give me something to sing about

you are terrifying and strange and beautiful

Ronin doesn't bother to reply to Remi when it comes to the remarks he knows are born of defiance rather than truth; he merely gives his hand a warm squeeze. However he feels is valid after everything that has happened, and when the alchemist does gaze up and into his eyes, Ronin realises how similarly he feels. But it doesn't mean that his husband deserves to exist in this sort of pain.

"What if it wasn't a favour, though?" he asks. "Safrin didn't ask for anything in return. I know that doesn't mean Ludo is the same, but I imagine it wouldn't want to seem less than Safrin." Furrowing his brow and pressing further kisses against the back of Remi's palm, Ronin gives his husband's hand a finaly squeeze before releasing him to refill their cup of wine.

"Besides," he says, "if you ask me, the gods owe you one after what you did."

The huntsman

i've seen fire & i've seen rain.
i've seen sunny days that i thought would never end

Unable to help it, Remi snorts out a laugh. "Oh, she might not have asked for it, but when she asks for a little favour from those assembled, are they really going to turn her down?" Altruism was about as far from Safrin's character as it now was from Remi's.

Grumbling, but permitting his hand to be released in favour of more wine, Remi just gives his head a little shake. "I do not disagree, but I also do not think that argument would work on Ludo.' He murmurs on the heels of a sigh. "Besides, if the Core was powerful enough to have taken over Caido, who is to say Ludo can even do anything about this?" Tilting his head towards his right side, Remi quickly raises his eyebrows. "And so help me, if you say that there is no harm in asking, I will bite you."

you are terrifying and strange and beautiful

"Well if that is the case, aren't you thankful that I didn't accept her offer?" Ronin raises his brows, his tone softly playful even if he knows how serious Remi is - and likely for good reason, too. Taking a long sip of his wine and offering the rest out for the alchemist, he shifts to sit closer (as if they aren't close enough already, naked and half draped over each other on their picnic blanket).

"Only Ludo is to say," he points out as he slips an arm around his husband - which is not the same as there's no harm in asking, he might add. "I think you deserve to enjoy this life we've made as much as possible," he says instead, leaning in to kiss Remi's temple. "And I think that would be a lot more enjoyable with two working arms. Besides, it has been over a year. Perhaps Ludo is different now the Ascended are gone."

The huntsman

i've seen fire & i've seen rain.
i've seen sunny days that i thought would never end

"Show me your wrists, again?" Remi huffs; Ronin is quite literally shackled to Safrin no matter how many of her gifts he does or doesn't accept anymore.

Like some large cat that grumbles with hostility when you pet it even though it clearly likes the affection, so too does Remi grumble and stiffen as Ronin leans close. His coldness towards his husband lasts not but a second before he's melting against the Huntsman and reaching out to take their cup of wine. 'I am enjoying it. I do not need to fly anywhere anymore, and...I have tentacles and you for everything my right arm can no longer do." That wasn't strictly true, but gods it was easier to lie to himself than think of what sorts of tasks he might have to do for Ludo.

Grumbling, because gods what a catch-all that sound was just now, Remi rests his chin on Ronin's shoulder, huffing loudly against his neck. 'I will admit that you are right later. For now, I hate it.'

you are terrifying and strange and beautiful

"We are talking about you," Ronin says sweetly rather than showing Remi his wrists, and as the other man nestles against his neck, he busies himself nosing against his unruly curls and kissing the crown of his head. "That is absolutely true," he concedes, the words mumbled into Remi's hair, "and you do have me. You will always have me. But the one thing tentacles can't do is make you stop being in pain."

And that's something Ronin would take away above all else, because however blissfully happy they are and however perfect the setting, pain like the sort Remi has to live with takes its toll. If his husband's arm were useless but painless, too, that would be another matter. "It's a suggestion, nothing more," he assures him, but he does feel good to know he's right (don't they both?). "And at least for now, if nothing else, you have your compass back."

The huntsman

i've seen fire & i've seen rain.
i've seen sunny days that i thought would never end

Running his tongue against the bottom of his teeth, hard enough for them to grow sharp and draw blood, Remi says nothing. Ronin is right; if not for mobility, being in pain was really the only thing keeping the alchemist from being entirely at ease at all times. 'You are a suggestion and nothing more.' Remi grumps, pulling his slightly bloodied tongue back into his mouth and gently gnawing on Ronin's shoulder.

"Oh?" He murmurs, still with Ronin's shoulder in his mouth before pulling back. "You went to see Phoebe then? How is she doing? Pregnant with Sunjata's baby, perhaps?" Remi grins. They'd joked about Nightengale and Flood getting together whilst the war had raged on, and though Remi didn't know that that had actually happened, it didn't stop him from assuming it absolutely had.

you are terrifying and strange and beautiful

"False," Ronin informs his husband, huffing out a soft laugh to feel the other man's teeth against his shoulder. "I am the real deal, and don't you ever forget it." Remi won't - he knows it. With the side of him not currently being eaten, he reaches for some more bread and butter, considers dunking it in the cup of wine, then promptly regains his senses.

"Mmhm," he confirms about the compass, munching away at the bread and offering Remi a bite before continuing. "I did. The Greatwood is... well, there's a lot more and a lot less of it," he says slowly. "Phoebe was trying to build a bridge - un-pregnant, I might add - so I helped her out. She kindly agreed to give the compass back, it's in the picnic basket. I was going to propose to you again with it, but I'm too comfortable to get up and on one knee, sorry."

The huntsman

i've seen fire & i've seen rain.
i've seen sunny days that i thought would never end

"Or what?" Remi asks as if he's some hulking school bully with Ronin's lunchbox in his grubby hands. Watching what the Huntsman is doing out of the corner of his eye whilst continuing to gnaw against his skin, Remi obnoxiously lashes his tongue back and forth to properly marinade his husband's skin.

Snapping up the bread and putting it into his cheek to continue his ministrations, he narrows his eyes slightly before sitting up. More and less of the Greatwood? That was vague enough to have Remi slightly curious "A..bridge." How...mundane, but okay. "Ugh, lazy." The Lullaby complains before going back to using Ronin like a chew toy.

So not pregnant and building bridges. That does not sound like Phoebe at all. Remi thinks so that his lips and tongue were free to try and add a hickey against the side of his husband's arm.

you are terrifying and strange and beautiful

"Or," Ronin says, as if Remi has forced his hand and now he's going to have to do something he doesn't want to do, "I will have to remind you, over and over again. With my penis." Nodding sagely, it's an expression that turns into a mix of curiosity and disgust to watch the alchemist try to either eat or clean him with his tongue (Ronin isn't sure, honestly).

"Mm, a bridge. The Greatwood flooded after the war. It's a lot of little islands now, and the Stonesong is big. They're calling it the... the Stone Symphony now, or something." He shrugs his shoulders, intentionally trying to knock Remi's chin to try and get him to bite his tongue. "Are you enjoying yourself there?" he wants to know, and for all of his complaints, he clearly doesn't care all that much.

The huntsman

i've seen fire & i've seen rain.
i've seen sunny days that i thought would never end

"Gasp." Remi gasps dramatically, and gods it's been only minutes, but already certainly parts of his body want to rise to Ronin's challenge.

The flaying of his tongue melts into gentle kisses as Ronin comments on his actions, as if Remi might just smooch away the burst blood vessels he's called up to the surface of his husband's skin. "Mhmm." He hums innocently as his teeth click loudly together. With a grumble, he rests his cheek on the hickey and reaches for the wine.

'Stone Symphony, mm?' He rolls his eyes. "So is...everywhere completely different, then?" Remi wonders. Having not left the mountain since The War, he has no idea. Save for the bits and bobs of information Ronin brings back from his outings, it's all just a blur in Remi's mind.

you are terrifying and strange and beautiful

"Mmhm," Ronin agrees with Remi's gasp, and the slant of his smile suggests that he's also considering round two, especially given what Remi's tongue and lips have been up to while they've been talking. Smooching the crown of his husband's head again, he accepts the gentle kisses and willingly surrenders the wine, in the meantime reaching for a little more cheese and a couple of grapes to go with it, saving some for the other man should he want it.

Nodding softly as he finishes his snack, while Ronin doesn't know for sure, he's reasonably sure of it having flown across to the Greatwood. "There's a green oasis part of Hak Etme now," he recalls. "And the Grounds are in pieces, too. I haven't been any further south, but I imagine it has all changed there as well."

The huntsman

i've seen fire & i've seen rain.
i've seen sunny days that i thought would never end

Want it Remi does; slithering out a tentacle, the Lullaby presses his suckers against the grapes and cheese in order to deposit them into his mouth.

'I think that is called a mirage, husband.' The Lullaby counters dryly; there might indeed be a green part, but in a desert land, he wasn't going to let Ronin get away with just stating there was a bit of an oasis so easily. "Not that I am at all inclined to check, but you know when Outlanders come in and ask if this is all there is? As in, is there any land anywhere else?" Remi raises his eyebrows softly. "I sort of wonder if there might be, now that everything has shifted about." But, given that he couldn't fly, was a te5rrible passenger, and simply didn't care, he wasn't about to suggest that they go and see.

"...huh. Have you seen any new Outlanders while you have been out?"

you are terrifying and strange and beautiful

"I love you so much," Ronin croons as Remi opts for tentacle-delivery of cheese and grapes. Is it perhaps one more reason he secretly hopes the alchemist will decide to go and see Ludo? He'll never tell. Instead, he reaches for the (nearly empty) bottle of wine to empty the last of it into their cup, rolling his eyes at the inevitable sass. "I'm not sure a mirage works that high up," he points out, but he's also just as quick to drop the subject. (He knows very well how awful a passenger Remi can be).

"Mm, I'd be more interested to know if there was anything hiding under this," he murmurs, grinning at the Lullaby. "An underground Caido or something." Shrugging, he takes a sip of wine and tilts his head against Remi's. "Outlanders? Can't say I have," he says slowly. "But then again it's only very recently I've decided to have real conversations with Deimos and Phoebe. Are you an Outlander doesn't tend to come up in most introductions, not unless they're brand new."

The huntsman

i've seen fire & i've seen rain.
i've seen sunny days that i thought would never end

Ronin might not tell, but the squeamish tint to his emotions everytime the Lullaby sprouts extra appendages of a very certain kind speaks volumes. 'Next time Safrin offers you a favour, ask for never-ending wine." He comments under his breath, nodding towards the soon-to-be empty bottle.

"Ooh, an underground Caido." The Lullaby agrees, grinning. "Maybe we would all walk upside down there, or speak backwards." He suggests with a foolish grin, before shrugging one shoulder. "I was just wondering, since the Voice was gone and the Core, if that meant...however she was doing what she was doing to bring us here, was also gone." No, are you an Outlander wasn't a standard greeting, but it was pretty easy to pluck out the few individuals who walked around Caido wide-eyed by the never-ending surprises of this world.