The Great Nate Exchange

I shouldn't laugh, but I know I'm a failure in your eyes

Well, there's no point wasting time about it, is there?

Equally, though, Ronin has absolutely no intention of making this trade anywhere near the Tower where all the unpleasantness took place. And so they agree on the Righteous Road - still within Stormbreak, but out of sight and earshot of any innocent civilians still trying to piece their lives back together.

He's not an animal, so he has ensured that Nate's body is wrapped carefully and borne on a stretcher that lays upon the ground some ways behind him (much as he might have wanted to roll it in a carpet and sling it over his shoulder). And with his end of the bargain in tow, there's little else to do but wait.

RONIN

And if the sky grows heavy
Wrap your arms around me tight

Depending on how well you know Remi, it might surprise you to learn that on this, the moment before the Great Nate Exchange, he's quite calm. Though he might have been a manticore, a wraith, a kraken large enough to block the gates or snatch a dragon from the sky, instead he's just himself; his most terrifying shift of all.

Standing at Ronin's side with his chin straight and eyes waiting for movement, the Lullaby rolls his shoulders comfortably and takes a deep breath. Even when the trio arrives to reclaim Wessex's body, it will be as though Remi hardly sees them. For all his familiarity with Isla, he'll hardly look her way. As for Sunjata or Wessex? He'll just be waiting for even the slightest bit of fuckery before unleashing the starbolts that vibrate in his palms.

the lullaby

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

I will stand by you forever; you can take my breath away

Wessex has most carefully wrapped and buried the Knowtbook somewhere in the Grounds before she leaves with Jata and Isla, wanting to leave as little to chance as possible. She suggests they portal to Torchline and then fly the rest of way -  mostly because the Grounds to Stormbreak is just too damn far. Spending most of the shorter flight as a kitsune to minimize the weight Jata has to carry, she only shifts back as the cliffs and stone arches of the city come into view.

Stormclouds darken the Wraith’s pale face as she radiates a reticence and stiffness that she hopes screams I don’t want to be here. She waits for Isla to dismount and then follows at her side, letting the Remedy do her diplomatic thing. When the time for exchanging comes, for the first time before anyone other than her Goddess, Wessex kneels on the cobblestones and bows her head forward. “Go on,” she says aloud to Isla, pointing to a spot on her spine, just where the cervical and thoracic vertebrae meet. Make it messy. And take as long as you need.

WESSEX

leaving well enough alone is no choice of yours to make

guilty says the proof, this town has no room for you

He doesn’t pick the dragon shift – he hopes for obvious reason. The fact that despite their little deal in the works, the last thing he imagines Stormbreak’s people wish to see is yet another dragon looming on the horizon. So the Pegasus it is, with Isla settled atop and Wessex in her Kitsune form to help keep the weight from being unbearable the rest of the trip. It’s a trip that he’s been waiting for and is surprisingly sober enough to take.

Likely because without the threat of the meeting at any time, Sunjata’d be nose deep in a bottle by now.

Regardless, he doesn’t plan on talking much. He’s here to get his husband, that’s it, nothing more. So he lands, tucks his wings in the second that Isla has hopped off his spine and Wessex to follow shortly after, before Sunjata shifts back into himself – brought to his full height with eyes solely on the wrapped body on a stretcher. His jaw tightens, frown lines forming further, hands moving to clasp behind his back to pretend to be ever the image of calm yet hiding his fists to hide the tremble that settles there.

And then he waits.

so look out, i fear they follow near

from the gallows you'll swing for all the kids to see