How unfortunate it was that Bakugou, once again, was first to notice the arriving form of an ally. The experience of seeing them all so often was exhausting him. The pirates that inhabited their island was enough but, alas, their world was not as small as he wished it was. A hellbeast was not difficult to miss, sanguine eyes immediately locking onto the moving form as her figure began to clear, blurry lines sharpening as she got closer. He noticed the large basket before realising that this fem was the Sunhavener who had attended their feast, charismatic in nature with the way she so calmly interacted with their Captain. He hoped she wasn't trying to seduce him, he didn't want any distractions plaguing The Typhoon, but he supposes that the island didn't need to be so dependable on the sea god. He himself was in a position of power to make some level of decisions, ears flicking when his walking begins to animate and Bakugou lifts his pace to arrive. To be honest, he still felt like a child. He still looked at alcohol and told himself he wasn't at an age to drink, but maybe it was also because he was afraid he would get addicted. It would be like the time his teleportation was first manifesting, the pain his cells and fibres felt, the overdosing of painkillers.

The Reaver hisses slightly when he remembers the feeling, reminding himself to pay attention to what was ahead of him. It was hard not to think about the past. Memories had a way of creeping up to him, clouding his vision because they were so obtrusive, interrupting his day to day business. They plagued him and he felt unprotected, unsure how to stop himself from being so vulnerable. There was, in fact, no armour that could withhold the disturbances that lingered. A smoky breath escapes him, paws halting and looking at the woman. His sanguine eyes immediately drift towards the sweets she carried, the massive basket that had such a collection of gifts. He wonders if this was what their own envoys did, arriving with all the trash they wouldn't miss, passing them onto others. "M...Mar-Merr-Ma...arge.." he stumbles over sounds, clearly growing agitated because he had already forgotten the fem's name. It should have been an honour for The Typhoon to be visited by Sunhaven's leader, the time she had given to them, but he saw it as an opportunity to make a further fool of himself. "I'm not good with names." He was never against being honest. In fact, he liked being genuine. Lying wasn't something he was fond of witnessing, let alone doing.

Sunhaven was making a good impression of themselves, though he admits that he's rather hesitant of interacting with them. The only reason he had started to warm up to the merchants was because of the one who shared in his distaste of the raptors that populated The Typhoon. F-Fuckingham, was it? He couldn't remember, memory hazy because he didn't pay much attention to his allies when in reality, politics should have been important to him. "I'm, uh, Bakugou," the male then says, not particularly caring if the woman remembered it or not. After all, Bakugou couldn't even remember hers, why should he expect her to do the same? He finally notices the spoiled packets of hot chocolate, not quite feeling the grief because he didn't like sweets. He didn't pity her hard work being wasted but was more or less confused with why she was putting so much effort. Then again, it was Sunhaven. They had been trying to ally with them for three leaderships straight, of course they would take the opportunity to ensure it were a permanent change. "You didn't have to bring so much for us." Ah well, he's sure someone would be overjoyed. He's anticipating a pirate to come up to him and thank Marina for him, thank her because Bakugou was too awkward to have manners. It simply wasn't natural for him to be polite. He didn't even think of asking her how her journey was, or even asking if Sunhaven was fine.

© LEXASPERATED

Her smile didn't make his struggle any better. It was frustrating enough trying to be social. It was out of his comfort zone, difficult because he often caused more problems than he needed. In many cases, it was better to withdraw from these kinds of conversations, withdraw before he accidentally ignites a feud. His ears drop sheepishly at her laugh. Normally he would have snapped at her, growled at the hellhound for belittling him with the chuckle, but he had fucked up her name and he wasn't planning on starting an argument. He wouldn't want a second scolding from the Captain for his second time insulting a Sunhaven leader. "Right," he replies to her suggestion. Mar. To be honest, it sounded a little like he would be calling her his mother, 'ma' but with a slight emphasis on the sound of the letter 'a'. He didn't really like to think of his parents. Usually they weren't on his mind, they were merely his caregivers. And yet it was his mother who could really make him tremble, shudder because as much as he yelled at her back, she always seemed to be just as violent in return. If anyone knew how to truly put Bakugou back in his case, it had to be his mother.

When the leader mentioned she knew who he was, Bakugou grimaced a little. He wondered if the stories had been passed on, imagining that bone merchant returning to their borders bitching about a tabby ragdoll who, more or less, had called her pathetic. It would be petty to imagine the former leader Quantum doing things to such extremes but the Reaver didn't trust her after she threw all her alliances under the bus, spitting on their reputations and calling them weak for the sake of gaining The Typhoon's favour. He never liked the idea of licking another's paws so it definitely rubbed him the wrong way when the tigress had tried to do it to them. But, to his surprise, the merchant says something else. She mentions the raptors. Normally any talk of the raptors would cause Bakugou to go berserk, hating them to an extreme. But, once again, Sunhaven seemed to share the same views as him, disliking the feral beasts for their very nature. Bakugou grins: "You're welcome. Glad we have the same views." The conversation felt to be going smoothly.

Then the focus of the conversation shifted back to the gifts, the soggy packets and the glint of jewellery. Well, he would have only noticed the reflective glare of seaglass after Marina had mentioned them. The sweet smell of fruits was a refreshing touch until he realised there were actual fruits sitting in her basket. His sanguine eyes catch the refraction of an orange necklace, deciding to take it considering it would be a waste if the gifts were ignored. "Uh"— thank you, just say thank you. All he had to do was be polite, thank her for her time and care. She was doing so well with their alliance. "Nevermind." He had let his voice hang for so long that it didn't feel right to be able to finally muster the courage and express gratitude, the words themselves felt so foreign when leaving his sharp tongue. Normally, the only words that would slip, would be poisons accompanied by embers. His gaze wanders back to the ground, ears flicking in Luciferus' direction. From the smell of it, the more charismatic pirates of The Typhoon were appearing. They could take it all from here, let him slip out of the conversation and pretend he hadn't been there from the start. Sometimes it made him almost jealous because it felt as if, from the start of time, he had been placed into a mold to be this way. Never well liked by others.

Goldenluxury's deduction made sense to Bakugou. He noticed the way the Sunhaven leader spoke to their Captain, the mischief that danced upon her gaze, the possible sense of passion behind her. The Reaver had seen it during their feast but thought little about it. Again and again his mind brought him back to that image. He might not seem to make much comment on the world around him but he certainly took a lot of time to reflect. He still doesn't choose to say anything about the affair, cocking a figurative brow at Owen's sudden change of character. His whiskers twitch in agitation, listening to the way the male acted all soppy and regretful of his actions. "It won't happen again," he corrects the raptor trainer, lip peeled back in a snarl. "If you're trying to pretend to be all sincere and shit, at least think over your words." For some reason, even though Owen truly felt a deep resonating guilt for his past crimes, Bakugou refused to buy it. He didn't believe others could just change for the better. It wasn't possible. He didn't want to believe it was possible. If it was, why did he feel so stuck? Why was he still the same?

Bakugou sighs, smoke dissipating from his maw as if he were an old train releasing steam. The way the black fog curled in the air was almost reminiscent of the swarming, uncomfortable thoughts within his mind, pattered with blackened specks. "Are you looking to stay a while?" he asks Marina, looking at the fem again. He may as well ask considering everyone was so distracted by the glassware and the raptors. "We take in a shit-tonne of loner visitors so it'd be stupid if we didn't let allies stay." It was his own way of being able to thank the woman for her efforts in The Typhoon. He might not be able to say it but he was more of an 'actions speak louder than words' kind of guy anyway. "Oh, that being said, does Sunhaven do visitors?" He doesn't really know the politics of the merchant group very well but he was curious on the idea of staying around for a day or two, just to see what their lives were like.