Fortune Soul

Safrin's books had provided the Loreseekers with information on the Flora and Fauna of the Hollowed Grounds, but the new regions beyond the portals remained largely mysterious to them. Halo's entry in the Guild's Chronicle had been slowly expanding, but Torchline's pages remained largely blank. Aside from the L'ma and Amalia's new, pink dolphin-like form, Jigano had yet to fully explore the wonders and dangers that Torchline's unique plants and animals presented.

And who better to know what was dangerous and what was useful than the man who hunted monsters for a living? Or at least, the man who had used to do so. Remi had mentioned some sort of crystal that could allow breathing underwater, too, that had piqued the bard's ever-present curiosity, and so he had sent a note to the bounty hunter's wagon, asking if Ronin would be willing to meet him on the Coast in two day's time, to serve as a guide.

Whether he would be a guide for hire or a friend to catch up with remained to be seen. After Remi's shocking shift in personality the Provost was hesitant to assume that Ronin would even want to see him again after what had happened at the Temple, but he wanted to know where they stood.

And what had happened to his friend in the past season.

So it was that Jigano waited on the beach at mid-morning, sleeveless tunic baring his arms down to his bracers and bare feet curling in the sand, taking notes in his journal while Isuma stalked a crab with round-eyed fascination nearby.

Ronin had received the note easily enough - and, given that there was little reason not to help the Provost out, he obliged Jigano in coming to the shoreline at the time and day stated. Given that he was to be a guide, he'd actually deigned to put on boots and a shirt, strolling along the sands as though he hadn't a care in the world. (If only that were close to true). Deeply tanned from a LongHeat spent in Torchline, his blue eyes were brighter than they had been the last time he and Jigano had seen each other.

Still, it would be a lie to say that Ronin was entirely comfortable currently, raising a hand in polite greeting as Jigano came into view. Overhead, Sugar circled and dipped beneath the clouds, a quiet sentinel over the proceedings.

Jigano glanced up as Ronin neared, a tentative smile of greeting as he tucked his pencil and journal away to greet the Dark Star. "Ronin. It's good to see you." True enough, despite the desperate violence of their last face-to-face meeting. Isuma perked up at the sound of her companion's voice, spotting the demigod with a happy reep! and then looking around excitedly for her fellow winter-hatched friend.

"Remi mentioned that you've been doing some hunting around these parts. I was hoping you might be willing to trade favors? I want to start filling in the Guild guide to Torchline's more unusual plants and animals, and I was hoping you might be able to find some to show me, and tell me about the ones you've encountered so far..." he trailed off, his courteous smile fading to a faint grimace as he reached up to rub the back of his neck a little uncomfortably. "And... well. I wanted to see where we stood after what happened at Fiat Lux."

"And you as well, Jigano," Ronin replied, giving a nod to the taller man and drawing to a halt with him on the beach. It felt strange to be meeting here; somewhere so far from anything either of them had known for so long, with the sun beaming down and the waves crashing against the shore. Luckily, as always Jigano came with a topic at hand, and Ronin felt himself relax subconsciously. Yes, the issue of Torchline's flora and fauna was troubled somewhat by the mention of Fiat Lux, but it was easier than the otherwise painful awkwardness.

Smiling briefly to Isuma, the Dark Star raked his fingers through his hair. "I can certainly find some to show you," he said with a gentle nod. "They're a bit of a distance away, though. I can fetch some while we talk?"

Ronin stepped away from Jigano, then, leaving the astral copy of him in his wake. It was the projection that continued to speak while Ronin whistled up to the clouds, calling one of them down.

"I will always be sorry for my actions after Fiat Lux," he said quietly. "I've caused a lot of pain for a lot of people. I understand if you can't forgive me, but I can only move forward now. I can't change the past."

The bard relaxed a little when Ronin smiled at Isuma, glad to see that the man could smile again. Isuma bounded up to him for a quick twine around his ankles before taking to the sky to seek out Sugar for a game of cloud-tag while the humans did their silly human things below.

"That would be welcome, yes," Jigano agreed tentatively, readying himself to walk as they talked. Ronin's split into his astral form had him pausing, however, and his own smile turned rueful as he was reminded of the demigod's unique ability to be in two places at once. "I suppose we can cover twice as much ground this way, too."

He blinked again as a cloud came down from the sky to pick up the Dark Star, the ability new to him since the last time they'd spent any time together. "Ah... that's a handy trick, too," he murmured, a little bemused and a lot fascinated by the sight of a man sitting on a cloud.

He shook his head, forcing himself to focus on the projection and his smile turned sad at Ronin's calm and gracious words. "Amalia has been healed and the Temple rebuilt. What you did was done from grief. I won't pretend I'd be any better if Isuma or Rory were killed." He drew a breath, feeling out the emotions that still twisted within him at those memories, but he had made his peace before he sent the note and his smile grew gentler as he nodded in acceptance of what he found within. "If it helps, you have my forgiveness. And I have missed my friend, as Isuma has missed hers."

Smiling at Isuma, Ronin made sure not to move too quickly to avoid tripping over the gryphlet, and Sugar could be heard chirping her greeting from high above as her friend came to join her. His real form took off into the sky, zooming overhead and away towards the lighthouse, and Ronin laughed and rubbed at the back of his head as he glanced to Jigano. "Yes, it seems I have a lot of tricks up my sleeves these days, doesn't it?" He sighed; gone were the days of the soldier who had just wanted to do his best for those he loved.

"Thank you," he said quietly regarding the situation with the Temple, his footsteps more leisurely now as they walked. "So much has changed, it seems strange sometimes to remember the lives we used to live. I'm just glad that no one was hurt permanently." Amalia seemed alright, if not a bit traumatised. But that was for Ronin to deal with.

"Dare I ask at what price?" Jigano asked softly, thinking of Remi and the conversations he'd had with the alchemist in the past year. He watched Isuma take to the sky, his smile a little rueful and a little sad. "When has anything in this world come for free?" If not paid for in blood and loss, then owed in greater expectations and responsibilities. There was a balance to it that the bard appreciated, even as the losses of friends and loved ones continued to chip away at his foundations.

Remi had escaped that cycle. It remained to be seen if anyone else would - or would want to.

He fell in beside the former captain, feeling the sand between his toes and still enjoying the unfamiliar sensation, even as their conversation took a more sober turn. "As am I," he agreed, remembering the frustration and fear when his Healing magic hadn't been enough to put the broken baker back together immediately. "I would like to ask how you've been but... after talking with Remi I can understand if you don't want to bring up the last season," he suggested, almost tentatively as he slanted a glance at the projection at his side.

"The same price since I was pulled back down from the sky," Ronin said, not really understanding the gifts he had been given or how, either. "I am Safrin's chosen, or so people say. That binds me inexorably to her, for better or for worse. And in exchange, sometimes I get to fly on clouds and shoot stars from my fingertips." His tone suggested he did not know whether or not that was a worthy price any more, but the less said about the complexities of his faith, the better.

They walked and they talked, and it all seemed so frighteningly normal were it not for the conversational topics at hand. "You spoke to Remi?" He raised a brow at that; his husband had been a thousand times more like himself as of late, but he no longer suffered fools, or anyone else for that matter. It was a surprise, and a pleasant one, to hear that he had successfully navigated socialisation without trying to murder anyone.

"Mm, it has been a tough one," he agreed. "I'd prefer to hear about you, in truth. How have you been? What's new in the Grounds, the guild?"

"People make mistakes," the bard asked quietly, recognizing in that statement the weight of other people's expectations, the same ones that shackled Amalia so tightly. "Is it a binding that you still choose?" Now there was a dangerous question. A wiser man might not have asked it, but Jigano's curiosity would be the killing kind someday, and well he knew it.

He had hoped that Remi had given his regards to Ronin, but the alchemist didn't seem to be in the business of doing favors anymore, so he shrugged it off with a wry smile. "I did. Maea and I helped him build a memorial - a prayer pillar of sorts - for the souls of lost sailors and afterwards we talked for awhile.". He tilted his head in acknowledgment of the Dark Star's preference to avoid more personal questions, and instead turned his thoughts to answer what he was asked in turn.

"Mm. Rexanna is still queen, and the government is still running by mostly handling the jobs we were all doing already. With LongNight coming we'll be trying to exert a little more influence to help people prepare. Trying to send as many as will leave to Halo or Torchline, if we can arrange sanctuary for them, at least. Arranging as much protection as we can for those who remain, whatever their reasons for doing so. The vampire gourds have been particularly vicious this year... strangest damn thing. As for the Guild..." He paused to reflect, then shrugged a little ruefully. "We've gained some new members since last you and I talked. Lost a few, too; Loren joined and then left to run Halo's Infirmary. Maea came back from her disappearance, but wanted to join Zariah's new magic academy scheme in Halo. I've begun holding lessons for helping Outlanders learn about the Hollowed Grounds and hopefully help them adjust a bit better. Oh! And we'll be turning some of the abandoned reading rooms on the second floor into a dormitory, of sorts. I'd welcome any help you might be able to give, if you don't mind the dust." He gave the other man a charming grin and puppy-dog eyes, perhaps a bit more hopeful than he had any right to be that Ronin might be coaxed into assisting.

Snorting, Ronin raised an eyebrow across at Jigano, as if to admire his boldness in asking such a question. "Yes," he said. "It is." There was a lot more than mere acceptance going on from his tone of voice alone, but given that it wasn't a question that really had a direct answer even on a good day, Ronin did not want to go into it. Perhaps if for now had been tacked onto his response, it would have been a touch more accurate. For now, though, he was more than happy to let the topic move on.

"Ah, yes. I know he has been trying to pay his respects to Ludo a little more lately." Just what Jigano and Remi had been speaking about was beyond Ronin (and quite frankly none of his business), but the Star got the impression that the ragged deity might just have been a subject of conversation.

And then there was the Hollowed Grounds. Much of the news Ronin listened to politely but without any real need to know; he was glad that things were still ticking over, and relieved to hear that they were trying to persuade people to leave at Longnight. Speaking of which...

"I'll be back at the Grounds for Longnight as well," he murmured, still sounding torn about that, given that he had vowed not to use the portals. "Safrin's orders. So whilst initially I would have politely declined your request, I think maybe it would be good to visit before Deepfrost. Count me in."

And that was all that needed to be said on that subject, Jigano nodding acceptance of the direct answer and letting the conversation drift to alchemists, gods, and guilds. "Not a partnership I would have expected, given their rocky start," the bard mused. "But I'm glad he seems to have made some sort of peace with the masked god for the moment." It certainly beat the alternative, of being on a deity's bad side.

It was Jigano's turn to arch a brow at the revelation of the Dark Star's continued travel to the grounds, but mention of 'Safrin's orders' answered the question before he could form it. "The portals are damnably convenient," he agreed soberly. "Perhaps literally so. And yet... when there are no alternatives and the storms continue to rage, it's hard to avoid them." He sighed and shook his head. "The Ascended are about halfway to opening another one, when last I checked. Hell if I know how they're doing it, though. At least I haven't seen much increase in their numbers since they gained access to Halo and Torchline." He tilted his head at his friend curiously. "What about you? Seen any newly-minted Ascended running around Torchline since the portal activated here?"

"Peace is one word for it, I suppose. But then I am not one to talk, given all of my experiences with gods." Ronin shrugged his shoulders. "I was surprised as well - when we first arrived here, Ludo seemed to delight in torturing Remi. But it gives him a sense of purpose now, so... I cannot complain." He imagined that the alchemist felt the same way regarding his relationship to Safrin.

The news about the Ascended and their portal opening had Ronin nibbling at his lower lip; he had no interest in using the portals beyond what he had to, but it seemed that a goddess's plight trumped his personal feelings. And well - if it would get Vanya down from the sky...

"I haven't thankfully enough," he said of any new Ascended. "It doesn't seem to have stopped them though, does it? Ah, here we go."

Nodding across the water, Ronin directed Jigano's attention to the returning cloud. Above it, the Sage would see a large, lazily drifting manta ray, tethered there by the rope that Ronin had used to lasso it. It wasn't even dead - he should count himself lucky.

"Well, you could complain, but I admire your fortitude in refraining." Jigano chuckled ruefully. "Hopefully his deals with gods don't become something he regrets someday." A wish for all of them, heartfelt and sincere.

The bard relaxed a little to hear that Ronin hadn't noticed any fresh Ascended running around Torchline. Before he could ask more, however, Ronin reappeared on the horizon, and Jigano slanted a glance at Ronin with a wry smile. Ronin's captured prey was unlike anything the bard had seen before and he quickly found his attention diverted at the graceful flier as the cloud-borne demigod and the beast approached. "What's it called?" he asked eagerly. "Is it dangerous? What does it eat?"

"Listen, with all I have put him through with gods and goddesses, complaining is the least of my priorities." Ronin grinned at Jigano and shook his head, before turning his full attention to... well. Himself. The real Ronin descended on the beach and dispersed the nimbus when he was close enough to the sand, keeping the creature tethered with him. His projection was there, at least, to explain whilst he brought it closer.

"These are cloud manta," he explained. "If you've seen a manta ray, you're pretty close. They're airborne, and as far as I know they eat small fish close to the surface of the ocean, similar to a lot of seabirds. The gem you can see in the centre of its forehead - that grows larger as the manta gets older. Removed and pressed against the throat, the gem can allow you to breathe underwater. I've confirmed that much."