beneath the brine

SuNjATA

the flood

After having met with Rae, and their quick and decisive instructions, the Flood makes his way toward the Dreaming Well if only for some amount of contemplation before he gets everything else started – sharing the news, spreading the tasks out, going from there. It’s an overcast afternoon – a few sunbreaks here and there, a few clouds that are dark and bring rain. It changes swiftly with the cool breeze that sweeps through, one that Sunjata protects himself against with the navy feathers that sprout against his skin above his shirt collar like a navy turtleneck.

The rumor surrounding this well was always an intriguing one, and for a moment the Flood wonders if one day his impulsive thoughts will get the best of him where he decides to shift into his bat shift and see how far down the well actually goes. But today isn’t one of those days (yet), and instead, he snags a colorful pebble nearby – making his little silent wish, before he flicks the stone into the well and listens for a splash that will never come.

if i let go, would you hold on?
would we fly?

the gray sky was vast and real cryptic above me

The splash may never come, but another sound still does.

One that sounds suspiciously like a yelp. It's followed by the sound of scraping, and then a pained voice echoes up: "Pip, was that you? I said to get rope, not rocks, you absolute macaroni-brain!"

Should Sunjata look down into the well (and really, why wouldn't he, given this invitation?) he'll see a sorry sight: Koa Carpenter's contorted body, his foot and back wedged on opposite sides of the slick wall as he clings to a length of fraying rope that hangs from the winch above. He's using every ounce of strength he has to keep from slipping further down, but it's clear from the way his muscles quiver that that well is drying up.

Unlike the one he's in.

He can't quite turn his head enough to see his would-be rescuer, but it's obviously not Pip. Relief fills the boy, and he half-frantically calls up again. "Oh gods, holy shit, sorry I - hrrg - I can't really look up. Do you, uh, do you think you could give me a hand?"

Not that Koa's stuck, mind you. He can climb out any time he wants.

Koa

I wanted you to love me like you used to do

SuNjATA

the flood

He really doesn’t expect there to be a yelp that comes from the well – so much so that Sunjata’s head swivels sharply down toward it – as if his first soul shift should have been an owl rather than a macaw. Macaroni brain, though? That was a new one. The mention of Pip at least cements the echoed, pained voice, that it’s owner is Koa – and Sunjata snorts a little trying to figure out how the fuck the dragoon got there in the first place.

“Yeah, hang on.” Sunjata calls down to Koa, stepping away toward a box kept nearby the well that he’s pretty confident someone uses to keep the well in condition, reaching in and snagging a new rope. Returning to the well and tossing the end of it down, he’s careful to not let it smack Koa but to lightly descend it. “I’m gonna pull you up soon as you tell me you’re ready, Koa.” Sunjata hums as he lowers the rope some more, waiting to feel the connection of the dragoon latching on.

He figures he can ask what the fuck he was doing when the man wasn't dangling for dear life in the Dreaming Well.

if i let go, would you hold on?
would we fly?

the gray sky was vast and real cryptic above me

"Sunjata?!" Oh, thank gods, it's someone he knows - someone who can totally help. Relieved panic bubbles out as laughter; he shifts slightly, trying to move away from the stone digging uncomfortable into his back. "Oh I'm hanging on, don't worry."

The interluding seconds pass like hours, though it can't be more than a minute. "Fuck!" The rope smacks Koa square in the face, but he's far too elated to be annoyed. Carefully he shifts his weight, wedging himself in firmly enough to liberate his hands. Only when the end of the rope is wrapped squarely around his right forearm does Koa call up again. "Ok, got it! Give me a sec!"

Slowly, deliberately, Koa unfolds himself, carefully balancing his weight and pressure until he's in a position to climb. "Right - keep it steady. I'll climb up." Which is probably the harder way out, but it would scarcely count as him fighting gravity if he's carried around by a demigod, right?

Koa

I wanted you to love me like you used to do

SuNjATA

the flood

An amused, accented laugh bubbles its way down the echoing walls of the well as Sunjata confirms it’s him. How he’d managed to get stuck in a well is beyond the Flood, but at least he can be a familiar face to help him out of it. So he goes and grabs the rope, tossing it down, hearing the yelp and the slap of what sounds like a slightly damp rope smacking the dragoon right in the face.

Wincing slightly, because he’d certainly thought he was deeper than he was, Sunjata holds onto the rope in anticipation. “Sorry. But yeah, take your time.” The apology comes, and given Sunjata’s strength, well, he could stand there all day if that’s what Koa needed.

But to hear the dragoon wanted to climb up on his own? It’s weird, but the Flood can’t help but to indulge him. “Keeping it steady.” Sunjata says, gripping onto the rope tightly so it moves as little as possible for Koa to climb his way out of it.

if i let go, would you hold on?
would we fly?

the gray sky was vast and real cryptic above me

There's a terrifying moment where Koa's feet slip and he finds himself dangling over frigid, endless blackness, but overall the ascent doesn't go too awry. Between Sunjata's strength and stability and Koa's climbing experience they are able to make a solid team, and it isn't another minute before Koa's fingers grasp the edge of the well, followed by his pale but grinning face. Hooking his arms over the lip (and not declining any assistance Jata might offer), Koa heaves himself the last few feet out of the well with so much gusto as to soundly overdo it; he tumbles out like a circus performer, crashing with a breathless "Oof!" onto the cold, hard ground.

Slowly, shaking, Koa heaves himself into a seated position, his back pressed into the cobbled well wall. It takes a few seconds and some heaved inhalations to regain control of his diaphragm; he looks up at Sunjata gratefully, holding a finger to indicate he'll say something once he catches his breath. "Thanks!" Koa wheezes eventually, punctuated with some coughing laughs. "That - ach! - that could've gone better. You're awfully good at showing up and saving me from freezing to death."

Koa

I wanted you to love me like you used to do

SuNjATA

the flood

As soon as Koa gets his arms up over the lip of the well, Sunjata reaches forward to help hoist the other man out of it. Stepping back while Koa gets reacquainted with the solid earth beneath his feet, he takes the moment to coil the rope up and place it back in the little tool spot that he’d found it.

Looking back to Koa as he sits with his back to the well, he gives him as much time as he needs to talk, chuckling lightly. “It’s almost kinda funny. It’s Ronin’s moniker, isn’t it?” He drawls the joke playfully, like Koa was a damsel and Sunjata was the white knight for him.

All jokes aside, though, once Koa seems to have settled, he reaches forward and extends his hand to help him up to his feet. “So what brings ya to King’s End aside from falling into wells?”

if i let go, would you hold on?
would we fly?

the gray sky was vast and real cryptic above me

Taking Sunjata's outstretched hand, Koa allows himself to be pulled up against the protest of aching limbs. "And yet you're the one who shows up when a pumpkin's stolen my shoes, or I decide to go spelunking," he points out, grinning up at the Flood as he wipes grime off his pants and sleeves.

Satisfied he isn't too messy, the young Dragoon straightens up. "Actually, I came to see you," he explains, rolling his shoulders and stretching his neck. "I got some, uh, information recently that I think would be useful. Though first, um... how're you feeling, these days?" He quirks his lips, trying to convey the question without saying it outright. The last time he'd seen Sunjata the Flood had literally fled from him, and while he's been told things are different, without his ring he wants to be sure.

"I heard congratulations are in order. Are you planning to invite, um, Family to the wedding?"

Koa

I wanted you to love me like you used to do

SuNjATA

the flood

An accented chuckle leaves the Flood as he rolls his eyes a little playfully to Koa’s grin. “Well you keep doing it in my region, so.” It made sense he’d always be around – to find Koa randomly in Queen’s Gambit and now here in the Dreaming Well.

But he lets those thoughts flutter away as Koa does a very obvious attempt to cover up a very specific question he’s trying to ask and Sunjata is very glad suddenly that Dragoons are more of the fighting type than the spying type, because he’s fairly confident Koa would have a really tough time. “Feeling great now. Aside from the.. visions occasionally.” His nose wrinkles, the freckles stretching across his cheeks with the movement.

“Nah, don’t worry. The wedding colors are extremely anti purple these days.” He murmurs a little quieter, but he does watch Koa’s face to see if it relieves him any. "You have info?" He asks, crossing his arms across his chest.

if i let go, would you hold on?
would we fly?

the gray sky was vast and real cryptic above me

That's true - Koa does have a tendency toward misadventure in King's End, though one could say he's a bit indiscriminate in where his chaos tends to occur. Bad luck follows no rhyme or reason, and Koa has seen his share of it in a myriad of spots.

A brow raises at Sunjata's response; "Visions?" he repeats, grimacing with a shiver as he considers the types of visions the Family might send. But he's reassured by the overall reaction, the promise of no purple at the wedding-to-be. Were he more discerning or, yes, a spy, he might have sought more concrete validation. But Koa's just a kid who's grateful he can once more turn to an adult for help.

"Here- my stuff is in the corner." Gesturing with his head, Koa trudges over to the corner of the wellhouse, where his pack and gear sit in a neat pile, with Pipsqueak sat on top. "Ah, so this is where you went off to," he grumbles to the little dragon, who huffs as if to say you told me to guard it before leaping up to her bonded's shoulder. She peers over his head at Sunjata as Koa rummages around, clearly not convinced the Flood isn't going to run again.

"Here we go." Rising, Koa presents a plain black notebook to the Flood. Inside he will find the same plans and details once given Deimos, with descriptions of the levels of Starfall and carefully recounted illustrations as sketched out by his father. "I recently came into some information about the new construction that I thought you'd benefit from. Deimos already has a copy." Raising an eyebrow, he looks up to meet the Flood's eyes. "Hopefully it was helpful, on your latest visit to the site?"

Koa

I wanted you to love me like you used to do

SuNjATA

the flood

“Yeah.” Sunjata hums, trailing after Koa as he drifts toward the corner of the wellhouse where he finds his pack and gear and Pipsqueak – who earns a soft little coo of greeting from the Flood before he settles. “However you were able to figure out I was.. influenced.. is built in now.” Gesturing with his lightning scarred hand toward his head, it’s a bittersweet and lopsided smile he offers the dragoon’s way, before his broad shoulders shrug and he steps closer to see the notebook.

Taking it, he flips open the first few pages, glad to see that the descriptions laid out rather than trying to remember what Deimos had said about them. His memory was quite terrible, after all the times he’d nearly died, so any written boon was very welcome for the Flood. “Thanks, Koa.” Flashing him a brighter lopsided smile, the Flood continues with the analogy the dragoon started. “Yeah, the second floor was mostly what we expected. Nice to see the rest of it, though. Better to be prepared, you know?” He murmurs, closing the book lest any prying eyes in the sky catch a glimpse of it.

if i let go, would you hold on?
would we fly?

the gray sky was vast and real cryptic above me

Well, that's interesting. It's built in? Koa tilts his head, wondering if this means Sunjata gets very warm anytime someone infected comes near. Probably not, but he doesn't pry. "I'm just glad it worked," Koa nods, relieved. "After you ran away I didn't know what to do. So I went to Deimos." And what the Warden did, exactly, Koa isn't sure. That's above his paygrade, and the Dragoon's okay with that.

Deprived of the notebook, Koa's hands clasp behind his back, anxiety bouncing him on the balls of his feet as he watches Sunjata flip through each page. When the Flood at last cracks a grin the boy finally relaxes, his own smile growing in echo, eyes bright and eager at the gratitude. "Totally," he agrees ardently, bobbing his head in an enthusiastic nod.

Were he an Attuned, this is absolutely where he'd wag his tail.

[fin]

Koa

I wanted you to love me like you used to do