A line in the sand [reprise]

REMI The afternoon sun bleached out most of what Remi could see causing the alchemist to shade his eyes against the glare on the sand and the sea. But there was something about the lapping of the waves against the shore that was calming and helped him to think, and despite the fact that he had to squint constantly, Remi happily made his way down to the water. Rolling up the legs of his pants up to his knees, Remi lowered himself down to just above where the waves receded against the beach. He also removed his shoes, allowing his feet to sink into the soft sand and be lapped at gently by the waves. From the canvas bag he carried, the alchemist removed a small notebook bound on the side with bark. Inside was a piece of charcoal wrapped in cloth that he carefully unwound it and began to sketch inside the book. Anyone watching this would have thought that his quick strokes and seemingly incomprehensible notes were just gibberish, but they made perfect sense to the alchemist.   Sweat had begun to trickle down Remi’s neck and forehead, unfortunately falling onto the page he was currently working on, smudging the rather elaborate but small diagram he’d nearly just finished. The alchemist hissed in a breath as he immediately held the book up, shaking it slightly to see if anything might be salvaged. As he did so, the salty water merely dripped down the page, ruining more of what he had been working on. Closing his eyes and exhaling a condensed stream of frustrated air, he placed the book next to him on the sands and steepled his fingers in front of his eyes and nose. He took a few deep breaths trying to slowly dilute his inwardly-directed frustration. Not one to hang onto such negative emotions for long, Remi eventually allowed his palms to find the sand behind him, supporting his weight as he looked out across the sea, lost in thought.

please just don't forget me Ronin had deja vu. Combat training he'd had aplenty, in both the then-Training Grounds and out on these very shores, and his bruised hands and aching muscles knew the regime well. It had helped keep his strikes quick and his feet deft, but there had to be something more he could do. And as captain of the very vocation of training, he figured it was up to him to find it. That was what had brought him to the shores today (that and knowing he would see the Siren's Call bobbing away in the distance). And as a workout went, it was doing itself justice, he had to admit. The next wave that came to tickle at the alchemist's feet would bring something a bit more interesting with it. Ronin stood up from the sea a little ways out, where the waters would still play about his legs, having allowed the tide to carry him back to shore to save him the effort. Swimming definitely brought a new aspect to his workout in that it was actually exhausting. The captain swept wet hair that had darkened to jet black out of his face, rolling aching shoulders as he made his slow way through the shadows to the shore. He was still catching his breath, the afternoon sun warming his back and already starting to dry him off. When he reached the edge of the waters, he caught sight of Remi, staring at him like he had just walked out of a dream. Ronin arched an eyebrow. "Like what you see?" He grinned. Ronin was, of course, completely naked.

REMI Ronin appeared like some gender-bent siren from a fairytale and Remi nearly dropped the charcoal in his hands. It wasn't that the captain of training was naked (although, that certainly was quite a bit of what had shaken the alchemist), but that he had seemed to appear so unbidden to interrupt Remi's thoughts. Remi's eyes had followed Ronin's return to shore with a curious but distracted interest. His mind was on the inner workings of the machine he'd just sketched (and ruined), up until the skin beneath the captain's navel was shown to be bare. As was the rest of him. Instead of looking away, Remi just tipped his head to the side looking unimpressed and a tad flustered. The former was intentional, the latter less so. But it was hot out, and that could easily account for the blush creeping into his cheeks. "The sea? Yes. Though I would like it a lot more if you weren't blocking my view." He replied playfully. Unlike the first iteration of this scenario, Remi could at least meet Ronin's and was able to forgo the awkward introductions and the strangeness of trying to have a conversation with someone while pretending that you hadn't noticed they were naked and horribly attractive.

please just don't forget me "Me? Block your view? I say, I didn't intend to be so rude." Purposely standing in the shallows with his hands braced on his hips and a broad grin on his face, Ronin did absolutely nothing to move out of the way and make the sea more visible to Remi. It was all around them - he could just look elsewhere along the shore, right? "One would think you weren't happy to see me," he remarked, stepping onto the warm sands and sweeping his hair out of his face. Whilst their first meeting would have seen Ronin grab his clothes and strike up conversation, this time the guildmaster moved to sit beside his friend, the sun glittering off his wet skin, his brilliant eyes on the ship bobbing out at sea. "I'm even in one piece and everything," he teased, gesturing down at himself.

REMI Remi raised a brow at the ex-captain, his green eyes trained deliberately on Ronin's blue despite how they wanted to wander lower. His peripheral vision revealed enough that the alchemist knew if he did let himself look, even just for a moment, he'd not be able to tug his stare up easily. "Well if we are going on looks alone I would say that you are not happy to see me either." Remi quipped back easily, again having to resist the desire to let his eyes drop emphatically. Remi pulled in a breath through his nose as Ronin sat dripping at his side like some waterlogged golden retriever. Cringing as his friend sat down, Remi exhaled and shook his head. "I could have at least made you a towel, you know. To sit on if nothing else." With permission to do so, Remi's eyes did lower, though not to where he'd initially banned them from. Instead, he looked at the lack of scarring that should have been present, the body which was indeed whole instead of torn to bits and shredded from shrapnel. "Yeah, a lot of good it has done you." The alchemist replied with a shrug, the acknowledgment of the captain's death somehow not bothering him much.

please just don't forget me The shit-eating grin alone should have been enough to tell Remi that Ronin knew exactly what he was trying not to do, and if that didn't do it then the glee dancing in blue eyes would hopefully get the message across. "Oh come on, Remi. What harm is an eyeful going to do now, in the grand scheme of things?" he asked, giving his friend a wet, sandy nudge in the ribs. Ronin's laughter was rich and amused, the ex-captain flopping back onto both elbows to soak in the golden sunshine, to enjoy the crash of the waves and the whisper of the sea. How long had it been, since they had seen the ocean? This, almost... it was more perfect than Ronin had ever thought it could be. He wished he had savoured it more then. "One would almost think you wanted me to be standing at attention at seeing you, Remi." Ronin opened one eye, smirking at his friend. He shrugged casually at the alchemist's quip. "It's done me a lot better than it's done you. I mean, come on. You're on a beach and I show up naked. I'd have thought you'd know exactly what to do."

REMI "Knowing you, probably still quite a lot." He replied, his own smile a tad crooked. Remi was finding that as difficult as it was to keep his eyes above board, it was equally hard to hold Ronin's stare. It was so playful and yet so beautifully deep, and those damned eyebrows were all together too much. As Ronin flopped back, Remi shooked his head with exasperated amusement as this altogether revealing posture and watched the waves lap haphazardly against the side of the Siren's Call. "You always said you did not want to be a baron anymore. Maybe I do? Which, correct me if I'm wrong, requires standing at attention and bowing." With a snort now, Remi did pull his eyes away from the sea to half lean back, his weight resting on one arm as he stared skeptically down at Ronin. "What to do? What, shall I just pop out my charcoal and you can strike up a pose? You think it will be good enough for a few drinks?" Ruffling a hand through his hair, Remi grinned. "I don't know what else you could possibly mean." He added with a crinkled smirk.

please just don't forget me Ronin opened his mouth to disagree and then thought better of it, laughing to himself and casting his gaze back out to the waves, to the Siren bobbing on the horizon and to the beautiful woman he knew resided within it. That wasn't to say that he found anything at all wrong with the company at his side, though. "Did I say that? It doesn't sound like me at all." He chuckled, though it was true enough - Ronin had been a baron in name only for a very long time. Unable to help himself, the ex-captain burst into a fit of laughter at Remi's wording. "Remi, if you want to 'pop out your charcoal' I think I'll be doing much more than striking a pose, my friend." He winked, gazing up at the alchemist and sighing contently. "What are you doing out here, though?"

REMI "Ahh well perhaps you did not. I don't know, I hardly listen when you talk anymore." Remi shot back cheekily with a laugh. "Would you really? Out here for all to see? And here I thought you captains were meant to have some sort of standards." He replied, though his smile came just a second too slow, an indication that his mind was still wrapped up in the earlier thought. "Oh, I was just..." He trailed off. Remi didn't remember of course, that was the annoying thing about dreams. Picking up his sketchbook it revealed an eye filled with stars, far more artistically rendered than anything he might have done. Still, he held it up towards Ronin as evidence of what he'd been doing.

please just don't forget me "You'll regret not hanging on my every word, one day," Ronin quipped back, though the warmth in his smile spoke more than any words could. He let out a mischievous laugh at the alchemist's challenge, arching an eyebrow at his friend and motioning once more to his very naked body. "Am I not already out here for all to see?" he asked, waving off the question about standards; with everything they had been through surely Remi knew better than that. Ronin shifted to sit up again as Remi turned the page, and the sight of the starlit eye filled his expression with sadness. "Thank you for making her yours," he murmured, reaching out to brush his fingers across the paper. As it did so suddenly the bright and breezy afternoon turned into a midnight scene, stars spilling overhead. And Ronin wasn't naked any more - he was in the bloody clothes Remi had last seen him in. "Do you remember we spoke once, about how the constellations in Northaven were different than in Northwind? You'll have to learn them all over again now, too."

REMI "Hanging on your what?" Remi interrupted, as if distracted. "Ah! Words. Yes of course." With a bit of a stifled groan, Remi ihad to conceed the point that yes, Ronin was all out for all to see. "Lucky for us both that the beach is empty. I do not know what Bellamy or worse Koel might say to catch you here like this." Once upon a time perhaps that list would have included Loren, but for now all memories of the librarian were gone. And this time, they probably wouldn't be coming back. Just like the librarian. Remi sighed disappointedly, and not just because Ronin was clothed. The blood and the clear evidence of his wounds brought that hallowed afternoon back into startling clarity, and Remi itched at the skin just over his heart as if the painful cramp inside was actually a muscle he could soothe and relax. "She will never be mine. But I will love her as if she was." Remi replied sadly, looking up at the stars. With a snort and an easy grin, Remi looked towards Ronin giving him a sharp look and a nudge. "Oh good. Thanks for reminding me. I suppose it will give me something to do now that you're...well." His eyes dropped slightly to one of the wounds which had proven fatal, his gaze softening slightly. "..you know. Up in the stars and all that."

please just don't forget me "My words, yes," Ronin confirmed with a crooked little smile in Remi's direction, though he was already leaning back on his hands in his bloody clothes, blue eyes on the stars sprawling overhead. He had always liked to look at them, he realised, even before he was aligned so with Safrin. Even before his baby had been born with the constellations in her eyes. "If Bellamy or Koel were here then I would tell them not to look if they don't want to feel jealous." The guildmaster's laughter was filthy, the comment unexpectedly egotistical even for him, and he shook his head, thoroughly amused by it all. "She is as yours as much as she can be. And if it can't be me, I am very glad that it's you, Remi..." Ronin glanced sideways at his friend, accepting the nudge with a friendly wink before nodding up at the sky. "Just remember to include me and Vanya in your constellation tracking, won't you?" He chuckled.

REMI Happy laughter burst from Remi's lips as he shook his head. The funniest part was that he could imagine Ronin saying exactly that sort of thing. "Ahh yes. And when you were thrown in jail, you'd proclaim that jealousy was the real culprit, is that it?" Smiling, Remi nodded and then grinned. "Only because I am currently your best option." Looking up to the sky as well, Remi considered for a moment. "Vanya, certainly." He replied with a soft hum. "You though," He began in a playful tone that quickly turned sombre and sweet. "—I do not know that I can bear having you that far."

please just don't forget me "Well it would be the real culprit, would it not? Besides, I am not aware of any public indecency laws in Northaven. I mean, have you seen the Hali family?" Ronin beamed across at the alchemist, knowing the other man would catch his drift. Because Ronin had definitely seen the Hali family. One member in particular, in fact. He smiled too, but more solemnly at Remi's joke, the ex-captain shrugging his shoulders. "You are more than just my best option," he said softly, frowning as the conversation naturally took a more serious turn. "I don't know that I would ever have wanted to be that far," he admitted. "But... it's time to wake up, Remi." The comment had a double meaning, one that he had no doubt that the alchemist would catch.