((ooc -- all welcome! ; takes place during/near the end of the Pisces trial for Cancer, before the events of the Fiery Pit: Part Raheerah))

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Dark had been soaring in silence, or as much as he could, at least. Most of his navigation was done by ear, or perhaps one might say by feathered tuft above ear-hole, and more than once he'd gone tumbling off the cave walls due to a miscalculation. A few times he'd had to stay grounded and walk, for awhile, long black talons scraping over stone.

The trial was still ongoing, behind him; but he found the entire thing nonsensical given the other dangers that threatened to engulf them. He was heading back to Monoceros, if he could find his way there, to keep an eye... or rather, his earholes... on the massive beast which had slumbered there, and which had awoken after the fight that he'd heard roaring through the cave. He thought that it might come to Pisces, might hurt Bevy, and he wanted to be sure that he could warn them if indeed it emerged.

But he needed a rest. He'd been travelling--first back, then forward again--for over a full day without sleep. When he heard the echoes of sound that formed the walls around the throne, he approached at once. This was safety; he remembered this place.

The owl tilted his head, hopping forward and then up, taking a few tries until finally he just beat his wings, flying into the seat of the throne and once again nestling, curled, into the arm of it. He remembered something horrible, here, but it was so vague that he just fluffed himself up, rearranging a few feathers with his beak before closing his gem eyes to nap for awhile.

"Won't sleep long," he reassured himself very, very softly. "Will go listen. Can't let thing get to Bevy."

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@Eve

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If Eve closed her eyes and thought really hard, she could remember tumbling through the air and hitting the ground below. If she thought even harder, she could remember the pupiless owl bounding towards her. His name was long lost on her, now, but his face wasn't. His chittering voice proclaiming a new friend, asking another bird for food.

Her name she remembered, because the owl wouldn't stop chanting it, but whereas she forgot the owl's name but remembered his face, she forgot the other bird's face but remembered her name.

She remembered where that place was. A dark room illuminated by the silvery ceiling above. She had flew or trotted by it a few times now, always taken aback by it's beauty. It was close to Canis, only a tunnel away, but it was a long way to go there all the way from Cetus.

Yet, she found herself flying through tunnel after tunnel until she found herself gliding out of Tunnel I and into Orion. She landed by the throne, where she had fallen, and looked around. At first, she saw nothing. On a second glance, she noticed a little dark bump lying on the seat of the throne.

She took off once more, flying up to the arm rest of the throne. She leaned over, gazing over the pile of feathers, and gave a gentle squawk.

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@Dark

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Dark blinked awake only slowly.

Had he heard something? He was sure that he had. He--... A gentle scratching, breathing sound alerted him to someone overhead, but it was a gentle noise, a bird noise, and at first he was certain that it was Bevy. She'd been acting aloof, a little, but she was busy--he didn't blame her. But maybe the trial was done? Maybe she'd come to ask him about the dragon-thing, after all...?

Hope blooming in him, he turned his head at a ridiculous angle to blindly regard the crow above, and chirped softly.

"...Bevy?"

Then Dark fluffed up his feathers, ruffling them down and yawning, slowly standing up to reach up beak-first toward the arm of the throne. His eyelids dropped half-shut over his emeralds, beak gently opening and closing toward his visitor in an offer of tactile greeting.

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@Eve

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"No. I'm sorry," said the crow hesitantly. "I'm Eve. Do you... remember?"

She wasn't sure if he would. He couldn't even see. She remained where she was, talons tapping against the stone a little. "I fell here and you were here with Bevy. I don't know where she is," she added. Slowly, the image of the black-and-red bird came back to her, and she nodded to no one.

The crow nestled down a little, watching Dark quietly.

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@Dark

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Dark listened, thinking, his little face screwing up in concentration. Yes, he remembered her--or he thought he did, anyway. She'd fallen thump-thump right around here, somewhere--maybe she lived here? He chirped softly and clicked his beak in thought.

"She's behind," he decided quietly. He didn't seem upset by this, just matter-of-fact. She'd still be back there, sorting out the details of the strange "trial" thing. "Do you live here?"

He hopped once or twice, trying to see if he could reach her, but without taking flight he found that he could not. Whatever'd once sat upon the throne was too big for an owl. He nestled back down, peering up blindly to listen to the crow.

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@Eve

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The crow leaned down to gently tap Dark's head, trying to give him a hint as to where she is. "I don't live here. My nest is in Cetus," she said. Her head tilted a little. "Do you?"

She'd already assumed he did. Where else would he live? There was no sign of him in Canis or even Eridanus, were there more places than that? She shrugged it off a little and hopped down next to the owl, going to preen his feathers quietly.

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He blinked owlishly as his head was tapped, "looking" up to blink blindly at the crow. He grinded his beak a little, then turned and spread wings to lift himself in a gentle flapping rustle of wings to land beside her. Then he settled, pretty large compared to a crow, fluffing himself down to get comfortable.

"I live with Bevy," he answered softly. He cast his mind back, trying to remember what he knew of Pisces. He tended to just wander, really; he'd found his way to Eridanus once, and then to Monoceros, just sort of feeling his way along the walls and trying to learn their secrets.

"Big place. Echoes. Lots of water. Pisces, I think is its name." He paused a moment before continuing. "But nowhere is 'home.' I go everywhere. Everywhere is home? There's a monster I have to go watch," he added, quietly matter-of-fact. "It was angry when I saw it. I travel everywhere to see things. The rock shows me. Others show me. I touch them and I see."

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@Eve

Evening

Eve seemed to think for a moment. She would have liked to give Dark some sort of present if he weren't blind, but the mention of rocks showing him things gave her an idea. The crow jerked a little, looking down over Orion for a moment. ""Wait here!"

She took off, noisily flying away. She looked around Orion before she found a small stone, smooth and grey. She landed and picked it up in her talons, inspecting it for a moment before she furrowed her brow ever so slightly, moonstone digit glinting silver. Soon enough, there came a warm and gentle glow the surrounded the rock. The crow gazed at it for a moment, mesmerized, before she took off again.

Flying back to Dark, she was quick to try place the rock into his talons, excited. "Can you see it?! It's pretty-- it's for you!" she squawked excitedly. It might not make sense, at first, why the crow would stuff a glowing rock into a blind owl's talons - not just because he was wholly blind, but because his talons were nowhere near his actual eyes, but after (half) listening to the owl's words, she was rather convinced that Dark would know what it is just by touch.

Dark lay curled into the throne, bewildered, as the strange bird fluttered off. Strange, but he vaguely remembered her being very loud, so maybe she was very strange, too. Maybe it was normal for her.

He'd just decided to go to sleep, gem eyes half-closed, when the beat of feathered wings again announced her return. Dark found himself abruptly wondering where his friend Tal'at had gone, and then suddenly there was something cool and hard pressing between his talons. He squawked in surprise, spreading wings and eyes and ruffling feathers, but then the crow's voice came from before him again, and he calmed.

Could he see it? Instead of jumping to mockery, the owl considered her words. He clenched his talons lightly around the stone, peering down at it blindly, his gem eyes flaring up green as he did his best to see into the pebble's past.

He saw a brief cascade of visions--shapes, something falling, a crack of rock. Then there was a bright flare of light, and for the shortest instant he saw the stone clearly, as it was now: softly, gently glowing.

Dark stared down in awe, seeing and unseeing, clicking his beak softly as he considered. Then he lifted his head, feathers ruffling up again.

"It glows?" he asked quietly. "But... how?"

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@Eve

Evening

"It's magic!" Eve exclaimed. There was a soft clack-clack-clack of her jumping around on the throne excitedly, careful as not to disturb or hurt Dark with her own feet. She piped up again, loudly. "I can make light. I can make things glow, with magic!"

It was no secret that Eve was proud of herself. Even when she settled down to a stop, sitting next to Dark, she was chittering happily. "It's for you," she repeated. "If you have a nest you can keep it in your nest and your nest will be pretty." The crow nodded almost frantically, and if she had a mammalian maw she would probably be in possession of a grin reaching from ear-to-ear.

Eve watched Dark carefully, clearly wanting to see if he was as excited as she was about the glowing rock. The crow was almost positive that he would be, but there was always a shred of doubt that perhaps she made everything out to be better than they actually were. She shuddered, somewhat. Surely Dark would understand how much effort went into making things shine - and sometimes it didn't even work.

She tilted her head, waiting expectantly for the owl to speak.