(SEASONAL EVENT) Guardian (OPEN)

Isla couldn't readily say anything about the old gods or what they might think about her patron. All she knew was what she had been told, and considering the little contact she'd had with these old gods, and the pain they had caused her friends... she wasn't sold. The Voice had done nothing but offer help and kindness - even if that kindness hurt - oh god it hurt - and Isla had already made her bed, it seemed. "I would happily be the medium between you both, if that is what she allows." She nodded warmly, happy to assist especially when Remi was only trying to help as well. He blushed and she hid her laughter behind her hand, knowing all too well the implications of what exactly he had meant by that. "I am a very diligent researcher, and thorough too," she informed him haughtily, though she was of course enthralled with the way he managed to change the bowl. "Look, I didn't exactly know what I was doing or that there was a choice. Maybe I was just feeling liony." ISLA Hush now, I'm here

Remi met her haughty stare with one of schooled disbelief, before grinning at her use of the word liony. "I bet you were. Though it did make sleeping a good deal more comfortable." He added with a laugh. "I wonder if it is worth creating a roster of sorts of abilities and shifts...If the ascended are going to be crucial in getting into the Spire, would it not be better to have you all..well..with as many extras as you can?" He asked, head tilted slightly to the side. It was strange to think of the ascended's bites as just an allocation of power, especially given the side effects, but at its heart that's what it was, wasn't it? REMI Where do you go when you're right next to me?

"You know... it really did." She chuckled to him and nodded, unable to disagree with him. Her time as a lioness was actually one of her fondest memories, even with the bloody end for the Luxere they had come across. Nibbling at her bottom lip as Remi spoke about a rota, Isla leant back on her hands once more and thought deeply to herself. "That does sound useful... I wonder how many 'extras' an Ascended can keep at any one time. Like... I know I didn't permanently gain the ability to become a lion. But would I be able to get a lion, some healing magic and some fire magic at the same time, for instance?" It was a very good question indeed, and Isla laughed breathlessly as it occurred to her suddenly that she could potentially get healing magic. "Even if it does not stack... that is definitely a good idea, Remi." ISLA Hush now, I'm here

Remi's brows raised. He'd never thought about the powers stacking, but he couldn't see any reason why they wouldn't, not that he really knew anything about it. "I guess you will just have to line a bunch of us up to find out." Remi replied with a grin and boyish shrug as he took another sip of wine. "Instead of bloogbags we could be called...power givers? " He wrinkled his nose at that. Though given that the majority of his alcohols were labeled with numbers instead of names, the alchemist had never pretended to be creative when it came to nomenclature. "A firey lion who could heal." Remi said with a shake of his head. "You'd be terrifying." Pursing his lower lip slightly, the alchemist tried to properly consider the problem now. "I know that I cannot use my magic while I am shifted, for what that is worth. If powers do stack, it would probably be the same." REMI Where do you go when you're right next to me?

"Line a bunch of you up? That would be rather awkward don't you think, given the, er, effects?" Isla grinned charmingly across to her friend, though the smile became a rather girlish giggle at the name he gave to these would-be "power givers". "I don't think it'll catch on, unfortunately. We'll work together on a name, if we really do decide to make that rota. I can keep it at the Loreseeker's Guild, perhaps." A fiery, healing lion... yes, that suited Isla nicely, actually. It was unfortunate that Remi had to rain on her parade with his logic, and she sighed and nodded her agreement. It was doubtful that she'd be able to handle more than one 'extra', as she was calling it internally, at one time. "Either way, it certainly is food for thought. Oh - I didn't mean..." She drifted off into laughter again. ISLA Hush now, I'm here

Biting the inside of his cheek to keep his grin from being too immediate, Remi was forced to laugh. "Well, you might be in luck. Have you met Bastien yet? His..ahh church might be the perfect place for this sort of opportunity. At least, it would attract the sort of people who would not mind bearing witness to others under the effect." "Didn't you though..." He replied with a wry grin, shaking his head slightly. "Now that I think about it...When Sam bit me, he only took on my animal shifts as well. Neither of you pulled any magic at all. I know that magic is frowned upon by seemingly everyone ... maybe it is not the sort of thing that translates?" REMI Where do you go when you're right next to me?

Isla tried to rack her brain to figure out if she had met this Bastien in person or not, eventually shaking her head and smirking. She wasn't sure if she wanted to meet him given Remi's description, but equally it very much might be an interesting method of testing out her new abilities. Nudging Remi and snorting to him, Isla shook her head and glanced away from the fire, back to her friend. "Perhaps not," she agreed. "I suppose I will have to make sure it is a magic user I choose to bite when I next get hungry." Which hopefully wouldn't be during LongNight. "Are there many at the Rathskeller, then? It sounds like it." ISLA Hush now, I'm here

"Well, if you are ever in need of minor levitation, the ability to make grass grow, or..making things pop into existence, you know where to find me." He said with a chuckle. "Oh, and I can become a raccoon now as well, which is sure to be the height of animal-shifting experience." Remi added with a wink, playfully nudging Isla back. "Has it been long since you..." His voice trailed off slightly. As with Sam, he was uncertain of the language to use when it came to feeding and drinking; likely a holdover from how taboo it all had seemed in Northaven. "Yes, quite full. Many came with no preparations at all, but Vai and I anticipated that. We made sure to have plenty of food and wood. And, of course, wine." He said with a grin, shaking the bottle slightly to emphasize his point. REMI Where do you go when you're right next to me?

"Oh? Just those few minor miracles? Alright, I'll certainly let you know if I want a sip of your abundant and numerous powers." Isla flashed a broad, fanged grin in Remi's direction, shaking her head gently to him. And a raccoon as well? The alchemist had bloomed into something amazing in the very short time she had known him, and seeing how far he'd come warmed her to the core, truly. "Since I fed from someone?" Isla supplied for him, finding the usually candid young man at a loss for words. "It has been some time, but I have visited a Shrine in the past few days. It is my hope that I will be able to last out the darkness, though I am looking forward to having options again." It was good to hear that people were warm and fed and watered down there, Isla nodding. "If anyone is in need of medical assistance - as long as they are not drunk and loud - you know where I am." ISLA Hush now, I'm here

Remi leaned back, striking a muscular pose (or at least trying to), and nodding with a careless and haughty sort of shrug. "Well, I do what I can, you know." He said before deflating entirely with a happy chuckle. Eyeing her fangs made him shiver slightly as he relaxed again. Sam was always quick to hide the things that made him obviously an ascended, and by the time Remi saw or felt teeth, they were usually on his skin. "I meant in general." Remi clarified with a bit of a blush, though Isla's immediate and unfettered response made him feel a bit naive for having so awkwardly phrased his initial question. " I have not met many ascended, but I assume that they would have the forethought to feed early enough that they make it through the LongNight." Looking into the darkness, Remi laughed to himself a bit sadly before looking back to Isla. "The one time of the year when the sunlight is not around to hurt you ...and you cannot go out." He tsked under his breath and shook his head slightly. REMI Where do you go when you're right next to me?

"And very grateful are us mere mortals." Isla tittered, not that she could really be counted among their ilk anymore. Still, for all of her x-ray vision, she couldn't do half the things that Remi was capable of. Her keen senses noticed his shiver, no matter how subtle it might have been, and her smile grew a touch softer. "I'm sorry," she said, assuming she had unsettled him. "I forget they are there, honestly." Shifting to sit cross legged and settling her hands in her lap, Isla shook her head reassuringly as she caught his blush. "I might be an Ascended but I am still your friend, Remi. I would be happy to answer any questions you ever have, if I know them myself. It is easier than it was. Especially that night you found me in the snow. Thank you, by the way. I can't remember if I said so at the time, but... thank you very much. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come across me." Shrugging gently, she closed her eyes for a moment. "Yes, it is a little... ironic, isn't it?" ISLA Hush now, I'm here

Remi snorted in response, before his amusement slipped slightly and he shook his head. "No, it is fine. I just forget. Clearly—" He said with a grin, nudging his head towards the bowel of stew he'd brought for her. "In Northaven the bloodfiends were so obvious and seemed so different. Here though...I forget that you have changed at all." Then, with a wry smile he added, "Sometimes, anyways." The alchemist bowed his head slightly, fooling a bit foolish for any amount of hesitation he had been feeling around Isla. Of course she was still his friend; the fact that they had remained so after what had occurred later on that night only solidified it. Friendships had dissolved because of such things before, after all. "I am glad I found you too. " His smile was gentle if not slightly crooked. That night conjuring an odd assortment of emotions. "You could say that. Terrifying as well. Honestly, it is nice for things just to be quiet. It is so loud downstairs." REMI Where do you go when you're right next to me?

"It was a lovely gesture, and I could probably eat it - even if I wouldn't really feel anything towards it." Isla snorted gently as he nodded at the soup; it had been sweet of him, and honestly she didn't know what would have brought him up to the infirmary if it hadn't been the thought that she might need food. The regular kind of food, anyway. Humming in agreement about the bloodfiends of Northaven, she found herself wrinkling her nose ever so slightly. "Here, the Ascended seem more... human?" It was an odd description that she didn't quite know how to explain, but that was the only explanation she could give. As Remi bowed his head Isla reached out, giving his hand a gentle squeeze if he allowed it. "Well," she murmured, "you are welcome to stay here for as long as you like. There's no chance of it being too loud, though I do wonder if anyone knows where you have gone?" ISLA Hush now, I'm here

longnight The lonely luxere outside stopped her crunching. Something approached though nothing moved. It was darker (or was her glow perhaps softening)? Hastily she turned, a soft bellow blooming from her nose. Scratch, scratch, scratch. Did you know that the sound of a branch against the window makes precisely the same sound as a bouquet made out of the bones of children's fingers, does? LongNight is a time for learning, as much as it is a time for death.