please forgive me, I can’t sleep at night

maybe i'm just too tired to keep lyin'

While Maea might hold all the joy in the world within her, exuding it out like the sun reflected upon the moon’s surface, Sunjata can’t help the slight swell of anxieties to burn within him – he hides it away, pushing that mask into place of slight indifference toward the feeling, pretending nothing is wrong, but knowing deep down that if something were to happen, how attached he’d grown to the woman before him running her fingers through his feathers…

Nothing good would come of it, he’s sure.

She mentions the stars, the lights and the music, and he finds that while they dance among the clearing his head tilts up slightly to look at the parting of the trees to the stars above, searching for Safrin somewhere within them, hoping he hasn’t made yet another one of his continuous mistakes. And with a soft exhale, a soft smile, he goes to look back at her. “I always thought perhaps I might align better with Frey… But kissing the stars is unlike anything else.” A quiet hum of amusement to that, though his thumb continues to brush against her neck, something sweet brimming within his gaze. “I spend a lot of time looking at the stars for her.” A quiet admission, attached as much as she is to the rags around her neck.

maybe you're all i ever wanted

SUNJATA

MAEA

Maea grinned at him, a touch mischievous at his admission. She could see it too, with his promiscuous lifestyle and penchant for seeking pleasure in whatever he could. "Is there really anything Frey could teach you, that you don't already know? I think Safrin is the better fit. She will teach you to look deeper, and shed light on those dark depths of yours." The girl said it with conviction, wholly believing in the goddess ability to help him. And to have kissed Safrin? There was perhaps the only kiss not meant for her that Maea could be utterly comfortable with, even supportive of. Much like Ludo's embrace, it was more a spiritual thing in her mind.

At his confession of looking at the stars, she nodded, understanding. Leaned in to his touch at her neck, the thumb that stroked her skin; the bruises were tender in places, but his hand did not hurt her. "Do they look at all like where you're from?" she asked, curious. "The stars, I mean. If you want to, we can go watch them from the Fields some time. Or Halo; I hear the night sky is magnificent there."

I'm an angel bored like hell
And you're a devil meaning well

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

maybe i'm just too tired to keep lyin'

There’s a quiet laugh that leaves him at Maea’s question, of whether there was more that Frey could teach him. He smirks to her with a tilt of his head. “There’s always more to learn. Especially in that regard.” He winks to her, until his expression softens somewhat at what she tells him about his lady of the stars. “I find it somewhat ironic with everything I’ve done that I follow the herald of life now.” A small shrug. “But perhaps you’re right.”

She leans into his touch and he offers her a small smile to that before looking back up to the sky. “No, the stars are all wrong.” He hums, scanning the sky. “I got lost quite a few times because of that.” From when he first arrived, unable to figure out exactly where home was without any sort of landmarks at his disposal. “Mm to go to Halo would require bundling up quite a bit. But perhaps that’s something we can do when I come to visit you.” His fingers trace over the markings again, steel gaze seeking out her pale ones to show that he means it. That he would go to Halo and watch the stars if she wanted to.

maybe you're all i ever wanted

SUNJATA

MAEA

The wink and the underlying meaning of his words made the girl blush. She certainly had a lot to learn, even without gods to get involved. No doubt Sunjata would remedy that, and Maea couldn't help the faint shiver that passed down her spine at the thought. If his fascination with her neck now was any indication...

"Mmh, I think we can find some ways to get around the bundling up," she responded, gaze softening as she saw the look in his eyes. The willingness to go to a place he disliked... for her. "Halo doesn't have to be cold."

As the music slowed, turned from vibrant and pulsing into something languid and lingering, she shifted closer into his arms, and let her hands glide around his waist to rest on his back. Shortening the steps of the dance, they were all but circling in one place, with the drifting silhouttes of other dancers doing the same all around.

I'm an angel bored like hell
And you're a devil meaning well

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

maybe i'm just too tired to keep lyin'

Despite Maea’s softening gaze, Sunjata’s narrows a fraction on her with a hint of amusement, the ghost of a smirk crossing his face. She nears him, and he slips his hand away from her neck and collarbone toward her own back as well, holding her close and near to continue the quieter dance, the softer dance, and he hums a quiet chuckle after a few moments, leaning down a small amount to murmur to her.

“I do hope you mean body heat.” A feline smirk and a wiggle of his brow before he settles again, ever the picture of innocence as if he hadn’t insinuated anything with his words, smug like a cat. He shifts a small amount in where they step, looking toward the other dancers within the clearing, before his gaze finds her again. “Food after this?” A quiet question, knowing that the food from the Fae were far more flavorful, far more vibrant than anything in the Grounds.

maybe you're all i ever wanted

SUNJATA

MAEA

Her head snapped back up, a look of mock outrage on her face at the suggestion, but the grin was not far away. Maea pinched his back through the fabric of his shirt, and poked her tongue out. "Come to Halo after your business with the dragon is over, and I guess you'll find out," she teased, eyes glittering in the soft light.

Nodding at the meniton of food, the girl gave him a gentle squeeze. "Yes please. I'm starting to get hungry. The feast looks quite tempting, I've kept away so far... didn't want any sticky fingerprints on your presents."

But for all that she said to be hungry, Maea was in no hurry to leave the dance. She was happy to linger close to him, swaying to the sound of flutes and singing, of drums and lutes and other more exotic instruments...

And the lights and the song seeped right into her, settling like a soothing blanket over the parts of her that still felt a little numb, a bit cold and weary. Reaffirming that yes... she was back now. She was home. Some things remained the same while others had changed, for better or worse... Looking up at Sunjata, she thought that perhaps this had to be the definition of better.

If this kind of happiness was what change brought on the tide... then she really did not mind being caught up in it.

----

- Fin

I'm an angel bored like hell
And you're a devil meaning well

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3