Aether swept back into Canis with a faint sense of duty fulfilled, and of returning home.

It had not told Pride and Envy who, exactly, had sent it to them--they would never know, though they might suspect, that it had been Wilder to call upon them. She had called, and it had come--albeit a bit late--and now it returned to report back to her.

The stoic guardian wished to bring the results of its brief investigation--but more than that, it wished to offer her some measure of comfort. Right now, the cat believed that there was evil in the caves--hatred, sinister tormentors. Perhaps it might reassure her to know otherwise.

It knew by its link that she had returned here--only a couple hours had passed since last they'd spoken--but pinpointing her was difficult. It sought her scent, nose-down, after Tunnel K--and called her name, wings folded neatly over its back.

"Wilder? Are you here?" it called.

Thus far it could find no scent--but perhaps she might hear its voice. To and fro it wandered, calling out, hoping that she might be somewhere within range of hearing.

@Wilder

Wilder was restlessly pacing around, every so often kicking a bone to let out her frustration, as she waited for Aether to return. She doubted that it would take a long time, although she wondered if Pride and Envy would try to spin their lies to it as well. Try and turn it against her as well. She hated them, yes, but she couldn't help but be utterly terrified of them too. Their magic was strong and their words had warped her mind. She had believed them, trusted them, and look where things had ended up.

She heard her name called out through the cave and she instantly perked up, following the sound until the giant creature came into her sight. "Aether! I'm here!" she called back, stumbling over bone piles and splashing through puddles until she made it to its side. "What happened?"

@Game Master Dark

Wilder's mad rush toward Aether had him turning to bridge some distance between them, so that she needn't keep plowing headlong through water and bones.

It reached a doglike nose down toward the cat's in greeting before beginning to speak, as solemn as it had been before. "They are no threat," it informed her. "I have spoken to them, and seen within their minds. They believed they were doing what was best--and they did not torment deliberately. They will be no threat to others." Aether paused, for a moment, rememering Envy's utter breakdown, the blank horror in their mind as they'd scrambled away. Pride had been far less remorseful, but there had been no real malice left within him; neither were, the guardian felt, likely to cause future problems. "You grieved for the dead, and were angry at the death of a friend. That is how this Blackberry made them feel--and others. They wished for a quick death, but it did not go--correctly. I do not think that either of them will pose a threat to anyone else within the caves. I did not kill them," it added, as if this weren't already clear.

The report was given bluntly, if gently. Aether did not mince words but nor was it crude or cruel--and it made no mention of Wilder's role in the lack of trial. She did not need to know that, and he would not mention it, not unless she did so first.

@Wilder

Wilder looked down as Aether delivered the news. She knew it already, of course she did, but the two conflicting opinions even now made it difficult to fully accept that Pride and Envy had been perfectly justified in hunting down Blackberry and her involvement, especially when she warned the goose, was both a mistake and wrong. She had seen Pride's story and heard him. Although she didn't trust him fully after he had lied and manipulated her, there wasn't a way that all of that could be fabricated. Besides, Blackberry's overwhelming sense of guilt and self-hatred was at least telling that she had done something bad.

Knowing that Blackberry had been in so much pain that she would scream like that still hurt, but it was good to know that it hadn't, at least, been on purpose. "Thank you, Aether. Did they say anything else? Anything about me?" She couldn't help but ask, although she knew that they would probably have said something bad about her. Pride had made that apparent as he was leaving the tunnel.

@Game Master Dark

"They do not trust you," Aether reported dutifully, after a moment of contemplation. "But I did not tell them who called upon me."

@Wilder

Wilder's tail twitched and she frowned. "I didn't think they would. But I'm grateful, although I'm pretty sure they know it's me. I don't trust them either," she added on the end. But if Aether said that they weren't a threat, then she definitely trusted that. Perhaps it was the way it said everything, how it acted, noble, honorable, and caring only for the truth that made her trust it more then herself.

She hesitated for a moment before she asked, "Do you think I was wrong to try and save the goose? If you saw Blackberry in their minds...do you think I should have just let them kill her without remorse?"

@Game Master Dark

Aether fell silent, staring off over Wilder's shoulder, as it closely considered this question.

Thus far it had seen things in simple black and white terms--or, more clearly, "threat" or "not-threat." This moral question was more than it knew how to answer, and so it thought about it for a long time before offering its opinion.

"I cannot say for certain. I do not know if right and wrong exist beyond our minds. I understand what is a threat, and what is not. You did not believe she was a threat. They believed that she was a threat. You wished to protect against a threat; and so did they." It paused for a moment, and then looked to Wilder again. It debated, for a moment, telling her about her role in accelerating the attack on Blackberry... it did not wish to cause her any guilt, yet Aether felt that now the truth was more important in defusing further conflict.

In stopping, really, the threat of further violence.

"I believe," it said carefully, looking into Wilder's eyes, "that they did not wish to kill her until they realized that you had spoken with her. That is what they claim: that then, they expected a trap; I sensed no dishonesty. But perhaps they were fooling themselves in that, and might have killed her all along. I do not think that it will ever be easy to know what is right and wrong. You seem to me to be a kind soul, and I do not think it was wrong of you to wish to guard. To protect."

It paused. It wished it could offer further advice. Advice on how the situation might better have been tackled to play out with a better end. But was there a way? Thinking over it, it could think of none. Had Wilder simply let them rush off to Blackberry, perhaps they'd have killed her anyway. And given the things that Blackberry had done, and the fact that she'd been seeking the stone that had been used to create weapons of children in the past, he could somewhat understand Pride and Envy's urgency to end her threat, if not their methods. But then-...

Aether looked down at Wilder as a new thought occurred to it. "If you warned her, and she did not flee, then perhaps it is no one's fault. Perhaps it was her choice."

@Wilder

In her heart, Wilder knew that it really had been her fault, after all. She still thought that, perhaps, Pride had promised her a trial to make her feel better or mislead her, but not that she had been the sole reason for none of it to happen. But there was something that still escaped her understanding. "Wait, they thought I set up a trap? That's why they went?"

Why did Pride trust her so little? Had he really thought so low of her that she'd do something like that? After everything they'd been through? Yeah, she hadn't given him the whole truth when he had pressed her, but still! She was good. She didn't mean any harm.

She shuffled her feet. It wasn't hitting her yet, but later she'd probably fully understand that it was her fault, all her fault, that Blackberry had been attacked. "Thanks, Aether. That means a lot." It was right, though - right and wrong were beginning to blur together in the most frustrating manor. She wished it could be simple again, that she could go through as carefree as she was before.

@Game Master Dark

"I believe that they were going, but not to kill. But I do not know their hearts, not truly."

With that, Aether leaned down to offer Wilder a brief nudge, friendly, perhaps, or reassuring. "And if I do not know, then you cannot know. You have tried, and done what you thought best to protect, and now you must grieve; but should you need me again, call upon me. But--give me time to arrive, before you leave the place." It was a gentle reminder; and with that Aether waited, as if to see if Wilder required anything further of it.

@Wilder

Wilder was a little surprised by Aether's nudge, but she quickly returned it, letting herself purr just for a moment. "Thank you Aether. And...I'll keep that in mind." She forced a small smile before she pulled away and began to walk back towards the place she had been before. Aether had given her much to think about and she had a lot of conflicting emotions to work through.

*exit

@Game Master Dark