fuzz in our fingers

I couldn't utter my love when it counted
Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now

It's early enough in the afternoon that the Hanged Man is nearly empty. A pair of old regulars perch at the counter, working hard on becoming one with their stools. A young couple whispers in a corner, the flush of new romance radiating off them in waves. A sleepy-eyed and weather-worn bartender wipes down glasses, pretending to make busy as she basks in the afternoon sun.

And Koa leans upon a wooden table, one arm tucked beneath his chin, the other extended toward the fuzzy wine spider that wobbles merrily across the well-worn grain.

He's not in uniform today. Instead he's wearing a white linen top and dark blue jeans, his hair artfully tousled by the salty air. Pip sits on the table beside him, tail twitching as she stares down the spider. It's clear that she's hanging onto her self-control by the barest thread, desperate to pounce upon the arachnid, to make it either a toy or a snack.

Maybe both.

"You've got it easy, y'know." Koa tilts his head to the side as the spider meanders a little closer, as unsteady as a drunk on the side of the road. "You just hang out all day. Get drunk. Hide from predators." (Pip whines mournfully, tail twitching again). "Maybe you have a nice cask house. A wine of the month club. Some spider friends. It's a good life. Simple. No complications or responsibilities." A calloused finger pushes the spider on a course away from Pip. "Can I tell you a secret, Mister Spider? Sometimes I wish I could live like that. No expectations. Only vibes."

Koa

And I couldn't whisper when you needed it shouted
Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now

totally sniped from odd ilu

Noe had long since decided that she wouldn't be a very good sister if she didn't know where to find her brother. With that in mind, she had made sure to wheedle his favorite places in Torchline out of him. One such place was the Hanged Man, so when she came to town, it was one of the first places she stopped in, if only to see what was so special about the place. She wasn't really looking for Koa, but there he was all the same, sitting at a well-worn table and seeming rather morose. And was he talking to a spider?

Well, that wouldn't do.

Noe sauntered over and plopped down in a seat beside him. "I think you'd get bored as a spider," she informed her brother airily. She leaned against the back of the chair. The Hanged Man was fine, as a bar went. A bunch of stuff looked new-ish, but at the end of the day, it was still just a bar. Maybe Koa liked it so much because Flora was the one in charge. "Besides, all those legs? Ick."

Was feeling so weak but baby I'm strong
Little did I know I'm a champion

Noe

I couldn't utter my love when it counted
Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now

There in the quiet bar it comes: a ray of sunshine, a flash of light, the firecracker that is his little sister. Koa turns to look up at her from his position half-lying on the table, an eyebrow raising on his tired face. "Hey, No'," he greets his sister lazily, smile understandably crooked given his position.

The spider takes the opportunity of distraction to try and wobble away, and Koa lets it bob over toward Noe, extended arm curling back into his lap. "I dunno," he counters languidly, "Seems like a good enough life. Spin a web, catch a fly. Use my extra arms to tickle you." He punctuates the last bit with a poke to her side, grinning wickedly as experienced fingers target exactly where he knows she's most sensitive.

Mischief managed (for now), the boy retracts his arm, sighing as he straightens out of his prone position. "What're you doing all the way out here, anyway?" he wonders, watching Pip bat gently at the spider as it wanders a little too close. "Everything ok at home?"

Koa

And I couldn't whisper when you needed it shouted
Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now

totally sniped from odd ilu

Koa seemed perfectly comfortable, and Noe couldn't help but grin in response to his lopsided smile as she joined him at the table. The little wine spider toddled over towards her, and she watched it with some amusement as it stumbled this way and that. So focused on the spider was she that she didn't notice Koa was reaching for her until he poked her in the ribs, right where she'd always had a ticklish spot. She gave a soft shriek as she flexed away from his finger, then giggled at the reproachful look she received from the bartender.

"Extra arms aside," she said wryly, "What would you actually do as a spider? Eat other creepy-crawlies and, what, sleep?" She shook her head, tossing long black hair over her shoulder. "No, thank you. Being human is way more fun."

As for what she was doing, her face fell into a pout. "You've been away for ages," she complained. "I had to come see whether you were still alive." She sighed dramatically, collapsing on the table to peer sideways at her brother. "I'm bored. When are you coming home?"

Was feeling so weak but baby I'm strong
Little did I know I'm a champion

Noe

I couldn't utter my love when it counted
Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now

"I mean, that sounds like the life to me," he replies with a shrug, copper-flecked eyes twinkling in the afternoon light. His eyebrow raises at her declaration of humanity being fun, boyish curiosity and brotherly protectiveness warring in the wry curl of his lip. "And what kind of fun have you been getting up to in my absence, Kiddo?" Who do I have to beat up?

His smile softens at her dramatic pouting, fondness blooming bright within the young Dragoon. "Don't you have friends who are more fun than your big brother? Or, I dunno, work?" His voice is teasing, a calloused finger prodded into his sister's slumped shoulder, shaking her gently where she now lies on the tabletop.

Pip, sensing her opportunity, leaps onto the wine spider; before either human has a chance to react she's run off with her prize, probably planning to torment it a bit before making it a snack. Koa watches her go with an exasperated huff, crossing his arms as he leans back in his chair. "Actually, we're heading back tonight," he informs Noe, still gazing off to where his dragon has disappeared. "Just stopped in here for a final drink." And maybe a chance to see Fora--- but he pushes that thought away as quickly as it rises, not particularly wanting to think about how he may or may not feel towards the blonde.

Either of the blondes, he thinks sourly, another face rising in his mind, unbidden. Maybe he'll take a break from blondes for a while. They seem to spell nothing but trouble for our lad.

Koa

And I couldn't whisper when you needed it shouted
Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now

totally sniped from odd ilu

Noe smiled slightly at Koa's question, wrinkling her nose at him playfully. "Wouldn't you like to know?" she asked, eyes twinkling with mischief. Truthfully, she hadn't been up to much. She was a bit adrift just now; sure, she was in training to be an engineer, and true, she'd been to a few parties, but other than that... well, she hadn't lied when she'd said she was bored. Her brother was, in many ways, her closest friend, and she'd felt his absence keenly since he'd been in Torchline. Besides, he'd been so morose when she'd last seen him, caught up in his recent heartbreak, and gods only knew what trouble he'd been getting into here as a result.

Noe's eyes followed Pip as she darted across the table, shifting so that her chin sat on her folded arms. As the dragon ran off with her prize, the girl sat up, perking up as Koa confirmed he'd be coming home. "Oh, good," she said breezily, as though this news didn't make her day. "I missed having a soldier waking me up at the crack of dawn." It was something she teased him about frequently: he never failed to wake her as he prepared for his morning shifts, no matter how hard he tried to be quiet. Then she softened, smiling sweetly at her brother. "It'll be good to have you home, especially since we're getting closer to opening the borders." She wasn't sure exactly how close, but she knew they'd been making progress on Safrin's requests.

It wasn't that she had anything against Abandoned, but there was enough anti-Abandoned sentiment lingering in Stormbreak - and she'd been around enough Dragoons - to know that such a change spelled trouble, no matter how much they prepared for it. "How do you think it'll go?" she asked, tilting her head to one side and running a hand through her hair, flipping it over a shoulder.

Was feeling so weak but baby I'm strong
Little did I know I'm a champion

Noe

I couldn't utter my love when it counted
Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now

"It's your own fault for staying up so late," said soldier teases back, raising an eyebrow at his sister in playful challenge. It's a well-trod argument, Koa preaching on about discipline and routine while Noe argues for chaos and creativity. Of course, the truth of their habits is significantly murkier than that, and the point of the argument is less to be prove a real point and more to score on the invisible, endless tally board of stubbornness all sibling pairs must keep.

He softens when she does, the teasing edge in his boyish face bleeding into thoughtful, serious concern. Sucking his lip between his teeth, the soldier considers his sister's question. "I don't know," he admits softly, copper gaze shifting to where grey waves lap on the golden shore. "Some people will grumble - some already have." A minority, but a vocal one.

Koa leans back in his chair, running his hand through his hair. "Personally, I think it'll be good. That it'll prove that Stormbreak is ready to be part of the world, not just hover above it." Figuratively and literally, now.

A slow, almost calculating look is turned to Noe, Koa's face carefully casual even as his throat clenches. "What does Dad think about it all?" About me- though he doesn't dare ask aloud, doesn't want to seem like he cares. The tension between Koa and his father is nothing new, both having sunk into their own habits (good and bad) when Mahina died, with Noe acting as a constant thread to keep the two stubborn Carpenter men from falling entirely apart.

Koa

And I couldn't whisper when you needed it shouted
Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now

totally sniped from odd ilu

"Hmph," said Noe, turning her nose up at her brother playfully. "Like you don't stay up just as late as me." She wasn't blind, after all - she knew he snuck out just as often as she did, although she didn't know where he went (likely because she would pitch a fit if she knew about his fighting habits). Maybe she should tail him one night, just to see. Of course, she might not like what she found out. No, better to let him live his life and for her to live hers. Live and let live, as they say.

"I think Dad would agree with you," said Noe, raising an eyebrow at Koa's question. She knew that her father and brother didn't always see eye to eye, but on this... well, their father was not in the minority who thought that all Abandoned were evil. It would be nice to have Koa and their father sit down and talk about the coming changes to Stormbreak. They might actually find common ground for once. "He misses you, too. I know you don't see it, but I think he's happier when you're around. It's been too quiet around the house without you. Plus, I think he feels like you can keep a better eye on me than he can," she added jokingly. It was probably true; their father was many things, but able to keep up with a spirited teenaged girl, he was not.

Was feeling so weak but baby I'm strong
Little did I know I'm a champion

Noe

I couldn't utter my love when it counted
Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now

Koa huffs a derisive snort at his sister's attestation, fairly confident that their father does not, in fact, miss him. Koa rubs a calloused finger against a groove in the table, not looking up as a mirthless half-smile pulls against his lips. "That's true," the young man agrees, though not without some venom. Perhaps if their father spent less time moping and whining about his arthritis, his age, he would be able to keep up with their sister. Perhaps if he hadn't fallen apart when Mahina died, leaving Koa to pick up the pieces, to step in as the head of the house...

It's not a particularly charitable (or accurate) judgment to pass, but then again, objectivity is rarely found where family is concerned.

But this is far too heavy a topic for his last day at the beach, and besides, the young man has worked rather hard to protect his sister from his innermost discontent. So it is that he heaves a dramatic sigh, shoving out against the table and rising to his feet. "C'mon," the boy says to Noe, copper eyes already brightening as some matching coins clink onto the table. "The last skyship's in a couple hours, so we're wasting daylight here. You wanna swim or shop?" He doesn't let any preference slip into his voice, wanting her to choose, more than happy to go along with whatever his sister suggests.

Koa

And I couldn't whisper when you needed it shouted
Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now

totally sniped from odd ilu

Koa and their father had never really gotten along, and Noe couldn't fault either of them for it. They were both too stubborn and hardheaded for their own good. Still, it was difficult not to protest Koa's scornful reply, and she gave him a reproachful look instead. Their father had done his best in a horrible situation, left alone to raise two children while fighting his health problems. But they never could agree on the topic, and so she let it go. She could see both sides in this particular argument, and she knew that there was nothing to be gained by fighting her father's battles for him. Whatever differences the Carpenter men had would need to be worked out by them.

But the tone shifted quickly, with Koa seeming to come to the same conclusion, and Noe rose cheerfully from the table at the proposed activities. "Why not both?" she asked impishly. "We can hit up a few shops, I can get a new bathing suit, and we can go swimming, too." And if they missed the last skyship, so what? They could always catch the first one out in the morning.

Was feeling so weak but baby I'm strong
Little did I know I'm a champion

Noe

I couldn't utter my love when it counted
Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now

It's easier to pretend nothing's wrong, that there isn't a wedge of trauma stuck tight in their family's heart. Easy as Koa's boyish grin as falls into step beside his sister, an arm snaked comfortably over her shoulder, a kiss pressed to her head. "Alright, but nothing too revealing," he says, tutting playful disapproval at the notion of her inevitable scandalous selection. Not that he'd actually police her clothing, but the role of overprotective brother must be maintained.

So it is they set off together down the streets of Torchline. And honestly? They have a fabulous, full of playful teasing and indulgent shopping and splash battles in the sea. So what if they nearly miss their skyship, have to scramble to catch the last one, hair still stiff with salt? They are young, and they are family, and for a brief and beautiful afternoon, that much is enough.

{fin <3}

Koa

And I couldn't whisper when you needed it shouted
Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now

totally sniped from odd ilu