ashes, ashes, we all fall down

Amalia

she was afraid of heights

She knows things now that she did not know before, and it is a weight she is not sure she truly wishes to carry.

Still, as the vision leaves her and the terror begins to fade Amalia knows what she must do, where she must go and who she must tell. The knowledge Vi has given her must be shared, and it must be shared with them: the ones most affected, the ones most hurt, the ones who stand to lose the most.

It is not all bad. Beneath the crushing weight of knowledge, hope flickers and sputters, ignited by faith. She clings to it like a lifeline, emboldens herself with the forced belief that all will be well in time, that something greater than them is at work, that a solution will arise.

Whether or not this is true, well...

She does not think about that now.

It is dusk when she reaches them, nearly night, the stars beginning to light the sky. Pushing her way through the guildhall door, Amalia peers inside, her dark gaze searching for signs that either of her friends are home. "Ronin? Remi? I need to speak with you..."

but she was much more afraid

of never flying

The men are awake, already discussing the topic Amalia has come about. The gods on either side were apparently keen on sharing, for Samuel had just been and gone to inform Remi that yes, indeed, the ascendeds had been the carries of the blight into the Greatwood. The Voice was the cause of it. What that meant for them (for Ronin, the sickness, the fate of all the alchemist held dear), was currently up for debate.

And so as Amalia pushed her way into the guildhall she'd see Ronin and Remi at the far end, stooped together around a crackling fire. Jaw clenched and with a hand on Ronin's shoulder, Remi's too-pale eyes rose at the sound of someone pushing their way inside. Definitely not in the mood for visitors, nor having the patience to let his husband handle any king-related matters, the alchemist gave the Fallen Star's shoulder a squeeze as he stood. "I will handle it." He said softly, before moving to turn away whomever it was letting themselves in.

Seeing that it was Amalia, the alchemist's features softened somewhat. "Amalia.." He greeted gently, the corners of his lips twitching upwards in a weary smile. "We were just.." With a sigh, Remi ran a hand up the side of one unshaven cheek, slowly shaking his head. "Come in. Sam was just here. There is something you should know." He said, before calling over his shoulder to Ronin: "It is Amalia. We should tell her."

I forgot what it was like, to think I found you finally

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RONIN

It was probably for the best that Remi handle any immediate social interaction. Ronin's temper - always so close to the surface these days - had been provoked beyond a mere tantrum with Sam's arrival and admission, and the hunter's hands were shaking now not because of the blight, but out of fury. Nodding quietly to Remi as he stood and squeezed his shoulder, Ronin relished the brief touch and let the other man go, shoulders hunched where he was sat cross-legged before the fire.

Amalia's voice stirred him somewhat, at least, reigning in the storm for a few moments, and Ronin glanced over his shoulder before rising slowly to his feet. His eyes were ringed with darkness and he seemed tired even though he'd been asleep when Sam had initially arrived, exchanging a glance with his husband and sighing deeply.

"The Voice is the cause of the blight. The Ascended carried it into the Greatwood - whether intentionally or otherwise, they are the reason it has all happened," he said, too lightly, too sharply.

a star in someone else's sky

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Amalia

she was afraid of heights

Ronin looks like shit. It is the only thing Amalia can think as Remi leads her inside to where the reluctant King is waiting, haggard and worn and ringed in black. He stands so slowly, so uncomfortably, as though his bones had turned to dirt. Amalia has a vision suddenly, of the blue eyed and smiling man she met at the Festival of Lights so long ago.

That man is nowhere to be seen in the sickened figure before her.

Glancing at Remi and pulsing concern through the Attuned bond, the Shield of Safrin furrows her brow at the declaration that Sam was here, suddenly angry and afraid. After their encounter in the library - and after all the girl has learned - the idea of the Ascended slinking around sets her teeth on edge. "What did he want?" she questions sharply.

Then Ronin tells her, and the pieces fall into place.

"I know." They know. Amalia sighs and runs a hand through her hair. "I... Vi spoke to me. There's more, though. We should sit." Without much more ado she settles down onto the floor, waiting for them to join her back beside the fire.

but she was much more afraid

of never flying

The emotional equivalent of a half-smile met Amalia's pulse of concern. There was not much to say after all, that hadn't already been said. The evidence was there before Amalia, and just as she silently concluded, Ronin did indeed look like shit.

I know she said. And then Vi spoke to me.

Shooting Ronin a glance that seemed both skeptical and confused, Remi pulled in a breath as he moved to reclaim his seat by the fire. Drawing his knees up to his chest and crossed his ankles one over the other, Remi tilted his head in a decidedly avian gesture in Amalia's direction. "The gods are chatty." He quipped dryly, unable to get his hopes up about what the baker was here to say. Were it good news, her face would not have been so stony, he was sure.

I forgot what it was like, to think I found you finally

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RONIN

Yes, yes, the gods were chatty and he looked like shit. Now that the basics were established, perhaps they could move on to murdering the fucking Ascended figuring the rest out. "There's more?" he asked, not wasting time or energy and sinking back down in his previous spot before the fire, letting the flames warm his back while they all spoke.

"I wasn't aware that Vi gave interviews," he said dryly, unable to help himself; he certainly didn't seem in any rush to save Safrin, as far as the hunter knew.

"So what did he say?" Back to the subject at hand. Probably for the best.

a star in someone else's sky

Coding base by Sky!

Amalia

she was afraid of heights

The exhaustion in the air is palpable, and Amalia wonders how they are able to go on, suffocated so by despair. The shock of hearing Sam was there is finally wearing off, at least; inhaling deeply, the baker rallies, half-smiling wryly as they mention chatty gods. The smile shifts to a frown at Ronin's comment, a twinge of unhappiness with the obvious irreverence.

But... he's dying. Or worse. So he's earned a pass.

"So. We know the Ascended spread the blight. And that the Spire Demon had it, too. And that Ronin - and presumably the others who have it - aren't dying so much as changing." She inhales, each statement feeling like blood on her tongue. She knows they do not want to hear it, that they already know, but it is time to lay all their cards on the table, to try to make sense of this mess once and for all. "Vi knows, too. He's- he has a plan. To save Safrin, and the woods, and everything else, but he's waiting for Deepfrost. I... I think he wants to burn it out. Or something. I don't know."

but she was much more afraid

of never flying

"The demon had the blight?" Remi said, sitting up a good deal straighter and glancing over his shoulder at the fire roaring behind them. Fire had been extremely potent against it after-all. The comment about changing had Remi gritting his teeth and lowering his eyes. Sadly the pair new about that too. Though he thought of it in terms of Ronin dying, just recently his husband had revealed that that...wasn't exactly correct.

"To save Safrin?" Remi again repeated, apparently his only contribution to this conversation was to be a parrot. Shooting Ronin a hopeful look (they'd just been saying that if Safrin was healed, perhaps Ronin would be implicitly cured as well), he frowned hearing that the plan was to wait.

"That does not leave much time." He offered in a dull and unhelpful voice.

I forgot what it was like, to think I found you finally

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RONIN

It was a shame, at least for Ronin, that of all the information Amalia had to give, the only new stuff was about something he probably wouldn't live to see. At least not in his current state, anyway. (It was unfortunate, too, that the baket had come across him in one of his less agreeable states, liable to snap and become uncharacteristically angry).

"Wonderful. So I'm to end up, potentially, like the thing that killed me." His voice was low and furious and defeated, Ronin wrinkling his nose and remembering the stench of decay, the rictus grin, the leathered flesh. "At least there is a plan." He glanced to Remi. "That means the blight might end, even if it is too late for me."

a star in someone else's sky

Coding base by Sky!

Amalia

she was afraid of heights

She tries not to flinch at his uncharacteristic snap, a dull and terrible ache for her friend sitting like stone in the pit of her stomach. The fury is familiar, though, something she saw in Kiada, in Jigano. May have seen in Melita, too. It sounds like the blight talking. It sounds like defeat.

It sounds like giving up, which is something they can't afford to do.

"It means you won't die," the baker bites back, suddenly hard, ironlike and stalwart. "It means we have time. With the demon, the blight took years, I think- with you it seems faster, but we don't know that it's not reversible."

Rising up in the warm hall, Amalia begins to pace, her hands pulled tight across her chest. "If we find the people with symptoms and keep them contained - or are prepared to contain them, if they become irrational - we can protect them until they find a cure. And in the meantime we need to stop Ascended from going into the Greatwood. Maybe from biting people- we don't know if it's transmitted through the bite. Which will be hard, with Wessex as Queen, since she's the Voice's biggest supporter. So we need to talk to Delah, to have the Fae increase patrols." She is babbling, rambling, idea after idea, trying to illuminate the overwhelming doom with something close to hope. Maybe it is not much, but it is all she has to offer.

but she was much more afraid

of never flying

"Stop." Remi warned in a low voice. There was blight-sulking, and then there was just rubbing glass into a wound. A wound that didn't only cause pain to Ronin. Not looking at his partner as he spoke, the alchemist frowned unhappily at his clasped hands, a silent snarl appearing briefly on his lips before fading away into a sigh.

"Are any of the ascended sick?" The alchemist asked, looking up towards Amalia who seemed to have a better running roster of the infected than Remi currently did. As for the rest? Wessex, Delah and so? That all seemed like crown-related business, and as such the alchemist fell silent. He had thoughts of course, but it didn't feel like it was his place. Not with two much more capable minds present to discuss.

I forgot what it was like, to think I found you finally

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RONIN

Ronin had already opened his mouth to bite back at Amalia - contained, was it? Like they were animals? Like they didn't have the capacity to think or decide for themselves? But Remi was already laying down the law, and much as he clenched his jaw or balled his hands into fists or felt the flush of heat on his skin, Ronin schooled himself and kept quiet. And he listened, as the baker continued to speak, to suggest and to give ideas that, for all Ronin's fury, were very good.

"I will speak to Wessex. And to Delah," he said, at least one of those conversations having been on his to-do list for some time. "With the Fae, though, I would appreciate any diplomatic voice there with me, given how little I seem to give a fuck about the lot of you lately."

a star in someone else's sky

Coding base by Sky!

Amalia

she was afraid of heights

The tension between the men is obvious, but Amalia pretends she does not see it. Ronin's anger stings and singes, but it is understandable, forgivable, at least for now. Glancing at Remi, the girl frowns. "Not that I know of. Kiada... I think Jigano may be. Phoebe. And some of the Fae." Who else is ill, who else is unknown, who else is suffering in silence and fear?

They need to move quickly, to reach them all, to put plans into place before it becomes too late.

Ronin's agreement is a welcome surprise, and the girl blinks gratefully at the furious King. "I can help with the Fae. I've spoken to Delah before." She glances at Remi, suspecting he will not like this next suggestion. "It... it might be worthwhile to contact Arduinna, too. She's the only one I know of who's been able to rid someone of the blight."

but she was much more afraid

of never flying

Shooting Ronin a gaze that is both hurt, and impatient, he offers his husband a silent look in the language of the married: fucking watch it, mister. Remi is about to offer himself as a guide to the village before recalling that Amalia knows the way as well.

Instead of frowning at Amalia's suggestion, Remi sighs and lets his head hand slightly. "She gave me a charm...for Aoife. To protect her from the blight." He admits to the baker in a low voice. "I am not sure if she can do more...she has not offered anything, afterall. But she was able to cure the Undine in the Woods with the aid of the healers and unicorns. Perhaps..." His lips twitch. "I could come with you to the woods, and go and find Ianto. If any know how to get on her good side or offer her something for her assistance, it will be him."

This of course will be no easy task, as Ronin will be aware of. But then again, it isn't as though any of the options are without their pinch-points.

I forgot what it was like, to think I found you finally

Coding base by Sky!