a tree falls

but that was then, and this is now

The sands of Torchline are cooler beneath Remi’s feet than they might have been in another season, the Deepfrost air lending an unexpected crispness to the Ahi Coast. The sun hangs low over the water, gilding the waves in molten gold and setting a pale fire to the horizon, the heat of its light at odds with the faint bite of the breeze that brushes against his cheeks.

Remi stands at the water's edge, his toes buried in the sand where the tide laps lazily against the shore. He’s dressed simply, his sweater loose and worn, pushed up at the sleeves to let the salt-laden wind nip at his skin. A long scarf hangs loosely around his neck, its ends fluttering in the breeze as if reaching out toward the horizon. There’s a subtle tension in his stance, a readiness for movement that contrasts with the calm rhythm of the waves.

He casts his gaze out to sea, his eyes narrowed slightly against the glare, though his focus isn’t truly on the water. He’s waiting, his thoughts tangling like driftwood caught in a tidepool. Isla’s words echo in his mind—what she’d relayed about Sunjata’s infection and cleansing—mingling with what had so recently happened between Ronin and Dahlia. It had been enough to prompt Remi to reach out to Sunjata, even if he wasn’t entirely sure how the Flood would respond.

the bastion

Table by the wonderful SKY

SUNJATA

the flood

but am i too late? or hearts to your spades,
if i don't suit you? then what do you want from me?

Given everything, the Flood had only ever wanted and meant to help. It’s how he’d gotten into the situation with Dahlia in the first place, by a request from the very same man that asks him to meet him here. There’s the initial trust, rebuilt despite the years previously that had proved otherwise. Yes, he’d been tricked to going to the hot springs, but he hadn’t drowned. He didn’t die, even if his heart seemed to fracture and crack with each and every time he stumbled across something that was infected.

The worst to witness were the people, flinching from their presence. He’d always hated being so seen for the emotions he suffers through, but it’s impulsive and impossible to avoid. He’s tried.

So he’d warned Isla, he’d met with Ronin to tell him he didn’t blame him and he was glad, even if the result after was haunting. And now? Perhaps for the final trio of the trek, the Flood receives a message from Remi to meet.

And so he arrives, promptly, still haggard looking though its hard to tell in the shift he’s taken. The sun hangs heavy and amongst the birds and other wildlife that zip through the sky along the beaches, one particular blue bird doesn’t fit in. The macaw is large, but as it nears the lone man on the shore, it drops toward the sand, shifting back into himself last second before his feet touch the ground, deftly keeping his spray of sand away from getting on Remi’s clothes.

Straightening his own and the scarf worn amongst the warm wool jacket, Sunjata still looks haggard despite the crisp neatness of his clothes. “Hey Remi.” His accented voice reaches out, extending the offer for the other demigod to offer a bit more information in regards to the meeting.

so we're not written in the stars,
but i'm okay with that. i'm okay with anything

but that was then, and this is now

It's only the vaguely lonesome and stalwart fizz that he feels through the attuned bond that lets Remi know that somewhere nearby, something is not as it seems. Turning his head and narrowing his eyes, he doesn't immediately pick out Jata from the other birds in his peripheral vision, if only because it has been years since he's familiarized himself with any of the Flood's shifts. As the bird nears though, the blue of its feathers making a mockery of the Deepfrost sky, Remi finds himself smiling despite himself to see the ease with which Sunjata descends and lands.

"Hey Jata." Remi's smile softens as he nods his head, before itching a hand into his curls to ruffle his fingers through them. "Sorry, I'm sure talking about all of this is the last thing you want to do, but.." Sighing, he can only offer the other man an apologetic shrug. "Isla told me what you said...about Everest," he begins, fighting off a frown. "And now with the Tundra taken over...I told her to try and get away from him, without making it obvious." The Bastion explains. "To make up some excuse to come visit you in King's End, or maybe to go the Grounds. Just somewhere far from him, just in case." Given both his and Sunjata's rather complicated histories with the Remedy, he doubted if he needed to justify why the Flood might also care about her safety.

"There's something else, Roni—" The words die on his tongue as Remi cocks his head to the side, not unlike the way a dog might upon hearing a very high pitched sound.

Ummm.... This is kind of weird, but I just took a deadly blow fighting a yeti out in the Tundra. I think the others are okay, but since I'm talking to you, I'm going to assume I'm not. If you're able to send any help, we'd appreciate it, but if not, could you let Lena know? And tell her... I'm sorry?

Blinking, Remi's eyes widen as he listens. Having only met Zavien once Remi can't quite place the sound of the man's voice, but his concern is no less great for it.

Swallowing, Remi's attention flashes to Sunjata, his gaze sharpening. "Someone's just died...out on the Tundra. There's a group...he didn't say who, though."

the bastion

Table by the wonderful SKY

SUNJATA

the flood

but am i too late? or hearts to your spades,
if i don't suit you? then what do you want from me?

Looking upon Remi was with the same kind of knowing ease that he’d held when he looked at Ronin when they’d talked about the Slagveld. It’s easier, knowing Remi’s face wasn’t going to be split into subsets of eyes of varying sizes and teeth protruding from cheekbones and skin melting from one’s temple.

Such is, that when Remi flashes him the smile, Sunjata finds it in him to offer one back. He shakes his head a little, the wind blown curls bouncing with the movement as he glances out toward the ocean. “Feels like the only thing I can talk about these days.” Nose wrinkling, Sunjata shrugs, before he puffs out a warm breath and frowns in regards to Everest and Isla. “Did she say she would?” He asks in regards to Isla, the care evident in the panic pulse through the attuned bond he tamps down on immediately after it’s shot over.

His steel gaze is shadowed and cloudy as he runs through varying options of how to get Isla away from Everest until they can heal him when mention of Ronin has his brows pinching, until it’s left on a cliffhanger for the next statement. The muscles feather in his jaw and he raises a scarred brow — not envying Remi in being able to receive those kinds of messages, but nodding all the same. “Oh. Uh. The infected Tundra?” He assumes as much, jaw setting tight before he thinks about it a little deeper shortly after. “Wait, can you ask who else is.. er, was with him?” Wondering what ragtag group decided to take on the infected portion of Halo.

so we're not written in the stars,
but i'm okay with that. i'm okay with anything

but that was then, and this is now

"Yeah, she did." The feeling of panic might once have had the Bastion bristling with jealousy, and while his feelings about Isla were by no means healthy, they were at least more manageable these days such that Remi's tone was one of reassurance.

"Yeah, the—" Again he pauses, eyes growing slightly wide like that That's So Raven gif. It's a good thing that the follow-up message came, because to answer Sunjata, no, he couldn't ask.

Oh. My bad. We've only met once at Flora's bar, so you probably don't recognize my voice, but this is Zavien. My group was trying to cleanse things and we just weren't prepared. Soh was able to get out after almost dying herself, but Melita and Alys are still fighting. I just hope we did enough...

Huffing out a sound that was as much horror as it was surprise, again Remi's gaze refocused on the Flood. "It's Zavien, and...gods, Melita is there too. With Alys and Sohalia.." Of all the people he'd have expected to be out on the recently infected tundra, those names would not have been at the top of his list.

"You have to go." Straightening, Remi swallows hard as colour begins to softly drain from his face. "I...I can't go with you. Dahlia..she threatened to kill my children if I interfered—" It's a disjointed explanation, one he'd meant to take a good deal more time in laying out for Jata to understand. He could only imagine what horrors the Flood might see when forced to enter a region infected by the void, but if Deimos wasn't there, and he and Ronin couldn't be there...gods, Sunjata had to go.

the bastion

Table by the wonderful SKY

SUNJATA

the flood

but am i too late? or hearts to your spades,
if i don't suit you? then what do you want from me?

Watching in confusion as Remi gets another message, he waits patiently without interrupting lest he ruin whatever message is incoming. And when it happens, there’s a thrum of dread that burns in his gut. He doesn’t know Zavien aside from the one time they’d met and spoke about Frey. But admittedly his brain buzzes with distress the second Melita’s name is dropped and those same blue feathers flit through his hair and skin and under the scarf that hides his shocked expression.

“I have a feather.. I.. yeah, I’ll go. Hey uh, about Ronin? And Dahlia’s threat.. I’ll reach out when this is settled and we can talk more about it, okay?” Flashing Remi a small and clearly distressed smile, Sunjata turns on his heel. Adjusting the scarf briefly before he casts one glance back to Remi and all of his feathers vanish as he trades tattooed skin and bundles of clothes for scales of a dragon — his fastest shift to get to Halo, trying desperately not to think about what might await him there in shades of violent violet and too many hollow eyes.

— FIN

so we're not written in the stars,
but i'm okay with that. i'm okay with anything