no vacancy

save your eyes for someone brighter than i will ever be

Sunsets, Sunjata recalls, had always been his favorite at the ocean. And with it, he’d found a lighthouse surrounded by silence from the bustling of the people that thrived here, easy to sit near the edge of the cliff to hear the waves crash below, feel the mist as it follows the wind up the sides until it hits along his skin. Haai has come, this time, settled contently at his side on her back, sleeping contently as his hand strokes the side her neck, her body idly.

The sky shifts from the typical blues toward pinks and purples, a few wayward clouds igniting the golden hue of the sun along each fluffy edge, and Sunjata continues to watch it in silence. Nothing to add, nothing to say, other than the sheer brilliance to his soul it gives. It’s like a missing puzzle piece, despite his other half wasn’t here. There’s a part of him that thinks she’s made it here, either way. Perhaps Mort had shown her the place Sunjata vowed to find for her.

He exhales a quiet sigh. “Ek het dit uiteindelik gevind.” He hums to the open air, resting back on his free hand among the sandy cliffs and dune grass.

---

Ek het dit uiteindelik gevind. – I finally found it.

don't hesitate to bring me to my knees

SUNJATA

Don't paint wonderful lies on me that wash away

In the gathering dark, the light from the lighthouse grew stronger, casting a bright glow out towards the sea. It cast shadows about her as Maea made her way down from the top, and the shrine to Safrin that lay within. She had made it a point to find all the shrines in the region, to visit them and pray to her gods as often as she could. Somehow, she hoped it might make up for using the portals. To ease her guilt over not being satisfied with remaining in the Grounds, now that the cage had opened for her.

There were a lot of things on her mind to sort through, anyway. Praying was a relief, a way to ease the burdens a little, whether she got replies or not. There was a stillness in the sanctity of these little temples and shrines that appealed to her, a familiar red thread of honor and respect that made these foreign shores seem a little less intimidating.

Once she made her way down to the ground again, she picked her way around the base of the tower. Moved towards the cliffs edge, wind whipping at her hair and skirts, almost threatening to pull the shawl off her shoulders. Maea didn't mind; the air was warm and sweet and filled with the scent of water and salt. Foreign... and yet familiar, as it reminded her of someone who loved the sea.

She closed her eyes. Tried not to think of him.

save your eyes for someone brighter than i will ever be

Once Haai begins to shift around in the makeshift bed she’s made beside him, he removes his hand to lean forward. He draws his knees up to his chest, broad muscled arms wrapping around them to continue watching the sunset. And at first, he wonders if Haai plans on hunting – the way she stretches with a quiet yip of a yawn, before shifting in the grass and spotting something at the lighthouse.

She’s always been kind of a prick toward him, and he tries to ignore the incessant pulses of images his way about said lighthouse, focusing his steel gaze toward the pinks and purples in the skies, in the stars that spark in the darker parts of the world behind them as the sun lowers itself further. It almost works, arms gripping tighter around his legs before he sighs and tells her mentally to go and explore if she so badly wants to.

And she does, taking to the sky to circle the lighthouse, until she spots Maea, and with a little wolfish pulse of amusement, she dives straight forward to the woman, aiming to land on her shoulders and lick at her face.

don't hesitate to bring me to my knees

SUNJATA

Don't paint wonderful lies on me that wash away

The air filled with the sound of flapping wings. With the setting sun, the girl had thought the Hels would settle in for the night, leaving the cliff a place safe from their games. As the sound rushed closer to her however she opened her eyes, saw a black and white figure dart in to land on her shoulders. Startled, Maea half raised her arms to shield her face, expecting a beak but found instead a tongue lapping at her.

"Haai?" she asked, taken aback. "It really is you, isn't it, girl? What are you doing here all alone?"

Laughing at the affectionate attacks to her face, Maea raised her hands to steady the gryphon, offer support and fuss over the ruff the black fur between her hands at the same time.Puzzled by her presence, but delighted all the same, the girl looked around. Tried to see if anyone else was there - Melita, perhaps. It was the only person she could think of that the companion might follow, except...

Her stomach summersaulted. A nasty, nauseating flip of butterflies that stormed into life only to die a sudden, awful leaden death in her gut.

save your eyes for someone brighter than i will ever be

Oh it should come as no surprise that he’s there. And as soon as Haai lands upon her shoulders and gives kisses to her face that Maea accepts, that it’s likely he’ll notice too. While Haai grants pictures of feelings of the things she’s seeing, Sunjata gets flickers of white hair, pale skin, moonlight among the sunset, and he reaches up to rub at his temple before pushing himself to stand.

He can’t leave with Haai attached to Maea. And so he follows the line of thoughts and images that grow stronger the closer he gets, until he rounds the corner of a stone at the base of the lighthouse, arms folding across his chest as he leans against it and spots Maea there with Haai effectively as a boa around her neck. “She’s not alone.” He rumbles quietly, steel gaze lingering along the woman’s pale face before flitting to the stone around them.

don't hesitate to bring me to my knees

SUNJATA

Don't paint wonderful lies on me that wash away

Bitting her bottom lip, Maea drew in a slow breath at the sound of his voice. It worked its way down her spine like lightning, a shiver she did her best to hide. For an instant, her hands grew quite still on the little gryhon's body, half buried in the dark fur... but as she turned, the girl's face was quite calm. Even had a little smile on it, as if it might somehow help to hide the shudder in her eyes as she looked at him.

"So I see. Hello, Sunjata."

While she tried, she couldn't quite look at him. Her eyes kept darting away, as if repelled by the tension that mounted in her shoulders. When had it grown this difficult to breathe while he was around? The man wasn't even standing close, yet Maea felt as if she might suffocae.

save your eyes for someone brighter than i will ever be

Haai has no qualms about whether or not Maea’s hands still or don’t. Her head still nuzzles in against the woman’s cheek, finding some sort of placement within the space along her neck and her shoulder, settling somewhere where Sunjata’s own compasses lay. Her hello, the look in her eyes, meet him and he offers a quiet smile in response. “Hello, Maea.” An echo, a repeat.

He notices that she can’t look at him, and he too finds his gaze straying from place to place before it finally settles on the sunset once more, letting the dying rays fill the spaces he’d craved since arriving to Caido a year ago. “You’ve made it to Torchline, I see.” He offers, stepping away from the rock he leans against to walk past her toward the cliff’s edge again, looking out over the crashing waves below. “What do you think of it?”

don't hesitate to bring me to my knees

SUNJATA

Don't paint wonderful lies on me that wash away

Having the warm little body pressed against her neck and lend weight to her shoulders was a comfort. It steadied her, made it easier to draw breath, and Maea kept stroking Haai's head and neck reflexively. Somehow, she resisted the urge to follow Sunjata with her eyes as he moved around the stones and around her, to stand on the edge of the cliff. With the risk of meeting his gaze removed, it would have been very easy to fall into quiet contemplation of his silhouette against the dying light.

The sunset was a far safer thing to look at. Less potentially rife with mistakes - as if the world was holding its breath and waiting for either of them to say the wrong thing, make a wrong move.

What did she think of Torchline?

"It's... nice. But I'm losing out on much of it, I think. As I can't move about freely under the sun."

No long hours lounging in the surf, no basking in the sun or strolling through teeming markets. Most of the time she was hidden away beneath the sheltering shade of Ludo's Rags.

Truth was, Maea was a bit underwhelmed. And it colored her voice, though she tried to keep it light.

She knew how much this place meant to him. The ocean.

save your eyes for someone brighter than i will ever be

The sunset had always been his favorite, it had been Saartjie’s favorite too. And they’d spend plenty of time sunbathing through the day, swimming to cool off, remaining away from their father’s reach to indulge in the sunset before heading home. He’d never gotten to take Lusea there, too caught up in the rebellion and possibilities of being caught to even consider it. Something he regretted every second of the time he’d spent away from it.

But he was here now, the compasses tattooed to his neck pointing toward the space the sun dies off over rippling waves of white crests and gulls diving into the shade of the caves to their nests. So what did Maea think of Torchline, of the ocean? Her skin was far paler than Lusea’s dark bronze hues, far more suited toward snow and darkness than the gilt sunshine of the summer. So at her confession, he turns half way to look back at her with a small smile. “If you go deep enough into the water, there’s not as much sun. I heard you can breathe if you have a Cloud Manta jewel.” Actually, he’d seen it, when Ronin had used one to breathe under water.

He tilts his head to look back toward the waves, shoving his hands into the pockets of his shorts, before he turns back to her. “I finally got to use my full shift beneath the waves.” He offers her quietly, a reference to the river of the partial orca shift.

don't hesitate to bring me to my knees

SUNJATA

Don't paint wonderful lies on me that wash away

She could die for those little smiles. Kill for them too, probably. Was it possible for a heart to actually melt? Hers might, if he kept it up, and so she kept her glance to him brief when he spoke. Her response a pale imitation of the grins she'd offered so freely before. A sliver of new moon smile, barely there before it was gone again.

"I'll have to see if I can find one then," she replied. "Though I would rather not have to kill anything just to make life a little easier for myself." Perhaps she could find a pearl already claimed. If not... well. The beach was fine too. And the ocean was pretty at night too, with the stars to light it and the waves glowing from algeae.

"Really? I never did see all of it. It's that big, that you need an ocean for it to fit?" She thought of carvings she'd seen in Halo, of giant creatures arcing across imagined waves. One had found its way into her bags on one round across the market. At the time she'd not know what to do with it, but now... Her gaze fell on Sunjata. Lingered there, for a time.

save your eyes for someone brighter than i will ever be

“Mm, well I’m sure that there’s a trade to be made.” A rise and fall of his tattooed shoulders to that, gaze flitting back out to the ocean briefly before he turns far more fully toward her. The sun continues to set, purple taking over the pink, blue taking over the previous purple. The sun was nowhere in sight, and the moon and stars begin to filter and twinkle in to take the space left behind.

Her question about his shift has him nodding, gaze meeting hers as she finally lets her land back on him. “It’s not too big of a shift, but I definitely need some depth.” Another of those small smiles crosses his face as he considers her. “I could show you it? Provided your ‘see you later’ still applies?” His head tilts toward her, unsure. Since it seemed like she’d been trying to avoid him.

Haai, as if to add extra emphasis, nuzzles her head in closer to the pale woman, wings flitting over Maea’s shoulders in a small mimic of Sunjata’s own tattoos as she lounges on her.

don't hesitate to bring me to my knees

SUNJATA

Don't paint wonderful lies on me that wash away

Did it? The girl considered him, her expression closed, unreadable. Maea had been avoiding him. To give herself space. Time to settle hurt feelings. Being around someone who made her feel so much all at once, and having nowhere to vent those emotions, was exhausting. Sure, she could probably use him as a vent, still, but... it would not get her anywhere. Probably only breed resentment, when she kept asking for things he couldn't - or wouldn't - give.

It would be far easier to just cut the cord and let herself drift away. Leave, go to Halo and stay there. Run away, like Amalia had accused her of doing all those months when she was nowhere, lost even to herself.

When it came down to it though, Halo was not where she wanted to be. Nor was the Grounds, or even Torchline. Home... was no longer a place to her.

"It does," she told him, with a soft smile. "I would like to see it, very much."

Home could be a person, too.

save your eyes for someone brighter than i will ever be

”It does.”

That’s all he needs to hear for his smile to grow a small amount brighter, stepping toward her once more and reaching out to take Haai from her shoulders. The griffin snaps at him in warning, but eventually lets him latch onto her to place her around his own. “Shall we then?” His voice is a deep, amused rumble, patting Haai along her cheek as he drifts toward the trail that leads down to the water from the shrine and the lighthouse, the moon taking it’s slow ascent through the sky to replace the sun.

It doesn’t take long to get to the bottom of the walkway, and with it, he can feel the chill of the water as it drifts with the mists in the air, crashing and crackling against the rocks of the cliff. And he can feel the dip in the sand as he sinks into it with his boots, moving toward the center where the beach is laid out. “It’s almost like home.” He offers a bit offhandedly, a shrug of his shoulders before Haai departs them and settles in a small nest she’d made earlier – as though Sunjata had spent some time here in the hours previously.

He doesn’t turn to look at Maea, not as he prepares to leave his things with Haai in case anyone comes scouting about to try and steal them. His boots come off first, then his shirt, and when he’s done he turns to look back toward Maea with a crookedly boyish smile. “You’re gonna have to come into the water to see it. I’ll blend in.”

don't hesitate to bring me to my knees

SUNJATA

Don't paint wonderful lies on me that wash away

"What, now?" she asked, a little startled to find he meant right away. While the blue waters of the day seemed friendly enough, these dark seas seemed far from safe. Wouldn't it be better to wait for daylight? But she ended up following him all the same. Helpless to resist when he smiled at her like that. What a siren song it was, so alluring. Pulling her in, threatening to drown her if she forgot to keep out of the deep. Yet here she was again, ready to plunge headlong into it, in the wake of a man who didn't really care. Love was a cruel thing.

Maea lingered hesitantly on the shore as he undressed, looking everywhere but at him as he peeled off boots and shirt. There was that childish delight again, the pure joy of being near water that had drawn her to him from the beginning. It was impossible to look away when he addressed her, and if she blushed, it didn't show; the moonlight drained away all the colors, painted his tattoos in black against the gray tan of his skin. Oh, she'd no doubt he had been lounging here for hours or even days, just drinking in the sun.

"Alright. Turn around then." Waiting until he had his back to her, or at least wasn't looking straight at her as she undressed, Maea began to peel off her clothes. The precious shawl was entrusted to Haai again, along with her own light shoes, the knife he'd given her tucked safely into the hilt, and even the shift - knowing it would only get tangled in her legs if the surge of the waves was anything to judge by. The river had been swift; this was the ocean.

With nothing but the chest wrap and underwear left on, the girl stepped over to Sunjata, her feet bare upon the sand. Without any billowing fabric to shield her, she looked even smaller than before. Thin enough that the ribs and hips stood out sharply under the pale skin, with narrow waist and hips that were surprisingly full. It was easy to mistake her for someone younger, barely more than a teen, but she was very much a young woman. Nearly luminous under the moonlight, the silk hair a river that fell freely down over her shoulders.

"Done," she said, waiting for his cue. Watching the waves sigh and surge onto the sand, with a thrill of trepidation. Not even she could control that much water...