Silent Fractures

"I... You'll regret this, Minotaur. You think the next me will just stroll in and do as she's told?"

Golden light pooled out of the pony. Her neck was restored, unblemished, but a look crossed her expression; pain. She bit her lip, glaring.

"I'll remember this," she promised in a low, angry tone. "I will remember you!"

The Reini stared at the Minotaur... and then her expression seemed to crack. It was hard to tell; the golden mist rose around her, but she sounded almost... sad.

"I was just starting to like you," she said, quietly. Then, she jerked, her body suddenly shifting.

As Cold watched, the Reini's coat changed color, the vibrant orange shifting, colors rippling. Her mane grew longer, as did her tail; at the same time, it looked like as if she had shrunk a little,mthe lab coat now hanging off her loosely.

A second after it started, it was over, and in place of the Reini was a blue mare with a yellow mane. Bright, youthful eyes met Colds- before she jerked again, reading back, one hoof towards Cild Iron, the other banging against her head.

"No! No talk! Taking it in, lots to- shut up, shut up, shut up!"

Cold stays quite out of respect for the dead Reini... And to respect the request of the new one... He sheds a tear behind his logic mask, starting to regret what he did about now.

"Lots, lots, lots, lots... Lots of information, draw lots, prizes for the winner..."

She spoke in rambling, broken sentences as a hoof poured deeper into her lab coat than should have been possible. She pulled out a few odds and ends, discarding them onto the scorched grass behind her... before settling on a simple band, which she worked into her mane. She leaned forward, peering one way then the other, trying to catch her reflection in Irons sword.

"Not bad. Terrible," she chided herself, shrugging off the lab coat.. "What horrible fashion choices. I need to fix that when this is over... Oh, good. Things are slowing down now. I can breath."

"Well, too late for that. Look at the bright side."

She took a few steps away from the Minotaur, then bent over, peering at him through her legs.

"Still have four hooves, and didn't grow any new body parts. That might have been harder to explain than the murder. And I've said more than ten words, so I'm guessing you aren't going to cut me up again. For the record, next time you do? Aim here. It'll hurt less but get the job done."

"Oh, warning. Regenerated ponies may be completely unpredictable. I mean seriously. You know,  I have a sudden urge to..." She stopped, then resolved herself, rolling forward and landing on her back. "Done that, like that. More enthusiasm this go around. Guess that's what I think of when I think of a good leader. Chancellor Puddinghead. And what upsides! My mind is going a mile a minute.... make that two mile, there's always a bit of post-regeneration buzz. A little hard to focus though." She frowned, looking at the Minotaur as if seeing him for the first time.

"You killed me," she said suddenly. "You didn't like me, so you killed me. Past me. Her. Why should I trust you not to do it again? Give me a reason. Ten words or less."

"Killed not died? Interesting"- and for a second,mthe ood her shone through- "Making the tough call? Can use that. But last time I started trusting you, you cut my throat in two. So no offence, but you're going to have to prove it."

She began moving her hooves, as if riding a bike, despite the fact she was upside down and that left them in the air.
"So, do you want to confess to everyone, or should I?"

Dusk Raven wrote:Wormwood smiles a little at the wink and gets off his chair. He bows to the royalty present before saying, "The breakfast was excellent. Please excuse me, if you need us just call." And with that he trots out of the room after Bleeding Heart.

Heart is waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. She has a little smile, but that falters when she begins to speak. "This has been a ridiculous morning. I thought our minotaur guy was coming to breakfast... but then he said some weird stuff, about killing whatsherface. He's acting strange." She sits down on the step. "I don't really know what to do now, though. Rather not go back in the kitchen. Rather not go deal with either of the others." She leans back on the stairs, crossing her hooves, and looks at Wormwood. "What do you think?"

"You mean, about what to do?" Wormwood sat next to her. "Well, killing The Reini sounds kind of serious, but I don't think I want to get between the two of them..."

"Well I guess the other options are go outside and wander around the camp, or just go hang out in the room until they need us." Heart stands back up and begins meandering up the stairs.

"Hey, wait up." He got up and followed her. "Going outside the camp doesn't seem safe, so I guess it's to the room with us." A thought occurred to him. "Hey, you said you liked poetry, but you only showed me the poetry you like, not the poetry you write."

Heart freezes on the step. She tries to give him a cold look, but it really only manages to look shy and embarrassed. Flipping her mane out of her face, she responds, "Yeah, well... you wouldn't be interested. It's not especially good, I just write it to feel better."

"You're sure about that?" He smiled a little. "You thought I wouldn't be interested in you, too, but I..." He paused for a moment as realization hit him. He was interested in her. Interested. "...I am."

"Yeah, so I heard last night." She flips her hair again. "What of it?"

He watched as she flipped her mane again. "Uh, well, you might be surprised, I might like it. But if you don't want me to read it, I won't. I'd really like to, though." He smiled. There was a faint feeling in his stomach that he had a sneaking suspicion was... a crush.

"NO- Uh," Heart clears her throat, and then starts heading up the stairs. "Not... maybe."

Wormwood nods, even though she's facing forward, and follows her. "I understand." Maybe someday, he thinks. For now, I need to figure out what to do about this crush... I can't tell her, not yet, she'll think I'm a creep... and maybe I am...

"So, what do you want to do to pass the time until the princesses call for us? Shouldn't be long now..."

Heart gets to the top of the stairs, and then waits for him. She doesn't have an answer, so she keeps quiet and walks with him towards the room. When they get to the door, she stops. She looks around, sighs, and pushes him in. Shutting it behind her. She only glances at him, making eye contact once before lowering her eyes to the floor again, and then shutting them. "Third time, third strike..." She begins, "Third hand marks the seconds and the third wheel crashes. Three times I turn and try to take it back and take it away. Three strokes of a brush, three slashes of a knife. Three cannot give me... but I cannot get a fourth."

Wormwood is silent for a long moment as she speaks. "I... I don't know what to say. That's... pretty good." He nods. To be honest, it was a little incomprehensible, but he heard true art was like that. "I... I confess I don't know enough about you to guess it's deeper meaning. But... I like it. He smiles.

"Thanks..." She walks past him to the bed and lays down on it. "I... you can read them, if you want. But not the last two." She offers him the book as she stares up at the ceiling.

Wormwood smiles and takes the book, getting up on the bed opposite her and setting the book down, flipping open the book to its first page. "All but the last two, got it." He doesn't inquire as to why, but he hopes to gain a deeper understanding of her through her poetry all the same.