Ever since Sebbi's coronation, his presence had been scarce. Abby'd barely gotten little more than a glimpse of him, as he was pulled into meetings with all the Moonborn houses to go over policy and resolve territory issues. The first thing he did in his new role, that seemed to go over well with the Aelurian people, was to disband the undead army Nocturnis had been amassing. He had the bodies burned and returned the ashes to the families, in hopes the dead would be able to find peace.

Abby thought she'd been right; Sebbi would be a good king for Aelurus.

While Sebbi had been less present than a ghost, Lucy, however, seemed to pop up wherever Abby was. In the gardens, where the dying plants had been given a second chance at life growing and gleaming a healthy green, Lucy would show up and walk along the uneven stone paths, coercing smiles and chuckles from Abby.

She knew what he was doing, and she appreciated all the effort to quell her loneliness. But Abby wanted more than ever to go home. They'd done what they set out to do; Sebbi was king, and the Shadow King had been ousted, his plans to conquer each of the Eridan animal realms made public.

Margo'd returned to the Cloude, to report to the Dawn Queen, and to give Hestor's body back to his parents so he could have a proper Cloudian burial where his soul would be returned to the Sands. 

Abby hadn't heard a squeak from their mouse companion since Lain's memory had been used to expose Gravious. And Lucy, try as he might, was running low on ways to keep Abby occupied. It had been a month since she'd been dropped in Aelurus, and while she'd finally gotten the adventure she'd always dreamed about, her heart yearned to see the familiar green waters of the Fragilli and watch the fishermen of Laos hocking Jacquer fish from their boats to the docks. She missed the bright colors the people of Laos wore and the fact that they came with slightly less hair than most Aelurians. 

Though her home had been turned to ashes, Mirea was all she had. She knew returning wouldn't be easy, she'd be alone and without a place to live, but she had to go back. She couldn't run from her problems forever, and judging by the state of her ivory slippers --muddy and with peeling soles--she couldn't just kick them in the crotch. She had to deal with this head on, and to do that, she'd need to be put back in Exul.  

The next day, Margo returned with a satchel full of Cloudian made cheeses. Abby was forced to try all of them, each one more sour than the last, but Abby was glad Margo'd returned. Her color was vibrant again, her hair bushier than before. Margo's return also signalled the moment for Abby to go home had finally arrived. 

"The king has issued a royal guard accompany us into the forest," Margo said as she slung the last of the waterskins over the back of a brown mare, three times the size of any horse Abby had seen from her world. It snorted and large plumes of smoke flew out of it's flared nostrils, like dragon's breath. Abby stepped back from the large creature, whose black hooves where the size of her head.

"Will Sebb-," Abby caught herself mid-sentence before continuing, "Will the king," she corrected, "be joining us?"

Margo shook her head. "I don't think so. He's got a lot to do. A lot to learn and--"

"Ben' nessren," a cat-man called as his turquoise robes fluttered out around him. He was walking hastily, a quill and parchment in hand, as he trailed behind a large, black-furred cat-man who wore a large, silver crown atop his head.

The king turned and growled, his gold eyes unrelenting, "I will see my brother off. And--" he said, turning and making eye contact with Abby, "her. I will see them off myself, Reven. Do you dare go against your king?"

The small, tortoise-shell colored cat-man shuddered and almost fell backward on the steps. He lowered his head and shook it furiously. "No, my lord. I would never go against the rightful Ben'nessren." He gave Sebbi one last low bow before turning and flittering back toward the castle.

"Ruling suits you," Lucy called and he playfully hit his brother in the arm. "I dare say you almost had that poor creature peeing himself in terror."

Sebbi grinned. "It wouldn't be the first time." His gaze fell to Abby and the bow she had tied in her hair. Abby curtsied though she felt silly doing it.

"Your Highness," she said, her eyes downcast.

"Don't," Sebbi said, scratching at the back of his head. "You're not one of my subjects. You're--"

Lucy nudged his brother knowingly. "Abby's what?" he asked, raising a patch of fur above his eye that served as a makeshift eyebrow.

Sebbi hissed and turned his attention toward the two large mares that stood proudly in front of him, draped with all sorts of waterskins and satchels. "Will this be enough?" he said, fumbling with the strap of one of the satchels. "I can have more brought to you."

"It's fine," Lucy said. "We don't even need this much. Or the guard to accompany us. We're just going to the forest then Miss Puffs over there will open the door."

Lucy nodded toward Margo who's small stature barely peeked up over the knee of the large horses. She grumbled as she looked down at her pendant. Abby bowed at Sebbi, much to his chagrin, and approached Margo.

"Are you sure--" Abby started.

Startled by Abby's sudden appearance, Margo fumbled with her necklace and dropped it to the ground.

Abby bent to pick it up. The mostly colorless stone pulsed in her hands, like the dragon's stone had when Rowland- when Feign- had given it to her. She outstretched her hand so Margo could take back her necklace. With a smile, the mouse-woman plucked it from her hand and placed it around her neck.

"Are you sure you have enough—"

"Life left?" Margo finished. Abby nodded. "Opening the road doesn't expend a lot of energy. I should be fine. Probably," the stone twirled as it hovered just above Margo's collar, "for three more large spells."

Abby folded her arms across her chest and looked at Margo dismally. "You know, I'm sure Sebbi could find another mage who could—"

Margo shook her head and reached up to pat Abby on hers. "I brought you here. I—" she stumbled around for her words before continuing. "I cost you a great deal. It's only right that I should be the one to see you back."

Abby's back stiffened and she gulped. "You lost a lot too," she said, remembering the lifeless pair of brown eyes she'd seen that night in Keldaer. Margo had lost a cherished friend that night. Abby knew it'd been hard on her too. You couldn't lose someone so important to you without their loss reverberating through you entirely.

Margo smiled, though her eyes were just as dark as they had been the day Hestor's body had been brought back to the Order. "Hestor knew what he was a part of. He knew it could cost him his life. You," she grabbed Abby's hand. "You shouldn't have been a part of this, Miss." She gave Abby's hand a gentle squeeze. " Neither should your family."

Releasing Abby's hand, Margo turned her gaze toward the horizon. The sun was setting and the first glimpse of gold crescent moon peeked out from the trees in the west. "You know, I'm going to miss Mimi."

Abby stared at the mouse-woman, unable to conceal her surprise. This had been the first time Margo had brought up Mimi, had brought up the night of the fire that had claimed so many.

Margo turned toward Abby and looking up at her, shot her a smile. "It'll be strange not getting pummeled with a lecture every few hours." Changing the pitch in her voice so she sounded a little lower, a little gruffer, she continued, "Margoliesse! That is not where that goes! Do you really think that silver is properly polished? I can see only one of the chandeliers reflected in the surface, not all of them. Why are you holding those melons so low to the ground? They'll bruise. Hurry up dear, no dawdling."

Margo looked up at Abby after her Mimi impression was over, and as if on cue, both girls broke out into chuckles. "Not having my ears constantly on fire, how will I live?"

Margo stopped chuckling and gave Abby a very serious stare. "You'll be fine, Abby. I know you will. You're strong. If it hadn't been for you, more of us might have died."

Abby shook her head. "It wasn't me. The queen's blood protected us. I was just--"

Margo put up a hand to stop her. "The queen chose you to protect that which was most precious to her because she saw strength in you. You, not her, protected Lucy and Sebbi for all those years from those forces that would have seen them dead. And you-- not her is what gives them strength now. It's not about how well you can wield a sword or cast a spell. The strongest of us all are those who love with everything they have."

Margo beamed, her eyes, for the first time in over a month, sparkling with that fairy-though-not quite magick of the old Margo, the one Abby had first met.

"Now come on," she said, reaching up to wrap an arm around Abby's shoulders. "It's time to get you home."

By nightfall, the three of them had reached the forest, but, to Abby's surprise, they didn't stop. A few Wanesguard, who had control over the large, smoking horses, directed them through thickets and over roots and through muddy marshes until, at last, when the crescent moon was at its highest in the night sky, they had returned to the sea. The ground gave way to white sand, stalks of large, variegated grass swaying on the breeze that rolled in off the waves.

The scent of the ocean, the sounds of the tide coming in, invigorated Abby. Though she'd seen this ocean before, it was even more magnificent up close. It looked like a part of the night sky had fallen and been given liquid form. Seafoam glittered like stars, joining the thousands of bright silver spots the water's surface reflected. It definitely did not suck.

"It doesn't suck," Abby whispered as she jumped off the small cart one of the horse's had been pulling. "It's just different is all."

Sand crunched underneath her Aelurian sandals and an urge to walk barefoot overtook her. Undoing the ties, she slipped out of the shoes, placed them under her arm, and felt the warmth of the sand on her feet. She dug her toes into it as she walked, the familiar squish putting a smile on her face.

Margo did as Abby had, removing her sandals, and walking barefoot toward the tide. When she reached Abby, she slid an arm around the other girl's shoulder.

"Different's not so bad," the mouse-woman said.

Abby chuckled and rested her head against Margo's shoulder. "It's definitely not." She peered up at Margo. "Some of my closest friends are complete weirdos. Different as different can be." 

Margo beamed. 

Together, Abby and her former lumpy maid, watched the tide roll in, waves of cool water lapping against their toes. If this was Abby's last look at Aelurus, she was glad it was here, beside the mouse-woman who had sacrificed some of her life to stop time just so Abby could have one last moment with her father. 

"It's time," Lucy said, striding up beside Abby. He smiled and leaned down to wipe a tear from Abby's cheek. She nodded and turned toward Sebbi. 

Margo pulled away from Abby and with a sweeping motion grew small, brown fur appearing over her body as she shrunk and returned to her mouse form. She scurried along the beach, sniffing intermittently until she squeaked and stood up on her haunches.

Then, she got down on all fours and pulled. A slit appeared. The more she pulled, the more the world folded back on itself before a doorway of blue appeared, large enough for Abby to get through. Margo huffed, exhausted and changed back.

Sweat dripped off her whiskers, though she glowed with her success. Abby eyed her pendant; the color hadn't seemed to go down.

Before Abby could say anything, she was embraced by Margo's thin arms. "We'll see each other again, I'm sure."

Abby returned the mouse-woman's embrace. "I'm sure we will. I owe you a whole wheel of cheese."

Margo took a step away from Abby, her eyes a shining, mesmerizing blue. "That's right!" she said, excitedly. "Sheep's milk, please. It's my favorite."

Abby grinned. "I'll remember."

Margo turned from Abby and faced the brothers. "I don't need to say goodbye to you," she said, nodding at Sebbi. "I imagine I'll be seeing you quite frequently."

Sebbi's face grew sour and Margo grunted. "Don't look like that. Remember I can always turn you into a toad."

Sebbi's eyes grew wild, his claws extending from his fingertips. "And I can have you beheaded."

The small woman yelped and shrunk back, falling into Lucy's broad chest. Flustered, she turned toward him. "I have something for you," she said, watching as Lucy's eyes grew large.

"You're not going to actually turn me into a toad?" he asked.

Margo shook her head. "While that would be an improvement, no," she said, digging around in her pockets. She produced a pair of trousers and a tunic, a rich shade of brown, and many, many sizes too small for the large Aelurian. She thrust them into Lucy's arms and before anyone knew what was happening, she jumped off the ground, wrapped her arms around Lucy's neck, and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Good luck," she said and then she pushed him through the portal.

"Margo!" Abby shouted. "Lucy was to stay here!"

"What have you done, Miss Lumps?" Sebbi growled.

Margo shrugged them both off. "I couldn't let Abby return alone."

Sebbi grabbed the mouse-woman's arm. "But he's an Aelurian."

Margo raised her eyebrows. "Is he now?" She looked down and clasped the pendant in her hand. The green color seemed less, lighter.

"Margo," Abby said. "Did you?"

"Two left," Margo said. "Now, I imagine you don't want to leave him alone for too long."

She turned and waved. "Goodbye for now." With that, Margo shrank back into her mouse form and scurried off into the night.

It was just Sebbi and Abby and the door back home. Sebbi scratched the back of his hand. Abby shifted her weight from foot to foot, her hands clasped around the orange robes she'd been wearing.

"It's--" she started.

"It's--" Sebbi began.

They both stopped and chuckled, the suffocating tension between them dissipating. Sebbi nodded for her to continue.

"It's not goodbye," Abby said, that familiar, horrible shade of red coloring her cheeks.

Sebbi chuckled. "That's what I was going to say."

The pair stopped talking again. Abby stared down at her hands before speaking. "Will you be okay?"

Sebbi shrugged. "I don't know. Hopefully."

Abby nodded. "Yeah, hopefully."

Taking a step forward, Sebbi came within an arm's distance of Abby and reached out. Gently he touched the ribbon she wore in her hair. "Stay safe," he said. "And keep an eye on that stupid brother of mine."

Abby giggled. "Always."

Sebbi nodded and retracted his hand. Then, he thrust a black purse into Abby's arms. Looking away from her, he said, "It's just a little something to say thanks."

Eyes wide, Abby made to open the bag but Sebbi placed a hand over hers before she could pull the drawstring loose. "Not here, when you're back."

Abby nodded. "Okay."

"Okay," Sebbi repeated.

Abby took a deep breath and turned toward the door. She gave Sebbi one last glance, hoping the smile on her face wouldn't falter, then glanced at Aelurus, the Cat Kingdom, and walked through the door.

Blue light engulfed her, but in the silence, she thought she could hear Sebbi's voice call out to her. "--home," she thought it said.

Home. 

I'm going home. 

Goodbye, Aelurus. 

Abbernathy Fun Fact 20:  There are two reasons why Abby loves Crum's father, Alfren so much: 1. he likes cats and 2. he always gives Abby an Ean caramel twist, no matter if she's hit his son in the crotch or not.