not for want of trying
Jonah Clemments


Age: 38 | Height: 5'11" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Nomadic
Level: 0 - Strg: 9 - Dext: 10 - Endr: 9 - Luck: 7 - Int:
Played by: Johnnie Offline
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Posts: 34 | Total: 4,183
MP: 87
#1
and if you maybe find a better way to love me then
Haulani really was one of Cairo’s brightest gems. The sun shines high in the sky, a cool breeze blows in off the ocean, and everywhere Jonah looks he sees food stalls, a dozen little delicacies ready and waiting for him. After months, maybe years this time, in the places between civilization, he was looking forward to food that wasn’t burned over an open fire.

It takes less than ten minutes for Jonah to load himself up, trinkets and seeds and fancy rocks all traded away for whatever smells good. And when his arms are full he wanders, drifting higher and higher up the gentle slope of Apopo, more and more of Haulani spreading out below him.

Jonah sits gracelessly once he’s decided he’s high enough up, far enough away from the bill of the rush and bustle of the city, but still close enough to feel it’s thrum, to squint out over buildings and glittering ocean both while he bites into something smokey and delicious, a soft sound humming out of him as he chews. He’s alone anyway, what does he care?
JONAH
Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 5 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 52 - Luck: 49 - Int:
JYOTI - Mythical - Starwhale (Humpback)
Played by: shark Offline
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Posts: 3,098 | Total: 4,577
MP: 2580
#2
there were so many fewer questions when stars were still just the holes to heaven
Despite coming to Torchline with Gideon, it took Amalia little time to distance herself from the Priest. Instead she found herself wandering out of the city, enjoying the familiar smells of salt and sea and ash and jungle that mark the seaside town. She'd called this place home for a time, brief as it had been; now she remembers that chapter of her life with the rose-tinted glow of nostalgia.

It's dinnertime and she's considering heading back to check on her wayward companion, when  the sight of a stranger off the side of the road catches her attention. She's still a way off, but even so she thinks she recognizes him, though what he's doing here is anyone's guess. Blinking, Amalia begins to walk forward, leaving the path to stride barefoot among the stones. Her voice takes on a sardonic edge as she calls across the brush: "What're you doi- oh. Oh, Mort, I--- sorry, I thought you were someone else."

Because as soon as she begins the question Amalia knows she's made a mistake. This is not Gideon: rather, this is an entirely unknown man who bears a striking resemblance to Gideon, and whom she is now staring blankly at, splotches of color high on her cheeks.
Amalia
Jonah Clemments


Age: 38 | Height: 5'11" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Nomadic
Level: 0 - Strg: 9 - Dext: 10 - Endr: 9 - Luck: 7 - Int:
Played by: Johnnie Offline
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Posts: 34 | Total: 4,183
MP: 87
#3
and if you maybe find a better way to love me then
Well, apparently he’s not as alone as he’d thought. Footsteps are easily ignored, Jonah glancing towards the path just long enough to ensure the person doesn’t seem familiar before returning to his feast. The voice though, that’s much more difficult to ignore, especially with the edge her tone starts with.

Confusion furrows his brows when he looks up at the suddenly apologetic woman, his mouth full with a piece of fish that he would try to swallow quickly if he wasn’t so immediately distracted. She’s beautiful, the setting sun casting her sharp features in fire and shadow both, catching on loose strands of blonde hair and vibrant blooms.

He... he should come into the folds of civilization more often.

It takes a moment for Jonah to properly recover, to blink and glance away. He swallows and wipes the grease off his lips in the same unsubtle motion, offering a stilted grin in the hopes she doesn’t notice the grease finding a new home on his pants. “Should I be relieved or disappointed I’m not who you thought?
JONAH
Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 5 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 52 - Luck: 49 - Int:
JYOTI - Mythical - Starwhale (Humpback)
Played by: shark Offline
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Posts: 3,098 | Total: 4,577
MP: 2580
#4
there were so many fewer questions when stars were still just the holes to heaven
She doesn't mean to stare, not really, but there's something comical and mesmerizing in the way he struggles to eat his mouthful of fish, and besides, this encounter is already one of awkward misunderstandings. Why try to patch it up with social skills she already lacks? It isn't until he swallows and the spell is broken that she looks away, though not before catching his stilted grin.

"Relieved, I imagine. I've been avoiding him all day." Her shy smile and the glow of her halo soften any harshness form her face; she reaches up to brush a lock of hair that's escaped her loose braid back behind her ear, nestled amongst the lilacs that bloom there. He really does look like Gideon, albeit a dirtier, disheveled version who hasn't had a proper bath in Gods-know-how-long.

It makes him feel approachable, though, this man who makes a mess of his sandwich and sits among the stones, and Amalia finds herself unexpectedly lingering, though at a loss for why or what to say.
Amalia
Jonah Clemments


Age: 38 | Height: 5'11" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Nomadic
Level: 0 - Strg: 9 - Dext: 10 - Endr: 9 - Luck: 7 - Int:
Played by: Johnnie Offline
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Posts: 34 | Total: 4,183
MP: 87
#5
and if you maybe find a better way to love me then
Jonah’s nose pinches in a wince of sympathy, his teeth clamping around the very tip of his tongue. “That bad? Relieved it is.” A soft huff of laughter sands the edges of disuse off his features, his gaze lifting to watch gold and purple tuck behind her ear before snapping back to meet her gaze. “I’m uh.. I’m Jonah, just so... just for next time.

He expects that to be it, the mistake cleared up and both of them prying on their own merry way, but she lingers. And so Jonah stays still, captivated by her literal radiance right up until he isn’t, until he realizes he’s been staring and it’s been silent and he needs to say something.

Would you uh, care to join me?” He offers, hurriedly shifting a small smorgasbord within her reach, if she cared to sit. His brows pinch above momentarily stormy eyes, Jonah clearing his throat before tripping over his tongue to seem less like the strange man he is. “My eyes were a bit hungrier than my stomach.
JONAH
Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 5 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 52 - Luck: 49 - Int:
JYOTI - Mythical - Starwhale (Humpback)
Played by: shark Offline
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Posts: 3,098 | Total: 4,577
MP: 2580
#6
there were so many fewer questions when stars were still just the holes to heaven
For next time? The Angel chooses not to dwell on the implications (or lack thereof), though both smile and blush deepen briefly as she returns her name. "Amalia."

Well, aren't they a perfect pair of awkward statues frozen by the dusk? And so they may have remained for eternity, staring at one another until the volcano erupts once again and wiped away their anxieties, except, sweet mercy, Jonah breaks the ice. And it really is broken; Amalia blinks like one coming out of a daze, her thorough examination of this not-Gideon coming to an abrupt halt. "Oh!" she exclaims, her low voice a melodious, laughing chime. "I... uh..."

Suddenly self-conscious, Amalia looks back down to Haulani and considers her escape. "I really should go back..." she murmurs, clearly not convinced by her own words. She glances back at the stormy-gazed man, a flush back on her cheeks. "It's kind of nice, though. Being out here. I guess, if you don't mind..."

She settles into the grass across from him with the grace of someone whose done it a hundred times before, someone who feels more comfortable on the ground than at a table. Legs tucked underneath her, the Angel reaches out and snags a small cracker and some smoked fish. Looking back up at Jonah, Amalia tilts her head. "Why are you up here?" she asks, before popping the small sandwich between her lips with obvious delight.
Amalia
Jonah Clemments


Age: 38 | Height: 5'11" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Nomadic
Level: 0 - Strg: 9 - Dext: 10 - Endr: 9 - Luck: 7 - Int:
Played by: Johnnie Offline
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Posts: 34 | Total: 4,183
MP: 87
#7
and if you maybe find a better way to love me then
Amalia,” he parrots back brightly, “It’s a pleasure to- wait... Amalia?” Jonah’s brows furrow thoughtfully while he tries to place the familiarity, his eyes widening as it finally claws its way from the murky depths of memory. “The Shield of..?” Lowering his gaze quickly, he feels the tips of his ears start to burn. “Amalia. It really is a pleasure.” Perhaps it’s more of an emergency landing than a recovery, but he feels like he’s closed that nicely.

Disappointment has the nerve to start an outcry across his eyebrows, a revolt that Jonah is quick to tamp down and over correct, his smile turning somewhat pained. “You don’t have to.” If she has to go, she has to go but there is clearly something that wants her to stay in his face, the unsubtle way his grin angles towards her. “I don’t mind, I wouldn’t have offered if I did.

Oh, well... I haven’t been into the city for a while. It’s a lot more...” A hand flies around in a chaotic and utterly useless gesture, ending in Jonah’s warm eyes landing properly on Amalia again. “It’s more than I remember.” He holds her gaze for a moment, his smile brightening, then turns to look out over the city below them. “I think Haulani must be the most chaotic place in Caido.” A sigh sneaks out alongside the words, soft and awed and desperately fond.

That quiet place sneaks up on him again, halfway between anxiety and comfortability. Jonah refuses to let it win. “So... what kind of person drives a woman halfway up a volcano running away from him?
JONAH
Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 5 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 52 - Luck: 49 - Int:
JYOTI - Mythical - Starwhale (Humpback)
Played by: shark Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,098 | Total: 4,577
MP: 2580
#8
there were so many fewer questions when stars were still just the holes to heaven
Ah, and there it is: the recognition she so dislikes, the title she adores and its burden she can scarcely shoulder. Uncomfortably she shuffles, her own eyes cast anxiously around her feet. With no idea what to say, Amalia says nothing.

Thankfully, it's over soon, and the subject drifts away from her and to the city at their feet. Amalia's head bobs in a nod at the assessment of Haulani's more was, though of course she has no knowledge which allows for comparison. "Did you grow up here?" The Angel wonders, slanted gaze intensely interested, bright with the unabashed curiosity of the socially inept. "Have you seen a lot of Caido, then?"

Curiosity fades to wry annoyance, though a distinct note of fondness softens the bite. "A Priest." Leaned forward, head bowed over the feast as she selects her next small bite, Amalia isn't looking at Jonah's face for reaction. "He's not that bad, really. He just... Expects a lot of me." She shrugs her slender shoulders, finally glancing up.
Amalia
Jonah Clemments


Age: 38 | Height: 5'11" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Nomadic
Level: 0 - Strg: 9 - Dext: 10 - Endr: 9 - Luck: 7 - Int:
Played by: Johnnie Offline
Change author:
Posts: 34 | Total: 4,183
MP: 87
#9
and if you maybe find a better way to love me then
I have, and it still only feels like I’ve seen the very surface of it.” There’s a grin in Jonah’s voice, hidden away from Amalia by the way he turns, looking out into the sunset. “I didn’t grow up anywhere near here though.” His head tips so the sudden warmth of his smile can be pointed at Amalia, his hands paused for the moment. “Stormbreak, if you can believe it.

His reveal is far less dramatic than hers though, whether Amalia knows it or not. Jonah’s face sinks the moment her words touch the air, his eyes widening in uncomfortable surprise. “Really? I guess uh... we’re more similar than I thought.” He reaches out blindly then, searching for anything that he can shove in his mouth as a distraction, his cheeks full when the Demi-gods eyes grace him again. His gaze is guiltily pointed away from her, locked on his own lap this time.

Jonah can’t chew forever though, and he probably should have been using the time think about what he was goi no to say, instead of simply speaking. “Sometimes it’s easier to just get away from him for a bit.” There’s nothing but quiet understanding in his tone. “I understand.
JONAH


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