Chapter 19: Treachery

Sue came to with a startle, feeling herself jolting forward in shock at the sudden awakening- but her point of view didn't shift at all. Her mind tried to move her body around, turn her head, her eyes, scream for help. Nothing, again and again. Moments later, the perspective shifted, leaning a bit backwards. And then, she spotted something in the corner of her vision, the brown feathers bringing forth a terrifying realization.

This wasn't her body.

The awareness didn't stop Sue from trying to thrash against her bindings, at least initially. Each passing moment drove the point home, though, especially with this body's gradual shuffle along the branch they were perching on. After she'd given up on trying to move, Sue attempted to concentrate on what her temporary host was observing.

The wide path they were hiding beside felt... familiar, but she wouldn't be able to nail down why even if she'd tried. Its initial emptiness wouldn't last, though, much to Sue's horror. She saw Ginger and Alastor walk in from the left side, their appearance oddly detailed. Every single scale in all the stark colors, every single strand of red and black fur, all sharp and in focus. This body must've been some good hundred meters away; how the hell-

And then, she saw Solstice enter the scene.

Or, at least, what she thought was Solstice. Forest Guardian, without a crutch and with tattoos covering half their body; initially leading the group approaching from the right before shifting off to the side. She didn't have the time to think about whether these were Solstice's tattoos before her host's gaze narrowed at their sight, so intensely it felt to Sue like an optical zoom.

Motion kept happening all around, but this body's sole focus continued to rest on what had to be the Mayor. They lifted their left wing and held something green above and just to the side of their center of vision, the realization making Sue gasp soundlessly.

Just before they nocked another feather arrow.

She could only watch.

Seconds dragged out into minutes as Juniper aimed at Solstice, arrow at the ready. The Forest Guardian on the receiving end of her ire looked much more uncomfortable than usual. She glanced around once, twice, and stopped abruptly, her eyes going wide and mouth caught mid-gasp. Another slight motion soon afterwards, their hand clenching two times in quick succession, making Juniper's focus hone further-

"Now."

The single word was spoken in a choir of a thousand silver voices; sentencing the Forest Guardian to their doom. An instant later, Juniper let the arrow loose, streaking across the air with its malicious purple tracer, aimed right at the Moonview's Mayor.

And then, it missed.

Its aim immaculate, its power beyond compare; and yet it missed, almost grazing its target's collarbone. But it didn't hit the dirt or grass, it hit something else, something obscured; her host focusing on its golden appearance-

__________________________________________

And inadvertently waking Sue up.

She was too shocked to let herself come to; her whole body shaking as she tried to stand up as soon as physically possible. All she earned for that attempt was a wave of nausea rolling through her. Stinging pain rushed from her front and back simultaneously, forcing her eyes closed as she sat hunched over on something soft. The sheer adrenaline boiling inside her made even her own breathing too loud; an attempt to quieten it by calming down clashing with her exertion and need for air.

What, where, how, was this real, where am I-

Trying to look around made both her and the being she'd opened her eyes to see jump backwards in shock, their expressions equally startled. Large, almost all black, and very, very hairy. What the hell is this- wait? Large, dark, furry. Night kin. The recent recollection finally caught up with the speed of Sue's panic, easing her out as she took Jasper's appearance in.

His presence so close to her bedding was confusing, but that emotion didn't last for longer than it took Sue to notice the several salves and pieces of clean-ish off-white fabric laying on a stool beside him; her sudden awakening having caught him in the middle of reaching for one of the former.

And if his scared, frozen appearance was any sign, he was no less shocked by her than she'd been by him.

A couple of quick glances around completed the scene. They were inside of a rough, very rudimentary wooden hut, the rickety planks that comprised its walls not filling Sue with confidence. The bedding beneath her was similarly barebones, a soft woven cover on top of what felt like a bed-shaped mound of leaves.

She was being tended to. Things were alright. Things were alright.

The most recent... vision provided plentiful fuel for her overactive anxiety, but Sue would not let it dominate her again. She may not have had even the slightest inkling of an idea how Solstice and Sundance communicated with the night kin through telepathy despite the latter's apparent immunity, but exact words weren't needed this time.

Hopefully.

"G-good afternoon."

Her calm-ish voice did wonders; Jasper's large, bulky frame visibly calming down at hearing her anxiety having waned away by now. A couple of moments later, he continued his original plan and knelt beside the bedding. One hairy hand reached up to take apart something Sue hadn't consciously noticed until that point.

Several layers of bandages were wrapped around her torso, securing a dressing and other medical-looking pieces of white fabric to the site of the injury. If the size of it all was any indication, the wound they were concealing and helping heal wasn't very large, thankfully. Even despite that, it still hurt a bit when she breathed. It reminded Sue of the sensations of something touching a fresh, unpleasant cut; except happening every time her lungs drew in air.

Uncomfortable, but not unmanageable.

Sue gave Jasper free access to her recent injury as she tried to scan her surroundings in the search for the rest of her impromptu peace party; regretting the latter immediately. As much as it smarted when just breathing, the injury on her horn kept its worst for last, acting up with burning pain the moment she gave tapping into her sixth sense a shot.

Figures it'd hurt, but not that much...

The realization didn't help Sue's confidence much. Jasper's intervention was very appreciated in the meantime, calming her back down. Once he was done unwrapping the bandage around her horn, he got to applying some of the paste he'd brought with him; but not before Sue got a good look at the damages.

The cut couldn't have been deeper than a quarter of an inch, the pinky red tissue around it inflamed. The injury itself was almost bloodless by now, only a couple of tiny droplets oozing out the moment the old bandages were removed. No more dangerous than a nosebleed, even if much more painful.

Or so it looked, at least.

It'd be nice to not have to worry about something for once here...

Once Jasper had discarded the used bandage, he applied some of the pre-prepared paste along the cut. The immediate stinging gave Sue some idea as to its purpose, but thankfully, it didn't last for long. Once he'd finished applying the sweet smelling, yellowish ointment, he wrapped the intervention up by pressing another piece of dressing against her injury; a small bit of decidedly well worn bandage then tied around her horn to keep it all in place.

Martian first aid done.

She couldn't say it all made her feel immediately better or anything, but being tended to felt nice, doubly so after what she'd been through. Still no idea what had actually happened, but at least now she was confident enough to try her luck with her psychic abilities again.

Arms performed their usual routine as she focused, gritting her teeth through the pain radiating from her horn. It still hurt, especially as she moved her mental reach around, but it was just barely tolerable now; letting Sue spot several nearby blobs of consciousness.

Including one of them making their way right towards her.

Alright, hopefully it's some answers-

Jasper?

A look up at the much kinder of the two big black furry night kin revealed a… very distraught expression. He was on the verge of tears, one hairy arm frozen in the middle of reaching out towards her head. It didn't look aggressive at a glance- and a glance was all Sue would get. The impromptu medic withdrew his arm and the rest of himself from the scene shortly afterwards, leaving with a loud sniff in his wake.

Just in time for Solstice to walk in through the other entrance.

As much relief as her presence brought the younger Forest Guardian, much of it was undercut by her terrible state. Concern, exhaustion, somber resignation, all clear, not just to Sue's sixth sense but on Solstice's face directly. Her eyes and cheeks were glistening, her posture hunched over, steps staggered and shaky. Sue wanted to rush in and hold her tight, to provide some of that well needed comfort; but alas, she was in no position to do so.

"^S-Sue, I'm glad to see you doing fine...^"

"Solstice, what- what happened!? D-did Juniper attack us?"

"^She attacked me.^"

The clarification helped little with the confusion. Sue was still listening, a long, wistful sigh leaving her mentor at having to go over such a draining and senseless sequence of events again.

"^Juniper tried to strike me, but... something in me sensed it, and I teleported out of the line of fire. A-and then the arrow grazed you, a-and hit Sundance...^"

Sue gasped at that final addendum; the words jogging her tattered recollection, including the vixen collapsing beside her. The mention of a feat as sci-fi-ish as outright teleportation was acknowledged and then summarily dismissed. No matter how cool it was, it could wait until Sue was certain both her mentors were alright.

"I-is she alright!?"

"^She... she's alive, but in a rough state. Her aura was hit hard, a-and now she's in a coma.^"

"Th-thank D- the gods..."

In any other situation, Solstice would've prodded at Sue's slip-up to figure out what she'd kept herself from saying, but not now. The mention of damage to something with as undefined of a shape as an aura was difficult to interpret. Sue simply acknowledged her mentor's words, not wanting to make it any harder for her.

She might not have needed that explanation to get the gist, and in any objective judgement it was a waste of time... but Solstice still wanted to teach it. To help Sue truly comprehend the gravity of the situation.

Just to feel like she was helping anyone at the moment.

With anything.

"^C-come with me Sue, let me show you what I mean, i-if that's alright.^"

The request came from nowhere, but Sue wasn't about to reject it; not with the option of checking up on her other mentor. She nodded eagerly, combining her crutch, good leg, the stool that Jasper had left behind, and some good ol' psychic assistance to pick herself back up. Her nicked horn throbbed a bit at the slight elevation change, but she'd manage.

Their march was very short, the destination just a couple of buildings off to the side. It was similarly bare-bones to the one they had just left, if slightly larger. Its back entry was closer to a large plank that any potential visitors would've had to push aside than an actual door. A few simple wooden doodads aside, the inside was barren, though that's not what Sue focused on.

Sundance was sleeping on her back and breathing deeply; the extent of her bandages limited to a modest one around her right shoulder. At a glance, it looked like she was just taking a nap or something, but the reality of the situation grew more unnerving as Sue tried to concentrate. As new as those sensations still were, Sue remembered the feel of Sundance's mental presence very well. It was so much weaker now, so much frailer, feeling more so like a cancer patient than a mystic that had helped her with more than one conundrum already.

And that perception was only solidified once Sue felt Solstice's mental reach adjust hers, helping her focus all the emotions away and hone on her aura, just like she'd been taught.

This was disturbing.

Sue knew little of all this, distraughtly so, but even she couldn't help but feel... wrong, very wrong. The few days ago, when Solstice had helped her train, hers and Comets' auras gave her the impression of a large amoeba or something, blob-like and squirming. That was still the case here, but if that blob had been repeatedly slashed with a dull knife, the strikes almost cutting through it. The very thought made Sue feel deathly cold, the injury she'd just imagined more than likely lethal.

And unhelpful to think about, either. Sundance wasn't dead, she was just injured, her aura kept moving if weakly; the massive gash mending itself ever so slowly. The vixen would recover. It was just a matter of when, not if.

Or at least, that's what Sue was hoping for with her entire self.

"^You're right, she will recover on her own in time, but it might take a while. Could be days, could be weeks, could even be months. You never know with something as fickle as our aura.^"

"A-and that's j-just from that one arrow? H-how!?"

"^Stray souls can't harm flesh, but they rend the soul apart.^"

The explanation clarified exactly nothing, except maybe hinting at it being an act of a ghost or something. If Juniper somehow was a ghost in the same vein as Hazel, she was doing a dang good job at maintaining a corporeal appearance, that's for sure.

"S-so her body is unharmed?"

"^It wasn't hurt beyond the shallow puncture of the arrow quill, no.^"

The body was fine, but... the soul wasn't. What a morbid thing to imagine, especially when taken to its logical conclusion.

"C-could someone j-just die by having their aura... destroyed without their body being damaged, th-then?"

"^Y-yes, they could. Th-thank goodness it's not what happened here, I... I wouldn't know what to do...^"

Solstice's reaction put an end to that entire train of thought; Sue momentarily feeling worse at having steered away from concern and towards morbid curiosity for no reason. She saw the older Forest Guardian's head perk up at her own mind turning to self loathing, but no words came out.

They couldn't, of course they couldn't.

What does one even say to this?

"Wh-why did she attack you? Where is she now, a-are we safe!?"

"^I... I hope we are. She's no longer in Newmoon.^"

The Mayor's explanation clarified little, but thankfully, she wouldn't have to be the one to explain everything. After walking over to gently stroke her best friend's head, Solstice headed for the exit and tilted her head for Sue to follow.

Most of Newmoon's inhabitants were gathered around the firepit; the later hour of the day lighting up the whole place in a much more somber way. Sue might not have been able to see their emotions, but she could see their faces.

And they weren't happy.

"Oh, thank the Dark Lord, you're alright Sue~." - Daystar's exclamation was unexpectedly emotional for her; the lanky body visibly relaxed at Sue's arrival. The rest of the group mostly mirrored her reaction, relief being easier to read on some people's faces than others.

Much, much easier.

"Sue!" / "^Oh gosh Miss Sue, you looked so hurt!^"

Before the younger Forest Guardian could even make it to the bench, she was already swarmed by two little ones. Neither Pollux nor Thistle might have even come close to clearing her knee, but they were no less of a walking obstacle, despite that. They reminded the once-human of Spark's reaction to her doomed attempt to run away from Moonview, with all its emotions.

"C'mon guys, give Sue space~."

Thankfully, the two didn't need to be told twice. They managed to keep their boundless excitement in check for just long enough to let Sue sit down. And not a moment more, the kiddos huddling close from opposing sides, night kin fur and psychically enhanced hair both tingling pleasurably. The sight brought some smiles to the assorted gathering, but not that much; the gloomy atmosphere still prevailing for the most part.

Figures this was the right moment to ask what happened-

"Blasted coward!" - Thorns shouted through teeth, the clinking of sharp pincers at the ends of her purplish, segmented body accentuating the expression of anger. As chill as Ginger was previously, he couldn't help but concur, yellow head nodding weakly afterwards, the freely hanging green skin on its back shuffling against itself.

"I... yeah. Guess you must be mighty confused, eh, Sue?"

Sue nodded weakly, the technicolor lizard responding in kind. It took him unusually long to gather his words. Even once he did, his eternally calm voice was noticeably strained at a couple points, as if fighting to keep itself from rising-

"Yeah. Juniper attacked Solstice, hit you and Sundance. Jasper and Heather helped you two while we tried to get an explanation out of Juniper. She kept going about her usual stuff, how all this was just a ploy so that Moonview can backstab us or whatever. We weren't having it and tried to bind her so that she could answer for what she'd done and she... *sigh* slipped through our grasp."

That last admission made everyone gathered deflate in particular, leaving them either kicking themselves for acting too slowly, or being royally annoyed at others for acting too slowly. Not that it mattered anymore.

The deed was done, and the perpetrator ran off without facing any consequences.

For a couple minutes afterwards, nobody spoke up; the entire gathering plunged in cold, uncomfortable silence. Neither the night kin fox cub nor the magic hat creature took it any better than the rest, though Sue could only sense the emotions of the latter. They were definitely intense. Hurt of betrayal towards Juniper, worry about Sue and Sundance, and most of all, grief at the peace talks and the possibility of reconciliation they brought with themselves being completely ruined.

And... yeah. They were.

The awareness deepened the sinking feeling that had already been worming its way into Sue, with every thought about just how bad the optics of all this were making her want to shrivel up. Two envoys and one tagalong venture to Newmoon unarmed and with no ill intent. One of them gets figuratively stabbed in the back, the second gets hurt in the crossfire, and the perpetrator escapes.

The more Sue reflected on the situation, the more she felt the paranoia inside her grow. What if Juniper didn't actively escape, but was let go? What if others were in on it? What if the opportunity to decapitate Moonview's leadership was the only reason Newmoon even proceeded with these talks to begin with?

These were all absurd hypotheticals and Sue knew it. But that didn't mean that everyone else would know it too, especially not if it would play further into their preexisting distrust. At least Solstice and to a lesser extent she were witnesses and could try to push back on the assassination angle once it would come up, but...

A part of Sue was afraid it wouldn't end up mattering.

"Guess that's it for the talks, eh."

Ginger's summation was flat and yet tense, lacking his usual laid back impression. Everyone else agreed with various degrees of anger and reluctance; a wordless chorus of nods, sighs, and slumps joining in from all around the fire pit.

Solstice almost looked like she went limp for a while, disheveled hair framing slightly tearing eyes. Fear, despair.

Guilt, shame.

"Well. Suppose someone will have to help move Sundance back over to Moonview. I'm down to help." - A bit more emotion in the lizard's voice this time, but only so much. It came off less like eagerness to jump into action and more so reluctant agreement to proceed with a root canal treatment just to get it over with.

"Thank you, Ginger."

Solstice's voice was quiet and palpably warbling, so close to breaking up that it had to be handled very gently lest it'd spill into tears.

"No worries, Solstice. It's the least we can do after... all that."

"What about Sue~?"

Daystar's addition brought the group's attention back onto the younger Forest Guardian. Everyone judged how suited she was to walking the distance between here and Moonview, almost inevitably arriving at either 'no way in hell' or 'how in the world did she get in here in the first place?'.

"Good point. I've got the strength, but not the arm span to carry two. You could probably lift her without an issue, Daystar, but I imagine having to haul a psychic for a few hours would get very unpleasant fast."

"And that's puttin' it lightly, yeah~."

Before Sue could wonder what her being a psychic had to do with her carry-ability, Ginger brought on the other obvious candidate-

"Hmmm. Thorns?"

"If need be."

"I'll carry her."

The low, growly voice caught everyone's attention, their gazes snapping over to what used to be an empty bench just moments ago, now occupied by the adult night kin fox. One day, Sue would understand just how they were doing all this, but that day wasn't today. The younger Forest Guardian was left a bit startled by their sudden appearance as the closest thing Newmoon had to a leader continued-

"Ya sure, Alastor?"

"Yes... I am. Considering everything... it would only be appropriate of me to make up for my prior offense."

Sue was torn between finding that attitude commendable on the abstract level, and still being a bit afraid of Alastor following his impermeable attack earlier. Had the atmosphere been any less tense, she would've probably tried to leverage her position into getting to ask him a question or two, but with everything going on right now... yeah, no.

And the same went for the possibility of refusing the offer. Sure, she could probably refuse and be fine, but the absolute last thing she wanted to do in the moment was drag this on any further through her silly personal preferences.

Solstice, being Solstice, tried to intervene and reassure her- but she was too late.

"Alright, th-that's fine with me. Thank you, Alastor..."

Nothing was fine in general, and nothing was fine with Sue specifically. It paled compared to others' problems, though, and so it was best to just try to move on.

The physical proximity to the black and red fox did little to reduce the intimidation factor, especially with his size. He could easily look her in the eyes from head on even when hunched, and the vibrant red claws were in the league of their own as far as looking threatening went.

Being able to do... whatever he did with those shadows earlier was really just a cherry on top, even his physical body sufficient to make him the perfect killing machine. As to whether he used to be one, like Daystar and presumably many others in both villages...

Sue didn't want to know.

The once-human froze as those clawed arms scooped her up, holding her crutch as tight as she could before he deposited her... in his mane. She didn't expect it to support her body like it did, but for once, it was a welcome surprise, letting her relax.

Relax and enjoy the view while she was sitting inside the crimson hair of a massive, shadowy, illusionist fox that had committed battery and assault towards her just a couple hours ago. While a bright, multi-color lizard held Sundance in a fireman's carry just a few feet away from them both, looking utterly unperturbed by her weight.

The same couldn't be said for warmth; his panting growing much louder and more frequent as the impromptu group headed off. Newmoon was shrinking in the distance behind them by the moment, the kiddos waving them off as they ventured into the woods.

For all she knew, this would be her last time ever seeing that village.

__________________________________________

As tense as the mood was back in Newmoon, it gradually calmed down with every step, thawing into a muted, uneasy melancholy. Sundance was in a coma, the peace talks were ruined, there was no guarantee how anyone in Moonview would react to the news...

Yeah.

Sue tried to distract herself from that uncomfortable reality, trying steer her mind towards a silly tangent or another. Once that didn't work, she attempted to resort to her usual Plan B for extra hard bouts of depression. Sleep was no panacea, but it felt like one sometimes when it came to things being wrong inside one's head. Just somewhere to go away from the sadness, away from creeping grief, into the sweet release of unconsciousness.

And it might have even worked here too, but the once-human wasn't in a position to find out.

As comfortable as Alastor's mane was when stationary, the constant jumpiness of his steps made it nigh impossible to get any proper rest, or even really relax. It probably would've been crass had she done that anyway, but at least that would be a problem for someone with more spare brainpower to take care of it when the time came.

Namely, future her.

Alas. No sleep this time, or any other rest for that matter either. All Sue could do was observe the passing scenery, its monotonousness making that rather taxing. Striking up a conversation was always a possibility, especially with Solstice to translate for her.

Considering that course of action would've been unthinkable even back in her home world, where she didn't look like an extra from a movie about a Martian invasion and actually knew the language being used around her... attempting to do so here and now wasn't the best of ideas.

To put it lightly.

Especially with Solstice having plenty on her mind as is.

The Mayor's emotions weren't all too different to Sue's own, deep down. Sadness, anxiety, restlessness. Sue could understand all those perfectly, too perfectly even, but the one that came immediately afterwards was a bit more confusing. Solstice lifted her arm, eyes scanning along its tattoos, and... doubted. Doubted deeply and painfully, the sensation less like dismissing something obviously bullshit a friend of a friend had mentioned, and more akin to questioning whether there even was any reason to keep going-

"^How are you holding up, Sue?^"

Figures that she wasn't the only one that could sense when others focused on her.

Sue thought through Solstice's whispered question, the answer hardly pretty no matter how hard she tried to pretend she was alright. She couldn't pretend, but she could lie, just to not have to rehash what the other Forest Guardian was no doubt already going through.

"^I'm... I'm fine. Just... a bit tired and worried.^"

She saw Solstice nod without looking over at her, her sigh loud enough to be audible even a few feet behind her.

"^I-I wish I could come up with some reassurance right now. But... I can't.^"

"^It's okay, Solstice.^"

Nothing was okay, and they both knew it.

The air remained tense after that non-exchange, both of them knowing there was so much more to be said and yet being unable to put any words to these needs. Fortunately for everyone gathered, they wouldn't be stuck in that moment of tension for much longer; Moonview coming into distant view after turning the last corner.

And bringing them to the very scene Sue had seen in her dream.

She felt her heartbeat spike as her eyes desperately scanned the treeline, trying to find that Duck-damned owl. Nothing, no whiteness of her wing-obscured body, no greenness of her leaf-like hood. She remained blended in perfectly, and all Sue could do was sit and watch-

And try to prevent further tragedy.

"^S-Solstice-^"

"^Hmm?^"

Sue's word had clearly taken the Mayor out of her train of thought. Her gaze looked up, the Forest Guardian stopping at realizing how close they finally were to her home. The rest of the group stopped behind her, interpreting the pause as a signal to drop their cargo; Sue onto her own legs, and Sundance into Solstice's arms.

"^It'll have to wait until later, Sue.^ Ginger, Alastor... Thank you so much for your help. I'm... I'm sorry."

The once-human's words caught in her throat as she tried to speak up again; heart hammered faster and faster as she tried to spot the hidden threat.

"You're welcome, Solstice. And there ain't no reason to be sorry. You did nothing wrong today."

"If only we were here just because of today."

"If only, aye. But, oh well, I doubt that feeling sorry will help any of us here all that much."

It wouldn't, and it couldn't, and everyone gathered knew that from experience. Experience that mattered oh so precious little once the time came for their psyches to start grinding on them because of what they had, or hadn't done.

Admittedly, Sue didn't have much brain power to devote to thinking through those peculiarities of the condition of all sentient beings. Not with what she'd seen in her dreams, their memory still so recent and vivid, and...

…no longer up to date. Unless the vision had somehow censored Sundance's massive, bushy body from Solstice's arms.

What the hell was going on-

"It won't, I know. Well, suppose it's time for us to say our goodbyes."

Solstice's words snapped Sue out of that confusing train of thought, the impulse to avoid embarrassing herself kicking in soon after.

"Y-yes, um- thank you for your help, A-Alastor."

"It is no problem, Sue. I... apologize for my actions earlier, and thank you... f-for saving my son."

With how low and steady his voice was when calm, Sue didn't expect to hear a noticeable crack in Alastor's words, the realization taking her aback. Before she could dwell on it much, Ginger spoke up.

"I see how it is, won't say goodbye to me, eh?" - The intended joke didn't land particularly well; the lizard realizing that soon after seeing Sue's eyes widen in immediate worry at the possible faux pas.

"Sorry, sorry, was just a joke. Yeah, I'm glad you three swung by. Was nice talking and meeting you all. Actually-"

Before Ginger could even complete his sentence, Sue felt a small wave of static go through her. The sensation was familiar enough for her to have an idea of what she'd see once she looked up. And indeed, Solstice was gone, her teleport taking her well into Moonview.

Being left on her own didn't feel any nicer the second time around.

Especially since she had company with herself.

The lizard continued to speak for a few more moments before looking up and realizing the older Forest Guardian had left. Undeterred, he looked and appeared to repeat the same sentence as before towards Sue directly, sounding kinda like a question. Though as Daystar's lesson had taught her, it could've been just the weird tonality of this language. Left with no way of responding confidently, the once-human resorted to the true and tested tactic of playing very dumb.

Just like she'd practiced with Willow and Spark all the way back.

"Sorry, I-I can't understand you."

In looking at Ginger to deliver her response, Sue realized Alastor had left in the meantime. Just her, the technicolor wizard, a large stretch of dirt path in front of Moonview, and wait was that Rainfall on one of the nearby branches-

Right as she focused on what she thought to be the night kin bird, the recipient of her focus flew off, making them impossible to identify with certainty. Though... it wouldn't be surprising if it was her, based on what Sue had heard earlier. Regardless of who exactly the being she had glimpsed was, Ginger deemed it fit to comment on it himself as well; the chittering warble that ended his response probably intended to be perceived as laughter.

Heh, guess my confusion is a bit funny- wait, where are you going?

Sue could only blink in surprise as she watched Ginger finally pick up the slack and head *towards* Moonview. She had no idea how to react to that with the supposed exile in place, left stunned until the colorful lizard himself glanced at her over his shoulder. A flick of his head toward the village sent the green skin hood flying.

Not like she had anywhere else to go.

Her arm wasted no time complaining once it was time to head out; the few hours of reprieve seemingly not enough for its tastes. Sue was split between wanting to be finally freed from the need to use a funky-shaped stick just to walk anywhere and telling her own limb to get a grip, and the latter impulse seemed to be winning. As weird as it was to admit that, her crutch had begun feeling less like an inanimate tool to be passed on once she was done, and more like a part of herself. A rough, heavy, occasionally unwieldy part of herself that probably had several splinters waiting to get back at her, but a part of her all the same.

Especially since the odds were that even the crutch was alive and a specimen of the local magical fauna. Not a massive chance, sure, but a non-zero one all the same.

Okay, no, scratch that idea. She would definitely not want to have some unidentified life form by her side every time she slept.

Except if it had been Lilly in disguise all along.

Before she could get any deeper into that inane train of thought, her sixth sense finally conquered the little that remained of her attention span. At last, Moonview's entrance, an important night kin in tow, and possibly another in the surrounding trees.

Exactly zero idea of what Ginger was planning and how badly it would go.

She didn't know whether this situation or a peeping tom crutch were more uncomfortable to think about, but it was nothing if not a close matchup.

To her immediate relief, the first few steps into the village weren't particularly eventful. It wasn't to last, though. Bit by bit, people around her realized just who it was beside her; their reactions as varied as their appearances. Some were entirely neutral and unbothered, clearly not understanding why this particular newcomer would be more attention catching than any other. Their perspective was admirable, especially when it manifested as polite friendliness; Ginger gladly returned every greeting that came his way as he looked around.

Others... were more hesitant.

The further into the village they ventured, the more instances of all out shock there were around them. Many passersby just stopped where they stood to stare, some left frozen like this for ages as the unexpected pair moved past them, partially paralyzing traffic wherever they went. Shock was a near universal sensation from those who reacted at all, but the follow-ups varied greatly.

Some were too uncomfortable to keep looking. A few were afraid. Both reactions inevitably culminated into the one experiencing them trying to scoot away unnoticed, just to not have to deal with these emotions anymore. Most were just ashamed, often deeply so. They wouldn't run, but they didn't have it in them to watch, either, staring away in unease. There were a few blips of enmity here and there, but none of them resulted in any escalation, thank Duck.

One near-murder because of someone being a hateful, bloodthirsty idiot was enough for today.

All the while, Ginger himself didn't appear to react much to anything going on around him, at least as far as any visible reactions went. He definitely noticed some passersby, occasional glances at the louder grumbles coming from the crowd a clear sign of that, but didn't act on them.

Be it because of his personality or because of wanting to maintain a low profile, it was probably for the best.

He clearly didn't fully understand her inability to comprehend what he was saying, at least if the occasional comments were any sign. Keeping quiet and just not responding ought to have been enough of a tell, right? Sue certainly hoped so, and that he wasn't relying on her lack of responses for any decisions...

This was a silly concern, and she knew that well. But, good Duck, did the current situation not make remaining stress free even about the dumb stuff easy in the slightest.

Eventually, they made their way over to the areas of Moonview Sue was growing familiar with, the crowd's reactions changing. Everything from earlier was still there, but now a few onlookers had walked over from the other parts of the village as the news spread.

Most of them were on the younger side and very curious about it all, but decidedly not all. The couple strands of genuine malice she'd felt from the crowd sent shivers down her back and fins, especially since she couldn't narrow down who did these emotions come from exactly.

Also, shivers going down an injured fin hurt. Ow.

After turning another corner, Sue briefly paused at feeling the last emotion she would've expected to sense in these circumstances: excitement. Though... hold on, was this excitement towards Ginger or-

Her answer buzzed in front of her face before she could even finish asking herself the question.

Basil had no business being as excited and happy as he was with how tense the situation all around him was, but for the good of everyone gathered, he didn't care one bit. He waved excitedly at Sue while holding the nameless brown caterpillar in his other stinger arm, the little one continually trying and failing to wriggle out of his dad's hold.

Hers wouldn't be the only attention Basil would end up catching, though. The bee's excited buzzing got Ginger to speak up as well, his voice sounding genuinely interested.

Based on the insect's utter lack of reaction to the lizard, he likely had no idea who Ginger was, and for the better. Way better, Basil's constant stream of buzzes and clicks eventually culminating in him handing his little one for the night kin to hold, taking the technicolor lizard by surprise if his eyes opening all the way for a moment were any sign. As surprising as that development was, Ginger went along with it, carefully holding the caterpillar and even scritching under their chin with one finger, much to the insect infant's audible delight.

All the while, Sue went through the by now familiar motions, double checking the surface she was standing on to avoid the repeat of her past mishap. Extend left arm, tune out emotions, focus on-

So many people, so much attention, ah!

The once-human recoiled at her attempted telepathy, doubling over at how painful her brief try was, for her mind and fin alike. She felt she owed Basil clear communication because of what had happened, and here she was, left effectively mute again.

The thought provided much more kindling for the fire of her anxiety. Another try yielded largely the same results, except somehow even worse; sending a wave of nausea to rock her body and making it feel like the wound on her front was simultaneously bleeding and burning for daring to try communicating with a friend.

None of that, only more pain.

Feeling herself become the focus of many observers afterwards didn't help any either. The self-inflicted weakness left Sue deeply unsure of what to do next. Couldn't really calm anyone down without linking up, couldn't link up, couldn't even tune out all the mental noise around her while keeping on walking. It was a lot; it was so much, her breathing speeding up at the thought-

And then, buzzing right before her, and something warm and smooth on her left shoulder.

Prying her eyes open revealed Basil to be hovering in the air in front of her, his concern very palpable from up close. Compound eyes made it impossible to make out what he was looking at exactly, but he'd clearly noticed the bandages around her fin at some point; pointing towards it with one pincer before buzzing out a question. She was in no shape to answer, but Ginger was. His flat response only left Basil more concerned.

Concerned, and determined.

And this time, also more mindful. He'd stopped himself right before he tried dragging Sue anywhere again. He wasn't an expert at nonverbal communication with anyone outside of his kin, but he could try, just to make sure his friend was alright.

Pointing a disarmed stinger at her head, then making a smooth line between it and his head, then pointing at the injury while shaking his head.

Right, I can't do this. Not in this state. Guess I'll just have to make do like this for a while...

A slow, begrudging nod towards the bee, his acknowledgment immediate and confirmed by the lizard. The realization brought on a bit of sorrow, though not for any selfish reasons, as evidenced by the unusually-slow-by-Basil's-standards hug that followed. It may have been a bit uncomfortable because of bringing even more emotions closer to her injured body part, but it was very appreciated all the same; Sue's free arm holding the bee tight in return.

"Thank you, Basil..."

No understanding, but a cheerful nod.

By the time he was done, a quick glance around made it clear that some of the excess attention had crept away from the scene. They were no doubt disappointed at the nefarious and wicked night kin... playing with a baby insect in his arms.

His jokes might not have been the most well timed in recorded history, but he was undefeated at peek-a-boo.

As Sue took that adorable scene in, she felt something warm and smooth bump into her left hand; a quick glance revealing it to be one of Basil's stingers. If him doing it again a few more times afterwards was any sign, it seemed to be an intentional gesture, though what it implied wasn't... comfortable to imagine.

I like you a lot Basil, but I'm not sure that grabbing stingers barehanded is a good idea...

...then again, he probably knows that better. Maybe it's high time to just trust him instead of thinking she knew more about his body than he did.

While Sue reeled from the self-critical part of her mind hitting her with a stealth crit, her free hand reached to take the bee up on his offer. His stinger was as firm as its appearance made it imply. The chitin threaded the needle between being too rough to be comfortable and too smooth to hold on to safely.

Alright, yeah, walking with a support was easier, and probably necessary with how much her attempts at telepathy had drained her...

And it made Basil very happy, which was the most important thing.

Once her grasp was confident, the bee hovered over to ask the lizard something while staying close enough to keep providing constant support. Ginger's answer was a verbal equivalent of a shrug paired with the physical equivalent of a shrug- namely, a shrug. Neither of the two knew how to proceed from there for a while, the deadlock broken through with a snap of the lizard's fingers and a short, trilled response.

Seems they had somewhere to go now.

Their new pace was even slower than before, but neither Ginger nor Basil cared much; the former still playing with the caterpillar in his arms. The lil' insect's occasional drawn out squeaks had his dad break into buzzed laughter each time, followed by his typical flood of excited words.

Things were good, the baby was happy. Nobody was freaking out.

While the two men chatted amongst themselves about something Sue couldn't quite figure out, she glanced over at the nearby construction site and the being closest to her. The bulk of the hut was done by now, only the roof missing anymore. And, if the small mound of off-red tiles beside the building was any indication, the roof was exactly what was being worked on in the moment.

It seemed to be just Granite that was working on it though; a glance further into the clearing determined the rest of the builders' team to have already started work on the next hut. They were all anywhere from elbow to entire-body deep in the foundation work, depending on their height.

They really built these fast, huh.

Placing roof tiles unsurprisingly didn't turn out to be any more exciting to watch than expected, even if it was being performed by a four-armed gray non-human made of what looked like pure muscle. Right as Sue was about to look away and let her impromptu gaggle resume their walk while turning her thoughts towards wondering just how many tons could Granite deadlift, something odd caught her attention.

There was a small pile of five tiles within the reach of the four-arms'... lower pair of arms, reduced to two right after as he took a few off the top. As she turned her head to look away, she spotted... something small, pitch black, and very misshapen at the very bottom of Sue's vision, sending her inner ear into haywire-

And then, the next thing she knew, she was blinking her daze away, Basil buzzing at her in concern. The... whatever she saw was nowhere to be seen.

She'd probably need another checkup soon-

Granite's low voice distracted her from that train of thought, a glance over showing the couple of remaining tiles to be gone all of a sudden. All of two tiles going missing didn't justify more than a bit of annoyance, and that's where Granite's emotions were indeed at as he looked over his shoulder, about to speak up at their little group-

And froze, together with Ginger.

The abrupt shift made Sue gulp nervously, the gray giant's mind still full of shock; but if Ginger's equally surprised reaction was anything to go by, it wouldn't stay so for good. And if something bad were to happen, she'd be powerless to stop them-

...

She had no idea Granite could be this loud, but it was only fitting.

In an instant, the big 'un was off the ladder and dashing over to Ginger, surprise giving way to a bright and warm elation, manifesting in a gregarious shout. Its suddenness took Sue and Basil aback, but hardly Ginger himself, his usually flat expression shifting to the biggest, toothiest smile Sue had seen him give yet as he ran over towards Granite.

As suddenly as the dash had started, it ended; the technicolor lizard's happiness giving way to shock and pause. A couple of warbled words and a raised hand conveyed the need to stop to the four-armed builder as well. Without waiting another moment, Ginger ran back up to Basil and handed his son back to him; the bee's question about what was happening cut off by the night kin resuming whatever had almost happened before-

Namely, a massive, tight hug coming from Granite.

Ginger's legs left kicking the air as he was squeezed for all he was worth. The instant of concern for the lizard's well being that followed was abated once the embrace had loosened up enough to let him breathe again, and returned to whatever extent the night kin's comparatively shorter reach was capable of.

Suppose the sight of Ginger getting squeezed like a dog toy, including his eyes going comically wide for a moment, more than made up for his mistimed joke earlier.

The celebrations wouldn't end there, though, nowhere near. Granite followed his hug by shouting toward the rest of the construction crew, the call's effect immediate. One by one, the other builders, except for Kantaro, scrambled over from the other site. The brown spiky pangolin, the bipedal rhino, the red metal... robot insect, the entire gang's here.

The entire gang's excited to see Ginger again.

Maybe there was hope after all.

Maybe things would be alright.