please forgive me, I can’t sleep at night

maybe i'm just too tired to keep lyin'

Her comments receive a small smile, hoping that it’s true. For all that he knew, it might not even last long enough for that alone — depending on who asked, who spoke about it. He imagines he’ll be hearing from Jigano as well as a variety of others. But at the end of the day, does he really care? No, not entirely. At the end of the day they’ll still be where they’re at.

So when she asks if he’ll be there with her through it, he strokes her cheek gently with his thumb. “Yes.” A quiet answer, a gentle one for the fear within her heart. But his hand leaves her cheek as soon as he’s fiddling with the scarf, and soon enough she removes it as well — letting those marks be seen that match in places of his own. And he snorts lightly at it, at the brazenness. “Cover up when you speak to Jigano, will you? I’m having a nice festival so far.” He teases her lightly, winking, before a quiet chuckle leaves his throat.

maybe you're all i ever wanted

SUNJATA

MAEA

Maybe, just maybe, she could dare to believe in this. That it might be real. His thumb stroking her cheek felt it. A little rough, a lot warm, and very gentle. Same as his voice, his quiet answer, his heart beneath all those raging waves that made it so hard to see clearly.

A pale brow rose at his snort, and Maea smirked a little when he brought up Jigano's name. "Oh, scared of what he might say? I doubt we have to worry... aren't we already a 'package deal' in his eyes?" If there was a bite to her words, it was mild. She could chew on her disagreements with the bard for however long, he would still be one of her favorite people. They had not resolved anything since the meeting at the Loreseeker's guild, and still he'd been gifted with precious things from her.

Even if she wound up leaving the guild, he'd still be a friend.

"But, well... if you're sure you don't want to stake your claim... I can wait until tomorrow," she offered with a little wink, and made to settle the shawl back in place. To hide his brands on her skin from view... Though her eyes lingered on him, and there was something deliberately slow about the way she moved her hands about. Offering a chance to object... or at least sneak a longer look before they disappeared again.

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'

A chuckle leaves him, a bit louder than before and he leans back into the grass a bit, onto his back to look up at the branches blocking the view of the sky. “Not worried about what he’ll say. More worried about what he’ll do to me.” He offers, turning his head to look at her curiously as she shifts the scarf back on, slow, deliberate.

A feline smirk crosses his gaze. “Oh I’ll stake my claim.” He hums, reaching up to grab for her and pull her into him, distracting from Ludo’s rags, to leave them off. “I’d just rather not see what he wants to do right off the bat. Could care less about anyone else.” He rumbles, hoping to tip her chin up and plant a gentle kiss.

maybe you're all i ever wanted

SUNJATA

MAEA

"Really... You think he would care enough to say anything at all?" She sounded doubtful. All Maea had heard from the bard were reasons why she should reign herself in and stay the quiet studious girl she had been when they first met. This was not the first time he'd objected to her taking initiative, and what Loren had called concern and Sunjata saw as coddling, she thought of only as distrust. Lack of faith in her abilities to make decisions and take care of herself.

Her musing was cut short when Sunjata reached for her, pulling her down to him in the grass. She laughed and let herself be hauled in, caring not at all about the grass stains on her new dress or whether anyone could see them. Or well... perhaps her stomach fluttered a little extra as she leaned into his warm body, and her lips quivered suspiciously when he kissed her. But that was alright, wasn't it? This was all new for her. This pact they'd made, feeble and frail though it might be... it was precious and beautiful, and she was a bit anxious that it might break.

"Mmh... perhaps it might be good to avoid brawls on Fae territory," she mumbled against his lips, eyes glittering. "No dragon slaying tonight." Her free hand came up and brushed light fingertips over his cheek, and she leaned up to let the kiss deepen.

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'

“With me? Absolutely.” He replies with a huff of a chuckle. He didn’t know Jigano very well, but that interaction with him and Maea had a feeling of parental protectiveness, something that showed how much he cared about Maea, but might also mean that Sunjata would be the one person Jigano wouldn’t want the woman with.

She leans into him a small amount, quivering lips meeting his, and he smiles within the kiss — ever the air of confidence, at least until she tells him no dragon slaying today. He kisses her a bit deeper before pulling away to survey her. “I guess you’re right.” Though there's a hint of mischief in his gaze as her fingers trace over his cheek, leaning into it a small amount. “Just rumor slaying.” A wink, before he withdraws to lay flat in the grass once more, one arm kept around her.

maybe you're all i ever wanted

SUNJATA

MAEA

Humming agreement into the kiss, she followed him down as he stretched out on the ground. Shifting a little, Maea settled in with her knees against his side pointing towards his head, her body half splayed over him with her arms crossed over his chest and chin resting against the top of her hands. Leaving his arm to rest on her waist, should he wish to keep it there; she certainly didn't mind.

The night breeze was balmy and full of scents from the forest. Green leaves and bark, stone and moss and rich mulch and the heady aroma of crushed grass beneath them. From further away came miling scents of food and drink, of torchlight and candlewax and mixed perfumes, incence or for personal use.

But she was enchanted most by him, by the air of tobacco and drink and clean clothes; it was rich and warm and it was becoming increasingly familiar. A scent like home, in a house where the front door finally had been closed and the shutters drawn, a fire set to burn in the hearth.

"Do you have a plan for fighting those rumors?" she asked, looking down on him from her slightly elevated position with a hint of a smile to her lips. "Or will it be something to handle as we go along?"

Music as on the air too, tempting them back with cheerful trills and egging drums. The girl tapped her fingers against his chest in pace with the rhythm; quite relaxed now that the tension was draining away, her good mood well on its way back.

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'

She lays against him and he keeps his arm draped around her, content to settle there for awhile, listening to the sounds around them, praying for no mud monsters to appear and ruin the festival, hoping things can go on just as they were. But he looks to her as she speaks, a smile tugging on his lips as he gives her a considering look. “Unfortunately there’s not enough time in the day to fight them all.” He teases her lightly before shaking his head and settling again.

His other hand comes up to latch onto hers, the one tapping to the tune on his chest. “So we’ll tackle them as we go.” A confirming nod is given from him to that, before he inhales deeply. “I wasn’t here for this last time, is this all it is? Give gifts and mingle and then leave?” A question, unsure if she’d been here that time as well or if it had been during the time she’d disappeared and ended up in Halo of all places.

maybe you're all i ever wanted

SUNJATA

MAEA

He took her hand and she braided her fingers in with his to keep it there. Leaned down to press a light kiss against his knuckles, and let her cheek come to rest against it. "Sounds like a plan." Rumor fighting aside, his question of the festival was leading towards a topic she knew would come eventually, one she had hesitated to bring up because... well... it was confusing. And difficult to talk about.

"I don't know," she admitted quietly. "I... don't have any recollections of the past year. Soon after LongHeat began, I... disappeared, apparently. Though to me it didn't feel very long, only like a few weeks between where I left off and returning back."

Jigano had broached the subject in a none too gentle a manner so she knew Sunjata had the gist of it.

"Amun found me wandering the Tundra of Halo, with no idea where I was or how much time had passed. He probably saved my life." Between the cannibals of Whitebrim and the dangers of wild animals, exposure and starvation, it was a small miracle that she could lay here like this now.

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'

“Apparently…?” A quiet rumble of consideration, brows furrowing as he squeezes her hand gently, tangling her fingers with his as he takes a deep inhale. “Where were you heading?” He wonders quietly, wonders if she’d had a place in mind, to disappear and re-emerge a few weeks later as a sort of get away. He lets it drop as soon as she mentions Amun and Halo and he nods to that.

“Well I’m glad he did.” He says softly, voice a hint more accented as he pauses and considers her. “However else would I have a reason to go to Halo?” He smirks briefly before shaking his head. “I suppose I should tell you that I’m working with a Halovian to try and open a bar in Halo like the VlamVloed.” There's a soft smile on his face toward that, an attempt to make another branch of the Advocates in the next place over.

maybe you're all i ever wanted

SUNJATA

MAEA

Maea nodded, her gaze falling to the pendant around his neck while she spoke. "I was sick, I think I mentioned that." When they spoke for the very first time, what seemed an age ago. "I had a fever, and it was hot. I couldn't stand being alone in that house... so I went outside for a walk. Everything is a bit hazy after that. I think I stood by the Stonesong with a group of others... and I may have jumped through a hoop of fire with Wessex and Amalia?" Her expression suggested she doubted this memory very much, and would rather it wasn't true.

"After that though... I just remember walking. Feeling lost, fighting to move through storm winds and blinding downpour. Rain or snow... I don't recall. When the sky cleared up, everything was white around me, and I did not recognize anything."

It was a terrifying thing, to know so much time had vanished and she couldn't even remember loosing out on it, and something of the sentiment showed in her eyes.

But fortunately, Sunjata gave her something else to think about. Her smile widened at the news, fingers squeezing his briefly. "That's great! They really need new input on their drinks of choice... Who is your contact?"

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'

“Oh, right.” He hums, a small smile granted – because he had forgotten, really, among everything else that had happened that small detail of it. But he listens to her intently as she explains once more, nodding along in some part understanding. Though jumping through a hoop of fire for Wessex seemed quite interesting, but the look on her face seemed to say it wasn’t true. A fever dream perhaps?

He squeezes her hand again briefly, the arm around her tightening lightly to keep her close. “That’s horrible.” He offers quietly, before mentioning his somewhat good news, hoping it might spark some sort of distraction from the terrible fears of what occurred while she’d been away for an entire year. A brighter smile is given toward Maea for that, a quiet snort as well. “Weaver, though I’m working it out with Neron currently.” A shrug as though it didn’t matter much.

maybe you're all i ever wanted

SUNJATA

MAEA

Maea could only nod, his sympathy accepted with a greatful look. It was one of many things that gave her nightmares. Not knowing where she had been, what she had been doing, what might have been done to her... For all that she had come out of it fine, in one piece and with only a memory gap to show for a scar, it was still a void she couldn't seem to fill. No matter how hard she worked, Maea would never catch up to the time lost.

It was far easier to talk about Halo and expanding businesses. More fun, too, as the project made Sunjata happy, and the girl was pleased to hear the name he mentioned. "Ah, Weaver! I've met her, she will be attending the Academy together with me, I think. I saw her here earlier. Neron too, for that matter."

Laying her head down on Sunjata's chest, listening to his heart as his chest rose and feel with steady breaths, she considered the Warden. "I only met him briefly one time, when Zariah had us help set up the school. What's he like? I know he and Loren are twins... but they don't look very alike to me."

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'

“Yep, she’s here.” He confirms with a light smile to that. “My gift to her should be the bar should it come to be.” He snorts. “But I gave Neron a few drinks and a basket in exchange for a favor.” A sly Cheshire grin forming on his face briefly, until she rests her head on his chest, to listen to the steady heartbeat, albeit not entirely calm despite his outer exterior might suggest.

“He’s interesting. I don’t know him very well yet, but enough sass to match me.” A snort leaves him. “Much prefer him to Loren right now, actually.” A brief consideration of pause as he lifts his arm from around her waist, to run his fingers through her hair. “But, I’m sure I’ll get to know him a bit more if I’m spending more time there.” A small smile and a shrug. “And at least I’ll have a place to stay while I am, hm?”

maybe you're all i ever wanted

SUNJATA

MAEA

"Oh? What kind of favor?" She wasn't sure if she was supposed to ask that, whether it had been solely about the bar or about the Advocates business. To be honest, she wasn't sure how much of that she wanted to know about... But she stopped that kind of thinking right away. Sunjata was the guildmaster of a less than savory group; if she couldn't accept that, then they had problems right from the start.

Closing her eyes, she savored the feeling as his fingers threaded through her hair. For all that his heart beat a little faster than it ought, it was very calm and peaceful to stay like this. Quite unlike most of their previous run ins. The only times that really came to mind was that first languid day in the river, and a dark panther curled up on her feet... Too few, in truth.

"Mmh, yes. It might be good... the rooms at the Academy are not really made for two people. An oversight... I should have asked for bigger beds." There was a sly tone to her voice, a little smirk that hoped he would find reasons to make business calls in Halo quite often.

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

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3