it's a long way home

Letting his head rest upon one of his arms as he lay across the manticore's back, Ronin couldn't help but smile to himself. Even with the thunder of Remi's heart around his finger, serenity and peace reached for him up here, and Ronin let them have him if only for a little while. His eyes threatened to fall shut, the hunter enjoying the rush of warm air and the way the world shrank to insignificance beneath them. "Really high, mm? If anyone can, you can," he agreed, sitting himself up a little and snorting as he saw how high they already were. "I wonder if we frightened any of the others who live in the Settlement. Maybe we ought to put a notice to tell them not to worry and that it's only you." He grinned, reaching up a hand as if to stroke his fingers through the clouds. Agreeing wholeheartedly with Remi, he hummed out a thoughtful sigh. "Nor can I," he said. "I wonder what the Fae think of the storms - if they think anything at all about them... Still, they might have a map of all of Caido." ronypony it's always nice to make an impression

REMI

i've been sleepwalking and wandering all night

It was still strange to hear that there was something that Remi might be the best at. Even now after all these long and strange months, something within the alchemist recoiled as if being saddled with praise he hadn't properly deserved or earned. "Oh." Remi chuckled, looking down. The world was a blur of blacks and greys and though all of his senses easily kept them balanced and where they needed to be, all the ground below looked like so much spilled paint. "Well I cannot see much, so if someone starts shooting at us, do let me know." Snorting under his breath, Remi wondered if such a notice really might be necessary. The last thing they needed was for Remi to be murdered over a misunderstanding.

"Well, as king and monster hunter, if anyone can decree that...whatever I am is off limits, it is you."

Banking again towards the sun and relishing the feeling of the wind rushing past, Remi glanced towards where the world blurred into a vast river and trees beyond. "I...do not know. How is it that no one has asked? I know the fae tend to stay in their woods, but surely they know of the world?"

trying to take what's lost and broke and make it right

Coding base by Sky!

"I will absolutely let you know," Ronin said through a laugh; given the fact that being shot out of the sky would put a dampener on their plans to ride over the storms and cure the blight and such. He scritched at the thick fur between the manticore's shoulder blades affectionately, wondering when this had become so typical. And even up in the air currents, with his heart lighter than it had been for some time, Ronin still felt something cold clench within him. This was what he stood to lose. And he wasn't ready, yet. Wasn't ready to say goodbye again, to finish his story here, to fall to some blight no one could be bothered to cure. "Well, whatever you are is certainly not allowed to be hunted," he said eventually, his voice a touch quieter, though a smile found its way onto his face again as they banked towards the sun. "I've no idea," he said. "Perhaps I'll arrange a meeting with Delah, now that the Cloister is done. She must know... oh! Hello." Arching an eyebrow, Ronin glanced across one of Remi's wings to find a small cloud tagging along with them. "Remi, you can catch clouds now. Did you know that?" ronypony it's always nice to make an impression

REMI

i've been sleepwalking and wandering all night

The manticore with Remi's face grinned, which was a properly horrifying sight. Luckily no one could see. Ronin however would hear the growl of satisfaction as Remi was fussed over. One day he'd earn a shift where his sounds of pleasure weren't terrifying. Until then, he'd rely on his husband's knowledge to know what it was his various sounds were meant to communicate.

"Have you met her yet? I would say that we ought to find Ianto, but..." Well, they'd tried that and failed. Still, though Remi had been given leave to enter the Village Ronin hadn't. That didn't mean he wouldn't be able to find the fae, but what her mood would be, the alchemist had no idea.

"Mmmm?" Remi hummed, banking to the right and softly rounding around the cloud tagging alongside. "Have I not mentioned that? Oh sure. Cloud wrangling is my newest trick." He joked, completing the circuit around the cloud and noticing that indeed, it seemed to be following.

"In all serious though, no..I've no air magic to speak of.." The manticore said, a touch skeptical as he eyed the strangely solid-looking cloud.

trying to take what's lost and broke and make it right

Coding base by Sky!

The growl was as close to a purr as Ronin expected he would get from Remi's shifts, and whilst the hunter would have disagreed that his husband's raccoon shift made the most adorable sounds of affection, now wasn't really the time. "I haven't," he said, feeling a little foolish about that given Wessex's assigning him the role of 'Fae liasion' or whatever. Meeting with the war chief would be a very good idea. As for Ianto... "I thought I saw him at the Cloister," he said. "After my round I went up to watch the rest of the fights. I swear he was there." He might well have been mistaken though, not having seen the fox nearly as much as Remi. They banked around the cloud and Ronin watched it curiously, a playful smile on its lips as it did seem to be tagging along with them. "Maybe it's a sprite or another strange creature we've not come across yet," he joked. "Let it tag along. It'll probably disappear when we head back down." ronypony it's always nice to make an impression

REMI

i've been sleepwalking and wandering all night

"Oh." Remi hummed softly, his leonine eyebrows coming together as he gazed dazedly out into the vague landscape moving lazily below them. Ianto was not dead or gone, just...avoiding him. Honestly, it was what the alchemist had expected. To have the small sliver of hope that perhaps things weren't so grave between hawk and fox doused completely sent a shiver down the manticore's spine.

"I have not flown this high before." Remi conceded thoughtfully. As a hawk there was no real need. It was entirely possible that there were strange new creatures up here that they had yet to discover. But when was anything that simple?

"Tag along, you say?"

With a snarl that might have been a laugh, Remi fanned a wing towards the cloud meaning to tag it before banking sharply away. Beating his wings against the chilly air to gain speed, Remi tilted his body upwards before tilting down and pinning his wings against his flanks to increase their speed.

trying to take what's lost and broke and make it right

Coding base by Sky!

Ronin arched an eyebrow at Remi that he wouldn't see either, the hunter begging to ask why it was so important, that Ianto hadn't sought them out. (Sought Remi out, rather). But he kept his thoughts to himself, distracted besides by the alchemist mentioning how high up they were. Ronin glanced over a wing, a smile spreading across his face at the tiny winking lights of home so far below. "It's really something up here, huh," he said. "I wonder if we could fly all the way over the Greatwood like this, to see what's beyo--" Before he could finish - before he could breathe, let alone speak, Remi had 'tagged' their new cloud friend and was careening away through the air, leaving his husband very little time to find something to hold onto. In fact he didn't quite manage it, as the manticore pulled into a dive, Ronin trying and failing to grasp onto... well... anything. "Remi--!" he managed to snatch out before he was pulled from the manticore's back entirely. The updraft meant he travelled skyward at first, the sky blanket of blue overhead... But then, not for the first time, he plummeted towards the ground. There was something comfortingly familiar about it, about the world growing ever closer, though Ronin was starkly aware that when he hit land this time, he wouldn't be walking off. So when of all things, their cloud buddy shot out to catch him about ten feet from the ground, no one was more surprised than Ronin. ronypony it's always nice to make an impression

REMI

i've been sleepwalking and wandering all night

Ronin's shout rang in Remi's ears as surprise, but not alarm. Not until the weight of his husband was noticeably and shockingly absent from his back did Remi realize what had happened. Tag had been Ronin's idea after all. And who went flying on a manticore and didn't hang on??

But there wasn't time for that. There wasn't time for anything, because Ronin was falling and what was the cloud doing rushing after him?

Wings still pinned to his sides, Remi tried to make his body as aerodynamic as possible to try and catch his husband. However with a meagre understanding of physics, even Remi knew that if he caught Ronin on his back now, the force of his fall would likely do significant damage to them both. His only hope was to beat the hunter to the ground, shift back, and catch him with telekinesis, or a bed of moss, or—

Seriously, what was the cloud doing?

"I've got you—" Was about all Remi had time to say as he raced passed Ronin, flying at breakneck speed towards the ground. Shifting in mid air and landing awkwardly and heavily, with his feet hitting the ground and then his knees, it was all Remi could do to tug at the earth, pulling it upwards and spreading it with moss to catch his husband so that he—

—could be caught be the cloud?

Heart hammering and his mind a white box of static, Remi blinked in surprise as he looked up to see Ronin safely caught upon the cloud.

trying to take what's lost and broke and make it right

Coding base by Sky!

From his place on the... cloud(!?) and with his heart trying to hammer its way out of his chest, Ronin could barely think, let alone consider that he was alive right now. There was a curious ringing in his ears, and the trembling in his hands seemed to have spread to the rest of his body. Or maybe that was the shock - who knew, truly? Slowly, he pushed himself into a sitting position on his new ride (apparently), the cloud springy and soft beneath him, and more solid than it had any right to be. "What the fuck," he said softly, confusion in his tone until he glanced down at Remi. Then something dark and foreign draped itself over him like a cloak, the hunter finding his fists clenching. "I'm going to die in a season anyway - isn't that soon enough for you?" he snapped. RONIN Darkness is a funny thing. It creeps up on you.

cut up our losses into doable doses

ration our tears and sighs

The darkness around Ronin was made all the more perceptible given Remi's eyesight. For anyone else they might simply have blamed back-lighting for the darkened halo around the hunter, but Remi's eyes didn't see the light quite like theirs did. "Apparently you need more riding lessons." The alchemist trilled upwards, the rollarcoaster adrenaline ride settling somewhat and leaving him feeling momentarily giddy in his relief that they were both alright. Standing awkwardly (though feeling his knees wanting very badly to give out), the alchemist was about to say something about what the pair ought to do with the bed of clover and moss Remi had made to catch Ronin with, when the Fallen Star spoke again.

For a long and pathetic moment the smile on Remi's face remained even as the colour drained from his face. "I—" He stammered, lashes fluttering as his lips opened and closed on words that his tongue wasn't capable of forming. "..it was.." An accident? Swallowing down his confusion and straightening slightly, Remi frowned and nodded. Right..well...accident or no, Ronin could have been hurt. Of course his husband was upset about that.

Running a hand sheepishly against the back of his neck, Remi offered Ronin a crooked but apologetic smile. "I am sorry. I should not have dove so fast. Are you alright?" He asked, nodding softly towards the cloud.

Remi

Table coding by Sky, inspiration from Jae!

"I'm fine - luckily," Ronin half growled, wondering what he was supposed to do now from up on his cloud. Ten feet above the ground was still ten feet higher than he'd like right now; as if in response to his feelings, the little nimbus lowered towards the earth. Ronin had to wriggle to get himself down, awkwardly landing and brushing away the cloud, as though he might blame it instead. "Would you fuck off," he hissed at it, batting it back towards the sky and stalking away towards the guildhall without so much as looking at his husband. "If only sorry would get rid of the fucking blight while it was at it," he muttered darkly, shoving open the door and heading inside. RONIN Darkness is a funny thing. It creeps up on you.

cut up our losses into doable doses

ration our tears and sighs

Remi tried his best to keep himself from flinching at the sound of Ronin's growl, instead pulling away his eyes to watch as the cloud softly descended towards the ground. Frowning as the cloud whisped away seemingly at Ronin's insistence, the alchemist was surprised to see Ronin already storming off back towards the guildhall. Swallowing hard Remi followed, watching the tension in his husband's movements, the damp earthy smell he left in his wake, and being unable to stop the way Ronin's growl was seemingly on repeat in his mind.

Closing the door quietly behind him, Remi went to the kitchen and poured them each a glass of water. It is only the blight talking, the alchemist reminded himself, sucking in a breath and holding it, before painting a smile onto his features and wandering back to Ronin.

"Here. Flying will make anyone thirsty." He offered, his voice aiming towards levity.

Remi

Table coding by Sky, inspiration from Jae!

It was the blight talking - and worse still, it knew to lash out at the things that Ronin cared for most. That unfortunately happened to be Remi a lot of the time, and now was no different. He had just slunk into the kitchen himself when the alchemist approached, and something about his gentleness, his good humour, his trying grated on the hunter where before, at any other moment, it would have been exactly what Ronin needed. His hand snapped out to smack the glass of water out of his husband's hand, where it shattered against the wall. "I'm not thirsty, I'm dying!" he snapped, reaching down to seize one of the jagged pieces of glass. "I don't want water, or food, or flying, or sleep - I want this--" and here he dragged the glass along his arm, where pure black welled and spilled out "--out of me!" Breathing heavily, his arm still bleeding enough to coat his arm in darkness, Ronin levelled a glare that was almost accusatory at Remi. "Can you do that? Can you take this blight out of me? Because nothing any of you is doing is working. Nothing." RONIN Darkness is a funny thing. It creeps up on you.

cut up our losses into doable doses

ration our tears and sighs

Remi inhaled sharply, watching with pale eyes as the glass broke noisily against the wall. The alchemist's first thought was for Aoife, and the care it would take to ensure that none of those shards remained when she came home, until he watched Ronin pick up one of the larger pieces. At which point all rational thought drained from Remi's face. "What are.." He started to say, hissing between his teeth as the glass bit into Ronin's skin revealing not blood, but thick grotesque fluid.

"..Stop!" Trying to bridge the distance between them as quickly as possible, Remi reached out a hand to try and staunch the bleeding with his fingers as he'd once done oh so long ago for a man he hardly knew back in Northaven. The cut was far deeper than was necessary for Ronin to make his point, and as Remi dragged his gaze up to Ronin's face he tried to take a levelling breath. "I thought you were willing it away." He said tersely, at a loss for what else to say. Ronin wasn't wrong, after all.

Remi

Table coding by Sky, inspiration from Jae!