just to see your light

REMI

The Woods were serene and tricksy, whimsical and grand. They towered and housed vengeance and violence, sweetness and rebirth. They also housed an alchemist with a stern frown on his face, arms folded tersely over his chest, and eyes which bore across a blood-red pond towards a particular shrine.

Adrenaline flushes up and down his body, his flight or fight instincts making his stomach feel like it holds cold rainwater. Balled up between his crossed arms are fists with fingers that fidget, and in the moss on which he stands, his barefeet tap animatedly as his weight shifts back and forth. He is a picture of indecision as he stares, chewing at the inside of his cheek.

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 don't know where I am."

It comes from behind a rush of water, behind the pounding of the waterfall. Sweet serenades, reaching fingers through the torrents and into the alchemist's mind. A familiar voice, rough and uncertain, ravaged by sleeplessness. Is he sleeping now? Is he dead?

Does it matter?

"I can't see the light." The voice echoes out again. As if it is right next to Remi, reaching for something. Reaching for him, perhaps. And there's a stumbling behind the waterfall - a rock falls out, plunking into the red water below. What will happen, if whoever stands within staggers right into the reaching, grabbing lichen below?

It might be a release - who knows?

FINN

REMI

Remi knows the voice. He knows it with the same intensity that he knows Ronin's, but not with the same intimacy. Or at least, not the same species of intimacy. The brackish water in his stomach sloshes up toward the back of his throat, and despite the warmth of the afternoon goosebumps trickle down the alchemist's bare arms.

He knows the voice.
He knows what's behind the waterfall; Finn isn't alone behind the curtain of sound.

Finn. Remi thinks the name, or perhaps he screams it. With wings suddenly outspread from his back, the alchemist clumsily launches himself over the red water and directly through the waterfall. The weight is enough that it would slam anyone else to the ground, and though Remi's wings can't keep him smoothly aloft, his strength at least carries him through. With a landing far less elegant than what he's normally capable of, drenched now and with lashes fluttering to clear water from his eyes, Remi looks around uncertainly for the man who shares his face.

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

The scent of copper hits the air the moment the alchemist swoops through the wall of water. It's dark behind the deluge, but darker stains still can be seen, marring the walls in handprints and the stone with pools of crimson. Remi will not stumble into Finn, but that doesn't mean he won't be there. He's in multiple places, actually - an arm here, a foot there, torn to pieces by that which the Lullaby knows lurks here in this cave.

Something is still breathing, at least; a wet and rasping sound from a little deeper within the waterfall. Finn is slumped against the wall, his head down, his curls matted. He stares at his ruined body with something like curiosity, and though it's difficult to breathe, he is remarkably calm. He looks up at the approaching figure, skin pallid, blood dripping from a stubbled chin. "I don't know where I am," he repeats.

FINN

REMI

The water in Remi's stomach is now saliva in his mouth; the tang of copper is so palpable that his stomach threatens to rumble in response. Looking at the broken pieces of the Spyglass littered about, Remi shifts his eyes from green to predatory black several times as if enhanced vision will help him make sense of what he's seeing.

There is a sound which is dull compared to the rush of water and dryer too, though in a different place and time it would have been described as wet and heavy. "You're in the Undine's lair." Remi replies informatively as if Finn was pointing to a picture in a book, asking what it was. Shadows begin to gather around the alchemist like great swathes of black tulle. 'We need to get out of here.' Instinctively the alchemist reaches out a hand before halting. Dream or no, not that such a thought has tickled his conscious mind yet, his magic will work just the same, and he thinks that he'd chose death over sharing any part of himself with Finn again.

"Come on," the outstretched hand is now gesturing for the Spyglass to rise and follow. Around Remi the shadows bunch and gather, ready to place them in a protective barrier.

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 don't know if I can." Finn wiggles the toes of one bare foot. The other set of toes wiggles too, but it's about five feet away. He's stopped bleeding since Remi stepped beneath the waterfall, though, something which is simultaneously a relief and somewhat worrying. Has Remi helped? Or is it because Finn is more subconsciously wary of the alchemist than the thing in the cave?

With a huff of a sigh, the Spyglass uses his remaining arm to try and scrabble his way up the cave wall, hopping eventually to his feet. "Do I know you?" he wonders. For there is no fear, at present, not wrapped so deeply in nightmares as Finn undoubtedly is. This is the time after the trauma, for him - he's too well wrapped in his own defenses to panic now. "Where are we?"

FINN

REMI

Remi isn't aware of the specifics of what's happening, only the overwhelming idea that it all shouldn't be happening. If it's a dream, who is the dreamer? The alchemist has been careful to avoid the telltale pathways which lead into the Spyglass's mind, and as far as he knows, Finn doesn't have the ability to penetrate into his dreams. But surely this must be a dream. But how then?

And why?

"No," Remi replies with a slight shake of his head. A roar that sounds like twisting metal from deep within the ocean echoes from deeper within the cavern. For a moment the Lullaby's eyes pulse white as he feels the frenzied tug of a battle ahead. "Her lair." He repeats with less patience this time. "Come on, Finn." Pulling from his memories the gloves made by Ronin, suddenly he holds them in his hands. Slipping them on, he again reaches out for Finn, his movements more demanding this time.

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

The insistence, the growing impatience, it makes Finn think he does know this man. Because he knows his name, but before he can vocalise all of this, there's a gloved hand grabbing at his shoulder to usher him forward. Finn can't really run or even hobble with only one leg, so he lurches unsteadily towards the cave mouth. And it's going pretty well, until the wall of water appears before them - there's a reason Finn hasn't tried to get himself out of here.

Shaking his head, he backs away from Remi's grasping hands. "Just go without me," he says through heavy pants of breath. "I can't get through there." Too afraid. Too lost, too broken. Even the idea of ducking through the torrent of water into the depths on the other side has him shuddering, slumping against the side of the cave. "I'm not worth it, you can go," he repeats.

FINN

REMI

When first Remi's gloved hand touches Finn's shoulder, the alchemist worries that he'll be jolted out of this moment, or worse, farther into it. Everything seems to stay the same though, which is both a blessing and a curse. As they move Remi's wings spread slightly, shaking out the water which is still clinging to his pale feathers.

'You can. The shadows will protect you." And indeed they begin to swell up, moving as if to wrap up the Spyglass like a blanket. However as Finn staggers back against the wall, Remi turns abruptly, frustration deepening the wrinkles on his forehead. "You don't get to decide that." Remi says through a sigh. "I'm here to defend these Woods. You should know that." His jaw feathers slightly as he chews on an idea.

"If I shift, I can easily carry you out. All you'd need to do is hold on." This is much more softly said, the idea not being one that he particularly likes. But if it's between that or letting Finn be torn apart again, he can stomach it.

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

Protection from shadows sounds difficult to understand, and Finn shies away from it - and Remi - as the wings spread from the other man's shoulders. He remembers falling, though he doesn't know if he was falling asleep or falling from a great height... perhaps from the top of the Tower. With a shuddering sigh, he lifts tired, stormy eyes to the other man, as if wondering what he means. "Should I know that?" he echoes, rubbing at his forehead and groaning under his breath.

Then the Lullaby offers to shift and Finn does and doesn't get it. Too lost in this world he doesn't understand (and that's outside the dream, as well within it), he can only give a numb sort of nod. "Okay," he says softly, forcing himself to straighten up so that he can do his best to hold on with one arm. He feels like he should know what's happening more than he does, and it's frustrating for them both.

FINN

REMI

i've been sleepwalking and wandering all night

'Yes, you should. If you don't, it means something is wrong with one of us.' Who, he still doesn't know.

Okay. Remi had hoped he'd argue. That he'd storm off like he had done inth e past, or perhaps become more adamant in his desire to be left alone that the alchemist could guiltlessly comply. He doesn't though and with Remi's bluff called, the Lullaby has no choice. Closing his eyes, looking both reserved and frustrated, Remi's body shifts and melds until his bulk takes up nearly all of the platform that's immediately between the waterfall and the wall. His articulated tail is carefully curled away from Finn lest the Spyglass impale himself. With large intelligent sea-glass green eyes, the massive creature avoids looking at the body parts strewn about the cave.

With a low rumble the manticore drops a shoulder to make it easier for the Spyglass to climb aboard. Remi will supplement Finn's efforts however he can, presumably with a wing or a shuffle of his body. There's more than enough mane for Finn to hold onto for purchase.

trying to take what's lost and broke and make it right

Coding base by Sky!

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

Finn should balk at the sight of the massive predator filling his vision. He should be staggering back, he should be screaming. But instead he merely watches the transformation with mild curiosity, a shudder running through him as a sound echoes from deep within the cave again. "There is something wrong with me," Finn says gently, even as he moves to try and clamber onto the manticore's back. It's clumsy, graceless and it takes more than one try, but eventually (and with the help of the alchemist), Finn is safely aboard.

Well. He's aboard. Safely is still yet to be determined. "I'm sorry," he says, the words sounding right on his tongue, but he doesn't really know why he's saying them. Either way, he's half sprawled against the lion's mane, the fur rough under his cheek, his eyes a little glazed as he curls his fingers through the mane with his remaining arm. "Ready."

FINN

REMI

i've been sleepwalking and wandering all night

Remi doesn't like the weight of this man on his back, no matter how easily his body can endure it. He doesn't like this closeness, no matter how much the situation demands of it. (Or does it?) He doesn't like that Finn doesn't remember. Doesn't like that there's something wrong with Finn. It stuns his anger and makes it feel juvenile and uncalled for.

Ready.

Remi's heart thuds heavily for a moment and then skips a beat.

Rather than leaping through the waterfall, Remi is forced to...fall through it. It's the only way that he can use his wings to protect Finn from the force of it. It also means that as soon as they're through, the manticore is forced to use an unnatural amount of strength to keep them airborne thanks to the extra weight of the water as well as the Spyglass. He can manage it of course, and soon the pair are gliding over the red waters and toward the bank where Remi had been before all of this. (Is that where he'd been? Or had he been somewhere else?).

Not unlike in the cave Remi, will do what he can to help Finn find his feet, before taking a few steps and stumbling back into his own body again.

trying to take what's lost and broke and make it right

Coding base by Sky!

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

It's the water that does it, jolting him back into the here and now and all manner of what is happening. Finn gasps through it, barely looking down into the bloody waters as the creature beneath him carries them across the expanse to the safety of a bank. And though he still needs the help down, he's whole again all of a sudden, the red staining his skin and clothes already starting to bleed away as he collapses on the warm grass nearby.

Then Remi shifts back and recognition shoots through the Spyglass's eyes - eyes that are suddenly clear and far too intelligent for their own good. "This is a dream," he says with hoarse and frightened lucidity. "You have stepped into my dreams again. Or have... have I...?" He knows this is the Greatwood, but not where they are within it. Trying and failing to scramble to his feet, Finn merely rakes his curls out of his face.

"It felt so muddled, just now..." Like back when he had been sick.

FINN