's prolly the last thing you wanna be flinging at me, Colt!" He calls out after her.

SUNJATA

COLT

You put my fire out each time I lit it
See your demons in the mirror and they keep grinning
Got my backbone back, four years you kept it hidden

"Just giving you a taste of your own medicine!" she calls behind her as she runs, ducking behind one corner, than another. She presses her teeth over her bottom lip, trying to quiet the rush of her breathing, like it could be loud enough to give her away, while she jerks her head towards some of her teammates. They arrange to where she motions, trying to keep out of Sunjata's view, surprise still their best tool against the master water wielder.

She creeps around behind some hung laundry, using it like a shield, tip toing to keep the jingle of her spurs minimal while she grips the edge of the new bucket she's been handed. Although she has a team, not everyone is quite so willing to put themselves in the line of his fire and are staying back as support, their snickers at risk of giving away her position. In the distance thunder begins to rumble, the weight of the storm that's been lazing around all day finally breaking, but it's too far for them to feel the sparse rain. They just get the muggy press of it and the static glow of the lightning cutting up the sky beyond the meadows.

Some things are meant to be, looks like we weren't
When I ran away from you my flame returned
Guess it's safe to say that now the bridge is burned

better get to diggin' while my body's getting cold.
i keep tryna fight it so just promise when i go, you'll bury me low

“People like my medicine!” Sunjata calls back to them, a glistening shield of water that reflects rainbows and golden partial sunlight of a stormy sky as he darts through the town after Colt, trying his best to chase after her without losing sight of her. He does, though, briefly, as she ducks behind one corner and another and all the while Sunjata continues to try and catch up. He isn’t upset, at least, even as he hears the snickers from what he assumes to be bystanders.

Especially as he catches sight of her legs from behind some hung laundry, swirling the water magic into a stream that he uses once he slows his steps. He misses the bucket in her hand, aiming a stream of water toward her exposed legs for the trouble even as he remains soaked. "Gotcha."

SUNJATA

COLT

You put my fire out each time I lit it
See your demons in the mirror and they keep grinning
Got my backbone back, four years you kept it hidden

A shrill gasp and squeal escapes her as she's found, the splash of his water against her legs startling when she'd thought herself perfectly hidden and him the one about to fall victim to her. The sound breaks apart into rich laughter, the surprise sinking into a refreshing relief as the wet drips down her pantlegs into her boots a bit. She peels back the laundry nearly as soon as she's been doused, not about to let him escape when he's so close, and heaves her bucket of water at his chest, some of his flowers already on display against his skin where he'd been soaked earlier.

Of course, now she's in real trouble, because her bucket is empty, but his hands alone could bring down a tide of defeat. Not that she'd much anticipated winning this game, but she had hoped to last a little longer than this. The bucket falls to her feet, hands help up with palms showing in surrender. "You wouldn't strike an unarmed woman, would you Sunjata?" she grins, mischief alight in her gaze as some of her team sweeps in from behind him, pitchers at the ready.

So the game might have gone on, if not for another rumble of thunder and a shout that rises amid the alley not long thereafter. "Smoke!" the man bellows, and immediately Colt's gaze lifts to the sky, the starting plume of another wildfire present. Always bad this time of year, and distant, but fuck if that doesn't look like it's— "that's by the meadows!" Every part of her sharpens, all manner of play swept away in a breath. She runs past him, out into the open for a better view, holding her hat to her head as she scans the skyline. She can't tell accurately from here where exactly it is, but either way, the smoke plume is a sign that something is burning, and with all the dead brush around, it won't stay small. The rain isn't nearly heavy enough to douse it alone.

Some things are meant to be, looks like we weren't
When I ran away from you my flame returned
Guess it's safe to say that now the bridge is burned

better get to diggin' while my body's getting cold.
i keep tryna fight it so just promise when i go, you'll bury me low

She manages to nail him right in the chest with the bucket of water, spreading those floral tattoos across exposed skin, bringing the rough accented laugh to bark out past his lips. They’re stuck in a moment of hesitation, with her empty bucket and his mastery of water. So he drags it from his and her clothes, leaving them dry but leaving the water swirling around him like Poseidon himself. “Only if she started it.” He sticks his tongue out at her, unaware of the rest of the group she’d gathered behind him with their buckets and pitchers.

Only to feel the mood shift immediately with all the voices, the thunder rumbling in the distance and the light trickle of rain that feels like it dissipates before he even reaches the hot ground. “Shit.” He curses, scanning the area as Colt runs past him. He shifts immediately into the navy and teal blue of his Pegasus shift, taking to the air to try and get over to Colt to snag her on his back.

He lands before the edge of the fire, hearing the crackle of it as it ignites again and again on all the dry brush, hissing out a curse. He shifts once he’s sure she’s off his back, conjuring a lot of water this time, the Flood casts a net and drops it on the heart of the flame, hearing it sizzle before it’s drowned into an ashen, muddy mess.

SUNJATA

COLT

You put my fire out each time I lit it
See your demons in the mirror and they keep grinning
Got my backbone back, four years you kept it hidden

The angle doesn't give her much more information, too much distance between them and the fire, but it's too close to home by her judgement. Seemingly of the same mind, just as she turns towards Sunjata he's there, already shifted and ready. She runs alongside him a stride or two, fingers threading into the edge of his mane, and then she kicks off the ground and swings onto him. She barely has time to sit on him properly before his wings flex and they're airborne. All the prior breathless wonder and thrill of excitement is replaced with a cold curl of fear at what they're flying into, because the further he goes, the clearer the source is.

It's not just the Meadowlands, it's her fucking ranch burning.

When they land, she hops off before he's even fully stilled, but she knows he's shifted when the hiss of steam rises behind her. Cheers rise immediately from the crowd of ranch hands that have been trying to manage while they flew here, a few of whom have buckets and one a hose, while the others are darting about with shovels and a plan to head off the fire's path. She meets up with the first one she sees, getting the rundown of all the work and all the damage. Thankfully the barn itself didn't alight, yet, but too close for comfort they all had originally worked to halter and move the horses and the stabled unicorns, turning them out into one of the pastures. What's already fallen is her front gate and some of her exterior fenceline, and they're now fighting back the blaze at her feed shed, all the stored hay and straw like a tinderbox for the inferno.

"We'll get the fence, Sunjata, the shed!" she shouts over to him, pointing the biggest roar of flame further down the road, the entire building caught in a lick of heat and billowing smoke. It looks like a monstrous thing, exhaling with delight around every plank it chews between it's flickering teeth. She runs to grab a shovel with the crew and helps pile dirt over any embers.

Some things are meant to be, looks like we weren't
When I ran away from you my flame returned
Guess it's safe to say that now the bridge is burned

better get to diggin' while my body's getting cold.
i keep tryna fight it so just promise when i go, you'll bury me low

The cheers are hardly heard over the roar in his ears as he sees it’s Colt’s ranch. The web of water spreads to douse this portion of the flame, the Flood turning just in time to inhale a smoke filled breath, nearly choking on its stifling scent as Colt shouts at him. Instructions he can manage as he finds the shed in question. "Got it!" He calls out before he bolts toward the shed, conjuring more water as he goes. It spreads out like a tidal wave, branching out to create a clear, drenched path in front of the shed to prevent the fire from crossing over it. And that’s where he turns to look at the rest of the blaze heading his way.

Standing amongst the smoke and steam from the fringes of the fire it had touched, the Flood conjures more, sending it out as a wet blanket to drape over the flame, focusing more of the swell on the larger, burning hot portions of the flame, uncaring that he’s still wet or drenching in sweat from the heat.

SUNJATA

COLT

You put my fire out each time I lit it
See your demons in the mirror and they keep grinning
Got my backbone back, four years you kept it hidden

She doesn't have time to think, to worry or curse or manage anything but one more shovel of dirt into the base of the blaze. Once that's done, another one. Time is the one they're racing now, because every moment the fire isn't out, it's reaching for more, more, more. It skips, dancing on wind and over breaks of empty soil that seem like they should hold. The sheer heat of it sparks a neighbor though, populating every dry splinter of wood available.

She's been afraid of this all season. She is every leafchange when the storms roll in dry and electric, and the grasses shrivel like they mean to ignite. She'd run home from planting the damn flowers with everyone that day specifically to get back to work clearing out all the dead around her property line, and the storm that day had fortunately not struck here. The work's since been completed, but she can't empty the whole damn meadowlands any better than she can wield the wind. Sometimes you're just out of luck, no matter how hard you prepared.

She scours for signs of life amid the fire as the dirt sprays over it. Little by little the inferno is brought under control. Paler smoke curls up where it had been black, and the flames don't reach so high. Sunjata's efforts manage to fight it off the most, the heat simmering under his blankets of water, the fuel soaking through and resisting the bite of combustion. The ranch hands continue to spray hoses, dousing out the smaller bits or pre-soaking where the fire was headed to trap it. The shovel crew is working with her to ensure the embers are actually dead, and that all the little pockets of retreating fire are covered and snuffed out.

Gradually, the fire is extinguished.

What remains are charred skeletons of fences and her feed shed. Metal frames and bins have melted and warped in the heat into abstract shapes, and ash files like an apocalyptic rain where wind and smoke stir the remnants of destruction. All in all, it could have been worse, but it's not good.

Sweat beads up on her forehead and Colt wipes the back of her hand across it, smearing ash in a streak. She leans against the edge of her shovel near Sunjata, heaving out a weary breath as she surveys the charcoal of what was meant to feed her herds throughout deepfrost. "Sunjata..." There's nothing fragile in her voice. Nothing warm either, just the dry and hard edges of someone still focused. She'll stay that way for a while yet, scouring the grounds with the men for hours to double check and start to gather the ruin. She'll break later, when she's alone and the last bits of adrenaline's shell wear away and let the loss strike her in full. "Thank you, for you help. We'd have lost a lot more without you."

Some things are meant to be, looks like we weren't
When I ran away from you my flame returned
Guess it's safe to say that now the bridge is burned

better get to diggin' while my body's getting cold.
i keep tryna fight it so just promise when i go, you'll bury me low

It takes so much work but Sunjata doesn’t mind. The adrenaline keeps him afloat, diligent and focused with each wisp of the fire that he fights back. Dousing a stretch of it, the Flood steps forward into the space that still steams, coating him with humidity and sweat even further, body taking on the floral tattoos as he continues to conjure water, to swell, to bloom, to cast out like another net and douse the next stretch.

And eventually by the time he has a chance to breathe and focus, Sunjata keeps the water swirling around him just in case there’s more fire that needs to be put out. His boots squelch through the mud as he turns toward Colt when she speaks, his storm cloud gaze focusing on her in the distance.

He steps over to her, reaching up to squeeze her shoulder and offer her a tired smile - all the bullshit playful fuckery of before suddenly gone. “Anytime, Colt. And if you need help rebuilding stuff, don’t hesitate to ask.” He murmurs before he nods to her and the hands that have helped.

Then, after a few moments, he steps away to take to the skies as a black bat, flitting through the storm back toward the town.

- FIN

SUNJATA