Nobody hangs hard times on the wall

I know what it feels like. Remi thought with an encouraging smile. I once flew with an eagle, so much larger than my hawk form. Though I knew he was a friend, my instincts constantly tried to get me to fly away to safety. It was a strange feeling to be sure. Likely it was much worse for Emmett, for as a lion, Remi could easily overtake him. At least when Remi had been a hawk and Koel an eagle, the alchemist could have probably out manuevered the larger bird. Of course. Remi agreed, remaining sitting for a few moments. Eventually though, the lion did stand. With his head and shoulders low, ears forward and nose pulling in the scent of the world around him, his mind locked onto the smell of the donkey almost immediately. He could hear the blades of grass and hardened earth beneath his hooves and smell the adrenaline and panic. Slinking forward slowly at first and then gaining speed, Remi's pale eyes scanned the horizon, his head and body moving swiftly under the guidelines of his other senses. remi sometimes love is war but sometimes you win

Remi's understanding was...helpful, he supposed, to clear his nerves a little. But Emmett thought the exact same thing as Remi; an eagle was an eagle and a lion was a lion. There was rather the difference, and he felt justified in feeling quite a bit more worried.

But still, he had set off now and was doing it. He heard Remi's footfalls behind him, slow at first but swiftly gaining in speed, and tried to quicken his own pace. There was panic rising in him once more now he was actually being chased, and he hopped over a low point in the wall between fields, hoping to momentarily loose his predator.

Once he had gotten into the next field over he glanced backwards to see how close Remi was.

Emmett

How deeply are you sleeping?

or are you still awake?

But Remi hadn't followed the donkey over the wall. He'd slunk around it, shoulder grazing the side as his golden body blended in with the dry and dusty landscape. Slinking below the fence with his nostrils flared, the lion suddenly gave a gigantic roar that reverberated loudly within his chest. As soon as he caught scent of the donkey's fear and adrenaline, he'd be off, following the sound of hoofbeat and heart just as swiftly as he could. remi sometimes love is war but sometimes you win

When Emmett looked back and saw nothing but field and wall, at first he assumed Remi must have lost his scent already and felt sorry for him, that he could be so easily rendered useless s a predator.

But then came the roar, and he didn't need to listen to that twice. Emmett set off as fast as he could, not stopping now at all, across every field he came to and over every fence, not daring to look back. The thumping in his ribs was both terrifying and vaguely, thrilling. That was the only thing stopped him from yelling Phoebe, the vague joy of getting away.

Emmett

How deeply are you sleeping?

or are you still awake?

Donkies, like most prey animals, can outpace their predators over long distances. That is why hunters like lions and cheetahs will normally give up after short bursts of speed, knowing that after their initial outpouring of energy, their prey would be able to maintain their lower speed over a longer distance. Remi however, did not know this. All he knew was that as a lion he was fast. Not nearly as fast as when he was flying, but certainly faster than almost any other land-creature he'd met so far. In short bursts, anyways. And so as he opened up his stride, Emmett's hoofbeats and puffs of air clear in his ears and the scent of him like a bright ribbon that he could tangibly follow, Remi practically flew over the ground. Anyone watching would be able to see that he'd easily catch the donkey. Though anyone watching would also be able to see the fences that Remi could not. Hurtling at full speed into such a fence, the lion crashed through the old and wooden boards with force enough that his entire body flipped over, slamming him hard onto his back and throwing him out of his feline body and into his regular one. With a groan of pain but laughter on his lips, Remi let his arms splay out from his sides as his chest rose and fall in weary pants. remi sometimes love is war but sometimes you win

Emmett heard the thump of Remi's paws grow faster and faster, closer, and panic surged up inside him. For a moment he forget their word, the agreement, that this was controlled; he was just an animal with animal instincts and he was scared.

But finally he managed to come to himself enough to begin to say Ph-- when there was a sudden crash behind him of Remi collapsing through the fence. He turned, and seeing Remi on the floor in his human form, Emmett shifted back and ran over, trying to help Remi up despite his own ragged, exhausted and panicked breaths.

"Y'alright? Tha' sounded like a mighty tumble."

Emmett

How deeply are you sleeping?

or are you still awake?

bring back the water

"Ohh, ahh, gently—" Remi laughed, feeling Emmett suddenly at his side, trying to help him up with far more urgency than the alchemist's body felt capable of.

Cracking open a blind eye and seeing only a world of black instead of the concerned looking farmer, Remi let his eyes roll back slightly as he continued to simply let himself take a few steadying and deep breaths. "Okay. No more blind hunting for me. At least not when fences are involved. I assume that is what I ran into?"

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Coding base by Sky!

Emmett

Tell me, how do I feel?

"Oh, uh, sorry." Emmett let go, instead flopping down to sit next to Remi, taking a break of his own while still making sure that his friend (...?) was alright. It was odd, to see the man look so normal except for the unexpected and sad marbling of his eyes, the way they seemed so unfocused.

"Yeah, it was a fence. But...y'know...before ya hit it, I think y'nearly got me." He tried to smile, but it still felt odd to be congratulating a predator on chasing him. "But..yeah, s'probably not a good idea t'do it again until you get a better control on things. " Nodding, he went so far as to pat the back of Remi's hand before pulling his own back and looking over the fields.

"...Is y'horse an Attuned?"

bring back the water

Remi snorted and ran a hand over his eyes, letting his fingers splay against his forehead as he continued to try and slow his breathing. "You were probably going easy on me." The alchemist responded with a chuckle. "And yes, you are right. I have oftened wondered if flying would be easier since there are fewer obstacles but..." He shrugged his shoulders into the grass, sighing.

With a boyish grin at the feeling of Emmett's hand against his, Remi's pale eyes opened with surprise at the question. "You mean Isla?" He asked with surprise. Not only was she quite clearly not a horse (horses did not normally come with starry-patterns nor a horn), but the alchemist thought that, given Phoebe's relationship with the former healer, the farmer would know something about her.

Then again, medical acquaintances were probably not the sort of thing they spoke about when they were together.

"No, she is...well, she was a woman. She died during LongNight. Ludo.." Remi's smile crumpled slightly. "It saved her, in a way."

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Coding base by Sky!

Emmett

Tell me, how do I feel?

"No, I...was actually pretty scared back there." Emmett admitted, chuckling as he picked blades of grass and rubbed them between his fingers.

He wasn't sure why Remi said his horse's name in such a shocked manner. Was everyone expected to know his choice of name? Having never met the woman that now inhabited the body of the unicorn, Emmett had no idea what 'Isla' meant. He simply looked on blankly and shrugged.

But Remi's fantastical story drew a tilt of his head and a whistle from him. "Well. I ain' never heard a Ludo doin' anythin' like that....Bee, she's got a real good carry on with the Gods. I...well, my folks worshipped Vi, but I've always kinda stayed away from it. I saw Frey a while back...Do y'get on with Ludo, then?"

bring back the water

At the mention of Phoebe Remi bristled slightly and nodded. "I...am happy it has turned out for her, as it had. When we first arrived...in the temple with Frey.." The alchemist exhaled a stream of anxious air as he nibbled the inside of his lip.

"Where I came from..Phoebe too I suppose, we did not have Gods. Though I suppose you know that by now." Remi added with a slow shrug, enjoying the solidity of the ground and the grasses beneath his whole body. "I...did once. And then I angered it by losing something that it gave me. Well, it was stolen, but I suppose it amounts to the same. I am trying to get back into its good graces, or at the very least not live in a place where it wants to kill me, but I am not sure that will happen." The alchemist went on with a wry chuckle and shake of his head.

let the ships roll in

Coding base by Sky!

Emmett

Tell me, how do I feel?

"I'm glad it's workin' out too...sometimes I worry she don' know what she's messin' with." Emmett shook his head and looked up to the sky. "But she's smart, so...y'know. Smarter than me, so she prolly has it under control." Emmett didn't like to meddle with anything he didn't understand, so Phoebe's bravery and willingness to speak to the Gods was alien to him; but he had to learn to trust her.

His eyes widened at Remi's tale about Ludo. He supposed this was why he was worried. "Uh. I mean...I guess if Ludo really wanted t'kill you, you'd be dead by now. So...maybe you'll be alright." He didn't sound too sure.

bring back the water

Remi offered the farmer one of his smile-frowns, where his lips creased upwards and yet the overall expression was still somewhat sad, or in this case, concerned. "I hope so too. But yes, she certainly is quite clever." The alchemist added with a small laugh.

Raising a brow and shrugging, Remi let his pale eyes drift unfocused against the sky. "Perhaps..." He agreed, though he too did not sound convinced. Sitting up, Remi ran a hand through his curls and brushed some of the grasses from his arms. "I should be getting back. No doubt this will make an excellent bed-time story for Aoife though. The lion vs. the fence."

Rising and removing the rest of the earth, Remi shot an unfocused smile towards Emmett. "Take care. And thank you for helping me...ahh, with whatever that was." He said with a crooked smile.

let the ships roll in

Coding base by Sky!

Emmett

Tell me, how do I feel?

Emmett was relieved when Remi got up to leave, having run out of awkward conversation starters two chats ago. While he no longer disliked the man, it was hard to know what to say to him - he constantly felt as if he were being judged, held up against Phoebe to see if he was good enough.

"S'alright. I won' mention it to anyone either." Emmett winked and getting up himself, turned back to donkey and ran away; back to wandering the fields.