Dirty tissues, trust issues

Naked arms, his secrets still like songs I never learned Remi was making his rounds in the Rathskeller. It was really all he had to do at this point. Isla was taken care of (every now and then he'd look at the dark stone in his pocket to ensure that it was still green), Ronin was...well, awful, but at least he was eating (a bit), and Aoife was being taken care of. Vai looked tired, but cheerful all things considered. And then there was Sam... The alchemist sighed, itching his forehead against his shoulder as he continued on, picking up bottles, clearing dinner bowls and generally trying to inch back towards some semblance of order in the Rathskeller. Given how many were simply milling about it was all but impossible, but it gave Remi's addled and jagged mind something to focus on. Something that didn't revolve around the gaping hole in his heart that he could now feel with pinpoint accuracy. "Hallo again." Remi said with a surprising amount of cheer and melody in his strangely accented voice, for the bags that weighed heavily beneath his eyes and the way his shoulders sagged. He smiled brightly at Seiji, pale eyes glancing down at the cup before him with a questioning sort of glance. "Can I get you something else? More..." Looking into the cup, he narrowed his eyes slightly. Tea, was it? Honestly, there were so many smells it was hard to discern much of anything anymore.

Seiji

Seiji has found some measure of peace now. Not confidence — he still glances toward the windows and doors frequently — but peace. The days all blend together, but he thinks they have been together here for a while. Perhaps several days. So Longnight will end, must end, soon. If he thinks of that, of how much time has passed already, he feels better. He is fine. He is fine. He holds a mug between his palms, hands resting on the table before him, eyes moving curiously around the room. An amazing amount of things have happened thus far — death, life, frenzy, quiet. Seiji is reflecting on them when movement piques his attention, and he glances up into a familiar face. “Remi,” he says, smiling. Relatively certain he has the name right. The man is somehow… dimmer than Seiji recalls. Though perhaps that was only because their first meeting occurred out in the cold, in the light of the luxere’s glowing antlers. And this second meeting occurs in the confines of darkness. “Tea,” Seiji says. He isn’t sure of the blend, but it is pleasant. Perhaps a little darker than what he’s used to. He has managed to avoid the more tempermental beverages here, though maybe getting drunk and forgetting everything is a better survival strategy. “Thank you.” If Remi steps away immediately, Seiji will wait until he returns to speak to him again, but he is curious as to the other man’s wellbeing. And happy to see a familiar face. “Longnight is well named,” with a bit of a wry smile. “I am glad we’re both safe. Is there anything you need?” as a child I mostly spoke inside my head had conversations with the clouds, the dogs, the dead

Naked arms, his secrets still like songs I never learned Conveniently though, Remi does not need to step away. A kettle sat in the fire suddenly floats over. It is actually much easier to use magic for this, so that he doesn't have to worry about burning his fingers as he has done so many times in the past. A small topiary of herbs appears as well, and those in Seiji's cup are pulled up and out. The combination of earth magic and telekensis makes this all too easy for the alchemist, who then tosses them into the flames. The new tea is rolled into tight balls that expand like seaweed once the hot water hits them. There is also a rather sweet herb that Remi has added as well, one that he had not found naturally occurring here in the bubble, but that he someone managed to bring from home. "Mmmmm." Remi agrees with a musical hum. "That it is." As Seiji mentions being safe the alchemist glances towards the locked door with a weary and nervous sort of respect, before nodding. However the musician's question suddenly seems odd, and Remi turns his gaze back towards him with a crooked sort of smile forming on his lips. Not how are you, or can you believe all the peopel who have died, but Is there anything you need. Perhaps it is because he has been around Sam for so long, Sam who always seems to be the one in need, that Remi is momentarily stunned by the question. "Ahh—" He says flashing Seiji a boyish smile as he shrugs his shoulders with a grin. "A way to turn back time, perhaps?" The alchemist chuckles. He's only mostly joking.

Seiji

Seiji watches with obvious surprise, and then delight, as Remi’s magic works on the tea. Their first meeting had been surprise enough, but it seems the man is full of many more. “An impressive trick!” Seiji tells him with a smile. “Thank you.” He doesn’t miss Remi’s quick glance at the door, but he feels it best to let the moment pass. He knows, of course, neither of them are safe — not with human fingers in the room still able to undo locks. Not with the memory of Celosia’s death dark in all their minds. But they are warm, and fed, and they do have walls around them. Seiji finds it best to dwell on these things, rather than gives his thoughts over to the dark. He studies Remi quietly, curiously, until the man speaks. Remi seems surprised by the question, which to Seiji had seemed only a polite thing to ask. None of them can be well on such a night as this. Remi’s answer implies deeper trouble than the situation surrounding them, though. Seiji’s brows lift slightly, but his expression fails to convey the depth of his surprise. Had something happened? Something — something aside from everything else? Or was it despair in the face of their current situation? Seiji shakes his head. “If I could change the past, I would not be here,” he says honestly. He doesn’t quite know how to ask a relative stranger such a personal question, but he wants to know what troubles Remi. “At least Longnight will not last forever,” he says. “Is it troubling you?” And how could it not be? It troubles them all. He sets the question out between them, though, hoping his genuine concern makes it less foolish than it feels. Meanwhile, he lifts his mug to take a sip. as a child I mostly spoke inside my head had conversations with the clouds, the dogs, the dead

Naked arms, his secrets still like songs I never learned The alchemist smiles shyly at the compliment. Magic still feels like something he should not have ... people like him never did, afterall. Not back in Northaven anyways. Though they were certainly not there any longer (as evidenced by the fact that they were being holed up inside because of monsters attacking), Remi couldn't shake the feeling. Perhaps one day he would, though he doubted it. Remi's head tilts slightly as Seiji answers his question. "You do not think so?" He inquires, a slight break in his smile. "Do you mean you would turn back time and leave? Or you mean to say you would never have ended up here in the first place?" Remi has all but resigned hope that he will ever find his way back to Northaven. But then again, there is nothing for him really to go back to. This world is full of monsters and things that would kill him without thought, but Northaven was like that too. At least here the monsters have the decency to look as though they should, rather than well-dressed aristocrats. "That is true. It will end eventually." Remi agrees with a low hum. He thinks of what happened with Sam..his reaction to what Remi had done to protect Isla, and sighs. "I would like to blame it on LongNight...to say that it is being kept indoors, or the monsters outside. But really, I suppose it comes down to the choices I make, and what to do or think when others disagree with them." During this little speech, Remi's gaze had drifted down towards Seiji's fingers and the dark colour of his tea. Blinking slowly, he pulled his eyes back up with an apologetic and bashful sort of smile.

Seiji

He probably should not have mentioned it. A moment of unguarded honesty — and Remi picks up on it immediately. “Do you mean you would turn back time and leave?” Seiji shakes his head, a bit ruefully. “I think I would avoid coming here,” he says simply. He has thus far done his best to avoid voicing his discontent, though if any time is appropriate for it, Longnight is probably that time. Still, Seiji’s troubles are less than those of many others tonight. He won’t say any more about it unless pushed. Seiji blinks curiously at Remi as he continues to speak, but the words themselves are evasive. Barely even a hint of a true answer. It must be private, then. Seiji nods, cautiously. “That can be difficult,” he agrees. He thinks, what they really need is a distraction. Something pleasant. Surely they had means of passing time back home, if only he could remember them. “Hmm,” Seiji intones, his eyes skating across the table. “I wish I had brought something to share — to pass time. I think, where I came from, we had…” He gestures a little helplessly, caught on the edge of a memory. Like tasting half a word on the tip of his tongue. “Games?” He frowns, and rises from his chair. “Games you play on a surface…” Still frowning, he casts about, in search of small items they might be able to use as pieces. It should be relatively simple, he thinks. Easy enough to explain. He's so close, after all. as a child I mostly spoke inside my head had conversations with the clouds, the dogs, the dead

Naked arms, his secrets still like songs I never learned "Do you think you could? Did you ... come here intentionally, then?" Not one for assumptions, the alchemist's brow creases slightly as his head tilts. Everyone that he has spoken to just...found themselves here. Even with the ability to turn back time Remi is inclined to think he'd simply be snatched up again. Though really, without knowing why or how they were brought here, that was a rather baseless thought. "I was recently told that I am a good deal more reckless and ignorant than I previously thought myself to be." Remi replied, humour creasing his youthful face as he gave a wry laugh. Self-abasement comes so easily to him. "I am starting to think that perhaps they are right." He concludes with a buoyant and boyish shrug. "Oh? What do you need for this game?" The alchemist asks, pale eyes shiny with intrigue. "I can...make things, if you need." He adds, still shy about his magic. Though he still does not like to flaunt it, if it helps pass the time, he will happily oblige.

Seiji

Remi's question is a good one. So good it takes Seiji aback. He does not answer immediately, but spends some time thinking on it, before he says, "Maybe. I don't remember what happened, but... Maybe it was impossible to avoid." Pensive, he nods. "Do you remember what it was like? Coming here?" Somehow, Seiji expected the transition must have been obvious. Something big, a cataclysm avoidable only from a distance. Like a building falling in an earthquake, like a train coming down the tracks. But what if whatever door it was had simply opened one day beneath his feet? What if it had caught him in the middle of a conversation? In a hallway between bedrooms? Out on the beach...? Somehow, such a thought is far more chilling than Seiji cares to admit. If coming to Caido was a mistake, something he can take the blame for, it is easier to bear. If the place simply snapped him up like an ambush predator, he is powerless. Always was. To frame it that way... He doesn't want to. His mind organizes itself around the possibility, places that scenario in a blind spot, draws the curtains shut. It hurts, almost, to examine the possibility now. Like running fingers over an open wound. So Seiji is glad to change the course of the conversation, even if it means something bad must have happened to Remi. Even if he doesn't know what to say, except, "Reckless is the same as brave, sometimes," With a small, half-apologetic, shrug. Seiji is not the man to speak with about caution. He takes big dangers seriously, of course, but he has never believed in a healthy dose of caution. Moving forward, learning things, pushing toward one's limits... Those are things which matter. But whatever has happened between Remi and someone else isn't his business, so he lets it go. "Like this," he says, holding up a hand with forefinger looped toward thumb, forming a ring about the size of a coin. "Flat. Can you do that?" He is endlessly amazed by the magic here in Caido. It permeates the people like something airborne. But tangible (for them) as a third limb. He finds it strange, strange and fascinating, and watches eagerly to see if Remi can, indeed, comply with his request. "It's a simple game," Seiji adds, half apologetically, "But if it was complicated, I would probably remember wrong." His smile is a little sheepish as he casts around the room then, his eyes landing several tables away, where a discarded wooden tray rests alone. He darts away for only a moment, long enough to secure it, before he settles back into his seat and produces the knife Kiada had given him. Probably to defend himself, but Seiji judges this a better use for it. He begins drawing a grid, 8 squares by 8 squares, and shading in every other one with rough strokes. as a child I mostly spoke inside my head had conversations with the clouds, the dogs, the dead

Naked arms, his secrets still like songs I never learned Remi ran a hand distractedly through his curls, pausing to pull at one as he tried to think of an answer. What did he remember? It was a blur now, but there had been the library. The back room. Loren. His hands and his lips and then ... then the starkness of the outskirts. Remi staring down into dust and being far too fearful to look around. "I do not remember it well, no. The line in my memories sort of blurs, and from what I have heard from others who came over with me, was that time...was not the same for all of us. Some who came at the same time I did remember longer periods of time then I recall having passed." Remi's pale stare watches Seiji's dexterous fingers contort and immediately he nods. "Yes." He says with a modest nod, and as he does so, the piece appears on the table before them. "Do we need more than one?" The alchemist prompts, watching with happy interest as Seiji begins to construct the board upon which they will apparently play. With the rough mechanics of the game explained and all that they need to play it on the table between them, they begin. The alchemist fills bouts of silence with snippets of information that come to him. He is a social creature, and with something so mundane and normal to focus his mind on, he finds the texture and rhythm of easy conversation flowing from his lips. He explains in vague detail how he came by his magic (leaving out the unsavory parts of having felt as though he killed his mother to get it), explains how it has helped his work as an alchemist, and then in between the various moves of the game, roughly sketches out other inventions he might like to try. Game after game, the alchemist sits with Seiji, enjoying the easy conversation. Eventually though, work pulls him back and he is forced to leave his new friend to his tea.

Seiji

Remi’s answer is unfortunately lacking in much new information. Seiji cannot help but smile, though, as moments later the asked-for item simply appears on the table between them. With a grin, Seiji nods, then pauses to silently count. “Yes… Two… dozen, I think.” He frowns briefly, concentrating, before he goes back to his work. Finished, the set up is a little crude, but nonetheless effective. And there is something about making, about the camaraderie of sitting with another person and wanting for nothing specific beyond companionship. It makes the dark outside seem a little thinner. The terrors of Longnight a little more distant. For a long time they play, Seiji listening with interest as Remi fills the silence between them with companionable chatter. He finds he likes Remi, in an easy and natural way. The man is easy to be with, easy to speak to, pleasant in character. It’s a rare period of time during which Seiji wants for nothing, misses nothing, and he’s glad he thought of it. Eventually, of course, Remi is drawn away. “Thank you for playing with me,” Seiji tells him before bidding him farewell. Surely they will meet again after Longnight, anyway. And perhaps Remi will have even more interesting things to share. Privately, Seiji thinks he should try to have some interesting things, as well. as a child I mostly spoke inside my head had conversations with the clouds, the dogs, the dead