Vulture. Oh. What's a whale? Suddenly, you don't know. Confusion wrinkles all the soft parts of your face as your thoughts whirl, circling in on each other. Hadn't Vesper said that...? Vesper wouldn't lie... Maybe your memory's wrong. Maybe you never saw the whale, or misheard, or, or, or....

You tail thrashes once in agitation.

Contemplating the noble action of turning tail and running the fuck away from your own embarrassment, you stare at the — vulture — in consternation. And your thoughts ring, I don't know I don't know Idon'tknow. With a jerk, your head moves in another direction and you stare sullenly at the ground, stupid. What do you know about companions, anyway? They are the realm of Vesper and your father, and not you. Suddenly you miss Mama, but she is absolutely not present to console you. With a huff of air, you mutter, "Dunno," in a tone that denies further explanation. How dare she, how dare you —

But, it turns out being wrong isn't the end of the world. Time moves you along, bound up tightly in its many arms, and the conversation moves on, too. Despite yourself, you're still interested. In silence, then, you listen to the girl's short story about stumbling upon the eggs in the forest — with her brother. This draws a flicker of recognition, a small spark of Ah! I have a sibling, too! This time, you're not jealous of her for copying you, but intrigued by her missing sibling. Is he off doing great things without her, too? Your stubborn gaze returns at last to the girl, but it freezes on the flickering shapes upon her back. This time, after a moment or so of staring, recognition floods your brain.

Duir, you think.

"Ah..!" The noise escapes you without meaning to, a startled and delighted little exhalation. The more you think on it, the more she can't have Duir on her back, but the resemblance is enough to make you glad, and you give a little hop toward her, forgiving your idiocy from a moment ago. "You have two..." you spit out, and your tone is an interesting mix of awe and jealousy and a prickle of impotent rage. (why her?) Wings twitching, you step forward again, your muzzle motioning at the not-quite-beasts playing along her spine. "I don't!" And it's not fair, it's not fair how everyone else has something you desperately want! How this girl just stumbled upon a good thing in the grass with her stupid brother and your sister hasn't even been around in ages!