A Single Step [Varde <3]

[Lucca]

An odd-looking Chicken bobbed happily along the street, having just gotten off of work on on her way home, a bag of take out food held under a wing. Her normal kerchief (yellow today) was around her neck, covering up the eyespots even -she- found disturbing, and she wore a sunny straw hat to (sort of) hide her horns. Her normal sunglasses were absent today, however, as the sky was already cloudy enough to not hurt her sensitive, large, black eyes.

She didn't pay any attention to the stares, as she was quite used to them. Not many of her Realm were seen around the Capital, after all. Her mind was already busy with all the things she'd do when she got home; the food she was going to eat (and share with Mel, her Bander, of course!), the book she was going to read more of, the--oh my, did that poor Card look a little lost?

Attention successfully diverted, and always the bleeding heart, the Chicken clucked in sympathy and hurried over to the Corvie Rat, waving a wing (the one not holding the bag of food) as soon as she got close enough. "Excuse me! Excuse me, Sir, but you seem to be a bit...lost!"

[Varde]

Fenzik stood in the center of an intersection between two alleys, peering bewilderedly down one, then the other. He took another look at the signpost indicating the names of both streets. Sure enough, it read the same as it had a moment ago. "Definitely the right address," he mused aloud, his gaze falling upon a small piece of paper with said street names scrawled messily upon it. "But the shop is nowhere in sight," he said, punctuated by a frustrated sigh. "Maybe I heard him wrong..." Once again, the rat attempted to replay in his mind the exact conversation that had taken place earlier that day between himself and the shopkeeper at one of his frequent (relatively speaking) places of business within the capital's limits. "Then again, neither 'Whitehill Avenue' nor 'Stone Way' is particularly difficult to pronounce. Or," he continued, his brow furrowing abruptly in suspicion, "maybe he was deliberately trying to throw me off the scent!" Fenzik began to pace as he considered this new possibility. "But why? He knows how important --"

It was at this point that the rat, who had entirely ceased to pay attention to his surroundings, suddenly bumped obliviously into another Card. "Ah!" he exclaimed in surprise, rubbing his nose. "I -- I'm sorry! Are you okay? I didn't -- didn't see you there!" he gushed apologetically to the creature, who was some sort of odd-looking bird. Before Fenzik could think of what to do, Zik had stretched out toward the bird, in case it was in need of any assistance. "Terribly, terribly sorry," the rat said again, quite sheepishly. As he surveyed the bird, two things occurred to him. One, he didn't immediately recognize the coloration of its realm. Two, perhaps it was more familiar with this area of the capital than he, and perhaps he should seize the opportunity to enlist its help in finding his way. But he couldn't just ask for directions point blank -- especially not after having just barreled into the Card mere seconds prior. That would make this meeting more awkward than it was already. "I -- you -- you're okay, right?" he finally managed to sputter.

[Lucca]

The Chicken let out a startled cry as the man she was trying to rush towards turned and walked right toward HER (while muttering to himself) and her claws dug into the dirt as she braced for the inevitable impact. Still, the Rat was nearly as big as she was, and he succeeded in knocking her from her feet. Food was sent flying as she landed, hard, on her rear. Looking back up, her dark eyes flashed with fury for a minute, all her feathers puffing up and her wings rising, before she realized that the Rat hadn't done it on purpose.

"I...oh...what?..." With an uncertain noise, the Diamond pushed herself to her feet, taking note of the fact she was not seriously injured, though her food was now scattered all over a nearby alley.

Disoriented, the Chicken blinked her large, dark eyes at the Corvie, shaking her head a bit. "Ah, never mind, Sir...it happens to the best of us. And there is no need to worry, I am all right! The question is, are you?" She tilted her head at him, her expression turning very worried as she wondered if something else might be wrong with the poor Rat as well -- heat stroke didn't seem likely, as the sun wasn't even out, but she'd seen stranger things.

After a moment, she clucked and reached out a wing towards him in greeting. "Well, anyway, my name is Molly! May I ask yours, Sir?" Molly's scarf had shifted in her tumble, and the barest hint of red poked out from under the edge of the bright yellow fabric. She didn't yet notice. Her hat, at least, had stayed in place.

[Varde]

Fenzik blinked in surprise at the chicken. Not only was she not upset with him, but she actually seemed more concerned about him than she did about her scattered food. Well, maybe she was nicer than the average Capital resident. Whatever the case, her kindness filled him with even more guilt for the trouble caused by his inattention. He hung his head in embarrassment as he answered her question. "Yeah, I'm fine, I'm just..." he mumbled quickly. "I'm really sorry for this," he said again. "I -- I mean, is -- huh?"

He stopped short, noticing her outstretched wing. The card introduced herself, and Fenzik felt the faintest twinge of relief knowing that she had already forgiven him, even if he hadn't yet forgiven himself. He hesitantly moved one paw to shake "hands", as it were, but before he could complete the gesture, Zik had already done so. The rat looked up at Molly and quirked an apologetic smile as one of his tails coiled lightly around her wing and shook it politely. He briefly considered explaining his tails' consciousness to her, but decided that topic was a bit too complicated for this conversation. Instead, he simply emitted a cautious laugh and said, "Fenzik. My name's Fenzik." Zik let go of her wing and withdrew, seeming to bow graciously if a tail could do so. "I'm really sorry about your food, ma'am. Please, you must allow me to replace it."

[Lucca]

"Oh!..." Molly cried in surprise as his tail took her wing instead of his paw. Now that was curious! She'd never seen a tail that did that before, despite how many special Cards she'd met in her day. Cards with...mutations. Molly wasn't fond of that word, though. It almost implied there was something innately wrong with someone just because they were a bit...different. A lot of these so called mutations could be wonderful, or even useful, as this man's tail seemed to be!

"Well, Fenzik, your split tail is very charming! I'm sure it's very useful in the lab to have two extra appendages! Oh, well, if you like to work in the lab, that is, I mean, you are a Corvistownian but I'd hate to assume..."

Her babbling cut off as she realized he'd made an offer, and she drew in a sharp breath, flushing a bit in pleasure. "Oh, what a gentleman you are, Fenzik! That is very kind of you, but it's really no trouble! I just feel bad for whoever has to clean up this mess..." She looked around at the food splattered all over the alley, dark eyes solemn.

The small part of her red eye spot that was visible under the scarf winked out for just a moment and then reappeared.

[Varde]

Fenzik allowed himself a chuckle when Molly paid a compliment to his tails -- well, to Zik at least. "I do, I do, don't worry," he assured her good-naturedly. "I'm a Corvie through and through. My lab is where I spend a good deal of my time -- and even when I do leave it, I'm usually still thinking about my work," he confessed. Speaking of work... one section of his brain interrupted the other, reminding the rat of his current business. But he pushed those thoughts back for the time being. He had made another Card's day more difficult, and now it was his responsibility to do what he could to make it right.

He didn't notice the chicken's visible reaction to his offer, but even if he had, he wouldn't have thought anything of it. "That's true," he agreed with a frown, his tone somewhat dejected as he surveyed the fallen food. Correction: he had made at least two Cards' days more difficult. With a slight sigh he turned back to Molly. "Are... are you sure? I'll pay whatever it cost." He did some quick mental math, trying to figure how much money he had currently on him. "Even if it means my own shopping has to --" he began to add, in an effort to convince her that he really meant it. However, he stopped short when he thought he caught a glimpse of something red underneath her scarf. His heart stopped for a second. He blinked at the spot, but the color was no longer visible. Had it been -- blood? Fenzik panicked. Just how badly had he injured this poor Card?? And here she was, trying to play it off like nothing had happened! "Molly! Are you bleeding?" the rat demanded, stepping tentatively toward her while staring fixedly at her scarf, which his overactive imagination was now convinced concealed some manner of horrific, ghastly wound.

[Lucca]

Molly clucked a bit, her flush deepening. Ohh, Fenzik really was quite the charmer! She didn't think she'd ever met such a gentleman! But, especially as it seemed he had things he wanted to buy himself, she wasn't going to make him pay for her lost food! Of course, if he offered a third time, it would only be polite to accept his offer, then. Luckily it hadn't been very expensive fare. "Oh, it's really not necessary, I'm sure you have a use for the money, and it's not like I'm hurting for..."

She stopped with a loud, alarmed cluck as the Rat mentioned -blood- and it made her heart quicken. "Bleeding?" she cried, dark eyes getting impossibly wider in distress. "Where??" She checked herself, shaking out her wings and turning her head rapidly this way and that to look for any spot of red...wait...red? Oh...oh surely not...

But she followed his gaze to her scarf, and the Chicken seemed to deflate immediately. "Oh...oh, Fenzik, that's not blood, don't worry. I..." She made a small, worried noise, but she may as well show him at this point. Cringing, she reached up a wing and pulled her scarf down just enough for him to see the creepy red eye spot on her neck. This was probably the part where he called her a freak and ran the other way...her eyes began to fill with tears in anticipation.

[Varde]

Fenzik breathed a sigh of relief when Molly said the words "not blood". He was extremely glad to know he hadn't injured her after all. But what was it, then? Fortunately, the chicken seemed inclined to satisfy his curiosity, even without him having to come up with an excuse to verbally inquire. As she moved her scarf, Fenzik's eyes went wide, but not with fear or disgust -- rather, with amazement. Whether or not other cards might have found the eye creepy, the rat was simply glad it wasn't what he had previously feared the cloth concealed. Instead of running away, he took a step toward the eye, gazing at it for a prolonged moment. "Is it... real?" he asked, his voice hushed. A light breeze blew through Molly's feathers and he realized it wasn't, but as entranced by its stare as he appeared, it may as well have been.

"That's extremely unique," he marveled, casting a glance up at the bird's face and giving her a reassuring smile. "Actually, it's pretty," he told her, since he was under the impression that female cards liked to hear things like that. Besides, it wasn't untrue. The striking contrast of the red against the surrounding white was quite captivating. As he spoke, he inwardly tried to decipher what sort of mutation it might be. In all his experiments and research, he'd never seen anything like it. Or... maybe it wasn't a mutation at all? He decided it was time to ask the question that had been in the back of his mind from the beginning. "Molly, if I may ask a potentially foolish question... What realm are you from?"

[Lucca]

Molly couldn't meet the Rat's eyes as he looked at the eyespot, the cause of much shame on her part. Of all the mutations naturally occurring in her region, this was the one she hated the most. More than the large, sensitive eyes, more than the spiraling horns, more than the ruff of fur that covered her Suit and Rank in a casual glance. She just shook her head at his question, and she could feel her face burning under her feathers, not used to such close scrutiny. It was what she wore various scarves and kerchiefs to avoid, after all.

But then...

"It's pretty."

"Ba-kahhhh?" Molly's large eyes, noticeably wider than normal, suddenly stared into the Rat's own as she battled inwardly with herself, almost not able to believe he'd actually said that. "You...you really think so?" The edges of her beak turned up in a little smile, and the flush on her cheeks was now from pleasure. She'd met a few other Cards who hadn't thought her eye was 'creepy as hell' though that was the normal response. Some found it interesting, but none had ever called it...pretty. Her heart fluttered in a girlish way, for she very much did want to hear those words.

The world seemed almost rose-tinted after hearing such kind words from a handsome stranger, and Molly answered the next question more hopefully than she usually did. "Cranstone Moors. It's actually fairly near Corvistowne, you know...it's...it's a little odd but it's not a bad place, and several of your countrymen like to go there to study the land and its residents. We...have a high number of odd genetic traits." She didn't want to call them 'mutations'. The word just held such negative connotations! But she was sure a Corvie would understand!

[Varde]

"I do," Fenzik said with a sincere smile, looking up from Molly's eye-spot to her face. "Honest." Admittedly, he was a little bit pleased with himself, seeing that his words had been taken the right way. The rat was the first to acknowledge that his social skills in general -- and his skills in flattery, specifically -- were subpar. Of course, Molly didn't appear to be the sort of Card who was terribly difficult to flatter. Fenzik just couldn't fathom why she seemed to be so self-conscious. Were there really that many other Cards cruel enough to judge the poor chicken for a mark like hers? Or was it just that Molly was exceptionally sensitive to their unjustified, critical comments?

"Cranstone Moors," he repeated, racking his brain. The name did ring a few bells; he knew he had heard it before. Probably, as Molly suggested, through other Corvies. "Cranstone... oh!" he exclaimed, his eyes lighting up as he suddenly made a mental connection. "Like the Cranstone clover! It's a small white flower that must be named for your realm," the rat explained. "I haven't used the clover in any of my experiments, but I believe some of my colleagues have. If I recall correctly, I think it's meant to be useful for... er, easing stomach pain," he added, realizing as he spoke that this factoid was irrelevant and probably a little off-putting. "So, near Corvistowne?" he swiftly changed the subject, echoing Molly's words from earlier. "Huh, that's... interesting," he mused. "I was under the impression that Cranstone was... up north somewhere?" he confessed, emitting a sheepish laugh. "You'll have to forgive me, it would appear I'm even worse at geography than I knew."