don't look now

RONIN

the darkstar

Okay, I'll admit it - this is pretty cool...

There's a lot to be said for a gigantic leviathan and a literal kraken to go canoodling through the ocean together, but in some places - an underwater metropolis, for example - only a manta crystal will do. Ronin has procured two of them just for the occasion, in fact, his own nestled against his throat even as he leans across to steal a watery smooch from his husband's lips.

With fingers laced with Remi's and eyes just about adjusted to the strange light beneath the waves - and perhaps enough of a partial shift to ease things along - the Nova is actually having a pretty good time. I wonder if we can find anything interesting for Mateo down here. I bet there are some plants that only grow underwater.

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

he said "i bet you don't remember me"

Of course some plants only grow underwater.  Remi counters with a playful roll of his eyes, before tugging at Ronin's hand to dry and displace the Nova as he glides. The real question will be if any of them are carnivorous. Bobbing his eyebrows and using several tentacles to pull and push them along, the Lullaby offers a crooked smile at a few merfolk who are clearly gaping at Ronin's presence.

Quite the fan base you have. He thinks, before pressing his lips against Ronin's cheek and doing his best to make a MWAAAHHHHHHHHH sound. He can't really, though a few obnoxious bubbles do stick briefly to the side of Ronin's face which is perhaps just as good.

THE ALCHEMIST

and i said, "only every other memory".

RONIN

the darkstar

Of course some of them will be carnivorous, Ronin says, doing his best to mimic Remi's playful tone, though he's forced to kick out a leg as he's suddenly push-me-pull-you'd along through the water. I might not have considered that you'd be more of a menace underwater, what with all the tentacles, he admits, doing his best to ferry them towards a stall selling all manner of kelp, seaweed and other plants.

Who says they are fans? They might just think I'm ugly, he protests, grinning at the bubbles sent streaming along his temple, a few catching in the dark fronds of his hair. Or maybe they're actually looking at you. Maybe Remi is the one with the fanbase down here. Who could be sure?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

he said "i bet you don't remember me"

Well, that sounds more like an issUe, now doesn't it? Remi wonders innocently, before opening his mouth to laugh and finding it altogether a strange experience for it to be silent, and promptly snapping his teeth together.

Looking over his shoulder and offering his husband his dryest stare—honestly, if Ronin had any proper enemies, they'd all still agree the Nova was problematically handsome—before just rolling his eyes. If they are looking at me it is only because of the tentacles. Which, you know, might be reason enough, but the merfolk were surely one of the few populations who'd recognize the arms of a kraken, however shrunken down to size.

You know, we never come down here, but it really is quite peaceful. Remi notes, glancing at the way a bit of bioluminescent plankton was being used as a lantern. And no weird purple...anything that I can see.

THE ALCHEMIST

and i said, "only every other memory".

RONIN

the darkstar

Oh har har, Ronin drawls, swimming closer to the stall and admiring a few of the specimens despite knowing absolutely fucking nothing about what he's looking at. False, he practically sings back to his husband, turning to blow Remi a bubble-streamed kiss.

If I were them, I'd be looking at much more than just the tentacles. For good measure, Ronin snags Remi by the waist of his pants so he can draw himself closer to the other man. With eyes more vibrant against the glow of the plankton and his curls like a halo around his head, Ronin has no real words for what he'd be looking at when it came to the alchemist.

Luckily, they've got the Attuned bond and Remi's magic for that.

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

he said "i bet you don't remember me"

Well I suppose it is lucky that it is not Leafchange, mm? Quite how Ronin would manage to bully merfolk in a luxere shift the Lullaby had absolutely no idea, but that the Nova was perfectly capable of it, he was absolutely sure.

Gazing softly at the Nova despite the gentle hustle and bustle around them, Remi reaches out with fingertips free of suckers (you're welcome) to try and coax Ronin's dark hair away from his eyes. While Remi's might have become a haunting green thanks to the light from the underwater creatures, Ronin's have taken on the palette of a wild midnight storm. Helpless to pull his gaze away, it's quite unintentional that Remi finds himself pressing against the Nova, only for that gesture to send them both drifting into one of the delicate algae-archways of a market stall.

Sound doesn't travel quite the same way so far from the surface so there's no discernable crash as things tumble to the sands, though there is a good deal of hands being thrown into the air and upset mer-stares leveled at the pair. Ronin Remi scolds, as if the mess was purely the Nova's fault.

THE ALCHEMIST

and i said, "only every other memory".

RONIN

the darkstar

Who says it needs to be Leafchange for me to love you and feel possessive about that? Ronin grins to his husband, not that Remi isn't absolutely fucking right (about both the state of him during Leafchange and his ability to headbutt merfolk). His smile grows into something warm and gentle as the Lullaby reaches out for him, Ronin leaning into the touch however strange and ghostly it might feel underwater.

So really, they are both to blame for the catastrophe that follows. Jumping a bit despite there being no resounding crash, Ronin gestures a frantic sorry! and leans down to help rearrange the stall. What was that you were saying about my fan base? he wants to know with a smirk in Remi's direction, straightening up once he's done and purposely bobbing away from the other stalls.

Come on - shall we swim back around to where the bubblestream is? I'm beginning to feel like a liability down here.

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

he said "i bet you don't remember me"

Well, it normally has to be Leafchange before you start issuing warnings. Remi counters roguishly, utterly and boyishly infatuated with the man in his arms such that all that comes next feels like a fair price to pay.

Snorting under his breath (which still has a few bubbles trickling up from his nose), Remi too reaches out to start helping sort the upset display, though their efforts are mostly waved away by the mer-merchant who seems to prefer sorting things out themselves than risking the clumsy efforts of the two demigods.

Making a yeeesh face and swimming after his husband, Remi reaches out with a tentacle to snag the Nova's waist in order to draw them properly back together. That sounds like a good idea. Though really with all the currents and ghostwales and things, you would think they would build their market a touch sturdier. He points out with a bit of a crooked smile before glancing around for the bubblesteam and gradually drifting toward it.

How did Flora seem when you checked in on her?

THE ALCHEMIST

and i said, "only every other memory".

RONIN

the darkstar

Having already been swimming away (he knows when he's making things worse rather than better, at least), Ronin is readily snagged, finding himself snug against his husband's side again without complaint. You would, wouldn't you? Or at least bolt them down, he agrees, completely stopping in his efforts to move to allow Remi to ferry him along.

It gives the added advantage that he can cling to - and fondle - his husband as much as he likes as they drift towards the bubblestream. Flora seemed fine, honestly. Confused that I came to check on her, he says with a pulse of affection through their bond, though it's coloured with concern. She was bitten by that infected fyrhund you saw, he continues. The wound didn't look infected, but it was still bleeding...

Sighing a stream of bubbles and glancing around at the market, he shakes his head. No ominous purple stuff down here either, though, you're right.

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

he said "i bet you don't remember me"

Ferry him along Remi does (out of love, and not a need to be in control, mind you).

Grimacing a touch at that despite the twist of his husband's lips, Remi sighs a stream of bubbles and gives his head a little shake. "I suppose we have not always been the best about following up when we are channeled." As parents or demigods. Or at least Remi hadn't. Raising his eyebrows slightly as his tentacles pulled them along, the Lullaby leans into the Nova that his concerns and conflicting emotions might just be felt by Ronin through magic if not by osmosis. I never know how much to interfere. He admits after a moment, his fingertips splaying a touch anxiously around Ronin's waist. I know we could appear and just fix everything for her, but I know that is not the right thing to do. But times like now I feel like we are not doing enough.

No doubt it was the sort of struggle that many parents faced when trying to protect their children while still giving them their freedom, though certainly it was made all the more complex given who and what Remi and Ronin were.

Lucky merfolk. He grunts silently, wrinkling his nose at a dark patch of algae.

THE ALCHEMIST

and i said, "only every other memory".

RONIN

the darkstar

Ronin doesn't need to respond; his agreement (and the corresponding guilt) resulting from Remi's statement will be felt keenly enough wherever they touch. Letting his head rest against the Lullaby's and frowning into the middle distance as they muddle and swim through other shoppers, most of them merfolk (and by they, of course it's primarily Remi), he takes his time in responding.

Sometimes I feel as though it's because we're not as... available as we could be, he admits. Like, I know they know we're there, and we'd help, but it isn't as though they could knock on our door, is it? And he can feel it twist in the pit of his stomach, the idea of giving up the hard-won peace they've carved out in the Cordillera, but... is it where they should be, these days?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

he said "i bet you don't remember me"

Ronin doesn't need to articulate the rest of the thought for Remi to feel the pattern of it strongly enough to make him flinch. Mateo does not call us as much as Flora, but...I think that is only because he was an only child for long enough to feel as though he should be fine on his own. That too was a point of ever-increasing guilt for the Taliesin's, and though it often felt as though both he and Ronin had reached the realization too late, still he felt the need to try and reconcile as much of it as he could.

It made more sense just after the war, but...now we have let years slip by. He tries to think the words as mere observation, but Remi can't help the way his guilt and greed colour them.

I suppose we have already moved the houseboat once...

THE ALCHEMIST

and i said, "only every other memory".

RONIN

the darkstar

Gently wriggling such that he can free himself of Remi's tentacles and get his feet on the ground(ish), Ronin slips his arms around his husband's waist that he might look at him properly. I would move that houseboat to the moon if it would make you happy, you know, he tells him, leaning in to press a cool, watery kiss against Remi's forehead.

Even if danger weren't lurking on the horizon again - potentially - I think... He sighs, his brow furrowing and his gaze dropping towards the ground. We've spoken a lot about having more children one day, but I think I want to take care of the ones we have. Properly, for once.

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

he said "i bet you don't remember me"

Letting his head loll slightly to the side as his curls dance around his forehead, Remi smiles sadly and lets his eyes close. Looping his arms around the Nova's lower back and keeping out only enough tentacles to keep them stabilized, the Lullaby wonders precisely at what point he'd gotten so old such that the prospect of moving (again) made him feel exhausted.

Pinching his eyes even more tightly shut as if that might block out the ringing truth of his husband's words, Remi nods slowly. You are right, of course. Pulling back slightly and running his fingers through his weightless curls, Remi tries on a lopsided smile and looks all the more tired for it. Well, what do we do then? Torchline, with visits up to Stormbreak? Stormbreak with you back in the dragoons, and visits down to Torchline? Trying to drag Mateo down, or Flora up?

THE ALCHEMIST

and i said, "only every other memory".