What do you even say in this situation?

Free of influences. But Yellow was still welcome to visit.

"Okay," they said. Their mouth was dry. Rift seemed uncomfortable, too. Why? Order had been purged from his home, hadn't it? Its influence no longer stretched over Eridanus. Shouldn't he...

"Can we go together?" It might be discomforting. Or it might not. So what if it was discomforting? Shouldn't they try and see how Rift felt when some other radiation had engulfed his home? Weren't they welcome there anyway, like Rift had been in Eridanus even before the fungus was gone?

It was no big deal. They should visit. Now.

He nodded and stood, but then paused. Right. The Shepherd.

"Listen. Um, there's somebody there. A guardian. It's not who you think it is, not really. He doesn't remember." He tried to think of something that would lighten the blow, that would hurt less for yellow, and for him. He had really messed this up, hadn't he? By not coming to tell them?

He swallowed heavily. "I'm sorry. I really did mean to come and tell you." He didn't say anything else, but turned and began leading the way back to the Sanctuary. It wasn't particularly far away, but they weren't exactly on its doorstep. When they did reach the edge, he glanced over his shoulder, and his tail flicked.

"The border is here." It was harder to tell where it began, now that the fungus had gone and the sudden line it formed where it stopped growing was no longer obvious. But Rift knew where it was, and he felt more at ease as he stepped within its bounds and through the edge of the trees.

The Arborspire Sanctuary spread out in front of them - the same garden Rift had been tending to since his old life, many flowers and herbs and fruits growing in harmony, a little bit wild, but safe and healthy. The same old tree grew in the center, this one opalized with Skystone. And at its base, the massive statue-like body of the Shepherd gazed out beyond the trees.

Rift paused and looked to Yellow, to see how they reacted to the sight.

Unease prickled in their stomach. What did the presence of a guardian matter, if Rift had already said they were welcome? Unless the guardian was the hostile type. Not who I think it is? What was that supposed to mean?

The way Rift danced around the topic made Yellow nervous. But at the same time, they couldn't find the courage to ask, so they just swallowed and followed him. It could almost have been a normal visit if it weren't for the awkwardness hanging over them, one friend showing another their home. Can I call him my friend? They really hadn't interacted much with each other, but Yellow could try harder. Visit his favorite place in the jungle, try to understand the way he saw the world, maybe bring him fruit like they'd brought food for Mother's fungus. It would be nice to be his friend. Even if he had ripped out so much of the Hive from Eridanus himself.

It was hard to make sense of. He was nice. Why would he do that if he was nice? Why would he keep being nice to them if he did that?

Before they knew it, Rift announced that they were there. Blinking, Yellow scrambled through the edge of the trees into a sprawling clearing. Immediately and unconsciously, they stiffened. It was beautiful, and clearly loved: someone (him?) had clearly been tending to all the herbs and fruits growing here. It was also... off. Yellow's fur prickled and their chest tightened in a way they couldn't ever remember feeling before, like it was hard to just breathe here. Was this how Rift had felt in the Hive's Eridanus? Still, they couldn't imagine wanting to tear it all down. Maybe it had become unbearable, living like this cycle after cycle...

Their eyes fell on the guardian. They didn't recognize him at first, his stoic posture and vine-wound antlers so completely different from the panther they had known. And his eyes were stone, solid ruby. But...

It seemed harder and harder to focus. Slowly, Yellow managed to tear their eyes away from the guardian to glance toward Rift. He had antlers too, and the plants... Their breaths came shallowly, but they somehow found the air to speak. "Did you give life to his— stone?"

It was hard to look away for long. Despite remembering perfectly well what Rift had said, despite being able to see perfectly well that he was different, it was like Yellow's limbs had a mind of their own. The gnawing discomfort in their gut was ignored in favor of inching closer and closer to the guardian, their feet just pulling the sifaka attached along. Despite all the facts they knew, they just... wanted to see what would happen, maybe. Whether he'd ignore them or greet them like a new person or chase them away, it just had to happen.