No Rest for the Wicked

[Nasira]

January 10^th, Year 1

Nasira swept past her squadron down the hallway in a great sense of urgency, tracing a crude trail of black feathers.

The campaign in Australia had been successful; no one in her division died, and the supply chains now belonged to the Blackblood Legion. In any other circumstance, the overseer would not have made any detours. Maleficent would have wanted to know how the military operation went, and Nasira had looked forward to telling her all about it. But as soon as the necromancer got her unit back to Agrabah, she had quickly broke off to go look for Crow. The terrifying possibility that the vizier had been severely injured or worse had hung over her head like a storm cloud. Maleficent had told her last night that she had known Crow for many years and that he was essentially flawless. She may want to know if something had happened to her longtime companion. 

The behavior of the murder that had kept Nasira's assailants at bay had set off some red flags before the surviving crows had spontaneously transformed into inanimate feathers. That was no ordinary murder; that was a spell or an entity. And the vizier's name was no coincidence.

The trail stopped at an ajar set of gargantuan doors. They creaked shrilly as Nasira forced them apart and anxiously stepped inside.

"Crow?"

[Crow]

  Under normal circumstances, this was a lovely room. A bit Spartan in its choice of decor, especially when compared to the lavish accoutrements of the rest of the palace, but pleasant nonetheless. This however, was not normal circumstances. Furniture had been jostled or kicked aside. Silk curtains, usually drawn closed, had been ripped down from where they hang. Something had gracelessly staggered its way into the room, caring little for whatever was caught underfoot in the dark. The bed didn't seem to fare any better, tilted askew with the darkest shadows of the room gathered in the corner behind it.


  Then the shadows moved.


  There was a whuff of breath, tired and ragged, as the form lifted itself from the ground. To call the silhouette large was an understatement, as it very nearly brushed the top of the room in spite of the palace's tendency for raised ceilings. It seemed to struggle somewhat, pausing to regain its balance, but once it was steady a pair of cold blue eyes could be seen glimmering back at her in the dark.


  It happened quickly. With a deep rumbling growl the shadow lunged forward, an ottoman knocked over in the process, and in a short breath the bulk of this creature was towering over Nasira, claws poised to slash at her--


  But it stopped. With a few heavy breaths, glowing eyes managed to focus on the Overseer's face, and the claws-- no, the talons, now that they were easier to see-- had paused just inches away.


  "Nasira?" The beak parted, but didn't move, yet the words passed just as easily as if spoken through ordinary lips. Crow heaved a tired sigh, feeling the weight of expending such a burst of energy in his current state, and his body sagged as the adrenaline poured out of him. "You should... learn to knock, next time." The talons shifted away from Nasira's face, lifting slowly to push the door shut behind her. He was private... er, 'man', in the best of times, and this was a far cry from his best.

[Nasira]

Nasira froze in terror as she beheld the massive being before her. It got up. Its large talons hit the floor in an askew limp, the sharp click of nails on marble reverberating in the room. The thing looked avian; it had a long, jagged beak and seemed to sport a wingspan that barely fit inside the room. But it also had four legs like most mammals and reptiles would. A set of icy blue eyes cut through the darkness to meet Nasira's, and she found no recognition in them. She shrank back. Uh oh. 

Then it lunged. When it came, it was with such an explosion of speed that Nasira was almost caught motionless as it went from a statue to a blur. Her left hand reached down for Hikaru's throwing knife. It was a lot smaller than the dagger wedged in Aladdin's shoulder, but it was all she had to defend herself. She had been wounded, and her magic had been depleted; it would be several hours before it came back. So Nasira held the blade she stole out in front of her protectively. She would not survive this, but she was not the type to go down at her enemy's convenience. 

The beast raised a talon over her face, and she saw its black claws shiver above her eyes. It was a moment that seemed to last a long time as she stared up in dread, waiting for it to rip at her. But the gouging never came. The thing stared at her appraisingly and then pulled its - no, not "its" - HIS talons away.

Nasira was suddenly overwhelmed by dizziness. The strength in her arms faded as suddenly as it had come, and the necromancer collapsed to her knees, overcome with both relief and fatigue.  

"You should... learn to knock, next time."

Though they now recognized each other, Nasira made an effort to keep her voice low and non-threatening. "Lesson learned," she quipped, dipping her gaze. "I-I wasn't thinking; it won't happen again." She thought about the time Perthmail busted down her door and inwardly cringed. Great, his bad habits are rubbing off on me, she thought acrimonously. 

Nasira raised her head. "What happened to you?" she asked as soon as the vizier had closed the door. She was glad that he was alive, but they were not out of the woods yet. Crow's black feathers were mottled with spots of blood. He looked even worse than she did. 

[Crow]

  "I was careless." He replied plainly. While it was still up in the air whether or not he was physically speaking, his voice came out as a low growl, the kind of deep tone one could feel rumble in their chest. Crow pulled himself from the door and turned back towards the bed. His talons clicked against the polished floor, where he splayed himself unceremoniously across the mattress. The massive bird hardly fit, but that didn't matter. It beat the floor, and it most certainly beat standing.


  "Ngh... used too many birds. Didn't think that harpy would pull a stunt like that." There was a taste of anger in his tone, buried somewhere beneath the labored breathing. As the expression goes, crows never forget the faces of those who've wronged them. Sure, he'd known he was going to take damage by putting on such a blatant performance, there had been no avoiding that. But either the angel had panicked, or he had misjudged the situation. C'est la vie. He had seen that Nasira was in danger and had acted on his orders, and the fact that she was standing here meant it must have worked to at least some degree.


  He only wished it didn't have to hurt like hell.

 
  "Tell me, after I.. left..." he began slowly, a single blue eye swiveling to fixate on her once again. "What happened in Australia?"

[Nasira]

Nasira was still in a state of dazed shock when Crow trudged unevenly to the mattress and plopped on top of it. The whole thing seemed unreal. The medium suddenly gave a black look to the spade-shaped knife in her hand as though it were diseased and expeditiously put it back in its holster before slowly getting up. She crossed the room to the bed, where she judiciously stood close enough to be heard but far enough to keep a respectful distance.

She said nothing for several beats. So it had been him. Nasira had long suspected the murder had been an entity, but she could not have known that for sure. It all made sense now. She knew she owed Crow a huge debt, and she was uncomfortable with the burden of it. Nasira would have liked to think she would have won regardless, but there really was no telling what would have happened to her had Crow not intervened. Clopin's name carried weight even in Agrabah and for good reason. Crow had, at the very least, given her time. The victory belonged to him just as much as it did to Nasira. She now had a newfound respect for the vizier. "I...am grateful that you did."

At Crow's question, Nasira nodded assent as she met his blue eye unflinchingly. "Very well," she said evenly. Crow looked like he could use some good news. "Not too long after you left, the Rogues and the Freedom Fighters lost heart and retreated," she said unequivocally. Her triumph had not yet passed its peak, and it showed.

"We won."

[Crow]

"I...am grateful that you did."

  There was a heavy sigh, more for the sake of adjusting on the bed than it was for being given gratitude. Crow winced, the only indicator of him doing so being the blue glow briefly shrinking in size, and then refocused on the overseer.


  "Think noth--" Damn, this hurt. "nothing of it. I was only following my orders." Even now, the vizier seemed only capable of having an attitude. However, underneath the usual bout of smarm, there was a hint of something else. Something almost... sincere. But it was gone again, and he shifted his weight once more, feathers ruffling uncomfortably against his wounds. Although this was the first time Nasira had seen him this way, it was apparent that his feathers, as well as his overall appearance, shouldn't look so ragged and unkempt.


  "As were you." There was a hint of a smile in his tone upon hearing the good news. Nasira's performance was nothing short of exemplary, though Crow would keep personal commentary to himself. No need to go inflating egos, after all. But all the same. "Her Excellency will be pleased."

[Nasira]

Nasira was not particularly surprised to hear that Crow had been sent the monitor the campaign. "Be that as it may," she said mildly, taking note of Crow's tousled feathers. But she said nothing more about it.

"Her Excellency will be pleased."

Nasira was trying to quell it, but a sincere smile had found itself tugging at the corners of her mouth. She was tempted to look away so that Crow could not see her face, but that would have been way too obvious. "Good. As long as her Excellency is happy, then I'm happy," she said almost casually, doing her best to sound jovial but not too jovial. And judging by the tone of his voice, Crow seemed, more or less, pleased himself. 

Oh dear, she was getting sidetracked. Nasira's expression grew somber, and she forked her fingers through her hair as her dark eyes perused the vizier's disheveled feathers. What to do. What to do. She never had any medical training. The most she can do was clean cuts and slap a bandage on, but any simpleton could do that. Besides, that was not going to alleviate the pain. No, Crow needed to be seen by someone who could actually give him what he needed. Edgar and his team most likely had their hands full looking over her unit. Mystic came back with more "stripes", and Kula may very well lose an eye. But Crow was the vizier.

"I want to help you," Nasira told him point-blank. "Can you walk?"

[Crow]

  There was pregnant pause. Crow stared evenly at Nasira, as if considering her words with an alarming amount of care. He couldn't help but be overly cautious, especially given the present circumstance. Not to mention there was the matter of his pride, eager to refuse whatever help the Overseer would offer him. But yet another twinge of pain forced him to reconsider, his eyes squinting shut until the sockets of his skull became unsettlingly black pits.


  "Ngh... yes." He replied at length. It didn't matter if his legs suddenly gave out from under him. He would move. He had to. "I can walk." He forced his eyes open to meet her gaze again.  She had already seen him in such a state of weakness, but he refused to let it be one he would simply give into and accept.  This point of pride was one he would not relinquish easily. 

  "What did you have in mind?"

[Nasira]

The room fell silent. Nasira shifted uncomfortably. She was beginning to think she had said the wrong thing. She could tell Crow was wary of accepting help from her. It was not like his reservations were unwarranted - for a number of reasons. Had it been the other way around, Nasira would feel iffy too. Nevertheless, Crow was in bad shape. She had to at least try.

She fiddled with an earring. Crow closed his eyes, the sockets in his long skull now completely devoid of light. Even for a necromancer like Nasira, who had handled more than her fair share of skulls, that was unnerving to look at. She remembered how close his talons had been to her face and inwardly shuddered. What was he?

"What did you have in mind?"

Nasira drew in a long breath. "I was thinking we could go to the infirmary," she suggested cautiously.

[Crow]

  If he still had lips on his face, he might have pursed them in thought. It wouldn't have been an expression Nasira would see either way, but she might have found it less off-putting to stare at his mask than to find two cold orbs staring back at her. The silence didn't last as long this time, but it was cut off by a groan that was equal parts discomfort and displeasure.


  "I see." It was the sensible thing to do. Really, its what he should have done in the first place, rather than hobble off to his room into hiding. But Crow valued his secrets more than his life, and while his true nature was not his most closely guarded, the fewer who knew about it, the better. But his options seemed ever fewer the longer he sat there, and the amount of blood on his satin sheets was becoming... concerning. All the same, his eyes -the part of his head that still retained expression in this state- crinkled at the thought of the chief surgeon tending to him. Crow himself was the one who recruited the man, and he trusted his skill. But he wasn't sure he had the patience for his attitude right now.


  But, beggars can't be choosers.


  "Check the hall," Crow began, pulling himself to his feet, talons clicking heavily against the floor. "please." he added, remembering his manners. Polite to the end, or so he liked to think.