Bonnet huffed. She was more than a little upset about what had just happened.
Arrogant jerk, she thought. He can't stay in power for long. This whole village will crash and burn.
Bonnet's ears were flattened, her head hung low, and her tail nearly swept the ground. All she wanted to do was bite that little idiot's ear clean off. She knew better than to do that, though. It would get her in a lot of trouble if she did.
She shook her head, lifting her head somewhat confidently. Whatever. If he wants to ruin this village, so be it. There can't be too many people who agree with him.
She thought back to Half-Heart. Nobody had even tried to stop Sharp Spike and Ione. She doubted that it was out of fear; Sharp Spike was just a teen who'd been put in power because his dad had mysteriously disappeared and was found dead by mauling two days later. But why would everyone go along with the exile of someone completely innocent?
Sharp Spike's dad was a fair and just mayor. He never exiled someone for no good reason like Sharp Spike did. He only exiled when it was the only choice left regarding criminals. How did Sharp Spike acquire those morals?
There really was no answer to that. Sharp Spike's mother had died at his birth. And Bonnet had heard that she was one of the sweetest people ever.
Perhaps it was another leader before Sharp Spike's family. It was a possibility.
"Bonnet!"
She jumped. She'd completely forgotten that she was walking home with Nenex. "Ye- yeah?"
"What's up with you?" Nenex asked. "You've been walking into a wall for like a minute now."
Bonnet looked up. Sure enough, there was a cobblestone wall in front of her. "Oh."
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, sorry. Must've zoned out or something."
"If you say so," Nenex sighed, walking over to the door to Bonnet's house. Bonnet followed him inside.
In the living room, Bonnet's parents, Lilac and Oxeye, were sitting at the fireplace. Lilac turned to greet them.
"Why, hello there you two!" Lilac exclaimed cheerily.
"Hello, ma'am," Nenex greeted her. "You too, Ox."
"Thank you for remembering that I exist, Nenexhik," Oxeye replied thankfully. "How's your mother?"
"She's getting worse," Nenex answered solemnly. "She's practically bedridden now. Also, please just call me Nenex."
"Oh dear," Lilac muttered. "Koena used to be so full of life. Now, she's... dull."
Bonnet let out a quiet scoff. Koena, Nenex's mom, was far too posh and full of herself for Bonnet. Every time she'd been over there, Koena had sprayed her down with water, saying she didn't want her to drag mud or dirt into the house. As if dirt wasn't already in her ears. Even now Koena still didn't want Nenex to go inside. Not because of her by now lethal illness, but because of dirt. Dirt! Dirt should be her last concern!
Bonnet shook her head. She was getting upset just thinking about her.
"...yeah," Nenex replied. Bonnet knew he wasn't on great terms with Koena. She up and kicked him out, forcing him to live with Bonnet and her family. Again, because of dirt.
"Well, why don't you two go upstairs?" Oxeye suggested, breaking the sort of awkward silence.
"Good idea," Bonnet agreed quickly, bolting to the stairs.
