Growing roses in the disarray

Maea

And I hope that you don't suffer
But take the pain

The best time to hunt was early in the morning and late in the afternoon. Having chosen the latter as more preferably, Maea reached the entrance to the rose labyrinth slightly ahead of time and made herself comfortable as she waited.
The sun hung low on the horizon and dyed the gathering clouds in stunning hues of purple and gold. With the gathering dark came a damp chill; mist rose over the meadows, and beyond the first line of late flowering hedges Maea kept seeing hints of movement. A swaying branch, maybe? Except there was no wind. Deer... was possible, but this close to her it seemed unlikely.

Drawing her collar closer around the neck, she suppressed a shudder. Hopefully Remi would be on his way. If it had anything to do with the mournful cries carried by the wind and the abundant spirit sightings, he would surely know what to do. She had only come to hunt, but it wouldn't be the first time something unexpected threw a wrench in her plans.

At least the didn't carry a bow this time. Remi should be safe.

Hope if everybody runs
You choose to stay

let's not get lost in the dark blue

It had taken the Bastion longer than expected to reach Maea. Part of that owed to the fact that his new pixiu shift was smaller than his manticore's and the difference in wing span had slowed him somewhat, but in truth Remi had meandered through the skies as if flying them for the first time. He was doing everything as if for the first time again, and gods but it was refreshing to see the world anew in this way: as something to protect, rather than to destroy.

So it was that as Remi came up Maea it was with an apologetic smile on his lips and a flush in his cheeks from the flight. 'Sorry to have kept you waiting.' He calls, raising a hand in greeting.

The sound of unhappy spirits around them tightened the boyish smile on the Bastion's lips somewhat, but knowing what he did, he merely stared into the twisting thicket of the labyrinth as if to silently suggest it keep its tricks to itself.

But darling if we do, just find me, and I'll find you

Maea

And I hope that you don't suffer
But take the pain

Her relief upon seeing him was palpable. Getting to her feet, the short woman all but bounced up to Remi with a smile, milky skinned tail swishing enthusiastically behind her.

"All good things to me, so it's fine," she replied in greeting. "You look... really well. Did something good happen?" His flushed cheeks and bright expression was a far cry from the weary man she had talked to last time, even if the ominous air seemed to dampen his spirit somewhat. Maybe working with death didn't so much to harden you against it after all.

"I feel like I should apologize for the location" she said, rubbing the back of her neck with a look at the entrance to the hedgerow maze. "It didn't look nearly as bad in the daylight." Though the same could be said for all of King's End.

Hope if everybody runs
You choose to stay

let's not get lost in the dark blue

Grinning, Remi matched the Ancient's enthusiasm easily, a feat which once would have taken significant effort on his part. 'Actually...' Scrunching his nose slightly, Remi itched at the back of his neck somewhat awkwardly before ruffling his fingers fully through his curls. "It did." Having not told this story in so many words other than to Ronin—the telling of which had involved much silent communication and sex—it took the Bastion a few moments to try and piece together where to start.

"I...am a demigod for Mort now." He said finally, beaming. "I think Ludo realized what a bore I had become. Its exact words were that it no longer wanted to play with me, actually." Shrugging, Remi grinned. "And what Mort asked of me...gods, it really has just changed everything." Looking down at his hands and smiling, it takes Remi a moment before he looks up again. When he does, there's a light in his sea-glass stare that makes him look young again. Not in age necessarily, but simply free of scars and trauma and pain. "I am here as a protector now. No more killing, no more death."

Gods but it felt good.

Glancing around at the maze, the Bastion could only shrug. Reaching out to brush his fingers along one of the brambles before looking back to Maea. "I think we will be fine." He said with a crooked smile; it was quite literally in his job description now to see that was the case.

But darling if we do, just find me, and I'll find you

bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones.

---

You've encountered the OG random event! This allows you to skip one levelling requirement with the character in this thread. (Unfortunately does not count for characters over level 10, how sad.)

Maea

And I hope that you don't suffer
But take the pain

As far as overwhelming news went, this was about as incredible as it got. On the same level as 'actually I'm pregnant' or 'this person came back to life', it rendered Maea slack jawed and speechless. Asking if he was alright would be redundant; just looking at the man and feeling the brightness in his being spill over answered that. And Ludo had relinquished its hold on him willingly, so she had nothing to worry about there - surprising herself by the degree of care she still held for the dark Herald - which left only a budding, slightly unaccustomed warmth. Entirely selfless, just happiness for the sake of his joy.

"I'm so happy for you," she responded finally, a bit staggered herself from the enormity of it. "So that's why you have a new shift..." She didn't know much about the details on how the demigods worked, but it made sense that an expression of Mort would differ from Ludo's.

"Are you sure you really want to hunt? If you'd rather not start off by taking more life, I completely understand."

Her hunger was a trifling thing. Easy enough to set aside for a while longer, if Remi would rather just roam for the sake of it. The labyrinth could be as haunted as it pleased; she had never felt more safe before stepping into an unknown place.

Hope if everybody runs
You choose to stay

let's not get lost in the dark blue

Chuckling under his breath, Remi grins a touch self-consciously as he nods his appreciation. "Thanks, and yeah. As you can imagine some of my shifts were more suited toward what Ludo needed of me rather than what Mort now does, so..." He shrugs.

As for hunting, Remi gives his head an immediate shake. "Oh no, I am fine with it. Hunting is different." Still killing, sure, and someone more philosophically minded could likely make a compelling argument for how it was exactly the same, but for Remi at least, killing on his own terms and for a purpose that satisfied a basic need of his felt far easier to bear than the work Ludo had him doing.

"What shift will you be using? If it is something feline or avian I think I will be able to understand most of what you might want to communicate through body language, but if not..." Well, who didn't like a game of charades?

But darling if we do, just find me, and I'll find you

Maea

And I hope that you don't suffer
But take the pain

Recalling the glimpse of the manticore tail with its deadly sting, she nodded in understanding. While the attuned had varied and sprawling shifts, it seemed to her that demigods were more purposeful in their gifts. Just like the Ancients reflected their predatory nature in their shadow selves. "It's quite interesting, I admit," she said with a smile. "Comparing the abilities of demigods would be a fascinating way to approach the gods... One could probably learn a lot about their natures in the way they equip their followers."

Accepting Remi's decision with a simple nod, Maea flicked a strand of grass from her sleeve. Not sure whether to be flattered that he thought her so blessed with options, or embarrassed to admit her limitations.
"I only have a Molten Tiger shift," she murmured, looking away for a moment before regaining her smile.. "Should be feline enough, right? I'll follow you, so pick whichever one you like."

They could sort out the details as they went. Whether they caught anything or not was secondary in her mind to having a good time. Even if her stomach would disagree.

Hope if everybody runs
You choose to stay

Considering this, Remi can only shrug and nod. Maea wasn't wrong of course, but just now the thought of it only highlighted the worst parts of what it meant to be ascended in that way: he'd been made into a killer and Ronin had been made into a star-clad toy for Safrin to play with.

Smiling widely, the Bastion nods. "I can work with that. At least now we will be about the same size." As a manticore Remi had been large. Large as a small vehicle, not that the measurement helped in most situations, but it did put him heads and tails about his feline companions. As a pixiu, he possessed no superior size nor a poisonous tail. He'd lost the rows of shark-like teeth in his mouth as well, not that he really minded.

With a nod to Maea, Remi settled himself into the body of his newest shift. Stretching out his wings before folding them against his golden flanks, the pixiu gave a flick of his tail before tilting his head into the wind to scent the breeze. It was halted somewhat by the hedge-maze itself, but that didn't mean there weren't scraps of information for those who knew how to look. With a low rumble, Remi prowled forward into the darkness.

the bastion

Maea

And I only needed one more touch
Another taste of devouring rush

Said and done, with the matter of shifts settled all that remained was to change and get going. Slipping into the skin of the Molten Tiger felt good, as always. Clad in white fur and blued steel stripes that made the air shimmer with their heat, the tiger's lean muscled body erased the difference in size between them. While she wouldn't have minded a pair of wings, like Remi's, what she had was good enough, and it was with mounting excitement that she fell into step behind him and ventured into the maze.

Scents compensated for the muted hues of her vision. Dark hedges and creeping mist might have made for a boring vista, but the scent of moldering soil, fresh greenery and blooming roses more than made up for the lack of colors. Ghosts had no flavor that she could tell, but they were there, in the darkness. Whispering half-legibly, glimpsing in the corner of an eye. They were of little consequence save for the way they occasionally made her skin crawl - Remi's company made her bold enough to overlook the rest - because far more interesting was the scent-trails of living things on the ground.

Rodents, birds and blink hares seemed plentiful in here. And then there was the rich fragrance of what might be horse or antelope - or unicorn? Maea couldn't tell. It reached her from the right hand turn as they reached a crossroads, and she paused to share a glance with the pixiu, mutely consulting him for preference. Try this, or keep going?

But the room was so quiet
Whose side am I on?

Base by Skylark, Art by Midjourney

Though what Mort had done to his soul had smoothed away the snarls and scars left there over the years, the god hadn't removed the predators from his soul. He might be smaller as a pixiu than he'd once been as a manticore, but he was no less ferocious for it. So, as the pair slunk through the darkened corridors of the labyrinth, it was with muscles made tense by adrenaline and senses alert and ready, that Remi proceeded through.

Though the scent of something hooved nearby did catch the Bastion's attention, he couldn't help but wonder if there wouldn't be something much more interesting further within. The fire that promised power to those who jumped through it was sure to have an allure that beckoned more than just humans. So, with an inviting flick of his tail, Remi led the pair farther into the hedge maze, offering only a few well-timed growls at the shrubbery as if he might intimidate it into making their path that much easier.

Though a few void vipers slithered between dark puddles of shadow, Remi scented nothing of note once they were far enough past the unicorn or antelope that had been closer to the entrance. Nearly about to shift and offer Maea his apologies, the hedge to their left suddenly heaved and shifted, revealing the rotund belly of a boar and all of its accompanying sights and smells. With nothing more than a snarl of intent, Remi lunged forward, though the hedges had already moved to conceal the pig's location.

the bastion

Maea

And I only needed one more touch
Another taste of devouring rush

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Maea had no objections to pressing on. The tiger's lean muscled body was a comfortable guise to inhabit, and the simple task of navigating the maze eased the chatter of thoughts from her mind. Away from distractions and temptation this was a moment where it seemed alright to merely exist and let go; there was no one around whom she was capable of hurting, nor any reason to hold herself back from the instincts whispering within.

As time passed her senses sharpened. Being around other predators helped her accept the tendency within herself, so that the sudden appearance of the boar didn't cause her to shrink back but instead leap towards it, her reactions a fraction behind Remi's.

Caught in the thrill of the chase, the molten tiger tore off along the hedge and turned onto the first path that appeared that led to the left. Keeping her striped shoulder pressed up to the roses and leaving a trail of charred petals in her wake she kept turning left at every intersection, thinking it would be enough to let her catch up to the prey. Hunger was more than a grumbled in her belly, it was a song in her blood, a whisper in her muscles, an itch beneath her skin that lent a ruthless sheen to the gilded eyes.

That pig was already dead. It just didn't know it yet.

But the room was so quiet
Whose side am I on?

Base by Skylark, Art by Midjourney

With a growl of impatience, the pixiu drew himself back away from the hedge. From the corner of his eye he saw Maea's sleek form slide past him, darting down the trail before disappearing to the left. Opting to follow before taking the first opposing path—it was a maze after all, better that they both not find themselves in a deadend—Remi experimentally opened his wings before immediately realizing there wasn't nearly enough space for him to lift himself into the air. With a growl he tucked them at his sides, finding something suddenly thrilling about having to hunt the old fashioned way.

Unable to reach out to Maea mentally, Remi instead opted to make his presence known as loudly as possible. Better that he flush the pig toward the ancient so that they'd both know his position rather than coming upon her after a blind turn and presenting them both with the opportunity to make a devastating mistake.

As for the pig, it's mind had gone white with terror such that its movements were utterly unpredictable. The maze, as if sensing the game, was keen to adjust and reveal openings just large enough for a boar to squeeze through, before closing and forcing the felines to take the longer way around. All the while the three were running toward the heart of the labyrinth.

the bastion

Maea

And I only needed one more touch
Another taste of devouring rush

Dare she even think it? This was kind of fun. In a teeth bared, tail swishing and blood thirsty kind of way. Hearing Remi's menacing roars echo in the night, Maea began to do the same - awkwardly at first, but with mounting confidence when nothing jumped out to scold her for making noise and taking up space. At some point she lost track of where she was going, whether she made the choices in the path she took or if the maze was deciding it for her; and somehow it didn't matter so much. There was just the simple pleasure in chasing the thrill, or the puh in this instance, until catching it became the only thing occupying her thoughts.

The center of the maze opened up before her rather abruptly. Bursting out of the narrow windings at breakneck speed, the tigress barely had time to register the pixiu appearing at the opposite end of the clearing before the boar, driven into a terrored frenzy, finally grew tired of running. With a ear splitting squeal it set its head down and came charging at Maea, who had a split second to choose between leaping aside or pouncing.

She chose to pounce. Which, in hindsight, may not have been the wisest option. She realized the mistake the moment the boar barreled into her ribcage and knocked her flat onto the ground.

But the room was so quiet
Whose side am I on?

Base by Skylark, Art by Midjourney