"This Valentine's Day, say it... with diamonds!"

"This Valentine's Day, say it... with diamonds!" Jinx mimicked the television ad from where he sat on the sofa. After a moment of thought, the black feathered familiar tapped the remote control next to him with his beak, silencing the broadcast, and looked over towards the small kitchen. "Hey Red, what's Valentine's Day? And how do diamonds talk?"

The Acanthus was busy, experimenting with some recipe, and she was watching a boiling pot very carefully. "It's a holiday, Jinx. Today, in fact." she replied without looking away from the stove top. "And diamonds don't talk. They're a symbol. Both are about love."

"Ohhhhhhh." The crow nodded at first, then shook his head. "I don't get it."

"The day's just a way to sell cards and chocolate and diamonds to people as gifts. Pressure them into thinkin' they need to spend all that money to prove they love who they love." Thirteen grumped as she poked at the sizzling contents of a pan with a wooden spoon. Nothing had caught on fire. Yet.

"I take it you're not a fan."

"Never been my fave holiday, no."

The bird got a crafty look on his face. "Awwww, did nobody ever ask little Dorothy to the school dance?"

"She was asked," she retorted in annoyance, "and she went. We didn't have that many social dances in school, actually. Not like these American proms and whatever."

"Then why're you so down on Valentine's Day?" The familiar cocked his head to one side.

"I'm not... I mean, it's not like..." She shook her head and stopped trying to deny it. The Enchantress sighed and stirred the bubbling pot. "I've never been lucky with relationships. Every one ended badly."

"What'd you do?"

"Nothin'!" She finally looked over to glare at Jinx.

"What? It was never your fault? I'm just looking at the common denominator, is all." He tried to sound innocent, even as he needled the Acanthus.

"Put it that way," she growled, turning her eyes back to the stove, "And I suppose you could say it was my fault. But not my doin'! It was my bad luck. It always destroyed every fookin' romance I had."

The crow was quiet now, just studying the red-haired woman. After another minute, Thirteen launched into a story.

"I was about fourteen when I got my first boyfriend. His name was Duncan, and he was a pretty lad from my class. I'd been crushin' on him for a long time, and he was very sweet to me." She paused a moment before continuing. "We only lasted a month before he broke up with me. He'd confided a secret with me. Nothing damagin', but it was personal. I never breathed a word, but somehow it got out and around the school and he blamed me. Said I was the only he'd told. He never spoke to me again."

"Ouch."

"Yeah," the Libertine shrugged, "I could go on, but every relationship after that ended in the same vein. Somethin' would happen, nothin' I had a hand in, that would get my arse dumped. Lies, misunderstandin's... just bad luck and pain." As much as she might like to think the past was in the past, talking about it brought back old heartaches.

"So, not planning on dating again?" Jinx wasn't teasing. He seemed genuinely curious.

"Nae, not expectin' to. Besides, what do I need a romantic partner for? I got you, don't I?" She smirked in jest.

"I'm not going anywhere, Merida. Hey! We're both icons of bad luck, right? Maybe we cancel each other out?"

Thirteen blinked her eyes in surprise, and looked over at the sofa. She hadn't considered the possibility that her bad luck might cost her Jinx at some point. The idea... caused her heart to sink. She'd gotten more attached to the bothersome spirit than she'd realized.

"It's pretty to think so, isn't it?"