stand out, fit in

REXANNA

they say the loveliest angels

make the cruelest demons

She hears the manticore growl as the blunt words leave Rexanna to the creature that flies in the air beside her, and somewhere deep within her Rexanna smirks a smug grin at catching the Alchemist off guard. A hum of bubbling laughter is sent his way once more, giving him a slightly knowing look as she dives by him. I wasn’t Ascended last time I went either. She informs him, but whether or not it helps with his confusion she doesn’t know. It invokes a wonderful feeling, though! She laughs again, amusement glimmering in the bond between them.

But the Manticore is surging ahead, and Rexanna is left in his wake, trying desperately to catch up as he circles to the ground – and she does the same, to break the fall. Though she does tuck her wings in tight to drop further and further for the sheer fuel of adrenaline that courses through her systems. Oh we were, but now there's so much more we can do! She admits with a bright huff of laughter once more, until she circles lower to where she can feel the blades of grass beneath her talons.

your fall was not

an accident

you were chosen

for the damned

Remi's surprised and boyish intrigue is near tangible through their bond. Had he lips and a throat capable of it, he would have laughed with youthful mischief. I wonder the effect it might have on the blighted... He said casually and perhaps a bit hopefully. To say Ronin's sex drive had decreased since becoming blighted would have been an understatement. Indeed, but perhaps tomorrow. The manticore's giant paws touch down against the grass and for a moment his leonine body sprints across the ground. Quickly his wings buffet the air and he slows, shifting back into his body though letting his wings remain. Still more alchemist than angel, Remi flashes Rex a smile. Colour is high in his cheeks and his hair is adorably disheveled as he fights to catch his breath, still giddy from the adrenaline of it all. "So. First flight. How was it?" REMI Traded my soul to free my mind, "can I go back to being blind?" I ask myself one too many times

REXANNA

they say the loveliest angels

make the cruelest demons

It seems to override most thoughts. She informs him, suddenly far less awkward about it as he continues the conversation. She thinks the information might help in some way, after all. Paving the way for more parties at Lily’s. She doesn’t think the red headed woman would complain of more partners, anyway. I had originally planned on spending the night with Bastien, but ah, after we got there I ended up with Lucas the whole night. She hums with a light laugh, as if it’s any indication what kind of overriding thoughts it might have.

Soon enough, she lands too, and watches while he shifts into his own body but with wide large wings and she shifts back as her own feet touch the ground behind him. She reaches up with surprise and perhaps a small amount of awkwardness in her throat and stomach as she aims to touch the feathers. “First flight went great.” She hums thoughtfully (distractedly), though a bit in bewilderment. “Thank you for showing me.” She tells him, sapphire eyes slipping from his wings to his flushed cheek with a bright smile, swallowing down the slight anxiety within her at the sight of the wings he bore. This was definitely Remi, and not a play at the vision of her ex-husband. She knows this, knows he doesn't know, and she manages to smile through it anyway.

your fall was not

an accident

you were chosen

for the damned

Lucas? Remi asks sounding incredulous and skeptical. After all, in a strange way the ascended is the reason why the alchemist lost his memories. Had Lucas not stolen Ludo's mask from Remi, the god wouldn't have seen fit to curse him. Indeed the levity in Rex's voice sheds some light on the type of overriding thoughts at play. Would they be present if it was just he and Ronin in the room? Would Lily allow the two men to use it at their own discretion or...was a group necessary? He'd ask later, maybe. With a boyish laugh, the wings on his back flex ever so slightly beneath her fingertips and sparkling blue gaze. "Manticore wings." He explains with a shrug. "Unlike hawk's wings they stem from my back, rather than my arms." The alchemist adds, reading something in her expression but unsure what. REMI Traded my soul to free my mind, "can I go back to being blind?" I ask myself one too many times

REXANNA

they say the loveliest angels

make the cruelest demons

She listens while he explains, a brow lifting as she mimics her inhale for a nostalgic means of calming down before she manages a smile. “I see.” She pauses, hands lingering on them briefly before she withdraws. “That ex-husband of mine was winged.” She tells him by means of explanation, stepping back to view them. “Though his were more… Falcon-like?” She pauses, seeking the differences before she approaches again and presses a finger to where it connects to his back. “His were thicker here, but he also couldn’t ever rid himself of them.” She manages a laugh, finding it easier to deal with it the more she sees it, the more she sees the difference.

And Remi is her friend, he would never do anything like that. And she knows this.

“His mother had these deep blue, almost purple, swallow kind of shaped wings.” She says softly, recalling as the memories get easier. And she manages a real smile to him as she moves toward facing him again. “These suit you very well. And maybe I should tell you that cuddling with wings like that are the best.” She winks with a soft smile.

your fall was not

an accident

you were chosen

for the damned

The alchemist's lips fall open into a soft o shape as she elaborates. The inclination to retract them immediately is only stifled by her laughter and her continued exploration of them with fingertips and eyes. "Stories say that manticores are supposed to have eagle wings, but I suppose given I was already a hawk..." Shrugging, his plumage rising and falling as well, he smiles warmly at the ascended. With their mental link severed he can't know the colour of her thoughts anymore, but the mere mention of her ex-husband makes him want to reassure in some strange way. "That sounds beautiful." He murmurs, before letting his head tilt to the side to grin at her properly. "Oh?" Glancing out across his shoulder the alchemist flexes a wing almost experimentally before glancing back to Rex with a boyish twinkle of mischief in his eyes. "I do rather love a good cuddle. " He admitted as if it were some sort of dirty secret, which, anyone who knew the alchemist would know it certainly wasn't. REMI Traded my soul to free my mind, "can I go back to being blind?" I ask myself one too many times

REXANNA

they say the loveliest angels

make the cruelest demons

There’s a hum that leaves her throat in regards to the explanation, wondering if that was indeed the reason for the shape of his own plumage. But she finds it suits him, the way they have that bird of prey shape, and she finds it additionally charming with the boyish smile he gives her. And it relieves her further, wondering if perhaps it would be nice to experience and explore the wings when she knew she wouldn’t be reprimanded for it.

The kind of freedom it would give.

His head tilts as she mentions the cuddling, and she smirks lightly in response, a bright chimed laugh leaving her lips. “Well, I’m afraid I can’t give out any body heat but I’m always ready for a cuddle.” She admits, tilting her own head back to him. She doesn’t consider what it could mean, what it could imply. But she had already bitten him, stopped anything further.

And besides, what’s a little cuddling between friends? She’s done far more with them. “What do you think?” She asks him with a small fanged smile, head tilted and arms crossed.

your fall was not

an accident

you were chosen

for the damned

Laughing brightly and easily, Remi folds his arms across his chest with a knowing smile. "I have been told I give off more than enough heat." He said, having heard as much from various partners over the years. Remi wasn't quite the furnace that Ronin could be, but even so, he needed no extra warmth. Besides, he already knew what it was like to cuddle against an Ascended, or at least, he once had. All he had know were memories of hugs and such with Sam, but at one point he'd been skin to skin with the bookmaker and had apparently found it desirable. "I think it sounds like a plan." For a moment he thought to say something like, I wonder what Bastien will think, but that implies there is something off about their plan. And it is like the once-queen said: what's a bit of cuddling between friends? REMI Traded my soul to free my mind, "can I go back to being blind?" I ask myself one too many times

REXANNA

they say the loveliest angels

make the cruelest demons

“Good, then!” She grins, a light laugh accompanying it. She had always ran a bit colder blooded, finding her enjoyment with soaking up the warmth of someone else to be a favorite past time. She had done it with Bastien over Longnight before he had Ascended, and since then she had learned to deal with his changed body heat. Now, with her in the same boat? She finds she can absorb it to an extent, but not return any of it. And for that, at least, she’s happy about. No more sweating through the night, right?

But he accepts, and her smile grows slightly wider – a small amount of excitement growing within. Gods, she is a cuddler, and for the moment she didn’t even think what it might seem like for Ronin or Bastien (though she would soon decide that Bastien likely wouldn’t care. Ronin? She had no idea what to expect). So she turns back toward the Settlement, to look over at it over her shoulder before turning her attention back to him, as if to say let’s go! before she pauses. “My place? Or yours?” She asks, wondering if he’d prefer it to be at his home – or if it might lead to more questions they couldn’t really answer.

Her home was always open for cuddling sessions.

your fall was not

an accident

you were chosen

for the damned

"Do you know I do not believe I have ever even seen your house." Remi chuckled thoughtfully, his head inclined gently to the side. Rex had been to his shop numerous times, which had served as his home until just under a year or so when Ronin had asked him to move in. Had she been to the guildhall? He...couldn't quite remember. Though at the moment it smelled of earthen death and to walk through was an obstacle course thanks to all of Aoife's toys. "Do you think you and Bastien will move in together?" Remi asked ignoring the weirdness of the timelines given he and Rex are almost married now REMI Traded my soul to free my mind, "can I go back to being blind?" I ask myself one too many times

REXANNA

they say the loveliest angels

make the cruelest demons

She wouldn’t mind if he had forgotten her visit, having gone to give a gift to Aoife and see how he was adjusting after Ronin’s recent death. But at the mention that he had never been to hers, she clasps her hands together with a quiet dull snack sound. “Well that settles that.” She jests, turning away from him to lead the way to her home.

His question perks at her thoughts, timeline shenanigans , and she turns to him with a bright smile. “I thought I’d move into the Artist’s Guild.” She says thoughtfully before pausing slightly. “But we haven’t really talked on it much.” They hadn’t, they had mentioned it sometime that it would be good to figure out, but for the time being her home was his and his home was hers. They’d figure it out as they always had.

It doesn’t take long before they’re at her home, the porch that she had fixed up after last Longnight, the door that was a dark stained wood in comparison to the bright chipped paint of her home. There’s no lights on inside, but she can adjust that easily. She turns to Remi with another bright smile. “Home! Not much but something.” She says easily, moving toward the door to open it and let him in.

your fall was not

an accident

you were chosen

for the damned