[SE] a clean getaway

you must burn brighter than ever

Apopo probably wasn’t the best place for cleaning the Firecracker, but Melita enjoyed the view of volcanic ash and promises of magma; the darkened exterior of willful upheavals. And even though she and Flora had just managed the upkeep of their skyships, it was clear the environment had done a lot to the exterior, and interior, of the prized vessel – portions of mud still clinging to the panels of wood from adventures through various landscapes.

After tying off the hovering boat to one of the scarce trees, she started humming, snagging at a bucket full of water and one of the many rags she had assembled for the cause. Fangorn bobbed around at her heels, clearly trying to “help” with his long vines stretching towards the surface of the ship, scrubbing away at where he could reach. Sila wouldn’t have been of much assistance, not without all that fire, and opted instead to sit upon the railings, spying the world at large, acting as their guard.

“Cannot believe the amount of shit here,” the demigod muttered, putting in the elbow grease as she scoured one particular spot. “You’d think all the rain would’ve helped.” The sentient pumpkin grumbled his agreement in response, much as it scarcely mattered.

Melita

Got a spark in your heart so strike it

The sound of someone else nearby instantly has Kaisel perking up. To say that he had stranded himself here is...entirely accurate, yes. He has never had much practice with sailing on water, and while he's done lots of climbing and gliding around Stormbreak, he's never taken up the sky sailing aspect either, always drawn to other places to set his skills and talents. Since coming to Torchline though, it's proven far more necessary than it had ever been, and he's a little tired of being the passenger princess on the Sugartide. Not that he minds being a passenger princess, but he'd at least like the choice to offer it to Flora every so often.

After taking a whopping two lessons, he's rather poorly sailed his way out here on a one-man vessel, figuring that he could practice what he'd already picked up. Unfortunately, docking is a lot more difficult in practice. He's been trying to repair it, but has taken a break out of sheer frustration, and is fighting the temptation to use his parchment to write to Flora and beg for a rescue. Not exactly the ta-da! moment he's going for to show her what he accomplished in secret, but maybe a better option than remaking Tom Hank's 2000 hit film Castaway.

"Wilsoooooon! Mel!" Kaisel shouts with obvious relief as he breaks through some trees, doubling over with a tired breath and a laugh. "Oh my gods I've never been more happy to see you." Well, anyone really, but a friendly face is certainly welcome over some marauder. "Do you think I could bum a ride back with you? I uh..." A hand hangs onto the back of his neck. "I kinda broke my little dinghy getting here."

you must burn brighter than ever

Melita’s brows furrowed while she worked; likening her to some angry little fiend as she scrubbed away at particularly nasty amount of mud crusted upon wooden slats. She’d hardly expected anyone to be nearby, so when Sila gave the signal, though seemed unbothered, her head whipped up, spinning around to see Kaisel shouting from nearby.

Snorting, she brushed her wet hands down upon her dress, especially as his further proclamations resounded. Perhaps it was for the best that they’d mended their prior circumstances, though the Honeybee wouldn’t ever be without her sting. “What, no ocean race for me to interrupt?” she egged on with a smirk, head tilting, brow arching as she listened to his inquiry. Before answering, her gaze went towards the outskirts, narrowing briefly as she thought she saw something very…diminished down by the rocks. “Huh. How’d you do that?”

But then she huffed, finally rounding back to the question. “I suppose I could, if you help me clean it.”

Melita

Got a spark in your heart so strike it

His features pucker to one side with a lofty eye roll. "Ha ha," he drawls with all the sass of someone in the wrong tired of hearing about it. Because he hasn't just gotten it from her, and he sported the bruises from when she had. Hardly letting it dour anything though, assuming it's just a ribbing, he keeps closing the distance between them until he can settle easily at her side.

He glances back the way she does too, but offers a hefty shrug in response. "I don't really know how to sail, ended up fighting the wind a bunch." Which is usually the opposite problem he has, but he's never tried to use it to fill a sail in a specific manner, while also fighting a current and swells of waves, while also trying to remember rigging methods and knots. "Trying to learn, but I might have ventured out solo a bit too soon." There's a faint tinge to his cheeks, tone a bit sheepish with the acknowledgement he's entirely done this to himself.

"Uh, yeah, sure. This I actually know how to do." Scrubbing is a great menial task for a low-ranking soldier, and it's something he has helped Flora do with the Sugartide. He grabs up a rag from her pile and dips it into the bucket, wringing it out before crouching down to scrub beside her. "Sooooo, you always come out here to clean your ship?" he wonders, glancing about at the roiling waters that'd nearly cooked him and back at the unsteady, volcanic island. "Like, does the heat here help, or something?"

you must burn brighter than ever

She gave a satisfied smirk at his response, half inclined to make a darting motion with a clenched fist just to see what he’d do. Refraining, and only because he agreed to her terms, she arched her brow again, following the trail of broken ass looking sails and boat towards the main portion of the sand. “Sooo…you decided to just go out on your own,” and then she narrowed her gaze, pinpointing at him. Even Melita, who could alter her disposition and motivations with the drop of a hat, knew better than to take such a risk – and she’d been flying with Jack and the Ark for years before getting her own skyship.

Had Kaisel sunk or drowned out there, she might’ve called it divine justice or karma or hilarious, but she kept that to herself too. “So next time, go with someone. It’s dangerous to do all that alone when you don’t know enough.”

Pulling her hair back out of her face, she watched as he went towards the task though, shrugging her shoulders and picking her own rag back up. Rolling her shoulders to warm them back up to the menial labor, she went back to the cleaning portions, laughing as he tried to pilfer through her reasoning. “Nah. I just like the place and the view. Makes for a nice backdrop for a dull chore." Scrubbing again, she concentrated on the effort, grumbling some other curses under her breath before addressing the Accepted again. "What about you? Did you have a choice or did the boat lead you here?"

Melita

Got a spark in your heart so strike it

She doesn't have to tell him twice. "Yeah, no, I know." He huffs out a sigh, mildly frustrated that it had been this hard, and that he had ended up here. "I mean, worse case I could have called Flora...and I know a lot of survival training, but yeah. I thought I had more of a handle on it than I did, and then the wind just kinda took on a life of its own." Maybe better to try this outside of monsoon season, now that he's fully considering it.

"I'll get better though," he reassures, maybe as much to himself as her as he continues to scrub at the muck that's accumulated on the ship. "More lessons, a lot more lessons, but I'll keep trying and eventually maybe I'll be as good of a sailor as you are!" Unlikely, since he doesn't intend to get his own skyship and run around throwing out ducks over all the regions, but he still angles his head beneath his scrubbing arm to flash her a smile.

The explanation she provides causes him to pause and take a good look around. He'd been so focused on what to do once he got here he hadn't really taken it in. "Yeah, it's nice here," he agrees, getting back into the work before long. "I've never actually been to this part of Torchline before, so definitely the boat's choice," he laughs faintly. "I've been meaning to see everything around Torchline though, so I guess it worked out. Not too many patrols take me out this way, and I dunno, something about volcanoes doesn't scream prime vacation spot." He also just tended to enjoy coming home to Wildering house with Flora, or if they were off somewhere, it tended to be beyond Torchline's shores. "So, you got any plans for where to take your shiny skyship after this, or just buffering her up because?" Maybe another sailor thing he'd need to learn, the full maintenance of the ships, not just doing grunt work when told to.

you must burn brighter than ever

In between the notions of his foolishness, her head tilted, mind whirling and short-circuiting on the whole Flora thing. Wholly unaware of their relationship, probably because observations beyond battle-modes and survival wasn’t ever high up on her list, she found the mention confusing. Keeping it mostly to herself, the brow arch still there, she gave a light “Huh,” before continuing. The next statement earned him a hardened snort though, mostly of disbelief. “Yeah, sure. You just wait until you see how I fly.” Which was mostly amidst speed and no sense of self-preservation.

Confidence rankling through her shoulders, she applied her efforts again with that high look of disdain measured and aimed for the mud instead of Kaisel. “What made you stay here, instead of going back to Stormbreak?” Especially with his family, she supposed – Koa, and Noe, though she could barely keep track of where they roamed either. Granted, she had no great love or affinity for Stormbreak regardless; maybe he simply wanted to get out of the stuffy and struggling atmosphere. Especially after all the Family bullshit.

Content with how the mud had eventually been absconded under her constant command, the demigod moved onto the next one, wiping some of the stray hairs out of her eyes. “Oh, probably somewhere to wreak more havoc. Just wanted to make sure she was in tip top shape after this shitty season.”

Melita

Got a spark in your heart so strike it

Oblivious to Mel's ignorance of the matters at hand, her small confusion doesn't land much on him, especially not with dirty hulls and decks to worry about. It's only when, after her teasing challenge about besting her in the air (an advanced course, to be sure, that will take some time for him to get to), does her question about Stormbreak in turn puzzle him. His cleaning pauses, 'brows furrowing as he leans up over his crouch and glances across at her in full.

"Uuuuuh," he drones on for a second, not because her question is inherently difficult to answer, but because he's surprised to hear it given the time he's now left his home. It's been seasons since the bricks could earn that name from him rightfully. "Well, when we got kicked out, by the Family, I didn't think we'd have the opportunity to get back so fast, and I didn't think I'd want to be anywhere else but there, then." He shrugs, sinking back into the work as memories unfold in word and flashes in his thoughts. "But then, I'd been wanting to move right around that same time, y'know, finally spread my wings out from my family who are a bit...overly loving, sometimes. I didn't plan to move out of the city, but the timing just kinda worked out, and there was a lot of stuff I was sorting out for myself. So I stayed behind, in King's End, where we all went when the tower fell. I still helped out, but I felt like I needed a chance to change and see more before running right back to old comforts and habits."

He pauses for a little bit then, working through those old challenges like they're hurdles and not just memories. "Anyway, I came to Torchline not long after, in part because King's End is super creepy, but mostly so I could be close to Flora. I wanted to show her I was committed." He offers no explanation as to what or why, thinking it rather obvious. "Lots of my plans changed, and a lot happened in this past year, some bad, some good." He smiles, faint but not frail, if anything it lingers like dawnlight, slow but persistent. "A lot good, really."

"Now I'm just serving Torchline however it needs, always training and trying to get stronger, yanno. And trying to learn how to sail, so I can help out on the Sugartide better." At her explanation, he nods, a mild laugh rising at her label for the season so far. "Yeah, I guess it's hard to keep anything clean lately. Even without all the mud here, the storms have been relentless. I hope next season doesn't swing the opposite way and roast us all." He doesn't want to be made to miss the rain.

you must burn brighter than ever

Moving on to scrubbing at another spot, Melita hadn’t realized how lengthy the story was bound to be – eyes widening on key fixtures on families that were too much, timing, sorting out livelihoods…all of which sounded plausible, she supposed. Hadn’t she torn her way out of the Hollowed Grounds the moment they all had the opportunity? “Oh, okay, gotcha,” and she nodded her head, until instances later when everything else seemed to crawl back into her brain. Wanted to show Flora he was committed? The rest of his answers didn’t seem to even touch her ears, senses already wandering into stunned and bewildered territory.

Her head whipped around and she ducked underneath a panel of wood, staring at him, mouth agape, unaware she was probably one of the last to know. “Wait. Are you and Flora together?” Things were beginning to click a little – the whole Jack saga…the Doubletake being clearly upset by the matter but not like..too upset…

Melita

Got a spark in your heart so strike it

There's a brief moment where he thinks she's playing up her sarcasm so well that he can't tell the difference. He generally thinks he can spot it well, but he doesn't know Mel nearly well enough to have seen all her ranges, and while he generally considers her less theatrical than Flora (as are most people), everyone can certainly have their dramatic moments. And hey, maybe this is a sign they were becoming even better friends and she felt like she could have these sillier moments with him?

For that period of time, all he does it pause his scrubbing, head turning so slowly towards her it could be considered comical. He levels her with a flat look, a quiet ha ha written on his face. Except, the more he looked at her, and she looked at him, the more it read like genuine surprise in her. He fumbles for a moment, 'brows rising and mouth parting into a silent gawk with his own shock, because they'd been nude when he'd channeled her. Although, according to Flora, that's just an every day part of Torchline so maybe Mel is just as desensitized to it as Flora is, and it had been dark.

He closes his mouth abruptly, a soft smile flaring into place, chasing away the awkwardness with absolute sincerity. "Yeah, she's the best thing to ever happen to me. Like, I'm crazy about her." He laughs faintly, shaking his head at himself as he turns his attention back to mud and decks. "I think she's crazy about me too. Or maybe we're just crazy. Even though it's only been since Leafchange, it feels like it's been forever already. Everything is just, easy with her. Like, natural. You know how you don't really remember learning to breathe or walk? Being in love with her is like that." He could go on, and probably would, but thinking about the monumental love he holds for that woman also leads him to thinking about all the ways he can keep showing it to her. "I should probably start planning her birthday now, actually. Make sure I can do it right." Since, there's been a history of botched events thus far.

He catches himself as he dunks his rag back in the bucket. "You got anyone like that?" he looks her way brightly, hoping she could claim yes, because it's the best feeling to have.

you must burn brighter than ever

Considering it’d been her first channeling, the notion of staring down at a naked Kaisel or Flora, in the middle of the dark ocean, then taking a magical nap, had been the farthest from her mind. So the actuality made her eyes go wider than before, then she took a step back, considering multitudes throughout a mind so rarely impacted by thought. Instead of responding immediately, which would’ve just been a distorted semblance of confusion, she listened, head tilting, watching as his expression altered and changed from hesitant and awkward to sincere and ardent, devout. Her brow arched while he continued cleaning and spilling everything out – like it was the easiest thing in the world – her gaze beginning to narrow as if she’d seen a rare species of animal, and she couldn’t decide what to do with it.

Gawk, mostly, for the moment. Perhaps it was the way he simply said things with zero concern or guard. Sure, she could do that too, but it was mostly when contorted into rage or amusement. Not blunt honesty about things like…feelings. Which led her to wondering if her reaction was out of the norm. Was this what people did? Waxed poetical about their loved ones? To others? In public?! Her experience, at least with family, had been either abandonment, self-sacrifice, and survival; none of which gave any truly healthy aspects. And then the pondering went further, a rarer event, because if he was committing to all of this with Flora like it was the most natural shit – what the hell were her and Iskra doing?

She blinked to remove herself out of the mire, tried to maneuver out of the snares of her own whirling machinations, render back to what Kaisel had actually uttered. “Oh, well, uh-,” she offered before clenching her jaw, feeling the frustrations welling within and swallowing them down. “Good for you guys. I’m glad she has someone that will be there for her, and gives her what she deserves,” came on a grin, well-meaning and genuine, not curved, hooked, or fanged. “Especially after all of Jack’s bullshit.” Of which, she’d like to note, she never once approved of.

When the question rounded back to her, Melita suddenly found herself paying very close attention to a muddy spot on the wood paneling, pretending, initially, that she hadn’t even heard him. But if he could be so open, why couldn’t she? Not particularly drawn to analyzing that a moment longer, she huffed a little, cheeks turning the color of her hair and pretending not to notice in the slightest. “Maybe.” Perhaps she was a touch mad at herself too, wondering if she’d been taking things for granted and just letting it all filter out and not ask anything besides an initial ‘wtf’, carrying on as they were with no definite lines and – like, she obviously couldn’t plan for their birthday nonsense because it was already this season, so that was out. Not very content with the emotions rambling through her, she took big, deep breath, like she was preparing to march into battle. “So like, do you just…plan shit out as a surprise or…”

Melita

Got a spark in your heart so strike it

Although he doesn't have a large history with Melita yet, he's always found her rather straightforward and easy to get along with. Just avoid pissing her off and have fun, easy, generally. Aside from the channeling mishap which deserved the tongue lashing and punching that came later, they've generally managed to avoid ruffling each other. So when she lays down her quiet surprise and extends a rather heartfelt approval, he finds himself beaming back at her. Even without the strong and earnest pulse to her words, they stand alone with good intent, and he's thrilled to hear her consider him someone that would be there for Flora and give her what she deserves. "Thanks, Mel! That means a lot, truly." It hasn't always been this exact response, or even close to it. Nothing entirely negative, other than Koa's initial one, smoothed over now with fists and words (two for two now in that regard), but nothing so accepting as this.

Jack's name is gradually weighing less and less on him, or better said he's grown accustomed to the weight of it. He still can't keep the wrinkle from his 'brow at hearing it, a small tic of displeasure, but certainly able to align with Mel's take. "I'm glad he left..." Kaisel admits quietly. "It would have been a helluva lot harder for everyone if he stayed here. I think, she still misses him sometimes." He tilts his head up for a moment to think on that confession, the first time he's said it aloud. He has his suspicions that Jack has a room in the house, the way he does, although he has never been to his, or Jack's. He doesn't snoop around too much, focusing on the places she's at, wanting to be with her. There are moments though, when he's alone, or up before her, or following the sound of a spirit, and he wonders what's behind some of those doors in that large house.

It's her house, fashioned for her comforts, built for the people she loves, and he tries not to let the fact he feels like a guest there bother him too much. It's just a place at the end of the day, and he's pretty much always lived in places that belong to others, from his parents to hers. The only time it's been his has been in King's End, and that'd been miserable, although he'd been alone and left all his things at his parents' house. He's got his backpack, improved because of her, and that's all he needs. That and being by her side. "To be expected," he admits with a low sigh. She had said she loves fully, after all, and time has not stretched on so long as to carry Jack's name into oblivion yet. "And I'm not worried...any more, but yeah, the bullshit leaves its mark."

Rolling a shoulder to release some of the tension that the Captain always brings him, Kaisel glances up from his task back to her. She's so focused that he thinks for a moment she didn't hear him. Rousing his breath to repeat it, she offers a very mild answer. It puckers his features into amusement, smile prodding into his cheeks slow and knowing. "That's not a no, so that's a yes," he says cheerfully, grin deepening at the color she takes on. "Welllllll, what's his name?" He presses, undaunted by her intent to scrub the varnish clean off her ship.

She tosses out a distracting alternative, which he won't let her get away with for too long. "Uh, sometimes I try to surprise her, sometimes I tell her." He thinks of his pre-proposal, for example, with a shake of his head at himself. He'd been so swept up in the moment he just had to tell her how he felt, but he wishes he'd kept it closer to the vest, surprising her with that one. "I've never really thrown a party before, so I dunno if that's what I'm gonna do. Could be helpful to ask her, but I think she'd like the surprise, and I know she likes parties, so..." A shrug, like he'd figure it out in the next season or two. "I need to think about her gift though. I kinda have an idea already, but it's gonna take time to get it ready, which is why I might need to start now."

you must burn brighter than ever

The Honeybee usually didn’t care for how anyone reacted to her own temperamental exchanges but remained wholly unaware of how much weight hers might’ve carried. It was easier to flare into anger over much else; a protective layer of fury to guard everything else under the surface. Kaisel had only invoked her wrath on the singular occasion, so when he beamed back at her, informing her of the meaning behind it, her brow arched, mentally taken aback. What was with people who could just easily say shit? Well, besides her, obviously – poor impulse control and forthright platitudes were a symbol of her existence; she just wasn't certain what to do when it was shoved back at her.

Though she’d already carefully maneuvered around the next panel of mud splatter, back to as he began complaining and grousing about Jack. Melita walked a fine line there. She’d been a member of the Ark for many years before her demigodhood had taken over her occupation, and she knew the Captain to a certain extent. Respected. Listened to him, sometimes. But she didn’t always necessarily agree with his life choices, and Flora had been one of those sticking points. With Flora so young and enamored with someone who would’ve easily toyed and tossed her about without much cause for concern on her part, she’d always surveyed the relationship as ‘gross’, and hadn’t hidden her opinion. Little good that had done in the long run. So her nose wrinkled slightly, as she applied more pressure into the grime. “He was a big part of her life,” unfortunately, she started, trying to walk around the wounds. He’d probably left some large, jagged pieces behind too. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t be more. I mean, if she’s content - ,” she shrugged, as if to say ‘wasn’t that enough?’, or maybe to soothe some worries that he’d stated weren’t there, but she figured anyone would have apprehensions over the serrated fringes Jack had scorched. “Last time I talked to her, she seemed happy. At peace.”

Hoping all of that would distract him, the reel of it came back to her anyway, and she rolled her eyes, huffing a breath as she turned back to glance at him over her shoulder. Still protective and daunted within the same stroke, she went mulish, pressing her rag harder into the wooden surface. “None ya,” she offered with a cheeky grin. “I haven’t even told my uncle yet, so you’re not getting dibs either.” Not that Sunjata would care. She just didn’t really know how to go about anything anymore; floundering around like a fish out of water. “Gods, I don’t even want to think about a family dinner.” But maybe something for later.

She’d made space for Iskra with ease after all; she always had when they were younger, and now it’d become nothing to jettison her skyship back and forth between Torchline and Halo and places in the middle. But plans – things and notes for the future, had never been a Melita experience. She was more apt to boldly proclaim a game in the middle of a clearing in some land because the world needed amusement, not pencil in certain fixtures upon a calendar. But maybe this was where she needed to start – to remember she wasn’t alone in all these interims anymore – and even that was sometimes a surprise. A fierce independence didn’t have to be lost, and Iskra had never asked for it –

But she felt like a fumbling fool where Kaisel seemed to have, well, most of it figured out in a short timeframe. “She does love a party – and even better if it’s about her,” offered on a wink, taking the rag and wringing it out. “What sort of gift?”

Melita

Got a spark in your heart so strike it

Mel's diplomatic approach isn't lost on him, though he's no idea the connections the Honeybee has with the Captain. He takes it as an attempt to keep smooth what could easily ruffle, and he does his best in turn to keep his features neutral and ears open. There's no denying that he doesn't quite know the scope of Jack and Flora's saga—he's no interest to discover it either. Some things are not worth knowing. He does let a smile break through though, agreement and appreciation both as Mel offers that he could be more, that Flora is happy. "That's all I want for her," he says gently, thinking back to the star that blazed across a sky in its descent. "I think together, we've got a good chance at it."

As for her own beau, he can't help the snicker that comes through at none ya. "Oh I see, a secret. Does that mean he's like, horribly disfigured so you're trying to hide him then? Or some other curse you're trying to solve still?" He bounces his 'brows over at her, overly ridiculous in the hopes the tease will land well and not imply she's into hunchbacks. Though if she is, to each their own. He just doesn't understand the point in keeping love quiet. He'd had to when it bloomed in secret for Flora, and that'd been awful. Then again, to soften things for Jack, Koa, and Caly, and he regrets that now because it'd been terrible regardless and he'd rather have loved Flora loud and immediate.

When she says a family dinner though, he gets a better understanding. "Ooooh, do you think your uncle will flip? Her family definitely had some...words at our dinner." His face scrunches up at the memory of Ronin's dry question and the ice that'd flooded the room with. He thinks it's better now, at least, and is planning on having another dinner soon, sans Flora, to ask for their approval for her hand. He's not completely confident it will go well, but he does think he's proven himself a bit more. He's definitely not going to let worry slow or stop him either, though he wants it to go well, so he can't rush in and be reckless. It's probably the most intense thing he's ever had to plan, and it's not even a mission, it's just dinner with her dads.

Not particularly inclined to tell Mel about all that though, he takes the topic of her birthday gift much easier. "I was thiiiiinking, like a little glass orb that she could hold and see old memories play out in. Specifically, memories I want to go collect from all her friends. Their favorite memory with her, or of her, so that she's got a piece of them loving her forever." He glances her way, quietly seeking approval, or some other sign that'd show him he's thought about this all wrong. "Not the most useful thing and a little sappy...I know. But I thought, memories fade, and—" He doesn't want to say he thinks that she thinks too poorly about herself, in those quiet moments when she lets grief or guilt take over and assumes all blame, refuses to find a positive even when he demands it. If she wouldn't say nice things about herself, he thought he could get others to. "I think we all need reminders of why we're loved, sometimes. So, yeah, I need to get it made and then go collect all the memories in time."