even as i wander

for 1000 nights i've been a restless soul

Could they get drunk in dreams? Gods but Remi hoped they could. With his days spent working to fortify the Greatwood and spend as much time with Mateo as he could, there seemed to be no time at all for the sort of boyish frivolity that he was so used to. But being 'alone' had pushed Remi back into a Northaven frame of mind which helped him simply put his head down and do his work without complaint. He felt even more like his old-old-old-self for having to sneak away in dreams to see the man he loved.

Wearing a shirt with only a few buttons carelessly done up (and probably done up wrong), the alchemist waits on the strangest bedding of moss and sand, with two cups made of iron. Inlaid on each were luxere and manticores, endlessly chasing each other around the rims. The world was bathed in sunset hues, broken up only by palm trees and elms and the occasional mountain far on the horizon.

the wounds are open and bleeding out

What a wonderful world they must live in, for Ronin to be able to drink himself to sleep and then be able to continue drinking as he dreamed. He appears in an off-white shirt rolled to the elbows and an unbuttoned waistcoat, his feet bare and a sketchbook tucked under one of his arms. Strolling up towards where his husband waits, the strange mish-mash of forest and sand doens't seem to bother him at all. In fact, he only has eyes for the alchemist, moving to slouch down and sit, leaning in to steal a long and lusty kiss from Remi's lips.

"I love you," he mumbles into the kiss, sitting back to gaze at the other man with something close to reverence. A smile spreads across his face, Ronin sighing and reaching out to cup his hands around Remi's (and one of the cups), lifting them up so he can kiss his knuckles this time, and admire the luxere and manticore pattern work. "This is perfect," he observes, and he's absolutely not talking about the cups.

THE

DARK STAR

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for 1000 nights i've been a restless soul

The sand stirs not unlike water beneath his husband's feet as Ronin makes his way over. Outlined in gold and looking like some struggling and impossibly handsome artist, Ronin's kiss is met with greedy fingers already twining in his hair. The moan, if it can be called that, which leaves Remi's lips is one of unfettered adoration and longing. Gods how he's missed this man, even if its only been a night since they've been together. Remi's days are longer without Ronin, no matter how busy he keeps himself.

"I had to keep myself busy somehow until you arrived." The alchemist notes, his stomach suddenly feeling quite weightless as Ronin's lips find his knuckles. "I am starting to think there is a time difference between us." Though maybe it has more to do with how dark the Greatwood grows compared to the artificially-lit Stormbreak streets.

'Guess who met with Frey and hasn't been sex-cursed?' Yet, since the thread isn't over but here's hoping. Remi says through crooked lips, looking quite pleased with himself that he finally managed, after three years of being in this world, to escape unscathed from the herald.

the wounds are open and bleeding out

"I am terribly sorry," Ronin murmurs, his voice a little muffled against his husband's knuckles, and he sounds as though he means every single word. Drawing back and giving his hands a squeeze, Ronin reaches for a bottle of whiskey that had appeared as if by magic, pouring a generous measure into each of their cups. "I ought to find something to put me to sleep a bit easier. Wine only goes so far," he says by way of explanation. "Mm, maybe there is a time difference though. If there is, I'll go to sleep in the middle of the day if I have to If it means getting to see you."

Clinking his cup against Remi's and taking a long drink, the Star slings his arm around his husband and shuffles closer so they might sit and enjoy each other's company. His eyebrows shoot up, however, to hear the news about Frey, and he can't help but look thoroughly impressed. "My, my," he says, pressing a kiss against his temple. "You must have left one heck of an offering, Remi. What'd you go to see them about?"

THE

DARK STAR

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for 1000 nights i've been a restless soul

Remi frowns to hear his husband say as much, knowing that things aren't easy for the Star either. He wouldn't be surprised at all to hear Stormbreak say that Ronin was doing just fine, fighting and drinking and fucking and galavanting all over the place, but even here Remi wasn't fooled. "Afternoon naps? That sounds divine." The Lullaby agrees, grinning at the healthy pour the Star gives them both.

Leaning contentedly against Ronin, charmed as ever by how easily they fit against one another, Remi can't help but sit up a bit straighter at the praise in his husband's voice. "Mmhmm." Bouncing his eyebrows right back at Ronin, Remi's cheeks grow adorably round as he grins. "That I did. Though this being the nature aspect of Frey, it was a bit easier for me." Remi might not have his plant-magic anymore, but that didn't mean he couldn't still make things grow. It just took a bit longer.

"About the Mathair, actually. You'll never believe this, or at least..I didn't really believe it, but the goddess that they thought lived in the tree? She's real."

the wounds are open and bleeding out

"Gods, doesn't it just?" Ronin's smile comes easier as he lets himself relax properly into the dream, relishing the feel of his husband next to him, the softness of his curls and the warmth of his body. Afternoon naps, morning naps - all naps, as long as he can keep dreaming with Remi. He's aware that he's starting to toe the line between dreaming his life away and living it, but gods if Ronin can't say that he didn't try to warn people that he wouldn't do well, splitting his life in two parts like this.

Listening curiously to the Lullaby as he explains and taking another very healthy swig of his drink, Ronin hums a note of surprise about the Mathair. "I suppose with the Eirachi and Tanau, it shouldn't be as much of a shock as it is," he says, before wincing. "So that means when the Ascended fought it and opened the portal, the Mathair was... killed?"

THE

DARK STAR

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for 1000 nights i've been a restless soul

'You know, I think if we worked together we'd get everything done twice as fast.' Remi agrees to his husband's silent train of thought. Ronin and Remi weren't just a few in love idiots (they were that, though): they were a good team. Their magic literally worked together, as did they. "At least we can say I told you so, at the end of all this." The Lullaby mutters after a moment. To who would he say this? Mort. Vi. All of them. Why the hell not. He was right about it, after all.

"No, you're right. I just...it always seemed..." Unable to think of the word, Remi instead downs his entire drink that he might catch up to his husband. The warmth in his belly doesn't compare to the heat he feels for his husband, but it compliments it more than enough. "Wounded, by the sound of things. She's living in a swamp to the south. Well," Remi frowns. "South for me, anyway. North for you, I suppose."

Reaching for the bottle to refill their cups, Remi ruffles his free hand through his curls. "You think your soldiers are up for a field trip? I hear the swamp can be pretty frightening..."

the wounds are open and bleeding out

"I couldn't agree more," Ronin says, and even though he tries to keep from sounding too bitter about it, it's there. Remi won't be the only one saying I told you so should they eventually get the chance to work together on something, and the Star personally can't wait for that moment. Threading his fingers through Remi's hair and following suit by downing the rest of his drink, he bestows another kiss to his hudband's cheek and reaches again for the bottle that he might top them up.

"Seems a bit like a fairytail, doesn't it," he remarks of the Mathair and the other gods and goddesses, Ronin clinking his glass against Remi's. Burying his nose against the Lullaby's hair, his brow furrows to hear that the spirit in the tree is injured, of all things. Injured and somewhere... north-south? "I see," he says slowly. "What are you going to try and do, by going to find her?" he asks.

Not that it matters - not at the prospect of a field trip, and potentially seeing his husband for real. Ronin's smile is wide and positively charmed, the Star giving Remi a squeeze. "I don't know," he admits. "But I can always ask."

THE

DARK STAR

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for 1000 nights i've been a restless soul

Looking as proud and content as a cat licking the last of the cream from its whiskers, Remi slides his hand around Ronin's waist, comfortably tucking his thumb inside the Star's belt loop. Whose mind it is that causes butterflies to release in his stomach is anyone's guess; presently Remi's mind is doing anything but playing guessing games, far too invested is he in the feeling of Ronin's lips against his cheek.

"It does a bit, yeah." Remi agrees, unsurprised that Ronin is able to find the words where he could not. Chuckling to feel his husband's hot breath on his neck, the alchemist squirms as if trying to evade this assault, but really just cuddles himself all the closer. "Well, she protected the Woods for...well, gods only know how long. If she can be healed enough to return, that might go a long way in foRtIFYinG ThE GreAtWoOd."

Blushing now at the thought of really seeing his husband again, Remi bites the inside of his lip lest his smile get the best of him. "It's closer to you than it is to me, but it's in service of the Greatwood, so...it seems like the perfect place to work together."

Speaking of being together.."How is your quest for Safrin going?"

the wounds are open and bleeding out

Ronin grumbles along with his husband at the implication of fortifying the Greatwood, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. It isn't that he doesn't think it's a good idea; on the contrary, Ronin is all for it. But he still thinks it would be better if he were there as well. (And that's only partially because he wants and plans to murder the Eye). "Well, for all of the gods telling us where we need to be and sort of why, they haven't ever stopped us from leaving the Greatwood or Stormbreak. And it would be official business."

Spotting his husband's blush, the Star can't help the flutter of affection in the pit of his stomach, and he reaches out to brush his thumb over Remi's cheek. "Even if I can't bring the Dragoons, perhaps I'll just... come and investigate myself. Goddesses seem to be under our remit, right?" He winks.

It doesn't take long for Ronin to cuddle Remi back to the point where he's pulling the other man to lay down with him, their drinks abandoned for the time being. "It's going," he mumbles. "One of the flowers made me really horny. One of the others made me hungry. One made me really, really weird. Now there's just two to go."

THE

DARK STAR

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for 1000 nights i've been a restless soul

"I didn't think of it that way, actually. That you...are under watch." Remi raises a brow at this, horrified and infinitely amused to think of Ronin being under anyone's thumb. Whereas in the Greatwood, the alchemist thought if he chose to leave there would be no one to stop him. No one with their arms crossed disapprovingly (or rags-crossed, as the case might be). But then, Remi could be more of a rule-follower than Ronin could in the right circumstances. It bothered him suddenly that the gods might be playing on their impulses and inclinations so much. Feathers flourished in his curls at the thought, his jaw setting stiffly as he flashed these thoughts to Ronin.

"I certainly think so. And you've a much better track record with goddesses than I do. So it would be in the best interest of everyone, really." Slinking his free hand up to capture Ronin's jaw, the alchemist swallows down a sigh of longing and unhappiness, focusing instead on the prospect of actually seeing his husband again.

Tugged to the ground, the alchemist can only chuckle. "Horny, hungry, and weird. Sounds about par for the course." Remi says, letting his head loll to the side to gaze at Ronin. "Are you sure this is a quest?" He asks with a laugh, interlacing his fingers through Ronin's and tugging the other man's ensnared hand to rest comfortably on his hip. "Two to go though. That doesn't sound so bad."

the wounds are open and bleeding out

Ronin takes note of the feathers, the flustering, the way his husband grabs his jaw, and he leans forward pointedly for another kiss, as if to wipe away the anxiety and the awkwardness. It helps, of course, with the Lullaby catching his hand and placing it on his hip, Ronin turning to further entangle himself around Remi. It's never the same as actually being there, but gods if it isn't better than nothing at all. "Mm, I thought so too," he says of the flowers, the words mumbled against his lips.

"I bloody hope it's a quest," he says, scoffing and flopping onto his back, drawing Remi astride him. "Otherwise I'm just torturing myself for nothing. I'd rather torture myself to go and see you, personally. And hey, if I get it done before you head off for the swamp-place-land-thing, I technically don't have to leave Stormbreak at all to join you." He winks.

THE

DARK STAR

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for 1000 nights i've been a restless soul

'Well, if this ordeal of Safrin's was meant to prepare you...it sounds as though you're already well-prepared." This might be a compliment or an insult, but the boyish smile on Remi's face and the way his eyes are helpless in how they continue to stray down to Ronin's lips very much suggests the alchemist hadn't meant any harm by it.

"Since when his being hungry and horny torture?" Remi wonders, his thighs tightening around his husband's waist. "I quite like those sides of you." He adds, leaning forward to place his palms on either side of his husband's head.

That Ronin might be able to visit him without techinically breaking the rules makes this feel like a Northaven moment that they never actually shared: being together in ways they weren't allowed, and gods if that didn't rile something in Remi. "I can't imagine what it would be like to try and be two places at once." Being 'passably' Ronin in Stormbreak while also being somewhere else? "Better you, than me."

the wounds are open and bleeding out

"I've been well-prepared since we were split up," Ronin agrees, his hands running up the length of Remi's thighs, one finding its place on the other man's hip, the other roaming up his stomach towards his chest. "Oh, it's plenty of fun when it's with you. But when it's random and out of place and you aren't there, it's not so entertaining," he admits, taking a long inhale of breath as he feels the sudden weight and grip of Remi around him as if it might just be real. It's enough to want to grab the Lullaby and drag him back down onto the moss, and Ronin refrains - barely.

"It takes a lot of practice," he admits. "It's rare that I even have my projection out of sight, but... I think I'll be able to do it, if it means seeing you," he mumbles, his fingers flexing against Remi's hip. "I miss you so much." It comes out suddenly, but it's no less sincere. "I don't know how much longer I can keep doing this before I lose it."

THE

DARK STAR

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