though I burn how could I fall?

so much of our lives is just carving through the dark

It's true that, these days, Ever spends more of his time at her apartment than not on his visits down to Torchline - and Isla has never complained about it, not even once. Having fallen into a strange and domestic sort of bliss the likes of which she hasn't enjoyed since Cal had been alive, the Remedy has been coasting through Flowerbirth so far with little thought of Starfall or the void infection. Until, of course, a conversation with Flora that afternoon.

Now she waits for the aviator to get home with concern all too apparent in her expression, and her medical bag sits on the kitchen counter as if to remind her not to get caught up his arrival. She doesn't disbelief Flora, not after all she's said and where she'd gotten the information, but gods if the doctor in her doesn't want to examine it for herself, whether or not Ever is aware or happy about it.

I will not be great, but I'm grateful to get through

Normally the first one home if only because of how unpredictable Isla's schedule could be, as the aviator walked in with a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a bag of groceries in the other, he stopped almost comically in the doorway as his eyes fell upon the Remedy. "Hey." A smile immediately lit up his face, deepening his dimples and causing a sudden flash of colour to appear high on his cheeks. "What a nice surprise." He murmured, sounding genuinely thrilled to see her despite the interruption it caused to his plans.

Moving toward the kitchen to set down the flowers and the bag of shopping, Everest then immediately moved toward Isla, meaning to loop his arms around her and scatter kisses across her cheeks and neck.

so much of our lives is just carving through the dark

Gods but it's unfair for him to appear in the doorway like that, Isla instantly feeling herself melt a little at the sight of the dimples, the blush, the flowers. "Hey," she greets in return, straightening up from the counter just in time for Ever to close the distance between them, and whilst she should really stop the onslaught of his affections, of course she doesn't. "Ever," she scolds playfully nonetheless, her soft laughter betraying the upset she absolutely doesn't feel, until she manages to worm her arms around him to hold him close.

"I learned something today," she mumbles against his chest, pressing her eyes firmly closed. "Something I need to talk to you about. Is that okay?" Quite what Isla will do if he says no isn't something she's planned for, but regardless she peers up at him as if more than willing to drop the matter entirely should Ever decide he isn't in the mood for a conversation.

I will not be great, but I'm grateful to get through

"What," he counters adoringly before placing one last kiss on the tip of her nose. "I missed you." Where once any change to his routine would have sent him spiralling, now the sight of the Remedy home early filled him with nothing but an overwhelming sense of greedy joy that he might be able to spend a few more hours with her than he'd originally thought.

"Oh?" Smiling against the top of her head and expecting her to begin telling him about some new medical procedure or other, the sudden shift in her tone has him frowning softly though not pulling away. "Of course, I'm all ears." He whispers, pressing his lips to her forehead before smiling warmly down at her.

"Can I put the things away while we talk or would you like my full attention?" It was a very Finn-like thing to ask to be sure, but Ever would happily let the flowers wilt and the meat he'd brought home begin to thaw if Isla required it.

so much of our lives is just carving through the dark

"I missed you too," Isla mumbles into the warmth of his chest, feeling unfairly attached to the soft brush of his lips against her hair and forehead, as if trying to convince herself that they might not be the result of whatever infection he's been given by The Family. "Mm...? Oh, no, of course. I might need your full attention a little later, but not right now." Peeling herself away, for a second or two the Remedy really almost calls it off. They could do this another day - or never. That might work, right?

Alas, eventually she has to steel herself, shifting to sit on the edge of the counter next to her medical bag. "Flora spoke with Dahlia earlier today," she says softly. "And it came up that you were... gods, it sounds terrible to say it this way, but that you were infected by the Family." She's almost begging him to laugh it off, whether or not he's aware of it. "And so I wanted to talk with you about it, about if you think it might be true...?"

I will not be great, but I'm grateful to get through

"Okay." Smiling lovingly, Everest parted from the Remedy in order to potter around her kitchen. Familiar with where everything was by now, he started to put away the things he'd bought for dinner that night—a slow roast of pulled pork with salad, wine, and dessert—before placing the stems of the flowers over the sink in order to cut them down to size.

"Oh?" The aviator lifts his eyebrows slightly, not entirely surprised. Dahlia was Stormbreak's leader after all and Flora had offered to meet with her during the Ball. However that he'd been part of their conversation did have him pausing, scissors in hand, to look over his shoulder at Isla as if trying to judge if this was some joke or not that the was simply failing to understand. "Me?"

Looking adorably confused about the whole thing, Everest set down the scissors before placing his wrist against his forehead. "I don't feel warm, no loss of appetite, no lethargy.." He grins a touch slyly at that, before giving his head a little shake. "None of the usual signs of infection?" Glancing at Isla's medical bag, then, and piecing it together, the aviator paused for a moment as the pieces fit themselves into place. "Let me just put these in water and then you can subject me to whatever tests you like."

"But you want to check for yourself." He reasons, not sounding at all cagey about the prospect as one might have otherwise expected someone Infected to be.

so much of our lives is just carving through the dark

"You," Isla says with a smile that's equally as bemused by the whole thing; at the time she'd been far too concerned by what Flora had said to have thought to ask why Ever had been the subject of conversation between the two leaders in the first place. Watching him potter around her kitchen and put things away - and reminded, with a flush of affection, about the first time he'd stepped into her apartment - she can't help but agree with the aviator.

He wasn't sick and hadn't been acting that way, not since she'd met him, honestly. (Give or take a couple of brushes with heatstroke, but in Torchline that doesn't exactly scream Infected). She can attest, too, that he doesn't have a single injury on his body that's refusing to heal, as had been the case with the Doubletake.

"You know I do," she murmurs, her smile wry, and she nods to allow him to put her flowers in water while she slips down off the counter and brings her medical bag to their little kitchen table. "I remember you mentioning that the void creatures don't really bother you - and you wore that spinebloom to the ball. Is that still the same?" she wonders.

I will not be great, but I'm grateful to get through

"I do love your thoroughness." Everest says, beaming. Filling a vase with water he places the wildflowers into it before immediately submitting himself for any and all testing that the Remedy might have for him.

Sitting down the aviator begins to unbutton the shirt he'd been wearing before shrugging out of it entirely in case Isla needed to check his heart rate or draw blood. "Well I haven't really tested it, but..." Trying to think back on any encounters he'd had with void creatures, it was made all the more difficulty by how utterly mundane his interactions had been. "When Ronin came to Stormbreak to capture a shadow serpent for Torchline, it was quite docile with me and aggressive towards him, though I assume it was because I was an attuned and he was a man with a cage." Ever explains with a small shrug.

"And when I was hunting in the Grounds not too long ago, a few void tangleweeds went after a woman instead of me. Again, though, I was a predator and she was just an ancient. I didn't really think anything of it."

so much of our lives is just carving through the dark

"I'm glad, because if you didn't you'd have to unhappily sit through a lot more of my examinations." Grinning, Isla at least spends a moment or so admiring the wildflowers in the vase, arranging them here and there before welcoming ever to the impromptu kitchen table clinic. "They're beautiful, thank you," she murmurs, kissing his cheek before opening her bag to get everything out.

The aviator is correct - Isla does want to draw blood and take his vitals, among a plethora of other things - and as she gets out all of her equipment and he talks, she listens with a furrowed brow. "It sounds as though if you are infected," which, let's be honest, is starting to seem very much like the case, "you're actually protected against many of the creatures that would attack anyone else."

Falling quiet for a moment to take Ever's temperature, to listen to his heart and to shine a light briefly in his eyes, Isla jots down her findings before speaking once more. "Do you know how it might have happened, if you did get infected?"

I will not be great, but I'm grateful to get through

"You're most welcome." Ever hums softly. It was a small gesture, really, to make sure that flowers always graced Isla's table, but it was one he hadn't yet failed to do since having partially moved in with Isla.

Allowing himself to be poked and prodded as the Remedy saw fit, if the aviator was at all tempted to derail his girlfriend's (?) methods by turning her examination into a sexy nurse-patient roleplay, he kept it well hidden indeed. (Obviously, it had crossed his mind, but he respected Isla far too much to try and obfuscate her efforts).

Watching the Remedy work, utterly entranced by her every movement and question, as she finally got around to asking about the initial source of his infection, the aviator found himself frowning ever so slightly as he nodded. "The only thing I can think of is the time Dahlia kissed me." He answers simply; if being infected meant he should have been cagey about his answers no one had ever mentioned it to the specific strain that Everest had been given. "It was right before she became queen and she asked if she could speak with me. Only..really, she just pulled me into a closet as if she wanted to make out." He recounts, itching his fingers up his cheek.

"This was before you and I." Ever quickly adds. "I wouldn't let anything like that happen now that we're together."

so much of our lives is just carving through the dark

Listen, it has crossed Isla's mind more than once as well, especially given that her (yes) boyfriend is seated shirtless at her table, but business before pleasure and all that. Pausing once more to take Ever's blood pressure and test his reflexes, she listens before jotting down the further observations - which is about when the aviator confesses to the game of seven minutes in heaven he'd unintentionally played with the Reaper.

Eyes widening a fraction, it isn't so much the fact that it has happened rather than it happened with Dahlia, and while Isla offers his forearm a squeeze of reassurance - she isn't the type to get jealous about things that occurred before their relationship - she's still got further questions. "And nothing about you has changed since then, other than the reaction of the void creatures?" she asks slowly, knowing they both know his behaviour has been different as of late.

Not that the Remedy hadn't always had a soft spot for Everest Hart since meeting him, but it is highly unlikely that the man who had knocked at her door looking for Flora would be sitting before her so comfortably now.

I will not be great, but I'm grateful to get through

"—" Opening his mouth as if an answer might be forthcoming, Ever closed it again with a furrowing of his brow. Maybe things had changed more than he'd given them credit for. "Well..' He begins, of course wanting to be as helpful as possible but equally not really knowing where to start. "I'd never been kissed before, and so I was a bit surprised by how I felt at first. It was like...like everything in my mind just quieted down." Ever explains. "My anxiety seemed to disappear overnight as did most of my OCD symptoms."

Looking down into his palm, the skin having not been rubbed raw in quite some time, the aviator smiled looking a touch unsure of himself. He and Isla had never discussed his various mental illnesses and he understood how absurd it likely sounded to hear that after having kissed a woman who'd arrived from outer space and who had taken over Stormbreak that he never mentioned it to anyone (though he had, he had told Mateo)."I'm sure it sounds now that I was hiding it." He admits, his lips tugged down at the corners with guilt. "But I never meant it to be like that. It was just...just such a relief for me to be able to exist in my own head, without...without.." Pressing his eyes closed, the aviator exhales as his teeth click together.

"..without being me all the time."

so much of our lives is just carving through the dark

"If only all first kisses were capable of such magic," Isla says with a soft smile, though as Ever continues it seems as though they are both able to piece together the true connections between his change in behaviour to his run in with the Reaper. Sinking down into the seet opposite, her knees tucked between his own to eliminate as much distance as possible, the Remedy reaches out to clasp his hand between both of hers.

"I don't think it sounds like you were hiding it," she tells him gently, "and if things had gotten worse for you rather than better, I'd have fully expected you to tell someone." But why would he when, from his own admission, life had gotten infinitely less stressful and complicated after a kiss from the Reaper?

Squeezing his hand and lifting it to press a kiss to his knuckles, Isla does have one objection on her lips, at least. "You are still just as much you as you ever were," she assures him. "Just as clever and thoughtful, just as selfless. And if being infected has given you some relief from the things you couldn't control, I don't blame you for not saying anything."

Sighing, that doesn't change the fact that he is still infected, though. "For the record, I had a soft spot for you from the moment we met, I think. Granted, I doubt things would have moved quite so quickly." Or at all, if it hadn't been positively glacial. "...But I am worried, Ever. All your vitals are perfect, it's true, but what if the infection is doing something to you that I can't see from a medical perspective? Something bad?"

I will not be great, but I'm grateful to get through

"Yours certainly was." Everest counters immediately, the smile on his lips far too earnestly boyish for the words to have been anything but genuine. "As has every one since." He adds, shifting slightly to make enough room for her to fit between his legs but not so much that he might feel distant from her.

Settling his fingers between Isla's and softly sighing as her lips brushed against his knuckles—no doubt he tasted like the stems of the flowers he'd just put away—the aviator's smile grew a touch stiff as his blue eyes dropped. "Agree to disagree?" It wasn't worth arguing with the Remedy about just how deep the fractures of his mind had one gone and if she could find similarities between the aviator of old and the one who sat before her, who was he to disabuse her of those notions?

"A soft spot, hmm?" Said almost teasingly, as if Isla should feel embarrassed for having any interest in the man he was back then rather than the one he was now, Everest still blushed rather adorably as he gave her fingers a squeeze.

"Well...on the one hand, I suppose it's very lucky how often I'm under medical supervision these days, mm?" Untangling one of his hands out from hers, the aviator lets his fingers glide across the Remedy's cheek, his eyes an unflinching blue. "But on the other...I've...never been to see the gods before, save for when I was just a boy, but I suppose I could go and see..?"