80

You just don't want to have to worry about this anymore. If there's something you can do to put this water under the bridge, you think you'll probably do it just to get it over with.

Once you've finished with Tobias's email from last night, you move on to Rana's message that arrived a couple of minutes ago. Like Tobias's, it gets straight to the point:

Hey, Huknock! I hope you don't mind that I got your email from Tobias (he said it was the only way he knew how to contact you), but I just wanted to ask: are you interested in protecting the environment? Because if you are, I would urge you to consider joining our protest today. I've attached some more information, but all you really need to know is that we'll be outside the Town Hall all day (but if you can only make it for a little bit, lunchtime would be best, as that's when most people will be outside to see it—so make sure you bring some water and snacks!). And if you feel like going the extra mile, I could still use a few volunteers to help set everything up before we start.

If you've ever wanted to help save the world (or even just a little bit of forest), now's your chance!

Rana

Leaning back from the screen and looking at the emails together, you start to see a dilemma emerging.

From what you can tell, going to the crafts store with Tobias won't stop you going along to the protest like Rana asked, but you will have to choose whether to see Tobias in the morning or to help Rana set up for the protest. This evening is the only thing that seems straightforward, since you already agreed to go to a concert with Marlowe. That's one thing you hopefully won't have to deliberate over.

No matter how hard it is to choose, you'll have to decide pretty soon who you're going to pick to see this morning—Tobias or Rana.

Given what you decided on your first morning in town about wanting to make a difference in Silvertree, helping with the protest seems like a good way of getting involved—but as ever, it's up to you to decide what matters to you more: the forest or a friend.

Thinking to yourself, you find your gaze drifting away from the laptop; and you realize after nearly a minute that you've been staring at one of the framed photographs on the wall without really noticing. You haven't looked too closely at any of those pictures since you moved in, but you linger on this one for a couple of moments, wondering just how much younger your grandma was when it was taken. Even though you have no trouble recognizing her alongside two other strangers, all of them standing in what looks like the backyard of the house, it feels so long since you left the forest that you almost can't remember how she looked when you last saw her. Was her hair still that long? Did she hold herself in that same, upright way?

As you wonder all of this, however, your eyes land on a blurry shape in the background of the picture; and for the first time, you see it's actually a small human figure you hadn't spotted before, half hidden behind a tree. And although the details are a little hard to make out, you realize it can only have been you as a child. You don't remember the picture being taken, and you have no idea who the other people standing with your grandma are—but you can imagine you were probably too distracted to notice. Even so, it's a little strange to think how much time has passed since then, and how little you were sometimes aware of it.

On the floor, Arctus finishes her breakfast and wastes no time in waltzing excitedly towards the back door. She's getting on with her day; you'll have to do the same.

What's your plan?