the crooked kind

R E X A N N A golden child, lion girl — tell me what it’s like to conquer. She hadn’t strayed far before now, simply remaining nearby the Sanctuary. Yet Rexanna knew there had to be more around this land than just ruins, books, and beer. So she set off, seeking what other things this world might hold. It seemed desolate, dark, haunting in places, especially the closer she slipped toward that terrible looking Spire. Heaving a quiet sigh, Rexanna shook her head and continued her search for anything and yet everything. Much to her surprise, she stumbled upon a place that looked like a beautiful wonderland out of a book. There was no darkness, destruction, terror that loomed in this place. Instead, in its place, the sun streaked gold through the leaves and birds chirped far in the distance. It was almost peaceful – though she immediately grew concerned with the idea that it might be some kind of illusion, that perhaps the bright and pleasant spot in this world might be the deadliest. Dark brows furrowed together as she looked upon it, shifting on her feet slightly. “Well, here goes nothing.” She muttered, picking up her feet and stepping out into the Glade. fearless child, broken girl — tell me what it’s like to burn.

For Odd ! :D

Remi was back for more. Literally. With his leather-bag at his side, the alchemist was fully prepared to come home with a full supply of some of the plants that he'd need to start curating the liquors he'd promised to Vervain. Luckily the last time he'd been here he'd bumped into a natural named Georgia. Had he not, Remi might be at home on his deathbed if the herbalist had not warned him of the nature and effects of some of the local plant life. Humming softly to himself as he was want to do, Remi began to gather a few herbs he knew to be safe, tucking them into his bag as he went. Spying movement ahead, Remi tilted his gaze upwards to see what appeared the be the shape of a young woman breezing though the glade. Not wanting to disturb her, but also not wanting his presence to go unknown should that upset her as well, Remi closed the flap of his bag and set off in her direction. "Hallo–" He called, his accented voice perhaps making the greeting all the more sweet sounding, backed up by a rather boyish and welcoming smile. Rexanna remi Trying to teach my common sense to not waver with my confidence

R E X A N N A golden child, lion girl — tell me what it’s like to conquer. Perhaps it wasn’t some sort of ominous death that awaited her in this beautiful part of the land. But if Rexanna knew one thing, looks were deceiving. It seemed, however, that this place was just a nice place, regardless of how out of place it had seemed. She stepped into the Glade, feeling the earth squish lightly beneath her feet, and exhaled a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Her eyes opened and she glanced around the area briefly, her attention snagging on the little bits and pieces of detail that could be lost if you didn’t look close enough. But before she could venture any further, to place her hand on the rough hewn bark of the trees she found herself surrounded by, a voice piped up from around her. Immediately, Rexanna turned in a half spin – her sapphire gaze darting to the owner of the voice that had called out to her with a bit of surprise written all over her face. Yet, the man that approached seemed entirely nonthreatening and had only greeted her with a hello. Offering him a quiet smile, she moved away from where she stood to cross the distance to meet him, though the closer she got the more she recognized him from the meeting – the first one she had actually gotten a good bit of detail from. She dipped her head in greeting to him briefly before glancing to the pack he carried. “Remi, right?” She began, thankful that his name had been one of the first uttered so she’d have a good shot at remembering it. “I saw you at the meeting in the tavern. I’m Rexanna.” She offered easily, reminding herself that this was a new place and not everyone was out to get her. Perhaps she’d manage to make some friends in this endeavor. “Is this an okay place to be? I haven’t… explored much, but with the damage to most of the land around it seems rather surprising that this is still how it is.” She added, taking a moment to look around the glade before finding her attention settled on him again. fearless child, broken girl — tell me what it’s like to burn.

(Damnnit I just realized I should have thrown Edy in here instead. OH WELL) For a moment the alchemist looked slightly surprised, his mind curiously trying to unravel how it was she knew his name. Then as she elaborated, a boyish smile breached his face and he nodded with sudden understanding a slight embarrassment at having taken a few seconds longer than he should have to catch on. "Ahh yes." He agreed with another easy smile. Interesting meeting, that. The alchemist wasn't entirely sure what he had expected from Ronin's gathering, but Remi found he hadn't learned quite so much as he might have liked to. "A pleasure to meet you in an uncrowded room, Rexanna." His accent made her name more punctuated in places and flowy in others. Sounding more like Rehx-hahnnah. As she inquired as to whether she was allowed to be here, the alchemist could only shrug his shoulders gently as he too looked around. "I have not been told not to...other than the unknown flora and fauna posing a potential threat, I am not sure that there are any rules against being...anywhere." Actually, coming from Northaven where there were rules about everything and so many places off limits, having no restrictions or boundaries was rather unsettling. "Yes, that is quite strange." Remi agreed running a hand casually through his curls as he contemplated. "Whatever the barrier is it certainly seems magical. That this place has been unaffected might be a result of that?" Shrugged his shoulders gently to indicate a lack of confidence in his answer, he turned his pale gaze back towards the sapphire-eyed woman. "Though I do not know for sure." remi Trying to teach my common sense to not waver with my confidence

The glade might be untouched by the ravages of the barrier or whatever forces acted upon these strange lands. But that didn’t mean it was totally isolated. Indeed, as the pair would soon find, even this beautiful secluded place was not without it share of dangers. Just because something was tranquil on the surface didn’t mean there wasn’t something lurking underneath the surface. In this case, it was literally beneath the surface. It started small, just a shiver of the earth beneath their feet. The water began to ripple slightly and the leaves shivered as if there was an unseen wind. However, it quickly grew in intensity as the very ground itself began to buck. The two of them would find themselves flung from their feet to the punishing and still rumbling dirt. With a great cracking sound, the two would learn that trees did indeed make a sound as they fell. A great trunk was fully uprooted by the earthquake. It slammed down with some force and showering the pair with twigs and leaves, though thankfully it didn’t actually hit them. It tore up the ground as it fell, flinging dirt high into the air, and the roots pulled up most of the undergrowth of the area. The fallen tree and the cleared growth revealed an odd looking glade within the glade, containing what appeared to be a long neglected, debris covered, and now incredibly disheveled looking shrine, one somehow disturbed yet oddly untouched by the years.

R E X A N N A golden child, lion girl — tell me what it’s like to conquer. Perhaps she had caught him in surprise at remembering his name, perhaps she had been lucky to assume. But for a brief moment, before he confirmed, she worried that perhaps she had remembered the wrong name – how could you make friends if you got everything backwards? The worry vanished quickly once he didn’t correct her, and instead answered her greeting with his own, her name slipping from his lips in a very intricate way she hadn’t heard it said before. It caused a smile to bloom across her features as he continued, shrugging his shoulders and helping to inform her of what he knew. She nodded in agreement, at least knowing that there wasn’t some kind of curfew to being out at night or certain places quarantined. She glanced around the glade once more, as the man before her contemplated and she offered a casual shrug of her shoulders as well. “I suppose it’s hard to say. I arrived just a few days ago and haven’t ventured out much. I wasn’t sure how dangerous it could be.” She added, flashing him a quick smile. “Ive been in a bit of danger before falling into this, so forgive me if I’m a bit hesitant.” She paused, drawing in breath to continue speaking before the ground began to shake. It was little at first, and she stepped back briefly trying to focus on whether or not it was a real thing and not just a strange feeling for a strange land. But it grew, and grew, and grew, and she found herself doe eyed before she couldn’t keep her balance. The earth beneath her shifted, tossing her to the ground in a heap of pale arms and dark hair – remaining as still as she could for fear of something falling down straight on top of her. Her arms covered her head, hopeful that they’d take the brunt of whatever it was that came raining down on top of her. And then, it seemed, as quickly as it started, it stopped. She uncovered her head, her body covered in dirt and debris and found her sapphire gaze looking for Remi before spotting the shrine – yet she still didn’t move, afraid that perhaps if she were to stand, the ground would buckle beneath her. "Remi?" She called out, hoping to get an answer. First order of a to-do list, make sure she was okay, make sure Remi was okay, make sure the ground wasn’t going to split beneath them, and finally, investigate the shrine. She checked herself to see how well she faired, and aside from the dirt and dust, and a few scrapes and bruises, she managed to come out okay. Then, she needed to make sure Remi was okay. fearless child, broken girl — tell me what it’s like to burn.

Indicating that she'd been in a bit of danger prior to arriving here, the alchemist tilted his head in a decidedly avian-gesture to the side, silently puzzling at her response. Without knowing her well, the alchemist couldn't decide if she was inviting more threats or wanting to stray away from them. Indeed the small smile that proceeded the statement might have suggested that she was okay with mild interruptions to her day, but before Remi's mind could delve too deeply into parsing out her response, the ground began to heave beneath them. Without necessarily thinking, Remi jumped into the air and his body instantly shrank in size as his outstretched arms suddenly became wings. He had to avoid the flailing tree branches, but at least as a hawk he didn't have to deal with the buckling and bucking ground beneath his feet. As debris threatened to end his upward trajectory, the hawk dodged and dove to try and escape the sudden effects of the also sudden earthquake. Hearing the woman calling out to him as the world seemed to venture towards stillness again, the hawk gave a cry of recognition before gliding back towards the ground. Shifting back into his regular form with a breathless and sharp inhale, Remi moved quickly towards Rexanna, with one arm tentatively outstretched towards her to offer stability and support should he need it. Perhaps it was simple because his mind had never considered woman to be the focus of his sexual cravings, but Remi was normally infinitely comfortable around the fairer sex but also probably the least threatening presence one could imagine. And so even as his arm reached out for her and his eyes gently scanned her face, there was no trace of anything untoward; just simple care and concern. "Are you alright?" He asked, before looking around and spying the shrine which had been suddenly revealed. "Oh....no." He murmured under his breath, his sea-glass green eyes growing wide with concern and alarm. remi Trying to teach my common sense to not waver with my confidence

R E X A N N A golden child, lion girl — tell me what it’s like to conquer. She had been looking for a human body, but that would have hardly resulted in finding Remi in any timely manner. Instead, her eyes frantically darted around, glancing to each piece of earth, using her hands to brush off the debris on her to make it easier for her to look for him. But luckily, it didn’t take long. Instead of a human, she was greeted by a hawk’s cry. Her eyes widened as the bird flew toward the ground, shifting back into himself. Immediately, she was surprised at the magic used (having only seen magic similar in Halyven once in a very small while) and sharply inhaled as he reached toward her. Thankful, she took his arm gently for a few moments, partially to make sure she wasn’t going to fall over due to the surprise of what had happened between the earthquake – and the not quite man, bird, person she had met. His eyes scanned over her face while her eyes did the same to the rest of him before nodding to his answer. “Somehow, yes. Are you?” She questioned, tilting her head to get a better look upon him until she followed his darting eyes to the shrine that had just appeared. A quiet “oh no” and alarm gracing his bright eyes and immediately Rexanna began to feel a bit defensive. “What is it?” She asked quietly, her own sapphire gaze lingering on the shrine before she let go of Remi and kept her eyes on it. “Do we get closer?” She asked, concern causing her brows to furrow together . She didn’t particularly want to get closer, but she was infinitely more curious and one day she was certain it would be the death of her. What kind of thing could create such an earthquake to reveal some odd formation of stone? Did it want to be noticed? Or did it want to be left well enough alone? She figured the latter, but why go through so much trouble to reveal it if some unknown force wanted it hidden? Of course, Rexanna had no idea of what the gods here were like – if there were any – but she was a firm believer in some higher power. She figured without it, she would’ve been dead long ago. So she inhaled deeply, calming her racing heart and looked to Remi with apologetic eyes, hoping that perhaps it wouldn’t be such a terrible idea? “Do you think it's dangerous?” She asked with a slight smile twitching the corners of her lips up, unaware and naïve. Then, she took a step toward the shrine with another deep inhale, not realizing how stupid her possible last words were. fearless child, broken girl — tell me what it’s like to burn.

Gently he grasped her, his eyes hurriedly scanning her body and face for signs of any lingering trauma that she hadn't noted before. Relieved to see that they'd both somehow made it through unscathed, the alchemist sighed and gently released the sapphire-eyed woman with a lopsided smile. "I am, yes." He agreed, though somehow sheepishly. Shifting into a bird to escape rather than having attended to Rexanna, though she was only slightly more than just a stranger, was still not something he was proud of. "I—" Remi began, chewing his lip as his brows knit together over eyes growing cloudier and cloudier with concern. "I cannot say for sure, but I believe I know what it is." Glancing towards her thoughtfully as she inquired whether or not they could be closer, the alchemist nodded slowly and slightly. "I believe so...as long as we do not say anything we shouldn't." Said far more cryptically than he intended, Remi stepped forward, moving a few shrubs and branches that still lingered. Dangerous? Oh yes. A thousand times yes. Swallowing, Remi turned towards the woman with a hesitant and uneasy smile. "I have seen a shrine like this before ... inside of the temple.." Almost gulping down air, Remi ran a hand from back to front through his curls and shook his head slowly as crimson coloured his cheeks. The memories of what happened there and what had almost happened still troubled him. "A woman prayed to a god or...a deity? I am afraid I do not know the difference. And one came. But when..." Still unsure what language to use to properly capture Frey's ever-changing gender-characteristics, Remi opted for the neutral. "—when it came, it was terrifying. It bound us and threatened and.." Well, without getting into the fact that all but a rapey-orgy had been proposed (or ordered?) it was hard to describe with full persuasiveness just how fearful the alchemist was of the shrine. "I encountered another god as well, out in the woods. It ..." Biting his lip as he clenched his jaw, the alchemist found he couldn't repeat the words. Honesty was one of his most tantamount characteristics, but to admit he'd been forced to kill his own mother to a complete stranger? The wound was still too raw for that. "Again, it made me do things. Awful things." Clumsily he shook his head once again. "It did grant me this, though." Remi admitted reluctantly. Waving his hand, all of the twigs and leaves and other bits of debris still left on and around the shrine suddenly parted. Twitching his lips, Remi shrugged slightly as he glanced towards Rexanna to see what she might be making of all of this. remi Trying to teach my common sense to not waver with my confidence

R E X A N N A golden child, lion girl — tell me what it’s like to conquer. She listened, breathing a sigh of relief as he confirmed that he was fine as well. Had he voiced his concerns, she would have told him it didn’t matter much to her had he flown off – if she had the same ability she would, but as far as she was aware, she had nothing of any notability to try and protect herself. She offered him a smile of encouragement, as if to say that they had both made it and it was fine, before she gave him his attention once again as he began to speak – having known of a similar shrine that had appeared. Her eyes lingered as he explained, and she nodded once again. “Noted.” She added quietly, thinking over what she might have to say in case it happened. After a few moments he turned to her and began to speak of seeing them before and she nodded, greedily, thankful for any kind of information. She nodded along as he offered the information easily – or perhaps as much as she thought she needed, she’d have no idea of anything else that might have occurred. But still, she remained silent, watching him curiously as he explained how the one god threatened him, and then the other one caused him to do these terrible things and she found a frown finding her face. The frown soon turned to bewilderment as she watched him move the twigs and debris from the shrine with the wave of an arm. “Perhaps we’ll find the benevolent one?” She questioned quietly, reaching out an arm in an attempt to comfortingly touch him and offer some kind of sympathy, the only kind a stranger could give without having known them. Inhaling through her nose, she offered him a more comforting smile and nodded. “Shall we?” She questioned, looking back to the clear path to the shrine and moving toward it. fearless child, broken girl — tell me what it’s like to burn.

" Wouldn't that be nice." Remi replied, his thickly accented voice making his skepticism all the more apparent in his tone. Still, the smile on his face and the light in his eyes spoke volumes of his trust and sincerity. If Rexanna wanted to press this, he'd indeed stand by her. As a man, and not a beast. With a shaky and deep breath, Remi nodded. Perhaps cleaning the shrine would have at least earned the pair a bit of good will? "Gods of this place. Please hear us." Remi began, his lips sculpting the words even as his heart hammered in his chest. Flashed of blood on his mothers throat and Phoebe's horrified expression danced in the back of his eyes. He heard Frey's voice outing him before a complete stranger and woman he'd only met a few times, as well as the silky and devastatingly real voice of his mother promising him that death was the answer. Glancing quickly towards Rexanna, Remi sent up a silent prayer that this encounter would not end with either of them naked. Closing his eyes once more, Remi added: "If you can hear us, we would like to speak with you." Then, remembering his manners, he continued: "Please." remi Trying to teach my common sense to not waver with my confidence

Frey Beholders beware, there are no safe words Honestly, these mortals were so silly sometimes. Gods and goddesses didn’t have concepts of nice and mean, right and wrong, good and evil. Those were for philosophers and people, not beings of divine power and unfathomable depths. Some of them might seem to care more for people, but it was a lie, since all of them were in charge of specific domains and had their own specific priorities as a result. So ‘the nice ones’ and the ‘bad ones’ really was a terrible way of categorizing them. None of them would ever be truly mortal, and therefore wouldn’t ever fully align with mortal concerns. Besides, one person’s nice was another person’s rude. It was all so relative and dependent on a variety of factors. Moreover, in the end, it was irrelevant. Frey certainly thought they were nice. After all, what was so bad about giving people a little love in their lives? And sex was fantastic and good for the mind and the body. So in that sense, Frey was indeed the nice one, and no one would tell them otherwise. Well, they could try, but then they’d find out just how mean Frey could be. Then again, crossing any of the deities was a terrible idea. However, even showing up was ‘nice,’ since the gods didn’t have to do anything they didn’t want to, and gracing mortals with their divine presence was a blessing and should always be considered as such. If the mortals kept complaining about not getting one of the 'nice ones' then the 'mean ones' might stop being so benevolent upon arrival. That was a problem for the future. And all this thinking was hurting their brain, and the supplicant was someone who Frey had encountered before, so the deity supposed appearing wouldn’t be so bad. Besides, having someone else to play with for once would be nice. Their last session with the mortals had sadly got cut short when that redhead went way too far, and Frey was hungry for something that actually reached a climax. If they did, maybe they'd see that Frey too could be a nice one. This time, Frey didn’t appear with much fanfare. In their last manifestation, they’d put on a whole song and dance, but honestly, repetition was boring. Variety was the spice of life, and Frey tried to experience their existence to the fullest. The first sign of their appearance would be a sweet and relaxing scent, like incense, drifting through the air and winding around the two people by the shrine. Then, Frey spoke, their voice laced with wicked delight. ”So nice and polite. Too bad for you I like it a bit naughty.” If the two mortals looked, they would find the god on their side lounging on a bed of grass, propped up on one elbow. Their head was resting in their hand while the other traced alluring patterns on their skin. Completely nude, of course. Frey winked at Remi, delight sparkling in their eyes and sensuality dripping from their words. As with last time, their appearance was indeterminate, but oh so very attractive, looking like whoever the viewer most desired, or the platonic ideal of that. Even though they weren’t actively turning these mortal's minds to mush or trying to charm the two, both Remi and Rexanna would find themselves increasingly and inexorably attracted to Frey. Speaking of the woman, Frey turned their gaze to her and wrinkled their nose. She was one of those distasteful Abandoned. Pity that, given that she was quite the attractive specimen. Oh well, maybe she’d prove better than most of her kind. At least she was gorgeous. Actually, now that Frey thought about it, there was something different about Remi as well. Languidly running their gaze along his body, they realized what it was. ”Two abandoned? Hon, why’d you go and do that to yourself. I mean, you’re still pretty, and pretty hot, but you were such a tasty morsel before.” Letting out a long suffering sigh, Frey then yawned, clearly bored. Two abandoned, both still clothed, neither of them doing anything fun or interesting. ”Well then, get on with it.” They'd called Frey here, but there hadn't been a specific request, and seeing as Remi and Rexanna  weren't even making out, let alone doing something that Frey would find appealing, the deities' interest was already waning. They could call on the gods all they wanted, and sometimes the gods would answer, but the mortals wouldn't always like the answer. If they wanted better responses, they'd have to give better offers. Frey was feeling lazy, so they weren't going to do all the work here.

R E X A N N A golden child, lion girl — tell me what it’s like to conquer. So as it turned out, Rexanna was a naïve creature, uncertain of what this land held. She had never met a god before, she had never been on the receiving end of some eternal and infinite deity. The closest she had come was just believing in one, letting that take her through the darkest days she’d had, trapped in a dark dungeon waiting for death. Yet, she nodded to Remi encouragingly as his accented voice called upon the gods, as if he had experience calling them more than once. Perhaps he was the one that had called upon the gods that had done so many terrible things? Either way, Rexanna was hopeful as her sapphire gaze slipped to the shrine, her breath hitching a bit as his call to the gods ended. What happened now? Her eyes had never left the alter, and nothing at first seemed to happen. Perhaps it was better that way to have no response to it than to have a terrible one as Remi had told her previously. After a few more seconds, she turned her head to look at Remi, mouth parting slightly to ask a question before a smell greeted the two of them – so sweet and soothing and Rexanna found her eyebrows furrowing together. Her lips sealed shut as a voice rang out too, both beautiful and dangerously alluring, and the woman found herself spinning toward the source. The god before her was completely nude and Rexanna would have been a bit taken aback were it not for her previous encounters before slipping into this world. Rexanna wasn’t a virgin by any stretch, and she glanced to Remi a bit worriedly. Before, she had used sex as a means to an escape – to slip away from guard. It wasn’t something she particularly was proud of, nor was it something she enjoyed much anymore. And she liked Remi well enough as a friend to not go and desecrate that meaning by sleeping with him and this deity. She paused in her thoughts, watching as Frey winked to Remi and turned their attention to her. Her breath hitched a bit, and she found herself wanting to look away until Frey’s voice cut in once again, spouting the word abandoned, and before Rexanna could actually contemplate what that meant, Frey had moved on and asked them to move on with it. She looked to Remi then, offering him a small smile and shrug of her shoulders. “I don’t really know what to ask other than things about this place, so if you have something better, go ahead and ask.” She paused, chewing on her lip slightly and tugging on the hemline of her shirt. Then, as an idea sprung to Rex’s mind, she turned toward Remi and leaned into him should he let her, aiming her head toward his neck and ear. “It’s not my first time, and we might be able to ask more questions.” Her voice was soft and aimed only for Remi to hear, her sapphire gaze hoping to scan his face. fearless child, broken girl — tell me what it’s like to burn.

The smell was both pleasing and terrifying. Remi had in fact been hoping that nothing would happen. Better he look ignorant and incorrect than have to face either Frey or Ludo again. But as the sweet smell filled his lungs and even tingled his tastebuds, Remi felt a cold thrill of dread course through him. Looking towards Rexanna with wide and uncertain eyes, the alchemist swallowed and inhaled a shaky breath. The appearance of Frey nearly prostrated in the grass stopped Remi's breath in his throat as well. Unable to draw his eyes away from Frey's form as he had been the last time, Remi waited for the insatiable and tantalizing thrust of pleasure and desire to wash through him, but it didn't. At least not as strongly as it did last time, which was a relief. As it was, Remi could feel adrenaline and raw want flush through his system and colour his cheeks. Even so, the alchemist was helpless to look away, finding in Frey's dazzling gaze a beatific shade of blue he'd recognize anywhere.  With none of his normal wit or charming humour, the alchemist merely stared at the deity, nodding his head in awkward agreement. Being called too polite for Frey's tastes was the least of his worries just now. Frey's appearance, both looking distinctly like Loren but also not, was unnerving, a complete turn-on, and an utter distraction all at the same time. Lowering his head slightly, Remi nodded stiffly, his pale gaze focused with burning intensity on the grass just below Frey. "It was not my choice. Ludo found me in the Woodlands and..." Swallowing down the bile that wanted to rush into the back of his throat, the alchemist felt his hands clenching and unclenching at the memory, his accent slipping into something less comprehendible for it. Glancing towards Rexanna as she leaned in, Remi felt the heat in his cheeks blaze at the implication of her words. Pale green eyes rose to her sapphire ones, looking both alarmed and submissive. It was certainly not Remi's first time either, but never once had the alchemist used sex before. Well. That wasn't true at all. Remi had used it as a narrative to keep his preferences a secret. Even so, Remi couldn't imagine sleeping with Rexanna purely to gain information. Such wasn't his way. But would he have a choice? "I–" Remi mumbled, the words dying on his lips as he summoned up the strongest mental image of Loren that he could manage. If this was going to happen in any manner similar to last time, let it at least happen with Loren being the only one he saw. Glancing towards Frey, Remi snaked a protective arm around Rexanna's waist, his chin raising slightly as he tried to steel his nerves. Against what he wasn't entirely sure, and though Remi was not a coward by any means, nor was he assertive enough for the type of confrontation that Frey would likely enjoy. "Is that what happens? You come and answer questions in exchange for–" Glancing towards Rexanna Remi swallowed again, his fingers tightening slightly around her waist. "–for sex?" remi Trying to teach my common sense to not waver with my confidence