all you have is your fire

to be lit up from within

vein by vein

Enamored, the youth watched in avid intrigue, opening her hands and palms to accept the oysters not yet doomed. Her eyes caught the fringes and sharpened expanse of his claws, listening to the crack, the break, as the clam was rendered open – her eyes widening, sharpening down into narrowed slits immediately thereafter, keen on the notion of pearls. Much like some feral animal, she craned her neck back and forth, striving to see, closer and closer, as he spread the oyster, and pulled the treasure from within.

It seemed to take forever; her patience fizzing, winding down, and a flare of petulance threatened to buoy, bound, and brim over her form, legs kicking back and forth beneath the surface, trying to keep herself content and busy while he retrieved the item. When it finally emerged from his grasp, the only sound initially coming from her was an enthusiastic gasp. While her hands were occupied with the other oysters, she couldn’t quite reach for it, and he had such a mischievous, devilish intention on his face, she presumed he wouldn’t part with it anytime soon.

The colors were exquisite: lavender iridescence, tinges of blue, reminding her of wildflowers, of Clementine settling in amongst thistles and singing, crooning, to the rest of the earth. “It’s beautiful,” was all she could manage to say – the grin embellished, fanning over her mouth like flames, like beatific horizons. "What do you do with them?"

to be the sun

MELITA

i try to keep it in line, maybe i'm just not the one

Her excitement elates him, and he drifts closer to her, showing the pearl to her before listening to what she has to say about it. And when she questions what to do with them, he gives her another brilliant grin – placing the pearl back in the oyster and reaching for her, to tug her along with him to a nearby rock that juts out of the water far enough that the smooth and serene waves in this part won’t bother it. He sets the oyster with the pearl up there before reaching for the ones she has. “You can put them into a necklace. Or you can set them in the decorative parts of weapons.” He hums thoughtfully. "My mother had a pearl necklace. The whitest pearls you could find in Korofi's ocean." A bit of nostalgia crosses his face - how much his mother had loved pearls and roses.

“If we find enough we can make something for you.” A brow raises with a small grin toward her, finger shifting into the claw again to crack open the one oyster in his hand but not opening it just yet. Instead, he offers the cracked oyster to her in exchange for the other one – so they both can search and find one and go from there.

but you know i would

SuNJATA

to be lit up from within

vein by vein

Grins and grins, embedded in impish contortions and designations, following along the whirlwind promises of answers amidst the devilry. Her oysters were taken, presuming the same thing would happen to them as the previous bounty, and she settled herself upon the nearby rocks surrounding this one in particular, waiting for the inevitable. Fangorn must have been following, because he grumbled from nearby, and she gave him a hearty wave – no longer concerned about her health or safety, he wandered off to chase more Hels.

Her attention meandered back, listening with her chin in her hand, her pointer finger resting on the already found pearl, pushing it back and forth along the boulder’s ridges. Necklaces (she already had a beautiful one from Lily, made by Remi, that she wasn’t never quite sure what to do with), and décor, adornments for weapons (which sounded more up her alley). That his mother had such a thing was intriguing, and her smile turned softer, fonder. Her mom had never worn such dainty objects – too busy, perhaps, tending gardens and herbs, where everything could’ve been lost in the soil.

That she should have one made her eyes widen, the gilded gaze struggling to find a place to settle, to rivet. “I’d probably break it,” something so precious, so fragile, so vulnerable; maybe not quite made for someone like her. But she gratefully took the already cracked oyster, leaving the pearl on its lonesome, reaching in as she’d watched him previously for the beautiful artifact.

to be the sun

MELITA

i try to keep it in line, maybe i'm just not the one

The nostalgic comment Sunjata makes seems to brighten Melita’s face a small amount, and he notices it when he trades the oysters over, slicing open the last one he’d found after opening her own for her. And he comments that they could make her something, a thought that Sunjata finds wonderful and worthwhile, but Melita seems to be unable to accept such a gift – claiming she’d probably break it. And so he hums a thoughtful sound, opening his oyster and fishing around within it to try and find another pearl while he considers her.

And before he finds it, he leans in a small amount toward her as if he’s telling her a secret. “So here’s what you do. You only wear it for parties or… Things where you want to look fancy and nice.” A quiet smile to that. “Or… You have them placed into weaponry or jewelry that can’t really break.” A considering look to that, wondering if perhaps earrings might suffice for a piece of flashy jewelry she couldn’t quite break like a pearl necklace could.

And then he goes to fish in his oyster again, finding two pearls this time, their hue a bit more prone to that natural creamy white. And with a quiet smirk, he angles the oyster toward her for her to see. “We can make it work.” He winks to her.

but you know i would

SuNJATA

to be lit up from within

vein by vein

The girl had to laugh at his first statement, because she wasn’t the sort to take part in elaborate, formal parties. She wasn’t gentle, noble, or elegant; wayward, haphazard, reckless, abandoning patterns of plots for reckless, emboldened clutches. Her decadence was in vehemence and bedlam, in mayhem and chaos, in striving, desperate pangs to be stronger, to be better, to be greater. “Fancy and nice isn’t really my thing,” and she wrinkled her nose in response, the semblance of adventure, mischief, and mercurial design alight on her features. She’d rather rampage across the earth, the sea, the fire, the sands, then wander around in elegant, elaborate designations – so perhaps the poor things would go to waste in her clutches. Too precious, too beautiful, to be ruined.

The second thought caused a tilt to her head, in perusal and thought, glancing at the twin pearls, creamy ivory in the embellished sun. “Maybe in a weapon then,” quieter this time, pondering over the likelihoods. The girl remembered her own then, as she continued to reach in, as softly, as gently, as she could, fingers daintily finding a small, apricot, almost pinkish hue to the pearl’s white adornments.

to be the sun

MELITA

i try to keep it in line, maybe i'm just not the one

He can’t help the loud chuckle that leaves him when she tells him fancy and nice aren’t her things, and he offers her another Cheshire grin to that. “Mm, yes, well. It’s not so much mine anymore either.” He winks to her, shifting a small amount in the water and using his tail to keep him mostly in the same place while he fishes through his oyster. “I hated the suits. And Saartjie would always make me braid her hair just to torment me.” A small nostalgic smirk to that, shaking his head.

But he finds the oysters and she suggests in a quiet tone the idea of a weapon, and he nods as he fishes those oysters out and sets them with the other one atop the rock, leaning over into her space to see what she finds. And the pearl that Melita finds is quite beautiful as well. Sunjata’s steel gaze flickers from the oyster to her face, a small tilt of his head. “What do you think you might want them set into? I got you a couple daggers already from that rock I found with you. What other weapons do you like?”

but you know i would

SuNJATA

to be lit up from within

vein by vein

The youth wasn’t certain if she could picture him in some fancy attire, embellished for events, save for his own disastrous wedding. She’d seen him too often out along these surfaces, venturing, fighting, and conspiring. Perhaps it truly wasn’t his scene anymore, adapted and assimilated into this wake of the earth. Suits and braided hair inspired another round of laughter, merry and bright, reeling and coasting off the rocks, the salty, sea air. “A good skill to have!”

All the oysters and pearls were gathered together thereafter, her eyes going to their ivory, iridescent collaboration. She added hers to the makeshift pile, the hues and colors blending together to perfected, natural wonders. The question left her speechless though, quiet and humbled, uncertain how to answer. She already had her daggers, her bow, her staff. Would wanting more make her greedy? Or just voracious, an avaricious, grasping girl, wanton for any aspect of vigilance and violence? And was that all right? “Maybe a short sword?” A slight smirk embedded in her lips, finally lifting her impish gaze to his, waiting for some sort of approval of her wickedness and greed.

to be the sun

MELITA

i try to keep it in line, maybe i'm just not the one

Her laughter causes him to grin back at her, a playful roll of his eyes to the idea that it’s useful. Sure, useful perhaps in the way that he has used it occasionally with lovers, but aside from that? It was never truly something he’d opted to announce he could do. It didn’t quite fit what he was going for – the flood who could braid hair. But it was often a nice surprise in the early hours of morning at the very least.

Either way, he settles all the pearls together into one oyster, closing it off and wrapping his hand around it to keep it closed and the pearls safe when her suggestion reaches him and he looks over to her with a quiet chuckle. “A short sword sounds great.” He offers with a smirk of his own. If she thought perhaps that he’d be the one to tell her not to be greedy, she’d be wrong. Sunjata had a variety of weapons he’d latched onto over his time here in Caido, each one slightly different and each one just as important as the next.

Besides, you could never be too prepared for when shit hits the fan.

but you know i would

SuNJATA

to be lit up from within

vein by vein

Perhaps they were too alike in those regards, bloodlines and ancestry running rampantly into voracious, self-indulgent appetites. She imbedded herself into the notions of power, prestige, strength, dominion, and might, so no one would ever dare to cross her or someone she cherished again. Because the world didn’t care when one was small, vulnerable, or terrified, picking them apart one by one by one, easy prey; Melita would be the bigger monster, even if that meant assembling hordes of weapons at her disposal, and being capable of administering each and every single one into the back of someone’s skull. Always on the perilous slopes of a dare, of a provocation, of a sinister slip into derision and vehemence.

She watched as he gathered the pearls back together, their majestic hues promising diligence, perseverance, and endurance for a sword – not a wooden, training one, but a majestic blade she’d be able to hone on the seas. “Do you make them on your own?” She’d never seen him forging, pulsing and pervading metal into something resembling the cutting edges and the honed devices.

to be the sun

MELITA

i try to keep it in line, maybe i'm just not the one

Once the pearls are gathered, he rests in the water and lets the small waves lap against his skin, comfortable enough with the sun shining overhead and the company of his niece to his side. He glances to her at her question, shaking his head with a small amount of amusement. Oh, if only he could. But no, he’s got a bit too much in everything else to try and keep a handle on let alone learning to become a blacksmith.

“I don’t, no.” He hums to her easily with a shrug. “There’s a blacksmith in the Grounds I usually go to. Trade some alcohol and some work for them, usually.” He offers, giving her another Cheshire grin. “He does fine work, though.”

but you know i would

SuNJATA

to be lit up from within

vein by vein

No blacksmith tendencies then, not something she’d missed along the way. She shrugged in response too, a lifetime of haphazard movements and motions, treading water, light and airy, partly ethereal, partly savage. “Well, lucky you.” Then she laughed, tempted to dive down, to rid herself of the restlessness coiled along her limbs. What would it be like, to be able to make her own weapons, besides some very simple bow from boughs, from branches, from shambles? Or rocks, honed and thrown from slingshots, from the ground? Then she wouldn’t be so dependent on others. A hum under her breath, rambling notions segmenting through her brain. “Anything else you want to do?"

to be the sun

MELITA

i try to keep it in line, maybe i'm just not the one

He follows with her laughter at the comment, a shake of his head at that before he grins to her. “I am lucky. Sometimes.” He says with a charming, rogue grin before he snorts and chuckles along that as well. But with the pearls latched easily in the pearl and the shore not far off, he begins to move a small amount around her – a slight half circle. “Let’s head back to the shore and go from there, hm?” He offers with a small smirk, a hidden grin. But then, partially shifting back to himself, removing the fins in favor for feet he gives her a rogue grin.

“Race you?” A raise of his brow in that challenging, competitive nature of his, before he takes off with a slight head start just to rub it in a bit.

but you know i would

SuNJATA

to be lit up from within

vein by vein

The air of challenge spurned her onward; defiant and seditious, spread across the footfalls and maneuvering limbs, already irritated by the notion of a head start. She might’ve howled or roared, seethed and simmered, but pinpointed all her energy into the zealous, fervent movements – determined to beat him, no matter the cost. Like energy, or exhaustion, heels pushing off of rocks, arms stretching, a smoldering honeybee, an irreverent girl, a molten terror pressing in on his wake. If she could’ve, the youth would’ve bit and tore through the wake of the world, encouraged to be an incredulous, obstinate, ruffian figure, carved from demons and terrible maelstroms, tempestuous heathens varnished and lacquered by the sea.

She muttered curses under her breath the whole way.

to be the sun

MELITA

i try to keep it in line, maybe i'm just not the one

There’s no seconds for words as soon as he pushes off in the water and begins to make his strides. He doesn’t, however, count on her catching up so quickly. Truly a good swimmer in his mind, despite her cursing under her breath. She nearly catches up as soon as the shore is in view and he tries to beat his legs a bit harder to find some extra spurt of power within the reserves of his soul.

The second his feet touch the sandy bottom enough to stand, however, he notices she’s just a breath ahead of him, and as he leans back and pants a small amount to try and catch his breath, he reaches a wet hand up to run through his dripping hair, flashing her a bright grin. “Impressive.” He offers her with a wink, moving to step further onto the shore as the sun begins to dry the skin of his back and his arms already.

but you know i would

SuNJATA