[se] there's no secrets here

NOAH

For it being winter, it was an odd day. The sun burned high in the sky, making the snow glitter beautifully throughout King's End. Noah found himself traveling through the world in his lynx form, still trying to get his bearings and have a perimeter in mind for this place he and his comrades used as temporary solace. The sun blazed down on the snow, and on the lynx's back, as he traversed over hills and moved with an impressive swiftness. He was made for this in this form--traveling long distances in a day and hunting on the powdery, fluffy snow. His large paws kept him from sinking down, though every once and while a misstep did cause him to rematch his balance.

Finally, the lynx paused, and looked around, taking in the sights around him.

how far have we come, too far to throw away the past
will you be there waiting for me?

table code by skylark

nobody really cared, so it never really mattered. it never really mattered, so it never really happened
what's the point in fightin' for a happy ever after? the past keep's hauntin' the future i imagine

It was cold, but it wasn’t cold like it usually was. He imagines that’s in part due to the sun that beats down from above, coating the earth in a glittering sheen of snow that begins to melt only on the top, an encasing that would likely freeze throughout the night and make everything incredibly slick. And Sunjata? Sunjata’s hunting.

He’s been tracking a luxere for a while now, but the tracks have gotten a bit muddy (or snowy?) and he can’t quite scent the way the creature had gone. All he can get right now is the scent of another predator, another feline of sorts, and it intrigues Sunjata further to investigate.

He sticks out like a sore thumb, black spotted fur against a pale ivory background, but his ears are perked and his steel gaze is focused on the tracks of the lynx now, wondering where it might lead or if this was the reason he’d lost sight of the luxere.

SUNJATA

NOAH

Noah had not been hunting, but to say that his scent might have made any luxere high tail it would be untrue. He moved unbiasedly, needing to know the perimeter of this new place. He did nothing to hide himself because there was no need for it in his mind. This was a place of the wilds, and Noah was unaware of anyone else aside from he and his friends using it as a safe haven.

He had been mistaken to think he was the only cat living here.

Having circled back in on his own tracks, towards where he had last seen the tangle of bushes he thought would work well for a gift for Cordelia, Noah caught sight of the black cat. The lynx paused, one paw lifted midstep. Blue eyes watched the approaching creature quizzically. It was quite out of place in this snowy landscape, more suited to a home like Torchline. No confusion truly grasped at Noah's mind, because he came to his own conclusion. Hello! he called out amiably over the bond, standing his ground.

how far have we come, too far to throw away the past
will you be there waiting for me?

table code by skylark

nobody really cared, so it never really mattered. it never really mattered, so it never really happened
what's the point in fightin' for a happy ever after? the past keep's hauntin' the future i imagine

In the snowy landscape, a lynx certainly fits in. The other feline even blends in, far better than Sunjata could ever hope to with the darkness of his fur. But he follows the tracks anyway, hoping it might lead him to the luxere he’d been chasing after – and when it doesn’t? Well, he’s partially annoyed. It’s nothing compared to the shock that lances through him and the attuned bond (sorry Noah), at the voice that reaches him.

His head lifts abruptly, ears perked forward, whiskers twitching as his steel gaze watches the lynx stand his ground – quite clearly talking to him. Uh, hello? He rumbles, his voice a thicker accent (the exact same Chulane has, yet the octave a bit deeper). Tentatively, the panther steps a bit closer, ears flattening as he inspects the lynx. Seen a luxere pass through here? He asks, despite the likelihood that the luxere had scented Noah too and left as quickly as it could.

SUNJATA

NOAH

Not as easily noticeable as an attuned in this place, in the form he was, Noah was not surprised at the confusion or surprise he caused within the other feline. The lynx shifted some to recline back on haunches, the ease of the action a sign that Noah meant no harm by his presence. This, after all, was neutral territory. He did not know this attuned, even as he spoke, but he wanted it to be very clear that Noah was not interested in picking fights for any reason.

No, I haven't. Noah looked over his shoulder some, blue eyes scanning the snow. The luxere tracks were clear, then frenzied. But it looks like I unintentionally scared off your meal. Noah hadn't meant to -- he had no need to hunt today. With what he and Deimos and Cordelia had already gathered in their time in King's End, they were set for a while. Noah left himself clean and open across the bond, marking his words true and honest for the steel-eyed cat to feel.

Noah might be a stoic man, but he was not unkind in nature.

how far have we come, too far to throw away the past
will you be there waiting for me?

table code by skylark

nobody really cared, so it never really mattered. it never really mattered, so it never really happened
what's the point in fightin' for a happy ever after? the past keep's hauntin' the future i imagine

The lynx stills and Sunjata continues to step forward, still a bit on edge as he scans the lynx and the posture he takes. The panther’s whiskers twitch, his steel gaze focusing on the smaller feline with a sense of being on edge. Even if his posture says otherwise, Sunjata’s slow to trust at the best of times and with this past year it’s made far, far more difficult. It’s fine. Sunjata shakes his head, letting the comment roll off.

It was more of an opportunity more than anything else. He didn’t need the luxere, but if he’d managed to get it then he would’ve simply considered it to be more stockpiling. Not too many people are out here, I don’t usually run into other attuned’s that often. He murmurs as he comes to a stop as well, sitting and letting his long tail curl around his front paws. This close, Noah would likely see the large scars in the side of his pelt, the smaller ones that break up the fur around his neck, one that tugs on the side of his face.

And after a moment of consideration. Who are you?

SUNJATA

NOAH

It was true There weren’t many people out here, and seeing another attuned that was not a part of the band that Noah tied himself to. The other felines words held the suspicion that grabbed his spine, causing Noah to shift his weight some. Who was this man? The muscles along the lynx’s back feathered as Sunjata stepped closer, but he did not move an inch. Instead, he looked upon the man with the same steady, glacier gaze that he had since laying eyes on him.

My name is Noah. He stated plainly, voice even. And you? he asked the panther, ears perked forward with a depth of curiosity. If the other predator demanded an answer from him in this neutral territory, then Noah would reciprocate that expectation. I was out here gathering supplies for myself. he said, a half truth. Truly, he was out scouting and gathering the supplies he would need to make a gift for Cordelia.

how far have we come, too far to throw away the past
will you be there waiting for me?

table code by skylark

nobody really cared, so it never really mattered. it never really mattered, so it never really happened
what's the point in fightin' for a happy ever after? the past keep's hauntin' the future i imagine

The who are you is truly the question Sunjata waits for an answer of – approaching the lynx in both curiosity and protectiveness, his steel gaze scanning Noah just as much as Noah scans him. And when the realization hits, Sunjata’s ears perk forward, his whiskers flicker, and his tail sweeps out behind him in long idle swipes. Sunjata. He offers, though he doesn’t dip his head. He knows of Noah roundaboutly, mostly from Nate, but he’s inclined to wait and see whether Noah recognizes his name as well.

As for supplies, Sunjata does nod to this, even as his gaze leaves the lynx to scan the way the luxere had come and gone. Just yourself? He asks, finding it a bit hard to believe – just recently had Sunjata ran into Deimos near his home, and part of him had been hopeful that his and his husband’s attempt to get away from everyone would work. So far, it seems everyone else had a similar idea.

SUNJATA

the devil you know is better than the ghost you don't

How the darker feline reacted to his name made Noah feel on edge. Was it curiosity, or was it familiarity? Noah contemplated standing again, moving slightly away from the stranger, before his own name rolled out over the bond. Then the reaction made sense in the hunter's mind. The name -- the story -- was familiar to him and, unlike the other feline, the lynx did not show any outward sign that the name might mean anything to him.

There are others. This is a free land, after all. Noah's voice was cool and collected over the bond. He stood then, large paws carrying him several paces to his left. He was near a tangled, leafless bundle of brambles. Noah had intended to harvest some of the brambles for what he was making. When he was close to the bush he shifted, taking the risk that the man might stay in his shift and use the opportunity to attack him -- but Noah wanted to assume that he wouldn't.

Even if his husband had tried to kill him for no reason, only a few months ago.

so I sit and the scan the frequencies, watch the falling snow

Noah Olson

// seems like the whole damn world went and lost its mind & all my childhood heroes
have fallen off or died. fake tears, real living, fake tears, but the alcohol never lies //

There’s no reaction from Noah and suddenly Sunjata feels very much like he had each and every time he was around Deimos. It’s a loose web of discomfort that settles over him, one that he keeps meticulously hidden from Noah. Instead, spending the moments to watch as the smaller feline slips from his spot toward the panther’s left to collect some brambles. And as the other man shifts back, Sunjata blinks at the other man, calculating as best he can.

So he shifts as well, not needing his panther shift when Noah had shifted back. So he stands, hands shoved into his pockets, drawing to his full height. He watches Noah from quiet reserved steel, working his jaw as the scar on his cheek moves slightly with the movement. His neck is gouged deep with scars as well, ones that slowly begin to fill in with the black plates of his dragon shift to ward off the cold – only the plates of the dragon are just as jagged and broken as his skin appeared beneath.

Suppose it’s a getaway more than a free land. He poses the thought through the Attuned bond, still watching Noah curiously before his attention shifts toward something else, a few branches of a particular dogwood tree, which shoot out in red as bright as a sunset. He steps the opposite way away from Noah toward it, fingers shifting to claws and snipping a few of these more decorative branches off. Hopefully you find what you’re looking for. He says idly, drawing up again and slipping the ends of those branches into a pocket.

some princes don't become kings

SUNJATA

the devil you know is better than the ghost you don't

Sunjata shifted, and that released some of the tension on Noah's shoulders. Although he was a tall and imposing man, the fact that he took to his human skin like Noah had made the hunter believe he would not outright attack him. Silently, Noah let go of a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, and harvested the tangled brambles that he wanted. He stuffed them into the deep, deep pockets of his jacket. They mingled with the glass that Noah had already gathered from the sand targets that he and Deimos had used to train a few days prior, as well as some dark red, dried berries Noah had found victim to the frosts.

When the man spoke across the bond, Noah was a little surprised. He turned to watch Sunjata harvest his own branches, from the dogwood tree not too many paces away. The hunter let his eyes roll over the man's figure, and the shiny black scales were not lost on him. Noah's jaw feathered some, and he locked his emotions down and out from their shared bond. Without the concealing, it would be an eruption of rage that would bombard Sunjata -- because Noah knew the look of those scales, and knew where the dragon had come from. He had let Nate have the shift. It caused the hair on the back of Noah's neck to prickle, but his glacier voice rolled out across the bond as neutral as it had before. A gateway to what, do you think?

so I sit and the scan the frequencies, watch the falling snow

Noah Olson

// seems like the whole damn world went and lost its mind & all my childhood heroes
have fallen off or died. fake tears, real living, fake tears, but the alcohol never lies //

He uses his talons to carve out the few branches of the red dogwood tree, before tucking them into a pocket alongside the rest of his things, before he’s glancing back toward Noah when he speaks – letting the words infiltrate his mind. The question is a loaded one, and one that truthfully confuses Sunjata. He hadn’t mentioned anything of a gateway, simply only a getaway. Surely that had an answer in and of itself already made.

Regardless, he shrugs his shoulders – the plates of his neck slipping over one another with the movement before he responds. Thinking it’s just a getaway for people that don’t want to be found. He offers softly, thoughtfully, before he shakes his head and shrugs again. Gods know that was my personal intention. And yet I’ve already found so many people wandering about out here. In varied states, of course. But between Deimos, Hotaru, now Noah? It was hard to say it was a getaway at all.

But they did all have one thing in common.

some princes don't become kings

SUNJATA

the devil you know is better than the ghost you don't

omg i still can't believe i can't read

The scales that covered the man's neck did not ease anything within Noah. In fact, the inferno still raged, caged and captured and unreadable through the bond and the stoic way his face holds it all together. If you're the one finding them, perhaps you have achieved your goal The hunter thought, as idly as possible. It was Sunjata that stumbled upon him on this day, in fact. Noah had not been on the search that the Flood had been, and had not meant to cross paths with anyone.

The way that Sunjata spoke, though, made it clear to Noah that he did not want to be here, having this conversation at all. I can make this easy for you. I'll go back to my tasks, and you can go back to yours. Noah lifted glacier eyes to those equally as stormy, waiting to see if that was sufficient enough for the former politician. To be honest, Noah did not want to stand here talking to him, either. Everything that Noah knew about Sunjata made him not want to speak with him. From the description of his character, and those he shared a life with, he was not Noah's choice for friend.

so I sit and the scan the frequencies, watch the falling snow

Noah Olson

i saw you comin' with the gun in your hands

He half wants to retort that while it isn’t his intention to find people, the more that were out here, the more likely his home was to be discovered – happened upon, stumbled across, and Sunjata’s always been a paranoid man (made more so thanks to his father and the recent events of just this year alone), and the last thing he wants is to return home to yet another burned down building. But all those thoughts remain bit behind his tongue. All he offers instead is a snort.

His gaze slips back over to Noah at the mention of I can make this easy for you, a dark brow raised and his scarred side of his lips curling in something close to distaste. Did Noah think he was doing him a favor? It’s not worth diving into, though, not when Sunjata’d already lost the whole point of him being out here.

So he’s silent, watchful for a few brief moments. Suppose it’s nice to have a name to the face now. He sends over, keeping his distance if only because of how he makes his departure. He shifts into that black dragon, scars and grooves a light grey in comparison to the rest of his mottled black plates. His wings spread, sending snow billowing out around him, and he takes to the sky to take the much quicker route home – taking care to make sure that he’s not followed.

- FIN <333

i can't want this, i can't want this

SUNJATA