everybody knows i'm a king without a crown

better get to diggin' while my body's getting cold.
i keep tryna fight it so just promise when i go, you'll bury me low

Perhaps it was for the best, realistically. Being in a place so excruciatingly warm that it almost hurts to be within the waters this deep into Longheat. So much had happened in what felt like the span of a week that he doesn’t exactly know where that leaves him. Phoebe and him as friends? Isla catching feelings and departing when he’d told her that he was reconnecting his friendship with Hotaru, too?

At least the letter was an easy send and it hadn’t been too long since he’s seen her, arriving to the hotsprings before they had agreed to if only to be left alone in his thoughts just a little bit longer, lounging half shifted in the black dragon shift if only to ward away any gore crows that decided they might want to try and make a move. It’s easy to do, with the horns that sprout on his head and the wings that sink into the hotsprings, one dipping lower than the other with that clean white scar spanning the joint where his father had shattered it years ago now – he soaks it up like a lizard with a bare chest and his pile of clothes on the edge of the rockery leading up, all but the shorts he’s decided to wear for the absolute intention of a swim.

And aside from the occasional moments of baring his teeth at any predator that tries to slip by, Sunjata looks almost relatively peaceful even if he feels everything but that.

SUNJATA

you are such a soft and messy thing, nobody knows how to take care of you

In contrast, Hotaru arrives with few changes having happened in her life since they last met and an accompanying air of expectation - perhaps even excitement - that buoys her through the winding caverns. Even just the steam that billows off the springs and fills the rocky halls is sweat-inducing, so she has shed everything but her bikini and sandals to cope with the oppressive heat. Flora's question may live in her head (as does her input on Hotaru's 'list') but unlike Sunjata she is not burdened with fresh regrets.

Her companion is impossible to miss when she manages to find the right pool; draconic features eye-catching and sleek with cloying, clinging steam. The inky blackness of the appendages are a stark contrast to his skin, but not unpleasantly so. Even still, Ru slows her pace slightly and her golden brows draw together. Certain he has heard her approach, she lightly probes the Attuned bond, tentative. "Sunny?" Spoken as she comes up behind him, setting her things down and removing her sandals so she can step into the pool quickly, naked concern on her face that she has to consciously work not to hide. They don't need to do that anymore.

It may sound ridiculous but she is concerned precisely because of the shift on display. Sunjata has always been far more deeply in touch with his animal shifts, and each one - and even certain elements of each - usually represented how he was feeling. The dragon is rare, and usually indicative of a desire to protect himself from something. Hotaru just prays it isn't her. But just in case it is she stands up to her thighs in the roiling water, giving him his space as she watches him, concerned and abandoning all playful greetings. "Everything okay?"

better get to diggin' while my body's getting cold.
i keep tryna fight it so just promise when i go, you'll bury me low

He does hear her approach, though its to be expected and doesn’t startle him as he continues to wade, feeling the slight probe through the attuned bond which has him cracking open an eye and sitting up a little straighter, wings drooping further with the weight of the water that has soaked into the leathery scarred wings. He doesn’t mean to concern her, of course, letting the shift drop away ever so slightly, keeping the wings and horns if only in case anything else tries to push in on their time.

He nods, offering her a softer smile, but rather than lying and simply admitting that he’s fine and everything’s perfect, he ends up tilting his head a fraction, sending a soothing sense down the attuned bond that she’s more than welcome to come closer. “Well, it seems I am now the sole owner of the House of Midnight.” He offers quietly, trying to bypass it for the moment because he knows she’s going to bring it back up. “This is certainly helping the sting, though.” He gestures to the water, letting a bit of his magic show through as he brings up a small wave of it, letting the steaming water dance in the air between them, shimmering before it falls into the rest of it.

SUNJATA

you are such a soft and messy thing, nobody knows how to take care of you

It's not the appendages themselves that concern her, but she bites her tongue when he straightens and some of them begin to vanish, not wanting to overshadow her initial query. His smile is a good sign - especially once she thoroughly examines it for any hint of deceit and comes up empty. Not deceit against her, necessarily, but against himself. With the ripple of reassurance down the bond, Hotaru wades deeper and closer to his side, needing to propel herself at some points when the natural bedrock drops away beneath her feet until she is holding onto the side with one hand to get close enough to touch.

The revelation is honestly surprising, though she tries not to let it show too plainly on her face. He moves on before she can gather her thoughts though he must know she will not let the subject die; Hotaru watches the display of magic all the same, and lets her own rise in a whisp of air that curls around his neck and shoulders, dispelling some of the heat before doing the same to herself.

Perhaps if she were a better person she would ask, first, if he wanted to talk about this. But given he'd already opened up it seems unnecessary to her. So she merely touches his hand as she settles her back against the rock, keeping her head turned so he never leaves her sight. "I'm sorry, Sunny." Because she is; confused, too, but also regretful for him. "Why did she leave? You both seemed so close." Best friends if not more considering how Hotaru had misinterpreted their relationship from the start.

better get to diggin' while my body's getting cold.
i keep tryna fight it so just promise when i go, you'll bury me low

He watches her approach, using his magic occasionally within the water as well to help tug her along – never having used the grapple function of his water magic in such a capacity before, but as she settles in at his side he finds it easier to focus a bit of it in part to help keep her upright and comfortable, even if the rockery despite being smoothed out by the water over time has those little nicks and grooves in it that can cause some pain.

He doesn’t, however, realize the relief that spreads down the attuned bond toward her when she uses her wind magic to cool off his tattooed neck and shoulders, instead letting the smile widen just a fraction more as he dips his head slightly toward her, water dripping from the curled horns at his temples amongst the splattering of freckles along his face – always having been far more at home in the water than anywhere else.

“It’s okay.” He tells her – because it is okay to him. He understands why, just not exactly how it had come about aside from Isla having caught her feelings. So he does look away from her when he responds, tilting his head back toward the little waves of the water and the steam radiating off of it that drift up above them. “We were, but, I think she wanted to be more than we were. More than I’d allow.” More than business partners, something Sunjata can’t entirely fathom starting over again. Especially after his admission to the woman at his side, one that he finds himself turning his attention back to, hand moving to tangle his scarred fingers in with her own as he brings himself to look at her face. “I think I gave her mixed signals over time, but…” You know, seems to go unsaid.

SUNJATA

you are such a soft and messy thing, nobody knows how to take care of you

The sensation of being tugged along by something that is water but also isn't water is very strange. Almost ticklish. It makes something similar to laughter and wonder combined fill up the shallow space in the bond they have open. She submits to it readily, trustingly, until it pulls her in at his side. There's a light in her eyes that promises she'll ask about that little trick later, but for now she's more concerned about his state of mind.

"Oh."

It comes out a little stupid, a little gobsmacked. She shouldn't be surprised. She shouldn't. She'd assumed they were together in a distinctly non-business sense, right? But Isla had just seemed so...content. Happy where she was. And Sunjata - not the type to hold his boundaries in the ways he really should. It's startling all around.

As he intertwines their fingers she leans her side into the rough wall instead, ignoring the scrape of it to meet his gaze more fully as she parses slowly through her own emotions to find a better response. "Maybe you did. It can be easy to, in those situations." They'd done it themselves in the early days, hadn't they? It's why she'd kissed him on his wedding day, why they'd suffered through his days with Maea. "Still, I'm proud of you for remaining firm to your feelings. Even if I'm sure it still hurt the both of you." And she may not know Isla, but she knows how badly it can sting to catch feelings and have them go unrequited, so she can say with certainty that neither of them had walked away okay from that goodbye. "But...why now?" Baffled by the suddenness of it all.

better get to diggin' while my body's getting cold.
i keep tryna fight it so just promise when i go, you'll bury me low

Yes, oh.

She’s right, though. It’s easy to give those mixed signals without intending to; when it had all come to a head that night in Torchline, just before he’d met her to finish the Frey quest and move on. “Yeah..” He pauses, exhaling a sigh as his wings droop into the water more, letting the warmth soothe away the ache in the healed, broken wing. His fingers tighten around hers when she tells him she’s proud of him, though, and he nods, offering her a small twitch of a smile, genuine despite the heavy topic.

It has hurt him less, he imagines, not as attached as Isla had been. But despite everything it had still ended on a surprisingly good note, provided they went through with sending letters to one another in the future. “We’re still friends, I think.” He doesn’t know, and it leaves him unsteady in how to approach it in the future, especially given how many friends he had these days.

But why now? This answer has him wincing slightly, settling in for the story time it’ll become, letting the steel of his eyes slip from her face to look over her shoulder, back and forth as he starts to explain. “Well, ultimately, I think it’s because I told her we were going to try again and be friends.” Anything else was a potential option, but not one he actively seeks. All he wants these days is to be honest with himself and those around him, and it yet again has become tangled and muddy.

“The night in Torchline before we met up in the morning, she had asked me if we would ever be more than just business partners and I… I told her what I told you the following day. It probably hurt but she suggested I reach out.” And he had, with no expectations. “Her and I helped each other immensely since the war. We’d both lost so much and… You know I don’t sleep well, and before she became an Ancient she didn’t sleep, so she’d read to me so I could get some sleep.” And when she had become an Ancient and sleep was required, well… “She still did and we still shared the same bed and when I told her that I had talked to you and suggested maybe separating the rooms and making that official office, it was better for her to leave.” And she did.

“I understand it, of course.” But it was still awkward, still unsteady for him in a place where a few things have started to go right and he’d managed to fuck up something with his best friend so drastically that he was left alone in a sea of people. Again.

SUNJATA

you are such a soft and messy thing, nobody knows how to take care of you

She can tell the not knowing is what makes him so ill-at-ease, and she can't fault him for that. Especially when he has so few people left, the prospect of his closest friend simply never returning is a downward slide Hotaru can't imagine is easy to resist when he is a far cry from mentally sound. "I'm sure you are. She just needs time." And Hotaru wonders if maybe she should seek the woman out herself, perhaps invite her to the spa -

Until Sunjata unwittingly reveals it is in fact her fault.

Clearly stunned for a second time, Hotaru can only listen as the Flood spills the story like blood behind a badly-clotted wound, rushing forth the moment it has a chance for freedom. It's a little fragmented and hard to follow, the way he jumps from the past and present, confiding and explaining all at once. What more can she do but hold his hand and weather his worries?

When the words seem to run out it's clear he's feeling rather dejected. Whether it's the sight of that prompting some eternal protectiveness, or feeling rather insulted that Isla was so certain of their romantic reunion, Hotaru doesn't bother to hold her tongue. "Well that's rather presumptuous." Sighing, she lets go of the wall that her free hand had been clinging to, buoying herself with a few kicks of her legs as she rakes her hand through long golden hair and tries not to give into the burn of affront in her chest. "If she was aware she felt too much for you, she could have used that as her reasoning. Not me. Not us. Especially after having encouraged you to mend things with me." It makes her insides twist with anger that has no real place to go. It's not her job to protect and defend Sunjata any longer, and any slight against herself is negligible enough that she can't justify seeking out Isla to ask her to explain herself.

Fiercely exhaling to try and cool her head, she shakes it thereafter and looks at Sunjata from the corner of her eye, a tinge of regret pulling her lips down. "I'm sorry. Really, I am. I didn't mean to be the reason things changed between you two." She hadn't asked to be either, but clearly that hadn't mattered. "Should I...visit less?" At a loss for how to fix this now that she has been forcefully involved. Removing herself at all seems unfair to Sunjata given he'd lose a second friend, but maybe it would show Isla that romance wasn't on the board? Then again, romance wasn't on the board for Sunjata and Isla anyway, so would it matter? The Attuned bond must feel like a cloud of hornets with the way her mind tries to find a solution, and her free hand comes to pinch between her brows to try and quiet it. "No, that - sorry, I'm just still coming to terms with it." She can't imagine how he must feel.

better get to diggin' while my body's getting cold.
i keep tryna fight it so just promise when i go, you'll bury me low

He doesn’t think she needs time. He thinks that the line has been ever more obvious in the sands and she’d left ahead of time before things got worse — which, he can appreciate to an extent (having not lied to her when telling her these conversations were often more explosive).

Sunjata imagines he doesn’t explain it well, but it’s hard to know where to start without it becoming a tale that lasts the entirety of their hotsprings trek, and he really hadn’t wanted to bring the mood down. He realizes he has, however, at the sharp, frustrated sensation he feels from her side of the bond. His flows easily for once, perhaps a bit on edge but nothing too hollow, nothing too much of a void, even as a free hand rises to run through his grey and brown hair, streaking it back with the water he’d brought up with it.

She pushes off the wall and he focuses on her to help support her with his magic, nodding his horned head and exhaling a sigh. “It’s not your fault.” He offers her quietly, focusing on her a bit more intensely, even as the sensation of a wince seems to break through his side of the attuned bond, through her angry hornets, at her offer. Part of him is stunned and he immediately shakes his head, listening as she explains further that it wasn’t a good idea and he exhales a sigh of relief.

“I told her exactly what was going to happen. But I think given the fact that… for me, her and I would always be business partners, and the fact I still care about you, might have been too much for her to stay.” Where he’d admitted he doesn’t want to love again from the ground up, and how Hotaru has never left that part of his heart and soul.

But he exhales a sigh and leans back against his wings, sinking deeper into the water until it covers his tattooed shoulders and dances along his neck, steel gaze finding the sky. “I would like to continue our friendship.” He admits, even if it means he stays lonely at the House of Midnight in the process.

Maybe he’ll second guess his choice in not being an option for bedrooms there. Depends on how bad it gets.

SUNJATA

you are such a soft and messy thing, nobody knows how to take care of you

It shouldn't comfort her so much to hear him absolve her of her guilt, but she has wanted to hear those words so many times in the past few years that it quiets the angry buzzing of her mind immediately. She quietly compartmentalizes the desire to rage and spew vitriol, hating that she was used against him in any way, that everyone in the world seems to have input on their friendship without knowing all that they have gone through and how important these tenuous beginnings are to both of them.

Exhaling slowly, Hotaru draws herself back to the wall with the help of his magic and squeezes his hand in the silence between, grateful for his absolution.

"I'm sorry regardless," she decides on instead of further frustrations that would do nothing to resolve the situation. Ru can understand the pain of loving someone more than they can ever love you back, but she is too blinded by her protectiveness to forgive having taken such an important friendship away from Sunjata. In contrast, his insistent understanding is admirable to her. Maybe if he's at peace with it, she can be too.

"I do too." Sinking lower alongside him, she tries for a smile, regretful that the mood has been so harsh in such a beautiful and relaxing place. "I can't replace her as your best friend, but I hope you know I'm here." To talk to, to confide in, to be distracted by. Right now she's a little farther up the ladder of healing, and his emotions are a burden she believes she can carry right now.

better get to diggin' while my body's getting cold.
i keep tryna fight it so just promise when i go, you'll bury me low

It isn’t her fault, if anything Sunjata’s willing to martyr that yet again it’s his. But he wisely remains silent on the subject, already knowing her to be quick on reminding him that not everything was his fault. As for the rest of it, however, Sunjata hums a quiet sound, offering her a smaller smile when he sinks down into the water. “Thank you.” He says instead of affirming that it was okay.

Because he isn’t sure how okay with it he is, but he isn’t going to keep people around him any longer just to hurt them further. Certainly Isla deserved better than him. Certainly he deserved whatever scraps he could get.

When she speaks next he reaches out with his magic again, letting the little grappling tendrils grip onto her wrist gently, keeping her from getting too adrift as the taloned points of his wings poke out above the steaming waters edge. “I appreciate you being here as much as you wish to.” His voice drips with all the honesty he can muster at the moment, before an almost sad smile crosses his face. “Might take me a bit longer to make that office now, though, not having as much help.” He aims it to come out as a tease, but it falls short.

SUNJATA

you are such a soft and messy thing, nobody knows how to take care of you

The fact that he chooses those particular words is merely proof to Hotaru that he is growing. Things may not be okay. His relationship with Isla may never be the same again. It's clear he knows that, but is equally willing to accept Hotaru's remorse for what it is. Instead of responding she merely hums and pulls their joined hands into the water so she can maneuver better - only for his strange magic to surface once more, pulling lightly on her wrist like a physical entity. Hotaru cannot see anything visually apparent when she looks at her skin, but she doesn't try to fight it; instead maneuvering so their hands float between them so she can lean companionably against his shoulder with her own.

"I'm glad. But you're allowed to ask for companionship too Sunny." A soft rebuke, a reminder she assumes he needs to hear. It did not all have to be on Hotaru's schedule. And though his humor falls short the Valkyrie is there to lift it up, playing into it instead of dwelling on the darker parts. "You have hired help for a reason, I won't take any excuses," she harrumphs dramatically, habitually flicking her hair over her shoulder in a theatrical wave - forgetting it was half-soaked and smacking Sunjata right in the face with it. Startling herself, she immediately chokes out a laugh, using her free hand to pull the long locks away. "Oh, gods, sorry! Sorry! I promise that wasn't intentional." Though it was undeniably funny to her, as evidenced by the badly concealed laughter making her shoulders shake.

better get to diggin' while my body's getting cold.
i keep tryna fight it so just promise when i go, you'll bury me low

She doesn’t say anything in response and she doesn’t have to, he’s fine with settling there, still sunk into the water, both physically and magically tethered to her as they float. “I suppose.” He says instead, wondering how he’d even go about it these days. Before it seemed to simply just happen, and now? Well, it was unlikely to happen so easily or fast as it had in the past. Perhaps, however, that’s a good thing.

But there’s the light tease that she picks up on even if his delivery sucks, and he rumbles a soft laugh in response, lips parting to say something smart like ’they have their own jobs to do’ before he has zero chance of getting it out when she flips her hair and it makes an audible slap into his face, causing the slight flinch and flare of his wings, hands rising to join hers to take the strands of gold off of his scarred face, barking his own laughter alongside her apology instead.

Once they’ve managed to get her strands of hair off of him, his hand finds hers, tangling his fingers with her own as he continues to chuckle, shaking his head slightly as the horns dissipate, leaving nothing but the wet salt and pepper streaked hair. “Oh, no, I think it was.” He says, humming more laughter as he straightens up in the hotsprings, flaring his wings further, dropping himself into the water as he pushes off the back wall toward her, using his wings like propellers in a way to keep him exactly where he means to be.

SUNJATA

you are such a soft and messy thing, nobody knows how to take care of you

Point it out only goes so far, he will need to contemplate the rest on his own time. Hopefully not this time, shared as it is. Hotaru is not known for her patience, and she doesn't want him to introspect in the corner while she swims. Maybe if she moves things along to a different topic it will ensure he leaves the idea for later...

Admittedly smacking him in the face with wet hair wasn't her plan, but it works well - and provides her with the visual of his shocked, startled face as his wings jerk and he recoils. It does nothing to help the desperate well of air in her lungs demanding freedom in the form of laughter.

The way he firmly intertwines their fingers spells trouble, as does the way he rises, appendages melting into nothingness. Hotaru pulls on their joined hands in short little bursts as the laughter starts to break through, already knowing she's incriminating herself. It all expels in a shriek-laugh as he pushes off the wall towards her, trying to get her knees up against her chest to push her shins off him if he gets close enough, hoping to use him as a springboard to further their distance - though their joined hands ensure she can only run so far unless he lets go. "No! Lies!" she cries dramatically through her wheezing laughter, something warm stirring up in her chest at the childishness of it all. Maybe they both need to be a little juvenile to remember what it's like to be happy.