you can't make old friends

REMI

the alchemist

there's a feeling i get when i look to the west,
& my spirit is crying for leaving.

Sunglasses hid the dark circles beneath Remi's eyes as he slowly made his way towards the boxing ring. There had been a lot of drinking the night before, both in figuring out the vote as well as after. Sleeping wouldn't do any good he knew; he needed some food and needed to get his ass in gear so that his body had some way of digesting the copious amounts of liquor still in his system.

"Jata—!" Remi called in a low voice, his fingers barely tapping on the door. Even so, he winced beneath his dark lenses at the sound of his own voice. Pressing his forehead against the cool wood and speaking against it, he whispered: "It's Remi. Open up. It's too fucking bright out here."

in my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees
& the voices of those who stand looking.

fightin' with my shadow, that is somethin' i am good at / givin' me the power that is provin' to have backlash

Oh, the irony that Sunjata too remains holed up inside, curtains drawn to block out the light from a binge. It’s somewhat surprising to hear Remi’s voice on the other side of the door while the attuned spins a dagger in his hand idly beside a glass, debating whether it was worth remaining drunk the rest of the day to bandaid his problems. Still, he abandons it, drifting toward the door to open it — wincing as the light it reveals.

“That it is.” He rumbles simply, in quiet agreement, stepping aside to close the door behind the Alchemist turned Governor. “Congrats, by the way.” He hums, brushing by toward the table with the liquor and the daggers, moving to sit and rub against a bite mark to his neck, gaze flickering up to see what Remi had shown for.

SUNJATA

REMI

the alchemist

there's a feeling i get when i look to the west,
& my spirit is crying for leaving.

"Mmm, yeah well, you're not getting off the hook so easily." The alchemist grumbled by way of acknowledgment, shutting the door firmly behind him and wincing at the sound.

Letting his eyes shift to the darkness and sighing at the brief respite on his senses, he glanced at the daggers strewn on the table with a small smirk. "Well, they do say size doesn't matter, after all." Remi mumbles, nodding towards the blades.

Folding his arms and leaning against one of the walls, Remi rubbed at the bridge of his nose to ward off the oncoming headache. "I'd be an idiot to pretend that having more pebbles than shells in that box meant I didn't need you."

in my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees
& the voices of those who stand looking.

fightin' with my shadow, that is somethin' i am good at / givin' me the power that is provin' to have backlash

“Oh no?” He manages to chuckle, somehow. A quiet and hollow sound regardless, though not because of the loss with the governor position. Instead, he listens to Remi’s comments, some snort leaving him at the mention of the daggers, agreeing in a sense. “Of course, it depends on how you use it.” He offers back.

Still, brows raise a small amount at the fact that Remi did still need him to be a part of something in regards to it. “What do you need?” He’s surprised that he’s considered needed, though a part of his ego does blossom beneath all the other shit he’s dealing with. So his gaze lifts, focusing on Remi with a bit more intensity, waiting.

SUNJATA

REMI

the alchemist

there's a feeling i get when i look to the west,
& my spirit is crying for leaving.

"Oh no." Remi returns with a smirk, before nodding obligingly. "You know, I have heard that before, once or twice." He added with a laugh that quickly tapered off, sounding far too loud in his own skull.

'Despite what Phoebe has had to say on the subject, you seem trustworthy. That doesn't mean that you're not capable of lying or anything as naive as that but...in a pinch, I think you try and do what's best." Letting his hand drop to his side, he gave the flood a look. "Am I right to think that?" Neither of them were good men, not really. They'd both done things worthy of regret and prison and probably would continue to do so in the future.

But could Sunjata be counted on? Were there ideals he'd avow himself to?

in my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees
& the voices of those who stand looking.

fightin' with my shadow, that is somethin' i am good at / givin' me the power that is provin' to have backlash

A hum of agreement and amusement is given back to Remi, though Sunjata doesn’t add to the subject any. Not as he focuses on what Remi’s arrived for – the true meaning of the visit. And when the words begin to slip from Remi’s lips, Sunjata can’t help the slight feathering of his jaw, steel gaze sharp and narrow on the Alchemist as the mention of Phoebe is brought up, topics of lying.

“I’m surprised you still trust her word. I sure as hell don’t.” A shrug to that, moving to lift the glass to his lips because he absolutely needs something to deal with what’s currently at hand. “I’ve always been as honest as I can be. Doesn’t mean I don’t withhold information.” He leans forward a small amount, arms bracing atop the table. “That being said, I’m not some monster. I have flaws, a lot of them, but I don’t actively go to seek out making life harder than it is.” A tilt of his head to Remi with that – surely something he might be able to relate to.

Still doesn’t really explain what Remi wants him to do, however.

SUNJATA

REMI

the alchemist

there's a feeling i get when i look to the west,
& my spirit is crying for leaving.

"I don't have to trust her word on it, and indeed I don't. If I did, I'd not be here. Instead, I lean more on Ronin, or the horse's mouth, as it were. But I'm not ignorant of it, either." Nodding with Sunjata's description of himself, having expected nothing else from him, the alchemist seemed to relax slightly even as the flood leaned forward.

"I'm not sure what your homeworld was like, but back in Northaven there was this...ridiculous system of justice. Lawyers, judges, soldiers...all on the payroll, all corrupt, and all nobles." Softly he shook his head. "I'd not see that repeated here. Though I know Torchlines underground economy and more...shadowy dealings are an integral part of its survival—" Here, Remi's own jaw feathered as he took a breath. His hands balling slightly at his sides and the chords on his neck standing out as he exhaled. "—but rape? Rampant sexual assault? Unfettered thievery? Gods know I'm not innocent, but I draw the line there."

And that, was the crux of it.

"And I'd have you help keep our people on the right side of it."

in my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees
& the voices of those who stand looking.

fightin' with my shadow, that is somethin' i am good at / givin' me the power that is provin' to have backlash

Remi’s response to Phoebe’s words do cause a bit of an amused smile to cross over his face at that – nodding in understanding as well. But when the man continues, muscles flickering in Sunjata’s jaw at just how much like him it sounds – and how different he had changed and became to try and take it over to fix the fucked up system it was… Well, he exhales slowly. He agrees, at the core of it all, the crux that those things simply wouldn’t be tolerated – one of the first things he’d noticed out here.

“Alright.” He agrees simply, moving to run a hand through his dark wavy hair. “I guess I should give you a bit more of my history.” He snorts to that with a shake of his head. “Long story cut short, however. I was a soldier and an enforcer. I was the Arbiter’s son poised to take his place and write the laws and enforce them.” His lip curls to that. “But Korofi was fucked up and the laws were terribly traditional. So I joined the resistance when I found it instead of revealing it.” A shrug, gaze leveling again.

“And we tried to change it.” Key word try. “So I guess I’m likely more fit to be your guy.” A shrug granted, glass raised to his lips. “One more personal rule of mine is certainly consent. Especially with how the nobles of Korofi treated all the lower class. So that I can absolutely enforce.” A muscle feathers in his jaw, lips curling in a frown.

SUNJATA

REMI

the alchemist

there's a feeling i get when i look to the west,
& my spirit is crying for leaving.

The alchemist listens with both patience and intrigue as Sunjata explains his past. The picture the Flood's words paint is a troubled one, though Remi can't say he's surprised. You don't get someone like Sunjata from a world of kindness and understanding. But then, you don't get Remi's from those worlds either.

"How do you feel about becoming the Arbiter here then? As a big cosmic fuck you to all that you were meant to be?" Remi can't tell if the name is too on the nose, or crass perhaps, given the world Sunjata came from.

in my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees
& the voices of those who stand looking.

fightin' with my shadow, that is somethin' i am good at / givin' me the power that is provin' to have backlash

The question, the title sparks something in him he can’t quite place. An attempt to make the term less of what it truly means and more of what it could have been? Or a half assed attempt at being something he was born to be despite how much he had wanted to change it? He mulls it over silently, lifting the glass to his lips to try and create some sort of buzz in his mind to avoid the pain of that while his heart tugs in multiple directions.

And finally? Finally he inhales deeply and snorts, gaze lifting to meet Remi’s seaglass stare. “Yeah, sure.” He agrees once more, shoulders rising and falling in a shrug. “Ah, if only dad could see me now.” A curl of his lip in both distaste and amusement. “Count me in.” A bit more serious, a slight toast of the glass toward the Alchemist in agreement.

SUNJATA

REMI

the alchemist

there's a feeling i get when i look to the west,
& my spirit is crying for leaving.

"Yeah sure." Remi toasts the air with a snort. Then again, it was about as rousing an agreement as he'd expected, and he finds himself well-soothed by the Flood being on board.

"Ronin and I have those talks all the time. Ronin was a noble, meant to bring honour to his family or some such. And me? Well. I was meant to be dead, so, it's all downhill from there." He adds with an easy shrug. "So you're in good company, if disappointing fathers is what we're about."

Glancing around the room, Remi let his gaze wander back to Sunjata. "Given all your..industriousness lately, would you mind helping me with an addition to the house? That way we're not meeting in the back of your boxing ring all the time." and also because it's a requirement

in my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees
& the voices of those who stand looking.

fightin' with my shadow, that is somethin' i am good at / givin' me the power that is provin' to have backlash

He listens as he speaks of their own disappointing fathers, a snort leaving him to that. “Ah, a group with daddy issues.” An amused chuckle leaves him to that before he shakes his head. “I tried to kill mine.” A shrug to that – going over the fact that he’d nearly died in the process before his father had fixed him up and tried to marry him off. A fact that hadn’t ended well on all accounts.

So he leans back a bit, now that the deal is done for the most part, watching as Remi glances around the boxing ring. A bit brighter of a chuckle leaves him, nodding his head in agreement, a wider smirk crossing his face. “Yeah, I can do that. Tell me what you need and where to be and I’ll be there.” Wasn’t a problem at all on his end, given the fact he’d rebuilt… Well, quite a few things as of late. What was another?

SUNJATA

REMI

the alchemist

there's a feeling i get when i look to the west,
& my spirit is crying for leaving.

"Healthy, isn't it? No wonder we beat up on each other all the time." And had amazing sex, though how far through the group that tendency would spread was yet to be seen. "I should have done. I just ended up running off, more or less." Through a portal into a new world, ish

"Will do. A few days or so, for the air to clear. Then we'll get started." Pushing himself off the wall, Remi extended a hand towards the Flood. "No hard feelings I hope, though if there are, I'd understand." Remi had recently punched Saiden in the face over having lost a bar to him years and years back. If Sunjata was going to hold a grudge, Remi would be a hypocrite to judge him for it.

in my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees
& the voices of those who stand looking.

fightin' with my shadow, that is somethin' i am good at / givin' me the power that is provin' to have backlash

“Incredibly.” Sunjata replies almost dryly, though there’s humor that bounces down the attuned bond toward the Alchemist. His gaze flickering along the other man before drifting down to the glass in front of him as he debates whether or not to sip from it again. “Eh, I ended up running after I wasn’t successful. No judgements from me.” He offers with a small smirk.

A nod is granted toward him as Remi pushes off the wall. His gaze lifts at the hand outstretches toward him, a comment of no hard feelings having him chuckle deeply, perhaps a bit darkly as he shakes his head, taking Remi’s hand into his own for a quick shake. “I don’t really care, to be honest. I thought it might be a nice nod to Lusea to try at least.” A shrug, no grudges held on this end. Remi would have to try harder to get one out of him.

SUNJATA