please forgive me, I can’t sleep at night

maybe i'm just too tired to keep lyin'

“Any favor, which is how I’ve asked about the bar.” He shrugs, a rise and fall of tattooed, bruised shoulders. Whether that included a bunker like the Advocates (it likely would) or not, he didn’t feel the need to discuss with so many people present. And with it, he lets that part of the conversation drift off in favor for running his fingers through her long, pale hair, savoring the little things and hoping that nothing terrible happens within the next couple of hours like Fiat Lux had – when he’d thought the Festival was supposed to be great and wonderful, ending with ice spears and bloodshed.

He pushes it from his mind as he listens to her, the tone of her voice, and his hand still sin her hair with a quiet huff of laughter. “Or just come stay in mine?” He hums, equally sly. But it drops lower, only for her to ear as he speaks next, tangling his fingers into her hair and giving it a playful tug. “Though with luck, you might not be late for class.” A smirk crosses his face to that, a quiet huff of amusement from his throat.

maybe you're all i ever wanted

SUNJATA

MAEA

A trickle of delight eased its way down her spine at his tone and the implications of what they were sayin. Then it came again as he tugged on her hair. Laughing along in quiet amusement, she poked her finger into his chest, tapping it a little harder than was strictly necessary.

"Let us hope not. I've heard that the headmistress is a harsh woman who might not think twice on punishing unruly students." She started off in a joking tone, but it shifted to seriousness toward the end, recalling everything Loren had told her of the dangers enrolling might come with.

"I was also told that it might be easy to get roped into doing her bidding," she added, more quiet now. "I'm... not sure how I would avoid such a situation... or how to use it, either." Maea opened her eyes, looked up at her lover with a little wrinkle of concern between her eyebrows.

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 bit of a smirk that crosses his face at the poke of her finger, and he lets his steel gaze slip over toward her with a raised brow – prepared to come up with some witty retort, until of course – the comment of the headmistress reaches him and the smirk fades a small amount. He lets go of the tangling of her hair, in favor for running his hair through it as he considers the implications. “I don’t like her.” He frowns lightly.

“Best guess would be to not draw attention to yourself. Don’t mention me and don’t excel above the others.” It would be tricky, he’s sure, but if Zariah is trying to get her hold on those that might work some bidding for her with whatever arsenal she has under her belt… Well, it would be an entire ordeal. “Just be smart and quick on your feet like usual.” He gives her a soft smile to that, hoping to lighten the mood.

maybe you're all i ever wanted

SUNJATA

MAEA

It was sound advice. Far simpler and more to the point then Loren's evasive answers, and the thought of her supposed friend made the girl scowl a little. But then, Sunjata's smile urged her away from the subject, back into the clearing, the music, the colorful lights in the trees.

"Thank you," she told him with a fond smile. "I've been rather prone to brooding for a while... An old habit I thought I'd set aside."

She reached her free hand out and brushed at the hair about his face, adjusting the locks he'd disrupted by running his fingers through it. It was nice to stay here like this, but if her mood was any indication, the subject would only get gloomier... and Maea did not want to ruin this evening with being sullen and dark. The night was far too lovely for that.

"Do you want to do something? Dance, maybe, or find something to eat?" Best answer would be to move, get up and move about. Distract herself, until the shadows passed. And she did want to dance with him, her smile suggested; warm and inviting as it was.

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'

He smiles back to her gently, offering a shrug. “That’s why I drank quite a bit.” He hums with amusement, not caring much about it either way – especially not as her hand raises to brush his hair away from his face, leaning into the touch lightly, lids shuddering with the touch of her fingers against his head. The question of dancing though has him somewhat intrigued, and he smiles lightly to that idea, shrugging and moving to sit up somewhat.

“I haven’t danced since Fiat Lux.” He hums thoughtfully. “But if you do want a dance, who am I to say no?” There’s a hint of mischief in his gaze at that, reaching forth to brush a bit of her hair from her face, a soft smile clinging to his lips at it. “Could get food after then head back to the bar?” A thoughtful twist of his head, something like an avian tilt to it – even though the feathers disappeared along his shoulders easily.

maybe you're all i ever wanted

SUNJATA

MAEA

Maea eased herself up from his chest with some reluctance as he moved to sit, but remained close to him. Leaned her head into the touch as he adjust her hair in turn, shivering ever so slightly at the litheness of the touch. So soft, so very gentle... Maea almost wanted to ask what was wrong. Where had her winking rogue gone off to?

Though she was not about to complain, she relished every bit of affection he offered her. Every smile, glance and touch, even the tone of voice he used; it felt special. Made her feel special, for being on the receiving end of it all.

"It sounds like a plan," she smiled. Moving to stand up, she brushed grass from her skirts and offered him a hand up, along with one of his own little winks. For stealing the pleasure of offering assistance. "Shall we?"

The emotional talk and a long day without enough to eat had left her quite famished. But there was a pull to the music that made her want to join in, move her feet, twirl and laugh and dance along together with him.

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, the rogue wasn’t gone – hidden away at the moment for anxiety of what they’ve done and yet another gathering, another festival where the possibility of bloodshed was ever present. And now, rather than Phoebe asking for help fighting the mud monster with her nephews inside, Sunjata sees something to protect within Maea too – and it doesn’t alleviate any of his anxieties.

But he smirks to her as she offers her hand, taking it with a calloused one of his own and pulls himself up to his full height, peering down at her with a hint of that roguish charm. “After you.” He muses, feigning a bow and winking to her, before taking her hand once more to walk closer to the music. Once there, he focuses on her with a hint of that predatory stillness of his panther form.

“I’m not familiar with the dances here, more of a traditional ballroom sort of dance.” He shrugs but his lip feathers slightly at the memory. “Just don’t step on my toes.” He chuckles lightly, the smirk returning as though the slight frown hadn’t quite been there before.

maybe you're all i ever wanted

SUNJATA

MAEA

She had to lean back quite a bit to provide the leverage he needed. Damn tall man, it was quite unfair; Maea peered up at him with a mixture of annoyance and delight. Sunjata's full height was quite formidable indeed, and it dwarfed her even more. Save for the lack of wings and her pale complexion, Maea could have been a Fae herself. Small, lithe, her steps easy as she took his hand and brought them back into the festivities.

"Ballroom dance? It sounds awfully fancy," she laughed, and squeezed his hand to help ease the frown away; whatever brought it on, she didn't want it to linger in his mind. "These steps are simple. Just like this..." Reaching for his hands, she showed him where to hold and how to step, when to spin and turn, and then repeated until he seemed to have it down. The dance she knew was somehow different from what the Fae seemed to prefer, but the music was familiar enough. For some parts, Maea even thought she recalled a string of word, some lyrics of a song... but she couldn't quite recall what it might have been about.

"Ready to give it a try?" she asked him after a while, when the movements came without a hitch. Smiling up at Sunjata, a little flushed from moving about and eyes glistening in the light of candles and starlight, she offered him a hand with slightly more expectation. Clearly enjoying herself very much.

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'

“It is fancy.” He tells her, a snort leaving him in response to her laughter. “I’ll have to show you how dull it is.” Not here, but later. Somewhere else, somewhere more private for when the memories those specific dance moves have take over. But he pushes it away from his mind, following her lead and placing his hands where she tells him to, following the beat – a different dance than what they’d been doing for the sake of dancing.

A smirk is given toward her at her question. “After you, liefling.” He tips her a wink, a playful bow to get his own ‘tradition’ within it, before taking up the position she’d taught him and waiting for her to lead, ready to follow her and keep up with the pace chosen. The music is bright, vibrant, something that reminds him a bit of Fiat Lux but definitely far more influenced by the Fae – wondering if he should seek out Tarasha about the possibility of another tattoo – before his gaze finds her pale ones and he pushes it aside to focus on her.

maybe you're all i ever wanted

SUNJATA

MAEA

"Oh, I think you can find ways to make most dances interesting," she retorted happily. "It's mostly about having the right partner, or so I've heard." But she certainly wouldn't object to more dancing, not with him. Not even if the dance was as dull as he seemed to think.

Then came the time to actually dance, and Sunjata winked at her. And there it was again. The word.  Liefde. Liefling Not quite the same syllables used as before, but so closely related that she could tell it should have the same meaning. Maea didn't know what it meant, but the way he said it seemed to bestow a lot of meaning to it. She blushed a little and took his hands again, settled into the forms and began to lead them through the dance. The melody started off slow, easy to follow, and Maea kept close to him as they swayed, spinning and dipping at the beck and call of the melody.   Savored the contact of her hands on him, his on her, and the calm, confident aura he exuded even in this unfamiliar setting, made to dance to a beat that was not familiar.

"Are you having a good time, Sunjata?" she asked him, craning her head back to find his gaze; smiled and looked a bit startled upon finding that he was already looking at her.

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'

The dance takes shape, and Sunjata finds that it’s relatively easy to keep up with regardless of how familiar he was with it – the man, despite his height, had always been somewhat lithe on his feet. Not quite so lumbering, not quite as brutal of a force as others were. He’d always been gifted in slipping out of things, or into them. Light feet but with the strength to back it up when needed. He doesn’t need it here, however, and is focused entirely on her and the lightness of it – imagining how easy it would be to simply pick her up and sling her over his shoulder and carry her about.

Not now, but at some point, and it amuses him somewhat to where when she asks if he’s having a good time, he chuckles lightly – the light within his gaze parting the storm of his gaze. “I am.” An easy response, though the smile shifts to something like a smirk. “What about you?” A raise of his brow, as if daring her to say she isn’t when he can see it written across her face as though she were a book left open.

maybe you're all i ever wanted

SUNJATA

MAEA

He smiled, laughed, the handsome face alive with a light that brightened his eyes. If there was humor glittering like a silver lining on his stormclouds, she assumed it was because of the novel situation, this new game to expand their repertoir. Not quite their dagger dance, or their water dance, but a lighter, more playful one of light and wind and LongHeat stars burning bright on a sky above. This was his festival, Maea thought, unable to look away from him. One of Safrin's chosen, he would restore her temple and bring honor to his own name, and to those who helped him, and it was good. More right and fitting than anything she could think of. Come Leafchange there would be the Festival of Light again. One for her perhaps, a follower of Ludo. A little less bright, all the more introspective and wistful. But for now, it was all about the sun, the stars, the Lady who might be looking down upon them at this very moment.

Maea hoped Safrin would not mind too much if she remained in the presence of this particular child of hers. He was all she could dare to ask for, and she really didn't want to leave him alone.

The question was returned, and Maea laughed, open and happy. "I am!" she said, and spun until the billowing skirts floated in the air around her. Coming back to him on cue, she gazed into his eyes, the darkness gone from her eyes entirely. "I can't remember ever being quite this happy."

Though maybe... waking up to see his sleeping face in the morning light... yes, that was a close second. Very close.

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'

As much as he wished to live in the shadows, to hide away from any and all problems, Sunjata loved the sun too much to truly stay away. It’s evident in the tanned skin on his shoulders, the hue shifting his navy tattoos to something a bit more black, a bit more grey, so stark in contrast to the rest of it. So stark in contrast to the moonchild he danced with.

And when she laughs, open and happy, it reflects on his face as she spins and his hand lifts somewhat to keep her near enough without getting tangled, until she crashes into him once more, peering up at him and he offers her a lightly crooked smile in response. “Good.” A quiet rumble of an answer, lips quirking somewhat into a smirk. “You’re beaming, Maea.” He hums a quiet chuckle to her, head tilting slightly, feathers ruffling once more on his shoulders at the sight. His hand lifts slightly to brush along her neck, slipping over a bruise in the same place as one of his. He finds he doesn’t mind it so much at all, if this was what it would all be like.

One could only hope, after all.

maybe you're all i ever wanted

SUNJATA

MAEA

She could only laugh back in agreement. The girl felt aglow, lit up from within by some half unbearable swell of joy. This. This was it. What it should be like, what she had barely dared to dream. The most secret of her wishes, since she met this man and found that she couldn't get him out of her thoughts.

"I love nights like these," she told him happily. "The shadows, the stars, the light and the music - it feels as though it could go on forever."

Coming back to him to be caught in his hands again, she felt feathers under her hands as she reached for his shoulders. Silky and soft, so blue they were almost purple... matching the bruises on her neck, on his. As he touched her skin, Maea realized for the first time that she'd indeed forgotten to pull the shawl up again. Realized that she cared not at all. Let them see. Let them know. Oh, they could gossip and whisper and think what they wanted; she would prove them wrong. He would too, because he had chosen this dace, and so had she.

If this was how the rest of her life would be, then she would not mind at all.

Safrin, protect him. Ludo, guide me. I want this to last.

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

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3