the weight of the world won't bend my knees

and on to the glory at my right hand

As Remi and Deimos round on Sunjata, Ronin also takes the opportunity to pull himself out of the water, immediately starting to shiver as his clothes hit the cold air. He does his best to wring them out, but without the Flood's abilities, it won't be long until he's forced to shift into something with a fur or feathers or scales. Still, he lingers for now just behind Remi, drawn to the other man like a moth to a flame and swallowing hard as the Sword's question in particular hits the air.

"Could you say no to her?" he asks, his voice tighter than he'd like it to be as he rubs his hands together and his breath starts to fog the air despite the steam rolling from the springs nearby. Anything they might be able to glean would be useful - not just in understanding the Flood and the position he'd been put in, but for anyone else Everest who was currently infected.

ronin

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

hellos, goodbyes, a thousand midnights
lost in sleepless lullabies

The tendrils of water thread out of his clothes in glimmering strands as they’re dropped back into the water, and Sunjata focuses on that rather than look at those that barrage him with questions. At least, until Remi’s anger comes to the forefront of his mind, whether or not he knew they would go after Flora. His scarred brows pinch together as he snaps his attention to the Bastion, a sharp inhale of a breath leaving him. “No. I didn’t fucking know. They didn’t tell me anything.” He tries to keep his tone even, but between the frayed nerves and the horrible sensation in his gut, the Flood’s gaze flits to Deimos’ question next.

That one is a harder one to answer, and one that has him rubbing at his face and looking away – only thankful for Ronin’s question as it breaches the air. “I couldn’t say no to her. She’d say jump and I’d just jump. I never.. Questioned it. It felt wrong to, like.. it was impossible to even fathom not doing whatever she wanted.” He sighs, stubbornly keeping his gaze away as he draws his long legs up toward his chest. “She asked what killed the dragon... I didn’t know its name, and everything else after that she did herself.” It wasn’t much of an explanation, but now that he's gotten their answers out of the way, Sunjata’s jaw works hard enough that his teeth will be sore amongst the rest of his body when he takes a ragged breath.

“I didn’t ask to be infected. I didn’t want this.” He knows he picked the opposing side in the war, but gods he has to hope that they believe him with this one.

the flood

heaven's dreaming thoughtless thoughts,
my friends, we know we'll be ghosts again

totally sniped from odd ilu

the bastion

How do I learn my dreams to mold
To lay them bare in the morning cold?

Raising his brows as his hand is ignored, the Bastion lifts his chin slightly. Though he keeps a tight hold of the attuned bond and the emotions that he allows to warble down it, Ronin will feel the way his heartbeat increases as it pounds away on the Knight's hand.

"Take my hand." Remi says as gently as he can manage, though nothing keeps it from sounding like the command that he is. Stretching out his hand once more, the Bastion lifts his eyebrows, not wanting this to come to blows as it once had so many years ago, but knowing just as he had then that he'd not be able to settle unless he got to the truth of the matter himself. This time, for better or worse, he lacked the ability to only make it seem like he was murdering the Flood.

"It's much harder for your emotions to lie, and..." Feathering his jaw slightly, Remi's gaze slips toward Ronin as they all wade slowly toward familiar ground. The Bastion isn't keen to repeat the mistakes of his past, but where Vai had (only) been attacked, his daughter had been murdered, and gods if the Bastion didn't to be certain that Sunjata hadn't had anything to do with it.

"...I need to know, Jata."

If they're still out there then the chasm grows
For all you know, for all you've known

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

and the only solution was to stand and fight

A long slow breath filtered through his lungs again as the confirmation came clear. And while he sensed no lying, no statements framed into half-truths or malformations, the verification didn’t make him feel any easier. How many others fell into the same holds Dahlia, and likely by extension the rest of the Family, had over them? How many more times could this potentially happen, occur, right under their noses? With the Flood not in control of his own actions, where did they fall now?

And with no way to conquer it – save for these springs – his jaw clenched. Just as some of them had been blighted and sickened in the past, now these figures seemed to be hellbent on the same turbulent maelstrom. His gaze went from Ronin, to Remi, and the request laden within. He was still and quiet again, save for the other question making and marking its way behind his teeth; because maybe there could be some prevention out of all this. “How were you infected?”

DEIMOS

and on to the glory at my right hand

Inhaling as steadily as he can, both because of the responses given and because he's properly shivering by now, Ronin can only give a jerky nod towards Sunjata before glancing somewhat pleadingly towards the Sword. "You wouldn't mind drying me off, would you?" Given that the Flood is a little preoccupied, Deimos is the only other person with water magic who might be able to prevent him freezing to death before the conversation is through.

And as for that conversation, he leaves whatever is about to unfold between Jata and Remi entirely up to them - his questions revolve more around the what now, besides. "Do you think she will know that you're cured?" he asks around clenched teeth to keep them from chattering. "And if she won't... is it worth pretending you're still infected?"

ronin

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

hellos, goodbyes, a thousand midnights
lost in sleepless lullabies

He hadn’t noticed the hand as it became outstretched, not with the way he’d tried to come to grips with everything that’s happened. If anything, the audible request has him finally pulling his gaze away from the hot springs to look up at Remi with stormy grey eyes. It’s reluctant, and he almost wants to snap about how the attuned bond should be good enough, but really – he knows hes in no position to make claims. “Okay.” He says quietly, shifting a touch to take Remi’s hand, opening himself up for whatever it was Remi sought.

There’s the panic and anxiety at the forefront – because Remi had killed him in the past, but deeper under the layers there’s such deep sorrow, frustration at himself for how everything had gone, the minute little ball of hope he’d had when Remi had asked him to test the Refuge on Dahlia because they were on talking terms, only to come out of it the way he had.

He keeps his hand in Remi’s as he closes his gaze, answering Deimos’ question alongside some boon of help to prove he isn’t trying to be an asshole. His free hand moves as he uses his magic to drain Ronin’s clothes of the water and shove it back into the hot springs. “I brought her to the Refuge to test out whether it worked on her and she cornered me when I started realizing it didn’t... She just… Kissed me and suddenly I felt stupid for being so.. so fucking afraid of her.” The memory brings the fear he’d felt, the sudden thought that maybe he’d die testing it out, when the Reaper had kissed him and the fear had vanished in favor for relaxation, like it wasn’t a big deal at all.

“I don’t know how normal I can be to them, Ronin. I don’t..” His jaw works and he stubbornly shuts his eyes tight. “Even if she doesn’t know, I don’t want to be in a position she can touch me again… If that’s.. alright.” Once again he’s not in a position to make requests, but his storm cloud gaze opens, staring blankly at the stone floor, when a sudden panic grips his chest in an iron fist and he snaps his attention to Deimos. “Hotaru, she’s… She might also be infected.” Dahlia had said something about them both being a boon, hadn’t she? "I can-- I can find out." He doesn't know how, yet, but maybe if he just asked her she'd tell him?

He obviously doesn't know he's a walking infection ring right now, but he'll soon learn.

the flood

heaven's dreaming thoughtless thoughts,
my friends, we know we'll be ghosts again

totally sniped from odd ilu

the bastion

How do I learn my dreams to mold
To lay them bare in the morning cold?

Sliding his hand into the Flood's, Remi closes his eyes as if that might help him make sense of the colours and emotions that immediately slosh against him. Against the onslaught of panic and anxiety the Bastion can feel the current of truth that runs through everything that Sunjata has said and continues to say. Rather than releasing the other man's hand, Remi allows the palette of his own emotions to surge forward; the devastation he'd felt hearing Flora's voice in his head and knowing it meant she'd died, learning that she'd been murdered, and how even once she'd been brought back from the dead by Ronin, he'd been unable to shake the panic that had wrapped itself so tightly around his mind. Relief comes through next, and as Remi's grip softens, he pulses his fingers against Sunjata's. She's my daughter.. He thinks toward the Flood as his eyes slowly open. Even if you couldn't have stopped yourself or Pierce...I had to know. He might not have killed Sunjata for it, but gods he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to look the other man in the eyes again if he'd had anything to do with Flora's murder, however coerced it had been.

Pulling his hand back, the Bastion glances at Deimos and Ronin, giving each a subtle nod before folding his arms comfortably over his chest—only for them to drop toward his sides as Hotaru's name leaves the Flood's lips. "What?" Having far less claim over her safety than Sunjata did, still Remi felt feathers bristle into his curls. "But...I've been telling her everything. About...about Flora and Jack..I wrote to her telling her what happened, and.."

..and she hadn't written back.

If they're still out there then the chasm grows
For all you know, for all you've known

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

and the only solution was to stand and fight

With no lies detected, Deimos listened quietly, beseeching Ronin a light smile of regrets for his attention being solely on the interrogation. “Sorry,” he rumbled and murmured, acquiescing to Ronin’s request with snagging at the water droplets and turning them into nothing more than vapor; adding in warmer swells of air to dry and warm the White Knight.

The other inquiries were good ones; if Dahlia would know, if his pretenses were capable, and how the instance had truly come about. The method of her infecting purposes had his brow arching, and then the following information left his eyes widening. A brief slip of the mask as Sunjata revealed that Ru was affected as well.

His jaw clenched, and all that calm veneer managed to snap into hordes of walls and trepidation combined together; holding it tightly against his ribs so that it didn’t burst out the seams of his flesh and bone. Any questions he’d had for the Flood died off, a great, long breath blurred into his lungs, barely feeling the cold rush of air. The meaning was clear, even if he didn’t want to believe it, even if he’d always thought Ru infinitely more clever than to willingly put herself in such a position…

Maybe she hadn’t. Maybe she had. Maybe she’d been trying for something or simply went about it in her own usual way – thinking herself wholly capable of such a dangerous dalliance.

After some moments of striving to put himself back into some equilibrium, eyes going from the springs, and then back to the other men, he weighed the circumstances. The implications. Would Ru be sharing this information too - would Dahlia know that Flora was alive? Always wanting to fix, to mend, to strive, to try, to shelter and secure, his mind flickered back and forth -  “Do we need to do the same thing for her, then?” Lure and toss her into the water?

DEIMOS

and on to the glory at my right hand

Letting out a soft sigh of relief, Ronin casts a grateful look towards both Sunjata and Deimos for their combined efforts in drying him off and warming him up, the Knight adjusting his coat and tugging at his sleeves. Able to better focus on everything happening now, he winces to hear the Flood's hesitant near-plea not to be within touching distance of the Reaper a second time. "Of course," he says. "It was only a thought." There were other ways they might go about things - and would need to, apparently, given the sudden information about Hotaru.

Even with his attempts to mend the bridges he'd burned down, naturally the Knight doesn't feel nearly the same spike of horror and concern for the Valkyrie that the others do, though he steps forward now to slip an arm around Remi; having flown here with Sunjata and the brief scuffle they'd just had, suffice to say he's feeling the distance between he and his husband now. "It would cure her," he urges. "Though, and I mean this without any amount of disrespect, Jata... I feel as though Hotaru will be a lot more difficult to trick into coming up here."

ronin

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

hellos, goodbyes, a thousand midnights
lost in sleepless lullabies

There’s some part of the Flood that knows that Remi sharing his emotions is an attempt to help, but Sunjata shies away from the devastation that pours from the other man, that hollow feeling opening up the pit in his stomach not unlike when he’d lost so many before. He knows what the devastation is like, maybe not for a child, but he’d felt the loss of his soul tearing in two. He’d felt the loss of losing the love of his life. He continued to lose and lose.

And maybe that’s why in the face of the relief that Remi offers shortly after, it doesn’t soothe any of the discomfort that pulses in his chest. I know. He thinks back toward Remi before the Bastion releases him and the sudden panic of Hotaru’s infection overwhelms his emotions; especially on the heels of the devastation just shared. “She left before I had a chance to tell her where I was going.” He says to Remi with a slight frown — even if he hadn’t known what exactly the Bastion and the Valkyrie had talked about.

He cannot keep losing, right? Eventually something is going to have to give. “Probably.” Comes the weary answer before he’s glancing over toward Ronin, the muscles gathering in his jaw as he finally finds the ability in himself to stand, even if he still keeps his distance, a frown shot the White Knights way even if there wasn’t really any disrespect. “I never come here, it looks different from what I remembered.” He tries to defend himself, before he’s shoving his hands into his pockets to retrieve his gloves. “..Speaking of.. Sorry Deimos.” He really doesn’t make it a point to travel into regions he isn’t welcome unannounced.

In fact it’s the first time the Flood has been to Halo in years.

“Let me at least try to see her. Maybe it’s as easy as suggesting she comes to visit you, Deimos.” He suggests as he wars with his stomach and the cold chill in the air, replacing the anxious navy feathers with the warm black tufts of fur of his shepherd shift, intermixing in with the dark curls of his hair as he waits to see if there’s more questions.

the flood

heaven's dreaming thoughtless thoughts,
my friends, we know we'll be ghosts again

totally sniped from odd ilu

the bastion

How do I learn my dreams to mold
To lay them bare in the morning cold?

Despite knowing that this was not the best season for Remi's concern to be spilling out so freely for Hotaru, the Bastion reached for the Knight as he neared, pulling him in close heedless of the moisture still clinging to him. "Whatever I can do to help, I will." Glancing between Sunjata and Deimos, Remi sips in a shallow breath before biting hard at the inside of his cheek. Both men had arguably a deeper relationship with the Valkyrie than he did, but as the mother of his twins, Remi was tethered to her in a way he'd never really found the words to accurately describe. "We were talking quite regularly, and then...all of a sudden she just stopped responding."

Glancing at Ronin, Remi's expression was a mixture of apology and affection as he sent a silent pulse through their bond. "I wonder if Flora..." Not necessarily wanting to use his daughter as bait given everything that had happened, he couldn't help but agree with Ronin that Hotaru would likely be much harder to trick into coming near the springs than Sunjata had.

If they're still out there then the chasm grows
For all you know, for all you've known

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

and the only solution was to stand and fight

The only inquiries stuck in the Sword’s mind now were that of Ru – and having known her across worlds, timelines, kingdoms, and lands, the whole semblance stuck deeply in his ribcage. Hordes of lures, enticements, bait, and possibilities rampaged through his mind, but he knew they were getting ahead of themselves. The Flood had only just been healed, and though they’d want to ensure no one in Caido was infected, other information would have to be gathered first – and in the back of his mind, Deimos had to wonder what part Dahlia would strive to play next.

Given that the Warden had assisted in concocting the plan for the Flood to be bombarded, he gave nothing but a singular nod at Sunjata’s apology; certain the man wouldn’t make a habit of it anyway.

Swallowing down all the bile threatening to notch itself in between his bones, he was forced to realize that he’d be agreeing with the Flood for the moment. “See her first, and then we can get more information. If she would agree to come see me, Erebos, or anyone…let us know. We can go from there.” Then they could all disperse.

And given all experiences unfurled here…they had a great many things to consult, collaborate, and notify about (those they trusted, at the very least).

[FIN]

DEIMOS