[SE] olly olly oxen free

we live in a world someone else imagined

Little does Remi know, but Ronin is not entirely naked in the boughs of the tree. His lower legs have become sharp and powerful talons, gripping the branches with ease, and his arms are mostly shifted to drape him in a feathery, crimson cape. Leaving only his hands and fingers available to grasp and haul his way a little higher, he sends a pulse of mental laughter down to his husband. Whatever would you do without your big ol' lion nose, he wonders, inching out along the tree to try and gracefully leap into the neighbouring one where they cross branches.

Of course, Ronin is entirely new at this having talons business, so he makes a bit of a tit of himself in the process. There's a lot of falling leaves and flailing and cursing going on above Remi's head, made all the more dramatic by the way the tree starts to shake. "Oh for fuck's sake," Ronin mutters, before the alchemist will spot the Star promptly plummeting to the ground next to him, half shifted and all.

the dark star

REMI

if you're not going to swim deep with me

It does more than he expected, and yet the sight of skin that wasn't tanned, but was instead vaguely feathery, made the manticore pause with slightly narrowed eyes.

Awwww/ Remi hums smugly. Not often you get to see falling Stars in the Greatwood. He muses, gazing down at the awkward bundle of avian and man. Now I do not know much about phoenixes... He begins, flaring his nostrils slightly as he gives Ronin's shoulder a nudge. But I am quite sure that they have the ability to fly better than that. Though I appreciate you not burning down the Woods. Remi's lip curls. There has already been far too much fire this month, and besides, it is not a very good tactic when you are trying to remain hidden. But then, Ronin was the expert, so what did he know?

get out of my waters

Coding base by Sky!

we live in a world someone else imagined

"You're such a bad winner," Ronin complains, his laughter a touch muffled and out of breath as he tries to sort limbs and feathers out from one another. Ending up rolling onto his back when he's nudged, he flails a talon at Remi in warning and narrows his eyes, huffing out a sigh. "You took a game of hide and seek and turned it into a game of kiss-chase," he informs him. "It's impossible to remain hidden when one is already found."

Rolling to sit up, one of his arms fully shifts so he can flap a gust of air at his husband, Ronin smirking and tilting his head. "But I suppose you did find me. So that means it is your turn to hide." He makes a dismissive shoo sort of gesture, as if to advise Remi to go and get himself hidden in the woods.

the dark star

REMI

the lullaby

The manticore is not at all dissuaded by the talons that scratch his way. Instead, Remi presses his nose against his husband's side, hoping that it will be cold against his skin. And if not? Well, he snuffles a bit extra to ensure that he's being absolutely as annoying as he intends. Kiss chase? He wonders, head tilted to the side. If that is at all what it sounds like..I think you are just describing me, every day, with you.

Shifting back, naked and looking far too pleased with himself, Remi salutes his husband. "Best of luck." And with that, he flees into the woods.

Where does he hide? Not the first, not the second, not even the third puddle of shadow he finds. Nestling himself against a tree which has fallen, Remi lets the darkness cast by the sun against the wood cover him, until he fades away into it altogether. With any luck, Ronin will come this way, not see him, and end up tripping and falling over him.

Like you'd get your knuckles bloody for me

Code taken from Sky who is utter perfection

we live in a world someone else imagined

Remi is absolutely being as annoying as possible, and Ronin tries to swat at him with a wing before he's shifting back and the Star is rolling into a crouch. Still, he can't help but admire his husband's form, the tilt of his head decidedly avian in a way that he probably won't comprehend for some time - and then Remi is away. And though Ronin wants to follow, he has a minute and counting, so he huffs and turns away to wait it out.

Sugar doesn't, though.

She swoops and trails after Remi, happily perching on the fallen tree he's hiding behind to regard him very happily indeed. Does she signal that she knows he's there? Absolutely not. But will her presence be an anchor point for Ronin to come looking? You know it.

"Ready or noooooot!" Ronin calls, setting off into the forest. Best of luck, his ass.

the dark star

REMI

the lullaby

Remi can do absolutely nothing about Sugar's presence. He can't even frown up at her, or the illusion will begin to softly break. So he's forced to simply look up into the tree where her pale tail drapes from a bough, flicking at the end as if she were a cat. Even if he tried to run and find another spot, he assumed the dragon would follow him.

Well. Ronin would still have to find him, and given how much into the foliage he'd already faded, it wouldn't be easy. And once found? Would he be waiting with kisses or claws? Smooches or shark-teeth? Hopefully, that was something Ronin would consider first.

Like you'd get your knuckles bloody for me

Code taken from Sky who is utter perfection

we live in a world someone else imagined

Bold of you to assume Ronin considers anything at all. The rustling of the trees and the crunch and snap of sticks in the undergrowth signals his still half-shifted presence, and soon enough he pops up in the foliage, grinning at Sugar and missing Remi entirely. "I know you know," he informs the dragon, who flicks her tail at him as well and looks somehow very smug about it too.

And then she drops off the branch and flies away into the woods, much to Ronin's annoyance. "You're a traitor," he calls, blundering after her and stepping directly into the pool of shadow that may or may not contain his husband. With a taloned foot.

the dark star

REMI

the lullaby

Remi, watching and listening to this, can't honestly say one way or the other whether Ronin steps on him intentionally. It seems like he does, especially given that his taloned-foot presses right between the alchemist's legs. "Oooooooooof." Grunting as the illusion breaks in time for Ronin to see Remi reaching for his husband's ankle to toss him off, in an instant Remi is on his side with his knees drawn up to his chest.

"There is..." Panting, Remi clenches his eyes closed. "..so much of me. Why did you have to step there." He wonders, more or less rhetorically, as the pain in his groin screams through his blood and up into the back of his throat. There it sits like a stone, making him want to vomit and choke all at the same time.

Like you'd get your knuckles bloody for me

Code taken from Sky who is utter perfection

we live in a world someone else imagined

It's all going so well when it feels like the tree fucking grabs him, Ronin screaming yelling out in a very manly way only to be thrown over the fallen trunk. He faceplants the forest floor, rolls and scrabbles up in time to watch Remi materialise, eyes fluttering wide to see what he's done. "Oh fuck - sorry--" he says, concern and laughter warring for dominance in his tone. Shifting entirely back to himself, he hops over the tree to hunker down next to Remi, wincing on his behalf.

"Would you like me to heal you?" he asks, knowing better than to reach out and try to touch Remi because he doesn't want his fucking arm bitten off, thank you very much. "I found you, by the way. That was a bold place to hide. I don't think I'd have had a chance were it not for blind luck."

the dark star

REMI

the lullaby

"Nnnnnnnngnnn." The alchemist groans in response as pain floods the back of his eyelids with sea monsters and stars. "Blind luck? What about this seems lucky to you?" It's more curt than he means, but only because of the agony vibrating through his leg muscles.

Waiving off the healing—the feeling would go away in a moment or two—Remi flops onto his back as he exhales the air pent up in his lungs. "We both found each other, but I am not sure that anyone won." He manages after a moment, letting his eyelashes crack apart slightly so that he could fix his husband with a stare. Unable to do anything but smile as the pain ebbs, Remi shoves a hand toward Ronin in the dirt, waggling his fingers in the Star's direction. "I love you, but I think we might take things too seriously to play games like this."

Like you'd get your knuckles bloody for me

Code taken from Sky who is utter perfection

we live in a world someone else imagined

"I didn't mean it like that," Ronin protests through a laugh, holding up his hands placatingly and letting out a soft sigh as he waits for Remi to come around. Then, as the alchemist's eyes peep open and the hand is waggled in his direction, Ronin deems it safe to close the distance between them. "No, I'd agree with you there. I fell out of a tree and you almost got your balls crushed."

With an ease that is quite frankly ridiculous, Ronin scoops his husband up into his arms bridal style, offering an apologetic grin. "You might be right. Shall we go back and take a swim together? If you tell me where it hurts, I might even be able to kiss it better too." As if to demonstrate, he leans in to brush his lips across Remi's in a taster of what's to come.

the dark star

REMI

the lullaby

There's a joke about wood and balls and penises, Remi is sure of it. But his mind is still too foggy to connect the dots, and so he simply allows Ronin to scoop him up. Just as he's about to offer an argument to incite more guilt from the Star, he's being kissed in such a way that everything which was tight and angry before begins to relax and warm. "Everywhere." Remi whispers back, "But if you need me to be more specific, I can narrow it down to just a few places..." Not that Remi probably ever had the ability to be coy, but carried naked in the arms of the most handsome man in all of Caido, made it absolutely impossible to be anything other than boyish and suggestive.

"You still need to attack me, remember." The alchemist points out with a bit of a muffled inhale as he presses his lips against the side of Ronin's neck.

Like you'd get your knuckles bloody for me

Code taken from Sky who is utter perfection

we live in a world someone else imagined

"Everywhere?" Ronin repeats, blue eyes widening as if this is very dire news indeed. Luckily for him, Remi is able to narrow it down a bit, Ronin shifting him in his arms and grinning, leaning in to kiss his cheek. "That will work fine," he informs him, quite looking forward to finding out which places hurt the most so he can lavish them with attention (he's got a vague idea where he might be headed, in fact).

But then Remi ruins it all with the reminder that he needs to be attacked, Ronin grumbling even as the kiss to his neck sends a shiver down his spine. He's tromping back through the undergrowth towards their place at the Stonesong, huffing out a sigh and nodding. "Fine, fine," he mumbles. "With what? Do you need me to just... punch you in the face, or...?"

the dark star

REMI

the lullaby

"Much as I like having your fingers near my mouth, it needs to be bit stronger than that." Remi remarks, shifting in Ronin's arms as branches and brambles reach out to scratch at his sides. Ronin is the only one allowed to leave marks on his skin this afternoon, thank you very much.

"I think...the magic will be a bit of a mimic. So if you hit me with your abilities, I will be able to use them. But the way Ludo phrased it...I think it has to hurt. Your healing, unless you could manage to think of me as an enemy, would not work. Same with your nimbus." Furrowing his brows, Remi considers. "Could you attack with your nimbus?" It was an interesting thought, but Remi shakes his head quickly. He could already fly, so it would seem like a bit of a waste.

'Maybe your...shooting stars, supernova, and astral projection?" That would leave much to kiss better.

Like you'd get your knuckles bloody for me

Code taken from Sky who is utter perfection