Chapter 33: Home

Each croak of the steps under Anne's feet sent another jolt through her. Excitement, anticipation, concern about the structural stability of this dwelling, all mixed in wildly varying rates. Just a few steps later, though, all gave into relief at what this burrow turned out to actually be.

Planks lined the room's walls and floors alike, except for stone and gravel around the hearth at its far side. Not all the same kind, the mismatch in shades of wood looking a bit awkward—and yet, just right at the same time. Figures they couldn't afford to be picky with building materials. The simple doors along the central room's sides were curious, but Anne's attention was snagged by something else before she could investigate them further.

Or rather, someone else.

Garret and Aria stood beside the cauldron, bathed in the bright orange light of the homely flames. As the Dark-type split his focus between working on the meal and holding his wife close, the Gardevoir took her time waking up with a few slow blinks, followed by a yawn. And then, once she'd sensed what it was that had stirred her up, a wide, tired smile aimed towards the incoming group, Anne especially.

"Good evening, Anne," Aria spoke with her physical voice, putting her utmost effort into not breaking out into yet another yawn.

The mention of the girl finally snapped Garret out of his cooking duties, his toothy expression widening as he watched everyone pile in. He couldn't spare an arm to wave at them right now, but doing so with individual loose strands of fur all around his body ought to have sufficed. "Hello everyone! Thank goodness I've made enough for the next couple days if we're gonna be having guests!"

A faint blush went through Anne's expression at the remark—and then another one at the realization that she probably wasn't thought of as a guest.

The two ghosts tailing the others were unexpected, but someone ought to know them, and that was enough for Garret. His wife was more confused, though, raising an eyebrow first at the Banette, and then at the Indeedee once she'd realized her involvement in this.

"^I'll explain over dinner, doncha worry,^" Autumn explained telepathically, leaving her daughter-in-law with no choice but to sigh and nod along. An elaboration was in order, but Aria wasn't rushing for it.

"~A-are you okay, Mrs. Aria?~" Anne worried as she took a couple steps closer; the Gardevoir's antics earlier in the day were still fresh in her mind. Even ignoring that, though, she wasn't looking particularly encouraging—not while this exhausted.

The Gardevoir couldn't deny not quite being back to her usual self. And so; she didn't. "I'm a bit disheveled, but... I'm better now. A lot better, which I suppose only speaks to how rough this morning was," Aria admitted with a chuckle, shuddering at the tattered memories of her standoff with Cinder at the clinic as her husband held her closer. "I'm—I'm not sure when I'll be back to how I was before, unfortunately. Slept almost all day long and I'm still exhausted..."

"The answer's 'as long as it takes', then! And we'll be here for as long as you need us, honey," Garret chimed in, his individual hairs caressing Aria from all around. Didn't make it any easier for her to keep her eyes open with how pleasant it felt, but something told her nobody minded.

There was one more thing she needed to bring up before she could let herself recede into full-on relaxation, though.

"Anne, I..." Aria paused, shuddering as she took a deep breath. It hurt to realize earlier, just like it hurt to even think about now, but Anne deserved it more than ever. "I'm sorry for what happened at the clinic. I freaked out when I shouldn't have and scared you all, and I'm sorry—"

"~No no, it's all good Mrs. Aria!~" The girl's enthusiastic response made the Gardevoir shudder, worries about it being said just to soothe her conscience filling her body for a moment. It took only a brief scan of her innermost sense to make it clear that the girl meant it—with every fiber of her being at that.

It was such an immense sensation it shook whatever drowsiness had clung onto Aria. She opened her eyes wider and turned to look at the girl directly. Exhaustion, shivers, surprise, comfort. Certainty. Wide, genuine eyes and a smile that only grew the moment Aria made it clear she'd noticed. Ember beside her was much the same, even sneaking in some more nods once the Gardevoir had looked at her.

She closed her eyes once more, holding back tears. "T-thank you, Anne, Ember."

As the relief washed over Aria's body, her husband didn't waste the opportunity to chime in, chuckling, "Have a hard time imagining her holding it against you, honey, not after everything that's happened~."

Sad as the hypothetical was, it was silly in how unrealistic it was, sending a wave of chuckles through the burrow, the ghosts aside. Yaksha didn't care, attention laser-focused on Sage as he leaned on the back wall, while Sage... shuddered in fear at hearing Garret's voice.

The one hypothesis Anne really wished she hadn't been correct about.

Fortunately, the ghost girl wasn't doomed to go through it all alone, not with Autumn quietly walking up to her and holding her hand at sensing her discomfort. Aria perked up towards the hauntling as well, but soon switched tracks back to what her husband had said earlier—and rolled her eyes. "We both know that's not how it works, Garret."

"Maybe with others, sure. Who knows, maybe my imagination is just too lacking for any reasons to dislike you, honey," Garret chuckled with the world's toothiest smirk. As Anne and Ember tried their hardest not to giggle out loud at the scene, Aria slowly turned in her husband's embrace and reached up; her green hand spotted only an instant before it struck.

 *flick* 

"Ouch!"

And then, before she could even smirk at having dished out the foul strike, a riposte—

 *flick!* 

"Ow."

By then, the girls weren't even trying to keep their laughter contained, to the benefit of everyone. Aria took a moment to savor the sight, smile widening as she took in every detail of this oddly large child, this little human, that just so happened to end up at their doorstep and change their world. How heartwarming it was for her to go from doing little more than shaking in fear to this, how amazing her growth outside of her cocoon had been in just a few days,

And then; Aria realized she was the one responsible. It got even harder to hold in the tears, but she held strong—no reason to make the scene gloomy with them, even if they were of the happiest kind imaginable.

Thankfully, a distraction from beyond came soon after.

"Alright, seems it's high time to prepare for dinner, everyone's on the way. Autumn, mind helping us out?" Aria asked, prompting Anne to back off at the mention of them doing stuff around the room. As much as she wanted to help people, and especially the Gardevoir, the girl's rational side kept a hold on her for long enough to underline the fact that she had a single functional limb, and not a strong one at that, compared to the psychics'... many.

Anne wasn't even certain that analogy made sense, but that wasn't the point.

The point was for her to get out of the way, and maybe help in the other way she was capable of doing right now. She slunk over to the little Phantump as Autumn started psychicing the furniture around. Sage wasted no time before snuggling into Anne's front, less out of fear and more at her being a replacement for Autumn's pleasant warmth.

Only to then immediately switch to huddling Ember once she realized that was an option too.

"~How are you feeling, Sage? Excited?~" Anne asked, unsure of how to chat the younger girl up.

"~Yeah! He's a bit scary, though. How does his hair do that?~" Sage switched tracks without skipping a beat, making the older girls turn to what she was looking at before piecing the admittedly simple mystery together.

Ember had no answer, and doubted anyone in the entire world knew either—Garret included. Anne hazarded a guess that an explanation might be somewhere deep within a graduate-level dissertation in some university in Galar, but had not a shred of idea about what it was. Not that it mattered either way. "~I don't know, Sage, but I agree it's quite weird. A-and cool! Oh, and his name is Mr. Garret!~"

The Phantump listened intently for all of two seconds before resuming using the Braixen as a portable heater; her simple, drowsy affection leaving Anne rolling her eyes and Ember chuckling. Not that the former could maintain her grumpiness for long once her friend clung to her the same way Sage was clinging to her, the soft warmth melting through any snark that might've been there.

For a moment or so.

"^Girls, could you move a bit?^" Autumn jutted in, snagging their attention to herself. And then, an instant later, to the table suspended in her green glow floating in the middle of the room, the sight making Anne gasp as they backed off. Granted, she might've seen a lot of various applications of psychics in her stay here already, but none were as... straightforwardly flashy as just magically moving a large glowing object around.

Which didn't go unnoticed by the vixen beside her.

As the Indeedee finished adjusting the table and turned to grab the dishes, an orange glow grabbed them first, slow and shaky despite the light load. Neither girl noticed Autumn giggling under her breath as they either performed or watched the bowls and spoons being laid around. It took Anne a moment to acknowledge the change in color, but once she did, the culprit was obvious.

Without skipping a beat, Anne kneeled and pulled her friend into a tight hug, the startle snuffing the magical light in the vixen's eyes. Ember's blush might've gone unnoticed, but that didn't extend to the wave of warmth that went through her, made even sweeter after she had returned Anne's embrace. It felt nice, so nice.

The kind of nice that they didn't have any hopes of ever savoring again just a few days ago.

Not just pleasant, but... safe, safe in a way they were now only beginning to discover with other people. The kind of safe that kept the flames of hope burning no matter what, as long as they still had each other. It might've been deliberately erased, it might've been nigh-forgotten with time—but that didn't matter anymore.

They had each other again, now and forever.

"^Hehe... I-I think I should try practicing more Fire-type stuff...^" Ember giggled telepathically, happy embarrassment dripping through her voice.

Sweet enough to earn her another hug as Anne grew confused about what she meant. "~What for?~"

"^Ooh, just... if anything bad ever happens, I wanna know how to protect you more! I don't—don't want anyone to ever hurt you again like—like your parents did...^" The Braixen admitted, voice growing quieter with each word. Both at how harrowing that possibility was to imagine and at having to think back on the cruelty they had both experienced.

The tightest hug Anne could dish out, just moments later.

"~They won't, I promise, Ember. We're safe now!~" Anne whispered, torn between wanting to just hype them both up about what she hoped was the case, and genuinely believing it herself.

The Braixen was firmly in the latter camp by now, but it wasn't her only motivation. "^I know, I know, b-but... um...^"

And her human soon noticed.

"~Oh? What is it, Ember? I-is something wrong, or...~" Anne didn't finish the sentence, unsure about what kind of hidden motive her best friend would be keeping away from her. She doubted it was anything nefarious, but the uncertainty wasn't pleasant.

Ember shuddered at sensing that; gathering courage before she admitted, "^No no, you did nothing wrong, Anne! I-I just... want to make you feel e-even nicer. With the warmth and all. J-just like you always made me feel...^"

Neither of them could hold in the stray tears that followed, needing a moment to come to once the last of the dinner preparation happened around them.

"~W-well in that case, I'll keep practicing drawing, so that I can keep drawing you nicer and nicer!~" Anne responded, turning her emotions into more confidence than she was used to. She doubted herself for a second before she spotted Ember's tail wagging behind her at the idea, sending her giggling as the Braixen tried to keep her embarrassment down.

"^C-could I watch? it's fun hanging out with you...^"

Anne nodded harder than ever. "Of course! I'd love to show it to you and maybe teach it to you! I hope it'll be alright for me to watch your practice, too. I-I'm sorry for never doing any of that with you, but I wanna see how much you've grown since—eek!~" Anne's smuggled-in apology was rewarded with all it deserved—an even tighter hug from her friend. Almost warm enough to make her sweat in the sweater, almost too tight for comfort—blissful all the same.

"^B-but you've done nothing wrong, Anne! And my mom has taught me since, I don't think you would've known how to do it, anyway. And, of course, you'd be able to watch, I-I'd love to show it to you, eeee...^" Ember squealed, the sheer fluster leaking out of her body through excited tail wags. Their little spectacle was equal parts silly and adorable to watch from the sidelines; Aria holding tight in a fight against her own desire to giggle at the sight as her mother-in-law lost, if barely.

Thankfully, the girls didn't notice. Which couldn't be said for what came right after, though—

"~I-I love you, Ember.~"

"^I love you too, A-Anne!^"

"^You two are adorable,^" Autumn chuckled, making them both jolt in their overlong hug. The Indeedee didn't know which was funnier—their embarrassment, or how they still took their time unwrapping themselves from each other's arms despite it.

Aria spared them any further egging, turning their attention over to the now fully laid out table. "Take your seats, girls. The others are right outside—"

 *creeak!* 

The sound from up the staircase made them shudder as they were settling in for the meal. To their concern, Marco was already quite wet; a glimpse through the front door revealed the outside to be dark and rainy before it was psychically closed. The two bags he'd carried with him had been protected with thin psychic sheens, but he seemingly hadn't extended that to himself.

"You alright, Marco?" Aria asked, concern creeping onto her face as her brother placed the bags down and scooted over to the hearth.

The Gallade took his time answering, closing his eyes as he gathered words. "^Yes, yes, I'm good. The rain is nasty, and there's some snow mixed in that too, *shudder*. Elric sure won't enjoy flying through that, hope they're already close.^"

"^They're getting closer, I can feel them, thank gods. Thank you for bringing the bags over, Marco. What did Esther say about Anne's checkup?^" Autumn asked, perking up from constantly resisting the call of the warm stew before her.

"^Everything can wait until at least tomorrow. She mentioned that keeping her arm numbed overnight might be an issue, but said that you or Aria should be able to keep the pain in check if it flares up,^" Marco forwarded, looking up at Anne. The girl didn't seem too concerned about the possibility of hurting. That, or she just trusted the psychics around her to help with that should they need to.

Both options made Marco smile just a bit.

"^Oh, Sage, are you gonna eat?^" Ember broke the silence with a quiet question towards the Phantump, catching her staring idly at an unclaimed bowl.

The little one wasn't expecting being talked to, blinking as she came back to and turned to the Braixen. "~I don't know. Can I eat this?~" She asked, clearly uncertain—though much more so on whether she was permitted to, rather on whether her biology even allowed her to eat fluids like this.

Then again, not like eating solids as a ghost made any more sense.

"Sure, sweetie. Have as much as you want, there's plenty for all of us," Aria chimed, giving the ghostly girl the warmest smile she could manage. It deflated a bit once she realized Sage didn't notice, but the Gardevoir didn't let it get to her. "How about you, Yaksha?"

Just like the hauntling he was watching over, the Banette shuddered at being addressed, though there clearly was more to it than just surprise. Half the room felt bitter regret spike in him as his pink eyes shifted to look at Aria; the wordless shake of his head speaking for itself.

His loss, she supposed.

Neither of them had the time to elaborate anymore as the squeals from outside picked up in volume, followed moments later by the front door getting slammed open. Without wasting even a moment for words, Elric swooped in and didn't stop until he was right beside the hearth, freezing water dripping off his carapace. Cadence ran in a few seconds later, looking behind herself at the last moment before leaping down the stairs.

Sure didn't expect either of their current guests there, but was too cold to express her confusion right away.

Bell came in last, shivers racking his tiny body as he finally cleared the doorframe. By tripping on it that is, squealing in fright as he was flung forward head first, the entire family's psychics focusing all at once to catch him—

Only for a red aura that didn't belong to any of them to do it first.

As everyone's racing hearts calmed down and the Ralts was hovered down to the bottom of the staircase, those further into the room could spot a familiar, if unexpected, sight peeking in through the front entrance. Red light filled Cinder's eyes as she maneuvered the little one down to safety, stopping afterward to look Aria straight in the eye once her aura had dissolved.

And with a single, firm nod, she resumed her watch in the cold, dark outside, closing the door behind Bell.

The Gardevoir considered inviting her in for a moment, but... figured it was best to not do that. Not yet, not with the tension and stress around everything she'd done so fresh in their minds. Cinder was more than strong enough to keep herself dry, anyway.

Bell had noticed the mental grip not quite being like that of his mom, sister, grandma or uncle—but by the time he looked up the staircase, the older vixen was already out of sight. He could still feel her, if barely, squeaking out a quiet "Thank you!" and joining his sibling and de facto-sibling in huddling beside the flames.

Ember giggled under her breath at the shaking kids, their excitement and cold giving way to comfort by the moment—especially once Autumn had tossed a large blanket over the three of them. With their small bodies blocking a lot of the flame's light, the rest of the room was plunged into a soft shade, one that only empowered the exhaustion already pulling at Anne's mind.

Not yet, definitely not yet—but gosh, was she tired. Not enough to doze off on the spot, but a yawn still left her once her focus had slipped—and everyone heard this time.

Especially the kids.

"Anne!? Wh-when did ya get here?" Elric asked with a crack in his voice, a surprised gaze sweeping over the rest of the assorted guests right after. He didn't mind the human girl and especially not Ember, but it still felt weird for them to just... be here. Wasn't Anne seriously injured?

Hardly the state to be visiting people.

The Gligar's call may not have earned him any immediate answers, not with the subject of his sudden question too uncertain to respond, but it pulled the other kids' attention to their guests. The Kirlia greeted them with a "Hey Anne, hey Ember—and Sage too," too tired and cold to speak louder than a regular indoor voice for the first time in her life. Her younger brother let out a joyful squeak that then dovetailed into a sneeze.

"Bless you," said everyone.

"^As to your question, Elric, we got here earlier! And no, Anne isn't just visiting, she's gonna be staying with us!^" Autumn informed, her confident smile growing wider still as she took the kids' reactions in. Surprise from Elric, first the neutral sort before warming into more positive territory; an excited gasp from Cadence; and another happy squeal from Bell. The Ralts might not have gotten the full importance of what his grandma had just said, but it didn't matter.

He liked Anne and was happy to see her, no matter the circumstances behind it.

The Indeedee's bright joy was briefly interrupted by sensing the mischief sprouting in the pink bat's mind, brown eyes narrowing on him ever so slightly. Fortunately for everyone, for once even he had it in him to realize it'd be for the best if he kept from any pranks for now—even if because of just how tired he was.

Guess a poor reason beats no reason.

As he shook off the remaining moisture on his chitin, the clacking of his tail filling the room, Cadence picked up on something else, eyes going wide. "Will Anne sleep together with us?" She asked in a mix of confusion, concern, and excitement.

Autumn looked first at Anne, then at Aria, and finally back at Cadence, arriving at as confident an answer as she could manage, "^Yes she will, sweetie.^"

"But she won't fit. She's too big, right?" The Kirlia responded, worried about her friend having to sleep with her legs sticking out of their bedding.

An obvious issue, but one with an equally obvious solution.

"^Oh, we'll just fix together something for her to lay her legs on, don't worry, sweetie. Anyhow—warmed enough for dinner, you three?^" Autumn asked with a smirk, providing the jolt the little ones needed to finally scramble out from under the blanket and join everyone else at the table.

It was time to eat.

As wonderful as it smelled, it took Anne a while to get used to the stew's texture. Her grandma only made soups sometimes, and they tended to be much thinner than this. Her biological parents' cooking was... haphazard at best, and more often than not consisted of grabbing a bag of frozen food from the clearance aisle and proceeding to either burn or undercook it every time they shoved it into the oven, without fail. Little room for fluid meals in that, except by accident.

After her tongue and throat made peace with eating a meal with so much solid stuff floating around a thick liquid, though, she could focus entirely on the flavor—and it tasted wonderful. Thick, savory, almost meaty in a way her mind associated with special occasions. She figured it wasn't actually meat, and that meat was... unwelcome in the village altogether, but the resemblance was there all the same.

The slices of grilled vegetables and berries only made it better, many of them preserving their crunch despite being waterlogged in sauce.

Once Anne had settled into her eating groove, the next thing she knew, her bowl was empty, leaving her scraping her spoon against its almost-dry bottom. She was unsure whether she'd gotten caught in her thoughts again but had genuinely dozed off for a moment there, but the result was the same either way.

And now she was even more drowsy than before.

A look around the room let her know she was alone in that, Ember aside. The Braixen leaned on her from the next seat over, almost having slid off the pillow she sat on. Everyone else was no less content, if more alert, the bliss of a warm, filling meal in a cold, dark evening refusing to quite hold them tight with what still awaited some of them.

Anne felt bad about not sharing their alertness once she'd realized it was likely about Sage, but couldn't deny her tiredness either.

Speaking of the Phantump in the room.

The small stain on the bottom of her wooden face made it clear Sage had at least tried the meal—though the nearly full bowl before her implied that she either didn't enjoy it or was already full. Anne could've sworn she never saw her eat yesterday, but had no idea how it worked with ghosts, anyway.

Yaksha kept sulking in the darkest part of the room, pink eyes glowing dimly as they stared inward.

Before Anne could continue her people-watching, though, someone had noticed she was done with her meal—and not anyone she expected to, either. "Anneeeeee, can you draw me again?" Bell asked, leaning towards her from his mom's lap. Autumn and Aria giggled as the human girl sat there in flustered silence, unsure how to respond.

She was way too tired for this, that's for sure, but... But. No, that worked as an explanation by itself. "~I'm sorry Bell, but I'm exhausted. Maybe I could draw you some other time?~" Anne replied, giving the tyke the widest smile she could manage.

Contrary to her worries, Bell took it in stride. "Okie! OH," he gasped, pulling half a dozen gazes onto himself, "I know, I know!" What did he know, nobody knew; the room left confused as they watched him scramble off Aria's lap and dash into one of the side rooms. From what Anne could make out, it was entirely dark—at least until a lit candle suspended in Autumn's green glow followed the tyke in, prompting a squeaked-out "Thank you!"

Cadence had no idea what her brother was up to, but she wanted to find out, following in tow soon after. Elric considered it for a while, too, before settling for getting some more warmth instead. Playing around could wait. Laying on the wooden floor three feet away from a warm, roaring fire? Now that was the stuff. Not that anyone could blame him—

 *RUMBLE...* 

"Gods, that's some nasty weather outside. Now I'm even more glad we went ahead and replaced all the waterproofing last year, ugh." Garret shuddered at the distant thunder and less-distant memory alike. He looked around the outer walls with pride, spotting only a couple of spots where moisture was building up on the wood.

Far from ideal, but it far beat what came before.

"If I never get woken up by a drop of cold water splashing against my horns again, it'll be too soon," Aria commented, glad beyond words for that unpleasant era to be over. If nothing else, it had encouraged her to cuddle closer to her husband so that his fur might take the hit instead of her, so... silver linings, she supposed.

As the spouses reminisced, Autumn spoke up with concern, "^Marco, Yaksha, are you sure you want to head out in a weather like this?^" The Gallade's hesitant expression spoke volumes, but he knew that his opinion on this mattered less than that of the two ghosts.

He wasn't blind to the original reasoning for wanting to rush this entire ordeal, either. "^Might as well. I don't want us to be stuck waiting for the circumstances to be perfect only to have the Elders accidentally realize they haven't 'weighed in' on this yet,^" he commented bitterly. 

As Yaksha nodded along and Sage idly floated over to snuggle into Ember's warm fluff some more, Aria realized what the discussion was about, switching to telepathy. "^Are you thinking about returning Sage to her human home today?^" Once her brother and her mother-in-law answered with firm nods, she continued, "^I remember the Elders mentioning the possibility of her babbling us out to her family in case she ends up staying there. Which...^" Aria started, voice trailing off as she felt the emotions in the room shift.

Yeah, neither Autumn, Marco, nor even Anne were oblivious to just how tenuous the odds were for Sage. She'd just be preaching to the choir.

"^What are you planning on, then?^" Autumn asked, unnerved by the topic of keeping people from giving them away, especially with Ember's situation so fresh in memory.

In all truth, Aria wasn't sure. She'd bluffed her way through that discussion back during the hearing itself, but now that she had to act, she didn't know what to do. Her mind wracked through that dilemma; not wanting to inflict cruelty on this innocent child while genuinely afraid of the risks associated with Sage rejoining humanity.

A situation about as likely as Winnie building a shrine to the human trainerkind, but not strictly impossible.

After a few tense moments, she scrambled herself out of her husband's fluffy embrace and stood up, stretching her limbs and popping joints. Thoughts churned through her mind as she approached the Phantump. Uncertainty kept her flip-flopping between a couple of options even as she kneeled and beckoned Sage over; the hauntling squeaking in joy at seeing her again and floating over to hug her.

The way she saw it, there was only one right way to handle this.

"^Sage?^" Aria whispered telepathically, catching the girl's full attention. "^Could you promise me something?^"

Firm, almost full body nods, the red lights of her eyes narrow and focused.

"^Can you promise me you won't talk about us to anyone? As in, all the mons living here or about Anne?^"

As far as Sage was concerned, it was a rather weird request, one she had difficulty grasping in full. "~Why?~" She asked, the wail of her voice dripping with confusion. To Aria's chagrin, she didn't know how to answer it in a way someone this young would understand—or without making her freak out at how much rested on her spectral shoulders.

At least, until she came up with an excuse, "^Because it'd be very rude. You can talk about Yaksha, though.^" Aria winced ever so slightly at the blip of worry emanating from Sage, but thankfully, it was gone as soon as it had appeared.

"~Okay!~" Her loud response caught the Banette's attention before it snapped over onto Aria with an unspoken question. The Gardevoir looked over at her brother, and then at her mom-in-law, before answering with a nod.

It was time.

Marco shuddered at the thought of having to brave the elements as he picked himself up from the table, mind racing. He wasn't exactly looking forward to any of this, but if there was any part of this doomed plan that caught his interest, it was disguising himself as a human. "^So, Anne, what kinds of… clothes would let me stay undetected by humans?^"

Anne blinked rapidly before her brain caught up, leaving her perking up from her seat and staggering over as she looked at the bags. "~Mrs. Graham's coat was the main thing, it should be large enough to disguise most of you, I think. Afterwards, it's just finding clothes that cover anything that's still visible.~" She explained, eying out the Gallade. He wasn't as tall as she remembered him being while bedridden, easing a lot of her doubts about the entire plan.

Of course, there still were issues; one of them ran into the moment Marco tried to slide his second arm into the felt sleeve. Anything touching his horns was already bad enough, but the coarseness of the material somehow made it even worse than he feared. Not painful, not without additional force being applied to it, but... profoundly uncomfortable.

He doubted adding more clothes would magically fix the issue, though, and kept quiet, deflecting his sister's concerns with a firm shake. He'd bear through it. It was the only thing he was good at, anyway. Aria wanted to argue but didn't have the time to speak up before Anne cut her off, "~Okay, now the buttons on the front. Does it fit, Mr. Marco? Doesn't look very comfortable...~"

It took the Gallade all the willpower he could gather to not respond with anything more than "It's fine, don't worry." His voice was strained despite his best efforts, but Anne figured she'd just misheard him. Unsurprisingly, doing the front buttons, with Anne's help, made the chafing even worse—still bearable, though.

...

He'd still wait before doing the button directly over his horn until they got to the human territory, if possible.

"^A-alright. What's next?^" Marco asked, the directness overruling Anne's budding concerns.

The remaining spots to cover up weren't hard to spot. Head, crest included, as well as hands and feet. The latter looked like they'd be especially tricky, their shape ill-suited for any shoes. She figured it was best they start with the top, though. "~For the crest, I'm thinking...~" she trailed off, free hand digging through a bagful of variously damaged clothes until she spotted her target. "~Th-there it is. Uh, it'll look a bit silly, but it should cover it up.~"

The garment was off-black and shaped like half a sphere. Marco had no idea what was it intended for in humans with a shape like that, but if nothing else it proved just the right shape to mostly cover his crest—and only crest. They'd need a lot more for the rest of the head, which—"~There! This scarf has seen better days, but I th-think it's large enough to wrap your entire head.~"

Marco had no idea how the humans handled garments this unwieldy without telepathy, that's for sure. Even with his hands free, it took a good few tries just orienting the black and white strip of rough fabric to cover every bit of white skin, green hair, and teal crest, leaving only a thin horizontal slit to look out through.

Thank the gods for psychics.

"^Are you sure this is necessary, Anne?^" He asked, trying his absolute hardest to hide any exasperation from leaking—to mixed results.

The girl was uncertain, but eventually responded with the world's shakiest nod. "~Well, it'll help, I-I think...~"

Should've kept his mouth shut. "^No no, it's fine, I'm sorry. What's next?^" He reassured her through deep breaths and gritted teeth, the warmth making the layers he was already wearing feel increasingly uncomfortable.

Anne wasn't convinced but figured she ought to get through the rest of it all as fast as she could. "~O-okay, gloves go on your hands. If they don't fit, you can have them just sticking out the sleeves or something. And for legs... umm... maybe they just won't look—no wait, I know,~" Anne exclaimed. Alertness tried its hardest to push through her growing exhaustion as she dug in for the one piece of clothing she swore she glimpsed the other day—and here it was!

It took her a few seconds of Anne triumphantly holding her find in the air to remember she ought to explain it to the Gallade in the room, fluster spreading onto her cheeks as she turned to address him. "~Th-this is a skirt, I was thinking it could go under the coat, and you could hold it in place so that its bottom just barely touches the ground.~"

The girl's explanation made all the sense in the world—but only for her, leaving Marco staring at her with the flattest look of his life. Unsure how else to word it, she demonstrated what she meant, sliding Mrs. Graham's skirt over onto a single leg and lifting it until it was flush with the floor.

Marco understood the instructions, thankfully, repeating Anne's demonstration with one leg, and then the other, psychically adjusting the stretchy band until he got it just right. Unfortunately, while the sweet spot for the girl was right around her navel, for Marco, it was in the middle of his hips. If he tried to hold it underneath them, it would drag on the ground, and the other option... yeah no, that way it covered nothing with how much of the material got snagged up there.

Suppose the first option was the less bad one of the two. He'd manage—what mattered was that this ordeal was finally done.

"^This is an obscene number of layers...^" Marco muttered, having to dedicate a non-insignificant amount of attention to just keeping the costume in one place, on top of the chafing.

"~And it's just the outer ones, heh... b-but yes, it's done! I hope it's not too hot...~"

"^It... is. Yaksha, Sage, can we head out now?^" Despite his earlier courtesy, Marco didn't have enough willpower to pretend he wasn't overheating in real-time.

The older ghost hovered over and turned to look at the younger one as she got the cue to say her goodbyes. "~Oh oh lemme say goodbyes, please! Bye-bye, Anne! Bye bye, E-Ember! Oh oh oh, bye bye Mrs. Autumn! Bye-bye, Mrs. Aria!~" Sage floated from one friend to another, growing giddier as they all responded in kind, the realization she would be finally going home blooming in her mind.

The psychics remained too weak to confront her with the truth.

"Bye-bye, Sage!" Garret added by himself, his demonic voice once more startling the Phantump. It wasn't lost on him this time, leaving him leaning back in worry as Autumn gathered words to comfort the ghostly girl—

Only for that to not be needed.

"~B-bye bye!~" Her voice was shaky, but she managed all the same. Something long dead inside Yaksha smiled a bit at the sight, but he didn't react otherwise.

Sage might have avoided freaking out, but it was still a jolt to her system, one that encouraged her to get going and not waste any more time here. Without saying a word, she floated to the top of the staircase and opened the door—only for the wind to blow her back with a frosty, rain-filled breeze, chilling her and wetting her wig. "~Eeeeeee, I need an umbrella!~" She cried out as her small body shuddered.

Anne wasted no time in fulfilling the younger girl's request, grateful to the librarian for including one of those in her makeshift care package. Sage, somewhat expectedly, opened it right away and startled half the room—though the older girl was there to help her out. "~Sorry...~" The Phantump muttered, earning herself one last one-armed hug.

"~It's okay, it's okay. Ready to get going, Sage?~" Anne reassured, locking the umbrella in the closed position with the little ghost's help. Sage nodded eagerly, looking at her guardian and the friend escorting them to let them know, before breaking into giggles once she'd finally noticed Marco's appearance.

Not something he appreciated, but little he could do about it right now.

"~Hehehe, you look like a spy!~" Sage laughed, forcing a weary smile out of her older friend and exactly nobody else.

"~Closer to a homeless person, I'd say. P-probably for the best, now that I think about it...~" Anne followed up, hoping that Marco's outfit would keep humans from interacting with him without noticing the... rather awkward bumps at the front and back of his chest. Neither he nor anyone else knew what 'homeless' meant here, and Autumn's brief attempt to figure out the definition in that word from Anne's words left her further shocked at humanity's casual cruelty, but the Gallade was glad to hear that his disguise would be effective.

"~L et's not waste any more time. Sage, c'mere,~" Yaksha grunted, levitating up the staircase with the Phantump close behind, forcing Marco to hurry—something much easier said than done with all the immobilizing clothes.

As he was about to ascend the stairs, though, his eyes locked with his sister's. It was one thing to keep a facade of confidence in front of a pair of ghosts who didn't pay attention and a girl that didn't know him all that well, but Aria was another matter entirely.

She saw right through him, all his doubts and worries on display even without having to resort to reading his thoughts. About Sage's doomed wish, about the rest of this journey, about maintaining his disguise,

About doing half as good a job as she would in this situation.

They didn't have the time to go into a discussion about this—but it wasn't needed. A smile, a nod, a reassuring look of a proud older sister. Each so small, so easily missed, but dearly appreciated all the same.

He could do it, even if he didn't quite believe it himself.

As the group got going, Anne braved the cold behind them all, wanting to wave the poor lil' girl away one last time. Before she could get there, though, Marco stopped in front of her, and Sage before him, the blockade confusing everyone in the living room—

At least, until Aria figured it out and gasped out loud.

As she did, Yaksha finally got going again, walking around the mon that had lay down before the burrow's entrance. Sage followed with a bit of concern for the stranger, though she was focusing much more on not letting the wind and rain blow her away once she'd opened the umbrella again. Marco said nothing, refusing to acknowledge their 'guest' for the sake of not disrupting their plan—not that his disguise was fooling anyone.

And behind all of them, Anne could only stare at the scarred marine Elder; their appearance forever burned into the girl's memory. She knew she ought to still remember their name; she knew they told it to her just yesterday, but she just didn't.

All they could do for a few long seconds was stare into each other's eyes, Anne's glasses-clad brown ones against the Elder's azure ones. Even without the scarred paw they had covered their face with for most of yesterday's ceremony, she still couldn't piece their expression together beyond it being thoughtful.

Thankfully, she didn't have to.

Before Anne knew it, Aria was standing beside her, similarly confused about the Elder's presence. Anger at her partial responsibility in this entire ordeal mixed in with what she just faintly remembered happening last night: Celia's attack on Winnie, seemingly to protect Anne. The Gardevoir was more than a bit uncertain of that being the Primarina's true motivation—though that was true for everything about her.

One thing she'd never seen or even heard her do, though, was show up at someone's doorstep in the dark night, through the frigid, melting snow.

The impasse lasted for a while, one side holding her cards close as usual as the other remained baffled at everything going on. The latter was quite honestly fed up with it by now, about ready to chew the former out—

But then, at last, Celia spoke. "Hello, Anne."

Anne shuddered at being addressed directly, clinging closer to Aria as she took a step forward. "^Why are you here, E—Celia?^" Aria snarled, red eyes glowing dimly in the dark as they drilled into the Primarina.

"I want to come clear about my actions over the past few days, and make it clear I'm glad about her staying here," Celia responded in the same unemotional monotone as always.

The words took Anne aback, but Aria wasn't convinced. "^If you're supposedly glad that she'll stay with us, why not express support for her sooner? Why didn't you say anything before the vote—why did you drag her in, terrified, just to ask some questions!?^" Aria shouted telepathically, the other two flinching at the intensity of the voice in their heads.

The Gardevoir's anger might've been aimed as away from her as possible, but it didn't help any with Anne's spooks.

Celia gathered her words, shaking as she spoke. "No. I wanted Anne there to elicit sympathy. To make it that much harder for others to vote against her safety, for their empathy to work against their bad intentions. Harder to vote to banish a terrified child when you have no choice but to look at them, after all." The Primarina's voice remained as matter-of-fact as she got, only grating Aria further as she chewed through the Elder's excuse.

It still made no sense.

"^Why did you ask her to remain blind throughout, then? Why not just ask her to look terrified!?^" Aria demanded an explanation; her anger only made worse by Celia's apparent nonchalance.

"Her fear needed to be authentic to convince anyone. I-I apologize for making you go through that, Anne. It was cruel of me, but it was the best course of action I could think of to ensure your long-term safety here," Celia admitted, her voice growing meeker by the word. The human girl was taken aback, but... could see the logic behind the Elder's actions. A cruel, almost sociopathic logic, but it was in the best intentions, after all. And she was saying the truth, too—Aria would've said something otherwise if she was lying.

Before Anne could thank the Water-type, though, Aria went off.

"^I'm not biting this, Celia. You traumatized Anne because you'd rather she bear the brunt of having to fight for her safety; you'd rather she was terrified half to death just so that you didn't have to speak up in her defense. Just so that you wouldn't have to take a stand for the first time in your fucking life. If you were clear from the get-go, then maybe none of this would've had to happen, maybe you would've swayed enough people to let us AVOID SUBJECTING HER TO THIS HELL IN THE FIRST PLACE!^"

Aria shook as she stewed in her own fury, scalding enough for Anne to take a step back out of shock. On the other side of the doorway, the Primarina stared back, confidence evaporating by the moment until she half-nodded, half-collapsed on the snow and mud underneath.

"You're right. I'm... I'm sorry, Anne. I hope you'll find peace here. You deserve it. Good—goodnight." Each word came harder and harder until Celia was reduced to little more than a quaking heap. It hurt, but there was little she could do about it.

Was she justified? Maybe.

Was she a coward? Definitely.

Would Orion look kindly on her if he was still here?

Would her Lords and Ladies?

...

The thought stabbed Celia through the heart, her expression crunching in pain. Her tears were lost in the rain, curses aimed at her inability to act were obscured by the unending din of wind. It was pathetic; she was pathetic, the echoing reality of that fact grinding her mind into dust—

But she wasn't alone.

The Primarina flinched as the freezing rain stopped, together with the wind. She shook on the ground for a few moments that lasted an eternity before daring to look up, up at the reddish shimmer that kept the elements at bay. Cinder's eyes glowed as she stared her down, standing beside the burrow's entrance. There was no reassurance in her gaze, but no admonition either. She was there, willing to help keep the rain at bay,

But Celia's demons were her own to deal with.

Once the Water-type calmed down, the Delphox stepped in front of the door and looked past Aria and Anne standing on the stairs. She spoke, voice dry as ash, "Ember? It's time for us to head home."

Anne's heart sank as she looked around, down the stairs, and watched as the younger vixen ran over to look up at her mom. She didn't want her friend to leave—and thankfully, Ember was on the same page. "U-umm... m-mom, can I stay with Anne tonight? I-it's her first night a-at her new home, after all..." the Braixen stammered, not expecting her plea to accomplish much.

Cinder tried as hard as she could to keep her flinch hidden, to mixed results. A deep, pained breath later, she spoke, "Sure. I'll be here in the morning, then. Love you, sweetie." Without another word, she turned around to Celia and nodded, the red glow of her psychics helping the Primarina turn around together with the cart her lower body rested on. It'd be a long, cold march—

 *squeeze* 

The Delphox froze at feeling something grab her torso, too distracted by her own moping to react.

"T-thank you, mom!"

It took Cinder all the restraint she still had to not break down there and then, clenching her eyes shut as she silently turned around and hugged her daughter tight. And then, at last, she left, with Celia beside her.

"I-is Elder Celia alright?" Ember asked, taken aback at spotting the Water-type beside her mom.

"^I think she's coming to terms with things. She'll figure it out, I've no doubt. Either way, not something for us to worry about—let's get inside,^" Aria guided, exhaustion staining her words as she psychiced the door shut. Anne was still quite rattled after what she'd just witnessed, prompting Ember to hold her tight the entire way down the stairs.

It helped more than either of them would've imagined—and left them even more tired than before.

Anne blinked in surprise at seeing the living room completely cleaned up, aside from the small pile of dirty dishes due to be taken out to get washed in the rain. The table stood upright in the corner; the pillows they used as seats were gone—nothing but a hearth, tended to by Garret.

Nothing more to stave the exhaustion off with.

"^Let's prepare for bed, eh? Ember, Elric, wanna help me lay the bedding right for Anne?^" Autumn asked with all the pep she could still muster in her voice, gently yanking on the blanket the bat had swaddled himself with.

He groaned and whined for a moment, the sound of the latter lost deep within the ultrasound range, but eventually relented. "Okaaaaaay. Last one's there is a rotten egg!" He exclaimed, bolting up from his grounded position in less time than it took Ember to even process what she's just heard.

And the worst thing was, she couldn't even stick her tongue out at him because he was already in the other room.

She didn't let that fact dissuade her though, dashing in as fast as she could manage after him, the slightly faster pace betraying a slight limp. And then, once the Indeedee finished rolling her eyes and psychiced Anne's bags over, closing the door after herself, all that was left were Anne and Aria—the Grimmsnarl at the other end of the room aside.

As tired as Anne was, the shock of having just witnessed... that still kept her a bit rattled. She flinched as Aria walked beside her, giving her the warmest smile she could muster out after a day like that. It might've been scary, but... Anne trusted Aria, more than anyone else. Her arm shook as she wrapped it around the Gardevoir, the psychic's tingly, almost ticklish touch on her head making her squirm.

Despite everything, she felt safe.

The worries remained, though.

"~W-why did you shout at her?~" Anne mumbled, her voice almost entirely drained of the earlier unease. She kept her head pressed into the Gardevoir as she leaned on her, more and more leftover strength leaving her by the moment.

She felt Aria's deep breath fill her chest, then another—until finally, came words. "^Her intentions were good, but they're not everything. She still caused you needless pain. And she's more than smart enough to know that, to know better. Maybe... maybe I was too harsh on her. I'll try talking to her tomorrow. I'm sorry you had to see all that, Anne.^" Aria spilled her heart, the facade of certainty and scorn from earlier coming undone in the tired comfort of her burrow.

Maybe she too had made a mistake in all this.

Anne nodded idly, her embrace growing ever tighter. If Aria had indeed gone overboard, then it wasn't nice, but... Anne understood. In a way, it felt nice to have someone so strongly standing for her. Really nice, even. She might've known more than yesterday, more aware that even Aria had her limits and that she wouldn't always remain the nicest person around, and that what they'd been through left them both rattled, but...

But...

She still felt it.

That warm, incandescent sense of protection from yesterday, no longer tainted by fear for her own life. The trust so casually certain it ought to be impossible, and yet it felt downright natural by now. The... the desire she'd told the—the Elders near the end, the...

Aria's eyes went wide as Anne's mind grew more turbulent, the central thread inside it making her gasp silently. She kept herself from physically reacting as much as she could, and willed the tears into non-existence through utmost effort as the girl chewed through thoughts only she could process in full. Thoughts that would turn tainted and sinister if ever manipulated, only made joyful in their purity. Aria couldn't assist Anne in processing them,

But she didn't have to.

"~M-M-Mrs. A-Aria?~" Anne stammered, tension gripping her body until she was left at the very edge of tears.

The Gardevoir took deep breaths, staving off joining the girl there for just a few more moments, keeping her voice as calm as possible as she replied, "^Yes, Anne?^"

"~W-would... w-w-would...~" the girl struggled with words, clenching her guardian tighter as she forced out, "~Would it be okay if I—if I called you my m-m-mom?~"

Anne's breath was stuck in her throat, each racing heartbeat lasting an eternity. One, another, third still—and finally, response.

"^As long as it's okay for me to call you my—my daughter.^"

The distant crackling of flame was the only sound in the room as Anne's tired mind parsed Aria's answer, her heart skipping a bit. She gasped, looked up at the Gardevoir,

And cried the happiest tears of her life. Her body shook; she could barely keep standing, but it didn't matter, none of it did. Aria was there, she was safe, she'd be safe, and she—she—

"~Th-thank you...~"

Aria sobbed with her daughter, each tear cleansing her soul. She, too, only barely remained upright, her psychics growing weaker and weaker at the exhaustion, physical and emotional alike. All that kept her going anymore was love, Anne's for her and hers for Anne and everyone else's, brilliant and warm and—

 *squeeze!* 

"You looked like you were about to topple over there, honey, ha!" Garret shouted, glad at having saved them two from the perils of gravity. His amusement didn't last long though, not once he'd spotted the tears flowing from them both, sprouting concern on his fanged face.

And then, joy no less radiant than his wife's once she'd told him what had happened.

It took him all the willpower he could muster to keep himself from squeezing his wife and—and daughter too hard, eyes clenched shut as they leaned more and more of their weight on him. There was so much celebration to be had about this, about all this—but not today. Today, everyone still awake was long overdue for some shut-eye, and not even the euphoric news could overrule that fact.

"^I think it's time for us both to get some rest, sweetie,^" Aria mumbled with a smile, snapping the increasingly dozing Anne back to some semblance of awareness. Yeah, Mrs.—her mom was right, they were both so tired. With how tight G—dad was holding them, it's not like she could do much in response to m-mom's words.

The Grimmsnarl could, though—and he did. A stray strand of hair pushed the door open before him as he ducked through the doorframe. Anne took the children's bedroom in as she was carried, tears returning in force bit by bit. At her items beside the small pile of others' accessories and wooden toys, at an extra-sized space being left on their mat-like bedding, at a folded blanket being placed on the bedding's edge to accommodate her,

At the charcoal scribbles of her and Ember among the rest of the family.

Cadence, Elric, and Bell looked asleep, and Ember only barely clung to awareness herself. She'd taken her shawl off, leaving her in just the eyepatch as she turned to look at the noise—and smiled at Anne finally being here with them.

The exhaustion made it hard for Anne to follow what happened after. Aria helped her with the sweater, took her glasses off and carefully placed them on a shelf, and took care of her shoes—the next thing the girl knew, she was lying in between Bell and Ember; the latter clinging to her right side as the former squirmed against her to her left.

Warm. Safe. Cozy.

Home.

Beside the bedding, Aria leaned over them all, stroking her hair ever so gently. Soon after, the Gardevoir snuffed the candle on the far shelf was snuffed out, plunging them all into darkness,

"~G-goodnight, mom...~"

And long deserved rest.

"^Goodnight, Anne.^"