in dreams

aúsi, nos paramas // & still we stand

Though Remi did not know Deimos terribly well, it made more sense to the alchemist that he'd find the Sword in the Barracks (or if that failed, the bar perhaps), before he'd find him the Palace. Whether that would prove a correct assumption was yet to be seen but bundled up against the cold, Remi judged he had several hours in him before his annoyance at the chill was enough to drive him to ask directly about the Sword's whereabouts.

Rubbing at his forehead with a mittened hand before shouldering open one of the doors that led into the Barracks and the parlour within. Making sure that his Capitol Compass was stored safely in his pocket where it wouldn't unintentionally fall out, the alchemist blinks a few times as his eyes adjusted to the change in lighting. Glancing around, Remi's gaze only makes cursory pauses as he takes in the details around him. For all his strength he isn't a soldier and not particularly well-versed in places such as this. Ronin would no doubt have a far greater appreciation of the effort that went into the Barrack's construction.

THE

LULLABY

Table coding by Sky

DEIMOS

ache first, but then let the cuts close
spit out the blood

As luck would prevail for the Lullaby, the Sword was in the Barracks; surveying several warriors ascending the climbing wall. Strength honed and defined in the might of their persistence, and he only had to make several remarks, intonations about key practices and footholds, before they made it to the summit. But by then, whispers were trickling in and amongst the training grounds, and his head had turned to witness a recruit coming his way, mentioning something about another coming into the hall.

A mixture of sagacity and apprehension flickered over him, but not permitting the rest of the soldiers to see, he granted a swift nod, allowing them to disperse, before long strides swept out of the confines. Following the hints, he found the demigod soon after, arriving in the front parlor efficiently. “Remi,” he gave, by a rumbling intonation and greeting, with a tilt of his head, and then angling it towards the desk, table, and hearth nearby. “We can talk here.”

watch your body pull itself back together
then let your soul do the same

aúsi, nos paramas // & still we stand

Bothersome as it could be to have his identity precede him, at least in instances like this it meant that the alchemist did not have to wait long before someone came to attend to him. Conveniently, that person was Deimos. "Deimos." Came the reply and subsequent nod, before the alchemist followed the Sword towards a rather cozy looking setup where they might speak.

"I am glad my letter found you. It was early enough in the season, but it is always a bit of a risk." He begins casually, shrugging, before opting to get right down to it. "Ludo mentioned the potential location of another relic." Remi explains in a low voice, just incase any of Deimos's recruits were prone to eavesdropping. "After how well things went before with you, Ronin, and I, I can think of no one better to ask to come with us. I fear this one will be more dangerous than others, but.." Wrapping his arms around his biceps, Remi once again shrugs. They were all fairly well-versed in risk these days.

THE

LULLABY

Table coding by Sky

DEIMOS

ache first, but then let the cuts close
spit out the blood

The crackling of the fire in the hearth did nothing to ease the trepidation, but he sat in one of the larger chairs before its flames just the same, gesturing towards another one nearby for the alchemist to take. “I was surprised to find it had,” considering the weather. “I attempted to respond, but I doubt it got very far.” The blistering winds were enough to waylay any bird, save for the ningos who’d adapted to a leisurely escape in the Citadel. His thoughts went to the half-written notes already contained in his desk, for impending, future notice, but those would only rally down nearby streets and corners.

The Sword appreciated the straight to the point manner, regardless, as it kept his machinations off the potential apprehension, and more to the actions at hand. “Did it say where?” Surprised, really, to hear the compliment thereafter, his eyes widened a moment, before resolving back to their usual reticence, though he permitted a light smile to flicker in the corner of his mouth. “It is appreciated, and I would be willing to participate. However, I do not understand the travel you described." By dreams?

watch your body pull itself back together
then let your soul do the same

aúsi, nos paramas // & still we stand

'The Maw.' Remi replies, sighing dryly and turning his gaze into the fire. Raising his eyebrows in response to the thoughts scattered about in his mind, eventually he muttered, "...Ronin and I were going to bring Manta Crystals with us. We both have aquatic shifts, but it would be nice to have the option of using other abilities." Tilting his head slightly in Deimos's direction, Remi left a pause for the other man to supply whether or not he had such a shift as well.

As for the method of transport? Remi's expression turns a touch wry and perhaps embarrassed. On the heels of a sigh the alchemist ruffles a hand through his curls before straightening and facing Deimos properly. "I can put you to sleep, and then enter your dreams." He explains as baldly as he could. " Those I have dreamed with I can bring with me to other dreams. Ronin, for example, who is in Torchline. You would fall asleep here, and wake up there." And then, because there was no sense in dancing around it any longer than he had to, Remi added: "Naked, unfortunately. You would not be able to bring anything with you."

THE

LULLABY

Table coding by Sky

DEIMOS

ache first, but then let the cuts close
spit out the blood

Deimos had only gone to the Maw once before – but knew enough of the layout, understood the notions potentially behind the sigh. The schematics involved weren’t too labored though, considering other plans, machinations, and calculations already threaded in between. “I can get a manta crystal,” he’d had some stowed away in the old guild building in Torchline anyway. “I have a leopard seal shift, but I am a capable swimmer too.” No one born within the Moonlit Tides, or beside the ocean, had been permitted to be anything less.

None of it seemed overly complex – likely dive down, fight something, grab a relic and go – were it not for the transportation portion of it. Immediately there was a wrinkle to his nose, very boyish in the way that he didn’t like to relinquish control of his senses, of himself, to many –

The naked point was simply something he could snort at – not a man who’d ever been ashamed of his body. “Interesting caveat.” A long sigh filtered through him, thinking over items and companions left behind, sounding something like begrudging acceptance of an inevitable grimace and grumble. “I can always make things if we need them.” A minor clench to his jaw followed suit, remembering the half-finished notes tucked away in his desk. “When were you thinking of leaving?”

watch your body pull itself back together
then let your soul do the same

aúsi, nos paramas // & still we stand

Nodding, unsurprised to hear that Deimos had an applicable shift, it's with an uncomfortable shrug that Remi nods in the wake of the unease he feels through the attuned bond. "I should also mention..' Squinting into the corner of the room, boyish discomfort crinkling Remi's features for a moment, the alchemist weighs the best way to phrase what he knows needs to be said. "Went I put you to sleep...I could keep you there forever, if I wanted." Hazarding a glance towards Deimos, Remi shakes his head lightly and sighs. "I won't, but I do not like to do it without people understanding the extent of my ability."

Resisting the urge to look down at his hands, instead Remi shoves them into his pockets. "Ronin can bring people out of the deep dreams that I can put them in." He adds, as if that makes it better.

As for when? "Wessex has Cian's knowtbook, which means she likely knows about all of this already. I would take you as soon as you are ready."

THE

LULLABY

Table coding by Sky

DEIMOS

ache first, but then let the cuts close
spit out the blood

The information didn’t surprise him – not with Remi’s powers. The notions that he’d inform him at all caused a slight arch of his brow though – curiosity brimming there along with some residual confusion. “Have you done that to someone before?” Would it be easy, feasible then, to place adversaries into wakes in which they were defenseless, for eternities?

Nodding at the information about Ronin, with a touch of darker humor and a juvenile, self-deprecating grin, he rumbled. “Perhaps I should warn you that not many of my dreams are pleasant.” Thanks to lifetimes of trauma, battlefields, and modicums of survival, the haunting, after-images usually stayed in his mind.

The when sounded like now, and with another nod of his head, he rose from his chair, long strides taking him away from the hearth and towards the desk. “Just a moment then,” was another low tone, opening the drawer to snag at the half-written parchments. Good on his word, the General swept out a few more semblances of sentences, sealing them tightly, before threading his way down the hall, to ensure they were delivered by a trusted constituent.

Upon his return into the room, he suddenly felt very much at a loss. “What do you need me to do?”

watch your body pull itself back together
then let your soul do the same

aúsi, nos paramas // & still we stand

"Mm? No." Remi shakes his head and though it would be entirely possible for him to veil a manipulation from Deimos through their attuned bond, all signs pointed to the alchemist being genuine. But then, were he lying, surely they would point that way just the same. "Ahh, well. I do not always have to be a passive participant." Remi remarks wrly. "I can take over if I choose, but...at least for this, there is no real need. But it can be a useful way of communicating over long distances or showing certain things." He shrugs.

Glancing about the room as Deimos finished the things he judged necessary, Remi took little notice of his surroundings. A man like Deimos...no, Remi didn't think he'd glean anything interesting about the Sword from this room. Nothing more than he already knew, anyways. Things about order, rigour, determination. Those he could see here clearly.

Glancing up from having been simply staring into the fire (in truth, he was trying to see if he could manipulate it without being shifted and found he could not), Remi nods toward a chair. "Have a seat. I will put you to sleep and then follow. I will find you in your dream and then we shall be in Torchline."

THE

LULLABY

Table coding by Sky

DEIMOS

ache first, but then let the cuts close
spit out the blood

Perhaps that was best for both then – the Sword had never been one to share in many multitudes of his past, nor did he have intentions of dragging anyone else through the misery. One less moment to dread in a series of discomforts beginning to edge their way over his spine.

“All right,” he obliged, with nothing else left. He sat back in the chair, and eased a long, slow breath through his lungs – maybe some parts mental preparation, other proportions trying to etch over the pending lack of control. A relinquishing of ability, for an instant or more, of permitting someone else to have command over him, was not something Deimos gave often. Jaw clenched, feathering, he closed his eyes, and gave a single nod. “When you are ready.”

{FIN}

watch your body pull itself back together
then let your soul do the same