step into the open air

don't you know i'm no good for you?

“A sandwich it is.” He agrees, feigning some sort of happiness within at the prospect – Haai trying to add to it as well as she begins to lead them down the path toward the homes. He keeps his steps small to remain beside her, the best he can while they head back – unable to bring himself to walk too far ahead in case she takes off in a different direction this time. But he can feel the look she gives him, despite his gaze flickering along the path and not quite down toward her.

But her question causes him to pause, to look down at her and internally curse at Loren for that information having been slipped out. But he really can’t avoid it now, can he? A small sigh leaves him, gaze flickering along her face before looking back toward the path they take. “Yeah. I did know her.” He says quietly, unsure if it’s even worth explaining to her just how much he did know Maea.

So instead, he focuses on giving her as little as possible, annoyed to no end that she’s found out about this particular little secret.

i've learned to lose, you can't afford to

SUNJATA

Seren

I am magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment
Destined to seek, destined to know

It was the kind of silence that was full of words again. Seren could not speak it with him though. Maybe when she was older, if some miraculous power spun itself into existence from the dark cosmos that rested within her, or if she just grew tall enough that they didn't have to bend their knees to meet her gaze. Maybe she could understand it then, this heavy quiet - like a black hole, swallowing up all the light until nothing remained.

But for now, she was only a child, and powerless to help her best friend when he was sad. All she could do was stop by the bend in the path where a cluster of flowers grew, and reach down to pluck the prettiest one she could find. Then she hurried after Sunjata and wordlessly handed it to him, in a timeless gesture of compassion.

The flower was very small, and had a soft, lavender hue.

I am a princess on the way to my throne
Destined to reign, destined to roam

don't you know i'm no good for you?

She stops around the bend, and Sunjata doesn’t pause in his step though he slows even more, nodding to Haai to follow her. And before he knows it, she’s returning, hand reaching up toward him that causes him to stop and look at the flower she holds in her hand. It’s a sweet gesture, wearing down that hardened exterior of his both in part of her innocence in the matter and the panging within him.

So he takes it, not entirely sure what to do with it, but takes it nonetheless. And he crouches again before her, steel gaze looking to her face again and all the wonder in the world within it. “Do you want me to carry you back?” He asks, the house a ways away still. “You look a little bit tired.” He adds with a somewhat knowing look. She’d managed to make her way all the way out there for gods knew how long. The trek back would take forever.

i've learned to lose, you can't afford to

SUNJATA

Seren

I am magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment
Destined to seek, destined to know

Seren felt something warm expand within her small chest when he accepted her gift. It was only a small thing, but it was heartfelt, and she had a sense of something shifting with it. Like a door opening, or a cloud pulling away from the sun. Some distance shrinking, perhaps... it was hard to explain, and had everything to do with how Sunjata stopped and stooped down by her again. And made an offer that caused her eyes to widen.

She probably could walk all the way back to the houses. Her feet might be sore and her body achy by the time they got back, but she could. Yet, it felt somehow important that she did not.

"I am, a little bit," she said instead. Wriggled for a moment, hesitating... then she held out her arms towards him. "If it is okay?" Though her eyes tattled on her, betraying with the glimmer of blue that she really didn't want to pass up this rare chance.

I am a princess on the way to my throne
Destined to reign, destined to roam

don't you know i'm no good for you?

Her eyes widen, and he offers her a reassuring smile. As she says that she’s a little tired, his head tilts a small amount — waiting for her decision in the end. He wouldn’t go out of his way to scoop her up unless absolutely necessary, after all. So he waits, patiently, crouched in the trail before her. But her arms soon extend, and he nods to her, to the look in her eye.

“It’s okay.” He assures her, shifting a small amount to reach forward and scoop her up into his arms — holding her up against his shoulder to continue the path. “So. Do you want to tell me what you were doing that made Loren heal you?” He asks, turning his head to look toward her with a raise of his brow.

i've learned to lose, you can't afford to

SUNJATA

Seren

I am magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment
Destined to seek, destined to know

Containing her excitement as he picked her up and stood was very difficult. Father was tall, but Sunjata was even more so, and the view from his shoulder was excellent. The cadence of his step was different too, as were the scents that stood about him. They reminded her a lot of the boxing ring, where she had spent her first night in the mortal lands... which made it altogether comfortable and safe.

Seren sat very still in his arms with eyes shining bright, trying to be as little a burden as possible, so he wouldn't put her down again.

"I was running in the grass, playing I was the wind. Then he was there and talked to me and I didn't see him, so I was surprised. And tripped." Chagrin colored her childish voice as she had to admit to her own clumsiness.

I am a princess on the way to my throne
Destined to reign, destined to roam

don't you know i'm no good for you?

With his question aired and her surprisingly light in his arms, he continues along the path with a long legged stride, listening to her as she explains. His gaze flickers back toward her, stormy grays meeting bright blue with interest, a raise of his brow. “Did you?” He asks quietly, voice a deep rumble as he regards her.

A few more moments of silence as he considers it, the oth, the sun beating down overhead. “I used to climb trees a lot when I was younger. I broke my leg once and it took almost a whole year before it healed.” He rumbles to her, raising a brow. Of course, he’s exaggerating, but they didn’t have healing magic there so it had taken a while. “And that’s why we have to be careful when we’re out. Let someone know where you’re going, yes?”

i've learned to lose, you can't afford to

SUNJATA

Seren

I am magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment
Destined to seek, destined to know

A whole year? Seren was suitably impressed and equally dismayed by the expanse of time she was not yet equipped to understand.

"Did it hurt lots?" she asked, full of sympathy. "I promise I will be good. Sitting still is just so very hard. My legs become itchy to run and I want to see everything."

Cradling one squishy little arm around his neck to maintain balance, the girl made a dramatically sweeping gesture out over the landscape around them. The sky was very blue overhead, and the horizon vast. The houses that appeared below the slope up ahead looked very small and isolated, an island of familiar within an ocean of possibility.

How could she possibly be expected to stay in one place when there was so much to see?

I am a princess on the way to my throne
Destined to reign, destined to roam

don't you know i'm no good for you?

He nods his head to her, readjusting the arm that she’s settled in while they walk down the path. “It did.” He agrees easily, before a quiet chuckle leaves his lips at her follow up statement. “Yes, well, you’re still young.” He tells her, turning his head to look at her with a raised brow. “There is lots of time to explore everything.” He adds matter-of-factly, before his head tilts back again toward the trail.

He can feel her arm around his neck, small in comparison to everything else. It shouldn’t take too long to get toward the house where he can set her down, keep that distance again, delve back into the shadows as his free hand tightens around the flower she had given him, wondering where it might go best at the house.

- FIN

i've learned to lose, you can't afford to

SUNJATA