straight up wasted on a dime

all that we got is a dream and a glock and we don't believe anything that they say

He hasn’t ventured to the Grounds in a while – not since helping set up the Kraai. Not since before the volcano erupted and he had been a bit more preoccupied with volcanic eruptions, dead lovers, love confessions, and a new government position. So it’s a bit surprising that he finds himself here, with the bustling Sanctuary preparing for the Lantern Festival among already the starting prep for Deepfrost and LongNight approaching.

It’s almost nostalgic. Back then? Back then he’d been with Phoebe, a freshly arrived Outlander with a Guild he was a part of, attempting to try and figure out how the fuck all of this works. Back then, he struggled with his emotions and memory, unable to talk about himself because he’d think of Lusea and be brought back to those terrible times. My, how things changed.

He’s basically forgotten about the gourds, however, with everything else going on. And as he enters the Sanctuary, looking for little things here and there. A variety of gourds begin to rampage in along the streets, through the alleyways. Only a few at first, but they charge in with gnashing teeth. Grimacing, Sunjata reaches for a broom from a nearby stall to try and push them back.

---

Sunjata's gonna probs murder some gourds if anyone wants to help. Sorry Amalia!

SUNJATA

and yes i've been changing. for me, not for you

A stroll through the sanctuary was just what the doctor ordered-  a methaphorical doctor, of course, because Oliver had yet to see any of the professionals at the medical school since he arrived. He wasn't the brainiest of all those who came here and he simply saw no reason to see anyone. After all, he seemed to be in perfect shape!

Anyways, back to his casual stroll. He was in human form, of course, just happily enjoying himself. A light hum would leave his lips in a little tune, seeing as he couldn't whistle. Then he heard... a lot of noises? Picking up the pace, he made his way over towards the ruckus when he saw... well, an absolute disaster. A whole ton of gourds were rushing out of alley ways towards... Sunjata? Who was trying to use a broom to stop them? Letting out a groan, Oliver made his way over. Then, once he was close enough, he started to use his telekinesis to try and lift the gourds up, trying to hold them in the air so that Sunjata could get a moment to breathe.

"Need some help?"

smile for the camera, it's just a shot in the dark

all that we got is a dream and a glock and we don't believe anything that they say

The gourds seem to hiss and growl at the broom as it’s extended, creating a swift roll of Sunjata’s eyes in response. One of the gourds begins to lift, hover in the air a small amount and Sunjata’s brow raises to that, before Oliver’s voice is heard over the bustling and bright growls of the gourd entourage. “Hey Ollie.” Sunjata hums, batting one of the gourds back. He focuses on batting a few more and gaining some sort of distance between them to look over at the man.

He seems in relatively good condition, just by the quick glance over, and Sunjata wonders how much of a life the man had made for himself here. Sunjata, himself, doesn’t look quite so well – bags beneath eyes of exhaustion, neck littered with marks and Ascended bites. Other than that, and the circular scars that peek out from beneath his shirt, he’s relatively the same as before. A few notable surface changes, but still all the same.

“Apparently these gourds have a bit of a death wish, huh?” A raise of his brow, a slightly fanged smirk granted back toward Oliver.

SUNJATA

and yes i've been changing. for me, not for you

The familiar nickname rings in his ears and despite all of the conflicting feelings Oliver has for Sunjata, he finds himself smiling faintly. There is... lot to process concerning their relationship. So much has happened and it has been weeks since the two last spoke. Parts of him are frustrated and slightly upset that Sunjata hadn't even said a word to him in so long... but other parts are also... happy? After finding out what happened on the quest, Oliver is lost. Confused. He doesn't know the full story and has no idea how to view Sunjata. On one hand, the quest Sunjata led did lead to the deaths of two people... one of which he made a lantern for. On the other hand... could Sunjata entirely be blamed? Oliver didn't know and he had always been too afraid to ask for intense details.

Anyways, right now he had other things to focus on, such as the gourds he was now having to deal with. With one now floating in the air, Oliver would make an attempt to roll the gourd away, as if it were a bowling ball. His main intention wasn't to kill it... just to make it leave. With the first gourd gone, he'd proceed to lift up two more using his telekinesis. "You'd think they'd realize that some people kill 'em... but I guess not." He says as he tries not to murder them, just roll them... you know. Being nice.

His eyes were mostly focused on the gourds to make sure none attacked him, but he would still try to look over at Sunjata. "You look...like shit. Buffer, but also like shit." There was a compliment thrown in since the man had clearly been working out a bit, as had Oliver himself, but Sunjata also looked like he had been runover by a runaway cart.

smile for the camera, it's just a shot in the dark

all that we got is a dream and a glock and we don't believe anything that they say

The gourds that Oliver tries to bowl away do exactly as intended. It collides with three others and topples them down as Sunjata pushes a few more away. But they come drifting in again, a surge and a wave of more — bolstering the already decent amount that begins to filter in. Sighing audibly, Sunjata reaches out to one of the cows used to haul items in, aiming to have it run down the alley and take out as many gourds as it can.

Meanwhile, Oliver’s voice hits him and he turns back, still compelling the cow down the alley. “Mm, well. Feel a bit like it but otherwise okay. How’ve you been?” He asks with a slight raise of his brow, hand coming up to rub against the marks left at his neck and shoulder, absentmindedly. The arm connected to the hand covered in swirling black waves with galaxies within it, tattooed dark against his skin.

SUNJATA

and yes i've been changing. for me, not for you

The attempt did work! Sort of. While the gourds were bowled away, they unfortunately decided to come running back on in, eager to fight- or more like eager to die. Why creatures would be stupid enough to get themselves killed, Oliver would never understand. He had a small twinge of anger out towards those things, seeing as one rudely attacked his ankle for absolutely no reason.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere (or really, Oliver was the absolute opposite of observant) a cow came barreling into the gourds, plowing them down. As the cow surges forward, Oliver attempts to use his magic to pick up gourds and roll them away. "Pretty good! Ya know, lots of shit has happened. Got cursed. Got cured. Went to an orgy, the usual." Peering at Sunjata, Oliver noticed the tattoos and raised an eyebrow, clearly interested.

There were much bigger things to deal with and the bowling of gourds was only getting him so far. "You got a big thing I can put these damn things in? Like a box or a crate?" Oliver wasn't in the mood to just smash them all. There had to be a much cleaner option to dealing with these things.

smile for the camera, it's just a shot in the dark

all that we got is a dream and a glock and we don't believe anything that they say

A brow raises at what Oliver’s been up to, and Sunjata can’t help the slight bit of surprise cross his face before he chuckles and lets the cow continue its rampage. “Sounds eventful. How’d you manage to get cursed?” He rumbles with a half hidden smirk of amusement. But the cow returns, covered in gourd guts as Oliver’s next question is met and Sunjata shakes his head. This is mostly the best they’ve got. “You just have to beat them back until they get tired of it and leave. They will, eventually.” Though this year it was far worse than normal.

Worth a shot regardless though, wasn’t it?

So he sends the cow back out there, watching it momentarily before he turns to look back at Oliver with a quick glance. “I’m moving to Torchline, by the way.” A segue to explain why he wasn’t around as often anymore. A plan and a life to be lived among the sands and the beaches, the only place he’d ever wanted.

SUNJATA

and yes i've been changing. for me, not for you

That's what Sunjata wanted to hear about? Not the last part? Damn. Oliver felt pretty proud of himself, but sure, why not indulge the man in his humiliating prayer. "So... I fell for a guy who had flirted with me- like- a couple of times. Instead of handling it like an adult, I went to Frey to beg them for help." He placed a dramatic hand over his heart and acted as dramatic as he could when mentioning that he had begged for assistance. As he did so, Oliver continued to just bowl away the gourds, clearly not very bothered. It had turned into a game, of sorts. "Then Frey gave me a curse. And I bet you can figure out what it was." He threw Sunjata wink before turning his attention to the gourds. Now would be really nice to have water magic, but fine. Instead, he'd just continue to roll the damn things away.

The next comment...kinda came out of nowhere. "Really? Well- I'm happy for you then. I still need to help out at the manor, but I try to visit Torchline frequently- so I'll have to check in on you once you're fully moved in." He offered the man a soft smile, trying to make Sunjata feel better about the whole thing. Yes, Oliver was absolutely upset that Sunjata hadn't said anything to him in what felt like an entire season. As well, he was still conflicted on what happened during the quest. It was a lot to handle and right now, he was just trying to use distractions and unhealthy coping mechanisms to avoid talking about those two subjects in depth.

smile for the camera, it's just a shot in the dark

all that we got is a dream and a glock and we don't believe anything that they say

To be honest, Sunjata could care less about orgies and the like. His focus is on the curse itself, something that seemed relatively uncommon all things considered – whereas he imagined the rest of it happened quite frequently. But the explanation does cause him to chuckle as he sends the cow up and down the alley again, smashing and squishing gourds in its wake, before he releases his hold on it to let it go back to grazing, and perhaps eating the leftovers of the gourds themselves.

The wink given from Oliver has him shaking his head in a small smirk as the gourds begin to slow, seeing the carnage and beginning to turn away. “Something to do with your dick, I’d assume. Knowing Frey, that is.” He teases back in a quiet, yet amused rumble. Oliver would probably feel the amusement radiating within the Attuned bond.

It remains as Sunjata mentions he’s moving to Torchline, and he nods to that before another quiet chuckle leaves him. “I’ve already moved in. I’m the Arbiter there, now, so even got a position in the government.” Something good, he supposes, among a mess of things that weren’t at all good. “Remi’s the governor now.” He pauses, considering, watching the rest of the gourds fully begin to disappear, before he turns to Oliver with a shrug. "Want to go back to the VlamVloed and grab a drink?" Somewhere they wouldn't have to worry about gourds any more, hopefully.

SUNJATA

and yes i've been changing. for me, not for you

The two had different priotities, but even Oliver thought that curses were more fun to hear about. Guess he had just forgotten that maybe, Sunjata cared far more for the other. Before this, Oliver hadn't heard too much about curses and didn't have many examples. Even now, there weren't many that he could name off the top of his head, but it certainly helped to have experience one. Lesson absolutely fucking learned.

Sunjata hit the nail right on the head and Oliver offered a laugh in response. "Yep. It was my bright idea to bring a wooden dildo because, you know, sex god. Thought Frey would like it. And they absolutely did not like it." He offered the man a grin and a wink before bowling another gourd away dramatically. Thankfully, the bowling seemed to absolutely tire the gourds out, forcing their tiny legs to do far too much running for them to handle. That or cows were scary and hard to run from.

"Now, I'm not sure what an Arbiter sounds, but I'm proud of you, Sunjata. That makes you super official and important, huh?" To see that Sunjata had made something this big out of himself was honestly spectacular. Fantastic, really.

There is a nod and a smile. "A drink sounds great, besides, there's quite a lot to talk about." It was obvious he meant nothing malicious in his voice, clearly gesturing to the idea of the two having not seen each other for so long and both having undergone so many different things. Mostly, Oliver wanted to know who the hell gave Sunjata those tattoos and if they could hook him up with some nice work. After all, Oliver did have some location ideas in mind.

smile for the camera, it's just a shot in the dark

all that we got is a dream and a glock and we don't believe anything that they say

There’s a louder, brighter laugh that leaves Sunjata at the audacity Oliver had, flashing the man a fanged grin with that. “No, I don’t imagine they would have.” He snorts, banishing the compelling on the cow just as soon as he could. And as he recovers, grabbing the things he’d dropped, ensuring the daggers were still on his person, his gaze flits back to the blonde. “It’s basically a judge.. Or an officer.” He shrugs, something Oliver might remember from what little the man knew of Sunjata’s past.

At least it was something he could tell people, rather than entrepreneur and the guildmaster of a guild nobody should really know existed. Still, Oliver accepts the invitation, and Sunjata begins to head back toward the familiar bar – giving Oliver a nod to that. “So aside from curses and orgies and the like, are you just sticking around the Grounds?” He offers with a slight tilt of his head, rounding a corner toward the bar before it’s ahead of them and he can see the familiar sign in the window.

SUNJATA

and yes i've been changing. for me, not for you

The fangs don't go unnoticed this time and Oliver raises an eyebrow before offering the other man a smirk and a waggle of his own eyebrows. Oliver offers him a very... suggestive look. "I see you have fangs now. Any reason why?" It was absolutely partial shifting, Oliver would absolutely know that, so it was most likely a conscious choice. Why? Oliver could guess... a lot were inappropriate. Oh well.

Letting out a light hum, Oliver thinks over the role and if it would fit Sunjata. Well... it was fitting, but Oliver also thought Sunjata would be good at many other things as well. Why limit himself to such a small role? "Well, lets hope I wont cause any problems with you." He says with a grin before winking at his fellow attuned.

Moving on to a new subject, Oliver was fine to talk about himself. He'd have his moment to poke and prod Sunjata for answers himself. Might as well be open, it'd hopefully make the other man feel a lot better. "Anything else? Fuck... I mean. A lot has happened. Right now, I need to stay in the Grounds as my main home. Since Loren left, I've taken over the manor. Already helped a new girl find a room." It made him feel happy to have offered someone a place to say, something that reflected within his eyes and slight change in voice. If Sunjata knew Oliver decently well, he'd hopefully be able to see and sense the pride Oliver felt. "I do try to visit other places often... I've really fallen in love with Torchline. It's the closest thing to home I've found since arriving."

smile for the camera, it's just a shot in the dark

all that we got is a dream and a glock and we don't believe anything that they say

Oliver’s waggle of his eyebrow causes Sunjata to snort. It wasn’t really something he paid too much attention to – they were effectively almost permanent nowadays anyway. So when the question hits his lips, he gives another half smirk, a shake of his head and a shrug of his shoulders. “Nate likes ‘em.” He offers, flashing Oliver a wink before they continue to walk toward the bar and Sunjata explains what exactly his title means.

And with it? Another quiet laugh slipping from his throat. “I’d hope not.” Though when it came down to it, it was quite unlikely Oliver could do much to be tossed into a prison. So instead, he focuses on slipping into the bar through the door as they arrive, listening as Oliver goes on to explain that a lot of things had happened. He grabs a couple glasses of water, sliding them along the bar to wherever Oliver chooses to sit, before grabbing two more to fill with some dark liquor.

Sliding one to Oliver and taking a seat beside the hybrid, he turns his attention to what Oliver has to say. There’s a slightly more appreciative smile that crosses his face with that. “I think you might’ve found your thing, huh?” A raise of his brow to the change in tone as he takes a sip from the glass. “Torchline reminds me of home, too. I always wanted to have a house by the sea.” A rise and fall of his shoulders to that.

SUNJATA

and yes i've been changing. for me, not for you

That response is not one Oliver expected, not in the slightest. His eyes were wide and eyebrows raised. "You and Nate are an thing?" Obviously, Oliver was surprised. Composing himself, Oliver was able to smile once he had properly processed that. "Well, congrats Sunjata. I'm glad you're happy... I can tell that he's been able to help you a lot." It was the truth. Sunjata was grinning and smiling and that was an absolute good thing. Obviously, he could be hiding things, but he still seemed genuinely happy. Looks like Loren was telling the truth... huh.

"And if I did... I don't know. Maybe I could use some bribery to get me out." He threw Sunjata a wink before picking up the glass of water and taking a few sips from it. While it wasn't alcohol, it was absolutely fucking refreshing. With the alcohol now available to him, Oliver lifted it up and took a small sip of it, smiling to himself as he savored the taste. Sunjata always picked the best drinks.

There is a light shrug and a soft sigh. "I'm not entirely sure? I mean, helping others is great... but there's more to life. I want to do more." There is a flicker of adventure in his eyes. Oliver wasn't one to usually conceal his emotions, so it was easy to read him. "Well, I hope you've gotten that wish. I grew up... at a harbor. Lots of ships came and you could walk down a few streets to find the sea. So, this is bringing back a lot of memories.... not all, but a lot." He proceeds to lift the alcohol to his lips, in which he takes a sip before setting it back down on the counter.

"Is Torchline were you got those new tattoos? They're fantastic and I wouldn't mind getting a couple more myself."

smile for the camera, it's just a shot in the dark