the circle of life

OLIVER

Oliver seemingly tunes out the work that Sunjata goes through. He notices it, but it a bit occupied by exploring for now. This doesn't mean that he completely ignores the man. In fact, the moment the food is placed down on the counter, Oliver hops off and shifts back into a human, turning around to get a good look at his companion. Shooting a soft smile towards Sunjata, Oliver looked down at what he had to offer. "Thank you so much Sunjata. It looks delicious." But first, he needs to try the drink, which he promptly picks up and takes a sip from. "Drink is fantastic too."

Despite almost being a meal for the other man, Oliver is ready to spend some time with him. He's calmed down quite a lot, but still looks a bit shaken up. Luckily he has a lot to distract himself with, such as food, drinks, and whatever Sunjata has done with the antlers thing. "So....wanna tell me about the antlers." There is a shit-eating grin on his face as he takes another drink. "I guess I was just a little bit too early for you to dig down and find that new shift." Obviously, Oliver is immensely happy for Sunjata. This is just fantastic news.

I JUST WANT MY EXISTENCE
TO BE MORE THAN TREMBLING

i try to keep it in line, maybe i'm just not the one

Oliver soon slips down from the bar to settle in a chair, and Sunjata’s steel gaze lingers on his friend before he takes another sip of his own drink. “You’re welcome.” He offers with a crooked smile, boyish in nature before he shrugs it off. It wasn’t really a big deal to him, the meat was from a deer he had hunted a few days prior, the drink an old staple of Korofi.

He sets the glass along the bar, still leaning forward as he regards Oliver’s comments. Confusion arises in him and he finds his head tilting a bit. “Antlers?” He repeats, brows furrowing in his confusion before he raises a hand to run through his hair to find the pair of horns extending from his skull, spiraling back as a halo of sorts. “What?” He rumbles, turning to look at his reflection and seeing the shadows and edges of the dark horns that protrude.

“I don’t even know what it is.” He rumbles, half turning to look at Oliver over a tattooed shoulder, immensely confused.

but you know i would

SuNJATA

OLIVER

The drink is pretty damn delicious and Oliver is half tempted to try Sunjata's, just to see if they taste the same or not. Sunjata probably wouldn't mind sharing...right? They've shared a bottle of alcohol before so how different is this? He'd have to ask in a bit since someone started freaking out.

Oliver wasn't entirely sure what his fellow attuned had done. He had seen something similar, maybe once or so, but this? It was so weird and new. Oliver could only assume it had to do with shifts. "Hey, calm down, they look super good on you." Were they permanent? He had absolutely no idea, but he really needed Sunjata to relax. "Here, come over to me. Sit next to me, we can figure this out." There's a soft smile on his face and his voice remains soothing and calm. Looks like it's his turn to try and help out.

"Now would be a wonderful time for Jigano to bust in through the doors and help us...but it's fine. We are smart, right? We can figure out what the fuck is going on!" His voice is light and upbeat, obviously trying to joke a bit to get the mood brighter. No need to panic over random antler-horn things.

I JUST WANT MY EXISTENCE
TO BE MORE THAN TREMBLING

i try to keep it in line, maybe i'm just not the one

Calm down? He was fine for the most part, just confused. Trying to figure out what shift the antlers had come from. The panther form and the macaw form definitely didn’t harbor any hidden horns beneath the exterior, and he racks his brain a bit trying to gather what kind of shift it could’ve come from. Oliver offers him a place to sit beside him, and Sunjata’s eyes narrow slightly as he reaches into himself trying to feel for something else, something unfamiliar. “Hang on.” He says after a moment, hand drifting from his head from the antlers.

The comment of Jigano likely knowing what was happening gives him a moment of pause, before he snorts. “I think it’s just… part of the attuned shift coming out.” He reaches up to rub at an earring briefly before shaking his head and moving around from the back side of the bar and turn his attention to the center of the room, where there’s plenty of space just in case.

He inhales deeply, feeling for something foreign within him, and he finds a couple of things. But he draws himself nearer to the horns, to feel where that small pang is coming from, and when he finally looks back over at Oliver in his place stands a gazelle of sorts. Small hooved feet with a large pair of antlers that settle along his head, stripes flowing through his body and long thick fur. He takes a step forward with a loud clacking sound from his hooves, his large elongated ears wavering in uncertainty.

Well, this certainly is something, isn’t it? He looks to Oliver with a small tilt of his great horned head.

but you know i would

SuNJATA

OLIVER

Oliver chose to be silent, giving Sunjata the opportunity to reach into himself and hopefully find the new shift. It was obvious enough to Oliver that this was clearly something new, maybe deer like. It could've been a sign from Safrin, showing Sunjata that he had a brand new shift. If that were the case, incredible. Otherwise, Oliver wasn't sure why on earth he grew antler-horn things in the first place.

Soon, he watched as Sunjata transformed into an entirely new creature. Oliver's eyes widened and he grinned, clearly happy for his friend. Just days ago, they were talking about the potential of Sunjata having another shift. Now, it just happened before his very eyes. Standing up, Oliver took a couple of steps closer to Sunjata, clearly trying to get a good look at him.

"Something is the right word to use alright." He isn't mocking, not at all. He seems proud and happy for his friend, but also a bit confused. He has absolutely no idea what Sunjata actually is. "I'd hate to see who ends up being on the other end of your horns- er, antlers?" Yeah, he had no idea what they were, but that didn't mean that he couldn't attempt to make a joke.

"You look great. How does it feel? Anything new that you can notice?"

I JUST WANT MY EXISTENCE
TO BE MORE THAN TREMBLING

SuNJATA

the flood

Gods his head is heavy with the horns that settle along the top, protruding toward the back. And his legs feel incredibly small in comparison, wondering how a creature like this could even survive. But he’d seen similar ones to it in Dorobo, along the deserts and fields and savannahs, as he catches a glimpse of his reflection. He’s like a gazelle of sorts, his horned head tilting toward Oliver as he looks to the blonde man. And he watches with wide dark eyes as Oliver approaches too, to inspect him.

The comment of hating who’d be on the other end of the horns causes a feeling of amusement to leave Sunjata despite the recent events, head lowering and sharp horns pointing toward the sky. But at the mention of how it feels? Anything new? Yeah, there’s a few. He lifts his head up again to peer at Oliver with wavering ears of uncertainty. My legs feel ridiculously small and my head is really heavy. But nothing… New aside from that? He sends over, lifting one of his legs and peering at the gold and the blacks, the stripes and the spots. He runs his tongue along his teeth too, finding them flat and blunt as hell – and that certainly wasn’t any fun. He decides the best part of this shift is the horns, which wasn’t that surprising in the end.

How do I look? He asks after a moment, head lifting again to look at Oliver.

always have an escape plan

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

OLIVER

It felt weird to walk around the gazelle-antelope-deer thing. Like he was stalking it or checking Sunjata out. Yes, he was extremely curious and super wanted to get a better look at him, but he also didn't want to make Sunjata feel uncomfortable. Oliver chose to remain where he was, but still looked the creature before him up and down, trying to measure him up. It was a different type of exciting than seeing Sunjata as a panther. While one was born from curiosity, this one was born of pure happiness and joy felt for the other man. Sunjata deserved this new shift and Oliver was so happy for him.

Oliver can sense how Sunjata feels and it's completely fine. It's way different from any of his other shifts so this must feel super weird. "You look really cool. Like....your leg colors are great and those horns? They'd be able to stab monsters or anyone who fights you." He's clearly trying to understand this new shift. Sunjata hadn't mentioned anything else that's new, so he'd have to go with that. "How's your hearing?" Then his eyes lit up and his mouth opened ever so slightly.

"Wanna see how fast you are? Like....what if you're faster than your panther shift?"

I JUST WANT MY EXISTENCE
TO BE MORE THAN TREMBLING

SuNJATA

the flood

At the mention of his leg colors, Sunjata lifts a hoof in quiet inspection of his own – spotting the gold that shifts to brown and blacks, and his great horned head bobs in agreement as he settles his leg along the floor again. The mention of his horns, too, garners an almost protective stance, head bowed and his sharp, gilt tipped horns pointing up in the air as though they could deal some nasty thrashing damage. But at the mention of his hearing? Sunjata’s large ears flicker and waver around like small satellites. Pretty good, actually. He offers somewhat.

But after a moment, after Oliver’s question hits his ears at the speed, well they can’t really do that inside the bar could they? But another day, another test to try out in varying shifts, to see how quick he could get from point A to point B might become useful. And so she shifts into himself once more – horns on display as he shakes his head and his golden earrings dance with the light of the VlamVloed. “Another day perhaps?” He asks, running a hand carefully through his hair and around his horns that tip backward.

Meandering back around to the other side of the bar, Sunjata gestures for Oliver to follow. “Probably should finish eating first, huh?” He asks with a small amount of amusement, before settling in and ready to spend the rest of the day with Oliver.

- FIN

always have an escape plan

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3