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Jora caught the way he nodded along, the way his grin flickered—just for a second—before settling back into place. She didn't push, didn't call him out on whatever had crossed his mind. She just let it be. If he wanted to talk, he'd talk. If he didn't, well… she'd always been good at reading between the lines. At his response about swimming back, she let out a small scoff, shaking her head. “I don’t know, Sage. Maybe somewhere that *isn’t* a storm-ridden island filled with the occasional supernatural disaster?” she quipped, though the warmth in her tone betrayed the joke. But when he actually admitted the food was good, she just smirked, satisfied. “*Pretty* good?” she echoed, raising a brow. “I think you mean *life-changing*—but I’ll let it slide.” She glanced at his empty bowl, noticing he wasn’t reaching for more, but she didn’t comment on it. Instead, she just leaned against the counter, arms crossing as she watched him. “Well, good thing you liked it,” she mused, her smirk turning just a little smug. “Because now you’re stuck eating whatever I cook for the rest of your life.” Like hell she was letting him go anywhere else. |
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Sage snorted softly when she mentioned the island, wrinkling his nose slightly. "I don't know about the supernatural disasters part," he mused lightly. "Disasters sure, but supernatural? Unless you're talking about me being impulsive I'm not sure that's a thing here," he added, clearly just joking around. He probably did have the potential to cause some supernatural disasters....though thankfully he'd learned how to control his powers long ago. He knew what he was capable of. Though, he grinned and bobbed his head up and down in a sort of nod when she spoke up about his choice words for the Mac and cheese. "Any of your cooking is life changing," he pointed out. "I have lived on a ship for years, and a shitty orphanage before that," he mused lightly. He glanced up at Selene came into the room, offering her a sort of grin and jerked his head towards the food. "Just tell her it's life changing and we'll all be peachy," he joked lightly, clearly messing about. Her food was delicious, and he did quite like the Mac and cheese. It was as good as she'd said it was. "I can't complain about that," he noted softly when she mentioned he was stuck there with her. He couldn't complain at all. |
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Jora rolled her eyes at his response, but her smirk lingered. “You *definitely* count as a supernatural disaster,” she shot back. “I mean, come on. The chaos? The impulsiveness? The ability to defy death like it’s a personal hobby?” She gestured vaguely in his direction. “I don’t know how you *don’t* see it.” His grin, the easy way he complimented her cooking, made something settle in her chest. She didn’t press too hard on the mention of his past, but it didn’t go unnoticed. She knew he meant it—every word. “Damn right my cooking’s life-changing,” she said, flicking a crumb off the counter. “About time you got some real food, then.” When Selene walked in, Jora glanced over just as Sage made his little joke. She snorted, shaking her head as she grabbed another bowl. “Don’t listen to him, Selene. He’s just mad he didn’t try it sooner.” Still, she slid the dish toward her, a silent offering. But when Sage responded to her comment about him being stuck with her, something about the way he said it—so soft, so *sure*—made her pause. She didn’t meet his eyes right away, just huffed a quiet laugh as she turned back to the stove. “Good,” she muttered, voice a little quieter than before. Because she couldn’t complain either. |
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Sage had snickered softly softly as she claimed he did in fact count as a supernatural disaster, and he had to admit, she wasn't....not right. It did make sense when she said it like that. "Either way you decided to live with it. My supernatural disasterness and I can't be separated," he chirped, really just enjoying their time. It was still morning, though not by much by then, and quiet...and he was admittedly still getting used to the quiet the cabin held. The peace he was surrounded by. He chuckled again when she complained to Selene, scooting his chair over so the older woman could pull one up next to him. He sort of just sipped at the drink he'd grabbed earlier...some sort of sparking juice or something like that. He just found the carbonation fun, really. At Jora's next comment though, his mischevious smirk changed to a fond smile. A lazy one, that he wasn't really aware of but formed whenever he was around her. Whenever she laughed, or he ehard ehr voice or saw her bounce around - it made everything worth it. They were together, and getting married soon, and they had a perfect daughter, and he really couldn't be happier than he was. |
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Jora rolled her eyes, but the smirk on her lips was impossible to hide. "Yeah, yeah, I guess I did make that choice, didn't I?" she mused, leaning back against the counter, arms crossed. "Guess that means I'm just as reckless as you are." She watched him scoot his chair over for Selene, his movements easy, relaxed. He still wasn't used to it—the quiet, the steadiness of their life here—but he was settling into it. She could see it in the way his shoulders weren’t always tense, the way his laughter came more freely. He belonged here, even if he hadn't figured that out yet. Her eyes flickered to the drink he was sipping, and she let out a snort. "You really just drink that for the bubbles, huh?" she teased, shaking her head. But then she saw his expression shift—his usual mischief melting into something softer, something real. That lazy, unguarded smile, the one he didn’t even seem to realize he wore when he looked at her. It caught her off guard, just for a second. Jora swallowed, clearing her throat as she pushed herself off the counter. “Alright, alright,” she muttered, as if she could brush off the warmth spreading in her chest. “Enough sappy looks. You keep that up, and I'm gonna start thinking you're actually in love with me or something.” Her words were teasing, but she couldn’t quite meet his eyes as she grabbed another plate to busy herself. Because, deep down, she already knew the answer. |
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Sage just grinned at Jora when she spoke up, bobbing his up and down in a happy sort of nod. "You certainly did," he chirped, sort of just relaxing in his chair, leaning back and propping his feet up on the open one that was next to him. The one Selene wasn't sitting in, obviously. Though when she teased him about the drink, he just shrugged. "They're fun. It's like...spicy water. But without the whole face melting off bit," he noted lightly, chuckling when he realized how rediculous it sounded. But there was something about havign mroe than just rum infused water and stale pirate biscuits to live off of that he did enjoy. He cast a glance out the window, at the ocean stetching endlessly across the horizon. He did miss it sometimes, sailing to the end of the world and back. The thrill of the storms and the fight, the partnership with nature at her finest. But he wouldn't give up this life for the world. So he turned his eyes back to his family, still smiling softly, though rolled his eyes and snorted in response to Jora's comment about the sappy looks. "Oh please, you know you like it," he mused, standing up to wander over to set his plate in the sink. "If Selene wasn't here you'd have me on the floor going for round two already," he added with a smirk, pecking her on the cheek as he passed. "I'm gonna go make sure the garden survived us being gone for so long," he noted in a bit mroe of a serious, but still light, tone, wandering for the door happily. |
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Jora let out a short laugh, shaking her head. Spicy water, he said. Absolutely ridiculous. "Yeah, alright, whatever you say, sea boy," she mused, casting a glance at the drink in his hand. "You really have been deprived if carbonation is this exciting for you." But there was something endearing about it—about the way he found joy in the smallest things, like bubbles in a drink or the quiet hum of a peaceful morning. She caught the way his gaze drifted toward the ocean, that distant look in his eyes. She knew he still missed it sometimes, the pull of the sea, the freedom of the open waves. But he always turned back to her, to Lyra, to their home. That meant something. It meant everything. Her brows lifted when he rolled his eyes at her teasing, only for him to fire back with something so typically Sage that she nearly choked on her own breath. "Excuse me?" she sputtered, her face heating up in spite of herself. "Sea boy," she called after him as he strolled toward the door, still grinning. "Go check the damn garden before I throw you into the ocean." Still, she barely suppressed a smile as she turned back to clean up. Even as he walked away, his laughter lingered in the air, warm and easy. And damn it, she did like the sappy looks. But she wasn’t about to admit that. |
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Sage had just laughed triumphantly when he heard Jora sputter, easily slipping past her and put the door, flashing a quick grin over his shoulder as he hopped out of the house. It wasn't often he came out on top when it came to teasing....or really anything else for that matter. No, she definitely had him whipped. But he didn't mind. He just liked knowing he had someone who was there for him. Who would care for him. Love him for hi, , not just for his body. Of course, he did like flaunting that a little bit for her too. He had a dumb grin on his face the entire time he worked on the garden. Pulling out weeds, adding some soil to the area, and just cleaning up the plants around the front yard. It wasn't hard work, necessarily....and he had to admit he did enjoy it. The whole getting down and dirty and just being outdoors in the fresh air and the sun thing wasn't something he'd ever be able to give up. That might be a good thing though, since a lot of their food came from this garden area. He wandered back in a few hours later, sorry but happy. Of course, he was exhausted....he was still recovering, and while he was slowly regaining his strength, he wound up just standing under the hot water of the shower for....quite a while. He'd just meant to hop in and wash up quickly, but he was tired and the water felt so nice that he just sort of....stood there. |
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Jora had rolled her eyes as Sage bolted out the door, muttering something under her breath about *cocky sea boys and their big mouths.* But the grin on her face lingered longer than she cared to admit. She kept herself busy after he left, cleaning up the kitchen, making sure Lyra was comfortable, and putting together a list of things they needed. But every now and then, she caught herself glancing out the window, watching him work in the garden. His stupid triumphant grin, the way he lost himself in the dirt and the plants. It was *domestic* in a way she never imagined for either of them, and yet—it fit. It fit *so well.* By the time he wandered back in, sweaty and exhausted, she could tell he’d overdone it. He was pushing himself too hard again, but she didn’t say anything. Not yet. She just let him go, watching as he disappeared into the bathroom. The sound of running water filled the house, and she gave it time. But after a while, when it was clear he was just *standing* in there, she sighed. With a shake of her head, she wandered over and knocked on the bathroom door. "You still alive in there, or are you trying to become one with the water?" she called, voice laced with dry amusement. She leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. "If you pass out and drown, I'm not pulling your sorry ass out." Of course, that was a lie. She *would.* But he didn’t need to know that. |
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Sage had jumped when Jora's voice filled the small room, though she couldn't see him so he recovered himself quickly and chuckled softly. "I am one with the water," he mused lightly, poking his head out from behind the curtain, though flicked his hair over his shoulder so he wouldn't drip all over the floor. "At least half alive," he reasoned with a grin, rolling his eyes as he dissapeared back behind the curtain. "Oh please, you most definitely would," he noted. "Besides, it would be ratehr hard to drown in a shower," he added with a shrug, really just enjoyed teasing her a little. He did move to actually grab the soap and wash himself off though, since he wasn't sure how long he'd just been standing there staring at the wall. Long enough for her to come in, anyhow. After a few minutes, he was done, and had moved to slide out of the shower, drying himself off and changing into confortable clothes he could just lounge around in, grabbing a brush and then shooing Jora out of the doorframe, chucklign slightly as she rolled her eyes at him about it. He settled down on the couch, glad to sit down. He did halfheartedly attempt to brush his hair out while he was sitting there, but only did about half of it before he set the brush aside, not really wanting to work at it any more. |
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Breezy and Pleasant
