midnight at noon

 The

Nightingale

Between Skyboats and teleportation, Phoebe made her way to King's End. Now all she had to do was find the brothel. The House of Midnight he had called it? Surely it couldn't be too difficult to find. It would just involve a lot of meandering and asking around.

Frankly, Phoebe was surprised with how the Refuge had seemed to grow. It was like its own little nation in a way. Pehaps Sunjata really vould make something of King's End. It was impressive really. But after taking in the sights she set to work tracking her ex down. Thankfully the brothel was well known and she was quick to find it.

She stepped inside, unsure of what she would find. "Sunjata?" she called.

'cause I think everyone
deserves a chance to fly

Code blatantly stolen from Sky

relive who i've been at my worst,
every single night, looking for a distraction

He’d made sure he was around the second he received note that she would be here. Luckily for him, he hadn’t had much on his plate for leaving anyway, so he wanders around the bottom floor of the brothel, taking inventory count, checking in with the workers, and is precisely right where he needs to be the second she steps in.

She’ll find the brothel inviting, if not a bit dark and alluring — mysterious, though he supposes that was the point with how they’d named it.

People flurry around, getting things ready and checking books while the quiet clinking of glasses can be heard down the hall when he steps away from the desk in the center to greet her after she’s called his name. “Hey Phoebe.” He greets her with a small smile, tugging on the scar on his lips. He’d promised to play nice and he intends to keep that vow. “Welcome in.” He gestures with an arm as if to tell her she can take a look around or make herself as at home as she could. “Do you want something to drink?” It doesn’t have to be alcohol, of course, they supply the place with a variety of options.

the flood

waiting for the sun to rise
pretty sight for some hollow eyes

totally sniped from odd ilu

 The

Nightingale

In some ways it reminded her of the Halenani, in others it was its exact opposite. Where the Halenani had been light and airy, the House of Midnight was dark and mysterious. It piqued her curiosity, which was likely intentional. However both establishments were inviting. So she stepped forward, feeling a bit out of place in the darkness, given her pale pink dress.

But as much as Sunjata and her were similar, they were opposites in many ways. She shouldn't have been so surprised.

The Nightingale looked up and spied the Flood when he greeted her. "Hello." she said in greeting, trying to hide her own nervousness. Their last encounter had been lovely, but Jata could be so unpredictable. "A glass of wine would be lovely. White please." she said.

Once she had a drink in her hand, she tilted her head at him. "So Frey spoke to you too?" she said.

'cause I think everyone
deserves a chance to fly

Code blatantly stolen from Sky

relive who i've been at my worst,
every single night, looking for a distraction

Luckily this time of day, the brothel isn’t too busy. It’s the time in between with changing and cleaning, making sure everything was accounted for, and it makes it much easier to find a quiet space in the bar that he guides her to, getting a glass of wine and a little glass of his favorite whiskey, bringing them to the quiet table in the corner of the bar beside a window that looks out over the expanse of the fields and trees of King’s End.

He sets it down for her, settles into the seat across from her, and takes a slow sip of the whiskey before setting it down on the table and he leans back. “They did. They mentioned that they can feel something in the air and wanted to make sure we could be nice to one another in case they needed us.” Which is something the Flood had already promised to do, before this meeting.

“I told them we could manage that.” Despite the fact they’ve had a difficult past, he can put it aside for their shared deity.

the flood

waiting for the sun to rise
pretty sight for some hollow eyes

totally sniped from odd ilu

 The

Nightingale

Phoebe followed him to the bar, still glancing around as people shuffled about with their various tasks. Some eyes came her way, a new face amongst what was likely a tightly knit group. But she kept her head high. She was here on Frey's behest, and that was more than enough reason for her presence.

The Nightingale took a seat at the table, taking her wine with a quiet thanks. She glanced out the window briefly, admiring the scenery. It really was quite a pretty place. But she was here on pseudo-business so she peeled her eyes away to look at Sunjata. "Something in the air?" she repeated. What did that mean? She took a sip of her wine in consideration. What was Frey hiding from them?

"You made that promise rather easily. Why?" she asked, taking another sip of wine. "This is nice by the way. Where's it from?" she asked, gesturing to her glass.

'cause I think everyone
deserves a chance to fly

Code blatantly stolen from Sky

relive who i've been at my worst,
every single night, looking for a distraction

Something in the air, indeed. It’s a question that has Sunjata’s tattooed shoulders shrugging, wearing a dark sleeveless shirt due to the heat. “They didn’t say. Just that something might be coming and they wanted to make sure we could play nice if they called upon us.” It makes him wonder, too, given Frey’s usually unbothered nature. If something was bothering them, it likely meant something big and altering.

As for making the promise quick, Sunjata huffs a soft laugh and nods, glancing out the window a moment. “Because I have a tendency of doing anything my god asks of me. Something like this? Much easier than the things I’ve done before for Safrin.” After all, it wasn’t like when he’d had a child with Safrin. It wasn’t like when he’d become her spy.

As for where it’s from, he glances down at the glass then back up to her pristine face. “It’s a blend from Torchline. I thought you might prefer it over any Grounds blends.” The Grounds, to him at least, were still haunting.

the flood

waiting for the sun to rise
pretty sight for some hollow eyes

totally sniped from odd ilu

 The

Nightingale

Phoebe leaned back in her chair, swirling the glass of wine mindlessly as she used to as Madame of the Halenani. "That's just very unlike them." she said contemplatively. Frey wasn't one to keep secrets or worry about anything. To suddenly feel the need to prepare their demigods was a bit unnerving. What was coming to Caido now?

Not another war hopefully.

She considered him carefully. It seemed he was being honest enough. She sipped her wine. "Well Su-...Jata." she said, pausing to use his more familiar name instead of formal one for the first time in years. "Where do we start forming a friendship?" They were intimately familiar with one another after all. How did you make just a friendship from there?

Her eyes glanced at the glass and she smiled a bit. "Very much so." she said. Something from the Grounds wouldn't have sat well with her.

'cause I think everyone
deserves a chance to fly

Code blatantly stolen from Sky

relive who i've been at my worst,
every single night, looking for a distraction

“I thought so too.” Sunjata murmurs, letting the edge of a frown form on his lips, hiding it momentarily with the sip of whiskey from the clear glass. He hadn’t asked for more information, and Frey hadn’t seemed to know what the issue was — only that they had felt something.

But he offers her his honest opinion, that he thinks it’ll be easy which is why he’s promised it, and as she considers him he carefully watches her back. She has a tendency of getting under his skin, but he’d promised to temper himself, to try and let her keep from doing it so easily, and after Frey’s conversation with her, he thinks they both might be able to try.

So where to start? His head tilts slightly and he glances to the wine glass in her hand, giving him a focal point. “Admittedly, I’ve never really been that good at making friends.” There’s a dramatic and playful wince that crosses his face. “Suppose we start over in a way? How have things been for you?” Start small, easy talk, getting to know one another again since the disastrous wedding they’d had and the months after.

As for the wine blend, he simply hums a soft sound of agreement, content to let that lie where it does.

the flood

waiting for the sun to rise
pretty sight for some hollow eyes

totally sniped from odd ilu

 The

Nightingale

Phoebe shifted in her seat. Frey acting so uncharacteristically had her on edge. It just didn't sit right with her. "Maybe we should ask? The more we know the better we can help them." she suggested. Perhaps if they both went together, Frey would reward them for their combined effort with answers.

Or they'd laugh in their faces. Both were equally plausible.

"If we are really starting over, are you going to teach me to swim again?" she said with a light laugh. Sipping her wine she considered his question. "Well, I've been trying to fix up the Greatwood, so I've been busy." The wood had been hit hard by the war after all. "And my son aged up again. Now he is 18 so traversing teenagedom has proven...interesting." she said with a grin. "And what about you? You seem to be busy yourself." she said.

'cause I think everyone
deserves a chance to fly

Code blatantly stolen from Sky

relive who i've been at my worst,
every single night, looking for a distraction

There’s a brief pause as he considers her suggestion, his head tilting slightly as his avian shift within him starts to take over just a bit. “We can try.” He pauses, unsure how much use it might be, or whether it would be a good idea for them to go and see Frey together so soon – a part of him balking at the idea of her seeing him having to blindfold himself in order to look upon their god. “They didn’t seem to know what was going on, just that they could feel something was different.” Regardless, in an attempt to play nice, he would be willing despite his awkwardness over her seeing how he has to see Frey.

As for the rest of it, he tries to let his own inner worries slip away, focusing instead on the light laugh that leaves her, his lips twitching into a small smile that tugs crookedly on the corner of his lips. “I could, but I imagine you’re already well enough versed these days.” He hums a light chuckle back, before drawing silent to sip from his glass as she continues. “I can only imagine.” He hadn’t had to deal with teenagers that often – Kamaria’s return to the starts had happened so shortly after she’d aged up that far. He can’t say he isn’t upset that he missed having to deal with it.

And now? Well, no children to run around and grow old too soon. The twins he and Nate had cared for had found a better place to be when the war ended. He visits often enough, but it was better for them to have a place where their lives were within full focus of those caring for them instead of the broken mess Sunjata had become. “I am… Finding ways to be busy, these days. Though now with the quest for the House of Midnight complete, I don’t have much else to focus on right now aside from running it.” A quiet shrug. “Of course, unless Frey has other plans.” All in all, the Flood has simply just been trying to learn how to live again.

And it’s been tough.

the flood

waiting for the sun to rise
pretty sight for some hollow eyes

totally sniped from odd ilu

 The

Nightingale

Phoebe could sense his hesitation. It was clear in the way he sat, the way his eyes shifted, the tone of his voice. He must not think approaching Frey to be a good idea. "We also don't have to. It was just a thought" she said with a shrug, giving him an out if he wanted it. She wasn't married to the idea after all.

"Well I certainly won't drown in a quiet pond anymore." she said with a smile. It was a fond memory, of when things had been good with Sunjata. Easy. Relaxed. Now it felt like a careful dance, each worried of making a misstep. But for now, the conversation flowed with relative ease. "Jude is a good kid, I don't have it too bad honestly." she said with a soft smile. It was nearly impossible for her to talk about her son without a smile on her face. She was so very proud of him and the young man he was becoming.

She listened in silence as Sunjata spoke of his most recent ventures. But there was a distance to him. He wasn't just busy, he was running - and she could guess at what. A slight frown tugged her lips. "It gets easier." she said softly, hitting more at the core of his strife. "You need to leave yourself some time for enjoyment and fun too, not just work."

'cause I think everyone
deserves a chance to fly

Code blatantly stolen from Sky

relive who i've been at my worst,
every single night, looking for a distraction

His shoulders alleviate some of the tension when she mentions they don’t have to, and he nods quietly. “I haven’t gone to see them with anyone else lately.” He admits, as if it were an explanation of the fact it wasn’t going with her as it was going with anyone at all.

At least, the air lifts for the moment with the mention of Phoebe’s swimming capabilities now and he hums a soft sound, letting the edge of a smile form once more on his face. “That was the goal.” It felt like ages ago, those simpler times, before war had ravaged and marriages had occurred. And when she speaks of her son, the smile remains. He’s happy for her. Glad that things had worked out for everyone else.

As for himself? She does read into it, and it isn’t exactly a secret but something about it still hurts all the same, evidenced subtly by how he downs another sip. “I’m currently trying to repair relationships I’ve ruined.” He offers with a casual shrug. He’s trying to build a friendship with Hotaru again, trying to fix the connection between him and his niece Melita. And so far, things were working, but it was a lot of fixing and spending time focused on everything and everyone else which left little time for his own thoughts and enjoyment.

Which honestly, is what he prefers.

the flood

waiting for the sun to rise
pretty sight for some hollow eyes

totally sniped from odd ilu

 The

Nightingale

Phoebe noticed the tension in his shoulders release and she smiled a bit. "Why is that?" she asked. She didn't bring people with her to the shrine often, especially now that Jude was grown, but she was never against it. She liked teaching people how to navigate Frey's eccentricities. It brought more people close to the god she loved so much.

"We were successful then." she said with a light laugh. You still wouldn't catch her in the ocean or Stone Symphony by herself, but a calm pool she might wade into. She figured it would never come as naturally to her as it did for him.

She sipped her wine as he drank his whiskey. It was a painful subject she was towing and she knew he could be explosive when uncomfortable. So she took the approach of being encouraging instead. "That's good, Jata. Who besides me have you been talking to?" she asked.

'cause I think everyone
deserves a chance to fly

Code blatantly stolen from Sky

relive who i've been at my worst,
every single night, looking for a distraction

The question stills him and for a moment he debates lying, not wanting to tell her the truth of it. But it goes against what Frey wanted from them, and so he finds his gaze drifting from her, uncharacteristically unsteady in his words as he peers out the window again. “Uh,” the slight stumble, “because I can’t look at them.” He keeps his gaze away, a traditional way of trying to hide and mask himself from letting other people see his emotions.

So much so that he’s still looking away when she mentions they were successful then, and all he can offer is a quiet hum of agreement, unsure where to go from there with it. They had wanted different things as time moved on. They were different people then.

So who besides her has he been talking to in order to repair? “Melita and Hotaru.” He can’t remember if she knows his niece, but Hotaru’s a name that might be familiar. After all, she’d kissed him at the altar of Phoebe and Sunjata’s Spite Wedding, but aside from that? He has no idea.

the flood

waiting for the sun to rise
pretty sight for some hollow eyes

totally sniped from odd ilu