"He's mine, you know."

Esix attempted to raise his eyes to meet Inasnath's, but being so very small, while she was so very large, made the action quite impossible. He shifted his gaze back to Muse, shifting his weight between the threads of his (half-finished and temporary) web.

"We'll see,"said Esix, his mind voice filled with poison petulance. Oh, how he hated her. How he hated that mist for bringing Muse to her and taking him away from his true bond. He shifted again and clicked his pincers.

Across the street Muse was tlot-tloting back and forth between the alleyways, a pale form against the blackness of the night, splashing his toes in the murky, sludge-filled puddles of the Victorian street. He was a pretty thing, really, if you looked at him right. Perhaps unusual for his species, and not in possession of the pure beauty of the average unicorn, but that was what made him special, wasn't it? That Muse was not the average unicorn. A rare and magnificent find.

And he was his.

Inasnath gave a little chiming laugh and sprinted across the alley, her wings tucked close to her sides. She butted her head against Muse's and grinned.

Esix stirred angrily, "Muse."

Muse craned his neck around Inasnath's, visage pulled into the customary expression of blankness. There was a trickle of uncertainty in his mind, and both Esix and Inasnath sensed it.

Esix shifted again, absently pulling at his web threads.

He had to take her away from him. He had to make him his. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair. Muse had been his for far longer than Inasnath had...had...had even been born! He had to do something.

Muse cocked his head, perking his ample ears a little. The shimmer of uncertainty increased.

Esix turned away, narrowing his eyes, "Nothing, Muse."

Inasnath curled her neck around Muse's and smirked.

Muse wasn't really one for thinking. He had trouble with forming complete, coherent thoughts, hence his inability to commit true telepathy. He was much better at producing images and feelings, and he was feeling something particularly confusing. Confusing thoughts were even worse to decipher, because he was never quite sure what sort of image he was supposed to project. Help would have been nice, but he didn't want to ask Inasnath or Esix for their assistance in working out the knots in his mind.

If he asked Inasnath, Esix would be upset. He might even leave. Muse didn't want Esix to leave. That was perhaps one of the clearest thoughts he possessed.

But if he asked Esix, rather than Inasnath, Inasnath would be upset and Esix would be arrogant to her. Muse didn't like Inasnath upset, because she was angry when she was upset. Muse never had much of a liking for making other's angry.

So it appeared he would have to sort his thoughts out by himself, a particularly difficult feat, but he would do his best.

He wanted something. That was clear enough. In fact, is he delved deeper into the recess of his mind he might be able to find that he wanted several things. Two being the most prominent, it seemed.

He didn't want Esix and Inasnath upset anymore. He wanted them to like each other.

And...and.... This one was harder.

Muse scrunched up his brow, flicked his ears back, and tapped his hoof-toes against the cobble stones. He would have liked to flick his tail as well, but he might hurt Esix, and Muse certainly didn't want to do that.

Perhaps the second thing was...something....

Something to make Esix and Inasnath happy! Of course! Something they wanted, obviously, but what was that?

Muse thought, as best he could. Paused a little, and thought again. The process was proving very difficult.

Stop. He was thinking all wrong. This wasn't going to bring him anywhere.

He inhaled deeply, nestling closer to the sleeping form of Inasnath and folding his hoof-hands beneath his body. Letting his mind clear of thoughts, he exhaled.

The images came instantly. A myriad of bright, flashing colors and pictures, chaotic and beautiful. There was nothing yet, just bursts of ideas, nothing that could help him. Nothing relevant to his problem, nothing....

The image came, muted and pale, as morbid as he, but beautiful none-the-less.

Muse's mouth split into a grin and he let the image wriggle out of his mind and into that of his bonds.

Inasnath and Esix awoke instantly.

It was perfect. A perfect plan. A perfect...idea, as Muse wasn't really one for plans. Inasnath had noted that shortly after bonding. She would never have thought of it, of course, despite the fact that this would easily give her a one up on Esix, she wasn't terribly keen on the idea of carrying eggs. But with this in mind, perhaps it wouldn't that much of a bother. It would be her children after all. Hers and Muses.

Just hers and Muse's. She wasn't going to carry the children of Esix, after all.

That's not what Muse wanted, of course, but he wasn't the female, and he wouldn't be the one carrying eggs. Or babies. Or whichever would come out of such a pairing. There would be no more cat and mouse game after this, no more tug-of-war. Muse would be hers. There would be no more room for Esix between them. Muse would have children, and that could certainly heal any hole the loss of Esix might cause.

And Esix knew it, didn't he? She grinned at him over Muse's gaunt form, and saw him glitter his beady black eyes at her angrily.

Oh yes, he knew. There was no doubt about that.

Esix wriggled out of Muse's tail hairs and crawled up the unicorn's spine before resting, legs splayed, between his shoulder blades, "I don't think we can all have children, Muse."

Confusion flashed between the three, directed from Muse's mind.

"We're not...compatible."

Inasnath's brow furrowed as well. Compatible? Compatible how?

Despite her knowledge of childbearing, and most especially her unusual lineage, Inasnath was nearly as innocent and chaste as the child-like Muse himself. She knew very little about...fornication. She assumed that babies simply popped into one's belly when one decided to have them. Marriage was probably involved somewhere along the line, but that was about the extent of her knowledge on the subject.

Muse's thoughts clouded over with a particularly strong burst of disappointment, tinged with true sadness. Inasnath frowned as well. She wanted children! Children would be her ultimate claim over Muse.

And Esix knew that, blast him! And he wasn't going to let her do it.

"But," the spider's deep tenor surprised them both, and two sets of ears were perked, "I do believe I know of...one way, if all of us can agree to produce offspring," he flicked his beady eight-eyed gaze toward Inasnath. "All of us."

Muse sent a violent wave of agreement to Esix, hard enough for Inasnath to feel it just as strongly as the spider would.

Esix didn't bother to acknowledge him, the comment had not been directed to Muse, after all.

Inasnath frowned, protruding her bottom lip slightly, girlishly, but finally nodded.

All right. So he'd get to do it too. But it wouldn't change a thing. Muse would still be hers.

Esix had never actually been to Star City before, but he'd heard of it several times from several passing ears. Unfortunately, being as he was a mere spider, he had no way of getting to the station prior to this (through Inasnath's teleportation ability), and therefore could not have Synthed with Muse before she became part of the picture. He would have, if he'd had a way, but it was too late for that now.

Esix directed Muse through the streets, shambling up against the walls as Muse was ought to do. A shy, reclusive creature, he, and Esix did not want to cause him any more distress by forcing him to weave through the busy lanes of people. Inasnath followed beside them, bouncing girlishly and grinning at the sights. She seemed...delighted. Esix didn't think he liked that look very much.

Soon they managed to find their way toward the hanger decks, and then toward the Abstract Destiny. The sound of it sent shiver's down Esix's...exoskeleton, reproducing the same effect through Muse, although the unicorn didn't quite understand why.

Esix quickly grasped a thread and slipped out of Muse's tail to dangle a few (alright, quite a few) feet beneath Inasnath's nose. "You're too big to fit inside. Wait here."

Inasnath gave a little 'humph' and sat down, frowning. Esix felt the wave of sincere apology pass between Muse and Inasnath, tinted with adoration. Inasnath grinned as the thought touched her mind.

"I'll be okay," she said, "But don't be gone too long, or I'll get lonely!" She gave a little giggle, pressing the side of her forepaw against her mouth.

Muse flicked his ears back and sent a note of agreement to her. Esix steered him into the ship before anything else could pass between the pair.

It wasn't difficult, tracking down Dr. Schroeder, but Esix was under the impression that it had been the doctor who found them, not the other way around. The man was supposed to have some sort of telepathy, after all. A kind looking fellow, probably realized he had a pair of hopelessly lost fellows wandering about his ship in need of assistance. He was followed by a rather large dragon-like creature of the likes Esix had never before seen. He decided rather quickly not to comment, though, as the creature was a formidable looking one and it did not take much to rid a spider of its life.

"What can I help you with?" said the Doctor, once introductions were passed between the three.

"We'd like to be Synthed,"replied Esix, moving out of Muse's tail, over his spine and neck, planting himself between the unicorn's eyes. Esix doubted the man would welcome anyone attempting to hide their appearance from him, most especially if they were attempting to gain his services.

"I see," said Dr. Schroeder, eyeing the two in a curious fashion. "I'll see what I can d--"

Muse flicked his ears back, eyes widening, and immediately send a bombardment of mind-images toward the doctor, each portraying Inasnath. The stream was almost desperate, tinged with a sort of hurried worriness.

Dr. Schroeder smiled softly. "I won't forget about her, my dear boy, don't you worry."

Relief passed through Muse's mind. Esix stirred unhappily.

"In fact, if you two would be so kind as to retrieve her, we can get a start on collecting DNA samples."

Esix's scuttling stopped. Of course, DNA samples! How was he supposed to supply an ample amount of DNA for Synthing, being as small as he was?

"You won't need very much, will you?"

Dr. Schroeder smiled and shook his head.

Once the collections were made and the farewells received, Esix transferred himself (feeling a little woozy from the extraction of genetic material) to Inasnath, rather reluctantly but by the insistence of Muse. He wouldn't stay there for long, of course. Muse was dreadfully frightened Inasnath might squash him in his absence.

But....

He watched his bonds leave before trotting up to Dr. Schroeder, his ears flicked back hesitantly. Tentatively, he wiggled the image of a happy Esix and Inasnath into the doctor's mind. An Esix and Inasnath who got along, and didn't fight over Muse.

The Doctor gave a little sigh and patted Muse's head. "I can't make any promises, but I'll see what I can do."

Muse bobbed his head. A moment's caution passed and he shoved himself forward, nuzzling the Doctor's shin before turning and loping out the door. It was as close as he could give to a verbal 'thank-you'.