you say you're okay, you're faking

i bank on the funeral

There’s almost a sad smile as Loren repeats exactly what Sunjata had told him previously. Nothing to be sorry for. The past was the past and that was that, couldn’t change it… Just, could learn to do better. Though in all honesty Sunjata feels as though he hadn’t quite learned just how yet. So the question of trials comes up and there’s a slight muscle that feathers within his jaw as he flicks his tail to create a few small waves. “I guess for starters, the Senzaok family was known as the enforcers. We were supposed to write the laws and be the judge, jury, executioners. So we had to learn in harsh conditions how to survive. And Korofi flooded… a lot. Swim trials happened when we were six or seven. Though, the worst one was when we turned seventeen.” His head shifts toward Loren then. “My father was the Arbiter so they expected me to follow suit, and in order to become it, we had to win our seventeen year trial. They took all the seventeen year old noble boys and whatever poorer families that could afford to sport it, and tossed us all into a pit with a variety of weapons. Whomever lived got a chance to take the Arbiter spot when the current Arbiter died.” A brief explanation as he settles to wait and listen to Loren’s explanation of his own history.

And he can relate. Because he, too, had been soft and weak. He hadn’t been expected to win his trial, and his father had often hoped he’d have drowned or died in some kind of accident. “I was the weak one, too.” He says, another pulse of understanding sent toward the summoner as he flicks his tail in the water once more.

He exhales almost loudly when Loren comments the years it had taken on him. “Fifteen years is a lot.” He says quietly, lips shifting into a frown again. “Mine started when I was six or seven. I won my trial much to everyone’s surprise, followed the course of my family until I was nineteen and I met Lusea. Was with her until I was… Twenty three? When she died the first time. Spent a year or so in a neighboring country before I got sucked up here.” A small huff leaves him though it’s unclear if it’s amusement or sadness. “I turn twenty seven next season.” His gaze flickers back to Loren – somehow surprised he’s older than the Launceleyn. "Did every member of your family endure it too?" He asks, wondering who headed the family now.

'cause i learned all my lessons that way

SUNJATA