you know you’re nobody’s fool

SuNjATA

the flood

Things had started to settle and yet the storms continued to rage on. Nate was back now, though, and he’s finally gotten a moment of peace, to be able to filter through everything that had happened and he still hadn’t had a good heart to heart with his sister. Everything had happened so fast and that plus taking care of Kamaria and those that had been brought to the home because of the storms, well, it had been put off.

He hopes she understands.

So he’s managed to find some food, something Nate’s prepared because gods knew that he couldn’t prepare anything halfway decent, and with the plates in hand he makes his way to her room. It’s a bit of a juggle, but he manages to knock on her door before toeing it open. “Saartjie,” he pauses, his voice dripping into their native Korofi. “Are you hungry?”

if i let go, would you hold on?
would we fly?

Saartjie

The days had passed by, but they were little more than a blur. It had started raining the day she had arrived in Caido and it hadn't let up yet. It just helped the days blend together one after another until she lost track of just how long she had been there. Long enough for the bruises on her arns to fade completely, but the ones on her face had not completely gone just yet. They were far less severe than they had been, only a slight discoloration now and the pain was gone. Still, whenever she passed in front of a mirror and saw her reflection she saw them and she couldn't help but think about the events that had led to her arrival in Caido. It was bittersweet, to say the least.

Saartjie had heard Sunjata moving around the house, but had not gone out to see what he was up to. Instead, she sat by the window and watched the storm and thought about the drastic turn her life had taken. Her noble blood wouldn't matter anymore, but that wasn't what bothered her. What bothered her was the she was wholly unprepared for a life outside of Korofi. Being brought up the way she was she had never learned how to cook or to clean. She only knew what all noble girls were taught and none of that would be of any use here.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the bedroom door, a creak as it edged open and the sound of Sunjata's voice as he called her name. Saar turned from the window and was surprised to see her brother carrying plates of food into the room. Her stomach growled because she was hungry, but she was too surprised to answer that question. "You can cook?" She asked, slipping into the comfortability of their native tongue, as she moved closer to get a better look at the plates of food.

tag: Sunjata

but close my eyes for a while
and force from the world a patient smile

SuNjATA

the flood

At the very least, the rain that cascades around the home nonstop does seem incredibly reminiscent of Korofi. Aside from that, though, the rest of it was far off the mark. A home with warmth and lives within that seemed happy, even if there were struggles to still be fully addressed. For now, it was quite the opposite of the cold walls of the home of their upbringing, even if it still remained somewhat big, somewhat elegant, somewhat fancy.

He slips into the room, his steel gaze spying his sister by the window as she moves closer to him. The question from her lips as he moves to grab her plate and hand it to her, has a bark of a laugh leaving him. His head shakes, moving to head to the table that’s sat by the window just big enough for the both of them where he takes a seat and flashes her an amused smile. “No, I can’t. Not well anyway.” He rumbles, tattooed shoulders rising and falling in a shrug.

“Nate made it.” He picks up a fork and waits for her to sit and settle into her meal before he digs in – an old habit that’s arisen now that he’s in the same room as her. “How are you feeling?” He's absolutely noticed the bruises on her face, reminiscent of the ones that are now faded on his own.

He has to ask, because it's his job as her brother. He has to ask because there's still this small portion of him that regrets his departure, of losing her, of her having to endure whatever it was she'd gone through because he wasn't there to protect her, after all the times she'd been there for him.

if i let go, would you hold on?
would we fly?

Saartjie

The way Sunjata laughed when she asked if he knew how to cook was all the answer that Saartjie needed to know that he couldn't. She smiled as she reached to take the plate from him and he admitted that Nate had cooked. "That makes more sense." she said as she turned and made her way to the small table by the window. Neither of them had learned to cook -- a perk of being nobility. All of their meals had been made by their family's personal cook and it had always been ... extravagant even when they didn't have company for their father to show off to.

Saartjie studied the food on her plate for a minute before she finally began to eat. It was surprisingly sweet and she looked up at Sunjata, her head tilting a bit. "Are these pancakes?" She remembered Jata talking about getting some in the city, but she had never been able to go with him to get any. "They're really good." she said before taking another big bite -- screw table manners.

There was a lot they needed to talk about -- it had been years that they had been separated and so much had happened in the time they had been apart. She just didn't know if she was ready to lay it all out and confront it all but at the same time she was ready to get it all off her chest. Everything had been bottled up for so long and the recent events added to it was just too much. So when he asked how she was feeling she stayed quiet for a minute and poked her fork at her pancakes. "Overwhelmed." She finally answered. "A little scared." Saartjie looked up to meet her brother's gaze and continued. "I don't know how to live outside of Korofi." The idea of having to learn how to live a totally new life was scary, but there was a silver lining.

"But I'm happy too," She said said with a small smile. "Because I finally get to see you again."

but close my eyes for a while
and force from the world a patient smile

SuNjATA

the flood

It does make more sense. Sunjata, at least, had tried to make pancakes while Nate had left, but it certainly wasn’t something that he planned on continuing doing. At least not until Nate taught him. Haai would grow too large eating all the fucked up pancakes in the process. “They are.” He offers her with a soft smile. “With quite a heavy amount of syrup.” He regards his soaked pancakes as if it might’ve been a problem – but Sunjata’s always had a sweet tooth. It comes as no surprise that his pancakes would be drowning in syrup.

Once she’s taken her bite, does he dive into his as well. Listening in the silence and the way the rain hits the window as she mulls over his question. The idea that she was overwhelmed has him nodding, swallowing down the bite as he considers how to respond to her. But there’s a moment where she says that she’s happy for it, because she gets to see him which has him reflexively responding with a soft, boyish smile – something similar to the kind he’d give her when she’d take him out of the house to the beach for the night, covering for him to be able to get a moment away from their father. “Do you remember when we left the house? After Father announced our engagement and we had made it to Dorobo before I lost you? It’s… A bit like that.” The ability to go somewhere where nobody knew their names, nobody knew who they were. Refugees, they were supposed to be, until everything got wrecked in the process.

He pokes at his pancakes, sticking his fork into a piece of fruit as he stares down at the plate, mulling over his next words. “It’s strange to go around without people knowing who you are.” He pauses, his gaze lifting to meet her face. “Though, you have me here now. And… Father’s gone. I…” He sets the fork down, stumbling over his words and needing to give her his full attention.

He leans back in the chair, his hand rising to gesture to the scar spanning his face. “He arrived sometime last year and earlier this season I killed him. He gave me this as a parting gift.” He sighs, before he shakes his head and leans forward. “We never have to worry about him again.” There’s honestly and earnest in his gaze, the kind that’s full of truth and hope that their lives could move on without that inky black machine of a man. "You're safe here, Saar."

if i let go, would you hold on?
would we fly?

Saartjie

Saar can't help the soft laugh that escapes her as Jata gestures to his syrup soaked pancakes. Its no surprise to her that they're totally drenched. "If you say so." She said then reached for the syrup and poured more over the top of hers. After taking a bite of the extra syrupy pancakes she had to admit that Sunjata was right -- the more syrup the better.

"I remember." Saar murmured quietly. It had been the best day of her life ... until it became the worst. Finally being able to escape from their father and go to a place where no one knew them had been liberating. Scary, but liberating. She had thought they'd been able to get out of Korofi without being noticed, but it had all just been a pipe dream. There was no escaping the man who wanted to use them for his own political games. He had never really viewed them as his children or loved them like a father should, but instead he used them as pawns for his political games. Anything he could do to keep the power he had or acquire more he did ... even if it meant marrying his children off to people they didn't even know.

"It's not your fault, you know." She said in the silence that stretched between them. "We were outnumbered. You couldn't fight everyone." Not without getting himself hurt or even killed and if that had happened she wouldn't have been able to live with the guilt and pain. "I don't ... it doesn't matter to me that I got caught and taken back. The only thing I cared about was that you escaped and got away, because ... if you didn't they would have killed you." It was said quietly, but there was pain in her tone at just the idea of her brother being executed. She'd witnessed her mother's death, she didn't want to witness her brother's as well.

As Sunjata spoke again, Saar nodded. Yes, she had him and their father was gone -- back in Korofi with no idea where they were and probably looking for them still. The color drained from her face and she looked impossibly pale when he revealed that their father had been there. Even when he said that he had killed the horrible man her heart hammered against her chest. Her pale eyes lifted to the scar on Sunjata's face and she pushed herself back from the small table and rose from her chair. "He did that." She said as she moved closer to him. She reached for him, her hands cradling his face as she turned his head to get a better look at it.

It was a small comfort knowing that they would never have to worry about facing their father again, but it was scary to know that he had found Sunjata. "Good." She finally said as she released Jata and crossed her arms against her chest. "He deserved worse than he got." After what he had done to their mother ... to them. The world was better without him in it.

"They were still looking for you in Korofi." She just hadn't thought that their father had found him. Thinking back, she couldn't remember the last time she had seen him, but she had done everything she could to avoid seeing him. "Gaal was hell bent on finding you."

but close my eyes for a while
and force from the world a patient smile

SuNjATA

the flood

She says she remembers, and it’s a quiet remembrance, one that has Sunjata internally souring – a bitterness blossoming within his chest, within his stomach, something that turns everything around him cold. But his gaze lifts to her face when she says it wasn’t his fault, a frown finding his face, one that tugs at the scar along his cheek. And he nods, inhaling a slow breath as he swallows. “I wanted to.” He admits quietly, perhaps a bit ruefully. He wanted to fight them all. He wanted to kill those that had ever laid a hand on her while they were apprehended.

And he couldn’t. It was like a repeat of Lusea’s execution. And it had changed him internally – closed him off to everything and everyone for when he arrived here. Everything shut down, the fake persona of someone that had a good head on his shoulders, provided you didn’t look too long to see the illusion. “They’ve been trying to kill me for decades.” He admits with a sad smile Saar’s way. But then he’s mentioning their father and she’s standing, stepping back from the meal and he watches her with that animalistic tendency he slips into now and then with his attunement, stilling as her hands cup his face, tilting his head to get a better look at the scar.

“He kidnapped Nate. And I think he was drugging me for quite some time. Turned nearly all of Torchline against me.” He says quietly, lips pursing as she releases him. “So I challenged him to a Trial.” She would know what exactly that meant, and a shadow crosses his gaze with the memory. “I still couldn’t win hand to hand against him so I had to trick him. He…” A dark laugh leaves him as he shakes his head. “He told me he was proud of me before I dropped him off the cliffs.” He tilts his head back, peering up at his sister as he leans back in the chair, pushing away from breakfast to scan her face.

Of course they were still looking for him. He (with the help of Saar’s information) had ruined a lot of the things the Korofi nobles took for granted. But the mention of Gaal has him grimacing, lips forming a tight line, the armored plates of his dragon shift coming out from his skin, coating his neck and covering his shoulders and arms. “Good thing Graasvoel can’t find me now.” He mutters most of the sentence aside from Gaal's full name, one that comes out in a hiss, before a small frown crosses his face and he takes a steadying breath. “He has a daughter, did you know that? She’s here.”

Of course, he doesn't know that Saar had been married to the bastard of a man. He doesn't know all the things Gaal had done to her. All he knew is that someone's child shouldn't be blamed for the actions of their fathers.

Sunjata and Saartjie were products of such a notion.

if i let go, would you hold on?
would we fly?

Saartjie

It was no joke that they had been trying to kill him for decades. Sunjata had rebelled against everything that the Korofi nobility stood for and that had scared them. If the arbiter's son would rebel then what would keep other noble boys from doing the same? How could they keep control when the bulk of their army was made of young noble boys? The only thing they could do was make an example of Sunjata and execute him -- something that their father was more than willing to have done.

He kidnapped Nate -- of course he would. If there was anything at all that their father was an expert at it was fighting dirty. He would exploit any weakness his enemy had even if his enemy was his own son. Even if it meant killing his own wife to exploit his son's weakness. He was a disgusting man and Saar had no love for him -- only fear and loathing. It was surprising, though, to hear that he had told Sunjata that he was proud of him. Saar, however, couldn't help but wonder if it was true or if Shaju was trying to look for some weakness to gain the upperhand and kill Jata.

The mention of Gaal was met with the exact reaction she thought it would be, but when scales started to cover Jata's neck, shoulders, and arms Saar stepped back. Her brow furrowed as she stared at him, confused about what was happening. Rather than launch into the series of questions about what was happening, Saar decided to stay on the course of the conversation they had been having. "He'll never find you, Jata." she said fiercely. "Dead men can't search for anyone."

The news that followed, that Gaal had a daughter here in Caido came as a surprise. "No, I didn't know." she answered. "He never mentioned having a daughter to me." Saar held her hand out to her brother, palm open so he could see the scar that crossed it. "I was married to him for four years," She began, "And all that time he kept wanting an heir. I doubt he even knew he had a daughter."

but close my eyes for a while
and force from the world a patient smile

SuNjATA

the flood

He’s forgotten that he hadn’t explained what Attuning was, what the different races were here, how Saar would have the ability to find people with magic and animal shifts, and those like Nate with mechanical natures that could siphon the abilities the others had. He’d forgotten to mention to her that he’d become one of them, a favored one nonetheless, but he’s sure that topic will come up at some point.

As it were right now, though, Sunjata looks up at his sister with a darkening gaze, inhaling a slow breath as his brows pinch together in a fair amount of confusion. “He’s actually dead this time?” He asks after a moment, a quiet consideration given the fact that he’d tried to kill Gaal, that he had killed his fiancé in their attempts to get out. And yet, he hadn’t. Gaal had managed to survive it somehow, through some medical miracle he’s sure.

His brows remain pinched as she mentions that Gaal never told her anything and Sunjata doesn’t know why Gaal would tell her anything until the next words fall across the space between them. His gaze drops to the scar that spans Saar’s palm – one that spans his own when he goes to grab it and inspect it, calloused fingers running along the length of it as the dread pools in his stomach. “Four years?” He asks quietly, gaze lifting to her face, before he’s pushing the chair back to stand, reaching up to lift her head to him. “Saartjie... Did he do this to you?” He asks, his voice taking on a deeper, hint of anger and despair intermingled.

if i let go, would you hold on?
would we fly?

Saartjie

If Gaal wasn't dead this time then he would never die. The amount of blood that had covered their home and her in the aftermath of their fight had been shocking. He hadn't been breathing when she left, but most men didn't breathe after being stabbed and their throats cut. Thinking about it now made her shudder because the rage she had felt that night had been something she'd never felt before and her actions reminded her too much of her father. She didn't want to think that she was anything like him, but there was no denying that he was a part of who she was.

"Yes." Saartjie answered. She could still see him laying on the floor, blood spattered across their furniture and pooling on the polished floor under him. "I'm positive he's dead.."

She lapsed into silence as her brother grabbed her hand to inspect the scar that stretched across her palm. When he finally looked up at her she met his gaze and simply nodded. Four years. It had been the longest four years of her life, stuck with him. She didn't know where Sunjata was, only that he had escaped and was living a better life. She didn't have her mother to talk to. She couldn't even talk to the few friends she'd had about anything she felt because they were all so brainwashed by their life of leisure and the things they had been taught growing up. One by one they had all fallen pregnant and seeing that had made Gaal even more insistent on having a child.

The chair scraped against the floor as Jata pushed back from the table and stood. Soon after he lifted her head to inspect the fading bruises on her face. "He did." She confirmed, but her tone was not the submissive tone of a battered woman. "The night I killed him." There was so much more to it than that, though. "He told me that he was the one that found your location and turned it in so you were captured and tortured. And he said he was going to find you again. And that you were going to be dragged back and executed." And she just couldn't let that happen. All the times that Sunjata had protected her it had been time for her to protect him. "So we fought. And I killed him."

but close my eyes for a while
and force from the world a patient smile

SuNjATA

the flood

She says she’s positive he’s dead and all Sunjata can do is nod, chew on the inside of his ruined cheek as he inspects the scar on her palm, before his gaze lifts to her face, spies the faded bruising and he moves to stand, the chair pushing back as he goes to cup her face, tilting it so that he can see the bruising in the light of the storm clouds outside. His brows draw together once more, that quiet rage that she’s lucky she isn’t attuned to feel, simmering into something of surprise – one that sparks through the clouds of his gaze into something softer, something more understanding.

The corner of his lips lift in a small half smirk. “Look at that.” He hums, until the amusement fades as he nods, swallowing hard. “He was. He did it to get to you.” He admits quietly, lips shifting into a frown now as he moves to wrap his arms around his sister and pull her in for a hug. “He knew that if he got me and got Luci killed… That Father would give you to him.” All rebellion and what not aside. Gaal had been undercover anyway, after Sunjata had joined the resistance.

But the admission hits a bit harder, the realization that she’d killed her husband in a place like Korofi because of him.

And yet again, Sunjata doesn’t feel like he deserves any of it. “I’m proud of you, Saar.” He says quietly. Murder was one thing, but when it came to those with such darkened souls like Gaals and their father, it was truly a blessing.

He pulls away a fraction from the hug, the armored plates on his skin shifting to smooth feathers, filling out the wing tattoos she knew all too well on his shoulders with true navy plumes. “Mother would be proud of you, too.”

if i let go, would you hold on?
would we fly?

Saartjie

"I know." She was under no false impression that she was anything more than a bargaining chip in her father and Gaal's political games. They both saw a way to use her to get what they wanted and it was exactly what they did. Pretending that she actually liked had left a sour taste in her mouth, but it had been  a method of  survival and now that she was in Caido with her brother she knew it had paid off. "Daddy dearest was all too willing to give him what he wanted." Even though the whole ordeal had gotten her where she wanted she was still bitter about it.

Being pulled into a hug and held by someone who actually cared about her lessened the sting of actually admitting that she had been a pawn. Her arms lifted and she wrapped them around Sunjata's waist and turned her head so her cheek rested against his chest. She was quiet, just listening to the steady beat of his heart.

He was the first to break the silence by telling her that he was proud of her. "I'm not…" Truth be told she had scared herself. "I was just like him, Jata." Her hand clutched his shirt. "I was just as cold … just as ruthless and merciless as him." and that was what had scared her the most. She didn't want to be anything like Shaju and in that moment she had embodied everything she hated about him. She would do it all over again, though, if it kept Sunjata safe.

When he pulled back she loosened her hold on him and looked up. The armored plates were slowly disappearing and in their place we're feathers. "What's happening? Why?" She brushed her fingers over the feathers. "What happened to you here?"

but close my eyes for a while
and force from the world a patient smile

SuNjATA

the flood

A low hum of agreement leaves his throat at the venom in Saar’s voice, one that he knows all too well himself the pent up years of anger and frustration toward their father who had been nothing but a horrible man. And so he pulls her into a hug, a tight one, letting her stay against his chest as he tells her he’s proud of her, that their mother would be too, and when he pulls away and her admission hits the air, there’s a small sad smile of understanding there too.

“It isn’t you, though, Saar. I have my moments where I sound like him or I do something like he did, but at the end of the day I know I won’t become him.” And that’s the difference, wasn’t it? “We care too much. We actively strive to not be like him. And he hated it.” He says matter of factly. In fact, he can recall the hundreds of times his father had abused him over his reactions being too soft to things, how he couldn’t be a cold, merciless killer that their father wanted him to be.

And even though he was a killer and so much blood stained his hands? He still wasn’t Shaju. He still wouldn’t be.

Her hands run over the feathers of his shoulders, though, and it distracts him as watches her face. “Oh. I’m… Attuned.” He begins to explain, pausing as he regards her. “There’s different kinds of people here. When I arrived I was just like I was in Korofi. But there are others with magic and some can shapeshift into animals… And others that are mechanical in some aspects.” He pauses briefly to ensure she’s following along. “I wanted to be stronger so I went to a shrine and asked to Attune and Safrin attuned me.” He pauses once again, stepping back from her to let the Pegasus wings unfurl from his spine, large feathery plumes of black and sapphire and electric blues stretch through the room. “I can shift into a lot of different animals now.”

if i let go, would you hold on?
would we fly?

Saartjie

There was some comfort in what he said, but there was still a part of her that was scared that she would turn into him. He had killed his wife and felt no guilt or remorse over it and she had killed her husband and while she felt guilt for taking someone's life she felt no remorse for having done it. She didn't know if she believed that their mother would be proud of her for what she had done so much as she believed their father would be proud of the ruthlessness that she had shown. But ... maybe Sunjata was right. They both cared too much. They cared about each other, about their mother, their friends. That caring and that love was what made them human. It was what made them like their mother and that was something she could hold on to and cherish.

As their conversation moved on and her brother said that he was attuned, Saar's brow furrowed. "Attuned? What does that even mean?" The explanation he launched into didn't make much sense to her -- magic, shapeshifting, mechanical people. "Is Nate attuned, too?" She asked. "How do you know who ... is what?" Life, it seemed, was growing more and more complicated and confusing by the minute.

Safrin. The name caught Saar's attention. "Is Safrin the goddess?" The one that Nate had mentioned Jata having a child with. That was something neither of them had spoken about yet and something that she had many questions about. She didn't have a chance to ask even one of those questions before he stepped back and allowed a set of large wings to unfurl. Her pale eyes widened as she took in the sight of them. If she hadn't touched the feathers and knew they were real she would have thought he was playing some kind of elaborate trick on her.

"...you can actually fly?" She asked as she stepped forward and reached a hand out to brush her fingers against the sapphire feathers. As a child she had always wondered what it would be like to fly. To be a bird and just fly away to wherever she wanted and just be free. She had babbled about it to Sunjata one of the many nights they'd snuck away to the beach. "What can you turn in to?"

but close my eyes for a while
and force from the world a patient smile