[se] give me a second light

"Hence the wagon." Remi agreed with a grin. He didn't quite feel Loren's same enthusiasm, which was strange given their respective personalities, but he was content enough to float in the waters of it just the same. "I think I have lost that title." He replied quietly, seeming not to be bothered by it. He'd never wanted it in the first place, though there was a small prick of something in the back of his mind as the Launceleyn mentioned it. Just another thing that the alchemist wasn't anymore, most likely. Snorting as a flush briefly coloured his cheeks, Remi raised his eyebrows and shook his head with mock worry. "I think I would be happy to never hear you say you are obligated to pump me full of anything, ever again." He teased, half-narrowing one eye to stare slyly at the Launceleyn. The change in Loren was so swift and total that Remi found himself all but gawking at his almost-maybe-again-friend. Unconsciously one of his hands went to his wrist where once a golden cuff had been, and he rubbed at the spot now free of any such adornment. Loren's easy smile broke the alchemist out of his reverie, and he returned it with equal boyish ease. "Not keeping track sounds best." The alchemist agreed, letting Loren lead the way. Once upon a time it had been the location of their last kiss, but now that was likely a memory long forgotten by the Launceleyn and unremembered by the alchemist. Reaching for a bottle of something clear and smelling sweetly of botanicals, Remi poured them each a glasses' worth. "So?" When was the last time Remi and Loren had done small talk? "What's new?" R E M I I followed your ashes into outer space

LOREN

Rather than respond to the wagon comment, Loren just sent Remi a pulse of understanding. However, the Launceleyn very much disagreed with the alchemist’s next statement. Which title. Manticore? Objectively true. Super mage? Also true. Terrifying figure? Ehhhh okay, probably not true. Again, it didn’t take long to shift to amusement. Keep your teeth to yourself, and no pumping will be necessary.

Although he noted the other man’s surprise, the summoner didn’t comment on it. Instead, he just nodded at Remi's words. "Sounds good to me." Loren sat and took the glass Remi offered. Raising it in a toast, the summoner took a sip. ”This is excellent!” His smile broadened into a full grin.

Then, however, he blinked at the alchemist’s question. ”Uhhh.” Letting out a huff of laughter, the Launceleyn ran a hand through his hair. ”Not much. Helped out with a bunch of Fiat Lux prep. Planning on starting my school.” Hesitating for a brief moment as his eyes searched the other man’s features, the summoner continued in a much quieter tone. ”Courting and being courted by Abasi.”

light is precious in a world so dark
begin at the beginning
tell a story. make some light

Rather than clarifying—Loren had said strongest he'd ever met, not super mage—Remi was happy to simply shake his head in amusement as the badger eventually conceded that at least 'terrifying figure' wasn't' an apt descriptor. Strong as he might appear, there was simply something too gentle about Remi, a kindness in his gaze that very rarely dimmed completely. Only a select few had seen it go out entirely, and at least one of them wasn't around any longer to speak of it. "Well it ought to be." Remi said with a grin, turning the bottle so that the label could be seen. 195 it read. As always, the alchemist was rather unimaginative when it came to naming things, thus the implication being it was the one hundred and ninety-fifth batch. Putting up one of his feet on a nearby crate of something or other and pushing enough to tilt his chair backwards, the alchemist nodded dutifully enough. "Is it time for Fiat Lux already?" Remi blew out an exasperated stream of air, ruffling a hand through his curls. The mention of Loren's continued relationship with Abasi made Remi momentarily pause, returning Loren's stare in earnest. The alchemist had said it wouldn't be easy for him to hear such things, but he had still encouraged Loren to be as free and honest as he wanted. "I met him." The alchemist said after a moment, taking a drink from his glass before rolling the cup between his palms. "He didn't know who I was, to you I mean. I thought it best to leave it that way." The alchemist added, brows nudging inwards for a moment in an expression of uncertainty. Remi hadn't wanted it to seem as though he was suggesting hiding the past; moreso he simply didn't think it mattered anymore. R E M I I followed your ashes into outer space

LOREN

Loren peered at the label, though he was confused at the number for a while. Then some old memory surfaced and he let out a huff of laughter. ”Well. I can’t wait until two hundred.” He lifted his glass in a toast to Remi’s brewing skills. ”Out of curiosity, what’s in it?” Taking another sip, the summoner tried to identify the taste besides plants.

As the alchemist ran a hand through his hair, the Launceleyn smiled gently. ”It is.” Tilting his head, his eyes narrowed slightly. ”You don’t seem all that pleased to hear that, though.” Sighing, he took another sip then held the glass loosely from the top. ”What’s on your mind?” His tone was gentle and inviting.

When the other man brought up the meeting with Abasi, the corner of Loren’s eyes crinkled. ”You might’ve thought it best, but I didn’t. I told him, about us.” He grinned, a full grin this time. ”Abasi values the truth as much as you do. So I’m trying to be as honest as I can be. With him, with you, with others, and with myself.” Flushing a little, he ran a hand through his hair.

light is precious in a world so dark
begin at the beginning
tell a story. make some light

"It starts with just an alcohol base—barley, wheat, potatoes all fermented together—then after it is infused with various botanicals. Some I have created, but mostly I go and try and source them naturally." Though Remi couldn't be sure that magically created herbs had a different taste, in his core he felt that they did. It was probably just some latent hangover of his childhood and adolescent views of magic, though. "Oh, it is not that.." He replied, shaking his head slightly. "Moreso that it feels as though time is passing far faster than it used to." To be fair, Remi had never shut himself away from the world this long before. Whatever Remi thought about this exchange—Loren's smile, the immediate joy he saw there in the lines by his eyes, the flush on his cheeks—he didn't say, nor gave any indication other than an understanding nod. "He seems quite interesting." The alchemist said with an easy smile. Not nice perhaps, nor kind, but those were not always traits that came out in an initial meeting. Indeed the undertaker had been quite rude, not that Remi had noticed. R E M I I followed your ashes into outer space

LOREN

Loren nodded along with Remi’s explanation. However, the summoner gave the other man a curious look. ”Were the created ones worse than the ones you gathered?” The Launceleyn took another sip, trying to parse through the flavors now that he knew what was supposed to be there.

Smiling gently at the alchemist, the summoner was quiet for a moment. When he spoke, his voice was soft. ”And how do you feel about that?” No assumptions, no advice, just a genuinely interested question.

At Remi’s slightly damning praise of Abasi, Loren barked out a laugh. Taking another sip of the drink, he grinned. ”He is quite particular in his tastes and his opinions, yes.” Shrugging, the Launceleyn gave the other man a half-helpless and half-apologetic look. ”But I like him and he likes me.” Again, he flushed, his tone more than a bit awkward.

light is precious in a world so dark
begin at the beginning
tell a story. make some light

"Not worse.." Remi replied with a bit of a thoughtful frown. Words had never been his strong suit, and now he hadn't the vocabulary at all to describe the strange juxtaposition of created vs. organic that he seemed to instinctively feel. "..magic still seems...something I am not meant to have. Maybe it is something to do with that." He said at last with a light shrug, taking another sip of the drink. "I do not like it." The alchemist answered immediately, though in a low and almost melancholy voice. "After everything that has happened, the things I have lost, I suppose I realize how precious it all is. There were weeks after Ronin had died where I would have happily traded another day with him. I suppose now I realize that these are those days." Remi smiled into his cup, the familiar sense of failing to describe what it was he actually meant falling around him like a blanket. At the mention of Loren and Abasi's mutual fondness for one another, Remi merely continued to stare into his glass, wishing Loren wouldn't say such things. Though if the alchemist mentioned it he was sure the Launceleyn would merely lob his unease back at him; You said to be honest. Honest yes, but the alchemist was still more than a bit raw from what Loren had done and how he'd gone about things to want to hear of the Launceleyn's budding romance. "Then that is all that matters." Remi answered with a smile. R E M I I followed your ashes into outer space

LOREN

Now that Loren was paying more attention to Remi, the summoner was starting to get a bit of a spillover from the other man’s link. Frowning, the Launceleyn tapped a finger against his glass before he shook his head. ”But you do have it. More of it than anyone I’ve ever met.” Tilting his head, he smiled gently at the alchemist. ”Do you think you’ll ever get used to it? Because...I know how you got it was unpleasant. But...it can be a gift, too.” The words came out quietly and gently.

Brow furrowed, Loren took another sip. Then he stared into his glass, trying to formulate his thoughts. ”I’m confused. You said you’ve been holing yourself up with Ronin and Aoife, working on your wagon, didn’t you?” He glanced up, trying to catch Remi’s eyes. ”Are these days not the ones you were hoping for, then?” There was a little bit of concern in the Launceleyn’s words, but mostly he was trying to understand.

At least it was easy enough to understand the source of the alchemist’s unease. So the summoner changed the subject, his tone suddenly cheerfully ignoring all the awkwardness from earlier. ”What else...I joined the Loreseekers. Oh, and I made some improvements to the Fields, installed an irrigation system.”

light is precious in a world so dark
begin at the beginning
tell a story. make some light

For better or worse, the alchemist was more or less an open book. And with the attuned link it wasn't just his heart writ on his sleeve, but all of him. Feelings of guilt and an overwhelming sense of impropriety sparked in his soul in response to Loren's words, as the alchemist merely sighed and rolled his glass between his hands. "No." He replied earnestly. No, he'd never get used to it. "And it has been. The things I can do for others..." Twirling a wrist as if to indicate that the things he could do now were many, but there was little joy in it. With a laugh, understanding just how contrary he was sounding, Remi nodded. "They are. I just realize how precious they are and with time seeming to go by faster and faster, it feels like they're all slipping away, even as I live them." Running a bashful hand through his curls, the alchemist chuckled at the floorboards. "If that makes any sense." "Oh you did mm? I can't say I am surprised." Loren seemed the type that Jigano would want. "An irrigation system?" The alchemist raised a brow, forgetting that once upon a time Loren had been a farmer. "That is quite the thing." R E M I I followed your ashes into outer space

LOREN

Smiling a bit sadly, Loren took another sip. ”What about what it does to you?” Tilting his head, the smile he gave Remi had a much more sympathetic edge to it. ”I know you feel differently, but I don’t think your magic is something to be ashamed of.” The words were firm.

Letting out a huff of laughter, the summoner shook his head. ”Not at all.” From his grin it was clear he was not at all bothered by that fact. However, his expression softened. ”I know you love Aoife. But if you and Ronin ever need some time, just the two of you, I’d be happy to babysit.” He shrugged as a haunted look flickered in his eyes for the briefest of moments. ”You’d be doing me a favor, really.” The cheerfulness was a little more forced this time.

The joyfulness was back in full force soon enough though. The Launceleyn just waved a hand vaguely at the alchemist’s observation that Jigano and Loren were birds of a feather a fact that was much closer to the truth now that the summoner could turn into a bird, not that he knew that. Then he flushed again, slightly embarrassed. ”I had help. Deimos did the hard work.” He took another sip to cover the awkwardness.

light is precious in a world so dark
begin at the beginning
tell a story. make some light

"I am not sure I like what it does to me." Remi admitted quietly. "You wouldn't. You grew up with it. It was part of who you were, and not just because you were a Launceleyn, though...I suppose that cannot really be separated out." With a sigh, the alchemist splayed one of his hands in a gesture of uncertainty. "It...magic meant something else, when you were a commoner." This was a different world yes, but that didn't change the two decades that proceeded his arrival here. Raising a brow slightly, Remi tried to let his expression mirror Loren's best as he could. Through the bond though the summoner would feel his hesitation and doubt. Remi doubted if Loren had spoken to Ronin in the past few weeks for both IC and OOC reasons which would make it uncharitable to mention it, and for all the magicians water and creation magic, still that bridge seemed burned. There was no way Ronin would let Loren look after Aoife. Of course Remi appreciated the offer just the same, nodding appreciatively. "Oh? Beatrix and Jace are gone, then?" He asked, assuming that was the cause for the flicker of darkness acorss Loren's face. With a chuckle, Remi grinned. "Ah. He is good at that." He agreed. "And building wedding ring boxes." Remi added, a touch awkwardly, meaning it more of an olive branch when it came to discussions of Abasi. R E M I I followed your ashes into outer space

LOREN

Leaning forward, Loren reached out for Remi’s hand, and, if successful, would give it a gentle squeeze before releasing it. ”I understand. Or at least I think I do.” The summoner gave the alchemist a small smile. ”But you’ve given me all sorts of second chances to reinvent myself. Maybe think about giving yourself the same opportunity?” There was a kind of hopeful and naive optimism in the Launceleyn’s voice.

At the doubt in the other man’s mind, however, it slipped away. ”Right.” Loren took a slightly longer drink from his glass, before staring into it. ”Well. I’m sure there are many who’d...you know.” Shrugging, he forced a smile, though it didn’t reach his eyes. At Remi’s question, however, the summoner glanced up, brow furrowed. ”Yes. Sorry, I could’ve sworn I told you.” There was more than a bit of uncertainty in his tone.

It grew as he tilted his head at the alchemist’s comment about wedding ring boxes. ”Good to know? I’ll keep that in mind?” It was clear the Launceleyn had no idea what the other man was insinuating.

light is precious in a world so dark
begin at the beginning
tell a story. make some light

But the Launceleyn wouldn't be. The alchemist tried not to make it awkwardly or overly obvious, choosing to glance away slightly as Loren reached out as if he hadn't seen, fingers wrapped tightly around his cup. Remi wasn't sure if he'd feel something or nothing at all should the Launceleyn touch him, and he didn't want to find out. So, as in the days of old, the alchemist as politely as he could simply shied away from the contact. But I was happy with who I was Remi wanted to say, but didn't; opting to shrug and nod in response. "Ah, you had mentioned their reactions when she returned. I did not know that she took them. I suppose that makes sense." And honestly, Loren probably had told him. "Sorry. My memory is not always reliable." The alchemist chuckled. R E M I I followed your ashes into outer space

LOREN

Loren’s eyes tightened as Remi evaded the summoner’s touch, but that was the only outward sign of his sorrow at seeing the alchemist’s reaction. Instead, the Launceleyn just took a sip of his drink. As the other man chuckled, however, Loren looked away. ”No need to apologize.” However, the easy cheer was gone, and he sighed.

Taking another drink (and incidentally finishing the glass), he set it on the table. "Anyway. I just came to check in with you, see how you were doing." Smiling, he did his best to project happiness and confidence, but was pretty sure he failed. "I hope your days slow down. And are filled with joy." Glancing around at the shop, the summoner stood. "Unless you need more help cleaning up, I should get out of your hair."

light is precious in a world so dark
begin at the beginning
tell a story. make some light