good night, sweet prince

Little does Remi know that Devrum once walked into Isla's office, whapped out his dick and demanded that she make it work again so he could have children. And he'll continue not knowing that, if she has her way. Of course she accepts, Isla lifting Mateo away to coo over him in all of the practiced motions expected of both a doctor and a former duchess - of course, she's also been a field medic during a war, so that part is nicely tucked away for the time being. No, Mateo receives bouncing and fussing over his curls and all the attention she can shower him with. "Oh, I have no doubt that he will end up just as charming as his fathers," she murmurs, smiling to Remi. "He's perfect," she tells him, following his gaze across to Ianto briefly before she steps forward to give his arm a gentle squeeze. "You don't have to do this by yourself," she says. "Not any more. I missed out on a lot, even when I was technically here. I've got a lot of time to make up for, if you'll let me." ISLA pray for me pray to me

walked out this morning and i wrote down this song.
i just can't remember who to send it to

'Hopefully more like one than the other, in the charm department.' Remi replies with a warm laugh, though it isn't entirely clear who it is he wants Mateo to take after. (It's Ronin. It's definitely Ronin). Beaming as Isla renders her (non-professional) verdict of perfect, Remi can't help but blush as if it has anything to do with him. Given that his son is a child literally pulled from his dreams, it's no surprise that he's anything but perfect. Even so, it does Remi's heart good to hear it.

"You have absolutely nothing to make up for." Remi replies, perhaps a touch more sharply than the moment calls for. But after everything he's done to her, the alchemist is quite sure he'll spend the rest of his life making reparations, even if he's the only one sanctioning them. "But I definitely wouldn't say no to seeing more of you. And, if we figure out the dreaming thing, you can come and see Ronin as well."

"Well, if he gets Ronin's charm and your dimples, I imagine he'll be somewhat unstoppable," she tells him with a grin, dropping a kiss atop Mateo's head and raising a brow at the sudden sharp tone in Remi's voice. "I wouldn't say no to seeing more of you either," she says, choosing not to argue with him. It all boiled down to the same thing in the end - they had missed each other, and too much time had passed for things to continue this way. Nodding at the dream offer and snuggling Mateo close in her arms, Isla gives the alchemist a warm smile. "I'd like that," she says. "It would be nice to see you both again, together." As a person, she almost adds, but feels that might reopen old wounds again. "...I didn't know, by the way. That Ludo used to come to you, looking like me." His suspicion makes sense at least, after realising it. ISLA pray for me pray to me

walked out this morning and i wrote down this song.
i just can't remember who to send it to

Mateo is oblivious to his father's upset, and as Isla leans near, he reaches out to try and capture the golden floss of her hair which has settled around her face. 'Then it's a plan.' Remi says, sucking in a breath and finding it strange to be around someone as forthcoming as Isla again (sorry Ianto). It was refreshing, and more of a balm than the medic would likely know.

"Ronin's changed too, I think. Maybe not as much as I have, but..." Trailing off, Remi bites the inside of his cheek to stop the frown that wants to tug his lips all the way down. "A lot has happened with him as well." Aoife. Seren. All things Safrin-related. His kingship, the blight, Torchline escapades and now everything going on in Stormbreak.

At the mention of Ludo, Remi sucks in a hasty sip of air and frowns at the ground. "Mmm. It started the day you..died." He forces himself to say the word, marvelling at how those he loved the most in the world had both died and come back thanks to untrustworthy goddesses. "It would do it often." The words aren't said so much as sighed out, making them shivery and all the more hard to understand given his accent. "It wouldn't always pretend to be you, but it did seem to like wearing your face more than anyone else." Closing his eyes and pressing his fingertips against them to try and block out the images, Remi eventually lowers his hand to give the medic a weary smile. He had deserved it after all. It was Isla's death and his selfish reaction that had started everything, culminating with him becoming the murderous dream-walking thing he was today.

"People change," Isla points out easily, taking the inevitable growth with the two men in her stride as she always had done (and she let's Mateo have a lock of her hair for his little fingers for now, but that's only because he's so damned cute). "I don't expect anything from either of you, apart from the promise that we'll see each other again soon." Whatever had happened between them; whatever changes, history, tragedy and bad luck had befallen the Taliesins, that was par for the course when it came to living life. Her eyes remain on Remi even as his gaze drops, Isla giving him the time he needs to get the words out, however unintelligible they might be. And when he directs such a tired smile her way, she steps in for another hug, holding him tightly and mumbling an apology for squashing Mateo. "We'll make new memories to replace those old ones," she suggests. "It can't pretend to be me now. I'm around to kick it into touch." ISLA pray for me pray to me

walked out this morning and i wrote down this song.
i just can't remember who to send it to

Mateo, used to these sorts of embraces given how emotional his parents were, just gurgles out a demand for later attention and allows himself to be sandwiched between his father and his name-sake. "Well at least this time I'm making new memories because I chose to, and not because they've been taken." Remi points out, his arms wanting to hold Isla forever but eventually letting her go.

Guardian of the woods though he might be, Remi isn't entirely sure just how far he can push this conversation, lest he makes himself out to be the arbiter of who is allowed into the woods and who isn't.

"Can we walk you back?" He asks, nodding toward Mateo who is still desperately clutching Isla's blonde hair. Familiar enough with leaving, the boy clearly has a sixth sense about him when it comes to someone leaving, and they can both see it in the way he squirms against the medic and buries his head against her chest.

Isla can only nod in firm agreement, giving Remi a gentle squeeze and leaning up to kiss his cheek as she steps away at last. Given how long it has been and the nature of their last parting, the alchemist is not the only one who is reluctant to let go. At least there is Mateo to cuddle, and as the boy squirms and hides away, she hushes him gently and snuggles him close in her arms. "I would like that," she murmurs. "I'm a little worried about what I might run into out there, if I don't have an escort." Kissing Mateo's curls, she gestures for Remi to lead the way and rocks the babe in her arms, clearly comfortable with carrying him back to the borders between the Hollowed Grounds and the Greatwood. "And I will see you both in a couple of days, right?" ISLA pray for me pray to me

walked out this morning and i wrote down this song.
i just can't remember who to send it to

'Well, if the woods ever become properly hostile toward ascended, I'll let you know.' Remi replies with a sunny grin as they set off back toward the boundary between the Woods and the Grounds. It lingers on his mind though. Isla died once, but unlike Ronin, wasn't resurrected with the potential to become stronger than she'd ever been before. Chewing the inside of his lip, he glances at the blue-eyed-blonde cuddling his son, feeling a strange sense of foreboding. "When you were brought back...did you retain all of your abilities?"

Once upon a time he'd shared a lion shift with Isla. Now he had an entire treasure-trove of abilities he might let her choose from, if such a thing were even possible.

"I would appreciate that, thank you." Isla smiles, walking at Remi's side and not seeming to mind should he decide to take the 'scenic' route through the woods. She is quite content carrying Mateo and chatting with her friend, especially now that he seems to believe she is who she says she is. Humming softly under her breath, she only glances up again as Remi asks his question, the medic furrowing her brow. "I am still a full Ascended, if that is what you mean," she says slowly. "I have my optical upgrade from when the Voice made me into what I am, but unfortunately all of the wonderful items you made for me were lost." There's an apology in her smile, even though feasibly of course she couldn't have been expected to bring those back from the dead with her. "Why do you ask?" ISLA pray for me pray to me

walked out this morning and i wrote down this song.
i just can't remember who to send it to

Remi shrugs lightly at that, not caring much about the items. They were useful for her work, but not in terms of protection. Other than Mateo, the alchemist's protective-instincts were normally non-existent. Now though, with Isla back he felt an overwhelming need to keep her safe, even if it wasn't his place.

'Well, there is a war brewing." The alchemist replies with an awkward sort of chuckle, ruffing a hand through his curls beginning at his neck and moving forward. Remi is meant to be on the opposing side of things after all, and so it's more than a little strange to be fortifying an entire land against the ascended, while simultaneously offering anything and everything he had to keep one safe.

”Another one? Don’t people have anything better to do?” Isla wonders, sounding comparatively unperturbed about the thought of an impending war. She hasn’t been around in the Hollowed Grounds for quite long enough to have gotten the whole we-are-public-enemy-#1 message, but she believes Remi when he says one is brewing. Humming a note of quiet discontent as they stroll together, she strokes her fingers through Mateo’s curls. I wish I could say I would be a neutral party. Or refuse to fight, or whatever else might have been an option once upon a time. But the Voice is the reason I’m back...” And she owes her a debt and she’ll pay it, even if that puts her on an opposing side to Remi. ”Im a doctor though. I don’t want to harm anyone, regardless of the circumstances.” ISLA pray for me pray to me

walked out this morning and i wrote down this song.
i just can't remember who to send it to

"You would think so, and yet..." Remi shrugs. Despite all the weirdness of the world, somehow fighting still seemed to be everyone's number one priority. The Order certainly didn't help with that, but then again neither did the gods.

Nodding as they walk, understanding well the strange obligation that being brought back from the dead—or being made into a demigod—could bestow, Remi tries to swallow down the uneasy sensation that wants to ball itself in the back of his throat. "Not harm, then...but...perhaps just a faster way to flee a bad situation?" His wings perhaps. His manticore shift. His ability to pull the shadows around himself in a protective shield.

"Listen, I just don't want to see you end up inside a unicorn again, because some idiot misses you too much to let you go." He adds with a boyish grin, glancing at her over his shoulder.

"Mm, and yet," Isla agrees sadly, the medic meandering in Remi's wake and fussing absently over Mateo. He'll be able to see the cogs turning in her mind, knowing what he says to be true, and it's with a measured sort of understanding that she finally nods to him. "That sounds more than reasonable," she agrees, smiling sunnily at him and stepping up to nudge against him with her shoulder. They both know exactly what it will entail - which is why she isn't suggesting doing anything like that right now - but it feels like they are beyond that awkwardness. "That idiot is my best friend and I wouldn't have him any other way. Maybe we can talk about it more when you come to see me?" she suggests, leaning in to kiss the top of Mateo's head. "I doubt you'll be massacred for coming into the Grounds. Not with how you are now." ISLA pray for me pray to me

walked out this morning and i wrote down this song.
i just can't remember who to send it to

It isn't awkwardness that tinges Remi's cheeks, but the robust knowledge of what sharing his gifts entails. The last time he'd shared himself in that way with Isla had been right after her ascension, and there was something full-circle about the second time being after another sort of ascension. Though certainly it couldn't be with Mateo in tow. Not after how things had ended up last time, with blowjobs and feasting on luxere.

Running a hand across his eyes, Remi can only chuckle and nod. She isn't wrong, and he wouldn't have it any other way. "No, I'd hope not. I've been pretty straightforward with Wessex—she's the Queen of the Grounds again—and so far no one has told me that I'm not allowed in." That could change at almost any moment though, with how things were going. What would happen the day Remi was told he was barred from the Grounds though, especially with Isla there now, would be a dark day indeed, and the alchemist's expression suggests as much.