the hearse (open)

SUNJATA

Jigano’s question reaches him, and he manages to let his steely gaze drift back over toward the bard with the questions. “There were many, but usually it was staggered when it came to having them.” A roll of his shoulders. “Might not be any one year, and the next something close to twenty?” A rough explanation. He had fifteen, and emerged victorious. “People that wanted to become a noble family could participate too, provided they had money to enter.”

But as the conversation shifts and he explains further, knowing some of it makes little sense – knowing some of Sunjata’s world had been quite a bit more advanced than the world he finds himself in now, he breathes a bit easier at not having to explain the entirety of the technology of Korofi. And instead, he focuses on the question poised by Jigano as Sunjata remains downwind, dragging from the cigarette as he regards how best to answer.

“Not exactly just like that.” He begins, his free hand running through his hair. “I was stationed in the slums soon after my training was done. I commanded a group that was sent to try and weed out the rebellion who were trying to take down the Arbiter and change the rules. One day, it was raining something terrible, and I spotted something a bit unordinary. And I had two choices, I could go and get my group and pursue it, or I could abandon it all and find out for myself.” The look he gives Jigano seems to suggest he went alone.

“It was a slip up from the rebels, but I managed to get in with them. Of course, they thought I was some kind of spy, so it took some time. But I stayed with them for four years or so before I left Korofi and came here.”

come home. don't die so far from the sea—

Assuming had gotten him into trouble before, but he was still surprised that families could buy their way into the nobility. And from there, into the Arbiter's chair directly, from what Sunjata was saying. It seemed to allow for a great deal more social mobility than he would have thought in such a brutal society, but it still seemed like a hell of a way to cull the population. Keeping it small if they had limited resources made a certain amount of sense...

But not at the price of murdering their best minds that weren't as physically strong as other brutes. They were selectively breeding themselves backwards from civilization to barbarity, and Jigano grimaced as he tapped a peg into a new position and then stood to stretch out his back with a quiet crackle of vertebrae.

"What made you do it?" the bard asked curiously, ever a sucker for a good story. "It sounds like you had won fame and power and were positioned to get more. Maybe enough to change things from the top down if you became Arbiter after your father... what made you throw it away to join the rebels?" There was no judgment in his tone, only honest interest. From what Sunjata had already told him, his county was a fairly terrible place, and Jigano was the last person who would wave off long shots and small rebellions. He had seen more done with less... but Sunjata's reasons for his choice mattered, even on Caido. His actions in the past couldn't be changed, but why he had undertaken those actions might affect what he did in the future, and that could have a direct impact on Jigano and his family.

SUNJATA

There’s a surprising amount of ease for Sunjata to tell this story to a stranger, but at the end of the day between the blight that courses through his system and his frayed mental state, well… He doesn’t seem to particularly mind. At the question, however, he looks to Jigano when the bard stands, steel eyes scanning over the man with a light tilt to his head as he listens to the question. “Bit of everything, really.” He says quietly, regarding the questions poised once more.

“My father was young, still. It would take forever to get to the point to fight to succeed him, and at first I did plan on changing the laws and everything. But I’d need to win the trial again, and I’d had enough my first round.” His lips form a tight line as he inhales deeply, sharply, before exhaling and running a hand through his hair. “I wanted a more immediate response, and they had picked me to front the mission on finding the rebels. And when I did, it was far larger than what we had expected. And with my knowledge of how the enforcers worked, well, might as well use it.”

A small smile actually crosses his face at that, genuine and true. “And it worked, for the most part. For a few years, until everything else happened.” A shrug. Before they had captured him and Lusea. Before she had died in his arms and his father held the rope tighter around his neck. But his father had made him into a monster, and was surprised when Sunjata bit back.

come home. don't die so far from the sea—

Tucking his hands into his capacious sleeves to try and retain some warmth in them - not likely, not with the blight still stealing the warmth from his skin, though not as much as it had before - he made himself as comfortable as he could in the light snow to listen. His lips quirked towards a faint smile at hearing 'a bit of everything.' Such decisions were rarely simple or made on a whim, but the core of what had driving it would still prove enlightening, and so he waited.

Nor was he disappointed. Young and impatient? He could understand that. Not wanting to fight to the death again? A far better reason, in Jigano's opinion. That wasn't a price anyone should have been asked to pay once, much less twice. It spoke well of Sunjata, and he nodded slowly, a smile starting to curve his lips. He reached up to brush the snow from his shoulders and hair, but the motion paused as the other man continued. It seemed that his tale was not yet done, and the bard tilted his head, brow arching in renewed curiosity.

"Everything else?" he coaxed gently, sensing that it wouldn't be pretty. Otherwise the other man could have ended with 'and it worked' and called it a mostly-happy ending. 'Everything else' made it sound like it had stopped working, and with a rebellion in play that could only mean that things had gone metaphorically south.

Not all rebellions were successful, after all.

SUNJATA

Sunjata should have known that mentioning a cliff hanger would likely prompt the bard to ask further than beyond what he had said. And in the quiet snowfall, he focuses on the cigarette that’s almost burned out completely, before he snuffs it with his boot and the snow and ice around them, before he focuses his steel eyes onto Jigano once more. “My girl and I were captured.” He announces, as if it’s all he needs to say.

But he’s here now, and so likely that would prompt another question.

“And she was murdered after a few weeks of keeping us captive. My father was too focused on keeping me in the line, as one of the winners, that he arranged a marriage for me and my sister. And while he focused on all of this, the resistance continued to work. I gave it a spark, and fled after that to the neighboring country. And… Ended up here, at the end.” He rushes through a few parts, finding it easier to say as little as possible – though with the blight wracking through his mind, he wonders how much more information Jigano can get out of him.

come home. don't die so far from the sea—

Ah. There it was. The shoe that was bound to drop, and Jigano winced in sympathy at the bare statement of fact, hiding what could only be a wealth of pain beneath. He let the silence sit for a few moments, curious as always but uncertain what was safe to ask, when any answer could only lead to sorrow and memories best left behind.

Sunjata surprised him by continuing even without urging. And it was worse than Jigano had wanted to hear, though not surprising after how Korofi had been previously described. Still, he had no doubt that those few weeks had been filled with torture. Probably physical, certainly mental and emotional. And though the girl had died, Sunjata had lived. Lived and gotten his revenge, or at least tried to, before the Voice's portal had plucked him away from a world that sounded hellish to the bard, above and beyond the harshness of the desert.

He exhaled slowly into the winter air, breath frosting in a brief cloud as he took it all in and tilted his head back to let the snow fall on his lashes. He let the silence stretch between them for long moments before he tilted his head just enough to watch the other man from eyes that still looked closed. "Would you go back, if there was a way?" he asked at last. "Or is Caido something of a welcome new start for you... the blight notwithstanding," he added dryly, dark humor lacing his voice at the end.

SUNJATA

He’s a bit surprised, too, about the ability to sit there and tell Jigano all of this. Of course, Sunjata isn’t an idiot (most days) and keeps most of the important bits about his person quiet. Some things were simply better left unsaid. And he nods as Jigano exhales, as if that’s all he really has to say on the matter. But it doesn’t hurt like it did before, like it always seemed to. Because while before, he didn’t have Lusea, and the thoughts of mentioning what Korofi was like, were always linked to her dark hair and beautiful golden skin. It had been painful.

Still, he looks up at the comment Jigano makes, asking if he would go back if there was a way. Or if Caido had been a welcome reprieve from the world he’d lived in before. At this, he manages a smile, folding his arms across his chest. “Caido, definitely.” His accented voice rumbles. “I’m not sure how, but a couple of weeks ago my girl arrived.” How’s that for a plot twist? Sunjata isn’t crazy, he knows at some point with how small the Hallowed Grounds is, that it’s likely he’ll see her at some point.

come home. don't die so far from the sea—

He dropped his chin and opened his eyes fully again, lips tilted in wry agreement with remaining on Caido. At hearing that 'his girl' had appeared, though, a pale brow arched - more in curiosity than disbelief after what he'd seen already on this crazy world. "I've heard of something similar happening with souls from a world called Helovia," he admitted. "I have no idea how or why... but I'm glad that you've been able to reunite with your love." A coincidence? A miracle? Or something more sinister? With the Voice's portals in play and the goddess awake and aware enough to direct them now it was never clear how much was chance and how much was intent on her part.

"What is she like?" he asked instead, hoping that focusing on the present and their impossible reunion would be a more pleasant topic for the man from Korofi. "Aside from a rebel who fought at your side to take down a corrupt despot, of course," he added with a hint of wry amusement. He wasn't sure if Sunjata would appreciate being teased even when not blight-struck, and it might have been a miscalculation on his part, but it would be interesting to see how he responded to it, if at all. And now that he had staked out the place he meant to build the Shrine there was little more he could do until he returned with shovels, wood, stone... and help.

SUNJATA

There’s a slightly roguish smile that rests on Sunjata’s face when Jigano looks back over. At the explanation, he nods – the name of the place unfamiliar but… He supposes if it’s possible from other worlds, what would make his own different? Of course he has no memory of his time in Helovia, and what happened thereafter, probably for the better. Still, he offers a light nod of agreement, happy to have her back and have some normalcy.

At least before the blight came.

He asks what Lusea is like, and Sunjata looks away from the bard, contemplative. For a moment he almost leaves it as ‘rebellious’ but of course, Jigano continues on and snaps that away from him. A chuckle leaves him as he glances back toward Jigano with a wry smile. “She’s like fire.” He comments quietly, before he pushes off and expands that idea. “The first time I met her, I had been knocked out in a fighting ring and when I woke up, she was stitching me up.” A light hum of nostalgia. “It took a while to get to know her. She didn’t trust me, which I can’t really blame her. But I got through to her in the end.” An accomplished smile crosses his face when he looks back to Jigano.

“In Korofi, we were like fire and water.”

come home. don't die so far from the sea—

"They do say that opposites attract," Jigano agreed with a chuckle at the comparison to fire and water. "A rebel healer and the fighting son of a corrupt nobleman? I'm not sure it gets much more opposite than that!" He shook his head ruefully as he considered his own relationship with Rory. He'd never really thought of them as opposites so much as complimenting each other's strengths and weaknesses, like two pieces of the same puzzle that fit together perfectly - physically, emotionally, and in every other way they had found together.

"I'm happy that you found her again," he added, though the weight of the blight was taking its toll on him, too. He was chilled even more than usual out in the snow, and as fascinating as Sunjata's tale had been, the bard was finding it hard to carry the weight of the conversation much further. He turned back to his assaying materials, scrounging to find enough loose stones to make a small cairn to mark the spot so the snow wouldn't cover it completely again before he returned.

"Is she working in the Infirmary?" he asked curiously. "Or the, ah, the 'medical college,' since you were helping Phoebe there before?"

SUNJATA

“Yeah it seems… A bit strange to say. But it works well.” There’s a light shrug he gives Jigano. But the comparison between them, he had always snuffed her flames if they became to much, and she had always turned his raging waters into smoke and steam, cooling off in the eventual amounts of his frustration getting the best of him. It had always worked, until well… It didn’t anymore, and she had died and left him to his own devices, to figure it out.

“I am too.” He admits, giving a small wry smile toward Jigano, deciding that perhaps the bard isn’t so bad after all, despite the blight and despite everything. He had been interested, and not… In a way that could be beneficial for others. Not in a way that could tear him down in the long run, should there ever be a need to. But the bard then asks about the medical college, and his head almost snaps toward him in a small amount of surprise.

Clearing his throat for a moment, he finds he slips back into Korofi as well for another brief moment. “Ah, gode nee.” He admits with a slight chuckle, before realizing it. “Sorry, gods no.” A slightly amused smile crosses his face at the mishap for the second time in a row. “No, when she came through the Spire I was actually… Well, dating Phoebe at the time. So I’m sure you can imagine how awkward that had been.” Awkward for everyone involved, terrible for two of them. Great for two of them. It was hard to say anymore.

come home. don't die so far from the sea—

It was the first smile that had been directed at him, Jigano thought with a flicker of appreciation at seeing Sunjata come a little ways out of the blight-fueled depression that the bard had found him in. The rebel mercenary had smiled at memories or turns of phrase, but this one seemed to be more for Jigano than anything else, and the bard returned it with a nod of heartfelt understanding. If he and Rory had been separated and found each other again... well, 'happy' would be the biggest understatement of the year.

The strange language was almost familiar. Or at least, close enough to others he knew to be mostly understandable, and he arched a brow at the fervent tone behind it. Wasn't Lusea a healer...?

Oh. Oh.

He didn't even bother to hide the dismay in his expression as he looked Sunjata over with fresh eyes. "Awkward... doesn't even begin to describe it," he said dryly. "'At the time,' though...? Were you and she able to get back together, or are you still with Phoebe? ...ah, if you don't mind my asking. I don't mean to pry into your personal life," he apologized ruefully. "It's just... well, hard not to be curious about a situation like that." Phoebe, it appeared, had been far busier than he had ever guessed, and in more ways than one. Emmett had been dead for barely a season and already the midwife had moved on to greener pastures. He knew she was young, but still it seemed somewhat callous to the bard.

But maybe he was just old-fashioned.

SUNJATA

It appears more explanations are required, as the information hits Jigano, and Sunjata internally cringes. At the very least it might keep the bard from asking the midwife about him, should he be interested to. So he shoves his hands into his pockets, glancing back toward the shrine with a quiet contemplative look as the questions land.

“Well, for Lusea, her arrival here was seconds after she died. It has been three years for me.” He explains a bit more roundabout. “And before we were captured, I asked her to run away from Korofi with me — to go to Dorobo and forget about everything that happened to us.” A quick explanation of the events. “And she died, arrived here seconds after, only to see that I was with someone else. I had told Phoebe about her, and when I saw Lusea when Phoebe brought her back to the clinic it was like seeing a ghost. But she was there, living, breathing. Phoebe just left. Said she wasn’t going to stick around and left her own clinic. So that was the end of that.” He rolls his shoulders slightly.

“It’s been a rough transition.” It’s uncertain if he means for himself or all parties involved.

come home. don't die so far from the sea—

"Ah, I thought it had only been a few weeks, not years," Jigano admitted, some of his dismay returning to thoughtfulness as he adjusted his understanding of events, at least from Sunjata's perspective. "But it almost sounds like you asked her to marry you?" He asked that question more softly, especially since Lusea's death couldn't have been easy to live with for three years.

He sighed at the recounting of Phoebe's behavior though, shaking his head slowly. "I'm sure she meant well... but speaking as a bard, he dramatics can put a professional to shame sometimes," he said dryly. "Still, I'm glad that there's been no fighting between them. Hopefully in time things will smooth over." Finishing the little cairn he straightened and dusted his hands off, offering Sunjata a lopsided smile as he did. "Care to head back to town with me? I wouldn't mind the company on the walk back through the Ruins, though if you'd rather stay out here a while longer I understand."