[SE] hark the heralds

RONIN

"I meant the secret Northaven lover thing," Ronin quips, his laughter equally as gleeful. "Though a badly fitting dragon costume might be an idea. I could never dress as a knight though - I remember our wedding night, and all the trouble those buckles gave you," he remarks, wiggling his eyebrows. Dream sex can come after real wine, and Ronin is happy to be the fountain from which said wine pours.

"As a waterfall, I can only agree with that description," Ronin shoots back; being hard and heavy is hardly an insult coming from Remi, of course. "And yes, I really have," he adds, weighing up the options of continuing to drown his husband in wine but deciding that their boundaries don't need that kind of testing.

Lifting the flask back when Remi indicates, it still doesn't stop the Huntsman from leaning in to taste said wine from his lover's lips. "It always seems sweeter this way."

soft spoken with a broken jaw
we step outside, but not to brawl

the lullaby

i don't want the world to see me,
because I don't think they'd understand

Though the alchemist wants to offer a rebuttal to that, he finds himself unable to do anything more than roll his eyes and lean across to press his lips against Ronin's. "I had to keep my hands to myself the whole time we were together before the ceremony and after when you forced me to mingle." He reminds the Huntsman. "By the time we got back home I can't say I had more than a shred of sense left, for want of you."

Pleased that his murmurs are acknowledged and that he won't be forced into becoming a krakken lest he drowns in wine (not that he'd have minded either way, actually), the alchemist hums his approval as the wine is taken away and replaced with kisses. Does it? Remi wonders soundlessly, his tongue too focused on the kiss he's deepening rather than articulating words. Small plumes of heat rise in his belly, though nothing strong enough to drag his blood south no matter how much his mind might be considering it.

"It's silly, but..." Pressing his nose against Ronin's, Remi smiles a touch shyly even though his hands are wandering without remorse over his husband's naked body. "..I think I would like to stay in the real world with you. Just a while longer." Because other than the ability to give himself an erection, there was nothing that the dreamworld had just now that this moment didn't already.

when everything's meant to be broken,
i just want you to know who I am

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

RONIN

"Mm, it was fun watching you be social though," Ronin says with a smile that's half cut off by the other man's lips. "And we were so drunk by the time we got home, I'm surprised either of us managed to perform." It's a blessing, actually, that he remembers as much of their wedding night as he does, and Ronin relaxes into the shameless touches dancing over his body.

Haphazardly the screws the top back onto the flask and sets it down to continue to warm the sheets, something that they're doing quite well themselves by now. Mm, it does. It's probably that summer rain taste you add to it, he murmurs with a mental chuckle, his fingers drifting down across Remi's chest and torso, even as he finally collapses once more into the pillows.

"I think I'd like that too. Good idea." Ronin agrees without much needing to think about it, and he's already looping hs arms around Remi such that he can sneakily try to braid the back of his curls. "If we stay here long enough we might get snowed in," he says suddenly, nodding at the window where the blizzard has turned the world a solid white.

soft spoken with a broken jaw
we step outside, but not to brawl

the lullaby

i don't want the world to see me,
because I don't think they'd understand

'A true wedding miracle.' Remi agrees, and were they each to take a quiz, the Huntsman would surely receive the higher score regarding the antics of that night. Using his fingertips to chase away the lingering tension in his husband's lower back, the alchemist pulses a brief interlude of emotions that consist mostly of awe and appreciation that they have weathered so much such that the details of their own wedding night have grown hazy. Or perhaps the alchemist was merely growing senile.

'Is this your way of telling me I need a haircut?' Remi wonders lazily, feeling the familiar tri-stranded tug that often accompanied long bouts of silence from Oria when she was growing bored of him and decided to braid his hair. 'Oh?' Without looking toward the window, Remi gazes warmly at his husband's profile, imagining that he could see the falling snow in the reflection of Ronin's eyes. 'Stuck inside this little boat with only wine, cheese, and each other. How will we survive." Grinning, Remi raises a brow, about to say something more about personality quizzes they could do, when there came a dull thud against the hull of the boat.

And then another. And another.

when everything's meant to be broken,
i just want you to know who I am

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

RONIN

"The real miracle was those dick fireworks," Ronin says with a smile that's equal parts nostalgic and devilish, not that it had overshadowed the real antics of the night. It's true that Ronin probably only has a better recollection of their time because he was the one who carried Remi home and then had to wait until the other man figured how to get his clothes off, but either way, it's a time he remembers very fondly indeed.

"Absolutely not. This is my way of telling you that I love you so much that I always want to be fussing over you even when you're not wearing anything," he informs Remi with a surprising amount of sincerity, letting his head loll against the Lullaby when he's done examining their white-out. "I have no ide--" he begins, cut off by the thumps against their hull.

Quite without conscious permission, a growl rises low and feral from deep within Ronin's chest, and he all but prowls out of bed so he can investigate where the noise is coming from. "Something in the Stonesong?" he guesses, a speckling of dark scales already snaking down the length of his spine.

soft spoken with a broken jaw
we step outside, but not to brawl

the lullaby

i don't want the world to see me,
because I don't think they'd understand

"I think I've seen the monkeys in Torchline do something similar." He quips with a broad smile, only for the mood to be abruptly shifted by the sudden noise outside.

Pushing himself onto his elbows, Remi's attention is torn between his husband's naked backside, flecked with scales and rocky with muscle, and whatever it is thudding against their home. "Sounds like." Remi agrees in a low voice, and though the heat in his belly has started to blaze, it is for a slightly different reason now. Rising out of bed as well, Remi steps lightly as he make his way across the floor toward the door. He doesn't bother with clothes, but instead cocks his head, listening intently as feathers curl down his spine in a pattern that mirrors Ronin's. Wings itch from his shoulder blades as he turns his head back toward the Huntsman, and points down beneath their feet.

Through the hull of the ship and up through the floorboards comes a frenetic vibration, as if from something—or many somethings—flailing. Outside thunder booms ominously.

when everything's meant to be broken,
i just want you to know who I am

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

RONIN

Ronin forgoes clothes as well - honestly at this point he's forgotten he ought to really be wearing them. Both hands and feet are tipped with claws as he crouches lower towards the floorboards, and though the predator in him is keen to rip through them and find what's causing a problem beneath, he reminds himself that this is their home. "Thunder...?" he echoes, unsure what to expect from thunder in a blizzard.

Slowly he straightens up to peer out of the windows, reaching out to slide one open in case it offers the sound more clarity. "I can go down and see," he suggests, even if down means plunging into the freezing water to investigate. Either the phoenix in him will keep him warm, or it will make him even more vulnerable to the cold. Either way, he's willing to find out.

soft spoken with a broken jaw
we step outside, but not to brawl

the lullaby

i don't want the world to see me,
because I don't think they'd understand

Remi narrows in his eyes in response to the purr of thunder outside. While it's true that this is the first prolonged stay during Deepfrost that either of them have ever had, still the alchemist is fairly sure that these types of storms are not common.

"No, let me." Remi offers, if only because he can leave the boat without having to open doors. Closing his eyes the alchemist's form begins to waver slightly and become less corporeal. His face darkens until the point his eyes can no longer be seen, and it's at that point that he dips through the floorboards and the hull and out into the freezing water below.

For a moment there's silence. It's a good thing that as a wraith Remi has no physical form, because the sounds of flailing and slapping against the hull are suddenly all-encompassing, as the whatever—or whatevers— below seem to panic at his presence.

It is fine. Remi thinks toward his husband. But I will need your help with this. This being a pod of encantados on their way toward the sea, trapped in a fishing net which had become tangled against the anchor holding the houseboat in place. Above the storm, caused by the flailing creatures, rumbled and broiled furiousily.

when everything's meant to be broken,
i just want you to know who I am

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

RONIN

Ronin is halfway to the window when Remi suggests that he let him go instead, and the Huntsman carefully lowers himself back into a crouch on the deck of their houseboat, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. "Alright," he mutters, watching carefully as Remi disappears down through the floorboards. More scales skitter down his back and along his neck and shoulders at the sudden flailing panic, and Ronin is halfway to his feet when his husband's voice fills his mind.

Oh, I see, he murmurs as the situation becomes clear. Hold on, I will be right there. And he is, though it isn't really Ronin of course. His astral projection doesn't need to breathe and it doesn't feel the cold, so it's a perfect candidate for the job. Plunging into the ice, it makes for the tangled net with the intention of forcefully tearing it open.

soft spoken with a broken jaw
we step outside, but not to brawl

the lullaby

i don't want the world to see me,
because I don't think they'd understand

Below the water, Remi is an abomination. He's shifted as far as he can go without tapping into the kraken's impossible size such that he has both arms, legs, and tentacles. Unable to shift his lungs without shifting more or less everything else, he is still holding his breath but luckily the rubbery cast to his skin will keep him warm. I knew that they swam in the Stonesong, but...I never expected this. The monster that was Remi Taliesin comments as he holds himself to the hull of the ship with two tentacles and helps untangle the pod with the others.

The encantados thrash and flail sensing the predatory natures of the two "men" currently in their vicinity regardless of how they try to help. Surely none of the fae would be so careless as to leave their nets in the water, or to let a pod get caught up in one. He adds darkly, implying that it was an outsider who had likely bound up the dolphins and ruined the Taliesin's naptime.

when everything's meant to be broken,
i just want you to know who I am

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

RONIN

Especially not in the middle of Deepfrost... The storm high above, at least, isn't something that Ronin can really comprehend from down in the depths, though his other self is frowning from on board their houseboat. The encantados panicking do nothing for the dragon in Ronin other than entice it further, and it's with sharp, pointed teeth that he snarls beneath the water at them.

Continuing to tear at the net, Ronin reaches in at last to try and wrestle the first dolphin out so it can continue its journey down the Stonesong. Maybe someone thought they would make a good meal, but the pod escaped. Or they didn't expect one to be travelling this late in the season... Casting a sidelong glance at his monstrous husband, Ronin's smile is nothing short of wicked. How are you holding up?

soft spoken with a broken jaw
we step outside, but not to brawl

the lullaby

i don't want the world to see me,
because I don't think they'd understand

Well, not being able to breathe is a good enough distraction to keep me from losing control. He murmurs, and with that is forced to surface. Above the water there is precious little to suggest what is happening below save for the violence of the skies and the winds which are rapidly picking up. Gritting his teeth Remi dives back down. We need to hurry. If they keep this up, the storms they have called down are going devastate the trees.

With so much snow on the boughs already, the increased wind was liable to tear the already-heavy branches down. What if I just reach through and...hold them still. Remi wonders, only half-joking.

when everything's meant to be broken,
i just want you to know who I am

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

RONIN

That's good to know. I'd quite like you to be able to breathe, though, Ronin says with a mental pulse of relief to see Remi surfacing for a couple of seconds. It turns quite quickly into a rumble of discontent, of course, to hear that the encantados are still causing havoc. Holding them still won't just make them panic more? he asks, eventually losing patience with the panicking creatures and promptly switching places with himself.

Now Ronin is in the freezing cold and having to hold his breath, but it also means he's free to unleash more of his partial shift. With hands and arms rapidly becoming razor sharp dragon talons, he shreds the net and takes a fierce swipe at one of the encantados towards the back of the pod, that they might lead the panic forward.

soft spoken with a broken jaw
we step outside, but not to brawl

the lullaby

i don't want the world to see me,
because I don't think they'd understand

It might, but it might also make it easier for you to cut through. Remi replies with a mental shrug. Part of him wants to wrap his tentacles around the pink creatures if only to help satisfy the predatory urges snarling in the back of his mind at seeing creatures so absolutely helpless bound so nearby. He wants to press his teeth into their rubbery skin and taint the Stonestong cool blue waters purple with their blood. And, as previously mentioned, it wasn't even as though he could take deep breathes to keep himself in check.

Holding the net as best he can as Ronin swaps places with himself, Remi's tentacles shift and adjust as claws slice through the netting with more or less success. If the dolphins are wounded in the process, surely it is still better than slowly drowning against the hull of a ship?

when everything's meant to be broken,
i just want you to know who I am

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!