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Ever since Riley had proposed to it, Malodore had felt a strange pairing of emotions. The most obvious, and most powerful, was a potent joy that was both a comforting constant and a surprise - it would remember anew, every so often, and feel a rush of delight and warmth.

But more subtle, more insidious, was a frisson of fear - nothing so great as to overpower its joy, but something that caught it off-guard in a quiet moment. It had to believe that the Riley it had loved and the Riley it loved now were the same person - there was no competition, no separation. They had to be one.

Didn't they?

It needed advice from the only beings it knew who had been in what might remotely be considered a similar situation. And, really, this should have happened long before now. It would never take Riley to the Casa Cirurgien, and had no desire to ever see the crumbling walls of its former home again. But the exiles' home, Corvilla, was another matter entirely.

So, one afternoon, Malodore made its way from Nurse Cricket's office to the demon dorms, humming faintly; it had with it not Luce, but Fedele, the crow that Armida had sent to it. The claws on its shoulder felt unfamiliar and strange, as did the way Fedele kept half-spreading its wings for balance. Still, its kin in Corvilla lived this way constantly, so it felt somehow silly to be in any way discomfited by the crow's antics.

It lifted its hand as it approached the demon dorms, and Fedele hop-flapped from Malodore's shoulder to the offered hand. "Andare da lei," it said. The crow made an obedient croaking noise and lumbered into the air, heading for Riley's window. Once there, it would perch and knock its beak politely against the glass in summons.

The crow made a low quork! noise and nibbled politely at the tip of her finger before tilting its head and shifting to look down at Malodore - really, both crow and master had similar mannerisms, avian-to-avian.

Malodore raised one arm over its head and waved at Riley as she opened the window. Might I come up? I have a matter I wish to speak to you about. Fedele's presence is needed, it said, reaching out to touch her mind with its own. It was difficult at this distance - not because the mindflayer's power was weak, but because other than empathic gift, Malodore itself had no such ability.

It had begun to move the instant but of course you can floated through its mind; by the time she finished I wonder the door opened and closed behind her. "I wonder, indeed," the plague doctor said, mysteriously, coming up behind her and threading its arms gingerly through the spaces between crystals, seeking to embrace her around the waist.

Fedele stayed on the windowsill and began preening.

"I thought we might take a journey together. Not a long one... just the two of us. We have never done that before, have we? Traveled solely for our own pleasure?" It chuckled against her tentacles.

"I did, actually..." It ducked its head a bit, almost shyly. "Corvilla. Or, ah, as close to it as I will be permitted to go. The home of the exiled Cirurgien plague doctors. I wish to, ah, introduce you to the closest thing I have to family outside of these walls."

It was oddly touched by her words, and leaned into the featherlight brush of her fingers. "Sono onorato che mi si è scelto," it whispered, its eyes bright behind the lenses. It was so tempting to just be lost in her warmth...

But Fedele rustled its feathers on the sill, and the plague doctor reluctantly re-focused. "It is a day or two by caravan - the more modern modes of transport do not run that way," it explained. "I came here by caravan, at least, so I know we can obtain a seat in one such. Do you think you might have time to do so within the next few weeks?"

It opened its beak in a smile. "The day after tomorrow, perhaps? The day is young - I believe I could secure transport for us, if you can make your preparations in that time. I aim to be gone only two or three days at most..."

It turned around and looked at Fedele. "Of course, we must send a request, and wait for a reply." The crow, knowing it was being looked at, cawed and took off, gliding through Riley's room until it landed on her bedstead.

It nodded, then held up its arm; Fedele made the hop from bed to plague doctor. "Ascolta, Fedele - un messaggio per Armida." It hesitated, lining up words inside its head, until the silence had gone on a few seconds too long.

"... Vorrei portare il mio compagno di incontrarmi con voi, due giorni da oggi. Se si sarebbe consentito per noi di entrare Corvilla e vediamo, mi piacerebbe farlo. Con affetto, Malodore."

The crow shook its head, then cawed and took flight, pushing off Malodore's arm and nearly knocking its hat off of its head with the backwash of its wings. And then Fedele was gone, out through the window.

Malodore sank down again. "And now the waiting. It will take it six hours, I believe. Sooner, perhaps, if she senses Fedele coming and intercepts him with her power." It looked a little anxious now that the deed was done. What if they would not allow it to come back, even for a visit?

"If we are permitted, si," it said, with a small shake of its head. Now, doubt was creeping in to plague it. "Ah... perhaps some distraction might be in order?" it offered. "Until Fedele returns." It had only been a few minutes, and yet...