the ones who won't forget you

Vervain

even the darkest night
will end

Vai arrives with a basket of goodies. She has no idea where the Wishing Wagon might be, or where Remi is, but the Greatwood was her home for a long time before Torchline, and you can take the girl out of the woods, etc. etc. Tracking is still one of her better skills, and so she meanders through the trees like some strange red riding hood (less hood, more bow and arrows), gently swinging her basket. There's a variety of tropical fruits on offer, as well as freshly baked bread and a large joint of barbecued pork - she's got a feeling she knows which one the alchemist will go for.

Eventually her wanderings take her deeply enough into the woods that even the sound of birds and small animals is muted. Vai isn't stupid, though - it's not the location that has them quiet. It's the presence of a predator. "Remi?" the witch calls, falling to a halt and waiting patiently for her adopted son to find her.

and the sun
will rise

oh but that's the irony: broken people are not fragile

Remi is more animal than man, though he's man enough to keep his son strapped and upright on his back. With wings around the infant swaddled in Ianto's scarves and secured with vines, Remi wears Mateo like some earthen backpack. Shirtless and covered with scratches from the brambles he's been trekking through, the Lullaby lifts his head at the sound of Vai's voice, as a lion might upon hearing branches crackling in the distance.

Flee, some part of him suggests. Abscond back into the wilderness where you can't be followed. He doesn't, though. For Vai he becomes mostly a man, retaining his wings that they might provide a barrier around Mateo. Stepping out from a thicket, thorns and leaves tugging at him, wanting him to remain hidden, Remi halts and offers the witch a wordless smile. He looks like hell, rugged though he might be. Having no desire to shave or keep his curls in check, Remi's face is a halo of hair. "Hi, Vai." He all but whispers.

The Lullaby

Vervain

even the darkest night
will end

"Hi, Remi." Vai turns to face the man claimed by the woods as his voice rustles out to her like the dry leaves that coat the ground. He does look like hell, but her smile for him is still warm and overjoyed to see him. Tanned from Torchline, the witch looks different in the woods these days, but it doesn't make her suit them any less. "I brought you some lunch, if you're hungry," she says, lifting the basket.

She doesn't know the details, of course. But she does know that Ronin is gone away to Stormbreak, thanks to a little red birdie called Ianto. And that's all she really needs to know. Silently, she holds out her arms for him, either for a hug or to invite him a bit closer so she can look at him properly under all that beard.

and the sun
will rise

oh but that's the irony: broken people are not fragile

He's always hungry, and the way Remi's eyes glitter as he tries to peer into her basket entirely breaks the rough and ready exterior he has. Others might see him as unhinged and monstrous, but it isn't just anyone who has shown up to find him. Vai will see to the core of him as she always done, as a man who misses the love of his life terribly.

Instead of falling into her arms, the Lullaby twists and removes a wide-eyed boy from his back. Mateo struggles and grumbles at having been taken away from the heat of Remi's back and wings, though he immediately holds out his grubby fists for Vai, keen to tug at her mess of curls. Unlike Remi, Mateo looks healthy and happy. Dressed in clean clothes (many of which are just scarves, but whatever), the boy looks completely taken care of. "He's growing like a weed." The alchemist comments with a sad smile.

The Lullaby

Vervain

even the darkest night
will end

Vai gasps a sound of pure delight as Remi eases his son from his back, and she coos at Mateo as she sweeps forward to take him in her arms. "He is," she agrees, cuddling him close in one arm and offering the basket out to Remi with the other. "He's going to be tall, like the tallest of his papas," she tells the boy wisely, a bright smile on her face as she nods to him, like it's already true.

But then her blue eyes flick back to Remi, content to rock the babe in her arms and let him clutch at her curls. "I heard that he was gone," she says softly. "But not the circumstances. I thought a visit might break the days up a bit for you, at least." Shrugging and carefully bouncing Mateo, she glances around the woodlands. "My cabin is still out here, you know. We could go to it, if you wanted."

and the sun
will rise

oh but that's the irony: broken people are not fragile

Remi takes the basket, not having realized how hungry he was. With Ianto shifted most of the time, the merchant only was only eating a fox-sized amount. Which was just to say, not enough for the Lullaby. Pulling off the cloth covering Remi's mouth instantly starts to water at the sight of what was inside, and without even thinking, he grabs the loaf of bread and sinks his teeth into it, not even bothering to tear off a chunk.

Without raising his eyes as Vai mentions the inevitable, Remi can only nod dully, his chewing slowed. "Oh.." He mumbles through a frown, snuffling in a breath through his nose before looking out into the woods. It would have been easier if Vai just knew, but he supposed that wasn't fair to put on her. 'You must have built it somewhere well hidden. We've not run into it yet." He says of the cabin as he nods, silently agreeing that the cabin would be a good place to go, as he takes another bite of bread.

The Lullaby

Vervain

even the darkest night
will end

"A woods witch has to keep some secrets," she says of her cabin, smiling gently. "More than likely, the woods are hiding it from you. I daresay once you've visited, you'll find it over and over again. Come on." She beckons him to follow - she knows he can eat and walk at the same time - and continues to fuss over Mateo as they head deeper into the forest. Vai glances over her to Remi as they stroll together, at the haggard appearance, the dirt, the animal putting on a mask of a man.

"You don't have to tell me," she says softly. "I know it can be too difficult, sometimes. But I love you and I'm here. I'll make sure to send you food parcels regularly, shall I?" The smile on her lips is playful but still tinged with sadness. "Though if this is what you look like, I can't imagine Ronin."

and the sun
will rise

oh but that's the irony: broken people are not fragile

It's probably true enough, what she says, though Remi doesn't know what reason the Woods would have for keeping it from him. But then the things Remi doesn't know could fill an entire world.

"No, it's..." Well, it wasn't fine, but it was okay. "We were in the wagon. I was getting ready to take a nap with Mateo when suddenly we were...in this other place." Vaguely Remi's eyes narrow as he tries to remember the Celestine, though his memories are clouded by hate and anger such that the beauty of the place is entirely overshadowed. "They were all there. The gods and the heralds." Rubbing at his forehead and smearing dirt across it, Remi just sighs. Meeting Vi and Mort (and Rae) is entirely lost on him, and he knows it.

The mention of what Ronin might look like has Remi grunting with heartbroken amusement. "Sweaty, most of the time. All he does is train."

The Lullaby

Vervain

even the darkest night
will end

Mentioning the gods and what it might mean is on the tip of Vai's tongue, and she bites it back with a solemn reminder that it is not the time. So instead she simply listens, wincing to hear that they had been the cause behind it all. "Not exactly something you can refuse," she murmurs, stepping over a mossy log and cooing at Mateo, showing him the various colourful leaves and plants they pass.

"So why is he in Stormbreak when you are here?" Vai asks, her brows furrowed. It doesn't stop the scrunch of her nose, though, to hear that Ronin is always sweaty, the witch shaking her head, indicating she doesn't really want to know. "How long has it been?" she asks, parting the leaves in front of them to reveal a mostly hidden cabin. The herb garden Vai has cultivated is wildly out of control now, and there are mushrooms to be found under logs and in tree trunks, along with a lookout point built high into the trees.

"Home sweet home."

and the sun
will rise

oh but that's the irony: broken people are not fragile

"I tried anyway." Remi murmurs with a bitter smirk, watching as his son's fingers try and fail to grab at the colours. Depth perception is hard, but he'll learn in time. "Not that it mattered. Mort said something about the greater good and building a better world for Mateo and then we were just...separated." The alchemist explains through a mouthful of bread.

As for why they were separated? "Because Ronin is a soldier and will likely better help their efforts with the rest of the soldiers. And I'm..." Winged and unshaven, what Remi is, is feral. "...better suited to the Woods, I suppose."

The revealed cabin steals Remi's breath despite his anger and resentment. He stops chewing, gawking at the hidden home Vai made for herself. "It's beautiful." He murmurs appreciatively, loving the wild recklessness of the plants.

"Nearly a week." Remi answers eventually.

The Lullaby

Vervain

even the darkest night
will end

"I don't doubt it for a second," Vai says with a soft laugh, well able to imagine Remi trying to argue. She smiles down at Mateo, leading them to the cabin and fishing in her pocket for a key, brought along just in case she decided to drop by the place on her visit. "Thank you," she says softly, inviting him inside. It's a little musty, having been left alone for over a season, but a few open windows have the fresh air breathing a new life into the little home.

Vai settles Mateo in a small cot that she's not yet taken down from when Felix was still small, sadness twanging in her expression as she straightens back up. "You are better suited for the woods, Remi. But that doesn't make it any easier, or any fairer." Turning to look at the alchemist, she takes in his appearance and tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. "Nearly a week," she repeats. "Have you considered perhaps taking a walk through the Stonesong in that time? You look horrendous."

and the sun
will rise

oh but that's the irony: broken people are not fragile

Had Remi leonine ears, he might have flicked one back toward the witch as she speaks. Without them, he merely adjusts his wings against his back as he sets about laying out the food she's brought with her on the table. Agreeing with her that he's better suited for this place despite the pain of it all doesn't feel as though it will do the situation justice, and so he merely grumbles some note of agreement under his breath.

That he looks horrenduous has him pausing and straightening. Glancing down his dirt-smeared torso, he frowns, glancing up skeptically. "Well, no one has complained so far." He offers with a boyish shrug. Then again, fox's nearly always smelled bad and it wasn't as though Mateo could complain yet.

"How are things in Torchline?"

The Lullaby

Vervain

even the darkest night
will end

"Well, I'm complaining and if Ronin could see you, I bet he would too," Vai informs him haughtily, moving to sit with him at the little table looking out into the now wilderness of the herb garden. "You smell like the forest and not in a good way. And you look like a bunch of the trees tried to fight you." Raising an eyebrow across at him, the witch hardly knows where to start.

So she doesn't bother, getting up again to potter about with a plate and some utensils, before setting about carving the meat and the bread up into more edible chunks, rather than letting Remi tear at it like beast. "Torchline is good," she says softly. "Sunjata and Nate are on their honeymoon. No volcanos have erupted and no one's house has caught fire. We're doing alright, I think. I miss you guys, though."

and the sun
will rise

oh but that's the irony: broken people are not fragile

"Well...!" Remi begins, as if he means to protest or argue. It's short lived though, this rebellion building on his tongue, and quickly he huffs out a defeated sigh. "It's just so hard to care." He admits after a moment, frowning as he brushes away a leave that has lingered in the hair on his arm.

Tear into it he absolutely would have, but Remi patiently waits for the witch to finish before diving in. "Yeah, Ronin and I saw them the other...well, a few weeks ago, I suppose." The alchemist mentions. Only they didn't actually, but Remi has no reason to disbelieve his eyes. "I miss you too. More than ever." Reaching a hand across the table, dirty and bestial though it might be, Remi squeezes Vai's and offers her a properly adoring smile.

The Lullaby