trust fall

RONIN

Ronin has felt the change in seasons like a shiver in his spine, and he's long enough in the tooth these days to understand everything it heralds for himself and those closest to him. (Here's looking at you, Remi). However, understanding doesn't bring with it any sense of control, and so, fully cognizant of how unreasonable he's being, Ronin trots through the Outer Islands in search of his husband for no other reason than want.

He does pause on occasion, the picture of Leafchange glory in his stag shift, grazing on the soft grasses with glowing antlers on full show, only for the itching in his bones to spur him onwards again. By the time the sun is waning towards late afternoon he's just pranced over a log and started a fight with another luxere, and with a toss of his head he continues onwards, certain he'll find what he's looking for soon enough.

I've been sleepwalking, Too close to the fire
But it's the only place that I can hold you tight

Knowing full well that Ronin was out and about, Remi had a choice to make. He could send pulses of love and affection toward his husband, honing in on him through the brambles and thickets until they were together again, or, he could tease the Nova and see if he couldn't force his Leafchange instincts to get the better of him. Opting of course for the latter, it was on massive golden paws that Remi strolled across the Outer Islands.

Keeping his wings tucked against his flanks and his tail curled neatly toward his back, Remi crept along slowly before pausing to lift his nose into the breeze. Amidst the scent of mulch and rainfall was the unmistakable anxious energy of a prey animal; not just any prey animal, mind you. Luxere had their own distinct smell as all animals did, but this one also smelled of brine and coffee.

Growling, the sound low and carrying in the stillness of the day, the manticore perked his ears forward and listened. Would his husband flee at the sound of a predator nearby? Or force himself closer at the expense of his instincts?

the lullaby

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

RONIN

And therein lays the problem - where one set of instincts says to run and not to look back, another urges Ronin to grab the things that are important and keep them close. A strange contradiction then, when the very presence making his muscles rigid with adrenaline is the same one he wants to throw himself towards. The result, of course, is a wary sidestep by way of the luxere, antlers lowered uncertainly, nose twitching as if there might be whole pride of manticore out here in the fields.

Eventually, the soul within the stag's body shakes itself loose, and its with a snort and a haughty toss of his head that Ronin turns towards the sound of the manticore head on, beginning to lope in its direction. You are teasing me, he complains affectionately down the length of the Attuned bond.

I've been sleepwalking, Too close to the fire
But it's the only place that I can hold you tight

Maybe. Comes gentle agreement as Remi crouches down in a puddle of shade to wait. But can you blame me? Mischief twists the words even as the manticore holds his breath to remain as silent as possible. Ronin will smell him no doubt, but there was no need to make the Luxere's task of pinpointing danger any easier.

Some might say that you are the one teasing me, if you think about it. What else would catch the attention of a predator, than a luxere doing his best to make sure he is impossible to ignore? Sounding far too reasonable for Remi to believe what he was saying, he inched forward in the grass with his belly pressed firmly on the ground.

So many years you have had this shift now, and every season you seem surprised I want to devour you.

the lullaby

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

RONIN

Ronin does smell him, and with a predator's scent on the breeze, he has to force himself to continue forward with the confidence of a creature not quite so in danger of being eaten. I did not ask you to be out here as a manticore, he points out, sounding a touch smug about it even as he circles the shady area where he thinks said manticore might be hiding. I feel as though I should get a free pass at Leafchange, anyway.

You know, what with the unreasonable behaviour and tendency to headbutt the mailman. Nose twitching, Ronin springs back suddenly as if the stag in him has realised how close by Remi might be and has acted on skittish instinct. Shaking himself off, he chooses instead to also hunker down in the grass, visible only by a crown of antlers. And besides, I think you want to devour me every season. So it hardly counts.

I've been sleepwalking, Too close to the fire
But it's the only place that I can hold you tight

You might not have known I was in the body of a manticore, but that does not make me any less of a predator. Remi counters mildly, before scoffing mentally. Oh is that so? Henry Cavilling Tutting, the giant feline shakes his head slightly within the foliage before tensing abruptly as the stag leaps away.

This is true. I absolutely do. Remi agrees a touch wickedly and perhaps a little smugly as well.

But fine. Say I give you a pass. Then what? I can smell the adrenaline wafting off of you. I know you still want to run. As a man the Lullaby wouldn't be able to keep up, and none of his shifts (save for one) were anything but monstrous.

the lullaby

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

RONIN

"Then I suppose I had better run," Ronin says with a fiendish smile above the grass, having shifted back into a shape less likely to bolt at the mere sight of Remi. Still partially shifted so his glowing rack of antlers might act as a beacon to his husband, wherever he is, the Nova rolls his shoulders and tries to peep around for a lion's mane or some telltale feathers.

"Though we never clarified whether I'd be running to you or away from you," he adds, creeping a little closer and trying to pick apart shapes in the long grasses. If Remi couldn't tell, he absolutely wants the former, though given the season, running in all its forms is acceptable.

soft spoken with a broken jaw
we step outside, but not to brawl

REMI

The scent of sweat and scarred skin reaches the Lullaby's nose, and no sooner has his brain processed it than he too is melting back into a semi-shift. With his wings still spread, Remi finds himself kneeling in the dirt and grasses, quite keen to be discovered if he's being honest. Something about the moment has his heart running away with him, the pulse of which Ronin will no doubt feel. Smiling secretively, Remi glances to his side and reaches for a dry twig, intentionally snapping it between his fingers.

"No, we never did clarify that, did we?" Remi wonders, grinning crookedly.

Feeling the soil beneath his fingernails as he inches forward, Remi knows that without his leonine abilities, he's likely the unstealthiest thing in the entirety of the outer islands, but nevermind. "If you catch me though, you will have to keep hold of me so I do not run away."

Who are you? They ask. Death?
Sometimes... I say. But not today

RONIN

Grinning now as well, it is not in the nature of any of his shifts to stealth or be in any way feline, and yet Ronin creeps through the undergrowth towards the sound of an obnoxiously snapping twig like any big cat. (A big cat adorned with antlers, naturally). "Luckily," he murmurs, "if I catch you, I have absolutely no intention of letting you go." Blue eyes light up at the sight of tawny wings hovering above the grasses like large, feathered I AM HERE signs, and Ronin laughs under his breath.

Of course, once again, we must reiterate that there is not a single ambush predator in Ronin's bones, and so as he pounces for his husband, it's very much more like a scrabbling, clumsy affair, but possessive delight sings through their Attuned bond nonetheless. And if Remi runs, that's all the better for this little game of kiss chase, right?

soft spoken with a broken jaw
we step outside, but not to brawl

REMI

"Well, you might not intend it, but I am stronger than you, husband." Remi calls out, and though he's never learned to throw his voice, he does what he can to turn his head to at least try and disguise his location.

If only he'd thought more about his wings.
Alas.

As Ronin crashes through the foliage, Remi has no real chance to try and run given he was still crouched on his hands and knees. Even so there's enough predatory insight in his muscles to have him rolling to the side, tucking his wings close to his body lest he squash his own appendages in the meantime.

Who are you? They ask. Death?
Sometimes... I say. But not today

RONIN

"That might be true, but I've never known you to want to escape from me," Ronin points out, before all thought of conversation vanishes in lieu of a rough and tumble roll in the grass. And roll they do, thanks to Remi's positioning and Ronin's momentum, two demigods going tussling away through reeds and wildflowers. Of course, the Nova tries to do what he can so he's on top, so to speak, struggling to slow them enough that he might pin Remi against the dirt.

Whether or not he's successful is irrelevant, naturally; it doesn't matter if he's above or beneath the Lullaby, he'll still lean up greedily to try and take a kiss from his lips, hands swarming over his body. "Leafchange suits you," he informs the other man, and while it's likely that Ronin believes the same of every season, there's something about unruly curls and green eyes against a backdrop of falling leaves and blazing colour that does it for him.

Or maybe it's the stag in his blood. Who can tell, truly?

soft spoken with a broken jaw
we step outside, but not to brawl

REMI

"No, but I do like to win." The Lullaby purrs.

It's very The Lion King how they tumble over one another, and when eventually they stop such that Ronin has Remi pinned beneath him, the grin of satisfaction that deeply dimples his cheeks suggests that no part of the Lullaby considers this a loss.

Meeting Ronin's lips hungrily, Remi leans up slightly, raising his shoulders off the ground; the Nova would have to do more to see his husband properly pinned, Leafchange or not. "The things I never knew turned me on until you became a stag." Remi mutters on the heels of a laugh before tangling his fingers into Ronin's hair to drag the Nova's lips back against his own.

Who are you? They ask. Death?
Sometimes... I say. But not today

RONIN

As luck would have it then, both men might consider the situation a win in this case, Ronin shifting enough to let Remi decide how much he'd like to be pinned down, so long as they remain appropriately tangled together. "Everything about you turns me on, stag or no stag," he mumbles darkly against the Lullaby's throat, smiling the words down towards Remi's collarbone.

"Mm... I got something for you, by the way," he adds, almost as an afterthought. "I met Maea in a boutique in the Last Whisper." Fumbling in his back pocket, Ronin withdraws a pea green cravat delicately embroidered with strands of gold. It's obnoxious, flamboyant and precisely the sort of thing Mateo would wear, and he hopes it causes much eyerolling.

soft spoken with a broken jaw
we step outside, but not to brawl

REMI

Feeling heat immediately plume low in his belly to hear his husband say so, the Lullaby does his best to remind himself just where and when they are lest Hadama (or gods, Flora) receive official word from the Grounds about the conduct of Torchline's resident demigods. Still, greedily Remi clutches for his husband, not wanting to chase away entirely the youthful thrill of impromptu makeout sessions in wide open spaces.

"Wh—oh." As surprised by the choice of gift as hearing Maea's lips, Remi leans back on one arm before disentangling his hand from Ronin's hair to softly accept the square. "And you got this for me?" He wonders with amusement, clearly thinking that it better suited Mateo as well. Grinning crookedly, Remi rubs the material softly between his fingers. "Funny, I ran into Maea a little while ago too." He murmurs, and though it's poorly done given he has only one hand to do it with, Remi tries to fold the square into thirds before tucking it into the pocket of his chambray shirt.

"There. How do I look?"

Who are you? They ask. Death?
Sometimes... I say. But not today