I must confess

KORBIN

And round about his home the glory
That blushed and bloomed,

The laughter was surprising. Korbin glanced over, tucking an arm under his head to prop it up slightly as he registered Sunjata's firm rejection of the notion. It was perhaps a bit more insistent than he might have expected, and suggested some personal qualms that made the young man rather curious. How much trouble could you get into with a god?

"Alright, if you say so," he responded, voice taking on a mild tone - he wasn't going to insist. As for the why? "Well... the topic came up when I was talking to Loren," he explained. "The way he described Frey, they sounded very much like one who would condone living in the present, indulging in whatever fancy struck at the time."

With his other hand, Korbin made a vague gesture at the other man. "You're not exactly the prim and proper type, and you're wandering back and forth however you like. I would have expected a Safrin worshipper to be more... well... serious, I guess?"

More like a healer, or law keeper. Not this... rogue of a guy. But hey, Korbin was prejudiced, he seemed to be wrong. He'd been wrong about Loren's alignment already.

Is but a dim-remembered story
Of the old time entombed.

SuNjATA

the flood

If he says so… Yes, exactly. But his head inclines a small amount back toward Korbin when the explanation is aired, a smirk crossing his face at the mention of Loren. “Ah.” He snorts, shaking his head. “But no, I’ve had enough dealings with Frey.” A brief, overall explanation, before he shifts in the sand a bit to lean back against his elbows in the sand once more. “Frey officiated my wedding, enchanted the rings. It was… Awful.” A shake of his head, smile faltering slightly.

“My ex-wife is a very devout Frey follower.” He tacks on as well, just to see if it makes any difference. “You don’t have to be serious to be a Safrin follower. She’s the herald for life, is she not? I’m living and enjoying every second I get with it.” Most times, unless it grew harder and harder as the nights moved on. But he glances toward the sky, then, spotting the stars as he exhales lightly and looks back over toward Korbin with a slight glimmer of amusement in his face. “Frey is… Fine I guess, but they’re not exactly the type I want to devote to.”

He doesn't think there's a point in his life where Frey would ever be what Sunjata wants to be devoted to. It was Safrin or nothing, for him, at the end of the day.

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KORBIN

And round about his home the glory
That blushed and bloomed,

Korbin couldn't help but raise a brow at the revelations that came pouring out of the man. He sure did like to talk about himself... "I dare say most people would be honored to have a god officiate their wedding," he pointed out. "Yet you sound like it was an insult. So your marriage didn't hold up... is that Frey's fault?"

It seemed a bit hasty, to him if that was indeed the case. Not that he felt a need to defend the deity - Korbin felt no allegiance to anyone, attuned or not - but... "So you've go nothing to say in their favor? I feel there's more to the story here, what am I missing?"

Is but a dim-remembered story
Of the old time entombed.

SuNjATA

the flood

A snort leaves him as he shakes his head. “No, wasn’t Frey’s fault.” It had been his own fault, in the end, though he doesn’t air that quite so out in the open. His gaze slides back over to Korbin with a light smirk crossing his face. “The marriage was bullshit to begin with. And actually Frey said weddings didn’t even matter. We still went through with it, for some fucking reason.” He rumbles with a shrug of his shoulders, leaning a bit more on just one elbow as he focuses his gaze more pinpointed on the raven.

“In favor? I guess the rings were nice, if it weren’t for who they were attached to.” He rumbles, contemplating the fact of it all. If he’d had one with his other various partners, it wouldn’t have been so bad he doesn’t think. “I typically try to steer clear of Frey. Not much of an opinion other than I’ve seen them and I’d rather not get involved.” He offers a small Cheshire smirk to that.

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KORBIN

And round about his home the glory
That blushed and bloomed,

The raven gazed steadily at Sunjata. Struggled to make sense of what he was saying. "So... if it wasn't Frey's fault, and you didn't actually hate the gift... why do you dislike them then? Aside from preferring Safrin, is there a reason? Because your ex follow Frey and you hate the association?"

He was honestly intrigued, and perhaps a bit more inquisitive than he ought to be. But the burn of alcohol in his veins and the brutal flood of shared emotions made the idea of personal space seem a bit ridiculous in this moment. Perhaps things would be different in the morning.

And maybe the vague answers annoyed him just a trifle. Did the guy ever  take a firm stance on anything?

Is but a dim-remembered story
Of the old time entombed.

SuNjATA

the flood

Perhaps it’s the alcohol mixing into his system that he can’t exactly get across what he wants to say or convey about the entire ordeal. Perhaps it’s something else, more otherworldly. It’s hard to say. But he focuses on Korbin with a bounce of his brow as he listens. And honestly? He didn’t really have a whole lot to go off of. “A combination of that, yeah. That and Frey’s the herald for Life, right? Which means the whole circle of life. Reproducing, living, dying.” The cycle that repeated itself again and again, replace yourself before you die and all that.

“I’m not one to kind of fit with that. Certainly not the reproducing.” Though perhaps his stance on that has changed a small amount since his helping out with Seren. Still, he wouldn’t admit it, not yet to himself. Instead, his life had revolved so much in a stance of being absolutely against it, that perhaps a part of him shies away from it with the idea of it.

But wouldn’t that be nice?

He hums quietly for a moment before shaking his head and his gaze rises over Korbin’s shoulder to the sand that extends along where Korbin sits. “Some of the things Frey’s done I don’t really agree with. And Safrin’s not a fan either, though I’m sure that goes far deeper than my own qualms about it.” He shrugs.

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KORBIN

And round about his home the glory
That blushed and bloomed,

The herald of nature technically, but it amounted to the same thing, and Korbin didn't feel like nitpicking. "So, in essence it is not so much Frey you dislike, as the things they represent," he summarized. "That's fair, I can agree with that. I aint the frivolous type myself, so. Here's to Safrin, may she remain merciful and bless us with sweet kisses - but no more than kisses, please, we aren't family men."

He made a toasting gesture to the starry night sky above. Just a little tipsy, not drunk. Nope, not at all.

Letting his hand thump back into the sand, Korbin kept staring up into the night. The stars were very bright, but not quite in the same place as he remembered from home.

"Have you ever seen the stars from the Tundra, outlander?" he asked quietly; rather wistful, filled with a sudden homesickness. "They would quite take your breath away."

Is but a dim-remembered story
Of the old time entombed.

SuNjATA

the flood

There’s a huff at the waxing words that Korbin offers, a hint of amusement lingering within before it fades. “Ah, well, that’s not entirely true either.” Because Safrin had started a family, had given a daughter to her Fallen Star. And with it, Sunjata looks back out over the water with a moment to think about what he’s about to say. “She had a child recently.” So it absolutely wasn’t impossible, but gods how he hopes he can control himself if ever given the opportunity as Ronin had warned him.

But silence takes over and Sunjata’s gaze flickers to the sky when Korbin speaks next, watching them way the stars both sparkle and remain stagnant. “I haven’t.” He rumbles quietly, turning to lay back in the sand with the Hale. “Maybe you could show me sometime?” He suggests, placing his arms behind his head. He’d fled the Tundra before night had fallen, too caught up in the aftermath of the failed quest to focus on the little things, the glinting of light on the ice and snow or the stars that sparkle from above.

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KORBIN

And round about his home the glory
That blushed and bloomed,

The raven grew very still, shock freezing the very breath from him. The goddess of stars had a child? "Uhm... wow. Alright... Then I think I'll refrain from the kisses too," he amended, thoughts reeling. "Not the kind of thing you expect, is it..?"

Not that demi-gods were unheard of, but they were a thing of legend. Something he might weave a story or song about. Not... not real.

He lay quiet for a while, trying to process this. But his question about stars drew a response from Sunjata that made Korbin cough out a startled laugh.

"Why? You hate Halo?" Turning his gaze on the Flood, he gave the man a strange look. "Besides... That sounds like an awfully romantic thing to do, and I'm not sure I would waste it on a guy. Especially not you."

There was a world of suspicion in the way he said it, and inched ever so slightly away.

Is but a dim-remembered story
Of the old time entombed.

SuNjATA

the flood

A hum of a laugh leaves him when the realization hits Korbin, a ghost of a smirk crossing his face. “Not at all.” No, he’d likely be just as unaware of it as Ronin had been, and now with the chance of anything further possibly having a child waiting in the stars for him, one that looked like him mixed with the blood of a goddess? It was… Terrifying. So he bites his tongue on it, chewing on the inside of his cheek as he considers it and follows up with the silence.

Korbin’s response and quiet shuffle away has a huff of laughter leaving him too. “Not a date. Gods.” He snorts, lips quirking into a smirk. “First off, I’m with someone. Second of all, you’re how old?” He offers with another chuckle, a shake of his head, one hand pulling away from behind his head to rub at his neck, over a few faded bites. “What if I just wanted to know the perfect spot to take my special someone.” A hum of a laugh leaves him with that again.

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KORBIN

And round about his home the glory
That blushed and bloomed,

Korbin relaxed, if only a little. "Well how am I supposed to know that?" he quipped back, still not wholly comfortable. "There are all kinds of people... and I'm eighteen, thank you very much." He'd been of age for a few years already, and stopped being a child long before that.

Not that he really wanted to be of suitable age in this case, but... the kiddy treatment was insulting all the same.

"Not sure I'm any more inclined to show you now, though," he grumbled, as he settled back down again. "Halo isn't a tourist spot. I see no reason to show off the best parts of it to anyone who can't handle the rougher bits."

They wouldn't deserve it.

Is but a dim-remembered story
Of the old time entombed.

SuNjATA

the flood

A snort leaves Sunjata as Korbin begins to relax. “You didn’t ask.” He offers, shooting a look toward Korbin that results in a quiet huff of laughter. “Eighteen, to my twenty-seven.” A bounce of his brow to that, almost another quiet explanation that Sunjata had been through quite a lot like Korbin had, the experience in all those years of the shit that’d occurred to him in the past that he used to help show Korbin that other people had it pretty bad too. But that’s behind the thought, anyway.

Still, he glances back toward the sky as Korbin settles a bit more – back to his grumbling mess of words that Sunjata can’t help but huff to. “No? You’d rather it try to kill people first before they get to enjoy the nice parts?” He questions into the air. “I’ve spent a bit of time covered in blood in Halo.” He rumbles a bit offhandedly, frowning as he focuses on the stars in the sky, wondering if two of them were Adam and Peter in the distance. “But suit yourself.”

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KORBIN

And round about his home the glory
That blushed and bloomed,

Korbin rolled his eyes. "You say that like age means anything. Well, doesn't, it's just a number. Now, experience? That's another thing. A sixty year old man who's been sitting in his house a whole lifetime will still be less experienced on the streets than a sixteen year old who's wandered them all her life. Just because you've been through some shit doesn't mean you really know anything about mine."

Kicking his heel into the sand, he stared up into the dark of the sky. The meekness of his shock had begun to wear off, ever so slowly, and the bite was creeping back into his voice.

"You've seen one or two bad things in Halo... so what? Does that entitle you to all the good parts of it now? That's what makes me call you arrogant, Sunjata. You think you know anything - or make it sound like you do - and it's gonna come back to bite you. Why can't you just admit that you've got no clue what living there is really like?"

That's part of what annoyed him so much about the outlanders. They thought they knew anything, but they didn't, and none of them had the humility to admit it.

Is but a dim-remembered story
Of the old time entombed.

SuNjATA

the flood

“It does.” Sunjata retorts, gaze flickering over toward Korbin at the rolled eyes and the tone of his voice, lips shifting into a frown as he watches. “And I’m not trying to know your shit. Likewise, you don’t know my shit.” A raise of his brow to that. “I’ve been dealt a shitty hand since I was six years old. That’s a hell of a lot of years to go through the same shit over and over again.” He can hear the bite in Korbin’s tone, but it does little to phase him. Instead, his gaze flickers back toward the sky – the alcohol in his system settling a bit.

And he listens when Korbin continues, a huff of a laugh at the comment of arrogant. “I never said I knew what it was like. I’m saying that there’s other places that are equally as hard. And just because I don’t want to live where you do, doesn’t mean I’m trying to make my place better than yours.” He offers, staring up into the sky. “Caido’s a fucking dream from where I came from.” A sandy shrug to that. “So yeah, I’ll go and live in the place I want to, because I have that option. I’ll go and visit because I have that option. Sorry it’s a matter of pride for you.” A snort accompanies the words but there’s no mirth or humor behind it, neither is there in the attuned bond that sends the frustration of the words back.

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