The crow breathed in the air of Polaris. She hadn't come with Oliver this time and she hadn't come to see Black or White. She just felt more energized here - it was a much needed feeling, given that she didn't have a lot of sleep recently with Oliver being such a handful. From a distance, she stared at the Spire. She wasn't thinking about it - or anything, in fact. The light was almost warm and comforting, clearing her mind until she felt comfortably numb, fluffed up on the rock she perched on with eyes half-closed. table code © rasta 2015

@Fleur

Polaris. It looked... smaller than it had in cycles past, but that was probably due to how much larger she'd grown. The skunk remembered being positively tiny, scrambling and scuttling over rocks and under glowing crystals, blinking up at Florence while he waltzed about, ever graceful - but the weight of the crown on her brow helped stop the memory before it could really get going, and Fleur grimaced to herself, the action pulling on her self-unhinged jawbone. It was still foreign, to call upon her own magic rather than brute strength, but she took a whistling breath, another, and tried to pull at the healing bacteria that filtered throughout her bloodstream.

There was a tingling rush as her jaw half-set back into place, and one of the bone fragments that had split off from it dislodged from her cheek, falling to the floor with a short burst of fouled blood. The skunk spit for good measure, licking red-stained gemstone teeth clean before shaking herself off, as if stepping out of a bad dream, and continuing on through the fluorescent room. There was a huge crystal tower, bright and blue, in the center of the room, and she headed towards it, tense and uneasy, offput by the emptiness of the place. It was certainly quieter than Monoceros, and darker than the tunnel, but - then again, maybe it wasn't quite so empty as she thought.

There was a... bird? A tiny black bird, perched on a rock near the spire. Fleur blinked, shuffling closer, tail raised just a bit, one eyebrow raised curiously. "...hello?"

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@Eve

Eve glanced down, blinking. There was a little creature she hadn't seen before - as white as her daughter, with a crown fitted on her brow. She hopped a little bit, turning to regard the skunk as it greeted her. "Hey there," she said. This thing didn't look half miserable. She fluttered down next to her and peered at the skunk, perhaps in thought. A closer inspection told her that the tiara was a gem, certainly - but not her gem. It was too loose. The crow fluffed herself up. There were many things that could have happened - she could have been a regretful murderer, someone who lost their mate, or perhaps she had just found the crown lying around and some unrelated disaster had happened. Either way, she decided not to bring it up. "Who are you?" table code © rasta 2015

@Fleur

Fleur's head moved to track the bird's movements, red eyes staring unblinkingly at her. It was probably a little creepy, but frankly, the skunk was kind of amazed that she hadn't passed out from shock and exhaustion by now. And then the little thing was peering at the tiara, and Fleur puffed up her chest just a bit, straightening up all regal-like, like Diamondfang had taught her, blowing out a noisy sigh at the question. "I. Am. Fleur," the skunk explained, words stilted and clipped as they made their way slowly past row upon row of cold, blunted pink fangs.

"Who are. You?" The small-talk was making the itch come back, and without warning the woman had to glance away and swallow hard, lest the bile building in her throat erupt outwards. If she ignored where she'd just come from, it hadn't really happened, had it?

The cold weight of the tiara said otherwise.

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@Eve

Before even replying, the crow was hobbling away - jumping and hopping along. "There's a clean river near by, you need water," she said, only briefly looking over her shoulder to see if Fleur was coming along. "I'm Eve. It's short for something. I forgot what," she said before continuing on, as long as Fleur had began to follow. If not, she continued. "I've seen things that look like you throw up scraps of rats before. Water helps with that." table code © rasta 2015

@Fleur

Fleur blinked, head slowly swinging back to focus on the bird - Eve - and huffing out a short, soft laugh. The bird was... blunt. It was nice, after a life of trying to dissect the simplest reply. She ambled after the other woman after a pause, steps slow and measured, ears and tail slowly relaxing with every pace, approaching the water in no real hurry. She would puke, or she wouldn't. Didn't matter much in the long run.

"Eve. A nice. Name. Fitting," the skunk hummed, glancing to her side to flash glittering pink teeth at the little bird. "Mine is. Short. For some-thing. Too," Fleur added, turning back to the path ahead without explaining what, exactly, that something was. "You've seen. Things. That look. Like me?" The words were soft and tinted with just a hint of curiosity, but were mostly a simple rumble, more out of politeness than any real interest.

©sanctuare-2k15

@Eve

"Yup," came the simple reply as the crow hobbled up towards the riverbed. She leaned over and took a quick sip of water before she turned to Fleur again. "Not... exactly like you. A little bigger with huge feet. She regurgitated some contents of her belly after a dragon blew up his own eye." She paused. Maybe she was being a little crude for this-thing-who-was-mourning. She tilted her head. "... So, what have you been up to?" table code © rasta 2015

@Fleur

Fleur hummed, eyes flicking back and forth between the bird and the stream, only ducking her head to drink after Eve had. Fang had drilled let them eat it first, let them drink it first, never take what's offered into her head practically from birth. Even with all of the things the mongoose had gotten wrong, that one seemed to be pretty solid advice.

It took her a moment to zone back into the conversation, too focused on noisily gulping down mouthfuls of clear water, flushing back the taste of blood and vomit. Still, the whole dragon-blowing-up-his-own-eye thing would catch anyone's attention. Raising her head, the skunk's gaze turned to peer down at Eve incredulously, one tiny ear flicking to the side. "Blew up. His. Own eye? How?" To be fair, she'd shattered her own jaw, but that sounded like a chipped nail in comparison to losing an eye.

Fleur blinked, caught off-guard by the casual follow-up question. A soft chuff of a laugh escaped her clenched jaw, then another, and in moments she was cackling, the sound harsh and grating. Dimly, she was aware that it was, in fact, the first time she'd ever actually laughed. Gently - or as gently as she could, probably - the skunk scooped Eve up in one paw, reaching up and back to plop her in the middle of the fluffy white plain of fur that made up the assasin's back. "Oh, I. Like. You. You're funny."

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@Eve

It wasn't the first time Eve had been perched on top of someone's back and she was sure as hell it wouldn't be the last time. What was a first for her, though, was that she was called funny. People rarely laughed at any jokes she made - but this time she hadn't even cracked one.

"I dunno," she said. "It just did."

She looked down at Fleur for a moment, blinking, before puffing herself up contentedly where she stood. "So, Fleur," she started. "What have you been up to?"

@Fleur

"His eye just. Blew up?" Fleur's snout wrinkled in displeasure, eyelids twitching in sympathy. That had to hurt - plus it would leave you at a tactical disadvantage for the rest of time. A shudder ran through the fluffy skunk at the thought. "Creepy," she muttered, discomforted.

The little weight on her back seemed to settle, quieting, before the question that had started her off on the unexpected laugh-attack returned. It wasn't any easier to answer, and so the guard lowered her mouth to the water again, drinking to fill the silence. It felt like a lifetime before she stopped, turning from the water to stare up at the Spire's blue, towering form, voice barely a whisper, the crown burning like fresh ice.

"Nothing. Good," she began, tone humorless. "Have you. Heard. Of. The Merrymen?" The skunk stalled, gathering up her courage, trying to push the bone-deep anger, the fear and the guilt down long enough to explain. "I was. Raised. By their. Queen." She snorted in disgust, more self-loathing than towards the ubiquitous Diamondfang. "She called. Me. Her princess. Led me. Away from. My hatch-site."

Tiny, rounded ears twitched, and Fleur let out a deep, rattling sigh. "Lost my. Brother. The queen. Kept me there. For weeks. But I snuck. Out and. Searched. Once per cycle." A grimace. "Never. Found him." The tiara burned, and she reached up a shaking paw to right it, perched at the top of her head, twinkling mockingly in the dim glow of Polaris. "Well. Found him. Now."

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@Eve