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

Her laughter is contagious, as is the way that his mood instantly shifts, as he interlocks their fingers together and she readjusts in the water and once he’s pushed off the edge he lets his shift change, horns and draconic nature melting away to his lower half being replaced with his orca shift, the tail helping to keep him exactly where he wants to be. Her feet find his chest, though, and he lets her go, humming more laughter as she springboards off of him and he dives into the water to chase after her.

He slips under the water beneath her, popping up on the other side, one arm raised over the edge of the side of the hotspring, his free hand waving idly as if he’s half inspecting his nails as he uses that grappling magic again to tug her toward him, tail flicking in the water slightly. “I think it was more like oh subject change, quick!” His tone changes, teasing and playful, as he finishes the sentence with another rumbling laugh.

SUNJATA

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

Who needs maturity anyway? Maturity hasn't done jack shit to make Hotaru happy lately. Maybe being idiots alone in a pool is the best medicine for grief. Neither of them needs to impress the other. There are no expectations to be put-together or in control. What could they even lose?

He definitely lets her escape, but Hotaru isn't going to look a gift orca in the mouth. Cursing the fact she has no water magic or shifts, she makes it all of five feet before he swims beneath her and pops up on the other side. Laughing, she swipes her arm through the water to try and barrage him, only to squeal as that same strange magic wraps her up and pulls her through the water like a jailer to her executioner. Trying to push at the weirdly physical water with her palms, she struggles vainly - though it does nothing to dim the cheeky grin on her face. "Even if that was my intention, it clearly worked. Are you complaining about my customer service?" Feigning, somehow, both innocence and affront. How dare he accuse her of bad service!

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

Her laughter and attempts to push away the grappling liquid that drags her closer, Sunjata remains ever the picture of casual lounging as she draws nearer, letting more laughter slip from him as he watches her complains “Oh, it worked. Highest reviews.” His magic lets her go when she’s within distance to brace herself on him or the wall, letting her have the choice in the matter.

It also frees his hand to lift up into the air, ever dramatically showing as if he can picture it on a sign. “Did what was asked, though the method was questionable.” His hand drops back into the water and he shoots her, quite possibly, his biggest playful grin. “Are whips suddenly in your repertoire?” This, he can’t keep with a straight face, breaking into a laugh that shakes his shoulders.

SUNJATA

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

Even when at her expense, his dramatics and teasing make her chest tight with fondness to witness. If making a fool of herself brings back the light in his eyes she'll go straight home and make herself a clown hat, because he deserves to be happy. Flaws, mistakes, stubbornness and all.

The magic drops away all at once, leaving her floundering; not the worst swimmer in the world, but not the best. She grabs onto him without a care, though his slick skin makes it almost just as hard to cling without wrapping herself around him, and that would ruin his showy, feigned display. Settling for holding onto his shoulders with both hands, Hotaru feigns immediate outrage and shakes him as much as she can with little leverage. "Questionable? I run a business of repute!" Though he knocks her dramatics right out of the sky seconds later, making her sputter a startled laugh that trails into something longer, a string of amusement that makes it hard to breathe much less retort. "A-Are you asking personally or professionally? I'm afraid I'm not looking for new employment," she stutters with the force of her wheezing, envisioning dressing in leather and latex to parade into the House of Midnight to give customers their lashings. Frey would cream themself with joy.

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 grabs onto those shoulders that shake with his laughter, and Sunjata can’t seem to keep it restrained when she asks him a question he hasn’t even thought about, brows lifting high as he regards her and his hands drop from all dramatics to help steady her because he certainly isn’t as grounding right now as a rock. “What?!” He asks, barking another laugh before sucking in a sharp breath.

“Personally, you seem well equipped!” He makes an almost placating look with his face that breaks immediately, having to look away from her to look up, taking a hand off of her to push back his hair from his eyes as well as trying to get a breath of relief down, his laughter and amusement enough to redden his face, to line his eyes with tears of a good kind.

SUNJATA

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

It's something right out of a sordid novel, his hands on her bare waist and hers on his broad shoulders, but given they're wheezing like frogs getting stepped on it's far from lewd. She doesn't know how he manages to keep his balance when he lets go of the rock behind him to support her, but unless he suddenly stops and dunks them both she's not going to question it.

He's also not the only one laughing so hard that eyes begin to water and the shaking becomes full-body. It's not that funny. It's not. But she can't stop fucking laughing.

"Isn't that usually what I'm supposed to say?" she wheezes, always ready to make a dick joke when it's presented to her. Nobody has ever called Hotaru well-equipped before but there's a first time for everything. "But if you're asking personally, maybe I should start charging." Lifting one hand off his shoulder, she takes a chunk of her floating hair in hand to wave it threateningly towards him.

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

The secret is the fact he’s half shifted, keeping him perfectly centered in the water as he holds onto her, laughing along with her, especially as his chin drops to look at her with another hiccup of a laugh, exasperation clear along his face. “Usually!” He agrees with a half rumbles squeak, voice cracking as he tries to calm his laughter, wincing as it doesn’t work and he tries to gasp for breath as she shows her hair to him, shaking his head.

“Listen, I’ve already gotten quite an up close and personal view.” He can’t get it all out without another hiccup of a laugh, lips twitching as he tries to keep from smiling so broadly. “I’m sure Frey could have some input. Should ask them.” He sighs dramatically when he adds “And if they agree, you’re in luck. I know a place.” He winks and descends into another huff of a laugh.

SUNJATA

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

The effects of too much laughter - squeaking, wheezing, voices cracking - unfortunately only makes it that much harder to stop. Because then she's laughing at his expense, only for it to backfire when her voice does the exact same, and the cycle continues. "Yes, usually! Not everyone is well-equipped, do you think I'm a liar?" She gasps in affront, dropping her hair to hold her chest dramatically instead. "Like any honest woman if I see a man lacking between the legs I tell him 'I'm so sorry for your loss, and mine as well'!" She almost doesn't manage to get it out, finding herself equally as hilarious.

Laughter still bubbling out of her lips fit to compete with the springs around them, she really does grab him by the shoulders to shake him again. "Scoundrel! I just said I cannot be poached from my job!" Though Frey would likely be ecstatic to swipe Hotaru out of the Academy to have her working in the House of Midnight. And, because shaking hadn't worked the first time, she drops a hand to lightly splash water in his face as well.

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

“I do!” Sunjata manages, barking another laugh, one that turns into a louder sound, one that’s unstoppable as she makes her claim, filling in the spaces where gasps break apart the words. He understands, and luckily has never been told that, a fact that has him still completely amused by it.

That is, at least, until she splashes him in response and he lets her go again, if only to run the water off of his face, pulling down to cover his mouth when he says “you just said you should charge for it!” He grins back at her, leaning back now so that both his arms rest on the back of the rockery, waving a hand to let a wave of water splash against her chest.

SUNJATA

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

She absolutely has a response for that second bit, but he gives her too good of an opening for stupid antics by calling her a liar. Gasping as loudly as she possibly can in the most offended register she can reach, she uses the chance he gives her as he lets her go to recline against the wall to splash him nonstop with both arms. "How dare you!" she shrills dramatically, kicking her legs to keep herself afloat given she has only just realized she can't touch the bottom on this end of the spring.

"Besmirching my good name!" And, because she's extra dramatic, she has the humid air in the cavern whip against the surface of the spring to try and make the onslaught even worse - or at least mess up his hair.

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

If he had his canine or feline shift on display, his ears would certainly flatten with her shrill complaint and gasp. As it stands right now, he simply leans back, snickering at it as she desperately tries to keep afloat and splashes more water at him, her magic absolutely ruining his hair. And all he can do is share his delight through the attuned bond, continuing his barks of laughter that pair with hers as it reverberates off the walls of the cave.

He moves ever so slightly so that his tail can be a grounding moment for her, the black and white appendage covered in pale circular scars from shark bites from the years prior, raised to give her some sort of grippy platform to stand on even if it’s to his own detriment. “I’m not gonna apologize!” He responds to her with a brighter grin, lighting up his eyes as water drips from his eyelashes.

SUNJATA

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

He is aggravatingly unbothered, even going so far as to offer his tail as a buoy for her to stand on, and Hotaru huffs her playful irritation as she ceases her onslaught. How dare he not be affected? How else will she exact her revenge?

"You're lucky you're in this pool with me or I'd just shock you to make you apologize," she sniffs imperiously even as she shamelessly takes advantage of the support he provides her with his tail. Maybe it's the easy way he belongs to the water or the shift itself, but she thinks maybe he would have been born a Mer if he was from this world.

Childish happiness and amusement openly flowing from both sides of the bond, Hotaru pushes herself forward and wraps one arm around Sunjata's shoulders so she can have her back against the wall at his side, feigning a truce in how she mirrors their earlier pose. But her skin around his shoulders will suddenly start to spark, strong enough to be just on the shock side of ticklish all across his shoulders and the back of his neck. So long as her lightning isn't touching the water at large she's safe, but Sunjata won't be.

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 will always attempt to come off as the calm, cool, collected man he was supposed to be. So it’s no surprise that he grins a toothy grin at her when she makes her complaint, his free hand lifting from the water to wave in front of her a she settles comfortably against him, showing off the lightning scars that trail from his hand all up his arm and half arcing across his chest. “Been there, done that.” His lips twist into a smirk and he winks at her, before a shiver races down his spine.

He can feel the tickling sensation of the lightning magic, and he half wiggles to try and get it to not feel like it’s everywhere, but fails. “Hey!” He chirps, letting another shiver visibly rake down his spine. “If memory serves, you’ve done other things with that, that I liked very much.” He’s just being a little shit right now and he knows it, going so far as to stick his tongue out at her, his words bearing no weight.

SUNJATA

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

He really does have an out with nearly everything given all he has endured, which is normally something that rightly inspires sympathy. This time it’s merely irritating because it means she has no real threats to leverage against him, and she hates losing. So when he winks at her she merely wrinkles her entire face back at him in a shamelessly unattractive face that perfectly translates her feelings on the subject. In contrast, her side of the Attuned bond never once wavers in its pulses of laughter and humor, plainly calling out her lie.

But not revealing her intentions. She grins, foxlike and victorious as he jolts and wriggles next to her. Though her ears go a bit pink as old (very good) memories resurface, Hotaru merely laughs and attempts to keep contact, this time using her fire magic to try and increase his body temperature past even the heat of the springs to make him sweat. “Well let me change it up then, because my goal is punishment for calling me a liar,” she laughs, not letting herself linger on things like pleasure. Perhaps she’s merely petty and doesn’t want to prove Isla and Flora right, or maybe she’s just devoted to truly trying to rekindle just their friendship. Either way, hands to herself.

Metaphorically of course.