a soft place to land

"Seeds from the Oerwoud and from King's End," Vai clarifies for Remi, her voice a little muffled by his hug. He will feel the harried annoyance of a mother whose child has done something remarkably idiotic (even for them) as he embraces her, though the undercurrent of love beneath it all is as steady as it ever has been. And when he steps back to deal with the tea - Vai watches him mess with the cups with a sharp eye for a second - she moves towards Hotaru instead. Taking a seat opposite the other woman, she reaches out hands that begin to softly pulse with light. "Do you mind if I...?" She gestures to Hotaru's bump and, providing there are no objections, places her hands over it. They can speak of whatever spiderwebs they've been weaving without her - Vai has no interest besides, and it's probably better that way given that Remi is not the only stray to have worked his way beneath her wing in seasons gone by. "I can't see anything to be worried about," she says softly, after a few moments. "Congratulations, by the way." vervain well i'll rest my eyes and i'll let the earth breathe

the lullaby

And if the sky grows heavy
wrap your arms around me tight; we'll be alright

"Seeds from every land, then." Remi vows, feeling the witch's unhappy obligation in all of this. 'I love you.' He murmurs again before she parts to deal with Hotaru and Remi is left fiddling with tea cups.

"I can't not tell him." Remi replies, seeing the surprise writ clearly on Hotaru's face. "With things between Nate and I as they are...and how things are between he and Ronin...I need him to know that this has nothing to do with any of it." His reasons were utterly simple: Hotaru was pregnant, and Remi as always, was a fool. It wasn't anything more complicated than that.

Sweeping a finger across his eyes and then pouring the tea once the leaves had been appropriately steeped, the alchemist hands cups to Hotaru and Vai before returning to the corner of the kitchen. "I know I have only just arrived...but I should really go tell Ronin." He doesn't mean physically, he will stay of course, but somewhere across the world the Star is about to meet with the Flood, woefully uninformed about what has transpired.

If the ground gives way beneath us,
If we should fall to pieces
Find me where I first found you

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

I was brought up as a southern belle
I grew into the queen of hell

She concedes with a dip of her chin, though her brows lower only to furrow slightly. “Just…stay safe. Both of you.” It grates, to feel like such a burden, to put Ronin in a difficult situation when he has no idea of what has transpired. Had she known this singular event would cause such a stir, she likely would have tried to burn them personally instead. Hindsight and all that.

Hotaru’s attention is distracted by Vai’s approach, and all thoughts of Remi and regret evaporate as if they’d never been. “No - yes - of course, here.” She hurries to readjust herself to the witch’s benefit, struggling not to do something needless like holding her breath. The light that shrouds the woman’s hands descends upon her stomach, and Hotaru anxiously awaits the results. Positive ones, when they come, and her shoulders relax until she nearly curls into Vai’s front with relief. “Thank you. Thank you.” Her own hands come to replace Vai’s as they retreat. Smoothing over the taut surface as if comforting the little one inside - realistically it only comforts herself.

Distracted, she nods slightly as Remi’s words register, reluctantly lifting her gaze. “Go, tell him. There’s no time to waste. We’ll be okay.” Her smile is reassuring, though whether she means herself and Vervain or herself and the baby is unclear.

You were just a little stowaway
That stabbed her way to save herself

"My pleasure." Vai assures Hotaru with a soft smile, stepping back to let her get her breath back and come to terms with the sudden change of scenery. Glancing to Remi and murmuring her thanks as he passes her a cup of tea, she blows on it and moves to lean against the counter. "You can use my room," she tells him, nodding back through the doorway should Remi want to take his leave to put himself to sleep. "Felix usually sleeps up in the trees, when he is home. But I don't recommend that for Hotaru, so I will figure something out whilst she is staying here." Vai really ought to think about adding an extension to her cottage at this rate, the witch smiling to herself as she sips at the tea. vervain well i'll rest my eyes and i'll let the earth breathe

the lullaby

And if the sky grows heavy
wrap your arms around me tight; we'll be alright

Remi chuckles a touch at that. "We are always safe in dreams. Or rather...we are not, but at least we always wake up free of harm." The things they got up to in their dreams stayed strictly between them (most of the time, anyhow).

With a lingering look at the two, the mother who had adopted him and the woman he'd accidentally gotten pregnant, feelings of being some mischievous child return in force. The need to make this right for everyone involves makes Remi's smile pained, as he nods and turns. "I will sleep on the floor." He tells Vai. That way her bed is available should he be gone longer than expected. And, with magic to make him sleep, it wasn't though comfort was anything he desperately needed (nor perhaps deserved, just now).

"Good night."

~FIN

If the ground gives way beneath us,
If we should fall to pieces
Find me where I first found you

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!