light up my moon

SUNJATA

the flood

'cause my life is like a bedroom door
don't lead me in when you feel low

Nate would absolutely be there to ensure he stays his place. He’s somewhat counting on it, though without fully stating it just yet. Instead, a slow nod and a quiet exhale of breath is given to Nate at the response — that the Ascended trusts him. It means more than he thinks Nate understands… And he’s going to try his best to keep it all under control.

But he’s pulling Nate in, now, feeling somewhat uncharacteristically needy with the weight of the conversation, settling a bit as Nate’s arms wrap around him and Sunjata’s own try to maneuver himself as close to the Ascended as possible, his question aired quietly, awaiting a response. A quiet hum leaves him as a smaller smile crosses his face. “Well, yeah. Remember, I need a bigger prick to keep me on track.” As if it were that easy, despite the fit. Part of him imagines that he’d be far more surprised if Nate didn’t have something to say. But he did, which meant this might be a good idea.

But a deeper laugh leaves him, resonating with Nate’s own as he rolls his eyes somewhat playfully. “Nevermind the fact that you are the reason I’m not straight anymore, I find that hard to believe.” He teases lightly, giving Nate a small smirk as his head comes to rest against the Attuned. “But I expect nothing less.” A wink granted, pressing in to press a kiss to Nate’s nose, playful and taunting before he leans back a small amount.

'cause i might make a move

- NATE -

Got my own monster
Nobody but me

It’s nice to be able to pull Sunjata against him, almost onto his lap, even in the wake of what might have been a fight. Nothing had actually been solved, but Nate was willing to step away from it, focus on holding the man in his arms. For the moment, at least. He could chew on it, come back when Sunjata actually had something on the table, something Nate could pick at. ”I’m pretty experienced at being the bigger prick. And I’m happy to do it for you.” To be the voice of reason.

A look of mock innocence spread over Nate’s face, his brows both raising. ”What? That was me?” He leaned in as the other man does, pressing a gentle kiss against him. ”That’s a first for me y’know.” The smile on his face was warmer, eyes squeezing closed as the attuned moves in to kiss his nose. ”Glad it was you. And I’m glad you trust me to keep you on track.”

When the attuned shifted back, Nate shifted around him, getting himself back up to his feet, his hand not ever leaving the other man, fingers entwined together loosely. ”I wanna look around some. There’s gotta be something cool on an island that can’t stay still, huh?” It seemed a very definite shift, a step back towards a light hearted evening.

I would never call him enemy
He's the bad god I need

SUNJATA

the flood

'cause my life is like a bedroom door
don't lead me in when you feel low

He focuses on Nate, snuggling in a bit closer for a brief moment, feeling the humming vibration within Nate’s throat as his voice hits his ears. A chuckle leaves him at that, releasing any of the tension in his jaw from earlier, relaxing with the ease of the words – how the night should be going, before he had to go and uproot it before it began. He rolls his eyes at the look of mock innocence over Nate’s face, though, a smirk crossing his face as Nate leans in to plant a kiss.

And he hums lightly through it. “C’mon, you can’t tell me you didn’t know.” He raises a brow in amusement, playing along for the sheer want of the lightheartedness. He presses a kiss to the Ascended’s nose, before leaning back and huffing a quiet sigh. “I trust you more than pretty much everyone else. So have at it.” He teases back. After all, everyone else was either dead or not a part of Caido.

But Nate stands, and Sunjata moves to stand as well, brushing sand from his palms and his pants and legs with his free hand, squeezing Nate’s other hand with his other. “You’d think so.” He offers with a smirk, stepping toward the middle section where there’s a cluster of trees. “What are you hoping to find?” He asks, tilting his head back toward Nate.

'cause i might make a move

- NATE -

Got my own monster
Nobody but me

"I can tell you that." Nate says in a tone that says watch me, then tilts his head to the side. "I mean, I didn't think you were the type who just walked around kissing all the boys, but I didn't think I was your first." There's a kind of stupid satisfaction that comes with the knowledge, a deep set feeling of smugness that lingers in the ascended's chest. Then, a deeper set feeling of pride, probably not the intention of the tease, but there it was.

Sunjata moves to stand with him, hands entwined, a fact Nate uses to his advantage to pull the other man in for a deep kiss, before following him towards the trees. "I'm hoping it's pirate treasure. Oh, or maybe some weird God relic." Something out of an adventure movie, though he imagines all they'll find is sand and roots, maybe some shells at best.

What was hidden by the trees wasn't anything like he expected though. A shallow pool of water, the rim of it glowing softly in the faint light of the moon. And surrounding it, holes, or at least hollows in the sand. It was hard to tell if it was the water moving in them, or if there was something moving beneath the sand, but either way Nate paused, head cocking as he stared at the strange scene. "You ever seen anything like this?" He rumbles towards the attuned, attention not leaving the holes, the shifting sand.

I would never call him enemy
He's the bad god I need

SUNJATA

the flood

'cause my life is like a bedroom door
don't lead me in when you feel low

He feigns some disbelief, only to play along, before he realizes as Nate continues and it makes sense. And suddenly things become perhaps a bit more awkward within him as he chuckles to that and shakes his head, reaching up to run a hand through his hair. “I mean, if we’re going on technically who was the first, it’d be Loren. But it was with Lusea and I, so I hardly count it.” He snorts, nose wrinkling a small amount as he moves to stand. “But no, you’re the first first. Which is saying a lot, I don’t have many of those.” He winks back to the Ascended, before beginning to tug him along.

Only to have Nate tug him back, steel gaze flickering to his face as Nate pulls him in for a deep kiss – pleased and relieved that the tension from earlier has completely disappeared with an act as this. And he gives into Nate, before it breaks off, giving his hand a squeeze as they return to head toward the trees. “Pirate treasure, huh?” He muses with a quiet laugh. “A god relic though… Like that device you found in the Fingers?” He snorts, wondering what happened to the device – if Nate still had it and still planned to use it.

Part of him hopes not, wanting to show off everything like badges of honor.

But then, Nate stills, and Sunjata pauses in his step as well to follow the way Nate’s gaze drifts down toward the sand. And he can see it too – reaching to see what might be causing such movement. He reaches out with his compelling and doesn’t find anything he can latch onto – which seems strange… Because really, he feels like he could compel almost everything now. He flashes Nate a wicked grin before letting the Ascended’s hand go. “New trick to show ya, lets see what’s in there, huh?” He rumbles, shifting to become the black snake he’d recently found and hadn’t quite tested yet – hood flattening and dark forked tongue poking out as he slides over the sand toward one of the holes, dipping his head within – only to have a tiny sea turtle pop its head out – wiggling and darting its way from the hole onto the rest of the sand – quite a distance away from the shore.

'cause i might make a move

- NATE -

Got my own monster
Nobody but me

There's a turn at the chuckle, the motion of Sunjata's other hand coming up and pushing through his hair, a gesture Nate can't help but consider a sign of some kind of nerves, which doesn't quite make sense, not until the technicality comes up. And Nate wrinkles his nose. And shakes his head. "No, no that doesn't count. Someone else was there." It's an immediate dismissal, another technicality really, but if they were going to argue semantics then Nate was confident he could win. "I like being your first. Means I get to influence your taste."

It's nice to be able to pause and have a moment, and just let it be. No talking, no furtive glances around or feelings of guilt, just a breath to enjoy the company of the man beside him, and a moving on. "Yea, pirate treasure." The suggestion comes lie it's the most obvious, most likely result. It's the most exciting to think about, if nothing else. Nate shrugs at the mention of the relic though, the small hook of metal resting somewhere at home, taken out of a pocket and never picked up again. "I hope it'd be something more useful than that." It was clearly a point of irritation, judging by the curl of his lips, the way his brows pulled together for a moment, before he glanced at Sunjata again and smiled.

A dozen different possibilities run through Nate's mind as he watches the holes, the writhing within them. Some, boring, sensible, some trick of the water and light, some more outlandish, like some kind of undiscovered sea monster, or whatever it was that made the islands move. The mention of a new trick breaks his focus though, draws blue eyes to the attuned, to the snake the man becomes. The urge to reach out and run a finger along the sleek shape struck Nate suddenly, and he saw no reason to deny it, a finger reaching out as Sunjata slipped away from him. He crouches, watching the snake investigate, then recoil as a small black shape slips suddenly out of the hole.

Nate stands again immediately, closing the small distance between him and the holes, and leaned in to try to figure out what the shape was. "Oh shit! It's a turtle." This is something he does resist the urge to touch, though he's more than happy to start following the tiny creature along the beach, after reaching down to offer the snake a perch.

I would never call him enemy
He's the bad god I need

may we dance until it rains, may we drink to hide our shame. we're all pretty when we die

Nate wrinkles his nose and Sunjata snorts to that, shaking his head slightly in agreement. “Not much to write home about, honestly.” A small wry smirk to that, before he leans a small amount toward Nate at the follow-up comment, a hum of a laugh slipping from his throat. “That you do.” An agreement, though Sunjata couldn’t think of any other way he’d want it.

So he listens quietly at the mention of pirate treasure, and what kind of treasure that actually would end up being – nothing like the stories he’s heard of back in Korofi… But interesting nonetheless. Still, there’s an edge to Nate’s tone that has him glancing over toward the Ascended to spot the slight flicker of irritation, the curl of his lip, before the smile is offered back at him. And he nods, regardless, imagining it would probably be useful for testing… But not much else, probably.

He can understand the frustration to that.

But then, then he’s a snake, slithering along the sand to poke his head into one of the shifting holes, and he coils back as the creature darts out of the hole, slipping and swaggering its way along the sand. He can feel Nate’s fingers along the scales to his back, and it’s a strange… Dulled sensation, something he imagines that Nate might feel. And for a moment, Sunjata lifts his head, hood flaring and tongue darting out toward the turtle again before dark eyes glance back to Nate at the offered arm. It seems like he’s keen on following the turtle along its maiden voyage to the ocean, and Sunjata doesn’t want to miss out.

He stretches out, slinking along Nate’s outstretched arm, but not stopping there – tugging himself along until he reaches Nate’s shoulder, slipping around to drape himself around the Ascended’s neck, tail flickering and tongue poking out at Nate’s neck before he settles nearby his ear, a soft hiss offered in his perch of dark clothes and raven hair, tapping lightly at Nate’s shoulder with a dark tail, dark eyes focused on the path the turtle takes.

SUNJATA

- NATE -

Got my own monster
Nobody but me

The admission that Loren hadn’t quite lived up to the attuned’s standards brought a bright grin to Nate’s face, amusement sparkling in his eyes. Despite how he might come off, he’d never been the type to kiss (or bite) and tell, but... well, he can’t disagree. And he’s glad to assume he’s better, though he’s not going to ask, just in case.

Though the earlier conversation is forgotten in the face of snake, the scales smooth and cool under Nate’s fingers, slipping away like water. Then coming back, nearly as quick, slipping up along his arm and settling around his collar. ”You make a good scarf.” He rumbles, reaching up to run his his fingers over the lithe body.

Despite the distraction of a new shift though, Nate is still focused on the turtle, the stumbling little path it takes along the beach. It’s strangely wholesome, a strangely human moment, watching some new life live it’s first moments. ”You ever seen anything like this?” He asks, head cocked towards the soft hiss, either forgetting or not caring that Sunjata can’t actually respond to him like this.

I would never call him enemy
He's the bad god I need

may we dance until it rains, may we drink to hide our shame. we're all pretty when we die

If there’s one thing Nate should understand, it’s that the thing with Loren only happened once. Once, despite Loren’s promiscuity as of late. And with it, the fact that Sunjata had consistently seemed to return to Nate should do well to quell any of those suspicions. Even still, he lets those thoughts die down as he slithers up Nate’s arm and coils around his neck, loosely, like a dark, large shiny boa of sorts that twines its way around the Ascended.

He doesn’t mind the touch of cool fingers along cool scales, not as he hisses softly in Nate’s ear and focuses on the sea turtle as it drifts toward the water – something instinctual within him wanting to lash out and devour the tiny creature, but he swallows down those feelings the best he can – tongue flickering out once more as he lowers his head and extends part of his body out toward it, in Nate’s gaze.

The question receives a shake of his head, hood flaring, tongue darting out once more. But the tiny sea turtle seems hell bent on reaching the water, and it continues its staggering zigzag as it tries to get to the rushing waves. And soon enough, the edges glowing in the bioluminescent algae that remains, greets the tiny turtle as it bounces along.

SUNJATA

- NATE -

Got my own monster
Nobody but me

Sunjata slinks down, leaning in towards the baby turtle, making Nate lean back, just to counter balance the shift, so he doesn't go pitching forward and injure either of them. He's already had one fall tonight, might as well try to avoid another one. The shake of the snakes head is obvious, and it keeps the smile on Nate's face, another first together. It does not last long though, the tiny creature making it's way to the edge of the surf, getting swept along into the waves so suddenly it's almost like it was never there, if not for it's wobbling trail.

Nate keeps his gaze focused on the water for a moment, following the glittering trails of glowing algae, a mini galaxy all it's own, then sighs softly. "Y'know... this is the kind of shit I used to dream about. When I was younger, and still believed in... I dunno, good things?" It's kind of sappy, but... this is a date, or would be in another time, another place. He can afford to be a little sappy, a little romantic, if he so dares. A low laugh passes through his lips, head tilting to press against scales as he turns.

And comes face to face with a beach full of tiny, wriggling shapes, all crawling across the sands, towards the waves. He pauses, not really sure what to do, how to respond, though after a moment Nate steps to the side, out of the way, and settles in to watch. For a bit at least.

I would never call him enemy
He's the bad god I need

SUNJATA

the flood

'cause my life is like a bedroom door
don't lead me in when you feel low

The turtle disappears, and Sunjata can feel the soft press of Nate’s cheek to his dark ebony and bronze scales, and he turns back a small amount to wrap around Nate again and rest his hooded head atop the Ascended’s, tucked in somewhere within his dark hair. And he listens to Nate’s words – the sappiness to them, and he can’t help but feel this… Immense swell, some kind of emotional feeling that if Nate were shifted right now, he’d be able to feel it too. But he isn’t, and can’t, and when the Ascended turns back, he can see the many small shapes, taking off toward the glowing and glimmering ocean.

And then, as Nate steps to the side to watch, Sunjata begins to move again – slithering along the Ascended’s shoulder and arm to drop and swing himself back to the ground, fighting against that predatory sense within him to eat one of these tiny creatures, before he shifts back to himself (mostly), and reaches out to Nate to drag him over to a spot beneath the tree – to watch them on their voyage to the water.

“Sometimes you get so busy with how shitty things are that you don’t get the chance to stop and notice the small things that are good.” He offers, a slightly fanged smile toward Nate with that – his tone a little strange as the partial shift has changed those typical fangs he has to sharper, more pointed ones, and the tongue that sits therein, forked. “Let’s watch it for a bit?” A quiet beckoning, promptly plopping himself down on the little dune, out of the way but in perfect view.

'cause i might make a move

- NATE -

Got my own monster
Nobody but me

It's strange to describe the feeling of a snake coiling around him as close, as warm, but that's exactly what it is, the weight like a hug, the closeness of the head in his hair feeling like trust. For the moment it lasts, it feels perfect, but then Nate's stepping to the side, and Sunjata is moving, sliding off his arm and into his human shape again. And grabbing Nate to pull him to a better vantage point, a more comfortable spot to sit and take in the small migration.

Nate hums softly in response to the words, his head tilting to the side as he considers the words coming from the other man. "It's a lot easier to notice the shitty over the good. I'm glad I... we get chances like this. To notice the little things." The beckons to sit is easily accepted, Nate dropping to the ground in a far more controlled version of his earlier stumble, an arm coming out easily to pull Sunjata in against his side. He might not be willing to put himself into the vulnerable space he needs to just say his emotions, but he more than willing to press them against the attuned with his hands, his cheek coming in to press against the others face.

Sitting and relaxing though, is nice. Watching the world move aorund them, without needing to move much themselves. Nate could be content here for a long while, until the sun came up at least. He can't resist the urge to lean in and press a kiss against the other mans lips though, to feel just what kind of difference those fangs are going to make.

I would never call him enemy
He's the bad god I need

SUNJATA

the flood

'cause my life is like a bedroom door
don't lead me in when you feel low

There’s a slight huff of laughter given to Nate in response, a kind of strange… Awkward sense of it, some dark humor radiating through as he leans back a small amount when Nate begins to sit beside him. “I mean… Things aren’t so shitty right now.” He offers, steel gaze slipping from the turtles to look back at Nate when his arm pulls him closer – some sort of vulnerable spot that Sunjata never really gave into. He did it once with Maea – but with Nate? It was easier to give into it.

And so he does, shifting to rest where Nate can press his cheek against Sunjata’s own stubbled one. “I have you, after all, don’t I?” He hums, tilting his head toward Nate as he pushes in for a kiss, pressing back against the Ascended in a slightly deeper kiss, humming light under his breath. And rather than the fangs of his feline shift, these are narrower, sharper, curve a bit more inward – and much like Nate’s, they bear a similar hole within them.

But he breaks the kiss a small amount, brushing to rest his face along Nate’s chest, an acutely vulnerable position and thinking nothing of it, how different it is for him, as he focuses back on the turtles that make their way. “Do you think this island is just a breeding ground for them? There’s so many of them. And if the island moves it’s really no loss to them, right? It’s still right here, next to the ocean.” He rumbles, a quiet chuckle leaving him at that. He doesn’t think, just based off of this, that the mothers come back to check on them after.

'cause i might make a move

- NATE -

Got my own monster
Nobody but me

"You're right. Things are pretty far from shitty right now." There's always a moment, a touch of hesitation where Nate is afraid for some reason this will be it, the time when he's rebuffed, when Sunjata gets into some bullheaded mood and tries to push him away again, though this is not that time. Instead, the attuned presses in against him easily, cheek against cheek, the smile on Nate's face obvious. And it's made more obvious still, when their lips press together in a kiss, just long enough for Nate to run his tongue over new fangs, feel a twinge of danger in the back of his head.

And when Sunjata pulls away, he doesn't go far, moving to rest on Nate chest, a position so tender that he can nearly feel an impossible thump in his chest, arms coming to wrap around the attuned tightly. "Breeding ground makes sense." Nate agrees after a moment, eyes finding the stream of turtles again. "It's probably safer than any other beach. Nothing to bother them, if they're always moving, right?" A soft laughs leaves him, and he leans in a touch more, kissing the top of Sunjata's head. "Maybe they just got lucky though. Right place at the right time"

It was a less hopeful line of thinking, but sometimes, that was just how things worked out, wasn't it? The random chance it took to be in the right place at the right time, to have things work out despite everything set against them. Nate could get wrapped up in the idea, in trying to decide what had been his own hand and what had been luck, but at the end of the day it didn't really matter. He was where he was, had what he had, and would do what he needed to keep a hold of it. Whether it took a fight, or a gentle embrace on the beach.

I would never call him enemy
He's the bad god I need