[se] knee deep in forest rivers

Deimos Without word from Maea or the Greatwood itself, Deimos eventually made the begrudging effort to set aside a day of explorations and information seeking. With Halo stable enough, and on the brink of forging onward with new fortifications and dynamics, the Sword and his companions made the journey over only with the slightest amount of trepidation lining his ribcage. He, the guild, and anyone else utilizing their knowledge on the void flora and fauna would benefit from anything he gained and recorded here, and he hitched his bag of holding higher along his shoulder, where his journal and notes settled amidst the other weaponry and armaments. Eventually though, the familiarity gave way to the Stone Symphony’s altered current, and more than once he found himself following the line of the river to unknown proportions – including now, where lush greenery peeked through lingering currents. His eyes narrowed and brow arched, curiosity folding over his mind with all the other machinations and calculations stirring – pondering if there was something within the deeper rivulets and funnels. Instinctually, he crouched amongst the bank, half-pondering about parting the river with incantations. Zuriel snorted, leaving him to glance over his shoulder to stare at the unicorn, before shaking his head. Belial was far more game, and hovered diligently, hooting wildly over something likely below the surface. Out of sight and out of mind Make everything alright So let the sky and sea collide Just not in our lifetime

better get to diggin' while my body's getting cold.
i keep tryna fight it so just promise when i go, you'll bury me low

The heavy air of the lush Greatwood is humidity Sunjata hasn’t experienced in a very long time. Each time he’d been to the forests recently had occurred during Deepfrost, where the air had been cold and snow had settled amongst the branches and the leaves that remained. It had been crisp and cool, in complete opposition to the thick air that spread through the trees. It’s a trip he takes with the intention of it only being brief, even tugging Petronella along with him so she can dive into the water and embrace her instincts as the sea panther she is.

It distracts her while he crouches between the edges of the trees, collecting a fair amount of dirt from the root section of one of the larger, lusher looking trees, scooping it into the jar before capping it and setting it down into the bag of holding he’s brought with him. Meanwhile, unaware to him, the sea panther wanders through the waters unannounced, capturing Sunjata’s attention when a sensation through the bond seems to suggest they’re not alone, a friend, perhaps, that Sunjata can’t figure out who the fuck she might be thinking about.

Petronella rises to the surface of the water, scales and fur melding with the light as she mews a greeting to the peryton.

SUNJATA

Deimos The peryton, ever obnoxious and amused, became rather delighted with the sentiments of another rising from the water. He hooted and skimmed over the surface, cloven feet barely touching the brim and fringes before hovering again on his Stygian wings. As always, his antics drew his bonded’s attention, and Deimos rose again to his full height with a long sigh, glancing at Zuriel again as if craving an explanation for the ridiculousness. Her ears had already twitched and maneuvered to other elements though, and there were too many bombardments for him to navigate without narrowing his gaze in overt suspicion. “Belial,” he called to the companion, voice deep and reverberating. “Leave it alone.” Recognition of the creature would only segment in a smaller version of sea panthers – and he had enough trauma from those sentiments to simultaneously avoid it and wonder why it was here. From what he knew and understood of the creatures, they hunted around Torchline. Perhaps recent ongoings had pushed it further, away from the sea, or its young appearance gave way to its foolishness, and it hadn’t meant to traverse so far. Regardless, he wasn’t about to start nonsense between the pair. There were other matters meandering through, and his senses were drawn not down river, but into the currents themselves – and a distant bubbling, some yards away from panther and peryton alike. Out of sight and out of mind Make everything alright So let the sky and sea collide Just not in our lifetime

better get to diggin' while my body's getting cold.
i keep tryna fight it so just promise when i go, you'll bury me low

The hooting only spurs Petronella on more, splashing around in the water as the peryton glides over, skimming the top. She’s a playful, young feline, one that certainly looks at odds to what the full grown ones might look like – instead of full horns there’s only the little nubs on her sleek skull, and short whiskers that flicker with smell as she starts to slip through the water to follow, heedless of Deimos’ voice.

And while, she might be, Sunjata’s confusion over a friend in the Greatwood has spurred him on as he hoists the bag of holding over his shoulder, drifting back toward the water’s edge, following the trail of emotions from the companion bond when he hears Deimos’ voice reverberate through the trees. “Fuck.” Sunjata mutters to himself, his jaw set as he traverses after Petronella, breaking through the treeline where he can see the Sword and the other man’s companions, gaze immediately falling to the sea panther as he clears his throat. “Come on, Petronella.” A small chastise that has her ears flickering back toward him, halting in her pursuit to mewl back a protest.

SUNJATA

Deimos Between the pair of animals, their foolish behavior, and whatever was lurking nearby, his attention was similarly dispersed and on high alert, notches nettling down the corridors of his spine; cautious, unyielding. Eyes narrowed and he nearly sent a wave of air magic to encompass the peryton as Belial ignored him for a moment too long – ceasing the notions only as the youth hooted in abject defeat, a curl of his wing waving towards the sea panther as he maneuvered towards the Sword. Deimos would have rolled his eyes further had another voice not ricocheted amidst the trees, and he stilled entirely. He recognized those tones from years of animosity, hostility, and spite, and the clenching of his jaw tightened into waves of muscle and gritting teeth. Restraint for Ru’s sake was the only thing ceasing him from anything else, save for turning his head over his shoulder, following the vocals to its owner. His face remained bitterly impassive, and some biting remark threatened to cut through the humid air – Except any of those notions were interrupted by a propulsion of water rising from the inlet. Some heavy, forbearing sigh flickered through his chest as he watched the culprit, a void river star, rise from the current – intentions clear on its hunting prowess – and he immediately snagged at the elements, churning multitudes of droplets into icy shards and pinpointing them at the creature. Out of sight and out of mind Make everything alright So let the sky and sea collide Just not in our lifetime

better get to diggin' while my body's getting cold.
i keep tryna fight it so just promise when i go, you'll bury me low

The peryton leaves and Sunjata captures the look Deimos sends over his shoulder, and he’s quite content to let that be the end of it – until, of course, he steps out further to start to use his magic to pull the sea panther closer to him from the water when something else rises from it. Petronella hisses, scrambling back with the help of Sunjata’s magic, bolting to the shore and up his side to clamor onto his shoulders, smearing him with a smattering of water that brings swirling floral tattoos across his neck and cheek.

He immediately turns his attention onto the void river star, teeth gritting against each other. He’s sure Deimos can handle it with the shards of ice that are pinpointed at the beast, but… Given how terrible they are and how many he’s already had to destroy, Sunjata decides to help. Perhaps a good show of faith would make this… Better?

He doesn’t know, and a part of him doesn’t care if it does or doesn’t. He steps up toward it, conjuring the water that the river star had erupted from into a tangible, clear rope of sorts, wordlessly holding the creature still and suspended in the air, for Deimos to shred with the shards he’d created.

SUNJATA

Deimos The Sword would’ve been content if that had been enough as well – the Flood slinking away, and Deimos continued to be left to his own devices, not a word exchanged between the two of them. Instead, they seemed to be a sudden armament, given the quick arrangements and swift assaults, and he didn’t want to think or dwell upon that matter. Action first – direct sieges and cantankerous plunges, permitting all the hostility for the other individual flicker through his incantations. The shards were an unrelenting blow after blow, and he could hear the river star howling, roaring, defiantly tugging on the strands of watery rope, intending to twist and turn and flee or rampage with little to no avail. The Warden was a persistent and unrelenting blade, utilizing the currents to mire and proceed; altering more into the fierce, keen, and pernicious fragments, and sending them along – Noticing, all the while, that the void beast had given some rational thought, curling over itself and beginning to try and cut through Sunjata’s binding. Out of sight and out of mind Make everything alright So let the sky and sea collide Just not in our lifetime

better get to diggin' while my body's getting cold.
i keep tryna fight it so just promise when i go, you'll bury me low

Regardless of what Deimos and Sunjata had always felt for each other – they did always choose the bigger fight in the moment. The sea panther they’d fought and everything else in between. Talk could come later, once the threat had died down. And it’s a theme that continues now as well – even as Petronella remains clinging to Sunjata’s shoulders as he works the water magic in a binding, watching with a quiet approval as the ice shards tear away the flesh of the river star.

It doesn’t last, though, the Flood watching as the creature shifts, suddenly attempting to cut through the water bindings with its razor sharp edges. It gets one off, the water falling to the river – but not before Sunjata shoots up two more streams, latching onto each point that the river star holds. And just in case that isn’t enough, there’s a grit to his teeth as he steps up beside Deimos more fully now. “Sorry about the rain.” He murmurs in advance, before the sudden downpour begins beneath the canopies of the trees – a refreshing, healing sensation everywhere the water touches Deimos and all of their companions, yet the void river star gets pelted with sharp digs of raindrops, not unlike the shards Deimos launches.

SUNJATA

Deimos There might’ve been other moments where the larger fight and siege was one another. Deimos didn’t hide his pettiness and grudges for the other man well, save for his features rendered in reticence and nonchalance. The hostility, in these grander moments, was reserved solely for the void creature though, and as much as he might’ve craved to annihilate and ruin and mar, he’d promised to stay out of it. That it had been Ru’s decision. That she cared far too much for an individual who’d once thought nothing of her own dreams and goals. His eyes narrowed and he said nothing as the rain began to pour down – unbothered by the sudden onslaught, forbearing again as more actions riddled with consequences. He could hear the river star hissing and squabbling in dismay, in pain, in anger, and whatever actions it had meant to take seemed sorely diminished. The peryton and unicorn remained wisely quiet, other than finding an escape beneath widened canopies – aware of the situation at hand and presuming their own would take care of it. One last funneling of shards, piercing and volatile, and the creature went very still. The Sword took another long breath, and promptly altered his elements altogether – setting it ablaze. Out of sight and out of mind Make everything alright So let the sky and sea collide Just not in our lifetime

better get to diggin' while my body's getting cold.
i keep tryna fight it so just promise when i go, you'll bury me low

The rain pours and Sunjata’s streams of watery rope connect and pull and tug at the river star to get it to remain just as frozen as it had initially, for the onslaught of ice shards and rain pelting to shred its hard, razor sharp exterior. He can hear the anger and pain hissing from the creature, but there’s no sorrow that lingers, nothing but annoyance that it had the audacity to try anything at all. There is the underlining sensation of satisfaction, however, though it’s a fleeting feeling that blooms from Petronella on his shoulders.

Before long, the river star is limp, and Sunjata disbands the rain as quickly as he had called it down, watching and listening as the crackling flames are sent to the creature. He disbands his water magic as well, ensuring that he doesn’t accidentally drown out the flames that engulf it – burning it into ash that blows away on the rogue, sweet smelling winds that pass through the middle of the Greatwood beneath the canopy.

Hands rise to run through his hair, a speckling of grey threaded through the brown tresses, half turning away from Deimos to peer back the way he’d come, while one hand lowers to scratch at Petronella’s horns. “Hey, uh, I heard about Halo. I’m sorry about the damage that occurred.” It’s awkward and stilted, because they both know they’d rather not be here, but given the opportunity to say anything at all, Sunjata takes the chance. “If there’s anything King’s End can do to help, let me know.”

SUNJATA

Deimos The flames represented a satisfying end – intermingling and weaving, coaxing and infernal, over the dying fringes of the star. It dispersed eventually, ashes gone with the wind and the unfurling river, and he watched as it flickered away, before the incantations faded at his command. Sunjata’s own enchantments seemed to blur and meander off too – the droplets ceasing, but everything else soaked in the midst. He took half a moment to flick the water out of his clothing until the showers cascaded and evaporated simultaneously – realizing, quickly thereafter, that with the void creature gone, it was simply them remaining. A portion of his indifferent, apathetic, but equally petulant and petty soul, felt inclined to spin on his heel and return back the way they’d come. But there’d been a point to his notions and arrival, and he wasn’t about to leave it behind. Taking hold of his bag, he retrieved the guild journal and charcoal, not expecting Sunjata to speak, and extend an olive branch of sorts. His head came up rapidly, eyes narrowing suspiciously, waiting for something else to occur or fracture, not expecting the apology or offer of assistance. Not quite knowing what to do with it, his guard remained, unyielding and uncertain. “Thank you.” Perhaps it was out of the connection with Ru. “We have done much of the repairs and rescues already. Everything else will come with time.” And knowledge – information, about whatever they were facing. Then, because he was nosey, his head tilted. “How did King’s End fare?” Out of sight and out of mind Make everything alright So let the sky and sea collide Just not in our lifetime

better get to diggin' while my body's getting cold.
i keep tryna fight it so just promise when i go, you'll bury me low

A quick glance is all that’s offered to the journal that Deimos pulls out of his bag, focused more fully on the other man’s face when he offers his sincerities. Because he does care, even if it seems suspicious from the Warden. Sunjata would always feel sorrow for people who have suffered from environmental damages and changes. Especially people he knew had no other choices.

He is surprised, internally, to hear the thank you, and while both of their guards remained up, Sunjata could at the very least be gentle, cool and collected. After all, they hadn’t talked in… At least a year, and whatever conversation they had then had been through letters, asking permission to post something to the Halo noticeboard and promptly hustle his ass out of Halo right after.

“That’s good to hear.” Sunjata offers genuinely, happy to know that they were quick on repairing and rescuing. And a nod, because he knew too that sometimes the longest part was just the waiting to build and rebuild, fix and renew. His steel gaze betrays his surprise at the returned question, though, and he scratches Petronella’s side when he responds, as if trying to find something to do with his hands. “We sustained flooding. Damaged our docks and our market exchange, mostly.” A small frown tugs on the corner of his lips. “But we have been rebuilding and many of those displaced have found a home within the Refuge or the House of Midnight.” It was still a new land, though, and Sunjata had been working to try and expand the area of vacant houses for those that wanted to move in – something that had taken a bit of a back seat ever since the meteors had fallen.

SUNJATA

Deimos Still dubious and uncertain when the niceties persisted, rather than both pulling away the masks and reveling in their animosity, his eyes narrowed and he looked downward, beginning to sketch and outline the prior star. Charcoal lines made quick work of the disturbing layers to the creature, joining the likes of others from information gathered months, seasons, or even weeks prior. Perhaps they hadn’t discussed things in well over a year, unless leader meetings mattered, and even then, he’d been certain Evie had been ensuring neither of them were near one another. He grumbled something in return, jotting down additional notes on the side. Eventually, he raised his head from the concentrated efforts, the nonchalance and impassiveness remaining, even as he stood unyielding and taut. “Unfortunate. At least you were not hit as hard as Torchline.” Docks could be rebuilt, as could markets, without too much preamble. He nearly asked about Ru, but then figured he could just inquire to her directly, and let it fade from his mind. Instead, his jaw clenched and he stared out over the river for a moment, a long consideration drawn along his machinations. “Have you seen any more of these void creatures?” Out of sight and out of mind Make everything alright So let the sky and sea collide Just not in our lifetime

better get to diggin' while my body's getting cold.
i keep tryna fight it so just promise when i go, you'll bury me low

Regardless of how potentially short this encounter is, Sunjata can’t help but to imagine that it’s probably the most pleasant they’ve been to one another in the past. It’s a thought that settles nicely in the weight of his chest, the pressures of everything starting to meld in a way that made it decent. A bonus, in his mind. And without Evie being there to ensure that they didn’t cross paths, even. “I am thankful for that.” Sunjata admits, though there’s no smile that graces his face, instead a small frown forms.

A frown that only deepens as Deimos asks about any new void creatures and his gaze departs toward the area that Deimos’ companions had vanished through all while Petronella regards Deimos with a curious mewl as if she wanted to meet him officially, standing on Sunjata’s shoulders in order to lean over toward the Sword. “Some of the unicorns in King’s End have started to become afflicted.” And it broke his heart every time he’d had to take care of it. "I also saw tainted rock sliders in the Climb."

SUNJATA