Finally, after- six months? Lord xD- I finally updated c:. Two updates no less!. Admittedly one is only a diary entry- but please pay close attention to it because it gives hints as to who the author of the diaries- isn't- and gives more indepth yada yada. Thank you guys for waiting so long, hopefully I didn't lose too many of you from the wait xP Please bare with this chapter as its kind of grimdark! The one after next is my absolute favorite so far me thinks, so now you have hope for chapter 9. Look for foreshadowing in this chapter- there's a lot!

Also, I would LOVE for you guys to take a look at this http:/i783. com/albums/yy115/Starryautumn/pccharacterscopy .pn g Why? It's a profile of ALL OF PC'S MAIN CHARACTERS including pictures and a short biography for each! :D So please, copy the link into your browser and remove the spaces to see it!

Chapter 7

Art in Life

They never did end up going to the library. Both of them ended up sleeping till 6 the next day, and they moved sluggishly around the house. Despite their alike feelings, the two did their best to stay away from each other. Splendid hadn't realized how his question would sound until he had voiced it- and he deeply regretted the bruise he had on the back of his head from where Flak'y shoe had hit him. For such a tiny thing, she had a throw that could bring down a grizzly bear.

The days seemed to blurr and overlap after that. The super squirrel spent as much time out of the house as he could, joining multiple reconstruction efforts a day. The working got done quickly, as he used the task at hand to occupy his thoughts. If he thought about those green eyes one more time, he thought he might scream. Splendid attempted going to the library alone, after a while. But it was a fruitless effort. He realized with frustration that he didn't even know what exactly he was looking for, or where to find it. What had he expected to find? A book written on the origin of old nick-knacks found in hurricane building remains? Splendid could not bring it in himself to ask Flaky where she had intended to look, and he hadn't a clue enough to even start. It did not help that the librarian kept glaring at him through cloudy glasses.

Though the town was looking significantly better, on a smooth path to recovery, Splendid's days still felt gray. Life seemed to have no meaning other than to work tirelessly, and the only relief from the pain in his arms and his legs was the sleep that he got before working again. He was so unused to the feeling of being exhausted that it made it ten times harder to cope with.

Surprisingly, he hadn't managed to mess anything up yet. He guessed, that at least, was something to be pleased about. Splendid had seriously began to consider a career change to being a construction worker. It was not as tedious to him as other, normal people, as his power amplified his ability to work by ten fold. The work he was doing now, on such a gigantic scale, surely would be done months earlier than it would if he worked at a normal pace. Then maybe he would be able to afford his own house, pay back Flaky rent for the time he had lived with her, and make a dent in the massive pile of debt he owed the town.

Splendid had not touched the locket since the day it had transfixed him. It gave him a bad vibe to think about. Something about it had the power to send him into that nostalgic trance. He had no desire to relive this experience. For a long time now, a large portion of Splendid's life had been a gaping hole in his memory. No matter how hard he tried he could not recall a span of time in the later years of his youth. When Splendid touched the locket- it was like the memories rushed forward, trying so hard to penetrate the veil that hid them, and yet unable to pierce through. The thought that this tiny thing might be a link to these thoughts both terrified and intrigued the super squirrel. He preoccupied himself with his work, trying his damnedest not to think about the seemingly hundreds of worries clutching to the back of his mind.

Splendid's schedule shifted daily. Today, he intended to go and help out some more at the orphanage- see how the children there were doing. He had come to know each by name, even had gotten to know them by their mannerisms, the way that they spoke and acted, their disabilities- and saddest of all, by their stories. Some of the children's tales were morbid enough to make his own situation seem like a bad walk in the park. It gave him a sick feeling of mixed emotions in the pit of his stomach.

He stopped by the diner that morning, as he commonly did on working days. It had became the only comfortable routine in his otherwise unbearably murky weeks. Petunia, who he enjoyed being around for her cheery demeanor, cute OCD quips and the fact she always called him 'sugar', greeted him as he came in. She didn't go out of her way to make his life hell, like a lot of the people around him did, and it had become almost easy to ignore the glares cast from all around the room as he stepped inside.

Handy, who was sitting at the counter, made it a point to release a growl from his stomach as Splendid came to sit at the counter. The beaver and his younger cousin, Toothy, had a particular place set aside to hate Splendid in their hearts. Although it irritated him to have to deal with their petty grudges, he couldn't blame the orange beaver completely. Splendid had given him much more work to do than anyone could ever possibly hope to accomplish. He had heavily injured both the beaver and his girlfriend, and destroyed the apartment home that they shared. Petunia had explained something about this to him, once.

"Handy had hopes a' getting us a place a little outside' o'da city," she had murmured once while handing him coffee. "A place we can call our know, yous know. Have kids maybe. But it doesn't look like we'll be able to do that- not for a long time." Sadness gleamed in her purple eyes, despite the solidity of her tone.

Guilt never did stop burning a hole in one's stomach, did it?

Splendid sat at the table, looking to avoid the beaver's wrath for the day. He gazed solemnly out the window while waiting for his food, distracting himself from the quiet that settled over the diner every time he entered by himself. He hated to admit it, but he desperately missed having Flaky with him on days like this. She was like a bright light that lit up the gray of his days. She was always cheery, always had something to say in an attempt to cheer him up.

The distance that had been put between them lately unnerved him. The only explanation he could think of was that she had finally grown tired of him mooching off of her living existence. Having a saving fund from a great grandparent was nice and allowed Flaky to live in a luxury one didn't see in college students. But she didn't have oodles of money, and being the generous person she was, had already donated at least half of it to the relief efforts. She didn't need him riding up on the bills.

"Splendid! Splendid!"

The super squirrel's head swiveled to look over as he heard someone called his name. Sniffles had just entered the establishment, adorned in his usual sweater vest and wearing a new pair of red spectacles that were identical to his old ones. The brainy anteater timidly made his way over to where Splendid was sitting, sitting across from him without waiting for an invitation. Splendid just watched him, waiting for an explanation, which so far had yet to be given.

The blue anteater looked sheepishly down at the table, tapping his claws together in a nervous manner that clearly came from fear.

"I uh... I've been searching for you the entire morning. I asked around and heard that you spend a copious amount of time here, so I decided it was best to check here, first. I'm glad that I trusted my better judgment. You know I-"

"Get on with it, then," Splendid interrupted tiredly, rubbing his brow as the anteater's incessant rambling caused a headache to sink in.

Sniffles gulped and nodded. "I wanted to thank you, you know, for what you did the other day. Saving me. It was a pleasurable surprise not to die like that. Something in me had a feeling that would be one I wouldn't forget anytime soon. And I was amazed really, that you of all people saved me. After all that happened, well, I almost thought you incapable. I guess I misjudged you."

"That really warms my heart, Sniffles," Splendid said dryly, feeling bitten by the anteater's back handed compliment.

"Yes, well," Sniffles began again, once more tapping his claws together, making a clicking noise that made Splendid grind his teeth together.

"That's not all. You see, the other day, I heard wind of a crime committed at little market place on the other side of town. This wouldn't surprise me, being as Happy Tree Town is infamous for it's misfortune. But, after the hurricane, and the quiet in the activity of the kleptomaniac twins, theres been a significant decrease in crime rates around here. We've all been to stricken and too busy to stop and rob others. So the significance of the crime struck me as sort of odd."

Splendid had slowly sat up straight as Sniffles continued to talk, coming into awareness. The situation was all too familiar. A sinking feeling gripped at his chest. Could it be true? The twins, thieving again? Anger burned at him, thinking of the audacity the twins had to show their faces back here after what they had done. After the shit they had put not only him, but the entire town, through. It ate away at his concentration, and he hardly noticed the table breaking under his hard grip.

Sniffles gulped, cutting off his continuing monologue. He was staring at Splendid with wide, frightened eyes. The squirrel shook himself back into attention, releasing his claws from the wood of the table. He noticed that Petunia and Handy were watching him angrily from the corner of their eyes, and made a note to repay them for the damages to their diner once he had money to spend again.

Splendid sighed, returning his attention to Sniffles.

"Thank you, for the information. I appreciate you coming to see me."

It had begun to rain by the time Splendid departed from the diner. The rain had been a repetitive weather condition in the valley for a while now. It made the work more onerous, but seemed to cleanse the deformed earth of it's dark feeling. The squirrel walked for a while, enjoying the water that ran through his mess of blue fur. His pace was slow for what seemed like an eternity, before finally taking off into the sky. Splendid flew at a generous pace, letting the wind beneath his skin flaps control the blunt of his flying. He stared downward, watching the goings on below without really seeing. Inside, his mind was a storm of emotions.

The news he had received from Sniffles deeply disturbed the hero. His thoughts were filled with dark images and possibilities, and he had automatically gone to the worst case scenario. Most of all, he was concerned about who would get hurt by this. In the deep, dark of his mind something kept instancing that if anyone was hurt, it was Splendid, not the twins, who would end up hurting them.

He didn't know what it was about the two sly thieves that got his tail in a twist. They were petty in their actions, never doing anything that would gigantically effect the town. Still, they never seemed to sleep, and didn't care who they hurt. It was their senseless, selfish greed, perhaps, that drove him over the edge. Splendid saw red thinking about this- about people who would do whatever they wanted regardless who they put in their paths in their attempts.

For now, the super squirrel put this in the back of his mind. He landed in front of the orphanage with a barely audible 'thump', shaking the kinks that the wind had caused out of his fur. He was almost looking forward to the work ahead now, glad to have anything to distract from his melancholy thoughts.

He gently tapped on the door, flinching as eroded wood collapsed underneath his touch. He waited for one minute, two minutes, three, before knocking again. Still, there was no reply. It dawned on him then how eerily silent the old building was. With some work, it had begun to look like a house once again. At least, one that had not just come out of a sit com set in the 1400s. Now the house emanated more life than it previously had, and it was often that a passerby could hear the cries of the orphans inside.

But today, the house gave no such signs of life. It was more empty than ever, dead inside of the pretty garden that surrounded it, crawling with newly planted wild flowers. A gnawing worry formed in his gut, and he fidgeted as he waited. Unable to take it any longer, Splendid pushed the door in himself, peaking his head inside. The inside hallway was littered in toys and the walls had drawings on them. These were the regular signs of life that were found daily in the orphanage. But there was no one inside.

"Hello?" His voice seemed to echo off the walls.

There was no response.

Splendid entered slowly, convinced that it was silly to think that no one at all was inside the orphanage. The children who called this place home had no where else to go- many had been here for years, and it was unreasonable to expect that now, of all times, they would be getting adopted. There were simply too many, and too sad a lot of them at that. Splendid felt heavy with worry just thinking about the children. It made thin realize just how large of a fondness he had formed for this run down place.

The floor creaked eerily as he stepped inside. He had a tingling feeling in his fingers, akin to that of when one's hand fell asleep, that just increased his paranoia. The fur on the back of his neck prickled as he continued at a snails pace into the building, glancing around every few seconds. For a moment, he thought he hard footsteps on the other side of the room.

There was nothing there.

Now hyped up on his paranoia and the adrenaline that came with it, all he could hear was his own steps over the sound of his heart. It was ridiculous, for him to be this frightened. But there was a feeling in the bottom of his stomach. A nagging feeling that told him something was wrong.

Splendid headed slowly up the stairway, careful to avoid the steps where the wood had not yet been replaced, and was liable to collapse underneath his weight. He kept reminding himself to breathe, his lungs releasing shallow gusts of air. As he stepped onto the first landing, he took a precautionary glance around. There was no one here.

Suddenly, the hero perked his ears. He could distinctly hear the sound of low singing coming from the direction of the hallway. Faint, but definitely singing.

Uneasiness chilled Splendid's blood as he slowly moved in the direction of the way it was coming from. As he came to a stop outside of a doorway, a shiver went down his spine. This was the room that had once belonged to Flippy's sister, Lammy.

Bracing himself, the squirrel slowly pushed the door open. The first emotion he felt was shock. His blue eyes went wide as he gazed around the walls. They were splattered with long, dripping stains. The stains were a deep red. Blood.

But it wasn't. The next thing that assaulted his sense was the smell,and it became clear that the stains, as gruesome as they appeared, were paint. From the smell of it, they were watercolor, answering the question as to why they were so realistic. Next thing his eyes went to was the floor. A canvas was laying sprawled in the middle of the room. A vivid, emotion inspiring image was painted with the same red on the paper. It was a far to realistic rendition of a murder scene.

Feeling the sensation of having to vomit for the second time that month, Splendid put a hand to his mouth, forcing down the vile in his throat. He nearly jumped as he heard the singing again, his head turning.

n the corner of the room, a girl was curled with her back to him, rocking back and forth ever so slowly. Splendid realized with a degree of horror that it was Lammy. She was singing softly, staring at something no one but her could see, and clutching a rotting pickle to her chest.

It took much gentle persuading, probing, and crooning to get the lamb back to a state of sanity. Splendid sat with her in the corner for what felt like an hour. He realized that, in actuality, it was much more time than that. The sky outside had already become orange in color by the time Lammy looked at him with recognition in her soft hazel eyes.

Her words didn't have any clearancy in them for some time after that. She kept muttering something about "' while still attempting to sing the song she had been uttering earlier. Splendid realized that it was "Ring around the rosey', and this did not help to ease the sheer creepiness of the situation.

Once Lammy stopped singing and uncurled herself, she slowly turned to face him, her eyes tired but finally in focus. The shadows that danced around the room painted black under her eyes. She looked frail, and older than she should for someone so young. Her moments were still sluggish as she steadied herself. She sighed.

"This happens sometimes," Lammy explained uneasily after being pressed for an explanation.

"Sometimes it gets to me. The darkness. Mr. Pickles is my friend, but sometimes he'll turn on me. Then he tries to get me to do bad things... Horrible, horrible things..." she shut her eyes then, tears appearing in the corners. Splendid watched with sympathy, making his touch reassuring to the best of his abilities.

"I paint, usually, it doesn't do this to me. But sometimes, the darkness will take over my mind and I... remember. I remember the bad things that Mr. Pickles made me do, before I could stop myself. It hurts so badly to think about, because it makes me realize. It makes me think of how awful I am... of why mommy threw me away..."

She choked on a sob. Splendid bit back one of his own.

"This painting," she said after some time, when she was able to speak again, gesturing to the one that lay in the center of the bedroom, "is a scene from my childhood. When told me to do something horrible. At this time, I didn't know that I was schizophrenic. He was as real to me as any person, even if the other kids couldn't see him. He kept telling me "If you don't kill them, they'll just keep picking on you, Lammy. Just do it. Just kill them. And... and so I did."

Lammy paused then. It seemed her willingness to discuss the topic was beginning to dissolve as the severity of her tale increased. Splendid did not push her to speak, staring at the wall. A sickly, numb feeling had seized his body.

"There wasn't anything I regret more than killing those children. They came back, luckily enough for me. But they never spoke to me again. They feared me. I was only five and all by myself in this big, empty place. To others, it was a place of hope. A place where they were, at least, a little wanted. Do you know how horrible it is to not have a soul in the world who loves you? Not a single one?"

A heavy rock formed in the pit of Splendid's stomach. "Yeah. I know."

Lammy glanced at him then, her hazel eyes unreadable. At this point she had stopped crying. Talking about the matter had helped, if not completely gotten rid of the pain. She slowly pushed herself to her feet then. Splendid followed her lead. They were silent for a moment, each lost in their own train of thought. Lammy was hugging herself, staring out the window.

"What are you doing here, anyways? By yourself? Where did the kids go?" Splendid asked gently. Lammy looked at him, forcing a smile to let him know it was okay to ask. That she would be alright.

"The kids went on a field trip to the museum, courtesy of Sniffles. I don't know what's come over that anteater, but he seems like a new man lately. It still feels like having Stewart Little stuffed in my ear listening to him talk, but he's been less of a jerk, in general. I came here because it's I like to paint here, sometimes. It's a change of setting. And the garden is a huge source of inspiration."

Splendid nodded. He couldn't help but smile at the Sniffles comment. "Yeah, I noticed that. He came to thank for me helping him, earlier at the diner. I nearly checked the calender to see if it was April 1rst."

Lammy's smile was more real this time as she looked at him. "No kidding, that anteater is the Ebeneezer Scrooge of the town. Sometimes I think he's got ants in his pants from that terrible diet of his. Between you and me, I've considered putting some down there just to give him a taste of his own medicine- but that would lead to a ga-roooss culinary fab knowing that guy."

Splendid laughed, imagining Sniffles trying to suck the towns ferocious ants from his own knickers.

More seriously, he asked "They're with Flippy, then?"

Lammy paused for a second, considering her answer. "No Flippy is... away." Before the surprise on Splendid's face could clear, she continued "Never mind that, though. You're here now. So let's clean this mess up."

The two got to work, and with their combined efforts, successfully cleaned the walls of the paint splatters in ample time. Splendid, to his great surprise, found himself enjoying, even reveling, in the lamb's company. After her grief began to fade, she became the main contributor of conversation. She turned out to be one of the quirkiest and otherworldly person he had ever met. Her sharp puns were humerus and refreshing, her almost odd sense of humor a comforting change of pace to the belligerent one he was used to from the town's people. They talked about things Splendid hadn't talked about in a long time. It was a visible strain on his mind to get out some of his more minor worries, and to have someone that could empathize with them, if not at least understand. It was almost easy to forget the horrific scene had walked in on not hours before.

After a while, their worked slowed and they ended up talking more than anything else. Lammy took up painting again as they talked, working on a new blank canvas. The squirrel was impressed by how effortlessly the lamb maneuvered her paint brush in between her three digit fingers, as easily as if she had four, like the majority of the mammals in town. She painted without effort, her brush an extension of her arm as she worked, not skipping a beat in their conversation. After a while, Splendid found himself so taken with watching her paint that he lulled into silence. Lammy didn't seem to mind. The reaction, he was sure, was one she had received before.

"You're really good," Splendid commented, watching the piece come to life in her canvas. It was realistic, and yet at the same time abstract, a style he found intoxicating to look at. Her artwork was dark, but gripping.

"Duh," Lammy said jokingly. "Thanks. It's not often people call my stuff anything but 'garbage'. Doya know how hard it is to find someone with even an inkling of artistic blood in them in this town?"

Splendid's thoughts immediately went to Flaky. She was by far the most artistic person he knew. Not in the sense that Lammy meant- but all the same, very creative.

"I've read some of your articles before," Lammy said, jolting Splendid out of his thoughts. "You're not half bad- for a hero boy. You paint a nice picture, and you don't slump on details. It's impressive."

Surprised, Splendid could only feel flattered and honored by her praise. He hadn't realized anyone payed attention to the things he wrote, or to the soul that he put into it.

"Thanks," he said a little obligingly, embarrassed by the comment. Lammy cast a smile at him.

"What about you, though. You work as a nurse right? Going for an MD? Why do you want to be a doctor when you have an amazing unique gift like this? Why not become an artist?"

Lammy's hand slowed now, and she was silent for a moment. When she began to paint again, it was with a new delicacy.

"Do you know why people go to college, Splendid? Why they work at jobs that they usually don't give a rat's ass to be doing? Why they expose themselves to displeasure on a daily basis?"

Splendid didn't know. He didn't answer, instead gazing pensively at the space where Lammy's brush tip was making gently circles of periwinkle.

"Because they have to. Because they have a family to support, a home to pay for, bills that beckon their attention, children who need things to keep their attention. Because their lives are built in material substances. Because they have to. And I'm on that same boat. I work because I have to. That's how it is. I don't want kids, I don't necessarily care for a family- but it isn't in my power to just sit around and do nothing all day. I'm becoming a doctor because, if I'm going to be on the same conveyer belt for the rest of my life, I want to know that I made a difference. That I helped people. We can't all have super powers."

Splendid winced. Not at the super power comment, but at the realistic picture she was painting for him. The simple wisdom behind her words was powerful in itself. It made him consider just what he was doing with his life now. The place that he was in.

"I paint because it's the one thing in my life that belongs to me, and only me. Every other freedom but the freedom of art is limited. I don't have control over my own sanity- but I have control over the art that I make, the messages that I want to express without having someone judging it. Life is too short to live materialistically, Splendid. Just remember that the beauty in life is the only real thing worth saving."

It well into the hours of the morning when Splendid got home. He tried his best to be quiet as he snuck through the door way, sure that Flaky was probably asleep by now. The house was pitch black, and it took his eyes a moment to adjust. He crept across the room, trying to stay qu-

CRASH!

Splendid tripped and fell to the floor with a heavy thud as he felled a lamp. His tail got ensnared in the cord as it came out of the wall, and the rug bunched up underneath his broad chest as he landed. Stars popped in front of his vision, to the point where he almost didn't notice as the lights clicked on in the hallway leading to the living room. He heard Flaky call his name fearfully, and raised his head to give a horse reply.

The small porcupine came into the room wearing a t-shirt and pj pants, her quills even more of a mess then they were during the day. She had them tied back at the ends, and wore a scarf around the top of her head (Splendid could only assume this was to protect her mattress from getting destroyed while she slept.)

Flaky visible relaxed when seeing him, pressing a hand to her chest and exhaling in relief. "Y-you s-scared me h-h-half to death," She said uneasily, too relieved to be upset. She helped Splendid to his feet, unraveling the cord slowly. She was precautionary around the wire, and Splendid couldn't say he blamed her- it was just like their luck for a wire to zap them while handling the electrical device. Luckily, luck was on their side tonight, and neither of them were harmed, save for a bruise Splendid had on his back where the lamp had struck him.

Splendid smiled in appreciation and humiliation, dusting himself off with his hands. "Thanks." Flaky smiled sheepishly, nodding. There was an awkward moment between them.

"I'll.. just go to bed, then." Flaky said. Splendid could tell from the black circles under her eyes that she desperately needed the sleep. He nodded, standing awkwardly as the Flaky headed towards the stairs.

"Flaky..." Flaky paused rather reluctantly, remembering the last time Splendid had stopped her here.

"I'm sorry."

Flaky gazed at him for a moment, taken aback by his apology. Then she smiled, gently. "Yeah. Me too."

She continued up the stairs with Splendid looking after her. He pricked his ears after a moment, hearing a melody from the hallway. He paused for a second, realizing that it was Flaky singing. Trailing back into the living room, Splendid sunk onto the couch, closing his eyes as he listened to the most beautiful sound in the world floating from Flaky's bed room.