Top of the World

Ronin's lungs burned and his muscles ached, but he relished every bit of it. He had arrived at the Rathskeller just as the sun was setting, having been putting himself through his paces in a rudimentary training routine out near the Outskirts. There were no Training Grounds here - something he might need to correct if the guild continued to grow - but for now his own methods would suffice. At least, his body seemed to think so. He had all but slumped down at the counter for Vervain to throw a towel at him to clean up and plonk a hearty bowl of stew before him, and if he hadn't been madly in love with a lady waiting at home, he could have kissed her in that moment. The stew didn't last long, and he bribed the resident feline with chunks of meat to prevent his hands from becoming scratching posts. Once he'd been fed, he retired to a table with a mug of strong ale, slumping in his seat to enjoy his drink. All he was missing, truly, was a deck of playing cards and some good company. ronin begin again, as the storm

Remi did not have a lady love at home, or anyone actually. He and Loren still hadn't finalized or even discussed what they were, really, but with this new development from Frey all of that hardly seemed to matter. How could they be anything at all when Remi couldn't feel anything at all? Well that wasn't strictly true. Remi could feel. Just not for Loren. Moving out from one of the backrooms, having just deposited another case of various liquors for Vai, Remi wearily rubbed his eyes. Would he sleep at his shop? Or the small home he'd picked for himself? Given that he'd be doing it alone, it hardly seemed to matter. Spying a rather suave and recognizable silhouette pulling away from the bar, the alchemist tucked a bottle of something dark under his arm, draped one of the towels over his shoulder and made his way over to his friend. Standing at Ronin's side as if he were truly some customer Remi had come to serve, the alchemist cleared his throat with a perfunctory and cheeky smile. "Is everything to your liking sir?" He quipped with a wink. R E M I I followed your ashes into outer space

Ronin had just taken another pull from his mug of ale and was savouring the burn and the heat in his chest and throat when a familiar shadow fell over him. The hunter glanced up, arching an eyebrow and letting a smirk curl across his lips as he regarded his new waiter. "Why yes, it's quite perfect," he informed the alchemist, easily slipping into the act - his enjoyment bubbled out of him, in fact, from the mischief twinkling in his eyes to his easy slouch in his seat. "Perfection could always be improved though, you know," he murmured, kicking out the seat beside him from under the table. "A drink is always better enjoyed with a friend, Remi. If you'd care to sit and join me, I'll accept whatever punishment the mistress of the establishment might have for me. Your company is worth it." He beamed. ronin begin again, as the storm

"Glad to hear it." Remi continued, placing a hand across his waist and bowing slightly as if they were back in Northaven and Remi truly was paying the man the respect he deserved. As the seat across from the former-baron suddenly jetted away from the table, Remi straightened and gave the captain and playfully skeptical look. Grinning, Remi grudgingly accepted the offer, sitting down and placing the home-made bottle of something on the table. "Lucky for us both I am off the clock." He chuckled. Taking the cork out of the bottle, Remi glanced around and snagged a glass from one of the nearby tables. Glancing at Ronin's glass and judging it full enough not to warrant an additional beverage, the alchemist poured himself a healthy portion before rolling it dextrously between his fingers. "No red companion today?" Remi said, half smirking but clearly half uneasy as well. R E M I I followed your ashes into outer space

Remi's skeptical look earned a shit-eating grin from Ronin in return - the hunter was in far too good a mood to take no for an answer, and it was probably better for the hawk to just come along for the ride. "Off the clock? Excellent." He nodded, sitting up in his seat as Remi plonked himself down so he wasn't slouching quite so badly. He tipped his mug to the other man once he'd filled his glass with whatever concoction Ronin was sure he would end up trying at some point tonight, shaking his head at Remi's question. "Echo is at home tonight," he murmured. "Trying to train with a lobster on your shoulder is just as difficult and pinchy as you might imagine." Chuckling, he glanced around the Rathskeller and leant an arm against the table. "You must be a busy guy between here and your alchemy shop," he remarked. "Careful, or you might burn yourself out." ronin begin again, as the storm

Raising a skeptical brow and with a look that clearly said you've brought this on yourself, the alchemist could only shrug. He'd always been far too poor to have any sort of pet. Pet's required food and while Remi could hunt and source enough for himself, he never thought about taking on the burden of another life. Even so, the idea of Ronin trying to negotiate with a space-bug was rather amusing. Placing the lip of the glass between his lips Remi took a long tug of his drink before setting it down thoughtfully. "Ahh well. Commoners like me do not have the luxury of burning themselves out." Remi replied with a grin and a wink. "Not like you barons with your guild houses and lobsters and ladies. Or just lady I suppose. How is Vanya?" R E M I I followed your ashes into outer space

Ronin challenged Remi's skeptical look with one of his own, though it was ruined by the smile that threatened. He might have brought it on himself in some ways, but Remi was the reason his Echo was a lobster in the first place. If not for the alchemist's magic, the thing would still be living its life in his pocket as a small, innocuous disc. Following suit, the hunter took another healthy gulp of his drink and placed his mug down, though he arched an eyebrow across at the other man as he spoke. "Guildhalls and lobsters and a lady I might have, but I would appreciate if you didn't use that 'b' word." He laughed. "There are no commoners or bluebloods any longer, Remi. Have you seen any princes since we arrived? Any Master Chiefs? Any Generals, or Chancellors?" He shook his head. "There is only one class now, as far as I'm concerned - survivors. That is what we are." Talk of Vanya completely transformed Ronin's expression; he smiled into his drink, his gaze softening, though he glanced around suspiciously before he replied. The last time he'd tried to tell Remi about this, it hadn't happened for whatever reason. "I thought she was going to kill me, when I showed her the guild," he admitted, chuckling. "But she's very well, yes. She... is going to have a baby, actually." He lifted his eyes to meet Remi's. "My baby. Obviously." ronin begin again, as the storm

For the briefest of moments Remi didn't know what Ronin had meant by the b word, until he continued on and it all clicked into place. Perhaps it was because shuffling off titles was a luxury that came only with having one, Remi wasn't persuaded at all by Ronin's equality speech. "I see a captain, have seen our Overseer. No the princes I have not seen, but I did not see them often in Northaven either." Shrugging his shoulders the alchemist titled his head to the side slightly as he rolled his glass between his hands again. "I am not so sure all will be so happy to simply give up what they had. Entitlement might have carried over with us the same way our clothes did." Survivors though they all might be, Remi was not so sure that there wouldn't be some survivors who who think themselves deserving of more than others. Chuckling at his friend, Remi nodded in agreement. "Fighting unknown monsters for currency that we don't even know exists? Spending all of your time with bruisers and fighters once again? What isn't to like?" The mention of the child however momentarily stilled the alchemist from his ever-presenting fidgeting and his pale eyes grew wide with joy and surprise. Deep down a flutter of something inky and black (the similarity to Ludo's waving textiles was not lost on the alchemist) whirred to life. New love, true love (presumably), and all that. For as altruistic as Remi was want to be, even he was finding it hard to feel unfettered happiness for his friend despite all he'd had to endure recently. That being said, he made a valiant effort at it. "Well!" He announced with a bright laugh, rising and grabbing Ronin's not-quite empty mug of ale and marching away with it. Returning he held out a glass to the man and filled it to the brim with whatever it was he himself had been drinking. Adding to it a few berries and a sprig of juniper, Remi grinned. "We'll drink properly if we are to celebrate." He said merrily, sitting down and raising his glass to cheers his friend. R E M I I followed your ashes into outer space

Ronin tutted and took another sip of his drink. "I am not a captain any longer, Remi," he told him quite simply, shaking his head and relaxing into his seat. "And as far as I know our Overseer is no longer our Overseer. But... no, you are right of course. There will always be those who believe their blood to be bluer and their right to luxury more important than another's right to basics." He scrunched his nose and stared into his mug, as if he could get rid of the notion merely by being irritated by it. Luckily, they didn't look as though they were going to linger on that (fairly depressing) notion, the hunter glancing up and smiling wryly at Remi's comment. "See, that's what I thought. Apparently Van has this whole 'safety' thing she's obsessed with. Bah." Ronin was both too tired after his training and too happy at the thought of the budding life growing within Vanya to realise that Remi's congratulations might have been a touch jaded. He raised his eyebrows as the alchemist sequestered his mug away, only to return to fill it up with whatever undoubtedly marvellous concoction he had brewed, Ronin thinking nothing of eating the berries before taking a sip - and promptly coughing at the strength of it. "Damn, Remi!" He laughed, tipping his glass in a toast. "Thank you, though. Enough of me, though. How are things?" He hadn't brought it up - on purpose - about the lion. About breaking Remi's nose, knocking him unconscious and throwing him in a bit. About why it had all happened. That was Remi's story to tell, if he ever wanted to tell it at all. ronin begin again, as the storm

Remi just shrugged. "You are here aren't you? As is Koel? If we think you are, then you are." Well. There was probably a good deal more involved in that, but politics had never been Remi's strong suit. That being said, from what the alchemist could see Ronin hadn't really made any efforts to keep himself in the forefront of people's minds in terms of staying captain. Not because he wasn't equally as heroic as he had been back in Northaven, but because...well, he'd opened himself up a guild. "And yet all of our blood comes out red." Remi said with a chuckle. "Right. Yes. Safety. I have heard of that, never from your lips though." Shaking his head as if Ronin was the barbarian commoner here and not him, he gave his friend a condescending sigh. "The berries are more of a garnish Ronin. They add to the flavour. That is, if you let them sit in the liquid for more than 3 seconds." I hardly mattered of course. This batch had been brewing almost since the day they'd all arrived and was by far his strongest and most flavourful. The lack of berries now wouldn't do much. Tensing his jaw slightly in an effort to keep the smile plastered amicably on his face, Remi forced his smile before dropping his eyes. Tilting his head and letting his eyes follow the patterns of light reflected from his glass, he could only shrug mildly. "I don't know that I can say I've ever been worse than this ... but I don't believe I am at bottom yet." Though his words still held Remi's usual tone of brightness, his face had fallen considerably and his eyes had grown stern and without mirth as he stared down still unable to meet Ronin's eyes. R E M I I followed your ashes into outer space

"I'm not sure that's quite how it works, Remi... but you're right about one thing - our blood does all come out red." Ronin smiled over his mug at Remi - the fact that the drink was fantastically strong and already had him feeling a bit muzzy did not in any way prevent him from having more. It tasted as good as it burned, what could he say? And, true to his barbarian nature, he snorted at Remi's insistence that the berries were a garnish. "They'll add to the flavour from inside my mouth just as good as they will floating around in the drink, won't they?" He shrugged his shoulders and flashed the other man a crooked grin, one that fell away as Remi spoke again. Ronin took a more measured sip of his drink before setting his mug down, regarding his friend carefully. "Thank you," he murmured, "for not lying and saying you were fine. It's what I would have done, and that... didn't go well for me in the end, back in Northaven. Is there anything I can do? Anything you want to talk about?" ronin begin again, as the storm

"Yes but only for a short time, instead of lasting longer. You can't just go putting things in your mouth and having it be over so quickly" The words were out of his mouth before he'd even realized the implications of them. Though perhaps smoothed by the alcohol in his system, the fact that he'd now ... done...somethings with Loren and Ianto, or the fact that they were in a new world, Remi wasn't as discombobulated as he once might have been. That didn't mean he didn't blush and turn his eyes away with a boyish grin though. Always veering on the side of truth, Remi merely shrugged off Ronin's approval. The pair of them would never need any sort of honesty agreement as the once-baron had with one of their common friends (?). Looking down at one of his palms, Remi narrowed his eyes thoughtfully as he pursed his lips. "I have met..at least two deities since coming here." Remi said slowly. "The second one, and the second time was just before you found me in my home..in the state I was in." Running a hand sheepishly through his curls, Remi glanced up through a curtain of hair causing his forehead to wrinkle as he frowned. "I never did thank you for that. For handling it as well as you could." Remi of course felt horrendous for what he'd done and how he'd behaved. A few days at the bottom of a pit and a broken nose was hardly the sort of punishment that he deserved. Still, the only real apology was making sure that it wouldn't happen again. And, judging by his ability to transform and then transform back when helping to clear out Ronin's guildhall suggested that he was well on his way to setting things right. R E M I I followed your ashes into outer space

"I beg your pardon?" Ronin's grin was utterly filthy, the hunter raising his eyebrows at Remi's wordplay, though he was absolutely the last person to care about that sort of thing. "I'll have you know, I find having it be over so quickly is just a sign of a skilled tongue and good taste." He tried to stop his smile by taking another drink, not that it worked particularly well. Luckily enough, the subject of conversation changed to something serious enough that he couldn't find further innuendo in it. (Or rather, he could, but it probably wouldn't be respectful). Ronin raised his eyebrows, sitting up a little in his seat and watching Remi with bright eyes. Deities? Two of them? Was it possible that... "I... you mean like a god?" The term still felt ridiculous to him, but Ronin had seen and felt with his own senses that it was as true a term as any. The deities Remi had met, though... they didn't sound like Safrin. Ronin had returned home feeling whole and warm and at peace with his place in the world. Remi... he had seen what Remi had been like. "I did it to protect you as much as to protect everyone else..." He sighed. "I know that, more than anything, you'd never have forgiven yourself if you hurt someone. I'm glad that it worked... even if I did have to put you in that pit. I'm sorry for that." He drummed his fingers against his mug. "...I met a deity here too, Remi. But... your experience doesn't sound... well. Good. ronin begin again, as the storm

Glancing up and expecting to see anger on Ronin's face, Remi was utterly delighted by the roguish grin he saw instead. "Ah, for women perhaps." The alchemist said, as if testing the waters to see how the captain might react. The implication wasn't completely obvious of course, Remi was still far too new at all of this for that, but it was there on the table in some sense. "Though everyone does appreciate a skilled tongue." Remi agreed, chuckling into his drink as well. Shrugging, Remi raised his eyebrows slightly as he considered. "It was what Vai called them ... I am not sure the difference between a god and a deity." The alchemist admitted easily. "One of them I met twice. And both times it was ..." Taking in a breath and holding it as he shook his head at the memory, Remi let out the puff of air wearily. "Confusing? Terrifying? And not in a good way. The other one...well it was just the once but truly it was one of the worst experiences of my life." Remi shook his head immediately. "Do not be sorry. I am glad to know I have a friend who will always do what is needed." He offered with an earnest smile. However at hearing that Ronin had his own divine interaction, the smile immediately disappeared and Remi looked uneasy. "You did? What happened?" R E M I I followed your ashes into outer space