just to see your light

REMI

Pressing his palms against the bark of a tree, happy to feel something rough and real beneath them, Remi can feel the muscles of his back tensing and expanding as his wings disappear back into his flesh (his magical t-shirt making room for them, and then seamlessly closing again). Biting the inside of his cheek as Finn gives voice to thoughts the alchemist was trying to ignore, he lets his hands fall back toward his sides as he straightens and turns properly toward the Spyglass.

Haggard, though it's hard to say who looks the worst out of the pair, Remi swallows hard, thankful for the bear he sports now which hides his unhappy blush. "Why would you dream this?" The Lullaby asks flatly, defensively.

"Think of something, and see if you can make it real." Because Remi had already tried and found he couldn't change the reality of what was around him. But if Finn could, that might give them answers as to whose dream it was, if it was that at all.

Now don't you look so grand, runnin'
Through the reds of my traffic lights

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

we don't even ask for happiness; just a little less pain

"I didn't, I... I don't..." Finn shakes his head helplessly around at the area. "I have never even been here," he admits. "I remember taking something, to sleep..." It must have been potent enough that he has tumbled into a dream, enough that he hadn't even realised it...?

Suddenly he can't look at Remi, though really it's easier than if the other man had looked the same way he'd done when Finn last saw him in person. Back on Apopo, when they'd torn into each other, and fell into the volcano. Except no they hadn't, and he has to remind himself of that again.

Then the Lullaby is talking again, the Spyglass flicking his eyes up uncertainly and swallowing hard. "Uh... I can try." He focuses hard on his open palm, trying to imagine--

a feather

an apple, but to his mild frustration, nothing happens. Finn shakes his head. "I can't."

FINN

"It's my dream." Ronin's voice is low and calm, the Star emerging from the thicket of trees wreathed in starlight, looking relieved to have found the Spyglass and very pleasantly surprised to see his husband. It's to Remi that he goes first, of course, swooping in to deliver a gentle kiss to the alchemist's lips, looking mildly impressed at the beard. When he straightens up, he draws the other man against him and turns to regard Finn. "You overdosed on the medicine you took," he explains, trying to completely avoid noticing how alike this man is to Remi. "They couldn't wake you. You're in the medical clinic, and I was brought in to bring you out of it." RONIN Darkness is a funny thing. It creeps up on you.

REMI

'You're in the Greatwood.' Remi begins to explain. Their history is such that the alchemist just expects Finn to know things. However as he mentions having taken something to sleep, Remi feels a prickle of uncertainty that coldly sweeps against the back of his neck. He nearly reaches to rub at his collar, his hand stayed only by the intensity with which Finn concentrates.

The sound of Ronin's voice has the alchemist jumping with alarm, his cheeks flushing violently now as if he's been caught doing something he shouldn't. Guiltily he sucks in a breath which tries and fails to be one of relief; there are too many thoughts in his mind of having let Finn be torn apart by the Undine for Remi to be completely at ease. Still, the feeling of Ronin's lips against his has the alchemist withering with reassurance that the situation is well under control.

Though if Ronin is here, that would mean Finn and Ronin are together, and—it's lucky how quickly the Star explains. Of anyone that the Lullaby might be jealous of his husband being with, strangely it's Finn. Feathers ruffle through Remi's curls as he turns his stare toward the Spyglass, his fingers nervously winding their way around Ronin's waist.

You overdosed? He thinks as he looks at Finn, finding the idea of it painfully hard to bear.

Now don't you look so grand, runnin'
Through the reds of my traffic lights

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

we don't even ask for happiness; just a little less pain

Finn has been to the Greatwood, but he still doesn't recognise this place in particular. It brings a curious fluttering to the pit of his stomach, and he doesn't know if he's going to scream or throw up or both. Instead, he's still staring uselessly at his hands until a man he both does and does not recognise appears through the trees. Jumping a bit (not unlike Remi), Finn struggles to focus on Ronin, on the words he says.

"I overdosed...?" He echoes the Lullaby's thought process, a frown furrowing his brows. Where had he been when he'd needed to sleep so badly? How long had it been? Did they have to break into his apartments? All parts of this make him feel cold, and he swallows uncertainly against a dry throat. "Then why...?" He frowns across at Remi now, as if trying to understand the other man's presence in his subconscious.

FINN

"Demi god magic. Leave it at that." Ronin smiles faintly at Finn, thinking that filling the Spyglass's mind with even more information at an already delicate time would be somewhat foolish. For now that explanation is enough, for both Remi being there and Ronin as well. He holds the alchemist against him as if they didn't speak barely a few hours ago, the Star neither knowing nor caring how Remi got to Finn before he did, simply enjoying the fact that he's here. "I'll catch you up with everything this evening?" he suggests softly, smiling across at his husband. "For now, I really think I should be getting this man conscious again." He doesn't want to say it, but it doesn't make it any less true. Ronin is here for a reason, not for pleasure. And it doesn't look as though Finn has been having the sweetest dreams, either. RONIN Darkness is a funny thing. It creeps up on you.

REMI

Remi's fingers tighten and clench at Ronin's explanation, the alchemist very much wanting to know the answer to Finn's question as well. Nodding distantly, his eyes focusing after a few seconds as he drags them away from Finn's and into his husband's reassuring and comforting blue stare, he nods again with a bit more confidence.

"It'll be strange not following your light." Remi chuckles with a warmth that makes him feel awkward for having shown it in front of Finn. I didn't know— He thinks with a panicked sort of conviction toward Ronin, swallowing hard. He hadn't meant to be here. Hadn't meant to find Finn. Hadn't meant to burst into whosever dream it was. It suddenly felt very important for Ronin to know that, especially given that the Star would soon wake up next to the Spyglass, leaving Remi alone until they could dream together again.

Now don't you look so grand, runnin'
Through the reds of my traffic lights

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

we don't even ask for happiness; just a little less pain

Perhaps it's because he's too wrapped up in what's happened to notice the warmth and love so freely shared between Star and Lullaby; or maybe Finn just isn't wired to notice such things in a meaningful way. He tries to get his feet under him, the Spyglass gazing worriedly over his shoulder at the water, chewing on the inside of his cheek such that, were this not a dream (and it was a dream, right?) then he'd surely be bleeding.

"I would like to be conscious again," he agrees, one hand gripping the opposite forearm as if he can anchor himself, somehow. Anchor quite to where is anyone's guess. All he knows is that with this sudden and horrifying clarity, he doesn't feel as safe around Remi as he did when climbing, torn to pieces, onto a manticore's back. And that is saying something.

FINN

"It'll only be a few hours before you're seeing it again," Ronin says through a soft whisper, nudging his husband in his arms. "No more cat naps for you in the afternoon, though. Need to save all your tiredness to go to bed early with me." He grins; not that it will be as much of a bother for Remi with the type of magic he possesses. Still, it's with a great reluctance that he peels himself away from the alchemist, and even then Ronin can't resist drawing the other man in for another kiss as his mental prang hits him. I know. We were as surprised as each other, he says trying to send as much of a soothing presence down their bond as possible. I hope you manage to sneak into my dreams just as easily, though. I'll see you later on, alright? Giving him a gentle squeeze, he finally departs and gestures for Finn to follow after him, starlight warmly beaming out of his form now. RONIN Darkness is a funny thing. It creeps up on you.

REMI

There are more apologies and excuses on his lips—I didn't even know I fell asleep—but his thoughts are silenced by the warm press of Ronin against him. Unsure quite which man is making him feel more bashful, Ronin or Finn, as the Star eventually pulls away to lead his charge back into wakefulness, the alchemist is selfishly glad to see him go.

Ronin and Finn are two worlds of Remi's which shouldn't collide, and though they might not feel it, Remi can feel the tension like a noose around his neck.

Alright. The alchemist agrees, his jaw feathering as he watches Ronin's light begin to bathe the Woods in a warm glow that becomes impossibly inviting. Remi had to remind himself that it isn't for him to follow.

Startled suddenly awake, Remi finds himself near the Stonesong, having dozed off apparently in a puddle of sunlight.

~FIN

Now don't you look so grand, runnin'
Through the reds of my traffic lights

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!