[Training] we had a marvelous time

and look for the stars as the sun goes down
each breath that you take has a thunderous sound

Is she a little bit drunk? Perhaps.

Should she be doing this? Perhaps not.

And yet here she is on the last day of her honeymoon, standing in the whipping wind and staring at the roaring sea. The monsoons are coming, almost here; she can feel them in her bones, her soul, the encantado finely attuned to the dizzying rush of the storm. It is likely unsafe to be out today, at the mercy of the elements, awaiting the impending deluge to strike.

And yet here she is, standing on the shoreline, her arms extended for the wind to carry her off like a kite. Eyes closed and cheeks red from the sting of salt and the first rain water, Amalia waits for something to happen- not knowing what it is going to be, only that it will come.

Amalia

i wish i could say that i am a light that never goes out

And it does come, or at least, Remi does. Perhaps he's not the inciting incident that she's been waiting for, but she is his. The Alchemist's talk with Ronin hasn't helped. He could hear in the Star's voice the attempt at neutrality and support. But he could also clearly hear an undercurrent of are you sure you aren't wrong?

And no, he wasn't sure. But so far, no one had made an argument that he found compelling, and so he was left to his own devices, lost in his own mind, playing the part of both angel and devil and getting absolutely nowhere.

Well, maybe not nowhere. Words said by people he trusted (Ronin, Vai) and those he didn't (Finn), still ring in his ears. If he is choosing to be the man he is, then so be it. But is he? Or has he just been dragged along by this current long enough that he'd gotten used to its frigid temperatures?

"I don't like how we left things." Remi calls out from the bluffs, arms crossed and curls blown about by the wind.

but I  f l i c k e r

from time to time

REMI

Table and Gif sniping by SKY who is eternally the best forever

and look for the stars as the sun goes down
each breath that you take has a thunderous sound

And so he comes, the angel of mercy with his tarnished halo and broken wings, carried on a dangerous sea-slick breeze. He stands above her on the bluffs and Amalia is reminded of an image an Outlander brought from his world: Justice as an angel, hooded and blinded, holding scale and sword.

Remi is not an angel, and neither is the Shield. They are each of them a little more than human, a little less than gods, becoming people they do not recognize as the world continues to turn.

His voice is a blade cutting through her reverie. "Neither do I," she calls back flatly, not knowing if her voice will carry but knowing he will know. Her arms wrap tight around her chest, a mirror of his stance, and she stares with face uplifted toward him, waiting for his descent.

Amalia

i wish i could say that i am a light that never goes out

Honestly, Remi isn't sure what he wants here. The words are a step towards potential salvation, but his tone weighs them down. His stance too: straight shoulders and an elevated chin do not a picture of contrition make. There are things left unsaid, and this wound between them will continue to fester until its all been cleaned out, however bloody it becomes.

"I wonder if Jigano would say the things he used to say about me, about you now." It's an olive branch covered with thorns. A topic about which they might turn their ire, but the sting is still there. "I got over my need to do the right thing when I learned that what I thought was the right thing was just bullshit." He takes a step down from the boulder he's on. "How flexible your morals must be, that you can be told of premeditated murder and let it go, keep secret the name even after a man is dismembered across the fucking continent, while at the same time thinking it impossible to leave Ronin and I to our own devices." He takes another step. "Or is that it? You didn't know the man who was killed, so what of it. Ahh but Ronin? Well that's a funeral you'd have to care about, so best make sure to avoid that."

Feathers appear in Remi's curls as he takes another step, green eyes blazing with a dark sort of light that makes him look ugly and hard.

but I  f l i c k e r

from time to time

REMI

Table and Gif sniping by SKY who is eternally the best forever

and look for the stars as the sun goes down
each breath that you take has a thunderous sound

Okay, well, this feels like an escalation.

"Jigano isn't around to judge me any more. He ran away." A cruel way to say it perhaps, but it's accurate and Amalia feels a little cruel, glad to take the thorny branch and add some of her own anger.

Similar to the Alchemist Amalia has taken on an almost bestial firm, fangs and horns disfiguring her face, fur bristling aggressively on the back of her neck. Whatever hope she'd held out for reconciliation is gone like their breath on the breeze; it's clear the wounds are still too new for either of them to ignore.

She winces but does not step back as accusation after accusation is levelled. "You're right," Amalia replies, clinging to the semblance of calm she doesn't feel. "I was wrong to protect her. To allow her. And I will live with that guilt forever." The man, Ascended though he may be, has left his fluid on her hands.

But she will not ass Nephele's. Or theirs.

"I'm not sorry." Back straight, eyes steel, Amalia watches Remi step closer, her hands balled at her sides. "For saving you and Ronin. I'll never be sorry for that, and I'd do it again, every time. So if you were hoping I'd changed my mind.... Well. I'm sorry about the Ascended. But I'm not sorry about that."

Amalia

i wish i could say that i am a light that never goes out

Remi smirks a touch at that, but it's low hanging fruit. Besides, attacking a man who isn't here to defend himself feels unfair. Whether attacking Amalia simply for having the misfortune of being here probably wasn't any fairer, but such is life.

"Then tell me her name." Remi snarls, his mouth thick with teeth that are jagged and ill-fitting. Wings sprout from his sides as thick muscles press out of his chest. Hands already balled into fists grow into paws and his curls spin into a mane of dark gold. At this point he can't stand anymore, the shifting pitching him forward until he's on all fours, towering over Amalia with shark-teeth bared in a snarl.

Who do you think you are, to decide my fate. Remi growls, leonine ears flat against his skull.

but I  f l i c k e r

from time to time

REMI

Table and Gif sniping by SKY who is eternally the best forever

and look for the stars as the sun goes down
each breath that you take has a thunderous sound

He's changing. She is, too. Maybe they've both already changed so much their pieces don't fit together anymore and never will again, or maybe they can still change into something that makes sense. Is it too soon or too late for them?

Amalia doesn't know.

"Why?" She stares defiantly as he grows and rises, knowing they are crossing lines that they may never make it back from. "Why does it matter so much to you?" Ho who wants so badly to hurt her- why does he care about this?

He shifts, bigger and bigger, and still she doesn't flinch. Despite the hammering in her chest and the roar of her blood Amalia holds, staring up at sea green eyes that no longer look human, her own body contorting in time to take on scales and sleek lines, lilac and gold. Who does she think she is? These days Amalia hardly knows.

But to him? I'm your friend. Mort knows I'd rather not give a fuck about you, but I do. The frustration she channels through the bond is a palpable thing, her cloven hooves ripping furrows in the sand.

Amalia

i wish i could say that i am a light that never goes out

"Oh that's rich, coming from you." The Alchemist snarls before his mouth makes it impossible to say more. Why does it matter? Because he's the governor. Because there are ascended living in Torchline. Because he fucking asked.

Saliva strings from between the manticore's jaws as he snarls towards the Qilin. How very difficult that must be for you. He growls through their bond. In truth, he does know how difficult it is to care about someone you'd leave if you could. Someone who can push you down and mock you as you climb to your feet, helpless to do anything other than continue to care.

Then fight me for it. If you are so strong that you bear the fates of all your friends with our without their consent, then prove you deserve it. Striding as close as he might so that their noses nearly touch, the manticore spreads wide his wings, parting his jaws and roaring for all he's worth into the sleek lilac lines of her face. If you win, you can scream at me from your soapbox all you like.

but I  f l i c k e r

from time to time

REMI

Table and Gif sniping by SKY who is eternally the best forever

and look for the stars as the sun goes down
each breath that you take has a thunderous sound

It hurts so much she can hardly think, each word he hurls at her another sharp and whipping wound. Gods, she wishes she could walk away from him here and now, leave him to his isolation. Get on the high horse he keeps accusing her of having and gallop into the sunset to lick her wounds.

That's idiotic. Amalia keeps her eyes upon him even as he steps even closer to her, fire snapping in her mane and at the tip of her whipping tail. Why should she have to prove her friendship, her alliance, through violence and anger? Through a competition rigged against her from the start? He is larger, stronger, bound to win, and yet...

Maybe if her body is broken, her mind won't feel so bad. Maybe if she lets him hurt her physically, he'll stop his assault on her mind.

A snap of her tail is the only warning as the qilin rears up on hind legs. Dangerously sharp hooves flail forward at the manticore, and a scream like a winding gale uncoils from her lungs. The long tail snaps around as well, fiery yet harmless, attempting to wrap around his wing joint and keep him from taking to his advantage of the air.

Amalia

i wish i could say that i am a light that never goes out

Oh it was idiotic, was it?

And?

If Amalia thinks the manticore is planning on doing anything clever, she's wrong. Just as he hadn't thought through his words, similarly he's not thinking now. She rears and he moves into it; sharp cloven hooves cut through his jagged mane, shearing away bits of gold and drawing blood from around his ears. Roaring against her, he attacks with his tongue rather than his teeth. The barbed skin aimed for the muscles on her chest, as the wing her tail has locked into place yanks and flails.

Throwing his weight forward, he tries to knock her backwards on the rocks, herding her out towards the sea.

but I  f l i c k e r

from time to time

REMI

Table and Gif sniping by SKY who is eternally the best forever

and look for the stars as the sun goes down
each breath that you take has a thunderous sound

The barbed tongue might have done more damage if not for the qilin's thick skin. As it is it tears through fur, leaving a couple of surface scratches but very little damage to her front.

Less so, behind.

Clinging to Remi as she is, she is helpless when he begins to flail his wing. Immediately Amalia is pulled back, falling to her knees with the first tug. The second one sends her flying - literally, because as her body is moved it also shifts, shrinking down to avian form as she spreads her wings to catch herself, releasing him in turn.

She's airborne, but barely, and knows that with the wind as it is she's doomed if she stays aloft. So as easily as she changed her shape Amalia shifts back, regaining scales and tail and horns and pushing off of the rocks he tried to dash her upon. With bruises on her knees the Shield snarls before trying once more to leap towards Remi, right shoulder shoving towards his side even as he herds her closer to the sea.

Amalia

i wish i could say that i am a light that never goes out

So he can't fly, but she can?

The manticore bares his rows of shark teeth in a grin as the qilin-turned-owl-turned qilin loops back to him. Again she engages and again he moves into her attack rather than away. He's far too broad to be able to escape her at close range anyways; besides, this fight isn't about pain. It's about the implications of who is the stronger. Who deserves to choose how they live and how they die.

Curled up until now, as Amalia's shoulder connects with his flank (a blast of air jetting from the manticore's lips in pain), Remi's tail flashes around, meaning to sink one of his barbs into the meaty muscle of her hindquarter. Not enough to kill her of course, but possibly enough to make her movements sluggish and uncoordinated.

but I  f l i c k e r

from time to time

REMI

Table and Gif sniping by SKY who is eternally the best forever

and look for the stars as the sun goes down
each breath that you take has a thunderous sound

She lands the blow upon his flank, ears flickering in a strange, feral satisfaction mixed with a sickening taste of bile. Remi may have an idea of what this is for, but to Amalia it is entirely about pain. It is about the pain he has caused her and still does, the pain of his words and his glares and his cruelty, the pain of loving him and watching him slip away.

And oh, a part of her wants to inflict that pain in equal measure to how she has felt it. He's made it clear her own hurt doesn't phase him, but physically? Physically Remi is still a man.

She snaps at his skin with a mouth full of leopard teeth as the barbed tail sinks into her side. It catches her off guard, stinging a little at first and causing her to flinch. And then the strange effects take hold, and Amalia realizes her hind legs are not quite obeying her.

What did you do to me?! Hooves flail over the stones unsteadily; hazy and uncoordinated, the qilin snaps once again, this time trying to latch onto whatever part of him she can reach for balance as her vision sputters and spins.

Amalia

i wish i could say that i am a light that never goes out

Her teeth, somehow blunt and needle-sharp just the same, dig into his flesh tearing away skin and offering bright crimson blossoms of blood for her efforts. The manticore only grumbles in response, the pain a distant thing that itches at the back of his mind.

Again he is there, within her reach, though not in the way she might want. He advances; at first, his bulk might be steadying, but as he continues, he seems to be intent on pushing her back into the waves. She can walk upon it, her fire untainted by it, but to his mind, there is something defeatist about it. Something he mercilessly wants her to feel.

How can you decide whether or not I can protect myself when you don't even know what I am capable of? He rumbles into her mind, trying to butt his chest against hers to further unsteady her balance.

but I  f l i c k e r

from time to time

REMI

Table and Gif sniping by SKY who is eternally the best forever