if you are the ocean

this is your sport

but she's not playing a game

It’s the thrill of the chase, really, is what gets her here in Torchline. The heat helps, gives her something to cling to, as she uses her scaley, crocodilian shift to slam against a poor unsuspecting creature, tearing into its flesh at the height of her blood lust. It soothes the soul, however, and before long she shifts back into herself amongst the fresh skeletons nestled in against old ones, covered in blood, settled and at peace finally, before she decides to try and head out of the trees toward the water, hoping to clear off her skin now that she’s made herself a known predator.

But a sound distracts her, like a knock on the trees, and it draws her attention — dark hair pulled back, dripping with drops of ruby, tousled along her dark spiraled horns, blending with the ruby veins that break up the otherwise dark monotony of color.

And she certainly doesn’t expect to see who she does, brows pinching, tail wrapping around her leg curiously when she calls out, pushing aside a branch full of green leaves. “Harper, what..?” What are you doing out here? What are you even doing in general?

do not think you are safe because you love her

do not think she won't stain her mouth red with your blood too

KIADA

You've been all the way to broken

lost your sense of where to go

While Kiada is out getting bloodsoaked like a primordial goddess, Harper is punching trees. Literally.

Everyone knows Harper has a cemented, rigorously upheld workout schedule that only the world ending could put a stop to. Normally he works out in and around the city to double up on patrols, but given the fanfare of his ascension to King and then Maeve's return, Harper can't stand the spotlight any more than his son. Neither has been particularly inclined to meander around the markets and restaurants given the blatant gossip it subjects them to.

Instead, Harper finds a new place to work out. Today that means working out his frustrations, but tomato tomahto. The island rarely has any visitors given its generally off-putting vibe and carnivorous plants, which makes it perfect for Harper to retreat to. He even has some thick wrappings around one of the trees so he can use it as a post for his hands to strike without splitting the skin. So deep in the rhythm of his heavy breathing and forceful assault, Kiada's approach - and voice - scare him out of his skin.

Whirling, muscles bulging with exertion, soaked in sweat, expression dark and foreboding, he raises his fists automatically her way - before recognition sets in and they slowly lower. He hasn't seen her in...gods, years. How long now exactly? "Kiada?" Blue eyes take in the new additions at her crown and down her leg. Ancient, then. But alive. He'd assumed her dead after the war when he'd never heard word of her, assuming she'd chosen to go to war or perhaps refuse to turn to Dygra. Dropping his hands fully to his sides he approaches as if in a daze. "Gods I thought you were dead." He wants to hug her but given he's shirtless and very sweaty, he doesn't think it would be a good idea.

remember, pain is just an anchor

that you never had control of

HARPER

this is your sport

but she's not playing a game

She’s certainly not going to hide the fact that she takes his appearance in — having no reason to. She doesn’t know what he’s been up to, who he’s been with, if he’s with anyone at all. And she isn’t, these days, wandering from warm place to warm place. So she lets her eyes rake over him, the sweat pooling along his muscles as he works out, ever so similar to the man she used to know, that she can’t help the playful twist of her lips when she startles him.

“Sorry.” She says with a soft laugh, watching him approach as if she were suddenly bashful. She hadn’t reached out, but she didn’t know if she could. So much has happened — she had died and returned, managed to survive the war, and made her decision then and there to continue surviving.

She meets him half way at least, unlike his own barring thoughts of being too sweaty to hug (hi, she’s covered in blood, as if she cares) and she instinctively reaches for him to wrap him into a hug, pressing her horned head against his chest, spreading the iron tang along his sweaty skin. “Very much alive this time.” She admits slightly awkwardly, pulling back and letting her hands run along his forearms so that she can separate them enough to let her iceberg gaze meet his steel blues. “I have been wandering since the war ended.”

do not think you are safe because you love her

do not think she won't stain her mouth red with your blood too

KIADA

You've been all the way to broken

lost your sense of where to go

It makes sense she wouldn't be daunted by sweat when she's covered in blood - a concern he only dismisses because it's clear she's an Ancient - but he was merely thinking of things like manners and politeness. Harper should have known better. This is Kiada they're talking about.

As she hugs around his middle, Harper wraps her up instinctively and tilts his cheek against her horns, scarcely willing to blink lest she disappear once more. They'd been so close once, and Harper has a track record of forgiving long absences at this point. No matter the time between she is still his friend and he really needs more of them right now.

The hug is therefore far too short, but at least she doesn't stop touching him entirely, hands smoothing down his forearms to settle on his wrists as they both take each other in. Disregarding the blood on his own skin he'll now have to clean off, Harper meets her glacial gaze and simply drinks her in for a moment. "That's understandable," he murmurs, forgiveness clear and immediate. A tiny smile lifts the edge of his lips; he's not his normal self, but are either of them anymore? Harper turns his hands to hold her wrists back. "I've really missed you." He doesn't know what else to say. How to ask her to stay, even just for today. No matter how many times he asks nobody ever does, and maybe that's a pretty pathetically melancholic thought, but he thinks he's allowed it right now.

remember, pain is just an anchor

that you never had control of

HARPER

this is your sport

but she's not playing a game

He seems older now, unsurprisingly. She spots a few new wrinkles and that same almost haunted look as before, a hint more prevalent right now than it used to be and she can’t help but to wonder what’s happened, but not wanting to ruin the mood with the commentary on it. Not unless he wants to share.

They stand there like statues, connected, and the warmth from his arms and working out under the heat of the Torchline sun, Kiada doesn’t want to move — soaking it up like a lizard and he’s suddenly become her heat lamp. A crooked smile blooms and she gives him a somewhat softer look at his admission, nodding. “I’ve really missed you too. And our dances.” She can’t help but to let the tease slip in, searching his face for his reaction to it before she lets more honest comments slip out.

“I’m sorry I didn’t reach out. I didn’t know what you’ve been up to.” She trails off slightly.

do not think you are safe because you love her

do not think she won't stain her mouth red with your blood too

KIADA

You've been all the way to broken

lost your sense of where to go

It's unfair that they often find each other this way; consumed by worries and burdens, hurting and scattered. Or maybe it's merely a testament to their friendship that they're never scared away because of it. No matter how many years they always end up right back here. It's comforting, even if her absence stings given how many times it has recently burned him.

But she's not his lover, and her absence is the most understandable given the difficulties of the war and the side she'd been on. And, most importantly, her smile makes his own form helplessly, erasing those old hurts with fond memories. "There's no stopping us from continuing the tradition," he teases, and spins in place - their connected arms ensuring she's along for the ride until the momentum stops, allowing her to decline a real dance if she desires. And allowing him to speak, though his expression drops as he does.

"More than you can imagine. A son, the war, a divorce," of sorts, given he and Phoebe had never married at her request, "a new relationship on the ropes due to abandonment, and, most recently, becoming King." Something he never thought he'd say in his life. Goofball, happy Harper, King? Once upon a time it was a laughable idea. Now, he doesn't know how that affable version of himself ever changed to be the man he is now.

remember, pain is just an anchor

that you never had control of

HARPER

this is your sport

but she's not playing a game

Her grin brightens, of course, when he spins them slightly, agreeing to continue an age old tradition between them. She spins easily, however, hands gripping his wrists as she starts to sway with him, tail unfurling from her leg to float along behind her as they dance. The only time it slows is when he reveals everything he’s been up to and she gives him an apologetic look and smile initially, before surprise crosses her features and she stops rather suddenly in the sand.

“Oh,” she says unhelpfully, frowning slightly. “I’m sorry, Harper.” She knows how those things affect him, how much it mattered to the one that would take his heart not to do. She wasn’t his lover, though, she didn’t owe it to him to tell him her whereabouts. Not after Chuy in Halo and her impending death and return, then change after the war.

She can’t help but to offer his arms a small squeeze and a soft twitch of a playful smile, though, attempting to alleviate the bad for something good. “I appreciate the time you’ve taken out of your busy schedule for me, your Majesty.” She goes full out, too, dropping into a courtesy as she keeps her hands on his sweat covered wrists.

do not think you are safe because you love her

do not think she won't stain her mouth red with your blood too

KIADA

You've been all the way to broken

lost your sense of where to go

Even their easy spinning, despite hardly qualifying as dancing, brightens Harper's tired face. He has missed her so much. Missed this; their easy understanding of one another, the mischief and lightheartedness he has never found in another friend, the way she carries his burdens and peers into his darkest corners without flinching but still wants to dance with him in the sand despite that.

"Thank you," he murmurs as they slow, grateful for her sympathy. She'd been the one to tell him that he mattered too, that his desires and his vow to Tova held weight even if nobody else could understand it. She also knows just how deep a wound abandonment is for him, and he's grateful that for once he doesn't have to explain, justify, or defend himself. He's so tired of that.

But Kiada doesn't let him linger, and Harper barks a loud laugh as she curtsies dramatically, pulling on her wrists to try and pull her out of the low bow as he groans with matching theatrics. "Nooo, kill me now! Kiada herself, bowing? What have you done with my friend?" He shakes their joined hands frenetically in place of grabbing her by the shoulders and doing the same.

remember, pain is just an anchor

that you never had control of

HARPER

this is your sport

but she's not playing a game

She’s always been one to promote the fact that you need to look out for yourself. At the end of the day, nobody else would do it for you — and Kiada wanted to live a life where she was in control of her own destiny. Perhaps that’s how she survived so long, coming back to life after actually dying. Because she wasn’t ready yet, and a choice had been made, and she’d made her choice then and there.

She’s happy to remind him any time he needs it that he’s the one in control, needing to do whatever was best for him, even if it was hard.

But she’s also happy to lighten the mood, her dipping down only to be brought up with a groan from Harper that meets a chimed laugh of her own, shaking as her arms get shaken in lieu of her shoulders, she stands there and stares up at him with a bright grin. “I’ll have you know there’s a select few that I do bow to.” She tips him a wink, breaking into another chimed laugh.

She’s done it before, but only to those who deserved it. And with their friendship? She’s certainly going to consider him one of the few.

do not think you are safe because you love her

do not think she won't stain her mouth red with your blood too

KIADA

You've been all the way to broken

lost your sense of where to go

It's a lesson Harper could stand to learn, and perhaps that's why fate has deigned to bring her back into his life. That, and to make him smile - because he feels he has smiled more today than he has all season, and for that he has her to thank.

"Oh? Who do I have the pleasure of sharing a roster with?" he teases as he begins to spin them once more, kicking up sand that sticks to his bare legs and against her bloodied form in kind. "Do they get curtsies too, or just bowing? I want to be special." Even mid-twirl he manages to stick his nose up in the air, feigning pretentiousness and an imperial aura that do not at all fit his disposition.

remember, pain is just an anchor

that you never had control of

HARPER

this is your sport

but she's not playing a game

“Oh, hmm.” She drawls playfully, following his lead as he spins her and she kicks up sand alongside his own, letting the gritty texture stick to her skin as her tail continues to move idly behind her, one hand after another moving so that she can hold onto him a bit easier — one hand on his chest while the other moves to hold onto his hand. “The Warden of Halo.” She tips him a wink.

Of course, she can’t help the snort that leaves her, shaking her head. “Don’t worry, your Majesty, you’re the only one I’ll curtsy to.” She can’t help the grin that spreads, shifting her feet slightly so that she can take the lead, guiding him further into the sunlight that filters over the sand and atop them, moving them a bit faster in their dance before she picks up her train of thought again. “Besides, the Warden is basically like my dad, so.”

do not think you are safe because you love her

do not think she won't stain her mouth red with your blood too

KIADA

You've been all the way to broken

lost your sense of where to go

They will desperately need to wash themselves clean by the end of this dance, but for now Harper couldn't care less about the stickiness, the grit, the heat. There is only the bright joy of reunion in his chest which fights away the darker shadows between his ribs. Even when he can't help but laugh, disbelieving, when she mentions - "Deimos?" Shaking his head as they spin, Harper grins broadly. "You really do have the weirdest connections."

Conceding the lead to her easily as she readjusts their arms to a proper configuration for dancing instead of childish circular spinning, Harper helps the transition along by dropping his free hand to her waist without a care for where it lands in terms of 'safety'. It's a good thing he knows both leading and following steps by heart, and simultaneously amusing that she clearly does too. "Good, then that means I do get to be special," he chuckles, because that's clearly all that matters to him. Only to throw his head back dramatically, groaning, when she continues. "Not even just a friend but your dad? How have you ever managed to date?" Surely Deimos could - and would - conveniently vanish any of Kiada's suitors he disapproved of.

remember, pain is just an anchor

that you never had control of

HARPER

this is your sport

but she's not playing a game

The second Deimos’ name falls from Harper’s lips, Kiada can’t help the bright chime of laughter that leaves her. “Come on, it is not that weird.” She rolls her eyes before shifting how they dance into taking the lead and making it a more official dance. Her hands connect with him, drawing herself closer to him in the dance despite the blood and sweat and she pays absolutely no mind to where his hand drops along the curve of her body.

She beams up at him with a playful, cunning look as he agrees that he does indeed get to be special. “Very carefully.” She teases him in response to his question. “He doesn’t care as long as there’s no ill intent.” She offers, giving him a look that seems to suggest she’s never chosen anyone who didn’t fall into that category — even though she absolutely has in fact, done that.

do not think you are safe because you love her

do not think she won't stain her mouth red with your blood too

KIADA

You've been all the way to broken

lost your sense of where to go

Her refute is a moot point because Harper is absolutely certain of his correctness, and he shakes his head plentifully in abject denial. "Nope, sorry, you don't get to be the one to decide that. He's practically a legend, it's weird. Case closed." He gleefully doesn't share the fact that Harper and Deimos are acquainted even if they're not the best of friends. It would only dull the playful edge he has over her.

Barking a laugh he hasn't felt in his chest in seasons, Harper bumps his forehead against hers, heedless of the impact being a little harder given their busy feet. "I'd say I can't understand but I do now. Luckily my son ended up with his best friend, so I already approved of her." It had been heart-meltingly cute to witness, too, which was merely a bonus. Though he does pull away slightly to give Kiada a slightly more concerned look. "Do you still manage to see him despite not being able to go to Halo?" He knows the Sword is Warden there, which Harper can imagine only makes visitations harder.

remember, pain is just an anchor

that you never had control of

HARPER