[se] mama told me not to go

LIBBS

Oh, if Sunjata even knew what kind of hole he was digging for himself.

Because he miscalculated one critical part of Libb's personality, and that was his curiosity. They were goin' for a deep dive today whether he wanted to or not, because now Libbs had QUESTIONS. Questions that only answers to satisfy, and it started to manifest, with a furrowed brow, a stern, confused gaze, and a tone that could pierce glass with enough focus.

".. that doesn't make sense. How would marrying someone help them?" she asked confused. "You marry someone cause you love 'em. Not to help them. It loses it's sentimentality then. If we went around marrying everyone we helped, divorce rates would be through the roof!" she paused. "Think about it. 'Hey, I fixed your roof. Time to marry!'"

"What exactly was so wrong that it required a marriage to correct or fix? And, why you? Why not someone else? It's not like you die or somethin' if you don't marry into a marriage a virgin or something." she paused. "And you ain't exactly royalty, so I don't think there's anything political? That I know of?" she prodded. "And finally, if you're unhappy, doesn't that mean that EVENTUALLY, the stability will go away? Cause mah' always told me, the key to a good relationship is remembering why you're in love to begin with. That's where the stable part comes in. But if that's not there then.. what about later?"

Libbs didn't seem genuinely MAD about this, mind you- she actually looked more concerned and confused if anything. But the energy this had brought upon had made her much quicker- and efficient, at what she was doing. Hilariously enough, her basket was actually LOOKING like a basket now!

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

Oh, she begins to dive directly into the confusion regarding the marriage, and he stills with his basket making as he takes in what she says. Still, the things surrounding it were confusing to him as well, but he’d agreed, he could drop out of it now. “Because she keeps losing those she cares about. She lost the one she loved, her sister in law, her nephews.” He pauses head tilting. “She still loves me I guess, even after everything I did.” His gaze lifts to her. “And for the record while we’re on the topic, I was sort of royalty back home. Maybe it’s political to me only.” A raise of his brow.

But she trudges on, about being in love, and he tries to focus back on his basket, but he’s stuck a bit in where to go as he follows her thought progression, chewing on the inside of his cheek. “I’m different now than I was when her and I were first together. And I, for one, for whatever reason, can’t seem to stay away so. I guess it’s better staying together that way.” He pauses once more. “Besides, it was officiated by Frey. In the grand scheme of things it really means nothing.” His brows furrow together somewhat.

“Though the rings are enchanted so I’m not sure I want to try taking it off.” He sighs to that, unsure of what might happen were he to try. What might happen if he gives into it and says its not working. How long it’ll take before they come to that decision themselves.

me and my friends are lonely

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

SUNJATA

LIBBS

Libbs frowned a bit. Because even that answer didn't sit right with her. In fact, it only confused her more, because it conflicted with her own beliefs on how such matters should be handled. Honestly, she was even questioning it now herself. Because on one half- she did feel that Sunjata was getting himself trapped in something yucky for the wrong reasons. And even though they had noble intentions- it wasn't quite the correct fix. She didn't know what that fix was, mind you. But her gut was against it.

But then it made her wonder if perhaps, she was being selfish here. If her thinking was indeed very selfish. Perhaps that is what you are supposed to do when you care about someone, is to make those crazy level of sacrifices for them. And since she couldn't conceive the thought of doing that for someone without all of these questions..

These nuances were making her head hurt.

She paused for a moment, looking at him. Her hands were just about finished with the last vertical weave of her basket. She looked down at the ring of his hands, hearing the comment of them being 'enchanted.'

".. watch your finger just explode if you take it off." she snickered

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’s quiet while he explains, and he knows none of it makes sense – but there’s a part of it that does to him, however confusing it might be for someone else. At the end of the day it was between him and Phoebe why they’d done it, between the two of them whether they wanted to end it or keep trying, even if it had only been a week since the wedding anyway. Hardly a honeymoon phase of sorts, aside from the bed Frey had created.

But when she snickers at the mention of the ring, his gaze lifts back to her as he pauses the basic form of the basket that he’s weaved, a quieter chuckle leaving him at that. “It won’t do that.” He informs her, watching her briefly and wondering if he should tell her. He pauses before continuing, deciding at the end of the day that it didn’t matter – the people that had been at the wedding had seen Frey lick the inside of the rings after all.

Surely they’d have some sort of idea.

“It, uh, gives certain feelings if you mess with it.” He offers, returning to work on the basket, effectively keeping the ring stationary to not slip around his finger just on the off chance he might return home to some sort of surprise. Likewise, Phoebe hadn’t attempted it either while he was away. Yet, anyway.

me and my friends are lonely

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

SUNJATA

LIBBS

Libbs frowned at him. "What feelings? What does it do?" she squawked at him. That was a wishy-washy answer, and it wasn't good enough!

Libbs pouted and glanced to the side. This felt familiar. It felt very familiar. It annoyed her quite a bit, and she couldn't quite pin why. An underlying effect of the amnesia, she couldn't help but feel like she was being underestimated, or overprotected again. And something about that was just grating to her. As if she was once again, proving that she wasn't the runt of the litter or needed to be babied. And something about how Sunjata answered the question made her feel just that. Babied.

And, of course, since she was not at the wedding, it made perfect sense why she couldn't see why. She didn't know Frey's powers. Or really anything about the nature of romance or weddings of this world. Hell, she hardly had that idea when she was in her own world.

However, she had stop working on the basket, more or less wiggling a finger at him. It looked.. complete.

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

His gaze lifts to hers when she asks what the rings do, what kind of feelings it gave – her voice a mix of a squawk and as though he’d offended her in some way. A smirk curls around his lips at that, something feline within it as his gaze focuses on her. Fine, if she wants the truth of the matter, he can tell her that much at the very least. Decide if she really wanted to know in the end, after all.

“Mine and my wife’s are sexually connected.” His head tilts to her, almost as if asking her whether she wanted to learn that specific detail or not. He thinks not, at the end, but he can’t keep the amusement from his face in the end. “Is that what you wanted to know?” He asks, a quiet chuckle of amusement leaving him as he returns to try and finish his basket. “It’s a bit of a lot of information for someone I don’t know the name of, huh?” He can’t help the slight grin that crosses his face with that, too.

me and my friends are lonely

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

SUNJATA

LIBBS

See, Sunjata thought he was being coy by telling her the truth.

All he did was give her more questions. "How the hell is a ring sexually connected? What are you doing with it!? Are you stickin' it up your hoo-hahs?" Libbs exclaimed, her voice escalating. "Don't get me wrong, everyone's got their kinks but at least be upfront! And how does that even work anyways? Most people use like.. dildoes or something. Or those weird little beads. And god knows what else you'd find at an adult store. Wouldn't that thing get lost?!" she asked quite blankly.

Libbs had not yet caught on to the fact that they were now entering dangerously inappropriate territory. But upon the fact that he pointed out, Libbs opened her mouth to snap back, a finger being held in place. She did so tell him his name! ... Her mouth hung suspended as she thought about it. Wait. Wait.

It slowly closed. The finger curled inwards.

She didn't tell him her name. D'oh!

".. okay, I'll admit I forgot. But I s'ppose you can know now. My name's Libbs." she blinked at him. "I'm one of the.. they call me a tinkerer? At the Artisan's guild."

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 has a great many questions, and Sunjata is surprised to hear them, to try and explain them when it was magic that had created them, had bound them together. But when she rattles on about adult stores and the like, he lets a louder laugh leave him at that. “Magic.” He offers at first. “I told you that a god here made me into a shifter. It’s probably far easier to connect rings to the wearers with certain feelings than changing the very essence of a soul, don’t you think?” He explains, hands splaying out on the table ever so slightly with the emphasis. “That is how they’re connected. Magic.” He hums another quiet chuckle at that.

But she soon realizes she hasn’t given her name to him, and he waits to hear what it indeed is. “Pleased to meet you, Libbs.” He offers with a crooked smile. “I’m Sunjata.” He listens when she tells him she’s part of the Artisan’s Guild, a tinkerer of sorts and he nods in understanding enough there too. “I’m a member of the Militia, though among other things.” He raises a hand to gesture to the bar before he lets his gaze land on her again, amusement lingering across his face.

me and my friends are lonely

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

SUNJATA

LIBBS

"This world is weird." Libbs said with a definitive, conclusive tone. As if nothing could ever convince her otherwise ever again. "I hope I don't end up in some weird.. kinky god nonsense."

Yep, they can keep that right up there in the shrines. Nope. Nope. She did not want any gods involved in her intimate moments. Hell, she didn't want ANYONE except the preferred in her intimate moments.

Wearing that disapproval all over her face, Libbs quickly latched onto the nearest topic. A member of the Militia huh? ".. so, you know how to fight?" she probed a bit, raising an eyebrow, with a scratch of her head. ".. next thing, you're gonna be telling me that you keep a unicorn in the backyard. And you're also the mayor of this town. And you can turn water to wine. Though, with how weird this place is.." she wouldn't put it past them. Libbs started to poke his basket though. Again, the fact that she had completed hers has not quite sunk in yet. But when it DOES.. you bet that table's gonna get flipped.

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 conclusion grants another nod from him in agreement. It was, it was shocking for him to find out that magic was real here, that people could change into animals, that others could survive as a bionic mess of a creature. But at her next comment of ‘kinky god nonsense’ he gives her a slight knowing look as he finishes off his pitiful basket. “I’d avoid praying to Frey then.” He offers on a quiet rumble of understanding, the way the deity had always made him feel left him craving and caught up in a variety of emotions he wasn’t equipped to deal with.

Regardless, he listens while she asks if he knows how to fight and he gives her a nod. “I do. Best with a gun, but we don’t have those here. So I use a bow or dagger.” Though he’s been experimenting with swords as of late. He takes a slightly short inhale before she continues, and a quiet hum of a chuckle leaves him. “Not quite.” A slight shrug at that, a rise and fall of his shoulders as he looks to his basket as she pokes at it, watching it falter. “I think… I’ll just trade some beer for a better one.” He says with some amusement, taking a moment to look at her own and prod at how much better it was than his with a dark raise of his brow.

me and my friends are lonely

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

SUNJATA

LIBBS

Libbs frowned. "That sucks. I'm better with guns." she stated offhandedly.

She then paused for a brief second there. Did she remember something?

Her eyes blinked slowly, and she scratched that hard-workin' cranium. Wait. She even patted the side of her head for good measure. In case that was a thought that believed it was a memory. Nope. That was memory. Came with a flashback even! Of her brother and herself, practicing in the range. She couldn't have been more then what? 14? Maybe 15? Her brother had just gotten back from bootcamp, and was showing off his new skills..

Their parents were mad. She remembered that. They didn't want him to go but he chose to. For the wrong reasons. She worried about him. But she admired him too. He was so cool and brave- sacrificing himself like that to take care of them. And so there they sat, at a shooting range, her brother's guiding arms around hers as she shot. "Y'know Libbs, maybe when you're a little older you could join! You'd got some great aim." It gave her hope. Purpose too. Potential purpose. And she craved that! Unfortunately, the fear of judgement on her parent's end would definitely hold that over her head. Will wasn't allowed at the house anymore for his decision. She hadn't seen him in almost 6 years.

The realization gave her a sad smile, and she looked to Sunjata's basket, hiding it with a pointed insult. "How did yours end up worse than mine? I literally had a one dimensional plane here a second ago.." she smirked, before her eyes widened.

Wait. WAIT.

She poured over the basket, her eyes scouring it over for imperfection. She then put her empty glass into the miraculous instrument of holding, lifting it above her head. Oh thank the gods it WORKED. She unleashed an excited, happy scream, hopping out of the chair to dance around in circles, both feet tapping the ground like an excited corgi. "It's doneeeeee! I DID IT. Well. WE did it." she had to give him some credit after all. "Wait. You could've TRADED for the basket?!? I DID THIS FOR NOTHING!??!" she paused, and exclaimed. Wow. Now she felt like a real moron.

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

“Me too.” He rumbles in quiet agreement, amusement coating over his words as Libbs mentions she’s better with guns. There’s a slight incline of his head to that, but he’d learned. He’d adapted, he’d figured it out eventually. The concepts were similar anyway, and when she gives an almost sad smile (though from what he can’t guess), he ignores it while she looks at his basket and points at it with some small amount of amusement leaving his throat.

And when she looks back to her own basket, he hums a breathy laugh, wincing slightly from her shriek, watching in quiet surprise as she jumps up form her seat to celebrate, and he shoves his basket over toward Haai who begins to dismantle it. Sunjata rests his chin on his hand, then, a dark brow raised and a small nod of his head in taking some of the credit, some of the amusement lingering on his face until she pauses.

“Yeah you can trade for it… But where’s the fun in that? Besides, yours looks pretty well put together.” He says with yet another chuckle.

me and my friends are lonely

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

SUNJATA

LIBBS

"I mean. I suppose." she looked down at the basket.

It was still weak in some spots, she could definitely see that. "I mean, I guess it's a basket now. There's that. But I can still see some spots I really messed up in. Like right here, and right here.." she nodded, putting her hand into the basket, and poking a hole through it with her fingers. "But, hey, I mean, it can carry some things, right? Dunno if it's good enough for a sun but ya know, that's fine. Sides, how can the light reach out if it's completely closed?" she pondered, before she set the basket down, pulling the glass out of the basket.

"Though, I gotta thank ya. I feel a lot better now." she smirked. "Even though you're a weird mess of pancakes- you're kind of a good guy. Kind of though. Not sure if you're just waiting to flip on me yet or not." she admitted to him. "I've seen enough troublemakers before." she protested, sticking her tongue out.

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 pokes and prods at the basket, and Sunjata watches her with some amount of amusement based off what’s occurring, the holes she pokes through it – he shrugs to it with a slight hum of laughter. “I think it’s more about the thought that matters, rickety basket and all.” A small shrug, watching as she tests it. But his gaze lifts to hers when she thanks him, though he’s not entirely sure what she’s thanking him for, but he takes it anyway.

And then she calls him a weird mess of pancakes, a term he’s never heard before, but it does inspire some form of a smirk to cross his face at that. “Kind of a good guy is probably one of the best things I’ve heard about me.” He snorts, shaking his head and shrugging. “I’m definitely a troublemaker though.” He teases her at her protest, the tongue that sticks out at him. He picks up his mess of a basket and lets Haai take it to destroy it or use as part of her nest up above, and then he focuses on Libbs again.

“I should probably work on my inventory, but I’ll see you around yeah?” He suggests, imagining the woman might spend a decent amount of time here. He can tell from Haai’s point of view as she tears apart Sunjata’s basket, that she’d appreciate that too. But regardless of what kind of response he gets, he lets her go, focusing now on the parchment and ink in front of him, sifting through the bottles as he takes his time marking through the list.

- FIN for Sunjata!

me and my friends are lonely

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

SUNJATA