New memories & old wagons

i'd bring you further roses

So Ianto was real.

And Remi...was curious. It was easy being around the fox in a way it wasn't with someone like Sam. They both had shared histories, shared sexual pasts, and while Remi had noticed the subtle hurt that the fox wore, he was still patient. He gave Remi space. He let him be.

Which was of course the best way to deal with a flighty sort of animal. And Remi responded just as one might imagine, with curious if not hesitant interest.

That interest though currently wasn't doing him much good. No matter how often he'd been out with the fox thus far, the woods still seemed content with spitting him out right where he started. This he met with a chuckle rather than frustration, and merely nodded at one of the larger trees. "Alright. You win." He said with a grin, tipping a hat he wasn't wearing and taking a seat in the sunshine.

"Let us see how far I get just staying put, mm?" He asked, patting the trunk of the tree and leaning back against it with a gentle and contended hum.

but it does you no good

Coding base by Sky!

it's not what it looks like

You'd be surprised how far you might get, actually. The lilting voice that rang through the trees might be a little more familiar to Remi by now, Ianto hoped. A moment and a flash of red fur later and he was nosing his way through the underbrush so he could flop down in the sun beside his friend, thinking nothing of resting a white, fluffy chin on the alchemist's knee.

Letting out a long, content sigh, Ianto blinked golden eyes up at the other Attuned. It would be a filthy lie to say he'd not caught his scent and was following it, but he thought Remi would likely realise that anyway. Your problem is that you're trying to go somewhere, he said, amused. Just enjoy the forest. Let it take you wherever it wants you to be.

i'd bring you further roses

Remi couldn't, nor did he try to, hide the smile that tugged at his lips at the sound of the familiar voice. Not stirring, but instead leaning quite contentedly as Ianto snuggled himself up with a familiarity that Remi found calming somehow, he reached down a hand to gentle scritch behind his friend's ears.

"Well, where I had wanted to be was at your wagon, actually." Then with a wry grin, Remi flashed the fox a mischievous wink. "But something tells me it isn't the sort of thing someone could just stumble upon, now is it?"

but it does you no good

Coding base by Sky!

it's not what it looks like

The fox made a quiet, content little noise at the fingers that went scritching behind his ear, one of his hind legs trying and failing to mimic the motion for a second. He eventually melted into the touch, tilting his head back so Remi could scratch under his chin, too. My wagon? he asked, idly flicking his tail. You'd be right, there. It only shows up when I want it to. Chuckling, he opened golden eyes to gaze up at Remi.

In but a moment there was a man where there had once been a fox, and Ianto flashed the other man a mischievous grin, knowing and caring nothing for having his head in Remi's lap. "But, luckily enough, I can take you to it without issue. What was the purpose of your visit, might I ask?"

i'd bring you further roses

Strong fingers working into the coppery fur, Remi suddenly sat up straighter inhaling a breath sharply as that fur turned into a tangle of hair, and the fox was suddenly a man. A man with his head in Remi's lap.

"Ah—" The alchemist stammered, sitting up straighter against the tree as if somehow that would help. The hand in Ianto's hair had remained there for a moment, perhaps even offering a final and distracted caress before Remi jerkily and awkwardly pulled it away. "—uhm—" He tried again, thoughts in a whirl, his tongue-tied and his eyes locked on a pair of far too-blue ones peering back at him.

Clearing his throat, suddenly all too aware of the places where Ianto was pressed against him, Remi made a fist, his fingertips dancing across his palm to try and snap himself out of it. "Well I just thought now that I know you are not trying to kill me, that I would like to see inside." He managed, words strangely articulated and his cheeks flushing furiously with colour.

but it does you no good

Coding base by Sky!

it's not what it looks like

Ianto couldn't help but flash a golden smile up at the alchemist as he received the reaction he had expected, laughing warmly to him before having mercy and shifting to sit up as well. "Sorry, Remi. You've a bad habit of makin' me push my luck. Besides, you're frankly adorable when you're flustered," he said, nudging his shoulder against the other man and rolling to stand up, brushing the leaves from his clothes.

"Full glad am I to have you believe I'm not tryin' to kill you," the fox said with an honest and content sigh, blue eyes sparkling with mischief as he gazed down at him, before reaching out to offer a hand to the other man. "Alright, then. You're formally invited to my wagon for that tea I promised you. Sound good?"

i'd bring you further roses

As Ianto neared to nudge his shoulder, feathers appeared in his curls as Remi drew in a breath. Perhaps it was because of what the fox had said when they first met, but at any instant Remi imagined...well. He imagined all sorts of things really, as evidenced by the blush on his cheeks. Still though, he only tensed a little, a shaky but genuine grin breaking out as he exhaled the breath he'd held once Ianto rolled away to stand.

Accepting Ianto's hand and trying not to let his mind think too much of the way it easily slipped into his own, Remi stood, likewise brushing leaves and bits of dried grasses from his trousers. "Sorry about that, by the way.." Remi said apologetically, running a hand through his curls to smooth away the feathers. "Bad track record with the gods." He added, scrunching his nose and laughing at his own past misfortune.

"That does sound good." He agreed. "Lead on."

but it does you no good

Coding base by Sky!

it's not what it looks like

"Ah, it's a'right. You had a good reason to be wary, from what I've heard about your interactions with Ludo." Strange, though, that the soul guide had taken such umbridge with his gentle friend. Either way, it had happened and was done, and at least Remi knew him to be himself. Whatever that might entail, given his lost memories. Ianto nodded at the suggestion that he lead them to the wagon, beckoning Remi away and grinning over his shoulder.

The forest would blur and change and darken to twilight, just as it had done before, Ianto whistling that same strange tune to himself as they walked. In no time at all the wagon appeared before them, bright and well lit and effortlessly inviting, hung with all manner of decorations, bric-a-brac and ornaments. Hopping up the steps, the fox opened the door and extended a polite arm in a gesture of welcome.

"Please," he said, "after you."

i'd bring you further roses

Remi felt immense appreciation spark once again at just how easily Ianto seemed to take everything in stride. He wondered vaguely if this was a quality he would have had reason to see in his friend before, back in Northaven. If he was in a position to, would he have expected this sort of nonchalance from the fox? Or would he be just as surprised by it? Either way, the flash of a smile and nod from hawk to fox was a genuine and happy one.

Recognizing the song again and being much more interested in it than the strange changing of the time of day around them, Remi raised a brow. "It...it isn't like some sort of creature, is it?" He asked after a moment, sounding a bit boyishly unsure of how to phrase his question. "The whistling...are you calling to it?"

As Ianto hopped up the steps, Remi eyed his friend with an amused and willing sort of suspicion. The wagon did not look all that large. At least, not large enough for them to really be able to have tea inside. Still, this was what he asked for and he would be a perfect idiot to try and back out now, so with a bow befitting a king, Remi flashed a smile at the fox. "Why thank you." He said, sliding past Ianto and into the wagon.

but it does you no good

Coding base by Sky!

it's not what it looks like

Ianto arched an eyebrow at Remi's questions, feeling the urge to lock up everything about himself take hold, but he reminded himself that this was a friend - and a trusted one, too. "Sort of, yes," he murmured. "I can drive it anywhere. But to get to it, I have to call - to let it know that it's me. Else, I'll lose it forever." He grinned crookedly, shrugging his shoulders like that was a perfectly valid explanation.

"The pleasure is mine," Ianto murmured with a warm smile, following after Remi into the wagon and clicking the door shut behind him. He stretched mightily - and he was able to, for the wagon they stepped into was certainly not the small little structure it appeared on the outside.

Within, they would find themselves in a plush room hanging with silks and scattered with pillows for seats. To one side of them was a door which led, apparently, into the side of the wagon(?), and one corner held an array of cups, bottles, dishes and drinks. Towards the back of the wagon, an arrangement of cushions and blankets made a perfect fox's den. "Take a seat wherever," Ianto invited, ducking around a few hanging baubles of light and waving a hand to waft away a curl of smoke from an incense burner.

i'd bring you further roses

Unsure whether or not to believe this—it seemed perfectly reasonable given all the magic in this world to think Ianto was telling the truth, but also the sort of thing he'd already come to suspect his friend of trying to get him to believe just for the fun of it—that Remi had no choice but to shrug and accept the explanation as it was given.

As Remi entered, he found he was able to stand up straight (which from the outside, he wouldn't have thought possible). Blinking at the entirely cozy setup, Remi spun around, mouth slightly agape and looking perfectly perplexed. "So..." He managed before the smile on his lips tugged away his ability to speak and he turned again marveling at all there was to see, if only because none of it should have been able to fit. "Some how I am not surprised that you have something like this." Remi managed after a moment of gawking, glancing over his shoulder and grinning at the fox through an incense haze.

Indeed taking a seat 'wherever', Remi grabbed at one of the pillows and hugged it to his chest certainly not as a defense mechanism and let his eyes linger on all the things, as if trying to pull meaning or information from them, to make up for all the things he felt he should know about Ianto. "So this is where you stay? Where you have been this whole time?"

but it does you no good

Coding base by Sky!

it's not what it looks like

"Oh? I'm... glad? I think?" Ianto laughed warmly to his friend, already pottering over to the corner to arrange a couple of cups and a large teapot, which he set on a low table in the middle of the wagon. Having put a pan on to boil water, he began to arrange a few different herbs and leaves, dropping them into the teapot ready to brew when the water was hot enough.

He smiled across at Remi, knowing simply from knowing the alchemist about his use of physical distance to keep himself comfortable - hence why he kept the table between them. "Yeah, this is where I've been. Not for the first few weeks I was here, of course, but... this is where I live. If I'm not out in the forest, this is where you'll find me." Or not, given how difficult it was to get there.

i'd bring you further roses

"I meant it as a compliment." Remi clarified with a grin. He could feel himself ease slightly as Ianto sat across from him. Given the familiarity between the two and how little the fox had seemed to mind having his head in Remi's hands and on his lap before, the alchemist had expected a far cozier seating arrangement. Actively trying to ignore the small pang of disappointment, he breathed in the smell of the herbs placed in the teapot and smiled to himself.

"Where were you then?" Remi asked, tilting his head and letting his fingers trace the lines of embroidery on the pillow. "For the first few weeks, I mean." He clarified with a half-smile.

but it does you no good

Coding base by Sky!

it's not what it looks like

"Then I shall take it as a compliment. Thank you." Ianto chuckled, finishing with the tea leaves and nudging the pot towards Remi, as if inviting him to take a peek for himself to check what Ianto had used. It had been something they had both enjoyed doing back in Northaven, and he hoped the alchemist's hobbies hadn't changed too drastically in their time apart.

He moved to fetch the water as the kettle began to whistle, and he had just set it down on the table when Remi spoke about his first few weeks in the Greatwood. Ianto swallowed, avoiding the alchemist's eye and waiting for him to return the pot so he could pour the water in.

"I wandered, much the same as you did when you first began to try to navigate the place," he said slowly. "Except I didn't have anywhere to go, when the forest kept spitting me out into the same place. And I didn't have anyone to talk to, to explain what was happening. Why I was where I was. I spent most of my time as a fox."