3 o'clock things

this world is a wasteland where nothing can grow

"Elegance," Niki quotes with a boyish grin, tapping a finger against the varnished tabletop. "Simplicity. I pay attention to quality, remember." Ergo, of course he'd been prim and proper when it came to arranging to get drunk under the table by a demigod. As for his issues standing and Sunjata carting him around like luggage, the necromancer lets out a very un-proper scoff for the other man's trouble, something wicked and mischievous dancing in his eyes.

"If you pick me up without permission tonight, I'll hit you with my cane," he warns. "I'm a fair shot at people's shins, and your legs are so long I can't miss."

Luckily Sunjata is already offering the smoke lest Niki's comments dissuade him, and the necromancer mumbles a thanks before accepting it. Entirely unaware of the demigod's eyes on him, he drags long and deep off the cigarette, the cherry bright through the haze of smoke that surrounds them both. Letting the cigarette hang comfortably between his fingers in a way that suggests plenty of practice, Niki's exhale is slow and relaxed, tapering into a soft laugh as he offers it back. "Thanks. Didn't realise it would be even better with alcohol," he murmurs.

Niki

i used to have strength but i ran out of hope

relive who i've been at my worst,
every single night, looking for a distraction

“Quality.. Right.” Sunjata draws with a soft laugh, relaxing a touch as he jokes and finds the mischief dance in the blue fire of Niki’s eyes, the way that could be dangerous if he stared a little too long. Wicked and brilliant, Sunjata finds himself sitting back a bit with another bark of laughter, accented and bright with the threat Niki offers, like he’s trying to draw his long legs back closer to him under the table. “I’m pretty sure I was asking if you wanted me to.” He poses, before he’s leaning forward to hand the cigarette over. “I’m not trying to get my shins taken out tonight.”

But, he’s soon distracted by watching the pull of the cigarette between Niki’s lips – the way the hollows of his cheeks fill a touch with the smoke, the cherry glowing across the sharp lines of his face, the smoke that dances like a macabre halo over his head. It paints a brilliant image for the Heartless that he tucks away and clears his throat to answer Niki as if it might hide the slight reddening of the tips of his ears, darkening the freckles that span the demigod’s cheekbones and bridge of his nose. “I always preferred it with coffee and alcohol. Sometimes together, sometimes separate. It hits different.” He offers, taking the cigarette back and takes a slow, steadying pull of it, hoping the orange of it blots out the pink.

the flood

waiting for the sun to rise
pretty sight for some hollow eyes

totally sniped from odd ilu

this world is a wasteland where nothing can grow

"It doesn't matter what you were asking though, because I'm drunk," Niki points out with another scoff of laughter, reaching for his martini once he's surrendered the cigarette back to Sunjata and promptly finishing it off. "And I'll do my best not to take them out in that case, but I make no guarantees. I'm a force to be reckoned with, y'know." Bouncing his eyebrows at the Heartless before he's caught by his own ridiculousness, Niki grins helplessly down into his glass and busies his fingers with removing the cocktail stick and the olive.

"Coffee was always my favourite," he agrees. "But in the middle of the night. Coffee, smoke, insomnia and a problem to solve. A match made in heaven." Sunjata is profoundly lucky that Niki's observational abilities are more than slightly impaired by now, the necromancer more preoccupied with eating the olive from his cocktail. "D'you know," he says, "I never drank before I met Flora. And I don't mean in a bad way. I just... I never had anything to celebrate."

Niki

i used to have strength but i ran out of hope

relive who i've been at my worst,
every single night, looking for a distraction

“You’re right.” Sunjata admits with a snort and a playful roll of his eyes, thankful for the way that he thinks he’s gotten away with hiding the light flush to his cheeks. The smoke pools around him in the slow exhale as he watches Niki down the rest of the martini and the Heartless finds himself reaching forward to snag a glass of what Niki isn’t intending on finishing – the old fashioned leftover he’s happy to help with. “Oh I’m sure, like a sea panther huh?” He asks with a huff of a smoky laugh.

Hearing that coffee was always Niki’s favorite seems to just make sense – it clicks in a way that Sunjata finds himself nodding to. “I never really had problems to solve, but I do get the coffee, smoke, and insomnia part.” He admits, lips quirking into that easier smile as he lifts his gaze back to Niki from the stick of olive he’s eating. “I didn’t know that, no.” He admits softly, contemplatively. “It’s nice to celebrate.” He murmurs thoughtfully, before his smile twists a little softer. “It wasn’t really a celebratory thing for me when I first started drinking. But.. A lot of it was illegal back in Korofi so we had these like.. Underground rings that would sell them under the table. My dad outlawed it when I was really young. He thought it made people stupid and too easy to rile up.” Which could be dangerous if they got any smart ideas like rising up against him.

Turns out they didn't need alcohol to do that, after all.

the flood

waiting for the sun to rise
pretty sight for some hollow eyes

totally sniped from odd ilu

this world is a wasteland where nothing can grow

"Gods no - what about me screams sea panther to you?" Niki grins. "I am more like a... a... shadowfang, maybe. Or an ener... enener... one of those banshee cousins." Nodding sagely, Niki goes to take another sip of his martini before remembering - and realising - that it's quite empty. Sighing and settling instead to spin the stem of the glass between his fingers, he tilts his head at Sunjata's apparent lack of problems.

"That's not what I would have said, given how many problems you've had since we met," he tells him simply. "Sorry you couldn't sleep, though. It's the worst - though I'll admit that wandering around once you are asleep is no better." Who knows what being this wasted will do either - Niki might sleep like the dead or the waking dead, and only time will tell.

Propping his elbow on the table and resting his cheek against his knuckles, the necromancer's smile is a mix of sympathetic and knowing. "Nostalgia," he reminds him in a sing-song voice. "And I dunno about stupid or easy to rile up, but it definitely slows you down." Thoughts, movements, all of it.

Niki

i used to have strength but i ran out of hope

relive who i've been at my worst,
every single night, looking for a distraction

“I could see you having horns.” Sunjata admits, squinting at Niki with a crooked smile blooming on his face, one that remains even as Niki struggles for the life of him to pronounce enenra. “I could see an enenra too.” He says, his accent draped over the word in a silken coat before he’s taking a sip of his drink again.

The simple answer that reaches him has his brows lifting and a bark of a laugh escaping him. “Well, not.. Not like a project problem..?” He tries to clarify but finds that it fumbles on the way past his lips. As for not being able to sleep, his tattooed shoulder shrugs. “It’s okay. I am glad I don’t sleep walk.” The Heartless tacks on, tilting his head slightly. “Sorry that you do.”

To hear the nostalgia slip past Niki’s lips in that sing song tone, his cheek resting against his knuckles, ruffled in a way that is not usual of the necromancer across from him. It captivates him for a few moments before he smiles back at him. “Honestly? He just hated anything that could be fun.”

the flood

waiting for the sun to rise
pretty sight for some hollow eyes

totally sniped from odd ilu

this world is a wasteland where nothing can grow

"What, like an Ancient?" Niki smirks, cheek still propped against his closed fist. "I dunno about that. I'm not great with the heat as it is, an' with my luck I'd still end up gettin' heatstroke even if I was immune to it." Or sunburnt, which he's heard is still a very real possibility for Ancients despite their otherwise fiery tolerances. An enenra, though (that's the word), he could see. "I've not encountered any just yet," he says of the ghostly spectres. "But I'm keepin' my hopes up."

Grinning now, his free hand still idly spinning the stem of the empty martini glass, Niki raises his eyebrows in playful challenge. "Bold of you to assume I was tryin' to solve project problems late at night," he says, despite it being true the vast majority of the time. "And it's alright. I've only caught myself a couple of times in the new place. It's new enough that I don't know where anything is." He can't cause too much mischief in his sleep if he can't open cupboards or rifle through drawers.

As for Sunjata's daddy and his hatred of fun, he gestures around almost triumphantly at the House of Midnight. "Well, fuck him," he declares. "Look at you now."

Niki

i used to have strength but i ran out of hope

relive who i've been at my worst,
every single night, looking for a distraction

“You can have horns without being an Ancient.” Sunjata offers with a playful smile, huffing a laugh to hear his explanation of heat stroke even if he did delve down into the fires of Dygra somehow. And, as if for emphasis, Sunjata can’t help the way his own horns unfurl from his skull – those of his dragon shift that curl in spirals along his head, jet black and scuffed up a touch from scuffles in said shift. “Well, given where you live I’m sure they’ll pop by occasionally. I’ve already heard reports of one this season.” Idle chatter he doesn’t even know if it’s true or not or if someone just mistook a dark sheet on a clothes line.

The horns still linger as Sunjata regards Niki again, lips quirking playfully. “Oh, okay, I see.” He holds his hands up in a placating gesture to Niki’s playful challenge. Perhaps they’re more similar than he’d originally thought. He is glad to know that Niki’s only caught himself a couple of times sleep walking, just in case he managed to accidentally hurt himself without really knowing what was going on, but he doesn’t mention that.

Instead, he focuses on the first time he can think of having heard the necromancer curse. Delight dances along Sunjata’s silver gaze, his grin brightening as he laughs and inclines his head. “I like to think I’ve been a successful disappointment.” He waggles his brows.

the flood

waiting for the sun to rise
pretty sight for some hollow eyes

totally sniped from odd ilu

this world is a wasteland where nothing can grow

"Yeah, well, Ancient or Attuned or dragon demigod, I'm not any of those things, an' I doubt any gods would make me that way either," Niki points out, waggling a finger at Sunjata's horns for emphasis. "I'll let you know if anythin' changes and I get all horny, though." He's thoroughly satisfied with that answer before he catches the double meaning, the necromancer - rather than blushing or growing awkward this time - letting out a loud and boyish laugh and raising his eyebrows as if awaiting Sunjata's judgement or retort.

"Ah, you have? See if it will drop by my house. It's too cold an' snowy to go out and look for 'em myself," Niki says, being careful not to actually attempt the word enenra again. He also disregards, clearly, the fact that the creatures are terrifying, dangerous and famously aggressive.

As for Sunjata's status in his father's eyes, Niki lifts his (empty) glass in a toast. "To successful disappointments all across Caido," he declares.

Niki

i used to have strength but i ran out of hope

relive who i've been at my worst,
every single night, looking for a distraction

“Well, you never know.” Sunjata points out, just about to make the comment that he’s had his dragon shift long before he was promoted to a demigod. But before that thought can even leave his lips, Niki is dropping the best joke with the double meaning he’s fully anticipating ruining the mood the second Niki realizes it.

And much to his surprise and excitement, well, Niki laughs loudly and warm and it’s everything that settles the tension that had threaded its way into his shoulders where the Heartless barks a laugh of his own alongside it. “I look forward to it.” He admits – double meaning or not – twisting his head slightly to flash a wink toward the necromancer with a lopsided smirk.

“Sure, next time I see one I’ll make sure I corral it to your house.” Sunjata confirms with a softer snort, taking the glass of the remaining old fashioned. Before he has a chance to take a sip of it, though, they’re toasting and with a flare of water magic rippling to the surface, Sunjata fills Niki’s empty gin glass with a smidge of water just so that way he has something to toast and sip from. Sunjata lifts his glass to toast Niki’s declaration, before he downs the rest of the glass and reaches for a slider from the appetizer plate.

the flood

waiting for the sun to rise
pretty sight for some hollow eyes

totally sniped from odd ilu

this world is a wasteland where nothing can grow

"And so you should," Niki says of looking forward to it; his inebriation means he's already dropped the conversational thread again more or less, concentrating on the water suddenly in his martini glass. Inclining his head gratefully and not bothering to hide his fascination with the magic Sunjata uses so casually, he sips at the water to solidify their toast and then sets the glass back down again, automatically following suit to reach for a slice of pizza this time.

"Very good," he says of the enenra, before nodding towards the Heartless's horns - or more specifically, the scuffs he can see along them. "You ever fought one?" he asks, meaning the banshee cousins. "Things must be pretty spooky at Longnight with them about." Rather than sounding nervous about this, though, Niki seems quietly delighted as he slouches back to enjoy his pizza.

Niki

i used to have strength but i ran out of hope

relive who i've been at my worst,
every single night, looking for a distraction

Oh how he very much does look forward to it. The water in the glass is a quick and easy addition – one that Sunjata doesn’t mind helping with in the slightest as he settles back in to snack on a slider once their toast is completed. With the question he poses, though, Sunjata squints at the burger in thought before his gaze lifts up to Niki’s face, his horned head tilting slightly as he considers it.

“I don’t… Think so?” Scarred brows furrowing as he thinks, the Heartless tries to recall the vast majority of things he’d fought as of late. There had been an infected enenra here in King’s End when the Family was around, but he recalls not being there for that. “I fought a banshee most recently. Never tangled with an enenra, far as I can remember.” He pauses, squinting over the burger at Niki before he shrugs slightly. “You should know I don’t have the best memory, though.” He tacks on, taking a bite to let it sit with Niki before he elaborates more once he’s swallowed the bite. “Having almost died so many times really does a number on the brain.” He gestures to his arm with the lightning strike scars as if for emphasis.

"Most times the enenra's stick to themselves, thankfully." When it comes to LongNight, at least.

the flood

waiting for the sun to rise
pretty sight for some hollow eyes

totally sniped from odd ilu

this world is a wasteland where nothing can grow

Niki is about to point out that the burger likely doesn't know any of the answers either when Sunjata finally starts to speak, leaving the necromancer smiling nevertheless around his slice of pizza. His eyes widen a fraction to hear about fighting the banshee, and he pauses to swallow before speaking. "How did that go?" he asks. "I used to hear them sometimes from my house in the Greatwood. They'd cry or sing." And it had been haunting to say the least.

Tilting his head and trying to remember (ironically) if Sunjata has told him about his bad memory before, Niki hums around another bite of pizza and sets it down on his plate. "Crossword puzzles," he announces with all the sage wisdom of the drunk. "Supposed to be good for your memory. And making lists, an' keeping a calendar." Sunjata hasn't asked for any of this, of course, but Niki is providing it anyway, so... enjoy?

Niki

i used to have strength but i ran out of hope

relive who i've been at my worst,
every single night, looking for a distraction

“Pretty well, actually. I thought I’d be the tank of it but she didn’t hit me once.” And he had gotten the final blow at the end of the day, so really does the Heartless have something to complain about? To hear that Niki could hear them occasionally in the Greatwood sparks a small frown to tug on his face, dramatically letting a shiver race down his spine. “Yeah, we put cotton in our ears to block it out the best we could.” He winces, because it certainly still had been a lot.

He continues to snack on the slider when Niki responds with advice and wisdom of things that Sunjata hadn’t exactly thought about. “That so?” He asks once he’s swallowed the last bit of the slider, flashing him a boyish smile. “I had a notebook I kept with me where I’d write things down so I wouldn’t forget.. I’ve been pretty bad with it lately, though.” He purses his lips as if trying to figure out when he’d forgotten to start doing that. (He can’t remember when, as it turns out).

the flood

waiting for the sun to rise
pretty sight for some hollow eyes

totally sniped from odd ilu