[split] i've seen this room, i've walked this floor

and my heart ran away with me

Able to twist and contort himself in ways previously impossible, now the alchemist's strength allows for all sorts of acrobatics he'd never have considered. Drawn up by the sound of her moans, Remi leans forward, his muscles clenching and easily supporting him mid-sit-up. Reclining on one hand, the other scoops around from Hotaru's hip to cup the perfect half-sphere of her ass that he might continue to guide and assist her thrusts. It isn't as though she requires any assistance from him, and yet Remi finds he can't peel his hands off of her, nor does he want to.

At this angle not even godly strength allows him to twist his wrist away in a way that would help her climax, and so instead the alchemist focuses his efforts elsewhere. Sweat trickles from his sternum towards his navel and between his thighs as well, as Remi digs his heels into the sand. His name on her lips is a sound he thinks would make him shiver even without Frey's interference, but tangled up as he is in her, it's very nearly too much.

"Cum," Remi all but growls against her, his voice sounding feral and shaky; the fingers on her ass grow pointed and sharp, and after sipping in a hasty breath of air, he presses his tongue against one of her nipples and lets his teeth glide over the erect flesh. "Now," He adds in a voice that doesn't sound like his own. Remi's wings tighten around her as his fingers shift to find more purchase of her skin.

remi

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

How do I keep myself from fallin' apart when I ain't never felt part of a whole?

It is not unlike riding a scarcely tamed beast, such is the dark flicker in his seaglass eyes and the glint of teeth when his lips curl. His grip is huge and spanning over her skin, and her eyes very nearly roll as she rocks her hips down hard. It’s a high she can’t come down from, the attention that he gives her where she’d expected none. To be the center of his focus is a weight that presses deep in her navel, makes her thighs clench around his hips and her core kiss against his cock. It is like storms converging.

His growled command has her buckling, pinning her all the way through like an arrow through prey. Hot tongue against her breast and the dark flash of his eyes as he snarls is all she needs - her body grips tight around him, toes digging into sand and free hand flying to tangle in his curls, pressing him tight to her breast as her orgasm breaks through her. The fingers in his hair clench, hips stuttering to a grind as she convulses in his feral, clutching grip. “Remi!” It’s a cry to the paint smeared sky overhead, and instinctively she continues to work her hips even in the aftershocks, desperately needing him to join her in this bliss now that she has won. Needing the emotional satisfaction of having pleased him. “You - please, you. Cum for me.” Join her in this place above the worries of reality.

HOTARU

and my heart ran away with me

Remi is denied air as Hotaru coils her fingers into his curls, pressing his lips against her breast. It makes him dizzy, spinning in this strange reality he finds himself in, with Hotaru tangled around him and Frey moaning in his ear. The rise of her orgasm buffets against him everywhere they touch, and as she cries his name, the word is articulated in prismatic shards that scream through his veins and sparkle behind his eyes.

The words panted in the aftershock of her pleasure are a command he can't hope to deny, not breathless and bound to her as he is within Frey's influence. Besides, perhaps if he beat Frey to it, his prize might be that this encounter can be one that doesn't end in him being cursed.

As if she weighs nothing at all, Remi surges upward until he is on his knees as he had been when Hotaru had first come upon him. With shaky fingers he drapes her arms around his neck as his cheek lolls bonelessly against her own. Both of his hands form around her ass, gripping the muscle there to manipulate her hips. Shifting on the sand and stone and caring not at all for how it tears at his knees, Remi fixes his eyes on Frey as Hotaru had first instructed him to. He's using her, in a way he hopes she won't mind: pulling his hips back only to thrust them in her as if she were just a body to fuck and manipulate to suit his needs. It's hard to tell if he's fucking her, or if he's using her body to fuck himself and honestly? With Frey donning a body that looks just like his husband and with Hotaru pressed against him, he doesn't care.

When Remi cums, it's with curses panted against Hotaru's neck and fingertips that will leave bruises behind. His wings have pulled her around him, locking her against him in some strange four-arm embrace of talons and feathers. With teeth against the muscle of her shoulder, the alchemist moans as he thrusts into her for the final time. Adjusting his fingertips against her to keep their hips together, Remi watches as Frey cums as well, too lost in the madness of the moment to know what it means.

remi

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

And Frey comes last. Or at least they tie with Remi, it matters very little.

Rising from their place on the rock, they slink toward man and woman. Reaching out to untwine Hotaru's arms from about Remi's neck, they instead draw her toward them. Ever-shifting features, their blue-grey gaze fixes steadily upon her amidst the changes. "I would have thought you would have been louder." They purr, sounding playfully disappointed.

"Let's give you a voice you can really use. And some claws too, mmm?" Reaching forward in a swift and fluid motion, one of Frey's hands reaches for Hotaru's shoulder to turn her. As she spins they blend themselves into her body, morphing into the hollows left behind by her curves and slinking into the space behind her heart. Like a burst of steam through the cockles of her heart, they riot through her, burning and blistering away all that they can in a ruckus of pleasure and joy. When they are done, her soul is as clean as they can make it.

Hotaru will be left panting and forever changed, Remi will be left uncursed, and all offered peaches will be gone.

---

Hotaru has been changed into a hybrid!

Her first shift is a Mountain Lion!

How do I keep myself from fallin' apart when I ain't never felt part of a whole?

He surges beneath her like a wave, and all she can do is cling to his shoulders, fingertips sliding up his nape and into his hair as her oversensitive body is jolted in his lap. She's far from offended as he uses her to reach his own end, little hiccuping moans pushed from her lungs with each hard thrust. Remi's fierce, clutching end has her trembling in a weak orgasm that turns her joints to jelly, pressing like a lamb to slaughter into his clenching teeth and bruising fingers. It's a beautiful pain.

Thought has scarcely even begun to return to her when Frey is parting Remi's wings, drawing Hotaru's arms around their neck. Seeing the shades of blue and grey in their eyes doesn't hurt in the aftermath of such resounding orgasms and overload of skin contact, though she struggles to make sense of the deity's purring words. Still, loose-limbed and willing as she is she is turned into their embrace - and then everything is bright and thick and more inside her, words losing meaning as she is burned clean. It hurts in the same way Remi's bite did, or the clutch of his nails in her skin - pleasurable even through the sting.

And then it's over, and they are alone. Just like that.

She reaches for Remi, swaying to her knees and shuddering when his cum drips down the inside of her leg in a tantalizingly fresh reminder of their actions. "Are you okay?" is the first thought to spring to her lips, wondering if anything had been done to him as well when Frey departed, if he'd enticed them with his own prayers.

HOTARU

and my heart ran away with me

It makes sense, in a way, for Remi to be left alone so suddenly in the wake of what has just happened. This wasn't about him after all, but Hotaru. Still, he blinks stupidly against her absence, his wings crumpled by his sides as his eyes try and track the scene before him. Frey still appears to him like Ronin, and in the interrupted afterglow of his orgasm, it's strange to watch the Star coil around Hotaru only to disappear inside of her.

Trying to shove down his confusion, Remi instinctively reaches out for Hotaru as she shakily kneels at his side. As for whether or not he was okay? Running fingers that likely have bits of Hotaru buried beneath the nail through his curls, Remi tugs in a breath and exhales it upwards in a weary and rather youthful gesture of uncertainty. "Well...I can safely say that is the fastest I think I have ever had sex before." He mumbles apologetically. It was the task set out by Frey, and yet still he felt somehow guilty in treating each other as a simple means to an end. Though Remi and Hotaru might share many similarities, one of which being an unwavering need to have their needs fulfilled, Remi had never had anything close to a one-night-stand before.

"I am sorry if I—" Reaching forward his fingers to brush her hair away from her shoulder, he could indeed see the marks he'd left there. Wincing to see her otherwise perfect skin marred, Remi tilts his head ruefully to the side as he steals another slow breath. "I..." Only have sex with demigods and ascended, neither of whom feel pain in quite the same way others do? Tend to lose myself and become a monster? All of the above? "..am so sorry. Are you alright?"

remi

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

How do I keep myself from fallin' apart when I ain't never felt part of a whole?

He has reverted back to a boyish charm, a far cry from the feral man he’d been moments before. Ru finds she enjoys both sides. Laughter tumbles bright and forgiving off her tongue at his apologetic tone, reaching to grab the hand that had moved her hair aside to reveal the mark he’d left. “Theres no need to apologize; I enjoyed it. And I’ll wear the reminder proudly.” Trying to push back the worry and doubt that curls his golden shoulders inward. For all her appearance may suggest otherwise, Hotaru is not frail, but his consideration of her is a warm blanket over her skin.

“You were perfect, and I’m just fine,” Ru assures in a softer tone, and hopes he can feel the satisfaction that hums beneath her skin where it touches his. No trace of regrets to be found. In fact there is a deep, glowing, desperate appreciation to have experienced this. To have been touched and held, seen and understood, and driven to such a pleasureful end. Even her persistent grief feels far away now. “Not so scary this time? You seem to have your emotions in tact.” The crinkle of amusement at the corners of her eyes is fond as she shuffles back to his side, ignoring the stickiness of their bodies for a moment to ensure Remi is okay - mentally, if not physically.

HOTARU

and my heart ran away with me

"I strangely feel the need to apologize even so." Remi replies with a clumsy shrug of his shoulders. Fitting his fingers around hers, he shakes his head, glancing briefly toward the rock where Frey had been reclining, before turning back to Hotaru. The want to justify his actions somehow, to defend the fact that despite being gay, he really was much better of a sexual partner than this, weighed heavily on his tongue.

'That is true. It seems that...everything is as it was." Pausing, Remi looks up and furrows his brow dramatically as he feigns searching his memories. "I remember my name—Ricky—and you of course are Lucy, and we live here in this wonderful paradise where nothing bad ever happens." Grinning crookedly, Remi can only pull in a breath, finding it strangely endearing that despite having just had sex with Hotaru, that he still felt awkward in considering whether or not he should put his arm around her. It felt far too familiar, despite what they'd just done and accomplished together.

"So...did it work? I only saw Frey disappear inside of you. Are you...?" His eyes slip down from hers, before his cheeks flush with colour and rise again, as if looking at her naked body was somehow less appropriate than it had been before.

remi

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

How do I keep myself from fallin' apart when I ain't never felt part of a whole?

“You did everything and more that you could have for me,” she assures, voice firm and more forbidding than before as she sidles closer to press their thighs together, matching green irises meeting. “In more than sex. I should be the one apologizing, for having dragged you into it even if you consented.” When he’d told her of his sexuality moments before. Her own purely physical attraction to him should not have overshadowed that, Frey’s influence or not - or at least that’s how she feels.

It’s a burden lightened by his joking, though her eyes widen a fraction with doubt as her heart stutters before it is released by his crooked smile. A gust of breath leaves her moments before her laughter, nudging at his shoulder as if to rock him sideways. “Gods, I shouldn’t have let that get to me for even a moment, but with Caido you never know.” Relief washes over the sharp edges inside all the same, grateful he’d had a (somewhat, arguably) positive experience with Frey because of her.

Squeezing his hand as if to tell him she won’t go far, Ru releases him with a tremulous smile that reveals her nerves. “One way to find out.” Reaching for that new thread inside her left by Frey, she plucks - pulls - a harmony resonates inside and then -

She is transformed. A majestic gold and russet cat, with pale green eyes that blink in adjustment to animal sharpness. Long tail sways, and she butts her head against Remi’s shoulder immediately like a needy housecat.

HOTARU

and my heart ran away with me

It's the golden reassurance that flows so easily from her that finally breaks through Remi's hesitation. Wrapping an arm around her that he might tug her close, Remi closes his eyes for a moment, enjoying the simply happiness he can feel radiating from her. Anguish and despair, rage and the hollowness left by death all remain to be sure. An orgasm-race, even with a god, cannot fix those things. But her seas feel calmer to him, if only for the moment.

Watching with an expectant and curious gaze, Remi releases Ru's hand, softly watching as she moves away. That her features become instantly feline doesn't surprise him at all, and though a mountain lion is a terrifying creature to behold, the alchemist finds himself chuckling in the wake of her transformation. "I might have guessed."

And then, because this would be knew to her as well, the alchemist coyly narrows his eyes. You will be able to do this too. He hums into her mind; Remi's voice is far more thickly accented than it normally is, occasionally becoming incomprehensible with the speed of his thoughts.

remi

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

How do I keep myself from fallin' apart when I ain't never felt part of a whole?

Being embraced is the best form of forgiveness she can fathom, though she hopes that’s what it is. He smells of salt and sweat, and she tilts the bridge of her nose against the jut of his collarbone and sinks into his touch peacefully. It’s perhaps the strangest start to a friendship in her history. She likes it.

There is no trepidation to be found in his face when she changes; he is far more powerful an animal than she even in human flesh. Then there is only a dazzled surprise when his mind touches hers, an entirely new experience that she revels in. Reaching for him mentally is agonizingly close to how Atlas used to feel to her, but in that way it is at least familiar. I can feel you, is the wondrous, instinctive response. Not nearly so well as he could she’s sure, but the ghostlike hint of Remi’s emotions are there, tied into accented words.

A sudden sense of companionship drowns her, and she changes back so that she can reach for his face with human hands instead, seeking to cup against his cheeks as she smiles. “Thank you. Thank you, Remi.” For being the key to unlock this part of her. For holding her in her storm. For simply being here. “Ludo may not grant me Atlas back, but you are enough of a gift from their realm.” Not a monster or even an unwilling puppet in death’s shadows. Merely a man capable of terrible, human things. Exactly as she is.

HOTARU

and my heart ran away with me

Remi nods, feeling the golden weight of Hotaru's presence slip down the tether that binds their minds. He opens himself to her, most of himself anyway, that she might poke and prod and experience what it is to meander her way through the attuned bond. I am sure you will have no trouble blocking away things you would prefer to keep hidden. The bond allows you to be as open—or closed—as you wish. He explains, and, like shutter doors closing, for a moment all Hotaru will be able to feel of him is a sense of boyish mischief as he bars her from every emotion save that one.

Shifting, smooth fur becoming pale and long as her human features take shape, Remi tilts his head slightly in her hands. 'I would say any time, but..' She'll feel the way his cheeks plump against her palm as he chuckles under his breath. "..I would rather not tempt fate with Frey, if I can avoid it." Peering into her eyes, noting the variances in colour he can see there reflecting the sunset that darkens the world around them, Remi seems to soften with sadness, though he smiles remains in place. "You clearly have not been spoiled enough in your life if you consider me a gift in any situation." He says, resisting the urge to roll his eyes, and instead placing one of his hands over hers.

'You deserve so much more than a man who is just shy more than a stranger being here with you." Then, crinkling his nose with mirth he adds: "Though I suppose if you have to have the fastest sex of your life, better it be with someone easy to walk away from."

remi

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

How do I keep myself from fallin' apart when I ain't never felt part of a whole?

It is like he slips his fingers between pages in a cracked book to open it wide, glimpses shifting to words that are readily translated. She basks and prods at the emotions around her, incapable of describing how she knows them but feeling them like a second skin. Ultimately someone else’s, but brushing against her own mind all the same. He will sense a flicker of abject relief at such assurances, moments before her own side of the bond tempers slightly in its overshare - as if it matters when moments later she is human anew and reaching to touch him once more. It’s easy, and she doesn’t know why. Certainly no romantic inclinations come to mind; perhaps it’s their similar life stories, or merely this awkward but fulfilling moment they’ve shared.

“And I would not give you another gift-wrapped crisis,” she teases, pinching gently the swell of his smiling cheek, smoothing over the area with her thumb when she releases it. The motion stutters when he softens, and her hands fall in natural cascade to his shoulders; averting her eyes only leads to a soft pinkening of her own cheeks at the unintentional glimpse of his body, but it’s easier than facing what he has to say visually. The combination of his sincerity and ethereal looks are too much for her, drunk in skin contact and Attunement alike.

“You are a stranger to me only in time it feels,” is her tentative admission. His hand is warm where it lays over hers, concealing it entirely. “Like looking in a mirror. I would not call myself a gift either.” To anyone. Though they both are perhaps seeing only the gold that holds the cracks together, kintsugi in human form, and overlooking the raw edges that they both feel internally. Hotaru is accustomed to people only appreciating the surface, but for once she doesn’t wish to intentionally hide that ugliness. “Though I admit I have only been spoiled by myself.” A sad truth she hopes he won’t read into too much.

Remi’s mirth earns him a pull of the earlobe with the hand his does not hold captive this time, find exasperation painting her face. “You’ll not be rid of me that easily now. Someone has to be a burr in your bosom to convince you of your questionable status as a gift.” A way of extending her hand across the metaphorical gap. They have missed a few steps on the path to a normal friendship, but that won’t stop her from trying. She certainly has nothing to lose - Deimos too certain a guarantee, and everything beyond him is ash.

HOTARU

and my heart ran away with me

Only Vai ever pinches his cheeks, and the alchemist finds something incredibly endearing and reassuring in the gesture even if it escapes his mind as to the reason behind it. "You say gift-wrapped, and yet..." With a rather roguish half-smile, Remi glances down at their naked bodies, and then to the pile of Hotaru's clothes scattered somewhere on the rocks. Crinkling his nose as his gaze returns to her, the alchemist purses his lips ever so slightly as if with disappointment over the utter lack of wrapping.

Snorting under his breath at that, Remi shrugs against her, finding it strange how utterly unbothered he was by the press of her body against his. "Better to spoil yourself and avoid being smited by a god than to be lavished but struck down." Though perhaps to think that way betrayed Remi's own thoughts on his value and how the world should treat him. Avoiding pain and curses was a very different mindset to seeking out pleasures after all.

"mmmm." Remi grumbles as his ear is tugged at. His cheek instinctively falls to his shoulder as if he might capture her fingers as punishment. "Oh?" Giving her a wry glance that deepens the laugh lines around his eyes, the alchemist tugs her closer and softly presses his lips against the golden part of her hair. "Convenient then that you know where to find me in the Greatwood," You know, since they did that PQ that I need to finish omg. "as I doubt you will be able to seek me out in Stormbreak." That was another hard truth. But then, perhaps Hotaru would go the way he had and would one day find herself with wings and powers like he did, and stigmas and biases forgotten.

remi

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)