there is quiet, for just a moment

Phoebe

the nightingale

The nightingale appear'd the first
And as her melody she sang

Phoebe stared at him, unamused with his analysis of her logic. Why did he have to be such a conceited asshole? "Or perhaps you just assume everything I say is somehow wrong because you think I am a stupid child." she said dryly, brow quirking at him. "If you want to contradict me, there is the door." she said, lips pursing. "The Fae only care about their woods and their people. They aren't exactly a prime target for manipulation by humans living leagues away."

Gods he made her angry.

"Why are you sitting their like you're conducting an investigation of the Order. It doesn't involve you. Or are you just trying to see if these people might be interested in your bed? Looking to fuck the powerful people in Caido now?" she drawled. Her anger had gone from zero to one hundred, but for the moment she kept herself from screaming and tossing him out.

The apple into blossom burst
To life the grass and violets sprang

SUNJATA

the flood

you killed a man there, and i cried
but the rain masked the hurt behind your face

“That’s not —” He begins before she’s cutting him off, while he remains still against the table he leans against. His head tilts toward her, the frustration evident and rolling off in waves that if she were attuned she might be able to feel. But instead, it flares in a way she knows well, his canine teeth elongating ever so slightly as he sucks in a sharp breath. “I’m not contradicting you. I’m telling you word for word what Safrin told me of the Fae.” And it paints him as the bad guy?

He lifts his scarred hand to run through his hair as her accusations come spiraling back on him, his steel gaze narrowing slightly at her — reminded of their trip to Halo when they’d just recently wed. “I am investigating the Order. It’s my job to make sure the people here are safe. All of them.” He rumbles, keeping his gaze on her, staying as calm as he can despite more of the flaring frustration within him. “That includes the Ascended, it includes you. It has nothing to do with power and warm beds.” He exhales perhaps a touch too sharply. “If they are a threat, then I need to know.” Didn’t she understand that?

by the way, dear, we're alive
and it hurts 'cause we survived it

Phoebe

the nightingale

The nightingale appear'd the first
And as her melody she sang

Phoebe huffed and rolled her eyes. Always excuses. Always reasons. Always twisting to avoid any blame. "Harper told me you have changed and grown, but it seems you've just pulled the wool over his eyes too." she said dryly. But he couldn't pull it over hers, not anymore, not again.

"Well they are a threat." she said with a huff. "They are more advanced, more informed, more coordinated than anyone here. They will torture and bribe and manipulate to get what they want. More importantly they are more blessed by the gods than anyone anywhere else. How exactly do you, someone they've no interest in, lacking their resources, plan to do anything about it?" The Madame turned and grabbed the kettle on her stove. She needed to do something with her hands to keep her from losing her temper entirely. She took it to her sink, emptying it before refilling it with fresh water. As she walked back to her stove she sighed, already feeling her ire begin to fade. It was still hard for her to hold on to anger for any extended period of time.

The apple into blossom burst
To life the grass and violets sprang

SUNJATA

the flood

you killed a man there, and i cried
but the rain masked the hurt behind your face

Her comment on Harper actually makes him laugh, a rough snort slipping from him as he shakes his head. “Really? You’re resorting to that now?” He asks, head tilting to the side, gaze remaining on her as he moves to fold his arms across his chest.

But he listens, because he always does, confusion sparking somewhere deep within him as well as a bit of exasperation. “It isn’t just me that needs to know.” He sighs as if it’s obvious, his temper continually glaring whenever they spoke for prolonged periods of time. He watches her flit around her kitchen, tearing his attention away to glance toward the window. “Remi needs to know. Who is powerful and helpful, unlike me which you’ve so kindly pointed out again and again.” He turns his head back toward her with a raised brow.

“You don’t have to keep acting like this, Phoebe. Putting words in my mouth I never said.” He rumbles, accent growing thicker, a hand raised to run through his hair. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry about what happened between us.” But he knows deep down he wouldn’t change a thing. He pushes off the table then, collecting the paper and quill he’d arrived with, stuffing them into a pocket as he looks to the door, wondering momentarily if she planned on kicking him out.

by the way, dear, we're alive
and it hurts 'cause we survived it

Phoebe

the nightingale

The nightingale appear'd the first
And as her melody she sang

Phoebe just rolled her eyes, trying not to fall for his goading - but the mention of Remi made her blood boil over. "Remi knows! He is my brother, why would I not have told him??" she said in exasperation. How stupid did he think she was?

But his apology was like a slap across the face, pulling her to a halt. She stared at him, expression caught between shock and distrust. She pulled her lips taught, fists clenched as she stared at him. "What else would you expect of me?" she said, voice tight. "When in the end, you went out of your way to hurt me, to make me miserable, just to prove a point?" she said. She had been stubborn too, going through with a wedding that never should have been - but she had kept her promises to him. She had tried to make him happy. She had tried to be a good wife. "And then, to add insult to injury, you had everyone on your side, sympathizing with you, demonizing me as though I had been so cruel, forcing you into a union you didn't want when you could have walked away at any time." she snapped, swallowing a lump in her throat.

"You nearly killed me, Jata. If it wasn't for Harper, you would have."

The apple into blossom burst
To life the grass and violets sprang

SUNJATA

the flood

you killed a man there, and i cried
but the rain masked the hurt behind your face

As far as Sunjata knew, he hadn’t heard about much from the Order from Remi either. But that was neither here nor there, Phoebe had been his first stop on the information regarding the Order, where Remi had been his go to for Fae.

He’s half ready to say something by the time she’s speaking again and his jaw clacks shut, gaze narrowing though he remains where he stands. “I did not go out of my way. I told you what to expect.” And when it happened, he can’t fathom that she was that surprised by it. “You could have walked away too. You don’t get to blame me when you had Frey right there telling you that it didn’t matter.” He tilts his head a bit, unable to keep the fangs from growing longer while this conversation grows more and more into the territory of frustration.

And then, then she makes it worse.

“Join the fucking club, Phoebe.” He rumbles, collecting his notes and moving to the door. “Let me know when you’ve tried it a couple times and maybe we’ll finally have something in common.” One last glance over his shoulder toward her and he slips out the door.

-FIN <3

by the way, dear, we're alive
and it hurts 'cause we survived it