[SE] I got some colour back

RONIN

the white knight

you and I burned out our steam

"I've been thinking about setting up a training arena here in Torchline," Ronin is saying conversationally, his fingers laced with Remi's as they stroll along the Rainbow Road. In a satchel over his shoulder he's collected some rich potting soil and some healing fountain water - what better start could a mysterious seed from Hak Etme ask for, after all? - and all that's left now is to find a good place to plant them. "I know that Sunjata used to have his boxing ring, but there hasn't really been anything like that since he left."

And the Knight has trained enough on the beaches and in other random places in Torchline (and elsewhere) to think it perhaps worthwhile. It might give him something to do, besides, when he's not chatting up Vi and figuring out how to save the world. Ha, ha. "What do you think? Or am I just looking for ways to entertain myself unnecessarily?"

chasing someone else's dream

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

REMI

the bastion

Darling, you never could scare me
Set me ablaze like you do

Though the Bastion can't say he's surprised at his husband's idea, that doesn't stop his eyebrows from raising until they nearly disappear beneath his curls as he considers. "Well," No doubt the curiously puzzled flare of emotions through the attuned bond will beat his lips to the punch, but perhaps that was for the best. Where his words might mistakenly imply skepticism, Remi's emotions revealed nothing but interest and support for anything the Knight wished to do, even if Remi didn't rightly understand it. "It definitely isn't a bad idea." No doubt it could be raised on the bones of Sunjata's old boxing ring if only because the skeleton of it was still there. Unless Ronin wanted to start fresh, of course.

"Is that what came of your meeting with Vi? That we should all focus more on training, or is this a Ronin Taliesin Original?" Grinning, Remi glances over his shoulder at the Knight, undone as he always would be by the steel in his husband's jaw and the lines that rippled out from his blue eyes like tiny waves of concentration.

I'd walk over coals in my bare feet
If that gets me closer to you

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

RONIN

the white knight

you and I burned out our steam

"I thought it might make it easier for people to beat the shit out of each other in a controlled environment," Ronin says sunnily, the Knight gently nudging his husband and giving his fingers a gentle squeeze as they walk together. "Maybe we could even show people how it's done, if we ever feel like giving a demonstration." Bobbing his eyebrows, because there's definitely an innuendo in there and Ronin isn't even going to try and deny it, he leads them off the rainbow cobbles and away into the scrubby undergrowth where they might find a suitable place for some impromptu gardening.

Laughing brightly, he shakes his head to the other man. "Alas, this is an original," he confirms. "What Vi had to say was a lot more intense. I don't think a few training sessions would cover it." So saying, he relays what the God of Life had told him about Starfall and the potential for a safe zone within the island.

chasing someone else's dream

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

REMI

the bastion

Darling, you never could scare me
Set me ablaze like you do

Snorting under his breath, Remi can't help the way his mind immediately morphs beating the shit out of each other and maybe we could even show people how it's done into he and Ronin in a training montage that eventually ends with the pair pawing their clothing off and concluding their training with a good deal more than a handshake—all while with a group of Torcher's taking note. However if the vaguely vouyerish-tint to his emotions is any indication, he isn't sorry about it either as he grins crookedly over one shoulder. "Even if you are doing it to entertain yourself—" The playful squeeze of the Bastion's fingers suggested he was always around if Ronin ever needed help being entertained. "—but it isn't a bad idea. And if you ever want to train anyone on how to attack ferocious monsters, you know I'm always around for that too."

Listening as the Knight described his conversation with Vi, Remi was simultaneously relieved for his husband that the God hadn't demanded all the sorts of ludicrous things of him that Safrin used to, while also being boyishly jealous. "Wh—." Tugging at Ronin's hand to draw the other man toward him, Remi tilts his head and presses his tongue against the inside of his cheek in a display of unfettered wonder and disbelief. "Let me get this straight. Ludo tasked Melita with drawing on my face while I was sleeping, and now Vi has basically said that you should hang around the hot springs?" Tilting his head back and smirking up into the clouds, Remi gives his head a slow shake.

I'd walk over coals in my bare feet
If that gets me closer to you

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

RONIN

the white knight

you and I burned out our steam

"Careful, husband," Ronin says, his smile audible and his voice pitched low, the Knight drawing the other man against him with a playful tug of his hand. "I don't need encouragement to act on those sorts of thoughts and you know it." Pressing his lips to Remi's bearded cheek as if in demonstration, he nonetheless hums his agreement at the Bastion's suggestion. "I'll need to make sure whatever place I choose has high ceilings," he says with a nod. "In case a kraken or a dragon want to make an appearance."

Stumbling a little as it's his turn to be drawn against the other man, Ronin can't help but grin as he lets his arms slip around Remi, reaching out to run his fingers through his curls. "It's a strange old world, right?" He chuckles. "Far be it for me to complain, though. With that in mind, would you like to go to the hotsprings with me? After we plant these seeds, of course." Gesturing to the earth at their feet, he silently asks whether this would suit Remi to begin.

chasing someone else's dream

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

REMI

the bastion

Darling, you never could scare me
Set me ablaze like you do

"You're the one who suggested we have other people watch." Remi counters, grinning into the kiss. "Maybe I just think we should work on our form a little first?" And gods, if the fact that the Taliesin's weren't stripping away their clothes at the mere thoughts in their minds didn't show just how much they'd MaTuREd over the years, Remi didn't know what would. "You wouldn't just make it an outdoor arena?" The Bastion wonders. "I know it's more practical to have it indoors, but honestly, when was the last time you fought anything worth talking about inside?" Then again perhaps Ronin was thinking more long-term and not just about getting everyone ready to defend themselves in another war.

"I find this all wildly unfair and as soon as I know who to complain to, you can bet I will." Remi huffs sulkily as he wraps an arm around his husband's lower back and holds him close. "Though I do like the idea of soaking in the hot springs and calling it work." He decides with a crooked smile as he nods. "You know, last time there was a magical tree that required planting you were leaving dead things on our doorstep and sleeping outside at night." Gods how long ago that felt now. Unlike then, though, perhaps tainted by all the things he'd learned since, Remi couldn't help the way his smile began to feel quite heavy on his lips. "Do you think this will help at all?"

I'd walk over coals in my bare feet
If that gets me closer to you

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

RONIN

the white knight

you and I burned out our steam

"Yes, watch us fight," Ronin clarifies, as if both of their minds haven't been in the gutter this entire time. "Granted, our form can always use a little work, and I do very much enjoy practicing with you." No, their clothes aren't off yet, but this latest remark is murmurs almost against the corner of Remi's mouth, so for how long things can remain chaste (if ever they were, truly) is a matter for the gods, honestly.

Humming a note of consideration at his husband's (very good) point, the Knight eventually offers a small shrug. "I could always incorporate both. A larger outdoor arena, and smaller areas inside." And just like that, a real life plan is starting to come together, for something that isn't entirely based around war and death and the end times. Well, not entirely anyway.

"Mm, if I'm ever able to get hold of a customer service representative for the gods, I'll let you know." Smirking and letting himself be tugged closer, it's only as they actually need to concentrate on seed planting that Ronin peels himself away, kneeling down and digging in his satchel for a trowel to break through the packed earth. "Oi, I was unwell," he adds, and it's just another sign of MaTuRiTy that Ronin can now laugh about the state of himself when he'd been blighted.

"And I don't know if it will help, but this is more than we had previously. So it would be silly not to do it, no?"

chasing someone else's dream

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

REMI

the bastion

Darling, you never could scare me
Set me ablaze like you do

"You're a truly horrible man and I have no idea why I married you when I'm constantly treated like this." Remi moans against his husband's cheek, and gods if the stones here weren't so rough he really might have pressed the issue. That too was perhaps a sign of maturity, if only because their bodies were slightly less forgiving of their shenanigans than they once were. "What will you call it? Ronin Taliesin's school of Hard Knocks?" The Bastion wonders, straightening slightly, grinning. "Or maybe, Ronin Taliesin, I've died once already so I know what I'm talking about School of Training?"

Sighing theatrically as Ronin pulls away Remi stretches his hands above his head before having to laugh under his breath. "Unwell." He repeats, also kneeling down and helping to move the earth with several tentacles and clawed fingers. "Did we ever prove that you were actually infected? Maybe you were just taking advantage of the situation." He points out. "I distinctly remember you telling Loren to go and fuck himself a rather satisfying number of times."

Tossing a few last pebbles out of the way, Remi considers for a moment. "I suppose." He agrees, not sounding entirely like he was convinced but it was as Ronin had said: what harm could planting a seed do?

I'd walk over coals in my bare feet
If that gets me closer to you

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

RONIN

the white knight

you and I burned out our steam

"Genuinely I think you probably married me out of pity. You know, given the whole concussion thing." Ronin grins, pressing a kiss against Remi's forehead for good measure before he's treated to some excellent naming suggestions for his new training arena. "Maybe I'll get those put on some needlework to hang up around the place," he says with a laugh. "I could send out posters as advertisements too. Want to survive a war? I've done it twice! and so on. Though granted, we didn't really survive the Northaven war, so much as we got thrown into another world."

Surviving is surviving though, right?

Able to dig two very serviceable pits for their seeds with Remi's assistance, Ronin scoffs and shrugs his shoulders. "That was just a happy coincidence," he says with a shrug of his shoulders. "I can tell you that I would not voluntarily decide to not wash for that long, or to sleep inside the carcass of a deer."

Opening the satchel and removing the small sack of potting soil to share between them, Ronin sets about planting his seed. "Hey, we've done sillier things for less important reasons," he points out with a wink.

chasing someone else's dream

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

REMI

the bastion

Darling, you never could scare me
Set me ablaze like you do

"It's true. You came here, weren't a blueblood anymore, not even a commander of the Storm let alone a General..." Tutting softly as if suddenly rethinking all of his choices, Remi grins adoringly as he shifts gears, thinking of other ways he might tease his husband. "Ronin Taliesin's School for the Concussed?" He suggests with a laugh. "Maybe with a revolving set of stairs to train, er, dexterity?" As for surviving the Northaven war, the Bastion can only shrug. "Other than Isla, who else is around to say we didn't win it?" No doubt the Remedy wouldn't mind bending the truth a little, especially if it was meant to serve as a motivation to others.

Gods, was it really only the three of them left...?

"Mmm...I dunno..." Remi counters in a sing-song tone of voice. "I've seen you sleep in some fairly strange places. Then again, you are a bit of a stickler about being clean, so maybe you can have that one."

Mirroring his husband's movements and helping himself to the soil, Remi pats his own seed down into the centre ensuring that it had ample room in all directions before covering it with more dirt. "Have we now?" The Bastion wonders with a chuckle, before shrugging. "Hand me the water?"

I'd walk over coals in my bare feet
If that gets me closer to you

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

RONIN

the white knight

you and I burned out our steam

"Mm, you always know how to make me feel so good about myself," Ronin begins in a drawl. Granted, Northaven is such a long time ago now in his memory that it barely merits more than a shrug. The School for the Concussed and the revolving staircase, however, earn Remi a drop of the Knight's jaw, and he flicks some of the soil at him for good measure. "How about Ronin Taliesin's Insult Academy? We specialise in providing the best mockery for Remi Taliesin, you know."

Patting his own seed into the rich soil, Ronin of course hands his husband the water after pouring a generous amount on his own little project. "Of course we have. I can't remember any of them right now, of course, probably because they were so silly. Or maybe it's all those concussions." Smirking and sitting back to dust off his hands, the Knight is at least satisfied with this latest task.

chasing someone else's dream

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

REMI

the bastion

Darling, you never could scare me
Set me ablaze like you do

"Oh, is this not making you feel good about yourself?" Remi wonders as if surprised to hear it. "When I flirt with you, you tell me to be careful. When I praise you, you roll your eyes. Really, insulting you is all I can get away with these days." He argues, purely for the sake of it before melting his emotions in a singular pulse of affection Remi sent through their bond.

Lifting an eyebrow as he sits back on his heels, the Bastion considers his husband's suggestion for a moment before pulling in a quick breath. "Well, if you think insulting me is what your students should be training for." The Bastion replies with a shrug before eyeing the Knight. Though I do wonder what Vi would make of it." He chuckles, tutting under his breath.

"I think we're about tied when it comes to concussions by now." Remi muses. Taking the water, he pours it through his fingertips that it might drip onto the soil like rain; a technique that Mateo had once showed him. "Oh, you've got something. Just—here—" So saying the Bastion paws muddy fingers at his husband's cheek leaving a dirty streak of healing water and fertile soil. "Ah, there we are. Got it." He says with a relieved smile. "I think it was a void fly."

I'd walk over coals in my bare feet
If that gets me closer to you

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

RONIN

the white knight

you and I burned out our steam

"Bold of you to assume I am letting you get away with insulting me," Ronin rumbles, bouncing his eyebrows at his husband as if to say wait until we get back to the houseboat, though the affection he sends back towards the other man is genuine all the same. As he pats down the soil and seems satisfied with his seed planting, he can't help but scoff at Remi's implications. "And what do you think Vi would make of it?" he wants to know; the Bastion of course must be the expert, given that he's made such a comment.

Wrinkling his nose but nodding reluctant agreement - they probably are tied when it comes to concussions these days - Ronin is about to rise to his feet and lovingly offer the other man a hand when he's assaulted by dirty fingers, a gesture that has him pulling a face and swatting Remi's hands playfully away. "You are such a menace," he complains, scrambling up and not offering the aforementioned hand so he can clean his face instead. "Come on - I've a mind to teach you some manners." He winks.

chasing someone else's dream

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

REMI

the bastion

Darling, you never could scare me
Set me ablaze like you do

"Oh? And what would you call it?" Remi wants to know with a boyish grin that has his dimples deepening on both cheeks. "I think that the Insult Academy is not the sort of thing Vi would think his White Knight ought to be spending his time on." The Bastion replies confidently, before chuckling under his breath.

Watching Ronin scramble to his feet has Remi feigning a look of confusion (hadn't he just said he was saving Ronin from a void bug?), before the farce breaks. Raising a challenging eyebrow at the Knight as he stands, unaided, the Bastion dusts off his hands. "So, it's now the Ronin Taliesin School of Manners, is it?" He wonders in a low voice, before reaching out with both hands to draw his husband's lips against his, muddying his cheeks once more in the process.

Go on then, teach me He thinks wickedly.

~FIN

I'd walk over coals in my bare feet
If that gets me closer to you

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!