hell's comin' with me

// the past is just a bridge we burned down behind us
when we left this town, running from the blinding heat //

King’s End was a topic even he hadn’t thought about immediately, taking a moment to glance around the House of Midnight with a soft smile. “Things here are good. People miss you still, of course, but everything’s worked out well.” It was self sustainable whether he was here or not, able to come and go and simply make harder choices to run it when the rest couldn’t come to a decision. Other than that? It ran like a well oiled machine.

King’s End as a whole, however, his smile turns a hint lopsided with the scar. “It’s livable now. I’m taking leadership of it. And I currently have a quest to make a shrine to Frey here.” She’d know exactly the reason why he needs to add it in, preventing himself from returning to the knoll where Safrin had tried to murder him for his betrayal. “Other than that, a lot of things still need to get done. More houses, fixing up the roads to connect everything, a skyport probably, a notice board.” He starts to trail off, growing wearier as the list goes on and on.

As for the hydra and the rest of the world going to hell again, his smile shifts to something a bit more apologetic as he exhales a sound through his teeth, agreeing entirely. “I am too.” He offers the relief himself, too. “But you know if that were the case, I’d be there for you and the other Ancients.” He’d repeat it, fight for the underdogs if needed. It was ingrained in him to do such things, consequences be damned.

His head tilts when she suggests training with some of the other demigods, though, a consideration he hadn’t really thought of. “That’s true.” But who? Maybe someone that really wanted to get some frustration out in taking off a head or something. “Maybe Ronin. If I’m being honest, I still feel like a black sheep at the demigod get togethers.” His smile shifts to something awkward, uncertain, puffing out a quiet unseen sigh.

the flood

// of our disaster when we left this town
you can rely on me, i will always let you down //

Isla

"I am sure they will manage. Healers come in all shapes and sizes, after all." Isla smiles to Sunjata. Whether it's an Accepted with a healing item, an Abandoned with magic, or any surgeon, doctor and herbalist in between. "I'm glad to hear things are going well, though. The place is a welcome sight on the way through King's End."

Settling back and raising her eyebrows to hear about the region as a whole, even though the Remedy listens with as much quiet patience as Sunjata is likely used to from her, there's an unmistakeable flash of pride in her expression. "Hey," she says softly. "It doesn't have to all be done at once, remember. Make a list and a plan. People are happy here, even as things are. Anything else is a bonus. And you could always get a council."

Skyports and notice boards are nicer than thinking about an impending apocalypse, but Isla does let her smile soften into something grateful to hear that Sunjata would, once again, choose the needs of the few over the desires of the many. "I think that's really why Frey chose you," she offers. "You give everything a chance to grow, regardless of its origin."

Ahem. Anyway.

"A black sheep?" She raises her eyebrows. "Maybe you ought to take on all of them at once, show them how strong you've really become." It's said in jest, though Isla has no idea how close to being able to do such a thing Sunjata is these days. "Maybe send a letter to Ronin, then. He and Remi have moved back to Torchline, you know."

I'll take a bruise, I know you're worth it
When you hit me, hit me hard

// the past is just a bridge we burned down behind us
when we left this town, running from the blinding heat //

They do, truthfully, and with a new type of magic under his belt he supposes that puts him in a similar boat – though he’d never quite gotten to the point of understanding completely what Isla or Nate had even known about healing the body, he can at the very least get by. “It has a cozy feel, I will give it that.” He agrees, lips quirking into a small smile as he glances around the establishment, quiet and less heady with how everyone still seems to be sleeping off whatever indulgence they’d picked for the night.

It allows him time to list off everything he has yet to do, focusing his attention back to her with an easier look through the stress he’s put on himself (nowhere near the amount that he’d had before visiting Frey’s shrine at least), and he nods. “That’s true.” A brief pause before he hums a laugh. “I don’t have many people vying for that type of position here. It’s not like having you in the Grounds.” He admits, a softer almost nostalgic smile blossoming – because she’d been incredibly helpful when it came to running the Grounds for the time that he had, taking over it for her but keeping her on it for the help and input she had to offer.

For Dygra and the Ancients, at least, the admission of why Isla thinks Frey chose him sparks a little hum, a nod. “I’ve found that some of the best people in my life were ones that people had written off.” Back in Korofi when it had been the rebellion - here when it had been the Ascended, the list goes on and on.

“Ha, maybe.” It sparks a huff of a laugh. “So they can loathe me in silence rather than letting it all out on the table?” The grin he offers her is toothy and playful, not the self wallowing worry he may have had before. This time it seems like he actually might enjoy that idea. It’s a smile that shifts a hint at the mention of Remi and Ronin moving to Torchline, brows pinching slightly as his head cocks avian-like. “I didn’t know that, actually.” He muses, wondering why. He hadn’t gone to the Draig, of course, but he had made it a point to get the fuck away from everything he could for quite some time. Carved out his own piece of wilderness for himself.

the flood

// of our disaster when we left this town
you can rely on me, i will always let you down //

Isla

"I like to think that's what we were going for," Isla says, thoroughly enjoying the cozy aspects of the House of Midnight this early in the morning at the very least. She has no idea what sort of clientele will emerge once the day ticks on - by that point she'll have likely found something to occupy herself in the quieter areas of the House, or she'll have set off for the refuge to see what has become of it.

Snorting to hear Sunjata call back to their partnership in the Grounds, she waves him off playfully and shifts to sit cross legged on the chair. "On the plus side, King's End doesn't have nearly the amount of baggage that the Grounds came with," she says with a soft roll of her shoulders. "You'll get there. Maybe someone will turn up itching to help rule alongside you." She doesn't say it out loud, but the raise of her eyebrows silently suggests that Hotaru might be a good pick.

Surprising herself with her own laughter, Isla is able to imagine Sunjata at a table of demigods in stony silence with remarkable ease. "Embrace being the black sheep, huh?" She winks. "And yeah, they have gotten themselves a new houseboat. I think it's because of everything with Safrin." That's her best guess anyway.

I'll take a bruise, I know you're worth it
When you hit me, hit me hard

// the past is just a bridge we burned down behind us
when we left this town, running from the blinding heat //

It was what they were going for. At the very least for parts of the day, and it’s evident they succeeded in that goal with the calm and relaxing air around them. It’s what helps him from feeling so awkward in this exchange, even after talking with her makes it easier – provided he isn’t in direct physical contact with her, something he needs to remind himself the next time they get together. “Perhaps so.” Sunjata agrees with a small crooked smile – having thought of Hotaru of course, but she hasn’t moved here just yet and he isn’t sure whether or not it’s something she wants to have an official title with or preferring to help rule from the shadows.

A conversation he may need to have with her some other time.

As for the black sheep, his smile shifts to something toothier and more playful. “I suppose if it gets results.” Sunjata drawls, amusement flaring in his face for the moment until the conversation shifts toward Remi and Ronin moving to Torchline. “That would make sense.” He agrees, content to leave it where it is, unsure what else to offer with that aside from the information from Noah. “Noah sent out letters to us, telling us that Vi wants us to eradicate any strange new flora and fauna that have appeared recently.”

the flood

// of our disaster when we left this town
you can rely on me, i will always let you down //

Isla

"Well, no matter what anyone says about you, you do always get results," Isla points out with a smile that borders on the wicked, though it quickly tilts back towards a more serious expression as Jata shares Noah's news about the strange new plants and animals that have appeared. "I've been lucky not to encounter any so far," she says, "but I'll keep that in mind for the future. Thanks, Jata. For all of this - it's really good to come and see you again."

The rest of the morning passes with similar relaxation, Isla enjoying the ease and small-talk; she hadn't realised how much she'd missed Sunjata's company, however much she needs to keep him at arm's length these days. And when she does finally leave for the Refuge, it's with a smile, a wave and a promise not to leave it so long next time.

~FIN

I'll take a bruise, I know you're worth it
When you hit me, hit me hard