[se] horizons sing

REMI

the lullaby

there's a light that you give me
when I'm in shadow

"Much as Ronin likes to be my taste-tester, given how we react differently to alcohol I would be happy to hear your thoughts." He murmurs, glancing toward Isla as she spreads both light and sweetness around the boat. Absolutely not noticing the play of firelight on her hair or how it transformed the colour of her eyes, the Lullaby just bobs his head with sarcastic approval at her thanks.

Sipping in a breath over his teeth, the Lullaby glances around. Able to extend his senses in a way Isla apparently couldn't, he can absolutely confirm that his presence here had sent a good number of creatures running, and a fair number more opting to grow still in the shadows with the hope he might just pass them by. 'You think so?' He wonders, before looking appreciatively toward the lavender.

"He did, yes. It all started with a small terrarium we gave him when he was younger that allowed him to grow almost anything. Since then he has learned how to basically cultivate whatever he wants on almost any surface. He really has a green thumb, as they say." Looking and sounding quite pleased and proud of his son's accomplishments, Remi too inhales deeply that he might mark the mingled smells.

there's a feeling you give me, an everglow

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Isla

"That's good, because I would be happy to give them to you." Which has always been the case, but Isla won't turn down the opportunity to taste some gin if it's presented to her. "And while I can't partially shift, even I noticed how the birds went mysteriously quiet after the boat landed. So yes, I absolutely do think so," she adds regarding the Lullaby's presence in the Greatwood, Isla reaching out to run her fingers along a few sprigs of lavender.

The pride in Remi's voice is something she realises she quite enjoys hearing, the Remedy stepping away from the lavender cascade at last to go and plop down in a leisurely seat on deck; it's where she's been for the majority of the voyage, truthfully. "Well, I suppose we should leave the real exploration until morning," she says with a languid stretch. "Unless you have any prowling you want to do at night?"

sooner or later, we all have to wake
and try forgetting everything

REMI

the lullaby

there's a light that you give me
when I'm in shadow

"Maybe they just...went to bed." Remi says doubtfully, frowning up into the darkened boughs. They both knew it wasn't true and while for the most part he was happy that his presence kept the worst of the predators away, he did wish he could have told the birds and such that he was no threat to them.

Having not allowed himself thought about the night portion of this trip, the Lullaby clears his throat and straightens slightly. "No. I'm good." He says a touch awkwardly as he makes his way out of the sweetgrass and onto the boat. "Down below there is a couch and bed, though..." Making a face, the Lullaby gives a slight shake of his head. "..if you do not think you will be too cold, we could sleep on the deck." Surely there would be blankets below, and as a manticore, Remi was quite sure his body heat could (safely) warm Isla through the night.

there's a feeling you give me, an everglow

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Isla

"Mm, maybe so," Isla says doubtfully, flashing a fanged grin to the Lullaby as if to tell him she believes it about as much as the birds believe Remi is no threat to them. Maybe it's that realisation that prevents him from wanting to stalk around the Greatwood at night, but either way, Isla certainly doesn't mind as he hops back up on deck to join her. "Tomorrow, then," she says of their prowling. "But you'll have to make it obvious for me if you're trying to say something." What with the whole lack of an Attuned bond thing.

Sleeping on the deck already seems much more appealing to the Remedy, and it's with a happy smile that she gets to her feet. "Under the stars? Count me in." It's different when it's for fun, rather than because she's travelling and she has to, and Isla disappears below deck for a few moments before returning with a few blankets and pillows for them.

sooner or later, we all have to wake
and try forgetting everything

REMI

the lullaby

there's a light that you give me
when I'm in shadow

'Oh absolutely. I have been working on my feline charades in preparation for this.'{/asy} Remi replies with a snort. He'd be concerned about their lack of ability to community if they hadn't known each other for, was it a decade now? maybe just shy of.

As Isla disappears, Remi takes a moment to have a serious talk with himself. He wonders if it's as bright in Isla's mind as it is in his, the last time they tried to spend time together beneath the stars. Likely not, seeing as she hadn't just been subjected to a movie version of their lives, but for Remi at least, it was impossible not to think of ballgowns, star maps, and blowjobs gone horribly wrong.

As Isla returns she'll find most of the above-deck furniture (mostly plant-related paraphernalia) pushed to the sides to give the pair the most room possible. Glancing over his shoulder at the pillows and such in Isla's hands, the Lullaby smiles crookedly. "And those are all..."{/asy} Wondering how to put it delicately, Remi clears his throat. "Free of substances?"[ Both bodily ones as much as drugs. 'Mateo has a habit of..' Rolling one wrist, Remi frowns. "Enhancing his nighttime activities."

there's a feeling you give me, an everglow

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Isla

Seeming more than pleased with the arrangements on the deck, Isla is already setting up the blankets and pillows accordingly, only for her movements to slow at Remi's remarks. The face she pulls is exactly what he might expect (a mix of horror and disbelief), and she gazes down at them suspiciously. "I got these from his linen cupboard," she says slowly, "so I very much hope so. The bedsheets looked clean on anyway, though."

Come on now, Remi - there's a reason Mateo hadn't been willing to part with La Verbena until the evening. He's a whore, not a slob.

Clearing her throat awkwardly, it appears it doesn't matter whether the memories of making starmaps beneath the night sky is fresh; Isla's mind is still some place it would rather not be. "You know far too much about your son's nighttime activities," she says instead, smirking and slipping off her shoes so she might sit among the blankets.

sooner or later, we all have to wake
and try forgetting everything

REMI

the lullaby

there's a light that you give me
when I'm in shadow

That they looked clean doesn't wipe the concern from Remi's face, the Lullaby grimaces and nods. "I absolutely do." He agrees. "He used to try and test them on Ronin and I. At first, it was harmless. Plants and things by our bed to help us sleep better, and then..." Inhaling, the Lullaby just shakes his head suggesting Isla wouldn't want to hear the rest. "Just know if you start to feel anything while you are trying to sleep, that it will pass." Mateo was alive and well, arguably anyway, and at least it might give Isla's doctorly mind some way of explaining away a sudden increase in heart rate or perhaps an immediate pull into sleep.

Biting at the inside of his cheek and feeling entirely awkward all of a sudden, Remi wraps his arms comfortably over his chest and laughs down at his feet. "This should not feel as awkward as I am likely making it, but..." Inhaling, he drops his arms almost immediately and splays his hands by his sides.

there's a feeling you give me, an everglow

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Isla

Now Isla seems torn between horrified and impressed; that Mateo treads the line between quirky botanist, man-whore extraordinaire and actual mad scientist is something to be proud of anyway, she thinks. "I see," is all she can really say about it, though giving the pillows a suspicious sort of look before shaking her head and deciding that it still beats sleeping on the ground. Only Remi hasn't actually settled down to join her yet, the Remedy gazing up at him curiously.

And gods but she gets it, even though it's been years since they spent any extended time together, and longer still since he'd been involved with her in that way. "I don't mind sleeping downstairs, if it's weird. Or you can," she offers. "Just remember it's actually less awkward now, because I actually sleep."

sooner or later, we all have to wake
and try forgetting everything

REMI

i've been sleepwalking and wandering all night

'No, no..' Exhaling, Remi ruffles a hand through his curls. "I think I thought if I said it, I would magically feel better, but.." He shrugs. It had been years to be sure, only for the Lullaby the reminder of what those last few times had been like was still vivid in the forefront of his mind.

"Gods that is right." He chuckles, edging toward the heap of blankets Isla had set out and pausing. "I have an idea though. Remember, my tail is poisonous." Without any more explanation than that, Remi is suddenly shifting and growing large enough to have the boat groaning as it too shifts beneath the sudden increase in weight. Peering at Isla with quiet but predatory green eyes, the manticore pads onto the blankets where it comfortably lays down.

Stretching his tail far away that it might not be a hazard even should the Remedy be a restless sleeper, Remi shifts his wings and legs slightly that he might act as both a blanket and a pillow in addition to what Isla has brought from below.

trying to take what's lost and broke and make it right

Coding base by Sky!

Isla

"Funny how it doesn't work like that, right?" Isla says with a kind smile; she'd thought saying how she felt out loud to Sunjata would make it better, and, shocker, it had crashed and burned. His idea thankfully draws her out of her reverie, Isla tilting her head only for her pebble blues to widen considerably as tawny fur and great wings replace the (still large, but not like this) alchemist. "I'd forgotten how incredible this shift was," she admits in a whisper.

Suddenly feeling like Remi is far too powerful a creature to be used as a pillow to lean up against - and remembering, too, the feeling of being a manticore, all sleek talons and powerful jaws - Isla settles down with Remi somewhat nervously. Exhaling a long breath as if to force her body to relax, the soft warmth of his fur and the fan of feathers does make it easier by degrees. "I won't tell anyone you've got a fluffy belly as a manticore," she promises, her smile very audible.

sooner or later, we all have to wake
and try forgetting everything

REMI

i've been sleepwalking and wandering all night

Able to be much more patient now that he didn't have a man's face to belie how he was actually feeling, the manticore simply remains still and welcoming as Isla navigates her bed partner. Only when she settles does he let one of his wings lower. Peering at her with wide questioning green eyes as if to ask if she was comfortable; his wing bones were hollow and light, but it still might be too much for her.

Growling with as much amusement as he could create in the back of his throat, the manticore's jaws stretch open with a long yawn revealing rows of shark-like teeth and barbed tongue. Not able to purr and too worried about nudging her again, Remi merely nosed toward the Remedy before glancing up toward the sky where a sweeping belt of stars was poking through the dusky twilight.  

~FIN

trying to take what's lost and broke and make it right

Coding base by Sky!