Staccato merely tilts his head and smiles to Beak’s apology before relaying his story.
Not sure why she apologized there…

In fact, his attention soon snapped back to her at the word “elves,” expression lightning up.

“Elves! That’s right, those guys, light and dark-“ he exclaimed, “They are dark elves, as you said. They were-…”

He pauses, again having to pick his brain for any solid recollection.

“They had cloaks, but kinda pointy at the ends? Had a design on them too, stringy, like a uhhhh…” He snapped his fingers, “Like a web! Yeah-“

As he continued wrassling with his memory, a claw tapped impatiently on a chest carapace plate.

“Okay, how many, uhhh.. Four- no- five, five!”

Despite the enthusiasm, even he is starting to cringe at his lackluster descriptions.
Now he turned to Rena, brows furrowing as he meets her anxious gaze. He stretched an arm out to comfort until Nev beat him to it, to which he lowered it again.

Soon his expression mirrored hers thanks to that next question. For the first time, he glanced away from them.

“She…”

The hairs on his body stood up. He couldn’t explain why the thought of spider-woman unnerved him so much, but it did.
But…These two were nothing but helpful, so he had to try.
He shook his head and sighed a little before replying.



“Black. Or red. I’m not sure; I saw both. One of those two colors for sure. Why are you asking again?”

He huffed, frown deepening. These all seemed like simple details, so why the trouble?? He could practically *feel* these things just out of reach.
What could those ladies do with this shoddy information? He didn’t know what they were looking for-

Beak senses Staccato's confusion, and the last thing she wants is for their new friend to feel like they're peppering him with questions for reasons he can't understand. She's happy to explain the situation, she just... hopes she can do so without boring or losing him again. Aheh.

"... We're trying to identify who did this to you. Details like that help us narrow it down... for example, now we know that it was a group of dark elves, and... based on what they were wearing... probably cultists, at that? If they had webs on their cloaks, then that's probably connected to the spider in your dream somehow... and to your current form. Cultists with a thing for spiders, it would seem."

Five of them doesn't sound like it'd be too tough a fight, should it come to that--she's seen the rest of her family take out numbers twice that or more and be done with the battle already before she even had time to do anything to help. She's not going to underestimate them, though, because there's probably more to it than that. Five of them were interacting with Staccato, but there may have been more... elsewhere? Plus, she shouldn't discount whatever magic they have at their disposal that allows them to do... this. Dream deities are uncommon enough that her bondmate can only think of one other being that could be, and is having traumatic flashbacks at the mere thought.

Speaking of which...

Beak gives Rena a warm side-hug, doing all she can to comfort the crow. "It... doesn't sound like her. You're right; I've seen her too, and the eyes are different. So we have... some other being with a cult and the power to appear in dreams running around cursing people? I'm... not sure whether that's better or worse."

"And... consider our friend's memory issues, here. He knows there should be something there he should be able to recall, like it's on the tip of his tongue, and he just... can't... quite... fish it out. When the Hag snuffs someone out, it's so complete that no one even remembers that they were ever even supposed to exist." She moves over to Nev, giving them a hug, now. "... And that's the worst part about the Hag. We think everything's in order at this point, but how can we ever truly know for certain that there isn't an extra spouse or child or someone else we're missing somewhere, when even the knowledge that they're missing is also missing? But that... that doesn't sound like Staccato's problem. He knows where the holes are, even if he can't fill them."

Rena lets out a soft sigh, nodding slowly as she presses against her skeletal bondmate and slowly considers, “...I…yeah, you’re right, love…she…the Hag isn’t the sort to leave loose ends like this. If this was her work, he wouldn’t have any recollection beyond those accursed eyes…if even that. It’s the curses that hold her hooks, after all…” the lich takes a deep breath, then cracks her neck and turns to regard Staccato, “...we’ve got a burrow on the outskirts of the city, and people generally know better than to screw with us or those under our protection. It’s fine if you don’t feel comfortable sticking with us, but I’d be happy to set you up with a room in the burrow if you are comfortable with that,” those eye lights slowly fade back to silver as she speaks, as though calmed by the simple act of offering her help…

“...an’ hopefully the bastards that did either o’ these things t’ ye” Bell gestures first to the muzzle, then to Staccato’s arachnoid form, "will be dumb enough t’ try an’ attack us,” and then the specter of smoke and embers glances around, seemingly confused by the flateyed looks the other corvids are giving him, “what? it’ll save us the effort o’ tracking ‘em down, an’ it’ll mean we’re well rested, while they’re tired and battered from having t’ get through the traps”

Nev smirks, the wraith of ink and starlight scooping Bell into their arms and softly nibbling at the feathers atop his head, “...just admit ye want t’ test out the traps, tor’idri¹…”

---

1 - Rough translation from Tavrnstongue - silly/doofus/dummy

He seems to listen better this time, nodding to Beak as she talked.
A spider. Was that what he was? 

“I don’t know much about cults, but that’s seems right,” he said, “They weren’t happy when I first woke up. Not sure why.”

He fell quiet when Beak approached Rena to hug her, quizzically staring as he continued listening to the conversation.
Who was “The Hag?” She didn’t sound nice either…
He considered joining the hug, but by then, the duo already switched topics.

As Rena proposed her idea, he stopped in tracks, eyes widened and jaw dropping slightly.

“Wait…” he stepped closer to them, “You mean I can.. come with you all?”

He also heard Bell’s trap idea, but he responded only with a quick glance and smile.
The idea of grouping with everyone here was far more intriguing. The smile slowly widened into a toothy grin, fangs and all.



“Who are you all?” He asks with a little chuckle, “I mean, if I’m actually sticking with you, what do I call you?”

"If I had to guess... hmm. So you woke up like this, frightened, with no memory of how this happened, how you got to this position. That implies that either something went wrong with your transformation...." Beak tilts her head quizzically, looking Staccato over. What did he used to be before this, she wonders? If Staccato himself is a transformed dark elf, then the might be one of them undergoing some sort of rite that went wrong, and his brethren turned on him after that. But... no, Beak can't tell; Staccato's transformation is too complete. There's simply no telling what he used to be.

"Or... perhaps you were an enemy of theirs from the beginning, and this was a punishment of some sort. That would explain why they weren't exactly pleased with you when you woke up, if they weren't anyway...."

Introductions! In her rush to speculate and solve this mystery, she had completely forgotten.

"Ah! Forgive my manners... my name... well, let's just say that you may call me Beak. It's a pleasure to meet you. And this is my lovely family... I'll let them introduce themselves." She turns the floor over to them, but the giddiness in her "voice" as she does so; that this is her family clearly has not ceased to be a realization that gives her butterflies every time she ponders it.

Rena giggles softly, letting out a happy chirp and stepping close to softly nuzzle under Beak’s jaw, pressing against her wife - wife! - for a moment before smiling up at Staccato, “...the name’s Rena,” from there the other corvids are quick to chime in, and soon enough the newcomer has…some understanding of their names and faces; Rena is the crow with the massive wings and the eyes of shining silver set into hungry black, that one’s easy, Nev is the one who seems to be constructed from ink and starlight, incidentally the tallest and the only raven amongst them, Bell is the one who seems to have been peppered with embers that refuse to go out, though he doesn’t seem particularly bothered by the fact that he’s literally giving off smoke, Loci is the skeleton with eye lights of emerald, who seems to have taken an interest in sketching out portions of Staccato’s form in his artbook, Whistle is the ruby eyed fledgling who’s been flipping a strange silver coin along her knuckles, Wind and Wind are the gold eyed fledgling and the pink eyed skeleton, with the fledgling currently playing with a crossbow bolt while his undead twin babbles about…something involving teeth and a library…and finally, Hum and Chimes are the copper eyed skeleton who seems to shy away under any attention and her more obviously outgoing living twin…

“It does?”

His eyes meets Beak’s sockets, unconsciously mimicking the head tilt. In his mind, this transformation as a whole was “wrong,” but she made an interesting point. What would a so-called correct version of himself be like?

Staccato brought a hand to his face, lightly scratching as he pondered. Seems Beak really piqued his interest.

“Maybe? I mean, I don’t see why it couldn’t make sense?”


His eyes narrowed more. A interesting point indeed, one with some… dismaying implications.
He hadn’t done anything wrong, had he? Those elves were completely foreign to him. Why mess with strangers?
Then again, he didn’t remember before obtaining this new form.
Was he the bad guy and he just… didn’t remember?

Staccato stiffened up at this thought and glanced away with a huff.


“I-… really don’t know. I don’t know those elves. I don’t know what happened before Shady Woods. It’s all just feelings and nothing else-“

His voice sharpened at the end as the frustration bubbled up. His nose crinkled.
All of these sounded right. Or rather, none of them felt incorrect.
Assuming there was anything to begin with.

The topic changed before he could dwell too much on it though. He let out a heavy sigh to release the tension, and soon smiled at Beak while she introduced herself.
Rena’s voice also cheered him up. She too had a nice name; he liked it. He was just about to give his own when a flock of other voices chimed in instead.

At first he flinched, a tad overwhelmed, but it didn’t take long for him to laugh as the kids clambered over each other’s names. He barely knew any of them, yet found himself quickly growing fond.
Such a sweet family. It filled his heart to the brim, so much so that it hurt. The main two eyes glimmered.

“Well, I don’t know my name, but I gave myself the name Staccato before coming here, so you can call me that too!”

"Staccato it is, then. Well met." Beak's tone is chipper, but that's easy to happen when the little ones playing as they are. Adorable little fluffs, even the ones who don't have fluff. Her mood turns more serious as it turns back to Staccato, though. "Well, no sense trying to puzzle out what you might or might not have been, or why they did what they d id to you, if you can't remember any of it. With any luck, your memories will return in time, in which case forcing yourself will only cause you extra strain and frustration. And if they don't...."

She glances at the others, who give her an agreeing nod, and then she turns back to Staccato once more.

"If they don't... well, perhaps we'll be able to extract some answers from them. If we have some sort of spider cult running around doing... this to people, then I think it's safe to say they're too dangerous to simply leave alone. Who else could end up having to go through what you did, if we don't stop them? And while we're stopping them anyway, perhaps we'll learn more about what they're up to and why... and if there's a way to undo it."

Rena nods firmly, those piercing silver eyes finding Staccato’s once again as something clicks in her head, “...do you remember any symbols? Something that we could use to identify cult members?” If not, she’ll just do things the hard way…a pity, since she wants to get to the fun part already…ach, who’s she kidding? It’s all the fun part…the crow cracks her neck, a small avian smile forming in the ruffling of the feathers around her beak as she chuckles, “...alrighty then. Everyone ready to head out? I believe we have a trap to set…” and with that, the lich sets off, the other corvids filing in behind her and glaring defiantly back at the few people who stare or glare at their undead members…

…Bell and Nev seem almost as incensed as Rena, actually. That simple muzzle was enough to piss all three of the corvid parents off to a dangerous degree, and the children aren’t far behind if the angry grinding noises they let out are any indication…

…the people of Darkveil give the corvids quite the berth, none of them wanting to accidentally find themselves a target for the Blackfeathers collective ire…

…so it is that the group travels toward the family’s Darkveil burrow, seemingly heedless of the eyes watching them from the shadows…

“Wait, you want to go after them..?”



Initially Staccato’s brows furrowed deeply at Beak’s suggestion, not keen on giving chase to the same people who cursed him. All he wanted was a way out from here; what became of those elves didn’t concern him.
As he listened however, he reconsidered his thoughts. Even if the elves no longer posed a problem to him, the same could not be said for everyone else. He hated for another person to end up his situation...

He soon reluctantly nodded in agreement. Still, he didn’t care for all those angry faces, even if none targeted him. 
His own scrunched as his brain searched for a way to ease the tension while he followed...

Wait.
They never did tell him if he could tag along. They never said he could join. Why was he following as if they did?


He paused, hesitant, as he realized this.



Hm…
Come to think of it, they never said he couldn’t join them, and if they were trying to figure out what happened to him, then it made sense to accompany them. What were they going to do, kick him out? Then he’d just leave. He couldn’t get hurt if he didn’t fight them. Still better than retreating back to the alley…



So he pushed that bit of doubt away and resumed following. He still hadn’t found a good icebreaker to turn those frowns around, but he had something better- Information! 
Of course! Why hadn’t he thought to use her before??

Brightening up, he hurried towards Beak and Rena, sticking his face into the group.

“You know, I did meet someone else in those woods before coming here. What if we talked to her??”

Beak tilts her head quizzically at Staccato's question, almost as if puzzled that it would be a question. Like... of course we're going after them; what else would we be doing? She says nothing at first, though, and eventually realizes the discomfort in which they may be placing their new friend.

"Ah, you are most welcome to join us, but I know you've had... unpleasant experiences with these folks, and if you dread the thought of facing them again so soon, we won't make you join us. Sometimes, being traumatized by someone once is enough...." She shakes her head. "... But make no mistake. You are welcome. We just... don't want to force you, one way or the other."

As to Rena's question, Staccato didn't answer it... unless he already did. Beak turns to her wife and suggests, "He... did mention webs as a motif earlier. Fitting with their spider god and all, I suppose. It doesn't sound like this particular group of cultists is what anyone would call subtle."

That said, she can't help but perk up when Staccato mentions that tidbit of information. "Oh? You did? That sounds... incredibly useful, yes. What manner of meeting was it? And what can you tell us about her?"

Rena tilts her head, those silver eye lights flashing as she considers, “...webs, hm? That…does sound familiar…” her eyes narrow as she considers, her massive wings shifting on her back as she reaches to interlace her fingers with Beak’s, letting out a happy trill as she relaxes a little, “...but I rather think our new friend could use some rest and a proper meal before any of that…”

Bell and Nev walk on either side of Rena and Beak, chirping happily and watching as the children dart ahead, the ghosts each keeping a careful eye on the chicks as the group proceeds towards the Darkveil Burrow…well, it’s less a burrow and more an abandoned building they’d…purchased and begun renovating into something livable…on the inside. The outside remains as dilapidated as ever, and the children chirp and trill happily to each other as they swarm into an alley on one side before scrambling in via an old broken window. The shards of glass have long since been plucked free, leaving an empty window frame, while the room beyond serves as another part of the facade, busted up and dirty and dusty.

Loci clambers through first, reaching under his tunic and fishing around for a second before pulling out a three-pronged key, inserting it into the lock on the door at the back of the room before turning it clockwise…then counterclockwise…then back to the center before pulling it out and opening the door for his siblings to swarm past, the emerald eyed skeleton glancing back at his parents and Staccato as they climb through after his siblings…

He shook his head at Beak’s suggestion.

“No, no, I’m coming,” he adamantly stated, “I was starting to wonder if you wanted me to, but you do, so I am-“

Much of his earlier doubt vanished the moment Rena referred to him as a friend. Whether she truly meant it or not, he still took it as a good sign.
With this uplifted mood and some pep in his step, he answered Beak’s other question without hesitation.

“Oh! I was kinda out of it back in the woods and I didn’t know what I was doing when I saw- no wait, wait, I heard her. I heard her with that lute,” he waved and flicked his hands about for emphasis, “When I heard it, I just felt better and that something was right again-“



He tried to get close to Beak while he talked, but with Nev and Bell on either side of the hand-holding ladies, he ended talking right over Bell’s shoulder. Thankfully for the spectral crow, Staccato soon moved on to Nev’s side before settling behind them both as they walked.



“-I don’t know her name, but she was nicer than the other dark elves. I don’t think she likes them either; she said it’s best to leave them alone because they're kinda crazy apparently-"

He didn’t say anything useful after this, instead regaling the ladies on his attempt to play the lute and how he wanted one for himself. The conversation stopped after that as he arrived at the building with the rest. At his first glance of the building, he narrowed his eyes slightly as its condition. Not what he hoped for, but hey, it had a roof.


He watched the kids hurry along through the door before letting the other adults go ahead of him.

Loci got to see the first true hint of a spider-like nature in. Since he was too tall for the doorway, Staccato had to crouch. His legs stretched behind his body until only his claws touched the ground. At the same time, the two limbs above his legs came down to support him. His long torso arched up to keep his two arms free.
Now he stood much like a centaur would, just without the distinctive horse haunches...


And were the knees of his last pair of legs backwards...?

Speaking of Loci, the spider-folk stopped just in front of him, curiously eyeing him.


“Hey, uhhh…”

 

A bit of panic briefly flashed in his eyes as he drew blanks on the name. Crap, which kid was this one? He just heard it a second ago, it was…



“Loci-“ he said as soon it came to, breathing a sigh of relief, “Hey Loci, that notebook, what were you writing earlier?”



He bent down further, trying to get more on the little one’s level and look at him in the eyes.



“Can I see?”

Beak nods, happy to extend the invitation to their newest companion, then. She'd only held back out of concern, but if Staccato feels up to the journey, then she is happy to have him along. He could have useful information, after all... and even the less-than-useful information is still entertaining. She keeps up as best she can about the conversation with lutes. Beak herself has no musical proficiency, but she's always rather envied those who do. Perhaps she should learn an instrument one of these days? Ah, but which one, then? Unlike her children, whose magic solves these problems, Beak's form of being a skeleton limits her options as far as being able to blow into a flute. A stringed instrument, maybe, but those have always seemed impossibly complex to her poor little uneducated warrior mind....

The conversation about music continues back and forth until the family reaches the hideout. Even Beak herself, who is part of this family, hadn't seen this particular location before and is... maybe just a little concerned at first glance of it. Still, it's a hideout, not a fully furnished, lavishly decorated home--they have one of those back in the Crescent Isles. She's even looking into getting some expansions built for it soon....

So, yes. Not every location can be The Barrow, and this one is fine for the purposes of planning the group's next move.

As for Loci, Staccato wouldn't know this after only just having met him, of course, but Beak wild-guesses that the young chick was drawing something. He is quite the artist, after all. ... Ooh. Hmm. Writing. Perhaps that could be the passion Beak could pursue... she does come from a culture that has something of a thing for books, after all.

Loci tilts his head, the little emerald eyed skeleton glancing back at Staccato, “drawin’ you, actually. You wanna see?” He seems…unusually excited at the prospect, turning the sketchbook around to show Staccato a sketch of…Staccato. A rather well done one, too, though the arachnid isn’t necessarily the best judge of that, depending on whether he’s seen his own reflection yet…

Rena tilts her head, trilling curiously as her own silver eye lights scan the drawing…the lich smiles softly, gently hugging her son with a happy chirp, “...incredible work, Loci” she trills affectionately, softly nuzzling her son before reluctantly stepping past him and into the hideout…

Nev and Bell each take a minute to take in their son’s work, each of the ghosts chirping happily and pulling Loci into a hug before reluctantly stepping away and heading into the burrow…Bell cracks his neck, striding up and softly hugging and nuzzling and nibbling at Rena’s feathers before pulling away and heading into the kitchen, whistling a soft tune to himself as he begins to pull various chunks of meat and vegetable matter from the icebox. The specter carefully checks each for any hint of rot or other spoilage, setting those that seem even slightly off over to the side before tossing the rest into a pot of broth that he sets to simmer via careful application of heating stones…