(SE) a little too good at misbehaving

maybe i'll lie to you, maybe i'll play this role

maybe i'll act like my act is together

He snorts at her comment, shrugging and surprisingly unable to take the compliment for what it was. “Been here for a year now.” He explains. “Also I’m unsure how to continue the bars with the Hanged Man there. I suppose we’ll have to wait and see what other parts of Caido need some help.” He offers with another chuckle, looking over to her and offering a wink.

As for the network of spies? Perhaps if he could keep them from dying again and again.

He appreciates it though, resonates within him a bit stronger. And he guides her toward that other puddle, the one that remains for her to look into. He gives her some privacy with it, head angled a bit toward the sky to feel the rain as it rolls along the panes of his face, before he wipes the streams away, raindrops lingering on his dark lashes when she speaks and he looks back to her.

A smirk crosses his face. “Did it?” A quiet chuckle leaving him. The mention of the bar has him brimming with some hidden delight. “Well, at least we know that one will come true.” He hums, tilting his head to her with a bright gleam to his gaze. “Let me know what I need to bring to make your dream come true.”

maybe i'll cope with life without hope

maybe i'll open the door and fall through the floor

SuNJATA

if it doesn't burn a little

”Hmm,” she muses at the mention of the Hanged Man. ”Perhaps Torchline is simply an opportunity. I’ll see what I can discover about Raza, though my first encounter didn’t lead to much. Maybe you ought to go be charming...” She shrugs, not knowing how very right she is. Though of course, getting two shady groups to work together seems unlikely anyway.

She cannot quite shake the absence of Korbin in the vision. It didn’t mean anything. It couldn’t mean anything. It’s not like he’d be there all the time with her, or that a puddle would even show him. The puddles don’t show the truth, and yet, the idea of losing him has always scared her enough that the puddle has jangled her nerves.

Shaking her head slightly, she turns her focus back to Sunjata. ”Booze,” she says with a smirk. ”And your capable building hands. We are going to have some construction to do.” She gives him a smile, her mind already thinking about where to get supplies, what they would need, who in Halo might supply some of the goods. It would be good not just for her, but for a lot of the locals. She’d need cooks (there were a few people that came to mind), she’d need food supplies (a few others flick into her head), and all manner of things.

”How have you been? All we’ve done is talk of business.” she asks, wandering toward a dense area of the forest where the rain was a little less.

-- weaver

then what's the point in playing with fire?

Photo by Allef Vinicius | Quote by Bridgett Devoue

maybe i'll lie to you, maybe i'll play this role

maybe i'll act like my act is together

A somewhat brighter grin crosses his face as she offers to get some more information on the owner of the Hanged Man, already appreciating the fact that he’d gotten her into his Guild. It was a wonder he managed to get her to begin with, though he wasn’t complaining at all. Still, he offers a quiet chuckle to her ‘charming’ comment, shaking his head a small amount. “Mmm, well, I’m afraid I’m trying to relax on the amount of charm I offer.” He offers with a playful wink sent her way.

But he asks what he can do to make her dream come true, and she gives him a list. Booze, check. Capable hands? He makes a playful show of inspecting his large, scar flecked hands before lifting his gaze to her and quietly chuckling again. “I certainly have those.” Another playful answer to that, before shifting to follow her into the woods a bit more, letting the rain be caught up by the leaves before landing on his skin.

The mention of how he’s been, however, has him contemplating what’s happened since the last time they’d talked… And Gods, he had been married then. His gaze finds the line of branches that blossom with emerald leaves, shifting toward a vibrant orange hue as he contemplates it. “Well, not bad all things considered. Ruined my marriage within a few weeks, which… I’m pretty alright with, being totally honest.” He glances back to her with another rogue grin. “Rebuilt the Temple here and the Shrine… Made the mistake of going after a dragon in Halo for part of the quest. So now I’m mostly just biding my time in Torchline, trying not to cause more shit than I already have.” A dark brow raises, expression shifting a bit more serious. “How’ve you been?” A tilt of his head to accompany his own returned question.

maybe i'll cope with life without hope

maybe i'll open the door and fall through the floor

SuNJATA

if it doesn't burn a little

”Oh?” she asks, eyebrow raised at the idea he’s trying to be less charming. It doesn’t seem quite like him, and she wonders what, or who, has caught his attention (and technically she hasn’t talked to Maea yet because timelines). It must be something or something worthwhile, to give up charm in the pursuit of knowledge.

She listens as he talks about his own life, and he says not bad all things considered, which feels vaguely like saying “okay” when you mean “shit”. Though maybe she’s wrong, and maybe it really wasn’t all that bad. She chuckles slightly at the mention of his marriage, catching his gaze with a skeptical look. ”You don’t seem like the marrying type. Or maybe only for the perfect person…” she trails off, considering, trying to pinpoint him. It was something she liked to do, and sometimes she was even halfway decent at it.

Her attention is snagged by the mention of a dragon though, her eyebrows disappearing into her hairline. ”A dragon. Why?” He said part of the quest, but that doesn’t really explain anything. Why a dragon? Who willingly goes after one? Actually, don’t answer that. There are a number of interested parties when it comes to dragons, and very few of them, so far as she’s aware, are actually from Halo. Which would explain a lot. ”I’m fine. I’ve just been exploring and training, and not going after dragons.”

-- weaver

then what's the point in playing with fire?

Photo by Allef Vinicius | Quote by Bridgett Devoue

maybe i'll lie to you, maybe i'll play this role

maybe i'll act like my act is together

A hum of a chuckle is granted to Weaver, a slight tilt of his head to her questioning raise of her eyebrow. “I’m trying to cause less drama than necessary these days.” He offers with a light shrug, imagining that it’s easier to explain that way with the way his life has been going as of late. The wound from Deimos, the hand that’s healing from Ronin, the break with Maea. It all collided into something else, something that made him realize he needed to lay low.

So he explains how he’s been as of late, catching her gaze and finding the chuckle within it. A half shrug is given to her at that. “Wasn’t my intention, really.” He offers a bit unhelpfully. “There was only one person I ever thought about marrying and she’s dead now, so. I assume that answers that.” A somewhat soft smile, masking over the pain of that topic for a later date, perhaps with alcohol involved and rain not dripping along his skin.

Still, he distracts her enough with the talk of the dragon and he huffs a quiet sigh to that. “We had wanted to try and bring something alive. Safrin said she needed a rare heart, Amalia thought perhaps to try and take something alive instead of just a heart. And I read Attuned can talk to dragons, thought perhaps it was worth a shot. Only we didn’t get a chance to before…. Everything.” A shake of his head as he looks around the branches of the trees for some sort of distraction.

His steel gaze returns to her when he poises the question back, a small half smile at the comment of not going after dragons. “A wise choice.” But the smile falters and he nods to that. “Are you still in the Academy?” He questions, recalling what Maea had told him.

maybe i'll cope with life without hope

maybe i'll open the door and fall through the floor

SuNJATA

if it doesn't burn a little

He skims the truth, offering only a hint of it, but she lets it drop. He may trust her enough to run a bar, but they were not so close that she should expect more from him. Yet, the next thing he offers is personal, and she softens slightly. ”I’m sorry to hear it,” she says, because she is sorry, and she is not the type to offer sorry’s that she does not mean. ”Perhaps one day you can tell me about her.” Certainly with booze in hand, perhaps tucked beside the fire of the soon-to-be Kraai. She was building a place of secrets, after all, and everything about it’s design would be to invite them in.

She listens to the story of the dragon and does her very best not to explode, possibly literally, at the idea of it all. In fact, she does a good job of it, and there’s only a hint of annoyance that crosses her face. ”Out of curiosity, did you consult a Halovian? Because any reasonable one would have told you that dragons are not the sort of creatures who come willing.” She is not very prejudiced, but she is vaguely tired of fools running into their lands like they have a clue. Maybe she shouldn’t care. If they want to be fools, let them, what skin is it off her back? But she does care, and she cannot help it. She cares for the damn fools and she’d rather they live.

He asks of the Academy, and Weaver nods. Maybe she is also a fool for still being there, under Zariah the Merciless (what a fitting title), and yet...Weaver puts out her hand, flames leaping to life on her palm with a thought. They sizzle against the rain but do not go out. She forms them into a ball, and it slithers up her arm and around, back down, to rest in her palm before disappearing. ”I am. It seems to be working, so...” So she’d deal with Zariah and her methods.

-- weaver

then what's the point in playing with fire?

Photo by Allef Vinicius | Quote by Bridgett Devoue

maybe i'll lie to you, maybe i'll play this role

maybe i'll act like my act is together

The idea of telling Weaer about Lusea is certainly tempting. And he nods to her offer of telling her about her one day, that masked smile growing a small amount as he more officially agrees. “Sure.” Something about the warmth of the fire within Halo makes it easier – that and without the piss poor alcohol they offer. Something warm, sweet, strong.

But he explains what happened briefly with the dragon, why he had chosen it. And her question is met with a small shake of his head, running a hand through his water slick hair, slicking it back as if there’s some sort of gel within it when he regards her again, hand resting along the back of his neck at this point. “Unfortunately, we did not.” There’s a clench to his jaw. “We also didn’t expect to find a white dragon.” His gaze finds her again, a rise and fall of his shoulders. “If there is a next time, I’m absolutely running through every option before going in again.” A quiet promise, a quiet vow.

He wouldn’t be made a fool again, made to lose his friends and guildmates over something that could have been prevented.

Instead, he shifts the subject to the Academy, gaze finding her again as she puts out her hand, flame sizzling up from her hand. It sparks a brilliant smirk across his face as he nods, understanding in what she says. “Glad to see it is.” He lets the smile falter a small amount as he considers it. “Like most people from the Grounds, Zariah isn’t exactly a favorite of mine. I’m sure once she finds out about what happened she might want some sort of revenge.” It falters completely as his gaze grows a bit more serious. “I intend to keep my distance from the Academy as much as I can.”

maybe i'll cope with life without hope

maybe i'll open the door and fall through the floor

SuNJATA

if it doesn't burn a little

She doesn’t give him more crap for the dragon. It seems he’s learned his lesson well enough, though she does give him a bit of a smile. ”I don’t really mind Outlanders, but ya’ll do have a few things to learn about this place,” she says it in a teasing, lighthearted manner, even if it is true. Hell, even just the Grounders needed to learn a thing or two about Halo. They may have LongNight monsters, but Halo just had monsters all year round, and the worst possible weather to top it all off. They knew a thing or two about surviving.

”I am not a big fan of Zariah’s tactics, but…” she shrugs, because it is hard to argue with progress. Less than a season ago she could barely keep a candle going, and though she couldn’t create fire for long, at least now she could. ”Revenge?” she asks, curious as to why Zariah would care. She hasn’t heard who else was with him, after all, and didn’t even know a Launceleyn had been in the guild. Weaver really probably ought to learn to ask more questions before just signing on to things. Yet here she was, starting a bar with a near stranger and taking magical training lessons from a woman who threw a live ursur at her students.

-- weaver

then what's the point in playing with fire?

Photo by Allef Vinicius | Quote by Bridgett Devoue

maybe i'll lie to you, maybe i'll play this role

maybe i'll act like my act is together

The words cause a quiet hum to slip from his throat, and he offers her a small playful smile in response to her light, teasing tone. “I’ve heard that a time or two already. Perhaps I should start listening to advice.” A bit of self-deprecating humor always made him feel a bit better about his stupid and reckless choices nowadays, but he can’t help to keep from saying them. So instead, he steps a bit closer toward her, again as if they’re old friends talking secrets when he tells her of Zariah.

And her question, the idea of revenge and the curiosity within it, has him mulling it over before he crosses his arms across his chest and studies her face for a brief moment before he spills what happened. “Peter died. During the hunt.” He says softly, sadly. “Adam, too. They were members of the guild that came to help us.” The frown that crosses his face seems to cut a bit deeper than initially, and he looks away from the huntress once more to the branches around them. “Seeing as Peter was going to spy on Zariah for me, and a Launceleyn at that, if she ever finds out I was the reason for it I’m sure she’ll come scouting.” Fingers tap against the bare bicep there, against the faint lines of feather tattoos as he regards her again.

“She doesn’t know the members of the Guild, but she knows me. It’s a personal thing.” A rise and fall of his shoulders to that.

maybe i'll cope with life without hope

maybe i'll open the door and fall through the floor

SuNJATA

if it doesn't burn a little

”Hmm, perhaps,” she says with some sincerity and some teasing. They all learned slowly, and it was far easier to give advice than it was to actually act on it. Some part of her didn’t quite blame him. Korbin called her reckless all the time, and she was, but not unreasonably so. Yet she couldn’t quite bring herself to live in fear. At least she didn’t go chasing after dragons. You know, if you ignore the fact she did agree to show Wessex the way…

He steps closer and she leans in. Perhaps they do not know each other well, but she does consider him a friend, and she doesn’t mind the intimacy of old friends suggested by his action. Life is too short for anything else. ”Oh,” she says softly, reaching out a wet hand to rest it on his already soaked shoulder. It is her best way to console, for there is little else she can offer. ”Revenge makes more sense now. And it seems we have a mutual enemy.” Perhaps enemy is too strong of a word, but it gets the point across.

”I was rather less than respectful when she threw an ursur at us and told us only to use basic magic to steal a bell from its neck and then kill it,” she says it casually, but anyone who knows her story will understand what facing down an ursur really means to her. ”Got called to the principal's office for that. She is...perhaps different than the Zariah of the Grounds. At least a little bit.” She recalls that Zariah had actually tried, had actually seemed to care about the people of Halo. She would always be The Merciless, but maybe she was learning.

-- weaver

then what's the point in playing with fire?

Photo by Allef Vinicius | Quote by Bridgett Devoue

maybe i'll lie to you, maybe i'll play this role

maybe i'll act like my act is together

The warmth of her hand seeps into his soaked shoulder. His head tilts a small amount down toward her, listening while a small smirk crosses his face at the idea of a mutual enemy. “Good.” He rumbles in casual agreeance, not moving away from where he stands beside her as she continues on.

He frowns slightly, looking back over to the branches and the rain that filters down through the leaves. “Loren told me about the Ursur. I was surprised Maea hadn’t told me, but it’s probably for the better that way.” He chuckles quietly, glancing back over to Weaver with a glimmer in his eye that seems to suggest he can be quite protective.

But the mention of the new version of Zariah has him perking up a small amount. “How so?” A question, sparking his interest in how she’s different there than she was here, what it might mean.

maybe i'll cope with life without hope

maybe i'll open the door and fall through the floor

SuNJATA

if it doesn't burn a little

She grins a bit at him at the mention of Maea. ”Maea?” she asks, not in the way you’d ask when you don’t know who someone is, but in the way when you think you know quite a lot. His protective look seems to suggest that perhaps she might be right. ”Also, did Loren tell you about the slabs of meat he kept conjuring?” she says, clearly just amused. Honestly, his tactics had worked well. He’d been the first to get his bell and then the one to ultimately kill the ursur. She’d just been lucky to get the damn bell at all.

”I mean, this is all self professed from Zariah, so take it with a grain of salt,” she says. Clearly Weaver wasn’t totally on board either, but she was willing to give second chances. ”She surprised me though. She knew exactly of the sort of dangers Halo might throw at you, and shockingly, had thought through the ursur. Even if I don’t agree with it. But she’s been out getting to know the locals, and so far, hasn’t tried anything crazy. That said, I don’t entirely believe that she doesn’t have some hopes for something greater...she has at least just learned how to navigate this world a little better.” After all, she’d kept talking of Halo’s supremacy, which was laughable, but one could only expect so much change from someone who calls themselves The Merciless.

-- weaver

then what's the point in playing with fire?

Photo by Allef Vinicius | Quote by Bridgett Devoue

maybe i'll lie to you, maybe i'll play this role

maybe i'll act like my act is together

“Yes. Maea.” He reiterates with another mischievous smirk, shifting his weight a small amount from one leg to the other. “I’ve been trying to keep my eye on her up in Halo.” A small shrug to that. “Making sure she doesn’t get into too much trouble and the like. We’re on break right now while I figure some things out.” A huff of air leaves him as he turns back to her, distracted by the comment of slabs of meat. A reverberating chuckle leaves him as he shakes his head in some disbelief.

“He did not. Do share though.” He offers with some excitement to that aspect. But his enthusiasm quells when talk of Zariah picks up again, listening while he looks away from Weaver after a few moments, down to his hand where his ring used to sit, having not worn it long enough to have a tan line. His gaze lifts back to her with a slightly raised brow. “Could be buttering up, perhaps. Rumor has it she likes to marry abandoneds off to have more magical children.” The frown to his face to that suggests he’s absolutely not a fan of that, and as if in response a flickering of navy feathers sprouts along the base of his neck, flitting through his hair.

maybe i'll cope with life without hope

maybe i'll open the door and fall through the floor

SuNJATA

if it doesn't burn a little

”And how’s the break working out for you?” she asks, eyebrows raised, skepticism in her voice. Weaver didn’t know Maea well, but she did know the girl at least, and she had to say, something made sense about the two of them. As much as anyone could make sense with a man like Sunjata in the mix, who she suspected did about as well as she did when it came to proper relationships. ”You either are, or you are not. This inbetween thing…” she shrugs. You loved someone or you didn’t. You wanted them or you didn’t. You just had to figure out the details of what that looked like.

She chuckles though, remembering Loren’s meat. It is far more amusing now than it had been in the moment. Weaver had been too busy trying to figure out how her tiny, candle-sized bits of flame could possibly distract an ursur long enough to steal a bell from it’s neck to really pay attention. Now though? Well, it was always easier to look back on things. ”He threw one of those slabs of meat at Maea’s feet, actually,” she says, a bit of mischief in her eyes.  ”Zariah told him to make our jobs harder when we both failed to get the bell the first time.”

She gives him a look at his last sentence and the frown on his face. ”You say that like magical children are the bad thing,” her look is pointed, given what she is. ”We do not need more Launceleyn’s, though,” she adds with a shake of her head. ”Though I don’t think she’s buttering me up. No, I think she’s changing her tactics. For better or worse though, I am not sure.”

-- weaver

then what's the point in playing with fire?

Photo by Allef Vinicius | Quote by Bridgett Devoue