Charles nodded. Disgusting. That was a good word to describe the Masked Merchant. Him and all his sick trials were just that - disgusting. And he nodded to the apology. He didn't say something stupid like "It's okay." or "It's all in the past." because it wasn't okay. And it obviously wasn't all in the past, because their memories still haunted him today. He had been alone for much longer then he'd even known his family, but the trauma of their deaths, of the darkness, still woke him in the night with screams of fear.

He swallowed heavily. "Yeah. It's...yeah." It was less 'abandoned' and more like 'mercilessly slaughtered'. But he wasn't going to argue terminology. "I've been here for a while. I don't know. I keep to myself, though."

There was something that occurred to him, then. Rainstorm, obviously, hadn't been a part of the family. But still they ran the Trial. Willingly, apparently. He remembered, distantly, his anger and hatred, his tantrum that he'd raged through the tunnel at those that had willingly took part. That anger was long gone, now, but the curiosity remained. He tiled his head at Rainstorm. "So...I hope I'm not prying, but why did you join the Trial? Did somebody make you?"

@Rainstorm

Luckily for Charles, Rainstorm wasn't expecting an 'its okay' out of that conversation. If he'd said it, Rainstorm might've been confused. There's nothing okay about hosing trials to feed... Something. Nor was it okay to raise children to become food for some creature that shouldn't exist in the first place. Who created it? Why has it not come back yet? It's a worry, and Rainstorm will never be stepping a foot back into Hydra if they ever have the choice to.

They couldn't think of ever putting their children to do something like that. Even if they never hatched, and may never hatch - Rainstorm could never do it. Not even if the kids ended up being their worst enemy. At that point just give them a quick and easy death, free from fear or anything else.


"That's fair." They say. Rainstorm mostly does too. They don't have a whole lot to talk about, since they've mostly become reclused to this one cave.

Rainstorm's been wanting to go out of Eridanus more... But it feels so dangerous.

"No one made me go." They probably would have tried to escape more if someone had "I wandered in by accident, and by the time I noticed... Well the exit got covered in darkness."

And both of them know what came of the darkness.

@Charles

Charles snorted, almost amused. Keyword: almost. The fact that Rainstorm had just so happened to wander into the place where the Trial was being held, just as the metaphorical doors closed behind them, while a small family who'd never had the chance to wander from their birthplace before was forced across the threshold, was almost comical in its tragedy. "That's...unfortunate. Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time." He ruffled his feathers a bit as he adjusted his position. It probably would have frustrated him when he was younger that somebody would have chosen to go to that cave but now...he didn't really care, and he understood that it had all been an accident. Rainstorm wouldn't have known.

He swallowed heavily, suddenly nervous as he looked up at the other bird's sightless eyes. "Hey, so...I hope this isn't too much to ask but...actually, wait, can I ask if you're doing anything? Like are just lurking around or do you have someone to return home to?"

@Rainstorm

Rainstorm probably would've laughed, too, honestly. It was a horrible coincidence and if Rainstorm had knew, they never would've stepped a claw into that place. The mutations they've gained from it do not overshadow the bad the place had, nor does it make the trauma irrelevant. Charles probably has the same opinion, based on the things he's saying.

Rainstorm doesn't mind questions - skies above know that they've been asking all kinds of personal questions here, and it wouldn't be fair for them to not answer.

"Questions are okay." They hum, just to make sure they say it.

Rainstorm knows Charles is watching their eyes, the fact that they can't see out of their eyes makes it feel a little bit eerie. They get detailed images through sound, enough that it basically completely mimics sight, but it's not entirely the same. It feels a little off, but they're used to it at this point.

"I live in this cave." They say. "I have not done anything really since the trial... I did try to give life to some stones, but they've not hatched and it's been some time." They don't necessarily say it sadly, but there's something missing there.

"I've been watching all this time just in case, because surely they wouldn't sit there grown if it didn't work. But no, right now it's just me." They haven't really gone out of their way to meet anyone. Even if they did Rainstorm does not know how to talk to strangers, even if it doesn't seem the case here.

The curiosity made them get over the shyness, or the rudeness - as some say. But still.

"I did join The Seven, but I don't talk to them much." They pause. "You?"

@Charles

The bat-like ears on Charles turned up a bit - the first time in the conversation where hope seemed to run in him. "Ah okay. The Seven...I think I know them. Sorry about the stones, though, I imagine that's rough." He remembered how Simon had been given life again...but the stone had taken a long time to hatch. Morgan had been desperate with worry. But that wasn't something he needed to think about now. He gulped, still nervous, (although the worst they could say was 'no') and finally got himself to ask.

"Would it be okay if...I stuck around with you for a bit?" His tail twitched and he quickly leaned over to scratch at a spot on his chest, bashful. "I don't really have anywhere to go and it would be nice to have company that...understands, you know?" He adjusted himself again, the nest beneath him suddenly feeling very hot, very uncomfortable.

He shrugged. "I've been alone since my family kind of...went their separate ways. There was fighting, arguing. Some of them are hibernating, some of them are just...gone. Somewhere in the caves. But I've been alone for a while."

@Rainstorm

"It's okay. I'm holding onto hope... Maybe they'll still hatch."

Rainstorm isn't really sure if that's true, really, but they're going to believe until the chrysalis shatter. Surely that would mean the actual death of the stones. They're going to wish and keep wishing for them to come out safe and sound, without damage, and when Rainstorm is home to see it. They wouldn't be able to find the kids easily if they hatched and went somewhere. Losing them is the last thing Rainstorm wants.

Surprised at the question - Rainstorm hasn't had proper company in a long time. Sticking around... Would probably be a good idea wouldn't it. Birds of a feather stick together, as some say.

"I would not mind.." they say.

It's a little embarrassing, they think, to be so attached to an image of someone they barely know. But they understand each other, and that's really the only thing Rainstorm's ever wanted. No one they've met really understands. How many from that trial were still here, anyway? Not many, at least.

"It's the same for me..." This feels weirdly personal.

Then again, the whole conversation has been very personal.

Rainstorm blinks - that... Sounds painful. They've never had a proper family to know what that would feel like.

"I'm sorry that happened to you." Rainstorm replies. "I can't imagine how you felt."

Rainstorm looks around.

"If you want to visit I live in a bush a little bit close to here. I don't really like being high up in the trees. Prefer walking." Even if they honestly can fly better now - the echolocation is so very helpful - the ground is still the place they prefer.

@Charles

To be honest, he wasn't actually certain that Rainstorm would let him stick around. Most likely since he'd been looking at himself for the past many cycles as wholly unlikable and too much of a burden to keep nearby for very long. Although, he supposed Rainstorm just hadn't gotten to know him yet. He was sure that this would be a temporary arrangement once they got wind of exactly how much of a downer he could be.

Still, he couldn't stop the trill of excitement and the strange flash of heat that ran across his body. He immediately perked up, even if it was just a little bit. "Th-thank you. I promise I won't be, like, annoying or anything. I'm quiet," he added, flustering a little bit. Never mind that they'd just forged a connection between them with the whole "surviving an extremely traumatizing shadow trial and never getting therapy for it" thing, he was determined to get on Rainstorm's good side and stay there. The longer he wouldn't be alone, then.

He shrugged, trying to be nonchalant...again. "It's...well, not fine, but it was a long time ago." Still hurt like a bitch, though, but he wasn't going to keep piling his laundry on Rainstorm's back. He gulped heavily, as if it were a bad piece of food lodged in his throat and with a little force he could shove memories to the back of his brain where they belonged.

But - ah, a distraction! Ears immediately perked and he almost stood right then and there. "Yes! I mean...yeah, sure. I didn't know you lived so close by." He picked himself up to his feet and made to hop onto the edge of the trunk, to follow Rainstorm on the forest floor.

@Rainstorm