He figured living was just easier

SAMUEL

Stretch out my life

And pick the seams out

Sam had surprisingly had quite a nice evening, walking along the beach looking at the lanterns. A sombre one to be sure, but there was something beautiful in the lights and their reflections in the water and he'd found the gentle sounds of waves and peoples soft songs and memories to be quite relaxing. Remi and Ronin had been there (and Remi had certainly made quite a loud ruckus) but he'd managed to avoid them both and get away with a minimum amount of conversation in general, which was what he really wanted at the moment.

When he'd seen all the lanterns he had begun to walk down the beach, wandering and listening to the sea, staring up at the stars and wondering about the future, about if he'd ever find love, where the Ascended would end up...everything that was troubling him. There, on the beach, it all seemed a little easier to deal wi--

Before him, he saw a shape on the ground that at first he couldn't parse, something large and still. Sam walked towards it slowly at first, peering: then he realised it was a Unicorn laid on the ground and when he focused, a man kneeling next to it...it took only a couple of seconds more before he realised who this was and without thinking began to run forward, his heart pulling him towards the two figures in the dark before his mind had a chance to catch up.

Once he'd gotten close enough to see in detail he simply stared. Stood and stared at Remi (who looked...weaker, yet...different in some other way that was harder to explain) and at Isla, his eyes filling with tears at the second. Silently he stood there and looked between them both, words unable to form in his mouth.

take what you like

but close my ears and eyes

WORDSWORTH

everything i knew is turning into ruins in your shadow

The sands were soaked black with blood, cooled by the sea breezes and the chilled Leafchange air. Sam was quiet normally but was made near silent by the sands. There wasn't enough light for him to cast a shadow, no smell of fear nor adrenaline, no heart thudding an unhappy rhythm. Just the silhouette of a once friend and love(r ) that the Alchemist took far too long to notice.

Eventually, he did, his eyes grave and somehow bright as he looked up. No feathers fluttered through his curls now, that ability long gone. In its place was something entirely new and not known to the Alchemist yet. Though the longer he remained still, the darker he grew, as if shadows were slowly pulling him in and towards them...

...broken by movement, Remi solidified again. "What are you doing here." He asked in a low voice.

THE ALCHEMIST

i thought that i'd be ready
but falling isn't steady once you let go

SAMUEL

Stretch out my life

And pick the seams out

Remi slowly looked up and Sam frowned when he saw the strange light in his eyes, unsure if he liked the look of it or not. It took him a moment to notice that the Alchemist was fading into shadow but when he did he once again could only stare, now not entirely convinced that this wasn't another strange dream set on this beach.

Oh, he knew as soon as he heard Remi's voice that he was once again in danger here, but Sam felt if he didn't ask some questions here he'd regret it for the rest of his life. Still, he was smarter now than to start right out with accusations or questions about the dead companion before Remi. Instead he took a small step forward and simply asked, voice quiet: "Are you alright?"

take what you like

but close my ears and eyes

WORDSWORTH

everything i knew is turning into ruins in your shadow

The question was one he should have been ready for. In his mind he'd already started crafting a response for Ronin, should his husband ask. But what the Star would hear was not the same thing that Sam would, of course. Instead of bald truths and shuddery laughs, Remi merely appraised the bookmaker silently for a moment, before nodding. "I wasn't, but I am now."

Waves raced towards his bare feet, bringing bits of Isla's mane against his skin and drawing his attention down to her. Studying her with a distant sort of fascination, this body of soon-to-be decaying flesh seeming just that, and not at all the vessel of the soul it once held, Remi glanced back towards Sam. "Help me move this into the ocean, won't you? Some creature below will dine well on what's left." The Alchemist's voice was shockingly gentle and free of animosity, though it was...far away seeming.

THE ALCHEMIST

i thought that i'd be ready
but falling isn't steady once you let go

SAMUEL

Stretch out my life

And pick the seams out

"Oh...right." Sam said cautiously, confused and more than a little unnerved by Remi's cryptic answer. Something about the whole encounter was making his hairs stand on end but he wasn't sure what; maybe the way Remi looked down at Isla like she was a thing forgot, something inconsequential and to be dismissed. Indeed, it seemed Remi planned to toss her away.

Disgusted by the idea, the way he spoke about her, but still trying to be smart about this, Sam swallowed and nodded, stepped forward. "What happened to her..?" He ventured to ask as he got close enough to leaned down and put hands on Isla's body, to begin to help Remi push it (her) into the ocean. While he suspected Remi was in some way responsible ; after all, he was definitely capable of killing now, he wanted to keep neutral when in front of the Alchemist for the moment.

take what you like

but close my ears and eyes

WORDSWORTH

everything i knew is turning into ruins in your shadow

"I set her spirit free." The Alchemist replied as if that should have been obvious. Stronger than Sam and with the ocean as a willing participant as the waves receded again and again, soon Isla was naught more than a dark mound amidst the waves. Soon she was out far enough that her body sank, silent in the moonlight.

Watching this with clear eyes and no sign at all of guilt or remorse, the Alchemist only tore his eyes away from the ocean. "I chased Loren away, not too long ago, if it's him you're looking for." Remi began, his voice matter of fact. "Surely the Grounds is having its own Festival. Why are you in Torchline?"

Friends the pair were no longer, but Remi didn't hold the same animosity towards Sam as he did his Launceleyn-lover. Still, he spoke as a man and not the Governor of Torchline now, merely wondering why it was the bookmaker found himself here.

THE ALCHEMIST

i thought that i'd be ready
but falling isn't steady once you let go

SAMUEL

Stretch out my life

And pick the seams out

At first Remi's answer only confirmed for Sam that the Alchemist had indeed been the one to blame for Isla's death and he felt rage and disgust towards his calm demeanour, the way he had so casually declared it - though a moment later he was having a conflicting thought, one that actually considered the man's words. Set her free. As they stood and watched Isla slowly drift out onto the waves, he eventually said only one more thing on it, swallowing the outrage: "...I hope she's happier."

He had to admit, he hadn't seen much of Isla in the unicorn for a long time now. Maybe it was better to say goodbye to their friend properly, even if it tore at his heart to watch the shape sink into the waves; at the last second he looked away.

Finding himself laughing dryly he shook his head when Remi mentioned Loren. "I'm not looking for him. I was hoping to avoid him, actually. I was...glad when you told him to leave, though you did startle everyone." Not that he was angry with the Launceleyn, but seeing him at the moment twisted like a thorn against his ribs.

It felt bizarre, to suddenly be dropped in this scene, talking almost casually to Remi after their last meetings, watching the last remnants of Isla drift out into the ocean..but he'd come to expect the unexpected in the last year, and felt more resigned to it than anything else. "...I wanted to walk somewhere a little different. I've found that the Grounds contains a lot of ghosts recently." Something Remi might understand, he thought.

take what you like

but close my ears and eyes

WORDSWORTH

everything i knew is turning into ruins in your shadow

"Ludo said she was." The Alchemist confirmed. "That she was grateful."

Remi raised a brow with dry surprise at this. Hoping to avoid Loren? How the turntables... It brought him no joy though, to assume that there was problems in paradise; no bitter satisfaction at knowing he'd been right. "So they were startled." Remi said with a shrug, entirely unapologetic.

Considering this explanation for a thoughtful moment, Remi nodded. He did understand. It was one of the primary reasons he was planning on never going back, not that that was entirely up to him anymore. "The Festival is for ghosts though. Many are hoping to see them here as I'm sure you know." No longer one to particularly hold his tongue, Remi gave Sam a pointed look. "As for your ghosts, I think you'll find some around here as well. Me, Nate...Loren."

THE ALCHEMIST

i thought that i'd be ready
but falling isn't steady once you let go

SAMUEL

Stretch out my life

And pick the seams out

"..Then that's good." Sam nodded, trying to push away the remaining waves of anger in his chest towards Remi. While he didn't have the highest opinion of the man anymore, he thought that at least the Alchemist would be kind to his companion and once-friend, not want to hurt her unecessarily.

He said nothing at Remi's surprise about him and Loren (though he did notice it. He'd seen that face a couple of times on different people now) or the comment about the startled people, just shrugging and tilting his head as if to say yes, they were. Sam had learned quite strongly lately that it did not pay to try and reprimand Remi, especially not for things that he could easily dismiss.

Remi's points about the festival and Sam's personal ghosts both were true enough and he gave a quiet 'hum', looking down as he pushed some sand around with the toe of his shoe. "You're probably right. Though...you're so different nowadays, you feel like a new man more than a ghost." There wasn't really any anger or confrontation in this comment, just the flat stating of what was. "It's hard to avoid Nate when we're both Ascended, no matter how much I'd like to."

Seeing as Remi was talking to him without flying into a rage or accusations for the moment, he felt emboldened to ask another question. "..What..were the shadows around you, when I arrived?"

take what you like

but close my ears and eyes

WORDSWORTH

everything i knew is turning into ruins in your shadow

'And yet you still look at me that way, sometimes.' Remi said, nodding towards Sam and the expression that occasionally softly flit across the bookmaker's face. The eyes that looked for the Remi of old, the questions directed for someone he used to be.

'Then why waste your time trying?" The Alchemist asks with a low chuckle. It seemed silly to strive towards a goal you were never able to achieve, especially when it seemed to cost so much.

Softly Remi shook his head, his honesty easy as ever but far less hostile. Ludo had lifted more than just a bit of weight from his shoulders; the Alchemist was no less strong, but perhaps it was that lightness that Sam was sensing. "I'm not sure entirely. A side effect, I think." Stretching out a hand, Remi stared at it as if expecting something to happen immediately. When it didn't, he never nearly let it drop again until he started to see himself dim. Keeping as still as he could, slowly the Alchemist would fade away into nothing but shadow.

THE ALCHEMIST

i thought that i'd be ready
but falling isn't steady once you let go

SAMUEL

Stretch out my life

And pick the seams out

"It's...hard to let go, sometimes. I think I'm learning how, though." Sam looked down to watch the waves come in and take away a layer of sand, leaving another in their wake, the surf ready to toss and turn a million times over in one night. "But I'm not sure I'll ever learn to stop trying for things that are impossible. That's just...one of those things I've accepted about myself."

He hadn't meant to get into rambling about himself and worried it might incite Remi's irritation towards him, looking over with an apologetic smile (and he hoped it could be that easy, just for this night) to look at his hand as the man held it out. "...Can you feel that? Is it easy to do..? ..I suppose it's new magic." Not the first time Remi had shown him a new power; while Sam was surely impressed, he was hardly shocked.

take what you like

but close my ears and eyes

WORDSWORTH

everything i knew is turning into ruins in your shadow

'Me too.' Remi agreed. Though for him it was easier to learn when the herald of death grabbed you by the balls and forced you to encounter all that troubled you. Chuckling slightly at that, the Alchemist shot the bookmaker a wry if not reserved smirk. "You used to love contemplating ways of changing yourself. It was almost all you did." His tone of voice suggested something akin to approval, but not quite so strong.

"It...doesn't quite feel like anything." Remi admitted. No sooner had he spoken did he appear again. "And..well, it isn't anything I'm doing really. Not anything I'm controlling anyways." Passive magic wasn't in his vocabulary yet, but it likely would be soon.

THE ALCHEMIST

i thought that i'd be ready
but falling isn't steady once you let go

SAMUEL

Stretch out my life

And pick the seams out

Sam smiled as Remi commented on his old attempts to change himself, nodded. It was nice to have the Alchemist making comments that sounded like fond observations from friends rather than sniping insults and he wondered if they were getting that return to form he'd not dared hope for recently. "I'm not sure if it's good to stop trying, but I'm too tired at the moment. It's been a rather draining week." He paused. "...Of course, I have not had to do what you just did, so perhaps I should not complain."

A little concerning that Remi wasn't controlling the shadows surrounding him, but Sam noticed that Remi seemed calm enough about it, so he tried not to worry too much either. "...So you don't have any idea what's causing it?"

take what you like

but close my ears and eyes

WORDSWORTH

everything i knew is turning into ruins in your shadow

Though Remi didn't ask Sam to elaborate—Ludo having freed him from the emotional shackles of his past, but the Alchemist hadn't forgotten everything the bookmaker had done and said—he did nod with no small amount of understanding and perhaps wayward sympathy. 'You've had to do many things I've not. Hasn't stopped me complaining.' Remi replied with a low snort of amusement.

Looking at Sam through a near curtain of curls, the Alchemist raised a brow. "I didn't say that." Oh he thought he knew very well. Ludo had mentioned leaving him with a gift and though he couldn't be sure this was it, certainly any changes must have from the cloaked god.

THE ALCHEMIST

i thought that i'd be ready
but falling isn't steady once you let go