Fly had returned, and this time had done so nearly two hours before the sun set.

This was the earliest she had shown up, to visit in this way at least. She had visited midday before, in the beginning… But I wasn’t sure if those meetings should count like these ones did.

She was sitting with Merit and Sofia, eating. Usually I’d be with them, since she seemed to grow anxious when I wasn’t around… but I wanted her to grow accustomed to trusting our other members, not just me.

After all… eventually, I’d be gone.

Though it wasn’t like I had abandoned her, entirely. I was just… watching from a distance.

“She shows up brazenly, puts on our clothes, and eats our food… A bird indeed,” Vim said lightly.

“Don’t be mean to her,” I glanced at the man I was sitting next to, who was staring at Fly with an odd expression.

He looked… upset. But there should be no reason to be. His arms were crossed, and he was sitting up straight… an odd look. One that I hadn’t seen in awhile, from him. The last time was probably when he had been sitting on that chair, in the hallways, back when we had all been waiting for Fly and her people to show themselves again for the first real time. When he had hurt… or rather, killed, Fly’s friend Pulti.

“Why are you so upset, Vim?” I dared to ask.

Vim blinked, and then glanced at me. “Am I?” he asked himself more than me.

I nodded.

He took a small breath and then glanced down, as to ponder something. “Maybe I am…”

“You are… did something happen?” I asked.

He had been like this since before Fly showed up, so I knew it wasn’t her. And even if it had started after her… I wasn’t sure what Fly could possibly have done to make him like this. She was a child who was much purer than one could imagine. She… was a child. One who was basking in the glow of our Society, and the safety it allowed.

“Ha!” Merit laughed, drawing my eyes from the Societies Protector. Merit was laughing at Sofia who had fumbled with her fork, dropping it into her drink.

Fly was smiling, and was even trying to help Sofia clean up the small mess she was making as she fished her fork out of her cup.

“I almost broke my friend today,” Vim then said.

Looking away from the young bird, who was laughing, I frowned and tried to figure out what he meant.

He nodded. “Tosh almost broke today. I’m worried he might still do so, if we’re not careful,” he said.

“What’d you do?” I asked. Why? What had happened? When had this happened?

“He asked where Sally was… And like usual I’m unable to do anything but tell the honest truth to those I should be more careful with,” Vim said.

Sally…

“The woman who sacrificed herself for the humans. For this place,” I said. I had heard her story.

He nodded. “They weren’t related, but might as well have been. Tosh saw Sally as a sister. Someone precious,” he said.

Looking away from Vim’s pained expression; I frowned and wondered what to say.

So he had emerged from the corners of his broken mind… and then realized someone precious to him was no longer around him. And then it was Vim who had to break the bad news.

Vim sighed, and leaned back a little… seemingly calming down a bit.

“Is she the reason that… Tosh did what he did? Gone so… dead?” I asked.

“No. Tosh endured something horrible. He failed, and others failed him… It all happened so fast and so harshly that he hadn’t been able to mentally withstand it. Before you judge him, others who had suffered the same chose to end their lives. At least he kept on living,” Vim said.

“I wasn’t trying to judge him… but…” I hesitated, since I wasn’t sure if I should say it aloud.

“But?” Vim’s eyes focused on me, but he hadn’t turned his head. His odd glare as he stared at me out of the corner of his eye made me feel uneasy.

Great. Another test. I shouldn’t have said anything… Especially since now I knew I had no choice but to say it.

“She was alive after too right? Sally?” I asked him.

He nodded.

“Then he wasted their time together. Tosh had been sunken within himself for over a hundred years, Merit said. That means he could have had all those years with her and the rest… had he not…” I stopped talking, as Vim’s eyes became dull.

A cold shiver ran down my back, and through my tail, and I hurriedly looked away from the man who had just likely found me wanting.

Uh oh.

Tosh was his friend.

And… Vim…

He was a firm believer in free will and…

Vim took a small breath, and shifted a little again. “Well… you’re not wrong. Even if it hurts to hear it,” Vim whispered.

Although a little glad Vim hadn’t grown upset with me… It was a little worrisome to hear how honest his hurt feelings were.

“You don’t disagree?” I asked him.

He shook his head. “I don’t.”

“I figured you’d grow upset with me,” I said.

“Why would I?” he asked.

My ears fluttered a moment, and I had to look away from him again since it was embarrassing that my emotions were always so visible in front of him. If not on my face… then elsewhere.

“He’s your friend… and I figured you’d say it wasn’t fair to judge someone without knowing, or experiencing, something similar,” I said.

“Ah… well… Who am I to know you haven’t gone through similar tragedies? Or can’t comprehend them? You’re wiser than most, so you can probably at least have an idea of such… desperation… even if you haven’t endured it yourself,” Vim said.

“Is that a part of your belief system? To not judge people too harshly?” I asked. Now that I thought about it, Vim did seem to not judge people too harshly. Or at least, our own people.

Vim chuckled, drawing my eyes to him again. “Funny. I usually judge people far too harshly, and need to remind myself not to,” he said.

“Oh… Really?”

He nodded. “You think he should have been strong enough to not delve into his mind for safety, don’t you? You think he ran. And by him running, he is the reason he lost precious time with those he loves,” Vim said.

My tail twitched and wanted to wrap around my leg, but thanks to the bench we were sitting on it really wasn’t feasible. My tail was angled a little too oddly. “Well… Yes… I suppose so. I won’t go so far as to say that Sally might be alive today if he had not… well… done what he did… but I can’t help but think it,” I said honestly.

“Hm… Is that because you have the same harsh judgmental criticism for yourself, Renn?” Vim asked me.

I gulped, and although held Vim’s soft gaze… wish I didn’t. I wanted to look away. To leave.

To run.

“Yes,” I answered honestly.

Vim softly smiled, and then nodded as he looked away. “The reason I… try not to judge anyone Renn, is because of how often I’ve failed myself. If you had any idea how many lives have slipped through my fingers, as I held them tightly… Well…” Vim stopped talking as he stared at Fly and the rest, they were about done eating.

“Are you including those at the Sleepy Artist in that statement?” I asked him.

“I am.”

Of course he was.

It upset me to hear he so seriously thought so, even if I already knew full well that he did.

After a few moments Vim elbowed me lightly in the arm, as to get my attention. “Hm?”

“You think you have more blame than me, don’t you?” he asked me.

“We’ve talked about this before. Yes. I do,” I told him firmly.

Vim studied me for a moment, and then looked away. “Some societies say the king holds most the blame. Others lay the fault at the feet of their god. Some blame the mothers, for failing to raise their children properly. Then of course, there are those who blame fate or nature...” Vim spoke gently, but seriously.

“Anyone but themselves, after all,” I said with a nod.

Vim chuckled and nodded, glad I understood his point.

“I told you, Vim… I want to endure with you. That means enduring the blame, and fault, too,” I said softly.

“I know. You make the different me’s inside debate something fierce,” he said with a sigh.

“Different ‘you’s’?” I asked, wondering what he meant.

He nodded. “The protector says no one can do what I do. Not because they’re not capable, but because that’s my job. You can’t take my job, that’s mine. I earned it. I paid the dues… Yet the man in me, the one who believes in free will, says that anyone can be anything. He wants to tell you to stand proud, and do what your heart feels it must. I usually don’t listen to the man in me, but he’s the one who is attracted to you. So he’s rather vocal right now,” Vim said.

Smiling at the man who was talking about something very… odd, I studied the way he frowned as he pondered something. As if he was right now listening to those two parts of him debating as we spoke.

“Just two? I figured you were a man of many types, you know?” I teased him.

“Ah… you’ve found out one of my fatal flaws. I’m lucky to have two, you know? For a long time I was nothing but the protector. I didn’t allow…” Vim slowly went quiet, and I was about to tease and prod him to continue, but realized why before I could.

Stepping into the room, from the door not far from where we sat, Brandy scanned the room before walking over to us.

“Well, she sure looks like she’s making herself at home at least,” Brandy said as she sat next to me on the bench. As she did, I noticed the way the bench shifted a little.

Was Brandy heavier than she looked?

“That’s a good thing, isn’t it?” I asked. Merit and Sofia sounded like they were telling Fly a story. Although I could hear what they were saying, I wasn’t giving it my full attention. I caught only a few words here and there. Instead the thing I noticed the most, was the fact that they had Fly’s full undivided attention.

“It is. Why aren’t you over there, by the way?” Brandy asked.

“I want her to get used to hanging out with others without me,” I said.

“Ah…” Brandy nodded, but didn’t say anything else. Maybe she didn’t agree with that idea.

“Renn doesn’t like how Fly thinks that we’re rulers of some kind,” Vim said.

Brandy chuckled as she patted my thigh. “It’s cute, though!” she said.

“It’s a bad precedent,” I argued.

“Yet one that you won’t be able to change her mind of, until she lives as a member of the Society. It could take her decades, Renn. Most can’t even comprehend a community that isn’t ruled by force, or a single individual,” Brandy said.

Vim nodded.

“I know… I just…” I grumbled as I shrugged.

I knew full well. After all my own family had been the same way. But…

Fly began to clap at something Sofia had said, and the three of us watched in silence as the little bird happily sat up farther on her seat. She was so transfixed in whatever she was hearing that she barely realized she was about to knock over her cup. It might be empty by now, though.

“Well, by the looks of that it won’t be long at all. Good. I’m glad,” Brandy whispered.

“I thought that last night too,” I said.

“Oh? Good to hear. Is she at least considering it, Vim?” Brandy asked Vim. Since I was sitting between them, Brandy had turned to speak to him from behind my head. As she spoke, my ears twitched a little thanks to her being close enough that the hair on my ears could feel her breath.

“She is. Renn wasn’t joking. She almost made the decision last night. As long as nothing… drastic happens, she’ll ask to join soon. Good thing too, I got things to do,” Vim said.

I glanced at Vim, and wondered what he meant.

“You do. I expect it to arrive tomorrow, maybe the next day at latest,” Brandy said.

Oh. Right. She had something for him to do. A package or something…

Glancing at Brandy, I noted the way she smirked at me.

“You don’t get to know what it is, Renn. Sorry,” Brandy said apologetically.

“Ah…” I nodded, and did my best to not feel too hurt by it.

“Don’t tease her. She likely will be coming with me anyway, since I can’t seem to convince her otherwise,” Vim said.

Brandy snickered. “That’s only because he isn’t trying hard enough, huh?” she asked me as she reached over to wrap her arm around me. Her arm coiled around my shoulder, to pull me into her as if I was child.

“He has tried rather hard, actually,” I defended him.

“Ha!” Brandy snorted, and I closed an eye as she laughed and shook me alongside her own body. I could feel her chuckles and laughs from deep within her, and it made me smile. They were real, which was obvious, but feeling them was a little different than hearing or seeing.

“It’s just something I need taken to the north. Though… I guess you’ll be going south first, won’t you?” Brandy asked.

South?

I glanced over Brandy’s arm, to Vim as he nodded. “Herra has to go home. I’ll head northward after dropping her off,” he said.

Herra? Home?

“How am I missing all the important stuff?” I asked.

“You’re not. Yet, at least,” Vim said.

Brandy nodded… which I felt and didn’t see. “And they say I keep secrets.”

“Vim does have a lot of secrets…” I sighed.

“He does!” Brandy agreed.

Vim sighed, but before I could say more some movement caught my attention.

Fly was stepping away from the table, and waving goodbye to Merit and Sofia.

“Oh? It’s not that late yet is it?” Brandy asked as we watched Fly head towards us.

No. It wasn’t. It should still be a few hours before Fly wanted to leave…

Although Fly approached with a smile, it slowly morphed into worried confusion as she drew near… and I knew why.

I was being held oddly by Brandy, after all.

“Everything okay Fly?” I asked her.

“I… I think so? Are you okay?” she asked me.

“Does she look uncomfortable Vim?” Brandy asked about me.

“It’s the weird smile. She’s enjoying herself, but is trying to hide it so it looks weird,” Vim said.

“Gah!” I realized what he meant, and did my best to fix the awkward grin on my face.

I tried and failed.

Brandy laughed as she let me go, which was a little regretful.

She hadn’t needed to.

I glared at Vim, the cause of Brandy’s release, and then looked at Fly. Her happy smile had returned, and she was studying Brandy.

“Can I see your room Vim?” Fly then asked after a moment.

“My room…?” Vim’s voice told me he had not expected the request at all. Especially since she was still staring at Brandy.

“Why his, young bird?” Brandy asked before I could.

Fly shifted, and then glanced at me. “I uh… I’ve seen her room… and everyone else’s too,” she said with a point at me.

I nodded. She had. The first day she had been here she had seen everyone’s rooms, and everyone else. My own she had seen a day later, since she had asked to see it.

Yet…

Why the fascination with seeing his room? Mine I understood, to a point… but…

“I don’t have a real room, Fly. But I can show you the one I’m staying in now if you’d like,” Vim said.

She nodded quickly.

Vim stood, and I noticed that Fly didn’t flinch or back away as he did so. She stared up at him, but didn’t shiver or cower.

She was making progress.

I stood to join them, as did Brandy.

While we stood, Fly held out her hand to Vim.

I couldn’t help it; I knew the weird grin that Vim had just teased me about returned to my face as I watched Vim take her hand as to lead her out of the dining area and to the hallway.

Staying behind a little, alongside Brandy, I watched as Vim and Fly left. Heading down the hallway.

“She thinks he’s the ruler,” Brandy whispered.

“Huh?” I turned to find out what she meant.

She nodded and sighed. “She wants to see his room to see if he lives like a king. She still doubts us,” Brandy whispered lightly, and then went to follow after them.

I groaned as I realized she was completely correct.

Well… If that was the case then there was no better way to prove it than Vim’s quarters.

Turning to wave to Merit and Sofia, who both waved back with gentle smiles… I wondered if they knew as well.

Of course they have. They were far more used to this than I was and…

As I left the dining area as well, I remembered that Vim had mentioned before that Sofia was a mother.

She had many children, although none were here.

Sighing softly, I followed Brandy who followed Vim and Fly to the stairs and up to the third floor.

Everyone had a story, didn’t they?

Members broken. Lost members. Missing members.

This place seemed so happy and full of life… but the reality was it was rather solemn.

It was as if the entire place was barely hanging together. Like the patchwork clothes that Fly wore. Barely held together at all.

Hopefully Fly wouldn’t notice the truth too quickly.

Upon reaching Vim’s room, I noticed that Brandy stayed back a little as Vim opened the door to let her in. I approached however, to join in their conversation.

“This is it?” Fly asked softly, as she stood at the door and stared into the bland room.

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Vim defended it.

“It’s across from mine, too,” I said happily.

Fly’s feathers shifted, and she glanced behind her. Past me. To the door to my own room.

“Oh. Right…” she nodded, and seemed to figure that made perfect sense.

I smiled at the way the young girl nodded. For some reason it made me very happy that she’d find my statement to be an answer to her questions.

Brandy snickered, but I ignored her.

“Vim travels, Fly. He doesn’t spend too long in one place, so he doesn’t have a permanent room here,” I explained the situation to her.

Most of us had already done so, of course… but she seemed to not really believe it yet.

“Where do you travel to?” she asked Vim.

“All over the place. I visit all of our members, to check on them,” he said.

“Is there that many?” she asked further.

He nodded. “A lot more than you’d think, yes.”

Fly hummed as she walked into Vim’s room. I stayed near the door, watching her as she studied the lone bed and the things upon it.

“Weapons?” she asked.

Our swords, the bow and some arrows, and a few other small items were on the bed. Pouches and leather pieces, mostly.

“Swords. They’re blunt. The bow is for hunting, though we’ve not needed to do so lately,” Vim said.

“Blunt?” Fly said the word oddly, which made me realize she didn’t understand what he meant.

“They’re not sharp, Fly. On purpose. You can touch the edge, to see for yourself,” I said.

She glanced at me for a moment, then after realizing I was being sincere she reached out to do so. She seemed to struggle in pulling it out of its sheath, so Vim stepped forward to help her. After a moment she was able to touch the edge of the blade, confirming it was blunt.

“What’s the point if it’s not sharp?” she asked once she was done touching it.

“To train. I’ve been teaching Renn how to wield a sword,” Vim said.

Fly’s face contorted into unease as she stared up at Vim… and then it morphed a little into worry as she turned to look at me.

I nodded. “I’m not good at it, though,” I said honestly.

The young bird’s worried look softened a little as she frowned. “Why?” she asked.

“Well… I’m not sure. I think I’m just not experienced enough, and,” I started to reason it and gestured with my hands, but she shook her head to stop me.

“Why are you learning how to kill?” she asked.

“Oh… well…” I lowered my hands, and wasn’t entirely sure what to say to her.

“She’s in training, Fly. To become like Vim,” Brandy rejoined the conversation, which made Fly jump a little as Brandy stepped around the door, to stand next to me.

“Training…” Fly whispered.

I nodded, even though Vim was glaring at us.

“Aren’t you strong enough already?” Fly asked me.

Brandy chuckled as I smiled down at the young bird, who was staring at me with a rather… sad look. Was she pitying me?

“Turns out no, I’m not…” I said honestly.

She hummed a moment, and then glanced back at Vim… then looked once more at the rest of the room.

“You really aren’t the leader, are you?” Fly asked him.

Vim smiled and shook his head. “No. Far from it.”

“Your room is nice though,” Fly said to me.

Oh. Great.

“It is. But honestly I think your room is a little better. I like all the open space, and the windows up top,” I said.

Fly nodded, and then slowly stopped.

“Huh?”

Smiling at her, I held my hand out to her… just as Vim usually did.

“Let’s go see your room, Fly,” I said.

Brandy and Vim watched intently as Fly stared at me, then looked down at my hand… and then without a word, she took it.