this madness of now

nevertheless it was never the last; hold on strong or you fade out fast

'I'm not...trying..to..-!" Remi had never had a shift with more limbs that he normally possessed (excluding wings and tails), and his mind found it hard to keep track of everything suddenly slithering out of him. "Only you would think I was trying to make a move and not, you know, keep myself standing." He huffed with a frustrated grin.

Then at hearing Ronin mention octopus, it all came together. "Of course." He chuckled under his breath. Producing a small blade in his hand and a knife, the alchemist sliced open his palm before his counterpart could presumably question him about it. Pressing the ring into the line of blood which had appeared, shockingly, the ring seemed to absorb it rather than be coated by it. Reaching for Ronin's hand, Remi slipped a dark red ring onto it. "You'll see." He said, meaning to head off questions about the purpose of the new ring in Ronin's collection. Disengaging himself easily now, Remi let himself lean back into the spray of the waves. Both shrinking and growing, this particular shift would likely have been quite strange to watch given the alien-like textures suddenly covering the alchemist's body.

The octopus slipped into the waters, working his tentacles awkwardly as he tried to let instincts show him how to use this new form.

Can you hear me? Ronin wouldn't be able to answer, but he should have heard the alchemist's voice in his thoughts, just as clearly as if he were an attuned.

---

Attuned Blood Ring | A ring that when infused with an attuned's blood, allows the wearer to hear the attuned's mental communication while they are shifted, up to 30 feet. Made by Remi.

”Excuse me, but when you’re the one with tentacles wrapping around your legs, you can complain.” Ronin raised his eyebrows incredulously to his husband, as if possessing the tentacles was completely different. Which it was. Mostly. Still, as strange as this was, seeing Remi with such ease and laughter was the only balm he’d ever need again to mend a heart so bruised and exhausted. ”Of course,” he echoed with a shit eating grin, missing up the alchemist’s mop of wet curls only for him to go and pull a knife on him. ”Listen, we got married, what’s mine is already yours so there’s really no need for the muggi— Remi can you not go five minutes without harming yourself, seriously.” Ronin’s tone was good natured but there was still worry in his expression, even as the new ring was suddenly and unceremoniously slipped on his finger. ”What are y—“ Cut off by his own sign, Ronin had no choice but to watch his tentacled lover bob away into the waves. At least, until the sound of his voice suddenly cut into his head. ”Whoa— what? I mean, yes, I can.” RONIN Darkness is a funny thing. It creeps up on you.

nevertheless it was never the last; hold on strong or you fade out fast

"I distinctly remember someone saying he was more than happy to go through this second puberty with me." Remi protested. "After all this time, I'm shocked to know that it's a tentacle or two that's finally found your line in the sand." He continued with playful disappointment.

The alchemist might have said something cryptic about the nature of magic, or hell, he might just have explained what he was doing as he was doing it. But as it ever had been with the pair, one of them usually just did a thing and the other was meant to just keep up with the silent logic and expectation of it all. Still, his lover's sass did coax a bright smile from the alchemist.

A coralish head popped up from beneath the waters, strange gill-like openings on the side of its head opening and closing as alien eyes stared at the hunter. It was clearly Remi, but unlike his other shifts, there was no features that could be easily interpreted as being the alchemist's.

I should hope so. What sort of alchemist would I be if you couldn't. The octopus chimed brightly. For the first time Ronin would hear how Remi sounded to the rest of the attuned; his mental voice was much thicker than his regular speech given that he didn't regulate it at all.

Now about that hug... Ronin would find eight legs drifting towards him. Was Remi making his tentacles writhe much more than necessary? Oh absolutely.

"Second puberty ought to be all about awkward boners, not sprouting tentacles and fleeing into the sea," Ronin pointed out, thinking he was doing pretty well all things considered, standing waist deep in the ocean while his husbandopus learned how to use his extra appendages. As Remi disappeared beneath the water Ronin was left simply standing, dripping in the sunlight, until a sinister shape peeped up at him from a short distance away. Smiling lopsidedly as the voice echoed in his head again, he could only shrug at the alchemist. He had nothing to that - Remi was the best at what he did, as far as the hunter was concerned. "You sound adorable," he quipped back. "You should keep the accent more often - though I will have to say no to the hug thanks." This last sentence was blurted quickly, and was swiftly followed by Ronin clumsily struggling to exit the ocean to avoid the tentacles. RONIN Darkness is a funny thing. It creeps up on you.

nevertheless it was never the last; hold on strong or you fade out fast

"Is that your way of asking me to give you an awkward boner?" Because he would, and it would absolutely be awkward given where his limbs could now be and what they were made out of. Tempting as it was and despite the fact that Remi did find himself partially shifting at times of intimacy, it was never intentional. Bestiality when you were actually an animal was a fine line, but it was one he'd rather not be anywhere near.

No one would ever be able to understand me. The octopus said, thickening the accent for good measure as he splashed at a wave. As Ronin ran, Remi pantomimed an absolute excellent rendition of misunderstood monster tries to make a friend, aka thrashing wildly in the water.

Are you actually running away from me right now, oh strong and courageous monster hunter? Waving innocent tentacles above the froth, Remi poked an alien-like head above the water trying to look sad.

"Oh it absolutely is, just not right now when you're covered in suckers and cold-blooded." Ronin grinned, still trying to trudge out of the shallows where octo-Remi couldn't get him. Once his feet met the sand again he turned to watch his husband's pathetic flailing, an action which simultaneously made Ronin want to awwh and assure Remi he was not going to fall for it. "You don't need anyone to understand you when you sound so wonderful." He winked, turning to fold his arms across his chest as he watched the sad looking octopus in the water. "I know better than to mess with this particular monster, thanks. I'm still sore from it." His smile was filthy, but he did dare to slowly wade back into the water. "Personally I think a raccoon paddling around in the sea is more to my taste, but I suppose I shall indulge you." RONIN Darkness is a funny thing. It creeps up on you.

nevertheless it was never the last; hold on strong or you fade out fast

If I didn't know better, I'd say you were flirting with me. The octopus crooned, continuing to thickly articulate his accent. The only time he ever really did this was in mimicking Bastien to make Rexanna laugh, whose strangely similar way of speaking was easy for the alchemist to imitate.

And yet you mess so often. Though it wasn't an attuned-bond, meaning Ronin wouldn't feel all the filthy sorts of emotional pops accompanying the alchemist's thoughts, a devilish amusement coated his words just the same. Before he could half indulged his husband and become a water-logged raccoon, a snide voice began to waft towards them from up the beach. Ayyyye why dont'cha bring yer pet over'ere. Me'n tha' boys culd certainly make use of all 'em arms. This was followed by a drunken chorus of cackles as several men began to advance down the beach towards them.

"Me? Flirting? With you? I'm sorry, my beautiful accented octopus stranger, but I happen to have a husband." Ronin flashed Remi a grin, relaxing little by little now that he could still speak to the alchemist even if his form was not one that the hunter easily recognised any longer. Opening his mouth to comment further - and likely take them closer and closer to tumbling into bed again - Ronin found himself quite suddenly cut off by a slur of drunken calls. Turning slowly, still calf deep in the water, he regarded the approaching men with honest confusion, as if wondering what on earth they wanted. "Pet?" he echoed, his lip curling. "Why don't you feel each other up instead? You don't need octopus tentacles for that?" he snapped back. RONIN Darkness is a funny thing. It creeps up on you.

nevertheless it was never the last; hold on strong or you fade out fast

Well you know it is a bit hard to tell with all of those rings. That one on your left hand could be for anything, really The octopus argued with cheerful zeal.

Boy's n'I heard tell 'bout the OutLanders wot been comin' in. Ain't seen any yet but y'boys look mighty fresh. Think we'd remember an octopus fucker, yah'boys? His boys cackled in agreement; three of them behind the leader-one, each carrying hefty bits of driftwood over their shoulders.

A tentacle curled around one of Ronin's ankles in the water, though whether Remi meant it as a way to hold his husband back or himself, wasn't clear. Since we've already got the wagon, I take it this is the welcome, then. Remi thought, his skin morphing from coral to a deep plum and then back again.

It was a shame that their banter had to come to such an abrupt end, but Ronin was suddenly very interested in the loudmouth braggards who had appeared on the shoreline. He flinched ever so slightly at the tentacle that snaked around his leg, shooting Remi a brief glance in time to see the morphing colours, before returning his attention to the newcomers. "Oh, you boys are in for a treat," he said with a suddenly sharp smile. Something crackled in Ronin, something old and buried deep beneath the skin. Something that had scarred his knuckles and bloodied his cheeks for years prior to Northaven. "If this is fresh to you, you're pretty fucked up," he admitted. "That driftwood better be to sit on." RONIN Darkness is a funny thing. It creeps up on you.

walked out this morning and i wrote down this song.
i just can't remember who to send it to

Soon it would become clear that Remi hadn't been intending to Ronin back. It had been a rather unconscious gesture of got your back. Shifting rather inelegantly which left him kneeling in the sand, the alchemist stood behind Ronin. Knees covered in wet sand and curls sopping wet, nevertheless, the hardened look in the alchemist's eyes made him look formidable, if not intimidating.

Unbothered by either Remi or Ronin, the leader of this little rat pack merely grinned revealing poorly spaced yellowing teeth. Y'know. Fresh. Ain't from a'round here and like I says, we'd'ov noticed an octofucker on our beaches. Glancing from one to another as if sharing the same dirty and obvious thought, one from the back laughed. Bet you'd like a nice piece 'o wood to sit on, wot after all them tentacles. Reaching down a filthy hand he groped at the area between his legs, grabbing a hold of whatever was presumably there and kissing the air for good measure. Glancing towards Remi, he scoffed and nudged the man at his side. Wot? Got somefin' to say fer yourself there arms?

Now, Remi could have grabbed at the wood and brained each man holding a piece, with it. Ronin could have exploded the beach in starlight and just been done with it. But you know? Remi's hands suddenly itched to wipe off those filthy smiles the old fashioned way.

With a low chuckle, he nodded at the one who'd addressed him. "I just might. Come over here and I'll tell you all about it." Only he didn't wait for the man to come over, and instead strode purposefully across the sands (probably with Ronin doing the same) to reach out and aim a punch that would hopefully be nose-breakingly accurate.

Oh good. His husband had always been intending to join the fray. Ronin felt a shiver move through him as a tentacle became a hand and Remi rose up to stand at his back. For the hunter's part his stance was almost dangerously relaxed, thumb hooked into the waist of his pants, free hand hanging freely (though curled, ever so slightly, into a preparatory fist). "You're good, thanks. I've sat on enough wood this morning already." Blowing a kiss in return, Ronin followed at a leisurely pace as Remi moved in. He wasn't nearly as swift as the whiplash strike his husband would undoubtedly deliver, but when Ronin's right hook came around there was real feeling behind it, and it was punctuated by a burst of starlight from within him that told of a temper held too often in check. A brawl, out and out, sounded absolutely wonderful, and the man he'd struck was already on the ground. Ronin left him there - his astral projection strode forward and out of him to take over, allowing the Dark Star to turn his attention to the leader. "Let's go, then." RONIN Darkness is a funny thing. It creeps up on you.

walked out this morning and i wrote down this song.
i just can't remember who to send it to

Goon 2 knelt at the side of goon 1 who'd Ronin easily flattened, muttering curses under his breath.

Remi couldn't recall the last time he'd punched a man, but rather than shy away from the sound of those delicate bones breaking, instead he felt himself very nearly salivate at the sensation of it. Blood poured freely from the man's face as he gave Remi a blank look, stunned for only a moment. Charging foreward, the man's skin began to change. Growing grey and leathery, a horn appeared in the middle of his face as his hands blunted together. The partially shifted rhino lowered his center of gravity to tackle Remi, sending the alchemist sprawling onto his back and knocking the wind from his lungs. Heartbreak did not a fighter make, but Remi was a fast learner. As the man continued to shift growing more and more rhino like, so too did Remi, unsheathing claws on hands and feet as he grappled his attacker.

Maybe we wasn't askin' The leader all but bleated, snarling at Ronin's display of power (and merely assuming it to be some strange custom magic). Ropes shot from his fingers towards Ronin. Meaning to cover the Dark Star in thick nautical-strength chords, he'd aim a blow at Ronin's shins if he could to knock the hunter down to his knees. Maybe instead o' a shag in the sea we'll just be takin' all them purdy rings wot'r on yer fingers.

Gods it felt good to fight again. Gaze snapping to Remi briefly as he spotted his grapple with the rhino-faced goon, for a moment he considered helping out. But then Remi's claws came out and Ronin figured his husband would be absolutely fine. Besides, there was someone more fun to play with in the form of the leader. Whilst his astral projection continued to rain blows down on goon 1 (and tried to get a cheeky elbow at goon 2 at the same time), the hunter prepared himself for whatever this new opponent would throw. Ropes, it turned out. He would throw ropes. "Into that kind of stuff, huh?" he said with a sharp smile, one of the ropes already snaking tightly around his wrist, another working around his waist. The blow to the shins hurt but wasn't something he could necessarily avoid, and his knees met the sand. Sneering up at the leader, Ronin seemed almost disappointed, and a fierce glow began to light within him. "And here I was hoping we'd just punch the crap out of each other. Coward, using magic." RONIN Darkness is a funny thing. It creeps up on you.