He said nothing to go against Puck's wishes to continue the business that Puck was at. He was a little worried what the Exile Queens reaction would be,and he hoped he'd not have to get his tail in trouble because he would if she dared try to hurt Puck.

The museum doors were still unlocked when they got there. Puck eased his way inside, followed by Ash and a continuously purring Grimalkin, who disappeared as soon as he slipped through the door. He didnt creep away or hide in the shadows; he simply vanished from sight.

A withered figure waited for them near the back, leaning against a glass counter, turning a skull over in her hands. She bared her needle-like teeth in a smile as they approached, raking her nails along the skulls naked cheekbones.

Jason didn't like how Grim seemed to please in literally disappearing,but he followed behind the other two.He forced himself not to shiver at that smile.

"You have it," she whispered, her hollow gaze fastened on Puck. "I can smell it from here. Show it to me. What have you brought old Anna?"

He pulled the ring from his pocket and held it up, where it glimmered in the musty darkness like a firefly. The oracles smile grew wider.

"Ah, yes. The doomed lovers, separated by age and time, and the hope that kept them alive. Futile though it was, in the end." She coughed a laugh, a wisp of dust billowing from her mouth into the air. "Went to the graveyard, did you? How brazen. No wonder I kept seeing a dog in your future. You did not, by chance, get the mate of this ring, did you?"

"Umno."

"Ah, well." She held out a withered hand, like a bird opening its talons. "I guess I shall have to be content with the one. Now, give me the Token."

Jason wondered as to why the oracle would also want the mate of the ring,but being 18 and not understanding fully of the rings,he said nothing. He did lean to his right to keep most his weight off of his left leg.

He dropped the ring into her palm. Her fingers closed with such speed that he took a step back. The oracle sighed, holding the ring to her sunken chest. "Such longing," she mused, as if in a daze. "Such emotion. I remember. Before I gave them all away. I remember how it felt to feel." She sniffed, coming out of her trance, and floated back, behind the counter, her voice suddenly brittle and sour. "I dont see how you mortals do it, these feelings you must endure. They will ruin you, in the end. Isnt that right, prince?"

Jason was so tempted to growl,as he assumed she was speaking of his and Ash's exile,at the oracle and come to his defense,to explain it was all his fault and that he had been the idiot,not Ash. But he forced himself to only slip his hands firmly into his pockets,freckles red at the edges for a moment before it was smothered by bubbles of dark purplel.

Ash didnt seem surprised. "Its worth it," he said quietly.

"Yes, you tell yourself that now." The oracle slipped the ring over a talon and held up her hand, admiring it. "But see how you feel a few centuries from now, when the boy has grown withered and weak, slipping farther from you with each passing day, and you are as ageless as time. Or, perhaps--" she turned to me Jason "--your beloved prince will find the mortal realm is too much for him to stay, to be, and he will fade into nothingness, and it will happen to Robin, as well. One day, you will wake up and he will simply be gone, only a memory, and you will never find love again, because how can a mere mortal compete with the fair folk?" The oracle hissed, lips curled into a sneer. "Then you will wish you were empty inside. Like me."

Jason gave a calm expression but his scales screamed fear and dread with white and stale cream clashing,both the colors surprisingly easy to tell apart. His eyes spoke of how he'd wanted that before,to feel empty during the time when it all hurt more than it did now,not that it didn't hurt now. He said nothing,not about to feed a flickering fire.

She narrowed her hollow eyes at Jason. "There is one constant in your future, child, and that is pain. Pain and emptiness, for your friends, the ones you hold dearest to your heart, are nowhere to be seen."