the sea speaks a little more honestly
Her question surprises him - perhaps because he’d just assumed his terrible fortune had passed vocally, that everyone in Caido knew what had happened between Sunjata and her, like it was a warning of staying on the right side of things. But.. He’s got no problem in answering her, letting his smile twist to something softer, nostalgic, a touch bitter in portions. “What didn’t?” He starts off with a huff of a laugh.
“She attuned me and I felt like I owed her. So I vowed to be her blade. And.. She hated the fact that I loved anyone else but her. She hated Nate for being Ascended. She gave me so many things at the same time that it.. was a balancing act. I would disappoint her constantly with my love and allegiance to him.” But Sunjata, having grown up as a kid that wasn’t allowed to have anything despite the influence and affluence of his family, clung to the one person that accepted him as is and expected nothing more. “So.. When the war was ramping up and I knew Nate would fight for the New Gods and I’d be stuck fighting for the Old Gods, she called me to her. And.. I stupidly made a deal with her to try and protect Nate during the war. Without talking to anyone first about it.” Shame coats his voice, not for the result of it - never the result of it - but because he hadn’t had the forethought to think about it before he’d done it. “The deal was a life for a life.” Letting that settle for a moment, he tilts his head back, focusing his gaze up to dance along her face before he continues.
“And I agreed.. And had a daughter with Safrin. And when Nate came home, he’d spent that same time becoming the Voice’s demigod.” So it made the quest null and void anyway. “But we raised Kamaria together, until Safrin started telling our daughter that Nate could hurt her in her sleep. She was… Six?” The laugh that leaves him is humorless, like he can’t believe that she would have stooped so low. “And it was.. a lot of that, over and over again. Nate and I were both spies for the opposite sides of the war. Safrin branded her name in my ribs. She was always watching. The Voice could speak through the Ascended if she so chose. And all the while Safrin kept asking me to become her demigod.” His nose wrinkles, fingers drumming light designs on her hips and back as if to keep his thoughts on track. “So when I went to Frey to get a fucking item of all things.. They offered me to become theirs. No strings attached. They’d burn her out of me and let me choose. They didn’t care that I was with Nate or which side I fought for so long as nature prevailed. Evolution, or something like that. So I said yes.. And that night, there wasn’t a star in the sky because of Safrin’s rage.” She knew much of the rest - the emotional scars that lingered from when Ronin had dragged him to the shrine to explain, how he’d tried to but he always gets tongue tied.
How she’d killed him that day. How Frey didn’t answer his call. How Ronin took pity to bring him back.
Water under the bridge, it seemed.
And with the mood fully stuffed and the rain that continues to fall, his skin starts to darken with floral patterns along his arms and neck the more soaked he gets, focusing his steel grey gaze on her face with all the determination. “I have my moments of worrying.. But I’m doing everything I can to make sure I don’t lose this time.” Because he can’t lose everything again.
He can’t.
When the last war ended and he learned Nate wasn’t coming home, he stood on Torchline’s beaches, waist deep in the water debating whether or not to test his immortality. Wondering how easy it would be to let go and let the dark cold ocean consume him.
He’d turned away, because of Ru. But if he lost everything again, he’s not sure he’d have a reason to stop.
“She attuned me and I felt like I owed her. So I vowed to be her blade. And.. She hated the fact that I loved anyone else but her. She hated Nate for being Ascended. She gave me so many things at the same time that it.. was a balancing act. I would disappoint her constantly with my love and allegiance to him.” But Sunjata, having grown up as a kid that wasn’t allowed to have anything despite the influence and affluence of his family, clung to the one person that accepted him as is and expected nothing more. “So.. When the war was ramping up and I knew Nate would fight for the New Gods and I’d be stuck fighting for the Old Gods, she called me to her. And.. I stupidly made a deal with her to try and protect Nate during the war. Without talking to anyone first about it.” Shame coats his voice, not for the result of it - never the result of it - but because he hadn’t had the forethought to think about it before he’d done it. “The deal was a life for a life.” Letting that settle for a moment, he tilts his head back, focusing his gaze up to dance along her face before he continues.
“And I agreed.. And had a daughter with Safrin. And when Nate came home, he’d spent that same time becoming the Voice’s demigod.” So it made the quest null and void anyway. “But we raised Kamaria together, until Safrin started telling our daughter that Nate could hurt her in her sleep. She was… Six?” The laugh that leaves him is humorless, like he can’t believe that she would have stooped so low. “And it was.. a lot of that, over and over again. Nate and I were both spies for the opposite sides of the war. Safrin branded her name in my ribs. She was always watching. The Voice could speak through the Ascended if she so chose. And all the while Safrin kept asking me to become her demigod.” His nose wrinkles, fingers drumming light designs on her hips and back as if to keep his thoughts on track. “So when I went to Frey to get a fucking item of all things.. They offered me to become theirs. No strings attached. They’d burn her out of me and let me choose. They didn’t care that I was with Nate or which side I fought for so long as nature prevailed. Evolution, or something like that. So I said yes.. And that night, there wasn’t a star in the sky because of Safrin’s rage.” She knew much of the rest - the emotional scars that lingered from when Ronin had dragged him to the shrine to explain, how he’d tried to but he always gets tongue tied.
How she’d killed him that day. How Frey didn’t answer his call. How Ronin took pity to bring him back.
Water under the bridge, it seemed.
And with the mood fully stuffed and the rain that continues to fall, his skin starts to darken with floral patterns along his arms and neck the more soaked he gets, focusing his steel grey gaze on her face with all the determination. “I have my moments of worrying.. But I’m doing everything I can to make sure I don’t lose this time.” Because he can’t lose everything again.
He can’t.
When the last war ended and he learned Nate wasn’t coming home, he stood on Torchline’s beaches, waist deep in the water debating whether or not to test his immortality. Wondering how easy it would be to let go and let the dark cold ocean consume him.
He’d turned away, because of Ru. But if he lost everything again, he’s not sure he’d have a reason to stop.
to those who are willing to drown
SUNJATA
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
