Force of nature

i'll be here 'till we collide

As they approached the treeline, the alchemist paused and glanced towards his companion. "Are you ready to try and shift?" He asked with a gentle smile. Given their previous experiences Remi was confident that Sam would be able to shift, even if the bookmaker couldn't remember his own experiences with this before.

"Just feel inward for it, and then let yourself fall into it. I suppose you will have to be thinking about being a raccoon or else you might become a hawk or a lion." Either of which would be fine, but if what Sam wanted was a bit of fun, certainly a raccoon was one of the more obvious of choices.

so crash into me one more time

Coding base by Sky!

Sam

Did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?

Sam was a little nervous as he approached the trees. He had so cavalierly signed up for this and yet he didn't actually know how to do any of it. What if he was about to awfully embarrass himself in front of Remi, whom he had just fixed his relationship with?

As always with spontaneous plans,  he felt worse about it by the second.

But Remi's gentle smile and question did soften his heart a little. Sam nodded, though he felt anything but ready. As before even though it was not included in Remi's instructions he held out his arms and outstretched his fingers; possibly some kind of muscle memory or instinct.

He thought of raccoons as best he could, though truthfully he wasn't entirely sure he'd ever seen one. Concentrating hard, his nose wrinkled and eyes screwed shut, Sam didn't notice himself beginning to shift into a small, reddish raccoon.

i'll be here 'till we collide

Remi watched the shift with an amused smile, saying nothing and merely letting his friend feel his way through. Eventually though the man was replaced by the beast, and Remi too shifted. Well done, you. He chimed encouragingly into Sam's mind, taking off a light trot towards the treeline.

And what you said before, about invisibility while you are shifted...I would like to know if you can as well. I cannot use magic while shifted, but that does not mean you will not be able to. It would turn out that Sam couldn't, but they didn't know that.

Rather than continuing on the ground, Remi easily climbed the first tree he came upon, his small hands gripping the bark and pulling his nearly weightless body up.

so crash into me one more time

Coding base by Sky!

Sam

Did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?

Being so small when he opened his eyes took a moment to adjust to, Sam stepping back and letting out a small surprised squeak, looking at just how large the leaves were now in comparison to his tiny hands. Wow. I feel very..compact. He commented, curling up into a little ball to see just how small he could go. While he was curled up he tried to go invisible, but found he could not.

Am I invisible? I am trying to do it now. But I don't...think it's working. As he straightened back out he caught sight of Remi running up the tree and rushed to follow, finding with this new body it wasn't hard to climb, hardly even having to consider it as by instinct his claws dug into the bark and pulled him up. Sam laughed gleefully, looking down to the forest floor.

I've never climbed a tree before! He told Remi, following him around the trunk. If I could do this, I think I'd spend my life as a raccoon. How do you resist the temptation to just fly and frolic all the time? It might be less stressful than the life you do lead.

i'll be here 'till we collide

Oh no, Sam! Where are you? Remi called playfully, tossing a pinecone down at the other raccoon, clearly indicating that no, he was not invisible in the least.

Only allowing himself a beat of sadness as Sam had asked him that exact question before (and probably more times than he could actually remember), Remi's whiskers twitched as he glanced over his shoulder at Sam. There are some drawbacks to being shifted. I have not met anyone else who can talk to me when they are not shifted, so it can be quite isolating sometimes. The raccoon said with a shrug, before glancing back ahead at the boughs before them.

Alright. The trick to this is not to think, but just to go. Your body will know what to do. So saying Remi scurried forward. His dexterous hands gripped the tree limbs even as they grew slender and willowy. Nimbly moving from tree to tree in this way, Remi glanced behind him to see how Sam was fairing.

so crash into me one more time

Coding base by Sky!

Sam

Did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?

Sam laughed and tried to jump out of the way of the pinecone, glad that he and Remi were at the point that they could make dumb jokes. He had not had much experience of easy friendship or humour, so this seemed like a good thing to have.

Oh. I suppose I can speak to you because I have your powers. Sam actually quite liked that. Having something only he could do with Remi, something to make the other man come back...he did not at all think that Remi or anyone else would ever repeatedly want to see him for just him. It was good to have incentives.

As Remi began to explain the method of jumping Sam felt his fear rising, unsure of what was about to be suggested. When he saw Remi run forward and leap he almost rushed forward to try and catch him, worried he was about to see him become a fluffy bloody mess on the ground, but he grabbed nimbly onto a tree across the way.

Not wanting to disappoint the Alchemist, he tried to clear his mind and run something he found difficult and had to force upon himself, his heart beating hard with excitement and terror as he left from the branch and found himself clinging to the trunk of an opposite tree. Once he had done one it was easier to continue he realised, and soon he was following Remi closely, leaping from branch to branch.

This is-- This is amazing! He practically yelled between their bond, a happy giddy mood capturing his whole being. Who knew raccoons have so much fun?!

i'll be here 'till we collide

Mmhmm. I can partially shift and speak telepathically at any time, which I suppose you can do now as well. For the time being. Remi thought with a hum of amusement.

With a burst of mental laughter that echoed Sam's own, Remi continued to lead them on a merry chase through the tree-boughs.

The things that you like the taste of also are different when you are shifted. Remi said, eventually coming to a twittery sort of halt on one of the branches. Grabbing at a clump of berries with his paws, Remi popped a blackish purple one into his mouth. As a man I find these far too tart. As a raccoon though, I nearly cannot get enough.

so crash into me one more time

Coding base by Sky!

Sam

Did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?

It is very odd, to speak without saying. I quite like it, actually. While Sam no longer had to worry about his stutter, he still often found himself hesitating before each sentence, wondering how he was going to manage to mess it up this time.

Because he nearly always did.

But that wasn't the pressing issue right now: jumping from branch to branch was, feeling free and released from his usual fears. As Remi stopped to point out the berries he almost whined, wanting to fly more. But obediantly he did stop and also approach them, nervously taking one and placing it in his mouth.

As soon as he did, could taste the vibrant sweetness, his eyes widened and he fell backward, little body rocking in glee on the branch. Remi's patch had helped him recover some of his taste, yes, but this was another step up entirely; unbidden sense exploding in his mouth. I have not tasted anything so wonderful in years! Oh, I wish I could be a raccoon forever. He was mostly joking.

Thank you for showing me all of this.

i'll be here 'till we collide

Some do not like it because of how....mmm...open? it can make you. Remi replied with a shrug. In his mind he thought of Koel, letting the memory slip through their bond of a rather handsome man in the body of an eagle. You have to guard your thoughts, in a way. He added, projecting what it felt like to be mentally tethered to Koel; the invisible barrier that the eagle had kept between them. But Remi had never worried too much about it, his mind, emotions, and thoughts always being there for the taking.

With a mental chuckle, Remi popped another berry into his mouth and nodded. Anytime he almost said, but didn't. Even so, Sam would feel it through the tether. Because to do this again would mean to be bit again and...as pleasurable as it was, the alchemist wasn't entirely sure what it all meant anymore.

Well I suppose if you never shifted back, you could. He added with a wry mental grin.

so crash into me one more time

Coding base by Sky!

Sam

Did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?

I find it freeing, in a way. I am always so guarded. Sam was gifted images of a man he did not know, both in a human form and in that of an eagle. Knowledge of a bond that he had never been a part of yet felt keenly, as if suddenly welcomed into a family he had not known of moments before. It seems it let you achieve some close relationships.

And of course Remi would be able to feel things from Sam across the bond. The odd flicker of hope for something undefined, not quite a crush but not quite the feelings of friendship, but something impersonal. The hope to not be alone, not the hope to be with Remi. With Sam only knowing him for this long it had not had the time to become that, not yet.

There was also shedloads of anxiety, for that was the backdrop to Sam's life.

I think sadly I might get bored. Besides, I must look after my shop and my cat. He left himself flop back onto the branch, dangling his little limbs off the edge. Sam had never been a daredevil, would have never dreamed to be so casual at such a height as a human, but here it felt easy; he knew somehow just how to balance.

He felt Remi's almost-promise, immediately understood the hesitation and disappointment he wasn't entitled to bloomed in his chest. In my diaries, I said flying with you was one of the best moments of my life. I think...tonight, I will write that this is.

i'll be here 'till we collide

Remi never had been guarded...not until he came here, at least. Then again with the meagre life he had lived, the alchemist never had much to worry about losing. Since coming to Caido though, he'd both gained and lost more than he could have ever imagined someone like him would ever have. Both a blessing and a curse really, for Remi missed the days when he was far sunnier than he was now. But after having lost memories, and knowing what it was to be forgotten, he didn't think he would ever trade what he had and knew and had experienced for anything.

Freeing, yes. But I ... have never been good with words. It is nice to simply be able to share the way you feel, rather than needing to describe it sometimes. Remi thought with a gentle shrug.

He could indeed feel the flickering of something between them, but the alchemist shied away from it. Friendship indeed he could offer the bookmaker, even friendship of a close kind. But anything more than that? To look at Sam too long was to invite thoughts of darkened hallways and the bookmaker pressed against the bookshelf with the alchemist's hands upon him. It brought up thoughts of teeth and walls of euphoria, and then of course, as it always did, of the note.

Watching Sam dangling, Remi grinned behind his bandit markings and came to sit next to him. Well, Remi said, nudging Sam with another smirk. Flying is a good deal better. Maybe you will experience it again.

so crash into me one more time

Coding base by Sky!

Sam

Did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?

You say that, but I actually think you have a good direct way of speaking. You say what you mean. But...yes, the feelings do help. It would be useful in everyday life, I think. To always know someone's feelings, intentions...I have never been good at reading people. Sam had often found people said one thing but meant another, and he'd never been able to properly pick up on it.

He did not expect Remi to return his feelings. He'd blown his chance after all, hadn't he? Maybe in a few years, he'd said, but really Sam had meant to give Remi the freedom to go off and find someone better, more deserving. Sam wasn't sure what it was he deserved himself, but it wasn't Remi's sweet words or soft eyes, his humour and gentle forgiveness.

Sam let himself rock just a little as Remi nudged him, not enough to fall but enough to feel the weight of his little body go back and forth; to be so carefree was truly a new and wonderful experience. He understood now the unspoken thing in Remi's words, that to fly he'd have to bite again. Maybe, though I do not know many Attuned, and especially not many who would let me bite them. Perhaps I will just write a poem about it one day. They say words can almost achieve the real thing.

This was a joke, but he did know that unless he was to drink from Remi again, it would be unlikely he would fly. It is odd. When I am as a man, the urge to bite is always there, usually faint and in the background, easy to ignore...but still there. But like this, it is gone entirely. I do wonder why The Voice lets us so entirely experience the lives of other races when she seems to hold so much distaste for what the other Gods do to Accepted.

i'll be here 'till we collide

You did not know me before...I am...much more closed off now than I have ever been. Remi admitted, almost sadly. I have been trying to...be that person again. He continued.

As Sam rocked, tension sparked through the bond and Remi's small fingers instinctively reached out. However before they clutched Sam's dark fur they stopped and hovered as the other raccoon simply rocked backwards. Careful. Remi chuckled shakily, the adrenaline spike tapering off as he took a calming breath.

Thoughtfully Remi stared down at the ground below, one hand idly scratching at the bark as he considered. Through the bond Sam would feel a still-endless well of altruism and generosity, ringed by the dark and lascivious nature hidden in the memory of Sam's bite. I would...I mean..you can. Remi thought, feeling heat in his cheeks and finding himself thankful raccoons couldn't properly blush.

Shaking his head, Remi could only shrug. I will not pretend to understand a thing about the Voice. Or about any of the gods, really. Though given your name I think you are meant to be better than they are. Perhaps just a glimpse of everything rather than being any one thing, is what she wanted for you?

so crash into me one more time

Coding base by Sky!

Sam

Did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?

Remi admitted he was more closed off now, and Sam could only hope that was not because of him. He would not want to think himself the cause of someone shutting themself away the way he often did, feeling ashamed and secretive over the elements of their personality that made them the most human. His worry bled across the bond without him meaning it to.

It was distracted away by the sudden adrenaline though, Sam sitting up a little to smile at Remi, his little nose twitching. I'm fine. And if I fall...if I turn to me midair, it is not so far, right? It would probably still hurt, but they weren't so high up he'd think he'd have lasting damage. Still, he didn't want to try it out, so he shuffled back up into a more stable position.

When Remi confessed that Sam could still bite (and, if he understood the implication, bite him) he was so shocked he nearly fell off the branch regardless. You...would let me do that to you? I thought it would be decidedly off limits now. He could not help the embarrassing hopefulness rise in him, that he knew Remi would feel.

As for The Voice's reasonings, Remi could well have been right, but Sam was now distracted away from philosophical concerns. I do not feel better than others because I have Ascended. I wonder if anyone else does.