(o) marked the days since last time

SUNJATA

i found hope in a hopeless home
found my father but i lost my soul

The storms had absolutely left a mess behind, and he holds a fair amount of regret for them having happened in the first place – having not finished the monsoon quest from Safrin in time. But it should be close enough to being done that he can at least prevent it from happening next year, wherever next year took them all. So for now?

For now he can focus on cleaning up the mess that’s entirely his fault.

He’s got a cart, a sleeveless shirt for the inevitable heat that will beat down on him. His shoulders are already tinged in pink before turning bronze, but Sunjata pays it little mind. Haai trots along the beach, grabbing a few stray branches here and there, while Sunjata focuses on the larger pieces – some are pieces of buildings too – and promptly drops them in the cart as he makes his way down the beach.

i tried to trace it, i aimed to scope
been tryna kill it, but it's all i know

I am magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment

It was good to be home. Even if it was only for a short time. There was a sense of belonging in the roll of waves lapping against white beaches, in the playful whip and tug of wind through her hair. Barefoot, Seren strolled down the coastline and let the ocean lap against her toes. Every once in a while she paused to crouch down and dig something out of the sand. Seashells, pieces of rock and coral, and no small amounts of debris were considered and then discarded. It would be difficult to find what she searched for, but that was alright. It only made it more worthwhile.

In the distance, another treasure hunter slowly came into view. Once the silhouette gained enough detail for it to be recognizeable, a warm smile of recognition kindled on her lips. A figure - two, even - most familiar, and ones she had missed terribly. Reaching up a hand, she waved enthusiastically to catch Sunjata's attention, and picked up the pace as she approached.

Seren

SUNJATA

i found hope in a hopeless home
found my father but i lost my soul

Haai decides it’s a good enough time to wade into the water, swimming around the shallows and flaring her wings out to drape over the edges of the waves, and Sunjata steps in to the water a bit, reaching down to pull a few shingles from the water, stepping back to dump them into the cart when his gaze lifts to spy someone walking toward him. She waves and his head tilts a fraction as he regards her, trying to figure out why she’s familiar and why she isn’t.

The griffin has no qualms, perking up at the attention and recognizing Seren for her scent and the like, pulling herself from the water to shake it off and run toward the starchild, tail wagging, her excitement almost palpable. Sunajta remains by the cart, however, resting his arms on the side of it as he regards her. “Seren?” He asks with a raise of his brow. “You’ve grown up quite a bit haven’t you?” He calls out with a laugh, while internally worrying a fraction at how fast his own daughter might grow.

i tried to trace it, i aimed to scope
been tryna kill it, but it's all i know

I am magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment

A thrill of pure delight went through her as Haai perked up and noticed her. The griffin's onslaught was met with open arms; laughing Seren dropped to her knees in the sand and welcomed her playmate with pets and scritched, hugs and just as many kisses as she would accept.

That the man's reaction was less exuberant could perhaps be forgiven. It had been a while, and she had changed since last time they met. Even so, the questioning way he said her name caused a pang in her chest. "You almost didn't recognize me," she accused, sadness coloring the smile that still lingered on her lips as Seren looked up at him. "Pirate. I'd know you anywhere. How are you, uncle Jata?"

Ruffling Haai's ears a final time, the young woman got up and approached the Flood, arms held out for a hug. Her eyes were just as blue as they had been as a child, and the smile just as open and trusting. That she had grown into a woman's shape did not seem to matter to her; it was simply how it was, and changed nothing.

Seren

SUNJATA

i found hope in a hopeless home
found my father but i lost my soul

Haai takes all of Seren’s attention with glee, pressing her soaked self against the starchild, until Seren’s attention shifts to Sunjata. She still remains near, brushing against the girls legs as if it might be enough of a greeting while Sunjata speaks. “I haven’t seen you since you were tiny.” He rumbles, flashing an easy smile her way, still leaning against the cart.

He’d forgotten about the term pirate, truthfully, and it brings a glimmer of nostalgia to his gaze, snorting before he gestures to his face where that long scar spans. “Aside from this? I’ve been good.” He offers her, pushing away from the wagon to wrap her in an easy hug. “Ronin mentioned you’d come back from the stars. How was it?” He asks, before pulling away a bit, a glimmer of mischief in his silver gaze. “And have you heard about your sister?” He doesn’t know whether she would have or not, he figures it’s at least worth asking.

i tried to trace it, i aimed to scope
been tryna kill it, but it's all i know

I am magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment

"Hmm, fair enough, I suppose," she grumbled, and slipped into his embrace. For what might be the first time, she didn't have to bully the man into hugging. Growing up had its advantages, clearly.

As soon as Sunjata made to pull away though, Seren reached up to try and catch his face between her hands, so that she could have a better look at the scar that marred his face. "What happened?" she worried, and would gently try to prod the puckered line if he allowed it. "Does it hurt? I heard from a friend that you've been in trouble, but he couldn't say what kind."

At the mention of her father, the starchild only nodded. "It was good. Mother taught me many things, and I had no shortage of things to occupy myself with. But I missed you all, very much." Smiling down fondly at Haai as the gryphon pressed against her legs, she stroked the companion's ears. Then she glanced up at Sunjata, mischief glittering in her eyes. "I did hear, yes. You and mother really get along these days, don't you. Does she... does Kamaria know about me?" There was longing in her tone, and something wistful came over her expression.

Seren

SUNJATA

i found hope in a hopeless home
found my father but i lost my soul

He’s changed quite a bit since he’d last seen Seren – far less terrified of the idea of children, now currently having one himself, having fought his father and relived the trauma he’d endured in Korofi and come out on the other side realizing just how much he wasn’t like his father – how he could never become like his father. So he moves to pull away from the hug but she traps his face in her hands, and he tilts it to give her a better view of his face, remaining still as she prods at it. “It doesn’t hurt anymore, no.” He murmurs slightly, peering down at her. “My father paid me a visit all the way from Korofi. It was his parting gift.” Among others, but Seren had been too young to understand just how awful of a place Sunjata had come from.

He supposes she’s old enough to find out now, at the very least.

Still, he’s attentive to her as she explains her time in the stars, a soft smile crossing his face and tugging at the scar there. “Missed you too, Seren. Glad you were where you are safest, though.” Would that prove to be the same for his daughter? She cuts to the chase, though, about how close he and Safrin have gotten and he puffs out an awkward sigh, a shake of his head to the mischief in her eyes. “Apparently so.” He half mutters, before he’s clearing his throat. “Of course she knows about you. We planned on visiting Stormbreak so you two can meet.” Because he also hadn’t expected to find Seren in Torchline of all places.

i tried to trace it, i aimed to scope
been tryna kill it, but it's all i know

I am magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment

With her whims so kindly accommodated, Seren was able to satisfy the need to make sure he really was alright. But the tale of what brought on the scar made her hands tense around Sunjata's face, and hot rage flared up in her gaze. Unusual, so very sudden; there and gone like a summer storm. "I hope you gave back double for everything he did!" she bit off heatedly, white teeth flashing. A father hurting his child? Anyone hurting one of her loved ones? Unforgiveable. "Is he still around?" She almost hoped so, just so she could...

But no, this was a happy moment. Sucking in a deep breath she softened her hands and let go of the Flood. Hunching down next to Haai, Seren moved to pull the griffin into a hug, burying her face in sea-dampened fur without caring that it was wet or smelly. It was dark there, and calm, and easier to let go of the tension that had been building up ever since leaving Stormbreak.

"I know," she murmured, once the raging tempest within was more or less under control. "Dad told me. I'm looking forward to it... I wonder if she and Matheo will get along too? It's going to be wonderful, having you all in one place." Her family. Large and scattered and chaotic, but warm, loving and hers.

Peering up from where she sat, the girl glanced from Sunjata to the cart and back. "Want some help?" she offered.

Seren

SUNJATA

i found hope in a hopeless home
found my father but i lost my soul

Her rage and determination in his ability to give his father back double for everything he did has him wobbling inside. Because he hadn’t, not quite. His father was dead — hopefully — but even death didn’t equate to justice for everything Sunjata had gone through in his life. “No, no. I dropped him off the cliffs to his watery grave.” He shrugs. He knows he follows Safrin, knows that it means he follows the herald to life, and yet? Killing his father was a balm to his wounded soul.

Haai is more than eager to be embraced, wrapping herself around the young woman just as Sunjata straightens out, assuring Seren that Kamaria knew of her existence. “They’re similar in age, I think. I imagine they’d get along nicely.” That and Kamaria needed friends, ones that were around her age, ones she could grow up with and wreak havoc with just as he had wanted to do when he was young — like how he and Saar had pushed the boundaries of their youth as much as they could regardless of the consequences.

“I’d love some help. Just cleaning up the debris in the water from the monsoons.” He pushes away from the wagon back toward the ocean’s edge, spying a net that’s come loose from the middle of Haulani along a rock, tattered and torn and floating there, trapped between the boulders. “Anything you find that looks like it shouldn’t be there should go in the wagon and we can try to salvage what we can.” He murmurs to her, flashing an easy smile.

i tried to trace it, i aimed to scope
been tryna kill it, but it's all i know

I am magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment

The admission gave her pause. The taking of a life - no matter how small - was no trivial matter to Seren. Her first encounter with The Worm as it was speared on Saiden's fish hook was proof of that. And yet, living things died around her all the time. Plants and animals, the food she ate, humans and creatures - all around her there was dying, for every reason beneath the stars. Yet, there was birthing too. Surviving, and thriving, all in a beautiful flow she only barely understood.

Gazing up at Sunjata, she tried to fit his image into that flow. Someone had hurt him, so he hurt them back. As a result, the person no longer lived. It was... if not proportional, then at least appropriate. "I see. Are you free of him now, then?" she asked. Unaware of the extent of the burdens Shaju had placed on his son. Unable to even begin to understand. Her father was kind, and loving.

"It would be good if they did. When do you think you'll be able to come?" Thinking of visits and laughing children was easier, and Seren was only too happy to focus on that. "We should have the skyport repaired any time now." Rising, she looked around the beach. Driftwood and seaweed was everywhere, but they belonged. The nail-ridden planks bobbing in the surf did not, so she went to retrieve it. Doing something was good. Working helped her process emotions; there had been a lot of them lately.

Seren

SUNJATA

i found hope in a hopeless home
found my father but i lost my soul

“Free as a bird.” He informs Seren with an easy smile, letting the wings of his pegasus shift unfurl from his back to stretch out – tri-toned blue feathers spreading along and casting a shadow across the sand, before he tucks it in tight again. “And we’ll be arriving soon. I have to see your mother before I go.” He offers her with a softer edge to his smile, grabbing the net and tossing it in the cart.

Seren finds a good find with the piece of lumber with nails in it and it plinks into the cart among the other things. “It took some damage, as most things did during the monsoons.” He says with a hint of sadness – specifically for those like Seren and the others that simply wanted to visit. He finds another piece of what appears to be shingles, connected with a few nails that float along the surface that he reaches into the water to grab and drop into the cart. “We’ll be there before you know it.”

i tried to trace it, i aimed to scope
been tryna kill it, but it's all i know

I am magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment

That was one way of making her smile again. Seeing the wings spread vast and vibrant from his back, Seren's expression brightened with surprise. "Oh, they are beautiful," she breathed. "It's a new shift, right? What form does it take? Can you fly with them like that?"

Hefting the planks into the cart, she brushed her hands free from sand. The sad tone at the mention of the busted up skyport simply made her shrug. "It's alright. It won't be difficult to mend. Soon we will all be able to sail the skies again. I look forward to it, actually. It will be my first trip." She was visibly curious about what kind of business he might have with Safrin... but for once she did not ask. It might be private.

A few yards further up the coast, Seren spotted something that glittered in the sun. Curious, she jogged away to see what it was; hoping for cloud manta pearls, expecting some washed up bottle. But it was neither. Grinning, she returned to the Flood and his cart with a circular tray of white-washed wood, inlaid with small mirror fragments. They cast reflections wildly about as she twisted it between her hands. "I pity the poor person who lost this," she laughed. "Do you think it came from the Halenani?" Into the cart it went anyway, with a bit more care than the rest of the debris.

Seren

SUNJATA

i found hope in a hopeless home
found my father but i lost my soul

“I haven’t tried, actually.” He comments with a furrowing of his brows, stretching out the wings once more as if it might hold all the answers he seeks out of their large plumage. He tucks them in again as the smile grows more genuine and bright with what the shift was. “It’s a Pegasus. Have you seen one before?” He asks her as he works to try and clean up more of the beach and the waters.

At the mention of it being her first trip, his brows raise and he looks up to her from where he’s reaching down to grab another piece of shingle that’s fallen into the ocean. “Well that’s exciting, then.” He muses to her with hum of a sound that slips from his throat. He arrives to drop the shingles into the cart, straightening up as he peers at her as she arrives back.

Light glints along her and the beach when she runs back and moves to drop it into the cart, Sunjata leaning in and inspecting it curiously. “Hmm, maybe. I’m not sure.” He considers it, trying to recall if it had come from any of the only three rooms he’s ever been in, yet feels awkward stating such in front of Seren. “Should be easy to fix, though. Take it back to Stormbreak with you, I’m sure it’ll be a nice trinket to have.”

i tried to trace it, i aimed to scope
been tryna kill it, but it's all i know

I am magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment

"I haven't, no," she admitted, with a hopeful glance at her uncle. "Show me, when we are done cleaning?" Or now. But if they started playing, Seren suspected that the beach would remain full of debris. She was easily distracted.

It was exciting with flying ships, and the grin she threw him over her shoulder while retrieving the trinket agreed completely. Seren blinked at the offer to keep the tray, but didn't need much prompting; her room in Stormbreak could use some personal touches. "Thank you, I think I will," she smiled. Picking the item back up, she made a motion in thin air as if opening up a curtain, and the tray, along with a good bit of her arm disappeared as she tucked it away. Then she straightened, brushed sand from her hands and returned her attention to Sunjata, calm as the sunshine weather around them.

"What else have you been up to since last we met?" she asked.

Seren