Chapter 7: Village

Autumn wasn't immediately sure what to say after her daughter in law had left for her duties, uncertain about whether she ought to be cluing Anne in on just what was going on out there, especially in how it could be potentially related to her. One thing was clear though- she wanted to do something to help cheer the poor girl up, reaching over to gently stroke Anne's hand as it held the Fennekin doll to her side, the human's mind feeling like it was gradually withdrawing and spacing out of her immediate surroundings-

What she didn't expect was for Anne to recoil so abruptly at her touch with a sound somewhere between a whimper and a gasp, wide eyes immediately turning to look over at her as her own brain played catchup, growing more self aware at its own subconscious reaction-

"~O-oh, sorry Mrs-~"

"^Shhhhh, it's okay sweetie. It's my fault for not asking first.^"

The genuine reassurance did wonders at soothing Anne's mind before it had a chance to start tying itself into knots again, the glasses-clad face nodding before smiling shyly as her arm returned to its precious spot, within Autumn's reach this time, the Indeedee taking the cue and starting to deliver some well needed comfort again, more successfully this time.

"^There, there, I'm here Anne. If I can help in any way do let me know, okay?^"

Anne instinctively nodded along, taking a moment to actually start going through what these words implied, gaze roaming away from the little psychic as she gathered her words, eventually mumbling out-

"~Could I ask some qu-questions?~"

Autumn beamed at the little one in response, nodding firmly before looking around for a footstool or something else she could use to replicate her daughter's position from earlier, eventually realizing no such a thing was around.

"^Of course! Some clarity is the least you deserve in here after all this. Actually, lemme try-^"

Before Anne could even ask about what Autumn was about to try, the grandma answered for herself, her old body not appreciating the minor display of athletics as it attempted to climb onto the edge of the bed. Neither did the old mind that had to help her body out with a touch of telekinesis shortly afterwards, the end display awkward and clumsy enough to help break through Anne's anxiety a bit, her held in giggle music to Autumn's ears. As much as she could sense the girl tense up at the realization of her amusement being noticed though, her own quiet laughter in response thankfully defused the atmosphere before it could get more unpleasant for the little one.

"^Oh don't you worry Anne, I know full well I made a bit of a show of myself, hah!^"

"~...y-yeah, heheh. Umm, as to the question... w-where are we?~"

Autumn internally hesitated just a bit in response, unsure just how much of their secrecy was now fair game when it came to discussing it with the girl, but eventually settling on "all of it", especially since it felt like they wouldn't be sending her away anytime soon.

"^Well~ we never agreed on a single name for this village really. A village it is nonetheless, smaller than your human ones from what I know, nestled in between your towns.^"

The explanation made Anne's eyes go wider from behind the glasses, the girl instinctively leaning in closer as her hand continued to be pet.

"~L-like, an entire village? A village of P-Pokemon?~"

"^Mmmhm~!^"

"~Wow...~"

Anne's mind couldn't help but start roaming back towards a book she'd read years ago, its plot set in a place just like this, a secret Pokemon society away from prying human eyes... she'd read and reread it so many times the spine slowly began to wear out, and she was too self conscious to bring it up to Mrs. Graham, eventually just not borrowing it any more to make the wear less obvious. Granted, a prehistoric-looking settlement in the woods was nowhere near as sophisticated as a futuristic underworld, but she would take Autumn and Aria over almost every single character in that book combined.

"~That's... I-I had no idea places like that really existed, I-I remember reading a fictional story about it but just that...~"

"^I don't know how many others like us there are out there, but if we could make it work in such a tight bind between the two human towns, then I'd only imagine so can many others in more accommodating circumstances.^"

The mention of a bind between towns made Anne's mind start thinking through how that actually implied, the girl itching to sketch a map of the local area, really curious just where exactly this magical place in the woods fit in there-

"~O-oh, in between Mylock and L-Lillywood like-~"

Autumn was a bit taken aback at just how quickly Anne's thought process suddenly sped up there, the little one wanting to draw and show her something, but in order to do that she would have to retrieve something from her bag, making her try to shuffle other and awkwardly shift around with her immobilized arm and her blanket before finally admitting the inevitable to herself with a sigh. The reasoning behind each individual action was completely lost on Indeedee, and so was Anne's anxious resignation at the end, the chubby psychic just sliding over closer to her as she asked cautiously-

"^Is everything okay Anne?^"

Anne's gaze seemed to be affixed to the covers as she 'umm'ed and 'eh'ed for a moment, the awkward search for words taking Autumn off guard with how out of nowhere it was.

"~I'll have t-to put my clothes on...~"

"^Okay! Let me know if you need any help with it.^"

As confusing as Anne's anxiety was, the girl's blank, almost deadpan stare in Indeedee's direction in response to that comment only dumbfounded the grandma even more, Autumn's own eyebrow raising back at the little one she was watching over.

"^Is something wrong?^"

"~I-I... okay, right, I forgot. Umm... c-could you leave the room wh-while I do it?~"

The request was perfectly clear, but to say it made no sense for Autumn was quite an understatement. The elderly psychic was about to ask why before sensing just how much of the girl's uncertain anxiety was tied to the mundane-sounding act of putting clothes on, even if the clothes themselves were both more plentiful and fancier than anything she ever wore. Maybe clothes had some sort of religious importance to humans?

"^Alrighty, I can do that. Shout if you need any help Anne, I'll be waiting outside.^"

The relief that filled the human's frail body in response was palpable, the whole topic ending up something that Autumn would've had to talk with Aria about later, but for now there was no harm in giving Anne her privacy. The moment the Indeedee crossed the threshold of Anne's chamber, standing guard immediately outside, she could hear the sounds of cloth being shuffled and other items being rattled about, as good of a confirmation as any that the girl's anxiety was somehow tied to being watched when changing. Perhaps it maybe had something to do with her holding the covers to her front at all times like that as well- something to ask her once she's done.

Autumn was certainly in no rush herself either, observing the few medics either chatting or tending to the couple other patients inside the clinic, their injuries thankfully far smaller in scope than what Anne had been through. The human in the closed off room might've been much more immediately frightening or fascinating, but in time the Indeedee's stalwart's presence did catch the attention of a couple others, Autumn burning time by humming an old tune to herself, eyes closed, as she heard a low, feminine voice speak from nearby, sounding almost as old as she was-

"Autumn?"

"Good afternoon Esther. Is something the matter?"

"You have been standing like this for a while now, is something up with the human?"

"Oh no, worry not, she is just putting on clothes and asked me to step out for the duration."

The Indeedee opening her eyes revealed a mildly surprised Blissey staring down at her, a bit of frustration seeping into her thoughts at not being kept in the loop-

"I wasn't aware she woke up again. Well, once she is done let me know, we ought to take another look at the mess of her arm and see if it needs any further intervention."

"Hah, your expertise coming in useful again after all these years?"

"I wish it wasn't."

Esther's flat response took Willow aback, and she wasn't sure whether she liked it all that much, leading her to prod further-

"Well, from what I and Aria have been talking with her so far, she's been nothing but sweet."

"From my experience, many a human are until they're in a position where they can be terrible without ever suffering any repercussions."

"That's a rather cynical way to look at it all."

"It's also one I wouldn't follow if not for having experienced it more times than I can count."

The Blissey's more firm assertion had Autumn reneging for now- after all, only one of them had all the lived experience that was necessary to arrive at something like this in the first place, and it wasn't the Indeedee.

"Right, right, my bad. Well, I certainly hope that she'll be an exception to that rule then. If you don't mind me asking a question though..."

"Hmm?"

"Could you have a clue as to why the whole clothes thing had her going so anxious and asking me to step out?"

Esther chuckled under her breath at that- it might've been decades since the last time she had last seen a human up until this whole mess began, but the repetitive drilling to respect patients' privacy during her training was something she was likely never gonna forget.

"Ah yes, the human so-called modesty. I think it is a cultural thing- seems there's some big rule against the front or the groin being visible without any coverings in their society. Or just groin in case of males- I have no idea what's the reason for it really, I've seen what's under these coverings plenty enough while I served at their hospital and it's about as normal and mundane as I am. Some fatty lumps for females in the front I think, and the usual set of bits in the groin- more exposed than with most species so that may be why? I genuinely have no idea."

As their chief medic went through their memories, Autumn tried listening in on what was going on back in the other room, the shuffling noises having mostly ceased for now but without the girl giving them any sort of all clear yet, Anne's mental state seeming to be determined and annoyed more than anything else.

"I see... well, don't see a reason to disrespect it if it's that important for them. Though, she's been at it for a while now- ^Anne? Are you alright?^"

Autumn's mental call had clearly startled the girl a bit, several drawn out 'umms' and 'eh's leaving her as she kept shuffling around the bed, or at least that's how it sounded-

"~Oh no no, just c-can't get this stupid knife to go through, ugh...~"

Both Autumn and Esther were dumbfounded at that response, the Indeedee almost stepping back in there and then before asking again, more urgency in her mental voice-

"^Anne, what's wrong?^"

Thankfully, this time the response was a bit more shuffling and a defeated sigh, the girl responding a few moments later-

"~Nothing, just I-I tried to tear this sleeve a-and couldn't figure it out... you can come in.~"

The clarification cleared up precious nothing, but a go ahead was welcome much the same, both elderly women stepping in to a rather messy sight on Anne's bed. It was clear enough that most of her dressup had gone successfully, or at least as much as could be shown by a sock clad foot danging from the side of the bed, but that the upper body clothing was the main hitch there, left sleeve attempting to be torn open with the use of a big knife the girl had procured from... somewhere, completely unsuccessfully so far.

"^Goodness Anne, what were you trying to do there?^"

The girl looked away with a fair bit of embarrassment and shame at her little oops there, though more so at Autumn having to step in to help rather than at the big concerning display that was taking place on the bed.

"~The cast won't fit through, so I tried to c-cut the sleeve open and c-couldn't manage...~"

As straightforward as the explanation was, it still left several questions, Autumn walking over to the right side of Anne's bed to take a closer look at the knife, utterly confused by its presence there. Esther, on the other hand, took it upon herself to solve the problem directly, startling the girl as she grabbed the shirt's left sleeve and tore it open most of the way through to the collar, leaving only a thin strap to rest on her shoulder.

"~Like this! T-thank you... ummm, Mrs. Blissey?~"

Esther had to take a couple deep sighs in response, human speech being one of those sounds that has grown more and more grating in hindsight, but she couldn't deny that being innocently and genuinely thanked like that did feel rather nice, the Blissey eventually settling on a curt smile, equal parts forced and genuine, and a small bow.

"^Her name is Esther, Anne. But the knife- were you carrying it with yourself in that bag? What for?^"

"~Thank you Mrs. esther. A-and, um... I...~"

Needing help with tearing a sleeve open was embarrassing, sure, but it seemed that this topic was even worse in that regard, Autumn regretting asking a bit, about to clarify that Anne didn't need to answer before the girl went ahead anyway-

"~I-I was scared... thought that I c-could at least try defending myself with a knife like that if I-I ended up on the street...~"

Autumn's comprehension of the full explanation was limited on the account of her not immediately comprehending the meaning of "ending up on the street", but that wasn't an obstacle Esther faced, more and more of the Blissey's hesitation beginning to get melted through. Wanting something for self defense was clear enough even for the Indeedee however, which made little sense either until she remembered how supposedly weak humans stripped of all their inventions were, the mental sight of a child trying to wave a knife that's way too large for her hand for any sort of intimidation sad and pathetic.

"^Oh, dear... I'm so sorry.^"

"~It's okay now, d-don't worry Mrs. Autumn! It was a b-bit silly of me to bring it, I-I know...~"

"A bit, but I doubt you'd be able to get a hold of a gun. Autumn, could you tell her that we'll be taking a look at her arm and it might get bloody?"

Anne looked at the Blissey in surprise at her speaking up in her mumbly, squeaky voice, the contents of her message completely lost, Autumn conveying the gist shortly afterwards-

"^She's saying that they'll need to take a look at your arm and it'll be rather bloody.^"

"~O-oh...~"

Autumn barely needed her sixth sense to pick up on how spooked that idea made Anne, wanting to instinctively suggest something else before hearing Esther sigh, her own thoughts revving up in response.

"I think if we slide the bed a bit we'll be able to use curtains as a divider. Yeah, that'll work- tell her to finish changing and then we'll be able to get into it."

The message was passed on, the Indeedee not even needing a reminder this time to leave the room afterwards, the sensations of relief and triumph that followed clear enough to feel even from the next room over, calming the grandma down as the medics were assembling around her, waiting for a signal to be able to go in. It took a bit longer than expected, Anne clearly doing something else first instead of immediately giving them a go ahead, but thankfully it was only a brief distraction, just long enough for the girl to retrieve a couple eye catching items from the bag, laying them out next to her.

Right as she was about to speak up about potentially figuring something out for how to handle the arm, Esther sprung into action, reaching down and dragging the entire bed a foot or so in one direction, Anne's good arm gripping onto the covers tighter in response, though letting them fall down this time. Before the girl could say anything more, the curtains around the bed were rolled down just enough to completely cut off the sight of her arm from the girl's perspective while avoiding any further slack.

Autumn scooted over to the bed's other side shortly after, not particularly caring for the no doubt bloody sight that would await her underneath the cast, much more interested in comforting the human throughout it all, lightly stroking her hand as the rest of the medics got into it. The sensations were weird and slightly unnerving- the whole limb was still almost completely devoid of any feeling, with exception of a tiny bit of coldness that accompanied the cast being taken off, sending a chill down Anne's spine. Before she could get any more distraught thinking about it though, the Indeedee spoke up again, bringing up the topic from earlier-

"^So, what was it you wanted to show me Anne- and what are those?^"

As self explanatory as a large format notebook, looking slightly chewed in places, and a equally worn down pen were for the human, the chubby psychic had no idea about either of them, Anne not immediately realizing that fact before she went right into it, beginning to flip the pages to find a large enough clean spot for her drawing-

"~Oh, just my notebook and a pen. S-so, this village is like-~"

The rough bird's eye sketch of the surrounding area did little to clarify Autumn's confusion, including the way any of it was being drawn in the first place. The white, thick rectangular object seemed to be made out of uncountable number of hair thin rectangles, most of them already drawn on, with the short stick in Anne's good hand adding black lines onto the sheet with its every motion, the color making her think of decals being burned in wood, but without any of the associated warmth. While that scribble was being worked on, Autumn staved her confusion off by taking in the rest of the page, and all the other drawings it had in its every corner- there were more than a few Fennekin, all of them likely Ember, two sketches of an Arcanine roaring and sleeping respectively, a very lively drawing of some insectoid looking creature buzzing around... and all of them looked really good.

Much of the exact detail was absent, sure, largely owing to the medium not really allowing any colors except for the white of the background and the black of this magic stick, but what was there was clear enough to make it clear what species she was looking at, how were they feeling, and especially what they were doing, each pose and expression livelier than the last. It was far from the most intricate artwork even in the borders of the village, but that didn't make it any less aesthetically pleasing, Autumn so entranced by all the little drawings it took Anne tapping her paw to catch her attention again after she was done, the Indeedee immediately speaking up-

"^Goodness Anne these are all really pretty!^"

The girl was taken aback by such an immediate compliment, blushing a tiny bit while trying her hardest not to move, gaze darting all over except at the Indeedee.

"~T-th-thank you! I'm glad you like them- if- if you want I can draw you too Mrs. Autumn!~

The reception of Anne's art and the offer that followed came as unexpected for both sides, Anne not expecting her meager artistic skills to get appreciated like that ever, but especially not in a village full of Pokemon who all could do much more impressive things, while Autumn grew giddy at the opportunity to see herself depicted by someone so skilled, the previous topic quickly discarded.

"^Oh I'd love to! Should I try a specific pose or-^

"~This one works q-quite well I think, if you could hold it! N-need experience with more unusual poses l-like this anyway...~"

The awareness that less than two feet away her arm was being worked on in what would qualify as a surgery inside a human hospital didn't have room to settle into Anne's mind as she got into her groove, her shakiness and ambient anxiety seeming to evaporate, bit by bit, as she got into the swing of things. Autumn watched eagerly as a large empty spot in the girl's notebook began to get filled with her likeness- or at least what would become her likeness, the handful of circles and other basic geometric shapes a rather far cry from her appearance despite the simple body structure. Bit by bit however, each rougher part got worked on- one circle became her waist and got more of a definition, another became her head and horns, a series of smaller circles turning into her arm, all smoothly but skillfully enough that to the Indeedee it might as well have just been magic.

Occasionally, the grandma saw the girl's left shoulder twitch a bit before she reminded herself of the fact that that limb was out of service, putting the magic stick down and bringing her good hand up to her eye, muttering something about perspective or horizon as she stuck her fingers out all sorts of ways, letting Autumn notice how weird they were. She was far from unused to more defined hands, Aria's and Marco's were definitely on the more intricate end of the spectrum, with quite a few degrees of freedom, but they couldn't compare to Anne's hands, both in terms of number of fingers and their flexibility. Granted, with that came the less than pleasant realization of just how thin and sinewy they were, the individual bones that underlaid them much too visible for comfort on a second look, but if nothing else Anne was getting as much use of them as possible, an intricate grip of her stick giving her a very detailed control over what got drawn.

The whole process was involved enough for her that she didn't even notice the medics wrapping up their handiwork on the other side of the curtain, Anne's gaze only sparing Esther the tiniest blip of attention before jumping back onto the incredibly thin canvas. She was largely wrapped up with Autumn herself by that point and was busy just adding detail around her, including the occupied window, the creases on the covers, the corners of this irregularly shaped chamber, even the faintly visible specks of dust in the air, right hand continuing to twitch for a bit afterwards once she decided she was finally done.

"~Alright, I-I think I've got it done! W-what do you think Mrs. Autumn- oh?~"

It took her until now to actually consciously notice the curtain next to her having been pulled up and the cast replaced with a new, slightly less bulky one, Anne blinking dumbfoundedly as the Indeedee gasped at seeing the completed artwork right side up, taken aback at its quality.

"^Anne this is gorgeous! I've never seen myself drawn like this, this is incredible, I can't thank you enough for this sweetie.^"

While the human attempted to not combust in fluster at the unceasing praise, her own sudden exhaustion began to creep up on her, attention shifting over to the sour pick-me-up juice from earlier, the bottle getting opened and poured over into the cup- or at least what was left of it.

"~It's really n-nothing, it's just a sketch, so much missing d-detail a-and oversimplification-~"

"^But it looks so nice! I'm quite sure most of our artists could even learn a thing or two from you.^"

This particular piece of flattery had Anne blush bright red and glance away, mood shifting between embarrassed and giddy at a compliment like that, mind trying to figure out how much of an overexaggeration it was before the body answered with a drawn out yawn.

"^Aww, tired?^"

"~No no, I-I don't think so at least, I didn't f-feel tired before...~"

"^That's what Heal Pulse does to you honey. I'm sure some of Holly's concoction will help you push through that- oh?^"

The half filled glass led the Indeedee to try to telekinetically weigh the bottle, predictably finding it empty, the eager grandma knowing exactly what to do-

"^Sounds like you need a refill then! Would you want me to go get you some more while you nap or just rest in the meantime?^"

Nap, not really, but rest... Anne could definitely use some of that, yeah. Maybe she could even try walking a bit and stretch her legs in the meantime. The idea of having nobody around that could understand her until Autumn would get back was a bit worrying, yes, growing even more so the more she focused on it, but the antidote to that in not thinking about it and just focusing on something else instead was effective enough to get the girl to nod her head in affirmation. The sensation of having her hair ruffled without any physical touch that followed did catch her off guard a fair bit, confused eyes looking around much to Autumn's amusement as she left the room.

And now, it was just her, but with clothes this time.

A couple attempts at trying to close her eyes and clearing her mind had drowsiness creep up on her close enough to almost knock her out there and then, prompting a different approach, the girl instead reaching into the side pocket of her backpack and pulling out the stashed book, the card that served as a bookmark left slightly bent from handling.

Suffice to say that a crime thriller featuring a murderous, vengeful Gardevoir was nowhere near as chilling to read through with her only one on one interaction with said species ending up being more comforting than anything she'd experienced since her grandma was still around. The extent to which her perception of the book's events changed with that knowledge was very amusing to think about, quiet giggles leaving the girl as she pulled the book over, the bog on the front cover leaving her view as she started flipping the pages-

Before jumping in her seat as she glanced up at the window, a detail she spotted but didn't consciously recognize earlier currently staring back at her, making her freeze.

H-how long has that Dartrix b-been staring at her for?

The Rowlet family has always sat in a weird spot between cool and really intimidating for her, the possibility of literally being shot or impaled by one of their quills sending chills down her spine every time she got to their entries inside the big dexes in Mrs. Graham's library. At a rational level, it wasn't any more dangerous than a myriad of other very effective methods of hunting or self defence almost all species had available to them, but it just felt so much more viscerally unnerving in a way Anne had a hard time explaining.

Kinda like her father whenever he started waving his service gun around-

The train of thought was interrupted by the owl outside of the tent leaning in closer in response to being spotted, deciding to take the gun analogy to another level by waving their loaded wing at her, their expression inscrutable. Anne had no idea just what exactly the gesture implied, or what to even do in response, hoping that if she just waved back they'd get content and leave her alone- as opposed to many other more terrifying possibilities like them interpreting it as her own attempt at intimidation-

As luck would have it, neither of the two would end up happening after she returned the gesture, the girl flinching backwards on the bed with a yelp as the Dartrix breached the magical window and flew right in, perching on the edge of her bed, immediately getting to leaning forward and eying her out afterwards, constantly speaking in birdsong while at it. Anne could only imagine they were trying to speak at her, and that they'd hopefully get the cue that she couldn't understand them one bit, lack of any obvious aggression slowly melting through her fright.

Fortunately enough, the bird themselves seemed to be mindful of them having accidentally spooked her, the motions that followed much slower and more telegraphed as they slowly began to inch closer towards her on the edge of the bed, their steps clumsy from inexperience. Their head craning as they scanned over the front cover of her book and the current page of her notebook was a clear enough tell of what they wanted to see, Anne hoping she'd be able to speed it along towards them hopefully leaving afterwards by holding up her most recent scribble for them to take a better look. The owl's reactions were lively if nothing else, chirps loud and drawn out as their head craned all around, their attention snapping back over towards her afterwards, much to another, smaller startle from the girl.

Her reaction made them visibly pause, one wing holding towards their face in a gesture reminiscent of a human stroking their chin as they rather clearly tried to think through something, looking even a bit cute while doing so, even if the whole situation was still on the unnerving side. Their ultimate plan of action took the girl aback, even if she couldn't disagree with the results, a soft gasp leaving Anne as the owlet hopped the rest of the way over and... hugged her. For a couple long moments, Anne's only reaction was a startled freeze, her brain playing catchup- afterwards though, with how clear the gesture's intent was, she let go of her notebook and started returning it, the grassy birdie warmer to the touch than she would've thought, their quiet coos really feeling like they were trying to comfort her.

"~T-thank you...~"

They perked up at her words, Anne's eyes slightly damp as she held the owlet back, closing them afterwards and just relaxing to the backdrop of her guest's incomprehensible bird noises. The hug wouldn't last all that long ultimately, the Dartrix hopping back a couple paces and smiling up at her, their expression clear despite how little of a way they had of showing it.

"~D-did you come here to check on me?~"

As expected, their head tilt was the only response to Anne's own words, though she wasn't about to be discouraged by that, lightly bowing to show her gratitude instead, giggling at seeing it be returned towards her moments later.

"~Wonder if..."

With an idea having struck her, Anne reached to grab her notebook before starting to flip through pages to find another big enough spot for this sketch, the birdie watching with interest all the while, leaning in to a comical degree. It only took them a few lines to realize that they were the one being drawn in that moment, the sudden awareness clearly catching them off guard as they chirped loudly, looking around the room haphazardly for a few minutes before deciding to perch right in front of her, on her legs no less, and making a pose of either waving at her, or showing off the inside of their wing, the message drastically different depending on that context.

"~Hmm... I-I think I can salvage this, yeah-~"

The pen whizzed and glided over the lined paper as the initial outline of the Dartrix began to take form, the girl eventually not even needing to glance up at them anymore, filling in the detail from her memory, the drawing gaining more definition by the moment. Fortunately for the birdie, they caught onto that fact too after a moment, aching wing finally able to be lowered as they leaned in, cooing loudly at the progress of the drawing.

Right as Anne was getting into shading though, some louder noises coming in from nearby seemed to startle both her and the birdie, their chirps in response to the sounds coming off as confused more than anything else. though neither they nor Anne had too long to think about them, especially as they got more defined, turning into loud squeaks and honk-like noises, sounding like they came from right around the corner-

An owl watching her through the window was one thing, at least they were covert in their... curiosity of her, something that didn't apply in the slightest to the bouncy, bubbling Azumarill that half stepped, half hopped into the room, holding the bottle of juice and a tied up bundle in their hands, 'speaking' loudly at her all the while. As non-threatening as the fairy rabbits were in general, this one definitely pushed the envelope with how forcefully they came through, making noises for a good long moment uninterrupted before the owlet finally chimed in, quiet chirps finally making the blue guest stop. The pause to their outpouring of words was very temporary however, though at least once it resumed it was aimed the other way, their loud calls towards the exit out of this room answered with quiet, panted squeaks, Autumn left completely out of breath after she finally made her way back, Anne feeling bad at the sight and wanting to help somehow.

Thankfully, with the little psychic came clarity, something inside her mind itching briefly as the Indeedee focused, speaking telepathically before returning to catching their breath-

"^There, there Holly, she can hear you now, I told you you didn't have to run-^

"There we go! Now-"

The voice Anne heard was loud, boisterous, but also warm and genuine, the freshly identified Holly turning back to face Anne as the girl was left overwhelmed at all the sudden events-

"Here ya go Anne! Your meal."

Before the girl could try to reach over and start grabbing the items one at a time, they were both surrounded with Autumn's green shimmer and howevered over to the bedside table, the psychic sighing in exasperation as Anne looked for words-

"~Th-thank you! Wait, d-did you make these?~"

"Sure did! Your personal juice blend and a hearty batch of cookies, ya needed a proper welcome gift in here!"

The mention of cookies in particular took Anne aback a bit, even the mention of the treat evoking memories of a better, safer time, the girl shaking a bit as she smiled widely in response-

"~T-that's- that's so nice of you, I-I-~"

"Doncha fret about it Anne, my pleasure! Ya sure deserve an actual welcome after all the dumb worrying the scouts were doing earlier."

Anne wasn't entirely sure what these words implied, but she was more than content to just appreciate the gift in the moment, really wanting to return the kind gesture somehow-

"~Still, I-I want to pay back-~"

"Hush hush now! I mean it when I say I'm glad to do this, I don't ever need anything in return sweetie."

"~H-how about a drawing?~"

The Azumarill was the one dumbfounded for once, Anne clarifying her point by reaching over her notebook for Holly to take a better look, eyes going wide as she scanned the pages.

"Hot damn we're got an artisty girl in here! Jovie's gonna have a field day with you sometime, hah!"

"^Maybe let's not rush ahead that far into the future Holly...^"

"Right right right. Anywho- prolly best I haul myself back over to the pantry hah, the rush is gonna start picking up anytime now- you take care of yourself Anne, stop by sometime once you're better!"

With the encouraging words and a wave towards Anne that was then returned, the Azumarill turned on her heels and started heading out, tail bouncing on the carpeted floor as she turned the corner, calling out towards someone unseen-

"Hey-"

Her greeting getting abruptly cut off dumbfounded Anne for a moment, but Autumn walking over to the right side of her bed caught her attention right afterwards, a soft smile filling the grandma's expression as she looked up at the occupied bed- and raised an eyebrow at the Dartrix that was still perched on Anne's legs, her voice equal parts gently chiding and curious-

"^Blossom~?^"

"Good afternoon Autumn! I-I- umm..."

Anne certainly didn't expect the Dartrix's translated voice to sound like a teen a couple years older than herself, blinking at the owlet a couple times as Autumn smirked and broke into quiet chuckling, shaking her head a bit with a smile and a sigh.

"I wanted t-to check up on her!"

"^And how is she~?^"

"She-"

The realization that the lanky, pink artist could now understand her own words took its time to hit Blossom, but once it did, the Dartrix wasted no time hopping over towards the girl and speaking back up, voice excited-

"Aaaaa hi! My name is Blossom! How do you draw so nicely?"

The question in particular had the human girl giggling, the owlet's earlier excitability all the sweeter in hindsight, Anne waving back once more-

"~I'm A-Anne! And heheh, I've b-been drawing for a few years now, had a lot of practice w-when I was younger.~"

As simple and obvious as the answer was, Blossom grew even giddier at hearing it, her curiosity spreading to other items, the medium on which Anne's art took place no less mysterious than the girl's humanity as a whole.

"That's so cool! What is that stick you draw with, it looks so weird! Oh oh oh, are you gonna be staying here!?"

The clear plastic pen was nothing out of the ordinary by human standards, most of the thin ink-holding part already drained, the brass tip shining faintly in the light that crept into the tent as it was held up for the owlet and the grandma to see. The follow up question made Anne pause before she could get into the weeds of explaining how the simple device worked, the uncertainty about her situation freezing her mind-

"^So far all the signs are pointing to 'yes', Blossom, Anne will likely stay here for a while.^"

Autumn's reassurance might not have been fully confident, but it was enough to calm Anne down a bit, at least enough for her to show off her very intricate drawing setup-

"~So, this is a pen. It l-lets out a tiny bit of ink when I move th-the tip over a surface, doesn't have to be paper-~"

Anne proceeded to demonstrate first on her right hand, briefly holding the pen with her teeth and drawing a short line on the back of her hand, showing it off and rubbing the spot against her chin afterwards to try to smudge it off, to limited success.

"It comes off, r-right?"

"~Yeah! Well, not from paper, b-but skin eventually just sheds it. I-I think that's how it works...~"

The mention of shedding skin was confusing to both listeners, both of them only really recognizing it from a handful of reptiles that lived around their village- and sure, fur did shed, but that was fur and not... skin.

"Y-your skin falls off!?"

"~W-what!? No, I-I mean- it's like when just a tiny bit of it falls off at the time, l-like hair, and regrows back.~"

The clarification that it was indeed like fur did calm Autumn and Blossom down, whole body skin shedding sounding like the kind of thing that would've made the humans as a whole even more weird and mysterious.

"Ooooohhhh. And this white thing? How does it break down like this!?"

"^Blossom, I think we should take it easy on Anne, she's had a very, very long day so far.^"

Anne herself wanted to object to that and to explain how paper worked of the very little she knew of it overall, but she couldn't deny her own exhaustion, a quiet yawn interrupting her attempted explanation, the girl admitting needing rest as she shifted her attention over to the Azumarill's drink- only to watch it already being poured by Autumn, the Indeedee giving her a wink off to the side.

"Awwwwhh, okay... O-oh oh, Anne, you're from that nearby human place, right? I think I've seen you before!"

Autumn blinked a couple times to the Dartrix admitting so casually to be venturing over to the village where her mom had told her not to go, Anne similarly taken aback at that- though on a second thoughts, she could swear she remembered overhearing a couple kids talking about having seen a weird brown and white bird on a lamppost a couple weeks back. She wasn't sure how to feel about that realization, but ultimately it was funny more than anything, the mental image of Blossom being so curious about the middle of nowhere she flew all the way over just to see more of it making the human chuckle.

"~Yeah! T-though if you've seen me outside I-I was wearing a gray hat and had my hair t-tied up like this-~"

A couple clumsy moments later, Anne scooped her hair into a messy ponytail, the Dartrix nodding more intently at the recollection-

"Yes, like this, I remember you now! I-I never thought we'd ever see anyone f-from there in here, teehee-"

Blossom giggled to herself at the idea, glancing out the window in the direction of the human village- and freezing at what she saw, the sight unexpected and worrying-

"W-what's all that smoke?"

The cue had both Anne and Autumn either leaning over and climbing onto the bed to see for themselves, but it was hard to deny- a massive plume of black smoke rising up from what was most likely the direction of the village, its sheer size worrying.

"~Looks like something's b-burning-~"

rumble

The aftershocks of a distant explosion were weak enough to not do much more than rattle the cup of juice a bit, but the sheer startle that accompanied it almost made Blossom panic there and then, the owlet briefly taking flight in shock before slowly landing back down-

"W-what was that!?"

"~I-I don't know! I've no idea what's b-burning even-~"

Anne tried to look down over at Autumn for some reassurance at the worrying sight, hoping nobody was getting hurt over there- but she found herself unable to move her gaze. Regardless of how hard she tried to look away, her eyes were frozen in the direction of the plume of smoke, the confusion of it all quickly giving way to terror, making her cry out-

"~M-Mrs. Autumn what's g-going on, I-I can't m-move my head or eyes or-~"

"What do you mean-"

Blossom's question getting abruptly cut off didn't help the matters either, Anne's comfort at her newlyfound surroundings slowly giving way to fear, breathing speeding up before she heard Indeedee speak up again, sounding somber and apologetic-

"^Anne, I'm sorry for all this, b-but this is important. I need you to... think back, back to the closest memory of Ember you have, and focus on it. C-can you do that for me?^"

With how scared Anne was at everything that was going on, thinking back to the comforting recollections of her and Ember was already an idea she wouldn't be opposed to one bit, though all the fear underlying her train of thought meant the mental act was easier said than done. Eventually though, the memories started flowing, their fondest moments together, their hardships, every little moment of comfort they shared together- in no time, it wasn't even her that was even reaching to dredge the memories out, the flashbacks feeling like a thread that was being pulled at with more force than she could've ever done alone, visions completed by another perspective, each and every single moment, from the beginning, to the end-

Much, much too intense for either the weary human or the chubby psychic, Blossom left chirping in panic at suddenly seeing four people faint all at once.

"H-Help!"