they're looking your way

REMI

the alchemist

I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar's chair

Two bar openings Remi had missed and now a birthday. He couldn't say he necessarily felt bad about it, though that happenstance was making it a habit was perhaps worth an apology. Still, that wasn't the primary reason the alchemist wandered towards the boxing ring this breezy Leafchange afternoon.

Jaw set and fists clenched at his sides, the alchemist warbled dangerously between control over himself and full-blown fury. There were things he wanted, things he wanted to do, none of which he should. And so he found himself here, seeking out a man who could offer a specific kind of therapy. Much as Remi wanted to scream the Flood's name to draw him out, instead he leaned against the rope of the ring and forced his breathing to slow. Sweat had already begun to trickle down Remi's spine despite the wind, and the slow crawl of it felt like some sort of provocation that he desperately wanted to rise to.

Eyes closed and fingers slowly punctuating themselves into claws, Remi took a deep breath in through his nose, exhaling it around the shape of a name: "Sunjata—"

Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

SUNJATA

He had felt another string attached to those internal parts of him that he reaches for to shift and change, and on this day he’d been at the Slagveld — testing things out, the shifts he’s acquired because there wasn’t anything better to do at the present moment. So when Remi enters the bar, Sunjata’s slunk against one of the posts of the ring, coiled up in black and bronze, forked tongue darting out toward him.

Dark eyes scan over the Alchemist as his name is uttered, slithering closer briefly along the sand, hood flattening. Remi. He rumbles half in greeting, moving to shift to himself — leaning against the boxing ring with only a few traces left of that new shift. “You look like hell.” He offers, though he doesn’t look much better than that.

“What’s up?” He asks, head tilting to the side, wondering what the Governor was looking to do here today.

we were young, dumb, taking our chance and making romance and breaking our promises
trying to be and failing miserably, but am i too late or hearts to your spades?

REMI

the alchemist

I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar's chair

It's no wonder Remi doesn't notice Sunjata, all coils and loops. Turning towards the voice even though it only rings out in his mind, he narrows his eyes at the serpent for a moment before smirking. "A snake. Is there anything you aren't, these days?" Despite the curve of his lips, there isn't much humour in his voice. "I feel it." He agrees dryly, pressing a talon into the fleshy bit of his palm to cut through the anger that still builds in his chest.

"Ronin mentioned...that the ring isn't always used just for training. That where you come from it...that fighting can be therapeutic." Not one known for elegant words at the best of times, now Remi's voice is stilted and distracted. Running a hand through his curls to push the hair from his face, he sighs and gives the flood a level stare. "I really want to beat the shit out of something." He said honestly, appearing strangely wounded and reluctant for it.

Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

SUNJATA

“Doesn’t seem like it.” He replies easily, arms folding along his chest as he comments on Remi’s appearance, listening quietly. A deep nod granted to the therapeutic addition, how Sunjata had dealt with many of his problems in the past this way. So he slips away from the ring, ducking under the rope to grab two glasses and some alcohol — because it always loosened things up, tongues, bones, numbness to pain. “Alright, we can do that.” He agrees, having his own frustrations from the meeting with Jigano, the implications surrounding all of that.

“My way is usually getting a bit drunk and letting loose on a punching bag or opponent.” A wry smile as he hands the glass to Remi, tips his own back all the way to discard the glass and prep himself. “You can talk about it or keep it hidden, but sometimes talking helps.” It was up to Remi how much he wanted to share. But, he doesn’t bother with wrapping his hands, focusing on Remi instead with somewhat tired steel eyes. “I’ll make an exception for shifts and partial shifts for you today if you think it’ll help.” He eyes the claws, a raised brow, before taking a stance to let Remi start however he wished.

Subconsciously, he wonders how soon he’ll have to seek Nate out today.

we were young, dumb, taking our chance and making romance and breaking our promises
trying to be and failing miserably, but am i too late or hearts to your spades?

REMI

the alchemist

I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar's chair

"I thought—" About to argue that he'd come to fight not to drink, Remi was silenced by Sunjata's explanation. "You're the expert." He said, releasing a shaky sort of breath that belied the adrenaline rushing through his system. "Until a few years ago my solution was just to bottle things up and repress them. But now.." He ran a hand through his hair. "I don't think I could even if I tried."

The alchemist follows Sunjata's lead willingly, downing the alcohol without so much as a grimace. Stupidly Remi thinks to say something like do we need a safe word, or I guess you can flop on me as a whale if things go too far, but then stops. Surely Sunjata knows. And if he doesn't...well. The land has no shortage of healers.

"I want to kill Loren Launceleyn." He says through teeth clenched together and growing pointed. This doesn't need to be a shifted fight by any means, but Remi is more predator than not know, and it's a tantalizing desire to shred skin.

Without thought for defence or pain, Remi aims a fist towards Sunjata's side where he knows the muscle is thick and hard; where he's more likely to hurt himself as he is the flood.

Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

SUNJATA

He’s hardly an expert, just talking from personal experience. But Remi goes along with it and Sunjata prepares himself, nodding along with the Alchemist. “It’s never worked in my experience.” Often too volatile, too explosive with his temper and moods to keep things bottled up. Especially when the right buttons were pressed.

But Remi begins, one sentence leaving the man’s lips that Sunjata acutely listens to, partially shifting his skin to that of his orca shift to absorb more of the impact. Still doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt, as heard by the huff of air leaving his lungs as he swings out back at the Alchemist, aiming for the other man’s shoulder. “What happened with the two of you?” He’s only heard Loren’s side, a brief explanation of how much Loren had fucked up. But he’s curious on the details, on the reasonings why he’d go that far.

And then he wonders if Remi has killed before, a strange dark portion of his heart finding kinship with the thought.

we were young, dumb, taking our chance and making romance and breaking our promises
trying to be and failing miserably, but am i too late or hearts to your spades?

REMI

the alchemist

I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar's chair

Remi doesn't try to avoid the blow, though he can't help the snarl of pain that leaves his lips as his muscles stretch with the overrotation of his shoulder. 'What hasn't.' He replies, brutishly moving forward to try and thrust his shoulder into the center of Sunjata's stomach and shove him backwards. Though there's sand beneath his feet, they shift into wide paws that help him keep his footing.

"I am sick of him finding himself at the expense of everyone else." Remi grunts against the Flood, with ears more leonine than human pinned into a mane of curls and tawny hair. "Sick of him having an excuse for everything—" Grunting, the alchemist continues to try and shove Sunjata. "—sick of his need to be forgiven, to be the martyr, but refusing to forgive anyone else." The sand felt cool and gritty beneath his paws. "I I hate him for cutting his throat in front of me only to heal it right away, like it's all some fucking game. I hate him for being with Sam."

Remi ran his tongue over sharp and jagged teeth. "But I want him dead for all the things he's done that you can't take back." Because that was the heart of it, wasn't it? There were things that were forgivable, and things that weren't.

Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

SUNJATA

Ah, and Loren hasn’t told him about that. He supposes it's only fair, Sunjata too caught up in his own tornado of issues to have to ask about it. But some of the things Remi says do resonate, as he’s shoved back, bruises forming in the center of his chest despite the splotched white patterns. Huffs of sound leave him with each sequential shove, only pushing back minorly until Remi’s rant is close to done and Sunjata can take a second to gulp some air, back pressed against the ropes, large dorsal fin sticking out between shoulder blades.

So he starts to shove back at the Alchemist, giving him some hint of fight back. Fists held up by his chest to protect the bruises, shoving with a shoulder back at the manticoresque man. “And the guilt tripping? When you don’t reach out to him?” He muses, falling victim to that despite being in his own whirlwind. “I don’t blame you.” It’s a quiet utterance, because he considered Loren a friend… but at the same time, needed to be called on bullshit as much as the rest of them.

“He’s been sleeping around a lot. I thought I was bad but.” An unamused snort leaves him. “He slept with Nate too.” Another pause for a deep gulp of breath against the bones within that throb. “But at the end of the day, he’s got to be the one to realize the mistakes he’s making, yeah? Otherwise it’s just gonna get spun around and around to make him seem like the victim. And if you kill him… Well, then he would be the victim, wouldn’t he?” He muses, pausing to unclench his fists when they throb, giving Remi time to attack again. “Sometimes revenge and justice need to be done by themselves.” A slow burn, a realizing you’re not everything you’d hoped to be regardless of trying to change it. Apologies only went so far, after all.

we were young, dumb, taking our chance and making romance and breaking our promises
trying to be and failing miserably, but am i too late or hearts to your spades?

REMI

the alchemist

I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar's chair

The alchemist snarls welcomingly as the blubbering man-shape in front of him begins to tense and retaliate. Lions and orcas do not live in the same biomes to be sure, but in that moment as the rubber-like skin brushes against the alchemist, all Remi can think of is sinking his teeth into it if only to see how far it will go. Will his sand-paper like tongue be able to flay this skin from Sunjata's bones? He thinks not, but desperately wants to satisfy his curiosity.

Instead he barks a laugh into Sunjata's braced arms. "Well nothing is ever his fault, is it. You offer to help and you're just being a hero or telling him what to do. You leave him to it and it's the whole abandonment story we've all heard."

His breath coming in heavy pants down, Remi wipes a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth and spits it into the sand. Later perhaps, he'll offer some sort of sympathy at hearing about Nate, but for now that's far too delicate an emotion for Remi's fury to tangle with. "He realizes. After." The alchemist says as Sunjata releases the tension in his fists. "And that's precisely the fucking thing. He gets to walk around spewing apologies he doesn't mean. But it isn't him who has to deal with how it fucking feels." Perhaps it's a trick of the light, for surely there isn't a tear in the corner of Remi's eyes. Sweat, maybe.

Thrusting his fist forward towards Sunjata's ear, Remi snarls something incoherent in the back of his throat that eventually ends with ,"...let him be the victim."

Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

SUNJATA

“Mm that’s a classic.” Sunjata hums. His childhood had been quite shit as well, but he wasn’t out to make it a competition like it seemed like Loren tried to whenever it was brought up. “Or he just denies it without trying.” Something begins to leave a sour, bitter, irony taste in his mouth that he realizes a bit too soon as Remi begins to spit a bit of blood into the sand. He keeps himself somewhat braced, fists relaxing ever so slightly, as Remi’s fury is tangible, influxes the air around them to where it’s all Sunjata can feel aside from the bruises forming.

“You’re right.” He offers, having been on the end of that. An apology only to do it again it blame it on a drink. He clenches his jaw as soon as Remi’s fist is flying, ducking quickly and letting it whizz past his ear, through dark curls. And the prey within him sparks up as the horns sprout and he grits his teeth, pushing back against Remi again in a shove, followed up by a fist coming at the Alchemists’ side. “Do you think you could do it?” He asks suddenly.

He had dreamed of killing his father, so long ago, and when given the opportunity… He wasn’t strong enough, couldn’t get near. And here? With Loren’s healing, would it even be enough? “Do you think you could break through the healing to actually get him?” Sunjata doesn’t think so, somehow imagining it far more difficult than either of them want to admit. “Punish him instead.” There were things far worse than Death, after all.

we were young, dumb, taking our chance and making romance and breaking our promises
trying to be and failing miserably, but am i too late or hearts to your spades?

REMI

the alchemist

I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar's chair

They'd all had shit childhoods. Had lovers die or leave them. Had things go hellishly wrong. Only Loren acted like his pain made him entitled to behave however he wanted. Only he expected the world to kneel to his whims and then forgive him his transgressions with a wave of his hand.

Remi snarls his frustration as his fist connects with a whiff of hair. In other circumstances, he'd marvel at just how dexterous Sunjata's taller frame could be, but as of now, the alchemist felt cheated for not having heard the satisfying thwack of his fist against the side of the Flood's face.

Grunting into the blow angled at his side and collapsing into it, Remi panted into the pain and nodded. "I'm sure of it. It's why I've been avoiding him. Why I didn't stay at your party." Trying to grab the fist Sunjata had just thrown into his side so that he might use it to shove the larger man back, Remi hissed out an uncertain sound.

"I...do, yeah. I'm physically stronger..I've more magic. More deadly shifts." Fury glinted black in the alchemist's pale stare as he twisted, meaning to kick out at Sunjata's blubbery side with a taloned-foot.

"Punish? As if that wouldn't play directly into the narrative of poor Loren."

Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

SUNJATA

Remi snarls but Sunjata pays it little attention as he attempts to recover, fist finding its way into the Alchemist’s side, hissing under his breath as knuckles pop and crack, a creaking feeling as he withdraws only to have Remi still right there, grabbing his fist. The surprise of Remi not staying at the party does resonate with a flicker of a memory, a quiet half nod given in the moment before he’s shoved back.

He has nothing to really say to that — it had been a surprise after all.

“So why haven’t you done it, then?” He asks, gritted teeth that point to fangs. And then Remi is twisting and Sunjata finds his back at the rope again, nowhere to really go other than take the impact. And he does, growling and hissing as the talons slice along his stomach, similar places to where sharks had attacked him before. He can already feel the blood begin to bubble and slip, and his steel gaze narrows to make room for the more predatory side of him.

He inhales against the sharp shooting pain and surges toward Remi then, shifting his weight to swipe out with his leg to hopefully bring Remi down for at least a breather. “It would. At first. Until everyone else he plays it on gets wise to it. And then it’s just poor Loren, a product of his own making.” He rumbles, voice thicker in his accent. “He was Maea’s friend, too. Tried to kill himself in front of her too. I won’t ever forgive him for that.” At least Sunjata had the decency to get to those low points when he was alone. “So, what do you want to do? Kill him and deal with the aftermath of that? Or watch him spin in his own spiral of destruction until there’s nothing left?”

we were young, dumb, taking our chance and making romance and breaking our promises
trying to be and failing miserably, but am i too late or hearts to your spades?

REMI

the alchemist

I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar's chair

The need for more blood is overwhelming as the coppery-sweet scent of it rises into Remi's nostrils (that look decidedly more leonine now). Again the urge to find out for himself whether or not his tongue can peel blubber from bone the way it can flesh sings to the surface, and the alchemist clamps his teeth down on his own tongue to keep himself from finding out. "Because unlike Loren, I at least think about the things I do I know I can't take back." He spits in response, the venom in his tone meant for the Launceleyn and not the flood.

Indeed the alchemist does fall, paying little attention to much save for the closeness of Sunjata and the blood in his mouth that threatens to drive him mad. Hitting the sand with a dull thud that knocks the air from his lungs, Remi silently gasps for breath with ears pinned tight against curls and mane.

"WHAT?!" It wasn't that Remi thought himself special in witnessing Loren's fake-suicide; that Loren had been thoughtless and manipulative enough to stoop to such methods twice? That stopped his breathing more succinctly than the fall to the floor had. His blank stare said as much as any poorly strung together series of expletives might have. "How have you not killed him?" Remi whispered, his talons digging into the sand.

Considering the flood's question as his breath slowly came back, Remi just shook his head. "I could ban him from Torchline." He said slowly, eyes narrowed. Glancing up at Sunjata to see what 'therapist' might think of this, he made his way to his feet with a wince at the grating pain in his side.

Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

SUNJATA

The fury in Remi’s response isn’t directed at him, but it is palpable. And it’s a good response, honestly. He has nothing to add with it, not as he drops Remi to the ground and has a moment to breathe, to hold his hand against his stomach where Remi had sliced him, gaze focusing between the Alchemist and his hand with that scarlet sheen. And Remi’s response to the comment with Maea has him grimacing, lips shifting to a slight sneer as he leans back against the ropes and beam to take a moment to breathe.

“Because I know I can’t.” He rumbles. He took the apology for what it was, made Loren promise him to never do it again in front of someone else. And then? Then tried to pretend that things went back to normal. But now Maea was dead, and he was moving on rather quickly for some reason. And it hadn’t crossed his mind again… Of course, aside from the way Nate had reacted to a drunken comment Sunjata had made.

“We sparred a while back, after my shitty shrine making disaster. I thought we’d be fighting with fists and he used magic on me. Summoned a dragon. Right after two of my guildmates and friends were murdered by one in Halo. Gave me this from it.” He gestures with a bloody hand to the scar on his other side, shirt lifting slightly to show how it swiped up from his hip to beneath his arm.

But the idea of banning him from Torchline has him wondering how that would even work. “You could ban him. But how would it be enforced?” He certainly didn’t plan on staying 24/7 by the portal on the off chance the summoner showed up.

we were young, dumb, taking our chance and making romance and breaking our promises
trying to be and failing miserably, but am i too late or hearts to your spades?