'The hard part is over' I thought, 'let's just keep on going it'll all be fine' I thought. The woman internally mocked her previous thinking. So now she was in a trap in the middle of the forest, alone. "Gh- help! Someone... get me o..out of here!" The woman felt pitiful calling for help with her faint and hoarse voice as she coughed in the middle of her sentence, but she had no other options. She just hoped it wouldn't attract any wild animals that the trap was most likely meant for.

But ripping the woman from her thoughts, the rose bush not to far away began to rustle...

——————————————

The woman's breath hitched in terror.

What could she even do?! She was trapped in a net hanging from a tree, wounded, soaking wet, and completely defenseless! All that she could do was brace herself for whatever horrifying monster was waiting to pounce at her and tear her to shreds right there and then. Then the rose bush rustled once more...

...and out popped what could possibly be the scrawniest and weakest soldier that the woman had ever seen.

"I-uhm- Identify yourself! O-Or else!" Stuttered a wavering, high pitched voice. The woman's eyes silently scanned the pathetic-looking newcomer. They appeared to be a thin boy with brown skin, pointed ears, dark brown eyes, and a bush of fluffy dark purple hair atop their head... and they were covered in small cuts most likely from the bush.

He held a sword that was clearly too big and heavy for him to handle correctly and their hair was full of leaves and sticks presumably from the bush they were hiding in. "I said i-identify yourself! Or there w-will be consequences!" The woman realized she had been staring.

"I...-" She suddenly paused, wheezing and coughing due to her horrendously dry throat, regretting for a moment she didn't drink a bit from the flowing stream of the creek. The newcomer perked up at this. "O-Oh my! Are you okay- gah- you can't just ask them if they're okay! They're the enemy!" They scolded themself before facing the woman again.

"I'm..." She paused, wracking her brain for the answer of what her own name was. Why couldn't she remember her own name?  She urgently looked around for a quick lie she could come up with for a name in order to not seem stupid, and that's when the rose bush the newcomer emerged from caught her eye.. "R-Rose! That's... erm... that's my name." She blurted out.

The person squinted at her as he approached her slowly, struggling to hold the sword at a threatening angle. "Well 'Rose', what are you doing so close to Cassius's Domain? Who are you with?!" He interrogated. "Acanthus? Hibiscus?-" They gasp. "Are you rogue?!" He questioned, trying to jab the sword in her direction but failing miserably.

"Wait- what? No! What are you talking about?" Rose questioned, trying to shift around in the net. "Also, would you kindly GET ME OUT OF HERE?!" She snapped, struggling around in a faint attempt to get out of the net. "I-I can't! You could be an enemy soldier! P-Plus you kinda scare me-"

Rose sighed, giving up on struggling at this point. "Alright. Listen kid, what can I do to prove I'm not some 'enemy soldier' like you think I am?" She wondered, groaning as the pain from her injuries set back in after her rush of adrenaline started coming down. "I'm not a kid!" The soldier squeaked. "I- I'm a trainee." He emphasized.

But the soldier trailed off, starting to think about the question she asked. "...and I... can't prove that currently, s-so you're coming with me! A-Any sudden moves and there will be consequences! Also watch out!" He quickly added as he readied himself and swung the sword straight at the net. Rose let out a scream and tried to get as far away from the blade as possible.

The sword sliced through about half of the intended net, causing Rose to tumble out and land flat on her back. "Oh- Sorry!" The soldier apologized, face slightly reddened by their plan to cut the net not going as planned. "You need a new sword, kid. That one isn't your fit." Rose stated with a groan as she stood up.

"I-I'm not a- well you're actually right now that I think about it..." They looked down at the sword in their hands. But he quickly snapped back to reality once he noticed the possible enemy or rogue soldier is standing there completely unrestrained, feeling his heart jump to his throat.

The soldier quickly scrambled to grab the spare rope from the bag slung around his neck, dropping the sword onto the ground. "Oh- shoot! Almost forgot about this! Come here." He beckoned Rose over as he gently grabbed her hands and tied the rope around her wrists, apologizing if he made a mistake.

The soldier, after a while of messing up, apologizing, and starting again, eventually finished tying the knot around her wrists. "There we go! Right then, on we go back to town! Uhm- this way please." They tried to put their hand on Rose's shoulder but it was promptly shrugged off.

The soldier awkwardly rubbed his arm and picked up his heavy sword, putting it back in its sheath on his back. He walked a few paces ahead, and with that they began to walk through the dense and mossy woods. "So," Rose began, causing the soldier to flinch at the sudden noise. He turned to look at her and slowed his pace. "What's your name, anyway?" She asked.

"Oh! I-I never introduced myself? How bad mannered of me- well my name is Easel!" Easel smiled as he reached his hand out for a handshake. But they quickly realized their mistake and awkwardly laughed, dropping their hand back to their side. Rose could have easily shook his hand, due to his horrendous knot-tying job, but simply didn't trust him yet.

Thinking back, Rose was certain that Easel could not have made that net, why are there random nets in the woods to catch people? Weird.

"Easel.." Rose hummed. "Like- Like for painting?" She tilted her head, shooting Easel a confused look. "Eheh, yep! My mums are very creative." He beamed, the thought of her being a prisoner seemingly slipping his mind briefly. "Well 'Easel', what are you doing out here all alone if you're a trainee?" Rose questioned.

"That's personal information that prisoners shouldn't be asking!" Easel countered as they crossed their arms, just now remembering that Rose is a prisoner. "But your identity isn't?" She retorted. He opened his mouth to respond, but closed it and looked away immediately after.

"I just..." They sighed. "Nobody I'm training with, nor my trainer, even take me seriously! I wanted to prove to them that I was a soldier worthy of being in the ranks! So I thought, 'Hey, Easel! Why don't you go out and capture an enemy soldier and bring them back! That'll show them all that Easel Whispershade is a strong and capable soldier that deserves that badge!' So I did, a-and I have one! Uh- that's you," Easel ranted, exaggerating with gestures while jumping around a little bit, almost tripping a few times.

Rose couldn't help but let a small smile crawl onto her face, as his childish demeanor and clumsy antics were admittedly pretty adorable. Rose shook herself back to reality, this guy was trying to take her to a place where they think she's an enemy soldier, she could DIE! Rose slowed down a little bit, contemplating whether or not to escape.

It wouldn't be too hard to do so, Easel wasn't even looking back that frequently, he looked too clumsy to catch up with her anyways, and she could easily break out of the rope he tied loosely around her wrists. But on the other hand she was injured, has no idea where she is, and completely exhausted from outrunning a train.

It was then that Easel looked back and slowed down to her pace, looking a bit worried. "Are you okay? I-I know I shouldn't be asking that because you're a prisoner and all, but you don't look very good.." He began to reach a hand out around her shoulders to help her stand but paused, remembering the last time he tried giving her support.

But this time, she looked at him and nodded as a sort of 'go ahead' before looking straight ahead. This surprises Easel, and they hesitantly put their arm around Rose's shoulders to help her walk easier. It actually helped to have a crutch that she could lean on and relieve some of the overpowering pain. Even if he was a bit shorter than her.

Well... there goes escaping, if she even had a chance in the first place.

"Are you okay though? That rose bush couldn't have been comfortable." Rose said as she furrowed her brows, knowing that she shouldn't be worrying about the one that was 'holding her prisoner', but she couldn't help it. Easel perked up in surprise. "It WAS a poor choice in hindsight... but I'm fine!" He answered, using his free hand to shake out any thorns in his hair.

Rose looked around silently at the forest surrounding them. 'What is this place?' She thought. "It's The Fernwilds... why? Shouldn't you know this place if you're here?" When Easel answered her question she tensed, realizing that she had spoken aloud. "Erm- yes! I-I do it's just... I am not used to this part of the- erm- landscape." She stammered.

Easel studied Rose's nervous expression for a moment but shrugged it off. "Okie dokie!" They answered as they stepped over a large root, his puffy purple hair bouncing a bit in the process. Why did Rose suddenly feel slightly envious about how blissfully happy Easel acted?

She shook the thought away however, and focused on the walk ahead of them. "We're almost there! Oooh I'm so excited!" Easel giddily said as he waved his free hand in front of his chest. "Yeah..." Rose mumbled almost inaudibly as she stared at the ground while they walked, evidently not as excited as Easel.

Rose must have zoned out because when she looked up from the grass, the forest had somehow gotten denser, colder, and darker. They hadn't even been out there that long! Had they? Rose couldn't tell. Easel must have noticed a confused look on her face because he spoke up.

"Oh! Looks like we're here!" They beamed, but paused when they felt Rose shiver due to the sudden shift in temperature. "Heh, yeah it's probably a bit chilly for people who aren't used to it. Here, I brought this with me but never used it!" The two slowed to a drip as he rustled through his bag until he pulled out a folded-up green cloak and held it out for Rose to take.

She was cold, but for some reason... she hesitated. She didn't know whether or not to take it at first, but after meeting Easel's eyes and seeing the reassuring look, she slowly took the cloak from their hand. With help, she was able to get the cloak on correctly and already felt warmer... what was this made of?

"Sorry I'm getting blood and dirt all over it..." Rose mumbled an apology as they continued their trek. "Oh it's no worries! I can always get a new one, this is only the 4th spare I've been given!" Easel reassured, earning a faint chuckle from Rose. "...Thanks." She said under her breath, to which Easel gave a nod and a smile.

Looking around, Rose was met with a beautiful view.

They were surrounded by large rocky cliffs covered in moss and grass, waterfalls spouting from quite a few of them. In front of them was a large lake with clear, sparkling blue water that reflected the large thick vines above, said vines seemed to come together to create a base for a city above with a pristine castle.

Sunlight poured through the other thick vines above and onto the vegetation that seemed to surround them in every direction. "So..." Rose began. "How do you suppose we get up there?" She asked, seeing no clear way to get to what she assumed was their goal location.

Easel waved his free hand a bit and looked at her. "Ah, no worries! The carrier griffin I borrowed should be riiigght he-" They looked over and their face paled, he began to sputter and look around for the griffin. "I- huh- wha- did it leave me behind AGAIN??" Easel squeaked.

"This is fine! This is okay!- Wait! The emergency horn!" He rustled through his bag until he pulled out a ivory horn with gilded gold designs. "Uhm- cover your ears, okay?" Rose did as told and covered her ears as Easel took a big breath in. What came after was what Rose could only describe as the most egregious attempt of blowing a horn ever attempted.

Easel repeated this about four times before another noise overpowered it; a loud roar-like screech and wings flapping. The two looked over in the direction of the sound only to see a griffin decorated in armor with a man riding on the top of it. The man looked a lot like Easel with a slightly lighter skin tone, heterochromic green-brown eyes, and hot pink curly hair that was darker at the roots and pulled into a low ponytail. He was wearing brown and turquoise colored armor, as well as the fact he was decorated with various scars.

"Wh- Easel?! Again?!" The man did not seem happy to see Easel who was scratching the back of his head and laughing nervously. "This is the third time this week! Mom is probably worried sick about you." He hopped off the griffin, giving it a soft pat on the beak causing it to let out a high-pitched whistling call of affection.

"Heh, s-sorry 'bout that." Easel apologized. The man sighed and shook his head, he was about to say something else but made eye contact with Rose. He brandished a sword and his griffin got into a battle-ready stance and made a growl-like screeching noise as a waning. Easel's eyes widened in surprise as they held their arm out in front of Rose.

"Wait wait wait! It's okay! I- she's a prisoner! I caught her myself to take her in for questioning!" He explained, which caused the two to back down but the man did not put away his weapon. "Oh! Rose-" Easel turned to look at Rose. "This is my brother! Mangrove." They explained, but Mangrove cut them off. "Hey. You're still on the clock, so it's General Mangrove." He corrected. "Yes yes, s-sorry sir." Easel apologized.

"Did your griffin fly off again?" Mangrove looked around for any sight of another griffin, but none were present. "You need to train it better." He reprimanded. "I know I know! But it's just so unruly and- whatever it's- Can we bring this prisoner up on Valiant?" Easel asked, walking closer to the griffin who seemed annoyed that he was there. Mangrove approached Rose which seemed to make Easel's breath hitch.

Despite his intimidating stature, Rose had to hold in a bit of laughter due to the fact that Mangrove was shorter than her - the top of his head being about eye level to her. He eyes her suspiciously before harshly grabbing her arm and gripping it tight enough to leave a bruise as he raised his other hand.

All Rose remembered was Easel talking Mangrove to stop and to hold on before she felt a harsh hit to her neck and it all went dark as she fell to the ground.

~{<*>}~

Mangrove looked down at the unconscious woman lying in the grass, kneeling down and cuffing her in case she woke up. "Woahwoahwoahwoah wait! Wha-What are you doing?!" Easel panicked, kneeling down to try and see if Rose was okay. "Neutralizing the prisoner, you shouldn't empathize with them either." Mangrove warned with a pointed glare, making Easel shrink back a little as guilt attempted to sink into his heart.

Mangrove flipped Rose over and hauled her over his shoulder, carrying her over to Valiant and situating her on his back. He climbed back onto Valiant's back and looked back over at Easel who was just standing there looking nervously in his direction, but he knew who they were really looking at. Mangrove sighed, a small pang of pity in his heart. "Cmon." He patted behind him.

Easel flinched and quickly got onto Valiant's back behind their brother with a lot of struggling, much to the griffin's frustration. Mangrove lightly hit his leg against Valiant's side signaling for him to fly, the griffin did just that and soon enough they were up in the air heading towards the city.

"Listen." Mangrove began, Easel perked up in surprise at the sudden voice. "I know you're trying, sel. I really do. But I can only give you so many chances, and if you keep messing up..." He took a deep breath. "You may have to be let go." This made Easel panic, he couldn't lose his position! They still needed to prove themself!

Mangrove noticed his panic and reached back to ruffle his hair. "You're trying hard, but you gotta try a little harder. I know you can do this." Easel couldn't see it, but he could sense his brother's warm, comforting smile. As they looked out at the distant landscape, their mind began to wander to memories of the past...

-[•|•]-

A warm breeze blew through the air as two boys played in front of their house, birds chirped in the distance as small patches of white fluffy clouds drifted aimlessly overhead. One of the boys, with purple hair so fluffy that it covered their eyes, was using a toy wooden sword on a practice dummy... very poorly.

"Easel, Easel. Hold on a sec, let me help-" The older boy shook his head and approached the younger one. "No no no! Mangrove! I'm trying to do it on my own just like you did! So I can be big and strong too!" Easel puffed his cheeks in frustration and waved him away. Mangrove put his hands on his hips and chuckled, shaking his head. "If you say so." He turned to walk back to where he was leaning against the stone fence surrounding their house.

"Oh yeah," Mangrove paused, looking behind him at Easel. "Just one thing I want you to remember; It takes great courage to pick up a sword. It takes greater courage not to use it." Mangrove quietly chuckled as Easel groaned and rolled their non-visible eyes. "Ugh! Have you been reading momma's philosophy books again?"

Mangrove leaned against the fence with a playful smirk and chuckle, looking down at Easel. "Makes for a good read, maybe you should try and pick 'em up sometime." But Easel shook his head. "Never! Then I won't have time to train!" They protested. "Training is a lot more than just physical, you need to train yourself mentally to prepare for the true battle."

This caused Easel to puff up their cheeks in frustration, and without another word went back to hitting the dummy with the wooden sword... slightly better than before.

-[•|•]-

"Hey! Easel! Head out of the clouds, we're here." Mangrove's voice snapped Easel out of his thoughts. Easel looked around frantically as they tried to stop themself from slipping off of Valiant who was walking up to the gate. "O-Oh alright." He responded as he looked behind him at Rose's unconscious figure and then back forward at what could be her demise.

There is that guilt again.

She's a prisoner! He shouldn't feel guilty about this at all! She could be evil! Still, she didn't exactly seem threatening even from the moment they met. More akin to a frightened animal in the wild than any enemy they've known. Along with the fact that she was completely bloody and beat up, and she was wearing an expensive and torn up dress.

Easel was beginning to reconsider their choices.

"Prisoner." Was all Mangrove said as he nodded back to Rose. The gate guards nodded in unison as a response and stepped aside, opening the gate for them to enter the city. Anxiety began to well up in Easel's heart as he began to rethink his choices. What if Rose wasn't even a threat? What if she was just lost and helpless?

Easel tried their best to just push the feelings down and focus on the path ahead. Mangrove brought Valiant back to the stable where all of the other griffins would rest when not being taken out, patting him on the side a bit as he hopped off the creature. Easel tried to do the same, but his departure was... not so graceful as he landed directly on his face.

"I'm good! I'm good!" Easel reassured as they stood up and brushed themself off. That sword sure was weighing them down... maybe Rose was right about that. "Hey." Easel spoke up as Mangrove was unfastening Rose from Valiant's back, to which the man gave a questioning hum in response. "Maybe... maybe after this I could get a new sword? I don't think this one is right for me... it's a bit heavy."

Mangrove threw Rose back over his shoulder again as he turned to look at Easel sternly. "It's the standard training sword. You get a personalized one once you earn it." He reminded, how could Easel forget that? They felt like smacking themself in the face for being so careless overall.

But as Easel walked beside Mangrove a few paces back and glancing at the beaten and bloody figure he lead here, he couldn't help but let the feeling of guilt creep back over him. She just looked so... helpless. Sure she was mean, but that was probably just because she was scared! Easel wouldn't be able to live with themself if they lead a scared, innocent woman to her death, the blood would be on their hands and it would stick with them forever...

Easel started walking a bit faster so he didn't have to look at her.

~{<*>}~

The ringing in her ears was back, accompanied by another sound... cheering? Her entire body still ached like before, but the pounding pain in her head was worse than everything else. Where even was she? All she could remember was... that man! Rose was just STANDING there and he knocked her out! What is wrong with that guy?!

As her eyes fluttered open, she wasn't even able to look at her surroundings as she was dropped to the ground. The wind immediately left her lungs as she wheezed for a moment to catch her breath before looking up at what caused her to fall onto her back... only to see Mangrove and Easel standing above her.

Rose slowly sat up as much as she could with the cuffs. "Gah- what the hell is wrong with y-" She was interrupted by Mangrove grabbing her cuffs and yanking her upwards. "Stand up." He ordered, still holding her by her cuffs as she stood and steadied herself, and once she stood up and looked around her heart dropped at what she saw.

Rose was standing on a wooden platform surrounded by an entire crowd of people. Mangrove was on one side of her holding her still by her cuffs and Easel was on the other side of her, but as they looked ahead they held a strange look on their eye... guilt? Fear? She couldn't describe it, but she knew it wasn't good.

Suddenly, a voice cut through the crowd's deafening cheers that made it all fall silent.

"Silence. The trial shall commence." The voice was monotone with an echo, the atmosphere itself felt darker and the air felt colder. Onto a stage across from where Rose stepped a tall figure.

The figure was what appeared to be a tall four legged, bipedal crow. Large, shining black wings protruded from their back along with a long black feather tail. Some small detailing in the crow's beak, talons, and feathers was in dark purples and blues. The corvid wore a black suit with a popped collar, various white accents and a flowing black cloak.

Their amethyst eyes stared deep into Rose's soul.

"Greetings, General Mangrove. State the reasoning for this trial." The figure, which Rose assumed was 'Cassius' due to the crowd's previous cheers, called from the stage. "Easel had recovered an unknown possibly dangerous individual who was attempted to trespass onto the territory of The Great Willow." This caused a wave of gasps and whispers amongst the crowd, who were once again silenced by Cassius raising their hand for a moment.

"Very well." Cassius once again stared straight into Rose's eyes. "State your name, who sent you, and why." They said and looked at her expectantly. Rose opened her mouth, but fell into a brief coughing fit before composing herself. "I- My name is Rose erm... no last name given, and I don't know... nobody sent me that I can remember." The blonde responded.

Cassius was unaffected by her unprofessionalism. "Easel." They began. "To my knowledge, you were never sent on any sort of patrol mission. How did you come across this individual?" They interrogated. Easel froze at the question, all eyes suddenly on him as he felt his heartbeat quicken and breathing sped up.

"I-I don't- I was- well I wanted to-" Whatever Easel wanted to say was caught in their throat. People began to whisper again, and all the noise and the world around them seemed to blur for a moment. But they quickly shook themself back to reality before anxiety could take over.

"I sent myself. I wanted to prove my worth to the rest of the guard and to you. I apologize greatly for my disobedience." Easel admitted. He was holding it in, but it looked like he was about to cry. Rose felt bad for him, everyone seemed to look down upon him and he just seemed like an overall outcast.

"Forgiven. Now, outsider." Cassius spoke. "What were your intentions near The Great Willow?" They questioned. "I... I don't know! Listen, you have to believe me." She responded, looking around at all the glaring eyes watching her. "Why must you plead so urgently to be believed if you are innocent?" Cassius pushed on, tilting their head slightly.

"Im being honest! I don't even know where I am!" She argued with a harsh glare and some struggling against her restrains. "You are reacting harshly. I wish to notify you that in the event you're found guilty of any crimes against The Great Willow, you are to be imprisoned or executed." Their emotionless voice sounded condescending to Rose.

Rose was furious, she had no idea what was going on and was basically on the death penalty for nothing. "Now I will restate my question; What were your intentions?" Cassius repeated. "Alright, listen here feathers." Rose spat. "I don't know, okay? What part of that can't you understand?! I have no idea where I am, who I am, or what's even HAPPENING! So let me go!" Rose tried to kick and struggle from her restrains in a fit of rage but was quickly forced onto her knees with a quick elbow to the spine.

The crowd erupted from this, a mixture of gasps of surprise and demands to throw her into the water below the city. Within the crowd Rose could make out whispers and shouts, "Oh my did she really just say that?" One said "Throw her in the dungeon!" Demanded  another. "A direct insult to Cassius?! I'm surprised they didn't kill that girl just for saying that!" Another seethed.

With how Rose looked, how she acted when they first met, and how she tried to argue that she had no knowledge of anything, Easel was finally beginning to connect the dots of everything and came to a realization; 'Rose is innocent,' He started to think. 'She was just lost. Oh no what have I done?! Putting an innocent woman in danger just because I wanted to rise in the ranks?' There was no time to waste, Easel knew what they had to do

Just as Cassius was about to speak and deliver a verdict on the situation, Easel spoke up. "Wait!" This caused everyone to look at them, even Rose stared with a confused expression. "What are you doing?!" Mangrove whisper shouted. Cassius looked at Easel expectantly for a reasoning for the interruption.

"I made a mistake! She's... Rose is innocent. She's just lost! I know I brought her here and said she was an enemy, but she isn't!" Easel was... defending her. "Are you sure of this information?" Cassius asked Easel, to which he nodded. "I am certain. My previous information was false, she is just lost and afraid. She had no involvement with The Great Willow." It seemed he was a bit steadier with explaining himself at that point.

There was silence for a while as Cassius stared into the eyes of Easel and Rose, as of assessing their true intentions.

"Very well." Cassius said. "Then with this information, I hereby declare this prisoner innocent. You are all dismissed." The crowd seemed a bit disappointed at this, but just seemed to shrug it off and leave to go about their day. Mangrove seemed very confused and a bit suspicious, but nonetheless brought Rose back to her feet and freed her.

Easel was quick to rush to her side, but stopped short due to the look Rose gave him. "Why did you... defend me? I thought you wanted to prove yourself." She wondered as Easel helped her down from the wooden platform stairs, Mangrove following a few paces behind.

"I did but..." Easel wrapped their arm around Rose's shoulder to keep her steady. "You're a lot better of a friend than a criminal." He chuckled. "Friend?" Rose tilted her head and looked confused, and Easel nodded in response. "Yeah! A friend! Haven't you ever had a friend before?" They asked.

"I don't... I don't remember if I have."  Rose admitted with an embarrassed look on her face. Easel briefly patted her back for a moment, apologizing under his breath when she winced in pain. "Well count me as your first friend!" He reassured with a bright and warm smile.

This time, Rose couldn't help but smile back.

"So if she isn't going to jail, and you've effectively just befriended her directly after her own trial, what are we gonna do with her?" Mangrove questioned from behind them, making the two flinch in surprise. "Well I don't have anywhere else to go, but if I must I'll just leave and-" Rose was about to try and leave but was interrupted by Easel.

"Wait!" Easel instinctively spoke. "What if you stayed with us!" They suggested. "What?" Rose and Mangrove said in unison, Mangrove sounding a lot more irritated and the two turned to glare at one another. "You can't just invite her to stay with us! I still don't trust her at all." Mangrove retorted. "Well I don't trust you very much either after knocking me out when I was just standing there!" Rose argued, crossing her arms.

"Hold on hold on! Let's not fight!" Easel tried to calm them down. "I'm sure you two will hash out your differences soon enough, just trust me on this one! She has nowhere else." They turned and looked at Mangrove with puppy eyes. "Ugh- fiiine. Just don't mess anything up round-ears." Mangrove scoffed as he flicked Rose's ear, making her grumble and rub the afflicted area in pain.

"Pleasant to see you three in such good spirits." The three were startled by a sudden monotone voice, Cassius. Mangrove quickly bowed and Easel tried to do the same but once again failed and almost fell over and probably would have dragged Rose down with them. Cassius's gaze shifted over to Rose as they walked up to her and looked down into her eyes.

"I can sense you have a great purpose, outsider. I trust in you that once you recognize what this purpose is, that you will fulfill it with utmost diligence." Cassius spoke vaguely. Rose felt strangely intimidated by their presence and only silently nodded in response. "Very well,  after you settle in I wish to speak to you. I will return to do so next sunrise." They explained before turning and walking away.

"Huh... that happened." Rose mumbled. "Sooo uhm... I'm staying with you guys?" She asked. "Yep!" "Unfortunately." Mangrove and Easel agreed, before Easel looked up towards the setting sun. "Well it's getting late, and you need to get patched up. Let's get you home!" Easel beamed as they readied to help Rose walk.

Soon, enough they were walking through the streets to what Rose assumed to be her new home. She still tried to process what Cassius said, unsure of what sort of 'purpose' they were referring to. But she hoped she would find out soon.

'Huh... home. That doesn't sound too bad.'

———————————

Hi! I'm so sorry this took so long, but I really hope that it was worth it! Even though I struggled in some areas.

Now I just want to thank tierd_spaghetti0 on tiktok for the amazing artwork and support for RIFT! Definitely go check them out.

Now onto the artwork tributes both by tierd_spaghetti0

Easel Whispershade

Mangrove Whispershade

Have a lovely day everyone!