but i hate paying for my sins

now take what i offer, straight up the nose, down the throat

it's a bearable bruise on your conscious

It isn’t the longest flight Sunjata’s made in this shift, but it also isn’t the shortest, and by the time they get there the sun rampages from the center of the sky of the midmorning where he’d met Dahlia in Stormbreak, to hanging easily above the edge of the hills before the sun intends to set. It’s bright enough for her to see over it in the daylight, at least, seeking out a particular section of King’s End he imagines she hasn’t been to.

Though he doesn’t know what places she’s been or hasn’t been, in reality. So he lands, gracefully, outside of the Refuge, allowing her to slip off of his back before he shifts into himself, offering her his arm to guide her into the refuge. “Can’t fly in, unfortunately.” He offers the small tidbit easily, sure that she’d find out one way or another what the refuge does – it isn’t a secret, after all.

but don't it feel good? don't you feel calmer?

i am the way and the life in the best looking truth

dahlia

You can't buy this fineness

It's certainly an experience, riding a winged horse, one that Dahlia leaves singing in her bones long after they descend to land. With the sunset soaking into her skin and her nerves on fire from the adrenaline of their flight, she's a breathless picture of wild beauty as she slips off Sunjata's back, dutifully linking her arm with his own. "Ah, I remember - the Refuge, right? It blocks abilities."

If that bothers her at all, it doesn't show remotely on her face, Dahlia leaning gently against Sunjata's side to follow him across the border and into the safe space for all of Caido's itty bitty little citizens. "Does it still see much use, other than for a whiskey distillery?"

Let me see the heat get to it

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

now take what i offer, straight up the nose, down the throat

it's a bearable bruise on your conscious

“It does.” Sunjata confirms, guiding her in on a path that’s almost as familiar to him as the back of his hand, content to watch her and visibly give her a look up and down – wind tossed hair, the sunset curling around her skin, and the second that they reach the boundary and step past it, Sunjata shivers with a brief exhale, feeling the tingling sensation of his magic suddenly snuffed out.

He’s calm, cool, and collected despite it though – and the reality of just how fucking dangerous this was (thanks Remi), but he’s sure he can play his cards just right – if only he can glean any information from her as to whether or not it’s worked. “Upon occasion. Drifters tend to use it the most these days.” He offers with a small roll of his neck, continuing down the path to see that while things still seemed relatively manicured, very few people were actually out and about. “I’ve found that it’s difficult to convince people to utilize it when they’d lived with magic their entire life.” Not an exaggeration, but one that was inherently true.

And while Sunjata harbored shifts and abilities and magic unlike anything else, he came from a world that harbored none of it, arriving here all the same. He’d seen both sides of the coin.

but don't it feel good? don't you feel calmer?

i am the way and the life in the best looking truth

dahlia

You can't buy this fineness

"A useful no-mans-land, even if it's under the rule of King's End," Dahlia agrees, walking with the quiet curiosity of someone who truly appreciates the idea of a level playing field. (She does not.) "I imagine many a political decision might be made here." And isn't it kind of Sunjata to show it to her? The next time a large meeting of demigods and leaders takes place, perhaps she, Pierce and Dorian ought to drop by as well.

The shiver, near imperceptible as it is on Sunjata's skin, is not reciprocated, though for all the Flood knows, perhaps Dahlia simply doesn't show the suppression of any power in that way. "I find that even without using the supernatural as a crutch, people find ways to hurt each other regardless," she continues, leaning down to brush her fingers along one of the manicured green areas. "There are worse places to live, granted."

Let me see the heat get to it

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

now take what i offer, straight up the nose, down the throat

it's a bearable bruise on your conscious

It’s only recently become ruled by King’s End – though he finds it fair given that he’d created it. Of course he should have some say in what goes on within it’s boundary. As for the next comment, Sunjata’s smart about it, shrugging lightly. “Post war, it was. Now there’s little need for it politically.” A blatant lie, of course, but Sunjata’s charisma and the realization that void creatures can still pass through the confines of it prove that it isn’t the safety net it had once been. Especially if it doesn’t work on her, which he gleans absolutely fuck all on.

Though, from his past experiences he hasn’t encountered a single person that didn’t comment on it the second it happened. So perhaps that’s his clue. “Oh they do. I came from a place like that. No gods, just people that believed they were.” He pauses when she leans down to run her fingers along the greenery, only continuing when she’s satisfied with what she sees. And as they continue, it’s not an official whiskey distillery that they approach, but an old house that appears as though it hasn’t been lived in in a very long time.

Opening the door with ease, Sunjata gestures for her to enter first, and within the house despite the small traces of dust remaining from cleaning up, the living room is set with barrels and a table, complete with glasses and everything else required to see how many different variants of this new kind of whiskey turned out. And a well worn couch that Sunjata certainly hadn’t slept on for a year. "Sorry about the mess."

but don't it feel good? don't you feel calmer?

i am the way and the life in the best looking truth

dahlia

You can't buy this fineness

Hmming and offering little more than that in response to his remark, Dahlia nonetheless keeps her eyes and ears open as they meander through the quiet little settlement. The sunset bleeds everything in shades of amber and orange, and it's with a soft inhale of sweet grasses and warmth still lingering on her skin that she follows Sunjata towards the small house. "Quaint," she remarks, because run down isn't the vibe she thinks he's going for.

"Did you believe you were a god?" she continues as they head inside, Dahlia letting her fingers spider along the barrels, drumming out a soft rhythm before moving on to the glasses. "Do you think that now?" Tilting her head and offering him a cat-like smile, the mess is clearly the last thing on her mind. "Alright. Show me the best of this whiskey."

Let me see the heat get to it

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

now take what i offer, straight up the nose, down the throat

it's a bearable bruise on your conscious

Quaint is a good word for it – rather than the fact he’d essentially abandoned it for the heady warmth of the House of Midnight where he could utilize his shifts to whoever wished to look upon him. Here, though, he was as basic as anyone else – despite having the strength to back it up. No magic, no shifts, no nothing. Though, he supposes, it helped bolster his self destructive behavior in a way.

Her question as she heads in is met with a soft laugh, a shake of his head. “No. Despite how hard my father tried to make me believe I was.” He shrugs, and as she asks if he feels like it now, he can’t help but to be honest with that too. “Still don’t, even now.” Because if he was a god, he imagines he’d be able to get away with worrying about things far less than he does now.

Even if he was technically a half god, given his demigod status. She makes herself comfortable, though, and Sunjata collects the glasses and drifts into her space at the first barrel, drawing from the tap, deep amber liquid spills into each of their glasses, the smokey robust sense of whiskey but with an underline of something else. A cinnamon and apple blend that he gets a good waft of as he hands her glass to her. “They’re mostly tests, but, I wanted something refreshing and lighter from the maple one I’m a fan of.” He flashes her an easy smile, face framed with more freckles than had been there when they’d first met. “Let’s see if you can guess what’s in this one.” A game of sorts.

but don't it feel good? don't you feel calmer?

i am the way and the life in the best looking truth

dahlia

You can't buy this fineness

"And yet, here you are, one of the strongest people on this planet," Dahlia says, and if there's something strangely sweet in her expression as she gazes down into the empty glasses, that's between she and Sunjata alone. Leaning against the barrel he draws from, she watches his movements with lazy curiosity, accepting the whisky and rolling the glass between her fingers to see how the alcohol coats the inside of it.

"Someone has a lot of time on their hands," she remarks, gesturing to the number of 'mostly test' barrels around them. "I would have thought you to be a lot busier than this, Sunjata." Lifting the glass to her nose, Dahlia inhales gently before giving the whisky a taste, letting it dance and burn on her tongue and down her throat. "It reminds me of warm evenings next to a fire," she tells him. "There's fruit in it... but it's not citrus, is it?"

Let me see the heat get to it

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

now take what i offer, straight up the nose, down the throat

it's a bearable bruise on your conscious

Glancing over at her before he starts to pour the liquor into the glasses, he does spot that sweet look, at odds with the way she’d spoken previously. But gods, if it doesn’t boost an ego he’s tried desperately to keep shoved down for the longest time. So much, in fact, that when he hands her the glass he flashes her a small playful smile. “I consider myself to be humble.” Strong, yes, but he wasn’t about to go and fight everyone just because he is strong.

With both glasses poured, Sunjata leans against the barrel at his hip, giving her his full attention as she speaks and sips from it, and he mirrors her to drink lightly from it himself. “Oh, I am. But the benefit is that I can set these and let them sit for months or years without touching them.” Low effort, really.

A brighter smile tugs on his lips, though, something almost slightly eager as she offers her remarks. “It’s not citrus, but is definitely fruit.” He confirms, drawling lightly as he goes to take another sip of it to test, quite pleased with the results of it as the rest of the sample drains from his glass.

but don't it feel good? don't you feel calmer?

i am the way and the life in the best looking truth

dahlia

You can't buy this fineness

"Humility might be the death of you, if you aren't careful," Dahlia informs him with a smirk, shifting to perch on the edge of the barrel and enjoy her whiskey - and also to better get a look at the freckles that spray across Sunjata's nose. Grinning to herself and draining the rest of the whiskey in the glass, she admires the small pool of amber liquid still dripping down the clear surface. "He's a demigod by day, a brothel owner by night, and a whiskey distiller on the side," she muses.

Considering the taste lingering on her tongue, Dahlia reaches forward suddenly to boop him on the nose with the side of her glass. "You've been hiding orchards around here," she says, guessing apples without saying as much. "Almost hidden by the cinnamon, but it's there. Very nicely done."

Let me see the heat get to it

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

now take what i offer, straight up the nose, down the throat

it's a bearable bruise on your conscious

“Ah, it might.” He rumbles, spying the smirk and not giving into the potential underlying threat. “The humility goes away when poked and prodded, at least.” A survivalist streak, he supposes. But he can’t help the hum of a chuckle that leaves him as she muses aloud, a broad shoulder shrugging lightly. “I wear many hats.” And he’s almost about to say that the varying hats look good on him when she boops him on the nose with the cold glass.

He nearly goes cross-eyed with the closeness before a brighter bark of a laugh leaves him and he sets his glass down, collecting hers when she’s finished to grab a new glass as to not impeded the tastes of the rest of the barrels. “Very good.” He praises with amusement, leaning past her to pour the next barrel for them. This one is rich and smooth as he hands her the glass – almost Torchline-esque with the hint of bananas amongst a steady sweet of caramel.

“This one is a little bit bittersweet for me.” He offers, missing Torchline in the crooks and crannies of his heart. But how better to make a tribute for it than to craft his own special kind of whiskey?

but don't it feel good? don't you feel calmer?

i am the way and the life in the best looking truth

dahlia

You can't buy this fineness

"Are you saying I need to poke and prod you to get you to admit that you're one of Caido's finest?" Dahlia asks with a raise of her eyebrows, tapping her heel back against the barrel even as Sunjata retrieves her glass and moves to the next one along. "And I can certainly see that. Which one is your favourite hat?" she wants to know, all the while admiring the stretch of his body as he leans across her.

Bittersweet might be the connotation behind the next drink, but as Dahlia smells and samples it, her nose scrunches somewhat. "You say that, but it's a little too sweet for me," she informs him, overpowered by the caramel notes. "It's very... tropical, though, I'll give you that."

Let me see the heat get to it

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

now take what i offer, straight up the nose, down the throat

it's a bearable bruise on your conscious

“If you want an honest answer.” Sunjata winks to her before he’s collecting her glass and stretching to the next barrel, withdrawing some of the liquor in that one to hand to her as he mulls over her question. “I think my favorite is leading.” He raises his scarred brow toward her and flashes her a playful grin. He’s officially the Archon now of King’s End, and with it he feels as though he’s settled right back into where he was supposed to be.

It's an amused grin that remains even as she samples it and her nose scrunches and she claims it’s too sweet, humming a note of agreement as he lifts it to his own lips. “It’s the best one to give people hangovers, that’s for sure.” He tilts his head slightly, peering down into his glass. “It’s got banana in it too. Kind of a Torchline theme.” His steel gaze lifts toward her face again, curious if she can make the connection.

but don't it feel good? don't you feel calmer?

i am the way and the life in the best looking truth

dahlia

You can't buy this fineness

Dahlia smiles at his response; a pleased smile, one that almost seems to say gotcha. For as humble as Sunjata claims to be, leadership is not normally a career chosen by the modest. "I thought you'd say something like that," she croons, choosing to partake in this second glass of whiskey a little more slowly, letting the lingering sweetness fade somewhat before indulging in a second sip. "I think I'd like to try my hand at it myself."

Only partially listening about the whiskey now, Dahlia settles for watching the dim light play across Sunjata's features, and she leans back on one hand from her place on the barrel. "I haven't spent much time in Torchline," she confesses. "Is it a place worth going to?"

Let me see the heat get to it

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!