[se] That distant horizon

It was a lovely sunset, and Hadama had heaved himself over some smooth rocks in the shallows to watch it. His broad wings lay relaxed across the stones and he rested his chin on his folded arms while his tail swished lazily in the shallow waters around him stirring up sand. His dark hide might have blended into the rocks except the steely gleam of his hair and the 'cracks' of gold that chased across his skin reflecting the dying light.

The humidity of Longheat already seemed to be loosening its grip on the coast, but the mermanta was still comfortably misted by the ocean spray, and looked as if he had been there for awhile already. An aura of quiet contemplation seemed to surround him, unaffected by the change of seasons in the world beneath the waves.

At least, until he'd come to the surface.

REMI

& now I'm all alone in the dark of night

Saltwater was typically not good for growing plants, this Remi was well aware of. However what nested beneath the sands of Hak Etme was not just a plant, nor had it made any requests about where the water it needed should come from. At worst Remi's offering would be turned away, and at best it might provide some necessary new components for the god to feed off of.

With a bag containing sands from the Miana Pool that he'd collected for Ludo comfortably in a bag across his bare shoulders, the alchemist walks shoeless across the sands towards the sea. The jewel-toned colours of sunset held his attention with such an authority that he hardly noticed the mermanta until his feet were already covered by the lapping waves. "Oh." Remi mumbles, both unhelpfully and bashfully. "I did not see you there." He adds, flashing the other man an easy smile.

The moon is shining but I can't see the light

Hadama hadn't heard the man approaching over the sound of surf, but the greeting drew his attention momentarily away from the fantastic display in the heavens, and he nodded congenially at his fellow sky-watcher. He turned back to the sunset until the last sliver of gold disappeared below the horizon, and only then did he push himself awkwardly up to turn and face the human properly.

Wide wings weighed him down in the air, but the smith was strong enough to amply support himself with his arms as he shifted, looking Remi over with quiet curiosity. Green eyes met green and inclined his head in greeting. "Are all dryland sunsets so beautiful?" he asked, voice a deep, quiet rumble that managed to carry over the sound of the waves like distant thunder.

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& now I'm all alone in the dark of night

Remi's lips twitch out into a smile, shrink, and then widen again as some untouched portion of his mind suddenly shakes itself awake. This was not the first time he'd felt unfairly advantaged around the merfolk, and likely it wouldn't be the last. Even so, it was with a slightly embarrassed smile that he lets his head loll from side to side. "Most of the time, yes. But things look very different in different parts of the world. Here—" Turning towards the sea, the Lullaby closes his eyes for a moment.

Before them springs the Greatwood with all of its towering trees and clawing boughs. Stars snarl their way through a sky that's bruised but beautiful, as the last sunlit tendrils of golden hour filter through the trees. Opening his eyes to regard the memory, Remi considers for a moment before nodding. "This is what it looks like this time of year in the Greatwood, where I live." He explains as he folds his arms comfortably across his chest.

The moon is shining but I can't see the light

Hadama watched the younger man at first, confusion in green eyes as Remi closed his eyes. Then a flicker of light and shadow drew his gaze back out to sea--

Except the sea was covered in strange trees, dark and massive and ancient in ways the coastal groves could never match. The merman blinked, and blinked again, but the vision remained and he drank it in with silent fascination for long moments as he tried to absorb the alien grandeur of the Greatwood.

"Impressive," he rumbled, finally looking back to Remi with respect. "I have never seen such magic before. Or such a sunset. Thank you." Again the single nod, this time of gratitude. "May I ask what brings you so far from your home?" Dryland distance was hypothetical to the merman, but the vision was like nothing the Torchliner had ever heard of in his limited experience up from the deep.

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& now I'm all alone in the dark of night

For all of his murderous abilities and nearly-godly strength, Remi longed to be a creator once more. This was the closest Ludo would let him come, this feigned construction and illusion that came from his memory, but it was reverently held, such that a coral blush crept across Remi's cheeks as he shrugged off the merman's gratitude. 'If you ever want to see more...my control over dreams is much more...' Looking toward the sky and the darkening clouds as if the word he wanted might be writ somewhere above, the alchemist exhales and shakes his head. "I can do much better in dreams." He says at last.

As for what he was doing here?

"I needed sand from the Miana pools for Ludo." Remi explains. "And then I thought while I was here I might bring some water back with me. There is a creature in the desert, one of the seasonal deities, who requires water. Normally seawater is not good for those on land to drink, but...with such a creature, I thought there was no harm in offering it."

The moon is shining but I can't see the light

At the mention of dreams his stoic expression revealed a flicker of surprise once more. He tilted his head thoughtfully, giving the unassuming young man a more thorough look while he digested the information - revelation? - of such a curious magic.

"Desert...?" He tried the unfamiliar word, but there was still a little awe in his eyes at the mention of an errand for Ludo. "And gods..." His voice was soft and thoughtful as he heaved himself off the rocks and slid into the shallows, manta wings spreading wide beneath the water.

His voice slipped into Remi's mind a moment later. "There is a freshwater spring nearby. It comes up from the rocks and is covered at high tide. Water from a place where fresh and salt mix... would that be an acceptable offering for this deity?"

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& now I'm all alone in the dark of night

Not easily able to endure this stranger's gaze, Remi's smile shivers in place as he averts his eyes somewhere that he might not have to watch himself being watched. "MMm, it's...the ground is like the ocean floor, all sand. But it is a place that the sun always seems to shine, making it quite a hostile environment for those who are not used to it." Remi explains as best he can. Had it not been for the merman's previous interest he might have waved his hand and revealed an illusory desert for him to see himself, but just now the alchemist didn't want to be the center of attention any more than he had to be.

Watching the man begin to submerge, Remi gave an apologetic shake of his head. Sorry, I should have realized.. He replied back into the stranger's mind. And..yes that would be very good I think. Would...a container with a water-tight lid be enough to keep the water in do you think? I am afraid the only aquatic shift I have is far too big to follow you.

The moon is shining but I can't see the light

Deserts sounded, frankly, horrifying, if they were all sand and no water. It was the sort of place that mermaids had nightmares about, but Hadama took in the information stoically. Green eyes watched Remi until the other man looked away, and then he shifted into the water, melting into his manta form to avoid stirring the shallow waters more than the surf already did.

"I do not have the most convenient body for conversing in the air," the manta rumbled, dry amusement in his voice. "Compared to others of my folk. But that is no one's fault." And at least he was strong enough to overcome some of the drawbacks of the wings that were so graceful underwater, and so unwieldy out of it.

He moved slowly enough for Remi to keep up at a walk along the beach, in no great hurry as the tropical dusk lingered in the sky. "A shape-changer, as well?" The respect was more pronounced in the telepathic bond. "Indeed, it would be perfect." He turned and swam as close to shore as he could come before the surf tried to force him onto the beach, shifting back into a form with opposable thumbs.

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& now I'm all alone in the dark of night

I can only imagine. Finding it far easier to address the merman now that he possessed none of the features that normally threatened to hold the alchemist's gaze, Remi frowns. There have been some to try and make...artificial ways for your kind to remain above the surface, but none have been successful that I have heard of. He says almost apologetically, his mental voice coloured with a pulse of regret. Would he have been capable of creating such a thing, in the days before he became the horrific killing-creature he was now?

Mmmm. It was what I was originally, before becoming...this. Gesturing vaguely at himself as if his musculature and scars said more than any words might, Remi nods. Calling up a memory, a glass jar with a sealable lid appeared suddenly in his hands. The memory wasn't a particularly strong one, but it would do while...oh. Sorry, how rude of me. My name is Remi, by the way. He thought towards the stranger, realizing only just now that he didn't know the other man's name.

The moon is shining but I can't see the light

I am grateful for the canals. They have already let me explore much farther than I thought possible. His mental voice was calmly approving of the water-roads that he had begun to swim recently. They are already a great kindness.

The scars were impossible to miss, even without the golden ink that emphasized Hadama's own far less impressive set. Still, he tilted his head in confusion. I am Hadama. Thank you for the gift of your name. He supported himself on the sand with one arm, reaching up for the jar with his other, paying no mind to the undignified positioning of being a half-beached half-manta.

Although... I do not understand. Are you not human?

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& now I'm all alone in the dark of night

The mention of the canals has Remi stilling for a moment, overcome by a very strange sense of deja vu. He he been Governor when the canals had been built. It had been his idea, and yet? Gods, but he'd nearly forgotten about it. Blinking himself out of it own thoughts, Remi nods down at the manta silhouette beneath the waves. I can only imagine. He agrees warmly.

Pleased to meet you, Hadama. Remi's accent made music of the merman's name, though his pronunciation was perhaps not quite as the other man had said it.

As for being not-human?

Ruffling a hand through the back of his curls, Remi shrugs as he lets go of the jar. I am a demigod. He replies, meaning to sound humble, but probably coming off as being awkward. One of Ludo's. Remi is quick to add.

The moon is shining but I can't see the light

If the pronunciation wasn't quite right, the merman didn't seem to mind. Likewise, he rumbled back, content with completing the ritual of greeting. There were other questions beyond names however, and it was a good thing he had already taken the jar and lowered himself back into the surf when Remi answered the merman's confusion with an answer as simple as it was unexpected.

There was silence in the telepathic link as he digested this revelation, moving slowly out towards the rocks he had indicated more by reflex than conscious direction.

I understand, now, why you speak of the gods so easily. There was quiet respect in his tone, but he seemed to take it philosophically enough without becoming overawed. This deity in the sand-place... do you know what it is like?

REMI

& now I'm all alone in the dark of night

Watching the mermanta's body recede down far enough that the light from the sun failed to adequately capture the colour of his body, Remi turns his eyes towards the horizon. Mmmm. Comes the mental rumble; more of an indication that the other man had been heard more than any sort of agreement.

It looked...do you know what a spriggan is? He supposed that the creatures might live underwater, or perhaps near cousins of them might. It looked like that but much larger. When we happened upon him he wasn't moving at first. Only when he was given water did he have the energy—or perhaps motivation—to speak with us. Remi replies, watching as a few hels tried their best to 'beach' a pod of encantados above the water by diving at them and trying to land on their fins. What it was doing somewhere like the desert I cannot be sure. But it had been trying to grow plants, for quite some time I think. Perhaps it over-exerted itself and took refuse beneath the sands. There is often water, down deep, even in places like a desert.

The moon is shining but I can't see the light