[SE] Life's a Beach

It was hot in the Hollowed Grounds, and there weren't many places for a person to cool off there. None, at least, away from the shadow of the Spire, and Jigano was feeling quite done with Spires and Portals and Voices and such at the moment. A large silver dragon had plopped himself down in the flow of the Stonesong, creating a living dam across part of it while his tail and rump were under delightfully chilly water. Occasionally a Goldfish bumped into him before swimming around or jumping over his bulk, and he snorted lightly in amusement when that happened. His chin rested on a flat rock in the shallows, right near the shore, and he idly rolled his head to get a better view of the stones just beneath the quiet waters. When he spotted a particularly sparkly or interesting one he shifted just enough to flick it free of the water with a talon, and Isuma would leap from her sunning rock to catch it and add it to the little pile they were accumulating. Melita had gifted him with pretty rocks and shells from the Crimson Cataract last year, and he'd been utterly delighted by them. Hopefully this year someone would accept his own gifts of shimmer and shine?

It was an utterly selfish and desperately needed stretch of time without trauma or tragedy or anyone else's needs but his own, but alas, it couldn't last. Isuma chirruped brightly, alerting him to the approach of someone she knew, and he raised his dripping chin to turn it towards the source of her greeting, blue-opal eyes gently glimmering in the reflected sunlight.

Sunjata

SuNJATA

After departing from capturing the sun with Maea Sunjata decides it’s not quite time to go home just yet. Haai follows along overhead from the shore, basket in her back talons filled with Sunjata’s boots and his shirt as he continues to drift down the river further and further until the scenery begins to change. He’d partially shifted once again, his lower half black and white from his orca shift, helping propel the speed at which he swims.

He likely shouldn’t be overexerting himself. The coughing has gotten better, but his voice is still deep and slightly raspy from it all. He’s sure by the time he gets back home he’ll likely be far too exhausted to do anything for the next couple of days at the very least. A shame.

Haai alerts him to someone of interest as he remains mostly underwater, and she’s diving to the shore to drop off the basket before trying to dive at Isuma with happiness and excitement. And that’s when Sunjata rises enough from the water, slicking the hair out from his face the best he can, steel gaze drifting toward the dragon? and Isuma? The confusion flies along his face briefly before he swims a bit closer, powerful tail creating waves as he approaches. This is new. He rumbles to Jigano, pretty confident it’s him, as he gets closer and tries to inspect the dragon a small amount, using his tail as a rudder of sorts.

take me by the hand but please don't want to know me

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

Isuma rose to meet her fuzzy friend, fluttering around Haai with cheerful chirrups and welcoming trills as she skydanced with her fellow gryphon. Jigano rumbled a surprised but pleased greeting to the little one before turning to look for the inevitable companion who shouldn't be far behind - and lo, a familiar dark-haired head breached the water nearby. Followed by a... tail? The dragon stared for a moment before gears began to churn excitedly in his own head, and it took an act of willpower to not begin shifting willy-nilly right there.

I could say the same of you, he thought back, as dryly as he could while lying in the water. He lazily shifted his tail to splash water over the half-orca, his mouth curling in a draconic grin. Healed up already? You were looking a bit peaky at the wedding. I'm still not sure whether condolences or congratulations are in order. Or what had actually happened, what with stolen kisses and Frey putting in an appearance and apparently magic rings and everything else that had happened. Still, despite being given a divine out they'd both chosen to continue with their folly, so perhaps there was more to it than the dare Melita had vaguely described.

What brings you out this way on this fine, scorching Longheat day?

SuNJATA

He nears the dragon, and the splash of water is met with him coming up a bit short, protecting his face a small amount as a chuckle leaves him. The inquiry on the healing, however, causes a shake of his head as he glances down to the ring still on his finger. The shift is new. But in terms of healing? I’m afraid not. I’ve overdone it a bit today, not ready to go home yet.” A shrug of his shoulders as he leans back a bit in the water, floating upon the currents. Its a bit of both I imagine, though I’m afraid of taking it off. He makes a show of lifting the hand with the ring; peering at it as water drips from the stone.

His gaze rises back to the dragon with a small crooked smile, regardless though. Haai and I were capturing the sun. A small shrug at that. And someone who’s staying at the VlamVloed ended up finding us, so we let her use our basket to capture it as well. A bit of indifference there as he gestures toward the purple and blue basket Haai has left on the shore of the river. What about you? Stretching out those limbs of yours? A head tilt, amusement lingering on his face at that.

take me by the hand but please don't want to know me

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

This explained who the whale-fish he'd seen floundering about in the mudmonster had been, he realized, peering over the black and white coloration. No wonder he hadn't been feeling his finest on his wedding day, if he'd swallowed a few lungfuls of that crud. Though, given that Loren had been officiating (briefly), he was surprised that Sunjata wasn't Healed up long since. I'm sure we can find someone to fix you up, he offered cautiously. He looked at the ring dutifully, but remembering how Frey had licked it he kept a wary distance.

The mention of capturing the sun had the dragon snorting understanding, sending a puff of cool air over the water. Oh, is the VlamVloed becoming an inn as well as a tavern? It would be convenient, at least, to have beds near the booze for those who overindulged and couldn't stumble home. He glanced to the basket, then let out a softly musical trill of appreciation at its colors and craftsmanship. At the question, though, he lowered his head back to the water and nosed at it for a moment. Something like that, he agreed, a little more subdued. Something Remi and I were working on... before... He raised his head suddenly tossing a bright green stone high. Isuma abandoned her game with Haai to swoop after it and grab it with a victorious reep! before adding it to the small pile.

That, and scavenging up something for a gift for the Midnight Party. Do you know what you're bringing to it yet?

SuNJATA

The mention of fixing him up only has him shaking his head with a small smile. It feels a bit… More like home, letting things run its course. There’s a slight slow to the words, his accent a bit thicker toward the end. And while his illness now did have a likely chance of killing him if he didn’t start taking it seriously, well… He hoped it never quite got that far. Though at that point someone might step in and fix him, like they had in Korofi when he’d nearly died. He almost instinctively reaches up to brush at the scar along his neck.

The mention of the VlamVloed, however, has his gaze returning to Jigano as he reaches up to press a hand to the back of his neck. “There’s a few rooms, figured I might as well open them up for people who might need them. I don’t.” A small shrug. It was easier that way, and so long as he had one or two remaining open on the off chance of someone needing one for the night, well, that made it easier. But his gaze lingers on the dragon when he asks what he’s doing out here, hand leaving the back of his neck as he sinks into the water a bit more.

Haai continues her game, pausing as Isuma dives to grab the stone and add it to a small pile, only to return with the fun while Sunjata listens to the damper of Jigano’s voice through the attuned bond. Ah… I think I’m mostly covered. Though I was looking for something sort of nice to set into a necklace of sorts and you've been successful thus far. He offers, drifting closer to inspect the bottom of the river here where Jigano had found those stones. He doesn’t say for whom it is, but his intention is an apology to Hotaru, provided she’ll take it.

take me by the hand but please don't want to know me

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

The dragon bobbed his head in acquiescence, though an amused warning rumbled through the mental link. Just don't let it run its course into an early grave for you, Flood. Not that Phoebe would let it... although that only applied if Sunjata was home around her enough for her to intervene.

But he was not touching that can of wedding worms right now. It was too nice a day, and it looked like Sunjata had already gotten multiple earfuls from most of the other wedding guests. If things got bad enough, either he or Loren would be waiting to help when Sunjata was ready to tolerate it.

I hadn't realized there were more rooms, the dragon admitted, a touch rueful as he always was when it came to not knowing something. But it's good to know. If I run into any more newly arrived Outlanders can I send them your way for now? If they need shelter for a night or two until they can find someone to take them in until they're on their feet. Which brought up another idea - one of a half dozen or more constantly circling below the surface of his thoughts. Plans and dreams and possibilities that could be real, if only they had time and manpower and peace enough to undertake them.

The dragon recovered from his momentary dip into regret quickly enough, shifting to let Sunjata swim nearer. The goldfish were giving them wide berth now that there was more activity in the water, but the shallows near shore quickly cleared of the dislodged silt as he settled again. Feel free to peruse the pile, he said cheerfully. If you find one you like I might ask you to use your clever fingers to string the rest together into a suncatcher or windchime sort of thing. What do you say?

SuNJATA

The mental link is easier, Sunjata finds, despite the feelings that can be shared. There’s a hint of nostalgia, perhaps a bit of a mix of sorrow and appreciation as Jigano uses his old moniker, uncertain if it fits here or not, uncertain if he could ever get it to fit again. I won’t. I get my blood checked every week. He offers with a light nod, a small smile to that.

The mention of more rooms has him shrugging easily. As for Jigano sending more people his way should they need it, it grants a sort of untouched agreement through the bond as he smiles toward the dragon. One room is taken indefinitely as far as I’m aware, but the other two could definitely help someone who needs a place to land. He doesn’t really care either way. Maea, despite their interactions recently, still agreed to stay. And he’d let her.

Sunjata drifts nearer though, using his tail as a paddle of sorts to inspect the pile that Jigano had picked, his gaze eventually lifting toward the dragon at the trade off for it. A snort is given to that easily, a nod of his head. You’ve got yourself a deal. Besides, it would probably be far better for him than the slight bit of exertion he’d given with Maea deep within the currents of the river up ahead. He peruses through the pile, stumbling across a stone that glimmers with the hint of pink, swirled with jade and silver hues, and he plucks this one out with a specific thought in mind. He sets it aside with a brighter smile sent toward Jigano as he settles along the rocks beside the bard to look at the pile a bit more creatively. Got any twine or anything? He asks, beginning to separate the stones by size and color.

take me by the hand but please don't want to know me

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

Given that Sunjata was currently swimming about with half a fish attached to his waist, Jigano thought his 'Flood' moniker had never fit better - at least on Caido. It seemed decidedly appropriate for a merman, but with Lusea's disappearance (second death?) he could understand the other man's hesitance to take the mantle of the past up again. Instead he focused on something hopefully less painful, and oddly intriguing. What does your blood have to do with it? Some new magical item Phoebe had found? A new test the College had developed?

I'll keep that in mind, then, thank you. Another example of hospitality and help, of building a community, however patchwork and strained they could all be at times. It was good to be reminded of the things that brought them together rather than the ones that divided them along various lines.

While Sunjata inspected the stones, Jigano couldn't help but turn his sinuous head to inspect the other man's new rear half. Landlocked as his nation as been he'd never seen an ocean before, much less the beasts that lived in it, and the orca tail was utterly foreign to him. Hold on, let me check my pockets, the dragon said solemnly at the question, amusement underlying the words through the mental link. He made a show of rolling onto his side and patting his side with a talon before cheerfully admitting: Damn, must have left it in my other scales. Isuma, do you remember where it is? He sent the gryphon an image of what he wanted, remembering with a pang how nice it had been to speak to her with Kai's influence granting her speech. The gryphlet peeped agreement and gave Haai a nuzzle before gliding down to a tucked-away patch of boulders where some clothing had been laid, neatly folded. She pulled free a sleeve and rooted around in it for a minute before returning to Sunjata with a small ball of tough sewing thread held proudly in her beak like a fresh-killed mouse. She parked herself on a dry rock near him and waited, clearly expecting pets before she would release her prize.

How goes business at the bar? the dragon asked in the meantime, returning to his hunt for interesting shiny tidbits to give Sunjata more options for their respective gifts.

SuNJATA

The question of what his blood has to do with it, does distract him somewhat as he looks back over to the dragon. It’s the only way they found out what was wrong, officially at least. That didn’t just say it was a cold. He offers with a shrug of tattooed shoulders, turning back to the pile to sift through as he thinks and searches. I have an acute respiratory distress… thing. They told me my lungs were flooding. He looks back to Jigano with a small shrug. The Flood who was internally drowning, that’s what he’s become.

The mention of the bar does draw a smile to his face and he nods to Jigano with the small agreement they’ve made. But he finds a stone he thinks Hotaru might like, how it reminds him of her eyes and the colors she constantly sports, setting it aside as he goes to start to separate the stones based off size and color. A raspy chuckle leaves him as Jigano pretends to search ‘pockets’ and before long Isuma is there with plenty of material to make a chime of sorts. He takes it, reaching up to give the griffin a good scratch around the fur along her neck, in the space Haai always preferred it.

Jigano continues the hunt and Sunjata focuses on wrapping the thread in a makeshift cage around one of the larger stones to start, focusing on the question while he works. Pretty good actually. Maea brought some of the Valair farm’s products over. It’s been giving people a bit more of a nostalgic feel despite how different the bar is from the Rathskeller. He explains.

take me by the hand but please don't want to know me

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

However did Phoebe manage that? he asked, curiosity growing with the vagueness of Sunjata's answers. Did she use that medical looking-glass device? He'd heard about it from Rexanna but not seen it himself yet. It did sound like a fascinating creation, and clearly was proving its worth beyond the Blight's diagnosis if it could tell the difference between a cold and something more serious just by looking at a few drops of blood! Flooded lungs sounded like pneumonia, though, and he peered down at his friend with a bit more concern.

So... you were told your lungs were flooding... and decided that swimming was the cure? he asked, his tone dryly teasing but a little worried as well. There were worse life choices to make - marrying someone you didn't seem to particularly like on a dare being one of them - but it was a short list.

Isuma pressed into the scritches with a rumbling purr, always happy to get scratches, but as soon as Sunjata went to work she returned to Haai's side for a friendly tussle. Jigano realized his assistant was now too distracted to be much help, and he rumbled amusement that set the water around him to rippling with the vibrations. Raking idle talons through the tumbled stones beneath the clear water to see what he could turn over, he nodded at hearing that he'd met Maea. I'll be coming over more often then, he admitted with a mental chuckle. I'm quite partial to that cider. I really hope we can find someone willing to take over the orchard and the pressing from her. Be a shame to lose it, though I understand her wanting to make a clean break from all that she's lost. Not unlike himself and Sunjata, in a way.

SuNJATA

She didn’t. He begins, lip curling slightly with her name before he shakes his head. It was one of the doctors. An Ascended. His gaze flits over toward the dragon with a small shrug. He has something that lets him know what’s wrong with blood, and since we tried everything else to figure out what the problem was, that was the last option. And it worked. A small shrug, indifference, though his cheeks flare ever so slightly at the memory.

Swimmings not a cure, probably does more harm than good. But… I didn’t want to stay at home. I planned on just sitting up there catching the sun and head home. And he’s thankful for the slight redness of his cheeks as he thinks on what had occurred with Maea. Then I found you. He rumbles with a soft smile, breath short but no worse than it had been when he had arrived.

Once he scratches Isuma and the griffin returns to his own, he focuses on creating tight little cages around each of the rocks, his left index finger shifting into the sharp claw of his panther form to cut the line where he needs it cut, listening to Jigano as he does it. He remains silent at the comments about Maea, keeping his own thoughts to himself, keeping a kind of sadness away from the attuned bond if he can help it. She’s been through a lot. I offered to help her train. She’s the one staying at the bar. He says quietly through the bond, keeping his focus on the rocks as he works on the next set.

take me by the hand but please don't want to know me

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

Ah. Jigano realized he had stepped off the prescribed path a little too late, though at the mention of an Ascended doctor he instinctively tried to raise a brow - and discovered that he couldn't in this form. His senses were significantly better, though, and it was easy to see the reddening of Sunjata's cheeks from where he lounged in the water. Given what Sam had told him of how Ascended bites worked, and the mention of blood earlier, it wasn't hard to put the puzzle pieces together. Did Phoebe know? ...was not a question Sunjata would probably appreciate, and Jigano clamped down on it to prevent it from slipping through the bond. He simply nodded, carefully, and let the matter drop... for the moment.

It's not easy to avoid temptation, even if it slowly kills you, the dragon thought wryly. Though I'm glad to see you again. And I suspect it's harder to keep you out of the water than to heal you later. The man was named 'the Flood' for a reason, after all. He overturned a pebble with a claw tip that at first seemed unremarkable, but a funny glint of shadow caught his eye and he curved his neck down to look closer. Not a shiny gem, but some ancient sea creature frozen in stone curled within the rock, preserved for the ages. He plucked the stone out and set it beside Sunjata with an amused rumble. And that one, perhaps, for yourself? A curiosity rather than a jewelry piece... unless, of course, Sunjata wanted it to be one.

Jigano perked up at hearing that Maea would be training with Sunjata, a pulse of approval and gratitude making its way through the link. She has, and I thank you for your offer. I started to teach her the rapier, once upon a time... more than a year ago, now. But... we are, perhaps, too close, as guildmates. It will be good for her to have other teachers. Ones that can show her dirtier tricks, perhaps? he added, slyly teasing the head of the Devil's Advocates.

SuNJATA

To be honest, Sunjata’s thankful that Jigano doesn’t push the way he’s been tested, the way they know for sure that he’s sick. He’s also thankful that provided Jigano knows what the Ascended bites are like (he assumes the bard does know) that he doesn’t ask about that particular complication with Phoebe, something of which he’s yet to find out.  So when the conversation shifts somewhat to the fact that he’s swimming and how it still isn’t quite good for him, he shrugs it off with a wry smile of his own. Exactly. He muses, but there’s some amusement that lingers on his side of the Attuned bond.

He looks over to dragon as he nears, placing the rock beside him and Sunjata looks over to it, carefully lifting it in his hand to inspect, a soft smile to his face at the intriguing design swirling around the rock. Like a fossil of sorts, something he hadn’t seen in what felt like lifetimes. He gives Jigano a grateful nod at that, setting it aside to the rock that reminded him of Hotaru. But then, the mention of training with Maea captures Sunjata’s attention a bit more fully, despite the fact he dampers any feelings on his side of the bond.

At least until Jigano mentions showing her ‘dirtier’ tricks, and Sunjata chuckles lightly to that, looking over to Jigano with a small grin. Perhaps so. It was amusing, anyway, but he swallows down anything of what happened previously, pushing his focus and his luck toward stringing the rocks together in their makeshift cages. I think I want to show her how to use the bow. He adds after a moment, focusing on making a few more cages.

take me by the hand but please don't want to know me

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3