[RQ] I'll be something beyond compare

Let's not get lost in the dark blue
But darling if we do, just find me and I'll find you

Remi stands just off the busiest stretch of the docks, close enough that the rhythm of the port hums around them without quite pressing in, the creak of ropes and the knock of hull against hull folding into the background. The air is thick with salt and smoke, and though he barely seems to notice it, there is a quiet heaviness to him today, a softness at the edges that has less to do with the sea and more to do with the fact that sleep has become something borrowed in fragments rather than taken whole.

It shows in the faint shadows beneath his eyes, in the way his posture leans just slightly into Ronin’s side, though the ease between them remains untouched by it, familiar and instinctive as breath. A quiet smile tugs at his mouth as he turns his head, his gaze settling warmly on Ronin, and he exhales something soft that might have been a laugh if it had been given more room to grow. "It was very Flora to have her engagement written across the stars like that last night," he murmurs, his voice low and quietly amused.

His hand drifts up through his curls, pushing them back in a motion that feels equal parts habit and self-soothing, the gesture lingering as though he’s trying to wake himself properly into the moment as they wait for Kaisel.

---

RQ: Complete a thread of 3 torchers making a spot for the cannon. 1 must be completed first

the bastion

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

Kaisel

It’s no easy feat leaving behind his (freshly public) wife—to be—he reminds himself of the latter par. He manages it, but not without the need to now frantically race down to the docks. Each stride is a loud thump against the wooden path, backpack jostling so wildly behind him that it threatens to topple him at one point when their momentums split while trying to dodge a too-slow older man toddling in his way. The backpack swings right, Kaisel’s shoulder dips left, trying to swerve, so instead he smacks right into the fellow. ”Oh fuck, I’m so SORRY!” he gasps out in the same moment he grabs hold of the mans shoulders and yanks to keep him upright as they stumble forward.

Bending down to pick up all the oranges that spilled out of his arms, Kaisel endures the tongue lashing that he earns. ”I know, I know,” he huffs, blowing up his face to try and reset the flop of his hair as he pecks up citrus and deposits it back in wrinkled hands. ”I’ll be more careful!” he promises, flashing a smile just before sprinting away again without any evident change.

Leaping over a bundle of rope as he arrives, Kaisel loudly pulls up, leaning over his knees momentarily to catch his breath. Somehow, Flora still got him to run today as it turns out. ”Hey!” he greets the demi-dads at last, straightening and swiping a hand through his hair to tame it back into its usual unruly place. ”You guys ready to do this?!” He would have worn his R&R merch in their honor, if not for the manual labor today requiring clothes he doesn’t mind getting filthy, so instead he’s settled on a green shirt that boasts a velvet pickle on the front, proudly proclaiming I’m sort of a big dill in overly elegant font.

Haters on my back like a backpack
Blowin' up I'm fucking flawless

Code stolen from Queen Sky

RONIN

the white knight

"Mm. I was half expecting missives hand-delivered by spirits, if I'm honest," Ronin says, his voice warmed by the faint smile on his lips. "I suppose there's still time for that with wedding invitations, though." The Knight's tone is carefully nonchalant, almost cheerful to unsuspecting ears, but everything else about him is like granite. His arm around his husband threatens to go from casual to fiercely protective at any moment, and his eyes are far beyond the docks towards where he knows the Northaven bobs nearby.

Only the sound of Kaisel's thumping steps drags him out of his thoughts (mainly thoughts about Mateo's parting words to them about babysitting the twins - how much harder can it be than when they were plants?) and he turns in time to catch the Accepted panting hard. "Ready as I'll ever be," he confirms; like Remi, Ronin also looks as though sleep is a rare commodity as of late, but the sooner they get this done the sooner he can go back to being controlling possessive vigilant of his little family and their immediate surroundings.

"We decided the beginning of the docks, right?"

i'll get over it
i just gotta be dramatic first

Let's not get lost in the dark blue
But darling if we do, just find me and I'll find you

Remi’s smile deepens at Ronin’s reply, the corner of his mouth quirking as he leans just slightly into him, the sound of his husband’s voice—light as it tries to be, and edged as it is beneath—settling somewhere warm and familiar in his chest. "Mm, don't jinx it or we’ll wake to find the sky rewritten entirely the day they get married." There is no real complaint in it, only a fond sort of resignation, as though he expects nothing less and wouldn’t have it any other way.

Kaisel’s arrival pulls his attention fully, the sheer momentum of the young man enough to have him feeling old and exhausted all over again. Nevertheless, Remi steps forward without hesitation, his hand coming up to clap his (current, despite thinking it was his) soon-to-be son-in-law firmly on the shoulder, smiling warmly on behalf of both he and Ronin. "We saw the stars last night," he says, the quiet smile in his voice unmistakable. "Congratulations."

His hand drifts back, fingers brushing through his curls as he turns slightly, nodding toward the water. "I was thinking," he begins, his tone easing into something more practical, "I might go in as a kraken. Move along anything that hasn’t moored itself properly yet, and set a few buoys to keep anyone from anchoring directly in front of the cannon." His gaze shifts between them. "If you two want to start moving things up here?"

There is a pause then, small but deliberate, his attention settling more fully on Ronin as his brows lift just slightly as he sends a gentle pulse down the attuned bond. Or you could be the one in the water, if you prefer?

the bastion

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

Kaisel

His eyes light up like the night sky has returned in full splendor, his mouth reaching up as far as it can manage, then pushing further still into his cheeks. It's a delight that he'll carry for days, but it beams forth eagerly, both due to being so fresh and for the warm acceptance from both of them. "We couldn't be happier," he says easily, the fullness of the feeling rising in his chest as he speaks. This truth has never been more apparent than now, with everyone able to see it, to know it, like their knowledge is just the echo of his own.

Trying not to let his gaze linger too long on the evident bags beneath both their eyes, Kaisel is more than happy to provide the energy for the three of them. Nodding in confirmation of Ronin's question, his gaze surveys the immediate dock space. "Alright! That sounds like a plan," he agrees to Remi, already spinning away, nearly floating at this point. He wrestles the first thing into arm that he sees, bundles of rope that threaten to spill out into discord. He hoists them up onto his shoulders like absurdly large costume attire, securing them with his other hand. "So we just, move this all to clear the space for the cannon? Does it belong to anyone?" Already starting to march down the dock to set this sea spillage elsewhere, he glances back for confirmation before finding out he's lost lazy Larry's very important cargo ties.

Haters on my back like a backpack
Blowin' up I'm fucking flawless

Code stolen from Queen Sky

RONIN

the white knight

"I do wonder if they'll try to top that," Ronin says softly, before smirking back across at Remi. "Maybe I'll write a message for you in the stars," he adds. Granted, his message could range anywhere from gone to get milk to I would kill for you let me kill for you, and luckily there's a Kaisel to distract them and a dock to clear before he can dwell on it too much. "Congrats," he echoes to the boy, the real warmth in his smile flickering a bit as Remi steps away from him, and the Knight rolls his shoulders as if to cram down the bad behaviour that threatens to rise up.

It's alright - you go, he sends back to the Bastion with a surge of quiet and endless affection. He's got more arms (er, tentacles) to do the work down there, and Ronin is sure he can manage this with Kaisel. "We sent something out to warn people this was happening, so I assume everything anyone wanted has been taken," he calls to him, grabbing a (thankfully empty) barrel to start hauling it away. "If not, we can keep all of this together and people can come back for it if they want."

Setting the barrel down, Ronin returns for a few crates. "So," he says with a smile over his shoulder. "Have you set a date yet?"

i'll get over it
i just gotta be dramatic first

REMI

then it went dark

Remi’s breath ghosts into something like a quiet laugh, the sound slipping free beneath it all as his magic carries back the shape of Ronin’s thoughts; not words so much as impressions, dark-edged and bright all at once, devotion braided so tightly with threat that it hums like a storm just beneath the surface. His shoulder nudges gently into his husband’s, the touch soft but deliberate, his smile tilting with something fond and knowing as he leans in. "You’re always so sweet when you’re being menacing," he murmurs low and warm, before his lips press briefly to Ronin’s temple.

There’s no hesitation when he turns toward the water, only a small lift of his hand in silent agreement with Ronin’s plan before he steps to the edge of the dock. The harbour stretches out before him, restless and crowded, and for a moment he exhales, the sound quiet, almost thoughtful, before simply tipping forward and diving in—clothes and all—without ceremony.

The cold closes around him in an instant, swallowing the noise of the docks into something distant and muted as he cuts through the water with ease, pushing out far enough that the clustered ships thin and the space opens beneath him. Only then does he sink deeper, the shift taking hold in the dark where there is room enough for it, his form unfurling into something vast and ancient, limbs extending in slow, deliberate arcs as the harbour floor yawns wide below.

Tentacles stretch outward, curling with careful precision rather than force, finding the hulls of boats that sit too close, too carelessly placed. One by one he draws them aside, nudging and dragging them into safer spacing, the movement controlled despite the sheer scale of it, ropes creaking as tension shifts and water churns softly in his wake.

& it rained
and rained and rained

Kaisel

His glance back affords him the sight of Remi slipping fully clothed into the sea, which is certainly better than the alternative of seeing his father-in-law strip down, always packing a monster regardless of what skin he wears. The evidence of Remi’s reach soon becomes apparent as unmanned ships are rearranged, little more than a boy’s bathtub toy in the grip of the Bastion. The sheer power of it is awesome, and it’s a constant reminder of what company he can so casually keep without even realizing it. They’re dads, and they embody that in ever possible way now, especially now after trial and error, but they’re also still legendary demi-gods flexing might without a second thought. How easily the extraordinary becomes mundane when it’s the normal.

”Oh, good,” Kaisel says with a stuttered relief as his rope starts to spill apart from his arm, his motion and focus tugged towards the kraken’s wake for too long. He jostles it up with one leg lifted, trying to keep it steady while he hauls it back up to his shoulders. ”In that case, I just might take some of this home, make a new climbing wall for Spice.” Sea ropes should be sturdy enough to last her claws long enough to make the effort worthwhile.

Setting them down around  a pole at the section where the dock begins to jut out from the mainland, they’re mostly still coiled. Brushing away a few fibers, he‘s soon in stride behind Ronin, glancing up suddenly at the unexpected question. For a completely unrelated reason, he claps his hand over the blue hairtie on the other. ”Umm, not exactly. I think either Longheat or Deepfrost, but not this upcoming Deepfrost,” he reassures, reaching for some discarded nets. He bundles them messily into his arms, waddling around an end that drags and threatens to capture his heel if he’s not careful. ”Could be a fine thing to do during Longnight, honestly. Bring a brighter aspect to that date. Make everyone hold some flames embodying the blaze of our love, or something.” Could also mean people accidentally set each other on fire, but, details.

Haters on my back like a backpack
Blowin' up I'm fucking flawless

Code stolen from Queen Sky

RONIN

the white knight

Happy to be sweet and menacing in equal measure, at least when it comes to his husband, Ronin settles into as close to comfortable as he gets this season, engaging in manual labour while the ships start to shift and bob about like bath toys nearby. He only glances up a couple of times to smirk as he sees hulls bump against one another (and the odd yell of surprise or upset from a sailor who has been sent careening across a deck), before his attention swivels back to Kaisel.

"That's an idea," he says with a grin as he hefts one of the crates onto his shoulder to cart it to where they're stacking everything else. "Sugar likes to use the flowers draped over the Northaven, but she's got a habit of making a nest up there and eating or freezing all the foliage in her way." Not that he'd dare to try and stop her - especially now there are two newborns to contend with and peace and quiet is a rare commodity.

Watching as the soldier opts to exchange one tripping hazard for another, Ronin heads back for another crate and raises his eyebrows thoughtfully. "One of two extremes, huh?" He laughs. "Longnight is by far the kindest it's ever been out here in Torchline. Though there won't be any deities about to celebrate if you choose to do it then." Or any stars to write messages, for that matter.

i'll get over it
i just gotta be dramatic first

REMI

then it went dark

Beneath the shifting lattice of hulls and shadow, Remi continues his quiet work, the broad sweep of his limbs guided more by instinct than effort, each movement deliberate despite the scale of him. Boats that had clustered too tightly are coaxed apart with careful pressure, their keels nudged and drawn into cleaner lines so they no longer crowd the stretch of water where the cannon will soon command its space, ropes tightening and slackening in soft complaint as their positions change. He does not rush it, though the harbour presses in with its usual impatience, instead taking the time to ensure each vessel settles where it ought, leaving the water ahead open and unobstructed in a way it has likely not been in some time.

When at last the path is cleared, he dips lower, the dark cooling further as he gathers what he needs, retrieving the buoys with slow, precise motions that send muted currents rolling outward from his passing. One by one he carries them into place, anchoring them along the boundary he’s envisioned, setting a visible line that will keep future ships from drifting too near, each marker secured before he moves to the next. By the time he finishes, the space before the dock is marked and guarded.

& it rained
and rained and rained

Kaisel

The image of Sugar nestled among the flora of their houseboat, perfectly content in her frosty planter box, earns a broad grin. ”Does Mateo replace them weekly, or is it your best kept secret?” Kaisel wonders, the possibility for either seeming equally likely.

Although he hadn’t considered it like that until Ronin pointed it out, it’s undeniably suitable for them. ”Seems very fitting, doesn’t it?” He lobs his net onto the side where he’d placed the rope, the exchange briefly perilous, but he manages to shake his arm free of the hole before it yanks him with it. ”That’s a good point, I’d hate to cramp the party we got here.” The goal is more parties, not less. ”Not to mention no one would be able to properly see her dress.” So maybe not Longnight, but fire and Deepfrost could still be contenders.

Out on the sea, buoys shift about like massive fishing bobbers, signifying a bite, although anyone who’d attempt to reel Remi in would be receiving quite the surprise. Kaisel watches them glide through the water with an ease he knows isn’t accurate, briefly captured by the sight before stooping to grab a half-empty barrel. ”We were thinking the Amphitheater of the Draig, or the Fields out there.”

Haters on my back like a backpack
Blowin' up I'm fucking flawless

Code stolen from Queen Sky

RONIN

the white knight

"What Mateo doesn't know won't hurt him," is Ronin's not-so-cryptic answer to that, the Knight grinning broadly as he grabs for the last crate. "Besides, I'd like to see him go up against Sugar when she's napping, even if it is making a mess of all his lavender." Hauling the crate to where Kaisel has just arranged(ish) the net, he sets it down in front of the tangle of rope and lines so no one catches a foot on it.

Returning for the last of the detritus on the dock space - a few fishing poles, a roll of weathered sailing canvas and a small anchor - Ronin lets out a soft laugh and inclines his head towards Kai. "Not unless you want her dress to be bioluminescent," he agrees, though in all honesty that's not entirely off-brand for Flora.

Opting to grab the anchor, it's not without effort that he hauls it across the docks, but he certainly makes it look more like an inconvenience than an object intended to weigh ships down. His eyebrows shoot up at the mention of the Draig of all places, and he tilts his head at the soldier. "So a small gathering then?" he asks tentatively.

Even with he and Remi present, not to mention the rest of Flora's demigodly or otherwise deadly family and friends, he doubts they'll be able to keep all the dragons at bay. But he leaves those calculations to the happy couple, setting down the anchor and approaching the edge of the dock. "Hey," he calls into the water to Remi, grinning. "It's looking good up here. You done?"

i'll get over it
i just gotta be dramatic first

Kaisel

"Agreeeed." Kaisel can completely get behind that sentiment. Having Mateo in the house means there's been a time or two where Kaisel has had to move one of the random flower arrangements that pop up. He puts them back as best he can, but he's blamed the spirits at least twice.

Ronin ends up being no help, offering both reasons not to do it in Longnight, and then tossing out bioluminescent dress like that isn't a fantastic reason to stay on that time. Although, could be any night, short or long, he supposes. "That's not a bad idea!" Kaisel chirps back, fully intending to relay it to Flora later. Ultimately though dress choices would be well beyond his reach, best left to the bride and her mother, maybe her well-dressed brother too.

Struggling with the shape of the barrel more than its weight, Kaisel waddles down the pier to deposit it alongside the other scattered pieces. "Well, maybe," he laughs, fully understanding the dangerous places they'd scouted. With so many other things done large, perhaps there's something to the special day staying close, though that's not why the Draig is appealing. "Could maybe work with a god to open up the guest list for a day," he shrugs, and Spice and Sugar could be the doordragons.

Picking up and depositing a few crab cages as the last thing to clear, Kaisel glances back towards the sea where Remi's tentacles ensure the cannon's line of site is open. "Cannon-certified!" he agrees, rearranging his placed cages before firing off a thumb's up.

Haters on my back like a backpack
Blowin' up I'm fucking flawless

Code stolen from Queen Sky

REMI

then it went dark

The last of the buoys settles into place, the line drawn clean and deliberate across the water, and for a moment Remi lingers beneath the surface, feeling the shape of what he’s done rather than looking for it, the harbour’s currents shifting subtly around the newly ordered space. Then, with the work below finished, he edges slightly closer to the surface; not all at once, but in a slow, unfurling ascent, the vastness of him approaching the dock in measured stillness.

A pair of tentacles breaches first, slick and glistening as they curl up over the edge of the boards with a heavy, unmistakable slorp, followed by another that drapes itself nearer to where Ronin and Kaisel work, the wood creaking faintly beneath the weight. Through the attuned bond he pulses what's an unhappy mixture of anxiety at having left their twins, eagerness to return, and also the steady diligence at seeing a task properly completed. Is there anything else that needs moving, while I’m still like this?

& it rained
and rained and rained