two for one sale

OLIVER

Okay. Maybe the last time Oliver spoke with Remi went absolutely shittily... but that didn't mean he had zero feelings for the dude. No, Oliver hadn't fallen for yet another attractive man, a different sort of feelings. After all, he still attributed Remi as being one of the people who saved him and rescued him from the snow. Remi had given him clothes and warmth when he could've easily left him there to freeze. As well, the two had their amazing moments. So while Remi had changed, Oliver still cared deeply for him and had a great fondness for him.

Giving it some time, Oliver finally decided to go back out to Torchline to bring Remi his pendant. Oliver had no idea what it did or how the man got it, but it was his originally and he swore that Remi would get it back. Seeing as he was going to be in Torchline, he also chose to take this moment to do some bartering and scavenging. With all his new plans, Oliver needed far more materials, so he'd be on the lookout for anything that caught his eye, which typically was shinny or colorful.

With his bag strung over his shoulder, Oliver made his way through Torchline, looking around for Remi or something else to keep his mind occupied. If all went well: Remi would get his pendant back, the two would both be happy, and then Oliver could also get some cool things to bring back to the Manor. That was the dream, but as we all know, sometimes dreams are impossible.

---

Remi

i just want my existance to be
more than trembling

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

Remi stood in a grove of palm trees, just a little ways off of the main path that warbled its way towards the Hanged Man. With a large machete in his hands, the alchemist was flaying the tree into neat strips that he could use for thatching. Obviously he could be doing this magically, but there was something gratifying and soothing about the feel of the sun on his skin as his muscles burned with the effort, and the way the breeze cooled him even more the more he sweat.

Wearing just a pair of shorts sat low on his hips and nothing else, the alchemist paused for a moment to wipe his brow with his arm, letting his eyes roam up the tree to see if it was ready to keel over yet. If he saw Oliver approaching, he gave absolutely no notice, and simply went back to his work.

OLIVER

After wandering through the tall trees, Oliver saw a similar figure. Reminiscent of their last interaction, Oliver watched Remi work, his hands meticulously cutting away at the tree. It showed how strong he was and reflected exactly what his new life had become. No longer was he focusing solely on magic, rather, he was just trying to live his normal life. Hopefully he'd still be fine with receiving the gift.

Rather than walking up to Remi and appearing behind him, Oliver knew to walk towards Remi's side in an arch motion, heading towards his right side. This would mean he would hopefully be far enough away to avoid having a gigantic blade shoved into his stomach. Once he had arrived to his desired location, he watched for a moment longer before finally vocalizing. "Hey Remi... do you want any help? Whenever you're done, I have something for you." Keep things brief and direct. That would hopefully avoid making the man annoyed or mad. As long as he was blunt and didn't skate around the subject, hopefully Remi would be calm and relaxed. Oliver knew he could be obnoxious and indirect, so hopefully this was an improvement.

i just want my existance to be
more than trembling

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

Remi heard Oliver before he saw him, light and agile as the man was.  Had he ears that flattened in this body, they would indeed have been. Instead, Remi merely tightened his hold on the hilt of the machete and grit his teeth. "No Oliver, I don't." He said in a voice free of emotion, but sounding more like a growl than a greeting. "And whatever it is, I don't want it."

With a grunt, Remi continued to swing the blade in well-practiced arcs, sheering off thin slivers of wood. They'd be of use when the rains and colder seasons came. Remi and Ronin had their wagon to be sure, but it was nothing like the previous one the alchemist had built. This one was stolen, and was absolute shit. But it was theirs, and rather than changing it, the pair had simply adapted as they had done with this new life of theirs.

OLIVER

That warm welcome earned a very obvious eyeroll from Oliver. Looks like Remi was rather pissed, great. Whatever was going on with Remi didn't seem to be ending and though Oliver wanted his old friend back desperately, it seemed that wasn't going to happen. He wasn't going to press on, knowing that doing so would only annoy the alchemist even more. Rather, he'd simply try to clarify on giving him what he owned.

"It's yours, by the way. Back when you disappeared, people started to ransack your home and stole stuff. I managed to slip in and grab something. If you want to see it, that's fine, but if not could you at least tell me what it is?" That much would hopefully show Remi that he was willing to shut up at some point. So no matter how desperately Oliver wanted to have a nice conversation with the man, it simply wasn't going to happen. Remi didn't want his help and he also didn't seem to want him around at all. It hurt like fuck, but Oliver still wanted to continue and hold onto the hope that he could someday regain that friendship he once held dear.

i just want my existance to be
more than trembling

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

Remi laughed at that, though the sound was dry and world-weary rather than amused. "So you saw other people taking things and you thought you'd take something as well?" The alchemist shook his head. Oh, he'd heard how his shop burned down. Strange, how it was looted well before that apparently.

"I could. But why should I?" The alchemist asked without looking at what Oliver was offering, continuing to thwack at the tree, taking off larger chunks than he intended to now that his attention was distracted.

OLIVER

Did... did Remi seriously accuse him of stealing maliciously? Why the ever living FUCK would he admit to that?! Especially to Remi of all people? Of all people, that was probably the worst person to admit that to as Remi could have easily killed him with one swipe of a paw, one stab of that blade, or with the flick of his wrist. Did Remi seriously have that little of faith in him? Ouch.

Once again, rolling his eyes, Oliver let out a huff of annoyance. "I said I had it for you. I saw people sneaking in and I got something so that I could return it to you. Many of them said that you were dead and so they saw it as the perfect opportunity to simply take things. Not even bothering to consider if you'd come back, and I bet none of them have offered to give it back... have they?" Oliver would've offered to give names but that seemed to be going a bit too far. "I really do want to return it to you, Remi. Would you at least like to see it before you turn it down?" And make more assumptions about him? Like assume that Oliver was happy he disappeared or some fucking bullshit like that? Since that really seemed to be what Remi was interested in doing right now.

i just want my existance to be
more than trembling

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

It was probably for the best that Remi missed Oliver's continually eye-rolls. "Oh and its only taken you..what, an entire season?" The alchemist replied. As far as he was concerned, everyone could just keep their hero-narratives to themselves. They were all selfish, the lot of them. That he hadn't died didn't change their motives at the time.

"Yes. Maea did, weeks ago." Remi replied with a dull sigh, before shaking his head again. He'd turned her down as well, but then again she hadn't been as painfully annoying as Oliver was being now. "What part of no is so very difficult for you to understand? I don't care what you want, or what you thought. Keep whatever it is. I've no use or want of anything from that life now."

OLIVER

This new Remi is frustrating and honestly, a massive asshole. "Seeing as the last time we spoke, I didn't have it on me, I chose to wait a bit before coming back to talk to you. I haven't touched it once since then." Seeing as Remi was kind of a dick before, Oliver wanted to give the dude some time to rest and blow off some steam. Clearly, that didn't change whatsoever and Remi was still just the same as last time.

It seemed a bit rude to not even take a glance at what it was, nor even offer any sort of explanation for what it did. Oliver knew something was special about it, but of course, Remi was being a big dick right now. "Fine by me," If Remi really didn't want to know what it was? Fine. He might as well try and trade the damn thing away. "What do you occupy yourself with now then? What have you done with this new life?" If pendants were no longer of interest, then what did Remi even offer? What was he doing with this life? This was clearly an attempt for Oliver to calm down both him and the alchemist since he really wasn't a fan of the direction this conversation was heading in.

i just want my existance to be
more than trembling

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

The alchemist only shrugged at that. "Your mouth certainly wasn't broken the last time, so I'm not sure why you didn't mention it." Literally everyone else had: Sunjata, Phoebe, Maea.

As Oliver continued to speak, Remi clenched his jaw and closed his eyes, trying to will away the feeling of annoyance that had come over him. Finding it not abating whatsoever, he thrust the machete into the side of the tree and turned to face his fellow hybrid. "What are you doing, Oliver? Trying to make idle conversation? Have you ever stopped to consider that maybe all the things you want, to know about the item, to make amends, to have a nice little chat, are not things that I want? I'm not the man you met in the streets all those months ago. I lost my daughter and nearly lost my husband." Remi's sea-glass eyes were weary, his expression tired. "I don't have time for your questions about rocks or things taken from my shop. I don't care to tell you what I've been up to, or what I've done with my new life."

The things Oliver cared about were so very, very detached from the world Remi lived in. First kisses, curses from Frey, hair-dye, clothing, and Safrin's pendant. Remi's world was one where he murdered sailors for Ludo, where his husband almost-sort-of-not-really cheated on him with a goddess, and where Ludo dangled both hope and his demise constantly before him.

OLIVER

Suppressing a huff and an eyeroll, Oliver continued on, hoping that his growing annoyance wasn't showing through. "Maybe because that would've been a super shitty topic to immediately bring up? Just saying Oh yeah! People are assholes and fucking stole from you! And if you didn't notice, I was happy to see you and I wanted to spend time with you." But that was changing, morphing quickly. The friend he once had was clearly long gone. A person he could call his hero and someone he could go to for advice had died and been snuffed out. Whatever Remi was to him now, Oliver wouldn't place, but he certainly wasn't a friend.

The words were harsh, but Oliver continued to stand his ground, trying his best to not show that the words hurt him and pierced their way through his skin. "I'm trying to figure out who the new you is. I am trying to fucking see what you're up to, how you've changed, and how I can fix myself so that I can still spend time with you. Obviously, that's really fucking failed." Oliver knew Remi wouldn't return back the same, but nothing could've prepared him for how bad things had become. "What do you want me to do Remi. How can I fix myself so that I fit whatever you want me to." Oliver wanted to change himself so Remi could calm down and relax. Stop being such an asshole and answer a single question.

i just want my existance to be
more than trembling

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

"So, since you assume I would care about my things being stolen..you thought it better to just...wait to tell me, until after I presumably couldn't have done anything about it, all because you were happy to see me? You decided your happiness meant more than me potentially being able to do something about everything I owned being taken?" The alchemist raised a brow at that.

Remi listened to this flawed logic with a weary sigh, folding his arms across his chest that still bore all the scars of his past. "So again, all I'm hearing is about the things you want, Oliver." He said baldly. "I don't want anything from you Oliver. Certainly not for you to fix yourself for me. I'm certainly not worth that, nor would I ever ask it of you. I don't know you, and you don't know me. Not really. Not in any of the ways which matter."

OLIVER

Remi was once again misunderstanding, but was Oliver really surprised anymore? "I didn't intentionally forget to mention it! And if you also remember, you basically told me to get lost! So I didn't exactly have the time to tell you." Remi basically left him high and dry in the middle of the conversation, meaning even if Oliver had plans of mentioning it, Remi had already left before he could even try and mention it! "I would never intentionally hurt you and I'm sorry I forgot. I am here because I wanted to fix it." But fixing it wasn't even an option, so it seemed.

The logic was absolutely flawed and Oliver still had much room to grow. He needed to learn how to prioritize things, to understand his problems were minute. Unimportant. He was narcissistic in many ways and still needed to face so many trials and tribulations. "Did you miss the part of why I spoke to you?! I came all the way here to fucking return the gods damn pendant. The only reason why I suggested you telling me about is because I want to be able to find a proper place to put it. And I have been trying to get to know you! That's why I keep asking you questions. I want to understand the new you so that I can stop pissing you off!" Was Remi really this dense? Oliver said it very clearly that he wanted to know more so that he could get to know the new Remi. Why the fuck else would he be asking questions?! Unlike Remi, Oliver wanted to maintain some semblance of a friendship, even if it would possibly be toxic in nature. Oliver was refusing to let go of the past and wanted to desperately hold onto the idea of maintaining a connection to the man who he once could call a friend.

i just want my existance to be
more than trembling

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

"No changing your story now, Oliver." Remi chuckled with a shake of his head. "You just said the reason you didn't tell me was because it wouldn't have been nice. But now it's apparently my fault?" He tsked under his breath.

Tugging in an annoyed breath, the alchemist pinched the bridge of his nose as Oliver continued on his do-gooder tyrade. "Oliver." He interrupted, letting his hand fall to his side. "I have no interest in getting to know you. We have nothing in common. We are nothing alike. That is why you'll never understand the new me." Oliver was not unlike the man Remi had once been, so long ago. Naive, optimistic, persistent in the face of adversity. But no longer did the alchemist hold those traits. He was older now, wiser to the cruelty of the world. The time had long passed where playing 20 questions was a way to earn his loyalty or interest.

"Go make friends with someone else."