it's a funny old world

If anything ought to have made it clear that Ronin had needed little more than contact from his friend, it was the reaction as Remi shifted in his arms. The guildmaster stirred, blinking his eyes open and seeming almost in a panic as he found himself supposedly alone, only to relax completely as he gazed down at the racoon snuggled up to him. "Oh," he mumbled dozily, cuddling the little creature closer and scritching affectionately at the ruff of fur around his neck. "Sorry," he managed, as if trying to make up for accidentally making the other man feel uncomfortable (if that was indeed what he had done), but it seemed that Remi was just as soothing a presence in shift as out of it. With his fingers working lazily through the alchemist's thick fur, he soon lulled himself back off to sleep. It worked too well, in fact, and Ronin only awoke the next morning to the sound of Aoife's frustrated wails. Groaning, he got an elbow beneath him and sat himself up, still cradling Remi against his chest. "I've had better alarms..." ronin the long and lonesome road

Remi stretched out his neck approvingly, happy to accept the morning scritches. Rolling over and not bothering to shift so that he could speak, he patted Ronin's chest with a small hand as if to communicate both that it was fine, and that more cuddles were needed. Groggy and warm, Remi's raccoon mind did not much feel like being awoken. With a bit of a hiss, he clung to Ronin's bare chest with his small clawed hands and tried to burrow into it as if the guildmaster might suddenly, with enough whining, become a mass of blankets he could tunnel into. Яemi But now it's happily ever never. I guess now I know better

Jumping a little at the feel of claws scrabbling against his bare chest, Ronin sighed and smiled sleepily down at the grumpy raccoon. "I know, I wish it weren't morning too," he mumbled over Aoife's cries, the guildmaster seizing one of the blankets to bundle Remi up in it. Gently setting him down and tucking him within the nest of fabric, Ronin was free to tend his daughter. As he rose to his feet to fetch Aoife, Sugar seized the opportunity to creep away from the basket and seek refuge with the alchemist-turned-raccoon. She trilled softly to him, nosing beneath the blankets as well. Luckily, with his daughter in his arms she soon quietened down, Ronin padding around the hall to light lanterns and candles and stoke the fire to prepare a bottle for her. "It feels weird to wake up down here," he remarked, mostly to himself. ronin the long and lonesome road

The difference between being a man and being an animal—despite in fact being both at once—was one that the alchemist had pondered off and on again. It was the type of thing he considered when Ianto had licked his face as a fox, and yet Remi had run as a man when the fox had tried to actually kiss him. It was the type of thing that now, properly cuddled against Ronin as a raccoon didn't bother him at all, while only a few hours before the same position had sent a cold thrill of adrenaline and panic through his body. Though he'd been tucked back into the pile, it wasn't warm. Well, it was, but it wasn't Ronin warm. With a sigh, Remi shifted back into himself (apparently having lost his pants at some point as well), and yawned. Glancing at Sugar, he scratched beneath her chin and where her ears might have been, flopping down in the nest of blankets with a sigh. "I guess this is what we have to get used to, mm?" He asked the dragon with a sleepy smile. "Ah, so we are properly waking up I take it." Remi called over his shoulder as Ronin began to light the guildhall. Nodding thoughtfully, Remi considered as he glanced at Sugar. "Yes...I think perhaps that weird is going to be your new normal for a while." He concluded with a light shrug. Яemi But now it's happily ever never. I guess now I know better

Sugar let out a small growl of agreement, turning her head this way and that into Remi's scritches and sneaking into the blankets as he flopped down among them, warming her repitilian body against the deliciously toasty crook of his neck. Her blue eyes were lazily watching her master potter about, and she snorted her reluctance that it was, indeed, waking up time. "Well I doubt this little one will want to entertain herself," Ronin said in his defence, "and I don't think you'll want to be a raccoon all day." Though as both man and raccoon the guildmaster wouldn't be ashamed to say that Remi had made sleeping a lot easier. Ronin finished warming the milk for Aoife, stepping back over to the pile of blankets to sit crosslegged by Remi, cradling his daughter in one arm as she enjoyed her breakfast before the rest of them were even fully awake. "I guess so," he said, nodding and smirking at Remi. "You can feed her next time." ronin the long and lonesome road

"Hey, you don't know." Remi replied defiantly to both things Ronin had said. So far Aoife had seemed a fairly easy keeper. And didn't babies sleep a lot in their first few weeks? As for being a raccoon, honestly, with all that was going on with his memories and Vanya's death, being in the body of something small and useless was quite a relief, especially given how easily he could be cuddled. Yawning, Remi laid back down into the blankets, spooning Sugar like some sort of scaled teddy bear. Lazily his fingers drifted down her spine as he propped up his head with his elbow, watching Ronin. "Lucky me." He said cheekily, though he did genuinely mean it. He was fond of the girl and would indeed be there to help Ronin however he could. "What say you Sugar? You feeling up to hunting down mask-thieves or attacking the spire demo today? Or shall we take today off and sample wine? Do you even like wine?" Яemi But now it's happily ever never. I guess now I know better

"Oh don't I? Well I think I know about my daughter at the very least, but if you want to curl up in my lap all day I would seriously consider it." Ronin scoffed - he wasn't even joking. Between him and Remi he was pretty sure they were both run ragged to the point where they just couldn't accept any more. And as much as there was still to do upstairs and outside the guildhall, it could fucking wait if it had to. Rocking Aoife gently as she finished up with the bottle, he snorted and shook his head to Remi; Sugar, for her part, was thoroughly enjoying the fuss and trilled up at him, though quite what her decision was would forever be a mystery. "Please don't feed my dragon wine," Ronin attempted. ronin the long and lonesome road

Remi tilted his head as if straining to hear something. But of course there was nothing. With a grin, he shrugged at Ronin. "You don't hear me saying no, do you?" Raising a skeptical brow at Sugar, the alchemist tsked under his breath and shook his head. "You have quite the controlling companion now don't you?" Remi asked, shooting Ronin a mischievous look. "Besides, if not Sugar, I suppose that leaves you. I am not so sure I feel like going outside today. Or tomorrow. Or this week." Яemi But now it's happily ever never. I guess now I know better

Ronin tutted his friend playfully, though there was a smile on his face that seemed to becoming a little easier, the longer he spent around Remi. Putting the empty bottle aside, he carefully propped Aoife against his shoulder so he could gently pat at her back to wind her, laughing as Sugar chirped her agreement that he was controlling. "Hey, now. I'm just trying to make sure there isn't dragon vomit everywhere. Is that really so bad?" Once his daughter was suitably fed and comfortable, he settled amongst the blankets and pillows and took a second to just... look at her, and hold her in his arms. She was already dropping off, but Ronin seemed captivated, brushing a gentle finger across her cheek. "Well, there's a lot that needs to be cleaned up after LongNight. But I agree - it can wait for at least a couple of days." He nodded to Remi. "C'mon, then. If we're doing nothing, get your fluffy butt over here." ronin the long and lonesome road

Remi shrugged, glancing at the dragon. "You? Vomit? You would never, now would you." He cooed, his fingers tapdancing lovingly across her spine as he chuckled up at the guildmaster. It wasn't the most comfortable bed Remi could imagine, but next to the roaring fire, his friend with his daughter in his arms, and a snarky dragon at their side, the alchemist couldn't quite picture anywhere else he'd rather be. "Fluffy?" Remi repeated indignantly, looking at Sugar and shaking his head. "Now, if I shift, I expect exactly zero attacks, do you hear me?" Giving the dragon a stern glance, Remi rolled onto his side, becoming a lion as he did so. With a low rumble, he raised himself off of the blankets and moved to Ronin's side. Laying down, he yawned widely, showing a frightening array of teeth, before lifting his tail and gently brushing the tufted end affectionately across Aoife's forehead. Яemi But now it's happily ever never. I guess now I know better

At the fuss and the compliments, Sugar let out a musical sort of trill that Ronin was sure he'd never heard from her before - it was obvious who the dragon felt was her best friend, clearly. Still, he couldn't help but smile. She'd been left alone after they'd escaped for the Rathskeller, so she deserved to be spoiled. "Fluffy," he confirmed with a cheeky grin, though his eyes widened a fraction as the alchemist rolled over and became something much more than the raccoon he'd been expecting. Sugar snapped her sharp little teeth and burrowed back into the blankets at first, not trusting the transformation, though as Remi flopped down by Ronin and Aoife she eventually was tempted from her snug little cave. "She's getting big," Ronin commented of the dragon as he watched her clamber over to investigate the lion - she was about the size of a small housecat now, and he wondered if she would get any bigger. Aoife cooed up at the fluffy tail brushing across her face, making an uncoordinated grab for it, but there was no chance of her reaching it. Still, she seemed content enough. ronin the long and lonesome road

With honey-coloured eyes, Remi gave the dragonling a beseeching look. As a scientist he supposed that he was pleased that she just didn't immediately trust all that her eyes showed her. However he was glad that she hadn't immediately attacked him this time. At Ronin's comment, the lion nodded, rolling onto his side a bit so he could raise a ridiculously large paw and extend it towards Sugar for comparison. Her small talon-y hands? claws? paws? were hardly the size of one of the pads of Remi's paws, and the lion grinned a wide and toothy smile at this. "I can feel Isla in my mind." Remi said lazily, awkwardly shifting his mouth to speak. "I suppose you can with her as well? Does she speak?" Яemi But now it's happily ever never. I guess now I know better

Sugar was entranced by the massive paw that reached for her, rearing up on her hind legs with a flap of her wings for balance, serpentine head sniffing at it and seeming oblivious to the undoubtedly sharp claws which lay beneath the fluff. Ronin snorted as he watched her, the dragonling eventually deciding that the lion-Remi was more enjoyable than the trashpanda-Remi, clambering up his honey coloured pelt to curl up along his side. "Friend for life, there," he commented, smirking at the alchemist and relaxing back into the pillows. "Mm...? Sort of, yes. At first it was words, even when she was in an egg. But as she's gotten bigger, it sounds weird but it's almost... beyond words? It feels more intuitive. I can definitely feel her, though," he agreed. "It was the same with Echo, but... I haven't seen her since LongNight, and something in my gut says that I won't see her again." ronin the long and lonesome road

It was difficult for a lion to show affection. He couldn't purr, couldn't lick anyone with his tongue for fear of pulling off a layer of skin or five, and most of his facial expressions just looked aggressive. Even so, he was glad that Sugar seemed to understand him in this form, and he grumbled happily as she curled up against him. "I wonder if it is because Isla was a human before...I cannot say for sure, but it feels more like the ability I share with other attuned than what you are describing. I wonder if that will ever change." Pausing thoughtfully for a moment, Remi adjusted himself around Sugar's slightly chilly body. "At least we will have someone capable of healing when we take on the Spire monster. And you have your shield now." Glancing up at Ronin with contemplative honey coloured eyes, Remi sighed, his whiskers twitching. "Do you think we have a chance?" Яemi But now it's happily ever never. I guess now I know better