what people have up their sleeves

You made yourself a bed
At the bottom of the blackest hole

When Tal had delivered Sunjata ’s message, Alys had been touched. That her Archon would take an interest in her wellbeing was something she hadn’t expected. After all, she didn’t really know the man that well - aside from being Ru’s beau, and from the one reading she’d done for him all that time ago, she hadn’t spent much time with him.

As it turned out, they were both in Torchline, and she’d asked Sunjata to meet with her,  if only to reassure him that she was alright and to express her appeciation for his concern. And there were plenty of other matters to discuss, too, as it turned out, with Caido in a state of disarray after LongNight.

Alys had chosen the Hanged Man for a meeting place. Even if she wasn’t one to drink, she had heard about the famous bar and had to admit to a modicum of curiosity. She arrived early and selected a booth in the corner, where they could speak semi-privately. It was midday, and the bar was largely empty, so it didn’t take long to procure a glass of water from the staff. Once she was settled, she pulled out her tarot deck and began to flip through it idly, refamiliarizing herself with the cards as she waited for Sunjata to arrive.

And convinced yourself that
It's not the reason you don't see the sun anymore

Alys

SUNJATA

the flood

so put your faith in the devil and the deep blue sea
put your trust in the light that you cannot see

With convariations already underway, there’s a heaviness underlining Sunjata’s body language that he tries desperately to mute as he arrives to the Hanged Man to meet Alys. The offer still stands, overwhelmingly so, because both he and Hotaru had lost companions, and the weight of it amongst a battle was one that he doesn’t wish on anyone.

Let alone her, who’d done nothing to deserve such heartbreak.

Ducking under the door frame of the Hanged Man, he takes a quick look around when he spots her in the back. Snagging a glass of rum from the bar — seeing as it wouldn’t affect him anyway, but the taste was one that was always best in Torchline as opposed to anywhere else — the Flood makes his way to the booth.

A crooked and warm smile is offered toward her as he sits across from her. “Hey Alys.” He says as he settles, shrugging out of the light jacket overtop his short sleeved shirt, revealing his scars and tattoos as he tucks it behind him. “How’re you holding up?” He asks a little more tenderly, giving her his full attention.

there's a darkness up ahead
i will see you where the shadow ends

You made yourself a bed
At the bottom of the blackest hole

”Hello, Sunjata,” said Alys, picking up her deck of cards and tucking them into the silk pouch she kept them in. This she placed into a pocket before turning her attention fully to the Archon. It had been some time since they’d last spoken with any semblance of privacy, and now that he was here, she wasn’t quite sure what to say.

”I’m surviving,” she said simply. And it was the truth. She’d found some modicum of peace after speaking with Mort, but she still missed Sascha with an ache that wouldn’t quite go away. Added to that, she no longer felt safe in her own home, was terrified to let Tal and Boreal out of her sight, and had no idea what to do with the strange, creepy dream she’d had during Deepfrost. It was a lot for any one person.

After a beat, she added, ”It’s strange to have lost the bond with Sascha. I don’t… feel like myself, sometimes. Like a part of me is missing.”

And convinced yourself that
It's not the reason you don't see the sun anymore

Alys

SUNJATA

the flood

so put your faith in the devil and the deep blue sea
put your trust in the light that you cannot see

It was a dumb question, in hindsight. But it was all Sunjata could think to ask as he slips into the booth opposite of the Fateweaver, watching for a moment as the tarot cards vanish. His soft smile fades in an instant when she says she was surviving, because he’d felt much the same way before, too. And his heart aches for her in all the ways he can never convey verbally – being so poor with words as he has always been.

So he’s silently thankful when she speaks next, explaining it rather than him having to ask more questions that might end painfully. “It’s like… your soul isn’t complete.” Sunjata adds, giving that boon of understanding that comes with the frown that deepens the frown lines on his face. “When I lost Haai it was like I’d been cleaved in two. There was a part of me whole and complete and while things were bad, it was still okay, and then after? There was just this fragile piece left behind.” He stares down at his glass of rum with a small sigh, feeling those emotions for the first time in a while, allowing himself to grieve them anew. “It doesn’t get better.. but it gets easier, if that makes sense?” The pain and sorrow is always there, but it’s possible to learn how to live without them again. Even if it feels impossible. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

there's a darkness up ahead
i will see you where the shadow ends

You made yourself a bed
At the bottom of the blackest hole

Surprised to find that Sunjata understood her - and saddened to realize why - Alys nodded at his words, toying with the water glass in front of her. ”I told Tal it’s like missing a limb,” she said. ”Like having to learn to do everything without an arm or learning to walk with a false leg.” It wasn’t a perfect analogy, of course, given that this was a piece of her soul they were talking about, but it was the best she could do to describe the bone-deep ache that pervaded the very core of her being.

”I’m sorry,” she added. ”I didn’t realize you’d had a companion before.” She paused to take a sip of water, cool and refreshing against her throat. She wondered what had happened, but the fresh waves of grief from Sunjata discouraged her from asking. ”At first, it was… impossible to exist in a world where she didn’t,” Alys began. ”But now, I just want to honor her, in whatever way I can.”

And convinced yourself that
It's not the reason you don't see the sun anymore

Alys

SUNJATA

the flood

so put your faith in the devil and the deep blue sea
put your trust in the light that you cannot see

“You’re changed. Yeah.” His accented voice hums his agreement, nodding before he drowns the thought with his glass of whiskey, settling in and trying not to let those feelings from the abyss arise. It does little to keep the pain from creeping in, though, and the Flood offers her a small smile. “She was a griffon. Part wolf, part magpie. Feisty as hell. The second she hatched and we bonded, she bit me.” He chuckles softly with the memory before it ends in a sigh.

“I didn’t want a companion after that because I felt like… I would try and compare them to her or that I’d lose them too.” Wrinkling his nose a little, he looks up at Alys with a glimmer of sadness yet fondness in his gaze, warring for the spotlight. “Then Petronella’s family was attacked and Koa and I saved her and she instantly bonded and I had a full ass crisis about it.” He winces softly at that particular memory.

A thought occurs then and he tilts his head slightly as he glances down to the glass of whiskey before looking back up at her. “I have a lot of work to do in King’s End for the void… but if you’re interested, maybe we could make a little section in Mourn to honor Sascha? We can add Haai and Atlas to it, too.” Something Alys could be in charge of if she wanted to focus on something. Something he could help with that might put them all at rest from their lost companions, Hotaru included.

there's a darkness up ahead
i will see you where the shadow ends

You made yourself a bed
At the bottom of the blackest hole

Alys felt the rush of affection that Sunjata felt for his lost companion and smiled along with him, glad that the Archon could find some level of joy in his memories of the griffin. "I can't imagine bonding something other than Sascha," Alys admitted. "I bet that was difficult." And if the turbulent emotions she felt from him were any indication, that was a pretty safe bet.

The seer took a sip of her water. The glass was nearly half empty, condensation gathering in a circle on the table where it sat. Distractedly, Alys grabbed a napkin and placed it under the glass before she sat it back down. "That would be nice," she agreed, thinking. "Maybe a memorial garden or something like that." Somewhere that people could sit and think about their lost loved ones.

But that wasn't all she had to share. "There's something else," Alys said. "It's off topic, but - I think someone should know. Before LongNight, I had this dream. In it, I was stargazing, only as the stars grew clearer, I realized that it was LongNight, so there couldn't be stars, and instead of stars, there were thousands upon thousands of eyes in the sky, just... watching." As she spoke, her gaze grew distant and far away, as though reliving the dream. "I don't know how to describe it, but it wasn't a normal dream. It was - something more. I just can't figure out what it means, but I know it means something. And maybe it just meant that LongNight was going to be a disaster, but maybe it's a warning of some kind..." She trailed off, her eyes refocusing as she looked at Sunjata. It wasn't much to go on, but after seasons of feeling like there was something watching them, it seemed important to pass on to a demigod, who might could actually do something about it.

And convinced yourself that
It's not the reason you don't see the sun anymore

Alys

SUNJATA

the flood

so put your faith in the devil and the deep blue sea
put your trust in the light that you cannot see

“It was definitely an adjustment.” Sunjata admits, the sorrow of losing Haai melding with a small boon of adoration for the griffin that he tries not to bury away with the rest of it. But he makes his suggestion – of a memorial for their lost companions, commissioning busts made of them or stones to give their offerings to, not unlike the lanterns for the Festival of Lights but something more… permanent. When she accepts, he nods, his mind working around the potentials with that.

At least, until she says there’s something else, and his scarred brows pinch as he scans her face, listening as she becomes somewhat far away to recall the dream. The way she describes it, he can picture it well enough – after all, it’s sometimes what he saw when he looked at an infected person for too long. Too many eyes, too many teeth, all in the wrong places.

And his stomach sinks, his mouth grows a touch too dry, yet he tries to swallow anyway. “It… Sounds like it could be. Thank you for telling me this.” He murmurs, trying to see if there’s any dots to connect – perhaps to that awkward feeling that occurred occasionally in King’s End, like it had when they’d had their meeting. “I’ll talk with the others and see if they can make anything out of it, but it definitely sounds like it could be a warning of some kind…” Or reality, unfortunately, with how much Vox tended to know about everyone.

there's a darkness up ahead
i will see you where the shadow ends

You made yourself a bed
At the bottom of the blackest hole

Alys felt the trepidation that filled the air between them, unsure where hers stopped and Sunjata's began. She didn't like the dream any better than he did, but she'd shared it now, and at least the burden was no longer hers to bear alone. "I'd say you're welcome, but..." she shrugged. It wasn't exactly the kind of news that one wanted to share.

She hesitated, then added, "You know how we all keep feeling like something's watching us?" she said. "What if the eyes from my dream - what if they're really there, but we just can't see them? And that's how the Family stays one step ahead all the time?" She rested a hand on her glass of water, twisting it this way and that, frowning at it. "I mean, how do they know things? After the yeti - their broadcast mentioned all of us by name. Either they have a remarkable spy network and they've infected more of us than we know, or they have some kind of magical means of keeping tabs on what's going on, right?"

And convinced yourself that
It's not the reason you don't see the sun anymore

Alys

SUNJATA

the flood

so put your faith in the devil and the deep blue sea
put your trust in the light that you cannot see

“Yeah…” He murmurs with a small frown – because while it wasn’t the news he wanted to hear, it is vital. Especially if it was a glimpse into reality and not just a creative mind. And as Alys hesitates, Sunjata’s thoughts align along with hers when she speaks next and he finds himself downing a fair amount of the whiskey and wishing it did something to him after one glass like it used to.

Nodding, though, he sighs. “It could be. I can… See the infected now that I’ve been cleansed. Most of the time they have too many eyes and teeth, so it wouldn’t surprise me.” He frowns and stares down at his nearly empty glass of whiskey as the gears work in his head. “I might have something that can help us on our side. I just need to find it.” A book from before the war, moved around in the numerous amounts of moves the Flood had done since his life had fallen apart and gotten back onto his feet.

“I’m also planning on trying to see who all wants to go to Frey’s Breath or the Greatwood to look for lilies and vi’s roses that we can hopefully find to try and get a few more on the island.” Lifting his gaze from the glass back to Alys, he hates the idea of asking anything of her after everything she’s suffered and currently going through. “So, if you want to or know anyone interested in it, can you let them know? Maybe mention it to Tal, too. I haven’t had a chance to talk with him yet.”

there's a darkness up ahead
i will see you where the shadow ends

You made yourself a bed
At the bottom of the blackest hole

Alys listened to Sunjata as he shared his experience, her expression sympathetic. It couldn’t have been easy, being infected and getting used to living in the aftermath. ”You know… if you ever want to talk to someone about everything that happened…” she said, unsure if it was her place to offer but feeling as though she must. ”I’d be happy to listen. If you thought it would help.” And if he thought two heads might be better than one when trying to sort through the chaos that was the Void and the Family and the whole godsforsaken mess they’d found themselves in.

As for future plans, Alys was glad to see that their Archon was making moves to do something against the Void at last. She supposed it all made sense now, why they had done nothing to protect King’s End, even as the rest of the world seemed to rally against the Void. She didn’t have to like it, but she understood, and it was better late than never.

”Tal and I will help search,” she said, sure that her partner would agree if he were here to do so. ”We travel a lot anyway - we may as well add in a few stops.” She tried on a smile, hoping that it looked more encouraging than she felt.

And convinced yourself that
It's not the reason you don't see the sun anymore

Alys

SUNJATA

the flood

so put your faith in the devil and the deep blue sea
put your trust in the light that you cannot see

He doesn’t expect the offer, and it’s almost evident as he lifts his gaze back to her, his brows pinching ever so slightly. “Thank you, Alys.” He says softly – unsure if at the moment it’s even a good time to speak about it, especially everything she’s going through. So instead, the Flood files it away for later, when everything isn’t as fresh and he looks like he might have gotten more sleep than the void and his own reflection allocated him to have. “I’m here if you want to talk about anything you’ve gone through, too.” Whether it be what happened over LongNight or more talks of lost companions, or anything else she could think of, he’d be there to listen.

Even if he can’t get the words out he means to, he’d do his best, and that mattered didn’t it?

Nodding and letting a small smile flare on his face, the Flood’s shoulders relieves itself of some amount of tension, finding her smile (as trying as it might be), a good start. “Thank you, again. Maybe we’ll even cross paths?” He says, trying on some humor to interject into it.

there's a darkness up ahead
i will see you where the shadow ends

You made yourself a bed
At the bottom of the blackest hole

Maybe Alys made the offer because it was easier to worry about other peoples’ problems than her own, better to focus on healing others’ pain than to feel that which Sascha’s absence had left imprinted upon her soul. She understood their hesitation, of course; it was no small thing to lose a companion, and she was forever changed by the experience, whatever came next. But she was tired of being fragile and useless, and keen to be able to help others once more rather than focusing inward on her own pain and loss.

”Thank you, Sunjata. Oh, and please let us know what we can do to help protect King’s End,” she added. ”Until then - I hope to see you in the Greatwood.” Having finished her drink, Alys set the empty glass on the table and departed, hoping she hadn’t left Sunjata with too much on his mind.

fin

And convinced yourself that
It's not the reason you don't see the sun anymore

Alys