you say you're numb inside

SUNJATA

the flood

i lost all the air in my lungs to the screamin'
i lost all the love in my heart to the demons

Amun’s hand on his face stills him just enough that the potter can try and warp his smile into something despite Sunjata not quite attempting it himself, letting the Ascended feel the tension when it comes to that particularly gnarled part of his face. It doesn’t last, though, all that banter falling when the door slams shut and Sunjata curses, feeling the hand now at his elbow – his brows pinching together as he glares at the door. “I don’t like it in here.” He admits, a touch sensitive of it, before he takes a deep breath and filters through his shifts in his mind.

“The bat is likely the smallest.” He offers, moving to shift the second that the fog and laughter returns and it’s a good thing Sunjata’s shrinking down to the smallest shift he has, otherwise he’d likely curse it out as well. Instead, it’s a fluttering black bat that immediately latches onto Amun’s chest, his little wings and hands digging into the potter’s shoulders, while Sunjata cusses chirps out the spirit.

i lost all the things that i used to believe in
i lost everything for no goddamn reason

my love affair with water runs deep into my soul,

the serenity as intense as the tides ebb and flow

For a moment, Amun let his fingers rest on Sunjata's cheeks. The potter pressed against the tension in the Flood's jaw and scar, trying to massage some of it out. Of course, when the door slammed shut the potter's hands dropped away. "Hey, I was trapped in a cave for over a year, remember? Not exactly my favorite place to be either." He snorted.

Nodding before he remembered the demi-god couldn't see it, the Ascended cleared his throat. "Got it." Reaching up with one hand, he supported Sunbata with a palm as Amun made his way toward the door. Resting the fingers of his free hand on the iron, his brow furrowed as he activated his metal manipulation upgrade.

With a screech, the iron began to warp and shift. A tiny pinprick of light appeared in the widening hole. Trying to grip the other man with as little force as possible, the potter would try to pry the flood from the Ascended's chest and transport the demi-god to the hole once it was large enough. "Don't wait for me. I'll seal this back up and skedaddle."

nothing is softer or more flexible than water,

yet nothing can resist it

AMUN

don't you know i'm no good for you?

If Sunjata’s being honest, he imagines that Amun faired far better off than Sunjata ever would, given the difference between the two. How long would it take before he ran out of breath? Before starvation tore him asunder? Things that Amun didn’t have to worry about from getting trapped in the caves – not like it was something Sunjata wanted for himself or the Potter.

Instead, he offers his curses in the chirps and chattering of the bat shift, little hands digging into the cloth around Amun’s neck as the Ascended works, his ears flickering back as he waits for the light to become brighter and bigger, giving him a way out of this potential hellscape. Soon enough, it’s large enough, and Sunjata immediately lets go of the other man’s chest toward the opening, slipping through and fluttering out to land on the other side and shift into himself, wiping his arms and chest off of any dust (and lingering bad feelings from the space they’d occupied), a shudder running down his spine.

Once that's done, however, he reaches for the bag that he'd forgotten on the floor outside from their adventure here, hoisting it up onto his back, waiting for Amun to offer him a ride back to the Grounds.

i've learned to lose, you can't afford to

SUNJATA

my love affair with water runs deep into my soul,

the serenity as intense as the tides ebb and flow

As Sunjata leapt off Amun's chest he knelt down. Watching as the Flood fluttered outside and shifted, the potter nodded. He reversed his actions with his upgrade and sealed the hole up; it went much faster than opening it had gone. That done, he went over to the lid of the sarcophagus. It was harder without the demi-god, but the Ascended managed to wrestle it back into place and sealed the skeleton back in its coffin.

Tomb set to rights, he took a deep breath. Bowing to the empty chamber, he cleared his throat. "We apologize again for disturbing your rest." With that, he phased through the door. Blinking against the light, his gaze immediately shot to the other man. "See? Nothing to worry about."

nothing is softer or more flexible than water,

yet nothing can resist it

AMUN

don't you know i'm no good for you?

Sunjata takes a bit of his time situating the bag on one shoulder, waiting with his arms crossed along his chest for Amun to return, a set to his jaw of his discomfort that when the Potter does arrive, his shoulders slump a fraction – having not wanted to carve into the tomb with his dragon shift to rescue Amun from yet another cave-like prison. “Easy for you to say.” He mutters with a frown and a heavy sigh before he turns away toward the way they’d come from, pausing to let Amun catch up.

“I vote we fly back. It’s quicker. Want a ride?” He asks, casting a glance toward Amun as the scales of his dragon shift start to cross along his skin yet again.

i've learned to lose, you can't afford to

SUNJATA

my love affair with water runs deep into my soul,

the serenity as intense as the tides ebb and flow

Arching an eyebrow at Sunjata's response, Amun put his hands on his hips. He flashed the Flood a grin. "It was. Come on, have a little faith. I'm usually good at keeping my word." Reaching out, the potter would give the demi-god a light punch in the upper arm.

Shrugging at the offer, the Ascended gave one last look at the door. "If you're done here, guess there's not much else to do or say." He held out his hands for the other man's bag. "I can take that, since you're doing the heavy lifting." If Sunjata did give up the pack, Amun would sling it over one shoulder, then board the dragon's back.

nothing is softer or more flexible than water,

yet nothing can resist it

AMUN

sleep don't visit, so i choke on sun // and the days blur into one

He takes the light punch to his arm but it doesn’t keep him from glancing over with the frown that tugs at his face, his gaze warming up now that he’s no longer trapped in the confines of a sacred place he should not have been, now that he’s able to push away the horrible memories and thoughts that had started to choke him.

As it stands, though, he is done here now. He doesn’t want to stick around to find anything else, and with the offered hand he moves to deposit his bag into the potter’s possession, stepping away to shift into the dragon within his skin, dropping down to the ground low enough for Amun to clamor onto his back and get settled, a snort of sound reminiscent of a thanks, before he moves to take them into the sky.

The trip back to the Grounds is quick and painless, and he manages to get them back without any issues.

- FIN <333

and the backs of my eyes hum with things i've never done

SUNJATA