Scorch twisted his head to give Mongo a worried look. "Are you sure? I'm not sure how the disease spreads. I wouldn't want to infect you accidentally." Caliante was still healthy, thank goodness, but infecting Mongo would be just as bad. He wasn't sure if the plague could spread through touch alone, but his talons were sharp - what would happen if they broke through Mongo's skin? He could never risk that. "How far away is Eridanus? I think I can make it on talon if we take breaks in between. I don't want to risk hurting you."

@Mongo

Mongo looked to Caliante, listening as she explained that she would warn if Crack began to take control. "That's good, Caliante, I appreciate it. Good luck keeping him locked down."

The bat fluttered into the air, and he moved to follow. However, before he could, Scorch began to speak. "You could always ride on top of my skull. Your talons will not be able to harm me, and you won't risk infecting me." he suggested.

"Eridanus is only a Tunnel away. There are two Tunnels leading to it, but I believe that Tunnel I may be safer. Tunnel H is very windy, and I don't want either of you to be knocked down."

@Scorch

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

"Oh! That's a really good idea, Mongo!" Scorch beamed. "I'll do that." However, when he attempted to hop on the skull, he found that it was difficult to jump up and grip the bone. His talons simply slipped off of the surface. Hmm. Well, he was sure he could figure something out! Caliante and Mongo were both very smart and knew lots of things. Now it was his turn to find a solution!

"Mongo, could you crouch down a bit more? I can't jump high enough to reach your horns." Maybe one day he'd grow big, really big, and then he could jump anywhere! Or, you know, just fly. Because he was a bird and he would have perfectly capable wings one day.

@Mongo

The masked Fossa stood, bracing himself to take the owl's light weight. But, it seemed, the little owl wasn't able to get a grip on his skull, sliding back down to the ground.

"Of course," he nodded, before kneeling down and pressing his stomach against the ground, laying his head flat on the ground to give the owlett a smaller height to clear.

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

The height looked easier to clear this time! The horns on the skull were well within Scorch's jumping range now. And he tried, he really did, but the itchiness in his chest built up again and he had to abort the motion in favor of turning away from Mongo and coughing. The plague... was REALLY not helpful. At all.

Finally, the coughing stopped, leaving behind an itchy sensation in his throat and chest. Scorch turned around to try again, this time able to get on one of Mongo's horns without incident. The owlet tightened his grip - he could curl his talons around the perch as tightly as he had to now, without fear of hurting Mongo. "I'm ready," he said, voice coming out weird and scratchy. "Let's go."

-exit