your hands are scarred from murder

MAEA

"I think they're beautiful," she told him, grinning happily as he tucked the deep blue feather in behind her ear. She raised her fingers to it, felt the velvet softness of it and heard it rustle next to her ear; she'd have to remember to remove it later, so it wouldn't get squished when they slept.

As he shifted, moving over to his back, she adjusted her wings to accomodate them as she followed. One tucking in to rest along her back, the other still draping over him like a blanket. Maea supposed she could just dismiss them again, but... he'd called them beautiful, and perhaps she was just a little bit vain. Wishing him to see them for as long as possible, if it made him even a little bit happy. Curling up by his side, head resting comfortably on his shoulder, she slipped an arm over his chest, happy to feel his heart beat against her palm.

"A boxing ring?" She sounded a bit amused. "You really enjoy fighting, don't you... how would it work?" Maea couldn't remember having heard of anything like it. The closest thing she could envision were the drunken brawls outside the VlamVloed, with farmers swinging wildly at one another after one drink too many.

As for Torchline, the prospect of him moving there... she couldn't say she was surprised. "you know..." she began slowly, eyes trailing off into the shadows of the room. "When I sold the farm, I thought I would settle down somewhere else right away. Maybe here, maybe in Halo. Didn't matter as long as I put down new roots somewhere. But... lately, I've realized that I don't really need that.

"The Hollowed Ground... I know this place, inside and out, but the more time passes, the more I can't help but think of it as the cage I have finally escaped. Coming back... It becomes harder every time."

She'd gotten a taste of what freedom was like. The mere idea of being confined to one place again, to tie herself to tightly to any one location... it was stifling.

Lost in a world full of non-believers
Searching for smoke in a still water pond

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

SUNJATA

the flood

with every breath and every intake
tip toe further away

A boxing ring indeed. He tightens his arm around her as she tucks herself in, keeping his legs tangled with hers, his other hand coming up to rest along the arm she wraps around his chest. “It’s all I really know.” He hums with a quiet chuckle. And it was true, all he’d known was to fight and survive and continue on with it. “It’s good to get out frustration. I think many could probably benefit from it. Loren, Ronin…” He trails off the few he knows before he tilts his horned head back into the pillows.

“There’s basically a roped off section over sand, overseen by someone like a referee. And you go in rounds, wrap your hands with bandages or use gloves, and you try to down your partner within one to three rounds.” He explains. That’s at least how they did it in Korofi. It was how he imagined he’d continue to do it too. “To practice though, there’d be these heavy bags filled with sand that you’d hang from the ceiling. Good for letting off steam if nobody else was around to box.” He says softly with a small smile, looking over to her before sitting up a small amount.

“But you only use your fists in it, can only hit above the belt. Though sometimes the newer kids that joined the resistance wouldn’t follow the guidelines for it. I got stabbed once.” He chuckles, trying to take her hand to his hip, to press her fingers over the scarred skin there. Somewhere that Lusea had stitched him up.

But he settles again as her question hits his ears and he answers honestly, waiting with some sort of baited breath for her to deny the change. To find a different way as so many had done for him. He turns his head to her, raising a brow as she begins to trail off, mentioning that she didn’t need to put roots somewhere. And he nods to the comment of the grounds in understanding as well. “I’ve only been here a year now but… I understand.” He says softly, aiming to lace his fingers with hers.

“Would you… Go to Torchline with me if I do decide to go there? When you're not in class?” He asks quietly. No cage, aside from the sunlight overhead. No LongNight to worry about… The ocean at their fingertips despite the dangers.

further away from this mistake
i'm no savior, i'm no saint

MAEA

She listened intently, intrigued as much for the newness of what he described as for the enthusiasm with which he spoke. Perhaps this was the part where she ought to roll her eyes and call it silly, to encourage fighting, but... that would make her a hypocrite. Because she rather enjoyed it too. To move her body with purpose, the thrill of aiming blows and feeling them land. Oh, the pain wasn't much fun, nor did she enjoy the bruises, but... it was something in the power of it that drew her in. Maea wondered what it might be like, to face Sunjata the way she had fought Loren. The way she had faced him before, in a playfight by the river. Could he bring himself to go all out against her..?

"Hmm, you'd have to find a way to enforce rules," she mused, letting him guide her hand to his hip, where she felt the scar tissue under her fingertips. "From what I've seen so far, the Torchers are a rough lot. Not much for rules if they can avoid them... They're all about trading favors and getting the best out of you, and shame if you ever try to set boundaries beforehand." She rolled her eyes, tone dry and a little peeved.

He laced his fingers in with hers. Maea gave them a little squeeze, quietly marveling how much calm satisfaction such a simple gesture brought. But then, Sunjata came with a question that made her go quite still, hardly breathing as she let it sink in.

Go with him?

It was... unexpected. From a man who had railed against the idea of tying himself to anyone not so very long ago, it was certainly a surprise. The girl gazed up at him, eyes a bit wide as she searched his face, wondering. Did he mean what she thought he meant? Go with him, as in, to find that house and that garden and share the same roof, not just for the odd night, but... permanently?

"I... want to be with you, whenever I can," she said carefully, not wanting to presume too much, to leap too quickly into more when this night alone was already beyond what she'd hoped for. "So, if you're in Torchline, then... I'd go there."

She would go anywhere, if it meant being with him.

Lost in a world full of non-believers
Searching for smoke in a still water pond

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

SUNJATA

the flood

with every breath and every intake
tip toe further away

Her tone seems to suggest she’s well aware of interacting with those from Torchline, and he watches as she rolls her eyes, a light hum of amusement leaving him before it fades. “Well, it was like that with the resistance.” He explains – there wasn’t any reason he couldn’t channel any of Lusea’s father’s rule binding to keep things in line. Aside from the fact he likely wouldn’t be too good at it, in the end. But regardless, any way to let off steam without a prize at the end… Shouldn’t really seem like it would require too much work.

“Though you sound as though you know well enough.” A dark brow raises in his silent question, shifting a small amount to pull the blankets over their bare skin as he lets a few heartbeats pass and he asks his question. She grows still, and he wonders if she’s trying to find the way to say no the easiest, that she’d rather stay in Halo where he couldn’t really blame her if she didn’t want to stay here in the Grounds or Torchline where the threat of the sun might be too much for her skin.

He looks over at her as she searches his face, offering her a small smile as if it were okay for her to say no, that he’d deal with it regardless if they were to make this work – because he was trying to be better, to work on himself and avoid all the habits he usually gave into. And her answer when it finally comes is exactly what he looks for, turning to her to pull her close and against him. “I would like that.” He breathes against her skin, steel eyes sparkling with something of excitement, of putting pasts behind to move forward. And with that answer, he leans forward to press a far more grateful kiss to her lips.

further away from this mistake
i'm no savior, i'm no saint

MAEA

She wrinkled her nose, nodding that she indeed had realized this. "I had to bargain with the local who showed me the way to the Cloud Manta," she explained. "He seemed very amicable at first, but when I tried to set up base safety precations, he became quite huffy. Called me arrogant for not respecting 'the Torchline ways', though he hadn't even explained them properly." Chewing on the inside of her cheek, Maea sighed. "I probably... let him off too easy. In the end, I had to agree to a blind deal, or he would have walked away." Not her best bargain, truth told... and she was fully aware of how stupid it was to set herself in this kind of position. Owing a debt without knowing what the other part might charge.

But the subject changed, and Maea was a bit surprised to find how easily Sunjata accepted her tentative reply. The excitement in his eyes as he pulled her in was enough to make her smile, and she draped her arms around his neck, melting into his kiss with a happy little hum. She could definitely get used to this kind of gratitude...

Lost in a world full of non-believers
Searching for smoke in a still water pond

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

SUNJATA

the flood

with every breath and every intake
tip toe further away

He lets her explain, brow raising with the quiet question, taking in what she says as easily as he can before she comments that she’d done a blind deal. And he’s surprised by this, enough so that he keeps it quelled within, unsure what to say to it, unsure what the parameters of the deal were when it came to taking one open like that. Part of him worries about it, if the Cloud Manta had been this bad… How would the deal of whatever this other man wanted come about? What would it mean? Would she be harmed in much of the same way like this or… More mentally?

But he lets himself think on it, drowns in the kiss and the prospect of a simplified future before Caido changed their plans again. He pulls himself close to her, feels her arms slip around his neck, feels her melt into his lips, and he gives into her as well. At least, for a moment, before he breaks and the words finally come to the forefront of his mind, his forehead aiming to rest against her own as he searches her gaze. “A blind deal?” He asks quietly, though there’s a spark of that protective concern in the storms of his eyes.

further away from this mistake
i'm no savior, i'm no saint

MAEA

Of course, she had expected some curiosity. But perhaps she'd let her self hope that he wouldn't inquire too deeply into it, when he didn't right away. Maea relished the kiss instead, savoring it while it lasted... but then he pulled away again with a question on his lips, and she sighed, closing her eyes. Dragged a hand through her hair, and found it mostly dry now.  

"Mmh, yes. I was open on what I wanted from the start - to get the crystal - but he wouldn't say what kind of favor he might want in return. I was very clear I wouldn't agree to just anything, and he seemed to accept it... 'Nothing shady and nothing fun' as he called it." The way she put emphasis on the 'fun', made it rather plain what she was referring to, and she looked up, gaze fixing on Sunjata to make sure he understood it too. And that it wasn't something she intended to negotiate on.

"Then he insisted we made a proper deal out of it," she continued, and held up her hand. A red line was cut across her palm, the healed over scar of a knife purposefully applied to draw blood. "So... I guess it's a blood pact now?" Though she sounded not at all happy about it, nor half as casual as she pretended to be.

Lost in a world full of non-believers
Searching for smoke in a still water pond

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

SUNJATA

the flood

with every breath and every intake
tip toe further away

She sighs, closes her eyes, runs a hand through her hair and he focuses on her with a bit more intent, still in her space but enough that he can settle and watch her as she tells him what happened. A favor for favor, that was how he did his deals. Nothing shady nothing fun, and part of him realizes he’d likely used those terms before too, and he can feel a slight churning of his gut with the way she looks at him, ensuring and sealing that thought was true.

But it’s Torchline. And everything there was both shady, fun, and dangerous. It was evident in the way they’d slept together on the beach, evident in the way that there was a devil may care attitude that surrounded the entirety of the sands and heat. And he tilts his head somewhat avianlike as she continues on about a blood pact. Her hand raises and his gaze flickers over the scar, the way she speaks of it being casually and yet… Not, has him inhaling slow and deep – lifting his own hand from his own blood pact he’d given to Phoebe.

Only his had been started with a sharp claw.

His gaze lifts to her face but all the amusement within is gone from before, replaced with worry and curiosity. What kind of deal had she walked into? And what kind of things would this stranger make his girl do? “Do you have any ideas what it might entail if it doesn’t include shady dealings and sex?” He asks bluntly. “What is he like, what does he do?” Who is he? He hopes she realizes that making a deal like that was exactly the kind of recklessness he was afraid of…

But he also realizes that with the shrine complete, if she had his name, he might be able to meet said man and get a bit more information on it. He is a Devil’s Advocate after all. Shady dealings and fun were his business here in the Grounds at least.

further away from this mistake
i'm no savior, i'm no saint

MAEA

Ah, yes. She'd expected a reaction. Quite a stronger one than this, too, so Maea counted herself lucky... perhaps her run in with the Cloud Manta made a possible, not yet realized danger less jarring for him to hear about. And perhaps it helped that she was very aware of how stupid this particular part was. Still, Sunjata was clearly worried, and the only way she could change that was to offer as many details as possible.

"His name is Saiden," she began, keeping her voice as even and steady as possible. No doubt he wouldn't like some of what she was about to tell him, but... well. Truth was something he'd always offered her. And she hadn't done anything to be ashamed of. "I met him at Hale Ka'aila a day or so after you and I had that last... talk." When she'd said she wanted to be with him, and Sunjata rejected her. "I wasn't in a very good mood, but he tried to cheer me up. He... came on to me quite a lot, but.. I turned him down."

Some color rose to her cheeks at the memory; it was before Sunjata had found her by the lighthouse, when all she knew was a few kisses and the sting of feeling not enough. Being so brazenly approached had been quite... different. Perhaps a wee bit flattering.

"But he took it well enough, and when I ran into him later, we started talking again. I figured he could be just another friend... So we exchanged some information, and got to talking about the crystal, and I asked him to help me get hold of one."

Maea related the exchange of words as best she could - which was quite well indeed, almost word by word, thanks to her well-trained memory - and then settled back, to see her lover's reaction.

"He called himself a cook and a fisherman. Is attached to the crew of a ship called The Ark... the captain's name is Jack. Overall he seems nice, helpful... but that might just be a ruse, and if so I fell for it quite splendidly."

Saiden had brougth her to a healer, had helped her find the bow when she'd thought it lost, but... he'd also said he wouldn't forgive the offense she'd inadventently given. A frustrating situation, all in all.

Lost in a world full of non-believers
Searching for smoke in a still water pond

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

SUNJATA

the flood

with every breath and every intake
tip toe further away

He lets her explain, listening intently to what she says. The name, he stores away for later – as does the name of the Captain for the ship, the name of the ship as well. The information about the talk they’d had has him thinking back on it, to the conversation they’d had before the beach, when he’d turned her down for not wanting… This, when in reality it was probably the happiest he’d been.

What a fool he was.

What a fool she was too.

He listens as well as he can, the reaction to his face is still somewhat thoughtful, small part unreadable aside from the lines of his face. The way his jaw clenches slightly. He wonders if perhaps the reason she had stayed alive through the Cloud Manta hunt was so the man could get the payment for the favor – as if he didn’t care about the woman at all beneath it.

He exhales quietly but nods, making plans within that perhaps the Advocates could gain an advantage of on their next meeting. So he lowers himself to her again, to bury his horned head into the crook of her own neck, taking in the scent of her and all other things, pressing his lips against her jaw bone gently. “I wouldn’t trust him, Maea. He probably won’t care at all about your wellbeing once your part of the deal is over.” He explains – having been in a similar situation before, having held the cards, and having been the one to deal them. “And when he comes searching for his end of the deal, if you don’t feel comfortable accomplishing them… Well, you can send him my way.” His voice is deeper there, at the end, rough and protective.

further away from this mistake
i'm no savior, i'm no saint

MAEA

Surprisingly, Sunjata did not berate her for her folly. At least not out loud, and she was very grateful for that. It was another reckless move, adding to a growing total that made her look quite thoughtless indeed... and that was not at all the kind of person she wanted to be. Steady, reliable and careful, was more what she aimed for. If only she wasn't so impatient, and impulsive...

There were a lot of things going on in the sigh Sunjata let out, but still he didn't say anything. Just pressed his face to her neck and breathed, until her skin began to tingle from the tickling warmth of his breath. Maea stroked his hair, adjusting the curls between his horns as he kissed her jaw... it was such a sweet gesture that the contrast with his serious words made them even heavier. A warning she couldn't help but take to heart, especially when he continued, offering his help to get her out of the deal. Maea had a feeling she knew what kind of means he'd use to ensure she was safe... and it made her shudder, ever so slightly. Reminded her again of who it was she lay curled up with, who's mouth it was that brushed over her skin. Guildmaster, rogue... Devil's Advocate.

"Thank you," she murmured quietly, angling her head so he would have more room. There was a slight tingle down her spine, a peculiar excitement... It was all quite dangerous, and Maea found that she liked that. "I need to try myself first though... If you step in, I'll never be able to make any bargains again. No one would ever trust me to stick to them." Brushing feather light fingers down his neck, she considered the whole affair.

"It seems he's holed up at The Hanged Man more often than not... In case you want to have a look at him. But.. please try not to start anything? If we're going to stay in Torchline, it might be bad to get on the wrong side of the locals. He seemed to have a bit of sway... or at least The Ark does." She recalled the quiet exchange with the baker, how people had readily accepted favors from him without question.

What had she gotten herself into?

Lost in a world full of non-believers
Searching for smoke in a still water pond

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

SUNJATA

the flood

with every breath and every intake
tip toe further away

He is a Devil’s Advocate. A rogue, a man with charm and charisma and the ability to be a completely gentle creature with knives hidden beneath his fingers. Dangerous, protective, powerful, a flood of warning, threats, and promises. And he would protect and seek vengeance for those he considered his should they be hurt or wronged, like Maea was now. She could make him that soft and gentle creature, content to sleep next to her in blankets of fur and comfort, sweet and serene at night until something that threatens what is his occurs, and the mask slips back into place.

He hums his acknowledgement to her thanks, listening to her as he remains close to her. Her fingers trail along his neck and his feathers flex with the feeling along his shoulders as he smiles against her skin. “Mmh well, with any luck at all it won’t come to that.” He assures her. You never made a good spy if you went in guns blazing. No, he’d much prefer to get to know the man, to let him realize the dangers it may hold if Saiden doesn’t do whatever he can to ensure Maea’s safety.

“I won’t start anything.” He answers softly, pressing his lips against her skin before brushing his nose along the bone of her jaw. “I just want to get to know him a bit is all.” A quiet promise, though there’s something underlining it that’s also a threat. To get to know him is to know a face should something happen, to keep all bases covered.

further away from this mistake
i'm no savior, i'm no saint

MAEA

Closing her eyes, she kept running her fingers down his neck, stroking the soft skin with gentle, lingering caresses. She felt his feathers rise and fall and smiled slowly, a little hazy as his mouth on her neck, along her jaw kept distracting her. She could say something about relying on luck and how it might make fools out of them both... but did not. Better not jinx anything.

"Hmm, well then. Do as you like, love," she mumbled, trailing her fingers up into his hair, then back down the spine. Maea heard the tone, knew it was unlikely that she could ever persuade Sunjata not to go snooping... and abandoned the attempt as futile. She wasn't concerned, not really... as long as they kept any fights to fists. But... therein lay a problem.

"If you do get in trouble, remember he is Abandoned. Water magic, at the very least... I don't know what else. Not as strong as mine though. And nowhere near Loren's skill." Which meant Saiden shouldn't pose much of a threat. Maea ran her other hand down Sunjata's side, relishing the feel of well trained muscles under soft, warm skin. She let it come to rest on his hip, tracing the scars, hoping there wouldn't be any more to paint stories on his body... not on her account.

Lost in a world full of non-believers
Searching for smoke in a still water pond

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

SUNJATA

the flood

with every breath and every intake
tip toe further away

His lips continue their lazy traveling caress of her skin, pausing to murmur his comments of getting to know this Saiden person, and with it he spends the time relishing in her touches as well as halfway listening to what she says. The feathers flex again and again with goosebumps as she trails her hand to his hair then down to his spine again, and his kisses pause along the column of her neck at the revelation of the man having magic too.

For a moment Maea might feel his lip curl slightly, before he exhales a hot breath against her shoulder, resting his stubbled cheek against her skin in the crook of her neck. “My shifts aren’t very useful against magic yet, so I’ve found.” He says, though it’s hard to tell if there’s some bitterness in it — that when it came to the power of the elements, he was essentially useless, and a part of that bothers him.

But her hand trails down his side, over his scars, and Sunjata leans into the touch as he keeps her close as he can, shifting his hip to press the side of it into her hand further as he resettles. “I finished the shrine, by the way. Safrin gave me a new shift I think…” He hums against her skin.

further away from this mistake
i'm no savior, i'm no saint