[RA] [RQ] flew instead of fell

Whoa, you let your feet run wild

Time has come as we all go down

For all the dread he’d held around the mere mention of making their way towards Starfall, the aftermath had been so swift, fleeting, and fortunate, that he’d never had time to let Evie know about the events over their ear cuffs – not like in previous battles. No undercurrent of hell. No rush to be mended or healed. No defiant and exhausted opus, feathers flagged and feet dragging across snow. And while he’d expected an insurgency of life and death parallels, especially since the latest war, it had been a binding, sweeping interlude of blades, lilies, and then nothing else.

Make no mistake; the Sword knew better than to ever believe that would happen again.

But it made recalling the tale in a much lighter tone, shaking his head as they crossed into the boundary of desert dwellings. With Erebos safe at home with a trusted babysitter, for they’d have no inklings of bringing him out here, in the swell of harsh elements, it was just him and Evie, proceeding under the cover of looming dusk, hunting for a mirage crab. “So a void dragon showed up, and it only took one blow from Ronin’s rapier to send it crashing down into the sea.” He explained with his deep intonations and rumbles, with visuals taken from the dust and wind, flickering them across the air in depicted forms until they billowed away. “We planted the flower on the shore, and then we were done.” Relieved would be in the undertone of it all, until they had to do it over again.

Yeah but for the fall—oh, my—

Do you dare to look them right in the eyes?

DEIMOS

Evie

i'll plant a row of daisy seeds
in the space beneath each eye

It's always a sweet moment to be alone together, much as she adores their sons. It also allows Evie to more plainly wear her emotions as Deimos regales her with the summary of the events on Starfall, the creases of concern and fretfulness apparent even with his lightened tone and the reality of his safe existence at her side. It will never be easy, seeing him off on missions of such magnitude. Evie knows she can't stand with the giants he keeps the company of - the giant he is - but she'll never stop longing to if only to ensure his safety firsthand.

"And I'm assuming nobody expected it to die in a single blow, right? Seems like Seren should be experimenting on that instead." Anyone but her husband really, so thank the Gods whatever weapon it was belongs to Ronin. Evie would feel guilty about that but she's content to throw stones at the immortal couple when she's firmly mortal and unfavored by the gods - and Deimos is at least half of those, as far as she knows. 

But he's alive and well, so she lets the worry in her face crack into vulnerable beginnings of humor as she exhales sharply in an imitation of a laugh. "I told you planting would come in handy someday," she teases, pinching lightly at his side as they venture out into the long tendrils of swiftly approaching dusk. "Everyone overlooks flowers until they're the key to healing Caido for the second time." She'll have to pray her gratitude to Vi and Rae later for their continued support of the botanical arts.

so they'll remind you of your beauty
when they bloom each time you cry

Whoa, you let your feet run wild

Time has come as we all go down

The temporary relief was all they could salvage for those instances; all alive, well, and whole despite the constant situations. He’d have to return to that island eventually, rinse and repeat and demolish and conquer. But if Caido had taught him anything in these last few years, it had been to cherish and snag at all the things they’d built until he simply couldn’t hold them any longer. And since that time hadn’t come yet, he took in her concern and trepidation, and smiled against it, pulled at her gently until she was along his side, and they were foraging for crabs instead of lamenting upon the world. She stood with him now. That was all he needed.

He bent down and pressed his mouth upon the crown of her crimson hair, though he couldn’t help the snicker into it. A sign of relief and astonishment contorted into a fragment of billowing breath. “No – we were all shocked.” Guarded into believing it wouldn’t happen again, he still considered it quite a triumphant blow into the void – or at least, one of its creatures. The impact upon the shoreline would remain to be seen, especially if they could continue their collection. “Though we could all benefit from a break in Seren’s experiments.” Though, supposedly they were using the orb thereafter anyway, so perhaps they wouldn’t have to worry about those sentiments any longer.

Deimos took in the humor instead, glancing down and committing the sparks of quips and witticisms to memory, logging along all the others, rather than pandering to the melancholy. “I do not believe I ever denied the concept,” he applied in return with an airy and boyish snort, having assisted in a variety of plant life motions, even if they were out of his usual repertoire. He pinched her back in return, his eyes taking in the puddle nearby, gauging its size. “And now hardly to be found. Flora asked Rae for one.” He gave her an arch of his brow in return, to see how she regarded the concept, before snagging at one of the dry stones nearby, and launching it at the modest-sized pool.

Yeah but for the fall—oh, my—

Do you dare to look them right in the eyes?

DEIMOS

Evie

i'll plant a row of daisy seeds
in the space beneath each eye

Evie presses into his side, grateful to be alive and together. Something as seemingly mundane as crab hunting is a gift when the looming of the dark island in the middle of the sea is such a visceral presence in their lives. Ubiquitous and foreboding. But it can’t plague them every moment, and cherished spaces of harmony such as this still exist. They must.

“I know it’s not her fault, but the amount of times my heart has nearly stopped either because of or in association with Seren makes me glad to not see her soon, for experiments or anything else.” Evie laughs wryly all the same. She holds no ill will for the girl, but between nearly dying on the beach and hosting a testing party that could’ve killed Amhran, Evie is glad to go a while longer without hearing her name. 

Laughing in concession to the point, Evie applauds her own restraint in avoiding the desire to pinch him right back in what would inevitably become an endless loop. In reality it’s because she’s surprised to hear about Flora, and it takes her out of the mischief for a moment as she uses her magic to pull a rock into her own hand to launch into the lake. “She’s very driven, I’m sure it won’t be long for her to finish. That’s great news.” The furrow of her brow stands in contrast until she sighs and looks out over the expanding ripples before them. “But that just means the stakes will rise. This will be our first countermeasure.” And Evie doubts the Family will let that slide.

so they'll remind you of your beauty
when they bloom each time you cry

On any normal occasion, the desert is a dry, decrepit place – bones jutting out of the scenery, sand dunes for endless miles upon miles.

But today is a wondrous day, for now it rains.

A pouring deluge of wonder and coolness brings much needed respite from the heat as the clouds roll in, making the world come alive before your eyes as animals embark across the plains, and plants begin to crawl their way back to the surface, grabbing every drop they can get.

Whoa, you let your feet run wild

Time has come as we all go down

Perhaps Seren, much like many of them, simply had a knack for getting herself involved in rather precarious situations. Whether it was through her heritage or because of who she was overall, the Sword could only shrug, watching as Evie launched her rock into the pool as well. When it began to bubble and foam, he snorted, content that they’d found what they were looking for – snagging one more stone to irritate the creature further, and hopefully bring it to the surface that much sooner.

And it still gave him moments to merely exist with the Evergreen, head tilted and listening. “Right. We will have to consider where to put that one next.” Should they wander immediately back to Starfall? Place it amongst an infected region and loosen another void stronghold? Both had merits and values – though all traces of those thoughts shifted as a sodden rainstorm came down over them, and he had to laugh, deep and rumbing and booming. Traces of something comfortable, instead of overwhelming and molten.

“Amhran and I ran into this last time as well,” he offered with another chuckle, shaking his head to displace the onslaught of droplets much like a dog. “Here. I can shift and you can climb on – we will attack it from overhead.” And just like that, he altered into the thunderbird form, waiting for her to clamber upon his back, as the crab began to ascend, irked and annoyed.

Yeah but for the fall—oh, my—

Do you dare to look them right in the eyes?

DEIMOS

Evie

i'll plant a row of daisy seeds
in the space beneath each eye

Evie and Deimos could easily volley and rain pebbles and sediment down into the water without twitching a finger, but the catharsis of lobbing rocks is too nice to pass up. Evie can envision plentiful faces where those bubbles emerge while throwing gritty desert stones and pretending they're much larger. Maybe pointier.

Where indeed? Evie hums noncommittally - her opinion only matters to Deimos really, and so long as the infection stays as far from Halo as possible she doesn't have much of one - but even if she'd had something to say, she too is beset by startled laughter as rain comes pouring down in what seems to be merely the span between blinks.

Lifting a hand to shield her eyes as rain drips from her brows immediately, Evie blinks the water away and watches her husband transform with a grin that is already brighter and looser than before. Such is the magic of rainstorms in unexpected places. "Well make sure to electrocute the crab in the water, not the crabby lady in the waterfall." Snorting to herself (because Deimos can't groan or snark back in his shifted form, hah) Evie climbs upon her thunderbird-husband with enough grace to imply due familiarity. "Charge!" She whoops cheerfully, ready to watch from prime seating as the Sword devastates some poor crustacean that doesn't know it has the ill-fated luck of being the next comically unprepared sacrifice on Deimos' long-running slaughter list.

so they'll remind you of your beauty
when they bloom each time you cry

Time has stopped before us The sky cannot ignore us The thunderbird rolled his eyes and cawed something ridiculous in return for the quip. Once she’d situated herself along his back, he adjusted his stance, wings extended and aloft, immediately catching upon warm thermals and gusts of his own power, ascending gracefully to launch above the mirage crab. It was a distinctly irritated creature, waving its massive pincers around, annoyed that not only rocks had befallen it, but it’d been lured under false pretenses. No food to be found, duped, or tricked, snared to its own doom and devastation. Neither he nor Evie were matters of prey; and the Sword fully intended to unleash predacious assaults down upon the cretin. Perhaps he should’ve felt bad for the massive amount of power that would soon reign down upon the beast-  but he didn’t have it in him. Much like many other flora and fauna before, he only launched a barrage to ensure the monster was felled, and could be used for future purposes. Hovering over the looming figure, ensuring both he and Evie were out of harm’s way (and leaving her free to contribute magically as well), he pinpointed his sight directly upon the flailing beast, and unleashed streaks of lightning from his sight. the Resurrected Sword No one can separate us For we are all that is left

Evie

i'll plant a row of daisy seeds
in the space beneath each eye

Evie can read the intent and emotion behind his response loud and clear, though the avian affect makes it all the more hilarious for how it imitates human intonation. Her laughter is swept away behind her alongside dark downy feathers as they launch into the sky.

The creature below is equally incapable of appearing truly disgruntled, but it communicates the sentiment all the same. It makes it easier to discard any feelings of remorse as lightning rains down from the thunderbird’s wings, Evie commanding the water around the crab to spread away from it like the parting of seas, leaving it nowhere to escape but with enough water beneath for the lightning to take hold and magnify itself upon. 

She’s certain it will be a swift and decisive end, and if that rings true, she has her telekinesis ready to pluck the crab from its grave to avoid having to go swimming to retrieve it.

so they'll remind you of your beauty
when they bloom each time you cry

Whoa, you let your feet run wild

Time has come as we all go down

It didn’t take much longer; the disgruntled aura turning into blinding glimpses of pain across the crab’s dying screams, and then it was merely the rain dousing. Unbothered by the sentiments, he brought them back down to the earth, allowing Evie to disembark before he shifted back.

While she snagged and pulled the lifeless creature from the pool, he snagged at his hunting knife, figuring they’d be able to cut away what they needed, and then bring home grand portions of leftover crab meat for future endeavors. Like it was an everyday, ordinary occasion, he smirked at her. “What did we want to do for the region this season?” He’d never balk at the notions of extending soldier proportions. Trade didn’t seem imminent anytime soon, considering their icy pinnacles weren’t going to be useful against the Family, and that was a likely priority for many lands. Improving Halo overall was always a considerable sentiment. He arched a brow in her direction, eager to hear her support and notions before adding his, and seeing what they could come up with.

Yeah but for the fall—oh, my—

Do you dare to look them right in the eyes?

DEIMOS

Evie

i'll plant a row of daisy seeds
in the space beneath each eye

The crab's dead husk is strangely warm as it falls into her hands, though it's unclear whether that's due to the lightning that had killed it or the general warmth of the water in the desert. It's bigger than she'd expected for sure, and a little awkward to hold as Deimos lands and she slides off his neck while he shifts back.

Handing it over as he pulls his knife, she flicks the remaining water off her hands while considering the question. "The Shields are showing considerable promise, I don't see harm in continuing as we have been for a season or two longer." Trade has yet to be suggested by any of their fellow rulers, and their region is thriving economically, so it seems only logical to strengthen their soldiers time and again when conflict is on the horizon.

so they'll remind you of your beauty
when they bloom each time you cry

Whoa, you let your feet run wild

Time has come as we all go down

He gave a very proud smirk at the remark, shifting items into his bag as they conversed. “Fine by me,” considering his platitudes towards the soldierly direction anyway – training and patrolling right alongside them. It’d be one more boon for Halo in the long run – a capable militia could defend, especially with all the weapons and experience at their disposal. Meanwhile, they could work on improvements from within; one step at a time as they carefully cultivated and grew the snowy region. “I think we are all set to go,” he gestured towards the very few remains of the crab – some portions they simply couldn’t take, that the scavengers would likely snag within hours.

From there, they could hasten and fly once more, back towards the comforts of home.

[FIN]

Yeah but for the fall—oh, my—

Do you dare to look them right in the eyes?

DEIMOS