[Training] places we never should have left

These are the last blues we're ever gonna have

Well. Fuck.

Not since his encounter with Dahlia had the Bastion missed and failed so spectacularly, and though pitting their strengths against one another was precisely the point of this, by gods if Remi hadn't found a much needed motivation to start training more.

Looking up and up, and up at the Hydra, as two of the heads lowered on either side of him to prevent evasion, he had no choice but simply to take the attack head-on. Lunging forward with his claws outstretched, Remi managed to somehow rise above the serpentine-thing's teeth, and now tried to sink his own teeth into the middle hydra's skull while holding on with his claws. Likely he looked like no more than a kitten upon such a colossal monster, but if nothing else, he thought the pair were putting on a show for Flora and the crowd she'd drummed up.

---

Remi leaps above Sunjata's attack and tries to bite his head/claw at him as a pixiu.

Regional Score bonus: +1 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +1 should be included)

the glow of the cities below lead us back to the places that we never should have left

Remi attack 4: hits

Remi HP: 1380/1515
Sunjata HP: 884/1125

---

Round 1:
Remi dodge
Remi hit

Round 2:
Remi hit
///

Round 3:
Sunjata hit
Sunjata dodge

Round 4:
Remi dodge
Remi hit

---

Remi, 3 hits, 2 dodge = 5pts
Sunjata, 1 hit, 1 dodge = 2pts

Most damage dealt: Remi (241 vs 135) = 1pt
Most % health remaining: Remi (91% vs 79%) = 1pt

Winner: Remi (7 to 2)

// i came from a broken home, so look at all my broken bones
count me in, but count me out, i know what this is about //

He doesn’t know what to expect, yet it wasn’t that, as the Bastion aims directly for the head snapping at him with sharp teeth. The creature starts to rise for another attack, only for Remi to bite down in the middle of his scaly forehead. And really, that’s the most what the fuck moment he’s got. It’s enough for him to shift back, turning back into himself scratched up and a little bruised (but hey! He went toe to toe!)

Remi remains right in front of him, close enough now that in his holy shit moment, he reverts back to that boxer from Korofi and swings with a fist, nailing Remi right in the nose and withdrawing, already shaking his fist out after with a hiss of “you owe me a drink.”

At least he feels a little bit better, right?

the flood

// i'm the next, so get in line
just let me have my fucking time //

These are the last blues we're ever gonna have

Things aren't coming up heads, but given Remi isn't being beaten into the sands quite as succinctly as he thought he would have been, he isn't going to complain. It's more to do with luck than any skills on his part given how much stronger the Flood was than he was (and how he was currently in possession of three fucking sets of teeth). With his teeth lodged against a scaly skull, the pixiu can feel the head begin to descend with enough speed to suggest that Sunjata was shifting. Following suit, it was with an inelegant stumble on the sands that Remi dismounted Sunjata (and not for the first time either, eyoo), before straightening.

Quite what he was going to say in light of their history and all that had just happened Remi had no idea, but before he could even find the words, Sunjata's fist was flying at his face. He heard the crunch of cartilage, and had it not been for the sudden rush of warmth that spilled from his nose, the Bastion might have thought he'd heard Sunjata's knuckles cracking rather than his nose breaking.

"—ow—"

Frowning as his hands went to his face, Remi's expression surprisingly wasn't one of anger. If he'd been wondering where he and Sunjata stood after all this time, that more or less summed it up. "Probably more than one." He agreed with a laugh that quickly turned into a cough as blood ran down the back of his throat.

"Are you supposed to tip your head forward or backward with a nosebleed?"

the glow of the cities below lead us back to the places that we never should have left

// i came from a broken home, so look at all my broken bones
count me in, but count me out, i know what this is about //

A part of him expects to miss that punch too, but he doesn’t and feels precisely when Remi’s nose breaks, and there’s some satisfaction despite the stinging in his hand, shaking it out as he rocks back onto his heels and reaches up to run a hand through his hair, feeling satisfied with landing that blow and spying the crimson that suddenly paints his face.

“I’ll gladly have more than one.” He confirms, like they’re making plans despite the fact his forehead is red and angry and will absolutely bruise. Remi’s laugh and question sparks a surprised bubbling of his own deep, accented laughter, shoulders relaxing. “I’d hazard a guess and say forward? But uh, I’m not a medic.” He winces, but he does reach out a hand for Remi to take, to guide him to his bag of holding, pulling out a towel for him to ruin should he want to take it.

the flood

// i'm the next, so get in line
just let me have my fucking time //

These are the last blues we're ever gonna have

Raising a tentative eyebrow—did we just make a joke?—the Bastion nods distractedly as he juts his chin forward. Conveniently the magic woven into his shirt will keep it from staining, but for the moment being at least the white fabric is speckled with dark maroon.

Accepting the Flood's hand and guidance, it's with a no small measure of wonder that he finds the grip rather easily held. Though his feelings toward the other man were complicated—old wounds and jealousy made a mess of the colours that pulsed from his fingertips—he wasn't unhappy about being forced to confront Sunajta

"Thanks." Pushing the towel against his face with a grunt of pain the cloth only vaguely muffled, the Bastion pulled in a breath for a moment before exhaling in a rush. "Hey, uh.." Straightening slightly, Remi peered up at the Flood. "..I was a real asshole about a lot of things when it came to you. I put myself into situations I did not belong, I threw my weight around and did not care who I hurt." Despite the way he could feel the skin beneath his eyes starting to swell, he did his best to hold Sunjata's cool gray gaze.

"I am sorry for that. For all of it. I know it does not change what happened, but I really am."

the glow of the cities below lead us back to the places that we never should have left

// i came from a broken home, so look at all my broken bones
count me in, but count me out, i know what this is about //

There is a lot of history between the two of them, and with it a whole array of emotions that haven’t really had places to settle other than remaining in anger and upset. But, with the redness to his knuckles from the admittedly cheap shot, Sunjata already starts to feel a little bit better with it.

The towel is offered and Sunjata settles on the balls of his feet a little, raising the scarred brow that the Bastion’s husband had left him with as Remi starts to speak. And really, a great number of emotions cross along Sunjata’s insides, visible on the outside in the way his emotions flicker across his scars in a lightning clap.

“Thanks.” He says at first; stunned into silence for a moment, huffing a little laugh as he shakes his head and squints across the beach. “I know I didn’t do things right either, but, it means a lot Remi. And I’m sorry for the things I did too.” He winces at the memory of Remi in his kraken form, squeezing his neck until he passed out during the relic fight in Stormbreak, wholly okay with the fact he might not ever wake up again. Something that shouldn’t have been put on the Bastion’s shoulders to begin with.

But, he’d been put in that situation by a many number of things that they all had done to one another. Maybe things would’ve been different.

the flood

// i'm the next, so get in line
just let me have my fucking time //

These are the last blues we're ever gonna have

"Nah." The Bastion shakes his head, before realizing what a bad idea it is in terms of staunching his bleeding nose. "I am not sure anything deserves me making you think you were going to be murdered and then going through with it." Remi's cheeks suddenly flushed red with shame and guilt as they hadn't done in years. Though the towel covered most of it (as did the blood), the Bastion didn't try and hide the way his shoulders slumped with regret. "Or nearly killing you over some war neither of us wanted to fight."

Clearing his throat, aware that the pair were being watched by the spectators Flora had gathered, Remi glanced over his shoulder in time to spy Isla shaking her head and stepping into what was likely a medical tent. Tutting under his breath, Remi stretched out a hand toward the Flood, to shake if he felt so inclined. "Do you want to go get cleaned up and scolded by Isla before or after we have that drink?" Grinning boyishly behind the towel, Remi raised his eyebrows with a chuckle.

the glow of the cities below lead us back to the places that we never should have left

// i came from a broken home, so look at all my broken bones
count me in, but count me out, i know what this is about //

Sunjata takes a sharp inhale, whistling through his teeth as he agrees with that statement. “You didn’t even give me a chance to explain anything. Or, well, you did but it wasn’t real.” He murmurs before he shakes his head, looking back at the Bastion with a shrug. “I wanted to keep my family alive. And I got spurned by everyone except Frey, the Ascended, and the Voice.” He admits, rubbing at the bite mark in his forehead. “I didn’t want unnecessary deaths, but we all had no choice.” He murmurs.

At the end of the day, people were lost. Sunjata was alive, and yet not. And things happened and continued to happen and life moved on. Frey had helped, and it’s that stream of thought that has him looking over toward Isla with his own grin reflecting from Remi’s. “Actually, we can avoid the scolding.” He flashes a wink and a cloud forms above them, rain falling across the two of them, healing the wounds and washing away the blood.

the flood

// i'm the next, so get in line
just let me have my fucking time //

These are the last blues we're ever gonna have

"No, I did not." The Bastion agrees. "I was fairly committed to hearing no opinion on the matter other than my own, and throwing around my strength to silence anyone who would have challenged it. I hope we are never put in that situation again, but if we are, I promise I will not make the same mistake twice."

Looking relieved and interested, Remi raises an eyebrow as clouds suddenly form over their heads. The gentle patter of rain was a welcome relief, and not just because of its healing effects. "Gods, that feels nic—" Which is of course when Remi is torn from one section of the beach and deposited in another.

Sorry Sunjata, drinks apparently have to wait.

~FIN

the glow of the cities below lead us back to the places that we never should have left