(SE) what about you?

// call out in the middle of the night
for when else would I hear you? //

The coal finally begins to shift to that color and he carefully uses the lid of the ceramic and metal pot to scoop the coal into the pot that has a bed of wet pine needles, something to keep the coal lit for the trip back to King’s End, where he can keep that fire going until the time to create the shrine arrives. It distracts him from the look she gives him, though the concern is heard loud and clear, bringing a frown to his face as he nods.

“Just, a place to stay for the night.” He admits, though as he starts to put the lid on the pot he exhales a sigh. “And I think she wanted to sleep with me. Ultimately, though, she was looking for Koa Carpenter.” As for the rest of Melita’s questions, Sunjata tucks the pot into the bag of holding when he knows it’s secured and turns back to her. “I don’t intend to provoke her into an attack. If it doesn’t work, I’ll send her on her way and have something to report. And if it does, well, it does it to everyone so if she’s truly trying to blend in, then it won’t be that weird.” If it doesn’t work, though, that would be concerning, and he suddenly realizes that perhaps now he doesn’t have a way of charming his way out of it.

All of this uncertainty, to try and find a defect in Dahlia's otherwise impenetrable armor.

the flood

// fall out in the cold starlight
i can save you if you do //

Melita

yes, yes, I am wild
I am the wind that makes breathing hard

Uncertain of what the process entailed or required, she watched with an air of content satisfaction; an avid fire observer. But the rest of the conversation had her mind spinning, and for once, it was mired with things like calculations and notions, rather than immediate impulse.

Though her words usually did that for her. “Wait – she was looking for Koa?” Pretending she didn’t hear the first part, though she wouldn’t be surprised about the whole thing, given who her uncle was and had been for ages, the statement about the Carpenter Dragoon made her head shake, hair tossed back and forth under the reel of confusion. “Why?” From what she’d surmised from the lad, he was a flirt and not much more.

The lack of other nuances didn’t give her great relief either – and though Remi undoubtedly had provoked, given the situation, and the knowledge of her power, Melita thought the whole situation had ‘DUMB’ written all over it. And given how poorly she planned things, perhaps that was saying something. Or her frontal lobe had finally developed. “And what if she gets suspicious? Or doesn’t want to leave?” What if the whole Refuge was suddenly at risk because of this one woman?

I am the ocean and the battered shore
I will be the passion of thunder, a howl of fury

// call out in the middle of the night
for when else would I hear you? //

With the coal safely tucked away into the bag of holding, Sunjata’s attention flickers back toward his niece, aiming to offer his full focus onto her while the gears spin over the plan poorly planned out, one that Sunjata would be forced into trying to follow through with. “She didn’t say.” Sunjata offers with a small frown, unsure what she wanted with the young captain, but exhaling a sigh as he steps closer to her, leaving the remains of the affected rock slider to continue to burn away.

As for the rest, though, all good thoughts that have his mind churning in the what-ifs, swallowing down the worry that blooms within. “I don’t know how she’ll get suspicious. I can play dumb, as you’ve seen.” He reminds her with a small smile, attempting to lighten the idea of what he’s attempting to do. “She knows about the area, she knew about me and who I was when I met her. It only makes sense she would already know of the Refuge anyway. And if she wanted to stay, well, perhaps it might be a good spot to focus on the efforts of keeping her contained.” But he doesn’t think that’ll be the case either.

“They have that place where Remi fought, the new island, right? Why would she want to leave that to come to the Refuge?” He asks curiously, lips quirking into a small frown of contemplation.

the flood

// fall out in the cold starlight
i can save you if you do //

Melita

yes, yes, I am wild
I am the wind that makes breathing hard

The notions and answers left her with more questions than anything else, and she folded her arms over her chest, as if this would safeguard something from tumbling out of her form. With no sentiments known towards Koa, she wrinkled her nose at first. “Have you warned him?”

As far as everything else, her breath unfurled in a long, slow breath, deflating her cheeks much like a poor imitation of a puffer fish. “Oh, for sure,” she rolled her eyes at the mention of ‘playing dumb’ being in his repertoire. “Okay, but still, even if she does get suspicious, how are you going to fight her?” If Remi couldn’t land a hit? Did her uncle have more maneuvers than the Lullaby, who’d been famed and renowned for his hard-hitting abilities? She’d seen them a multitude of them, from both individuals, in action, and her concern seemed to be bleeding out in more direct observations rather than overt worry. “And I have no idea – unless it’s to get something.” You she might have uttered, but only arched her brow pointedly in his direction.

I am the ocean and the battered shore
I will be the passion of thunder, a howl of fury

// call out in the middle of the night
for when else would I hear you? //

“I haven’t gotten ahold of him.” Sunjata responds with a slight frown – realizing too that the second they realized who Dahlia was, it was likely far too late for any interception. She’d intended to go see Koa the second she left the House of Midnight, which was over a season ago. But he’s sure if anything had happened, he would’ve heard about it from Sohalia, if nothing else. And with Dahlia keeping a relatively low profile until Remi dove into the new island… Well, perhaps that makes all the difference.

He draws silent while she speaks, though, brows pinching as she asks how he’s going to fight her if Remi can’t, and well – that’s the thing isn’t it? “I won’t.” He knows he wouldn’t win, and he’d likely revert back to what he’d done in Korofi – give in for the moment that he could get out of it, and step away the second he was able to. It’s what makes sense to him, and it’s what he assumes his decent relationship with the stranger can afford him.

“If she can take Remi and win, I doubt there’s much else to get.” He mumbles, exhaling a sigh and running a hand through his hair as he captures her look, letting it go over his head (still not entirely at the point where he realizes that he would be a valuable resource, still somehow thinking he’s some fresh faced, just attuned, strong as a wet noodle, even if his confidence has improved).

the flood

// fall out in the cold starlight
i can save you if you do //

Melita

yes, yes, I am wild
I am the wind that makes breathing hard

Melita’s frown and furrowed brow deepened over the notions of Koa. And maybe it was too late, given the expanse of time in between messages. “Well, hopefully she never found him then,” she shrugged, leaving that to the wind and fire too.

Him not fighting caused her head to reel back up, gaze flickering back to his to see if he was lying, avoiding, or any other bullshit he might have spewed. But it seemed honest and forthright, and she sighed, nose wrinkling as she kicked at a stray piece of ash. Instead, she could only linger in other thought patterns swirling around her brain. “I wonder why she’s here anyway.” To take over Caido? What would be the purpose?

I am the ocean and the battered shore
I will be the passion of thunder, a howl of fury

// call out in the middle of the night
for when else would I hear you? //

“Gods, I hope not.” Sunjata agrees with a huff of a sigh, shaking his head before he draws silent for the moment to focus on the next set of conversations – the one where he wouldn’t fight Dahlia if she came to a realization and wanted to. He knows he couldn’t win, and he meets his niece’s gaze with a genuine look that proves to her that he means it.

He’s been working on that, after all. Being honest with his intentions from the start. And so far, his life has been so much easier with it in mind.

He shrugs as he looks back to the charred piece of the void rock slider, nose wrinkling at it before he turns away to look back down the way they’d come. “Who knows.” He sighs with a frustrated gleam to his gaze. If only they knew the motivations surrounding it. "I hope she isn't here much longer so we don't have to find out."

the flood

// fall out in the cold starlight
i can save you if you do //

Melita

yes, yes, I am wild
I am the wind that makes breathing hard

“Maybe we should just blow up the moon island,” she shrugged in her matter-of-fact tone. To her it’d be a worthwhile solution – then they wouldn’t have to contend with whatever or whomever else lurked there.

With that in mind though, and her eyes flickering around the vicinity, she sighed, pulling back her hair to start tying it off in a braid. “Do you want to train or something before we head back?” There were some more repairs to be done in Torchline, and she had some things to do for their other regional requirements, but the Honeybee would always take the time to beat the shit out of something.

I am the ocean and the battered shore
I will be the passion of thunder, a howl of fury

// call out in the middle of the night
for when else would I hear you? //

“Oh, I can run with that idea.” Sunjata murmurs, flashing her a small smile at the idea. Blast it into the nether where it came from and maybe then their lives would be easier, and they wouldn’t have to deal with a secluded little getaway everyone avoids that could be a home base for Dahlia and her ilk of creatures to roam.

Now that things were completed, though, Sunjata straightens up and slips his bag onto his shoulder, peering back toward her with the question before offering a somewhat eager grin. “Yeah, I’d love to.” All the more practice for him was beneficial and needed these days, and with it, a way to take the edge of worry off.

the flood

// fall out in the cold starlight
i can save you if you do //

Melita

yes, yes, I am wild
I am the wind that makes breathing hard

It would probably take way more calculation than simple demolition (the former not her forte, the latter just fine), but with the consideration in mind, Melita grinned. Something malicious and just a little feral – humming again with notions of destruction rather than what else could be waiting around the bend.

Besides, there were other things to do. “Good. I’ve got to use this tooth,” and she grabbed hold of the gargantuan thing, showing it off to her uncle – for it’d eventually be some sort of dagger. “Let’s go over there?” Hitching her bag further up her shoulder, with the prized scales within, she began to ramble over in the other direction, towards a more secluded portion without magma – just hardened portions of mantle.

{FIN}

I am the ocean and the battered shore
I will be the passion of thunder, a howl of fury