so fragile yet so devious

"Mm, they were. I've visited it recently - it all seems to be in working order. There are still refugees present from the Halenani, though. I wonder when that will be rebuilt." Her musings are about to be completely derailed, though Isla still manages to make it a few steps away from the howling cliff's edge when Remi admits what he's done, the medic's brows furrowing together as she turns about to look at him. "You did...?" She tilts her head. The why is on the tip of her tongue, but Remi saves her from asking. And any hurt she might feel fades out with his explanation, the Ascended softening and nodding her acceptance. "I see," she murmurs. "I don't know this Gideon, but I wasn't aware that Amalia was so against us now as well..." Running her fingers back through her hair (a fruitless effort, the wind has knotted it), Isla chews at the inside of her cheek and glances over to the beach, the cliffs, the spot where the shrine might be. "I am not really involved with its reconstruction," she admits. "I imagine Nate will be, though, so you don't have to do anything. It's alright." Isla the flesh is weak

and my heart ran away with me

"Oh, right. Maeve sent a note to me about helping with that." Remi mutters, glancing out toward the sea. It seems a lifetime ago that he was governor, and though it was unfair and certainly petty to think the thoughts he was, Remi couldn't help but note how nothing burned down nor was devastated quite like things had been while under Sunjata's rule.

Remi expects nothing short of Isla's reaction. He wouldn't be surprised has she slapped him or shouted, so that all he was forced to bear was a bit of distance was a relief, despite the guilty sting of it. "Gideon is..a Priest for the Order." Remi offers with a shrug, knowing it wasn't really important. "At the time I did not think it would be possible. That the Voice would appear and put a stop to it, but...there was just electricity. I had been.." Was he even allowed to mention their times together in the past? His cheeks flush, though he continues. "..with you, a few days prior. This was the only thing other than that which made me feel anything at all. So I kept going and going, until there was no light left in the shrine."

That Nate was the one doing the rebuilding causes Remi to laugh hollowly and without amusement. "Ah good. Why not." He mutters; just another thing for Nate to hate him for.

"I am sorry though, Isla." The alchemist adds, raising his gaze. "I know what...things like that mean, in the bigger scheme of things."

remi

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

"Ah, yes. You never mentioned the Halenani's madame by name," Isla says with a small smile. "She's very pleasant, and she does seem to care about those workers. I hope you do your best to build her a very sturdy brothel." She winks. How they can oscillate between joking and hurting so quickly is beyond her, but it's a rhythm she's used to with Remi by now, and so Isla lets that thread of conversation go momentarily to hear the tale about how the shrine came to be destroyed. And she's flushing silver as well, to hear about it, tugging absently at the sleeve of her shirt. "It was Longnight," she reminds him with a gentle shrug. "As far as I am aware, no interference from gods is possible at that time. It seems that the Order chose their occasion well." Especially with almost all the Ascended fighting in the Grounds at the time. As for Nate? Isla manages a smile at that, thin as it might be. "Why would he hate you for helping to rebuild? It isn't like he knows you destroyed it..." And she certainly won't be saying anything. Still, Isla's shoulders sag a bit at his last comment, and she beckons for them to walk away from the cliffs lest they blow over the top of them. "I suppose it is difficult for me, when I have never met an Ascended as bloodthirsty as these Order members seem to be. I don't want to go to war, Remi - I've done it once, and it's ugly. I just want to be able to live my life with the people I care about." Isla the flesh is weak

and my heart ran away with me

"Mmmm, yeah. Maeve." He repeats, not surprised that he hadn't mentioned her by name. It wasn't her name they'd been speaking about when Remi had brought her up before. "Oh? What a subtle way of saying you have met her." Remi says with a playful roll of his eyes.

"Ah, right. Of course." Her words are dull with a logic that seems far away. Of course. LongNight. It's why Isla had been upset and how she'd ended up kissing him for the first time. It was why Gideon had wanted to destroy the shrine. It made sense, once it was pointed out to him.

"No, that it was me to begin with." Which, of all the things Nate had, did, and would hate Remi for, this was probably the most reasonable. Following behind Isla though not for fear of being blown over the cliffs, Remi shoves his hands in his pockets before pain forced them back out again. Smiling weakly at the back of her head, Remi looks down at his hands, fighting off the urge to pick at the blistering skin. "I do not want to argue about it." He says quietly and sadly. All told the ascended had done more damage than the Order, in Remi's opinion. But nothing he said was going to change the fact that yes, they were certainly more focused on their goals, and that yes, the looming war was a terrible thing to consider. "But I do not want to go to war either." They would though, and they both knew it. Worse still, they'd be on opposite sides such that the destruction of a shrine or a hospital would likely be the least of their concerns.

remi

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

ISLA

"I am incredibly subtle, how dare you." Isla gives an exaggerated gasp at that, though her wide grin tells that he has every right to roll his eyes at her. Very quickly, though, their talk is growing dark, and Isla pauses once they are away from the worst of the clifftops. "Does he know?" she asks quietly. "That it was you, I mean."

As for arguing about it, the medic turns, dismissing her partially shifted wings so she might cross the distance between them to slip her arms around Remi, holding him in a tight hug. "I don't want to argue about it either," she mumbles. "I'm just... very sad, that this is happening. That's all." She huffs out an unnecessary sigh, pressing her cheek against his chest.

"You'll always be my best friend, though," she mumbles. "War or no war. That won't change, I promise."

she's a runner
rebel, and a stunner

and my heart ran away with me

"Mmm. Duchess school clearly paid off." He murmurs, letting that thread of conversation slip away. "Nate? I shouldn't think so." Remi replies shaking his head. "I...do not think many do. Just those who were there. " His voice is low, his accent somewhat muted by the guilt he feels.

Isla's wings slip away, and now that it isn't quite so uncomplicated to give her back his abilities, he opens his mouth as if to object. She didn't sleep, and he didn't much either—there was more flying to be had if she wanted. But as soon as her arms are around him, anything that isn't the feel of her is utterly gone from his mind. Wrapping his arms around her and leaning his cheek against the top of her head, Remi nods, his beard likely scratching against her scalp. "I am too." He agrees wearily.

Her reassurances do wonders, and Remi finds himself relaxing into her hug. "Same goes for you. Not death, not wars, not even stupidly charming but very old boyfriends will change it." Grinning, her clutches her close, fully expecting to be hit for that.

remi

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

ISLA

"Well I certainly won't be telling him. So unless someone else does, he shouldn't hate you for it." Just the other stuff that he hates Remi for. Silver linings and all that? Either way, thoughts of Nate are soon clouded by war and violence on the horizon, and as Remi's arms fold around her Isla lets herself melt against him. She doesn't care if his beard is scratchy or if his shirt is damp from being on the cliff edge, and she smiles against his chest to hear his agreement.

And his jab about Varus, Isla squirming only to find him clutching her closer, and she barks out a laugh and gives him a gentle thump on the back for his audacity. "Does it count if he was offline for those 300 years?" she wonders. "He rarely acts his age, at least. And he doesn't creak and pop when he leans down and gets up, unlike some people."

she's a runner
rebel, and a stunner

and my heart ran away with me

"Oooooooof." Remi groans dramatically, having fully forgotten that there were plenty of places to be hit with as large as he was. "Mmmm, no, I don't think so. But who am I to judge. Age is just a number and all that. If you like them grey and old looking, so be it."

To prove her wrong, Remi tightens his grip of her as he bends his knees. His wings had been at his side the whole time, and as he flaps them down and the pair rise a few feet, he laughs mercilessly against her tangled hair. "Tell me again how cReaKy I am." He demands in a challenging voice, before letting his wing beats slow until their feet are touching the ground again.

"Now if you are quite done body-shaming me, I would be happy to walk you back to town."

remi

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

ISLA

"Yeah? I will remember this day, Remi Taliesin. I'll remember it when you get your first grey hair - or even better - when Ronin gets his," Isla informs him sweetly, tilting her head to smile up at him like butter wouldn't melt. Of course, it backfires dramatically as he lifts them off the ground with a powerful beat of his wings, Isla's grip tightening around him all over again. "Remi!" His name is wrapped around a surprised peal of laughter, Isla unable to wipe the grin off her face at his casual display of strength.

"Alright, you have proved your point," she says haughtily. "I am finished body-shaming you, as long as you have finished accusing Cal of being a cradle snatcher." Either way, she releases him enough to link arms with him instead, and they stroll off into the night back towards the dancing lights of Haulani.

~FIN

she's a runner
rebel, and a stunner