I will pay the bill, you taste the wine

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

"Gods, I had not even thought of that part," Remi says, and the concern in his face briefly gives way to something more practical and horrified as he looks down at Carlo and Calan with fresh appreciation for how much worse the impossible might have been. "I honestly did not think they could be any harder to deal with, but apparently they could have been." The thought of newborn bloodlust sits there for a moment, absurd and alarming in equal measure, before he shakes his head as if to clear it away. Taking a sip of his coffee now that Isla has released him, Remi lets the warmth settle against the cold edge of everything else they are discussing, though it does little to soften the crease between his brows.

"But that is my role as a demigod," he says, glancing back to Isla. "To be called upon to protect." There is no pride in the words, not exactly, only the worn familiarity of a lifted shield over and over again because no one has found another place for it. A small, disbelieving laugh leaves him under his breath. "It is almost all that I am good for now." His hands tighten only slightly on the stroller before easing again. "Besides," he adds, quieter but firmer, "I would much rather be inconvenienced at times than have Flora give up all her autonomy."

Remi glances down at the twins before Isla’s comment about Ronin has him chuckling, the sound dry and affectionate in equal measure. "Truer words have never been spoken," he says, raising his eyebrows as he looks sidelong at her.

the bastion

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

ISLA

"See? Whenever you feel overwhelmed, just come for a chat and a walk with me and you'll head home with fresh gratitude for what you have and what it might have been," Isla says with a laugh and another sip of her coffee, the Remedy moving easily around the sometimes wending path they're forced to take to avoid jostling the ticking timebombs in the stroller. She's smiling adoringly down into said stroller when Remi speaks again, his tone enough to draw her attention away from the twins even without taking the content into account.

"That is not almost all you are good for now," she objects. "I'll not have you slander my best friend like that. And besides which, there was a time when you were a demigod under Ludo when you'd have begged to be able to protect instead of kill." Haughtily, she gives him a nudge with her elbow, but the affection in her expression is no less warm for it. "I get it, though. But there are plenty of people who still need to call you to be protected. Flora might have just wanted more - and that's okay, even if it doesn't look like the path you might have paved for her."

Bouncing her eyebrows back at Remi as she succeeds in drawing a chuckle from him, Isla tips him a knowing wink. "It isn't surprising that Flora left upset when you consider the odds. Still, I'm sure Ronin will be able to fix things as quickly as he broke them." Gods be willing, anyway.

apres moi le deluge
after me comes the flood

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

Remi laughs at that, the sound boyish and easy enough to lift some of the heaviness from his shoulders, and when he looks over at Isla his smile has lost the defensive edge it had been wearing, turning sincere in a way that reaches the tired lines around his eyes. "You have always been one of the best people to talk to about things," he says, and though the words are simple, there is nothing casual in the warmth behind them.

At her objection, he tilts his head slightly to the side as if the angle alone might deflect the accusation, his curls shifting in the breeze as the stroller bumps gently over another uneven patch of stone. "I am not saying I am unhappy about it," he clarifies. "I just mean that is what the majority of my abilities are geared toward now. I am not sure I could properly take something down without Ronin’s help anymore."

When Isla nudges him, Remi groans as though she has driven her elbow into his ribs with the force of a boulder, one hand lifting briefly from the stroller in mock injury before immediately returning as Calan’s eyes narrow dangerously at the slowing manta ray. The tentacle corrects at once, and Remi sighs through the tail end of his theatrics, his expression softening back into concern. "It just seems...so short-sighted," he admits, and the reluctance in his voice makes it clear he wishes he could find a kinder word and still have it be true. "When she became queen, when she got engaged to Kai quickly, those are all things you can walk away from." With consequences to be sure, but even so. "But this..."

He lets the rest go unfinished, because Isla knows enough about gods and bargains and lifelong consequences to fill the silence without his help. Then, as she bounces her eyebrows and winks at him, Remi raises his own right back at her, visibly trying to stifle his laughter and failing just enough for it to warm his voice. "Lucky for me," he says, rolling his eyes affectionately, "you normally are right about everything so if you think this will all be resolved, I suppose I should just shut up and believe you."

the bastion

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

ISLA

"It comes from years of being a medical professional," Isla responds with a playful scrunch of her nose. Nevermind that a great deal of those years were spent as a field medic in an active battlefield; it was likely much easier (and necessary) to get everything off one's chest when the likelihood of death was so high. "But I appreciate the compliment."

Her eyes flick back to the stroller instinctively as it bumps over an uneven bit of the path, as if to check whether the twins have taken offence; Carlo is busy trying to grab for the star bell now, it seems, intent on shoving it into his mouth. "You and Ronin have always come as a pair," she says with an easy smile. "Like these two. It's just even more obvious now than before. I doubt Ronin could last long enough in a fight to do that damage without your help."

Scoffing at his faux-injury theatrics, Isla turns her gaze skyward for a moment to enjoy the pale sunshine on her face, even if it's not nearly as warm as it could be in other seasons. "It seems short-sighted to you," she says gently. "Remember, Flora has been her own person for years now. She's forged her own relationship with Safrin through Torchline, through channelling, through her own ambitions... it isn't as though she chose this only having heard what you both went through."

It's the kindest way of saying they might be the ones who have been short-sighted, and she will never blame them for their caution or their reaction. But it doesn't mean either is wrong. "Well there you go," she says. "You can babysit Fern for an evening when I turn out to be right."

apres moi le deluge
after me comes the flood

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

Remi nods to hear Isla speak of he and Ronin as a pair. "Well, all the more reason why Flora should not need to feel as though she has to handle her own protection, then," he says, glancing from Isla to the twins as Carlo makes a determined attempt to drag the star-bell toward his mouth, only for the tentacle holding it to retreat ever so slightly. "Not when the both of us have been resigned more or less for precisely that purpose."

The argument is not as neat as he wants it to be, and he knows it; he can hear the edges of it fraying even as he says the words, because Flora has never been a girl content to wait behind stronger shoulders, and because protection, when offered too often, can begin to look like a cage no matter how lovingly the bars are polished. Still, there is a stubborn little knot in him that refuses to loosen, one made of all the times his children have been small in his arms and all the times Caido has asked too much of them before they were ready.

At Isla’s very reasonable, very unfairly compassionate explanation, Remi turns his head enough to fix her with a playful glare, though the warmth in his eyes rather ruins the effect. "Just whose side are you on here?" he huffs, the sigh that follows escaping beneath his breath with all the wounded dignity he can manage.

Still, when she offers him Fern as the price of being right, his brows lift and he bobs his head in easy agreement, the answer coming without hesitation. "Of course. I would be happy to babysit her. Are there many other children you know around for her to play with?"

the bastion

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

ISLA

"Well, maybe Flora's already accounted for that. Demigod magic comes in a variety of flavours, you know," Isla says with an almost childish raise of her eyebrows at Remi, unable to stop the smile from spreading across her lips. "For all you know she could have a magic that calls in the cavalry even more often than when she used to channel you. And," she adds with all the imperious certainty of a so there, "I am on your side, of course. But being on your side doesn't always mean just agreeing with you so you feel good."

Isla would wag her finger at him for good measure, but at that point they are interrupted by an indignant (or perhaps playful, it's not certain) squawk from Carlo in the stroller, and the Remedy has to bite her lip not to grin as she waits to see how Remi will handle this new obstacle. "I'll let you know when Ever and I next plan to go out on the town," she says; not that their nights out will be particularly wild, but still.

"And there aren't many in Torchline I don't think," she adds, of friends that Fern might be able to make. "She ran into Deimos's son - Erebos, is it? - at the Festival of Lights, apparently. But Halo is a bit too far and a bit to treacherous a journey for me to make regularly."

apres moi le deluge
after me comes the flood

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

Remi gives Isla a boyish smile, because after all their years of friendship and all the stranger shapes that friendship has taken, the fact that she is not wrong has never once prevented him from being a little obstinate about it. He rolls his eyes as she explains what being on his side actually means, then lifts his brows with all the wounded sincerity he can summon. "Well, clearly that is where you are wrong."

Carlo’s squawk cuts through the air with enough force to draw Remi’s attention down at once, and whatever paternal principles he might have been pretending to possess dissolve instantly. The tentacle holding the star-bell yields it back toward the baby with careful resignation, letting Carlo get his hands around it while still maintaining just enough control to keep the whole thing from disappearing directly into his mouth. Remi watches this delicate compromise for half a second before glancing back to Isla with a knowing little smirk.

"I will clear my entire schedule if you want to go out on the town," he says dryly, because he knows well enough that Isla and Everest painting the town red is likely to involve dinner, one carefully chosen drink, and both of them being home at a sensible hour.

As she speaks of Fern and the lack of nearby children, his expression shifts into something more thoughtful. He hums to himself, eyes briefly following the movement of a few pedestrians crossing ahead of them before returning to the path. "Mm. Yes, Halo is far," he says, his voice casual at first. "You know, I wonder if it would ever be worth trying to get the portals that the Voice made back up and running." He glances sidelong at Isla. "They were awfully convenient to have."

the bastion

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

ISLA

"Is that so?" Isla drawls, taking Remi's stubborn defiance and responding with dry sass - as is her right as his best friend. "I will ask Everest to build me a suggestion box, maybe. You can post all of your complaints about my friendship into it - and then whenever I turn out to be right about something, I'll read one to you to see if you think it still fits." And so she can rub it in his face about how inconsiderate he'd been to write it in the first place, obviously.

To see Carlo bend control over his father with little more than a well-timed squeal of outrage is a delight to witness, one that Isla desperately tries to keep out of her expression, but as he yields the star bell to the baby's waiting hands and greedy maw, she lets a soft laugh slip by. "You are too kind. I'll make sure to tell you well in advance, though - I doubt Ever would have it any other way."

Shivering at a sudden gust of cool wind off the sea, the Remedy takes a step closer to Remi's side as if he might act as a windbreaker. "The portals were an asset," she agrees. "Even if we were to set one up between Torchline and Halo though, it isn't as though I would be able to go to any playdates up there without turning into a very fetching sculpture. Fern and Ever could go though, at least."

apres moi le deluge
after me comes the flood

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

Remi guffaws, entirely undeterred by Isla’s proposed system of accountability. "And here I thought you had lost all that bureaucratic nonsense when you gave up leading the Grounds," he says, tsking under his breath with theatrical disappointment.

When the wind gusts in from the sea and Isla steps nearer, Remi adjusts almost without thinking. His shoulders roll subtly, and a wing unfurls on her side, not with any grand flourish but with the easy instinct of someone shifting an umbrella against the rain. The feathers catch the worst of the breeze, turning it aside before it can cut properly through her coat and scarf, while his tentacles continue their careful negotiations with the twins and their toys.

He hums thoughtfully, glancing from Isla to the path ahead. "Well, I wonder if Deimos could not be convinced to make you something for the cold?" he says after a moment. "It is not the sort of thing I can do any longer, but if Fern and his son are going to be friends..." He trails off with a small shrug, aware that neither portals nor Isla’s wardrobe fall under any jurisdiction he can reasonably claim, but voicing his thoughts just the same.

the bastion

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

ISLA

"Once a purveyor of bureaucratic nonsense, always a purveyor of bureaucratic nonsense," Isla says, sniffing haughtily but unable to keep the glitter of mischief out of her eyes. "There is very little I miss about being Ascended, but you have to admit that they were efficient." It has been long enough now, at last, to be able to joke about it, but all thoughts of humour disappear with the cutting edge of the wind.

Luckily, Remi is there to provide a shield against it as easily as taking a breath, and Isla sighs her gratitude and smiles up at him. "Oh, I have no doubt that he could," she says quietly. "Alas, I haven't ever really met him properly, at least not since having Fern. I feel like that should probably come a few steps before hi, can I have a magic coat," she points out, laughing under her breath.

"And I'm sure there will be other kids around in Torchline that Fern will end up being friends with - I'm not sure we need to go as far as Halo for a playdate."

apres moi le deluge
after me comes the flood

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

"Oh I don't know," Remi says with a chuckle, glancing sidelong at her. "I feel like you can hardly tell I was ever leader of anywhere, given how little bureaucracy I am inclined to permit."

At her entirely reasonable point about not asking Deimos for magical outerwear before they have had anything resembling a proper conversation, Remi hums as if she has just said something exceptionally wise, which, of course, she has. "Well, maybe on one of your wild nights out with Everest, you can go and see him," he suggests, his expression solemn except for a twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Remi's gaze drops back to the twins, and for a moment, something unspoken moves behind his eyes before he smooths it away beneath another sip of coffee. It is not a thought he lets fully form, not here and not yet. Instead, he nods, his smile returning crookedly as he looks back to Isla. "It is important for children to have friends when they are young," he agrees, and then adds with a warmer smirk, "No offence to you or Everest, of course. I am sure you are both riveting company for a nine-year-old."

the bastion

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

ISLA

"Yes, well," Isla says with a smirk, "you were a wild man in the Greatwood for a lot of your leadership experience, and I'm pretty sure Ronin is the bureaucrat between the two of you." She nudges him gently, mainly to keep him from dramatically claiming injury and removing the warm cradle of his wing around her shoulders. At the idea of going to visit the Warden of Halo as part of her wild night out, though, a laugh spills out of her and she raises her eyebrows at the Bastion.

"It would be a wild night, given that I'd need to be very wrapped up in Ever to stand a chance at staying warm in Halo before I get my hands on a magic coat," she points out. In which case, maybe they ought to consider it. 

Her gaze follows his own back to the twins, her smile easy and warm as she lifts her coffee to her lips for a last sip. "She is riveting company for us, I will have you know," she tells him, but nods nonetheless. "She's still getting the hang of being a nine-year-old herself, luckily, so I'm hopeful that we have a bit of time to adjust. Lucky you though, huh? These two will never have to miss out on a friend."

apres moi le deluge
after me comes the flood

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

Remi snickers at that, the sound low and amused as he glances at Isla from beneath raised brows. "I also ruled Torchline, I will have you remember," he says, bouncing his eyebrows at her with a smugness that is immediately undercut by the fact that one of his tentacles is currently losing a battle of wills against Carlo and a star-bell.

His wing stays where it is despite her nudge, warm and steady against the wind off the sea, though he does roll his eyes as she paints her picture of staying warm in Halo. "Oh no, wrapped around your..." He trails off, his nose wrinkling slightly. Glancing at her, Remi tilts his head. "Boyfriend seems like a very strange thing to call him, all things considered."

His gaze drops again to the twins as Isla speaks, and for just a moment, something darkens his expression as Remi cannot help but think of Flora and Enzo, of one twin left with an emptiness where the other should have been, of how no parent ever imagines one half of a pair having to learn the shape of the world alone. He smooths it away before it can settle too deeply, his smile returning as he looks back to Isla. "No, you are right about that," he says softly, then glances down as Calan kicks beneath his blanket with a small, outraged grunt. "Sometimes I think the reason they cry so much is that they are just upset they are in two separate bodies instead of one."

the bastion

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

ISLA

"Oh, I remember," Isla says breezily, grinning up at Remi. "But between Torchline and the Greatwood I'd say you are definitely remembered for the latter. Wild man and all." It's not up to her, sorry Remi, and in the annals of history, the half-feral Greatwood Guardian is much more memorable over the Torchline Governor. 

Humming curiously as if to dare him to finish his sentence, to hear that boyfriend is no longer good enough for Everest has a girlish laugh spilling from her lips. "Do you think I should upgrade him to babydaddy?" she asks. "Oh, I can't wait to let him know. I'll get a mug with it printed on and everything." Because, suffice to say, she's not looking for another conversation about marriage, not when it feels like things have finally started to click properly in place for their little family.

The darkness threatening to settle in Remi is something she feels rather than sees, brows pinching together just as he clears the expression into a smile again. "That's easily solved at least," she says with a smirk. "Just get two onesies that clip together. Or one that has four feet, either way." If anyone is likely to enjoy being an octo-baby, it's a pair of inseparable twins, right?

apres moi le deluge
after me comes the flood