fishing for a dream

she had magic in her eyes even the stars envied

The fish successfully deposited in the tank (with no little indignation on its part), Amalia crawls out of the water and gives herself a thorough shake, sending droplets of moisture flying out like crystals of searing ice.

Shifting back to leopardess form, the baker sets about grooming herself, trying to get out the last of the moisture and shivering in the cold. Remi's question draws her attention up; Yes, she answers, glancing at the fish with a sharp exhale. If you touch the scales it's like... like a waking dream? Like all the things that are going on in your mind come to the fore. Not something I'm looking for right now, the girl confesses bashfully, thinking of the multitude of anxieties pressing down on her mind.

say it's here where our pieces fall in place

Holding up one of the furs dramatically as if he is made of sugar and might melt, Remi lowers it and flashes the leopard a boyish smile. "Nor me." He agrees with a nod. "Deimos was telling me about..mountains? the other afternoon. I think I would prefer that instead." With a voice having taken on a slight dream-like quality, he turns to regard the fish swimming easily in the tank.

"You cannot do that, can you?" He asks the fish rhetorically with a bit of a sigh.

she had magic in her eyes even the stars envied

As Remi lifts up his fur Amalia easily takes advantage, attempting to slip up to him for warmth, a low purr resonating from her feline chest as she turns an innocent and pitiful look up to gaze at her friend. He's told me about them, too, she says softly, gazing back across the Oasis. It sounds incredible. I... I want to see everything, one day.

Rolling over with her head in his lap in clear invitation for skritches, the leopardess exhales a heavy whuff, staring at the sky and dreaming of mountains. Do you think there are any here? Past the Greatwood, maybe? I mean- I saw some in a map, once, but still.

say it's here where our pieces fall in place

"I wish I could purr." He admits with a smile, rolling his tongue against the top of his mouth before shrugging. It isn't the same in his other forms when he trills, growls, or squeaks. There's something infinitely satisfying about the sound and reverberations of a purr. Placing a fur on the ground for the leopardess to sit on and one for her shoulders, the alchemist glances at the ring of trees around them and sighs. "Me too." He agrees.

Remi nods immediately. "I do. I mean...this cannot be all there is. Caido is large, so everyone says. The real question is which will we find first: oceans, or mountains?" Closing his eyes, he sighs. "Truthfully, I am hoping for oceans. I miss beaches and the salty spray from the water."

she had magic in her eyes even the stars envied

I hope it's the ocean, too. Deepening her purr obligingly, the leopardess closes her eyes. I met someone who told me about whales that live in the water. It sounds incredible. Her world has always been so small: to realize how much exists outside it, and that she has a chance of discovering it all... it's a little overwhelming, truth be told.

Couple that with her pervasive guilt for the barrier coming down at all, and well. A lot more feelings than a single dream fish could cure, she imagines.

Speaking of which. Do you think we should take it to Safrin? Opening one eye, she peers at the fish, watching it circle despondently in its tank.

say it's here where our pieces fall in place

Feeling the pulse of..withdrawal? fear? smallness? the alchemist can't help but feel a momentary flicker of guilt. Here he is talking of other worlds, while Amalia knows only this. Instead of shrinking away though, it merely gives him hope for all that she will one day see. "We did not have whales so close to the shore, but sometimes there were schools of dolphins. Or fish that seemed to change colour in the sun."

Glancing over his shoulder at the fish, the alchemist considers. "Is that what you did last year?" He knows Phoebe had one...and there was one trailing behind Ronin and he thinks Amalia as well. He'd never stopped to ask where they'd come from though, there was always too much going on what with the overwhelming amount of death.

she had magic in her eyes even the stars envied

Dolphins? Amalia questions, curious, not recognizing the animal from her limited knowledge. Are they friendly? Are they free of blight? The leopardess sighs, biting her lip. I'm... I'm afraid that wherever we go, the Voice will follow

Remi's question makes her sit up, a quizzical expression on the baker's face as she shifts back into human form. "I didn't do anything," she admits, quirking her lip. "It just... Appeared. I thought you gave them to her."

say it's here where our pieces fall in place

"Very friendly." He replies with a grin. Closing his eyes he tries to impart the imagery of the one he'd met—a shifter—to Amalia. Her cheeky and sleek smile. The effortless way she could glide through the water. With a sad shrug, Remi nods. "She might. Maybe it is naive, but...surely there is some way we can all just..get along?" With a flush, the alchemist realizes just how absurdly naive it sounds, and sighs.

"Oh." He says, blinking with surprise. "It was for a quest. His light ring, but...Safrin did take the fish after.." Biting his lower lip, he merely glanced at Amalia and shrugged. "I suppose it would not hurt?"

she had magic in her eyes even the stars envied

Get along? Amalia tenses a little, her purr momentarily replaced by a low, unhappy growl. How can he expect to get along with the monster that consigned them all to centuries of captivity, who within months of being liberated began killing all that lived with the blight? Has he forgotten that she is responsible for Safrin, for Ronin, for all the rest?

But she assumes he knows this, so doesn't say it aloud. Instead she moves forward toward the water, letting her fingers slip into the tank, circling thoughtfully and reaching out to try and soothe the fish. "Oh. Well, I suppose we could leave it at the Shrine?" Amalia says dubiously. "Or take it home, but I don't think it's going to do much protecting in this state."

say it's here where our pieces fall in place

Feeling her unease, the alchemist exhales a steady sigh. "All I meant is...From what the ascended say, it seems like she does think she has good intentions. And maybe she does not. But without her, do you think her bright ones will continue living? I would not condemn them all just to extinguish her. Not that it is up to me of course." Which is a good thing. Ruffling a hand through his curls he merely pulses an uneasy uncertainty towards his companion.

Turning to watch her, he hums a thoughtful sound. "Or maybe it will. I...do not pretend to know as much about Safrin as you and Ronin, but at this point, I will take anything that might help."

she had magic in her eyes even the stars envied

He's right: there is more than the Voice to think about, though Amalia wonders if there isn't a way around that. "Safrin told me that the Voice keeps their souls, but that Ludo has bargained for some in the past. Maybe, if there was a way to retrieve them..." But would the Ascended even want that? The ones she can think of are all comitted to the Voice despite the danger she presents to the world.

"Safrin told me she can't touch them, but if we bring them to her she can enchant them," Amalia says softly because what are timelines. "We could take this one to the shrine? Or try to call her here..." She is loathe to put more pressure on the goddess who was so recently ill, but her writer is worried about longnight perhaps they are near enough to the shrine already it will not matter.

say it's here where our pieces fall in place

"A soul heist." Remi says, all boyish energy and crooked smiles. He can see it now, Oceans-11 style; swagger, jokes, Ronin shirtless at some point. "Certainly something to consider." He adds, as if it is at all up to them. As if it is the sort of thing they are remotely capable of.

"The shrine is not terribly far. If we go and she does not answer, we could leave it. Any predator who tries to take it for an easy meal will find themselves horribly mistaken."

she had magic in her eyes even the stars envied

"That sounds good," Amalia agrees, rising from where she kneels beside the water and stepping back to let him raise the tank with his telekinesis. "I'll lead the way. I want to show you something, anyway."

And with a vibrant grin and a surge of pride and wonder and slight abashment the Shield lets her body change, the newest form rising in her place, large and dawn-colored, dragon and deer, clouds of steam beneath her feet.

say it's here where our pieces fall in place

If it was Ronin, Remi would have had an entirely inappropriate retort. For the baker though he merely smiles obligingly, indeed raising the tank and following her through the thick snow.

And then...

Mouth falling open, the alchemist trudges to an abrupt halt. Dark lashes lined with snow blink rapidly over a stunned sea-glass stare. It is Amalia, he's just seen her change after all, but he literally has no words to describe what he sees before him. She's unicorn and deer and dragon? all rolled into one, blended seamlessly in ways that his studious mind would not have thought possible. His fingers itch to sketch this form, to mark it forever because when he later remembers it, he's sure to forget something.

"You..." Words fail him as they so often do, but laughter does. His cheeks dimple as the alchemist laughs boyishly and without hesitation. "...are incredible." Remi manages after a moment.