the weight of the world won't bend my knees

and the only solution was to stand and fight

If it were someone else, Deimos might have felt bad about their next set of actions. Unfortunately for the Flood, the Sword held his petty flaws, and so when the apprehension blistered through the bond as they became ever more secured in close quarters, he shut his own side down. No need to feel all that tension, when they had plans and scores to settle.

As Remi gave the signal, he dropped the cloak as well, tucking it in his back pockets as they charged simultaneously. Knowing how the soul strike worked, given how he’d been marred by the same attack, he understood time was of the essence – and promptly went to grab Sunjata’s legs, figuring either Remi or Ronin could grab the top portions of the prone body.

Then they could just toss him in the springs.

DEIMOS

and on to the glory at my right hand

"Eh, I mean, I don't see Deimos taking a bath in it right now either," Ronin points out, though his attempts at casual amusement are strained at best by now. (Not least because for all he knows, Deimos is in the hotsprings lying in wait). Luckily, though - for everyone but Sunjata - they don't have to be kept in suspense for a moment longer. The flash of movement has the Knight's hands lowering, watching as his husband carries out his work with brutal finesse.

The Flood drops, suggesting very much that Remi has been successful in his attempt to briefly commandeer the man's soul, and as Deimos pops into view and goes for his legs, Ronin grabs him beneath the arms to help get him into the water. "Gods, I'm sorry about this," he mutters to Sunjata, nodding towards the Sword and, as one, proceeding to throw him into the springs.

Rest assured, though, Ronin is sure to follow, not wanting his friend to drown before his soul reunites with his body, and so although Sunjata will definitely have been submerged and then some, the Knight will be kind enough to keep his head above the surface.

ronin

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

hellos, goodbyes, a thousand midnights
lost in sleepless lullabies

"Wai--!" No sooner does his heel drop on the next step backwards does his anxiety flare tenfold to see Remi of all fucking people dart toward him. He barely has time to register Deimos’ approach, because it feels like a train has hit him (and wouldn’t you know it? His soul leaves his body like he’d met a train face to face too).

Suddenly watching for a few brief moments as his body drops and he’s carted off toward the springs like a lamb to slaughter, the Flood suddenly starts panicking even more internally. Sure, Ronin might be sorry, but for what it’s worth Sunjata isn’t sure whether or not they’re doing this to try to cure him or to actually kill him.

Because if they do hold his head under the water, well, there is a very large chance of that occurring. And he’s wholly incapable of doing jack shit about it right now. So, while his body is carried to the springs, limp and prone, it’s a stark contrast to his mental state of watching this happen and thrashing with both fear and stress.

the flood

heaven's dreaming thoughtless thoughts,
my friends, we know we'll be ghosts again

totally sniped from odd ilu

the bastion

How do I learn my dreams to mold
To lay them bare in the morning cold?

Straightening as he feels Sunjata's soul yield beneath his assault, gone are the days where the Bastion might have taken pleasure in so easily reducing the Flood to a state of complete helplessness. It's for your own good. He thinks, sea-glass stare able to pick out Sunjata's soul as it lingers briefly untethered.

The waters will cure you. Remi adds, as if that wasn't completely obvious by now.

Glancing over his shoulder to watch as Ronin and Deimos yeet the Flood's body into the water, Remi takes a few steps toward the Springs, trying to keep a handle on his emotions. Whatever Sunjata had or hadn't done on their trips to Starfall had been overshadowed by Flora (and Jack's) recent deaths, to the point that the Bastion could hardly focus but for the gnawing uncertainty that bloomed in the back of his mind.

Had Sunjata known about Pierce's attack?

Had he helped?

If they're still out there then the chasm grows
For all you know, for all you've known

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

and the only solution was to stand and fight

Ronin was far more polite than the Sword was; with the White Knight yielding himself into the springs as well. Deimos remained on the banks, contorting and controlling the water around the pair; ensuring the waves were a minor faction, surrounding the Flood, intending inevitably in the cure. Tempting as it was to have the sanctity utterly consume the man, he didn’t, remaining impassive and nonchalant in mind and soul.

His own inquiries would’ve matched Remi’s – wanting to know if there had been some part to play, if there’d been a point in infecting Sunjata. Information? No guard for his region? Perhaps an interrogation would be in order, when everything was said and done.

All the while, he concentrated on the ring currently on one of his fingers, borrowed from Zavien, waiting to feel the pulse of warmth fade away.

DEIMOS

and on to the glory at my right hand

Almost able to taste the accusations in the air, even as they remain locked and loaded (for now) behind his companions' teeth, while Ronin might feel very much the same, they won't be in a position to ask Sunjata anything if he either drowns in the springs or if he's in too much of a state coming out of them to speak.

So while the Sword controls the water - and he offers him a nod of thanks for his trouble - Ronin guides them to the side of the springs where he might keep Sunjata afloat and give him something to hold onto when he finally comes to. "Anything?" he asks of the ring and whether it has yet determined if the Flood is cured.

He'd been fully submerged and is still afloat in the healing water, so he assumes so, but... well. Time is about to tell, right?

ronin

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

Sunjata has been cleansed of the void!

Magic: Infected | Character has been Infected by a member of The Family. Character is very receptive to suggestions and directions from The Family, and are eager to please them. This effect grows stronger with proximity to members of The Family.
Type: Dark | Rank: Mastered

Has been replaced with

Magic: Foe of the Family | Is able to see the true form of the Family and those who are Friends of the Family. Void damage is super effective.
Type: Dark | Rank: Mastered

hellos, goodbyes, a thousand midnights
lost in sleepless lullabies

The fear and stress continue tenfold from his spirit before he’s shot back into his body, gasping for a breath that he thinks he needs in spite of the fact they had not held his head under water. A realization that comes to him heartbeats later after he’s already trying to thrash from a body that’s suddenly sore from the fall against the stony cave floor, and a body that’s simultaneously cold and hot from the springs, feverish like he’d just succumbed to a sickness.

Immediately he reaches for his magic, trying to push the water away for some semblance of relief from where it feels like he wants to crawl out of his skin, while his hand does grip the edge of the springs from where Ronin has carefully kept his head above water as he tries to thrash or shake loose of the hands on him to press himself back against the hot spring’s edge. “Fuck.” He curses, wet hands reaching up to rub at his face, having shed his draconic wings in the turmoil and replaced them with the anxiety of navy feathers that spread down his neck and in his hair, wet and flat underneath the layers of wet clothes. “Fucking shit, goddamnit--” It’s unhelpful, he knows, but hey! He thought he was about to die, and now that he isn’t, well… he’s… relieved?

Let’s go with that.

the flood

heaven's dreaming thoughtless thoughts,
my friends, we know we'll be ghosts again

totally sniped from odd ilu

the bastion

How do I learn my dreams to mold
To lay them bare in the morning cold?

Kneeling down at the side of the pool, Remi has released his hold on the attuned bond such that his companions will no doubt feel the thorny prickle of his unease just as surely as they'd be able to see the feathers that ruffle through his curls and down his back in a near perfect imitation of Sunjata's navy feathers.

"Is he cured?" Glancing towards Deimos with one hand already outstretched toward the Flood, Remi was fully prepared to unleash his extra appendages to hold Sunjata in place the second Deimos indicated that he was still infected.

If they're still out there then the chasm grows
For all you know, for all you've known

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

and the only solution was to stand and fight

Far too familiar with the semblances of stress, panic, and fear, he simply eased through the tension by dissipating and extending the weight of his calm and composure amidst the bonds. A long, slow breath released through his chest as he felt the warmth within the ring fade away, conveying to him what would soon be known to everyone else. “Cured.” And while the Flood sputtered about, he relinquished the folds and waves of the water away from him, so the springs could return to their own easygoing equilibrium. He’d be able to relay to those close compatriots that, at the very least, all their hard work in Halo, towards these hallowed halls especially, had meant and conveyed something.

Pondering if now was the right time, his head tilted, eyes narrowing, opting to keep it vague, but his rumble directed towards Sunjata specifically. “Do you remember anything?” How it happened? When was probably already known; given timelines of his inquiries with Dahlia, and the ‘nothing’ that had become a part of it. Or – any information he’d potentially granted towards the Family?

DEIMOS

and on to the glory at my right hand

Ronin releases Sunjata the moment his hands come swatting at him; the hotsprings are hardly deep, and combined with the Flood's tall stature, it would be surprising if he struggled to get his feet beneath him. "Easy," he says, holding those same hands up and taking a step or two back; his clothes are soaking wet and weighing him down, but he hardly feels it as he hears Deimos confirm what they've all been wanting to hear.

Letting out a long sigh and glancing at Remi with a weak smile, he doesn't want to bombard Sunjata with questions, but they do need answers nonetheless. "Sorry we had to trick you," he adds, figuring it easiest to let Jata tell them what he knows first, before they follow up. "We knew you wouldn't agree to come here otherwise..."

ronin

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

hellos, goodbyes, a thousand midnights
lost in sleepless lullabies

His heart hammers against his chest hard enough to keep that overstimulating too warm nature that the hot springs offered while he remained bundled up and soaking wet. He hears the questions, the main one being whether or not he was cured and his stomach drops into nausea as all of the fuck ups he’d done rise to the surface – right after he’d tried so fucking hard to become better.

Here he was again.

The feathers remain sprouted, wet and pressed flatly against his head as he works his jaw, muscles feathering as his steel gaze drifts from each one of them, landing on Ronin lastly. “Yeah..” He says a touch hoarsely, unsure how to deal with everything that had occurred. “Uh.” A wet hand rubs at his face, pinching at the bridge of his nose as he settles his breathing and tries to alleviate his heartbeat. “I’m pretty sure I remember most of it.. Fuck.” He realizes it doesn’t explain anything, but he was honestly trying to help (at least to start, before Dahlia had cornered him and kissed him and infected him), and maybe he can try to explain that.

But as the thoughts come to him for what he’s done, the Flood finds the strength within him to hoist himself out of the water, if only to try and prevent the potential anger that might rise to make them think twice about whether or not they actually drowned him. “I..” He cuts himself off, the I only wanted to help dying on his tongue before he realizes he doesn’t actually know what they’re intending to ask. So instead, he waits, keeping himself away from the hot springs as he uses his magic to try and leech the water from his clothes to spill it back into the hot springs.

the flood

heaven's dreaming thoughtless thoughts,
my friends, we know we'll be ghosts again

totally sniped from odd ilu

the bastion

How do I learn my dreams to mold
To lay them bare in the morning cold?

Glancing at Deimos as the Sword confirms, though Remi exhales a shallow breath, none of the tension releases from his shoulders. Instead, he merely does his best to pin the Flood with his gaze despite straightening and moving back a step or so in order to let him slorp his way out of the Springs.

For all of his apologies to the Flood about what had transpired between the two of them regarding Vai, the Bastion could feel talons itching from beneath the pads of his fingers Tamlin; balling them into fists at his side and doing his best to remind himself that whatever Sunjata had or hadn't done had happened because of an influence he likely couldn't control, still Remi's instincts were a good deal more predatory than likely Sunjata (or Ronin) would have liked to see them.

"Dahlia was the one who gave the order for Pierce to go after Flora." Remi says in a tight voice, before he forces himself to exhale and extends a hand toward Sunjata. Whether or not the Flood would understand the purpose of the gesture—of being able to read the other man's emotions rather than simply having to take his word for them—he wasn't entirely sure, but gods if it wasn't difficult to keep his mind from jumping to the worst case scenario.

"Did you know?"

If they're still out there then the chasm grows
For all you know, for all you've known

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

and the only solution was to stand and fight

Not the least bit apologetic, his brow arched as Sunjata confirmed he remembered most of it, but with no expansion, save for something cut off, his gaze narrowed significantly. Sharp and astute, he waited for the inevitable line of questioning from either Ronin or Remi, and when the Bastion started, he remained still, composed. The truth pendant from Safrin remained against his chest, hidden beneath all those layers of pelts, furs, and parkas; opting to catch a lie if it flickered from the Flood.

But he had his own inquiries too – and after there was enough of a pause, his head tilted, wanting to confirm the suspicions brewing within his head. Especially if what Remi said equated to the multitudes; because how would Dahlia know to send, order, Pierce after acquiring Ronin’s blade? It’d only been the four of them in that battle. His rumble was calm again, an ease in the brief inquisition. “Did you tell Dahlia about the rapier?”

DEIMOS