Chapter 4: Recon

As good as it felt to tell off an imaginary deity, the act ended up coming with a noticeable downside. Her old professors would've been up in arms at her linking the two events based on nothing but coincidence, but since they weren't the ones that had to deal with their dreams being invaded, their opinion didn't count anymore.

She slept like crap.

Doc shook her arm, finally making Sue commit to awareness after several hours of restlessness. Exhaustion refused to be shaken off, showing itself through groans and sand in her eyes. Eventually, she tried to sit up, the action only intensifying her soreness.

"G-good mhorning, Doc."

The medic responded in kind as they walked over to check up on Sue's leg. A quick visual scan later, they found the sight satisfying, in that it hadn't changed since the previous evening. They rated it a soft squeak and a gentle pat out of ten.

Animal-person's pat of approval.

Sue smiled and weakly nodded at the gesture, mind still not there yet. Doc chuckled briefly at her reaction before turning for the exit door.

Or at least, that was their initial intent.

They stopped right as they were about to press on the handle, pausing in thought. It took Sue almost embarrassingly long to catch onto that, eyebrows slowly raising as she watched the medic look over their shoulder at her.

A moment later, they decided to change their plans; pulling out the scroll from yesterday and getting to drawing on its clean side.

Wonder what they're scribbling over there.

Maybe they were gonna ask her what she wanted? Not like she knew what the things she'd eaten yesterday were, especially with all the fruits and veggies she didn't recognize. She could try to guess with the visual resemblance to actual food she's had in the past, but that was about it.

Was this a sandwich, or some weird fruit mishmash? Not even Duck knows.

Sue chuckled at the thought, thinking back to the drawing of what apparently was the imagined Moon deity. Wonder how much of that was based on any sort of reality. She didn't think herself creative enough to come up with all that whole cloth. It was probably just a combination of her mental exhaustion and quirks of this body.

That was the only possibility that made sense, really.

Despite everything that had happened so far, her suspension of disbelief didn't go as far as to let her think that an honest to god... god had actually contacted her in her dreams, let alone two. Imposter from Duck-knows-where or not, she couldn't have been anywhere near interesting enough to warrant such an act. Besides, they had clear difficulties communicating with her.

Quite pitiful for deities.

No matter what their deal was, Sue was sure she wanted nothing to do with them-

A light tap against her arm snapped her to awareness; eyes darting to the side just in time to catch the medic's amused expression. It only lasted a brief moment before they spoke up and offered her the edited scroll. They went right back to amusement at her embarrassment, but Sue was too focused on their drawing to notice.

A pair of rudimentary comics covered the page, sharing the final panel. The first one featured Doc heading out, walking up to a counter with a tray in their arms, and returning with it now filled. The other, instead, had her tag along with them to the same counter. In either case, the end result was her cartoonishly gorging herself on food, though the latter approach appealed to her much more.

Getting to stretch her legs and get a good look at the local area to plan her inevitable getaway?

Sign me the hell up.

Enthusiastic nods, combined with pointing at the second drawing, conveyed her intent perfectly. Doc smiled widely as they whisked the scroll away, leaving Sue to get up. Now that the offer had properly woken her up, she was ready to climb out of bed; right hand holding onto the rough wood of her crutch like it was her only key to freedom.

At this rate, it may have very well been.

Once she was up, Doc nodded encouragingly and held the door open for her like a proper gentle... creature. Maneuvering towards the exit door turned out tricky; doubly so with the door frame turning out to be an inch shorter than her.

Oh, bother.

Let's try bowing her way through.

With a calculated move that was only partially accidental, she'd stumbled out the door in one piece. A couple moments of desperately regaining her balance later, she successfully came to a stop outside; the sunlight making her squint.

She had made it through five or so meters to get to the outdoors of this village.

Time to behold the spoils.

A breath of fresh air was welcome, both in the literal and figurative senses; the chilly breeze reinvigorating Sue as she looked around. There were several cabins just like one she'd left, and a couple of larger stone buildings on the other side of the path she was standing on. Further down the road, she even saw something reminiscent of barebones machinery inside one of the more haphazard wooden huts.

And all around, creatures of all sizes and shapes, including a literal dragon flying its way overhead.

It wasn't anywhere near the size of Smaug, but it still dwarfed her enough to unnerve her, despite being rounded and somewhat non-threateningly orange. Before she could investigate the purple mammal with overly long arms passing by, Doc tugged on her free arm. Sue got the point all well, turning to follow the medic's footsteps as they headed further into the village. Oddly enough, they didn't bother to lock the door to their clinic beforehand- but maybe they just magicked it shut.

Half bunny, half marshmallow wizard medics existing were one thing, but them just leaving the door to their place open when heading out was much harder to believe.

A couple of turns later, their trip led them to a massive plaza, easily the size of multiple football fields. It was filled with dozens of creatures doing everything under the sun. Snacking, talking, sunbathing, making art, or even just walking around.

It was all calm enough to remind her of a Sunday at her local park.

Most of the clearing opened towards the surrounding woods, the sight reassuring considering her foretold future. Though, on a second look, the large, well-trodden path cutting through the treeline at the opposite side of the clearing made it too obvious of a getaway route.

The edge of the plaza she'd just stepped through was lined up with stalls, most with a picnic table or two in front of them. They were similar to the ones in her world, not that there was much to innovate about them.

That didn't mean the local mutants didn't try.

Some tables had benches only along half their length, leaving the other half to just dangle awkwardly. A standing table of some sort?

Couldn't be too comfortable.

Sue was too focused on her surroundings to notice the passersby. She knew only that they were there, anywhere from as short as her knee to towering over her. The overstimulation autopilot made her stumble forward for a few more paces before her sixth sense took notice of Doc trying to catch her attention; the medic waving for her as she glanced over her shoulder.

Seems they had reached their destination.

The stall looked just like Doc's drawing from earlier. A quick look at its inside revealed a well-equipped kitchen, at least as far as pre-industrial cooking technology went. A handful of etched-in drawings of meals were displayed above the counter, though seemingly lacking anything that could denote their price. Above the pictures sat...

Uh oh.

The writing on the sign might have been crude on behalf of having been sloppily painted on, but it was undeniably the same script she'd seen in her dream last night.

Guess that part wasn't just her strained imagination.

And if that part wasn't, what about the rest of it? Was Duck real? And if so, just what the hell was it, and why did it enter her mind like that?

A fine addition to the fort of confusion in her head, though this particular conundrum felt... more worrisome than anything else.

Before Sue could ponder on her unusually holy dreams turning out to not be her own creations, a couple of sounds caught her attention. Namely, knocking on wood and high-pitched grunts; the Martian's gaze snapping downwards at their source.

The creature was... a fairy.

Or at least, something fairy-adjacent, though not the Tinkerbell type. A familiar bipedal frame reaching up to her chest-mounted letter opener was welcome, but even that apparent similarity didn't withstand a closer inspection.

They were a pink blob with a pair of arms, legs, large, black-tipped ears, and spiky… wings? There was no distinction where their face that looked drawn-on ended, and the rest of the body began.

Besides all that, they were also rather impatient.

The finding was collaborated by Sue's eyes, ears, and sixth sense alike. Three-fingered hands tapped rhythmically on the wooden counter as they waited for something. Or rather, someone.

Or even more precisely, her.

Sue was unsure what to do. It's not like she could just ask what each meal was. Even crudely pointing at the signs got complicated by her having zero of whatever the local currency was. Suppose Doc would cover for her, considering they took her there and would've grabbed something for her regardless, but being put on the spot like that didn't help her anxiety.

Hopefully, a couple 'ummmm's would be enough to convey that unease.

Fortunately, Doc got what she was getting at right away. Unfortunately, they just tapped her hand before pointing up at all the presented meals; the demonstration cutting through any feigned ignorance she might have had.

Alright, what to choose now...

The sketches were far from clear. Some looked like salads, some looked like baked goods, but the rest were, at best, impressionist takes on food, mostly resembling piles of round… things. Huh, some of those might've been those roasted fruit pieces, and those were excellent. Though, then again, there was no way of knowing for sure.

Guess it'd have to come down to random chance.

Confusing everyone around her even further, Sue resorted to the good ol' arbiter-

"E-eehnie, Meehnie, Mhiney, Moe-"

Half a minute and one muttered out tune later, Sue's little lottery was done. The Martian slowly pried her eyes open to find herself pointing at a crude approximation of a jam-filled pastry. Not an awful choice to randomly stumble on.

Suppose Fate saw it fit to provide her with some well-needed reassurance.

Reassurance which was then immediately cut into as she glanced around. Doc and the pink fairy creature were staring at her, completely dumbfounded, unsure what any of that was about. She resolved the resulting deadlock by stabbing with what used to be her index finger toward the selected drawing. It conveyed the message, but an accompanying thought made Sue too distracted to verify that.

Guess what felt like her index finger was now her… middle finger. Huh.

On top of everything else weird about this body, it had an uncanny ability to accidentally flip people off. All it really took was pointing at something. The dissonance between what fingers she felt she was using and how it actually looked left her uneasy.

Neither Doc nor the other one seemed insulted at the gesture. It probably didn't even exist here, with every creature having its own different amount of fingers; if it even had fingers to begin with.

The worry being irrational didn't make her feel any less awkward at the realization.

While she was busy fretting about nothing, the pointy pink one got on her order, starting with the dough. Sue's increasingly strained sanity baptized them with a very serious and not at all potentially demeaning nickname of "Pixie."

A wooden rolling pin was a strangely familiar, but not at all unwelcome sight. It provided a connection to home, even if a tenuous and shallow one. What was less familiar was the way Pixie used it. After a few moments of using it normally, they let go of it with one hand, which then… began wagging a finger, tracing out a small circle at nothing in particular.

Things started to happen before Sue could even get dumbfounded enough to form a coherent question.

One after another, several fruits leaped out of the baskets in the back and onto the counter beside the fairy. With that done, they switched from wagging to using a knife, slicing the berries while continuing to roll the dough with their other hand.

Despite their clumsy appearance, they sure had more coordination than her college's entire miserable basketball team combined.

Observing the fairy cook at their work turned out much more interesting than expected. Each time they wagged their finger, things just… happened. Fire lit in their oven, the berry slices leaped onto the grate above the flames, more berries flung themselves from the back. There was no consistency in their magic; and yet Pixie looked entirely in control.

A squeak from behind her alerted her to Doc trying to catch her attention.

They pointed towards a nearby picnic table before heading over; the self-explanatory gesture making Sue spare one more glance at the kitchen before turning to follow them.

Or at least, that's what she intended to do.

Massive, glowing red eyes, almost like brake lights, were emerging from the shadows on the kitchen's back wall. A wide grin soon formed underneath them, attached to a pitch-black body.

Whatever that demon was, its gaze was set on Pixie. It drew closer and closer without making a single noise. Sue swore it had briefly glanced towards her once or twice, as if to ensure she'd be too afraid to act. A part of her told her to run. Run like a madwoman, run as far as she could with her injury-

At the same time, she felt that same impulse to protect Pixie as with Ember and that giant spider. Except there were no nearby rocks to throw, and an insurmountable counter separated the two from her.

All that combined left her with very few options. As the shadow creature neared closer and closer to Pixie, she finally pushed through the cold paralysis and did the only thing she could think of.

Point and shout.

"W-WATCH OUT!"

Her call caught Pixie's attention despite not being understood; though all it did was confuse them further as they glanced at Sue. Eventually, they finally spotted the pointing finger and... audibly groaned. The fairy then did what nobody on the scene should've expected, the demon abruptly stopping-

Namely, turned around on their heel and planted a smooch right on the shadow creature's cheek.

The action stunned the specter and Sue alike, the former erupting into a blush. Their utterings sounded simultaneously croaky and whispered, not helping with Sue's confusion. As amused as Pixie was by their reaction, commenting on it in their twinkly voice, they only barely kept standing after breaking into bellowing laughter at Sue's slack-jawed expression.

The spooky one soon followed, rambling on while it laughed, a well-lit spot letting Sue finally make out its shape. It was very similar to Pixie's, a lack of wings being the only actual difference in their outlines. They even were almost the same size. If not for their introduction and looking more like a ghost than an actual living creature, she might have even considered them being related.

It took a while for her to calm down as she stared at the laughing duo, slowly processing the situation. The not-ghost had snuck up on Pixie, as if it was about to attack them. Though with how the cook had reacted to her alert, this almost felt like a regular occurrence between them. Pixie was obviously unafraid of the spook, the kiss suggesting fondness even. But if that's the case, then why would-

...

Did- did she just get pranked by that shadowy gremlin?

The realization of her being a victim of a practical joke provided some well-needed relief, but she was still unamused. She was already easy to scare before all this, and her newly found frailty only made that worse. Triply so with everyone here being magical in nature, the exact extent of their capabilities unknown.

Sue really wished it to remain that way.

If the duo's reactions were anything to go by, she must've made one hell of a face.

The thought helped crack her terror, a small chuckle leaving her as the pair calmed down. Eventually, all the laughter brought Doc back, the medic calling out towards the couple. Reassuringly, they were just as unamused about Sue being the victim of a prank as she'd been.

The trio kept arguing about it for a while as Sue watched on. Her foot of height on all three of them made her stick out even more than usual, her posture slouching with each passing moment.

Amusingly, eventually Pixie had to dip from the conversation as the entire group smelled smoke. A glance at the grill revealed some of the fruit slices to have leaped way past well-done and straight into the territory of charcoal pucks. An appropriate comeuppance if nothing else; the cook's grumbling bringing mischief to Sue's heart.

It would've been even better had it happened to the actual culprit.

Thankfully, Doc was keen on remedying that. Their squeaks were stern as they barraged the shadowy- you know what, if they're so eager to spook people, then Spook is what they're gonna be. In either case, the medic was barraging Spook and breaking through their excuses until they finally caved.

They rolled their eyes before approaching the counter, closer to Sue. Their voice was unamused, but she couldn't care all that much about it with them having brought it on themselves. Their half-creaked, half-whispered words didn't ring even the most remote bell in Sue's mind, but her sixth sense let her feel a bit of genuine apology in them.

They weren't all excuses, even if said rather begrudgingly.

Nobody was ultimately hurt, and if not for her being new to this world, she would've probably found it much more amusing, so...

Apologies accepted.

Spook pondered for a moment before stumbling on another mischievous idea, looking about ready to… do something involving her outstretched hand. Thankfully, Doc brought them back in line with a single pointed squeak, the specter's excitement evaporating with a groan.

Despite their ghostly appearance, their handshake felt normal, being cold to the touch aside.

With that forced introduction over, Doc patted her side and gestured towards the table once more. And, with no more terrifying pranks to distract her, Sue gladly followed. She massaged her wrist and arm after sitting down and letting go of her crutch, not expecting them to have gotten so sore just by walking.

Guess that constitutes a workout, even if it's the one-armed kind usually reserved for the guys.

The thought made her giggle loudly while internally regretting there was nobody around, potentially even nobody else in this entire world, that would get her joke.

That was a bit of a downer.

Before she could hit another checkpoint on the emotional rollercoaster ride, Spook spoke up behind her. They were just standing there in the open, looking sillier than Sue had expected. Their dark, unnaturally matte coloration stood out like a sore thumb.

Levitating an inch off the ground also contributed to the goofy appearance.

A loud bark of the most familiar variety caught her attention before she could think through that sight. She looked over just in time to see Ember dashing towards her. The fox immediately lifted her mood, especially as they reached their goal; leaping onto her lap with one clean jump.

"H-hehe, good mhorning Embher."

The fiery pup responded in the only correct way. Namely, by climbing on the table and smothering her face in very warm, very happy licks. Sue was too enamored to stop them. Even Doc's words took a while to convince Ember to ease out. They then woofed something off in the direction they came from, making the once-human glance over as well.

*squeak!*

I'm glad to see you too, Bowlcut.

The infant and Leafy had mostly caught up to the rest of the group by the time Ember had pointed them out. Bowlcut half waddled, half ran up to the bench before stopping and reaching up towards her. Sue and Leafy alike giggled at the sight. The littlest one immediately tried to snuggle against her front after she lifted them onto her lap, her heart melting at the gesture.

Enough so to make her forget about the threat that came from their family, at least for a moment.

It was weird just how affectionate they were towards her. With how different every living creature here was from each other, they may have just been happy to see one of their own kin. Though, Sue wasn't convinced by that explanation. Either way, there was no point in trying to rationalize their joy away, not with how cute and soothingly warm it was.

She could let herself enjoy it, just for today.

And enjoy it, she did. One hand stroked Ember as the other held Bowlcut close. The Martian tyke could not decide whether they wanted more pets, to be picked up, or to be hugged. Sue catered to all those needs by alternating between them every once in a while, much to the little one's audible enjoyment.

Meanwhile, the rest of the table chatted amongst themselves. Doc, Spook, and now Leafy had taken up the opposite bench, the latter occasionally gesturing to make the tyke laugh.

To Sue's relief, their discussion only sometimes revolved around her.

Considering the circumstances of her appearance and her disability, she'd obviously be talked about a lot. Not understanding their words still made her uneasy, despite everyone's good intentions.

Or at least mostly everyone's. No idea what was up with Spook.

Everyone else was so used to them as to see any pranks from a mile away and deny them the satisfaction. The ghost-like would groan and roll their eyes each time, but it never took long for their emotional state to go from disappointment back to mischief.

Or, once Pixie had made their way back, to elation.

Spook's grin felt much less unnatural despite being just as massive as before. Their reaction was shared by the rest of the table, if for different reasons. The cook had brought a whole trayful of goods with them, sitting down beside Ember while handing out the meals to everyone gathered.

Sue and Doc got a piece of warm, fruity-smelling pastry each. Leafy and Bowlcut received small bowls of roasted fruits. Ember, meanwhile, got a different kind of fruit- cut in half, seared, and, judging by the smell, richly spiced. Wooden mugs of water accompanied the goods, chilled to a very refreshing temperature.

Sue briefly wondered how that was accomplished with no technology from even the same century as a fridge, before shrugging that thought aside.

With the meals handed out, Pixie got comfy. They pet the lil' fox as they grabbed their breakfast. It reminded Sue of toast. Two flat layers of light dough, with copious amounts of jam between them. The cook's grace was immaculate, not a speck smearing on their cheeks as they ate.

Curiously, they hadn't brought anything for Spook.

The prankster didn't seem to mind, preoccupied with chatting while staring at Pixie with infatuation in their eyes.

Some mixed messages being sent here.

Pixie's arrival marked a welcome change in the topics being discussed, in that Sue, as a subject, was dropped completely. The shift was appreciated, finally letting her peace out and simply enjoy her meal without her extrasensory perception warning her about others paying attention to her.

Bowlcut's squirming made that trickier, especially with Leafy occasionally coming over to wipe the mess off the baby's cheeks. Still, it was by far the calmest she's felt since she'd first woken up here.

Eventually, even that was helped. One of Pixie's comments had the tyke squeak happily and scramble towards the cook; immediately setting upon hugging the fairy's side. The sight of Bowlcut's limitless affection extending to those outside their kin warmed Sue's heart; a smile creeping onto her face as she watched.

Especially with Ember using the opportunity to climb back onto Sue's lap.

One hand pet the little fox on autopilot as the once-human allowed herself to space out. The surrounding calmness helped a lot, the soothing emotions coming together for quasi-meditation. Sue felt her anxieties fade away, becoming meaningless by the moment.

Everything would be fine.

She would eventually find her way back home.

Meeting the royals tomorrow would go well.

And maybe, just maybe, she would learn the incoherent mishmash that constituted the local language someday.

She might not have consciously believed those thoughts, but they were a pleasant distraction from the uneasy confusion she'd felt until now.

A distraction that was eventually interrupted by a sensation of a snout touching her leg.

It was only thanks to her zen state that Sue didn't get startled in response. Or at least, not as startled. The cold, damp touch still got a small jump out of her, one which the lil' fox had noticed. Ember joined her in glancing under the table at the responsible critter.

Their coloration was almost as fiery as Ember's.

Instead of a mixture of yellow and red, their coat was bright orange with black stripes along their back and hindquarters. Their shape was closer to a dog than a fox, a lion-like mane aside. They were by far the most animalistic out of any creature she'd seen in the village so far.

If not for their stripes and mane, Sue might have even confused them for an actual puppy.

If literally every other creature here was any sign, that puppy had a similar level of intelligence to her and was trying to catch her attention. They didn't look or feel hostile, and she couldn't sense anything negative coming from them.

Or… anything else on that matter.

The realization made Sue squint at the newcomer as Ember hopped off her lap, sniffing them up before becoming very affectionate towards them; the two immediately getting to nuzzling one another.

For the second time today, Sue's dumbfounded expression was a cause for someone else's amusement.

This time, however, it was kept much more covert. As the newcomer tried to stay quiet, their head... transformed into something else. Sue reeled back at the sight. Or, at least, until she realized she recognized this particular head. Dark gray with red accents and blue eyes, vulpine ears, and a black mane underneath-

It's the little shit that stole her peaches.

And, by extension, the little shit she ended up saving later that day. Even being unable to detect them with her sixth sense checked out, reminding her of that uncomfortable fact. She sure didn't remember them pulling anything like this shapeshifting off from the brief time she'd seen them, though.

Her uncertainty was noticed, and swiftly acted upon.

Between her blinks, the orange dog had turned entirely into that gray and red fox, smirking up at her for just a moment before reverting to their disguise.

Which raised the question of why they were hiding like that to begin with.

Sue could ponder on that mystery a bit later; right now, she was preoccupied by the pair of foxes affectionately nuzzling her leg. She couldn't help but smile, reaching over as inconspicuously as possible to stroke the gray one's head. The sensation that accompanied the softness of their fur was... weird. Slightly like Bowlcut and Doc weird, but different altogether.

Not uncomfortable, though. Not in the slightest.

As one imposter pet the other, she made several amusing discoveries. The gray one might have been able to disguise their appearance, but that didn't extend to physical presence; as evidenced by her hands feeling their ears while seemingly touching air.

The fun didn't last long, regrettably.

Bowlcut noticed the newcomer, startling them somewhat. The action prompted a slow leave; the orange canine strutting out from underneath the table. Ember escorted them out before woofing them away.

Suppose that was ultimately much more inconspicuous than dashing away in panic.

And resulted in Bowlcut reclaiming their proper spot on her lap. Sue giggled at the switcheroo before thinking back to that gray fox and their mysteries; starting with them being hidden to her extra sense.

Concentrating on her newfound radar, she looked around the clearing, trying to match each sensation to a specific creature. She had to give up halfway through at a mounting migraine, but she didn't spot any other being her sixth sense didn't also sense clearly. Wonder whether any creatures like that lived here at all.

And if not, why?

For how integrated this place looked, it was unnerving for that gray fox to have to hide because of something as unimportant as her being able to sense them. Especially with hundreds upon hundreds of wildly different creatures doing a wonderful job coexisting all around her.

Hell, Ember and the other fox were way more similar to each other than they were to any other creature around. Why did one have to hide and not the other?

What a mess.

As Sue pondered through it all, her mind again drifted toward names. She tried to come up with something for the dark fox, but only drew blanks each time. Nothing, not even something on the same level of abject stupidity as 'Bowlcut.'

Not that her concern for their situation would have let her keep anything this dumb, anyway.

Sudden motion around her finally grabbed Sue's attention. One more application of Pixie's finger-wagging magic brought all the long-emptied dishes onto the tray; the cook carrying it away shortly after. Spook followed them out in the most direct way possible.

Namely, through the table as if it didn't exist whatsoever.

The total lack of reaction from those gathered let Sue know that, like Ember literally breathing fire, this was apparently normal. Who knows, maybe Spook was an actual ghost and these just… existed here.

Sure wouldn't be out of place next to dragons, fairies, shapeshifting foxes, and giant enemy spiders.

Managing to keep her shocked reaction to just her eyes going wide was a welcome improvement.

With the cook and their... sidekick taking their leave, there wasn't much left to chat about. Any remaining topics were quickly wrapped up; peaceful silence settling in shortly after. Sue didn't mind one bit; it was nice to chill like that.

Especially with doom looming on the horizon.

With that on her mind, she glanced around the plaza, scouting for another route into the forest. Nothing, just small pathway off to the side. Maybe she should try sneaking out on the other side of the village? Probably too predictable.

Though… if she got away before running into that royal, they wouldn't have much reason to chase after her. They'd still maybe try out of concern. Ultimately, though, she was just a stranger, and they would eventually give up and write it off as a weirdo going back to doing weird things after getting better.

She'd just be another in what was no doubt a long list of weird events that had happened in this place. Or one of the very few weird events. Who knows, maybe the threshold for what constituted 'weird' here could very well be really high. High enough for her arrival and departure to not even count.

She really, really wished she could ask.

The sensation of a leaf brushing against her arm clued her in to Leafy picking Bowlcut up into their half-plantlike, half-insectoid arms; followed by a tilt of their head towards the rest of the village. Utter anatomical weirdness aside, the bushbug nanny was quite cute.

Or, at the very least, cuter than any insect or plant had any right to look.

With the baby removed from her lap, the once college student could get up herself. She fiddled with the crutch until she'd found some well-needed stability before catching up to the rest of the group.

Ember did their best at sneaking in some nuzzles as Sue hobbled along.

It may have made staggering forward just that bit harder, but it was still welcome on the principle of Ember being very cute. The once-human already wanted to pet them all day because their affection was the only thing in this world that she could entirely and wholly understand, and their every gesture only contributed further towards that desire.

Curiously, Doc's hut wasn't the destination this time.

Not that Sue minded. She'd had more than enough time to sit down and let her arm recover. She just had no idea where else they could take her specifically.

The breakfast relaxation helped ground her as the group made their way through the village's streets and paths. All the species surrounding them were much easier to process now that she was sated, fully awake, and at least temporarily at peace.

She didn't realize how many birds there were on her first journey.

They perched all around, be it on the roofs of the buildings or on an occasional pole. The purpose of the latter was uncertain until she made out a lantern-like cage near the top.

As neat as the realization that they had street lights in here was, Sue had no idea what they could have been using as a light source. Candles were much too weak. Maybe torches, like in some video games she had played? It wouldn't be too outlandish, but she couldn't see how a torch large enough to light up its surroundings would fit in there.

Guess she could try to sneak out at night to see for herself?

A part of her was really down for that idea, but the awareness of what awaited her tomorrow dampened the excitement. Ultimately, the entire conundrum was relegated to the back of her head, adding to the confusion pile.

By now, it was more of a bona fide confusion fort.

Thankfully, the next sight finally provided some well-needed answers.

To her disappointment, she had little time to take the ongoing construction effort in, the group briskly moving past it.

Trees were being felled in the back by a gray, rock-like bipedal rhino. Then, each log was cut to shape and prepared for assembly by something halfway between an insect, a robot, and a can of fiercely red paint. And finally, the building itself was being assembled by a creature so close to a human that Sue had to do a double take at seeing them.

Only to get disillusioned at the realization that humans only had two arms and not four.

Guess that explains where all the really huge creatures had been hiding all along.

To offset Sue feeling even frailer than before, at least the little brown... pangolin working on the foundation was much shorter than her. And quite cute at that, even with all the spikes on its back.

While they marched to their next destination, several villagers stopped Doc to exchange a few words; Sue's arm not appreciating the resulting pauses. One creature caught the once-human's attention in particular, their dark blue chitin standing out among the sea of fur and feathers.

The beetle towered over the medic; likely ending up even taller than Sue if their curved horn was included. Despite their size, they were quite reserved; their focus clear to sense as they left after asking Doc for something and receiving words of reassurance.

If not for their lightning fast bow towards her, Sue would've thought they hadn't even noticed her.

Fortunately for her arm, the next clearing was right up ahead.

It was smaller and less busy, aside from the group of various small beings resting in front of a blue bird that, somehow, sat inside a tiny, localized cloud. Or plumage that very much looked like a cloud.

Either or.

What was much easier to figure out was that all the little creatures were an assortment of, well, children.

Children that were all very excited at Leafy's arrival.

Each of them said something to the bushbug as they noticed them, presumably a greeting. Though, with none of them being in sync and their voices sounding like anything from rumbling gravel to outright whistling, the result was an utter cacophony that made all the adults on the scene wince, Doc especially.

Guess those big ears weren't just for show, heh.

Thankfully, few kids were interested in her. A little green quadruped with a… leaf sticking from the top of its head and a part blue, part black bipedal dog with four ears walked over to investigate her, but that was about it.

The latter even woofed out something toward her.

Doc's calm squeaks were enough to make them nod and scramble back to their group. A group that Bowlcut and Leafy had joined in the meantime, the bushbug sitting down beside the living cloud. The whole gathering felt even happier than before; the bird eventually resuming their singsong lecture.

Was this a daycare of some sort?

It kinda looked like one. But if that was the case, then what about Ember? A downward glance revealed the little fox to have stayed glued to her side and not even considering joining the group of assorted kids. Nobody else around was about to force them to, either. Guess they either were too old despite fitting on her lap, or were granted permission to chill with their savior in their parent's absence.

Sue really wished she could crouch and give them a couple pets right about now.

Now that Leafy and Bowlcut were delivered to their destination, Doc quietly caught her attention and took off. Sue was left briefly surprised at them not turning right around, but quickly caught up afterward.

Seems they weren't quite done yet.

Fortunately for her crutch arm, their next stop wasn't far away. It grabbed much more of Sue's attention than a mutant animal daycare, though not because of any reasons the rest of the group knew about.

The central wall of carvings narrowed into a point towards the top. It was flanked by a couple of smaller tablets, curved to face the small raised altar in front of the main wall. A large bowl sat on top of the altar, containing several feathers, the same kind as the one Doc gave her last night. It was surrounded by diligently kept flowers, their colorfulness contrasting with the imposing nature of the sculpture that loomed over them.

A graven depiction of what was unmistakably Duck took up most of the monument.

Their engraving was much more intricate than the by now hazy recollection of her dream, letting her spot some additional details. The pair of small paws on its front, to which the wing-like crescents connected. The crescent-Moon-like shape of what Sue initially thought to be tusks on either side of its head. And, last but not least, the multi-colored appearance of its wings and the crescent that arced over its back, masterfully expressed despite the limitations of stonework.

Further adding to the lunar theming, a full Moon was chiseled above what had to be a deity. Its craters looked different to how she remembered them, but were unmistakably lunar all the same.

Each tablet flanking the monument depicted its own scene, coming together to depict a guardian deity. To the left, Duck was shielding a small creature from a writhing, black mass. To the right, it was driving that same black mass away with moonlight. And in the center, it was healing a visibly injured creature, crescent wings raised high as they guided the lunar light from above. Aside from the darkness on either side tablet, none of the carvings used any paint, making the black mass stand out among the light-colored stone even further.

Guess Duck was kind of a big deal.

And probably wasn't called 'Duck' either.

Doc's kind nature helped her avoid being laughed at because of her expression for the third time today.

The medic kept themselves to a single amused comment at seeing her staring at the shrine like that before approaching it themselves, stopping next to another creature. As they got into what looked like their own prayer, Sue focused on their fellow… worshiper.

They were much larger, body shape making her think of a stoat standing back on their hind legs. The fur covering their back was velvety and dark purple while their front was cream-colored; at least the little of it she could make out.

Sue didn't have the time to focus on a ring of glowing purple spots around their neck before they turned towards Doc and spoke up with growls and soft whines. Once the medic was done with their prayer, they joined in on the chat; Sue left unnerved at the feeling of attention being placed on her again.

Ember kept close to her all the while, their emotions uncertain.

They felt... afraid of the monument, maybe even of Duck itself. Considering Sue's experience with the deity forcing itself into her dreams, she sure couldn't blame them.

Right as Sue was about to say something reassuring to the little fox, a quiet, slow growl caught her attention.

Her gaze shot up, only to find the purple and cream stoat in the middle of a bow right in front of her. A bow towards her, no less. The elegance of the gesture left Sue unsure what to do before feebly trying to replicate it to whatever extent she could; the result closer to a large nod than anything.

The resulting bow-off lasted for several long, awkward moments until Doc finally intervened, their brief comment clearly taking the stoat off guard. Even with that eye-opening revelation, they continued to hold their pose. Guess she had to speak up to drive the point home-

"Hello, I-I can't understhand you."

She could swear she saw one of their eyes twitch as they looked up at her.

Even despite that, they resumed their graceful appearance shortly afterwards; straightening out before leaving with a brief comment. Wait, was that… contempt in their thoughts? Doc's gentle shaking of her hand took her out of that unpleasant realization; one paw pointing further into the village conveying their intent wordlessly.

Thankfully, their destination turned out to be the clinic this time, finally.

The rest of the day passed rather quickly, for better or worse.

Sue took her time recovering, both from the injury that got her here and the exertion on her not at all athletic arm. Ember kept her company the entire day, the pair mostly just chilling.

After lunch, the meal delivered this time, she'd managed to charade through asking Doc to bring her some paper, the request eagerly fulfilled. She could tell they were disappointed when she used it to draw Ember instead of attempting to communicate, though they didn't let it get to their expression.

Ember sure enjoyed it, at least.

Eventually, she mimed out wanting to take another walk to get a better view of the construction site. The number of differences between the four-armed creature and actual humans made her feel dumb at having to do a double take in the first place.

It also clarified that they, as well as every other monster working on the new building, were strong enough to snap her in half. Or at least, that's what them carrying whole logs and slabs of rock Doc's size in one hand each implied.

The evening was less gruesome to think about.

Leafy and Bowlcut paid them another, shorter visit. The tyke and Sue were once more overjoyed at seeing each other, both appreciating their faux-alike friend. All the while, the once-human tried staving off the sense of impending doom as the sun sank below the horizon.

Tomorrow was approaching fast, way too fast for comfort.

As much as Bowlcut sensed her worry and tried to cheer her up, none of it really worked. It left the little one just kinda sad as Leafy walked them back home after twilight, together with Ember this time.

Shortly afterward, Sue was left alone at last, with only mounting dread and that glowing feather to keep her company. A brief internal question of whether Doc had stolen it from what looked like a very sacred shrine made her chuckle, but it was the only relief she was gonna get that evening.

The feather's glow guided her to sleep eventually, but it took much, much longer than she would've preferred. Enough for the Moon to be already high in the sky by the time she finally dozed off.

For all she knew, it was the last night of rest she was ever gonna have.

__________________________________________

The next thing Sue knew, she was falling.

Air whizzed past her body at deafening speeds, eyes feebly trying and failing to make sense of the vision. She was surrounded by the starry sky in every direction but down, all reduced to uncountable blurry lines as she raced through the cosmic void, unable to do anything but watch.

All but one.

A single speck of golden light danced around her as she rocketed through the darkness, spiraling so close she felt like she could reach out and grab it. And she tried, many times, mind issuing the command to her body again and again. Each time, the latter refused, assuming it even existed at all; as if she was but a mere passenger.

Suddenly, a voice.

Squeaky, grating, neither male nor female. It chided her for things unknown, things unknowable; goading her towards her Fate with its every word.

And then, it flung her forth.

An instant later, she was somewhere else altogether. Bright blue, green. The golden twinkle was gone, absent with no reason or explanation. In its stead, so many others, creeping up on her, unknown and hostile. White and green and black and yellow, without shape, without comprehension.

Another blink, a spider's maw about to devour her whole.

A silver comet crashed into her with its entire strength, shattering her body. It spoke with an angelic choir, its words beyond comprehension as they guided her towards her Destiny. Its impact sent her tumbling off course, down, down, down.

Down towards a clearing.

Down towards a campfire.

Down towards a pair of crimson eyes, staring wide at her as she approached.

Down towards these familiar guitar twangs.

Here comes the ground.