Shoot the Messenger

"Is...isla died, then a wo-woman followed me...there was just t-two others. I don't kn-know what happened. But they're...e-either dead or g-gone now." He didn't know that, but Sam tried to sound as confident as possible about it so Remi wouldn't go bolting out the door. He let himself be lead up and taken towards the infirmary, though he found he almost was scared to enter the room. To see it without it's usual leader, the absence of Isla would be stark and painful. To distract himself from the looming door he tried to remember what Remi had said only seconds prior (things slipped through his mind like sand when he was in this state). "Y...you maybe...c-could have do...done be-better. I don't know. But...it was s-so fast." Sam was upset enough himself to not notice the flatness of Remi's voice, not yet. Regardless of the tone it was the anchor in his world right now. He couldn't notice the cracks because then his foundations would break entirely. Samuel This time I might just disappear

I'll stay here with you until this dream is gone

Sam wasn't answering his questions..but that was alright. Remi's mind steamrolled forward. Everything would be alright.

The stone was still green.

"I had a thought." Remi said with a small smile. The alchemist picked up a pen from the desk and twirled it dexterously in his fingers. "See if you can move this. With your mind. Think of stretching out and grabbing it, but not with your fingers."

Isla had been thinking raccoon thoughts at the time of her bite, but Remi doubted if Sam had been thinking anything at all. The pair had never deduced whether or not or even how this sort of transference worked. But if Sam could move the pen, Remi would have an answer.

As they entered the infirmary Remi leaned down to pick something up; Sam assumed it would be the bandages for his hands. When he saw the pen he frowned, confused. The request that came with it was even stranger, and Sam frowned at Remi as he whispered a little confused 'what?'. But he was far too exhausted to object, so he obliged. He did hold up his hand slightly because it just felt like the right thing to do, then tried to do the same as he had when shifting; imagining the pen coming into his hand in his mind and trying to make it reality. At first it only shook a little in Remi's fingers, then suddenly all at once it zoomed into Sam's hand...right into his cut. He flinched and dropped the pen where it clattered on the floor. "...O-ow. Um. N...now can I have the bandages? So..sorry I...I'm not really c-concentrating.." Samuel This time I might just disappear

I'll stay here with you until this dream is gone

Remi's smile was slow as it spread across his lips, that horrible calmness still wrapped around him like a cloak. It broke for just a second as Sam seemed to wince, and the alchemist blinked as if he hadn't really been saying.

Oh." He murmuered in a low tone, stepping forward. Bunches of bandages flew off the shelves towards them, Remi's grasp of the magic much more practices than Sam's. With infinite care, Remi raised the hand the pen had struck, and kissed Sam's fingertips.

"Here, let me.." He said, softly stretching out Sam's fingers so that he could properly see the wound.

"I am so glad you made it back safe Sam. I want you to know that. I just wish I could have been there...if only so you would not have had to be alone." Raising his eyes, Remi's cheeks rounded in a smile. "Where did you say this happened?"

Much to his relief bandages began to fly towards him and Sam let Remi take his hands. In some ways he felt there was no point in wrapping them up, knowing he would heal quickly, but...it felt nice to be looked after, cared for. His hands would still feel better in bandages even if there was little physical benefit. Remi's words brought a flicker to his lips that might have once been a smile, and he looked up to meet his eyes. Sam caught Remi's own real smile, but he saw that it didn't reach his eyes. Staring back down at his hands, feeling odd being unable to embrace Remi with them, he asked a stupid question: "Remi...a-are you....alright? You..you s-seem to be taking this...ve-very well." Sam knew if he'd received news one of his best friends had died he would have been inconsolable immediately, rolling about on the floor and sobbing. Samuel This time I might just disappear

I'll stay here with you until this dream is gone

Gently and with great care, Remi began to wrap the bandages around Sam's hands. He regarded the wounds until he could see them no longer, only glancing up for a second at Sam's inquiry. Nodding his head slowly, the alchemist took a breath.

"It is a lot....I am just ... trying to get the whole picture, while you still remember. Details can fade after all, and Isla meant a lot to me." Swallowing, Remi finished one wrap, before starting on Sam's other hand. "You were saying? This happened where?"

The bandages naturally stung a little as they went around his hands but Remi was careful and it showed in the way the pain was only minimal for Sam. He managed to stay quiet and still as he watched the wounds on his hands go behind the rough fabric. "Um...s-somewhere. In the Outskirts. I...d-don't know wh...where, exactly." He could have given some landmarks if he truly tried, but Sam was scared that would lead to Remi leaving to find them. Mostly it had just been snow and darkness anyway, so it wasn't hard to convince himself he had seen nothing of his location. "...B-but far...far out. I fol..followed the Luxere there. A-and ran back myself." When one of his hands was done he moved it to cup gently along Remi's jaw. "I...I'm s-sorry that you c-couldn't be there t-too. But...n...not for me. For Isla, a-and for you. I know.." Disgustingly a last shred of jealously found itself in his chest but he beat it down, knowing it wildly inappropriate for the moment. "I kn-know she c-cared fo..for you. She...p-put great effort. Into your surgery." Samuel This time I might just disappear

I'll stay here with you until this dream is gone

As Sam cupped Remi's jaw, the alchemist looked up. The deadly stillness shook for just a second, and the broken man beneath looked through. Remi took a breath that shook, before looking back down to finish the wrap.

Placing both of Sam's hands in his lap, Remi took another slow inhale. "Sam, I just want you to know how much I care about you." He said. Leaning forward, he placed an oh-so gentle kiss against the bookmaker's lips. Before pulling back, Remi merely held himself a breath away, eyes closed, remembering.

Just in case.

"And I hope you can forgive me."

With that, the alchemist disappeared into a mess of feathers. Flying from the room with a burst of speed, he headed directly for the door. Nearly slamming into it as a man, his fingers fumbled for the locks, undoing them, and slamming it behind him. Sam had probably tried to follow, but Remi was fast. With his teeth grit, he created mounds of earth in the cracks of the door, forcing rock and stone where it didn't belong to hopefully jam it. Even if Sam made it out, he'd wiggled the pen...he'd made it move.

Remi's magic was no longer in him.

There was no time for guilt. No time to consider what he'd done.

He only thought of Isla, of those Sam had left in the snow. He thought of that green light with the stupid hope that she might be okay. And in the seconds before he leaped into the sky as a bird again, Remi pushed the button in his pocket turning his own light red.

He had to find his friend. Dead or alive, he had to find her.

"I...care ab-about you too." Sam repeated softly, returning the kiss and thinking that even though it wasn't quite I love you, it was close enough. But he couldn't meander on that train of thought long because Remi said something about forgiving and then was gone in a flurry of feathers. Oh, no. Nononono no n on o n on o n on o-- this was exactly what Sam had been trying to avoid. He tried to get up in a hurry but his joints were still cold and unstable. By the time he'd gotten to his feet Remi was already at the temple doors. With a hand outstretched he ran as fast as he could, yelling: "Remi! Remi p-please! D-don't!" But then he was gone and all Sam could do was sink to his knees and stare at the door, waiting for a noise on the other side that could indicate a return. Samuel This time I might just disappear