[PQ] [SE] explain this to me like I'm five

even my darkness shines for you

"I wha-- ah!" Of course Ronin falls for Remi's trick, the Huntsman flinching and swatting at his husband playfully as he blows into his ear. "You're a guardians wrong," he mutters, despite it not making sense. Rising to his feet and taking the sign with him, Ronin goes to stab it into the ground only to catch sight of the massive elephant beetles.

"Uh... how do we get them to... get?" he wonders, leaning the sign against one of those helpful logs and conjuring his projection to try and corral them. "C'mon, go!" he encourages, though to be honest the beetles are more interested in laying around and enjoying the shade.

the

DARKSTAR

Table coding by Sky

he said "i bet you don't remember me"

'Well...maybe the Greatwood is just trying to help weed out  the people who do not really need me from those who do." Remi suggests. "You know...so that people can't just come to me with every little thing." Or even every big thing.

Swatted but still grinning, Remi bounces his eyebrows menacingly in his husband's direction as he moves back to let the Huntsman stand. Spying the beetles as well, Remi folds his arms across his chest and stares at the creatures for a moment as Ronin tries to encourage them to move. "Gods, I love you." He says, watching Ronin swat and cajole them. Partially shifting himself enough to utilize the vocal cords he had in mind, the Lullaby roars at the creatures as he advances on them. And if they didn't want to get? Well then they could be cut in half to quench Remi's growing thirst.

THE ALCHEMIST

and i said, "only every other memory".

My spores been growing by the day; my days been shining bright

"Well if that's the case, then the Greatwood will be able to put those people in like... the Crimson Cataract or something, right?" Mateo smiles to his father, in the meantime picking up the rock that Ever has selected so he can bash their sign into place. "I'll be careful," he trills as he clambers up on a small mound of earth, but of course as he brings the stone down, that's right when Remi roars.

And that's how two elephant beetles go galumphing off into the forest, and how Everest gets his fingers bashed to fuck. Oops. "Daaaaaaads," Mateo calls as soon as it's clear he's done a bad, letting the stone fall from his fingers and rushing to Ever's side.

---

Final round!

Someone needs to, er... help the boys. And there are still two signs that need to be put in place.

mateo!

Everest

I won't. Roar. Scamper. Slam.

That's how it goes in Ever's mind. Looking down at two very broken fingers, the boy has a moment of absolutely clarity during which he tries to recite the bones in the fingers to try and narrow down what might be broken. There's no fear, no pain, no anger: just a few seconds of utter academic bliss.

But of course it passes, and with it Ever finds himself slumping down hard onto the ground as he stares at his mangled. "Oh." He whimpers a touch helplessly, trying not to cry or scream or vomit. "I should...probably go home..." The boy adds, almost apologetically, as he cradles his hand carefully against his chest. His mother would be able to fix his hand, and then he could have some tea and snuggle up into his bed.

the words you speak
become the house you live in

even my darkness shines for you

"I love you too," say both Ronins at once, smiling at Remi and scampering to the side as he prepares to roar at the elephant beetles. And it works like a charm - except it also startles their son and really fucks up what's going on behind them with the two boys. "Oh shit," he whispers as he spots Ever's hand, eyes widening a bit. "Can you... with the signs...?"

He's busy summoning his Virgo constellation, sweeping across to the two boys and kneeling down by Ever. "Hey," he says softly. "We're going to fix up your hand, okay? And then I'm going to go and take you home." He smiles a bit at Mateo. "You can keep him company, yeah?"

the

DARKSTAR

Table coding by Sky

he said "i bet you don't remember me"

Could he with the signs? As opposed to trying to console the broken-handed child who already thought that he was several of the monsters roaming Caido? Absolutely he could. Without the need of a hammer or a rock, Remi pounds both signs into the fertile soil. So what if they're fully obscured behind the plants and backwards.

Task completely, Remi inconspicuously appears near the trio with his arms folded comfortably across his chest. "Sorry about that, Everest. I didn't mean to frighten anyone." Had the boy not looked so alarmed already, he might have made some joke at Mateo's expense but decided against it. As Ronin healed the boy, Oria flit in front of Ever's face, trying to distract him with a small display of mid-air ballet that she hoped would keep his attention off of his mangled bones until Ronin was done with him.

THE ALCHEMIST

and i said, "only every other memory".

My spores been growing by the day; my days been shining bright

Mateo is blurting I'm sorry in a mix of Common and the travelling tongue, and he's gone quite pale as well at the sight of Ever's mangled fingers. Luckily, this all means that he absolutely doesn't notice that Remi puts the signs in places where they might not necessarily be noticed; he's busy watching Virgo appear to soothe away the breaks in Ever's fingers to mere bruising.

"I'll keep him company," he says to Ronin with a bob of his head, glancing once more to his friend and offering a sad and apologetic smile. "I didn't mean to hit your fingers," he says. "I'll make it up to you, okay?"

---

Technically the signs are up, and the path is clear! Feel free to leave a parting post, but it's a wrap!

mateo!

Everest

Ronin appears, and though it won't be the last time the Huntsman heals him this way, Ever still holds his breath as the ethereal and starlit figure appears and smoothes away his injury. "It isn't your fault Mateo." Ever says, after he's able to finally breathe again. He probably should add that it isn't really Remi's fault either, that this isn't anyone's fault, it's just bad luck, but the boy isn't so gracious just yet. "Why don't we go by the river for a while?" He suggests, flexing his fingers experimentally and then shooting Ronin a relieved smile.

"If my fingers aren't broken I won't have to go home early. I forgot you could do that. Thanks." Ever adds, smiling shyly up at Ronin and trying his best to avoid meeting Remi's eyes.

the words you speak
become the house you live in

even my darkness shines for you

As the injury is healed away, everyone breathes a sigh of relief, it seems. Relaxing now that the boy isn't so visibly panicking, Ronin dismisses Virgo and straightens up again, stepping back and out of Ever's space. "You're welcome," he murmurs, nodding his agreement at the idea to go to the river.

"That sounds nice - why don't you two go ahead?" he suggests, nodding away back through the woods. No doubt Mateo will want to make more apologies.

While the boys go to do their thing, Ronin turns to hold out a hand for Remi so they can trail behind and undoubtedly talk about what the fuck just happened. (And breathe deep to know that this might not have any immediate Tobi repercussions).

the

DARKSTAR

Table coding by Sky

he said "i bet you don't remember me"

Keeping as still as he could until the boys were up and toddling off, only then does Remi exhale and visibly deflate. "Have I somehow picked up one of Ianto's lucky charms? The ones that bring bad luck?" He wonders, only half-joking. "Or maybe it's that boy. I swear something always seems to go wrong when he is around, and this time I am only a little bit to blame." Had he roared quite suddenly and loudly? Okay yes, yes he had. But this was the Greatwood and Remi was, in almost all situations, a little bit monster-y. A roar was certainly the most plausible on the list of things that Ever might have expected from the afternoon.

"Tell me I am not the worst." Remi whines, tucking himself against Ronin and sliding a hand around the Huntsman's waist to drag him closer. They'll let the boys get a suitable distance away where Mateo can't complain about the sounds of kissing before the Lullaby will drag his husband against him that he too might reap the benefits of Ronin's ability to do things with bones.


~FIN

THE ALCHEMIST

and i said, "only every other memory".