i'd rather you not be here for this

maybe i'm a runaway train, maybe i'm a feather in a hurricane

Jack's first garbled breath was all the confirmation Remi needed that his feather had worked. Whatever befell the captain next was no longer the Bastion's concern, not with his daughter suddenly trembling against the onslaught of cold and ice that streaked out of the captain's body.

With a soundless snarl Remi braced himself against the snow suddenly under his feet, his eyes going to Flora who was already being held away from the fingers of ice that could have easily cost her her life once again. Sighing his appreciation in tandem with a pulse of golden affection through the bond, Remi reaches forward, gently coaxing the queen's compass out of her pocket. Whatever Ronin chose to do (or not do) when left with Jack was entirely out of the realm of Remi's concern. Already he could see that the hours that had passed between when she'd died and when they had found her had caused the skin on her shoulder to horribly twist and gape, and while the healing waters of the fountain would help, the Doubletake had a long road ahead of her until she could take a breath without being in pain.

Lifting his gaze, the Bastion presses his teeth together, offering his husband a pained but relieved nod. "I love you." Because what else was there to say when, after having already lost two children, their combined strength had finally allowed them to save one of them? Much as Remi might have wanted to linger and properly express his gratitude, Flora was far from being out of the woods (both literally and metaphorically), and so already preparing to teleport directly to her, Remi took her fingers and pressed the center of her compass, sending her straight to the Court of the Stars, where the Bastion quickly followed.

THE LULLABY

maybe it's a long gray game, but maybe that's a good thing

JACK

The only good thing about the instinctive blast of cold is that the ice has sealed all of Jack's injuries - not that they probably aren't still bleeding away internally, but at least the ground isn't stained with any fresh crimson. Shades move overhead, speaking in riddles (in reality, they're speaking a mix of thoughts, words, and the Attuned bond, but he's in no state to differentiate), and his fingers twitch towards the sensation of an outstretched hand--

But then it's gone, and so is Flora's presence in his mind. Remi drops off too, and with the cold, hateful light of the Knight's thoughts remaining, it's no wonder that Jack retreats back into the dark of unconsciousness. You would too, if you saw the state of Ronin Taliesin right now.

it's not your fault that you're always wrong
the weak ones are there to justify the strong

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

we shall heal our wounds, collect our dead

"He's alive, Flora," Ronin is saying softly to the Doubletake, knowing she's about to hate what they're going to do but doing it anyway. One day, if and when she has children of her own, she'll understand moments like these for what they are. It's true that there's no love lost between the Taliesins and Jack Barclay, but now that he's breathing - and so is Flora, thank the gods - the captain barely registers on his radar.

Still, as Remi sends her on her way and he's able to offer a gentle nod to his husband before he follows, Ronin is already rising to his feet with the intention of dragging the unconscious man's carcass back to the Sidhe Village. He'd have prayed his worst enemy would do the same for him if it put Remi's mind at ease, so it's the least he can do for Flora now. If he could have trusted his magic not to see Jack as someone worth smiting, he might have tried to heal him.

But since he really isn't sure, it's best that the Fae deal with it. And once Ronin has delivered him in more or less one piece to the village he'd once known like the back of his hand, he takes off as well towards home.

~FIN

THE WHITE KNIGHT

and continue fighting