(SE) try to make all the amends

// i came from a broken home, so look at all my broken bones
count me in, but count me out, i know what this is about //

It’s unfortunately been a while since he’s checked back in on his safe haven home. But he finds it important to check in here and there — given the few and far between people that still choose to live there. Understandable, given the way that the world outside has changed. So he makes his occasional rounds, drifting from place to place, bringing little bags of things collected from the House of Midnight and Torchline to give in case people needed new blankets and clothes for the upcoming season.

He’s greeted with a few people willing to take them, but there’s a few more bags that sit out front of his home — a wooden sign posted out front with paint sunk into the wood that says ‘free, take one’. And he looks to his front door to see that terrible webbing all across the front of it as well as a couple of the spiders already trying to race to the bags that he’s securely tied up.

So he uses his water magic to push them away, before he focuses on trying to clean up his door.

the flood

// i'm the next, so get in line
just let me have my fucking time //

Koa

I'm the king, and you're the queen
and we will stumble through heaven

Koa is meant to be investigating a murder in the Oerwoud, but, well, truth be told, he's very overwhelmed. So he figures he might as well run a couple errands on the way, really make a trip of it, and one of those errands is to check out Wrenzoak's Refuge. Ever since his conversation with Sunjata the young Dragoon has been curious about the place, this little haven of equality and safety that stood against a warring world. And though his last encounter with The Flood had been filled with life-shattering revelations, the young man is still eager to know more of the demi who defied the gods.

He's chartered a small skyship for the journey, though he makes sure to dock it outside the refuge, unsure if its magic will be sustained. Pip peers curiously from her perch on his shoulder, rising up with forelegs tangled in his hair as they both try to take everything in. A few helpful individuals point him toward Sunjata's modest home, though they caution that the Flood is often absent these days, having taken up residence in the House of Midnight.

So it is with a good degree of pleasant surprise that he spots the tall man... spraying down a doorway? Koa and Pip exchange a confused look before shrugging and stepping closer, the young man's arm rising in greeting. "Hey, Mr. Sunjata! Doing some, uh, Leafchange cleaning?"

If there's a light at the end, it's just the sun in your eyes
I know you wanna go to heaven, but you're human tonight

{/code}

// i came from a broken home, so look at all my broken bones
count me in, but count me out, i know what this is about //

It isn’t unusual for him to be scouted out here, especially when he’s here as little as he is these days. But he doesn’t expect it to be the dragoon soldier of all people — so used to those inhabiting it that as the water splashes across the doorway of his old house, the streams almost shutter in his surprise. With the spiders gone, he turns to Koa with a small amused smile, seeing that he’s recovered from his mind shattering information he unloaded onto the poor young man the last time they met.

“Hey Koa. No, there were just a bunch of those spiders on the door.” It just had an added bonus of cleaning the dust and dirt off of the entrance. Regardless, Sunjata surveys his work for a moment before he turns to Koa, inviting him inside as he steps up to the front door and opens it. “What’s up?” He asks, gesturing for Koa to enter should he wish to.

the flood

// i'm the next, so get in line
just let me have my fucking time //

Koa

I'm the king, and you're the queen
and we will stumble through heaven

"Oh, gross." Koa crinkles his nose in distaste, having dealt with his fair share of the invasive little spiders. A fun challenge at the beginning of the season, their novelty has long since worn off - at least, as far as the Dragoon is concerned. The dragon on the other hand is still delighted by the little prey; with an enthusiastic screech she launches off Koa's shoulder, eager to play deranged whack-a-mole with the remaining spiders as they skitter away.

Koa watches his companion for a moment before turning his attention back to Sunjata and the invitation to come inside. He feels a little awkward now, following the demigod over the threshold to his home. Rubbing at the back of his neck, the young man shrugs. "Just... thought I'd stop by, on my way to the Oerwoud." He smiles crookedly, peering into the house. "We heard so much about this place. Felt like I ought to check it out, before the snow sets in."

If there's a light at the end, it's just the sun in your eyes
I know you wanna go to heaven, but you're human tonight

{/code}

// i came from a broken home, so look at all my broken bones
count me in, but count me out, i know what this is about //

Pip’s excitement over the arachnids draws a rumbling laugh from Sunjata’s chest, content to let the dragon demolish every little spider in her path should she see fit. He steps into the house, meanwhile, letting Koa follow him as he delves deeper into the house. “Oh, good idea. It gets pretty icy and snowy here. What do you think of it so far?” Distracted as he is, he crushes another couple of spiders beneath his boot as he disturbs them the further into the house they go.

Aside from the spiders roaming about, the house itself looks like it hasn’t been used much. Upon entry there’s a hallway with a little closet, where a jacket sits that looks to be about Sunjata’s size but doesn’t wear in the places Sunjata’s own clothes do. A trinket of Nate’s he’s kept. Further in, a living room, a thin layer of dust has settled on the top of the table, a comfortable looking seating area with plenty of throw blankets, a couple toys off in the corner that belonged to children. Alongside that, there’s a space on the couch that looks like it had been the place Sunjata had slept for a lot of it — too drunk to make it upstairs to his bedroom once the news of who had fallen in the war had reached them.

the flood

// i'm the next, so get in line
just let me have my fucking time //

Koa

I'm the king, and you're the queen
and we will stumble through heaven

Like Godzilla unleashed upon New York, Pip crows and stomps as she crashes through the spiders, stopping only to snarf down their poor, destroyed forms. Koa wrinkles his nose in distaste, opting to follow Sunjata rather than continue to watch his companion's violence unfold. "What I've seen is lovely," he answers honestly, thinking of the aerial view he's had. He'll need to explore it further, when his reasons aren't so... complex.

The house is small and underused, but tells a story that catches Koa off-guard. Toys, clothes, blankets, dishware - signs of life litter the place, frozen beneath a layer of dust. The young dragoon hesitates in the entryway, suddenly feeling very much like he's intruding on something special, something he has no right to touch and no ability to comprehend. He shoves his hands into his pockets, trying to find a good place to look and settling on a patch of flooring somewhere near his feet.

"Hey, um, I probably shouldn't stay long." He bites his lip, brow furrowing as he wonders what would be more stressful, walking a man he barely knows through his old home or investigating a violent crime that could potentially implicate his would-be-ex-girlfriend's boyfriend as a murderer. Neither is great. "I need to get to the Oerwoud before it gets too late. Which, you're welcome to come along if you want - doing some Dragoon work." He's not sure why he extends the invitation, certain Sunjata won't accept. But it seems rude, abandoning the man in this house of memories, and Koa is nothing if not polite.

If there's a light at the end, it's just the sun in your eyes
I know you wanna go to heaven, but you're human tonight

{/code}

// i came from a broken home, so look at all my broken bones
count me in, but count me out, i know what this is about //

It’s the general consensus, that the safe haven is lovely. It had done its job and Sunjata can’t complain with the results afterward; having created a space safe that people remained in afterward, to get their feet back underneath them. Still, the compliment blooms and preens within him as he steps along a couple more spiders having made their way in.

He does turn back to Koa when he says he shouldn’t stay long, brows pinched. He doesn’t expect the offer, but there’s a rumble in his throat as he sets down the bag he’d brought in, immediately turning to focus on the young Dragoon. “Go a bit faster on the back of a dragon.” He suggests, gesturing for Koa to lead the way. “Count me in.”

Perhaps his Enforcer skills might come in handy after so many years.

— Fin <333

the flood

// i'm the next, so get in line
just let me have my fucking time //