Shoot The Messenger

Sam nodded. It would be unwise to accuse Wessex of anything, he thought. If he was the most dedicated and improved of the Ascended, she was the fiercest. Remi considered his words, and for a moment Sam thought he might have actually helped; that he could have come up with something useful. But then Remi told him why it wouldn't work and he took his hand back, frowning and drawing his knees up. There were no easy answers. In a moment of quiet he began to think more on himself. Telling Remi had become such a task he had not imagined anything beyond, but it seemed like he was going to walk out of here. Would the people of Caido know what he had done too, soon? Not all of them could be as understanding as Remi. "When...people know that I spread it, they're going to want to hurt me." He said flatly, plainly, so scared he was almost back to being numb. Samuel I'm starting to wake from silent sleep I'm starting to break and I can grieve

yes other hearts were broken & other dreams ran dry

but our golden ones sail on and on

Glancing sharply over and inhaling swiftly, the alchemist gave his head a firm shake. "They can want it all they like. But they will have me to deal with should any lay a hand on you." Remi growled protectively, his own predatory undercurrents surprising even himself, though he didn't shy away from it. "You did not know, nor were you the only one." He added with a sigh, trying very hard once again not to slam his fists into the floorboards.

"If you ever need a place to stay, you are welcome here. There are many extra rooms. Is your roommate still living with you?" Remi asked, thinking that having someone at Sam's house was probably a good thing if the bookmaker thought his life in danger.

Remi

Table coding by Sky, inspiration from Jae!

Sam smiled weakly, his fear quietening for just a second as Remi promised to protect him. Remi would not always be with him, though; he could not ask that of him right now. He had the stone, but...if Remi had to choose between him or Ronin, he doubted he would be the choice. In the back of his mind, he made a note to start taking his new knives out with him (though hoped he would never need to use them). The mention of his 'roommate' caused Sam to look over with wide eyes, embarrassed at the sudden reminder of Nate. "O-oh. Um, yes, he is. And...I think he would try to protect me, if something happened." He brought a hand up to his face and shyly smiled. "Perhaps we should try and go away somewhere, for a while...but I think people will probably be angry about this for a long time." Besides, where would they go? He had spread the Blight through the Greatwood and the Hollowed Grounds and had nowhere else to head. Sam sighed and shook his head slightly. "I don't know. But...thank you, Remi, for being kind. For seeing that I didn't mean to do this...I know it must be hard with Ronin being ill to not want to be angry." Samuel I'm starting to wake from silent sleep I'm starting to break and I can grieve

yes other hearts were broken & other dreams ran dry

but our golden ones sail on and on

A faint smile spread across Remi's lips at Sam's sudden wide-eyed gaze. "Mmmm." He hummed almost playfully, a brow subtly raised. He'd not push the topic and yet...well. What reasons might Sam have for reacting with such bashfulness at the reminder of his roommate, unless they were now more than that?

"You could. The fae seem to tolerate us in the woods now, but I imagine it will not be easy." Remi agreed with a gentle nod. Besides, Sam had already lived in the woods once. What it would mean for Nate, the alchemist had no idea, but of course the roommate was not who Remi was worried about. "I am not sure you can run from this though. Were it me...It might be easier to tell everyone. Have everything in the open." He softly suggested, knowing that he and Sam could not be more different in their approaches to problems like this. "I would be there for you, if you did decide to say something." Remi added, nudging Sam's shoulder with his own.

With a weary sigh, Remi merely shrugged. Anger did not come naturally to him and the explosion of leonine rage he'd displayed before with Sam filled him with cold guilt. "Anger will not solve this." He said mildly. "And as you said, it was not you. Not anything you knowingly did, anyways."

Remi

Table coding by Sky, inspiration from Jae!

Remi, thankfully, did not question him any further about Nate. Sam did not yet know himself what they were ('roommates' didn't quite feel right, though) and was hardly ready to tell someone else about it. Telling everyone seemed such an absurd idea to Sam that he hadn't even considered it. "...But...well, I am not confident speaking in front of many people anyway, but...they will not be happy with me, when they find out. What's to stop me getting hurt then? As much as you and Nate may want to protect me there would be more of them, if we gathered people." He could just see it in his mind - people rushing forward to grab him. And would they even be wrong? He didn't say his other reason, thinking Remi didn't like it - but he didn't want to betray the Voice and besmirch her name to everyone, not just yet anyway. He wanted to give her a chance to prove this right. "You are a better man than most, and I.." Sam shook his head and sighed. "I think it clouds your way of seeing things, sometimes, Remi. I don't think anyone else will be able to so easily not blame me." Samuel I'm starting to wake from silent sleep I'm starting to break and I can grieve

yes other hearts were broken & other dreams ran dry

but our golden ones sail on and on

"They could gather all they liked." Remi growled in response, his fingernails lengthening into claws at the mere thought of any harm befalling the bookmaker. "You have seen what I can become now." He reminded the ascended, Sam having been there when Remi became a manticore for the first time. "We could hide among the clouds, if necessary." Remi added with a touch of lightness.

The alchemist sighed softly and shook his head. A better man than most? Hardly. He'd lost his memories of the bookmaker which partially contributed to their downfall. More recently, Remi had all but torn the man's door down in the middle of the night such that he feared to even have the conversation they now were.

"And I think your views of yourself cloud your vision, Sam." He countered softly. "You are much more than you give yourself credit for, and mean more to your friends than I think you know."

Remi

Table coding by Sky, inspiration from Jae!

Remi's dogged insistence that he would protect Sam resurfaced, and it did make him smile, even though he still wasn't sure he believed the best thing to do was tell everyone. Remi could not always be with him. As much as the thought still stung sometimes, he was not the priority in Remi's life, and likely never would be; he had a husband, a child, a guild - Sam had thrown out his chance to be fully in his life. The words that came after and interrupted his thoughts immediately had him shaking his head with an embarrassed smile, but a smile nonetheless. "W-well. I don't...um. Thank you." A moment's more quiet passed, and Sam considered leaving; he looked to Remi and chewed at his lip. "You do look very tired, Remi. It's late. Perhaps...do you need someone to look after Aoife or the guild while you go and rest? I do not mind staying to help." Samuel I'm starting to wake from silent sleep I'm starting to break and I can grieve

yes other hearts were broken & other dreams ran dry

but our golden ones sail on and on

"Oh do I? And here I thought I looked rather good." The alchemist tutted back with a crooked smile. Sam was quite right though: shirtless and bedraggled, unkempt hair and weary eyes, the alchemist was the picture of exhaustion.

"Ahh, she sleeps quite soundly lately." Remi said with a sigh. "She and Ronin take quite a few naps together." So saying a tired smile pulled at Remi's lips. Aoife was the only person or thing that, without question, could brighten Ronin's mood.

"But you are right. I should try and get some sleep." He wouldn't, of course. Instead, he'd wake Ronin and tell him what he'd learned. And, in a few short hours, Amalia would be by as well with her own revelations. Pushing his back against the wall to help stand, Remi offered the ascended a sleepy smile, reaching down a hand to help pull him up. "Thank you for coming to tell me all of this Sam. I know it was not easy."

Remi

Table coding by Sky, inspiration from Jae!

"Oh-- well, I mean, you d--" Too late, Sam realised Remi was not actually offended and tried to awkwardly laugh it off. Though, if he was being honest, while he had always found Remi attractive right now when he looked at him all he felt was worry. For how he was now, but also for how worse it was to become if Ronin's death were to pass. He nodded. "That's a blessing, at least. I used to get regular new parents at my stall asking for advice books because their babies kept them up." It had rather put him off the whole idea. Sam took the hand and stood up, rested a hand on the door and smiled, looking down at his shoes. "...It's alright, Remi. I think I knew, really, that you would treat me well with it. I want to be as honest as I can with you about...well, everything, going forward, to try and make up for.." It was better left unsaid now, probably. "Even though this does hurt. If you need me, you know where I am. Though...if people do find out what I have done, I may have to leave. I will try to tell you first, if I do." With that promise made, he pushed the door open and with a final smile, walked out into the night. Samuel I'm starting to wake from silent sleep I'm starting to break and I can grieve

yes other hearts were broken & other dreams ran dry

but our golden ones sail on and on

In the coming days, Sam would have no idea how right he was to be worried. Remi and Ronin would kill a man for having kidnapped their daughter, forever sealing their fate and darkening their souls. For now though, the alchemist merely shook his head, wrapped in boyish ignorance.

"Mmm, no. Aoife coos herself to sleep most nights." Little did the alchemist know that had more to do with Safrin than the girls' sleep schedule.

Still, swallowing down a lungful of grief, the alchemist bit the inside of his lip and pulled in a breath. "I would never hurt you, Sam. Doors...the ground, walls...but never you." Whatever unremembered part of the alchemist, swore it, on the love they once shared. "Never you." He added in an emphatic whisper.  

'I will find you, Sam. Push the button, and I will be where you are." The alchemist vowed solemnly, watching the ascended disappear out into the midnight hours.

Remi

Table coding by Sky, inspiration from Jae!