take it on the run

SUNJATA

i'm the lights out, i'm the guard down
the bated breath you take, you take and hold

The one place he can count on it being quiet is the Atheneum. Not only that but it certainly gives some amount of relief from the Longheat sun. And when it comes to the Flood, there’s nothing that soothes his increasing stress like mindlessly going through book after book. For what? Nothing in particular.

Some things are things he deems important enough to make note of, others he simply ignores the rest of everything that’s going on in favor for reading the strange or silly story written into the books. It’s mostly lore, a historical recollection with some truth and some not, but it whittles away the time and eases the stress of the impending war and just how under-prepared the Hollowed Ground is.

He’s sequestered in the back of the Atheneum, at a table, dressed in the usual pants and boots, but a short sleeve shirt graces his torso in place of the usual sleeveless kind. Hunched over the edge of the desk with the book flat in front of him and a pad of paper and a writing utensil to scratch his little notes in, content to continue until it gets dark.

i'm the shade of doubt, i'm the mask and shroud
i'm the burning out, i'm the lie you tell, the lie you tell yourself

If it were up to Lisbeth, the army would seize every single book inside this place.

She walked up and down the rows of shelves, searching the spines of every volume. So much knowledge. More than she could ever hope to read. More than anyone could fathom.

And it was all being kept here, on defiled ground.

She looked around at the ancient halls of the library. She'd been meaning to come here for awhile. For months, really. It seemed like such a peaceful place. One would never guess that it stood in the lands that had been the prison of the one who tried to overthrow the gods. Part of Lisbeth wished that this place had remained locked away forever. Then the Old Gods could have continued to guide the people of Caido without interference from the Voice.

The only reason she was here was for knowledge. Her encounters with the Abandoned, Sah, had brought up too many questions. Questions that she didn't have the answers to. He'd challenged her faith in the Old Gods. Treated her like she was some child who didn't know her way.

So she'd come here, hoping to find answers. For a long time, she'd been afraid to go looking for answers. She'd put it off again and again. Maybe because she was afraid of what she would find.

Somewhere in this repository of knowledge she hoped to find some books that told her more about the time before the rise of the New Gods. Maybe she could find some tomes containing the ancient teachings of the Old Gods, something more than the many myths and legends that survived to this day. She hoped one day to be able to speak to the gods and ask them her questions directly, but they had not yet seen fit to grace her with their presence. So, like many a mortal, she sought knowledge from the writings of history.

She found a tome containing some interesting writing on the philosophy of the gods. She leafed through it, walking along the hall with her nose in a book. She was in civilian clothing, and hadn't brought her bow or rapier, though she did have a pair of daggers stashed in her boots. One could never be too careful.

Unfortunately, she wasn't being careful enough with the way she was walking, because she ran right into a table, where a man was busy writing. She fumbled as the things on the table were jostled and fell over. She clutched the book to her chest to keep from dropping it.

"Sorry!" she said to the stranger. "I didn't mean to...sorry..."

SUNJATA

i'm the lights out, i'm the guard down
the bated breath you take, you take and hold

He isn’t at all paying attention when the woman steps through the Atheneum with her nose in a book. He simply continues to scribble his notes, trying to alleviate his anxiety, when she bumps into the table and he writes a line right through the rest of the page. His gaze lifts immediately, steel scanning her to make sure she’s okay at first, to find the book clutched tight to her chest, before it settles on her face.

“That’s alright. Are you okay?” He asks, the deep rumble of his voice thickly accented, trying to pinpoint where she’s from. For the most part he knows everyone in the Grounds, the perks of being friends with the Ascended as well as the Grounds ruler. But he draws back a bit, setting the pen down, regarding her and awaiting an answer, the lightning scarred hand flexing as he withdraws it.

The rest of him, though, suntanned and freckled, a scar that’s gnarled and drags up from the corner of his lip up his cheek, neck dotted and littered with hundreds of silvery Ascended bite scars at this point, compass tattoos on the sides of his neck, dipping away under his shirt, and one arm fully tattooed to his wrist in a wavelike pattern. But the rest of him remains calm, attentive, curious to make sure she hasn’t hurt herself first and foremost.

i'm the shade of doubt, i'm the mask and shroud
i'm the burning out, i'm the lie you tell, the lie you tell yourself

Lisbeth took a step back, gasping. Her eyes widened at the sight of the huge, scarred man. If he were standing, she wouldn't even come up to his shoulder. He looked like he could crush her with a single fist.

She swallowed and took a deep breath. He wasn't acting aggressively. She shouldn't judge him by his imposing appearance.

"I'm fine," she said. "Just embarrassed." Her face turned a light shade of pink. Admitting she was embarrassed was, somehow, more embarrassing than fumbling into the table in the first place.

She glances at the paper on the table. "Oh! I ruined your...well, whatever you're working on. Sorry. I should have been paying more attention. I'm not from around here..."

She cut herself off. Best, perhaps, not to reveal any more information. She was standing in what would, quite soon, be enemy territory. Another reason she should have put this visit off even longer. But for all she knew, once the war started, she'd never have the chance to return here again.

SUNJATA

i'm the lights out, i'm the guard down
the bated breath you take, you take and hold

The gasp sparks his scarred brow to rise a fraction higher – somehow surprised that this girl doesn’t recognize him. It only sparks a bit more suspicion as to what she was doing here. She tells him she’s fine and that she’s embarrassed and he hums a note of understanding, setting the pen down. “Nothing that can’t be fixed.” He shrugs a shoulder, closing the notebook up and returning his steel gaze back to her.

“Where are you from if not from here?” He asks – wondering momentarily if she’s an outlander that’s just dropped in or whether she was from somewhere else. After all, again most people knew him or of him. He was one of Frey’s demigods, after all… Let alone a previous governor of Torchline and now the current Archon of the Hollowed Grounds, the creator of the safe haven for the impending war. His name came up time and time again.

But, of course he realizes now that he hasn’t actually given a name nor has she given hers. And he supposes it’s hard to know who you were talking to if that weren’t the case. So he remains sitting to alleviate some of her embarrassment, gaze remaining on her out of pure curiosity (and a bit of suspicion).

i'm the shade of doubt, i'm the mask and shroud
i'm the burning out, i'm the lie you tell, the lie you tell yourself

"Oh, I'm from..."

Lisbeth cuts herself off. It seemed unwise to admit that she was from Stormbreak, considering Stormbreak and the Hollowed Grounds were soon to be at war. She could be seen as an enemy spy, or an assassin, or some other kind of infiltrator. Really, she was just here to learn more about the Old Gods before she lost her chance, but she couldn't be sure if anyone would believe that.

"...Torchline," she finished. It was the first city that popped into her mind. Torchline was a mixing pot for all sorts of different people. She figured it was a safe enough place to claim to be from.

Trying to change the subject, she nodded towards his paper. "Umm...what are you writing about?"

SUNJATA

i'm the lights out, i'm the guard down
the bated breath you take, you take and hold

It is wise of her to omit the fact she’s from Stormbreak – after all, Sunjata had spent time in its prison most recently, a few hours after Remi had blacked him out from their attempt to get a relic that Stormbreak can’t even use. Either way, he hums a sound of approval, shuffling the notebook off to the side so he can close up the book he’d been reading. “Ah, well, welcome.” He offers though he sounds distracted, hiding some of the research he’s been doing as he regards her and her question again.

“Simple research. It’ll likely bore you.” He flashes her a wink, covering up anything else with his usual charm and grace, leaning back in the chair and runs a hand through his dark hair. “What are you reading?” He turns the question back onto her, nodding toward the book she holds to her chest.

i'm the shade of doubt, i'm the mask and shroud
i'm the burning out, i'm the lie you tell, the lie you tell yourself

"Oh!" Lisbeth pulled the book away from her chest, having forgotten it was there. "I'm reading up on lore about the Old Gods. The early teachings and philosophies. There's so much that gets forgotten in the modern day. People don't--"

She broke off in a coughing fit, pressing her mouth into her elbow. She wheezed and hacked, doubling over for a good half a minute before the worst of it was over. When she straightened back up, she was still wheezing a bit.

She did her best to clear her throat before continuing. "People don't..." She inhaled deeply. "They don't pay enough attention to the past. You can learn a lot of valuable lessons from history. When things today are moving so fast and getting so crazy, sometimes you need some new perspectives."

SUNJATA

i'm the lights out, i'm the guard down
the bated breath you take, you take and hold

“Old Gods hm?” He asks, even as she continues, keeping that scarred brow raised ever so slightly. She clearly doesn’t know who he is then if she’s searching through old tomes for information on the gods and part of him wonders if she’s even met them – but he doesn’t get to continue that thought process as she starts to cough. He makes no move to help initially, waiting until she starts to speak again despite the rasp and the wheeze.

When she does, he pushes back from the desk, standing and moving over to the little seating area, grabbing a fresh clean glass from it and returns to her. A wave of his hand brings a pocket of water into the air between them, filling the glass with it before he sets it on the other side of the desk for her. “I imagine most people just go and talk to the gods about it and see what they think, yes?” He poses the question to her. “At least, that’s what I did with Safrin and Frey.” A casual shrug as he takes his seat again and leans back. He never really felt the need to research things of the past, given that the gods were alive and well and approachable to an extent. That, and perhaps being an Outlander has him less caring of the histories from long before now.

i'm the shade of doubt, i'm the mask and shroud
i'm the burning out, i'm the lie you tell, the lie you tell yourself

Upon seeing the glass, for just a scant moment, Lisbeth was grateful for the coming drink. That is, until she saw how the stranger filled the glass.

With magic.

She backed away, the book falling from her hands to the ground. Instinctively, her hand reached to her shoulder, but her bow wasn't there. She swallowed. She moved further back, trying to keep as much distance between them as possible. In her training, she'd been taught how to handle magic-users. With few exceptions, they could only use their powers at fairly close range.

"Stay back," she said, still wheezing, holding up her hands to ward him off. She assumed he had to be an Abandoned. (Demi-gods being so rare that she would never jump to such a conclusion, and it's not like she would recognize his face from television seeing him around the city, considering she wasn't from here.)

Her mind raced. The stranger hadn't been openly aggressive. It was possible he didn't intend to hurt her with his powers. But there was good reason that people with such powers were forbidden from Stormbreak. She didn't want to be anywhere near them. She should have assumed she'd run into someone like this in the Hollowed Grounds. Maybe she shouldn't have come here in the first place.

SUNJATA

i'm the lights out, i'm the guard down
the bated breath you take, you take and hold

Well this is unexpected. He watches as the book clatters to the ground, listening to her wheeze while she tells him to stay back as she fumbles for something and he wonders just what she intends to grab. He’s kept his distance, aside from encroaching upon it for handing her the water, and his mind runs back to wondering whether or not she is from Torchline after all. “Hm?” He asks, regarding her casually in the face of her fear, as her hands are held up and he remains lounging in the seat.

“It’s Frey magic, if it helps worry you less.” Another small casual shrug, the rolling of a lightning scarred and tattooed shoulder. “I’m one of Frey’s demigods.” Another little casual bit of information offered out, wondering if she’d even believe him at this point. So for added flare and effect, he tilts his head toward her, the previous Ascended bite littered neck covering itself with navy blue feathers that dip beneath his shirt, that reappear under the short sleeves and extends further down his arms.

i'm the shade of doubt, i'm the mask and shroud
i'm the burning out, i'm the lie you tell, the lie you tell yourself

Lisbeth blinked rapidly. Frey magic. Demigod.

Not Abandoned.

She would have let out a sigh of relief, except that it turned into another coughing fit. This time, she stepped forward and accepted the glass of water, drinking as much as she could without spitting it back up. She took a few moments to compose herself, taking some deep breaths, then wiping her mouth on the back of her sleeve.

"Sorry," she said. "I'm sorry."

A demigod was another story. Much more intimidating, but not in a frightening way. A demigod of Frey meant he was either Frey's child, or a supremely blessed person chosen by Frey and gifted with supreme power.

She looked up at him, her eyes wide. She couldn't quite meet his eyes.

"I'm sorry for jumping to the wrong conclusions," she squeaked out in a hoarse whisper.

She wasn't sure what to do. What did one do in front of a demigod? Bow? Kneel? Grovel?

She settled for giving him a short bow, though the movement set off her coughing again, so the bow could just as easily have been mistaken for her doubling over in pain.

SUNJATA

i'm the lights out, i'm the guard down
the bated breath you take, you take and hold

She goes into another coughing fit and Sunjata remains silent, waiting for her to work through it, to compose herself, accepting the water he’d offered her earlier. “It’s alright.” He rumbles, even if it does still send the figurative hackles raised (instead, the feathers that spread along his neck and arms flex just a little).

She doesn’t meet his eyes after, so he shifts his gaze to somewhere else – a speck on the table caused from the ink that had splattered from when she had bumped into the table. And when she moves again, he looks up to see the slight bow (or pain?), his head tilting. “Only wrong for some people.” He personally had zero issues with Abandoned. “You should sit.” He lifts that lightning scarred hand to the other side of the desk, gesturing for her to hopefully try and relax.

i'm the shade of doubt, i'm the mask and shroud
i'm the burning out, i'm the lie you tell, the lie you tell yourself

Lisbeth thought about leaving. She had embarrassed herself in multiple ways just in the last few minutes. She'd already been nervous about being here in the first place. The longer she was here the worse it got.

But when a Demigod told you to sit, you sit.

She took a seat, holding her glass in her lap with both hands. She kept her head bowed. "I'm sorry, m'lord. Had I known who you were, I would have been more respectful. I hope m'lord can excuse my poor behavior."

She thought for a moment about the demigods she knew of. In all of her studies of the gods, the names of demigods came up quite frequently. In particular, there was a demigod who ruled over the Hollowed Grounds. She suddenly realized this person fit the description.

She started to shake and tremble.