long shadows

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving Ronin is taking advantage of the dry Leafchange weather to build up the campfire on the banks of the Stonesong. And as the sun dips low beyond the horizon, their little houseboat is set merrily aglow by the dancing flames, and the scent of cooking meat and vegetables drifts through the air. The source comes from the pot that is bubbling over the fire, a hearty stew that Ronin has been doing his best not to taste-test too much. He's just finished stirring it, stepping back to smile up at the stars that are beginning to show their faces to the night. From the top of the houseboat, too, Sugar is coiled and watching the forest for any movement, be it the approach of Remi (which means dinner) or the approach of a stranger or creature (which means... dinner). "Watching won't make the time go by any quicker!" Ronin chuckles to her, to which the pale reptile offers him an indignant snort for his trouble.

are you really going to talk about timing in times like these?

What was meant to be just a quick trip into the woods to meet with Ludo had eaten up the better part of the afternoon and into the evening. For Remi it had seemed like only seconds had passed. Only when Mort had gone, had the purple of the skies and lack of sunlight dappling the ground alerted him to just how long he'd been away. With a promise to return to the spriggans that Oria might visit, the alchemist had set off, strangely not-alone for the first time in years.

Emerging through the trees like a man fighting his way out of a dream, the alchemist's eyes are unfocused and his steps are crooked. There's a haphazard smile on his lips and dirt smeared on his cheeks and knees in addition to the glitter from Ludo's crown that still decorates his curls and fingertips.

Meaning to run a hand through his curls as he so often does, his fingers brush against Oria, who links her earthen arms around one as if Remi was some carnival ride. "Oh." He mumbles. "Sorry, I didn't—" Holding her out before him, her body as long as his hand but hardly wider than two of his fingers, Remi gives her a soft and apologetic look. 'I think you will hear me apologizing often.'

remi

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving Ronin has gone back for another taste stir of the stew when Sugar trills her delight, and his companion's assertion of Remi's presence is enough to distract him from dinner. Indeed, as he turns to gaze at the darkened forest that stretches behind him, the sight of his husband has his stomach doing a happy little flop, as is always the case these days and has been for some time. "Hey!" he calls, raising his hand in a wave. Straightening up and away from the stew, instead Ronin moves to prepare a couple of chairs for them to sit and eat - they're nothing more than tree stumps really, leftovers from the work they've been doing recently, but they work. "I was worried you'd gotten lost in the woods," he continues with a chuckle; Sugar all the while swoops down to approach the Lullaby, screeching her welcome (and probably some insult about Ronin, too).

are you really going to talk about timing in times like these?

Instead of raising his hand in greeting or calling out, Remi just glances to where a fire merrily crackles and dinner is being set up with eyes that don't quite look like they understand what they're seeing. Even Sugar's trills can't quite pull his attention entirely, though Remi does tuck Oria closer to his body that the dragonling won't think his new companion is a treat for her to snap up. The spriggan climbs onto his shoulder, standing half on his ear and half in his curls while she peers up at Sugar.

'Come here—' Remi mumbles far too softly as he extends a hand toward Ronin. "Come here. Touch me. I...you need to....I have..." Struggling to find a combination of words that mean I met Mort and please you need to feel the things I do, Remi instead uselessly mutters a number of non-starters as his fingers grasp at the air before him as if that might hasten Ronin to his side.

remi

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving Sugar's confusion pulses through the bond to Ronin, and it's enough for the dragon to avoid nestling around Remi's shoulders like she wants to. Her keen eyes do notice the spriggan and its soft blue-grey glow, though, and whilst she's unsure what to make of it right now, she does pull up and circle back around to the houseboat. Ronin, in the meantime, has left the stew where it is to approach his husband the moment he is summoned. Naturally, his first instinct is to be worried, and he breaks into a jog that he might reach Remi faster. "What's happened?" he wants to know when the Lullaby is in reach, Ronin wasting no time in stepping into the other man's embrace. "What's that in your hair...?" Clasping Remi close, Ronin tries to peek up at Oria, never having seen anything like her before. "Are you alright?"

are you really going to talk about timing in times like these?

The Lullaby hasn't the words to answer, but as soon as Ronin is within arms reach, the alchemist stretches out to clasp his husband's cheek. Closing his eyes, Remi sinks into what he'll later come to think of as an ever-dwindling ability to replicate what he'd felt from Mort. For now though the emotions are as clear as they ever will be, and it's with sunshine on his tongue and laughter in his bones that he shares it with his husband.

I..was..with Mort. He whispers wordlessly, eyes still closed, his free hand reaching to wrap around Ronin's hip to draw the Huntsman closer. He...gods Ronin, the love I felt from him. The lightness. Even now what hums out from the alchemist is a shade off from what it had been with Mort. Like sunlight, still beautiful and warm, pouring through a window with a thin veil of dust.

Breathing hard, Remi gives his head a slight shake. Where he might have said more, might have poured more of what he felt when Mort's fingers were in his own, Oria, in what will swiftly become a habit, gives the alchemist's curls a strong tug to redirect his thoughts. "..mmm? Oh." Blinking his eyes open, Remi offers his husband a shaky and boyish smile, before crossing his eyes as he looks up toward his forehead where the ghostly spriggan is offering the Huntsman a charming wave.

remi

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving Ronin, of course, melts straight into his husband's embrace, and the same would be true regardless of the emotions that start to pour out from Remi. Stepping closer and letting out a shuddering breath in response to the emotions poured into him - even if it's only a shade of what once was - he reaches out to simply hold onto the alchemist, to feel his warmth both inside and out, a small and stupid little smile on his lips. "You were with Mort...?" he echoes dumbly, understanding the other man's difficulty in thinking right now. Then, as Remi's attention is tugged away and Ronin's swiftly follows, he blinks at the debonair little spriggan nestled in the Lullaby's hair. "Oh, hello," Ronin says with an automatic grin, disentangling one of his hands so he can hold out a finger for Oria to shake. "And who might you be?" A trespasser, comes Sugar's trilled opinion from atop the houseboat, but obviously that was always going to be her opinion.

are you really going to talk about timing in times like these?

mmmmmmmmm. Remi hums in agreement, or perhaps he says nothing at all and the intensity of the colours he produces with his touch merely buzzes.

Ronin's finger is of course too big, and so without hesitation, the small spriggan high-fives it instead. Her small face is certainly human-like enough that her smile should read clearly as joy as she wraps one of Remi's curls around her body like a belt. "A spriggan." The alchemist supplies, unable to see what's going on atop his head, but having a good enough idea just the same. "She was dead when Mort and I found her, surrounded by a group of her kind. Mort breathed life back into her and gave her to me, that I might remember the love that always follows death." And to keep an eye on me, he thinks, though keeps that to himself for now.

"I didn't mean to be gone so long. I had no idea so much time had passed. But gods Ronin, it was Mort." He says with a relieved smile.

remi

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving "A spriggan...?" Ronin echoes, letting out a soft laugh as his finger is high-fived, appreciating it much more than a handshake anyway. "She's adorable. Suits you," he informs the other man, leaning in to gently kiss his cheek. "Does she want some stew? I was just finishing up dinner." It's an explanation that fades on his tongue to see and feel the relief that courses throughout his husband. Remi almost feels boneless with it, and Ronin can't help but step in for another kiss, this one stolen squarely from the alchemist's lips. "What was he like?" he asks, having a ghost of an idea, but at the same time knowing nothing at all. "You seem pretty light yourself." It's a marked difference from when he goes to see Ludo, the Huntsman gently guiding them back towards the campfire.

are you really going to talk about timing in times like these?

'You know it's rude to speak like she isn't even here." Remi notes, feeling the rambunctious pulse of annoyance that flares and dies from within Oria's small mind. To that end, the spriggan considers before giving her head a shake, the movement of which causes a bit of dark blue smoke to whirl away from her tiny limbs.

'He was...like pure love.' Remi says, surprisingly not having to think long about how to describe the god of death. "I just wanted to be in his presence forever...with you." He adds quickly with a smile, melting into his husband's lips with a passion that was fueled by love rather than desire. "It is absurd to say I know, and it isn't as though I would want it anytime soon...but being immortal?" Remi frowns, though still appears to be smiling somehow. "...it seems lovely."

Glancing at Ronin to judge whether that was an absurd thing to say as he felt it was, Remi willingly drifts toward the fire and their food.

remi

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving "Oh, I am terribly sorry. I must have left my manners in the woods." Ronin - naturally - turns up the baron charm for the glowing creature in Remi's hair. "Pleased to meet you, Lady Spriggan. Or is there another name you'd like to go by? Or anything else you'd like to eat?" He carries out this string of one-sided conversation all the while winding an arm around Remi's waist as they approach the campfire. What Remi has to say of Mort is enough to quite silence the Huntsman, though - never has he heard his husband describe a god in such a way, and it's enough to stun Ronin such that when he does let go of the alchemist to sit down, he almost squashes Sugar. (Because she does want some stew, obviously). With an indignant screech and a blast of cold air that leaves his fingers numb, Ronin settles with the dragon on his lap. "That... wow." He laughs softly. "If it's good enough for you, I'll join you in a heartbeat, of course," he decides, his cheeks softly flushing to behold Remi seeming so at ease. "You make me want to meet him as well," he admits.

are you really going to talk about timing in times like these?

The alchemist feels something warming in the back of his mind, thoughts that both are his, and aren't at the same time. Beaming, only to look bashfully down at the ground, Remi sags into step with his husband and lets Oria's chatters serve as her own answer. "I think I will call her Oria, if she agrees." The alchemist mumbles, giving his head a slight shake. "It means...memory, sort of. A slang way of saying it in the travelling tongue."

Sitting down across from Ronin, Remi slows the smile that wants to overtake his lips hearing Sugar's indignation. "Are we going to have to talk about this?" He wonders to the dragongling. In his curls, Oria has found (or hidden) a tangle of clover that she now holds out for the frosty dragon as a peace offering. "No one can change the fact that you came first, you know. Or everything we have been through." He murmurs to her with an honest adoration.

'I am not keen to go just yet, but...if death is anything like what it was like being in his presence today...' Remi trails off, the brightness of his smile saying more than he ever could about what joy death might hold.

remi

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving "Oria," Ronin tries, smiling as well as he delivers scritches beneath's Sugar's chin, the dragonling reluctantly letting out a coo of enjoyment. "I think it's very pretty. As long as you don't have any objections then, Oria, then here's an official welcome to our little family. This is Sugar." And the reptile in question straightens up proudly as Remi directs his remarks at her, haughty and indignant right until the sprig of clover is waved at her. With sleek agility that proves she has been training alongside Ronin in the Dragon's Nest, she switches out the Huntsman's lap for Remi's, snuffling up at the spriggan as if trying to test whether or not she was really a part of the alchemist. (Ronin takes full advantage and gets up to serve them dinner). "Mm, we have a bit more to do here first," he says warmly, though the grin he flahses over his shoulder at Remi is teasing to say the least. "It sounds like it did you good to meet him. I don't think I have seen you like this since you were an inquisitive young alchemist in the Grounds."

are you really going to talk about timing in times like these?

It's a dangerous thing, to have a possessive dragon suddenly in your lap, snuffling up into your hair with claws resting on your thighs and chest. Even so, Remi remains still and lets both spriggan and dragon work things out for themselves. Twirling the clover in her hands (it looking much the same size an umbrella might), Oria bends at the waist before rising and stretching out the blossom toward Sugar. Trilling something in the back of her throat, Oria concludes her greeting with a series of clicks and squeaks, before clapping her hands together.

'It did.' Remi agrees, sounding confident for the first time in a while where gods were concerned. Giving his husband a good-natured roll of his eyes for his sass, Remi reaches out a hand for a bowl of stew finding himself suddenly famished. "He did mention that I mind find something interesting in Hak Etme....now if only I knew of a strong huntsman who liked adventuring and who would also be willing to sleep under the stars with me, to go along..."

remi

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)