'n lewe vir 'n lewe

"The gravity might take a moment to get used to." Safrin sweetly coos to the girl at her side. Hand in hand they slip from a beam of starlight onto the warm sands of Torchline. Soon monsoons will grip this beach as torrential rains hammer it relentlessly. Tonight, though, there is not a cloud in the sky; Safrin's stars shine brilliantly overhead for all who wish to gaze upon them.

And even for those who don't.

"And you must remember darling, no matter what you hear or what anyone tells you," Pausing in the sand, the goddess kneels down that she might be eye to eye with her daughter. Reaching forward to cup her face, Safrin takes a moment to bask in the sea-sweet eyes of the girl staring back at her. "-I love you always. With every single star in the sky."

the universe is in your bones, the stars in your soul

Kamaria beams at her mother's side, small and bare feet cavorting through the sand. There's no attention given to the heaviness of gravity that weighs down upon her. "It's wonderful," she glances up at Safrin, but only for a moment.

The way the world shapes around them with rolling hills, distant jungle canopies, and the rhythmic roll of the sea - it's enchanting. She tries to absorb it all in one look, as if she may not have the chance to later. She giggles as she frolics along, spotting the conch shells and pebbles that litter the ground, holding fast to her mother's hand.

When Safrin's steps come to a halt, Kamaria's do too. She dotes on her mother suddenly, drawing in towards her as her face is cradled in the goddess' hands. Her expression shifts, moving away from distracted excitement towards something a little more concerned.

"Oh, Mama," her arms draw up to hug her tight around the neck. "Don't worry. I'll love you forever and ever!" she offers in confidence when she pulls back, spirits bright because there's no thought to how much she'll miss her. She will, but she doesn't know that yet. All she knows is that she's here to meet someone very important, her father.

Suddenly, she frowns up at her mother with big and hopeful eyes. "Dooo... you think Daddy will like me?" If there's any doubt the innocent child feels, it's over him. She has no idea what it's like to have a father, though she imagines it will be no less amazing than a mother. But what if he doesn't like her?

it's never really the end

Kamaria

Much as Safrin might be a fickle bitch to those who cross her or a starspangled maiden to those who win her favour, with her children, the goddess is as doting and adoring parent as any. She follows along in Kamaria's wake, her footprints leaving fading shimmers of starlight upon the sands.

Already Safrin can feel her daughter's bright enthusiasm, and so it is that she doesn't force them to linger any longer, despite how she might like to. "Oh my darling one, I will let you in on a little secret." Pressing her lips close to her daughter's ear as her fingers tickle up her sides, she whispers: "He already loves you!"

Walking her toward Sunjata's house, the goddess reaches out with invisible fingers that traverse the distance far more quickly than Safrin currently walks. They sweep beneath his door, into his home and to wherever he might be. I know how precious Nate's life is to you...so there was no need to wait. Come out, and meet your daughter.

"Alright. Now why don't you knock on the door?" Safrin encourages, beaming down at Kamaria.

And lets keep this between family, shall we? She adds silently to Sunjata.

the universe is in your bones, the stars in your soul

Just like that, her worry is swept up and away, taken from her easily as she descends into a laughing fit. Her body curls to try and escape the tickling, though her laughter takes longer to fade even after it's stopped. They approach the house and Kamaria larks ahead, bursting and shining, blonde hair bouncing as she goes.

Safrin's encouragement is all it takes. Tiny steps bounce across the porch, hurried and anxious because he must be waiting for her. She's waited her whole life to see him. Not that that's been very long in a literal sense, but to her it's felt like centuries. It's missing something you can't quite understand but that you know belongs to you.

There's no more hesitation as she brings her fist up to tap at the door and then presses her ear to it to listen for him. She wonders what his footsteps sound like, or - gods! - his voice! What does he sound like? Does he look like her? Or wait, it must be the other way around. She looks like him, surely.

it's never really the end

Kamaria

i closed my eyes and saw my father's sins, they covered me like a second skin
i peeled them off, and sure i bled a bit, but now i'm free to sink my own damn ship

He’s been sleeping downstairs, in the floor, curled up with Haai since everything fell apart. And he’s certainly not prepared for the honeyed voice of Safrin in his ears. How long had it been??  But it’s because of Nate, because of everything that Sunjata wakes, shakes himself out, turns back into himself and ensures that Nate’s still upstairs, hidden away because she’s at the door.

He has to put himself together, right? But the knock on the door is small, so fragile, that the last thing he expects to see will be a five year old. He expects an actual baby, a swaddled child, and when he opens the door after putting some semblance of himself together, it crumbles.

For the first time that he can recall, it isn’t to Safrin that his eyes are drawn to. They’re drawn to a short mop of blonde hair, pale skin, wide and excited green eyes, and it cracks somewhere in him. He can see the similarities that take shape, and for a split second he sees just how much she looks like Saartjie when they were young. There’s absolutely little doubt. For all the drama and trauma he’s been through and continues to, it falls away as he becomes entirely enamored in her. His daughter. She’s aged more than he expected, but he pushes that thought aside, immediately crouching down and opening up his arms for her. “Hello, sweetheart.” His accented voice rumbles, the steel of his gaze finally lifting to look to Safrin.

i cut my branch down from my family tree to start a fire in the living room

SUNJATA

Safrin stands back, her arms crossed over her chest as she lets events play out as they will. Should Hotaru or Nate appear they will find themselves turned around in their own home or on the pathway to it, never quite able to make it to the door.

"We all know how hard Torchline can be on those who cannot protect themselves." Safrin muses, her words directed to Sunjata obviously, but meaning to sound quite boring to Kamaria. "And what better environment to grow up safe and sound than the stars?" An explanation, albeit a brief one, of how it is their daughter is able to speak and address him as she has.

'Tonight your daddy wanted to have a special camp out with you on the beach, beneath the stars." Safrin adds, which is of course news to both father and daughter. Turning over her shoulder, there is golden tent upon the sand with star-filled torches and the most comfortable bedding inside. "He wanted you to be close to me on your first night, but also so you could pick everything out for your new room in the morning!" A lie, but one which would hide Kamaria from the fact that there was no room for her. Not yet.

But there would be.

the universe is in your bones, the stars in your soul

Steps, heavy steps, make their way towards the door. Kamaria steps back from the door and looks up, expecting him to be tall and magnificent. Why wouldn't he be? But nothing would've prepared her for just how tall he is, how he's splattered in colorful ink, how his scars scathe across his skin, how dark his hair is compared to hers. "Woah..." Her neck cranes back and her mouth gapes into an 'o' shape. Her eyes flicker over his mouth, nose, cheeks, before finally catching his eyes as he brings himself down to her level.

"You're a giant!" She blurts out in pure amazement, immediately slapping her hand over her mouth in regret.

He is a giant, honestly, but it doesn't frighten her. Neither does anything about him, not as he opens himself up to her. She dives for him, embracing him by his neck and squeezing her face against his broad shoulder. Her eyes are still wide. She can't quite believe this is happening, or exactly what is happening. Her heart flutters against her chest rapidly.

Safrin's words are numb against her ears, until she hears the pitch change and realizes her mother is talking to both of them. She leans back, using her hands to push off his shoulders and resting them there as she looks back at his face. She's less concerned with where she'll sleep, it's not even a thought in her mind.

"You do?!" She grins at him, arching her feet to bounce on her tip-toes, "Oh can we? Please, Daddy! Pleasepleaseplease! It'll be fun! Come on!" She pulls back to find his hand, which dwarfs hers, to boldly tug him along.

it's never really the end

Kamaria

i closed my eyes and saw my father's sins, they covered me like a second skin
i peeled them off, and sure i bled a bit, but now i'm free to sink my own damn ship

The feeling swells within him. It replaces all the hollowness of before, all the sunkenness, and how he’d tried to hide away. A little light among his overwhelming darkness when Kamaria’s voice rings out, the surprise, the excitement. She embraces him tightly, as tight as a five year old can, and Sunjata’s gentle and tender as he wraps his arms around his daughter. “I’m sure you’ll be tall, too.” He says gently to her, no doubt in his mind that she’d be anything but.

Safrin’s words linger, filling him in with understanding. That she’d grown so quickly out of safety – a way for the goddess to look out for her daughter too – and it does bring a brief sigh of relief against him. One that’s quickly dashed away, because he’s so woefully unprepared for it. His jaw tightens slightly, peering past his goddess, searching for what sudden plans were made.

Sunjata’s house is large, there’s no doubt with that. But he hasn’t quite gotten to the point of converting the room, still trying to come to terms with it. But there is a space there, a space specifically for her now, one that they’d absolutely have to decorate.

He can’t deny Safrin, for one, but he finds that he can’t deny Kamaria either, not as his steel gaze flickers back to her pale greens, suddenly quite demanding, and he huffs a quiet laugh of a sound as he follows her, finding that he can’t quite stand and still hold her hand because of his height. “Okay, okay, we can do that.” He assures her, stepping to close the distance to pick her up, giving her the ability to point at whatever it was she wanted, to guide him along.

He stands beside Safrin before then, casting a glance toward his goddess. What’s her name? It’s sent across the attuned bond, because he’s sure his daughter can’t hear that. Right?

i cut my branch down from my family tree to start a fire in the living room

SUNJATA

Her heart is full at the sight of them. Sunjata takes to his daughter in a way Ronin never did, at least not in the beginning. If ever the tide was turning, the Flood was at the head of it now.

Kamalia. Safrin whispers into Sunjata's minds as she moves toward her daughter, fingers tangling in her crisp white-blonde hair. "Shall I let you two begin your night my sweet one?" Doting mother as she is, Safrin knows well when to let her stars fly on their own. "All night, and every night from now on, I shall be in every star, laughing and playing with you. During the day, I shall be the sun that shines upon you, and if ever you need me, I am only a call away."

the universe is in your bones, the stars in your soul

Kamaria smiles up at her mother as she moves to pull her father past, towards the beaches, towards soft sand and colorful seashells, mind racing with a million ideas. Suddenly, she's lifted up... and up and up, until she's so high up she can see everything from up here. She lets out a small cry of excitement and spreads out her arms to welcome the salty ocean breeze. "I wanna be this tall, Mama!" She giggles, looking to her mother's beautiful, bright eyes, letting the comforts of the stars soak in deep.

The delight dies down, though, as they all take a pause. Is this it? Is this where Safrin leaves her to be with Sunjata, and she starts a new, exciting life all over again? Big eyes plead between her parents.

"I don't want you to go," Kamaria reaches out gently toward her mother. But she also understands. Her mother is special, after all. She may be a child but she's been raised by the wisdom and beauty of all the life in the world, all the stars in the sky. That they've gotten this much time with Safrin is a blessing in and of itself, and even Kamaria - to some extent - can grasp at that concept. It brings her other fingers even tighter around Sunjata's arm, already appreciating his grounding presence. For a moment, they are all three connected by Kamaria's tiny grip.

Her eyes cast towards the celestial bodies above them. Nights like these will be her favorite from here onward; midnights with clear skies and all of the stars shining. This won't be the last time she sees her mother, not even close, and that promising thought brings a soft smile to her face. Her gaze dips back down to the goddess, and for a moment there's an intangible depth that swims in her eyes.

"Then I'll laugh and play with them every night! For always! We can dance and sing, too," she declares, a promise for a promise. Her bright gaze looks over at Sunjata's and she suddenly feels like she's known him her whole life. This isn't a stranger she's been hurled at, this is her father, and she loves him all the more. "Daddy too! Right?" She tilts her head at him sweetly.

Then all of this is replaced with childlike mischief and she tugs at his shirt, "Let's go! I want to get all the pretty shells for you and Mama!"

it's never really the end

Kamaria

i closed my eyes and saw my father's sins, they covered me like a second skin
i peeled them off, and sure i bled a bit, but now i'm free to sink my own damn ship

Kamalia, a name quite familiar from home – and his gaze flickers back down to his daughter as she giggles of the height he’s taken her to, unable to keep the brief smile from his face. It fades as his daughter reaches out for Safrin, Sunjata shifting the girl in his arms a fraction to place her between them so she might be able to reach for the goddess of the stars. Safrin’s fingers tangle in their daughter’s pale hair and Sunjata finds his gaze flickering away, back to the tents, to the prospect of everything else that weighs his shoulders down.

It’s only when Kamaria’s gaze lands back on him that he tears his gaze back toward her, a dark brow raised at the mention of singing and dancing, a soft snort leaving him. “I’m not much of a singer, liefde, but we can dance and you can sing.” He offers her with a gentle smile that blooms into something of amusement (as surprising as it is), when she’s tugging at his shirt, the Attuned picking up his pace a fraction to reach the sands where he can set her down, so she can go and collect the seashells she desires.

Before he lets her go completely, though, he runs through the thoughts in his mind of what he wants to say, scanning her face, the innocence there. He had been like that once, hadn’t he? He clears his throat, tries to offer her an easy smile. “Don’t go too far, okay?” Once she’s assured him that she wouldn’t, he lets her go, draws up to his full height and crosses his arms, looking back over to Safrin, swallowing hard. “Safrin? Thank you.”

i cut my branch down from my family tree to start a fire in the living room

SUNJATA

"My love, you can be anything that you want to be." Safrin says with a wide and adoring smile. As her daughter asks her to stay, the goddess sinks to her knees that she might gaze into Kamaria's sea-scape eyes. 'I'm always with you my darling. But it's important for you and daddy to spend time together too.' She says, reaching forward to adjust a strand of her child's wild star-pale hair.

Rising, the three of them nearly looking like any family might, Safrin nods her head. "Daddy too." She agrees, before turning to Sunjata. Reaching out to cup his cheek, having seen flickers of what has transpired since she last left him, she stretches up to softly plant a kiss against his jaw. "I will be here for you through any storm you need to weather." She whispers against him, her radiant love and affection filling him in that moment.

'Now, off you go my loves. The night is young, and there are plenty of shells to gather."

the universe is in your bones, the stars in your soul

Kamaria's gaze wavers over Safrin's adoring smile and comforting words. She squeezes her grips on her parents, a small acknowledgement of understanding, of promise that she will remember and be strong. Her mother, of course, is right. "Okay, Mama," she says gently.

Liefde, Sunjata calls her, and says that he can't sing but that he will still dance. That is good enough for her. She eases from his embrace into the sand, brushing over to her mother with a smile.

"Liefde!" She twirls around to look up at Sunjata, tries the word on for size even if it's a bit clunky. She's not sure of its meaning, but it feels like it must be nice. "I'll sing for both of us," She declares, lifting her hands into the air as she turns and leaps over the sand in the beginnings of a playful dance. She grins back over at her parents, happiness flushing through any worries she has.

He asks her not to go too far and she pauses, letting her toes sink into the sand. Her eyes look out across the ocean waves as they roll in. Then she trails across the sand, feet light, forgetting Sunjata's warning as she goes in search of the prettiest shell she can find.

She'll find herself close to the shoreline before she knows it, relishing the damp chill of the waves over her feet. There, within the shallows, is the biggest shell she's ever seen! It's bright white, glistening beneath the moonlight when the waves pull back. Obviously Kamaria has to go and get it, moving boldly through the waters even when they rise up to her knees.

it's never really the end

Kamaria

i closed my eyes and saw my father's sins, they covered me like a second skin
i peeled them off, and sure i bled a bit, but now i'm free to sink my own damn ship

There is that moment, of watching Safrin and Kamaria interact that tugs at the Attuned, a small strong of fondness that he hasn’t had in years as he finds himself trying to give a small warning to their child, before his arms fold across his chest and he can’t help the tug of a smile – a true smile, the first in quite some time – to hear his daughter speak in Korofian, even if the accent was wrong. There was always time to learn, after all.

His gaze flickers back to Safrin, however, when she reaches up to cup his cheek. A breath of tension leaves him, his gaze shuddering, leaning into the kiss to his cheek gently before she’s pulling away – but he feels lighter, seen. It wasn’t often one got to enjoy this sensation from the creator of the cosmos, after all. And it’s a feeling he clings to for as long as he can – some happiness, some love, some affection. All he can do is offer her a soft smile, a nod of understanding.

She’d be there for him as she always had been.

He takes a step forward, away from Safrin toward where Kamaria had run off to, before his attention follows suit and he sees her already darting into the water. And that certainly wouldn’t do – a thrum of panic swelling through his chest as he turns into that blue macaw of his, sweeping through the evening winds to reach her side before he turns into himself and immediately picks her up. “Hey, hey, Ria, if you want to go into the water I have to be with you, okay?” He half pants, half mutters, panic leeching through his bones. “Now, which shell were you looking for?” He asks, making a show of looking around everywhere.

i cut my branch down from my family tree to start a fire in the living room

SUNJATA