James snorted and pinned his ears, "Hey. You apologize too. And you two better start talking to each other."

A shield, shimmering and transparent, appeared around all of them in a dome, keeping them from escaping.

"And you two aren't leaving until you either hug or apologize," he said, setting Comet down and reaching out to tug Mayfal closer, making them sit in front of each other.

"Deep breaths," he said, "Mayfal, I want you to apologize, just say sorry, and then share your story. About why you feel hurt."

@Comet

She had apologized! Why wasn't this working? Comet wanted to run away again at those words, but James knew her too well. A shield appeared around all them-- more like a cage. The pup sat down and waited for Mayfal to say something that was hopefully not hurtful this time. Comet was doing everything James said! Why couldn't the fox do the same for once?

@Mayfal

So far, Mayfal's history with enclosed spaces wasn't a happy one. They definitely weren't happy about being forced into an enclosed space right now. They wanted out.

"Why do you care what I do? You're not MY father! And you can't keep me here!"

Then they ran directly into the magical dome that surrounded them with a yelp of pain. With that, the pin was pulled. And they responded the way they always had with enclosed spaces: they rose the heat.

This method wouldn't have worked anyway, but it definitely started to get uncomfortably warm in the dome. Mayfal was acting out selfishly, but they were too outraged to realize this.

Still facing toward the dome's wall, they began to yell, "I told you my side! I explained my story! One day, I go to sleep thinking I'll be living happily with my friend in Eridanus. The next day, my so-called friend is moving FARTHER AWAY from me! Leaving me even more alone! So why don't you just leave me completely? Forget about me! Your life would probably be easier without a young, blind fox anyway, right? I only makes sense that you would leave me!"

By the time they were saying their last words, Mayfal was bawling like a baby. They didn't care about being stoic anymore. They just felt too broken to try and hide any longer.

"I know *hic* that there were factors you couldn't *hic* control, Comet.....But I couldn't *hic* control anything at *hic* all! *hic* how do you think that *hic* made me feel?"

And finally, the tantrum was over. The storm of Mayfal had passed. Somehow, by being trapped, Mayfal had no choice but to free themself. They curled up in a ball and continued crying more softly. They were ready to hear what Comet had to say. And they supposed James, too, if he really felt the need to say anything. They still didn't understand why he had to get involved, but they would be grateful soon enough.

@Comet @James

"So move with her," he said simply, "Or, I don't know, schedule visits? You're being selfish and blinding yourself. You're doing this to yourself. The answer and the truth is right there in front of you, but you refuse to listen."

James softened as she started to cry, draping his wing over her gently, "Change doesn't have to be bad. Comet moving away only gives you the excuse to explore, right? To branch out and grow. And Comet will most likely be making trips back of her own accord, anyway. It's not the end of the world. You two will still be friends."

"If it means anything, being blind doesn't make you less capable. If you managed to find your way to Pegasus from Eridanus, that's a feat even able Gembound are hardpressed to acomplish," he said.

He used his other wing to push Comet closer, nodding gently. It was her turn.

@Comet

Comet flinched as she watched the fox run straight into the shield. She was about to walk forward to help her up, but that was not a good idea in this situation. And was the air in here getting hot?

She was too shocked to process an answer to Mayfal's words. Her throat felt clogged up, so she just nodded along with what James had said. Comet walked closer at his nudge, and brushed her tail on the fox. "I'm sorry Mayfal, I didn't know you felt like that. Being blind doesn't make me think any less of you. You're still my..." What? They were more than a friend, they were-- "best friend."

That hadn't been so hard, had it? Just a bit of help from James and perhaps this friendship could be repaired. She continued, "But there was something I wasn't able to tell you that day. I was going to offer for you to live with me and my family so you won't ever be alone. I love you Mayfal, I love you like you're my sibling."

@Mayfal

"I'M SO SORRYYYYYYYY!!!"

Mayfal leapt into the air toward Comet. They were tempted to kick James in the face while they were at it. He may have been right, but he didn't have to act so patronizing about it! Sadly, Mayfal hesitated at the last second, not wanting to be forced to apologize yet again.

Mayfal made contact with Comet's warm pelt and cried into it tears of painful guilt and happy relief. This had been a good thing. A very good thing had just happened.

@James @Comet

James nodded gently to himself and stood, the shield gone. He offered a nuzzle to both of their heads before silently retreating.

"Welcome to the family, Mayfal," he said softly, and sighed before returning to what was going to be his house.

Another child to care for. Hopefully Mayfal wasn't bitter about anything, or this was going to be much harder than raising Comet.

The log he was trying to lift once again wouldn't budge, and he nearly wanted to take his magic by the neck and throttle it.

@Comet

Usually, Comet always knew when Mayfal was going to tackle her and usually let it hit. But this time it was so unexpected that she was caught by surprise. She tumbled onto her back, which didn't really hurt due to her thick fur.

"It's good to have you back Mayfal." She buried her muzzle into the fox's fur, which was as fluffy and warm as her own. This was a day that she never knew would come, apologies were said, and all was well. And not only that! Mayfal was going to live with them! Comet felt a bit sorry for James, she already knew that she was crazy enough for him to take care of.

"Wanna go exploring? There are so many new places to go!" she offered up some adventure, this was going to be just like the old days. "What do you say?"

@Mayfal

Doing anything with Comet after everything had transpired was both relieving and exciting. But Mayfal was a little confused about what she meant by

"New places? What's the supposed to mean?"

Most places were new to Mayfal, so the idea of a newer new place just didn't make sense. Either way, if Comet was going to go explore these new new places, Mayfal wanted to join her.

@Comet

"Since you've been in your chrysalis, new caves have opened! New places to explore! In fact, this cave we are in right now is one of the new ones." Comet's tail started thumping again for the first time since they had broken up. "Like the old days?" She brushed her tail against Mayfal's mouth.

@Mayfal