[se] mama told me not to go

LIBBS

"Good luck salvaging that mess." she mumbled.

"Look at it. I don't even know how I did that. I managed.." she lifted one edge of the twine. "To create a one dimensional plane on accident. I bet you if I ran a mark from here, it'll somehow end up here." she remarked, flipping over one edge of the twine. "And I don't even know how I did that. You gonna come up and tell me that we're gonna make baskets from planes? Some MS Escher stuff right there.." she grumbled.

"Now see, that's the real kicker. I know who that person is, but I don't remember what my favorite things are. How ironic is that?" she chuckled. Little did Libbs know, MS Escher was one of her favorite artists. It was actually a relevant memory! But in that moment, it just sounded like Outlander rabble.

"Maybe we should ask this Safrin to make us a basket. If she can give you animal abilities, a basket should be a cakewalk." she paused thoughtfully. "Though, with my luck, she'd probably just laugh at it."

She finished her ale, slamming the glass down, and leaning in on the counter to face him. "But, whatever, I'm game. What's the plan?"

one lil short quote goes here!

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

so is there any treason in the tricky little price I pay?

i can't open up to you

It does come across as Outlander babble. He doesn’t know at all what she’s on about, but he nods anyway as though he does — when Sunjata’s world was a bit closer to a cross between post apocalyptic and 1920s rebuilding. It was different, immensely, and while they’d had pretty advanced technology to here, he was from the house of laws. He had no hand in the technology unless you count the fact he’d used their guns, their weapons, his face plastered on screens around his county. That was it.

The mention of Safrin making the blanket or basket has a quiet raspy chuckle leaving him as he shakes his head and bobs his head as he sends Haai to get more material. “She’d prefer to be left alone, I think right now.” Indeed, if the Dark Star was any idea of what his goddess might be dealing with, well… He can’t blame her.

Haai returns shortly after with more straw and cloth from the back, zipping back up onto the bar to drop the bag of items. Sunjata begins to rummage through it before pulling out a strip of cloth to toss to the other end of the bar that Haai chases after. And then Sunjata splits the materials, sliding the piles between them.

“No plan, just do our best I guess.” He snorts, focusing on the straw within his hands. He doesn’t know where to start and so he tries to just make a long braid of sorts with the material, to use the cloth to tie the coils together once he’s done. “Let’s see if this works.” He rumbles, focusing on it.

me and my friends are lonely

i always figured i'd be the one to die alone

SUNJATA

LIBBS

Libbs perked up at seeing the gryphon. Man, she really wanted to get herself one of these guys. They were so adorable and just-! She could feel the tightness of affection and adoration in her chest watching the little creature drop items onto the counter. Well. Now she's seen everything. Trained gryphons and bartenders who spontaneously make baskets on the bar.

Now, Libbs was grateful. But Libb's cognizant abilities were on par with a flintlock pistol. Took a lot of setup and shot off 20 minutes after planning. Looking at the work he was doing, Libbs reached towards the material, pulling some twine out. She thoughtfully twisted the wire around her fingers, watching Sunjata with a perplexed look on her face, head gently tilted, her hair falling into her eyes. After a few moments of silence, she looked at his handiwork, and probably the most interesting commentary left her mouth.

"You know. That looks a lot like a net. Not a basket."

Yes. The person who recreated Gordian's knot was now criticizing another person for not creating a basket correctly either. As for Libbs, she was not wholly aware of how.. wise that comment may be. She just seemed distracted in watching him work moreso than anything.

one lil short quote goes here!

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

so is there any treason in the tricky little price I pay?

i can't open up to you

Once Haai returns with the small cloth as though she’s brought back some victory, like a mouse or something, she takes it and settles into Sunjata’s lap with her head resting on the bar, emerald gaze darting between what he creates and Libbs’ interest in the work. And Sunjata can’t help but to laugh a hearty accented sound at Libbs’ commentary. “Yeah well I don’t see you doing any better, sweetheart.” He teases, pausing to look up at her with a raised brow.

Almost as if he’s challenging her to outdo him.

After a moment though he considers the braid once more. “I was thinking if I did it this way, and spun it on itself like a coil, I could tie the pieces together with the cloth here.” He explains, giving a small show of it with what little he has already – wrapping it around itself to create a base before piling it on top layer by layer until the shape is somewhat that of a bowl.

me and my friends are lonely

i always figured i'd be the one to die alone

SUNJATA

LIBBS

Libbs crinkled her nose, squinting at him. She hated it when guys did this. Because it was hard for her to keep handle on things as it stood, and you know? Flirting and challenging someone were both pretty tough things for her little peabrain to process! So she pouted, exhaled a large huff, and commented dryly, glancing down at the ring. "Do you give your wife this hard of a time?" she frowned at him.

She looked down at the basket, and poked it. "I see where you're coming from. I guess my only concern is like, how is it gonna keep it's structure? Like.. what'll keep the bottom half of the basket from undoing itself?" she muttered. "You'd need to weave somethin.. like here. I think." she paused, pointing at the bottom of the makeshift basket. "Or maybe glue it. Unless you got another magical trick up your sleeve that I don't know about." she snickered. Of course, knowing her luck, she'd probably be eating her words here shortly.

Libbs, meanwhile, started to dig through the items that Haai was bringing to them, raising an eyebrow at a few of them. Such as some odd beads and such.

one lil short quote goes here!

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

so is there any treason in the tricky little price I pay?

i can't open up to you

She mentions his wife, and for a moment his smile falters, gaze dropping back to the basket in his hands that he’s attempting to make as a quiet sigh leaves him. “Mmm I’m much worse actually.” The ghost of a smirk crossing his face as he looks back up to her, a small shrug given. He’d given Phoebe a load of shit over the year they’ve known each other, he’d only gotten into this predicament by attempting to call a bluff that ended up backfiring. “She knew what she was getting into.” He pauses to glance at the sapphire and onyx ring before sighing and lifting his gaze back to the basket as Libbs begins to explain her thoughts.

“Does it need to keep its structure? It’s supposed to capture the sun, which you obviously can’t do.” He raises a brow to her once more with that, but follows the instruction nonetheless. “Nothing else other than a few more animal shifts. None of which make glue.” He offers, the feathered wing tattoos on his shoulders beginning to fill with dark navy feathers as if he’s proving he’s got more up his hypothetical sleeves.

Still; he lets her pick what she wants, and he tries to follow what she’s saying by adding a bit more of a weaving pattern to the bottom of the basket.

me and my friends are lonely

i always figured i'd be the one to die alone

SUNJATA

LIBBS

"That girl's probably made of metal or somethin'. I dunno if I could tolerate someone like you for too long ye hear?" she pouted, sticking her tongue out at him in true, childlike fashion. Which, wasn't necessarily true. Honestly, Sunjata was fun, at least as far as first impressions go. Fighty? Yes. But still fun. Libbs was a pretty simple lady, with pretty simple needs. Just be a easygoing guy with a good heart and some fun. She'd take care of the rest. The REAL trick; however, would be convincing someone that Libbs was a good companion. You'd need the patience of a saint to deal with the one braincell wonder.

Besides. She had to be mean. He was ASKING for it.

She paused, and looked down at the basket. "Well we can't half-ass it. It's got to qualify as a basket. And baskets need to be able to hold stuff. Whether not it's holding the sun or not don't matter." she pouted at him. "That's like sayin: 'Since we only need 3, we don't need to count to four.' I know math's hard but come on." she squinted at him, with a mused smile. But, her brain was working, kind of.

She took one of the twine, and strung it through the bottom of the basket, twisting the ends and pulling them opposite ways, almost like an 8-figure. She would then loop it again. Vertically up the basket. Until it reached the top. And then she tied it off. It.. looked like it'd work? Maybe? If they did it like 20 more times. She looked to Sunjata with a inquisitive look, as if to say "Thoughts?"

one lil short quote goes here!

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

so is there any treason in the tricky little price I pay?

i can't open up to you

He laughs once more at the idea of Phoebe being made of metal. His gaze lifts to spot her and the tongue that she sticks out, and he smirks to that. “Quite the opposite actually.” He rumbles, fiddling with his basket a bit more as he thinks about what she’s said. “Though if you’re so surprised by it, she’s the one who asked me.” Another slightly leveled look to her, raised brow as if to say that ‘well, she’d chosen it regardless of how much of a prick I can be’. Even if they weren’t happy with it, well… It is what it is.

Still, she continues on when it comes to the basket, and he hums a quieter chuckle at that. “Math’s not that hard.” He teases her back, his accent growing a bit thicker as he still follows what she says, reinforcing and building it up better from the base until it seems as though it might actually hold something decent. But then he grows stuck when it comes to figuring out how to get the sides to connect, and so he pauses to think on it – scouting what she’s doing.

His head tilts, almost doglike with the way that he stares at it. It makes … Some sense maybe, but he’s not exactly following the thought process there. And when she looks to him with a look that almost screams for him to tell her what he thinks, he doesn’t know where to start. “Will this cover all sides? You’ll be busy.” He asks, head evening as he watches her curiously.

me and my friends are lonely

i always figured i'd be the one to die alone

SUNJATA

LIBBS

"Well, I mean, that's kind of the plan." she nodded.

"Still, least ya got someone. Not everyone does. Can be lonely!" she commented, not really holding a lot of weight to the statement. In fact, it seemed like the statement itself was mimicked and repeated to her, several times or something. As if it was just some common knowledge that was supposed to just.. be. Libbs didn't seem to question it, but she also didn't seem to wholly hold it to the candle either. Hmm.

However, about halfway during the stabilization period, Libbs got distracted. The thread she was using, unbenowsnt to her was actually tethered to another part of the basket. The work would continue for a moment, Libbs seemingly growing a lot lighthearted at the prospect, her eyes glowing a bit with the spark of passion that happened when she wrapped herself up in projects.

Therefore, when a piece got stuck, and she tugged on it, the level of heartbreak on this woman's face as the other side of the basket collapsed was downright depressing. Her eyes lit up in horror, only to unleash a horrid groan that ended with Libbs smacking her head on the table between her arms.

one lil short quote goes here!

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

so is there any treason in the tricky little price I pay?

i can't open up to you

Her comment about the loneliness does cause his attention to drift upwards toward her from his basket briefly. And while he doesn’t really know her all that well, well… Part of it sort of speaks to him in a sense, and he can’t help the sigh that leaves his lips at that despite the cheeriness she seemed to say it with. “There are times where I’d rather have the ability to be alone again.” He shrugs, focusing on his basket briefly. “But you’re right, I should be thankful huh? Even though I only got married because I was trying to call a bluff and was too stubborn to back out.” He glances back down to his ring.

He isn’t thankful. He isn’t grateful. And there’s a part of him that’s still filled with spite over the whole ordeal. But regardless, he focuses on his basket while she focuses on hers, only lifting his head when he notices that she seems almost… Lost, frustrated, and he watches while part of the basket begins to collapse. Her head hits the table and his lip curls in some sort of… Grimace? It was a solid wood table top, and it likely had to have hurt to do it that way.

“Hey, wait.” He rumbles, pausing from his basket to inspect hers. “Can’t you just… Go back a few weaves, see where it connects to the other side and fix it and continue?” He squints at it curiously, wondering if it were possible.

me and my friends are lonely

i always figured i'd be the one to die alone

SUNJATA

LIBBS

Libbs looked up at him, seemingly groggy and tired from the affair. She rubbed her forehead, the part that smacked the wooden table, pushing a bit of the bridge of her nose, frowning. Her eyes glittered a bit with something, her hands clutching and releasing as if she was trying to grab something, and let it go again. She blinked a few more times, shaking her head, before glancing back up at him. He made a sound point, this wasn't an issue like five weaves ago or something like that. She could fix it. She could keep going.

Stopping wasn't really an option anyways.

So, she shook her head, pulling the bandana from her head. It felt like it was suffocating the top of her skull in that moment, and with that, the cascades of dark hues and highlights fell down to her shoulders like a waterfall. From underneath her messy bangs, her eyes settled on what she was doing, trying to piece it together. And from that, her next commentary came out.

"Sounds like you're not really married to her, then."

Libbs tilted her head. "My mah' always said that love was the only selfless thing a person could do for another. It blinds yerself. That's why you get married. Cause you forget bout yerself. And they forget 'bout themselves. And together you worry about the other. Kinda a contract of sorts. I guess, the point I'm tryin' to get at- how ya got there didn't matter. Where you're at right now, at least to me, seems like you're just going through the motions of being married. But you ain't. Otherwise this wouldn't be happening."

Libbs took her hands off of the basket though. "But what do I know? Honestly, I didn't really.. uh, have dates and such. I mean, I had like.. two. But they didn't stick around too long. Something about being 'really hard to deal with.' So, maybe I'm not the best one to talk to about romance. But, I can't exactly change that so-" she paused. "I don't think there's anythin' wrong with being alone. I've been alone a while. I guess everyone kinda talks up 'love' like it's this great thing that we need. But- I don't see.. how. Make sense?"

one lil short quote goes here!

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

so is there any treason in the tricky little price I pay?

i can't open up to you

They both continue to work, and he focuses back on his basket, following some of the instruction that Libbs had given prior, while he listens to what she has to say. There’s a gruff chuckle that leaves him when she mentions that it sounds like he isn’t married to Phoebe, and there’s the briefness of an almost sad smile that crosses his face to that. “Ah, if only.” He doesn’t know what else to say to that, other than well… Exactly that.

But Libbs continues on, and he focuses a bit harder at the basket, at the weaves he tries to do within the braids, and he can’t help but to slow a bit with the attempt as he takes in what she says. “I had someone like that before.” A quiet honest rumble before he tilts his head toward the back wall where lanterns and knickknacks sit, gesturing to the bronze and fire inspired lantern that seemed the most like this place. He almost tries to tell her that Lusea had died… Twice, before, but he stops himself when she continues on about the motions of it.

His gaze finally lifts to her, some small amount of clarity striking through him at it. “You’re hard to deal with?” He says with a small amount of amusement. “I get what you’re saying. But my… Person, I guess it would be, died twice already and it’s likely she’s not coming back for a third time.” His gaze drops back to the basket. “We never wanted to marry though, back where we’re from it’s… A shit sort of situation. And my wife, well, she’d always wanted to marry and have kids and do all of that.” A brief frown crosses his face as he fucks up one side of the basket and sighs, removing it to retry it. “I never wanted any of it. Still don’t. So I guess we’ll see what happens.” He continues to focus on how to fix it.

“Love’s a bit overrated, really. You can go for it, but it'll spit you out broken on the other side and you have to wonder if it's worth it in the end.” He’s absolutely let it destroy him, let it churn him up and spit him out in pieces multiple times. And now, now he wasn’t settling, he was just… Dealing with it, with the results of a bet gone wrong.

me and my friends are lonely

i always figured i'd be the one to die alone

SUNJATA

LIBBS

As Libbs continued, she was unaware wholly of the depth of the conversations that this was going. Her mouth was moving, but her brain wasn't supervising today, letting her heart babysit for a while. Instead, it was focused on the weave. She reached the point where she had accidentally started weaving the wrong segment. She bit her lip as she carefully plugged the knot out of the equation, pleased when she was able to tug the other end of the basket without it falling apart. And then, she started to go back into the original plan of giving it some structure.

"I was told I was. A lot." she mumbled, blinking a bit. "I think.." she paused for a moment. "I think, it's because I.. didn't really want to give up myself. I don't really remember wanting to give everything up for someone. I don't remember meeting anyone that great. But I think, they wanted me to think they were that great.. and.. I guess; I didn't think the same way. Or perhaps I didn't pay enough attention. I used to forget my phone a lot when I was workin'." She paused for a moment, coming to a conclusion.

"I.. don't think I was a mean girl. I think.. I think I was just not the type of girl most guys wanted. And that's fine." she nodded.

She left the dead wife part lay. Honestly, because she didn't really know what to say to it. She never.. really lost someone like that. It'd feel disrespectful to speak to it. Though the next thought that came out of her mouth probably should have been censored.

"I ain't worried about it. Like I said, I ain't the apple of most guy's eyes anyways. Though, your wife sounds.. mean. And selfish. Seems kinda cruel to kinda force ya to do the things you don't wanna do, even if it was a bet. Love and marriage's a two way street, right? You can't take both lanes. Well.. you could, but you're an asshole for doing that." she said nonchalantly. Of course, this was just her current perspective mixed with a healthy dose of naivety. But her brain didn't catch that line before it left her mouth.

one lil short quote goes here!

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

so is there any treason in the tricky little price I pay?

i can't open up to you

They continue to work and the conversation drifts deeper and deeper, and Sunjata wishes he could drink, so badly in this moment to try and forget that he’d brought it up. But it’s too late now, and he instead tries to focus on what she says – about how she’s too much and a lot, and it reminds him of what they called Lusea once upon a time, the ghost of a smile crossing his face at that. “It’s difficult for most men to want to be with women headstrong.” He shrugs in consolation, gaze lingering on the weave between his fingers.

“It’s a pride thing, I think.” A soft snort at that. That most men were too prideful to associate with a woman that spoke her mind, that could talk a huge game and back it up. And with Lusea? Well, the Korofi woman could absolutely talk the game and kick his ass after. It was part of the reason he loved her so much – he never had to worry, never had to fear about anything with her because she went out and did it. No hesitation, just action.

She continues on, speaking of Phoebe enough that it does spark some sort of sad laugh from him in response. “I mean…” He trails off briefly. “I did offer to help, and we’d been together before Lusea came here. Apparently the only way to help her was to marry her and she knew I’d say no.” A pulse of his heartbeat as he pauses before continuing on. “Only I didn’t. I sort of wanted to prove my word to her, but it fucked everything else up in the process.” He thinks momentarily to Hotaru, frowning as he weaves once more to work on the sides. “And she’s been through a lot so I guess offering some sort of stability could help, regardless if I like it or not.” A shrug of broad tattooed shoulders to that.

me and my friends are lonely

i always figured i'd be the one to die alone

SUNJATA