oh my goddess

He settles back against the side of the rocky pool and Isla is busy doing the same, having to focus on not slipping under completely to float in the heat. Through the haze she can make out Sunjata, the silhouette of wings and horns making him seem more of an Ancient than she feels right now, but then again - as he points out - he's something else entirely. "Are you happy?" she asks suddenly, before realising how weirdly vague that sounds and flashing him an awkward smile, rubbing at the back of her neck with a hand made hot by the springs. "With Frey, I mean," she clarifies. "I remember first meeting you as the Governor of Torchline. Who knew this is where we'd end up?" ISLA when it's just the two of us, only the two of us, I could die

I'm about to cause a damn ruckus

A question leaves her that captures his attention, head cocking as he scans her with pinched brows, trying to determine the meaning within the vague words. But she clarifies, thankfully, and Sunjata huffs out a soft laugh, sinking deeper into the water. “Yeah. I am. They’re the only ones that never made me feel like I had to choose between them and what I wanted to do with my life.” Who he wanted to love, who he wanted to fight for. “Safrin sort of… Took that all away from me.” He murmurs, shrugging yet again before he sits up a bit and flashes her an amused smile.

“Ah, I was a much different man then.” He pokes his tongue out at her for a moment, as if adding to the jesting. “The lightning strike kind of fucked up most of my memory, alongside the accidental drugging.” He winces at the recollection, lifting his lightning scarred hand out of the water to inspect it — the raised scars following it all the way up and halfway across his chest now. “Never thought I’d be a demigod, though.” He agrees with her sentiment.

the flood

How you bleed when you bleed nothing?

totally sniped from odd ilu

Mostly submerged in the water, Isla has to remind herself that she does, in fact, need to breathe again now, though her lungs are burning by the time she submits to their demands, too busy listening to Sunjata (and enjoying even that sensation). "They sound like they've got your best interests at heart," she murmurs with a smile. "I'm glad, especially after everything with the war." It seems as though they are always changing and evolving into something new, as evidenced by the way Isla prowls through the water, only eyes and topaz horns visible above the surface, to settle beside him. "I remember hearing about a lightning strike, but that was before we met. I do remember the drugging, though." Offering him an apologetic smile - she recalls very easily the delirious night he spent in her office, once - Isla reaches out to trace one of his silvery scars with her finger. "What happened?" ISLA when it's just the two of us, only the two of us, I could die

I'm about to cause a damn ruckus

“They do.” Most notably, the blindfold given so he doesn’t have to see Nate whenever he goes to visit them. It’s a relief, a small thing that had meant the world to Sunjata, had told him he’d made the right choice with the offer they had given him.

She slides over beside him, though, his arm lowering as her warm (a surprise to him still) finger traces the raised scars. “There was a sea panther that came toward the shore. A lot of us got together to try and take it down and I had called a group of Encantado’s over to bring down a lightning strike. Deimos and I had worked together to make a sort of… Lightning rod, and the unsaid plan was to throw it at the Panther when I called the strike.” He pauses, huffing a laugh. “Well, he handed it to me and I was calling it down not paying attention and that was that.” He winces slightly, fingers stretching out before settling again. “I made glass, apparently.” And his heart had felt like it had gone into overdrive.

the flood

How you bleed when you bleed nothing?

totally sniped from odd ilu

It's a surprise for both of them, just as the heat from the springs is a surprise; the way it envelops her, the way she can feel the steam on every inhale and the way her muscles relax into the scorching stone at their back. Her eyes are still on his scars as Sunjata explains, Isla's fingertips following the pattern of silvery veins that mark the pathway of lightning. It's entrancing in a way she can't describe, especially having seen it before, though as he continues her reverie is broken by an amused chuckle. "The unsaid plan," she drawls, flashing a fanged smirk up towards his face. "Isn't that always the way?" The mention of making glass brings a visceral sort of visual to mind, though, and she scrunches her nose. "Well, I am definitely glad you lived to tell the tale," Isla says, her shoulders slumping a little. "And thank you, Sunjata. For coming up here with me." ISLA when it's just the two of us, only the two of us, I could die

I'm about to cause a damn ruckus

To be honest, he wasn’t sure if he would survive it with the way his heart was racing, with how Zephyr had rushed him to Vai to try and heal him enough that he would. It had worked, thankfully, and those thoughts drift into a soft buzz of nothing as Isla’s fingertips trace the scars again, bringing some quiet comfort to the story he tells her.

His gaze remains on her, bright and steel as he hums his own soft snort. “Always is.” In his case, at least. And now as he settles with her in the water, wings still drooped and her beside him, he flashes her a soft smile. “You’re welcome.” A brief pause as he shrugs lightly. “I’m glad you did it.” And as his own curiosity takes over, his other hand lifts from the water as he turns a bit more toward her, taking a rogue piece of blonde hair and tucking it behind the curve of her horn and her ear.

the flood

How you bleed when you bleed nothing?

totally sniped from odd ilu

"Oh?" Isla smiles to hear that, schooling her fingers into a little more politeness so she can stop invading Sunjata's space quite so blatantly. "I suppose staying an Ascended wasn't really serving me, was it?" She rolls her shoulder in a shrug. It might have been an opportunity to slip into something morose and dark if she continued to entertain that train of thought - but Sunjata chooses that moment to reach out towards her, and everything else becomes secondary to the warm brush of his fingertips. She didn't realise it would be so different, touching compared to being touched, but it's enough to steal her senses and have her automatically leaning into his hand. There will be time later to properly consider the changes to her appearance; the amber protrusions glittering in the shafts of sunlight, the spaded tail lazily swishing beneath the hot water. But for now it's with a somewhat dazed expression that she reaches up to cover his hand with her own, as if to prevent him from stopping. ISLA when it's just the two of us, only the two of us, I could die

I'm about to cause a damn ruckus

“Not really.” Sunjata agrees, his voice a deep rumble as he reaches up to tuck her hair back. He doesn’t expect it to surprise her as much as it does, the way those blues focus on him and her own wet hand comes to cover his own to keep it there. So he does, opting for stroking along her cheek, along the smooth glittering horn, even pausing for a moment to consider what else he could do to distract her.

And half wondering if it goes over that unsaid line they’d marked in the sand. But he doesn’t care at the moment, focusing instead on lifting his other hand to cup her face fully, letting his calloused fingertips run across her pale cheeks, tangling in the strands of her hair, brushing along the horns that have newly sprouted. “How does that feel?” He asks softly, barely above the quiet thunder of the hot spring bubbles.

the flood

How you bleed when you bleed nothing?

totally sniped from odd ilu

Sorry, is what Isla wants to say, about to peel her hand back and suggest they gather themselves together for the trip home, but Sunjata seems to know her better than she knows herself these days, and that's even before taking the not being an Ascended thing into consideration. And so as his other hand comes up to cup her cheek she's like putty in his grip, melting into the touch and shifting to further diminish the distance between them. "You have no idea," she whispers, unable to keep the giddy smile from her lips. "Don't stop." Sipping in a shivery breath, Isla both wants to reach for him and not, and while even a few hours ago that sort of indecision would leave her paralyzed, the heat in her blood and the fire in her belly are no longer so patient. Turning her head, she lets her lips brush along the inside of his wrist, and while she might not be Ascended any longer, she still has fangs that skim along the soft flesh, threatening to bite down. ISLA when it's just the two of us, only the two of us, I could die

I'm about to cause a damn ruckus

She melts in his touch and to Sunjata, well, it’s been a long while since he’s managed to cause such an effect. So he’s drawn to it as well, continuing as she quietly whispers for him not to stop, so he doesn’t — his fingertips threading through the hair at her temples, brushing along the base of her bright horns in contrast to his own dark ones, his wings shuffling in the water slightly as her head tilts and he can feel teeth and fangs at the inside of his wrist.

Sunjata flushes from his neck and cheek, and while he’d attribute it to the hotsprings finally getting to him, it’s clearly caused by the way she’s reacting, the way her lips meet his wrist and she drifts closer, and he’s drawn to it even more. His nostrils flair, fingertips on the hand of the wrist her lips and teeth are at, tug gently at the golden locks between his fingers, and he finds himself drifting closer, too, half finding a spot to settle as if to tug her into his lap. “I won’t so long as you don’t.” He offers in a playful, deep whisper.

the flood

How you bleed when you bleed nothing?

totally sniped from odd ilu

It's permission that Isla doesn't know she needs, and only as Sunjata gives it does she realise how close she's been to just taking. The fledgling Ancient hums a note of agreement in response to his remark, her head tipping back at the flare of pleasure and pain that comes from his fingers tugging at her fair hair. She doesn't need encouragement as he shifts against the rocky ledge, Isla half rising out of the water to straddle his lap. "More," she urges, and though the glitter in her pebble blues is playful, she makes it sound like life or death. And gods, it may as well be - through war and grief and endless seasons of nothing save the briefest flares of pleasure in very recent times, to say that she's overwhelmed is an understatement. Between the heat, the touch of his hands and the press of his body against her own, Isla is a slave to herself. Melting against his chest and letting an arm slip around his neck and shoulders, the Ancient finds herself entranced by the flush of heat in Sunjata's cheeks, letting her thumb graze across his cheekbone and towards the curve of his jaw as if to tilt his head up to get a better look. "Have you always been so warm?" ISLA when it's just the two of us, only the two of us, I could die

I'm about to cause a damn ruckus

It’s a demand, playful, not so playful in the tone she uses. And paired with the way she’s already straddling his lap, the last thing he intends to do is not continue this dance. Her arms wrap around his neck and shoulders and his wings spread to not press into the rock behind them too much, his own arms moving from resting by her face to trail along her shoulders and down to wrap around her waist as his head tilts up as she continues to touch and explore, giving her the ability to fully inspect his face and the freckles that adorn his cheeks.

Her question sparks a breathy laugh from him, a crooked smile that dances mainly on the scarred half of his face, a permanent smile gnarled into his skin. “Yes.” He pauses, squinting up at her playfully. “I’ve always been a furnace.” He continues, fingers trailing along her skin above her hips, moving up and down her spine in languid strokes.

the flood

How you bleed when you bleed nothing?

totally sniped from odd ilu

His hands encircle her waist and Isla arches her back, heat seeming to flare and spread wherever he touches. And she'll happily let it, her skin flushed and her fingers eager to explore in the wake of all she sees. "I've been missing out," she remarks, leaning in to press a featherlight kiss to the constellations of freckles on his face, and another to the jagged silver crescent of a scar that decorates his cheek. Sunjata smells like citrus and spices, and as he paints fire up and down the length of her spine it sends a plume of heat further south, straight to Isla's core. The arm draped around his shoulders is busy mapping the pathways of ink and old scars, while the other slips up through the back of his hair. "Show me where you like to be touched," she invites in a voice that's barely more than a whisper. It's been so long that Isla has no idea about herself any longer, and while she's got plenty of, er, self-exploration to look forward to, that's for later. ISLA when it's just the two of us, only the two of us, I could die

I'm about to cause a damn ruckus

She traces along his freckles and scars and Sunjata shivers lightly despite having no need to given the heat in the hot spring. Her voice a mere whisper above the full roar of the water, and Sunjata’s breath hitches, his fingertips digging in a bit further than before, as if taking the moment to debate where he wanted to be touched.

One hand abandons her hips and he guides one of her hands — the one that’s tangled in his hair — up through the short crop of brown with the sprinkle of grey, up toward one of the curved horns that spirals around his head. He doesn’t ask her the same question, instead indulging in touching everywhere, letting that hand drift along her arm toward her cheek again, down her shoulder and toward her chest, letting his fingertips drift along the pale, unblemished skin beneath the water. “How’s this?” He asks in a soft hoarse whisper.

the flood

How you bleed when you bleed nothing?

totally sniped from odd ilu