[SE] the art of procrastination

kidnap me from my reality & crushed pieces of my soul

"Mmmm." The Bastion hummed, before hissing in a breath and rubbing above one eyebrow. "That must have been a terrible way to die. I'm so sorry." He murmured with a soft sigh, his breath causing a hazy cloud to appear and dissipate around his lips.

Grinning boyishly at that, Remi reached for one of the slingshots and gently pulled on the elastic. "Have you ever seen those large canvases, where you—" Biting at the inside of his cheek, the Bastion cleared his throat. He'd been thinking of where you go naked and had sex on the canvas covered in paint, though recalling Maea's earlier reaction to his mention of his sex life, the Bastion thought perhaps it wasn't worth mentioning. "—er, paint by number?"

Also I forgot Remi won't be at the meeting since he isn't a leader LOL "A...burden, I would think." The Bastion answered, wincing at Maea as if anticipating her disappointment in his answer. "The majority of us are immortal, and we are not just strong on our own, we are strong because we are demigods. Deimos...is the exception, not the rule." He said with a sigh. "We all chose to be what we are. I think that is different than simply signing up to help." Or, maybe it wasn't; Remi's expression brilliantly displayed his confusion in that the lines around his pale eyes deepened, and the corners of his mouth tugged down in a frown. "But maybe I do not know what I am talking about. Ronin was always the soldier, never me."

As for delegation, communication, and planning? Lifting his chin somewhat, Remi laughs warmly at that. "Well, I cannot wait for my daughter to be the one to tell me what it is I should be doing. Before the tournament, she told me that I needed to train more." Patting at his stomach, Remi chuckles again before it occurs to him that perhaps Maea and Flora had never met. "Do you know her? My daughter?"

colour me outside the lines

until my shattered heart is whole

REMI

Table & Gif-sniping by SKY who deserves our love and affection for always.

Maea

Oh, when the world is burning

It had been, there was no denying it. But she wanted to leave it behind, along so many other wounds, so she merely nodded and patted his elbow to show she appreciated the sympathy. "One of these days I'll stop coming back to it," she replied, saying it like a mantra, or maybe a prayer.

Gazing at him curiously as he backtracked, Maea shook her head. "No? I've never really painted, or been around art much. Is it like a game?"

And while his answer about her suggestion was disappointing, it was more because she had liked the idea of building teams and watching connections form. Trust. Friendships. The beautiful synergy of a well tuned orchestra working together towards a common goal.
"No, it makes sense. It just seems so... lonely. And heavy. The fate of the world shouldn't be on any one person's shoulders just because a god took a liking to you. It doesn't feel fair. And it means I can't do anything to help." Which probably was the real reason for her suggestion. Maea had absolutely been picturing herself in one of those squads, working to support the others.

Taking a bite from her pie before it grew cold, she shook her head again. "Mmf - no - it's Flora, right?" Her cheek puffed up like a hamster in the attempt to eat and speak at the same time. "Your names are similar. Haven't met her, just saw her at the tournament."

Don't walk away

kidnap me from my reality & crushed pieces of my soul

"Or maybe you won't." Remi says with a small shrug and easy smile. "I have never died but still there are wounds I am not sure I will ever get over, no matter how much I heal." The prominent scars across his throat, hidden just now by his scarf, had never quite stopped itching no matter how well-healed the flesh had become.

"Well...I suppose anything can be a game if you are competitive enough, but I think it is more a thing to do to relax. A picture is broken down into small segments with numbers inside, and the numbers correspond to colours. Basically, it is painting for people who typically are not so good at it." Remi explained. In the back of his mind, though, he did think the sex-canvas idea was a pretty good gift for Ronin, and so kept his eye out for a large canvas and paint as they wandered.

"Mmmm. It can be that. I am lucky in that I have always had Ronin to share the burden with. I cannot imagine what it would be like for the others." Her honesty has him softening considerably, and it's with a gentle nudge of his shoulder against hers that he smiles. "You absolutely can help. Brawn is not all it is cracked up to be. Cleverness is almost always what wins the day, and you have far more of it than most."

Chuckling a touch as he too bites into his pie, Remi has no such issues with speaking with his mouth full. "The way it sounds, you mean? Si." He grins. "It is called the Travelling Tongue where I was from. Era una lingua parlata dai poveri, e ora... parlata solo da me." Really leaning into the musicality of the language, the Bastion chuckles before helping himself to another bite.

"But yes. No doubt Flora will tell me all about your meeting and how both Ronin and I need to do better."

colour me outside the lines

until my shattered heart is whole

REMI

Table & Gif-sniping by SKY who deserves our love and affection for always.

Maea

Oh, when the world is burning

Humming thoughtfully, she didn't say anything. If possible she would rather forget her death and all the events that led up to it, and never speak of it again. There were better things to do with her second chance at life, not least of which might be to take up painting, or dancing, or learn how to sing properly. This paint-by-numbers thing might be just the thing for her too; setting down the slingshot she blew on her cold fingers and continued to browse alongside Remi.

His nudge eased the frown from her brow, drawing out a little smile. "I hope you're right. Speaking of, it's not completely finalized yet but I did that experiment I told you about? And it seems like at least for creatures, the void infection is spreading by bites. I, uh, may have been bitten by a spider, in an unrelated accident... that could be healed, though it didn't work quite as quickly as usual. I thought you might like to know." Whatever it was that prevented Flora from being healed must have been an anomaly - more potent, perhaps, or left alone for too long, or... some other reason she wasn't aware of.

Brightening at the demonstration of the Travelling Tongue, genuine delight glittered in the pale woman's eyes. "It's a beautiful language!" she grinned. "It must be convenient, sharing a tongue few others can understand, no?" Shaking her head with a light laugh at the idea of the young woman nagging her parents to get their stuff together, Maea nudged Remi back with an elbow. "I'm sure you're not the only ones. I, for one, need to train more. And probably read up on state craft, now that I have a job that require some diplomacy. That's never been my strongest point." She rolled her eyes, unaware how truly prophetic her words would turn out to be.

Don't walk away

kidnap me from my reality & crushed pieces of my soul

"Oh?" Reaching for one of his remaining manticore feathers to trade for a giant canvas with the understanding that he'd come and pick it up again once he and Maea were finished browsing around, Remi suddenly looked concerned, his seaglass stare roving over the jacket the ancient wore as if he might somehow see through it and down to whatever injuries she might have. "Are you alright?" Flora had become moody, sour, and generally hostile as well as having a wound which refused to heal; from at least this brief encounter Maea seemed more or less herself, but then, what did he really know?

Laughing warmly, Remi shrugged. "Only Mateo really speaks it. Flora has never shown much interest and Ronin..." Well, the Knight's own accent made it almost impossible for him to speak the words they were meant to be said, such that Remi almost always threw something at his husband any time he tried.

Staggering to the side as he was elbowed, the Bastion could only grin and nod. "Gods, nor me. That is likely not the only reason I was never much good as a leader, but it is definitely up there." When it came to diplomacy or anything resembling any sort of charm, Remi immediately deferred to his better half.

colour me outside the lines

until my shattered heart is whole

REMI

Table & Gif-sniping by SKY who deserves our love and affection for always.

Maea

Oh, when the world is burning

"Oh yeah, I'm fine." Humoring his scrutiny, she pulled down the scarf to show him the fading bruise on her neck. It had looked like lightning at one point, or roots that spread from a pair of puncture marks the spider had made. But though some of the marbling remained any effects were long gone, and it didn't hurt anymore. "A friend - Talyson - had a ring that healed me. Don't recommend the high that came with the bite though. It wasn't fun." The nightmares lasted far longer than the venom, not to mention the jumpy anxiety of seeing things in the periphery of her vision. She'd had to double check a few times that there really wasn't anything lurking just out of view.

"That's unfortunate. I find it fascinating, honestly. Outworld languages, traditions, different magical laws and systems - sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if the portals had gone two ways. Being a Loreseeker would have had a completely different meaning than it does now. All the urgency of understanding this world has gone, it seems. All that's left is politics... and another war." That never changed, apparently, and it was one thing all the worlds she'd heard of had in common. Someone was always fighting somewhere.

Don't walk away

kidnap me from my reality & crushed pieces of my soul

"Would you tell me if you weren't?" Remi wonders a touch skeptically; friendly though they were, it wasn't as though a handful of meetings had suddenly made them close, and given how closed off he knew his counterpart could be, it wouldn't have surprised the Bastion to know that she still kept some cards close to her chest. Still, he lowered his gaze to her neck, reaching out for a moment before stopping himself from brushing his fingertips across the bruise. Sighing softly—it did indeed look much better than Flora's had—Remi nodded in recognition of the name. "A good thing he was with you, then." He remarked of the courier, before frowning to hear of the additional symptoms.

"Gods." Snorting laughter without meaning to, the Bastion could only shake his head immediately. "I would say almost everyone here would have immediately been thrown in jail or killed if you found yourself in the world Ronin and I came from." Sighing softly, Remi can only afford his friend a sad smile. "My world was at war too. For years, and from what I understand of the places others have come from...I think war is everywhere."

colour me outside the lines

until my shattered heart is whole

REMI

Table & Gif-sniping by SKY who deserves our love and affection for always.

Maea

Oh, when the world is burning

Pausing to gaze thoughtfully back at him with his fingers hovering an inch from her neck, Maea thought back over her life. "Hm... probably?" It was more honest than tactful. "If I thought there was something that could be helped. But if there's nothing anyone else can do, there's not much point in talking about it, right?" Some things - like the nightmares, like the constant hamster wheel of trauma and depression - could only be solved by her. Maybe talking could offer new perspectives, but at the end of the day it was for her to fix herself.

"Why, what was it like?" she wondered, intrigued to learn more of his homeland despite the apparent dangers it had come with. It certainly explained why he and Ronin both had been so accomplished when arriving here; they'd already been hardened to the difficulties that came with battle, while the Grounders had long since accepted defeat. "I wonder... if there's anything from your past that might help us all now? This invasion, it's unlike anything I've seen before. At this rate we'll be overrun before anyone can even decide whether to fight or how to go about it. But there has to be a way."

Don't walk away

kidnap me from my reality & crushed pieces of my soul

Chuckling, Remi regards Maea's pale lavender (or were they blue? or now pink?) eyes for a moment as he tucks his hand back in his pocket. "Here—" Fishing for something, the Bastion eventually came up with a small clay cup that looked full of water, despite having been plucked from the folds of his coat. "Just in case you find yourself alone, next time. It should do the trick."

Exhaling hard enough to have a cloud forming in front of his lips, Remi looks up toward the sky for a moment as he tries to find the words to explain a place like Northaven. "Gods, well..." He begins, his cheeks flushing darkly as several unhappy memories blistered in his mind. "We were at war as I mentioned, and so a good portion of our time was spent training and such, and the other..." Pressing his teeth together hard enough to have his jaw feathering, Remi glances at Maea, tight-lipped. "Well, there was a big push for procreation." He explained, unhappily. "Being gay was punishable by death, and so..." Rubbing at the bridge of his nose, the Bastion held his breath, recalling the number of dates he'd gone in, the women he was with, the lies he tried to live. Eventually, he could only shrug, hoping Maea could fill in the pieces. "It was a very classist society. I was at the bottom of it, making me quite expendable. Ronin was somewhere in the upper-middle as a baron."

Considering her question, Remi can only glance a touch helplessly at the sky and shake his head. "Northaven was successful, if you can call it that, in their efforts, because of how strict they were. You trained, you fought, you did what you were told and if you didn't? Punishment, jail, death."

---

Remi has given Maea

Type: Light | Style: Other | Level: Mastered
Spring Water | Held in a clay cup that cannot spill, this water can fully restore the HP of anyone/anything who drinks from it and removes any status effects they might have. One use.

colour me outside the lines

until my shattered heart is whole

REMI

Table & Gif-sniping by SKY who deserves our love and affection for always.

Maea

Oh, when the world is burning

Eyes growing wide, she accepted the cup with both hands and held it carefully so as not to spill the water. How it hadn't soaked him through - but that only meant it was magic. Unaccustomed to gifts of any kind, let alone such valuable ones, Maea blushed and fumbled for something to say. "That's - I mean - thank you? Are you sure? Won't you need it yourself?" He was the one most likely to end up fighting, whereas she...

Cupping her hands around the clay despite the chill that bit into her hands she listened with grave attention as Remi explained. It was a bleak picture he painted. One she understood only because someone had tried to force the Grounds into a similar structure, thankfully unsuccessful. "Zariah was from Northaven too, right?" she asked quietly. "I knew she was unpopular but never quite why. This... really explains it." Considering the outlander realm like a mirror to the problems they were facing, she turned over the issues in her head. "Did anyone try to fight them? How did they go about it?" Taking over a place and keeping it might actually be two entirely different problems... Of course preventing an invasion was the first priority. But if that failed... it didn't necessarily have to be the end.

Don't walk away

kidnap me from my reality & crushed pieces of my soul

Giving his head a little shake, the Bastion smiled. "My role is to protect now. I can do it quite easily in person, but..." He shrugged, still smiling. "It makes more sense for you to have it." Not only because her intrepid spirit seemed to find her in places of danger more often than not, but because the Bastion had never been greedy when it came to wanting to provide for those he cared about.

"Mmm, she was." Zariah's name had Remi tensing considerably as if the long-dead Launceleyn might still hold some sway over him, even now. "The Launceleyns embodied what it was to be from Northaven. Their whole family were blue-bloods, er, high up in society. What they say went in most instances. No doubt Zariah thought what she was doing was the best for the Grounds, and for Halo back in the day, but certainly the way of ruling with an iron fist was exactly what it was like back home."

Pausing, Remi didn't understand Maea's question fully at first, and it took him a rather comically long moment to piece it together. "To fight...the ruling class? Gods, no." He said with a shake of his head. "I lived in a one-room home. Crime was rampant, food was in short supply. I sold my bed just to afford the things I wanted. Standing up against even the Ronin's of the world who lived in large apartments, much less those in palaces?" There was just no way.

"With The Family...I think until we know if they have any weaknesses at all, there is little to be done. Ronin will not let me go back to the island, but.." With a crooked smile that didn't entirely reach his eyes, Remi sighed. "I think it is probably the only way."

colour me outside the lines

until my shattered heart is whole

REMI

Table & Gif-sniping by SKY who deserves our love and affection for always.

Maea

Oh, when the world is burning

Funny how things changed. There had been a time where the idea of being protected had made her bristle and flare up, so determined to take care of herself that the very idea of needing help felt like an insult. Now, holding this small token of consideration, Maea found herself simply grateful that anyone even wished to try. Was it softening? Giving up? Or perhaps simply growing up? From her perspective it was difficult to tell.
"Ah. Well then, I wouldn't want to get in the way of fulfilling your purpose," was her quiet response, with a glimmer of amusement. The way she stored away the cup was almost reverent - this was something she would not give away easily, that much was certain.

Focusing back on the grim topic, Remi's line of thinking sparked no small amount of anxiety in her. "There has to be something," she insisted, refusing to accept otherwise. "Nothing is perfect, everyone has a weakness. Even gods can die, we've seen that. I completely agree that you shouldn't go back there alone, but with enough people to help..." But then she bit her lip. "That's not my call to make, of course. I really wish I was stronger, because I'd go with you if I thought there was the slightest chance it would make a difference." But there wasn't. At best she'd only slow him down, and get herself killed for nothing. "I'm not going to stop looking for weaknesses, though. That much I can promise." She was just sadly running out of ideas on where to look that wasn't Starfall.

Don't walk away

kidnap me from my reality & crushed pieces of my soul

"Honestly, you would be doing me a favour. Ronin is constantly running around being an actual white knight and it is making me look bad." The Bastion jokes, before nodding at the small cup. "It will not spill." He comments, just in case that much wasn't obvious to her already.

"I still have my rapier, from the war." He says in a low voice. Very few knew he had it, if only because it kept it hidden away, such was its power. "But it can kill anything. Not always, but it has the power to." As with Deimos' gloves, the fear of having the blade fall into the wrong hands was something that worried the Bastion endlessly, hence why it was locked and bound somewhere only he knew about.

"Well, if you are ever with me, I can promise to keep you safe." Such was the benefit of being able to literally give up pieces of himself to protect those around him. "Safely, I am not sure that it is strength we even need right now. Then again...perhaps I can tell Ronin you snuck off and I had to come and find you." Remi only half-jokes.

colour me outside the lines

until my shattered heart is whole

REMI

Table & Gif-sniping by SKY who deserves our love and affection for always.

Maea

Oh, when the world is burning

Plans were starting to spin as Remi lowered his voice, offering a secret that lent her a spark of hope. Anything, he said. Anything must surely include anything from beyond this world, right? And just knowing that it was out there somewhere was like a rope tossed into the sea, available for any drowning soul to cling to.

Chuckling softly at his not-really-joke, Maea looked tempted and horrified at the notion. "You would have to protect me against more than the Family," she warned, though didn't seem very upset at the idea of getting on Ronin's black-list. Not yet, at leas - she hadn't had time to really let the concept sink in. "But you're probably right. What we do need are ways to remain undetected, and make a quick escape if necessary. Not to mention... you don't happen to know where some of those translation glasses has ended up, do you? I think Jigano had a pair, and Wessex had an upgrade of some sort... Whatever was found would probably take some help to understand." She wasn't saying no, of course. But Maea was not going to make the mistake of leaping into deep waters without knowing that she could get out again. Once had been quite enough.

Don't walk away