no vacancy

promise me you won't die

having never skinny-dipped

He does as she says, turning around and focusing his attention on the waves that surge and flit from the tide pulled by the moon. He can’t help but to let his gaze lift toward the sky, along the stars, along it all – almost as though he could feel Safrin there, something warm and appreciative among everything else. He inhales deeply, freely, lost in the feeling of the waves pulling at him and the moonlit sky around them. And when she steps up beside him, he looks down to her with that same boyish smile.

And she’s wearing far less than she had that day in the river, steel eyes flitting over her form before he turns back toward the waves, offering her his hand should she want to take it. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you.” He offers to her, feet relishing in the remaining warmth of the sand before he begins to walk toward the first brief bits of the wave, wading deeper and deeper until the water begins to even out – a gentle rippling, bobbing here and there, but nothing like the choppy waves with the cliffs nearby.

He turns to her then in the water, already partially shifted to keep a better handle on the waves that remain beneath the surface. Leaning somewhat toward her, there’s a glint of playfulness in his eye. “Don’t blink or you’ll miss it.” He hums, letting her go to push away from her to focus on the task at hand. And with her out of the way of getting pushed or hit by the wave he creates, he shifts fully into his orca form, black fin sticking out of the water like a shark as he moves under the surface a small amount, breaking the waves as he nears her again to press his nose against her in a small ‘boop’.

in the moonlight

SuNJATA

You're so cold

but you feel alive

His eyes on her was almost a tanglible thing. Shuddering under it, with warm sand under her feet, she took his hand. Quite forgetting that she'd promised herself to never do that sort of thing again. That nights like this one was a thing of the past. Never again she'd said, and now look at her. What a liar she was becoming.

The water came rushing in to meet her as she followed him into the sea. There was a song to it that sang through her veins, humming along to the tune of her magic. Somewhere there was a connection, and a heretical thought came to her, wondering if this was how the gods felt when they walked the earth. If they were as attuned to the people and the land as she felt to this water, this sand, this man by her side.

"I'm looking," she smiled, trying to keep steady as he let go. Pulled away. And she did keep her eyes on him as he moved, as he shifted, as he dove into the sea in the guise of a giant black something. Not the fish she called him, nor the whale they spoke of in the icy north. Something in between, something she did not have the name for, but had a pendant to explain it with... why had she picked that one, out of all of the options? Before she ever knew his name.

Again, there was a primal thrill at seeing the dark, ominous shape come surging towards her in the waves. He was gentle as he bumped her with his nose, but it was still quite a lot like a shove. Giving in to gravity, Maea let the force of it bring her down into the waves, breath held as she dove under the surf and reached her hands out to touch him, run hesitant, shy fingers over the rubbery smooth skin of that nose. Eyes open to fully see, in the glimmer of moonlight beneath the waves.

He was massive. And brutally, viciously beautiful.

lay your hands on me

one last time

MAEA

promise me you won't die

having never skinny-dipped

He touches her, perhaps a bit harder than he intended but he hadn’t quite grasped the full amount of his shift yet. The only time had been once before in the ocean, the second within the mud monster that had attacked Fiat Lux. And with it? A lack of exploration of this form in its entirety.

He accidentally drags her under with him, pausing to float beside her as her hands trace along his skin, and he turns just enough to show her the white underbelly, the spots that align his skin when he was half fish half nod. And when he’s done showing off that amount, he spins back around to show off the large fin that separates his back, urging her to grab onto it if he needs to bring her to air — a playful companion within the water, staring back at her with those same steel eyes surrounded by a spot of white among the black.

in the moonlight

SuNJATA

You're so cold

but you feel alive

In the dark depths, speech held no meaning. Breath was a single gulp before it became a test of endurance, and sight became a secondary thing. But the things she could hear. The rush of water, the murmur of her own blood, and perhaps... perhaps even the beat of his enormous heart. He showed himself off to her, and the girl admired him with appropriate awe, eyes glittering in the faint light as he twisted and turned.

Like this, she felt no hesitation in touching him. Letting her hands roam over the dark skin, the white skin - just as pale as hers - and up to grasp the fin on his back once tinny whistles in her ears announced that she'd stayed under for too long. She let him carry her up to the surface and breathed out in a long sigh, gulped down more air into her starved lungs, and laughed in delight at the feeling of his looming, dark shape against her body, beneath her hands.

"You're amazing!" she told him as she breathed, unabashed by doling out the praise (no doubt he thought so too, and would get a bloated head from her admitting it). "How fast can you swim?"

lay your hands on me

one last time

MAEA

promise me you won't die

having never skinny-dipped

He brings her up to the surface, bobbing up above and taking a breath through the blowhole, peering at her from above the waves as she laughs, deliriously perhaps? He can’t tell, all he does know is that he can feel the places her hands roam, doling out the praise and excitement, and he bobs his head a small amount in agreement. It was wonderful, wasn’t it? Agile, yet still a hunter at heart. Maw parting to reveal sharp teeth in something like a smile, before his mouth shuts tight with a small click.

The question of how fast has him spinning in the water, fin slapping against the waves that lap against his slick skin as he circles her before taking off somewhere near the deeper depths along the top – marked only by the fin splitting the water and creating tiny waves of its own. And when he decides he’s reached a decent amount of space away, he spins again and aims for her this time – keeping up the speed. But before he can reach her, he dives low beneath the water, to surprise her by taking off into the air and arcing before succumbing to the waves once more.

in the moonlight

SuNJATA

You're so cold

but you feel alive

Letting go to give him room to move, she followed the path of the fin as it cut through the water. That and the slight swell of the sea to give room for his bulk was the only indication she got on where he was. Then, when he was far enough away that she had trouble picking out even those things in the dark, he turned and came surging back.

Fast. Dipping down below, surging back up; Maea whooped with glee as he leaped into the air and crashed back into the ocean, creating a massive wave that washed over her.

Coughing a bit from the sting of salt water in her throat and eyes, she pushed the hair back from her face and dove down into the waters after a deep breath, trying to follow him. To reach out and take him by the back fin again, and hang on, silently egging him on, begging to ride along.

lay your hands on me

one last time

MAEA

promise me you won't die

having never skinny-dipped

He swims beneath her as soon as he’s on the other side, a brief bit of surprise as she reaches out to latch onto him by the back fin – and he twists somewhat to look back at her with the very same steel eyes. And he lets her, provided she’s got a good grip. Diving through the waves, pulling up to let her catch her breath when she needs to, until they’re out in the middle of the water, the depths unseen beneath them, when he surfaces again.

He shifts back into his half self, the bottom half still remaining the orca shift but albeit quite a bit smaller. And with it, he floats along the surface, reaching to brush his hair back from his face, looking to her with all the light of the world in his gaze. “Absolutely couldn't do that in the Oasis or the Stonesong.” He offers with a vibrant grin her way.

in the moonlight

SuNJATA

You're so cold

but you feel alive

It was amazing. With her hands firmly clasped to the fin, Maea pressed herself close to the black body beneath her and thrilled at the speed as he shot off. The press of the water was a force that nearly pushed her off from his back, but she endured it, breathed when she could and whooped again when they finally surfaced again.

Breaking the surface with a deep gasp for air, she pawed the hair out of her eyes and laughed openly, almost extatic from the experience. Meeting his eyes, seeing the light in them, the girl beamed back at him, all but glowing in the darkness as the moonlight played over her hair and skin.

"I see why!" she laughed, near breathless. "You were right, this is amazing. The ocean is amazing! I never knew there were waters this deep, this vast!"

Spreading her arms wide in an exuberant measure, she sent a spray of droplets in his direction, quite by accident.

lay your hands on me

one last time

MAEA

save your eyes for someone brighter than i will ever be

Her breathless laughter draws him nearer, and he offers her a similarly bright and slightly breathless grin back. The ocean is amazing, the thing he’s been searching for for so long. And as the droplets come nearing his way, they begin to pepper his moonlit skin in small splashes, trying to block them from getting in his eyes as he goes to reach for her and pull her closer to him.

“They go deeper the further out you go. There’s creatures of a whole other sort that live in those depths.” He informs her with a grin. “It’s a whole other world unto itself.” He hums a quiet chuckle at that. But his gaze washes over her and his smile softens a small amount as he studies her. “It’s beautiful.”

don't hesitate to bring me to my knees

SUNJATA

You're so cold

but you feel alive

She could feel the truth of his words. Even if she let down her shields and reached for the water, there was too much of it for her mind to touch. Beyond the furthest vestiges of her control there was ever more of it, deep and dark and cold, so crushing that her mind boggled.

Reaching for those deeper depths with her mind, she found herself suddenly caught in his grasp, pulled in closer. Maea looked at him, a bit surprised at the soft tone, the words that did not seem to be entirely directed at the water anymore. She put a hand up, placed it on his bare chest, intending to push away again.

"Sunjata..."

There was reserve in her voice, questions in her eyes as she searched for his gaze. Was he forgetting already that he'd said no?

lay your hands on me

one last time

MAEA

save your eyes for someone brighter than i will ever be

She’s drawn in by his touch, and her hand touches his chest in preparation to push away. And Sunjata simply shifts his gaze from her to the moonlight, content, happy despite the reserve in her voice as she says his name. He’s silent for a decent amount of time, the water lapping against his spine as the salty waves try to embrace them both.

“Enjoy it with me?” He asks, finally looking down to her as if all his puzzle pieces have been put together. He knows what he’s said to her previously, he knows that it’s likely not the result she wanted to hear… But it had been only a few weeks since the end of his marriage? Since the end of that whole ordeal with trouble and difficulties on every corner just waiting for the time to pounce. At least here, with her, there was a peacefulness to it. A connection that something is right, and he clings to it — clings to her for the time she lets him.

don't hesitate to bring me to my knees

SUNJATA

You're so cold

but you feel alive

It was wholly unfair, she decided. Why was he allowed such power over her? It seemed wrong that a pair of storm-cloud eyes and and a crooked smile could sweep her away where a lifetime of loss and bereavement had seen her standing up on her own two feet. It shouldn't be this hard to set boundaries and stick to them, had never been so before.

So why did that simple quiet question shake her resolve to this extent? It went beyond the simple warmth of his skin under her hand, or the light grasp around her middle that kept her from drifting further away. Straight to the beat if his heart, and her own pulse that tried to align with it.

Should she back away, now, before it was too late? Yes. Did she want to?

No.

Maea sighed. With it, some tension faded from her shoulders and her expression softened.

"If that's what you want... then. Okay."

Gods, what a pushover she was becoming.

lay your hands on me

one last time

MAEA

save your eyes for someone brighter than i will ever be

Her expression softens, and Sunjata offers her a quiet smile in response. All he wants is to enjoy it with someone, the way the water laps against skin, the way the moonlight picks up every small detail, the way the distant roar of waves breaking against the cliffs are some sort of war beat to the thundering echo of his heart.

He wants to forget that she’d asked him that slight ultimatum, to bury his face into her neck and hold her in the water, to spend the day and night with her as if none of it ever happened.

Her concession to him has him smiling brightly despite the conflict, and he pulls her a bit closer into him to wrap his broad arms around her to hold her close — steel gaze flickering to the stars above. “Just a bit more peace before the world goes to hell again.” A quiet rumble before he sighs. “I’m going to Halo soon.” He adds, as though it were some explanation, steel gaze seeking her pale one.

don't hesitate to bring me to my knees

SUNJATA

You're so cold

but you feel alive

Maea could not forget. It was the lone cloud looming on her horizon as he pulled her in close. Wrapped his arms around her. And for all that she felt like coming home in that moment, it was a house where the windows had been left open and the door stood ajar. Plenty of room inside, but not private. Not hers alone.

But maybe wanting it all to herself just made her greedy.

She slipped her arms around his neck and let her head lean in towards his, his cheek stubbly and unshaven against hers. The scent of salt and water was overpowering out here, nearly washing away the hint of smoke and drink that had been so apparent before. His jaw moved when he spoke, and Maea hummed in agreement. Peace was nice. Peace was preferable to arguments and tension. In truth, she really didn't want to be away from him at all, it was just... made difficult when she felt so many things that he did not.

"Really?" she said, and couldn't help the little smile from touching her lips, from lightening her voice. "Why, when?"

lay your hands on me

one last time

MAEA