[SEASONAL EVENT] empty chairs at empty tables

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving Ronin stood before the guildhall as if the place had turned him to stone. He had gotten a few steps from the door when suddenly his feet were simply rooted to the spot and he was unable to make himself go any further. It showed signs of damage from LongNight - the door and its frame were battered, a few tiles were missing from the roof and there was all manner of rubbish and debris outside - but Ronin knew it was nothing to what lay within. The guildmaster inhaled shakily, having quite forgotten to breathe, and cradled Aoife closer in his arms. He didn't know if his daughter was a typical baby or what - she cried sometimes and she slept a lot. A new father with nothing but ruins at his feet, Ronin had no idea what he was doing. But he didn't much have a choice. "Uh..." He cleared his throat and looked helplessly to Remi. "Do you... would you mind holding her, please? While I... I need to unlock the door." Grief had turned Ronin's silver tongue to lead. He barely noticed, though, too focused on the woman he had loved and held and tucked in and left inside that guildhall barely a week ago.

The walk to the guildhall was almost silent. It was so strange to be out and about after a week of being locked up, but there was no joy in the adventure that the pair were embarking on. If anything this was a task that deserved the dark and solemness that LongNight had brought. The sound of tentative birdsong around them felt chilling to Remi's ears, somehow inappropriate for what it was they had to do. "Of course." Remi whispered softly, reaching to take Aoife from Ronin and cradling her in his arms. He placed a kiss on the top of her head, cooing softly to her and letting Ronin take all the time he needed. This...was not going to be easy, and already Remi's heart ached for Ronin. remi Don't pretend it's such a mystery Think about the place where you first met me

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving "Thank you," Ronin said, surrendering Aoife to Remi and feeling a pang of guilt at the affection that he showed her that he didn't seem to be able to muster. Phoebe and Vai had been the same - was Ronin just broken forever like this? Shaking the thoughts away internally, he forced a step forward and raised shaking hands to curl them around the door handles. A few quick twists of a key later and Ronin opened the mouth of the beast. The two men would be hit with a blast of freezing cold air and the unmistakeable coppery tang of blood, and it was all Ronin could do not to be sick then and there. It was only the sudden blur of white that forced him to react, a dragonling's screech echoing out to them as Sugar swooped into him. Luckily whatever was left in their stores would have been more than enough to feed her when he'd left, and the guildmaster realised that it must have been her ice breath keeping the place chilly. "Hey," he whispered as Sugar curled herself about his shoulders, half feral, small claws sinking deep into the fabric of his coat. "I'm sorry, I'm here..." Guiltily, he glanced back at Remi. "Let's go," he said, stepping inside.

The blast of cold air was a shock, but it was the smell that was a punch to Remi's senses. With a gasp the alchemist stumbled back outside, conjuring some cloth to place over Aoife. She was far too young to have this taste on her lips. Rather sickeningly though, the more primal components of Remi stirred at the scent of blood. Though neither hawk nor lion would eat anything that dead, they nevertheless roused within him, making him wince. As Sugar happily attacked the guildmaster, Remi wrapped his arms all the tighter around Aoife. Giving the dragonling a pointed stare, he looked down towards the baby in his arms. "Gently, you." He said warningly, indicating the babe. With a nod, Remi followed Ronin. He assumed Vanya was upstairs, hating the fact that the predators with himself knew it to be the case. "I know that ... well, something about closure means you should do this, but we can wait. Or ... I can go up first and cover her, or.." Remi's voice trailed off, pained eyes peering at Ronin and wishing he could trade all of his magic just to make Ronin's heart beat again remi Don't pretend it's such a mystery Think about the place where you first met me

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving Aoife stirred at the disturbance and the cloth, letting out a quiet whimper and starting to fidget as her sleep was disturbed and she began to awaken in unfamiliar arms, but unfortunately her father was somewhat preoccupied. "You heard the man," he mumbled to Sugar, who all but shivered around Ronin and let out a thoroughly unhappy trill as he led them further into the guildhall. On the way he opened every available window to air the space out, dry eyed and sad as he headed towards the stairs. "Sorry I left you," he muttered to the dragon. Quietly, he shook his head to Remi. "No, I... I covered her up when..." He paused to clear his throat, searching desperately for the words. "I'll... I can go. Would you get a fire started, though...?" Providing Remi didn't want anything further from him, Ronin would let out a long, slow breath and start to head upstairs.

The space after when was nearly crushing, and had Remi not been holding Aoife he would have gone immediately to his friend. As it was, he merely held the baby all the tighter, pressing his lips and nose against her skull and breathing deeply. "Of course." He whispered to Ronin, wondering if it was best to let the guildmaster deal with his almost-wife on his own, or if Remi was merely being selfish by just following his instructions. Watching Ronin ascend the stairs with a shaky breath, he turned around to the hearth. Magically tugging at a few logs that Sugar hadn't entirely coated in frost, he gestured them into the grate. "Your mother was so beautiful." He whispered to the mostly-slumbering child as he knelt down. Holding her against him with his magic, Remi reached forward to grab for the flint to get the fire started. "Did you know she could become a bird and fly? Would you like to do that one day as well?" remi Don't pretend it's such a mystery Think about the place where you first met me

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving No one had spoken to Aoife like this, evidently - no one with a man's voice, anyway - and the infant gurgled against Remi's chest as he went about getting the fire started. Already the cold was beginning to dissipate with how Ronin had opened up all of the doors and windows, letting a gentle breeze sail throughout the guildhall. Still, though, the dappled light gave way to deep shadows, since all the lanterns had long burned out. Silence pervaded the upper floor of the hall, interrupted only by occasionally soft footsteps. Eventually Ronin appeared on the bottom step, frost in his hair and tears frozen on his cheeks. "I don't know what to do," he confessed. "I wanted to... Vanya would have wanted to be in the ocean, but..." But there wasn't one, and the Glade was not suitable for that sort of thing.

Remi knelt before the fire, explaining to Aoife in dramatically narrated scientific terms how to properly oxygenate a fire. Her coos were obviously an indication of a rapt scientific mind, and so the alchemist happily continued. Hearing the soft creak of the boards, Remi glanced over his shoulder, his smile fading away entirely upon seeing the frosty expression on Ronin's face. Remi scanned his friend's eyes, and then studied the flickering flames for just a few moments. His gaze switched back and forth as his mind frantically tried to find the answer to all of this, but of course there was none. Swallowing down heavy emotions and unsaid thoughts, Remi cuddled Aoife closer as he nodded finally. "No, not the glade. I could try to magically embalm her until we do find an ocean. Or ... I could ..." With his earthen magic, could they plant Vanya and have her become a tree? Plant Vanya? Gods, what was he even saying. Squeezing his eyes shut, Remi took a breath and slowly shook his head. "With fire, we could send her into the skies. " He said after a moment, turning slowly to look at Ronin. remi Don't pretend it's such a mystery Think about the place where you first met me

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving Ronin chewed at the inside of his cheek, absently wiping the icy tears from his face and giving Sugar a gentle scratch under the chin as she nosed at him sadly. The idea of planting Vanya brought an almost pained expression upon him, but that faded somewhat at the mention of a pyre instead, perhaps. "It isn't the ocean, but that way she could fly again," he said slowly. "Maybe she'll reach the sea that way, one day..." Taking a shuddering breath and letting it out again, the guildmaster tiredly rubbed his eyes and moved to sit by the fire with Remi. Ronin looked lost and exhausted, ploughing onwards only because he didn't know how to do anything else. "I don't think I've ever spoken to her, like you do," he mumbled, nodding at his daughter cuddled close in Remi's arms. "Or Vai, or Phoebe, when she held her. I don't... I don't know what to say." Shaking his head, Ronin gazed around the place. "There's plenty of wood and kindling already gathered, from when I was trying to prepare for LongNight. Maybe we could take it out into the Fields tonight, and send her off there."

Remi nodded distantly. He’d never lost anyone before, not like this anyways. He didn’t know what it was to worry about a proper send off, or to need the burial or cremation to somehow be a fitting tribute to the one you’d lost. Remi’s lips twitched slightly, as he looked down at Aoife. “There is probably too much Vanya in her. All Vanya, really, given how beautiful she is.” The alchemist said, smiling down at the baby before turning to look towards Ronin. His smile faltered, grief pulling his lips down. Nodding, Remi tried to consider. “Will you want it to be just us? Or ..” Asking if there needed to be an invitation somehow sounded far too upbeat. And really, who else new Vanya? Many new of her tangentially, but given that none of her family seemed to have made it, anyone who would come along would probably only do so for Ronin’s sake, and Remi wasn’t sure that was what the guildmaster wanted. remi Don't pretend it's such a mystery Think about the place where you first met me

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving "You think?" Ronin managed a wan smile at that. His daughter had been born with a full head of dark hair, and her eyes when she opened them... Ronin was certain he saw the whole cosmos in there, but perhaps that was just how every father felt when they looked at their child. "If that is the case, though, I should find it easier to talk to her than anyone else... I hope I can do right by her." Because he wasn't, not right now and not for either Vanya or Aoife. But he was trying. Fiddling at a loose thread on the hem of his shirt, Ronin stared deeply into the flames. "Just us, if you don't mind. And... thank you, Remi. For coming back here with me, for taking care of Aoife. For just... being there. I don't think I would have been able to do this alone."

"You will Ronin." Remi said with a certainty that surprised even him. But as the words left his lips, he found he very much did believe them. "Once everything calms down, I am sure you will find a routine. You did with Sugar after all, and something tells me a baby dragon is probably much more difficult to handle than a child is." He added, winking towards Sugar with a grin. "Always." The alchemist vowed with a solemn nod. There was perhaps no one that he was closer to, all things and memories considered. "Is there something I could make for her? We could wrap her in linens that look like the ocean?" He had absolutely no idea what state of decomposition Vanya was in. Though looking around at all the frost, he wondered if Sugar hadn't intentionally tried to lower the temperature to keep her preserved as best as she could. remi Don't pretend it's such a mystery Think about the place where you first met me

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving Ronin wanted to ask Remi just how he knew, but as he listened to the alchemist's words and let them soak in, he found himself wanting to believe them desperately. Sugar, for her part, let out a small chirp of agreement. The dragonling did not seem her usual self, and Ronin knew it had everything to do with the body upstairs and the way she had been left to guard over it. Still, the guildmaster appreciated it more than he could say. Glancing back at Remi, he nodded as well and let out a long, unsteady breath. "That would be nice," he agreed. "She... it's practically all frozen, up there. She looks almost like when I left her." Shaking his head as if to dislodge the image, Ronin scrambled to his feet and glanced around for something. "Alright... if you could make those linens, then we can head out once this place is in less of a state. Ah-- here." Ronin produced a wicker basket lined with blankets and rabbit fur. "I can't expect you to keep holding her all day."

The alchemist felt his heart clench. He couldn't imagine what it would have been like for Ronin moments ago, to go upstairs and relive it all. It would have been worse to find her body mangled by sugar or in the throws of decomposition, but ever preserved it was sure to be a sight that the hunter would never forget, and one which would keep him awake for nights to come. "Right away." Remi agreed. Glancing at the basket, the alchemist smiled down at the bundle in his arms. "What your daddy is trying to say, is that either I am not strong enough to carry you around all day, that I am clumsy and might drop you, or he wants me to do the lions share of the cleaning." Glancing up at Ronin, he looked back towards Aoife with a secretive whisper. "Personally, I think it is all three." Placing the girl in her basket, two small stuffed creatures appeared in Remi's hands: a pale dragon, and a sea-bird. remi Don't pretend it's such a mystery Think about the place where you first met me