ORIGIN

It had taken Fleur days to gather up the courage to travel beyond her birthplace, but finally the light was too much, and she slunk away into the shadows, wandering aimlessly. The white skunk had finally stopped here, humid air making her breath visible. She'd sat for a while, giggling between every breath, before toddling off to find some form of food. That... hadn't gone well. Oh, she'd found a rat, but even after clawing it open, the tiny newborn hadn't been able to open her jaw quite wide enough to chew it, and had given up with a frustrated squeak. Now, paws still stained with dried blood, she had begun patrolling the tunnel, cool air and damp soil helping to sooth her aching jaw.

As always, she stuck to the shadows, tail lifted high behind her. Her white fur didn't reflect much light, though occasionally her blood red eyes were caught, reflected like too bright pools of gold. Sniffing, the skunk slowed to a stop - there was... something, though Fleur couldn't tell what. After all, the only scent she'd bothered to remember was Florence's, and the flamingo had a very distinctive smell. This was... different. Sharper, more pungent - more like me, the tiny creature thought, stopping with ears pricked high.

A loud scraaaape cracked through the tunnel, and Fleur flinched back, not stopping until her tail was pressed up against the wall. What was that? Fear warred with curiosity, but finally the latter won out, and Fleur skulked out her hiding spot, sniffing the air once more. There! The scent was back, and the tiny ball of white fluff followed it, occasionally stopping to open her mouth and smell, jaw snapping shut with a harsh clack of her gemstone teeth. Finally, it seemed to grow even stronger, and Fleur narrowed her eyes at what looked to be... well, nothing. Still, something had to be hiding there, or at least nearby.

Another clap of teeth, and Fleur worked her jaw open as wide as it would go, speech clipped and obviously pained. "Who. There?" Though she'd probably be miniscule next to whatever had made the furious noise earlier, she still raised her tail high and felt the patch of hair on the back of her next stand up, hackles raised.

Fleur jumped at the appearance of... well, something that looked quite a bit like her. The realization made her relax just a bit, though her snout scrunched up ins confusion. Queen of Thieves? The little skunk had no idea what a queen was, or what thieves were, but the lady seemed nice enough, with the same white pelt as Fleur herself. She stiffened as the mongoose leaned closer, eyeing her curiously. We're kin, you and I. The statement made Fleur tilt her head to one side, blinking.

Upon closer inspection, the similarities between them were... startling, to say the least. Silky white fur, and from the flash of light when the mongoose talked, she also had at least one gemstone tooth, thought it didn't appear to make her mouth hurt like it did to Fleur. The skunk grunted at the older Gembound's question, sitting back on her rump and absently grooming a rust-stained paw. It took a while, but an answer did, eventually, make its way out. "Jaw."

The tiny fluffball pointed to her cheek with a newly-cleaned paw, clear claws scratching at the aching skin. "Talk. Hurts." Huffing, the skunk peered up at the self-titled Queen, curiosity getting the better of her once more. "Kin. Us." It seemed more of a statement than a question, and the skunk gestured to their matching fur, then struggled to open her mouth a bit wider, tapping a quartz fang. "Pink. Teeth."

Like me. The thought went unsaid, and, frustrated by the shooting pain in her jaw, the skunk pressed a pawpad to the long fur, trying to dull the sensation.

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With a tingling rush from her elbow to her paw, numbness seeped into the skunk's cheek, and she sighed in relief, happily moving to clear her other foot of blood. "You. Queen?" The word was mouthed slowly, confusion making it drag in places.

Fleur gave the mongoose a flat stare and a raised eyebrow, as if to say yeah, I'd figured that part out, though she didn't say anything. However similar they might look, the Queen could still turn on her, and the skunk simply sat, listening. Red eyes widened when the woman sat, speaking to Fleur on even terms. It certainly made her words sound more genuine, and the skunk's ears perked forward, curiosity beating hesitance.

Pink is a special color. Rare, beautiful, royal. Fleur blushed under her fur, puffing up at the compliment. Since hatching, she'd always thought of her teeth as ugly, always getting in the way, too rough and dense to be pretty. Now, though... Maybe... maybe I could be... beautiful. The thought hadn't ever occurred to her, especially not when she'd only met Florence in her short life, and he was certainly beautiful enough for the both of them, being a bird with such pretty gems, and all.

The mongoose continued, and, her attention thoroughly captured, Fleur listened intently, red eyes pinned on her new companion. Queen over a whole group of others? She hadn't thought there were such groups, much less that they could be led by someone who looked so similar to herself. When the mongoose gestured to her green belt, lined with sharp, shiny objects, along with the pouch around her shoulder, Fleur stared at each in turn, whiskers twitching.

Perhaps you could be a princess... an' maybe a queen one day too... The skunk's head snapped back to stare at the Queen, and a hint of a smile shone through the usually emotionless mask. The expression was startled off her face by the mongoose's dismissive wave, and she stood up, ears pinned back, ready to defend herself. Mouth open, she watched the mongoose begin to turn away - but then, she glanced back, a hint of something making her gaze feel like being seen through, not at.

Shutting her mouth with a sharp clack, Fleur huffed, pawing at the ground as her fur smoothed back from its startled position. The skunk peered at the mongoose, as if trying to figure out what was the catch in all of this talk. "Yes. I... would. Want," she clarified quickly, embarrassed of how needy the words came out. "Rule... not... no." The responsibility of such a position already made her wince, and Fleur shook her head, shaking off thoughts of wounded servants, having to leave behind friends, having to take responsibility when a group member failed or turned up dead.

"But... part. Of group. Prin-cess?" The smile crept back onto her thin, elegant face, and Fleur grunted, nodding. Part of a group. Part of a family. Oh yes, that would definitely do nicely.

The little skunk, completely oblivious to just how easily she had been played, outright grinned for the first time since her hatching. Princess of Thieves. The title certainly had a ring to it, even if Fleur still had no idea what, exactly a 'thieves' was. Still, if it got her the kind of confidence that lined the mongoose's posture like a cloak, it had to be worth it.

At the question, the albino creature tilted her head, embarrassed to find that she'd forgotten to introduce herself. "Name? Fleur." The skunk grinned again, pink teeth glinting in the light of the tunnel, the expression looking eery and out of place on her snout. It was easy to see the kind of brute strength the Gembound would hold as she grew - though, of course, Fleur had no inkling of that yet. What she did know was that she'd stumbled upon something great, here, with the Queen, and she'd do whatever it took to keep it.

A thought came to her, then, and Fleur's ears flicked back and forth. "Group. What name?" Working her jaw, she tacked on a short, "What thieves?" It had to have something to do with the shiny objects the mongoose had strapped to her belt, but Fleur couldn't be more lost if she tried.

Fleur sniffed, confused, tilting her head to one side, tiny round ears flopping about. A longer name...? To be honest, the skunk hadn't thought much on her name - indeed, the few things that had yet to be contemplated mainly consisted of a protective, overbearing need to keep Florence close, and a deep-seated hunger... both for food and for more of the Queen's reassuring smiles, her stomach-fluttering compliments. Already failed at one of those, her mind whispered bitterly. Just where is Florence, hm? The tiny ball of fluff snuffled, pawing at her snout, trying to refocus on what her new friend was saying.

Diamondfang. Bright red eyes sparked at the name, admiration obvious within the gaze. Such a beautiful name... A soft sigh, and Fleur tried to reply, though the words were clumsy and slow. "Dia... mond... fang?" The success brought about a proud smile, and a twitch of long whiskers.

Still, the suggestion that something as... well, ordinary as herself could have such a lovely name was baffling. Brow thoroughly furrowed, Fleur did what she was told, and thought. And thought. And thought some more. And once she did a whole lot of thinking, a name did, indeed, begin to take shape, something just a touch longer than a simple 'Fleur'. "Fleur... de... Lis." The words were slow at first, but the skunk grinned, teeth clacking together on the next go-round. "Fleur-de-Lis!"

A special name it had to be, and Fleur stared at Diamondfang in awe. How did the Queen know so much about... well, everything? It was as if she had super powers, or something. Thoroughly hooked by just about everything the mongoose said and did, the baby skunk simply stared, entranced and giddy.