[se] 5 dollar words

he had eyes like rain & hair like waves
& a soul as vast and deep as the ocean

'I'm not saying that you cheated. All I am saying is that I have never seen you move that fast when food is not involved.' Remi says with an absent shrug. Still shirtless, now that the sun has settled far down past the horizon, the temperature is bordering on comfortable. Now that neither of them are sweating buckets it seems less urgent to see if the mirage ahead is actually the so-called "Sea of Dreams", but when you've little need for sleep, there's room for all sorts of detours.

"Okay. What insect or animal would you not eat, even if you were starving." Remi asks, continuing their game of random and silly questions that they'd been amusing themselves with. He thinks (safely, in his opinion), that there is little Ronin wouldn't eat if he was starving, but then, the Huntsman was a bit particular about his food, even if he professed to love it all.

THE LULLABY

& i guess i didn't mind  d r o w n i n g  in him.

even my darkness shines for you

"Maybe you just need to accept that I would beat you in a footrace. Or on a balance beam. Maybe I could even give you a run for your money if we were flying," Ronin trills as he strolls beside Remi. The night air and blanket of stars overhead makes this a thoroughly pleasant stroll now, actually, and the Huntsman lets his wings stretch from his back to enjoy the breeze and to try and help shift the sand off his skin.

Hmmmmming pensively at the question, he itches at the scruff on his chin and stretches a wing around the other man. "A centipede, I think," he says slowly. "It's just... too many legs, you know? Would it be trying to crawl up your face while you were eating it?" He tilts his head. "What about you? And what insect would you eat even if you weren't starving?"

the

DARKSTAR

Table coding by Sky

he had eyes like rain & hair like waves
& a soul as vast and deep as the ocean

'I could. I could just accept it. Or, I could start training very hard for the sole purpose of beating you.' Remi says warningly as Odd counts her MP.

The thought of all those legs has Remi silently snarling, and though it might be hypocritical of him, he can't help the way he sticks out his tongue in disgust. "That is a good one. I would not want to eat one either." He agrees, before shivering at the thought of all those hair-like legs tickling up his face. "Well, I can tell you that I would eat a caterpillar. Especially if it was in a cocoon." He replies instantly, not having to think about it for long. "And...I would probably not eat one of those bugs that look like sticks." Shrugging his shoulders Remi trails the fingers of his ruined right hand along the bottom of Ronin's wing. "Not much to them, you know?"

Glancing up into the stars, Remi thinks for a moment and then grins. "If we were not together, what would your life be like and who would you want to be with." Holding up a finger, Remi qualifies with a smile. "Wrong answers only."

THE LULLABY

& i guess i didn't mind  d r o w n i n g  in him.

even my darkness shines for you

"Why, I never realised that you were such a sore loser," Ronin says, not bothering to hide how smug he sounds do your worst, I've got a million characters. His wing shivers a bit with the alchemist's touch, Ronin smiling down at the sand and enjoying the feel of moonlight on his skin.

Nodding wisely at the other man's agreement (and similarly scrunching his nose at the thought), he seems to consider the idea of the cocooned caterpillar. Neither here nor there about it - other than trying to decide if it would be like taking a shot of caterpillar soup - his smile returns as Remi continues. "I imagine a stick insect would remind you a bit of Oria too," he says.

Kicking a small plume of sand and watching the breeze carry it away, the mirage draws closer... or further away, Ronin can't really tell. Gasping at Remi's question and clearly delighted by it, Ronin nibbles at his lower lip. "No one," he announces. "I would have become a priest in Stormbreak, having taken a vow of chastity. But perhaps I would be having an illicit affair with Gideon. And what about you?"

the

DARKSTAR

Table coding by Sky

he had eyes like rain & hair like waves
& a soul as vast and deep as the ocean

"Well, now you know." Remi quips back as if his childish display of pride is something Ronin should have known to tiptoe around. Grinning that the Huntsman might know he wasn't serious (or at least, not really serious), Remi rolls his shoulders, relieved not to feel any lingering tightness that might suggest he'd burned himself in the heat from earlier.

"It had crossed my mind, yes, though I do not think she would like to be compared to one." Remi agrees with a knowing smile. As of late Oria and Sugar had taken to constructing various ice-ramps in the houseboat, compliments of Sugar and quality-tested by Oria.

Gasping with a hand going suddenly to his heart—no one? gods say it isn't so, Ronin—the alchemist hears his husband out before laughing richly. Affection and the sort of bond that comes from shared boyish mischief dazzles from deep within Remi's soul. "Is it not obvious?" He wonders with a smirk. "I would be a tour guide. Meeting new people, keeping them safe, teaching them things and answering the same questions over and over again...and at the end of the day I would come home to Phoebe, with ten children sitting with their hands folded in their laps."

THE LULLABY

& i guess i didn't mind  d r o w n i n g  in him.

even my darkness shines for you

Now he knows. Falling into step with Remi, he lets his hand whisper across the other man's back, as if the rolling of his shoulders is indicative of muscle pain rather than sunburn. "Oh, I imagine she'd poke you right in the eye," he murmurs with a grin. "It's the same as when I compare Sugar to an angry housecat. She hates it even though it's true," he says, waving a hand imperiously.

Nodding seriously - oh but it is so, Remi - Ronin's dazzle is literal in his amusement, and he cocks his head to the side to hear out the other man's definitely-true-reality. And he doesn't think it's possible to choke on the air itself, and yet he manages it anyway at the scenario painted before him, his own laughter joining the alchemist's.

"I think you'd make quite a fine tour guide," he objects. "Only in the most dangerous places, though. And never the same place twice."

the

DARKSTAR

Table coding by Sky

he had eyes like rain & hair like waves
& a soul as vast and deep as the ocean

Grinning, Remi lets himself become momentarily distracted by the silvery-dark outline around his husband's silhouette, before rolling his eyes. "Well now you are just making it sound like something I actually would do." He points out, wondering if Ludo would let him abscond from his duties and become a Caido-tour-guide if he included each of Ludo's shrines and suitably spooky locations. "The Taliesin Tour and Hunting Company." Remi says experimentally. "We could have some ominous house in the Wilds. Mateo could build us a hedge maze, and we could make a living off of hunting expeditions and tours."

Actually, that sounds really nice.

Given the utter lack of rainfall present during LongHeat, it was really no surprise at all that as the men man their way towards the Sea of Dreams, they found it cracked and barren. Unimpressive in its current condition, Remi folds his arms across his chest and frowns. "I had really hoped for a midnight swim." He mutters.

THE LULLABY

& i guess i didn't mind  d r o w n i n g  in him.

even my darkness shines for you

"Who is to say you haven't already been doing it?" Ronin asks, smiling and nudging his hip against Remi's. "You take Mateo to see all sorts of new places, and you teach him about them, show him the interesting plants and animals. That's like being a tour guide - the only difference is you like Mateo," he says with a chuckle.

The picture his husband paints does sound really nice, and the Huntsman's smile is slow and dreamlike as he lets himself sink into the idea. "A big crackling fire with a hearth covered in furs, a mantel full of monstrous hunting trophies. You could make up stories about the places you take people so they seem spookier than they really are." Nodding, he can see it in his mind's eye very well indeed.

As they reach the Sea of Dreams, dry as the sands around them, Ronin tilts his head at Remi and grins. "Let's see what we can do about that," he suggests, and with a flick of his wrist he activates the Aquarius tattoo on his forearm. A starry wave washes across the desert before them, soaking eagerly into the cracked earth.

"...Oh. Well. It might be more of a puddle, but we can still have a midnight splash in it," he suggests.

---

Ronin uses:

Type: Light | Style: Other | Level: Basic
Shackles of the Water Bearer: Summons the Aquarius Constellation for one post. The constellation is semi-transparent and manifests as a cosmic flood which deals Basic water damage. Exists as a constellation-tattoo when not in use, but manifests in golden shackles when used.

the

DARKSTAR

Table coding by Sky

he had eyes like rain & hair like waves
& a soul as vast and deep as the ocean

"Well, I would rather not think of spending time with our son as doing a job." Remi quips back as if there's something about this future they're tossing around that needs to be excused or justified. "I am still waiting for our Draig date." He notes, nudging Ronin back.

Pulling in a slow breath as if able to taste the fire-scented air, Remi exhales and nods. "They would not need to know that I am the wraith who haunts the forests I take them to. Or that the creature that slips into their dreams land locks them there is also just me." He could be the manticore that lurked in the jungle and the kraken that tugged ships down into the maw.

Standing back and looking appropriately awed, Remi maintains his expression even as the starlight splash is quickly and greedily soaked up by the barren sea-bed. 'It is the thought that counts.' Remi says, kicking off his shoes and striding eagerly forward to squelch whatever moisture is in the stand between his toes.

THE LULLABY

& i guess i didn't mind  d r o w n i n g  in him.

even my darkness shines for you

"Not a job. Just practice," Ronin says with a smirk, shrugging his shoulders to Remi as if that's a better way of phrasing it all. The suggestion of their Draig date has the Huntsman pouting, his arm slinging around his husband so he can tug him a bit closer, and he dismisses his wings to make it a little easier as well. "I have sent out letters, and we are all meeting in Stormbreak in the next couple of days," he says. "I know it will likely just be you and I going, so start preparing a picnic."

With a wicked glint in blue eyes, Ronin releases the alchemist again, nodding. "You could make sure that all of their tours are guaranteed an encounter with something," he adds. "They don't need to know that they're encountering you. And hey, you could always call on me if you needed, for a guest appearance of a dragon or a phoenix."

Removing his shoes and squishing after Remi into the cool sand, a breath of relief leaves the Huntsman. "Mm..." he agrees without ever needing to put it into words. "I think I'd like to go out into the ocean soon," he admits slowly. "I feel an itch in my bones... I feel like something else has woken up in me."

the

DARKSTAR

Table coding by Sky

he had eyes like rain & hair like waves
& a soul as vast and deep as the ocean

Growling a sound of glee, Remi wraps his arms around his husband's shoulders that he might fix the other man with a wicked stare. "I thought you and I would take down a dragon together and roast that for lunch." He says, and the subtle expansion of his pupils doesn't at all clarify just how much of a joke this is meant to be.

"Maybe for those who are really lucky, they will see a dragon carry off the manticore." Waggling his eyebrows as if to say and we know what the dragon and manticore will be doing while the guests walk home, Remi presses the ball of his foot into the sand that he might sink down as much as possible. It's only an inch or two, but there's something about being rooted in the earth that has a strange calming effect on him.

"Oh?" Immediately the alchemist's eyes drop suggestively to his husband's crotch in case that is what's waking up, before innocently finding the Huntsman's gaze. "Well I will happily help you scratch that itch however you need." Remi says, and just for a moment his solidity wavers as if he might just sidle right against Ronin's bones and scratch them himself.

THE LULLABY

& i guess i didn't mind  d r o w n i n g  in him.

even my darkness shines for you

"If I eat a dragon, is that an act of cannibalism?" Ronin wonders, trying and failing to hide his smile as he sees the subtle signs of a predatory shift in his husband. "Perhaps there are other things to eat out there." The dragons must survive on something, after all, Ronin enjoying the feel of the damp sand between his toes. It would be better if they could go for a swim, but alas, that will have to wait for another day. Hopefully not too long, though.

"Not that. That's barely asleep at the best of times," he quips to the alchemist, lowering his head as if to persuade Remi's gaze away from his crotch. "I am very glad to hear it. Besides, it might be nice for you to be able to stretch your... er, tentacles." He almost says legs, but they both know Remi won't resist the urge to be a kraken once they're underwater.

the

DARKSTAR

Table coding by Sky

he had eyes like rain & hair like waves
& a soul as vast and deep as the ocean

Remi considers for a moment, before shrugging. "You eat deer all the time." Which, is perhaps just a close cousin of cannibalism, but at least where Remi is concerned, it's close enough not to matter. Little do either of them know that Remi has engaged in real cannibalism before, which sadly remains one of those facts that no one will probably ever find out.

Where his body was once only semi-solid, now the arm closest to Ronin stretches and expands, reaching out for the Huntsman with horrifically slow and undulating movements. "Will you bring a manta stone, so that you can go deep with me?" Remi wonders, looking innocent despite his phrasing. "Speaking of oceans, how did your talk with Maeve go?"

THE LULLABY

& i guess i didn't mind  d r o w n i n g  in him.

even my darkness shines for you

Ronin furrows his brow at that, at least giving it the consideration that it deserves. "Well, a deer is not a predator," he says, like that somehow makes a difference. Dragons have no natural predators as far as he knows, so it would just be... weird to eat one. Right? Right. He's still puzzling over this philosophy lesson when Remi is undulating towards him, Ronin pulling a face and squelching back in the wet sand.

"Not if you keep that up," he says, trying to swat away the wiggling tentacle. "And it went well, I think. She's declaring Torchline for Safrin, and she asked me to keep her informed about everything out here in the desert. She'd heard about the plants dying as well." Huffing out a breath, he glances about. "Not that there's much to tell her."

the

DARKSTAR

Table coding by Sky