[SE] going under

ISLA

"So how far out do we need to go before we can shift...?" Isla's voice is only a whisper even against the hush of the waves crashing against the shore. The sea is a black thing upon which the moon dances, sending the stars back up at the sky in its reflections. Already the Ascended has taken off her shoes and the rest of her clothing. It might not be necessary when it comes to actually shifting, but if they need to swim out pretty far...

Anyway. Whatever her reasoning, Isla stands before the rushing water with the moonlight bathing her skin an even paler shade, her golden hair taking a silvery sheen as it tumbles down her back. She's still a little flushed and her systems are telling her to consider a rest, but adrenaline is running high after her encounter with Remi earlier in the evening, and she flashes a fanged and girlish smile across at him.

"You first," she murmurs.

apres moi le deluge
after me comes the flood

i kept falling over, i kept looking backward

'Well that would not be very polite of me.' Remi smile is quick to appear. Despite the fact that they've literally come from the sex room, there is still a boyish flush and hasty sip of air to see Isla strip naked on the sands. Swallowing back the urge to reach out and feel the moonlight on her skin, the alchemist instead lets his wings unfurl from his shoulder blades as he reaches out for her. 'Quite far, I expect.' Sliding his hands against her back and against her thighs, taking her easily into his arms, he grins. 'This will be faster.' Not bothering to hide how eager he feels to experience this new shift—with Isla, importantly—Remi takes to the air, stopping only when the darkened water loses all trace of light signalling that they're over the maw.

'I am going to drop you from here. That way you will sink down quite far so that when you shift, you will be deep enough.' Isla didn't need to breathe, so actually, this part would be far easier for her than for him. He had the advantage of wings though, so perhaps it would all even out in the end.

i went broke believing that the simple should be hard

Table inspo from kae!

ISLA

"You are a lot of things, Remi, but impolite is not one of them," Isla agrees, the smile on her face turning a little crooked. She moves far too easily into his arms, relaxing against his chest and bracing only a little as he takes to the air. The breeze musses her curls and has her squinting a little, and with the sea reflecting the sky above it's like they're flying through a bowl of stars.

Only then there's a distinct sensation of blackness beneath them. It shouldn't be, because that's not how water works, and yet Isla feels that sense of unease nonetheless. Nodding gently, she glances up at Remi and grins. "Here's hoping I don't hit the water like a tonne of bricks," she says sweetly, leaning in to kiss his cheek. "I'm ready if you are. Drop away."

apres moi le deluge
after me comes the flood

REMI

then it went dark

Remi can feel her concern like a tangible bit of paint smeared across the back of his eyelids. "It is called the Maw. It is an underwater volcano, I am told." He whispers, though there are only stars to keep them company, presently. Pressing his lips against the side of her neck and pulsing a current of reassurance, the alchemist smiles against one of his oldest and truest friends.

And then he drops her from a considerable height, into the black waters below.

Tugging his wings tightly against himself, Remi angles himself away from where Isla will hit the water. He knows that together they will be ridiculously large, but not the specifics of it. The last thing he wants is for them to thrash on top of one another (Well.... In this context, anyway). As he slams into the surface of the ocean, rough and silent as it is, Remi can feel the bite of pressure against his bones as he rockets down into the deep. Shrugging it off easily enough, the alchemist shifts, and waits.

Extra limbs slide from his body as he grows, and grows, and grows. He's the size of a building now—a few buildings, even—and with nothing but empty ocean around there's precious little by which he can gauge just how large he's become. Familiar enough with being an octopus if not a squid, Remi gets his barings fairly quickly.

Isla?

& it rained
and rained and rained

ISLA

Remi, what...

Isla has fallen like a stone into the Maw. Not even close to a professional diver, she only sort of manages to angle herself correctly, and were she not Ascended, she'd probably be aching quite a bit by now from the impact alone. But no sooner does she find herself sinking down, and down, and down into the deep, dark cold, she engages the latent power within her, and shifts.

So it's from a considerable distance below Remi that Isla begins to emerge, a massive expanse of tentacles large enough to engulf a ship and drag it down into the nothingness. It's an alien set of instincts that inhabits her mind now, and there is nothing withheld from her bond with Remi; he'll feel her giddiness, how overwhelmed she is, how insane this all is.

This is incredible...

Reaching out with one (or several, she's not sure) new limbs, Isla prods at the presence somewhere above her.

apres moi le deluge
after me comes the flood

REMI

then it went dark

It's strange the things Remi does feel about and toward Isla that he doesn't feel about or toward Ronin. For instance, he would never feel the urge to try and brag about his shifts to Ronin, as if they were something to be coveted. But with Isla? If he could have found a clever way to say, this is why you should keep me around, he would have. But as he can't, he merely returns her giddy pulse with one of his own.

mmnnn! That's me, thank you very much. Stretching out an arm to wrap it around one of Isla's, Remi tugs upward as the rest of his arms flutter down. I have found that moving in forms like this...do not use your arms to paddle. It is more like...gaining momentum and then gliding. It was difficult to explain, was what it was, but they had all night. And day if they wanted, given how little light penetrated this deep.

I know they always say bigger is not better but...I think we have found the exception. Because gods if it didn't feel incredible to be this gargantuan. Shall we see what we are capable of?

& it rained
and rained and rained

ISLA

Is it? Well, I do apologi-- hey! Isla's mental laugh is as carefree as it gets, as a tentacle wraps around her own to tug her along a bit. Still unused to the form, her limbs flail a bit rather than moving as one, and were it not for the fact that they were in the Maw, she's got an idea that any and all wildlife would be fleeing them. Still, there's space and time galore for her to get the hang of it, as Remi says, and she listens intently before trying to corral her tentacles. (She's almost got it, she's sure).

Oh, so almost like... kicking off the side of a bank in a river and letting yourself propel along? But with more going on, obviously...

Letting herself freefall into the deep, Isla blankets all available space, or that's how it feels at least. I would love to. I bet we could travel all of Caido like this...

apres moi le deluge
after me comes the flood

REMI

then it went dark

A little, yes. Because if you— Remi flails his arms in all directions which does nothing much other than stir up the particulate in the water around them. —but all together like this— And so using his body almost like a giant tail, he slips through the darkness with ease.

We could. I have never been east of Stormbreak...I wonder what's there? To the west was the Climb and Halo, neither of which interested him. But he'd not yet been to King's End or the edges around the Ground.

It is strange...this.. Remi says of the gaping hole in the ocean floor. On the cusp of what is the top of the volcano, the kraken lets his arms linger over a part of the precipice. It makes me feel... But he isn't sure. It feels wrong somehow, to have this giant crater here, but the wrongness of it doesn't seem to have anything at all to do with the fact that it's strange. ...hollow, and ... not quite scared, but something close. Like my bones are worried.

& it rained
and rained and rained

ISLA

Oh! I think I understand... Isla says, though her joy at seeing all of Remi's tentacles go dancing and flailing around is absolute through the bond. Still, she follows suit, pumping down all of her limbs at once to go shooting through the water after him. He'll feel her elation, her sense of utter freedom and buoyancy as they dive and spin in the enormity of the Arclight; she hopes her laughter doesn't bother him too much.

Still, she quietens as they reach the very edge of the underwater volcano, Isla drifting to a halt to listen, to watch. And then she seizes a small rock (read: an enormous boulder) from the sea floor and lobs it at him with one of her arms. Come on, worry bones. We can explore that another time, let's have some fun.

apres moi le deluge
after me comes the flood

REMI

then it went dark

It's strange and slow, being struck by a boulder given the scale of the pair of them. It wetly wooshes toward him, striking him in a place that's probably near where a shoulder would normally be. One of his arms coils around the boulder as it begins to descend into the Maw; if ever anyone wondered if kraken's had the ability to glare, the answer was yes.

Oh I see. No time for broody introspection Remi. I want to have fun, Remi. Is that it? His tone betrays his words, so utterly willing to follow Isla's lead as he is. Pushing off of the Maw's edge with the boulder in hand a twist of his suction cups, Remi takes aim before lobbing it back toward Isla.

It's strangely silent, with just the two of them and the sound of water rushing around them, and so the sound of their combined mental laughter is welcome. Come on then, you have got to catch me if you ever want this shift againnnnn. Remi taunts with a twirl of his arms that sends him jettisoning away from his kraken-counterpart.

& it rained
and rained and rained

ISLA

That is exactly how it is. I'm glad you were able to catch my dri-- hey! Isla's elegant fwooshing through the water turns into a bit of hurried flailing as the boulder is lobbed back towards her. She doesn't manage to catch it in the same way as Remi, merely prodding and poking at it as it lazily sails past. Remi passes by just a moment later, too, and Isla's playful outrage is louder than the sea around them.

So she makes chase, the two enormous shapes gliding through the deep as though they weren't traversing miles in mere minutes. Catch you? I believe you are the one who always comes to visit me, she reminds him with a chuckle. Granted, that's because I tend to stay in one place, and I'm banned from everywhere you decide to be. Torchline is a first.

apres moi le deluge
after me comes the flood

REMI

then it went dark

All the more reason for you to do the work, then. Remi sings back through the depths. Maybe I would like to have flowers brought to me, just once. She is right, though. Isla could come into the Greatwood, but that would likely be pushing it on both of their sides. Maybe a drawing of a flower in a letter, then. He adds as his senses easily let him navigate the darkened depths despite the absolute lack of light that is able to penetrate as deep as they are.

Going quite still, Remi ceases the movement of his limbs that he might only be carried on his momentum alone. Unsure how his instincts work in this body, he all but holds his breath (not necessary), that Isla might unknowingly come upon him. Does he plan to tackle her? Absolutely. Will he at all be successful? Doubtful.

& it rained
and rained and rained

ISLA

Oh? I was unaware that our friendship had a price, Isla quips back as she makes chase on the alchemist in the black of the waves. I'll be sure to have some flowers for you for the next time you visit. They might be a little dried up, though, depending on when you show up. You see, you never write ahead. Her amusement bubbles along their Attuned bond, and as Remi ceases all his movement, she sends the mental equivalent of raising her eyebrows.

You know that I can tell what you're up to, she points out, her own limbs coordinating so she might propel herself quicker, hoping not to come upon him, but to glide straight past him. I don't know where we're racing, but I do know I'm going to win!

apres moi le deluge
after me comes the flood

REMI

then it went dark

Well, you wouldn't, would you? Remi rumbles in response. But that is only because I owe you so much more than you owe me. Despite the playful banter, there's something weighty and sad that coats the alchemist's mental voice. Indeed, Isla had done more for Remi than he could ever properly express. She'd been murdered by him. Had opened up things inside of himself he hadn't known existed. She'd been his best friend in more than one lifetime now. Oh I see. My bad. I will write ahead so that you can have fresh flowers for me. Feeling guilty for even having suggested it, Remi shakes his head as much as he's able (which isn't a lot). Spending time with you is better than any bouquet.

With a pulse of bright innocence, Remi eloquently mutters, Nnn? Just as Isla shoots by. Sweeping out an arm to try and grab onto her, the alchemist wriggles his body in swift pursuit. Is that so? You have already mastered this form, have you? Remi wonders, letting his mind dissolve into the will of his limbs that he might overtaken his counterpart.

& it rained
and rained and rained