life is sweet here

just take your time wherever you go

Staying quiet as Sunjata spoke to Seren and vice versa, Saiden followed silently behind them. They let him into the other man's house without protest, so the cook padded inside. Standing near the doorway as they got themselves sorted out, he simply examined the interior, expression inscrutable.

Sunjata's offer of a drink was met with an arched eyebrow. Then the Hali nodded slowly. "Aye, I'll take a drink if you're offering." The response came out in a more friendly tone than before, though he still made no move to budge from his current spot. He wanted to make sure there were no more surprises in store for him first.

hide your secrets, disguise your weakness

and lose yourself inside your busy head

“It’s through a portal right now.” He tells her easily, before the comment of dragons and blue distract him. He chuckles lightly but nods, imagining the color far more closely aligned with her mother than his shift. But the gesture is sweet regardless, before the amusement fades as soon as she dives in toward the couch. Haai follows, prepared to play whatever game she could with her while Sunjata grabs a glass of water, slipping past Saiden to set it on the table beside Seren.

As he returns, he scoops up the daggers, gesturing for the man to join him in the kitchen area, setting the Safrinesque daggers away from where Seren could reach. He immediately moves to grab a glass of water for Saiden, setting it on the kitchen table. “So you’re Ronin’s brother in law…” He hums thoughtfully. “Aoife’s mother’s brother I assume?” Ironically he doesn’t know much about Ronin or what the man was like before Remi. But he can certainly guess based off of Aoife.

burn your bridges, and leave no witnesses

all alone inside your busy head

SUNJATA

Seren

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

The game involved hiding on the couch until Haai got curious and poked her nose up. At which point, Seren would either boop it with a gentle little hand, or reach all the way for the fuzzy ears, to grab one before her arm could be booped back. It was a fun game, and it entertained her for a little while. But once she had gulped down the water Sunjata brought her - she was really thirsty - and wriggled about on the couch pillows for a while, it all grew quite boring. So she took to practice her cat sneaking instead.

Slipping from the couch and down to the floor, the girl began sneaking on hands and knees over the floor towards the kitchen. Sticking close to the walls, she tried really hard to be very quiet and unseen, so she could listen to what the others were talking about.

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

just take your time wherever you go

Saiden's gaze followed Seren as she played her game with the griffin. However, when Sunjata gestured for the cook to follow the other man to the kitchen, the Hali slowly did so. Taking the water, he gave a grateful nod before sipping it. As he did, he moved to lean against one of the walls, not wanting to sit.

Arching an eyebrow at Sunjata's questions, Saiden nodded again, much more slowly again. "Aye. My sister Vanya was Aoife's mother." His expression darkened. "I never got to meet her, or reunite with my sister." His grief and guilt over that was clear.

Lifting his gaze he met the other man's eyes squarely. "But family is important to me. And I would never let harm come to someone I consider family."

The cook's eyes sought out Seren, but he frowned when he realized she wasn't visible. "Seren?" His call was gently concerned.

hide your secrets, disguise your weakness

and lose yourself inside your busy head

Of course, Seren isn’t alone when she goes for this other game of hers – Haai follows behind, dark nose peeking out from the edge of the couch as though she’s trying to hunt the girl, but in reality she’s simply watching the child and letting her think she’s getting away with it – flickering those feelings and thoughts back toward Sunjata while he focuses on the Hali he has within his kitchen.

The answer is granted a nod, a small frown crossing his face. “I’m sorry for your losses.” HE offers – honestly meaning that. “I never met Vanya, met Aoife briefly.” A small shrug granted to that, arms folding across his chest as he leans back against the countertop and focuses on the pirate before him. The glance he gets when he looks for Seren to find her missing has Sunjata inhaling deeply. “She’s trying to sneak in on the conversation.” He offers as if she’s done it quite a bit, shifting on his feet and pushing off the countertop to slip around the edge, pretending that she’s missing despite her basically being in full sight.

“Hm, well, she usually is.” He glances back toward Saiden with a wink.

burn your bridges, and leave no witnesses

all alone inside your busy head

SUNJATA

Seren

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

There was a muffled giggle as Saiden's call went unanswered. A very small, very visible girl poked her head around the section of wall that separated kitchen from living room, and then disappeared back again, very stealthily.

Then, quite suddenly, she came tumbling into the kitchen with her hands held out like claws, and with a ferocious snarl she went to attack against Saiden's feet.

Of course, she didn't really mean to hurt him, but she did put up quite a surprising amount of speed over the floor hoping to startle him at least, and her little fingers were very clearly aiming to tickle the soles of his feet.

Seren felt he deserved a tickling, after what he did to the worm. It was justice, plain and simple.

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

just take your time wherever you go

Still sipping the water, Saiden nodded at Sunjata's condolences. "Same to you. I'm sorry for your loss." It came out with the sympathy of someone who'd lost many loves in his life.

Smiling in understanding, the cook caught a glimpse of Seren's hair. Leaning forward, he opened his mouth to continue the conversation. Of course, then the girl pounced.

Turning to face her, he arched an eyebrow as she scampering across the floor towards him. Not knowing her intention and barefoot as he almost always was, he was left entirely defenseless as she struck. Wriggling, he laughed uncontrollably as her fingers found the soles of his feet. "St-stop t-t-that t-tickles." He found himself giggling helpless, careful not to writhe too much.

hide your secrets, disguise your weakness

and lose yourself inside your busy head

“That’s life, is it not?” A small shrug as he moves to go spy where Seren had gone. And honestly, he’s somewhat surprised – the way she seems to pretend that they still can’t see her. But she moves to pounce, scampering quite suddenly along the floor toward Saiden. Sunjata steps back, arms folding across his chest again as he leans back against the wall to watch with a raised brow and a hint of amusement.

“Ah, there she is.” He hums with a small playful amount of pride within it as Saiden giggles helplessly, making no move to help the pirate where he stands. “Nicely done, Seren.” He praises gently, a small smile crossing his face to lighten the shadows that settle deep within – pushing them away for later when he’s alone again with only himself.

burn your bridges, and leave no witnesses

all alone inside your busy head

SUNJATA

Seren

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

Giggling madly along with her victim, the girl kept it up for a little longer. Sunjata's praise encouraged her, and the pretend sneaking and pouncing was all worth it for this small, rare treat.

But Seren was nothing if not kind and generous, and eventually she relented, and left Saiden's feet alone. Crawling towards Sunjata, she took the shortcut under the table and came out from under it with the usual light back in her vibrant eyes, smiling and looking quite pleased with herself.

"I was your cat!" she explained, showing off her small teeth in a very ferocious snarl. "Sneaky and fast!"

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

just take your time wherever you go

Smiling sadly, Saiden nodded. "That's life indeed." He gave Sunjata an understanding look.

Then though, the cook got distracted by the very thorough Seren. He let her tickle him to her hearts content. When she finally let him out of her clutches, he chuckled a few last times, then wheezed until he could breathe properly again.

Taking a few more breaths, he grinned at her. "You got me real good. Very ferocious." Shaking his head a little, he picked up the water and gulped the rest of it coming. "I didn't even see you until it was too late!" His voice was playful, and all hints fo tension had drained away from him.

hide your secrets, disguise your weakness

and lose yourself inside your busy head

He settles as he watches Seren interact with Saiden, watching the way she strikes out and then releases him to hide under the table. And he watches as Saiden replies back to her, calming in his initial protectiveness. At least here she’s under his watch, and he knows every inch of this home now to ensure that she’d be fine.

“She learned from the best.” He replies to Saiden with a quiet chuckle. As he says so, Haai pounces from her own hiding spot right toward the girl – tongue outstretched to lick her cheek before running away to hide again. Sunjata’s gaze lifts to Saiden again with a small tilt of his head. “You knew Maea, yeah?” A hint of seriousness crossing his gaze, his expression, mask slipping back into place. “She told me she owed you a favor for the cloud manta crystal?”

burn your bridges, and leave no witnesses

all alone inside your busy head

SUNJATA

Seren

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

Beaming with pride at the praise they heaped on her, Seren looked between them, and was caught quite off guard when Haai pounced. She squealed and giggled wildly as the slobbery wet tongue licked at her - wiping away at least part of the lingering tear trails down her face - and with a happy laugh Seren chased after the griffin, to see where she was hiding.

But something in the sound of Sunjata's voice made the girl pause, and though she kept looking for Haai, she made herself do it quietly. So that maybe she could hear some of what they were saying at least. 'Maea' was not a name she had heard before, but the way he said it made it sound very important.

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

just take your time wherever you go

Arching an eyebrow at Sunjata's claim, Saiden turned to face Seren. "Is that so? Who taught you such fierce moves!" There was an easy manner about him, all hints of his earlier animosity and tension gone in the face of what was an admittedly adorable scene all around. As the small griffin pounced on the girl then fled, he even laughed, the sound bright.

When the other man mentioned Maea, though, the cook stilled a bit. "Aye, I did, and aye, she did." He turned to face Sunjata more fully, though the Hali made sure to keep the other room in his peripheral vision so he could watch for another lurking demi-god. "Nothing for you to worry about. Promise."

He jerked his head slightly in the direction of Seren. Unsurprisingly, Saiden was wary of speaking of the dead: after Seren's reaction to the worm, he didn't want to imagine how she would feel about a dead person.

hide your secrets, disguise your weakness

and lose yourself inside your busy head

Haai is more than content to try and take off and let Seren chase after her, before spinning around to try and catch the girl back – but she seems distracted by the way that Sunjata and Saiden speak – and with it, the man focuses almost entirely on the pirate and the dying chimes of laughter that leave his throat. His steel remains shadowed, focused entirely while Saiden speaks – releasing whatever sort of contract or favor Maea had to complete.

Still, despite Sunjata knowing that Seren may be listening, he clears his throat a small amount and nods. “Let me know if I can do anything.” Regardless if there’s nothing for him to worry about – he still would. Favors were as good as currency here and the like. The least he could do was fulfill hers should Saiden deem it necessary. A somewhat last hurrah of Maea, perhaps.

Then, to try and catch Seren off guard, Sunjata shifts quickly into his macaw form – darting around the corner toward the girl and griffin with a crooning, avian sound of trying to surprise the two of them.

burn your bridges, and leave no witnesses

all alone inside your busy head

SUNJATA