[Mini Event] no love, no pain, so they say

the first cut was the deepest, but it healed up whole

Arriving at the safe haven today, there’s a different purpose. One that’s full of optimism, sure, but not for the typical what can we accomplish today, but instead the offer of inviting people, to see what’s been accomplished so far, to prove it isn’t some kind of hopeless pipe dream. It’s almost done, houses sprinkled throughout, the beginnings of farmland in the works, the rotating sectors for trees for lumber, and material spread out for the next set of buildings they’re to make.

He’s sent out word for the event, however, and much like the first one in Torchline, Sunjata awaits any arrivals aside from those that had already been helping him, milling about and taking care of the livestock that have been increasingly helpful as the weeks drag on.

And so he waits for anyone to arrive who may be on the fence of the safe haven.

---

The second mini event for the safe haven! Come check out how things are going so far and if there’s any questions Sunjata will be happy to answer them!

the flood

and the next one was a soft touch, but i bled out below

totally sniped from odd ilu

Everest

Being a dog is so much easier than being a gangly teenage boy.

There's no acne, no voice cracks, no awkward boners, and best of all, no one asks him what he's going to do on the weekend or what career path he thinks he'll find himself on, or how his parents are doing. Other than Mateo almost no one talks to him when he's in this shift, because, as his friend has explained, a big black dog can come across a bit intimidating if you're unaware that the mind inside of it is tightly wound with a penchant for taking notes.

Pressing his cold nose against one of Mateo's palms, the dog hufffs under his breath to indicate vague confusion as to what this gathering is all about.

If I told you that you'd do nothing with it
I'd still be that cigarette that you couldn't finish

Mateo, as a gangly teenage boy, would probably also prefer to be a dog. Alas, he has no choice but to suffer the voice cracks and awkward boners, but only one of those ought to appear at this sudden gathering. (Everyone hopes it's the former, including Mateo). "This is coming along, huh," he murmurs, gazing around at the safe haven that had only been rumour up until this point.

Smiling down at the canine pushing his nose into his hand, he offers Ever a scritch behind the ears and falls to a stop near Sunjata, tilting his head at the Flood. "This is Frey's demigod," he whispers to his friend. "I think he used to be friends with my dad, but... not any more. Wonder if he knows what else Frey likes?"

the first cut was the deepest, but it healed up whole

He recognizes the smaller black dog – though it’s a bit absent minded that he does. It takes him a moment, imagining it might just be just any dog, before he notices the other younger boy speaking to it. And while he can’t fully hear what they talk about, Sunjata’s attention is drawn to them despite it. Sure, a few other people come and inspect and ask a few questions and go, but before everything else – Sunjata’s focus lands back on Mateo and Everest.

And it’s with a bright smile that he greets them, one that tugs on the scarred half of his face. “Do you two have any questions about this place?” Or any in general. His gaze drifts to the dog then to the boy, drifting between the two of them as if awaiting any potential questions he might need to answer.

the flood

and the next one was a soft touch, but i bled out below

totally sniped from odd ilu

Having been busily watching the rest of the proceedings and fussing over his friend's unfairly fluffy ears, Mateo is a little surprised when Sunjata addresses them directly. Luckily he is not Everest Hart, and the attention doesn't bother him much. "Hi," he says, a cheerful smile pinning dimples in his cheeks. "We don't know if we're going to be in this place in the war yet. But it looks really good!"

As for questions, he nibbles at his lower lip and gazes around at the bustling safe haven-to-be. "What's going to happen to this place when the war is over?" he wonders. "Will it still be safe here? What if people want to stay forever?" And on that note, given that this is Frey's demigod and Frey is kind of doing all of this, "how come Frey doesn't want to go to war?"

Everest

Offering Mateo a ruffff of agreement, the boy-dog sits quietly as Sunjata addresses them. Of course Everest nearly always had questions about things, but just now he was at a loss about what to say given the magnitude of what it was Sunjata was doing. Not wanting to wax poetic about death and life and if it was better to do something and risk death versus do nothing and live in a world you hated, the boy curled his thick tail around his paws and sighed uneasily.

Will we have any way of knowing what's going on outside? If...if things are going well, or if anyone is hurt, or.. Unable to bring himself to say the word, the pup merely whines before pushing his cold nose into his friend's palm and huffing unhappily.

If I told you that you'd do nothing with it
I'd still be that cigarette that you couldn't finish

the first cut was the deepest, but it healed up whole

A soft chuckle leaves the Flood, a smile tugging on the scarred edge of his lips that makes it a bit crooked. “Thank you.” Everyone had worked incredibly hard to make it what it was so far. And truth be told? Sunjata’s quite proud of the state of things right now. However, when it comes to the questions, he’s a little bit surprised to find so many, and he starts to figure out that addressing them in order was likely for the best.

Which required doing his best to not miss anything and forget to answer one. “I’m not sure what will happen to it when the war is over. But I’m sure that if people wished to stay, they could. The goal is to keep it self-supporting seeing as we don’t know how long the war will go for.” Weeks to months to years potentially. “It’s safe in the fact that the war can’t touch it, so I imagine once war is done the divine protection stops. But I haven’t yet asked, so I can certainly find out.” A wink is tipped to Mateo before he dives into the more difficult conversations that the boy and Everest to his side bring up.

“Frey’s… More of a creating life and making sure it continues type of deity. War is difficult in that it does the opposite of that.” There’s a slight frown that crosses his face, but he pushes through it, trying to explain it as gently as he can – a fact made difficult by his own inherent difficulties when it comes to figuring out how best to speak with children of this age. “We want to make sure people have a chance in it and won’t be without options.”

Turning to the dog, the frown remains but it shifts sympathetic and almost apologetic in a sense. “I’m sorry, but we won’t know anything until the war is over.”

the flood

and the next one was a soft touch, but i bled out below

totally sniped from odd ilu

Unable to hear anything going on down the Attuned bond, Mateo is nonetheless used to conversations happening around him, and he gives Everest an affectionate scritch behind the ear and down into the thick ruff of furr around his neck as he listens to Sunjata. Honestly, he has no idea why his dads have so much against Frey (and against Frey's demigod, but he doesn't know how deep that goes at least). This all sounds amazing.

"But Vi and Mort are happy to go to war...?" He tilts his head, confused that the deities of LiFe and DeAtH are apparently happy for it to all go ahead. "Well, I'm glad that Frey wants to give us a chance. I think I would like it here, if we came to stay for the war." He smiles brightly. Mateo doesn't know it yet, but that's exactly what will be happening, because for all of his parents' flaws and biases, this is the safest place for him.

"Thanks for explaining everything, Sunjata. I hope this is all finished soon!"

Everest

Though he doesn't receive the clarity he might have liked, Ever finds his tail still thumping on the grass to communicate his appreciation just the same. Huffing out a sound of indulgent pleasure, the dog leans against his friend in a way he'd never be comfortable doing as a boy.

Letting his tongue loll out, Ever bobs his head in agreement. This really does seem nice. I hope it's okay if I bring some books and things? I don't want to fall behind on my studies. There might be a war on, but not unlike Frey, Ever was not ignorant of the fact that once it was all over, things were going to have to carry on somehow.

Woofing his agreement, Ever nudged Mateo's hand for more scritches.

~FIN

If I told you that you'd do nothing with it
I'd still be that cigarette that you couldn't finish