( CLOSED )

[fullmast]

Who: Flynn Fairwind & Flynn Scifo
What: Two Flynns walk into a bar tavern...
When: Shortly after knight!Flynn's announcement
Where: Achelliac in Darcmouth. Hey, they're only there for a drink!

Content Warnings: possible mentions of Flynn (Scifo)'s death, and Flynn (Fairwind)'s alcoholism

Flynn Fairwind stands at the edge of the docks, doing his best to appear nonchalant as he waits for his companion to arrive. Truth be told, he is nervous about this, even if he really does want to make up for the younger man after their previous encounter. They had exchanged awkward apologies after the Bloodwrath (or whatever the dreadful name they had for it was) had waned and the pair of them had been left standing blinking at each other in the aftermath.

To hear of what had happened to the young man after that... Flynn doesn't want to think about it. How long had it been after they parted that it had happened? What had happened? Flynn -- the other Flynn, Tides this is going to get confusing fast if they don't figure out some other way to refer to each other -- had been so insistent of how dangerous the area was. It had been the initial trigger to their altercation. It isn't his place to ask, but all the same...

No! Enough of that, this is for Flynn-the-knight. His announcement had been made by text and so Flynn didn't get a real sense of how the other is doing, but. He also got the sense that he'd been holding things back. Flynn himself had been through enough rough times in his life to understand that sometimes what you need to get through these things is to take a step back and let your hair down. And in Flynn's experience, that almost always involves a drink. And he knows just the place...

Comments

[thinkfirst]

Flynn Scifo approaches the docks with memories of Raven and Dahngrest swirling in his head and a horse by his side.

The bite of the sea is stronger here—there was no salt on the air in Dahngrest, only smoke and alcohol and damp stone—and Flynn is not wearing his armor this time, but he can't shake the similarities. Buildings cluster together darkly like they're huddling for warmth, and while the rain has dampened to a fine drizzle coating everything in moisture, the cobblestones are still wet and slick. They grow slicker the closer Flynn gets to the dark docks, treacherous in a way they would not have been two weeks ago. He is glad for the presence of Daisy at his side both as a defense and to lean on as the city slopes down toward the sea.

Flynn is still getting used to the way his limbs work. It doesn't help that he's used to accomodating heavy armor, and that he feels oddly light and small with just a jacket borrowed from Yuri as protection from the rain. Clouds hang low overhead, murmuring quietly with distant thunder. Flynn smells the stone and the sea, and wonders what kind of drink he's in for, what kind of place this is. He and Yuri don't drink much, as a rule, and haven't sought out the places in this city to do just that, and Flynn has spent the majority of his time so far in Prufrock and Crenshaw, learning the lay of the land and the codes of the Hunters. The docks are an unfamiliar thing, and the sea still makes him think of death, more now.

At least Flynn—the other Flynn, how strange, still!—is easy enough to spot, a tall shape against the roiling sea. Flynn banishes the shadows from his mind along with the salt-crusted specter of death still hovering there and raises his hand in a wave as he gets closer.

"Hello!" He calls, just in case, and also because Flynn wears manners the same way he wears armor, a defense against words and thoughts that may wound as much as any sword. Even without his armor or his sword, he looks every inch a knight as he approaches, all straight-backed and head held high. Daisy, beside him, snorts, and her breath steams up as they come to a halt on the dark wood. "I hope you weren't waiting too long?"

[fullmast]

It's true, Flynn does cut a rather striking picture, standing there on the docks in his greatcoat, with his ponytail and his earrings. If it seems like he looks at home in this place, it's because he is. He's never felt at home without the sea close by, and even here in this mad world he is glad that he does at least have that much as a comfort, when so much else is so...

He turns to grin across at the younger man, raising a gloved hand to him in greeting, and an eyebrow at the horse. He can't say he's too surprised to find that the other has one, considering -- well. His overall demeanor. Flynn doesn't mean to stereotype but there's something about him that screams proper soldier, proper knight, proper -- whatever he is. They hadn't really gotten to talking much in their first encounter, Flynn would like to fix that.

"Nahhhh, don't worry about me, mate," he replies, as Flynn pulls up in front of him. He glances back and forth between the pair of them, the horse and the man, before raising a hand to run through his hair sheepishly. "It's, ah. Nice to meet you -- properly this time. And your friend here as well, although I am sorry to say that they will probably not be allowed inside to join us..."

[thinkfirst]

Flynn has to smile at the concern for Daisy. The-Other-Flynn really is taller than him, and cuts a more imposing figure than Flynn himself does. It's no wonder that he lightly lost their fistfight, ill-advised and embarrassing as it was. Salt stings his nose with the wash of waves, and Daisy huffs beside him, tossing her head.

"Daisy isn't a normal horse," he says, which is—well. It's evident enough from her face, which is really nothing like a normal horse face. It's lupine more than equine, with a wolfish nose and close-set predator eyes, sharp teeth and a muzzle like a dog's.

You know. A normal horse. A totally normal horse, who happens to be watching Flynn placidly.

Flynn himself doesn't seem to notice, just smiling peaceably, glad that there seems to be no real animosity between them. A fluke, then, and one he will have to properly apologize for.

"She is connected to me," he explains further, lifting a hand to rub idly at Daisy's overly-furry mane (more like a lion's mane than a horse's, cascading down her back in tufts of blue). "In the way that some animals are now, I suppose? Which is to say, she appeared in a puff of smoke from my chest and now seems to be able to do that at will, so I don't believe she'll be a bother to any patrons. Shall we? I'm afraid I have no idea where we're going."

[fullmast]

"Ah!" Flynn says, eloquently. It's true, Daisy doesn't seem... Exactly right, for a horse. But Flynn Fairwind himself has also come face-to-face with some rather peculiar horse-like creatures, so who is he to judge, really?

He squints at Daisy for a moment, before running his hand through his hair in embarrassment once more. "She's one of those Omens, then, as they call them? I see it now." Her eyes do seem bright with the sort of intelligence that he's beginning to associate with those sorts of creatures.

"Haven't quite figured out that whole business for myself," he admits. "I don't suppose that there's some sort of trick to it? I was just discussing this the other day with another bloke, they really ought to give us non-magic users some sort of a guidebook." And he'd like to hope that he wouldn't need some sort of near-death experience to spook it out of him, at that.

[thinkfirst]

"Your Omen hasn't appeared?" Flynn guesses, as Daisy takes a step closer and promptly nudges her nose against the taller man's shoulder. Flynn gives her a look about it, but she ignores him, apparently too intent on getting the other Flynn to pet her or whatever it is she wants. Sometimes, despite being connected to him, Daisy is quite inscrutable.

"I admit that Daisy appeared somewhat by accident," he continues, reaching up to pat her shoulder. "Inside, in the house that Yuri's own Omen chose for us. She was, ah, a bit too big for my bedroom, so Yuri built a stable for her. I'm not actually sure... how it works? I'm familiar with magic, but not any kind like this."

[fullmast]

Flynn shakes his head in response to the question, raising his hand to stroke a hand against her nose. He's by no means immune to her attempts to charm him. Quite the opposite, in fact, Flynn has always been by nature an animal person.

"Ha! Inside the house? That must have been a surprise," Flynn says, with a bright laugh just imagining the thing. Although -- he has to go back across what the younger man has just said.

"I'm sorry, mate -- Yuri's Omen chose the house for you?" he asks, glancing back at Flynn himself and raising his eyebrows in question at it.

[thinkfirst]

"Yes!" Flynn laughs as Daisy rumbles softly. "It was quite remarkable, actually—our first day here. We'd heard, of course, that houses were available to sleep in, but we were having trouble finding one that felt—well, at home, you certainly can't just claim a house as your own, no matter how abandoned it looks. Midway through our walk through the district we now live in, Smokey appeared in that puff of smoke and flew off, and Yuri, being Yuri, decided to follow him. He led us right to the house, like he knew where we should be going somehow."

Flynn isn't the best storyteller in the world, but there's a certain animation to him, talking about Yuri. Life has been rocky since then between that awful river and the Gate and, naturally, dying (something Flynn is trying his level best not to think about too hard) but those first few days were actually quite nice. He hasn't gotten to spend this much time with Yuri in years.

"I suppose if we let her, Daisy might lead the way to our destination," he continues, and laughs when Daisy simply flicks an ear at him. "Or perhaps not. Maybe that's just Smokey."

[fullmast]

Flynn can't help the laugh that escapes at that story, despite his confusion at the whole scenario. There's one part of him finding it difficult to believe that they might have trusted these mysterious magical creatures so far as to follow them into a house and then set up camp in it, but then he supposes. That it's not so far-fetched after all, especially not compared to some of his own more colorful escapades.

He raises an eyebrow at the younger man, tipping his head towards the mentioned destination, a silent question in his expression as he does -- Shall we?

Aloud he asks, as he takes a step forward down the docks, "So... Who's this Yuri then, if I may be so bold?"

[thinkfirst]

"My best friend," Flynn answers without hesitation (and with a great deal of fondness), falling into step with the taller man. Beside him, Daisy snorts and then sort of just... disappears into smoke that flows into Flynn as he walks. The first time it was a strange and startling thing, but Flynn is used to it by now, and doesn't miss a beat. "He has been since we were children. I'm lucky to be here with him—Yuri's a capable fighter, and very resourceful. There's no one I'd rather be stuck in a strange city with."

[fullmast]

Flynn startles a little at the disappearance of the Omen -- he's still not used to the way that these creatures behave -- before he glances back at the younger man to follow more closely along with his words.

And they certainly are fond. Flynn can see the affection that he feels for this Yuri chap there, in the way that he speaks about him, and it brings a smile to his lips in return.

"That's good on you though, mate," he says, genuinely meaning it. "It's good to hear that you've got each other here. Gives me hope that maybe..." He glances aside at his companion, shrugging slightly. "Not that I'd wish this place on anybody, but. I've got someone, y'know. Back home. And I thought he was here, the first day I washed up on shore but. Can't honestly tell you whether that was real or some residual effect from those crabs, truth be told."

[thinkfirst]

Sympathy flares through Flynn all at once, tugging the corners of his mouth down. "You haven't found him since?"

He cannot, really, imagine being here without Yuri. If Yuri hadn't been there in those terrifying hours he'd spent coming back to himself—if he had died, and had to put the pieces back together in a strange place in a strange house—

Flynn tries to be strong. He tries to stand on his own two feet, because he has to be strong if he's going to change the course of the empire. It's a slow-moving thing, a massive ship requiring decades to turn, and Flynn has to be strong enough in his sword and his convictions to stick to his plan no matter what the nobility throws at him. He has to know precisely what he wants and he has to be strong enough and stubborn enough to remember it.

He does not think he is strong enough to stand here alone. The thought is a dizzying one. He sways closer.

"Well," he says to their feet as they walk, "despite our... strange meeting, you have an ally in me. No one should live here alone."