where the moon fails to shine

sometimes love is a feather, sometimes a cannon ball

Shock was a wonderful thing. The alchemist felt precious little, save for the overwhelming feeling of relief and love for both dark-haired souls pressed closely to one another. His stars.  The brightest things in his life, a constellation above all others. Looking around the room, Remi was spared of the horrific blood-work painting thanks to his eyesight, seeing everything in muted and murky tones, and that was good. Only Ronin and Aoife shone with any colour, and that too was good. Nerves already frayed, held for the moment as the alchemist tried not to lick his lips at the scent of blood; manticore and lion paced at the surface of his consciousness, waiting to be let loose as Ronin had been.

Instead though, Remi merely walked to his husband and placed a hand softly on his shoulder. With a low pulse of magic Ronin's clothes were transformed from blood soaked tatters to something else, clean and free of sin. With his other hand he conjured a blanket of dragons and stars, wrapping it snugly around Aoife as she nestled herself ever more against Ronin's chest.

"We cannot leave it like this." Remi observed in a voice far too still and calm, blood soaked wings relaxing slightly from his back.

Remi

Table coding by Sky, inspiration from Jae!

the wounds are open and bleeding out

Closing his eyes at the feel of Remi's hand on his shoulder, Ronin felt the way his clothes changed, grew crisp and clean against his skin, and he smiled a mix of gratitude and understanding. With Aoife cooing nonsense against his chest, he wrapped the blanket more snugly around her and kissed her dark curls, holding her close. The most precious thing in his life was once again safe; bruises would fade, nightmares would be forgotten, and all would be well. But Remi was right, about the state of the place.

Rising to his feet with their daughter, he nodded and moved to pass her across to Remi; soothed and exhausted from the ordeal, she held her arms out for him readily.

"I'll wrap the body up," Ronin said, his tone flat as though what had happened had been to someone else, had been done by someone else. Not a season ago the hunter would have been horrified to the core at what he had done, no matter how much Skyler had deserved it. But now he moved to collect blankets from around the room, readily rolling the body into them with the intention of wrapping it tightly, though the blood would seep through the cloth for some time.

Once he was done, he glanced around at the blood still staining the walls and floor, shifting uncomfortably. "I'm not so sure that this can be cleaned."

THE

FALLEN STAR

Table coding by Sky

sometimes love is a feather, sometimes a cannon ball

Accepting Aoife with a guilty flicker of relief that she hadn't been harmed in Ronin's presence (charm aside, the blight could harm those around it by more than simply infecting them), Remi nestled her against him. Over the horizon of her dark hair, Remi watched Ronin wrapping the body up with an objective sort of scrutiny. The hunter knew what he was doing well enough, which was both a relief and a horror. But such were thoughts for later, that night, when he couldn't sleep.

For now, he simply pressed his nose against the shell of Aoife's ear and exhaled softly making the girl squirm with muted protests at the ticklish sensation.

"Cleaned?" Looking at the already drying maroon stains, the alchemist was inclined to agree. "What say you darling one?" Remi whispered against Aoife, who, close to exhaustion, gave no reply. Rising, Remi went to the wall Ronin and Skyler had found themselves against. He looked at it for a long moment, eyes playing over the black and red like some horrific painting he didn't understand. Swallowing, he placed a hand against it, and the wood warped into stone. Too weary to care much for the floor where the majority of the blood was, Remi simply indicated that Ronin ought to stand back (with the body). Earth appeared suddenly, as if having eaten right through the floor. Dirt and moss covered the area like some strange indoor rock slide had occurred.

Raising a brow, the alchemist turned towards the body now entirely without feature inside of the blankets. "I could carry it somewhere." Not we, for someone would have to take Aoife. "The storms...the labyrinth..A grave deep enough that none would find it."

For one who had never hidden a body before, the alchemist was eerily calm.

Remi

Table coding by Sky, inspiration from Jae!

the wounds are open and bleeding out

Eerie calm seemed to be the flavour of the day, for even as the horror had taken place, other than in the moment where he'd actually gotten his hands on Skyler, Ronin didn't seem much affected. Yet. Whatever the blight had done to him to make him this way, it came in fits and starts, and this would likely recede too, when they were in more familiar surroundings. Hefting the body off the ground and obediently standing back, the hunter watched Remi work his magic on the home.

It wasn't so uncommon to see places like this - shells of houses, which he supposed was entirely the point. "The storms," he said, nodding softly. "The storms are probably the best." Because they weren't talking about hiding a body and covering up a murder. Nope.

Glancing to his husband, he shifted the body on his shoulder. "I can take Aoife home, if you want to shift and get this done," he suggested.

THE

FALLEN STAR

Table coding by Sky

sometimes love is a feather, sometimes a cannon ball

Shift and get this done.

Become a monster, hide a body.

If Remi had once laughed at the idea of having married not only a king but a demi-god, the realization that they both had now turned into villains might have chilled him into rationality. Oh, there were all sorts of justifications here. Aoife's life had been at stake afterall. But the alchemist had never chosen violence so willingly before. Had never felt such affection in the aftermath of destruction.

"I will be swift." He vowed, before offering a dozy Aoife back into Ronin's arms, raising the body from Ronin's shoulder with magic instead of might. Opening the door, Remi stepped brazenly out into the street as if his internal shock would continue to protect them. Backing up a few paces to make room, the man became the manticore and without so much as a nod, he'd lodged his claws deep into the blanketed body of Skyler and lifted himself into the sky.

Remi

Table coding by Sky, inspiration from Jae!

the wounds are open and bleeding out

It was dark and deep and lasting, this decision they had made. One made so swiftly, too, with so little regard for consequence or morals. Would Safrin see it, Ronin wondered, this stain upon his soul? And more importantly, did he care any more? His daughter was safe - they had protected her, where once the lady of stars had said she would do so. But where gods had not been present, men had stepped up, and the decision was made.

Still, the beginnings of something terrible twisted low in Ronin's gut as he accepted their daughter back from Remi. No longer looking as though he had been involved, torn knuckles aside, and with the house changed in such a way as to seem like they had never even been there, it would be easy to forget.

But of course they wouldn't. "I will see you at home," Ronin said quietly, cradling Aoife close and waiting a few long minutes after the alchemist's departure before he followed. The streets were empty, just as they had been when they arrived. Skyler's decision to take their daughter so far out of the way seemed to be serving them well, now.

So home Ronin went, his sleeping daughter safely in his arms, and her warmth and weight all but kept him together as he walked. Once at the guildhall, he moved to tuck her up in one of the comfortable chairs before the fire, Ronin sitting quietly by the hearth to watch her sleep, to make sure she was safe.

THE

FALLEN STAR

Table coding by Sky