get me through the night

SUNJATA

i can feel it in my bones,
sinking deeper in the overflow,

Her soft admission has him shrugging lightly, an imperceptible move to anyone else but her. He doesn’t expect anything else, honestly, not with the way his life has gone thus far. Any and every single thing he wanted to do, denied or changed, his attempt at having some individuality? Denied, pushed over, told to do just what he was expected of him. Nothing more, nothing less. The less everyone else knows about him, the better off they were. Keep that stony, out of reach exterior.

But her hand is soft yet calloused in his and even though things hadn’t worked out between them and this whole situation was bullshit, it still soothes him in the rough edges bristling around his soul. It fills the weariness as they make this show, as she orders for him and he flashes the waiter a charming smile, before returning his gaze back to her. “Well, originally I had planned on fixing my sleep schedule,” he heaves a soft sigh, fingertips moving along the edges of his utensils before his steel gaze lands back on her. “And studying. Boring, I know.” He hums a laugh, one mostly for show.

can you feel it in your soul?
if i'm honest, maybe we're better off alone

Savera

all the good girls go to hell
cus even god herself has enemies

"Saints you're dull." But she laughs as she says it, fond teasing softening the edges of the words. Homework and sleep and silly daydreams, that's would be Sunjata's idea of a good last night. Sighing, Savera shakes her head, her warm eyes sinking to the remainder of her drink. "You do realize no amount of reading is going to adequately prepare you?" the soldier adds, less warmly now, a dark note sinking in. Restlessly she shifts the glass over the table, frowning at the damp trail left in its wake. "Being down there full time - especially now - it's going to be..."

But whatever judgment she might have passed fades out on her lips, replaced by an imperceptible sigh and then, like magic, the return of her mask. When she looks back up at Sunjata the wry, bland smile and attentive expression are once again in place; only her eyes remain disengaged, looking through her fiancée and into the distance, lost in a rarely-spoken-of past.

once the waters start to rise
and heaven's out of sight
she'll want the devil on her team

SUNJATA

i can feel it in my bones,
sinking deeper in the overflow,

Amusement does manage to creep in with her acknowledgement of how dull he really is, her laughter filling up the air between them. He huffs a small sigh, rolls a shoulder, and picks up the wine glass now that the whiskey’s gone. “I never said I was exciting.” He played it safe, because doing that kept him safe, and it was easier.

But the tone changes and he pastes on that fake smile, nodding along with her despite her words being soft enough to barely hear. “It’s not exactly that kind of studying. But, you’re not wrong.” He offers with a small shrug.

“It’s going to be hard. And I’m not prepared for it yet. I might stand more of a chance if I’d been allowed to go when I was younger, but, I think he wants me to fail for it or come back like the others.” Too heavy handed, to quick to aggression, just exactly how his father became, how he wanted him to be a mini version of him.

The disdain makes him quiet down, makes him fill up his glass of wine a bit taller and take a heavier swig of it.

can you feel it in your soul?
if i'm honest, maybe we're better off alone

Savera

all the good girls go to hell
cus even god herself has enemies

Well, if that isn't vaguely alarming. "Then what kind is it?" Savera presses, eyes narrowing. She cannot say she'd be surprised if Sunjata were to do something monumentally stupid with this assignment, like turning it into some sort of idealistic anti-Shaju crusade - but she likes to hope that her fiancée is slightly smarter than that.

Probably not, but a girl can dream.

Savera lifts her glass back up, scoffing against the rim. "Believe me, you weren't missing out," She mutters darkly, almost too soft to hear. It might seem like normal anti-Derench sentiment to an outsider, but Sunjata knows the truth: that Savera's relationship to the world below them is a complicated one, forged in memory and blood.

once the waters start to rise
and heaven's out of sight
she'll want the devil on her team

SUNJATA

i can feel it in my bones,
sinking deeper in the overflow,

Her question shouldn’t surprise him, but it does regardless as he regards her again with that masked smile. “The kind I can’t talk about in public, Vera.” He says softly, tone edged with a hint of sadness, unsure whether he should even let her in on it. He’s kept it close to his heart, hasn’t uttered a word to anyone else, had a decent enough cover that nobody thought anything of it.

But the tone of the conversation shifts sadder and he reaches out to grab her hand again, cradling it gently within his own, keeping his gaze on her face — ever the picture of the attentive date. “I’m sorry.” He says after a moment. “Can we… Do you have plans after this?” Where maybe they can talk without so many eyes on them, where he could maybe give her a second to just be herself again, where she might not judge him for letting himself be a bit more himself.

can you feel it in your soul?
if i'm honest, maybe we're better off alone

Savera

all the good girls go to hell
cus even god herself has enemies

If he is trying to reassure her with his answer it does not work; if anything the crease between her eyes only deepens, a stubbornness setting in the line of her jaw. Still she relents, pressing no further as Sunjata makes it clear that this is not the place. And honestly, he's right - it isn't the place, and more than that, she isn't the person. Once upon a time they may have been close, but that was a long time ago. Now Savera has not right to dig into her fiancee's secrets, just as she has no desire to share any of hers.

And yet.

And yet there he is, holding her hands, a soft sweet thing beneath the carefully crafted facade. It infuriates her, honestly; she wants to snatch her fingers away, to slap him, to tell him to drop whatever game he thinks he's playing and grow the fuck up, because the stakes are so much higher than his privileged pretty head can understand, because it's her life on the line as well as his, because as long as he stays soft he can never win. Her jaw vibrates, her skin grows hot--

But then the waiter is there with her entrees and Savera smiles, a sad and knowing and fleeting expression as she squeezes his fingers before letting go. "Yes, actually - I planned to spend the evening with my fiancee, helping him prepare for his important assignment." She flashes another smile, this one bright and showy for the waiter as her eyes drift to the food. "Oh, that smells heavenly. Bon appetit, Sun."

once the waters start to rise
and heaven's out of sight
she'll want the devil on her team

SUNJATA

i can feel it in my bones,
sinking deeper in the overflow,

He can certainly see that she doesn’t like that answer, but he can’t comment further on it this visible, this much in public. And he asks her, in a precisely terrible time where the waiter shows, bringing their dishes and effectively shutting him up from continuing further in their faux little attempts at quiet talk, keeping their lips from barely moving and hopefully preventing the paparazzi from getting any ledge up on his plans.

And luckily for him, she agrees in a flash of visibility in front of the waiter – directed to him, actually. And Sunjata takes the moment to straighten up, withdraw his own hands from hers, breaking the connection as he straightens the napkin on his lap, pretending to be that ever present portrait of someone with a very important job and someone who wasn’t sitting there doing nothing more than pretending not to be shaking in his boots.

“Thank you.”  He says to the waiter, head tilting back to Savera. “Enjoy, Vera.” He hums softly as the waiter steps away, picking up the correct silverware for everything, like a machine falling back on old programming – routine, perfected, not one thing out of plate.

The second the food hits his tongue there is a low rumbling groan of approval that escapes him – a hint surprisingly unbecoming of him, but he can’t help himself with it. And he tries his best to not wholly devour it like a Drencher might.

can you feel it in your soul?
if i'm honest, maybe we're better off alone

Savera

all the good girls go to hell
cus even god herself has enemies

Savera does not need to be told to enjoy her food. Years spent in school and barracks have instilled in the girl a passion and appreciation for delicious food, one of the few things that breaks through her steel façade. Her eyes roll shut at that first perfect bite, a low moan harmonizing hilariously with Sunjata's own vocalizations as both of them savor the exceptional decadence. For all of their respective doubts and insecurities about their positions in life, it cannot be denied that power comes with perks: not least of which being exceptional meals, the likes of which no Drencher could imagine affording in their dearest dreams.

They make it through the entrees without much ado - Savera even offers Sunjata tastes of hers, stealing his in compensation, savoring the exquisite flavors as they dance across her tongue. It's as romantic and charming a tableau as anyone could want, two young soldiers relishing this break from drudgery, comfortable (if not quite enamoured) with one another's company. And when dessert comes out - a remarkable selection of sorbets and mousses, including a chocolate and passionfruit concoction that Savera thinks she might truly be in love with - it seems that all the memory and tension of half-whispered almost-secrets has been forgotten, washed away.

As the last of the plates are cleared from the table Savera heaves a contented sigh, leaning back in her chair. "That was divine," she says to Sunjata, a flush of happiness darkening sharp cheeks. "I don't think I will be able to eat again for a week." She's smiling, but there's already sadness behind it, a shoring up resignation that says alright, now what? in the shift of her almond eyes.

once the waters start to rise
and heaven's out of sight
she'll want the devil on her team

SUNJATA

i can feel it in my bones,
sinking deeper in the overflow,

It is divine, it’s heavenly, and the best part is that it isn’t even on his dime. It’s the only reason he’s gone all out. Not because he doesn’t think that Savera’s worth all the best the Core and the Plates have to offer, but because he tends to be fairly reasonable given his own spending. (Mostly saving up… You know, for reasons.)

As the dessert comes out and they finish up with that, then the biggest distraction is over between them and the show they’re putting on, and all Sunjata can do is try not to let the awkwardness seep back in – to let him be this suave charming enforcer, whisking away the Bravlet star into the night.

So he tries, desperately, to cover it up – a soft breathy chuckle leaving him as he gets the bill, settles it easily with the clinking lasti, before his steel gaze scans her. “Now, I think we have that night to share before I’m sent down below.” He offers to her, standing and moving to her side, offering his arm to help her up (as the gentleman he's supposed to be would suggest), all while the last few pictures are taken and their deal is done.

It'll change the second that they get into some seclusion, but for now? Well, he’s content to play it up until they’re out of the restaurant, until they’ve gotten into the car that’ll take them toward the trains, and the train that will take them back to POINT.

can you feel it in your soul?
if i'm honest, maybe we're better off alone

Savera

all the good girls go to hell
cus even god herself has enemies

The meal finished, the bill paid, Savera allows Sunjata to take her by the arm, to be the dashing gentleman to her demurring damsel, or whatever. It's all a damned farce anyway, might as well pretend that she's the one who needs protection, that she couldn't best him in a duel (and hasn't been able to since they were sixteen). It's the end of the act, and she's both too tired and too wired to put up much of a fight.

They step into the car and she steps out of her heels, passing them to Sunjata while she rubs her feet. She's not sure what the plan is, only that she doesn't intend to let him out of her sight until some answers are had. "Yours or mine? Or...?" The question hangs, a glance thrown toward the rear-view mirror. Or somewhere else? it doesn't say, not sure if she can trust this driver. He isn't one of the very few she knows; Savera, for all her ambition and wiles, is terrible at making connections she can trust.

once the waters start to rise
and heaven's out of sight
she'll want the devil on her team