faded on a thread

SUNJATA

the flood

snow glistens on the ledge, whiskey on the bed
shake it out and light a cigarette

It was a trek from the Boondocks and the party on the Ark to New Haven. It would be even longer to get to the House of Midnight, and based off one of the little vials Frey had given him, the Heartless can feel the way the world seems to swim slightly beneath him as he flies over the terrain until he can spot the lights of the city.

It’s probably asking a lot, to show up unannounced at Niki’s new place. Least of all like this after what felt like ages of not feeling properly fucked up. But he’d helped Niki when he’d been too drunk at Flora’s party, surely he wouldn’t mind letting him crash on his couch again? That is, if he has a couch yet – all thoughts that kinda mash together in his mind as he lands outside the familiar door.

He stumbles a little upon his landing, bracing himself with a hand on the door frame, sucking down a breath before he pulls himself together enough to knock. He’s flushed, cheeks bright red and his eyes clearer than they have been in months or maybe even seasons, and he waits for Niki to answer the door like a cat pawing there trying to find a way inside and out of the snow and the chill out here.

Made worse by the fact he doesn’t have a jacket with him, but he’s warm enough to feel like he doesn’t need it – even if it does nothing to prevent the snow from sticking to his shoulders over the dark sweater and collecting in his hair.

miss me when you, you wish you weren't right
shake me all out if i'm wrong, for you, for you

NIKI

It takes a little while for Niki to answer the door - in part because he doesn't move as quick as most other people, but mainly because it's the middle of the night and he was sleeping. Eventually, though, a light does appear in the window, so at the very least Sunjata will know he is on his way. It's a slightly dozy necromancer that appears in the doorway, dark hair boyishly tousled, slate blue eyes squinting out into the snowlight.

"...Sunjata?" His voice is a little rougher than usual, Niki rubbing at his eyes to try to bring himself around, and he straightens up automatically to step aside and give the other man space to come in out of the freezing cold. He tugs the sweater he'd pulled on a little closer about himself, too, able to feel the bite of the wind even from the doorway. "Is everything alright? It is late."

Not that he doesn't expect the Heartless to know that much already, but then again he has no idea what state Sunjata is currently in.

stay your pretty eyes on course
keep the memories of who i was before

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

SUNJATA

the flood

snow glistens on the ledge, whiskey on the bed
shake it out and light a cigarette

He waits for as long as necessary, though time is kind of a wishy washy thing for him right now. He remains braced against the cool frame, the snow continuing to bundle up against his sweater and his hair, leaning a little harder until the light appears in the window and the door opens and he comes face to face with Niki with a soft edged smile on his face, bright steel dancing between the tousled hair and the way he squints in the snowlight.

“That’s me.” He murmurs, a little more slurred than normal, drawn up and pushing off the doorframe and slips in once Niki makes room for him to come in. “Yeah, yes. It is, sorry. Lost track’ve the time.” He admits, turning toward Niki once the door is closed and warmth floods him from the home, pausing to take a few long moments to simply enjoy his company for a few moments before he explains. “Was at the party on the Ark. Frey gave me some stuff and honestly? I’m pretty fucked up.” It’s an apologetic wince paired with a crooked and far too charming smile for the state he’s in. “And the House feels like.. it’s really far and it’s cold, so I was wondering if I could crash here tonight? I'm fine with the floor, if that's fine.” He says as he decides in the moment that it was fine if he didn’t have a couch at all, because he could comfortably curl up in one of his shifts.

miss me when you, you wish you weren't right
shake me all out if i'm wrong, for you, for you

NIKI

The easy smiles and simple charm would be enough to undo Niki on a normal day, let alone when Frey's demigod decides to show up on his doorstep in the middle of the night, and it's only the soft slurring of Sunjata's words and the faint smell of liquor on him as he steps inside that clues the necromancer into the truth of it. "Oh, I see," he says of the party on The Ark, only knowing the ship by name and the vague shape of her once or twice through the trees in the Greatwood.

I'm pretty fucked up has a smirk on his face rather without his permission, though, Niki locking the front door and gesturing for Sunjata to go through into the rest of the house. "I recently acquired a couch, so that is unnecessary," he tells him, spending a moment lighting a few other lamps and heading to the fireplace to stoke it and start to warm the place up a little more.

It's still the bare bones of what will one day be a very lived in space, but the couch is indeed there before the fireplace; an antique thing, by the look of it, all fantastically carved wood and plush green cushions, large enough for a very tall demigod to be able to lay down comfortably. "Can I get you anything to drink?" Not liquor, but something warm to take the edge off the cold.

stay your pretty eyes on course
keep the memories of who i was before

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

SUNJATA

the flood

snow glistens on the ledge, whiskey on the bed
shake it out and light a cigarette

Nodding as Niki says he sees in regards to the party on the Ark, Sunjata starts to relax a bit as it seems like the necromancer isn’t immediately going to send him out into the snows again. Instead, there’s the smirk that lands that his gaze fixates on briefly while Niki locks the door and gestures for him to delve further into the home, something he does as he seeks out the couch in question. “Oh, nice.” Sunjata murmurs a little distractedly, a touch slurred, steps taking him over the wooden floors with dull thuds until he can see the fireplace and the large wood and plush couch, the green something vibrant enough that he’s immediately drawn to with the inebriated mind currently at the forefront of everything.

He sits down, comfortably so, sprawling out while Niki stokes the fire and while it feels nice to the majority of him, his body is warm right now with the sweater that retains tons of heat, and he’s in the process of trying to slip it off when Niki’s question reaches his ears – muffled, because his face is blotted out as he tries to remove the turtleneck. It leaves his torso on display and all the scars therein, alongside the tattoos that adorn his chest. Arks of lightning spread across the right side of his chest, stretching long menacing fingers toward his heart, and in the space above his hips are jagged sharkbite scars that arc in crescents and dip below his pants.

“No, no I’m okay. I really a— ” he hesitates, finally tugging the sweater off, leaving his hair a mess and the earrings in his ears dancing with the movement as he sets the clothing in his lap, beaming a too vibrant and happy smile over at the necromancer. “—Appreciate this. Sorry if I woke you up, I guess I didn’t realize how late it was.” He winces a little, lopsided despite the smile.

miss me when you, you wish you weren't right
shake me all out if i'm wrong, for you, for you

NIKI

Having expected Sunjata to be cold from waiting outside, Niki doesn't turn until he's encouraged some life into the fireplace, bathing the room in a merry glow as he straightens up. It means he gets an almost too good look at the Heartless with his ink and scars on full display, his head stuck in his turtleneck, voice muffled as he starts to speak. The fingers of lightning and the deep punctures from long forgotte shark bites will burn behind his eyes for a long time afterwards, and he drops back to sit on the arm of the couch without thinking.

"It is alright," he says with a dismissive shake of his head, hoping the heat in his face can be attributed to being close to the crackling fire. "It is not all that late for me, in truth. But I am still in the process of setting up my workshop, and so without any ongoing projects to keep me from getting sleep, I thought it was best to go to bed."

For a plethora of reasons that are almost all attributed to the man nearby, though, he's feeling wide awake now "How was the party?" he asks belatedly. Either very good or very bad, if Sunjata had needed a pick me up from Frey.

stay your pretty eyes on course
keep the memories of who i was before

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

SUNJATA

the flood

snow glistens on the ledge, whiskey on the bed
shake it out and light a cigarette

So wholly unaware is the Heartless of Niki’s attention, it’s when the man sits on the arm of the couch that Sunjata finally settles, his sweater in his lap still trapping his hands like a horrible version of a Chinese finger trap – made only because of the inebriation making it relatively impossible for him to figure out right this second.

Not that he’s really trying all that hard, with his attention on Niki and the heat in his face that he could attribute to the fire, but something tells him it might be because he’s half undressed in Niki’s living room on his couch. “That makes sense.” He admits, thinking it over for a few moments, that if there wasn’t an issue with sleeping and no direct need to stay awake all night, then he’d likely have done the same thing.

But, the Heartless is notoriously bad at sleeping – except for tonight, he’s fairly confident he’ll sleep incredibly well tonight – that he makes up all kinds of bullshit tasks to stay awake rather than relive the torture of his own nightmares. And as Niki asks about the party, Sunjata starts to blossom and open up a bit, sinking back into the warm green cushions, hands still stuck in the sleeves of his pooled sweater. “Gods, it was great.” He drawls, head tilting back to rest against the top of the cushion as he closes his eyes from staring at the ceiling. “And surprisingly warm given we were outside.” Courtesy of Jack, he supposes, and probably the effect of the alcohol in his system. "I had such a great time, though. Wasn't sure I would, but." His head tilts down a little and he shoots a vibrant smile over at Niki, far more open and himself than any of hte previous smiles he'd aimed at the man.

miss me when you, you wish you weren't right
shake me all out if i'm wrong, for you, for you

NIKI

Sunjata seems alive in a way Niki has rarely seen from him before, and though it's down to the inebriation, it feels as though the liquor has been a catalyst rather than a cause all on its won. His smiles come easier, there's no tension in his posture, and if anything he seems more clear-headed this way than when he's sober. (An odd thing to say, but the truth to Niki nevertheless). "Oh? What was the occasion?" he wonders of Sunjata's great time on The Ark.

"I am glad you were able to have fun," he adds with a wry smile. "Though I hope your demigodly constitution is able to protect you from the sort of hangover I suffered after Flora's birthday." Hand tightening around the handle of his cane, Niki rises to his feet from the arm of the couch and gestures towards his room. "I have some spare blankets and pillows," he says. "I was not sure how cold it would be. I will bring them in for you."

stay your pretty eyes on course
keep the memories of who i was before

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

SUNJATA

the flood

snow glistens on the ledge, whiskey on the bed
shake it out and light a cigarette

“A bit of everything, it seemed like.” Sunjata murmurs, distracted, not wanting to spill anything about the Ark lest she was a secret. And given Jack was pretty vague to begin with, he figures he hasn’t quite gotten a grasp on what the whole party was about either. “Jack’s mood’s better this year, so that prolly helped.” He seems to mutter, before shaking it out and giving Niki his attention again.

He’s glad too, honestly. He tries to think back to the last time that he’d had fun like this, to be so loose and open and warm and he comes up empty, jumbled among the mixtures of memories of years prior that he’s not quite sure where they fall in the timeline (thanks to how many times he’d nearly died). But he laughs to hear Niki’s comment on hangovers, and its with a shining cheshire grin that he shoots at the necromancer that he answers. “No hangover. Frey said “s’its just the fun parts.”” He nearly boasts, before remembering himself. “Was that the first time y’drank that much?” He asks, slurring a touch more now before he fights the sleeves and finally gets them off when Niki rises and gestures to his room.

“I can grab them. Or help. I’m imposing enough as is, I’m sure.” He admits with a softer apologetic slant to his smile, shoving the sweater to the side to stand.

miss me when you, you wish you weren't right
shake me all out if i'm wrong, for you, for you

NIKI

"Sometimes those can be the best parties, or so I have heard." Niki smiles. He's hardly an expert when it comes to wild nights out, and although he has no idea who Jack is (though it's presumably the captain of The Ark), good moods all around will only buoy an already festive atmosphere. He steps back a bit as Sunjata finally frees his hands from the sleeves of his sweater, allowing the Heartless to get to his feet, though he raises his eyebrows to hear that there will be no impending hangover.

"Very lucky you," he says. "And, er... yes, it was," he admits, of Flora's party. "It was not my first time drinking, but I have never gotten quite so intoxicated before. I underestimated the strength of the cocktails." Heat threatens in his cheeks at the memory of both the night (what little he recalls of it) and the morning after, but it soon fades with Sunjata's offer.

What starts as a typically Niki answer - you do not have to do that - ends with a beat of quiet consideration, because it would take more than one trip to gather both blankets and pillows for the other man. "As long as you trust yourself to stand up, help would be appreciated. And you are not imposing, I assure you." Beckoning for him to follow, Niki leads them down the hall to the partially open door and the cloak of darkness within.

His room, like the rest of the space, is still a little sparse, but there are books and trinkets aplenty here as well as a bed with the covers mussed from where he'd gotten up, and a trunk that Niki opens filled with pillows and a few blankets. "Take whatever you need."

stay your pretty eyes on course
keep the memories of who i was before

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

SUNJATA

the flood

snow glistens on the ledge, whiskey on the bed
shake it out and light a cigarette

It certainly was one of the best parties he’d been to in a while, he’ll say that much. Flora’s had been fun for other reasons – but he’d been stressed out the majority of the time trying to ensure he didn’t step on Hotaru’s toes or be anywhere in her general vicinity lest he find himself burned by any potential shift in her mood. So he’d stepped lightly and carefully until he’d gotten Niki situated and had such a great sleep from there that he hadn’t thought much about the rest of the party since then.

So he latches onto the comment of whether Niki had drank that much before, and upon hearing the answer he can’t help but to nod. “Yeah, I could feel the Blue Torchers a little which is.. really fucking saying something, to be honest.” Given his inability to get drunk these days without divine help (and hopefully one day his own ability). For now, though, he doesn’t blame Niki for underestimating it, because he certainly had too.

He stands shortly after, though, expecting the denial he’s so used to hearing in Niki’s voice, only for quiet contemplation to take place instead before acceptance. “I can stand. I flew all the way here without falling.” He boasts like it was a more difficult feat to get here than it would be to get down the hallway, something that’s proven in how surprisingly steady he is as he follows Niki down toward the necromancer’s bedroom, smiling to himself to hear that he isn’t imposing.

And while he might have otherwise been polite and noted the way Niki’s bedroom looked, he’s inebriated enough to take it all in with an almost blatant attention. “Your room is really nice.” He compliments, kneeling before the trunk to snag a pillow and a blanket, the plusher of the options he finds though any of them could certainly get the job done. Piling them up in his hands, he stands and turns back to Niki, a smile still tugging on his face. “Thank you.” He says suddenly, like he’s worried he might forget his gratitude here in Niki’s room.

miss me when you, you wish you weren't right
shake me all out if i'm wrong, for you, for you

NIKI

"Well I am glad to hear that it is not simply because I am a lightweight," Niki says with a soft laugh, though he doesn't plan on having a cocktail quite that strong again any time soon. (Or drinking at all any time soon either for that matter, especially given how talkative it apparently makes him). Something he senses is a universal thing based on Sunjata's chattiness, the necromancer hiding a smile to hear the boasting in his tone.

"It is still probably for the best that you landed when you did," he says, glancing over his shoulder and raising an eyebrow. "Though I do not know why you did not use the signposts to get home..." And better not to think on that too much either, especially as they both find themselves standing in his bedroom. "Thank you," he murmurs as Sunjata blatantly takes in the space. "It is a little bare, like the rest of the house, but I am getting there."

He waits for the Heartless to collect a pillow and a blanket, then grabs an extra blanket for him just in case before letting the trunk close with a thump. "You are welcome," he assures him with a smile. "Perhaps one day I will have a guest bedroom ready for unexpected visitors."

stay your pretty eyes on course
keep the memories of who i was before

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

SUNJATA

the flood

snow glistens on the ledge, whiskey on the bed
shake it out and light a cigarette

“Nope.” He admits, a soft laugh leaving him to join Niki’s own with the combined decision that it wasn’t just because Niki is a lightweight – though if he’s being honest, he expected as much from the necromancer. But rather than focus on that, he nods a little eagerly to agree that it was for the best he landed when he did, and the mention of the signposts has him snorting softly. “Well, if I did, I wouldn’t be here.” Comes the very apt explanation of how the signposts work, good job Sunjata.

It’s a thought that lingers in his head a little longer as he compliments the room and snags the blanket and a pillow, standing back to his full height as he clutches the pile close to his tattooed and scarred torso. “Am I still considered unexpected at this point?” He asks, the inebriation in his mind certainly making it harder to think about the things he says before they pass his lips. “I mean, this is what… The third time? Twice in the Greatwood which is kinda like the opposite of where we are now.” He purses his lips a little, as if thinking about the direction of the Greatwood from here, turning slightly as though it might reset the north point of the compass in his mind when all it does is aim him more fully at Niki where the compass roses on his neck point the northern point to him.

“Fourth if we count me crashing your room at Flora's.." He pauses as if counting the times he'd stayed in close proximity to Niki. "You’re fun, you know.” He says suddenly, rather than the comment in his mind that seems to suggest he wants to say he’s drawn to Niki and he hasn’t figured out quite why yet. This is better, easier, more apt, because he did enjoy spending time with the necromancer and his dry humor, small and playful smiles, and the air of mystery around him.

miss me when you, you wish you weren't right
shake me all out if i'm wrong, for you, for you

NIKI

"No you would not," Niki agrees, biting back a smile as Sunjata's (impressive, honestly) facade of almost sobriety begins to slip, the necromancer taking a half-step back as the other man starts to rotate on the spot in an attempt to find the direction of the Greatwood. In the dark. In his bedroom. He ends up blinking directly up at the Heartless when he finally stops, raising his eyebrows as he's forced to consider the fact that he's become more of an expected intrusion in his life at this point.

"I suppose you are right," he says quietly. "I do have other guests that drop by unexpectedly, but I will admit that you have been the most frequent."

Oh, but then Sunjata is calling him fun, of all things, and whether or not it cements that opinion of him in the other man's mind, Niki lets out a surprised laugh to hear as much. "I have been called many things, but fun is a first," he admits, the smile lingering on his lips even as he nods towards the hallway. "Come on - you must be more drunk than I anticipated."

stay your pretty eyes on course
keep the memories of who i was before

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!