not your burden to bear

awareness is the enemy of sanity

It’s been a couple of days since the drownings. Finn thinks so, anyway. He can count the hours of sleep he’s had - sleep without pale little faces bobbing in the water behind his eyes - on one hand. That has made time sort of blur together, and so when he emerges into the dark, grey afternoon, it’s for only one reason. He heads to the nearest herbalist, intent on trading for the strongest sleeping draught available.

This is easily done, thankfully, because Finn can’t work with his state of body and mind in such a mess. Still without an umbrella, he simply lets the rain have him as he walks back through the streets to the inn, a paper bag in hand with his means to rest within it. Haulani is empty, mostly - the rain is a steady and relentless thing, driving away business and stifling the sound of voices and footsteps.

It could be argued that the rain is the reason he doesn’t see them coming, but the reality is that Finn barely sees the way ahead. So they grab him - a couple of men, rough, dirty, soaking wet and seeing an easy target - and yank him into the mouth of the alleyway, raining punches and rifling through pockets. His glasses are back at the inn, and that’s really the only thing important to him; he doesn’t even have it in him to fight back, with that in mind.

for once you hear the screaming

it never stops

FINN

REMI

The why of Remi's arrival doesn't matter. Later, maybe, someone will think to ask, but for now the sounds of muffled moans and the force of fists made squelchy against Finn's clothing is enough to catch the Alchemist's attention. He's a predator, a mercy-killer, and the Governor of this place. There's no reason why he shouldn't be drawn into dark alleyways, but in truth, that isn't why he comes.

Unlike Ronin, fighting Sunjata holds no appeal to him as there isn't anything real about it. The flood will stop if Remi asks. Even if he doesn't, even if the boxer were to hear the lack of genuineness in such a request, the stakes are still laughably low.

But here, no one is laughing.  

He could become a manticore. He could engulf the entirety of the alley in fire save for Finn who would find himself in a protective shield of water and air. Remi could leave his body and enter one of theirs. There are any number of devastating things he might have done, but instead, he enters into the fight as if it might be a fair one, with fists raised. Throwing a punch towards a jaw and aiming to heave the attacker who seems to be the most immediate threat to Finn away from him, Remi leaves himself utterly defenceless against retaliation.

In fact, he's asking for it.

honest feelings and bad timing
make the most painful combination.

Code taken from Sky who is utter perfection

awareness is the enemy of sanity

Ask, Governor, and ye shall receive.

The man currently aiming a kick at Finn’s ribs (and connecting in a blow that sounds somehow less painful because of the rain, but that the Spyglass assures is agonising, thank you) has no idea what’s coming for him. Remi’s blow connects and his opponent is flung away, staggering and falling into filthy puddles and stacked crates.

His buddy, on the other hand, looks up from where his hands are in Finn’s coat pockets, eyes fierce and addled by drink or drugs. Perhaps that’s why he doesn’t recognise the Alchemist for who he is - or perhaps that’s why they went for Finn in the first place, thinking him to be the governor.

Either way he lunges up, a knife in hand, aiming a slash across Remi’s chest while the first man finds his feet.

All the while, Finn coughs, spits blood onto the ground, and woozily tries to get up by using his back against the wall as leverage. ”S’not worth it,” he tries, vaguely recognising his saviour but acutely aware he might be hallucinating at this point, too.

for once you hear the screaming

it never stops

FINN

REMI

The storm echoes the scattered crates, booming across the skies and sending a flash of sheet lightning that illuminates the entire scene. Blood and muddy rainwater paint the scene in muted tones that all seem to run together, but it matters little. Hawks hunt based on movement, after all.

The man slashing at Remi's chest will find that the Alchemist doesn't dodge the blow. Instead as the blade cuts through his shirt (the fabric magically healing in the wake of the knife), Remi grabs the man's wrist with both of his hands, aiming to try and return the gesture two-fold. Hopefully, with the knife now stuck deep in the man's pectoral muscle, the Alchemist will try and shove him (without magical assistance) into the crates and his comrade.

"So I ought to let them break our rules, on your account then?" Remi asks with a ghost of a smile, a stripe of red emerging across his chest as he waits for retaliation or retreat.

honest feelings and bad timing
make the most painful combination.

Code taken from Sky who is utter perfection

awareness is the enemy of sanity

The man with the knife doesn’t seem to know what’s worse - that Remi doesn’t dodge the blow, or indeed even seem to care about it, or that the blade is returned on him. Actually no - it’s definitely the second one. He howls with pain, too preoccupied with the knife in his chest to realise he’s even been shoved back, and his partner in crime has just gotten on his feet when he’s taken down a second time.

They’re Torchers and they’re stupid, but they don’t have a death wish. So it’s hardly surprising that on getting a good look at the man with the bloodied shirt that has healed itself, they decided to turn tail and run. Finn meanwhile watches it all as if it’s happening to someone else, and his voice is thick with blood as he responds to Remi.

”You’ll forgive me for being lacking in wit or philosophy currently, I hope,” he mumbles, holding his left side where he’s been kicked.

for once you hear the screaming

it never stops

FINN

REMI

Lightning flashes again and depending how close Finn is watching (and how scrambled his brain is), he'll see that Remi casts no shadow despite how everything else dramatically grows one during the bright punctuations of the thunder.

Disappointed almost as the thugs turn tail, Remi glances over his shoulder where Finn is pathetically slumped against the wall. It's endearing in some hard to define way; hopefully, it isn't simply that the Alchemist in all his predatory-glory, is simply drawn to the helpless. "Only if you forgive that I've absolutely no abilities that can help with this." He replies with a crooked smile, his eyes falling upon Finn to diagnose immediate concerns.

"Can you walk?"

honest feelings and bad timing
make the most painful combination.

Code taken from Sky who is utter perfection

awareness is the enemy of sanity

Spitting more blood onto the ground, Finn watches through glazed eyes as the thugs turn tail and run away. Unlike Remi, he is relieved, and he hastily pats his pockets to ensure all is in place. It is, thanks to the Alchemist; even the paper bag is damp but intact nearby, and Finn grits bloody teeth to lean down and recover it. He huffs out a laugh that turns into a cough, straightening up and testing his weight and balance on his feet. It’s not great, but it’s been worse.

”I’ll manage I think,” he says. ”As one of Ludo’s chosen, I’d be surprised if you did have abilities to help with this. Nice shadows, though.” Honestly, it just slips out - Finn doesn’t even know if what he’s seeing is real, and he limps to the mouth of the alleyway, bloodied and soaked through. ”Thanks,” he manages. ”I’ve got to ask - were you following me?” A small, pained smirk; a throwback to Remi’s question in a previous conversation.

for once you hear the screaming

it never stops

FINN

REMI

Remi raises a brow at the paper bag and the hands that reach for it. He can guess at the contents—something mood-altering, alcohol or drugs, the later he thinks, based on how it moves in Finn's hand—and stops his mind from wandering and wondering down pathways that will lead to the creation of additional stars to be placed beneath pillows.

"I'm sure I have abilities that would still surprise you." Remi mutters under his tongue as if insulted that his relationship to Ludo should make him so straightforward. "Nothing gets by you." Except for, of course, all the things that did. Still, Remi was surprised that Finn had noticed his lack of shadow. Lurking almost protectively as Finn moved to stand, the Alchemist takes a step back as the Spyglass moves to the mouth of the alley.

"Do you have to ask?" Remi has to ask, his wording intentionally vague. It might mean, of course I was, did you even have to ask? or, more plausibly, are you sure you want to know the answer?

honest feelings and bad timing
make the most painful combination.

Code taken from Sky who is utter perfection

awareness is the enemy of sanity

The laugh that Finn barks out is humourless and hurts his chest, and he braces a hand against the wall for a moment as if judging the distance from here to the inn and how likely he is to pass out along the way. ”Oh, of that I have very little doubt,” he says of Remi’s ability to still surprise him. And as for nothing getting past him? ”This did,” he points out, inhaling deeply through his nose and fighting against the urge to cough, before stepping back out into the street.

Gazing back in at Remi in the shadows, Finn is swaying a bit on his feet, but he’s not noticed. ”Well, I’m glad you were. If you were. I try not to make it a habit, to be out when I’m like this.” Even less so now that he’s standing, cold in the rain and injured. ”Still,” he manages, his smile a little more crooked; a little darker. ”Makes you feel alive, doesn’t it?”

for once you hear the screaming

it never stops

FINN

REMI

"Well. They didn't actually get by you, did they." Poor humour comes as easily to Remi as genuine boyish honesty once did. At least some things are still the same however, in that he seems entirely reluctant to wrap an arm around Finn to help him better bear his own weight. He will if asked, and might even if he isn't, but for now it's far easier to watch the man struggle than it is to get too near him.

"Like what?" Bleeding and sore, or the thing that led to being bleeding and sore?

"I told you last time I was a hawk. Stalking prey and attacking is...in my bones, among other things." Has Finn surmised Remi's manticore shape yet? He's seen the wings and potentially the tail as well, though the Alchemist's mythical half-shifts are puzzle pieces of the whole at best. Still, the answer isn't entirely honest and they both know it. Finn wouldn't have asked if he didn't.

"So few things do, these days." He agrees darkly and could Finn read his thoughts, he'd see flashes of a beautiful luxere with her throat torn out by leonine teeth, of men early on who'd try to assault he and Ronin on the beach, of a thousand other beating hearts he'd either stilled or instead made beat fast in a frenzy of fear. Huffing out a small breath as if having just realized something about himself, Remi blinks a few times as he takes another breath.

"I think it would be my turn to see you home safely."

honest feelings and bad timing
make the most painful combination.

Code taken from Sky who is utter perfection

awareness is the enemy of sanity

”They got through me, rather.” Finn’s agreement is a wry and unimpressed thing, the Spyglass irked at his own lack of preparation, his own recklessness. Torchline has made him more reckless than he has ever been before - it is not something he is inclined towards, usually. ”Stalking prey? Who was the prey, then? The men, or me?” He blinks hard as the world fogs at the edges, bringing it wildly back into focus with hints of colour that shouldn’t be there. Finn is as likely to ask for help as Remi is to offer it freely - and so they struggle on as they are.

He does not, however, object to being walked home, nodding and straightening himself up as best as his severely bruised ribs will allow, leading the way in a pace far too slow for his usual liking. ”Like this,” Finn mutters, motioning to himself. ”I haven’t slept more than a handful of hours - two, three maybe - in the last couple of days. I keep seeing dead children.”

for once you hear the screaming

it never stops

FINN

REMI

"It was them that I attacked." Remi points out (un)helpfully, in response, the implication clear in the dark glint of his eyes: you only attack your prey. Right?

It's like having a bucket of icy water thrown down the back of his shirt. Remi straightens, the wound on his chest screeching in protest as newly-clotted skin is pulled apart. He ignores it of course, breathing in deeply through his nose and keeping his eyes trained on the darkened streets. Part of him hates Finn for not being tough enough, for some reason. But a larger part of him is eternally grateful that he isn't; it gives Remi hope that one day again death might upset him in a way it simply doesn't, now. "It's worse not to see them." The Alchemist says in a low voice. "I'd worry about you more if you'd already forgotten them by now."

Walking appropriately close to Finn to catch him should he fall, but not so close that it made his mind fill with static, the Alchemist just shakes his head. "You'd have been better served searching the beach for the star I made you, than wandering here all alone."

honest feelings and bad timing
make the most painful combination.

Code taken from Sky who is utter perfection

awareness is the enemy of sanity

”I wonder where we’d be had they not,” Finn mutters, but in truth he has neither the pain threshold or the mental clarity to bat around those sorts of ideas right now. It’s a similar kind of fuzziness around his thinking that erodes away his usually sharp senses. He doesn’t notice the tiny giveaways in Remi’s posture, or the way his breath alters in the revelation of Finn’s troubles. He can barely keep a tight hold on the words, as it is, and he releases a shivery sigh at the inn when it finally comes into view.

”I thought you said you didn’t worry about me.” He can’t resist that one, but the words are said gently, in jest, and if it didn’t hurt so much Finn might have even tried on a smile. ”I appreciate it, though. Have you forgotten them, then?” Those little bodies that Remi had arranged with such care, such concern for their wellbeing after they were long dead.

He snorts and limps up the steps to the inn door, glancing back over his shoulder at Remi. ”I’m not all alone though,” he says. ”You were there. And I’d have rather not spent precious energy finding a stone that’s been long taken by the tide.” Mulling it over, he lifted his chin and motioned inside. ”You’re welcome to come in, if you want to keep talking. I think I owe you a drink anyway.”

for once you hear the screaming

it never stops

FINN

REMI

Remi doesn't wonder, or more precisely, he doesn't allow himself to.

With a smirk he can't help, the Alchemist narrows his eyes in Finn's direction. "Correct. I worry about you 0 now, and so an increase of worry from 0 to say, .1, would indeed be me worrying more." The amusement slips away as if slapped from his face, and he shakes his head. "I don't forget so much as.." He looks up into the sky, caring little for the rain that batters down into his upturned face. "...they all start to blur together." This is hardly more than a whisper now, the admission that the three children are just three among many is not something Remi feels right about saying out loud, much less saying loudly.

"Better to spend that energy being mugged, is that it?" Pulling the door open so that Finn wouldn't have to hold it while he walked inside, Remi halts in the doorway as a cold hand reaches around his heart. Something made him want to turn away. Finn was a mirror into himself and where the pair did divide into unique beings, Remi was reminded of who he had once been, and occasionally, who he might still be.

It was as easy to cut himself on the edges around he and Finn as it was to look into the mirrored-shards.

"You do, yeah." He agrees in a dusty voice, following Finn into the inn and letting the door slip shut behind him.

honest feelings and bad timing
make the most painful combination.

Code taken from Sky who is utter perfection