Chapter 22: Solace

Autumn had no idea how her daughter-in-law was managing while having to carry so much weight on her shoulders.

The Indeedee sighed under her breath, pondering in silence with only her shawl and a freshly grabbed breakfast to accompany her. Yesterday was intense despite her not having anywhere near as much of a role in all this as Aria, intense enough to lead her to take today off from her usual duties. The little ones would get taught in time; one session of practicing Protects under her watch wouldn't doom anyone.

Which—

 *bang!* 

The muffled, distant sound jolted Autumn upright, briefly snapping her out of her previous thoughts. She could've sworn she heard a familiar grunt accompanying it shortly afterwards, worrying her a fair bit. If nothing else, it was a good idea to check up on just what had happened there before resuming her original plan.

Now, where was she at?

One day without her watch wouldn't doom the village's little ones, but the same couldn't really be said for Anne, especially if Aria really came clean with all her white lies. None of which Autumn could blame her for, none of which she hoped Anne would blame her for in the long run either, but still damaging once they were forcibly revealed.

Or even before then, if what Garret had described of the Gardevoir's sudden awakening and the following discussion was any indication. 

No matter how Anne would react to Aria's honesty, she would need someone there with her afterwards more than ever, and Autumn was more than willing to provide all the comfort needed.

And then some.

Ember's whereabouts were much more of an enigma. By the time the elderly psychic woke up, the lil' fox was gone despite spending most of the preceding night huddling tight next to her. Hardly easy to sleep beside such an intense, emotional warmth, but Autumn made it work, mostly by tossing the entirety of her usual array of blankets into the far corner.

The Indeedee just hoped the Braixen had run over to Anne once she woke up. Their bond, the little of it Autumn got to sense for herself directly, felt as unbreakable as between herself and Garret. Of course they would be each other's greatest comfort. It was by far the most logical place for the fox to have ended up at.

But at the same time, with what had happened with Cinder still fresh in her memory... the entire topic sent shivers down her body.

Shivers that she then used to shake the whole unpleasant strand of thought well off. Her fretting like this wouldn't do anyone any good; if Ember really was already with Anne at the clinic, then she'd be seeing both of them in not too long, anyway. There, a much better subject to focus on instead.

Autumn knew it wouldn't be easy to find something to relax or at least distract Anne from the upcoming vote with all the stress and fears likely to be going through her body, but there were still options. She could tell stories, be it with young Garret or even from her own childhood; she could curiously ask about the parts of the human world that were unlikely to tie into the girl's traumatic past; she could just provide a ton of physical comfort. Anything to ease this terrible load—the kind that nobody ever ought to have to struggle with.

And especially not a child.

The Indeedee was in equal parts split between wanting and very much not wanting to run into either of the three elders on her way to the clinic. Calling them out on what they were doing was earned and justified, and she doubted she would've been able to stop herself from giving Ana and especially Celia a piece of her mind if they crossed paths, but it sure wouldn't help with the upcoming vote.

This wasn't like them, this shouldn't have been like them. They both used to be so caring of those who couldn't care for themselves back when Orion was still around, and now...

The bitter realization stung even more than Autumn thought it would, forcing her to stop in her tracks and wrap herself tighter. So much has changed since that shocking news broke out of nowhere, and Autumn wished she could say it was mostly for the better.

 *sigh* 

No matter what, this was where they were at now. Regardless of how much the people she used to look up to had changed, for bad or worse, her and her family's goal remained the same. They could do it, Autumn was sure of it.

Just as she was sure she could piece together what had happened on the scene she'd just walked into.

Mikiri's latest attempt at replicating the human two-wheel laid in front of the wall of Holly's kitchen, its front wheel somewhere between heavily bent and outright split in half. The 'T'-shaped part above it also appeared damaged, but Autumn didn't know the original device well enough to diagnose what exactly had happened to it.

There was an odd-looking, black smudge on the wall, at around the wheel's height. Above it, a rather sizable crack spanning several bricks.

And in front of it, Ori was busy wrapping a second bandage around Mikiri's forehead, on top of the now blood soaked first one.

"I don't get this weird contraption! I tweaked the pedals, moved the handle within reach, reinforced all the parts I could weld more metal onto and it worked for a while!"

"What about braking?"

"Yeah, that's the thing, Ori! I've been fumbling with every part of this thing and there's just nothing that helps you stop!"

The Mawile expressed her annoyance at the inanimate object with spirited gestures, while her co-tinkerer made sure she wouldn't bleed out in the middle of a rant. A slightly closer look let Autumn spot a pair of long wooden blocks attached to the parts where human feet would've presumably rested at, as well as what largely appeared as random clumps of metal welded onto the frame at what looked like random.

And right as she took one more step, she finally spotted someone else beside the Steel-type duo.

"Whiiiich is why I asked Ori to fetch ya, Geiger. Thanks for swinging along!"

"Howdy, Mikiri, this uh... doesn't look pretty."

"I grabbed bandages first."

"Dunno why, I was fine. Anywho anywho Geiger—do you have any idea how this dumb thing comes to a stop? You used to hang around a lotta humans, right?"

The elderly Electivire stroked his cheek as both he and the Magnemite attached to his arm inspected what could be very generously described as a heavily modified bike. His memories were hardly the most helpful on the spot.

"Yes, I have, and I've seen a few of these in my time. Never at the moment to see how they came to a stop, though. Or I suppose even if I had, I must've forgotten about it since. Out of everyone working at the facility, only a few guys used these bikes, most stuck to cars—"

"What's a car?" - The completely unfamiliar term made Mikiri perk up again. Her maw parted slightly in excitement at there being more human-made locomotion machines out there, and the Scizor beside her groaned at some of his freshly applied bandage slipping off the Mawile's head because of her sudden movements.

"Oh, that's its own kind of contraption! The size of a small hut, moves around on four or more wheels, all metal and with room inside for at least five humans or so. Though I've seen many be even larger than that."

As if a switch had flicked, Mikiri's new tinkering wish was changed in an instant from 'another undamaged two-wheel that she could actually take apart bit by bit' to 'the mysterious unidentified "car"'.

"Are they just out there? How many of these 'cars' are around? How do they move? Do you also pedal them like these two-wheels or is it the same glowy stuff you've described in the past—"

"Mikiri."

"What?"

"Focus please, I ought to be going soon."

"Oh right right, that 'scouting' thing you also do sometimes."

The Scizor rolled his eyes at that framing, lifting his pincers up to bury his face into them at the thought of all the mess that today would entail. Instead, though, he found his arm being yanked off to the side, sticking over to the magnet with a grating 'clunk', much to Geiger's immediate laughter.

"Seems you've made a friend, eh, Ori?"

Geiger's words made the Mawile finally look up from the freshly created mess and structural damage of her own creation, and up at the expert she'd called over shortly prior. Mikiri wasn't ever the best at remembering specific details about people, but she could've sworn that the Electivire didn't use to have someone else with him there. Which meant...

...that they had to come from somewhere.

"Geiger! Where's the magnet from?"

Mikiri's chipper question caught the Electric-type's attention right as he was finishing prying Ori and the lil' magnet apart the hard way, leaving Ori reeling backwards once his accidental bond finally came undone.

"This lil' fella? Nobody's all too sure, but we think it was likely that nearby human pit of a town—"

Thankfully for said little one's sanity, Geiger immediately realized just why was the Fairy-type asking that question, shutting her off before she could start badgering them with questions.

"—but they're too young to talk, anyway. I doubt they've seen much of anything that could've been of interest to you."

The Mawile went from opening her mouth to speak to folding her arms with a grumpy expression in a split second, left grumbling to herself afterwards. With no further leads, there really wasn't much she could do but to drag this pile of junk back to her burrow, fix whatever she could, and keep drilling holes in the recent human's two-wheel with her intense staring, hoping to crack its mysteries.

Or... there was another thing she could do. 

The realization brought a crooked smile to Geiger's face as the impromptu gathering prepared to all start leaving, his remark catching the entirety of attention of both Steel-types.

"Well, this one doesn't know, but Anne likely has an idea about how you're supposed to stop these things."

Even from her distant vantage point, Autumn felt the resulting shift of emotion extremely clearly. Disappointment turned into excitement, and annoyed relief became a veritable wallop of uncomfortable stress, both at right around the same instant.

"Good call. Ya think I could go and get that dealt with right away? Heard about her being awake now or something, after all."

"I'd advise against that with the human's uncertain state."

"Whaddya mean by 'uncertain'? Gah fine, whatever, just let me know when she's done finally being settled so I can go and pick her brain all about this and everything else—do you have any idea how much junk I've got piling around that I just have no idea what it does and have passed using it for some good scrap because of it!?"

"'Settled'?"

The two Steel-types stared at each other in total disconnect, their shared confusion intense enough for neither to notice a small drop of rusty blood that snuck out from underneath her bandages and flowed down her nose.

"Yea, settled. Y'know, didn't Aria say she was gonna be keeping her or something in that burrow of theirs? Figured they're all busy doing that right now. Maybe I could go and knock on their door to bother them about it. Can't be hoarding all that secret human knowledge to themselves, ha!"

"...yer bleeding, Mikiri."

"Still!? Oh gimme that!"

Without waiting for Ori's response, the Mawile hopped in place just barely high enough to grab the rest of the bandages in his grasp. Her technique wasn't any more skilled or effective than the Scizor's patented 'looks fine enough' style, but at least it was faster.

"Ya tongue rusted, Ori?"

"The human isn't in the process of being settled."

"Why not? Don't tell me they're keeping her in that stuffy clinic room forever. Having to spend one night there was already much too long."

"That hasn't been decided yet. Today's scout council meeting will seek to decide on the human's fate."

"Oh, fuckin' come on."

The mild profanity was accompanied with a couple more grunts and the most undignified bandage bow to have ever existed, tied awkwardly on top of the Mawile's front head.

"Whatdya mean, 'not decided'!? Imagine how helpful with all the human tech she could be! We've both heard all the rumors about the things their contraptions can do—Geiger there was that thing with having fresh water and electricity everywhere?"

"In almost every single one of their buildings, correct."

"And all the control over electricity they have, and how they make light from it and use it in their devices! OH and that way to weld metal without Fire Fanging! C'mon, I know you'd LOVE that Oriiii!"

The Scizor was now firmly in the territory of 'very uncomfortable', anxiously looking all over the scene except at the very fairy presently grilling him. Some of these would indeed be very helpful, especially the more precise tools they've heard rumors about humanity having access to.

However, it's not like there weren't any concerns and counterarguments to be raised.

"I find it difficult to imagine a simple child knowing much about most of these."

"Even just a little guidance helps! Just somewhere to point us to and get us started, and let us figure stuff out afterwards! C'mon, you'd love it!"

"Mikiri has a point, Ori~."

The Electivire didn't need to say much to have the discussion work out heavily in his favor all the same, merely teasing the Scizor more as needed. The Mawile knew the metal bug better than anyone else, and the Electric-type thanked whoever was watching for the oftentimes chaotic tinkerer bringing help towards Anne's cause.

"That is a very nearsighted way of thinking, Mikiri. The security risks because of the human's presence here cannot be ignored."

"Oh, give me a break—if it was really this bad they all would've already tossed her over to other humans to deal with and all of y'all would be patrolling our perimeter every single walking minute. And you sure as hell wouldn't be able to just stand there being a wet rag."

"I-I told you I should be going."

"If it was that serious you'd be running already and not waiting for this conversation to die down first either~."

Ori's drawn-out, metallic sigh was his only answer, the Scizor unable to come up with any convincing response to his co-tinkerer's words.

"Get real, Ori. You want more help with figuring out all the human tech, don't you?"

"...perhaps."

"Now we're talkin'."

"Make sure your actions later today reflect that, Ori."

Despite some points of the discussion slipping into one ear and out the other, Autumn found it remarkably uplifting, overall. Especially when considering Aria's previous tension about the Steel-type scout. If Mikiri and Geiger really just managed to get Ori on board, that meant they had the seven votes needed to ensure Anne's safety.

Of course, the Indeedee knew all too well that this was only the absolute minimum of reassurance.

That they ought to and would keep on pushing harder, trying to sway people's opinion, anything to make her safety not just likely, but certain. Still, even this little helped so much, so much less painful pressure in her shoulders making Autumn immediately feel several years younger.

Geiger wasn't done talking yet, however.

"Now that we're done with that... I actually had a question for you two."

The uncertain words had Autumn stop mid step, curious enough to hear him out before continuing her march.

"Do... either of you have any thoughts about romantic relations?"

The Indeedee went from interested to momentarily stunned, listening in as closely as she could with her psychics and ears alike.

"By which I mean, any ideas about how to discern genuine interest from simple infatuation? I used to think none of this sort of stuff was for me, nowhere near, and now I'm... you could say I'm reconsidering. Just wanting a second opinion on a subject I'm unfamiliar with, is all."

Despite threatening to catch on fire from all the blush on her cheeks, Autumn kept listening on all her senses. The initial response, to the best of her ability to tell, was... a profoundly confused silence, from both Steel-types. Not the sort of confusion that came from not understanding the words being spoken, but a much deeper, more thorough kind.

"...what?"

The words made sense, but didn't translate into anything either of the two were even remotely familiar with.

"Uh, nevermind. Hope your duties go well today."

Geiger's departure made the Indeedee leave for real, fluster mixing with barely held in giggling at the tinkerers' reaction. Hardly the best crowd to be asking for romantic advice, and she knew the Electivire knew that too, but she sure didn't expect them to just be completely unable to respond. Could be they've never loved anyone romantically; could be they never would. Nothing wrong with that, but it still amused her greatly.

She really needed a chuckle like that.

The elderly psychic finished cooling off after all that just in time for her to run into some more close faces, each bringing a smile to her face. Sure, Marco was too busy in his chatting to respond with anything beyond a simple wave, but it only made sense considering who he was talking to. He'd mentioned last night that he'd be trying to talk to Lumi the next day, and based on Aria's experiences, Autumn couldn't imagine that being a pleasant ordeal in the slightest.

Or that it'd leave both of them as nervous as they were.

However much concern that sight might've inspired in her, it was swiftly washed off in just a moment after she turned another corner.

"Good morning, Garret!"

She neither had to ask, nor was she opposed in the slightest to her son lifting her up and sitting her on his shoulder for a while as they chatted, the silly antics always making them both laugh.

"Hi mom! The kids were still waking up the last I saw them, and figured that I could leave them safely after blowing the fire out."

"Mhm~! Did you wait until the stew was done boiling?"

"Yes, yes I did, mom..."

The exasperation had the Indeedee giggle as she leaned over closer to her son, around his pointy ear.

"Good! Any plans for today?"

"I brought up trying to talk to Max yesterday, and I'm still planning to go through with that."

Undoubtedly a good idea, and Autumn was sure of that. But... a part of her doubted how much good could actually come from doing that. She couldn't recall seeing the Meowstic around ever since the news of Anne being in their village spread out on a second thought, the realization chilling her deeply. Of course she couldn't; why would he do that considering his history with humanity?

That still didn't make throwing Anne away just to keep one person comfortable an ethical idea, of course.

Talking to someone likely the most traumatized by all this would need to happen, eventually. However, the Indeedee doubted whether Garret was the best candidate for that. He was gregarious and friendly, sure, but she worried that any such attempt to chat would only come off as trying to pressure him to support the human whose arrival sparked all this.

Which... yeah, it kinda was.

 *sigh* 

The things they all had to do to ensure her safety.

"I hope it goes well, Garret, though I am a bit... worried."

"I get it, mom, but I think I know how to approach it all!"

Just had to trust her son, and that much she could do.

"I hope so, sweetie."

With one last embrace, followed by being lowered back onto the ground, Autumn was on her way once more. The clinic was just right ahead, forcing the Indeedee to pause and properly clear her head before proceeding further. Worries or not, Anne needed comfort most of all, and not someone who was as concerned as she herself likely was—

"Auuuutumn!"

Lavender's old, creaky voice signaled a perfect opportunity to cleanse her mind just like that. She knew much better than to wait for the Grass-type to slowly amble her way over, scooting up to her instead and speaking up right away.

"Good morning, Lavender! Got some good news?"

"Pleeeenty. The huuuuman's shawl is gooooing well! Ready eeeeeven tomorrow!"

As incredibly fast as that was in a vacuum, a bit of Autumn's heart stung at the realization that even that pace could end up being too slow in the end.

"That's wonderful, thank you so much."

"Aaaaanytime! Soool finally sloooowed down and left some fluff! Once I'm done with the huuuman's, then I'll fix Embeeeeer's! I remember it being wooorn out in places, and I want to chaaaange it to match with huuuuman's better!"

Autumn only listened to the news with one ear, the rest of her constantly trying to calm herself down ahead of seeing Anne again.

"Sounds like you got a good plan, then."

"I've beeeeen wondering wheeere she is. I knooooocked on her den today, and sheeeee wasn't home!"

The remark brought another unnerving thought to Autumn's mind, one arguably much more likely than her earlier fretting.

"D-did anyone answer?"

"Yeeeees! Ciiiinder looked awful and diiiidn't tell me much, but sheeeee answered! Since when do Fiiiiire-types cryyyy?"

The Indeedee sighed in relief at the confirmation of the fox having not run away again, though what followed left a foul taste in her mouth. As much as the elderly Lilligant slowly chuckled to herself at her own joke, Autumn didn't really like it, especially at what she saw of Ember the day she and Anne reunited.

"I think they always could cry, really. I have to be going now, unfortunately."

"Nooooo worries! Soon both girls will be all nicely warm and swaddled, I tell yaaaa!"

With the attempted distraction tactic proving unsuccessful, it forced Autumn to go about it the most manual, hard way as she stepped into the clinic's main chamber. One deep breath, another, then a third still. Things would be alright eventually, and the most she could do for Anne right now was to be a source of comfort for her after all that she's been through.

They'd figure out everything else in time, she was sure of it—

 *eeeeeeeeeee!* 

The elated squeak coming from her right barely caught Autumn's attention at first, though that changed the instant she realized it was aimed very specifically at her. Its source was obvious, hovering above the bed next to the far wall, their eyes gleaming with excitement at seeing her poor ol' self. She knew very little about Phantump in general, and that went triple for this little one in particular.

It was their first time running into each other; she didn't even know their name, and yet... her presence made them oddly happy. They must've just liked Indeedee, she supposed? Weird, but preferences like these were hardly unusual in the grand scheme of things.

For better or worse.

Odd as it was, she waved back, especially since they were clearly a child. Even more excited glee wasn't what she expected to see or feel in response, but hardly surprising considering their sheer adoration for her. Their waving was... clumsy; arms flailed as if unused to being this small. The Banette sharing a hospital bed with them was just as surprised at all this as Autumn. Their eventual grumble finally made the Phantump float down beside them and ease out into giddy squirming instead.

She sure didn't expect to see any of this, but couldn't deny that it made her feel much better.

Just what she needed right now.

With one last breath, Autumn stepped into Anne's room, the sight considerably better than what she feared. Aria sat on the bed's edge, with both Anne and Ember on her lap in a warm, tight hug. The Indeedee didn't want to interrupt the moment by speaking, but her arrival alone was enough to make the cuddly bundle separate after several minutes of silence.

"^Good morning, mom.^"

"^Hello there sweeties. Are you all alright?^"

'Alright' was a very tricky term, especially with all three having clearly cried just recently and Anne in particular looking like she was still on the edge of tearing up again.

"~H-hello Mrs. Autumn. I think I'm okay.~" - Anne's voice was quiet and tired, immediately prompting another embrace from the fox sitting beside her once Aria had finished moving them both off her lap. The warm hug, and the resulting chuckles, did wonders for everyone present, especially as the girl tried her hardest to return the affection afterwards.

And in the meantime... the Gardevoir had a confession to make, in private.

"^Mom, I... I promised her she'd be safe with us, no matter what the vote decides.^"

"^Yeah, of course.^"

Autumn's nonchalant response had Aria raise her eyebrow way high. Her mother-in-law clearly wasn't getting the full implications of such a promise.

"^Even if it requires us to uproot ourselves and leave this village to keep her safe.^"

"^Well... I doubt it'll come to that even in the worst case, but if that's what it takes, then that's what it takes.^"

Aria didn't respond for a few moments, busy sorting through thoughts in her mind and trying not to laugh out loud at such a ridiculous, and yet entirely correct, answer.

"^I didn't expect you to take it so lightly, mom.^"

"^Why wouldn't I? If that's the only way to ensure her safety, then that's that.^"

"^What about Cadence and Bell? What about Marco?^"

"^Me and Garret survived on our own long before this village's existence. We'll sure as hell make it in an entire group like that.^"

"^I-I meant—wouldn't that be cruel to them?^"

"^Sure, but it's not us inflicting that cruelty on them. If your dumb council's vote forces us to decide between Anne's safety and your kids' friends and stability, then that's their fault. Besides, I sure doubt that Cadence in particular would take well the realization of her comfort having been prioritized above Anne's entire life...^"

That last idea sent a freezing chill through Aria's horns, as well as really making her want to hold her biological daughter close. Alas, no time for that until way later in the day, if not until after all the nightmare had been decided. Nothing the Gardevoir couldn't deal with, of course, but... goodness could she use some of that right now.

Would help with her arms shaking as much as they already did.

"^I really hope that after all this is over you'll take some time off for yourself, sweetie.^"

"^If I get a chance—^"

"^Nah, just do it. Your scout bunch can manage on their own without your presence there, I'm sure of it. If all this works out, if Anne ends up safe, promise me you'll give yourself the time you need to recover, Aria. Both for her, and much more importantly, for yourself. You can't keep going with so much stress in you forever, sweetie.^"

Aria wasn't exactly confident about agreeing, but went ahead and limply nodded her head, anyway.

"^I'll try.^"

"^Good, good. Now, have a good day Aria, and please keep yourself grounded until the vote, alright?^"

"^I-I'll try mom, promise.^"

"^Love ya, Aria.^"

"^Love you too, mom.^"

With one last telepathic hug, the Gardevoir was finally on her way, leaving Autumn alone in the room with the pair of weary, tired girls. One of which had already lost her fight against her exhaustion, resting on her friend in a gentle, one-armed embrace.

"^Holding up well, Anne?^"

The upbeat question was delivered right as the Indeedee was lifting herself onto the bed with her green psychics, catching Anne's attention until the chubby psychic was already sitting beside her.

"~I think so, M- Autumn.~"

"^Heheh, if you'd really prefer using 'Mrs.' every time, then sure, go ahead. I just told you that you didn't have to.^"

"~I-I know, it's just... h-how I'm used to when talking to adults. I've always had to use either 'Mr.' or 'Mrs.' with everyone, and it just... comes naturally to me.~"

"^Nobody else you could talk with in a more natural way?^"

"~Not since my grandma, n-no...~"

All the Indeedee could offer was comfort, and that's what she did shortly after. Her shorter stature made it hard to hold too much of the girl's body, especially with her holding from her left side, but nothing a bit of telekinesis couldn't help with.

"^I'm so sorry to hear. Well, whether it's 'Mrs. Autumn' or just 'Autumn', I'm here for you both, and will be watching over you today.^"

Anne took the news with a soft smile, leaning in closer.

"~Thank you, Mrs. Autumn. I... don't really know what to do now. I doubt I'm in the right mood for drawing after what we talked about with Aria, and I don't want to bore you by taking a nap—~"

"^Don't you worry about me, sweetie~. If you're tired, then feel free to snooze, you've got a lot on your plate tonight.^"

"~I d-don't think I am, that's the—~"

 *rustle, rustle, rustle* 

Both the psychic and the human looked up at the entrance to their room, expecting to see either a medic wanting to check up on Anne, or Cadence & co. to keep her company.

They turned out to be neither.

So was the second person who ran in, then the third, and the fourth; Anne left reeling back in an equal mix of surprise and uncertainty. All the while, Autumn's expression grew ever flatter with each of the unexpected guests.

And then, they all finally noticed her.

"M-Mrs. Autumn!?"

Zephyr was the first one to speak up, breaking out of the group's stupor at running away from class to see the oh-so-mysterious human, only to run into their teacher sitting there with them. Lacking any words, the Stunky turned to the rest of the group, who didn't fare much better.

Blossom wasn't as shocked as the others, but still doubted all this would reflect well on her in the slightest. The Dartrix shook in worry as she looked anywhere but at her teacher.

Mint's startle was palpable to the senses in more than one way, prompting Autumn to quickly put up a Safeguard bubble around the Gloom, doing her best to make it let sound through without doing the same with scent.

"What are you doing here, Mrs. Autumn?"

Grace was the only one to lack the clear worry that filled the rest of the group, replaced almost entirely with modest confusion. Whether it was caused by the Zangoose being blissfully unaware of the mistake they had made, or just not caring about it, Autumn wasn't sure.

Still, it was a fair question, and deserved a fair answer.

"^I'm looking after Anne here for today. Guessing you all finally got curious enough to want to visit her in person?^"

As sudden as the kiddo's entrance was, ultimately it was both harmless, and potentially even helpful for acclimatizing the village to the human's presence further. Of course, that depended on what said human had to say about it, still processing the group's appearance one member at a time. Blossom was a familiar and very welcomed sight, of course, but the rest... well... they probably would be all nice too, when it came down to it.

Without a clear idea of what to do now, Anne simply greeted them all with as confident of a wave as she could force out of herself. Which meant 'barely at all', but it still beat doing nothing, especially when combined with equally shaky words.

"~H-hello.~"

"Hi, Anne!"

Blossom's reaction was immediate, the owlet wasting no time before flying right up and onto the nearest surface that she could stand on.

Namely, Anne's knee.

Despite all the scary, sharp looking talons, it proved to not be painful at all, leaving Anne's reactions at just a startle, which then thawed into an amused giggle moments later. With Ember still firmly asleep, Anne slid her arm from around the foxie and reached it out beside the Dartrix.

Said owl interpreting the gesture as an excuse to nestle into her front, wasn't expected, but it sure wasn't unwelcome.

"~Hey, B-Blossom!~"

The rest of the newcomer group wasn't certain how to react to such a sudden display of affection. Most of them just took the sights in for now, everything about how one of the scary and strange humans looked like. Autumn's lesson proved accurate in the end—sheer height aside, Anne really didn't look even slightly threatening, sure not with how lanky her build was.

Mrs. Aria at least had an excuse of being a powerful psychic to make up for that.

Some needed more time to really notice Anne's full appearance than others, though.

"...how are you so tall?"

The Gloom's slow yet surprised question left others uncertain about how to respond, since... yeah, Anne was tall. Really tall if her telepathically translated voice, sounding just as young as the group that had just visited her, was anything to go by. However, this wasn't the sort of question there really existed an answer to, forcing Anne to come up with an equally silly response.

"~...how are you so short?~"

At least the other kids found it funny, if their held-in chuckles were any sign.

"^Now now, let's not ask these kinds of questions to each other. Humans just are rather tall, and Gloom just are rather short, it's as simple as that.^"

Both Anne and Mint mumbled out something that vaguely translated to 'sorry' as they looked away from each other, forcing someone else to pick up the topic—and someone else did.

"Oh oh, Anne, can I show them that nice drawing you made of me?"

Blossom's question took the human out of any funk she might've started falling into before it could get too bad. An affirmative answer made the Dartrix fly over to the clearly human bag with glee in her voice as she tried spotting where Anne had left it. Even despite her eyesight being magnitudes better than everyone else's in the room combined, the 'notebook' was nowhere to be seen, leaving Anne to speak up eventually—

"~Oh, it's not in the bags, it's...~"

The human opted to show rather than try to describe. After carefully laying down Ember on her back, Anne scooted over to the other side of the bed and started digging underneath the fluffy, mattress-like bedding, reaching her hand all the way to her elbow before finally finding what she was looking for and pulling it out.

For once, not even Autumn had any idea about why Anne had done that. Most gathered didn't dwell on that confusing display for too long, especially not the owl most giddy to show off Anne's artistry to others, but... most didn't mean 'all'.

"Why did you keep it buried like that?"

The Stunky's voice was boyish, slightly younger than herself, and had a perplexing mix of confident delivery and a slight wobble to their voice all the same. That wasn't even what Anne really focused on, though, only now realizing how unusual what she'd just shown was and putting her in a somewhat awkward situation. Not even something she did consciously, but... oh well.

"~I, uh, f-force of habit.~"

"But why?" - Zephyr replied right back, realizing immediately how little this response really explained.

"~U-umm—~"

"^Zephyr, it's not nice to be digging into people's behavior like that.^" - Autumn's light chiding helped, but Anne wasn't satisfied with that diversion. The question was valid, even if the answer to it wasn't... pretty.

"~N-no, it's fine, I'm... I'm used to my pa—people breaking or taking my stuff if I leave it in the open like this...~"

This answer too clarified little, but its implications were at least much clearer to sense this time. As were the obvious follow-up questions of 'who' and 'why'. For all his prior brashness, Zephyr seemed to know better than to keep prying. Instead, he got up from his precious spot and... laid down beside Anne's legs once she'd returned to her previous position, as if to look after her.

Aww.

Blossom wasn't far behind, either. Even before she was done flipping the pages over to the one with her likeness, she hopped over and roosted beside the weary human. Her nuzzled affection wasn't as soft or as warm as Ember's, but it was appreciated all the same.

"~I'll be alright, d-don't worry...~"

"I'm sorry others messed with your things, Anne."

The Dartrix's concern was well-intended, but somewhat misplaced. Oh, if only it had been as quaint as 'others' messing up with just her 'things'.

If only.

"It won't happen again under my watch!"

Zephyr's words took Anne much more aback in comparison, leaving her unsure how to respond. As nice as it felt knowing that someone here downright wanted to look after her like that, it really wasn't her immediate concern.

And that's beside the point that a skilled psychic was much better suited for that task than a Stunky whose perspective was around one foot off the ground.

Still, the gesture was appreciated all the same, making Anne hold the owlet closer and smile down at the lil' Dark-type in absence of any way of returning his concern beyond... petting him with her foot. She had no idea how well that'd be received here, but preferred not to risk it all the same.

"~Thanks, heh.~"

"Anytime!"

Silly as it might've been, Zephyr's conviction still made Anne feel quite nice.

"D-do you still want me to show off your drawings?"

Anne answered with a light chuckle, a slightly tighter hug, and a firm nod of her glasses-clad face. Blossom wasted no time scrambling herself out of the affection and showing off the nicest depiction of herself anyone had ever made once she found the right page. She flew around the room, trying to hover in front of all her friends with the notebook in her talons, letting them all get a good look.

The reactions ranged from being solidly impressed, to being uncertain of how much they should be impressed, to a lack of any response whatsoever because of their attention having been captured by something else.

"What's that on your face?"

The Zangoose's question, delivered in a flat, creaky, yet feminine voice, took both Anne and Blossom out of left field somewhat. Guess some would find glasses to be much more interesting than some mediocre sketches made by a wannabe 'artist' with no actual knowledge or practice...

Trying to shake back that source of self-loathing before it could germinate further, Anne slid her glasses off and showed them off.

"~Th-these are my glasses. They help me see, and I'm almost blind without them.~"

Anne looked around the room to emphasize her explanation. An all-consuming blob of various shades of brown, and several vaguely defined colorful smudges strewn across it. Just enough to see where everyone was, but if not for Anne already knowing their species, she would have little idea what she was looking at. The lack of focus soon made her eyes tear up and forced her to put her glasses back on.

"How bad is your sight?"

Grace's question was blunt, sure, but that didn't bother Anne as much as her being unsure how to answer it. '-7.5 diopters' was as helpful of an answer in an optometrist's office, as it was utterly useless here.

And that was assuming it was still accurate. It's been a couple years since she'd gone to get her prescription with her grandma, who knew if her eyes hadn't gotten any worse since then. Even the very glasses she wore were long past their prime, and she had to occasionally 'tweak' them with pliers to keep them fitting on her head as she grew.

Thankfully, neither the Zangoose nor anyone else here really cared about any precise measurement, letting Anne answer appropriately vaguely once she'd realized that.

"~Really, really bad. Bad enough t-to make you look like a white and reddish blob without them on.~"

"Do all humans see this badly?"

"It would be much easier to keep ourselves h-hidden if they did!"

Zephyr's response helped Anne avoid responding to such a silly question herself, the resulting amusement releasing a fair bit of tension around the room. Guess as opposed as she was to it previously, she still could give petting him with a foot a shot...

Trying to keep her movements as coordinated as possible, Anne gave it a shot, starting just behind his ears and moving across his entire back. Well-worn socks didn't make for the nicest material to be delivering affection through, but—much to her relief—the Stunky really didn't seem to care about such trivialities.

What mattered is that it felt really nice.

"How do these help you see?"

Blossom's question was nowhere near as rude as Grace's, but it wasn't any easier to answer, unfortunately. Anne thought through how she'd even explain her specs' functionality to the assorted kids, especially with her previous attempt at doing so ending up accomplishing nothing more than bringing further confusion to Aria and Autumn. Suppose a different way of describing it could work, a more inaccurate but more evocative one?

Hopefully.

"~They fix your sight if it's already bad, but if it's good, they make it worse.~"

The rest of the group took the explanation in without many complaints—though not the Dartrix herself.

"But hoooooow?"

"~They... *sigh*, th-they curve light.~"

"Wow... how do they—"

"Can I look through them?"

Anne was immensely unsure how to respond to Grace's question. She wasn't opposed to others looking through them in principle, but... probably not when it involved the only thing that let her see being handled by paws with claws the size of knives. If only there was a way—

"^I'll help sweetie, don't worry.^"

The human nodded as the Indeedee carefully hovered her specs around, taking a couple of attempts each time to orient them the right way before letting each of the kids take a peek through them. Most of them went as expected. Brief headaches, expressions of disbelief, confusion about how something that they can't see through at all can help anyone regain their sight at all.

Exactly the same step-by-step list that happened each time she showed them off to human audiences in the past.

Guess humans and mons really weren't that different, heh—

"...ooooh. I see more of you now, I think."

...

Everyone gathered looked stunned at Mint, though only Anne really knew what his admission meant.

"~O-oh. Seems you're n-nearsighted too?~"

"...near-what?"

"~You see f-far away things much worse than close things.~"

"...oh. Yeah."

The nonchalance with which the Gloom had acknowledged Anne's impromptu diagnosis took the girl aback a bit. Definitely not how she had reacted to her first glasses... probably. She was too young to remember when that had happened.

"~Looks like you c-could use a pair of glasses y-yourself, heheh...~"

"...why? I'm doing okay."

Mint's response was even more surprising than his previous tone, leaving the two kids at somewhat of an awkward impasse.

"~But--wouldn't you wanna see better?~"

"...maybe. Everyone helps me when I can't see something. It's not a problem."

"~Y-yeah, that wouldn't work in h-human world... really hard t-to get around if you see as bad as I normally do.~"

"Isn't seeing close things better than far away things normal?"

Zephyr's question was appreciated for the change in topic it brought with itself. Diagnosis of visual issues wasn't usually a fun subject, but it sure beat thinking about how the world from which she hailed from could only accommodate her if she 'fixed' herself to be in line with regular people.

"~Oh, many ways! There's the test where you have to read smaller and smaller symbols and at s-some point they're too small to make out. O-or in my case I had them tested with a l-laser!~"

"^What is a 'laser', Anne?^"

"~It's, umm—it's like a lot of light packed into a very narrow beam.~"

"...is it like Flash Cannon?"

"~Wh-what?~"

The term rang some distant bell in Anne's mind, but not much beyond that. It sure sounded like a name someone would give to a move, and she probably overheard it from one of father's league binges once or twice, but she had absolutely no idea what it looked like or what it did. Considering it was a move, though, the answer to the question of 'what it did' almost always ended up being 'mayhem'.

"~N-no, no, not a move. If I had my eyes t-tested with it, it probably would've t-taken my entire head with it, h-heh...~"

To Anne's immediate concern, either nobody got her joke, or nobody found it funny, since the expressions around the room were much more shocked than amused. Thankfully, Mint was there to help change the subject once more.

"...so it's Electric-type then?"

Hardly a question the girl could answer, either. She supposed that thinking of everything in terms of types made much more sense for a mon than it does for a human, but it wasn't a mindset she knew how to get into, especially when already feeling put on the spot. Suppose it was only fair to admit that, then...

"~I don't know. M-most things in the human world don't really fit into neat 'types' l-like that.~"

"...doesn't everything have a type?"

"~I was t-taught that humans don't have any types and that we aren't even Normal-type. L-like, what type is something a-as simple as the sun, for example?~"

"Psychic." / "...Fire." / "Fairy?" / "E-electric!"

Four voices arriving at four entirely different conclusions immediately shifted the mood from mild shock at Anne's claim about humans being typeless, to all the kids looking at each other with surprise and confusion. The human couldn't even get a word in edgewise before an argument broke out, the sort that she had absolutely no way, or desire, to contribute to.

"Can't be Electric, doesn't glow like a lightning bolt."

"...no way it's Fairy, or it'd hurt all the Dark-types!"

"If it was Psychic, all the psychics would feel it every single day!"

"How c-could it be Fire, it's glowing and not burning!"

The disagreement quickly devolved into an all-out, no holds barred shouting match between the four. Thankfully, Blossom at least hopped off the best before joining the rest of her friends in their deep, philosophical discussion. Anne, meanwhile, was left stunned at accidentally sparking it all, and wanting to collapse underground.

Autumn was laughing her lungs out.

All the combined chaos was loud enough to stir Ember out of her exhaustion nap and straight into Anne's good arm. The vixen was taken aback at seeing so many of her classmates here all of a sudden, but wasn't any more eager to get into such a pointless discussion than her human. What she did do, though, was join in on Autumn's continued giggling. Anne giggled along once she'd gotten over her embarrassment, the two girls leaning on each other as any remaining tension quickly evaporated.

The evening would be scary and who knew what would happen, but for now, they had each oth—

Right as Anne was about to finish calming down, though, everyone gathered heard yet another laughter join them. Whispering, rustling, very girlish and coming from right behind them. It made the laughing trio stop and look around in confusion, their combined gaze soon stumbling onto the Phantump from the next room over, floating a couple of feet above Autumn.

They said something upbeat and amused when noticed, but almost nobody understood them. Instead, all the laughter suddenly ending made the rambling quartet call a ceasefire in their argument in case something bad had happened; their shared focus was soon also drawn to the stray ghost.

Way too much of way too sudden attention for the little one.

They let out a frightful squeak, and dove behind the Indeedee, using her to hide from the other kids.

"^Teehee, someone's got a few too many eyes on herself, hasn't she? Here, let me just link you up and—Anne?^"

Just beside Autumn, Anne stared at the Phantump so close to her, aghast. Before anyone could ask her what was wrong,

She spoke.

"~H-how are you speaking Unovan?~"