“^Aurelia… was Pollux’s mother.^”

The words echoed in Sue’s mind, all the implications hitting her one after another. This entire building once belonged to Pollux’s family before they were banished, making her feel uneasy sitting here to begin with. Even more shocking, though, was Patina’s mention of Pollux, and in such a casual tone at that. 

The night kin fox was hiding from Moonview for a reason, after all.

“P-Pollux’s?”

“^Yep! You know of him, right? Swear I saw you hanging out with him back at the feast a few days ago, eh?^”

Sue had gone from confused to downright shocked in a span of just a few words, and she wasn’t even sure which part of Patina’s response did her in. Her having apparently seen through Pollux’s disguise? The fox being present so close to Moonview being treated so lightly, as if he were just another villager?

The latter would absolutely be preferable one day, but they all knew that it wasn’t so yet.

Regardless of which of these implications had stunned her more, she was left sitting on Patina’s contraption of a seat mute and motionless. Her shock was palpable to the other two as they gathered ingredients from all over the workshop. Patina’s upbeat, crackling chuckling mixed in with Celestica’s slow, almost entirely flat string of ‘ha’s.

“^What’s so surprisin’? I’m sure ya know him.^”

“I-I do, but... how do you know about him? Or even see him?^”

“^Ahaha. Oh Sue, that fox’s good at his disguisin’, but that sure ain’t true about him focusing for more than five minutes, ha! Hard not to notice once he stops masking himself on accident, and that sorta stuff happens all the time. Even happened at that feast with you all, I think? I reckon I wasn’t supposed to see your little campfire, pfft.^”

That makes way too much sense for Pollux.

“I see. But in that case, don’t others notice him too?”

“^Occasionally.^”

“^Yep. Nobody’s really surprised to see him in here, not anymore. No point in raisin’ a fuss about it, especially since all he ever does is hang out with Spark or other kiddos, anyway. Or sometimes be a lil’ scamp with Solstice and Root, pfft.^”

Sue acknowledged the response with an idle nod while her mind tried to fit that revelation in. Considering all the tension, considering Root’s action, she certainly didn’t expect Pollux’s presence here to be such a non-issue for most. At the same time, said priest was far and away the most militant person against night kin being present here, so it only made sense for everyone else to be more laid back in that regard.

Still highly messed up, especially with people of Moonview merely looking the other way as opposed to wholeheartedly accepting him.

And with recent events... Sue doubted that even that half-solution would remain in place for much longer.

“Suppose that makes sense, but... I worry it might change for the worse with what happened to D- Night Mother’s altar.”

“^D... what?^”

“N-nevermind.”

“^With regards to the events you mentioned. Were you present when they took place, and if so, are you capable of clarifying certain contradictions we have overheard?^”

“^Oh yeah, with the way some people have been telling it, you’d think Ginger hit that ugly thing with a roundhouse kick from half a Moonview away.^”

Hardly something Sue wanted to elaborate upon, especially after spending so much time getting people up to speed with Sundance’s situation earlier. At the same time, considering Patina already clarified one part of Moonview’s common opinion for her, Sue wouldn’t be opposed in the slightest to learning more.

Even if it took retreading the same, traumatizing memories again.

“I was there when it happened. Ginger was trying to feel along the back side of that wall, and it immediately lost its balance. Then he tried to stabilize it and all, but it just... fell. Kantaro got there not long after, Ginger tried to talk to him, but he just didn’t want to repair it. I don’t know why. Or, I guess, I can infer it being made from something he initially made for Night Father... right?”

“^Yep, heh. And that’s all... surprisin’, frankly.^”

I sure didn’t expect the physical embodiment of protection against the night kin to fall to a couple of prods either, but I doubt that’s what she’s referring to.

“What is?”

“^The drama about the monument in particular. What happened to Sundance I can at least understand, but this? Hell nah, everyone’s frettin’ about something almost nobody liked to begin with.^”

Sue’s confounded stare conveyed her question wordlessly; the fire woman chuckled to herself before hovering the last of the small jars over and clarifying-

“^Them side monuments, I mean. I remember when that happened, back when everyone was still recoverin’ from that bloody plague, and Root kept doubling down on that dumb idea of his. Even back then, almost nobody wanted Night Father’s shrine taken down, especially in such a crass way. Root, Willow, High Tide maybe, and a handful of others were the only vocal supporters. Though I guess, with time, more and more came on board just so that they wouldn’t have to see the constant reminder of what they’d done.^”

Willow. Oh no...

Patina’s whole body shuddered, the motion particularly visible in her flaming ponytail. She went unusually quiet for a moment afterwards as she filled up a small ceramic dish with tiny bunches of several powders, most of them stinging Sue’s eyes or throat from a good few feet away.

Something tells me I really should be wearing a rebreather here.

“^To think such a sublime shrine was defiled in pursuit of heresy... it hurts even me.^”

“^No kiddin’, eh? Sure ain’t surprised Root pushed it that hard, you’d think with the way he talks that the entire pantheon consists of just the Pale Lady, but others... disappointin’.^”

Sue didn’t disagree with that at all, but one word in particular caught her attention and wouldn’t let go. One she wasn’t entirely certain how to interpret, and really wanted to know how it was meant.

“If… if it’s alright—what did you mean by ‘heresy’ there, Celestica?”

As Patina kept playing the role of equal parts chemist and medieval alchemist who would be dead at age 55 of mercury poisoning, Sue watched the patterns on what remained of Celestica’s body glow up in her direction. The small, reddish part down on Patina’s side turned to face her, as if it was—

...

It must’ve been Celestica’s eye.

“^These traits that Root had enriched the Pale Lady’s shrine with are not Hers. They are of the Dark Lord, His domain and duty. To wrestle such traits from a deity to favor another is high heresy. My people were wretched, but their response would have been entirely appropriate for such a crime.^”

“...exile?”

“^Death.^”

Oh fuck.

“^C’mon Celly, you’re scaring her.^”

“^My intent isn’t such. It is not a punishment of a simple worshiper, it is a punishment of a high priest. Such as Root portrays himself as.^”

Sue supposed the clarification made it slightly better, but still... sheesh. Death penalty for a religious disagreement wasn’t the sort of punishment she’d ever want to see established, no matter how much Root deserved it.

...

Maybe just a little, if we're talking just Root.

“I... guess. Still, it’s a bit uncomfortable to think about.”

“^You ain’t alone in that regard Sue, doncha worry, ha.^”

Alright, that helps a bit.

“I heard that they’re gonna hold a council meeting today to discuss what’s gonna happen to the night kin. Do you think everyone might start cracking down on Pollux harder if it goes poorly?”

Patina let out a low hum in response, a quiet hiss of something being seared mixing into the sound.

“^I wish I could answer that with certainty, but I doubt it will, y’know. Like, hell, Pollux is still Pollux no matter what anyone else may or mightn’t have done. I sure don’t think any sort of harsher sentence means folk will start hurting him. Then again, I sure thought that exiling the night kin was a demented idea that would never happen in a thousand years either, eh...^”

That was the opposite of reassuring.

She was right; Moonview had already extremely overreacted out of paranoia once. What certainty did they have that the exact same tragedy wouldn’t repeat? Was anything truly different now compared to all those years ago? If anything, it all felt even more hopeless this time. Sundance was comatose; Solstice was tearing herself apart with guilt; she couldn’t even trust Willow, and aside from them all, she didn’t even know of any Elders around, and especially not the sort that would—

*HHHIIISSSSSSSSssssssss*

The nigh-deafening sound from so close almost made Sue bang her back horn all over the contraption of a seat. Thankfully, her mind had settled on ‘freeze’ rather than ‘flight’, and once it was done choking itself away from any and all thought, the once-human could actually take a look over at what had happened.

A fair bit of unpleasant-looking foam was spilling out of the bowl Patina was preparing her concoction in, and into a larger bowl the smaller one was hurriedly placed in. She spotted the fire woman audibly sighing in relief at averting staining anything else, but that seemed to be the full extent of her immediate safety concerns.

I wish I knew enough chemistry to know just how terrified I should be right now.

“^Pheeeew! Just in time. Actually, now that I think about it... it should just take someone standing up to Root and persevering.^”

The delayed follow-up had Sue’s undivided attention, eyes narrowing as she tried to slink ever so slightly away from Patina’s freshly made hopefully-not-chemical-weapon.

“Standing up to him like...?”

“^Y’know, just opposing him and not backing down. I’ve seen how that old fart argues, he’s never met a person he hasn’t tried to pressure, shout down, or guilt trip. If someone can withstand that and push through, argue against him, then I doubt things will get any worse, ha.^”

Patina’s description made Sue realize how many other ‘Root’s’ she has had to deal with in her past life, shuddering at recalling even a single interaction like that.

“...I think I get it, yeah. Hopefully, it’ll work out, then.”

“^I’d say very likely it will! Aight, that’s the mix I had in mind done. Should relax your hair and straighten it a fair bit—I sure hope so at least, hah!^”

Some of the smaller bowl’s contents were poured into another container, and diluted with a hefty dose of water.

“Will it hurt?”

“^Shouldn’t be too bad. Like any chloride, it’s gonna sting bare skin a decent bit, might lightly stain them curls, but a similar mix has worked well in the past for a couple other peeps at least!^”

Only one way to find out what ‘decent bit’ means, isn’t there.

“Alright then...”

“^Now just your... kid on your chest?^”

An eerie, unnerving impulse went through Sue at Twinkle being referred to in such a way. It was as if half her mind screamed in pain, and the other half in elation at hearing it, the combination just leaving her stunned for a hot minute.

“^...Sue?^”

“Uh, sorry. Should I move them?”

“^Oh up to you, I’d just assumed you forgot to do it earlier.^”

Considering what amounted to the lil’ ghost’s body was well protected with the rag they were sleeping in, there probably wasn’t a need to disturb them.

“They can stay here.”

“^Suit yourselves!^”

Patina’s hands felt just barely cold enough to not scald her skin as they guided Sue to lean fully into her seat, with a single adjustment letting her lean her head all the way back as well. Her and Solstice’s touch might’ve been pleasantly tingly, but the fire woman’s hands were almost an instant massage, making for a comfort even Spark had a hard time stacking up to.

Which was appreciated, considering how much her brew had made the Forest Guardian wince afterwards.

It wasn’t quite unbearable, but it sure got very, very close at times, especially when Patina tried to apply it to her roots. Too late to back out now, which meant another conversation topic was in order. And there just so happened to be an overlooked subject that Sue would really appreciate knowing more about, both for the future reference and out of simple curiosity.

And-*ow*-distraction.

“How was A-Aurelia like? Pollux’s mother you’ve mentioned earlier...”

“^Driven.^”

“^Hatched with a hammer in her hand, I tell ya! She got metallurgy like nobody I’ve ever seen, and kept on improving her craft every single day. Goodness, what she didn’t do. Metalworking, used to act fights out in Snowdrop’s fancy group, used to do actual fights on the side! Practice ones, I mean, the kinds that hurt, but leave ya stronger. Never had too many takers, but always one or two. Daisy, High Tide, Alastor—good gods, do I remember watching her fool around with Alastor. She’d keep letting him feel like he had the upper hand by hiding around, and then just punched him from thin air before any of us could even blink. And he’d keep on trying the same tactics over and over, almost like he wanted to be dominated, ahahaha!^”

Sue palpably felt Patina’s mood improve throughout her recollection, her ambient heat turning that much stronger and more pleasant. Didn’t help a whole lot with the stinging all over her head, but at that point, Sue knew she’d just have to suffer through it.

“She must’ve been strong.”

“^In so many ways, ha. She could’ve lifted this entire dainty hut up with one arm and got so good at bending metal; she didn’t even have to use tools past a certain point, just her four limbs. And her fire, goodness, it was so bright it kept burning out of her entire head, day and night. I keep on tryin’, and I sure ain’t gonna stop, but a part of me doubts I’ll ever compare. I sure hope I’ll ever figure out smelting iron eventually, with even half the skill and heat she handled it.^”

Considering all the heat and fire references, Sue had at least a partial idea about Aurelia’s ‘types’.

“Sounds like a Fire ‘type’... right?”

“^And Fighting, ahaha! That part’s also important, especially when it came to crushing all the ore before smelting it. From what she told me, tinkering with metal is rather common where she came from, though with nowhere near her sophistication, and mostly with gold. Trivial to work compared to even copper, and even children decorated themselves with gold leaf from time to time. Though hers were extra fancy—I remember seeing her for the first time and the sun glare from all the gold on her just blinding me for a hot while, oh those days were fun, ahahahah...^”

...’Fighting’ type?

The label didn’t inspire confidence in the slightest. If anything, it made Sue think back to the many varieties of local chavs starting shit at the town she grew up in. Who knew that such a mediocre football team could ever inspire such widespread violence, eh.

“It sounds like she was fun to be around.”

“^Worked hard, fought hard, played hard!^”

“^Drank hard.^”

“^Don’t act like you’d be any different if you still had a mouth, Celly.^”

“^I do not know what inebriation feels like.^”

“^Call that the Pale Lady’s blessing or something.^”

As pleasant as it was to hear Patina’s recollections, the unnerving ‘Fighting’ type detail aside, the constant mentions of Aurelia having been a metal worker had her thinking back over to the couple of metal objects she’d seen around. And among them, one immediately caught her attention the most.

“Did she make—”

“^Hon, if there’s anything metal you see in Moonview, Aurelia almost certainly was the one that made it.^”

“R-right. I guess that includes Daystar’s prosthesis... thing.”

“^Dayst... you mean Frostbite?^”

“She goes by Daystar now.”

As Patina took a moment or three to stash the new knowledge deep into her fiery brain, Celestica summed it up shortly.

“^I am unsurprised.^”

“^No kiddin’, ahaha! Good for her, hope she’s alright. And yep, Aurelia made her that hook. No replacing all the usefulness or lethality of her natural claws with anythin’ artificial, but at least being able to hold on to stuff with both arms is useful.^”

Sue was almost certain about the answer to the question she was about to ask, but went with it anyway, even if just to hear how Patina would explain it.

“Did she just... make all that for Daystar on a whim?”

“^Yeah, why wouldn’t she? Psychic tricks are one thing, but for a Fighting type to not be able to use all their limbs is a tragedy and a half.^”

...

Considering Daystar of all people is also in said ‘Fighting’ category, it probably represents much more than an overeagerness to fight.

“I-I see. Daystar must’ve loved it.”

“^Ohhhh, you have no idea, hun. Then again, she never was too sad about having lost her paw in the first place, really. Apparently, it snapped her to the reality of what she was doing, and made her set out on the path that led her here. Sure never heard anyone else be simultaneously so thankful and hateful to anyone as she was to that one psychic bird that did her in, ahahaha.^”

Patina let out a drawn-out sigh, some of her exhale further warming Sue’s stinging head.

“^If I hadn’t already started being Aurelia’s apprentice, then seeing that sure would’ve made me, ha!^”

“What—what initially interested you, then?”

“^Hmm... think it was another of Aurelia’s gifts, actually. She told me she just got the idea one moment, and the second she was already forging copper with her bare hands! Ended up being a pretty pretty circlet, methinks.^”

Circlet.

“Wh-who did she make it for?”

“^Solstice, ha! They used to be besties, way back in the day. And now... ah... yeah.^”

Figures why she handed it back to Alastor then...

“^Aaaaanywho. How’re ya holdin’ up?^”

“M-managing.”

“^Tell me if I need to slow down or any--^”

“If you can, I’d rather you speed up.”

“^I see, I see~. Lean back in, and let’s get it done then, ahaha! Fingers crossed it works out!^”

---

It didn’t work out.

Thankfully, a thorough washing after Patina was done got rid of most of the stinging, and what little remained eventually faded afterwards. Pain wasn’t even the annoying part, though—nowhere near as the realization, after all was said and done, that Patina’s chemical assault on her scalp accomplished almost nothing for straightening these green locks out. And just to rub it in, whatever she’d used also left some spots slightly bleached.

Not that Sue minded that in a vacuum, but it sure didn’t feel pleasant after several hours of gripping the armrests as tight as she could. Even with Patina being as accommodating as she could be.

At least I didn’t break another leg.

Yay.

Disappointment or not, all that was behind her now. By the time she and Twinkle had stumbled out of once-Aurelia’s workshop, the sun was already almost done setting, emboldening her further. There weren’t anywhere near as many people drinking around the large clearing as when she was there a few days ago. Entirely understandable between yesterday’s events and what still awaited today, but it still made that entire half of Moonview feel... eerie.

Not eerie enough for her to go through the rest of the day on an almost empty stomach again, though.

With Poppy’s pastry in her hand, Twinkle on her chest, and plenty of the village still in front of her, Sue could start chewing through everything Patina had told her and which she’d already inferred about Root in general, and the upcoming hearing in specific.

Many of Moonview’s worst mistakes weren’t even all that popular amongst its people when they happened. Vote to exile the night kin passed with a single vote; the decision to turn Night Father’s shrine into the extensions of Duck’s monument was even more unpopular. Surely, after all these years and with so much shame fueling them, the people would avoid making the same harrowing mistake again. Avoid sentencing so many to so much suffering because of actions that were committed by so few, or which didn’t really matter whatsoever.

At least, that’s what Sue deeply hoped for.

If what Patina said was right—if it would really take a single voice to take a stand against Root and his narrative and not let itself get shouted down–then things would almost certainly work out. After all, someone would have enough of a spine to stand up and avoid further harm, and from there, it was just... expressing support for that person.

Admittedly, Sue had absolutely no idea how such a council even functioned, but hoped it wouldn’t be entirely filled with the badger’s sycophants if it truly fell down to just them to make the decisions that affected both villages.

Sue knew better than to let herself get overly hopeful while having so little concrete to work with, but figured that a little bit of hope wouldn’t hurt. As a treat.

As basic as the feat was, she was somewhat proud of herself for having figured out a way over to the gathering entirely on her own. Granted, all she had to do on her part was to just observe the passersby and follow the majority’s direction, but it was still more than the absolute nothing her self-critical thoughts wanted to portray it as.

While she marched over, alternating her limited brain capacity between walking upright with a limping leg and breathing deeply enough, another realization gradually crept in. This one she had very little idea what to do with, and neither the time, space, nor opportunity to mull it through.

Twinkle had woken up at some point.

Good evening, little one! This is Moonview line, heading straight... north toward our final station. Will it be Salvation Alley? Will it be Damnation Street? Who knows, that’s the fun of it!

That’s the bloody fun of it.

Even though Sue didn’t have any words for the little bag of child, that didn’t mean that she had no affection whatsoever. She gently grasped the small bundle with her left hand as she turned the last corner, feeling Twinkle wrap their tentacles around it as she looked for a place to sit down amidst the crowd.

This skin dress made that feat much more annoyingly difficult than she would’ve guessed.

The entire arrangement reminded her of the world’s smallest concert stadium. A short, flat mound, only a dozen or so feet in diameter. In front of it was a clearing so underutilized that much of it was still covered in grass. Above it all, the customary floating fireballs, the sight having become little more than a modest footnote by now.

Magical, floating, unending balls of fire? Boring, that’s so three days ago.

Thankfully, Solstice was already present, her aura even more anxious than Sue’s. It took the older Forest Guardian a while to even notice Sue’s arrival, despite her having towered over most of the crowd while finding a place to sit down. Even beyond that, her immediate reaction was a shudder and an alarmed look, taking the once-human aback.

“^Sue? What are you doing here?^”

“Just w-watching. Am I not allowed to?”

Sue tried to stress this being a genuine question and not a snarky reply, even though a small part of her really wished to say these exact words in that way. All the Mayor could do was sigh, shudder, and try her best to forcibly relax her posture again afterwards while answering.

“^Of course you are, it’s—nevermind.^”

That certainly wasn’t the kind of response Sue wanted to hear, its nervous hesitation making her second guess her own presence here. It was ultimately more morbid curiosity than it was actually being able to help with it, after all.

“^I’ll translate for you, but I ask you to not chat throughout. I-I need to focus on this.^”

“Of course.”

As if I needed to feel even worse about being here.

Despite that bitter topic, Sue wasn’t thinking of going anywhere, not now. More and more onlookers kept pouring on from all over Moonview, while the raised stage filled up. The living bouquet medic, Orchid. The blue, bipedal rhino that worked with the builders, Daisy. Floating cotton puffball with an attached face that seemed to manage the farms, Equinox. The leafy mantis caretaker, Splitleaf.

So many others she’d either only seen in passing, or not at all.

Willow.

Considering everything she’d seen and heard about the medic over the past couple of days, Sue wasn’t even sure if she trusted them at all. The thought stung particularly hard given they were the very first person here who’d visibly offered her care when she still had no idea what was going on or where she even was. Was it all just a lie? A facade they had put up to hide their true intentions?

The thought made little sense, and Sue was well aware. They weren’t just nice to her, but to everyone she’d ever seen them interact with. She still remembered them barging in with injured Joy very clearly, and if not for that very act, the metal girl might’ve still been constantly afraid today.

And yet.

The looks they gave her and Ginger when the latter swung by Moonview. Looks of uncertainty, of fear, of everything she would’ve expected from someone much more simple-minded than them. Not from someone who helped two separate weirdlings in the past few days alone.

Sue kept staring at them as she went through the unpleasant thoughts, and eventually, they looked back. A burst of upbeat surprise at seeing her here, accentuated with a timid wave in her direction. A smile that faltered with every passing moment at seeing someone they’d helped so recently staring back at them with earned distrust.

A nervous, unsettled look away, at anyone else but her.

Were they aware of why she distrusted them? Aware of her knowing what they did in the past, what horrible causes they allied themselves with, and judging them for it?

Does it even matter?

*woof!*

“Hey, Sparkie.”

Sue had barely noticed the lil’ firefox’s blissful heat even as she had climbed onto her lap. Everything felt numb and tense, as if she’d hit a nerve with her entire brain. With how much laid on the line, comfort was hard to focus on.

And yet, so much more important exactly because of that.

The once-human’s hand shook as she forcibly moved it to stroke Spark’s back. The other one didn’t fare any better, having to be constantly reminded to provide affection to Twinkle, else the sharp, haphazard motions would peter out after just a few moments. She wasn’t good at multitasking like this, not when this tense.

Hopefully her rocking in place wouldn’t draw too much undue attention.

A small glare of purple light in the corner of her vision heralded the arrival of the final remaining elder. Their expression was cross and just as tense as Sue’s; the spots around their neck burned with faint violet embers.

Root.

“^Greetings, everyone. We have gathered together to discuss the events of the past few days, and settle on a way forward.^”

Solstice’s telepathic voice was much more subdued than its usual self, keeping itself from cracking or even slightly withdrawing through the sheer forces of willpower and very heavy practice. Any remaining murmurs in the crowd faded away the instant she spoke up, the entire clearing’s emotion honing straight into confused uncertainty.

My favorite.

“IT IS AN OUTRAGE THAT—”

“Root.”

Equinox’s single word comment derailed the priest’s rambling before it could even demand. His eyes stared like daggers at such interruption, with the puffball continuing shortly after.

“There is another important matter that has transpired the day before what you’re itching to talk about. Let us please deal with it beforehand.”

Sue had to forcibly hold in a chuckle at Root being so unceremoniously held back, a task that many others failed at. With a deep breath, the flaming badger did just that, the flames around his neck not growing any weaker as he sat down.

“Thank you. High Tide, could you iterate through your concerns for us?”

The crowd’s attention turned towards the massive, blue, black-finned amphibian as she raised herself onto her hind legs and cleared her throat.

“Of course, Equinox. The water situation isn’t looking pretty. We’re straining out stream hard, especially as we keep on expanding our farms. I worry what might happen if an unexpected drought hits us later this year.”

Her voice was croaky and dry, keeping itself professionally flat despite quite a few emotions brewing up inside her head.

“Thank you. What are the possible answers to those concerns?”

“In simple terms—we don’t have enough water to have a comfortable buffer. We can either reconsider our cultivars and stop growing some of the particularly thirsty ones, source our local water supply from somewhere, or relocate our farms, in part or full, further downstream. Our stream joins a large river around two days of steady march away. There wouldn’t be any concerns with irrigation there for the foreseeable future.”

Having delivered her opinion, High Tide sat down, letting everyone focus on what the elders would say again.

“Straightforward matter ta’ me. Gotta cut some chaff and stick with what works. We’re sure growin’ waaaay too many different species in there, dunno if anyone eats half these things.” - Daisy swatted her paw off to the side, not thinking much of the whole affair.

“In my previous exchanges with High Tide, she had indicated that to be a very temporary solution, especially if Moonview keeps growing.” - Equinox shot her down shortly after with a justified concern, plunging most of the gathered into a deeper thought.

“Naturally, we should expand downstream, and use these fertile lands for ourselves.” - It was Sue’s first time properly hearing Root’s voice, and the keening, downright sleazy sound sent a shudder down her stream.

Thankfully, he too would see objections being raised to his idea.

“There is a very high probability of those lands being already used for such a purpose, or otherwise controlled. We would not be claiming wilderness for ourselves. In all likelihood, we would be taking fertile soil that belongs to someone.”

The badger only gave Equinox’s counterpoint the briefest of considerations before scoffing it aside.

“I do not see why that would matter. We are the Pale Lady’s chosen peoples, all where Her light touches is our true domain. Why should we settle for anything less?”

“Because we gunna find our butts gettin’ whooped otherwise. Do ya think they’d just let us take them with a justification like that?” - Root’s glare narrowed at Daisy’s response, as if she’s spoken a sentence in an entirely different language.

“They may try, but they shan’t succeed, not with Her Grace at our side. Any strife to further Her glory is a strife justified.”

Sue shuddered deeply at the badger’s rhetoric, much of it deeply unpleasant to listen to.

“Well, I’d sure darn hope you’d be the one bargin’ in to defend ‘our’ lands in that case.”

Before Root could respond to Daisy’s dismissive words, the cottonball spoke once more.

“And that is only one of our problems. At such a vast distance, would whatever settlement arises even be called Moonview anymore? For all practical matters, they will be entirely separate from us, related through little more than the deity they worship. To them, we would be mere overlords, demanding they harvest resources for our use.”

“Not if we send our finest farmhands to take care of such a farm, the ones with unbreakable devotion.”

“Devotion will not help said theoretical settlement becoming its own independent entity, and merely becoming allied with us. Unless your idea is to forcibly rule such a distant place yourself, them gradually turning independent is all but unavoidable.”

Equinox’s comment didn’t inspire as much rage in Root’s as Daisy’s earlier one, thankfully. Instead came what looked like genuine thoughtfulness, culminating with a shudder that sent the badger’s flames dancing. Which exact part said reaction was in response to, Sue had absolutely no idea, and would rather not speculate lest it turned her even madder.

“Ghrmmmm... fine enough. The solution of searching for further local sources appears to be the best one, then.”

Most Elders agreed with varying levels of confidence, owing less to Root having raised any particularly good points, and more so to that option being by far the least unsustainable of the three presented earlier.

“^Does the council agree on that course of action?^” - Solstice’s words startled Sue out of her spaced out state, the discussion’s topic making it hard for her to focus particularly hard. Not something that directly affected her even remotely, but what would almost certainly follow suit would, and now it was time for her to pay very close attention.

Either no reaction or modest nods from everyone gathered, with Root glaring motionlessly into the middle distance.

“^Then it is settled. High Tide, I leave you in charge of that task. Gather any help around Moonview you feel necessary to accomplish with and ensure our water security.^”

“Aye aye, Solstice.”

With the mundane subject over with, everyone knew very well what awaited now, and exactly nobody was looking forward to it. Or rather, exactly nobody with a singular exception of a particular angry flaming badger, whose emotions appeared to be a paradoxical mix of outrage and downright giddiness to indulge in said outrage, if not an acknowledged one. It felt... weird to sense for herself.

I’m hardly unfamiliar with the underlying behavior, though.

Doomscrolling was something Sue was guilty of on more days than not. Even beyond just her, people constantly searching for stuff to be angry about was an internet pattern as old as time, and equally embarrassing each time.

The times where it happened in person were always the worst ones, though. Nothing she had to deal with personally—her dad had grown aloof in his final years but never went down that rotten path—but something she’d heard plenty about, be it as complaints, or harrowing stories about people’s parents having their brains entirely eroded by anger-inducing cable television.

It was terrible when stuff like that tore a family apart, but here it ran a serious risk of hurting unspeakably many people if indulged further.

Before Sue could ponder through that kind of behavior any further, the discussion finally continued.

“^With the topic of our water troubles done, let us proceed to the next—^”

“IT IS AN OUTRAGE THAT ONE OF THE NIGHT KIN WAS PERMITTED TO ENTER OUR HAVEN, AND DEFILE THE PALE LADY’S VISAGE!” - Root’s furious shout made Sue wince, the voice so much louder than needed to be well heard by everyone around.

And, unfortunately for all present, he wasn’t done yet, either.

“WE WERE ATTACKED—NAY, ASSAULTED—BY THEIR DESPICABLE, FILTHY DEN! WE HAVE TOLERATED THEIR PRESENCE IN OUR VICINITY FOR FAR TOO LONG, EVEN FOLLOWING OUR RIGHTEOUS BANISHMENT OF THEIR FOUL KIND. HOW MANY MORE OF OUR PEOPLE MUST BE HURT, HOW MANY MORE OF OUR CHILDREN MUST DIE, HOW MUCH MORE OF OUR FAITH MUST BE DEBASED FOR US TO TAKE ACTION AGAINST THOSE MONSTERS!?”

His ranting made absolutely no sense, nor did it need to.

Just need a single person to stand up against this nonsense, come on.

Sue clung to Patina’s claim like it was a piece of wreckage in the middle of the ocean, hoping more and more it would turn out right by the moment. She was managing for now,

But the same couldn’t quite be said for Solstice.

However anxious she had been earlier, her expression was now entirely flat and shaking, her emotions already veering perilously close to a full on internal breakdown. The once-human wanted to say something, encourage her to push on and stand up against the badger’s tide of anger—but she couldn’t.

Especially after it got even worse.

“AND WORSE YET! IT WAS ONE OF OUR VERY OWN THAT SOUGHT TO UNDERMINE OUR VERY OWN DECREE FROM YEARS AGO AND ALLY WITH THESE FILTHY MONSTERS! IMAGINE WHAT ALL OUR LOST ONES MUST THINK AT THAT, AT THE ONES THEY USED TO TRUST, GOING AGAINST THEIR VERY LEGACY AND SPITTING ON ALL THE SUFFERING THEY HAD EXPERIENCED!? THE ONE WHO HAD SAW THE LIGHT THESE MANY YEARS AGO, ONLY TO GO AGAINST THE PALE LADY’S JUDGEMENT DESPITE HER GRACIOUS TRUST IN THEM! JUST FOR OUR FAITH TO BE DEFILED, AND ANOTHER OF OUR CHERISHED TO BE GREVIOUSLY WOUNDED BY THEIR SAVAGERY!”

Root might’ve been saying his shouts to the gathering at large, but his eyes were downright drilling into Solstice, further and further with every single word. Every remark, every allusion to what had happened, both recently and so many years ago, seemed to push her towards all out locked-up, mute panic. All the shame she had tried to suppress, over everything that had gone wrong, over her hand in everything. Aurora, the night kin, Sundance’s injury. All of it happened, ultimately, because of her action or inaction.

It was all her fault.

She was wrong, so very wrong, but Sue felt entirely powerless to help.

The once-human looked away in panic, trying to feebly sense someone, anyone, who was as much as considering opposing the ever-growing madness. Almost entirely silence from all around, with only the group of builders, Daisy included, even considering anything.

Please guys, you can do it.

All the while, Sue’s only response to Root’s ever furious shouts was steadily growing anger. At the depersonification, at the slurs, at attempts to speak in the name of those whose deaths hurt the night kin no less than they had hurt anyone else here.

At invoking Duck’s name for hatred.

“OUR COURSE OF ACTION SHOULD BE OBVIOUS TO US ALL! THE PALE LADY DEMANDS US TO ACT, TO STRIKE BACK AGAINST SUCH HERESY AND BARBARISM! US PERMITTING THESE BEASTS TO LIVE WAS A MISTAKE, ONE THAT SHOULD BE RECTIFIED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!”

In the corner of her eye, Sue saw Daisy and some of the builders nod at each other before the rhino gathered her bearings and rolled her shoulders. Once Root had finally stopped to gather his breath, Daisy rose and interrupted him, her voice raised almost as much as his.

“You cry for so many people to die for the actions of a single bleedin’ owl!?”

“HARDLY, YOU BELLIGERENT FOOL! IT WAS NOT A SINGULAR ATTACK, NO, THEY HAD STRUCK SUNDANCE TO MAKE US FEARFUL, HESITANT TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT! NO MATTER OUR FEARS, I SHALL LEAD US WITH THE PALE LADY’S GUIDANCE TO DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE!”

“You’ve no idea what you’re talkin’ about, you melodramatic pile of shite! None of this was a coordinated attack by Newmoon as a whole—”

“THEIR FILTHY DEN DOES NOT DESERVE THE NAME OF OUR LADY ABOVE!”

“Shut up! Juniper attacked Sundance on her own, and what happened with Ginger was a bleedin’ accident!”

“TO THINK SUCH UNFATHOMABLE HERESY HAS SPREAD EVEN TO ONES WE RELY ON THE MOST! THESE ARE LIES UTTERED BY THAT MALEVOLENT DEMON, ONES YOUR BAND OF BRUTES HAS CONFIDED IN FOR MUCH TOO LONG. NONE OF YOU ARE TRUSTWORTHY, NOT AFTER HIM FILLING YOU WITH HIS POISON DURING HIS ATTACK ON OUR BEAUTIFUL MOONVIEW!”

“Shut your bloody—”

“SILENCE!”

Despite Daisy’s determination just moments prior, the explosion of frenzied, purple flame combined with the nigh-deafening shout had finally undone her resolve, especially with nobody else speaking out. Uncertainty, sheer intimidation, it didn’t matter. No matter the cause, the result was the same.

And Sue grew even angrier at that realization.

“I SHALL NOT SUFFER SUCH HERETICAL CLAIMS ANY FURTHER. NONE OF YOU THE TRUTH EXCEPT THROUGH THAT BEAST’S LIES. TO THINK ANY OF YOU TRUSTED HIM EVEN FOR A MOMENT DISGUSTS ME BEYOND WORDS. TRULY, WE NEED TO ACT SWIFTLY AND PURGE THEM, PURGE THEM ALL, LEST THEIR VENOM CORRUPTS MORE OF THE ONES WE ONCE TRUSTED!”

Angrier at Root’s hatred.

“TO LET THEM LIVE, HOWEVER FAR, IS A MERCY THESE BEASTS DO NOT DESERVE, AND A RISK WE CANNOT AFFORD!”

Angrier at Solstice’s paralyzed stillness.

“THEY MUST BE BURNED WITH SACRED FLAME AND THE GROUND LEFT BEHIND SALTED, FOR THEIR DEFILEMENT GOES BEYOND MERE ACTIONS, IT IS THEIR VERY ESSENCE!”

Angrier at Moonview’s inaction in nobody standing up for what was right.

“WE SHOULD MARCH AS SWIFTLY AS WE CAN, AND STRIKE DOWN THE VERMIN AND THEIR FALSE GOD WITH ALL OUR VICIOUS MIGHT, FOR THE PALE LADY DECREES IT!”

Angrier at herself for expecting them to.

Sue shook in place as her fists clenched and teeth ground. She had never felt anywhere near this angry. Fearful, anxious, overwhelmed, yes, plenty, but never actively as furious as she was being right now. None of this was right, and she could barely think.

A wordless urge cried out to her from not just her mind, but her very soul. The very same unfathomable instinct that made her act when Spark and Pollux were about to die, one she had no name for or conscious comprehension of. She remembered acting against it then, desperately trying to overrule it for the sake of her own survival.

But now, Sue felt it grip her entire body, and gave in entirely.

Her breathing grew shallower and shallower as the entirety of her furious mind concentrated on a singular purpose. From where it came from, it didn’t matter in the slightest. All the Forest Guardian knew was that so many innocents were at risk of death because of a single village’s virulent hatred,

And that she couldn’t let it happen.

“LET US COME, THEN! LET US DELIVER UTMOST JUSTICE TO THESE FIENDS FOR STRIKING OUR FRIEND AND FAITH ALIKE-“

“LIAR!!!”

The shout froze the entire gathering as dozens upon dozens of minds focused on a single, incomprehensibly furious one. All Sue knew was that she was floating above the ground all of a sudden,

And that she wasn’t done yet.

“SUNDANCE WAS ATTACKED BY JUNIPER ALONE, AND PROVIDED AID BY ALL OF NEWMOON AFTERWARDS! ALL GINGER DID IN MOONVIEW WAS PURGE YOUR FOUL HERESY!”

No matter how imposing, her voice wouldn’t be able to stand alone, and Sue knew it.

“SOLSTICE, YOU WERE THERE! ATTEST MY WORDS!”

Sue stared where she remembered the other Forest Guardian being, but couldn’t make her own through the blinding flare of her own eyes. She’d spoken with power unlike herself, unlike anything she thought herself ever capable of, with a power that drew from the very core of the being she became.

But would it be enough?

Seconds stretched into ages as the younger Forest Guardian glared into the older one with a force beyond her conscious comprehension. It showed no signs of fading, but the person subsumed by it did, fear beginning to drip into the chamber of emotional superheated plasma that Sue’s mind became. This was all she could do, all she could ever hope to do.

And if it wasn’t enough, if her utter desperation wasn’t enough,

Then what would she even do?

Her mind shook, the motion slowly spreading over to her physical arms. All this wouldn’t last for more than just a handful of moments longer, not with doubt beginning to fill her mind whole. Tears streamed down her contorted face, straight down onto her gritted teeth.

And then, she heard a voice.

Afraid.

Ashamed.

Guilty.

Unwavering.

“^I attest to your words, Sue. Juniper’s attack was an act of momentary aggression, and Newmoon had attempted to capture her afterwards. She is not welcome there, and will not be until she atones for her actions. Ginger had no intention of damaging the Night Mother’s shrine, and Kantaro has no interest in repairing said damages.^”

At last, the choking silence gave way into uncountable murmurs as Sue felt whatever had just possessed her gradually let go. Her body descended until her feet had touched the ground again, followed by her overworked mind letting go of the rest of her. She collapsed on all fours, struggling to catch her breath as many voices surrounded her, in awe, in concern.

Even with Solstice’s translation, she couldn’t understand them.

She couldn’t even understand her own mind right now, not with how utterly the last few moments had fried it.

What the fuck did I just do.

The words and sounds around her kept coming, though fewer and fewer of them were aimed directly at her. Once her head had stopped tormenting her for the act of breathing anymore, Sue finally attempted to sit back down and look at what was going on.

Root stared straight through her in an expression of distilled, mute fury as the discussion continued around him. In any other circumstances, she would’ve shied away; wouldn’t have been able to look him in the eyes for just an instant. But not here. Not now.

I will not let you do this.

Sue gritted her teeth and returned the glare even as her entire rattled, worn-out body shook. She wasn’t a warrior; she wasn’t a hero; she was just an unremarkable, socially stilted comp-sci student of hardly any ability and even less renown.

And yet, she might’ve just saved several lives.

She kept her eyes locked with his for as long as she could, thanking Duck for the badger Elder looking towards one of his fellow council at some point. Her shaking hands tried to hold Spark as closely as possible, but they felt so numb, so uncontrollable. Sue closed her eyes, held the lil’ fox tight and breathed, as deeply as she could. Until she could hear more than just her own heartbeat hammering into her ears, until she regained sensation in her body again, until she could think again.

One, two, three.

Warmth in front of her, on her chest, pressing into her stomach. Unbearable pressure all over her body, one of a spring wound much too tight.

Four, five, six.

Noise began to fray into individual sounds, still too hard to make heads and tails of. Vague warmth became the sensation of Spark’s soft fur and wet nose. Her shoulders loosened; her hands weren’t just a blur anymore.

Seven, eight.

Twinkle squirmed against her, and Spark calmed down, bit by bit. She unclenched her jaw, and straightened her back. Words, all around her. ‘Newmoon’, ‘Juniper’, ‘punishment’, ‘Sundance’. ‘Discussion’, ‘aid’, ‘mistake’, ‘support’.

‘Forest Guardian’.

‘Sue’.

Nine, ten.

Sue held the little fox down as she finished coming to, the discussion still ongoing. A plan along the steps of Solstice’s and Sundance’s initial idea back in Newmoon. Aid and reconciliation. Remarks about all this having gone on for long enough that Moonview was going insane and rewriting history.

Less so Moonview as a whole and more so specific actors, but... good enough.

She focused her eyes and took the scene in. Many were surprised or engaged, including a fair bit of the audience. Daisy and Splitleaf chattered; Orchid looked around uncomfortably. Equinox occasionally chimed in. Some others talked, some others didn’t.

Willow sat silently, aghast.

Root’s rage burned in silence, overpowered for once.

Solstice.

The older Forest Guardian contributed to the discussion while putting on as composed an appearance as she could manage. Underneath it all, pain and guilt, leaking into her stoic expression every time she looked in Sue’s direction.

She didn’t have any idea why—

Gasps, rattling, chaos, shuffling, all behind her. Sue tried to look, to figure out what was going on, but she didn’t have to.

She heard it first.

“Don’t you dare YOU BASTARDS-*GAH!*”

And moments later, the loud thud of Sundance collapsing just mere feet away from her, followed by a large stick following in tow next to her.

“MOM!”

The little fox raced over to the mystic, and Sue wasn’t far behind, immediately kneeling beside her. Her arms convulsed as her teeth gritted in pain. Both sensations paled compared to the singular, determined drive in her mind; one conveyed to Sue with the most strained telepathy she’d ever felt from the vixen.

“^Sue, they’ll try to justify revenge in my name, d-don’t let—^”

“It’s, it’s okay, Sundance. It’s over, it’s over, they—they won’t do that.”

The firefox’s shock was downright palpable as she tried lifting herself back up onto her knees, her shaking glare sweeping along the gathered elders. Shock, fury, guilt, the latter even more acute than when Sue looked at the Mayor. So much was left unexplained, but Sue seemed to be right.

It was already over.

“D-do you need help, Sundance?”

A wordless, pained nod. Telekinesis or not, Sue wasn’t about to leave her there. She kneeled beside the vixen, waiting for her mentor to lean on her.

Heavy, but not impossible.

With utmost strain, Sue pushed herself onto her legs as the vixen’s body cooperated to whatever extent it was capable of. They turned around in a few slow motions, before heading away from the meeting, one shaky step at a time. Spark woofed at her mom constantly, and each time Sundance replied in kind, their words an enigma.

Sue still wasn’t sure if she truly felt like herself again after what had just happened. Regardless of that, though, her emotions were clear, and growing clearer still with every step away from the discussing mass and into the relative quiet of nighttime Moonview.

She was happy.

She wanted to cry for days.

“I’m, I’m so glad you’re back, Sundance, I—”

“^It’s alright, Sue. I-*ah*-I suppose a lot happened when I was gone, hasn’t-*ugh!*”

“D-do you want me to slow down?”

“^Just a bit. Feels like I-*mHnnn*-I can barely control one limb at a time. I’ll make it there, it’ll just take a while.^”

“T-to your dwelling?”

“^No.^”

Sue looked at the vixen’s pained expression in the darkness, surprised at the answer.

“^Solstice’s tent is closer, we can-*agh!*-we can sit down in front of it. Turn left.^”

The Forest Guardian followed the directions as she tried to wash the last remnants of her outburst out of her system. To her disappointment, the more she succeeded, the more tired she simply became.

“^And a lot has happened to you as well, hasn’t it, Sue?^”

“Y-yeah, it has.”

“^Someone, even.^”

Sundance inspected the bundle tied around Sue’s chest with as much curiosity as she could manage with it constantly being interrupted with pain.

“Their name is Twinkle, and... Solstice mentioned you’d know more about what they are.”

“^Well, let’s see about that.^”

The vixen closed her eyes to focus as they all shambled forward. Sue was about to speak up that there was no point and that, to the best of her knowledge, Twinkle couldn’t speak—but by then, it already was too late.

“^Good evening, Twinkle.^”

If nothing else, Sue appreciated the nicety. Having them be treated as any other child would help a lot in making them feel less weird going forward, even if they wouldn’t be able to do certain—

“H-hello...”

---