it doesn't have to be perfect

Isla

The glade is positively enchanting during Longheat at night, and this evening is no different. Fragrant with night blooming blossoms and ethereal by the light of glowstones and fireflies, even without their ability to see in the dark, Isla wouldn't need to watch her step here. She's come to collect a few herbs from the infirmary, though in reality she's restless, she's just... here. Existing, trying to get away from it all.

"Do you think that Mabel agreed to let the Voice in?" she asks suddenly, her brows furrowed as she pauses among the wildflowers. "When she took her over, I mean... do you think Mabel would have been able to refuse?" Gazing over her shoulder at Varus, she huffs out a long breath. "I saw Remi, in the Oerwoud. He... well, we're going to try and be friends again. But I'm worried..."

I'll take a bruise, I know you're worth it
When you hit me, hit me hard

VARUS

say a prayer, but let the good times roll
in case god doesn't show

“I don’t know.” Varus says with a quiet sigh, following alongside Isla as they walk through the Glade. His gaze dances along the fields and grasses poking up, the burnt spots from those fiery cricket assholes that he’s mostly just trying to keep himself and Isla away from. Instead, all he can hear is the rumbling of normal crickets and the wind that dances between the branches of the few trees out here, the whistling and rustling of the longer grasses.

They pause by a wildflower and Varus reaches over to pluck a small daisy from a cluster of a bunch of them, stepping over to her, hand rising to tuck it behind her ear, seeing the pale white petals stand out among her gold crown of hair. “I think Mabel probably wanted anything to make… It stop.” He frowns, metal fingers dancing along Isla’s jawbone before it drops to his side and he focuses fully on her face. “Are you worried that the Voice will take you over if you see Remi consistently?” He pauses, waiting for her answer as the gears spin in his head.

and i want these words to make things right,
but it's the wrongs that make the words come to life

Isla

A soft smile curls across her lips at the daisy he nestles in her hair, her fingers reaching up to dance along the cool metal of his hand, Isla leaning into the touch as if imagining she can feel it all properly. "Mm," she says unhelpfully, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with his point, and eventually she does nod her acceptance of it all. "It's a shame we can't even ask the Voice until the end of the season," she mumbles; an explanation would be reassuring if nothing else. She hates the not knowing of it all.

Then Varus asks the question they both know is on her mind, and her gaze drops towards the ground. Slowly, she nods to him. "Yes," she whispers. "Remi can only be killed by someone that he loves. And unless his feelings towards me have changed drastically, I'm worried that if the Voice were to try and take me over to hurt him..." Isla shakes her head. He knows the end of that sentence.

I'll take a bruise, I know you're worth it
When you hit me, hit me hard

VARUS

say a prayer, but let the good times roll
in case god doesn't show

“I agree.” The Captain replies quickly, letting his metal fingers drift through her touch, slipping in to drift along the edge of her face, before he tugs her a bit closer, wrapping his not metal arm around her shoulders. “I’m sure she’s got a good reason.” He offers, though he can’t think of what. It isn’t his place to, really. He’s always known he’s more of a grunt than a mastermind, assassin or not. He knows what he’s useful for and it certainly isn’t the big big picture. A wider picture than just any other soldier, but not as wide as the Voice needed to think on.

So either way, her gaze has dropped to the ground, her worries out in the open and he nestles closer to her, leaning into her to press a kiss to her temple just beside the daisy he’d plucked and put there. “Honestly, Isla? I think… That’s a reasonable fear.” He admits with a frown, knowing it isn’t what she wants to hear. “Maybe avoiding him until the end of the season when you can ask the Voice and learn more about it might help?” If nothing else, an idea of whether it was willing or not would be helpful. And despite that, Varus had only ever known the Voice for giving her Bright Ones a choice.

It's just… Sometimes decisions made in wartimes were less than ideal. So he takes a deep breath he doesn’t need, tugs her a bit closer so they can keep walking. “I’m sure he'll understand. I could talk to him in your place if you’d rather it be face to face. Gods know he’d probably squish me like a bug.” This is said with a small playful and crooked smile, hoping to brighten the mood at least a little bit (even if it’s at his own disposal).

and i want these words to make things right,
but it's the wrongs that make the words come to life

Isla

Isla is sure she has a good reason as well, but that doesn't mean she has to agree with it when it comes to one of her oldest and most cherished friends. Leaning into his embrace, her arms slip around Varus that she might let her head rest against his shoulder, relishing the solid realness of him in the moment. "That might be a good idea," she admits through a whisper. "Maybe I can send him a letter to explain, and... yeah."

But as they continue walking, Isla happily nestled beneath one of his arms, she can't help but smile up at him. "You would do that for me?" she mumbles. "You're too good to me, Cal. I'm sure he wouldn't squash you like a bug, not if you were bringing a message from me. I really appreciate that, though..."

Pausing near one of the larger trees in the glade, Isla gazes up and smiles suddenly, spotting a crop of snow moss growing against one of the big boughs. "You wouldn't mind giving me a boost up there with your big strong arm, would you?" she asks.

I'll take a bruise, I know you're worth it
When you hit me, hit me hard

VARUS

say a prayer, but let the good times roll
in case god doesn't show

He can feel her smile, if not a bit dulled down by everything, as she asks him if he’d do that for her. And he nods, casting a glance down to her with that same bright smile. Yes. He’d do anything for her. A lovesick puppy with a wonderful, beautiful, smart as hell woman on his arm? Who wouldn’t do anything for her? “I’d hope he wouldn’t. I don’t really think I’d look good in pieces.” He comments with a soft laugh. “Though I guess if anyone can judge pieces of me, it’s you.” He noses his head in against her temple, teasing her and squeezing her from where his arm wraps around.

She pauses, though, and he’s quick to still himself too – gaze scanning along the surrounding area before noticing that it wasn’t a dangerous thing she was scouting for, but an herb of sorts. He relaxes instantly, his guard dog persona pushed aside and swallowed down as he hums another little laugh, the Captain nodding and unpeeling himself from her side (despite how he protests internally for it), before he’s moving to help hoist her up. “What’d you find?” He asks, unsure what part of the wild she was planning to collect, and also what she planned to do with it.

and i want these words to make things right,
but it's the wrongs that make the words come to life

Isla

"Oh, hush. I'd not judge the pieces of you, I'd put you back together," Isla says, tilting her head up at Varus and offering a sweet, fanged smile to him. "I am a doctor, you know." And if Remi did squash him or return him in bits, Isla would definitely have to go and have a word with her friend, danger or no danger. So... you know, hopefully that didn't happen.

Grinning down at him and bracing her foot against the cradle of his hands, she makes sure to let his upgraded arm take the brunt of the work to help her up and into the trees. "I found snow moss," she tells him brightly, still relying on his help as she gathers up the moss. "In the Longheat, when people have fevers, it can be useful to help keep them cool," she explains.

I'll take a bruise, I know you're worth it
When you hit me, hit me hard

VARUS

say a prayer, but let the good times roll
in case god doesn't show

“Oh I’m pretty sure you had some judgements when you got my arm off.” He teases her, a deep rumbling laugh slipping from his chest at her sweet fanged smile. “Or does smacking me with my own detached arm not count?” His grin turns crooked, a playfulness sparking over him as he eyes her curiously, conceding at she reminds him yet again that she’s a doctor – as if he’s forgotten – his tongue clicking, nodding.

But he’s standing in position to help her lift up, bracing her feet on his metal arm and hoisting her up to peer up at her as she scrapes the snow moss off. “Oh, that’s a good idea.” He murmurs, some small amount of wonder coming across his face briefly. “Wish we had doctors like you when I was just a boy. They used to tell us to just go stand by the Oasis in the middle of Deepfrost.” His nose wrinkles with the memory, shivering and cold - thankful he doesn't have to feel any of that now.

and i want these words to make things right,
but it's the wrongs that make the words come to life

Isla

"That was then, and this is now," Isla trills down at Varus, and if he peeps up at her, he'll catch her beaming at him. "Though the smacking wasn't exactly judging you. That was just for fun." And she'd do it again too, if she wasn't busy scraping snow moss off the branches. And if, y'know, she wasn't keen to dismantle her boyfriend after working so hard to put him together.

Leaning further to gather more moss, Isla chuckles as she finally decides she's got enough, promptly flumping back and fully expecting Varus to catch her, of course. "That doesn't sound very... doctory," she remarks, stretching an arm around his neck and leaning up to smooch his cheek. "Although it's probably good that I wasn't around when you were a boy. You'd have had the biggest crush."

I'll take a bruise, I know you're worth it
When you hit me, hit me hard

VARUS

say a prayer, but let the good times roll
in case god doesn't show

“I knew you enjoyed it.” He teases, flashing a brightly fanged smile up at her with a playful wiggle of his eyebrows. Luckily for her, the arm is an upgrade and can easily be attached and detached. But it isn’t something he wants to focus on right now, not with the way he’s using it to specifically lift her up to reach the snow moss in the distance.

Once she decides she’s gotten enough, there’s no warning when she falls back and Varus is quick to catch her in his arms, tucking her in against his chest as he carries her like she’s his bride and he’s taking her over the entry way of their house. It isn’t, but, he leans into her kiss regardless, his amusement palpable in his face, in the bright blues of his gaze. “A much worse lovesick puppy than I am now.” He murmurs, leaning in to steal a kiss from her lips, chaste and sweet before he pulls away and smirks. “You’d have had to shoo me away from the Infirmary with a broom.”

and i want these words to make things right,
but it's the wrongs that make the words come to life

Isla

"You'd have enjoyed it too, if you were in my shoes." Isla grins to him, melting into the kiss he presses to her lips and letting her fingers play through his dark hair. "Mmm, I couldn't do that - it's against my medical code to turn people away from the infirmary. Though I suppose if you were really committed, you'd find creative ways to hurt yourself so you could keep coming to see me."

And she can definitely see Varus doing something like that, so she gives his cheek a gentle pat, as if to warn him not to get any ideas. "Thank you for hearing me out, about the Remi stuff," she murmurs. "And for agreeing to speak with him. And for helping me with the snow moss. Shall we head back home now? Collecting the rest of the herbs can wait, I think."

I'll take a bruise, I know you're worth it
When you hit me, hit me hard

VARUS

say a prayer, but let the good times roll
in case god doesn't show

“Maybe I’ll find a way to pop it off and use it as a weapon.” Varus rumbles idly, a hum of a laugh leaving him at the thought of himself running around with a detached arm, smacking people as he goes through. It’s a laugh that’s muffled at the very least by the kiss he presses to her lips, pulling away as his head tilts this way and that into the hand that plays through his long dark hair. “You have no idea just how creative I can be.” He teases her with a hoarse, throaty voice as he winks when he pulls away.

But her hand at his cheek, patting the thoughts away has his amused smirk shifting to something of playfulness, nodding lightly. “Of course. Anything you need, sweetheart.” He admits, his voice taking on a sort of honesty that suggests that he means he’d do everything he’s offered for her solely because of her. “Come on then.” His arms tighten around her, fully comfortable with the idea of carrying her back home – until she gets tired of it at least and forces him to put her down.

Part of him hopes it’s not until they get inside the comfort of home, though.

- FIN <333

and i want these words to make things right,
but it's the wrongs that make the words come to life