but the fighter still remains

SUNJATA

i'm drowning in all these voices in the sea
and meeting all my vices in the ring

The boxing ring was completed, and with it Sunjata finds himself spending plenty of days there. The wounds he’d suffered along his back from the shark bites had healed most of the way, thanks to rest and some basic healing magic to try and keep infection away. But it certainly did a number on his back and his stomach – small crescent shaped scars line his back and his spine, one of them having torn the ink away from his skin over one of the wing tattoos.

He’s lounging somewhat languidly, having sent off a note to Ronin to see if he’d wanted to go for a round or two – already warmed up and stretched out as evidenced by wrapped hands and the slight swing of a bag in the corner. Shirtless and a small sheen of sweat covering his sun-tanned skin, his steel gaze focuses on the entrance waiting for a familiar face if he’d just so happen to show.

so step inside, i ain't afraid to bleed
there ain't a casket strong enough for me

everything has its wonders

Sunjata was not the only one warmed up, but Ronin had done his back at the wagon (wink wink, nudge nudge) and by jogging along the beach and through Haulani to the boxing ring. He appeared in the doorway with a crooked grin, already drawing his shirt over his head to reveal the increasingly bronzed tan and the scarring in the centre of his chest, from whatever the Voice had shot him with back at the Temple.

Tossing his shirt in the corner and grabbing a few wraps to bind his hands with, he approached the ring and leant against the ropes, raising an eyebrow at his would-be opponent. "We doing pleasantries, or do you want to get straight to it? Oh-- wait. There has to be one pleasantry."

Reaching into his pocket, Ronin withdrew a chunk of obnoxiously pink coral, tossing it to Jata and winking. "A club-opening gift, if you will."

even darkness and silence

Coding base by Sky!

SUNJATA

i'm drowning in all these voices in the sea
and meeting all my vices in the ring

His eyes light up at the sight of the man, sitting up from his position though one leg remains propped up. A huff of a chuckle is given to the man at the mention of pleasantries. “None of it’s personal, I say go for it.” A swift wink is sent to the Dark Star before something pink and vibrant is tossed through the air toward him.

Catching it, he barks out a louder laugh at the vibrancy. “Ahh, it’s perfect.” A reminder, almost, of Saartjie. Phoebe, too, perhaps — though he doesn’t delve into that thought process too much. At least not yet. He rolls the coral between his fingers before setting it on a shelf, the first of many small things to be added to it. “Thanks.” A wicked grin sent Ronin’s way as he slinks into the ring, feet sinking into the sand a small amount as he readies himself.

“Now I’m ready.” A cocky smirk sent to Ronin, amusement lingering beneath as he gets into a defensive stance, fists at the ready.

so step inside, i ain't afraid to bleed
there ain't a casket strong enough for me

everything has its wonders

”I’m glad you like it,” Ronin said with a smirk; and it really did seem as though Sunjata appreciated the trinket, for all the jest it had been purchased in. None of it is personal. Something Ronin had to drum into his head to be able to spar with someone at all, and even then his fingers traitorously itched for it, his blood fizzed with it. He followed the other man into the ring after kicking off his shoes, not needing them where he was going.

”Good to hear it,” he said, nodding at Jata and raising his fists as well, feet moving slowly and carefully across the sand to circle his opponent. Once upon a time Ronin had been wiry and quick, and though the latter was still true, he was no longer the ambush brawler he’d once been. Still, he avoided jumping in too quick, wanting to make a measure of his friend first.

even darkness and silence

Coding base by Sky!

SUNJATA

i'm drowning in all these voices in the sea
and meeting all my vices in the ring

The ring. With both of them in it, Sunjata lifts his fists in a defensive stance, an excited hum about him at the prospect of finally giving in and fighting. But he realizes soon after that he doesn’t know much about Ronin other than what was already well known, and his hands lower a small amount with a matching stance to circle the Dark Star.

Sunjata had always been the one meant for striking quick and fast, but that was typically against opponents bigger than him – tiring them out quickly to come in at the end and clean it up. But this was different, and Ronin was shorter than he was – while common in Korofi, Sunjata had battled men much taller and bigger than he is, and had learned how to try and take down the lumbering giants of his home. “So I don’t know how you do it here or back where you’re from, but in Korofi we kind of treated it as a therapy session.” He says casually, with some amusement.

“Care to join in?” A teasing wink as if he's asking what's on Ronin's mind, shifting his weight to plant a foot and aim a punch to the other man's side – lighter than he typically would, testing and not wanting to harm him more than what would inevitably happen.

so step inside, i ain't afraid to bleed
there ain't a casket strong enough for me

everything has its wonders

”I have never once fought in an official ring,” Ronin said cheerfully in response to ‘how things we’re done where he was from’. ”In Northwind I was trained as a soldier. Hand-to-hand was my specialty, as were covert operations. They would send me to places where weapons, even concealed ones, would likely do no good.” He grinned. ”Granted, I used my skills mostly to start fights in taverns when they caught me cheating at cards.” Did that count as therapy?

Sunjata moved quickly, casually, and Ronin sidestepped enough that the blow would graze him; he had no doubt that if the other man had really wanted it to hurt, it would. He could absolutely respect that. ”As for joining in... well. My daughter is dead and my marriage has nearly collapsed multiple times in a matter of as many weeks. I’m still figuring out who I am now. It’s fun, but kind of lonely.”

Now it was his turn to spring forward, aiming low towards one of the kidneys. ”What about you?”

even darkness and silence

Coding base by Sky!

SUNJATA

i'm drowning in all these voices in the sea
and meeting all my vices in the ring

Well that’s a relief, because neither had Sunjata when it came to official rings. But he listens with a pique of interest at the mention of the man being a soldier, specializing in hand to hand combat — though a deep laugh leaves him in agreement about cheating at cards. Fists often did come in handy after all. But the amusement fades in favor for the first punch, lightly grazing the other man before he withdraws, aiming to step out of the retaliation.

But then Ronin goes for it, and he’s caught off guard with the fact that while he knew Aoife had died, he didn’t know that Remi and Ronin had been struggling. Yet the man had been honest and that’s all Sunjata can truly ask for, so when Ronin springs forward, he’s too tall and lumbering to be swift enough to move out of the strike — it lands with a force enough that his breath hitches and his eyes alight with content, if not a bit of pain.

“Mm, fuck, well, as for recent developments… I cheated on Phoebe with an Ascended during a blood test and she fucked up my bar. So that was the end of my marriage.” His fists clench slightly, trying to circle the other man. ”Then, I got my two closest friends and guild mates killed hunting a dragon for the shrine for Safrin.” His steel gaze focuses on Ronin then. “Pretty sure Deimos wants to kill me or hopes I’ll have a tragic accident.” He strikes out, aiming his fist a bit closer — straight for the man’s shoulder.

so step inside, i ain't afraid to bleed
there ain't a casket strong enough for me

everything has its wonders

Not having expected to hit so soon, but feeling the apology die on his tongue at the look in Sunjata’s face, Ronin continued to circle his opponent. Feeling him out, trying to predict where he would go next and where he would aim, he glanced up only fleetingly to hear his recent developments. And shit, maybe this really was a therapy session, with the crap the two of them were coming up with.

”Mm, if it’s any consolation I think you’re behind me in the line of Deimos beatings. I did drop a Temple on Amalia and make her legs useless.” It sounded harsh because it was - and Ama could walk again now, so... all’s well that ends well? Not quite, but the Shield didn’t seem to hold it against him. (He doubted Deimos would see it the same way).

The punch came striking for his shoulder and Ronin stepped into it, his arm coming up to try and sweep the strike away or block it. If he was successful he’d follow through, using his other fist to take a cheeky swipe at Sunjata’s jaw.

even darkness and silence

Coding base by Sky!

SUNJATA

i'm drowning in all these voices in the sea
and meeting all my vices in the ring

Somehow, somehow Sunjata doubts that very much. The mention of Ronin held no ill feelings when he’d spoken with Amalia, and perhaps it was far more understanding to react that way while Ronin’s child had just died, his husband trying to tear out his throat. Far more understanding than Sunjata choosing a dragon and leading a terrible trip to Halo that resulted in deaths. But he still hums a sound of understanding to Ronin with that as the Star blocks his punch and retaliates with his own. “Well… I killed a cannibal—”

It’s aimed at his face, hitting his jaw and yet not hard — enough that a bruise would sport on the man’s face. He loosens his jaw a small amount and smirks toward Ronin, not waiting a second as he lifts a fist to aim for Ronin’s too — hoping to be light just as he had been. “They hadn’t mentioned anything about your Temple antics before or after, perhaps they understood.” A shrug for that, he could too in the end.

so step inside, i ain't afraid to bleed
there ain't a casket strong enough for me

everything has its wonders

"Seems a wise thing to do, with it being a cannibal and all that," Ronin remarked, pulling his fist away as he realised it had connected with more force than intended, though of course Sunjata was returning the favour by then. It was a glancing blow along the hunter's jaw that would leave a mark, but sent a grin spreading across his face rather than a wince. He stepped quickly back that they might disengage from this tussle, continuing to pace about the other man and get a proper measure of him.

"I'm glad they understood, because I still don't," he muttered, moving on the balls of his feet now and darting forward suddenly to aim another punch at Sunjata's side. "All I know is I'm not going back to the Hollowed Grounds. It's just... not worth it, for me. Visits aside, of course. How about you? Making this place... are you thinking of staying as well?"

even darkness and silence

Coding base by Sky!

SUNJATA

i'm drowning in all these voices in the sea
and meeting all my vices in the ring

Ronin’s remark falls on mostly deaf ears by the surprise of the lightish punch to his jaw, and Sunjata retaliates, finding his own punch glance against the Star’s own jaw. A tit for tat, if you will. But the grin that spreads along Ronin’s face as he steps back ignites something within Sunjata’s own face that lightens him up – blood pumping and thundering in his chest as he mirrors Ronin.

The muttering is somewhat distracting, half wanting to respond before Ronin darts forward and despite how Sunjata tries to avoid the hit by stepping away from the side, the man’s fist reaches him – just another light punch, a small bruise to form but nothing like how he used to fight. He thinks it’s better this way. “I plan to move here, yeah.” He agrees, stepping forward to aim his own punch to Ronin’s shoulder. “I never was a fan of the Grounds and I’m sure as fuck not moving to Halo. Beaches, sand, and oceans have always been my favorite.”

so step inside, i ain't afraid to bleed
there ain't a casket strong enough for me

everything has its wonders

”I feel the same way, though I confess I never realised it until I was here,” Ronin agreed regarding his preference to Torchline. It had taken a long time to get used to the idea that he could be happy on the sandy shores, what with his persistent need to feel grief for his daughter, but now he had navigated that storm, it was undoubtedly true.

The punch came flying for his shoulder and connected; a solid thump that had him laughing and trying unsuccessfully to twist away. ”Well,” he said, ”after everything we’ve already been through here, let’s make this your official welcome to the place, yeah?”

Little more needed to be said, for Ronin, and the rest of the afternoon passed in a bruised if not content state. This, he thought, could very well become a regular thing.

~FIN

even darkness and silence

Coding base by Sky!