Another Way

Chapter 41: Harbinger

Navigating down the stairs of Sundance's dwelling gave Sue some time for thought, almost all of it occupied by her complaining leg. A sunbeam sniping the corner of her vision politely informed her that the evening was upon them, and the noise in the distance signaled that the clearing was getting livelier and livelier. Her stomach screamed obscenities in her direction at how empty it was, but now that she was on her way to remedy just that, she hit the mental 'snooze' button on the sensation of hunger. It did the trick. For now.

These stairs were annoyingly steep.

Thankfully for Sue's composure, the group didn't notice her slower pace. They had each other to keep their interest. Joy looked uncertain, but with her parent's approach, she supposed she could try to get the older kids' attention. Because despite her initial reaction, she recognized them. Faintly, but still—she'd seen them before, and they knew Spark. They had to be friends. "H-h-hi," she growled out, waving at the pastel stranger.

And said stranger was all too happy to respond. Her lopsided body shifted onto a single braid as the other one waved back. The gesture was accompanied by a momentary pressure on the back of Joy's head, and then finally clarity. "^Hello! I'm Thistle! Is Sue your mom?^"

Joy flinched at the loud mental voice, but the question that followed steeled her resolve. She nodded firmly and looked up at Sue, making it down the last couple of stairs, before pointing at her. "Mm-mom!"

Sue hoped Joy wouldn't see the bright blush that set her cheeks ablaze at that. Joy most certainly saw, commenting on it with loud, raspy laughter.

Thistle, for her part, was uncertain where Sue's emotions were coming from. "^Why are you blushing, Sue?^"

To the Forest Guardian's dismay, the question brought the attention of the rest of the group to her, forcing her to explain herself. Her immediate idea was to come up with an excuse or just refuse to answer, but her conscious mind intercepted that train of thought before it could bury her even deeper in the tar pit of dishonesty. She was already keeping way more from people than she reasonably should have—no reason not to be open about this. Especially since, for all the supernatural weirdness that infused everything about how and why she was in Moonview, this situation was entirely untouched by it.

She didn't end up with a couple of little people looking up to her as their guardian because of divine bullshit, but because she'd been there for them. "Well, Thistle, it's because I'm happy to be their mom. I haven't been looking after them for all that long, and I'm just, just so happy they trust me so much. They love me, and I love them too."

Most of her words went over the heads of the kids in question, except for the final and most important part. Twinkle scooted closer and wrapped their tentacles around her neck and shoulder, while Joy cautiously embraced her uninjured leg, effectively pinning her in place. The former got a Forest Guardian hand gently stroking the canvas of their temporary outfit, the latter a beaming smile from above.

"Yeah, but where is their real mom?" Pollux blurted out.

Away on a scouting mission. Who knows, maybe by the time she'll get back, I'll already be gone.

For all her excitability, Thistle didn't hesitate to speak up. She turned her pinkish body towards him and mentally shouted, "^Pollux, that's not a nice thing to ask!^" She couldn't help but flinch along with everyone else at her own volume, making her look away apologetically.

Joy clung even tighter to Sue's leg, no longer to provide comfort but to receive it. Neither psychic could see her face, but they could tell it wasn't dry anymore. Twinkle froze, as they always did. The question made no immediate sense to them. They had no 'real' mom; they had no 'real' memories prior to meeting Sue. But they knew they should have. That there should've been another mom in that time forgotten and erased.