I'm happy and I know it so I clap them fuckin' cheeks

Got a spark in your heart so strike it

Kaisel has slipped away from responsibility for a while, and he's trying to do the same with his thoughts as he wanders a particularly captivating stretch of King's End. If anyone asks, exploring this new home technically is an important task. It could maybe count as a kind of patrol, if you squint hard enough. So what if it's the wrong part of the region for those assignments?

The glimmer of fish scales in the stream draws him in until he’s waded waist-deep, t-shirt and shoes abandoned on the shore. His cargo shorts aren't so lucky, instantly soaking through. He doesn't mind it though, the day's warm enough to warrant some splish splash. He take up a wide stance in the shallows, poised over the clear water and fish below, arms at the ready just beneath the water's surface. He’s trying to lure the fish close enough to grab—no real reason, just a why not sort of idea. Beating fish at their own game seemed fun at the time. Whether he actually has the patience—or the grace—to pull it off remains to be seen.

and if you want, i could tell you the truth

that this life takes a toll on you. i spend nights

The Refuge was often the space Sunjata frequented during this portion of the week – if only to ensure that everything was still working as planned. The trees he’d planted and worked diligently to rotate through to keep as much fertile ground as possible, still followed the guidelines set all those years ago. And also, harboring the benefit of ensuring that the homes within this space weren’t in too much disrepair for any potential people that needed to move.

It's about that time that Sunjata’s finished up repairing a portion of roof – replacing old and rotted shingles with new ones, that he slips down the ladder to retreat toward the water for a well earned break. Unable to shift or use magic within here, Sunjata is as bare bones as possible aside from his strength – not that he minds. Especially as he notices Kaisel standing within the shallow waters of the river, fish playing a game of chicken with the Dragoon.

He hasn’t met him, but he’s fairly confident he’s still good friends with Koa, enough that he imagines they’d get along well enough. “Hey.” Sunjata says softly, flashing a lopsided smile to the Dragoon as he reaches the edge of the water, reaching down to run his dirty fingers through to clean them – far enough away to not impede any of the fish that he’s currently toying with.

stitching up the loose threads of my soul

so in the morning i'm bulletproof

SUNJATA

Got a spark in your heart so strike it

One fish swims juuuust close enough, so Kaisel strikes, hasty for victory. He feels the glide of scales, but the tail kicks the water and the fish out of his hands too quick, and Kaisel stumbles forward after it, ending on his ass with a grand splash just as Sunjata's hey coasts over. "Damnit," Kaisel says as his hand smacks the water, lacking any real heat or frustration, just the usual dismay at catching an L.

"Hey," he calls in response, glancing back over his shoulder, finally seeing who it is. He stiffens upon seeing the Archon and rises to his feet, dripping, as he brushes some mud from his leg. "Sunjata, sir," he greets more properly, knowing the man by description alone. "I meant to thank you for letting us live here, sir," Kaisel says with a nod, though there's some warmth to it, because it had been hard to leave home and come here. "It was last minute and not the way we would have preferred, but thank you all the same. I see why Koa speaks so highly of you."

"We're settling in okay," Kaisel goes on as he wades from the middle of the stream over towards Sunjata, dreams of fishing since dispersed. "Although I have to say this place is my favorite so far." Some of the other places kinda creeped him the fuck out to be honest, but this place had a certain splendor even he could appreciate.

and if you want, i could tell you the truth

that this life takes a toll on you. i spend nights

Spotting the way he smacks the water and unable to playfully send it shooting back at the dragoon, Sunjata instead takes note of the moment Kaisel registers just who he is. The stiffening in his shoulders, the way he stands and tries to make himself presentable - all things that Sunjata doesn’t particularly care about. “Sunjata’s fine. You don’t have to add the sirs, I know I’m getting old.” He teases, his smile lopsided from the scar that’s raised and gnarled at the corner of his lip as he stands on the water’s edge, waiting for him to come closer.

“I’m happy to help, really.” He tries to ensure that Kaisel doesn’t feel like he’s an imposition or like Sunjata would want nothing more than for the Dragoons to go home. Because it’s clearly the opposite. And as for this space being the young man’s favorite? Sunjata takes a moment to look around with a soft laugh and a nod of understanding. “It’s nice, right? Built from the ground up with the help of Frey.” He hums softly, nostalgically. “Kept so many of us safe during the last war, buuuut it also means I can't use my magic here, so.” The double edged sword of safety - of keeping the peace.

stitching up the loose threads of my soul

so in the morning i'm bulletproof

SUNJATA

Got a spark in your heart so strike it

A nervous laugh escapes him—because shit, did he just accidentally insult the Flood? Koa would kill him. "Uh—well—sorry sir, but it's an honorific, that you've earned... so I don't think I can." Although he hadn't called Flora ma'am a day in his life, for extreme fear of his demise if he should do so.

It might be equally healthy to fear Sunjata, but he just tilts his head in apology instead, as if he has no choice in the matter and would also like to drop the sirs. Getting a proper look at Sunjata means seeing all the scars he has on full display, especially his wicked face one. Kaisel's eyes widen a bit with awe as he registers them, doing his best to nod along to Sunjata's words, which are important, but momentarily forgotten beneath the idea of sick scar, bro, the older brother of, nice ink, man! Which, Sunjata also has, but doesn't snag Kaisel's attention in nearly the same way.

"Did you get that scar in the war, sir?" Kaisel asks, unable to contain it any longer, no bit of appreciation absent in his query. Realizing that he’d completely blown past Sunjata’s story, Kaisel pulls at the back of his neck and picks that thread back up, like a busy seamstress trying not to sew two different orders together. "That's amazing, what Frey did here. Frey once built me a golden toga for some pajamas." Two and the same, clearly—a safe refuge from war, a sexy negligee for your bestie's sleep over. "Safrin's making me some sweet knuckle knives though, so I can fight the void!" he beams, although to be honest, both gifts have their merits for him, and both gods too, especially because both are hot.

and if you want, i could tell you the truth

that this life takes a toll on you. i spend nights

“Alright.” Sunjata concedes with a huff of a laugh - not pressed one way or another whether or not Kaisel continued to call him sir, even if he didn’t feel like he fit the part. If it made Kaisel feel better, he could go by whatever the young dragoon chose.

At the question, though, his grey gaze surrounded by constellations of freckles blinks back at the dragoon before he shakes his head - taking the moment of hesitation to realize he means one scar in particular. “I didn’t, no. Got it before the war.” He says, gesturing to the scar on his cheek as if to ensure that’s the one he’s talking about. “Courtesy of my old man.” Just one of many, including the one that runs down his neck - faint and hidden with the years it’s been since. “I was here in the war, keeping everyone safe.” Something he doesn’t linger on.

Because while he doesn’t really regret it, he does. He regrets not being there to ensure that Nate got to come home.

But that was a long time ago, now. And there’s nothing he can do. So he focuses on the other thing Kaisel says which sparks a rumbling laugh, at odds with the thoughts of the war and what the original purpose of this Refuge had been. “Really?” He asks with a soft laugh - unable to imagine such a thing.

Sunjata had a habit of not talking to Frey until whatever was weighing on him too heavy to bear. Something he’s been working on as of late, but he’d felt the need to go and see them only with distinct purpose. It had been the same with Safrin - going to her once upon a time when the bottle he’d kept all his emotions in began to overflow. It’s one of his biggest faults.

“That’s handy. Just.. be careful with Safrin, alright?” A warning he’d given to Koa once upon a time, though he’s sure that the Dragoon had simply saw the sign and said he couldn’t read - not that he’d questioned it. “Boundaries are important.” Tipping a wink to Kaisel, the Flood’s shoulders roll in a small shrug.

He, personally, sucked when it came to his own boundaries. But he was trying to learn, and it was easier to offer the advice than it was to follow it himself.

stitching up the loose threads of my soul

so in the morning i'm bulletproof

SUNJATA

Got a spark in your heart so strike it

"Oh," is all Kaisel can seem to find in response, a grimace eking by for a moment. Sunjata's tone doesn't suggest that it happened by accident, which is the only way he can imaging his father giving him such a scar. On the face is bad enough, a clear indicator of painful intent, or potentially worse, but this one drags long and jagged up his cheek. It seems personal in a way that dries Kaisel's mouth abruptly. "Well, it gives you a lot of aura, sir," he says with a confident nod, like at least Sunjata got something out of it.

He's surprised to hear the Flood remained here during the war. Maybe if he paid better attention to his history lessons or studies on demigods, he'd have known, but Kaisel found that all a bit boring and figured it'd always be the big bads, the Caido legends, duking it out on the front lines of whatever battle threatened them all. Making sure everyone is safe feels like a job Koa would give him just to trick him into also being safe.

He doesn't put voice to those thoughts though, because it feels a biiiiit too close to criticizing Sunjata, which he doesn't have any desire to do. He also has no desire to receive a history lesson here and now, though he might look into it when he's bored one day just to put some of the questions to bed.

The warning against Safrin catches him a bit off guard, and his enthusiasm dims a bit as he crosses his arms over his shoulder. Be careful and boundaries are important sound like pretty sad tracks on the album of Sunjata. Or would it be Safrin's album? "You mean because she likes to fuck guys and make babies?" Not just any guys either, assholes are apparently fair game.

WAIT.

Is that why Koa likes her so much? Is that part of his love triangle problem?

Kaisel muses for a moment, but shakes it off with a roll of his shoulders. "I dunno if that's so bad. I met them, I like 'em." One in particular.

and if you want, i could tell you the truth

that this life takes a toll on you. i spend nights

He’s sure it does give him a lot of aura, something that Sunjata chuckles with when the answer comes. It makes him rugged – though he’d always been of the sort. A more physical obvious sign that he could handle whatever was dished toward him. “Thanks.” He offers, with zero hesitation, his accent falling over the words easily alongside the crooked smile.

As for everything else, though, as he warns Kaisel, Sunjata spots the other man’s confusion and enthusiasm as it falls, like letting a balloon deflate so you can secure the knot. “I mean,” Sunjata starts to say, letting the laugh fall from his lips – because gods, if that wasn’t really the whole fucking spiel.

His lips part to respond further when Kaisel’s mentioning he’d met them, brows pinching as he perks up a touch more interested – curious, because he does know about Jack’s kids, but a selfish portion of himself hopes that Kaisel means he’d met Kamaria. His daughter. “Wasn’t Kamaria, was it?” The way he asks seems as though he has a lot more interest in that particular daughter of Safrin, leaving him to scan Kaisel with a raised brow.

stitching up the loose threads of my soul

so in the morning i'm bulletproof

SUNJATA

Got a spark in your heart so strike it

"Hmm?" Kaisel queries as he tilts his head a bit, then shakes it gently. "No sir, can't say that name rings a bell." He wishes he had a better answer with the way Sunjata seems suddenly more perched on interest. He doesn't want to let the man down, but he can't give him this. "I met Vesper, Nova, and Calypso," he clarifies, one of his crossed arms coming up to rub his chin. "Why, how many children does Safrin have?"

He'd rather thought Calypso being born among the stars and having a hot goddess for a mom made her pretty damn special, aside from the fact she's got two other siblings sharing the same thing. Not that her divine birth is what's drawn him to her, more like, he can't believe it's commonplace enough that he has to clarify names for Sunjata. So his 'brows are lifted with mild disbelief, and a bit more trust of Sunjata's earlier warning.

and if you want, i could tell you the truth

that this life takes a toll on you. i spend nights

Mirroring Kaisel’s movements with the tilt of his head, there’s a bit of disappointment that stirs when he nods and shakes his head, looking away momentarily for the moment when Kaisel announces the names of those he’s met. And just from the name, he has to assume they’re the ones that Flora had mentioned Jack having.

So he hums a little sound, trying not to sound as disappointed as he is when he lets his steel gaze land back on Kaisel. “Lots.” He says at first, before realizing he likely needed to clarify. “Kamaria is the daughter that I had with Safrin.” In case he was still lingering on the name he’d uttered, even if it didn’t ring any bells. “But there was Seren, who was Ronin’s. She’s… Recently passed. And then there’s those three that you met.” That he knows of. “I’m not sure if there’s more, but, I’m not really in the know after everything that happened between me and Safrin.” Straightening up, the smile he flashes the dragoon is softer this time, like it didn’t bother him as much as it still seemed to.

stitching up the loose threads of my soul

so in the morning i'm bulletproof

SUNJATA

Got a spark in your heart so strike it

When Sunjata reveals the weight of Kamaria, Kaisel instantly understands, and wishes he'd had a better answer for the Archon. "I'll keep an eye for her," Kaisel offers instead. "Maybe Caly knows her, since they'd be sisters."

Hearing that Seren, a child of Safrin passed, strikes Kaisel a bit. All the demi-gods he'd known always seemed so strong... even the triplets, young and not all exactly demi-gods in power, seemed more than capable compared to most, not to mention watched over by a god. Is that the warning Ronin had tried to offer him?

"Kinda sounds like anyone who has a kid with her ends up having something happen between them," Kaisel says unsteadily, thinking of Ronin again and wondering just what that means for Jack, who—before electrocuting him—had still seemed to be praying to Safrin. He hopes the goddess smites the bastard. "So, sounds like if I keep it in my pants I'm in the clear." Which, easier said than done to be honest if Frey's presence is any indicator of his struggles there.

and if you want, i could tell you the truth

that this life takes a toll on you. i spend nights

Sunjata nods, filing away the name Caly as one of the kids of Safrin’s to keep an eye out for - if for nothing else but because he’s taken the initiative in not getting in close contact with any of Safrin’s descendants if only to not make their lives harder. So for now, Sunjata focuses instead on the fact that there’s a multitude of kids, and nobody - once again - has seen his.

Which leads him to hope that she’d made it back to the stars and not in the claws of the Void or anyone else that would want to bring her harm.

“Usually.” Sunjata admits to Kaisel with a low hum, thinking back to what had happened between everyone else and Safrin too, but as Kaisel picks up the point that he’s making, Sunjata nods a touch more encouragingly. “Just don’t let her manipulate you and you’ll be fine.” Could the Dragoon do that?

Time would tell, wouldn’t it?

stitching up the loose threads of my soul

so in the morning i'm bulletproof

SUNJATA

Got a spark in your heart so strike it

Kaisel still seems a touch skeptical. Not like he doesn't trust Sunjata, but like he doesn't think it's a possible warning to heed. "I dunno, kinda seems like being manipulated has a whole point of not letting you know it's happening... but I'll try, sir. Thank you for the advice." Unfortunately Kaisel has a pretty weak spot for doing whatever it takes to make the girl happy, so the chances of him succeeding in this venture are slim. He does think he can manage not to make a baby with Safrin at least, not that he's expecting he's worth her notice that much. Not yet, anyway. One day? Maybe. He'd like to think if he keeps climbing high enough he might be able to touch some of those stars a bit better, just sounds like, not with his dick.

"I gotta head back for a patrol change," he tells him with a glance back towards the direction Mourn would be. "I hope we talk again soon, sir!" He offers Sunjata and all his cool scars an easy grin before spinning on his heel and marching back through the pretty landscape he's starting to adjust to a little bit better.

[FIN]