enna . ratchet . calypso . anan
sweet and soft . bright and cheery . critical and melodic . childlike and loud

and ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation


It had been a long time. Calypso's grip was strong, and her will powerful. Enna was a passive creature, one who longed to do things but unless someone was in danger, she tried not to be too bothersome. Even Ratchie had bowed under Calypso's thoughts, letting her sort out Cancer's trial.

Just thinking about it was enough to upset her. She hadn't seen Dark, either, in forever. She hadn't spoken to anyone... Had anyone even really noticed her missing? She shivered, keeping these thoughts to herself. Poor Quix. They should have had more bonding time, more family time... Calypso tried to keep the stocks going, but she wasn't friendly to much of anyone.

.Enna

enna . ratchet . calypso . anan
sweet and soft . bright and cheery . critical and melodic . childlike and loud

and ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation


With a nervous clack of her beak, the bird moved around her tiny den in the cavern wall, digging out a few precious things. The stones that belonged to each of them... Oh. Anan needed one. Something pink, perhaps. For now it was just five small rocks. The quartz, which Enna left right where it was, her blue gem from when she was just a baby, the red gemstone... The pebble where she had scribbled "MW" and a waterfall. Her family, her home. She took that outside, placing it at her front door, which now had vines growing down the length to keep out the light.

It was like a "welcome" sign. She made sure it was placed somewhere it wouldn't be easily dislodged by cave wind or a bear tromping over to visit, and slinked back into her cave. One more thing.

.Enna

enna . ratchet . calypso . anan
sweet and soft . bright and cheery . critical and melodic . childlike and loud

and ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation


There was... A beautiful, semi-transparent gem, full of colors. It was cold to the touch, and still made her heart ache. The sick monkey, with the clear skin. Midas had killed the monkey, ended his life. As much as the beast had frightened her, she hadn't wanted that.

If only there was a way to make amends. She picked up the gem with her beak and held it close to her own gemstone, feeling great remorse. This had been so hard as of late. She had pushed herself to the end of her rope. She prodded for Ratchie, looking to him for support, but felt nothing.

This gave her pause.

"Calypso?" She asked, softly, tentatively.

.Enna

enna . ratchet . calypso . anan
sweet and soft . bright and cheery . critical and melodic . childlike and loud

and ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation


There was a reason why Calypso had shut them all away. She had told them, plain and simple, exactly why. Enna had become a mess after Cancer was pronounced "possibly dead". He had been fine when he had come back, although he was plainly charged with murder. Rightfully so.

Enna had, at the last minute, broke out of character and bolted towards the feline. She had, without consulting the other, actually broken off a piece of her gem and gave it to Cancer. Now he was out there, with a piece of them, doing who knows what. It had ruined the whole thing! Maji Walezi... Would they vote her for leader after that display? Probably only because they had no choice. If a better leader came, Enna ran the risk of making them look soft and weak enough to be replaced.

What do you want? She thought, her tone harsh and cold in the echos of the pithui bird's mind.

.Calypso

enna . ratchet . calypso . anan
sweet and soft . bright and cheery . critical and melodic . childlike and loud

and ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation


Enna flinched. She set down the stone and laid down, burying it in her red feathers. She wished she understood what made Calypso so angry, so... Forceful. It made her hard to deal with even at the best of times. It didn't help that the softer mindset was so conflict averse. She just wanted things to be alright.

"H-have you heard from Ratchet? He's just been real quiet lately," she dared ask, shivering despite the warmth of her den. Something was wrong. She could feel it... And it frightened her.

.Enna

enna . ratchet . calypso . anan
sweet and soft . bright and cheery . critical and melodic . childlike and loud

and ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation


Calypso wished she should smash Bevy's head against a rock until these alternate personalities oozed out of her skull. She, however, tried to keep herself composed as Enna gave her question, timid and frightful.

Look, I don't know, alright? And I have a meeting to run, Enna, so if you could hurry up with whatever you're doing. She didn't want to be pushy, but today was an important day. It was their election day, after all. She intended to become leader, one way or another.

It was then that Enna's question was... Properly answered.

.Calypso

enna . ratchet . calypso . anan
sweet and soft . bright and cheery . critical and melodic . childlike and loud

and ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation


bones bones bones bones.

Being cooped up had not been good for Ratchet. He had done his best to keep out of the way, and stay strong for Enna's sake... She had taken this the hardest of them all. It wasn't fair for him to... To project all of these extra, stupid worries on them. Calypso was doing her best too, even if she had a hard time showing compassion.

But hell.

I see stone and ice. The words echoed in his thoughts no matter how much he tried to keep to himself. They hadn't noticed, but now that Enna was prodding for him, it was hard to stay quiet. All is left cold and unchanging. The way there is slippery... Violence. Violence. Violence in our bones.

.Ratchet

enna . ratchet . calypso . anan
sweet and soft . bright and cheery . critical and melodic . childlike and loud

and ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation


"Ratchie!" Enna squawked as she heard the familiar, deeper tones of her friend. She hadn't realized it at first, the... The words seemed so dark. Like they didn't belong to him, but to someone else. She couldn't remember them though.

"Ratchie, are you okay?" She asked, softly. She peered down at the brilliant red crystal, and then, back to the dead gembound under her plummage. She was so much more terrified than she dare show.

.Enna

enna . ratchet . calypso . anan
sweet and soft . bright and cheery . critical and melodic . childlike and loud

and ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation


Enna. Why did she have to be so sweet and kind? She didn't deserve this worry. He wanted to hold it all for her. I'm okay, he whispered, softly, soothingly in their mind. It's fine. Just... Just a bad dream, I think.

But it was ever still there. At first, he had brushed most of it off. Figured they could handle it, sort it out. Then everything had went to hell.

Senseless violence... A great cost.

.Ratchet

enna . ratchet . calypso . anan
sweet and soft . bright and cheery . critical and melodic . childlike and loud

and ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation


Enna didn't press Ratchie on that. She trusted him-- if something was wrong, he would tell her, surely. His thoughts seemed distant and detached, but... But if he was okay, then he was okay. As Calypso always said, it didn't do anyone any good to worry over someone else's problems. She shook her head and looked down at the still, beatless heart of a gemstone under her talons.

Ever since she carved that shard from her chest, she had a feeling she had some sort of... gem magic. She didn't know how or why, but she felt like she could help out the long deceased Teyouma.

"I'm going to try," she spoke softly. "Try to fix our mistakes."

.Enna