WHAT ARE THE CHANCES?

Nova

Clever as the devil

Ducking below a low-hanging branch, Nova giggles to feel the water droplets that fall on her nose. She swipes a finger over it, magic pulling the moisture off her skin to vanish into the air with a small shimmer of sparkles that fall harmless onto her puffy pink sleeves. When she spins to look at Aithne around the other side of the trunk, her turquoise and blonde hair wraps around her star freckled face. 

"I went for pizza with a friend after we met last time! It had pepperoni and olives and sausage and molten pineapple and moushrooms and it was sooo good." She groans, expression bright as she remembers the delicious snack. Soh had been great company too, even leaving her the larger portion of food. There hadn't even been any leftovers. 

Nova bounces, eager for some excitement. "Did you do anything fun?!"

and twice as pretty

I didn't come here to make friends
We were born to be suburban legends

The next time Aithne sees Nova, her hair has changed from blonde and red to blonde and turquoise, and the Ancient is totally here for it. She wonders if there's a reason that the young woman changed it, or if she just operates off of vibes. Somehow, Aithne assumes that it's the latter.

In any case, they traipse through the Outer Islands, Aithne periodically jumping onto a fallen log and spreading her arms wide as she balances down the trunk, or hopping and skipping across rocks in a stream bed, or any manner of other things that indicate a young woman who simply can't bear to sit still. She's in the middle of one such leap across a little burbling brook that could generously be called a stream when Nova spins to look at her from around a tree trunk nearby. She lands her jump and pauses, tilting her head to one side. "Oooo, what pizza place? There's this absolutely amazing one that I like a lot. Their garlic bread is to die for."

As for whether or not she's done anything fun, Aithne shrugs. "Not really," she says. "But I've been looking forward to checking out the Spire soon." She offers a fanged grin. If Nova's been having more fun than her when she's an acolyte of Dygra, she really needs to get out more often.

When you hold me, it holds me together
And you kiss me in a way that's gonna screw me up forever

Aithne

Nova

Clever as the devil

"It's in the - the Domicles? The Domesiles? The Dociles?" Nova flicks a hand, rolling her eyes as she skips towards a small patch of sand. "Eh. I don't know, but it sounds like the same place! The garlic bread was delicious." Her mouth is watering just thinking about it. Maybe she'll get more before heading home. Or maybe she'll steal the recipe and make it a new staple at the Sunbean. 

Nova walks closer to the water's edge, her magic pressing naturally to keep the current from soaking her cute glittery high tennis shoes. Her kitty stitched oversized sweater dress won't look nearly as good without it, the rhinestones catching the dim overcast lighting as she clasps her hands behind her back. "Ooh. Me too! Did you find out any new rumors?"

and twice as pretty

I didn't come here to make friends
We were born to be suburban legends

"Yup," Aithne chirps cheerily. "Sounds like the same place!" They're renowned for their garlic bread, so if Nova says that it was delicious, then odds are they're thinking of the same place. While Aithne usually hungers for blood more than food these days, she can still appreciate a good pizza. "Damn, now I want pizza," she complains as she ducks beneath a branch. "We're totally getting some when we go back."

In the meantime, though, she follows along as Nova walks beside the water's edge. The stream does this weird thing that has to be because of Nova's magic, pressing away from the young woman's cute tennis shoes as though repelled by an unseen force. If nothing else, Aithne can appreciate her new friend's style. "Well," Aithne says, tail flicking sharply behind her. "I heard that somebody went in to map the rooms and never came back. And it just so happens that someone passing through heard screaming from the Spire that very same night." She shook her head, too much delight on her face for it to even begin to pass as a woeful action. "They've sent search parties, but they can't figure out where the mapmaker went, or if they even made it to the Spire, or if they went up or down, or if they got into any of the rooms..."

When you hold me, it holds me together
And you kiss me in a way that's gonna screw me up forever

Aithne

Nova

Clever as the devil

"Yes. That sounds perfect." She'll never say no to pizza, especially not after a good day of exploring. It'll taste even better when she's satisfied her curiosity. 

Her ears perk at Aithne's information, intrigue clear on her face when she leans a little closer. Mapping the rooms sounds boring. Unless the map's purpose is to find treasure, she doesn't see how it would be any fun - and anyone who thinks that has to be boring themselves, so Nova shrugs her shoulders as she leans back with a shiny giggle. "Maybe they ran screaming after they saw a rat."

Glancing over Aithne's shoulder, she sees something white in the distance, spanning across the water line a spine. She gasps, rushing forward to get a closer look. "Wait. Are those bridges made of BONES?!" Nova spins to look at Aithne, delight dancing in her eyes.

and twice as pretty

I didn't come here to make friends
We were born to be suburban legends

Aithne's answering grin is wolfish. "My thoughts exactly." Everyone knows that mapping the Spire is a fool's errand. Rumor has it that the locked rooms change on the regular, so no map would ever be complete, regardless. Besides, in Aithne's opinion, the rumors about the Spire have to be overstated. There's no way it's half as badass as it's been made out to be.

Nova glances back at something that Aithne can't see, but she figures it out soon enough as Nova gasps with delight. "Yup," the Ancient says, making a popping noise on the 'p.' Then, leaning closer, wicked glee dancing in her eyes, she says, "Want to go see?"

And that's all that it takes to have the pair of them streaking through the forest, on their way to the distant bones.

fin

When you hold me, it holds me together
And you kiss me in a way that's gonna screw me up forever

Aithne