Reading is fundamental (OPEN)

R E M I Remi made his way to the atheneum to do some research on this LongNight that Vai had told him about. He'd circled around the Notice Board but it hadn't told him anything that the former-huntress hadn't done already. And so the library was a perfectly reasonably place to go. Or so Remi would tell anyone who questioned him. In fact the alchemist hadn't been able to pull his mind away from the atheneum. It was the last place he'd seen Loren, and despite the fact that the Launceleyn's kin (he still wasn't entirely sure how Loren and Edy were related) had said that Loren was seeing someone and was likely off with them somewhere ("sex cave", she'd said), Remi still desperately wanted to see him. Despite the fact that Frey had removed his love for the former duke, Remi's mind was still inexorably drawn to thoughts of him on a near constant basis. He worried over what had happened (and what hadn't), conversation they'd had and the ones that they obviously should have had. On one level the alchemist had submitted to the mounting wall of evidence that things between he and Loren were over (once again, before they'd ever even begun) and that he needed to move on. While part of his mind indeed held that that was true...somewhere deep down, in a crack caused by the chasm of Loren's disappearance, a seed of hope bloomed. It was stunted of course and without any light or warmth the odds were against it, but there it was. And there Remi was, walking up the steps of the Atheneum pretending not to be searching for a glimpse of the Launceleyn. After a bit of searching, Remi found himself seated at a fairly uncomfortable table with a few books scattered around him. Most were almost like ghost stories of the chaos and madness that happened during the LongNight, some tales of heroes who'd managed to coax the Spark Bird from hiding to bathe them all in light. But however fantastical the tales, there was probably a kernel of truth in some of them. And so Remi read, and tried not to constantly glance over the top of the book in hopes of seeing the familiar blonde-haired librarian.

There was just so much to learn about this new world, and not enough time in the day. He'd made it through the thick history book Samuel had recommended in fairly short order, catching up on the broad strokes of Caido, if not the specifics of the important things - the Barrier, the Spire, the Demon, the New Gods. He'd tried learning about the demon and the Spire itself, but those books were damaged, lost, or perhaps in languages he didn't read - yet. He hadn't given up looking, however. And of course, there was no real replacement for first-hand experience, so he had continued to explore the world as both fox and man, trying to sift a few secrets from its jaws.

The world... had not been forthcoming.

And now snow had dropped by the bucketful on the streets and fields and forest paths, and natives spoke in hushed tones about "Long Nights" and "Spark birds" and he himself had already seen a luxere - sung it to his hand, in fact, with the help of the lovely Isla.

But he didn't understand it, didn't know what to expect or how to sort fact from fable. And that was intolerable. He hoped to catch Sam for a scholar's discussion about it, but before then he wanted to discover a bit more about the luxere, at the very least. And perhaps those monsters the Notice Board had mentioned...

Long white hair pulled into a loose tail, and with a warm cloak wrapped tightly around his slender shoulders, the intrepid lorekeeper stalked through the library like a hunter. Two of the places he searched first-- had empty spots where the books he had hoped to find should have been. As he came around a tangle of shelving he found a table, and the reason for that: a man with a pile of his own books -- and the two Jigano had been seeking beside him.

"Pardon the intrusion, but... will you be using those much longer?" he inquired politely, nodding to the two - and then realizing that several other books were along the same vein.

R E M I Despite the lion and the hawk that resided within the alchemist and whose powers of obseveration were keen and honed, Remi was usually quite charmingly unaware of his surroundings. Today however every noise (real or imagined) made him jump. The hairs on his arms rose at phantom breezes that promised someone passing close by, but when he looked, he found himself quite alone. Swallowing down disappointment he pretended he didn't feel, Remi forced his eyes back onto the pages before him. For someone completely uneducated by any official means, the man was a prolific reader. Even so he felt uncomfortable in this scholarly place, just as he had back in Northaven, expecting at any moment to be thrown out onto the streets for being an impostor. As Jigano entered and prowled around the library, Remi's gaze was immediately drawn to him. It took no more than an instant for Remi's heart to sink at the realization that despite the fact that he'd heard an actual sound, that it wasn't caused by the man he so desperately sought. Blinking slowly a few times, Remi's gaze relapsed back to the words on the page, seeing but not reading them. Why couldn't you have just told me yourself? Why are you just ... gone? Jumping at the sound of Jigano's voice, Remi's pale sea-glass green gaze rose with a jerky motion as if indeed his worries about being thrown out were coming to fruition. "Ah—" Blanking, Remi looked back down at his assortment of books, then back up again. He probably would be using the books longer, but of course to say so would be rude. It wasn't as though he had any jurisdiction here, and, having never spent any amount of time in a library where he wasn't accompanied by Loren, Remi had no idea just what the protocols or expectations were. Chewing the inside of his cheek, Remi released the breath he'd been holding as he nodded obligingly towards the other man. "Please. I had thought to prepare for all that this season will bring. Of course others will want to do the same." The alchemist said with a boyish chuckle and his melodically accented voice, sliding the books towards Jigano with a sunny smile.

Another jumpy one, like Samuel, Jigano thought ruefully. This man, though, spoke with more music in his voice and an intriguing accent that sounded quite pleasant. His cheerful smile was also a welcome change from the painfully nervous bookmaker - not that the bard would ever admit it out loud. It was hard not to think of his friend without both fondness and exasperation, but then, they had endured a rather rough introduction to each other.

He wasn't going to be making any jokes about horses anytime soon, for one thing.

"Ah, you're a foreigner here as well?" Curiosity piqued, Jigano reached for one of the books - though not without taking a sharp glance around to make sure none were moving toward him of their own volition. Once bitten... "How long, may I ask, have you found yourself in lovely snow-bound Caido? Ah, but forgive me. My name is Jigano. And you?"

There was another chair nearby, mostly buried under books, but Jigano's eyes caught an arm peeking out from the pile. Setting his chosen tome back down on a clear space across from Remi he turned to begin excavating while the other man answered, moving the books with care and respect and piling them far more neatly on the floor than they'd been deposited.

R E M I Remi nodded immediately as a crooked smile tugged at his lips. "I believe they call us Outlanders. And with no small amount of disapproval." Rory had recently told him as much, and while he appreciated his friend's honesty, he wondered if there wasn't something to be done about the optics of the whole situation. Such was much more politically minded than Remi was normally inclined to think, however. Perhaps he'd mention it to someone more clever than he, like Koel or Ronin. "Ah, that would be..." Trailing off, Remi tilted his head and let his pale stare roam upwards as he tried to think. Without the sort of regimented timeliness of the place he'd come from, that seemed a surprisingly difficult question to answer. "A month, perhaps?" It was a guess to be sure, but one even Remi's scientific mind felt okay to make. "I am Remi. A pleasure to meet you Jigano." Though he didn't stand as he might once have done and lowered his torso to nearly horizontal, still the alchemist bowed his curly head and placed a hand which had once been shackled over his heart. Whatever societal customs this new land offered, it would certainly take more than a month for the kindly alchemist to forget a life of servitude. "Have you been here long?" Watching as the pale-haired man gently moved the books out of the way so that he could claim their previous resting place for himself, Remi felt the corners of his lips twitching slightly with the ghost of both a smile and a frown. Loren would have done precisely the same thing, with precisely the same care. No, Remi corrected himself, letting the smile win out. Loren would have put them all back first. Glancing at their chosen reading material, Remi sighed as he gestured towards the pages. "Normally I would have thought I could tell fact from fiction, especially when most of these seem to just be fairy tales and yet..." Shaking his head with a bemused and boyish grin, he let his shoulders and rise and fall. "..I am quite at a loss. It seems so fantastical that I do not know what to believe."

Jigano chuckled softly at the disapproval of the naturals, not particularly bothered by it. That would be changing soon enough, if he had any say in the matter, even if he could only change the opinions of a few at a time. It wasn't as if there were a lot of people here, after all. Changing individual minds until he'd reached them all was, sadly, possible. Well, those that could be changed. He had no doubt that there'd be some stubborn holdouts.

But he could be stubborn, too.

Remi's bow brought a broader smile to the bard's face, and he returned it with an elegant flourish, able to perform a more courtly gesture since he was still standing. He let Remi muse while he worked on the chair, his choice of floor the simplest when there was no room on the nearest shelves - possibly why they'd been dumped there in the first place. He was also beginning to have terrible urges to begin reorganizing things, what he could reach of them. There seemed no rhyme or reason to the place, books in at least a dozen different languages - or more - interspersed without regard to subject or author. Finding things seemed as much a matter of luck as skill. Maybe if he started with just one shelf--

But that way lay madness. More, an utter lack of priorities which he had long since outgrown. The information contained in the Atheneum needed to be shared and used, and he couldn't do that if he locked himself inside and spent a lifetime cataloguing the great library. Someone else would have to take that task upon themselves.

But just one shelf couldn't hurt...

"Oh, me?" the lorekeeper asked absently, shaking himself out of his distraction as the chair was freed and he was able to pull it over to the table across from Remi. "A few weeks, I think. Time is a little... strange here." He grimaced, glancing towards the collapsed section of the building where cold wind swirled snow against a cloudy sky. "It was autumn - er, Leafchange - when I arrived. And now it's the heart of midwinter, quite overnight. It's a bit disconcerting."

With a sigh he opened his own book, flipping through and noting the chapter names first before going back to the beginning, humming softly. "When fairies are real, the tales about them are facts," the white-haired man noted dryly, lips quirking in a small smile. "The lovely doctor was having similar problems with a fiery flower we found in the glade, back before the snow fell." He glanced up, blue eyes dancing with amusement as he continued, voice gently teasing. "Unless there are several Remis running around here, I do believe you're the alchemist friend she mentioned, yes? Your name also passed young Edy's lips. I'm honored to finally meet such a famous man."

R E M I Bashfully Remi's nose crinkled slightly as he shook his head trying to awkwardly indicate that he was not worthy of such a gesture. He was a commoner after all, and back home being a shapechanger was lower than low. The feeling that he was soon to be found out as some sort of an impostor (though what he was parading as he couldn't quite say) resurfaced, and Remi was glad that Jigano's attention had shifted to the books so that he had a temporarily respite to calm himself once agian. "Mmhmm." Remi agreed with an immediate nod of agreement. Back in Northaven the seasons moved slowly. Quite slowly now that he thought of it. He had never given it much thought until just lately as he'd been reading. The books outlined four major seasons that came and went with some amount of regularity. And yet ... things had always been more of the same in Northaven. Hmm. He'd have to ask someone about that. "Yes. Opening my door to find suddenly that I was all but snowed inside was quite the surprise. Though it does explain quite a bit of the wood rot and strange warping that I have seen on many of the buildings. It has not affected the barrier however." Remi added dryly. Nibbling his lip slightly, the alchemist subtly conjured a feather in his palm to fiddle with. Once upon a time he would partially shift his forearm into a wing and pluck a feather that way, but this was so much easier. And it didn't sting. Fiddling with the spine of the feather gently, Remi tilted his head slightly at the man's strange suggestion. Mulling over the words, brows bobbing and his forehead creasing as he considered, Remi finally shrugged with a surrendering grin. "Perhaps. But I suppose I am in the predicament of not knowing whether or not they are, so I cannot say for sure." Fairies sounded just as impossible as deer with glowing horns, and yet many of these books said to expect just that during this season. The mention of a lovely doctor immediately roused Remi's attention, and for the first time Remi was met with the arresting blue of Jigano's eyes. Blue. He thought to himself with a sigh. Always blue eyes. With a smile, Remi nodded. "Yes, if it is Isla you are speaking of." The mention of Edy made that smile falter slightly given their last conversation, as did the mention of Remi being famous. It was simply a turn of phrase of course, but it couldn't be farther from the truth. "I would not say famous, but yes I know them both. Isla has healed me on a number of occasions now. And Edrei is family of a..." Swallowing down the words and forcing a smile which did not quite reach his pale stare, he added: "...of someone I used to work with."

One white brow arched slowly as Remi rattled off the damage to the woodwork. Something, Jigano had to admit to himself - though it stung - that he would never have thought to check. ”If only the barrier could be affected by something so mundane as the weather,” he murmured dryly.

The other brow rose as a feather – which he was certain hadn’t been there before – slid between his companion’s fingers. Sleight of hand? Or something else? Remi appeared completely oblivious to how it had gotten there, so perhaps it was simply a nervous tic of some sort. Still, a lightfingered man was worth keeping an eye on, even if there wasn’t much worth stealing in Caido. Jigano should know – he had practiced no few ‘magic’ tricks on his own. Not so much for the entertainment value – once, he’d had magic of his own to draw on – but to protect himself from some of his traveling companions whose fingers had a bad habit of wandering into belt pouches that weren’t theirs. To recognize Yohgel’s tricks he’d had to learn them himself—

Damn, a memory he didn’t need right now. He brought his expression swiftly back under control, shifting attention with a quip he was quite proud of, though Remi didn’t seem to appreciate the clever wordplay as much.

With an inward sigh Jigano bit back his instinctive response – and just what did Remi think he was sitting across from? – because ever since coming to Caido, even he wasn’t sure what he’d become. Nor was it something he’d ever shared beyond his family, so how would the other man have known? He’d lost so much, physically and magically, that if he didn’t have more on his plate than he could handle simply surviving, he might have had a nervous breakdown. ”They are, in some places. My world, for one,” he said, keeping his voice and smile gentle. ”And how you know, well… you find where multiple sources match and where they differ. And sometimes, you go find out for yourself, in person. As Isla and I did with the volcanettes,” he added, smile turning livelier at that much happier memory.

Jigano was too wary of the new man to lose his composure completely, but he couldn’t miss the hesitation or forced smile over the old… ‘coworker.’ He kept his expression pleasantly interested, making a mental note to perhaps try and learn a bit more later, from Edy – Edrei? – over a glass of pumpkin spiced whiskey. ”Should I be worried that you need healing so often?” he murmured, only half-teasing. He dropped his gaze back to his book, skimming the text with practiced speed to find important key words – or new words, unique to Caido – but his thick white lashes were perfect for hiding the glances he stole at the man across from him, studying his expressions with hidden interest.

R E M I "If only." The alchemist agreed, lips twitching with disappointment. He'd gone out to study the barrier recently to see if he could glean anything of importance but he'd come away empty handed. Well that wasn't true—Rory had run into him when he'd been sketching which had been a happy surprise. "Then again I would be pleased if I knew there was a way to affect it at all." 300 years and it remained impervious to all assaults, and yet naively still the alchemist clung to the hope he might find a way through. Just as he clung to the ghosts of so many other things. The feather proved to calm the alchemist's mind just as he thought it would. It hadn't been so long ago that Remi would have found himself quite uncomfortable sitting alone with another man, and would have been at a complete loss as to how to comport himself. Northaven had had such conservative views about such things, and given Remi's preferences he'd done everything in his power to try and appear as normal as possible. But of course normality in that context was not something Remi truly understood, and so he constantly found himself at a loss for how to behave around other men in a way which wouldn't arouse suspicion. Now in this new place and with certain bonds cast aside (metaphorically and literally), the alchemist was still rather uncertain of himself, though it no longer manifested in quite the same way. He could look Jigano in the eyes for example (those blue, blue eyes) without flinching and needing to turn away. Still, the feather helped. Looking up sharply, Remi's expression was one of awe-struck bafflement. The way his pale eyes searched the angular contours of Jigano's face suggested he was looking for malice or trickery there, but there was seemingly none to be found. "Really?" He smiled wonderingly and shook his head as his smile expanded to dimple his cheeks. "Mmm." Remi agreed with a nod, tapping the book gently with the feather. "That sort of verification is precisely what I was after." Volcanettes? He'd have to ask Isla about that. With a bemused smile and shrug of his shoulders Remi glanced across the table at his fair-haired counterpart consideringly. "I do not know." Remi replied, not meaning to make the response quite so mysterious as it came out. Clearing his throat slightly he run a hand absently through his curls as he continued: "I...have developed a new animal shift here. It came about...ahh...during a rather tense and violent situation. Since then I have not always been able to control it well. My friends know this and are encouraged to be armed should I need to shift into that form...in case I lose myself." The words flowed from his lips easily as honesty had never been something Remi tried to evade (except when it came to what had previously been thought of as sexual deviance), but even so his eyes were sad and his smile had faltered somewhat. "Unfortunately those measures have not always just been a precaution." He concluded cheerlessly. Leaning back in his chair as he read, a finger scanning down the lines as his eyes moved steadily downwards, he suddenly stopped. Head tilting to the side in a decidedly avian gesture the alchemist frowned. Flicking his eyes across the table to see if speaking would be terribly intrusive, he cleared his throat slightly before reading aloud: "Revenge is a dish best served cold is a saying that has its origins during the LongNight. Those who have been harmed in the past will often leave raw meat at the doors of their enemies to encourage monsters to attack during the week-long darkness. Raw meat is also a deterrent to the luxere." Raising his brows, Remi looked across the table with a skeptically disapproving stare. "I do not know what a luxere is, but that sounds terrible.

”It’s on the list,” Jigano agreed ruefully in regards to the barrier. ”The very long, ever-growing list of things I’m trying to research here.” Every week, if not more often, brought something new that had to be looked into. Some things, like the Long Night, he hoped would be fairly quick – written by the locals in a tongue he could understand. Others, like the Spire, the Demon, the Barrier… were more elusive.

His erstwhile companion seemed a little distracted by his presence, but not distraught. Oblivious to Remi’s past or inclinations, Jigano chalked up his nervousness to being around a stranger, not even realizing his sex played a part in it. Why should it? He had grown up in a place where there was no stigma associated with such things, and would have been baffled to learn that someplace so backwards existed.

Not unlike Remi’s surprise over the existence of fairies, something Jigano was still getting used to as well - that they weren't taken for granted as being real, even if rarely seen. ”Really,” he confirmed, a little bemused still at how…limited Caido was in that respect. He’d only met humans so far, with and without magic, but none of the wide variety of sentient creatures and beings he’d known on his world. Apparently Northhaven was much the same as Caido in that regard which seemed… almost sad, in a way.

He nodded agreement, no little satisfied to hear that Remi was also a bit of a scholar in their pursuit of sifting truth from tales, but an eyebrow rose in query at the non-answer he was given to his question about the other man’s affinity with the infirmary. Before he could pursue it Remi was kind enough to continue, but his answer brought the second brow up for a moment before Jigano consciously smoothed his expression out to one of polite interest rather than total shock.

”An… animal shift?” he asked tentatively. ”That you… developed…” He hesitated, attention completely distracted from his book as he found himself examining Remi for any hint of what kind of animal. That feather… was he a bird? But what kind of bird would require people to be armed against it? Jigano chewed his lip furiously for a moment until the other man found a passage in his own book – one that had the bard blinking in surprise, then frowning at.

”Cruel. Evil, even. But smart. Enough for a man to say ‘But I didn’t wield the knife that killed him’ under truth-sensing. Or for someone too squeamish to do the deed themselves to still get retribution. That’ll be a nasty business to watch out for, then.” His frown turned momentarily to a scowl, but he shook his head and forced his expression to something more pleasant.

”The luxere, at least, I know. Isla and I met one in the glade. It’s a deer – a reindeer, I think – with glowing antlers and a gentle disposition. We sang for it and it approached us quite fearlessly. Looking for treats, no less.” His smile by the end was sincere, the recent memory a good one.

”But, please, tell me more of this animal shift you mentioned. Just how does one ‘develop’ such a thing?” There was lycanthropy, of course, or a sorcerer’s transmutation, but the way Remi had mentioned it didn’t sound like either of those things, and Jigano found himself more than a little uneasy at this development. Was he not, then, the only one here?

R E M I "Well you will have to let me know if you discover anything. Other than the body that Isla and I did an autopsy on of a young woman who had died too close to the barrier, I am sure I know nothing more than you." Then again given that Jigano knew the medic, it was possible that she'd shared as much with him already. Remi nodded in agreement, finding it just as perplexing as Jigano's drawn-out reiteration of his words seemed to suggest. Back in Northaven you had one shift. One. And certainly no magic. To find himself suddenly possessing this wealth of—power? burdens? obligations?—was troubling to say the least. "Yes. Where I come from there was a sort of ceremony provided where you became a shapeshifter, or so we were called. Here I believe the word is Attuned? Remi's pale stare travelled across the books between them to see if Jigano's expression would either confirm or deny this suspicion. "But one evening I found myself—" Pausing, Remi's expression crinkled somewhat with the memory of his first encounter with Ludo and just how terribly it had all gone. Clearing his throat slightly, Remi's eyes fell to the feather and he gently trailed the upper part of the vane across the flat of his palm with a thoughtful sigh. "—I found myself in quite a violent situation out of my control and it suddenly happened." Holding up the feather, Remi regarded it with a crooked but adoring smile before refocusing his gaze across the table. "Ferruginous hawk." He said with a growing but lazy smile. A few blondish feathers appeared mixed in with his sandy curls for just a moment, before he ran a hand through him and his hair returned to normal. "Ever since I was 16. And then suddenly I found myself in the body of a lion." Pausing to shake his head, Remi exhaled and closed his eyes for a moment. "I am not sure if it is because the creature itself is so overpowering, or if it was because of the initial event, but the instincts have been hard to control in a way I have never experienced as a hawk." Tilting his head again the shapeshifter tried to identify in Jigano's expression a sigh that he either understood or that this information was just tangential. It was rather hard to explain what it was like possessing the body of something else - something that was you, but also seemed to have a strange primal sort of agency as well. "Mmm. Indeed." The alchemist nodded gravely, lips curling upwards in a queasy frown at the mere thought. No perpetrator of violence or revenge Remi couldn't quite believe that someone would do something so horrific and barbaric, but the indication that it was done regularly was right on the pages before him. At the mention of the luxere—and Isla again—Remi's expression brightened considerably as his cheeks dimpled with a smile once again. The scene the white-haired man was describing sounded like it could be a scene from a story, and yet Jigano did not strike Remi as the type to weave such a needless lie. Then again Remi was want to believe most people and the words they said, and so even if the bard was the sort to lie aimlessly, the alchemist would likely be none the wiser. "That sounds wonderful. And so they—" Glancing down, Remi's brows creased slightly as he read silently to himself, lips half-forming the words. "—can provide light during the LongNight." Creases formed in the corners of Remi's lips as they pulled down slightly, partially because the subject matter was not so appealing, but also because it was not information he had and such was likely to be a disappointment. "Honestly I do not know. I have never known anyone who could shift into more than one creature and there was no ...ahh..." Pausing the alchemist searched his mind for the correct word, but found his vocabulary lacking. "...what I mean to say is that I did not do anything to try and acquire it. It came about quite unexpectedly."

”It’s what I do,” the lorekeeper agreed cheerfully, not bothering to mention that the other side of his profession was safeguarding information too dangerous to be let loose in the world. That—was not something those not of his trade needed to worry about. But the barrier was a dangerous mystery, one that harmed – that killed, apparently – and he was fairly certain that anything he learned about it would be shared with others concerned about such things. Isla, for certain. And perhaps Remi as well, given his apparently scholastic bent. Samuel… well. The man was easily frightened, so… perhaps not him, at least not at first.

For the moment, however, it was Remi who captured his attention, speaking with a frankness that Jigano both admired and envied. And what he said was, frankly, fascinating. The bard listened raptly, a little tilt of his head at the mention of a ceremony, and a lift of a brow at the word ‘Attuned’ – his first time coming across it with any context attached. Even if that was all Remi had shared it would have been wealth of new knowledge to parse and research, but when the man continued Jigano exhaled the breath he’d been holding softly, slowly, trying not to distract the flow of words. Especially when his companion’s expression indicated an unpleasant memory attached to what he was sharing.

He didn’t realized his fingers had tightened on the book on his grip until glass-green eyes met his with an openness that was arresting in its sincerity. Gods,, did the man have any sense of self-preservation? Sharing such an intimate secret about himself with a stranger— Only years of training in controlling his expression kept it courteously interested and not revealing his inner shock as Remi told him of his animal form. That he’d gotten from a ceremony, of all things.

”A… lion,” he repeated faintly. It was, admittedly, a bit difficult to see the bookish, sweet-faced young man across from him as a hawk, much less a lion that lashed out at people in such a way that he’d asked his friends to go armed. ”And… you can’t choose when the shift happens? It just… does, when you’re under stress?” Perhaps he shouldn’t share any potentially upsetting information about the barrier with his new companion after all? Or at least, not unless he was at a safe distance!

Making a mental note to watch out for raw meat in the snow – though he hunted his own food and didn’t have a door, per se, nor any enemies he was aware of yet – Jigano was glad to turn his attention to the luxere and his day out in the glade with Isla. ”During the day, too,” the bard chuckled. ”The glow is actually quite strong! He was a lovely creature all around, and I’m hoping to find a few more and take some notes.” He glanced down at his own book, flipping to the pages on the luxere and doing a quick scan. ”Ah, yes, sweet hay might be a good way to coax them close for some study as well, it looks like. It doesn’t say anything about apples or carrots, but perhaps I’ll take some just in case...” Apples and root vegetables, at least, the world inside the barrier had in plenty!

But he steered the conversation – perhaps not subtly – back to the shapeshifters of this world, of which he was – maybe? Somehow? – one. This time he let himself frown, thoughts slipping between what he knew of where he’d been, and all the things he didn’t about where he was now. ”In my world,” he began slowly, ”there were sorcerers who could change their forms – or the forms of others – into any animal they wished. But it required a certain amount of preparation and materials to do so, and sometimes the mind was irrevocably lost to the beast in the process. The druids, too… those sworn to a nature deity could take the forms of several animals, or so I was told. But theirs was a power born of study, sacrifice, and the direct intervention of a god. Though Edy did mention that the local gods can be a bit… meddlesome.” His lips tightened for a moment into a thin line, brows drawing together for a split second before he smoothed the twitch of anger away. The past was settled and done, or at least, couldn’t be undone. This was a new world, with new possibilities… new freedoms. No ghosts but those he brought with him. ”Though the shrine I visited myself seemed quiet and harmless enough.”

R E M I Remi smiled though he couldn't quite interpret Jigano's tone. It's what I do; it sounded both reassuring and in agreement, but also potentially a bit deferential perhaps? Again the feeling of being an imposter—a raggedy commoner in this lavish place of knowledge—sent a shiver down Remi's spine. Though men like Ronin and Rory seemed to have no problem with Remi's inquisitive mind, and indeed Loren had applauded him for it, perhaps they were merely outliers. Perhaps Remi did not have any real justification for comporting himself the way he did. Smiling mildly, Remi nodded. The hand which was not holding the feather stretched out slightly, palm up. Slowly claws began to grow from his nails and the palm of his hand became a dusty rose sort of colour as pads began to replace the calloused flesh. Flexing his fingers before they became paws entirely, the partial-change slipped away and the man's hand dropped back to the book once more. "Oh, no. I can." Remi said reassuringly, his sunny affect immediately turning to one meant to inspire some amount of confidence in Jigano's continued safety. "It is more that when I shift often I find it hard to remain in control. My predatory responses feel so strong that often I feel as though I am not me. At least not fully." Perhaps that was merely a symptom of a soul as kind and convivial within the body of a full-blown predator, but the same could reasonably be said about a hawk. There was also the small matter of Remi having never heard of anything even remotely similiar having happened to anyone else in Northaven. You controlled your shift. Your shift didn't control you. "I would love to accompany you when you go." Brightening considerably, the alchemist flashed a delighted smile before realizing how absurd his request must have sounded. My friends need weapons to be around with me, but would you mind going on an outing despite the fact we're strangers? Sheepishly he ran a hand through his curls and bit the inside of his lip as his eyes fell back to the book before him. "Or, perhaps you might just direct me where I might find them?" The logical thing to do might have been to simply ask Isla, but of course her line of work kept her quite busy. That, and for some reason he thought that the level-headed medic might laugh at him for wanting to go out and draw some glowing-reindeer. "The peppermint bark is quite good too. If they are in the deer family they might enjoy it as well." Remi offered with a gentle shrug. He was no expert on animals by any stretch of the imagination, despite being one two, but he was happy to share what he thought might be helpful. Listening as the conversation swerved back to what he was, Remi listened fascinated. It was so unlike how things worked in Northaven. He knew that Loren could summon other creatures, but never had he heard of anyone changing others into them. Not even the most powerful mages were said to have done anything remotely like that. Of course Remi was no expert on magical goings-on, but as a shapeshifter surely he would have heard if such was possible? Although...that might explain the cuff he had been forced to wear. Was it to tell true shapeshifters from those merely magically changed? Was there even a difference? "Meddlesome." Remi repeated dryly, his accent seeming to force the word to have more syllables than it actually did. Shaking his head the alchemist took a breath and held it, looking down at the page before him and tapping the feather with agitation. Even so, Remi was careful not to damage it, as if it were still a part of him. "That is one way to describe them." Cautiously Remi glanced up, brows furrowed and his expression one of deep concern and anxiousness. He couldn't quite read the expression on Jigano's face and of course could not locate the reason for his anger, and so he merely nodded gently. "I am glad to hear that. My experiences have not been so tame."

The display of what Jigano would have once assumed was illusion was disconcerting, to say the least. He stared at Remi’s clawed hand, fascinated at the way the feline pads were rising to the surface of his skin. He had just started to reach across the table to touch the claws and prove to himself that they were real—when the other man flexed his fingers and withdrew his hand out of reach. Embarrassed by his breach of courtesy, the white-haired bard cleared his throat and withdrew his own hand back to his own book. ”Ah… perhaps you simply need more practice, then? To… accustom yourself to that body and its instincts? Though I suppose you’re already doing all you can to deal with that. I should leave the advice to experts.” He offered a rueful, lopsided smile of apology, still bemused and no little stunned at the bombshell Remi had dropped on him with his explanation of the Attuned. It did, in fact, make them sound like some kind of very limited druids, but that only made the once-kitsune feel even more out of place among them… and even less willing to reveal himself, especially to strangers he hardly knew.

His dearest friends hadn’t known what he was, in two years of travel and battle and saving each others' lives more times than they could count. Until the last time...

The luxere proved a happier distraction – and a useful one, for the very subject they were both researching. If they could be coaxed into the settled areas, perhaps they could provide some protection against the coming darkness, and even if not, well, they were a lovely and fascinating breed that Jigano would enjoy learning more about for the simple joy of it. He was surprised, however, at his companion’s eager push to accompany him, one silver brow rising as he cocked his head. He didn’t even have to say anything – Remi was already shrinking back in embarrassment, realizing his misstep. The bard couldn’t help but snort softly in amusement at the young man – young pup, he was starting to think of him – as he turned another page. ”Hmm. Well, I suppose as long as you don’t turn into a lion we might go together.” The display of control over the hand-shift was reassuring, at least. And the deer themselves were gentle enough that they shouldn’t startle the other man into anything too violent. ”The spring might prove a good place to lay out some hay, and perhaps if we can obtain skates it would be a way to while away the time while we wait. The one we found seemed attracted as much to our good cheer as my singing.” If they were protection against dark magics, and attracted to light, as the book in his hands assured, that would make sense. If they had any relation to the unicorns of children’s fables, Remi’s innocence alone should draw half a herd of the creatures! He kept his smile hidden at that thought, glancing up in curiosity at something else his companion had said. ”Peppermint bark? Perhaps you can show me what you mean while we’re out there, then. I thought mint came from a plant far too small to have bark.”

The conversation shifted back to more serious things, fascinating but unsettling, too. Animal shifters and gods and memories and ghosts. Gods they called ‘New’ without any idea what the word meant…

”Edy mentioned something about clothing thieves and bondage,” the lorekeeper said, dryly amused as he tried to focus on what was in front of him – not what lay behind. ”Was that you, then?”