Love mends even the broken parts
At the raised hand, the Launceleyn stopped, and gave the other man a cold smile. Seemed that he didn’t want to be too close to the summoner, not anymore. Good. Remi and Loren had both found clarity, it seemed. Too bad it had just shown them they were on opposite ends of a flipping coin, and no one, not even the gods, knew which way it would land. ”So, if you know so much, if you’re suddenly so wise, can you tell me why I’d want to be around someone selfish? Someone who treated me unfairly? A reason that’s not selfish?” Just because the alchemist knew himself didn’t mean he knew the Launceleyn. Remi couldn’t—and not just because of his missing memories—because if he did, he would never have treated Loren so callously. ”Are you so convinced that you’re so irresistibly charming that people will just throw themselves at you?” The summoner’s voice came out with an idle curiosity, but his eyes told the truth: he didn’t buy anything the alchemist was selling.
Loren chuckled again as the other man begged. ”No, it was because I think she’s a fake. I think her pure and perfect Phoebe act is just that, an act.” The Launceleyn stepped aside to lean against the doorway, a languid and disrespectful slouch coming over him. ”You know she said she cared about us equally? Some best friend you got there.” However, the summoner had one more reason to give Remi. ”Maybe it has something to do with the fact that when I asked her if she had a crush on me, she didn’t deny it. And she was quick to tell me that I was wrong about pretty much everything else.” Indeed, the omission had been quite, quite glaring, and quite, quite pathetic. ”So I thought to myself, anyone who would betray their best friend like that can’t be a very good person. Which is what I told her.”
The alchemist wore his heart on his sleeve. For once, the Launceleyn was doing the same. ”Then I guess I have to go with that age old adage: be careful what you wish for.” Because Remi had gotten it, and then some. The summoner would be lying if he said that the sight of the other man flinching away from a few sparks wasn’t satisfying. And Loren didn’t lie anymore.
At Remi’s next comment, the summoner just smiled chillingly and pushed off the doorframe. ”Then what’s it about then? LongNight? You?” The smile deepened and grew darker. ”Oh wait, you don’t mean me, do you? I’m fine, Remi. Better than ever.” That was true, too: as soon as the Launceleyn had given in to his training, his instincts, and his inclinations, all his troubles and cares had slid away.
Yeah, based on how incompetent Wessex had seemed lately and how absent Ronin was, Loren wasn’t surprised to hear the alchemist say people wouldn’t stay indoors. ”I know. She told me that she still feels like she wants to die most days.” There wasn’t any sympathy or sadness in the Launceleyn’s voice, just a sort of coldly clinical analytic tone. As if the baker was a puzzle to be dissected. The conversation came back to amulets, so maybe the visit was about LongNight after all. Funnily enough, the summoner could count to three, and two was not three. Without saying a word, he lifted the full amulet with his telekinesis, then put one in each hand; in his left hand, he summoned another Spark Bird, causing more electricity, heat, and light to crackle, while his right hand glowed sky-blue as he poured his healing into the last amulet. Then he gathered all three in his hands, and held them out to the other man.
However, the alchemist was holding out amulets of his own. Always the bleeding heart. ”That’s nice. But I don’t need you, and I don’t need your magic.” Loren smirked. ”You need me, though, don’t you?” That was obvious, given that Remi had shown up at the Manor despite everything between them, after the other man had promised to leave the summoner alone. Guess that was another lie. ”Don’t worry. I don’t mind being useful.” Loren dropped his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. ”I just don’t like being used, like you used me.”
Loren chuckled again as the other man begged. ”No, it was because I think she’s a fake. I think her pure and perfect Phoebe act is just that, an act.” The Launceleyn stepped aside to lean against the doorway, a languid and disrespectful slouch coming over him. ”You know she said she cared about us equally? Some best friend you got there.” However, the summoner had one more reason to give Remi. ”Maybe it has something to do with the fact that when I asked her if she had a crush on me, she didn’t deny it. And she was quick to tell me that I was wrong about pretty much everything else.” Indeed, the omission had been quite, quite glaring, and quite, quite pathetic. ”So I thought to myself, anyone who would betray their best friend like that can’t be a very good person. Which is what I told her.”
The alchemist wore his heart on his sleeve. For once, the Launceleyn was doing the same. ”Then I guess I have to go with that age old adage: be careful what you wish for.” Because Remi had gotten it, and then some. The summoner would be lying if he said that the sight of the other man flinching away from a few sparks wasn’t satisfying. And Loren didn’t lie anymore.
At Remi’s next comment, the summoner just smiled chillingly and pushed off the doorframe. ”Then what’s it about then? LongNight? You?” The smile deepened and grew darker. ”Oh wait, you don’t mean me, do you? I’m fine, Remi. Better than ever.” That was true, too: as soon as the Launceleyn had given in to his training, his instincts, and his inclinations, all his troubles and cares had slid away.
Yeah, based on how incompetent Wessex had seemed lately and how absent Ronin was, Loren wasn’t surprised to hear the alchemist say people wouldn’t stay indoors. ”I know. She told me that she still feels like she wants to die most days.” There wasn’t any sympathy or sadness in the Launceleyn’s voice, just a sort of coldly clinical analytic tone. As if the baker was a puzzle to be dissected. The conversation came back to amulets, so maybe the visit was about LongNight after all. Funnily enough, the summoner could count to three, and two was not three. Without saying a word, he lifted the full amulet with his telekinesis, then put one in each hand; in his left hand, he summoned another Spark Bird, causing more electricity, heat, and light to crackle, while his right hand glowed sky-blue as he poured his healing into the last amulet. Then he gathered all three in his hands, and held them out to the other man.
However, the alchemist was holding out amulets of his own. Always the bleeding heart. ”That’s nice. But I don’t need you, and I don’t need your magic.” Loren smirked. ”You need me, though, don’t you?” That was obvious, given that Remi had shown up at the Manor despite everything between them, after the other man had promised to leave the summoner alone. Guess that was another lie. ”Don’t worry. I don’t mind being useful.” Loren dropped his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. ”I just don’t like being used, like you used me.”
loren
