(SE) when the nighttime comes, say yes

SUNJATA

i'm drowning in all these voices in the sea
and meeting all my vices in the ring

Well, so the basket hadn’t quite turned out well enough to use for capturing… Well, anything really. And so regardless of his attempt, he goes and trades something for a much better made one, one edged with purples and blues, something nice as he goes to decide where to start to try and ‘capture the sun’. He doesn’t ask anyone to join him this time, simply deciding to go for it in a place where he and Haai might be alone, where she might be able to hunt while he watches on.

Trying to repair the issues he’d been made aware of when she told him that she wanted to be more involved, where she was lonely when it came to the amount of things they did together. And so with that in mind, he returns to the place he’d learned about it, reaching the edge of the river as he takes his shirt off and nudges Haai playfully into the water with a small yip of surprise and a blowback of smoke at him.

He chuckles regardless, setting it aside with a few other things, and slips into the river before partially shifting like he had with Melita. His lower half black and white, the part of his orca shift that allowed him to be able to swim without taking up the entire damn thing and beaching himself. He settles in a small alcove while Haai swims over to join him, and he reaches for the basket to dip into the water, squinting at the sun in the reflection of the water as he tries to get it just right.

---

Open capturing the sun with sunnyboi himself, open for anyone!

so step inside, i ain't afraid to bleed
there ain't a casket strong enough for me

MAEA

Finding a person in the Greatwoods was no easy feat. Finding even a path was difficult, let alone a single individual fully capable of moving about, and in the LongHeat sun the task was made hot, difficult and rather unpleasant. After she'd been spat out of the forest for the third time - this time by the edge of a rushing river - Maea decided to take a break.

Sweating under the black rags she'd wrapped around herself to protect her pale skin from the sun, she wandered along the steep banks of the river, enjoying the cool moist air. It was a nice contrast to the dense, breathless heat beneath the trees. Her senses prickled at the presence of the water, the magic singing in tune with the lapping waves and swirling eddies. Reaching out would be only too easy. What could she not accomplish with so much of it to work with? The possiblities were endless... but she made a point of not trying to explore the limits of her growing gifts just now. Abstaining from using her spark was a trial in itself, and seemed very fitting as she was looking to proceed with a task Ludo had set for her.

Her attention was drawn to the sound of splashing water and laughter up ahead. Walking upstream, Maea came upon one of the stranger sights she'd seen in her life. Sunjata was there, with Haai in tow, and they were busy playing. Only, the man was half... fish? Partly submerged in the river, holding a basket.

The laughter escaped her before she could stop herself, and belatedly she tried to mask it as a cough, a hand over the mouth to hide the grin.

"Have you caught the sun yet?" she called over the rush of water, eyes glittering with mirth as she gazed down upon the pair.

SUNJATA

i'm drowning in all these voices in the sea
and meeting all my vices in the ring

The waves of the water lift over his shoulders, speckling tanned tattooed skin with a shimmery sheen of the river water. It remains him almost of the ocean, the way the river rushes and pulls, but it’s nowhere near close to the power of the depths of the ocean. And for that alone, he sighs lightly. And yet, he’s also not alone as he soon realizes, when Haai’s head lifts from hovering above the water as she tries to perch on a particularly slick rock before she falls in with a big splash.

Sunjata dodges it briefly, while Haai tries to perch back on the rock and he turns his head to focus on their company – spotting Maea that accomplishes a grin to cross his face. Holding onto the basket tightly, he offers a quiet chuckle at Haai’s struggle before he shrugs those broad tattooed shoulders. “No luck yet, but I just got started. There’s time.” He rumbles, gesturing to the rocks beside him in the small alcove should she wish to come over. It’s shaded enough and the spritz of the water in the air should keep her cooler.

For added emphasis toward Haai, Sunjata can’t help himself but to lift his tail slightly to splash at Haai while she puffs clouds of smoke at him, a howl of amusement leaving her as she falls back in again. “Have you caught it yet?” He asks, his steel gaze sliding back over toward the woman.

so step inside, i ain't afraid to bleed
there ain't a casket strong enough for me

MAEA

Noting the invitation to join, Maea hesitated a bit. For all intents and purposes, Sunjata was naked where he lay. Fish bits or no, it did not feel like the correct thing to do... he was married, to her friend no less, and Maea was... not a very free spirit when it came to certain things. But it was very hot, and the glittering water was inviting, beckoning her close. In the end, she decided that Rae's creatures were cover enough to spare them both embarrassment, and picked her way down to the waters edge.

She kicked off her boots, pulled the shawl down from her head with a sigh of relief and waded out into the stream. With Ludo's gift still about her shoulders the water was blessedly cool and refreshing but not cold, even if perhaps it should be, and her legs gave no indication of numbness. A loss of interesting sensations, perhaps, but one she was willing to endure - under no condition would she let go of the shawl.

"No, not yet" she replied to the query, sitting down on the damp rock. Her skirts soaked quickly in the water, but she paid it no heed, merely enjoying the cooling sensation as damp crept up her legs. "I've had too much to do, honestly. Between preparing the farm for sale and my projects for the Guild, there has not been much time." Dipping her hands into the stream, she scooped up a handful of water and brought it to her face, rinsing off sweat and dust with a contented sigh.

SUNJATA

i'm drowning in all these voices in the sea
and meeting all my vices in the ring

He doesn’t notice her hesitation, not while Haai continues to try and perch, yipping and howling at him in her frustration and amusement at the game, that Sunjata can’t help but to chuckle at. When he finally notices that she’s deigning to join him, he doesn’t move – just remains, tail flicking slightly toward Haai enough to send some ripples her way as his gaze lifts to focus on Maea. And had he known the worries she had when it came to his partial shift, well – she wouldn’t be able to see anything, even if he were to shift back among the waters. Regardless, he wouldn’t care in the slightest either way.

Married or not.

“Well, if that’s the case, once I’m done trying it out you can use my basket?” He poises the question to her, dark brow raising as he shifts the basket slightly in the water while keeping a hold on it. All this time, his gaze has been focused on Maea and the basket, trying to capture the sun, that he doesn’t notice when Haai shakes her tailfeathers out slightly, finally having purchase on the rock, that she dives into the water with claws and teeth outstretched at his tail – pouncing and landing enough to shock him.

“Jy kak jou!” He reprimands with both a small amount of amusement and pain, withdrawing his tail a bit from the griffin as she floats around, puffing smoke out at him before she goes to investigate Maea instead. Meanwhile, he pushes himself forward slightly, hand still on the basket while he inspects the tail for any nicks or scratches.

---

Jy kak jou! - You little shit you!

so step inside, i ain't afraid to bleed
there ain't a casket strong enough for me

MAEA

Humming in amusement, she considered the basket. The sun. The rushing water. And seeing as she had nothing else to do, what harm could it do? It wasn't often she took the time to relax and play around, so perhaps she owed herself this. "Sure, why no," she shrugged. "May as well... though if you really do capture the sun, let me know? I won't have to make the attempt if it's already accomplished..."

That's when Haai pounced. Again Maea tried unsuccsessfully to stifle a laugh at Sunjata's wince, and held her hands out for Haai as the wolf-bird came towards her. Meaning to lift her out of the water and put her on the lap for some proper hello's, she smirked at the man's wincing. She didn't know the words he'd used, but it sounded very much like a curse.

"Are you wounded, poor boy? Need me to run for a healer to cure your woes?"

SUNJATA

i'm drowning in all these voices in the sea
and meeting all my vices in the ring

She agrees to make the attempt, and Sunjata nods to her with a small crooked smile that appears almost boyish in nature as she shrugs. “I’d put it back just so you get a chance, you know.” He informs her, the crooked smile shifting toward something akin to a mischievous smirk. But he doesn’t get to continue the thought as Haai pounces on him, and he curses at her in Korofi much to her amusement, as she floats over to sit on Maea’s lap – a smokey lick of her tongue to the woman should she let her.

Meanwhile, Sunjata inspects his tail, and when Maea asks if he’s a wounded, poor boy, Sunjata can’t help but to chuckle at that with a shake of his head. “I’m far more resilient than I look.” He says, looking back over to her as he leans back in the water. Indeed, a few scratches were nothing compared to the tattoos drifting over his skin, the scar that drifts from behind his ear down to the top of his chest, and the scar along his hip, hidden only partially by the white of his orca shift. He’s been through some things, some of them likely should’ve killed him. But here he was.

Still, he focuses on the basket again trying to capture the sun’s reflection within the basket. “Besides, I hadn’t quite realized how sensitive that spot is.” He hums, glancing over to her with a small hidden smirk.

so step inside, i ain't afraid to bleed
there ain't a casket strong enough for me

MAEA

Chuckling at the response, as in her mind his careful inspection of the fin suggested otherwise, the girl scratched Haai behind the ear, happily accepting the gryphon's kiss and returning it with one of her own. Her eyes were focused mostly on the animal, registering Sunjata only on the outer rim of her vision. All that bare skin made her nervous, and she dared not look too closely at him. No doubt both scars and tattoos had a story to tell, but in this she was simply too timid to ask.

"I'm sure you are. And I'm sure it's nothing. And I swear I won't tell anyone about your.. uhm.. sensitivity." There was a pause somewhere in there, enough ambiguity to make it unclear exactly what she was referring to. The skin of his fin? Or perhaps his poor wounded boy heart, after the savage attack by a trusted companion? It was a mystery.

Sloshing more water onto her legs and face, she watched as he proceeded to try and capture the sun. It was pleasant in the shade. Every breeze was cooled by the surrounding water, and from the forest around the river came the sounds of wildlife. Birds, humming insects, other, less familiar cries that mingled into a chorus of life. Haai weighed next to nothing in her lap, and she could feel the rapid pulse of her heart against her skin, the rise and fall of a small ribcage.

And all the while, the temptation of the water was there. A whisper just beyond her ability to hear.

SUNJATA

i'm drowning in all these voices in the sea
and meeting all my vices in the ring

It’s almost like she’s avoiding his gaze – but the reasoning is lost on him. Instead, he focuses on the basket, mentioning sensitivity, and he can’t help but to chuckle lightly at her comment of not telling anyone of his sensitivity. He’s quiet for a moment, watching as the sun itself follows a small ripple in the water before he lifts the basket with the reflection within it. “Ah, got it.” Comes his accented rumble, grinning to himself before he leans back slightly, ensuring that it was good enough to follow through with the tradition, before he dumps the contents of the water out over him.

Running a hand through his hair to push it back, he grabs the basket then and turns onto his stomach to give his full attention to Maea, offering the basket with a small accidental splash her way as she focuses on Haai, the griffin far too content to remain in the woman’s lap rather than deal with Sunjata’s annoying tendencies any longer. He folds his arms along the rock, stubbled chin resting along his hands as he listlessly flicks his tail with the currents of the water. “As far as sensitivities go, there are far more enjoyable ones.” He teases lightly, though it’s harmless. "Though I do appreciate keeping it just between us." A slight chuckle at that, at whichever way it could go.

He lets the water run over his body while he focuses on watching her try to capture the sun as well, wondering if it'll likely be easier for her since she was the one that explained the tradition to him in the first place.

so step inside, i ain't afraid to bleed
there ain't a casket strong enough for me

MAEA

It was always a dramatic affair, whenever Maea blushed. It was not the delicate little tint of pink on the cheeks so avidly described in litterature, nor the kind of localized tincture of color one might expect from someone of fair complexion. Instead, it was a flush, a torrent, an onslaught of red that started at the ears and swept down from forehead to cheeks, dripping down jawline and chin all the way down the neck. It made her look blotchy, with white patches around the eyes and mouth. Not at all quaint, or adorable. More along the lines of damned awkward, uncomfortable and very obvious.

And the little quip Sunjata threw her way did make her blush. Perhaps he had not intended the words in any particular meaning, but the suggestion that there might be meaning behind them was enough to make her writhe on her rock. Snatching up the basket with her telekinesis, she very carefully avoided looking at him as she brought the dripping container through the air towards her. Feeling the awkward silence like a suffocating pressure over the chest as she failed to find an adequate retort, Maea busied herself with the ridiculous task instead. Feigning concentration.

It didn't really work, because the way she leaned out to find the reflection of the sun in the water of the river was halfhearted. As was the throw as she sent the basket flying with a flick of her hand, landing with a splash over the spot where the sun had been. Of course neither sun nor basket remained in that state; the water began to swiftly carry the basket away and the sun?

Well. It was still there.

"So much for being creative," she mumbled, wishing away herself along with the rapidly disappearing basket.

SUNJATA

i'm drowning in all these voices in the sea
and meeting all my vices in the ring

Oh, he doesn’t expect her to blush as hard as she does. But it doesn’t bother him in the slightest, he doesn’t find it awkward or strange – in fact, part of him had been intending a slight blush. Yet Maea’s likely been the palest person he’s come across in all his years yet, so he supposes it makes sense she’d blush as red as she does. Regardless, she takes the basket, avoids his gaze, and Haai seems content to remain there with the woman.

Sunjata, meanwhile, still on his stomach with his tail floating along the currents of the river, watches Maea use her magic to try and capture the sun. And yet, the basket gets flung, before beginning to bob down the river – his steel gaze drifting from her to the basket now slipping further and further away. Readjusting slightly, Sunjata shifts his attention to grabbing the basket once more – keeping an eye on the purple and blue that sticks out away from the greens and yellows of the reflection of the forest around them.

He swims to it, surprisingly easier with half his body being essentially a fin – no legs to get trapped under driftwood, to tear him down and down like in Korofi. And he grabs it, though a part of him grows sore with it, using muscles he hasn’t used in quite some time. Once he has the basket in hand, however, he dives under the water a bit to turn himself around, tail creating a splash out and away from where Haai and Maea sit, before his path is redirected toward her.

Coming up beside her, he shifts back into himself fully – bottom half clothed by shorts and now-wet boots that once he hands Maea the basket again, he works to untie and toss said boots over by his shirt. His gaze lifts to her then, an arm braced back against the wall of rocks he leans against, the same she sits upon. “I thought it was pretty creative.” He offers, giving her a slight grin. “You seem distracted, though.” A dark brow raises, head tilting.

so step inside, i ain't afraid to bleed
there ain't a casket strong enough for me

MAEA

Sunjata went swimming after the basket, and she felt bad for letting it drift away. It was a pretty piece of craftsmanship, clearly done with love and skill and not something to be thrown off. But her face was still burning, hands made numb and clumsy from the onslaught of nerves; she pulled her feet up out of the water and pulled them in close, forcing Haai to scoot up on her shoulders or perhaps slip down into the river again.

When he came back, she accepted the basket back without really meeting his eyes. He'd come far too close for comfort, her bubble invaded by both his presence and words. It was not a question, so technically she had no reason to answer, to explain anything. But... the silence did the asking for him, and Maea found it very difficult to remain quiet.

"It's.. nothing. I'm just being ridiculous, pay it no heed." Perhaps deflection would work. Leaning only slightly away from him - why had he come closer? - she brought the edge of the basket down under water and filled it for another attempt. Her angle was slightly awkward, making the sun reflect in the small area of the basket without its contents spilling out rather difficult.

SUNJATA

i'm drowning in all these voices in the sea
and meeting all my vices in the ring

She tells him it’s nothing, and he doesn’t believe her for a second. He wonders if it’s the teasing, the easy flirtations that slip from his tongue of years of it becoming almost a currency – if that is what’s caused her distraction, the toss of the basket into the water far away. Still, she tries again, and he keeps his gaze on her, not minding the red color to her cheeks as Haai drifts up to settle along Maea’s shoulders.

Still, he doesn’t comment on it. Regardless of whether he wants to or not, and he lifts a pale scar flecked up enough to prop his arm onto while he watches her lean forward to try and get the basket to capture the sun once more. But she’s going about it in a difficult manner, an awkward position, and he can’t help the quirk to his lips as he watches her. “You know, it might be easier if you got in. Keep you cooler too.” He shrugs lightly, looking out over the rippling of the water.

“And you don’t need to worry about drifting away, I’d get you.” His gaze returns to her, noticing then that she’s leaned slightly away from him. He doesn’t inch closer, but he doesn’t move away from her either, instead, he waits expectant of her to either get in with him or refuse. He wouldn’t mind if she did deign to join him though.

so step inside, i ain't afraid to bleed
there ain't a casket strong enough for me

MAEA

At the suggestion of getting into the water Maea braved a glance at him. It was a mistake, of course. Out of his shift now, and blessedly clothed in the important places he was still far too close and far too undressed, and the little smirk on his lips far too much of a challenge for her to be comfortable. This had all been a mistake. She should have left as soon as she realized how this all might look. It was not okay, not proper and not safe, and she ought to get down from her rocky perch and get back onto the shore, go back to her task and... and he was standing in the way. Looking for all the world as though he might remain there until the end of time, should she choose not to reply.

Pale eyes flitted from the water to the shore, and again to Sunjata. He was not coming closer, nor withdrawing. Overhead the sun was glaring hot and relentless, and the rushing river below was cool, deep, whispering sweet promises of relief. A hand left the basket and touched the shawl around her shoulders, far too warm to be practical in this weather... and there was something truly vulnerable in her eyes as she considered the choice.

"I don't swim very well..." It was an excuse, and a weak one even to her own ears. But.. far more terrifying than the man beside her was the idea of leaving her gift unattended, even for a second. What if she lost it? If it were do disappear or get stolen... Maea would never forgive herself, even if Ludo might. Though somehow, she doubted very much that it would.