the waters are sleeping

i've seen fire & i've seen rain.
i've seen sunny days that i thought would never end

Soon, Deepforst would be upon Torchline. It was strange to think that in other parts of the continent snow would blanket everything. Here, it seemed that although the winds might get brisk, the sun would never leave.

Sat on the end of the dock with his feet barefoot in the water, there was a fishing pole at Remi's side though it didn't seem to be in use. Staring intently down into the glasslike ocean, the Alchemist marvelled at just how...quite his thoughts were. He couldn't hear the other attuned, couldn't compel the fish below. It was a strange sort of silence, more emotional than anything, and it would certainly take some getting used to.

Amalia Barefoot and graceful, Amalia is nearly soundless as she walks along the dock, following the smell of a familiar figure and trying not to wind up in trouble. This time she has brought very little with her: her valuables are tucked within her bracer, and the bag on her back carries only baked goods and water. Still there is wariness and caution in the way she moves, almond eyes darting between unfamiliar forms. For all its sunny cheer and clear skies, there's a darkness in this place that Amalia has barely managed to see the surface of. It is easy enough for her to find her quarry. Sure, her animal senses help, but Remi is an easy figure to find regardless: imposing, strong, and governor now. Coming up behind him, she pauses a moment to greet him through Attuned bond before settling onto the dock beside him, toes dipping into the sea. "I hear congratulations are in order." reach for the stars: but child, first recognize the constellations of light you already carry inside you

i've seen fire & i've seen rain.
i've seen sunny days that i thought would never end

Remi flinches at the pulse of Amalia in his mind. Everything has been so quiet he hadn't been expecting it. Turning to see her standing over him, he flashes her a crooked smile, though nothing else comes from him mentally to accompany it. "Congratulations?" He asks, eyes narrowed a fraction as his head tilts softly to the side.

Sliding over to make room for her as she takes up a spot next to him, he watches the ripples forming from the movements of their feet wondering what it is he's meant to be congratulated for. Perhaps Amalia is only just now hearing he's been made Governor or....perhaps it is the other thing.

Amalia She reaches into the water with her mind, coaxing small guppies to come and nibble on her toes and smiling as they do. Pulling some of the bread from her pack, she tears off a piece to offer to Remi before scattering small crumbs to the waiting sea life. "On becoming king here- or whatever they call it. Governor?" She shrugs; it's all the same to her. Tilting her head to look at the man, Amalia raises up a hand to shield her eyes from the bright sun. "I was surprised," she admits. "After everything in the Grounds, and after... I wouldn't have expected you to want this. Being in charge. Responsibility" There's no judgment in her voice, just curiosity. "What made you do it?" reach for the stars: but child, first recognize the constellations of light you already carry inside you

i've seen fire & i've seen rain.
i've seen sunny days that i thought would never end

"Governor, yeah." He agreed with a chuckle, spreading the crumbs out for the small fish unable to push their way through the throng.

Offering her a small smile, Remi nods. Those who were surprised were only the ones who knew the old him. The ones who still thought of him as a boy with abilities he was too shy and naive to use, with a voice he thought wasn't worth listening to. "Well, the Grounds was never my home. I never wanted it to be. Here, though? I am invested in this place. Ronin and I don't plan on leaving, and with the state of the government what it was...it seemed something needed to be done."

Remi tossed a few more crumbs to the fish. "I had no idea Sunjata was interested, honestly. I'd already started to make inroads with those who hold their own sort of authority, already tried to see the former governor and whatnot, had already started to try and improve Torchline. When the eruption happened, it seemed a likely enough next step."

Giving Amalia a wry smile, the Alchemist could only shrug. "I am not the man I was, Amalia." He said softly, as if perhaps that was the only explanation of his recent decisions that was relevant.

Amalia She looks away as she speaks of finding home, her expression briefly clouded with emotion at the confirmation that her friends have no intention of returning to the Grounds. Until this point she hadn't admitted her hope that one day they would come back; only now as he denies it does she realize her denial. "How are you going to improve it?" she asks, biting down the disappointment and trying, trying to find only happiness for her friend. It must be nice, Amalia thinks, to be a fish, utterly without these cares, unconcerned by gods or kings. "Does LongNight even happen here?" Try as she might, Amalia cannot imagine this place shrouded in that all too familiar dark. The wry smile is met with one of her own, the girl sending a mental pulse of apology through the bond. "I know. But it still takes some getting used to." Turning back to Remi, she raises an eyebrow. "So... how does New Remi feel about going on another probably foolish adventure?" reach for the stars: but child, first recognize the constellations of light you already carry inside you

i've seen fire & i've seen rain.
i've seen sunny days that i thought would never end

"We already have. When Ronin and I first arrived we were assaulted almost instantly...those sort of attacks have decreased significantly." Remi replied with a dark and predatory smirk. "Torchline is known for a certain roughness, and I'd not take that from them. But rampant sexual assault? Well, that's no longer tolerated." Ruffling a hand through his curls, the Alchemist tossed yet more bread into the waters. "Sunjata, Ronin and I are working on ways to help those who struggler so that thievery isn't their only means of survival as well."

Remi shakes his head no, at that. "No it doesn't. Deepfrost hardly even happens here." He chuckles. 'I've heard Halo is going to take those from the Grounds during LongNight." He says with a raise of his brow. "I think I'd rather endure one week of staying inside, than an entire season in that wintery hell." Remi doesn't bother to hide his bitterness, though it's far less targeted now than it once was.

"I can't...ahh, that is, I can't send anything back to you." He says of the bond, tapping his temple slightly and offering her an apologetic shrug so that she doesn't think he's simply disregarding her.

"A new adventure eh? So long as you aren't bringing me for luck. Last adventure I was on resulted in Maea's death, as you probably know."

Amalia "Sexual assault?" Amalia repeats, her eyes going wide. "Rampant? That's- gods, that's terrible. What's wrong with people?" Clenching her hands into fists, Amalia shakes her head. "I'm glad you're doing something about it, then. And if you need help... I'm stronger, these days." Not as strong as him, of course, but it's more than she was. And if she is to be a sword for justice, well, there seems no better place to start. She wrinkles her nose at the idea of spending a season in Halo, though it still feels safer than having the weak free to wander around the Hollow. Glancing at Remi, Amalia again raises a brow. "Could any of them come here?" she asks softy. "Just for a week? You know what.... what it's like. How unsafe it can be." He has first-hand experience now, and the power to potentially save lives by opening the borders here for a week. As silence meets her on the Attuned bond Amalia can only frown, not understanding. "Why not? What's wrong?" A little anxious, a little defensive- was it something she said or did? She'd thought they were getting along well, but perhaps Remi had decided to shut her out. Biting her lip, she looks back at the water, awaiting a reply. The mention of Maea brings her eyes sharply up, surprise and grief in their dark depths. "I didn't know," the Shield admits. "I don't... haven't heard much. About what happened. It still feels unreal." reach for the stars: but child, first recognize the constellations of light you already carry inside you

i've seen fire & i've seen rain.
i've seen sunny days that i thought would never end

"Left unchecked, there's a lot of wickedness in the world." The Alchemist replied solemnly, knowing that it was just as true of him as it was any one else. Nodding in appreciation at that, Remi grinned slowly. "Jigano mentioned you can talk to all sorts of animals now and companions too."

Her question isn't unexpected really, and yet Remi still feels his expression morph into something like surprise. "Torchline has no embargos on movement." He said in a steady tone. 'And I do know, yes. I'd just ask that their arrival be before LongNight. I plan to have the portals guarded just in case. The monsters are of the Voice as are the portals...there's no reason not to think something might slip through."

Bread gone, Remi leans back on his hands looking for all the world entirely untroubled despite the conversation taking place. "Ludo took ... oh, I'd say the majority of my abilities. I can still become a hawk, and a manticore but...everything else? Speaking to animals, mind speech when not shifted...even partial shifting...it's all gone." He tugged in a breath, held it, and then sighed it out with a shrug. "I made it a deal, a few LongNights ago. It came to collect."

Glancing across at her, Remi's sea-scape eyes study hers for a moment as if somehow doubting her surprise. 'Ah, yes. There was a pod of ghost whales attacking the ships. Delphia came, spiritual thing she is, Wessex and Ronin. Maea was a last minute addition." His jaw feathered a touch at that, though the Alchemist felt no guilt about letting her come on their expedition. The danger had been clear from the outset. 'She was in the water without anyone knowing. I think she drowned before anyone even knew there was something amiss."

Amalia She raises an eyebrow at Remi's grin, and the fact that Jigano mentioned her growing abilities... especially following their last encounter, when she asked him to keep her powers to himself. "I can generally hear their thoughts," she admits, shifting uncomfortably under the pressure of describing her accomplishments. "Similarly to how it is with Jyo, except without the bond, if that makes sense." Tucking away the information on LongNight, Amalia chooses to focus again on Remi's apparent lack of ability. "Ludo? Why?" But there it is: a deal, and the Soulkeeper came to collect. Watching Remi carefully, Amalia ponders her words. "Is that all it took? Your Attuned abilities?" It seems odd to her that the herald would strip those, rather than his Abandoned powers. Amalia has avoided details of Maea's death; now she listens with bated breath, worrying her hands in her lap unhappily. "She was so weak for so long... she always wanted to be an adventurer." It's hard for Amalia to picture anything than the ghost of a girl she grew up knowing. "But going into the ocean, chasing after whales... I didn't realize how reckless she'd become. I should have seen it." reach for the stars: but child, first recognize the constellations of light you already carry inside you

i've seen fire & i've seen rain.
i've seen sunny days that i thought would never end

"I think he does."{s/ay He acknowledges with a nod. The ability seems more convenient, than powerful. Especially given the trouble they often find themselves in. If their companions didn\'t have to rely on charades to make their meanings clear, it might well save lives down the road. But only if Amalia was around, it seemed.\n\n[say}"And the majority of my other powers, as well." The Alchemist replies. He isn't...disappointed in it, though he feels the lack keenly in his soul. Only some does he miss daily, creation being chief among them. "No more earth or water. No creation. I can still do a few things, though it seems Ludo only left me with the things that seem to..favour it, if that makes sense." Dark things, that was. Grey things.

Softly Remi shook his head. "She made her own choices. It wasn't for anyone to see. Whether or not it was worth it...I suppose only Delphia knows."

Amalia Kicking lightly at the water to entertain the fish, Amalia listens to Remi explain his losses, keenly aware of her own shifts s d how easily she calls to them. The otter, the owl, the leopardess... Who would she be, without them? "What does it feel like?" And then- "Why would it do that?" She doesn't say more on the topic of Maea, making a mental note to go speak to Delphia. Instead she leans over just enough to brush her arm over Remi's, seeking reassurance and offering it in kind. "It's been too much loss for one year." Staring at the ocean, she exhales a soft sigh. "I pray this LongNight is kind." reach for the stars: but child, first recognize the constellations of light you already carry inside you

i've seen fire & i've seen rain.
i've seen sunny days that i thought would never end

"It feels...exceedingly empty." Looking inside, while there was far less anger and animosity there, it seemed his potential was gone as well. The things he might do or be, that required his shifts or abilities were...just ghosts, now. "Well, it claimed my soul. I take it all the things I had before... will not be useful to it."

Glancing at her, the gesture of affection perhaps slightly surprising but not necessarily unwelcome, the Alchemist nods. "The Hollowed Grounds could just empty, I suppose. Or you know, doors could just remain closed. That said..." Groaning a touch, Remi looked up at the sky. "Have you spoken to Ronin, about LongNight yet?"

Amalia "It owns your soul?" Blinking, the Shield considers the man, wide-eyed at these implications. "Do you... Belong to it, then? Like Ronin and Safrin?" A demigod isn't said out loud, but the implication is there. Amalia can only laugh at Remi's suggestion, shaking her head before he has a chance to finish. "We both know that's not going to happen." Wry frustration laces her tone; she runs a hand through her hair. "My people are strong, but they're stubborn. We're hoping to get as many out as we can, but there will always be some who refuse to leave, or decides to be a hero. For all my life and my grandmother's before, there has never been a LongNight without some death. All we can do is try to mitigate it." And then there's Ronin. "I did. He said he'll be in the Grounds for it, because of Safrin. And that he has a luxere shift, now." They've both changed so much. She feels stagnant, comparatively. "I promised to help him. For what that's worth." reach for the stars: but child, first recognize the constellations of light you already carry inside you