star guardian

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving Ronin had felt bad for leaving without Remi the second he could hear him following, at least doing the alchemist the courtesy of waiting until he was in step with him before they headed home. The hunter had been quiet, smouldering silently on the events of the evening, his hands buried in his pockets. Indeed, the weight that settled over him only seemed to lift when he stepped in through the guildhall doors to a welcoming trill from Sugar, though Ronin bypassed her to head upstairs. Now he was sitting quietly in Aoife's room in one of the comfortable chairs he liked to nap in when she was being grumpy, the baby cradled against his chest. He'd already pulled up another seat for Remi, needing a moment with his daughter to gather his thoughts. "Sorry," he mumbled eventually to him, the sound of his voice rousing Aoife somewhat, her little hands grabbing at his shirt.

when the heart of this wide-eyed wanderer

"He has had a ... strange night." The alchemist explained to the dragonling, stretching out an arm for her to perch on should she choose.

For a moment Remi just listened to the sounds upstairs, absently waiting to see if Ronin was coming back down or not. Hearing the groan of the hunter's favourite chair from Aoife's room brought a small smile to his lips, and silently he padded up the stairs already knowing what he would find when he entered.

Sitting down, Remi laced his fingers together and shook his head. "You've nothing to apologize for. I know I am new to politics and queens and rebellions, but that was..." Unable to find the word, Remi merely exhaled a stream of confused and unimpressed air, running a hand through his curls with an expression of exasperation.

beats in time with yours

Coding base by Sky!

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving Sugar of course obliged, perching upon Remi's arm and nosing at him affectionately, before scrambling up to his shoulder to settle there. She would still be there when the alchemist found his way upstairs, Ronin smiling at the sight of the two of them and absently smoothing a hand through Aoife's curls as she awoke from her nap. "It was messy," he said quietly, shaking his head. "Just a bunch of people tumbling together and wanting to take the stage with their own ideas." And it was on the tip of his tongue to say it - that Zariah was right about the army, that at least this would bring some order back to the chaos if people were going to fight anyway. "I think I'm going to enlist. It's better than jail."

when the heart of this wide-eyed wanderer

Remi who had nothing to compare the meeting with, merely leaned his head comfortably against Sugar and hummed a note of uncertainty. "When Amalia asked for us to come, I did not think it would be like that. How is a bunch of us in a basement deciding who should rule any better than what Zariah did?"

Nodding without an ounce of surprise, Remi merely shrugged easily beneath Sugar's weight. "Not that a jail cell could hold you, with your—" Wrinkling his nose, Remi made a vague gesture with his hands to indicate Ronin's ability. "Me either, for that matter. I wonder if she has factored that in." He added with a thoughtful grin.

beats in time with yours

Coding base by Sky!

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving "It isn't. I just..." He sighed deeply, tilting his head back just as Aoife cooed her greeting to them, her little hand reaching up to grab at Ronin's face (naturally). "I wasn't expecting it to become all about who is going to turn coat," he said, smirking across at Remi as he shrugged. "I mean, I'd still be in the jail cell. And I wouldn't know how far I could go, but... I get what you mean. She'd have to get a special cell for you, probably." Cooing right back at his daughter and kissing her fingertips, he glanced suddenly at Remi. "This is probably a stupid question, but can you see her?" he asked of Aoife, smiling down at the child as she pushed herself to sit in his lap, smiling adoringly around at Remi when she realised he was there.

when the heart of this wide-eyed wanderer

"The army...I suppose I understand where Zariah is coming from, because of everything back home. Telling everyone not to enter the Greatwoods, given that the fae want us out? The no-gatherings, the changing of abandoned to destined, that is a stretch...But I cannot help but think this is more of a..." Falling silent, Remi squinted trying to find the words. "That they just do not want to be told what to do. But I dothink we need a ruler. We need something."

Raising a brow and grinning, Remi shrugged. "Well, if you are going to get locked up, perhaps we should find out just how far you can go." The alchemist suggested, already thinking of prankish and filthy ways of testing Ronin's ability. As for his own cell? "I think I would need to be the one who made it." He said, smile growing slightly crooked.

Looking across the room bathed in swatches of grey, Ronin was like a beacon of saturation and Aoife equally so. Everytime the hunter's lips pressed against the small and flailing hands, it was like more colours were added; the depth of his love (and Remi's in turn), only adding more contrast. "Yes. " He said with an adoring smile that stayed small, but the reflection of which spread across his face like the sun.

beats in time with yours

Coding base by Sky!

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving While Ronin did agree with Remi, he couldn't help but wrinkle his nose at the thought that they needed some form of ruler. Mainly because of what had just transpired, and what he had just turned down, more or less. Had he been perhaps too hasty? Who knew, at this point. All that mattered was the smiling child in his lap, anyway. "Hmm? Maybe so," he agreed with a crooked smile. "Let me know what you had in mind, and we'll see if we can get me trained up." He bounced Aoife gently on his knee, his smile growing at the news that Remi could see her. "I have something to show you," he said. "Don't be angry - it happened when you were blind. Properly blind, I mean." Carefully, Ronin settled Aoife on the carpet, where she could sit and support her own weight easily by now. Given that she had just seen Remi, it didn't take much for her to wiggle about and flop into a clumsy little crawl towards him. Ronin grinned. "Ta daa."

when the heart of this wide-eyed wanderer

"I tried to kill someone once Ronin. If not for you showing up, I would have. You were the only one with the good sense to throw me in a pit." Remi added, seeing the wrinkle of disagreement on the hunter's face.

"Oh you know, just testing the limits. Seeing if you can stay focused even if...things are happening to your body.." Remi replied, the suggestive nature of his words causing heat to flush across his cheeks even as he laughed brightly.

Frowning at this strange segue, Remi tilted his head slightly, eyeing Sugar. "You had better not known about this." He said with a warning smile towards the dragonling, winking at her before looking across the room as Aoife was set down on the carpet. "Wha—" He started to say, before watching Aoife move herself of her own accord towards him. All thoughts disappeared from his mind—rebellions and sex pranks—and Remi was filled merely with bright unadulterated joy.

Dropping immediately from the chair to his knees, he swept Aoife into his arms, spinning her in a circle as he pulled her tightly to his chest. "You clever girl!" He cooed joyfully into her ear, kissing the rolls of her neck as he hummed notes of praise against her skin. Tears pricked his eyes as he released the girl slowly to peer down into her starlit expression. "Thank you.." Remi whispered, his eyes rising to Ronin for just a moment.

beats in time with yours

Coding base by Sky!

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving "I was just passing by," Ronin said as if it might have been anyone walking past who might have faced down a feral lion on a rampage. Huffing out a sigh, he banished all thoughts of leadership, which turned out to be an easy thing to do with what Remi suggested next. "Oi," he said through a laugh, heat rising in his cheeks as well. "We'll test that theory out later," he added, before turning his full attention back to Aoife and her new skill. Watching Remi with the child was enough to soothe the last of the tension from the hunter, and he was grinning as he watched them both. Aoife, of course, was all flailing arms and belly laughs, and even Sugar was trilling her encouragement to the girl. "What are you thanking me for?" Ronin asked, his smile growing warm as he got to his feet with Remi. "She did all the work, not me."

when the heart of this wide-eyed wanderer

"Lucky for us both, and that man, that your hobbies include taking on murderous felines and throwing them into pits, all as part of a days work." Remi replied, swallowing down an unsteady and far-too eager gulp at the thought of putting Ronin's magic through its paces.

Whispering kisses through Aoife's curls, Remi distractedly looked up at Ronin. His smile grew crooked then, pulled in opposite directions by both the joy, and grief, of all that had transpired to bring them to this moment. "For letting me be part of her life." He answered with a humble shrug, pressing his forehead against Aoife's and touching his nose to ears with lips that had suddenly grown whiskers meant to tickle her.

beats in time with yours

Coding base by Sky!

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving "You can take the soldier out of the army, and all that," Ronin said with a lopsided smile, stepping up to stand beside Remi as he fussed over Aoife; the baby soaked it all up eagerly, of course. As her nose was pressed against the alchemist's and there were suddenly whiskers tickling against her face, she let out a peal of laughter, her hands coming up to press against his cheeks. Ronin reached out, tucking a stray curl behind her ear and letting out a long, quiet sigh. "She's as much yours as she is mine," he said softly. "When I was gone you were all she had. I'll never forget that."

when the heart of this wide-eyed wanderer

"No..." Remi said with soft reluctance, shaking his head which caused his whiskers to tickle across Aoife's lips. There was...the emotional connection he shared with Aoife—with Ronin—but she was not his. She was Ronin and Vanya's. Perhaps it was because of his raising, his horrible upbringing, lack of siblings and only recent-adoption into Vai's family that made him feel so.

But he did. And that was fine.

"I would say I would do it again, but I will kill you if you ever die and leave us." Remi said, lightning trying to bubble up through Remi's chest which had suddenly grown quite tight. "Speaking of..I have not seen Ashe around for some time. Or..Kalt and his daughter. Have they just..gone, do you think?" Ashe had always mentioned that she did not want to be in a cage. Perhaps when the barrier fell, she simply felt the need to run?

beats in time with yours

Coding base by Sky!

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving "If you say so," Ronin said with a soft smile, nudging Remi gently and kissing his curls, before stepping back to let him have time with Aoife. "I would expect nothing less," he assured the other man. "I deserve death for going away and leaving you. Luckily, it's not something I plan to do any time soon. I've too much to do, here." Mention of Ashe and Kalt dampened his mood considerably, Ronin flopping to sit back in his chair, closing his eyes to think of the woman he called a sister. "Perhaps they have. So far as I know, Devrum has been gone for some time as well." Vervain took care of Aoife at times, and he recalled her mentioning as much.

when the heart of this wide-eyed wanderer

"Do you hear that, sweet one? Your Da basically just said he is in our debts forever. You remember that when you're older and want extra icecream, or a pony to ride about on. Yeah?" Exhaling softly, his lips pressed on the bridge of Aoife's nose, Remi cuddled her close. His heart was entirely hers, all that he was and would ever be malleable in her chubby fingers.

Turning his head slightly to catch the hunter's unceremonious flop back into the chair, Remi continued to fuss lovingly over Aoife as he nodded. "Devrum?" That was a surprise. Ashe had always been flighty, and Remi knew little of Kalt. The bear though? Remi could literally not imagine Devrum leaving Vai for any reason. Not even death. "Loren, Martha, Delphine..Ashe, Kalt, Devrum.." More names too of course, but those were the ones bright in his mind.

Tracing errant patterns against Aoife's back, Remi shifted her against his chest and legs to properly regard Ronin. "I never know when to move on. How long you wait, before you just...let it go. Do we put up signs, watch, and wait for them to come home? Or is this it now? Is this what our life is?"

beats in time with yours

Coding base by Sky!