"Is that all you've got?" Fakir asks over the bread and vegetables he knows he's not going to finish.
The Auspex levels a firm look at him through glaring spectacles before answering, "The fact that I can give you a solution to try at all despite not knowing the source or precise details of the curse is a step in the right direction, wouldn't you say?"
Fakir turns in his chair, sitting sideways and crossing his arms. "Reciprocation?"
"Yes. I think our answer lies somewhere in there."
"Hn. Nothing else?"
"I thought you might have some ideas about that."
Fakir turns his head back towards the Auspex, his ire dulled slightly.
"Duck has told me you are a writer," the Auspex continues, taking a moment to remove his glasses and wipe them with a handkerchief. "She's said you're familiar with curses and their cures as a result. You could likely provide an actual course of action better than I can."
Fakir opens his mouth but the words he wants refuse to be found, leaving him with his jaw hanging a moment before he has the decency to close it.
The Auspex replaces his glasses and goes, "I'm merely a compass right now. And I've pointed you in the direction you need to go."
And with that, he stands and clears the table, letting out a little tsk at the food left on Fakir's plate.
Duck huddles with the other sleeping birds, unable to drift off herself. She's had plenty of time to remember what it's like to be a duck but she can't remember sleeping with so many of her kind before. The sensation of loneliness unexpectedly creeps into her as the minutes meander past.
Why did it suddenly seem so important to be out here? To talk with the Auspex and find a way to become a girl again? She couldn't deny that it's what she wanted right now but the reasons escape her literal featherbrain.
Her mind wanders to her nightmare of before, Fakir torn asunder at the claw of the Raven. She lets out a quavering quack as she turns over every unbidden detail: his last mortal cry, the visceral sound of being rend in twain, the heavy finite thud his body makes connecting with the hard earth, the final grimace of pain before death relaxes the features of his face. And even though she tries telling herself again and again that it's only a dream, she can't stay with the other fowl tonight.
The grass is cool and makes a soothing hush under Duck's webbed feet as she waddles to the small house in the sanctuary. The Auspex, as is his wont, busies himself outside in his observation and care of his nocturnal wards. The owls hoot in acknowledgment as Duck makes her slow way inside.
Fakir sits up in his bed, his back against the wall while he idly stares out the window. Supper plays back over and over in his head, retracing his steps and looking for a key he's clearly lost.
He should have been able to say something. He's spent countless days in the library, hours upon hours absorbing all of the books he could find in order to hone his craft. He should have a least a dozen ways to cure a curse, minimum, with complications taken into account. So why does he hit a wall every time he tries to summon one up?
Fakir scowls when something finally does make itself known in his consciousness. He'd rather not give it any consideration but the Auspex has been little to no help. It's funny in a way, having to resort to the other when one isn't working. With a defeated sigh, he pulls himself out of bed.
When Duck finds Fakir, he's standing straight and still in the middle of the room, neither of them really sure how long he's been like that. He barely even notices her presence until she softly nudges at his ankle with the tip of her wing. She backs off, ready for him to start or collapse, but instead he calmly turns his head down towards her.
"I thought I would try Autor's technique to concentrate," he reluctantly admits.
Duck nudges him again with a firm, "Quack!" letting him know what she thinks of that idea.
Fakir gets down on one knee and gently picks her up. "Couldn't sleep either?"
She rests her head against his chest and he feels her nod once before they simply rest on the floor together.