cause and effect

Longheat is quite the season, Dahlia is finding, especially up in the floating region of Stormbreak. Nowhere near as stifling as the tropical islands below, she nevertheless finds herself wanting to lounge about wearing little to nothing, to sample crushed ice and frozen berries and to get day drunk out in the plaza. Alas, being a leader brings with it quite an awful lot of work; still, having sent word to Sunjata, she's at least content enough in knowing that she will soon be in good company.

In her office in the Tower, the windows and balcony doors have been thrown open, the Reaper standing in a patch of warm sunlight and draped in a dress of loose, black lace. It leaves little to the imagination, but then in Dahlia's experience, imagination is secondary to reality in most cases. Sipping a glass of chilled white wine and watching people scurry about below, she briefly considers what it might be like to take one of the large glass paperweights from her desk and drop it from this considerable height.

Only briefly, though.

let me put my lips to something
let me wrap my teeth around the world

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

// say it like you mean it, do you trust me now?
call it like you see it, are we burning out? //

It is a very quick trip for him from Torchline to Stormbreak, and the second he’s received word, the Flood’s trajectory of returning home immediately shifts toward the floating city. Now, rather than climb up all of the steps to the office that Dahlia finds herself in, the Flood opts for something else. His fuzzy bat shift, taking him up and up and up in relatively erratic flight given the shift he’s in, but he crests over the railing to hover beside the Reaper, before he’s shifting into himself.

His boots hit the ground with a surprising amount of grace, and he wears a dark navy shirt that clings to him along with the dark jeans worn, flashing her a smile of greeting before he’s boldly reaching out to pull Dahlia in for a chaste kiss to her cheek. “You look lovely.” He hums to her as he pulls away, sure that she’ll fill him in on his requested presence before he speaks any further.

the flood

// i wish you could feel it like i do
everything i've done, i do it all for you //

Raising her eyebrows over the rim of her wine glass at the freewheeling flight of a large bat en route to her balcony, Dahlia steps back only at the realisation that it's the man she's been waiting for, giving Sunjata ample room to shift back and land. "As do you, dear," she purrs in response to his greeting, freely offering her cheek for him to kiss before they head properly into her office. "Drink?" she offers, gesturing to her liquor cabinet for him to peruse; he doesn't seem like a wine man, she thinks.

"Thank you for flying up to see me," Dahlia adds, moving to sink down onto one of the red velvet couches she's had moved into the space. "Hopefully I won't take up too much of your time. I was just very interested to know how your little jaunt out to Starfall went. I notice that the island's guardians were no match for you and your friends. What hapened there?"

let me put my lips to something
let me wrap my teeth around the world

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

// say it like you mean it, do you trust me now?
call it like you see it, are we burning out? //

“I’d love one.” Sunjata flashes her a lopsided smile before he’s following her into the office further, pausing to peruse the cart of liquors that she’s pointed out to him. Choosing a glass and a particularly dark and smoky whiskey, he pours about a knuckles worth before he’s popping the cork back on and collecting his glass to g n to her as she settles in the red velvet couch.

His smile seems to suggest that it wasn’t an issue to come and see her, because it never is, truthfully. He’d always make time for her. “Ah, yeah.” Sunjata says, drifting closer to sit opposite of her, taking a sip of the whiskey to relish the light burn down his throat. “There was this blade Ronin used, I’m not sure what it is, but it instantly killed it when he got a hit on it.” Sunjata peers into his glass as if trying to recollect what had happened, before shaking his head lightly. “I don’t think any of us expected that, honestly.” He knows he didn’t expect it, but given everyone else’s reaction? They hadn’t either.

the flood

// i wish you could feel it like i do
everything i've done, i do it all for you //

"A blade, you say?" Dahlia's eyebrows raise at that, the Reaper taking another small sip of her wine and adjusting herself just so to speak properly with Sunjata as he comes to join her on the couch. "How curious - I wasn't even aware that such a thing existed here in Caido." A sleek and dangerous anomaly, if anything, an oversight she's very keen to rectify. "And you said that Ronin had it? He's the one they call the White Knight, is he not?"

Either way, it had certainly been an interesting development, and Jata's frank explanation about all that had happened earns him a warm smile from Dahlia. "I note that one of those strange flowers has been planted on our shores now as well. Don't fret about it - it's a large island, and I'm sure it won't cause too much of an issue," she purrs.

let me put my lips to something
let me wrap my teeth around the world

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

// say it like you mean it, do you trust me now?
call it like you see it, are we burning out? //

“Yeah.” Sunjata says a touch unhelpfully, taking a sip of the smokey whiskey and allowing himself to focus on her as his brows pinch slightly together, considering. “He’s gone by many names here over the years, but that’s the most known one these days.” He thinks for a moment, recalling the name he’d known Ronin has all those years ago – the Dark Star, specifically.

He leans back into the chair and sees her warm smile, letting it reflect on his own as he gazes across at her, nodding at the mention of the flowers. “It has, yeah. But it you’re not worried, I won’t be.” Tipping her a wink that’s a touch playful, before he’s taking another sip of the whiskey and regarding her with the bright steel of his gaze. “Is there anything else you want me to do?” He asks, wondering what her plans were or if she still intended on wanting him to be under the radar, as it were.

the flood

// i wish you could feel it like i do
everything i've done, i do it all for you //

"I see," Dahlia says with a small smile; she'd known that much, of course, having done enough watching and waiting in her time before falling to Caido's rich soil, but it's good to clarify the White Knight's latest moniker. "Thank you for letting me know," she adds, reaching out to clink her glass against his own.

"Oh, you have been doing plenty, Sunjata. Thank you for all of your efforts so far. I know you don't think they seem like much, but between you and Hotaru, you have been invaluable to the Family." Leaning across the sofa, Dahlia presses a grateful kiss against his scarred cheek.

"From here, I want you to act how you would act in any other circumstance. Towards your lover, your friends, your region. Live as if there is a tomorrow worth living for, hm?" She winks.

let me put my lips to something
let me wrap my teeth around the world

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

// say it like you mean it, do you trust me now?
call it like you see it, are we burning out? //

“Of course, Dahlia.” Sunjata says easily, clinking his glass against hers before he takes a sip. And as he listens to her speak, there’s a distinct tidbit of information he hadn’t been anticipating within her words – the mention of Hotaru, of course – but it doesn’t bother him in the slightest. If anything, his crooked smile only widens, a perfect place for the Reaper to press her kiss to.

It only fades slightly, nodding to the instruction – because acting as himself he can certainly do. And the freedom that comes with it in looking toward the future without the fear of another war and setback to his life after he’s been dealt blow after blow, the Flood really can’t complain. “Sounds good.” He hums, content to sit there beside her and finish his drink, before bidding her farewell and slipping out the balcony precisely the way he’d come to see her as – a bumbling bat trying to figure out a relatively large building.

- FIN

the flood

// i wish you could feel it like i do
everything i've done, i do it all for you //