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Jingle jingle clink clink, what a jovial sound Maebe made when she walked. She was noisy and full, rubbing her distended stomach as it jingled and all the shards she'd eaten clacked against one another inside. It was musical, like the insects in the Observatory, and it pleased her very much.

She'd just returned from her second job collecting Fear when she received the message. She opened up her phone, and her face lit up with an obnoxious degree of sweet joy. She considered telling him that yes, she needed him to collect all of the Fear for her, because she was ever so over-burdened with her own duties (read: all the shards she'd stolen) and moving around tired her more lately.

But instead, she tapped out a simple, quick and surprisingly truthful; 'No, but the company would be nice.' Then she put away her phone, and the glee in her smile faded as she let reality set in. He would be happy to accompany her, she was sure of it. But was it really enough?

It was never enough. She was a selfish, selfish creature. Always.

Maebe froze in place the moment she read his request. She looked around; right, of course. He was probably worried about the darkness, wasn't he? But she loved the darkness, felt at home in it. She'd been slinking around it ever since she'd returned. Still, he wanted her to stay still, and she listened to him like no other.

Bjorn was right; Maebe was enjoying herself just a little too much. She was jumping up and down, quite ridiculously, and the jangles of shards in her stomach made a noisy clatter. At this point the shards had begun to rip her bandages, which left a few tears near the bottom of her stomach, but it was nothing that wouldn't heal after she'd unloaded her prize and given herself time.

"Bjorn!" She called out, cupping her hands around her mouth. "I can hear you! Should I come to you?"

None of this stopped her jumping, of course. She was jangling just as loudly as ever.

"It's not hunger that has me full, my precious." She coo'd out, sliding her hand between her bandages and pulling out a handful of shards. "But loot. Such pretty loot, too. I planned on bringing it up to my room before you texted me. Here, this gift is for you."

She holds out the shards for him with both hands, her eyes glittering with pride at being able to give him something she finds this beautiful and worthwhile. "Shards from the fallen crystal. All mine now, as many as I could carry. And these, these are yours. You can give some to America, if you like. Aren't they pretty?"

For a very solid moment, Maebe looked heartbroken. Her gift.. was an ill omen? She tried not to look like she'd just been hurt, but oh, there was no stopping it. Her eyes went to the tiny bulge against her flat stomach, and she attempted very hard to collect herself.

"I just.. thought.."

Sorry Bjorn, you broke her. Sad, jingly little horsewoman.

Since her eyes were already down on her stomach, it didn't take much to see Bjorn there on his knees, apologizing. Her eyes widened very slowly, before she adamantly shook her head.

"Don't. It's not your fault! You just know things.. better than I do, sometimes. I didn't think that these shards could be anything as awful as an ill omen. And I just handed them to you, without thinking, and I could have brought you bad luck.."

Her lip quivered, and she couldn't meet his eyes.

"That's the opposite of what I want."

It wasn't until he called her hands clever that she finally managed to meet his eyes. When she met them, she became increasingly aware that he was still knelt down in front of her, prostrate and apologetic, and so undeniably cute. Her lips pursed tight to keep the smile from forming when he called her trouble, but she couldn't stop her hand from reaching out, just to brush the back of her fingers against his cheek.

"You think my hands clever?"