you were more than just a short time

ISLA

”I will,” Isla assures him as he steps away from the wet grass and mud churned up from a dragon’s claws. She watches him go to toy around with the boulder she’d pointed out earlier, and as soon as he’s safely out of range, Isla is shifting, growing large and sleek and scaled, stretching out her enormous wings to give them an experimental beat against the blustery winds.

As a dragon she’s naturally smaller and less muscular than Sunjata, the Remedy nonetheless knowing all too well what to do with the talons gripping into the ground. Raking up clods of mud and grass and rock and other debris, she all but tills the earth within the outline he’s created, making a relatively stable and even surface for them to build upon. Once she’s done (covered in mud, of course), she snorts a breath in the Flood’s direction, as if to ask for his opinion.

apres moi le deluge
after me comes the flood

SuNJATA

the flood

Once he’s out of range, Sunjata focuses on decorating the rock to be put up, taking the moment to relax as he feels the sore muscles start to protest. He stretches them out while he works, leaning over to watch Isla work for a few minutes before taking up his task again.

Eventually it’s carved out aside from the name and Sunjata’s content enough with how it looks that when he hears Isla’s snort, the Flood looks back toward the dragon curiously. He stands, unfolding himself to come look at it, stepping into it to approach the dragon with an easier smile. “Looks good, Isla.” He offers her gently, departing to take a look at the even surface they’ve made up close.

love will save you, but it won't save me

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

ISLA

Flexing her wings and stretching them wide to hear his praise, Isla realises belatedly that she's able to speak to Sunjata like this. Did you think of a name for the place yet? she wonders, raking a few more shallow cuts across the ground and twisting her serpentine head around to look at the boulder he'd been decorating.

I think this is all we can do without help, she adds, snuffling out a breath that tastes like static before glancing back to Sunjata. Apart from arranging supplies and building materials, of course. Do you want to head back? She perhaps sounds hopeful that he might want to stay out a while longer. It has been an eternity since Isla has been able to shift or fly or be anything other than what she is.

apres moi le deluge
after me comes the flood

i saw you comin' with the gun in your hands

He seems to have forgotten too – as Isla’s voice filters through his mind, there’s a hint of surprise that crosses it (it’s been so long, after all), but once the pulse of his surprise dissipates, he shakes his head. Not yet. Here, his voice is more accented – less of a conscious effort made for removing it the second he opens his mouth. I’ve never been great at naming things. I’ve just… Named them after others. The VlamVloed, fire and flood, after him and Lusea. The Kraai was simple because it was named after Weaver. The Slagveld had just been named a general term for a boxing ring. It had never truly been his strong suit.

It's why he’s left it blank. Unable to come up with something both witty enough and amusing yet still getting the point across that it was a brothel – among other things later on.

Regardless, she has a point as he moves to stand and try to wipe away some more of the mud, noticing the flat earth for what it was, making a short nod before he steps away from the boulder. We could take a detour back? Maybe go hunt for some food for the house in the meantime? It seems like she doesn’t want to give up the shift just yet and Sunjata isn’t one to deny (especially after the shared favor between them), so he makes sure he has enough space before he shifts too – his own draconic shift larger than hers, scarred heavier, but still distinctly him just as she looks recognizable to him in a different skin.

He doubts she’ll want to disagree, however, so its with a few beats of his wings that he takes to the skies, circling for her to follow suit and for the two of them to get a more aerial view of the location they’ve picked.

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

SUNJATA

ISLA

Ah, I see, Isla replies with a pulse of understanding, gazing around at the foundation they've made and snorting (both literally and internally). You could call it The Halfway Inn, she remarks, and if dragons had eyebrows they'd be bobbing up and down at Sunjata in a get it? do you get it? gesture.

Either way, she feels herself strangely relax to hear his suggestion, Isla ducking her reptilian head a couple of times in a nod. That sounds good. You do need to start eating, she reminds him, looking strangely humbled as he shifts and she notes the differences in their size, in the scars that mark his scaled body.

It's been a long, long time since she's flown, but her body remembers the mechanics as though it was only yesterday, and with a few powerful beats of her wings, she joins the Flood up in the air. With the wind catching them, she finds a thermal almost instantly, and the joy that soars through the Attuned bond to Sunjata isn't something she can hide. I forgot how much I enjoyed this, she whispers, finding herself soaring just beneath him.

apres moi le deluge
after me comes the flood

i saw you comin' with the gun in your hands

Oh my gods. Sunjata chides but it’s equally with a mental huff of amusement, a laugh that thickly rumbles down the bond toward her as he starts to shift and get ready to take flight. It isn’t the worst name I’ve heard. He tacks on with another soft laugh, taking to the skies and circling for a moment for her to gather her bearings with it.

Only to be partially bombarded by her emotions – the joy outshining any darker edges of his own that he tries desperately to keep hidden but can feel them creeping in as the minutes tick on. Regardless, there’s a pulse of underlying happiness that she’s so free with it and he picks a direction for her to come with him – off toward the hills for perhaps a few ramphires (his usual pickings in this shift). There’s nothing quite as freeing as it. He agrees. The only downside was being unable to shift in the safe haven, but it was at least a neutral area to keep everyone, well, safe.

A low serpentine purr slips from his throat as they break over the hills and find a herd below them – the predator in him already shifting toward being on the hunt, and if Isla could hear his stomach rumbling right now it would be almost as loud as his roar. What do you think about a couple of those? He asks, lowering a wing and diving down to join her at her side.

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

SUNJATA

ISLA

We'll keep that name in reserve, in case we can't think of any others, Isla suggests, and while she can't smile in this shift, her mischief rumbles along their Attuned bond just the same. She's not able to contain any of her emotions, it seems, and if she knew how much she was oversharing with Sunjata she'd likely apologise for it. There really isn't, she says softly, and a soft rumble croons through her throat at the feel of the wind carrying them further adrift.

Her reptilian eyes spy the herd of ramphire all too easily, and given that Isla has always been a predator by nature, even as a medic, it doesn't take much for her to feed on Sunjata's instincts. I think they'll do very nicely, she purrs back to him, already starting to drop into a dive. Spearing like an arrow through the air, she has no qualms about taking them by surprise; they'll never get away regardless of whether they know the dragons are coming.

apres moi le deluge
after me comes the flood

i saw you comin' with the gun in your hands

Sounds good. Sunjata rumbles with just as much amusement, delicately hiding any deeper thoughts as they start to scout for food, finding some amount of peace flying with her through the cool skies. Her agreement and her joy far outweighs his own internal turmoil, and while it is a barrage and a surprise at first, it’s a welcome reprieve from his own terrible thoughts.

At least, until the predator in him stirs with the sight of the ramphires, only to have her own predatorial instinct spark up, dragging the both of them into a dive. His heart races and he watches as the herd splits off into two sections – a perfect amount for both him and Isla, and he veers sharply to the left to chase after the largest of the mixed group, descending down with claws first in the hopes of plucking it out of the herd.

He succeeds, latching on as his talons pierce the sides of the ramphire, pulling it away from the rest of the group to land and give the killing blow. And once that’s done, his serpentine gaze lifts to scan for Isla to see how she’s faired.

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

SUNJATA

ISLA

Sunjata goes left and Isla goes right, and the Remedy's focus is all for the ramphire in her sights. She snaps it up in her jaws rather than using her talons, crushing its windpipe and dropping it to the ground again, just to make sure it's dead. And by the time Sunjata glances up to look at her, she's crimson-snouted and already enjoying her meal with gusto. A ripple of predatory challenge rolls through the Attuned bond as their eyes meet - a dragon's instincts are overpowering to say the least - but with a snort to shake it off, she returns to the feast.

I didn't realise how much I needed this, she remarks to the Flood, and of course it has nothing to do with the ramphire. It's the whole thing; the flight, the dive, the kill, just being able to feel something again. (As if their roll in the mud wasn't enough). Thank you.

apres moi le deluge
after me comes the flood

i saw you comin' with the gun in your hands

The predatory challenge that slips from Isla immediately has a snort slipping from Sunjata, his tail lashing against the ground as he readjusts, removing the talons that pierce the ramphire so that he can dive in as well. Not unlike an alligator at this time, Sunjata tears pieces off, enough force to toss them partially into the air before he snaps at them in order to not drop it.

You’re welcome. He offers lightly, working until he’s devoured as much of the ramphire as possible, his nose and neck and legs covered in blood alongside the mud. And once he’s finished, he shuffles the wings on his back and steps a bit closer to Isla in spite of that predatory challenge from earlier. Sometimes it’s nice to just… Let something else take over. If he gives into the dragon and its instincts, he doesn’t have to feel anything of his own internal war.

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

SUNJATA

ISLA

You're telling me, Isla agrees, and as Sunjata steps closer, there's very little left of her ramphire, such that she's much less likely to inadvertently start a fight with her fellow dragon. A shiver runs through her reptilian body, wings similarly shuffling on her back as he approaches, and she leans out to nose at his blood-soaked scales. Maybe we can make this a regular thing. It starts off lighthearted, given that they've both needed the break and the release, but the Attuned bond colours with her blush as she realises what exactly that entails.

I didn't mean-- ugh. Her laughters ripples through the bond, Isla snuffling around the remains of the ramphire before stretching out her wings. Shall we head back to the Refuge? she asks. Maybe we can drop by the market stalls, see what's there. If not just for you, we can at least get an idea of what we can stock in the brothel. The still nameless brothel.

apres moi le deluge
after me comes the flood

i saw you comin' with the gun in your hands

Maybe we can make this a regular thing. Comes Isla’s suggestion and even however hard Sunjata blocks the attuned bond from her, it does nothing to block the surprise and subsequent rumble of laughter that slips down the bond alongside her own. Truthfully, it’s helped. It’s kept his mind at bay of the darker thoughts, unable to slip into them as easily as he always had. It keeps him pointed toward something rather than alcoholism and the too quiet walls of the refuge that hardly had visitors these days. I think I’d like that. He offers her, as if it soothes anything she might be worried about.

To share the freedom of flying was something he was more than capable and comfortable doing, and so long as they had a mutual understanding of… Well, everything else, it would keep it from getting overtly complicated, right?

The dragon’s wings ruffle, his wide head lifting to tilt over his shoulder back toward the refuge, before a slit steel blinks back at her. Bit of both, perhaps. Get you some new clothes that might fit you better than mine. The tease is light, the dragon turning to face the same direction she is, before his wing bumps into her (much like her own elbow bump toward him from earlier), and with the slightest hint of mischief the Flood takes back to the skies, sure she’ll follow just as quickly as before, and aims for the Refuge’s edges where they’ll need to walk the rest of the way in.

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

SUNJATA

ISLA

It's a relief, and one Isla doesn't try to hide, to hear that her suggestion hasn't met with any awkwardness; gods only know they've got enough going on without adding that into the mix. Me too, she murmurs, her jaws parting to snap at him playfully as he bumps her with a wing. Wasting no time, the Remedy takes to the air after Sunjata; this time she angles herself just above her fellow dragon so she can see when he descends - the last thing she wants is to be forced out of the shift mid-air.

Are you trying to say that your clothes don't suit me, Sunjata? she teases right back, though the pulse of agreement cuts through her jesting. As they head for the ground again at last, Isla shifts back with a touch of regret, but as much as she'd love to stay a dragon semi-permanently, there are other things to be done.

"You have much more of an accent in shift," she remarks, rolling her shoulders and smiling at him as they head into the Refuge, the Remedy gesturing for him to lead the way. "I like it."

apres moi le deluge
after me comes the flood

SuNJATA

the flood

A rumble of amusement dances down the Attuned bond toward Isla as he glances up toward the smaller dragon above him, angling toward the Refuge with ease, scouting out the markers he’d placed specifically so he wouldn’t end up hurting himself trying to fly in. That’s exactly what I’m saying. He teases her lightly, his accent wrapping around the words as he guides her down toward the edge of the Refuge.

Then, after they’ve landed and shifted and look a mess — covered in mud and blood. He fixes his shirt a small amount, pulling it away from where it sticks to his skin and they continue to make their way in. His head angles toward her at her comment, though, having thought nothing of it before now. “Mm, I suppose I’m less focused on making it more understandable.” He rolls a shoulder in a light shrug as they reach the path toward the market. “I’m glad you can make sense of it.” He teases her with a small smirk.

Soon enough the market makes its appearance, a significant lack of people from before but enough are around to sell smaller batches of things, and he greets them quietly as he lets Isla decide where to start.

love will save you, but it won't save me

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3