walk me to the knife edge

we live in a world someone else imagined

There it was. There was the crisis.

Sure, maybe it wasn’t world ending. And maybe it wasn’t even the worst thing that might have happened, especially for Remi. But for Ronin it’s something that leaves him listless and restless all at the same time, and he wakes his husband not a moment after returning from the lighthouse.

It doesn’t take much to explain - Seren is gone, this is why, I have new magic apparently - but far from settling down to sleep, Ronin tries to coax the Alchemist from the warmth of slumber and out. Out into the black skies and the rain that’s needling down now that Safrin has left the earthly realm behind.

Sometimes Remi needs to get out, to let it all out. And sometimes Ronin needs to swim in the ocean in the middle of a storm. So now they’re on the beach, and the Star has his lips pressed feverishly against Remi’s; and gods is he sorry for the torrent of emotion that the other man is going to feel. But he can’t not. He can’t not feel his skin against Remi’s, feel his tongue press into the other man’s mouth, his arms slip around him.

the dark star

you trace my lines, stirring my soul

Remi hasn't needed sleep, physically, for a while now. Neither has Ronin, which has served them well during their various nighttime activities. That doesn't change the way sleep clings to the Alchemist as he's roused from slumber, though he's quick to blink away his heavy eyelids as he smells the rain clinging to Ronin. It infuriates him that he was kept asleep, for there's no other explanation than that. As the Star explains he can't help the snarl on his lip, though he keeps his thoughts to himself. Ronin shares many of them anyway.

Without question, the Alchemist follows Ronin into the last death throes of monsoon season. One of his hands is curled around the back of Ronin's skull, holding it possessively as his tongue traces out the ghost of words that don't need to be said. Overwhelmed by the hot flood of raw emotion that bristles against him, Remi's grip on Ronin at every point they touch is unyielding and fixed. There may be storms outside and in, but just now Remi's feels as rooted in the world as he ever has.

"I've got you." He whispers when their lips do part, though the Alchemist keeps the Star close enough that Ronin's eyes are a dark sea instead of their regular sharp blue.

THE ALCHEMIST

we live in a world someone else imagined

Remi says it and Ronin believes it, the Star wrapped up so deeply in his husband that it doesn’t even occur to him that what Safrin said was completely true. He goes to those he needs when things go wrong - and that isn’t the goddess, not any more. Leaning in again to capture the Alchemist’s lips, Ronin hums into the contact, fingers dragging their way down the rain-slick skin of his back, breath hitching, and bit by bit his movements become a little less fevered.

”I love you,” he whispers. I love you and I need you and I’m so glad you’re here right now. Lightning flashes overhead, and Ronin is holding Remi through the crack of thunder that follows, the vibration thrumming through his very bones. ”Want to go swimming with me?”

the dark star

you trace my lines, stirring my soul

There is something good about the way Ronin's fingers dig into his back. Remi's strength has been good for so little in the big scheme of things, and if anything it has just hardened him to the sensations of the world around him. Ronin though, always Ronin, pierces through to the core of him, waking up his nerves and sending his senses into overdrive in a way that drives him mad with delight.

Grinning as the storm threatens to engulf them, the Alchemist raises a brow. "During one of the last full days of monsoon season? With a storm overhead and that pod—" He tilts his head backward slightly, indicating a dull pink snarl in the waves. "—of encantados encouraging the storm?" Leaning forward, Remi steals another kiss from his husband's lips. That it is slow does not change how it causes Remi's heartbeat to dance on Ronin's finger, nor how he suddenly feels warmed to his core despite the falling rain.

"I thought you'd never ask."

THE ALCHEMIST

we live in a world someone else imagined

Remi tilts his head back and Ronin uses it as an excuse to lean in and leave a bruising kiss on the side of his husband’s neck. ”Mmhm,” he says of his desire to go and swim in the churning waters, with lightning flashing overhead and their cold clothing clinging to warm bodies. He pulls back enough for Remi’s lips to meet his own, pulling a rough sound of pleasure up from the depths of the Star’s chest.

He’s stripping the Alchemist of his shirt and pants as their tongues dance and heat kindles between them, Ronin hissing in a breath as he presses his body against Remi’s, skin to skin. Another purr of thunder reminds him of their reason for being there, but honestly, it’s a close thing. With eyes near black in the tempest above them, he offers his husband a crooked smile, pulling off the last of his own clothes before heading for the water.

”I’ll race you to the pod.”

the dark star

you trace my lines, stirring my soul

Remi knows that they're going into the water. But as Ronin begins to peel his clothing away, the bright burn of passion shooting like fire from the Star's hands where they press against the Alchemist's bare skin, it's impossible to convince his flesh that this is going to be anything other than what it seems like. Despite his best efforts, Remi's fingers wander as he returns the favour, a hand slipping down the front of the Star's pants even as his other works at the buckle.

Remi is here for Ronin, in whatever capacity that means, even if it leaves the Alchemist breathless and wanting to scream down the stars in bright frustration. "Oh, you'd better run." Remi calls after, his voice unsteady. He'd thought to leave his body here and slip into the skin of one of the pink dolphins. All the better to toy with the storm and torture his husband. But with the lingering smoke of Ronin's touch still hot on his skin, the Alchemist abandons that plan and dashes across the sand after the Star, intent on having Ronin against him once more.

The bite of the water takes Remi's breath and with it the broiling pulse of his needs. Still he persues, throwing himself into the mercy of the waves. Wide golden wings sprout from his sides as he dives down, using them like large fins to help propel him forward that he might beat the Star to their target.

THE ALCHEMIST

we live in a world someone else imagined

Even as the freezing water envelops him, and the tide tries to drag and push, Ronin knows he’s coming back for Remi once he’s gotten this madness out of his system. But for now it’s that madness that wins and even as his husband conjures wings to help, his counterpart will remain quite refreshingly human. He wants this - to feel his muscles scream with it, to fight the waves, to fight for breath, to push himself in a way that’s simple and clean and raw - and he’s determined to have it by the time they reach the pod.

So Ronin swims deeper into the storm tossed sea, carving a path with his body and barely knowing where Remi is in relation to him until he stops, panting hard and treading water, a few dozen feet from the encantados. And it’s there that he notices the issue, illuminated in a flash of lightning.

”They’re stuck,” he calls to Remi, voice hoarse, salt on his lips and stinging his eyes. Half the pod looks as if it’s entangled in a fishing net, the rest crowding around to try and help. Their efforts are close to drowning some of the younger ones, though, and Ronin shakes his head. ”No wonder they’re calling down such a storm!”

the dark star

you trace my lines, stirring my soul

Remi knows the feeling well that his husband aspires towards, and unless he uses his magic or his might to drag Ronin down, there's nothing he can do to aid him in this. The burn needs to come from within the Star, and there's no better cause for it than the torrential storm that the pair are currently paddling through.

Leaving Ronin to his own devices, Remi explores the seafloor and how his body moves above it. He is weightless but tethered. Anytime he thinks he's moving with relative ease, he need only look around to remember just how pathetically small he is in the context of where he is. It's humbling, and he's grateful for it.

Surfacing, his wings thoroughly waterlogged and now doing more harm than good on the surface, the disappear into his back as Remi strains to hear Ronin's voice over the thunder. That Remi could no longer compel or control the creatures had his jaw clenching somewhat, though perhaps Ronin could help..."BRING DOWN A CLOUD." He bellows over the storm, pointing upwards to further communicate his meaning. If his body could stay on one of Ronin's clouds, he could slip into the mind of one of the trapped dolphins to still its movements and hopefully communicate a natural calm to the rest of the pod.

THE ALCHEMIST

we live in a world someone else imagined

It’s difficult to tread water when the waves keep threatening to sink him, Ronin fighting to keep his head above the churning sea - it’s enough, at least, that he can hear Remi’s voice. ”A’RIGHT!” he yells back. ”If you can calm ‘em down I’ll try and cut the net free!”

Squinting up at the sky, he lets out a shrill whistle and manages to call down one very grumpy stormcloud. (Honestly, Ronin is sure it’s all for show, and that he doesn’t even really need to call it down, but if his nimbus wants to be a sad cloud, so be it).

He tries to swim as close to the Alchemist as possible, the nimbus in tow, and he nods up at it. Already his projection is there, holding out a hand for the other man, ready to pull him up and keep him safe while he’s... elsewhere.

the dark star

you trace my lines, stirring my soul

Later it might occur to Remi to ask whether or not Ronin has complete control over the clouds he calls from the sky. For example, should Remi have been worried about hopping aboard a storm cloud? If he's alive at the end of this, perhaps he'll ask.

It's a good thing Ronin's projection is already on the cloud; for all of Remi's strength, pulling himself up by his bootstraps isn't a skill he's learned quite yet. Heaving himself up the Alchemist wastes no time slipping from his body and diving into the water, easily maneuvering himself into the skull of one of the trapped dolphins.

Calm, he thinks to the creature as he takes over its body. Instantly it grows still, and though he's no marine biologist by any means, he tries his best to offer reassuring clicks to the other creatures trapped alongside him. Having chosen the larger encantado out of the group, hopefully, he's earned himself some clout.

THE ALCHEMIST

we live in a world someone else imagined

The Star (or his projection, at least) is there for his husband as he leaves his body, keeping careful watch over the precious cargo now slumped and lifeless on the nimbus. The real Ronin has other plans, taking a deep gulp of air and throwing himself into waves that seem to want to beat him back. He hears Remi’s mental voice, and senses, too, the way the encantados shift and slow, their struggles against the net less than before.

And so Ronin dives, plunging himself deep into the water until he finds the fishing net in his grasp. He’s pulled and ripped by the tide, and gods his lungs are already burning, but there’s work yet to be done. A fierce glow roars out from the Dark Star, an underwater supernova intent on healing the creatures who are nearly out of strength, intent on destroying the ropes that bind them.

Then, in a blink, he’s gasping for air on his nimbus, having switched places with his projection just before the urge to breathe in the seawater became too much.

the dark star

you trace my lines, stirring my soul

If only they'd brought a manta stone with them. Gods knew they had enough, but encantado rescue hadn't been on their minds when they'd shut the door behind them and headed out into the storm. Would today be the day one of their oversights finally caught up with them? Based on the hum of adrenaline surging through Remi's veins he didn't think so, but he'd been wrong before.

Safrin light Remi whispers into the mind of the pod, unsure if there existed any low-level telepathy between the dolphins or not. Startling as the light was, hopefully combined with the name of the lady of light would soothe and reassure the minds of the creatures.

Bathed in light and healing as he knew he would be, still Remi has to resist the urge to flail. Like Ronin, Remi needs air in this body as well and tangled with the others as he is, it's difficult to reach the surface and suck in anything more than a gasp's worth. I think you've missed a few ropes. But do take your time. The Alchemist aims for levity, but the rising panic of his body's demand for oxygen pinches the mental words somewhat.

THE ALCHEMIST

we live in a world someone else imagined

I think you’ve missed a few ropes.

There’s very little that can cause Ronin’s heart to clench and his throat to close quite like a message like that. His projection, still safe under the waves, is already hard at work. It doesn’t need air, and nothing will make Ronin risk leaving his husband’s body unattended on a cloud. Besides, he thinks he needs a breather anyway (ha), before he can pull his switcheroo trick again.

So the projection works frantically at disentangling the ropes from ends that have been shredded by the supernova. And the pod is already moving, energised by the healing and eager to swim up - but that only causes further trouble, in retrospect. Fuck, Ronin tells his partner, his eloquence punctuated by a quiver of nerves, like a plucked guitar string.

But the encantados are starting to surge out of the hole in the net that he’s made. Come back to me he says, trying not to sound like he’s begging.

the dark star

you trace my lines, stirring my soul

Right now? Well if you like, I am up there. It's no time for jokes which is of course why the Alchemist is making them. What else is there to do when you're tangled in an apparently magically-strong net (that must be why the nova didn't eviscerate it completely and not because of, oh, idk, reading comprehension)?

The Alchemist's blowhole shoots an energetic stream upwards which might have come across like a playful sprinkle were it not promptly followed by a shaky inhale. Black stars swim around the edges of Remi's vision, but he's been oxygen-deprived enough times before to keep his mind focused. If he leaves the body of the encantado now it might not make it out. So despite the clumsiness he feels in trying to move this strange form, Remi thrusts his tail to try and propel himself forward.  It takes a moment to navigate himself through the netting, but once he does he releases his hold on the creature's mind, allowing it to regain its sovereignty. With a few sharp clicks to indicate just how much it appreciated Remi's assistance, the Alchemist finds himself back in his own body.

Gasping for air, the burn on his throat a beautifully excruciating thing, the Alchemist instantly reaches for Ronin even as his vision swims and blurs. "That—" He pants, colour rising to his cheek and his heart buoys as if carried by the waves on Ronin's hand. "—is why we always cut up our old netting when we're done with them."

THE ALCHEMIST