At the bottom of a tree sat a black rock that seemed to absorb the light around it. It was a new addition to Evening's collection - but a very odd new addition. This could be evident by the fact that it isn't in her nest with the rest of her shinies, instead it was rooted into the ground.

It was also alive, as if the cold rock itself were breathing. A strange accident, really. The thing-of-void said it was a weapon she was supposed to use. Something about opposites and gifts and such. She wasn't too sure, but she did know that this thing, whatever was growing inside it, was her responsibility.

And she loved it a little.

It didn't matter that it was less than a day old and if it were a chrysalis like she expected she already loved the creature growing inside it. She wasn't accustomed to such a strange thing, maternal instinct wasn't a thing the crow felt often; but she knew it now.

The crow swooped down from the low branch she sat on and landed next to the onyx rock, pressing her beak against it affectionately.

Baby safe? Check. Baby happy? Glancing back over his shoulder, wincing at the pull of skin, Czernobog snuffled happily at the sight of Isi quite contentedly examining plants. Check. Hat found? No. Gotta find hat. Turning back to the swamp ahead, the gigantic boar snorted, stilling and sniffing the air, smelling nothing but fetid water and his own half-healed, half-rotting wounds.

It had taken him longer than expected to find his way back to the swamp, and the bite wound on his haunch, along with the gouge down his back, hadn't properly healed - most likely due to his missing tusk, draining his energy until his gem constantly sparked and fizzed, rendering any and all spellwork useless.

Trudging along, sighing happily as murky water rushed up to his shoulders, hooves just barely touching the riverbed, leaning his head down to blow bubbles and snorting like an extremely pleased baby. Still, his eyes stayed above the waterline, keen and narrowed, curious pools of black. Where did hats live, anyways? They flew, so maybe up high?

Going on that assumption, Czernobog began to scan the treeline, and after a few more minutes of splashing, gave up with a soft, disgruntled bellow. Pulling himself out of the river slowly, water dripping off his sides and pooling in the deep wound that punctured through skin and muscle to reveal bone, the boar sat down with a disappointed snort, tail lashing, ears pinned back and expression a mutinous glare. Where hat?

Opening his mouth to yell, the sound caught in his throat, and the pig slumped a little in place, glancing around. If his singer was here, and he still hadn't done his job... nope. Nope nope. Gotta find hat first. And, as if by the grace of his extremely noodley grandboat, there was movement from the ground nearby, and the piglet slowly rose to his hooves, hefting himself to stand, slowly maneuvering through mud and reeds to the shape.

Lo and behold, sitting next to a big black rock was his "Friiiiiend!" Dancing a bit in place, Czernobog grinned, showing off all his pearly whites - minus the missing tusk, of course. "Fouuuuund you!" Tip-tapping closer, the boar stopped a good three feet away, wary of disturbing Eve too badly. "Saaaaaaafe?" She didn't look injured, but then again he hadn't ever expected a growly bitey thing to attack him, so the black ball of fluff was a little less charge-in-without-care now.

@Eve

Eve twisted her head back to look at Czernobog. She croaked. "I'm safe. You're still hurt?" she sighed.

The crow moved and fluttered up to assume hat position on the boar's head, looking over the onyx gem. "I made something," she said. "Be careful with it. It's a precious thing. I don't know what it is yet."

Eve tilted her head. "I don't know what to do. I can't move it. Are you okay? Where did you go? Why didn't you stay?"
The crow moved to look over the boar's wounds with a frown. "We should get you to Bevy."

Safe. Hurt? The boar's ears flicked, glancing away as if to avoid the question. He relaxed as soon as his hat was safely back on his head, snorting softly, eyes roving up to focus on Eve. Made. Careful. Precious. Czernobog focused back on the big black rock, huffin, shambling closer to duck down and sniff at it with a grin. "Preeeecious."

The longer the pig stared at it, the more his brow furrowed, and finally he blurted out a question: "Eeeeegg? Baaaaaby?" The object looked a lot like a very tiny version of his baby's egg, and the thought made him grin even wider. Baby hat! So small... Bristles poofed up in instinctual protectiveness, Czernobog sat down softly beside the thing, rumbling contentedly. He almost missed Eve's words in his distraction, tail wagging to and fro lazily.

Okay? Go? Stay? The giant ball of angry fluff huffed, peering up at his hat once more, trying to think of what to say. "Chuuuuuuurn. Okaaaaay." He didn't know the words for the forest-place, but he knew what he'd found there! "Baaaaaaby. Eeeeeeg. Friiiiiiend." He tapped his wounded leg on the soft earth, grunting. "Foooooe. Huuuuuurt." That seemed about the best he could do with his broken speech, and he glanced up nervously, braced for annoyance.

Then Eve was tip-tapping along, peering at his wounds, and saying Bevy. The term didn't ring any bells, so Czernobog simply snuffled, tail picking up its pace once more. "Chuuuuuurn hooooooome. Saaaaafe."

@Eve

Eve let out a whistling sigh before she flew back on top of the black gem. She was too small to actually supply any warmth for it, but regardless, she sat on it. "I don't know what an egg is," the crow confessed quietly. "I don't know what this is, either. I have to..."

Briefly, the crow thought of Giggle, standing over her bone pile. At length, she nodded - though more to herself. "No, no. I know who to-- what are you on about?"

The crow glanced up at the white fawn poking around at some flowers and blinked. "How'd that happen?"

Czernobog watched as his hat flew back to nest on her egg, grinning and snorting. Don't. Egg. The boar snorted, tail wagging. Of course it was an egg! Of this he was quite sure. He had a sixth sense: the egg sense. Or at least, he thought he did. Know. Who. What? About? The pig barely had time to blink before Eve was turning to stare at Isi, the fawn still within sight, if only for the boar's peace of mind.

How? Happen? Bristles fluffed up once more in pride as Czernobog got up from his seat in the mud with a tired groan, taking a few steps towards the fawn and bellowing, as if to make sure she knew he was still around. Then, he turned back to Eve, clacking his teeth together in pure fatherly satisfaction. "Baaaaaby! Fouuuuund eeeeeegg!" Tail wagging furiously, the boar danced in place, obviously pleased as punch to have gained a daughter during his travels.

@Eve