(SE) with the help of lucifer yellow

// and if i was the only thing you couldn't bear to lose,
i'd set fire to the wood, just so you wouldn't have to bury me too //

A hum leaves Sunjata, a small little laugh as he shrugs his shoulders, side eyeing the Ascended beside him as the liquor finally starts to affect him. “Guilty.” His voice rings out in an almost sing song tone, before a brighter laugh leaves him with the elbow to his side.

The conversation shifts, though, and Sunjata let’s the smile on his face dampen down to something else, nodding to Amun’s comment then to his simultaneous offer. “Probably. But that’s still not right with me.” He sighs, fiddling with the little paint set he has. “Do let me know what she thinks. I don’t know how much she knows about me but hopefully I could use a vouch or two.” He shrugs a shoulder, casting a steel glance back to Amun.

SUNJATA

my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,

for it is infinite.

Amun arched an eyebrow at Sunjata's acceptance of the potter's evaluation. Letting out a huff of air, he turned his lantern around so that he could view it from every angle. "Of more than being rash. Still, better to be doing something rather than sitting around waiting for the inevitable." He sighed, gaze falling into his lap.

"Well, your options then are to die with us or make sure we live. I know which one I'd prefer." Shaking his head, he felt his lips twitch as the Flood questioned the Voice's opinion of the demi-god. "Well considering Nate's relationship to her and to you I'd imagine she probably knows way more than you might be comfortable with."

by being moved I exert my empire,

making the dreams of night real

AMUN

// and if i was the only thing you couldn't bear to lose,
i'd set fire to the wood, just so you wouldn't have to bury me too //

“I agree.” Sunjata says easily, leaning over to grab the pack of cigarettes to pull one out, to light it again, and to sink back into his chair and the light buzz from the whiskey he has pooling in his head. The following comment, though, has Sunjata humming a small sound – knowing that his bargain right now is to pluck himself and Nate from the war, to wait it out, not exactly the kind to stick around and help them live, as selfish as that is.

So he doesn’t admit to anything of it, just nods and hums his agreement. That is, until the mention of the Voice brings his attention, a plume of smoke leaving his nose as he exhales and tilts his head to regard Amun. “What kind of things would I not be comfortable with her knowing?” Sunjata asks, curious if Amun has any ideas. As far as Sunjata’s concerned, he’s a relatively open book for the Voice given his relationship with Nate.

SUNJATA

my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,

for it is infinite.

Glancing between the cigarette and the whiskey dangling from Sunjata's lips, Amun arched an eyebrow. He scooted his stool back a short distance from the glowing ember. Setting the lantern down, he picked up a glass. However, he didn't fill it with anything. Instead, he just rolled it between his palms, staring at the decorations behind the bar.

Shrugging one shoulder at the Flood's question, the potter glanced over at the other man before the Ascended returned to his perusal of the bar. "I don't know. Anything Nate knows, she knows, or can find out. Same way Safrin could hear your thoughts." He hummed a low note. "So if there's any secrets you've shared, any plans you two made just for the two of you, well...you get the idea."

by being moved I exert my empire,

making the dreams of night real

AMUN

// and if i was the only thing you couldn't bear to lose,
i'd set fire to the wood, just so you wouldn't have to bury me too //

It’s relatively fancy behind the bar that Amun views, little decorative tangents of blues and coppers, of fire and water, pieces of taxidermy in mason jars and a variety of fancy blown glass bottles that aren’t filled anymore. Sunjata follows the Ascended’s eyes toward it, making no comment on the distance the Ascended makes from him. He understands to an extent.

However, the conversation regarding Nate and the Voice learning all sorts of things, Sunjata can’t help the smokey huff of a laugh that slips from his lips. “I like to think that Nate and I have been fairly transparent. There isn’t… Anything that I’ve told Nate that I’d be upset about your goddess knowing about.” He shrugs, rolling a shoulder out as he lowers the cigarette from his lips to flick the ash into an ashtray before returning his attention. “I only hope that I haven’t ruined my reputation with her, you see. I’m not sure if she’s fully aware of my… Change of sides.”

SUNJATA

my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,

for it is infinite.

Continuing to play with the glass he'd picked up, Amun balanced it on an edge and spun it around the tip of a finger. His eyes lingered on the taxidermy decorations longer than the rest. As Sunjata talked about his relationship with Nate, though, the potter shifted to face the Flood. "Like I said, everything Nate knows, she knows or could know. So I imagine she's aware of it."

Hesitating for just a moment, the potter set the glass down. "Look, she'll never like you. Or Frey. But she wants what's best for  Nate, and if Frey's goal really is just to preserve life in some way, shape, or form, that's not incompatible with her goals. If and when you see her, don't focus on yourself, try not to even think about your own thoughts and feelings, but rather focus on what you can do for Nate and the rest of the Ascended. She is pragmatic, if nothing else." He inclined his head towards the demi-god.

by being moved I exert my empire,

making the dreams of night real

AMUN

// and if i was the only thing you couldn't bear to lose,
i'd set fire to the wood, just so you wouldn't have to bury me too //

His head dips slightly, conceding the point, but unsure if Nate has gone and spoken with her since the whole shakeup. He doesn’t even know if it matters. Typically, Safrin didn’t tend to indulge in talking to him of events that occurred when he wasn’t around her, but that didn’t mean that the Voice was similar. So he listens, humming a laugh at the mention that she’ll never like him. It’s fine, it’s what he expected. But that didn’t mean that it wouldn’t be worth a shot, right?

You miss one hundred percent of the chances you don’t take?

“Mm, alright, fair enough.” Sunjata mutters, huffing another small laugh, but shoving the thought down into his memories, to reflect on the second he did get to see the Voice.

SUNJATA

my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,

for it is infinite.

Amun eyed Sunjata as the Flood took in the potter's words. When the other man responded, the Ascended blinked. He opened his mouth, paused, frowned, and closed it again. Shaking his head with a snort, he shrugged. "Eh, who am I to talk? She uplifted Nate, which means she cares much more about his opinion than yours or mine. I'm just the guy that got stuck in a hole for way too long."

Leaning over, he bumped the other man's shoulder. "Must be so tough for you, hearing that someone, or, well, some being, isn't going to immediately fawn over you." He waggled his eyebrows, though with less gusto than normal.

by being moved I exert my empire,

making the dreams of night real

AMUN

// and if i was the only thing you couldn't bear to lose,
i'd set fire to the wood, just so you wouldn't have to bury me too //

Sunjata’s gaze flickers back toward Amun, a dark brow rising at the commentary over how the Voice doesn’t care much about either of their opinions when it came to them versus Nate, something of which Sunjata immediately shakes his head to. “From what I understand, the Voice cares a lot about all of her ‘Bright Ones’ and their opinions.” Granted, he doesn’t have a first hand experience, just simply what he’s heard. “As for Nate, yes, she lifted him up but… It was to fix him after Safrin cursed him.” To this, he shrugs, his gaze leaving Amun’s in time for him to get bumped in the shoulder.

He looks back over to see the waggling of Amun’s brows, a rumble of a laugh leaving him as he rolls his eyes, a scoff leaving him. “I tend to prefer that, if I’m being honest.”

SUNJATA

my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,

for it is infinite.

Amun rolled his eyes at Sunjata's attempt at reassurance. Letting out a huff of air that was halfway between a snort and a laugh, the potter punched the Flood in the shoulder. "Yeah, I know. It was a joke." Frowning as the demi-god went on, the Ascended tilted his head to the side. "Did I miss this or is my memory just shitty?" His brow furrowed as he tried to recall the incident the other man described.

"You prefer...what? Being fawned over or being treated like a normal person?" Shaking his head, Amun added, "Because if it's the latter I think you've chosen the wrong path in life."

by being moved I exert my empire,

making the dreams of night real

AMUN

// and if i was the only thing you couldn't bear to lose,
i'd set fire to the wood, just so you wouldn't have to bury me too //

He’s misread the situation, though internally he thinks it’s a fair thing to mistake. After all, he’d been there with Nate the multitude of times that the Voice had never answered his call after he’d Ascended. How it had taken a toll on him, up until now, up until she’d helped him in ways that Sunjata couldn’t. “Hm?” He asks, before the realization hits. “Oh, uh. Nate was cursed by Safrin. He burned if he talked ill of her, I think. So he went to the Voice and she fixed him.” A shoulder rises and falls in a shrug.

The next comment has Sunjata pouring a bit more whiskey into his glass to sip from, his gaze drifting from their lanterns to the Ascended beside him. “I think I might’ve picked the wrong path.” He snorts, offering his answer in the same little tidy package. But he leans in as if he's telling Amun a secret, a hand cupped around the scarred part of his mouth to angle his whisper toward the other man. "I'm terrible at taking compliments."

SUNJATA

my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,

for it is infinite.

Blinking at Sunjata, Amun shook his head. "I think I've already said this, or thought it at least, but that bitch." Pausing, he eyed the Flood. "How in the world did he get cursed in the first place?" The potter scratched the back of his head.

Arching an eyebrow at the other man's confession, the Ascended shrugged. Spinning the glass he held around a few times, he hummed a few notes. Cupping his free hand around his mouth, he leaned over to whisper right back to Sunjata. "If it makes you feel better, most people who've known you for any amount of time have very few admirable things to say," Amun quipped. Leaning back, he smirked. "Kidding. Mostly."

by being moved I exert my empire,

making the dreams of night real

AMUN

// and if i was the only thing you couldn't bear to lose,
i'd set fire to the wood, just so you wouldn't have to bury me too //

“Oh, that bitch.” Sunjata agrees, a muffled sound leaving him as he huffs a quiet sigh. When it comes to how it occurred, though, the muscles feather in his jaw a moment longer, unsure how much of it Nate wants out, but figuring that Amun was Ascended, a dedicated one at that, and likely wouldn’t use the information in ill will. “He, uh, wanted to get a gift for me. From her. Safrin asked him to make him a spy for the Ascended and when he refused, well, she cursed him.” His gaze slips over to Amun, another shrug, the glass lifting to his lips shortly after to nurse that particular memory away.

He straightens up a bit when Amun returns the whisper, the comment definitely pulling a laugh from him as he shakes his head. “Mostly, huh?” He feigns offense before shaking his head. “Would you believe me if I said it was mostly intentional?” He cocks a brow as he looks back over to the Ascended.

SUNJATA

my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,

for it is infinite.

Amun blinked at Sunjata's explanation about how Nate managed to get cursed. For a moment, the potter just stared at the Flood. Then the Ascended buried his face in his hands. "She's still a bitch, but that was a really stupid thing to do. Sweet, but dumb." He himself couldn't tell if he was laughing a bit or crying at the sheer idiocy involved.

Shaking his head at the demi-god's supposed confession, Amun snorted. "Nah. There's got to be some amount of bad luck involved. Nobody is that good at acting." He nudged the other man with a shoulder before the potter pulled the lantern for Samuel closer.

by being moved I exert my empire,

making the dreams of night real

AMUN