AN: The forest has finally calmed down and the newcomers are settling in.
HAHA! My muse finally felt like being nice and allowed me to work on this chapter! Hopefully it'll hold up cause I have quite a bit to post (especially with Snowcon's one year anniversary slowly starting to creep up on me…)
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"I can't believe so much has changed." Christine sighed as she looked out over Subcon Forest.
At this moment she, Snatcher and Moonjumper were all resting atop the large, glowing mushroom that had sprouted out of the tree Snatcher called home. Christine sat in the middle while the other two rested beside her, the shadow choosing to float rather than sit like Moonjumper had. The ice coated woman was looking off in the distance towards the two towers, one covered in ice while the other appeared to be torn apart by spikey vines.
She had never visited either of these locations since most of her business was focused on the main village with some trips out to the edges of the old kingdom's territory, but with everything that had happened and what she had learned, she found herself wanting to know more about the distant structures.
Wondering if they held their own secrets…
"Do not worry Christine!" Moonjumper chimed in, smiling at the woman sitting on the mushroom beside him. "Subcon will feel like home in no time!"
"Yeah," Snatcher added, a faint smirk on his face as he glanced over at the duo. "With all these kids running around it'll feel like the village pretty soon."
"You mean my new nieces?" Christine teased, smiling growing wider when her best friend, or friends, nodded.
Hat Kid was an absolute sweetheart, she had learned during her short time knowing the hatted child. Energetic and helpful, willing to do whatever she could to aid those in need, and she could be quite mature for her age. Mu, on the other hand, was a bit headstrong and stubborn, and she could be a bit rude, but Christine had a feeling that with Moonjumper's help the mustached child would open up to others soon enough.
Snatcher laughed. "I still can't believe that mustached brat thought we were dating."
A faint growl escaped Moonjumper, a menacing red glow taking over his eyes as he glared at the no longer laughing shadow. "Snatcher-"
"Relax Moonboy! I was just joking!" The shadow interrupted, holding his hands up in the air in an attempt to placate the aggravated corpse.
Christine broke down laughing, cackling as Moonjumper threateningly floated over to the cringing Snatcher. He got closer, closer…
Then he lunged!
Snatcher shrieked as Moonjumper threw himself as him, wrapping his arms around the shadow's fluffy neck. Next he leaned down and started…. nuzzling Snatcher?
The heck?!
"Do not worry." Moonjumper cooed, snuggling the struggling shadow. "I knew you were joking, I just wanted to play a trick on you!"
Christine was laughing so hard small, crystalline tears had begun to fall from her glowing, pink eyes.
"Get off Moonboy!" Snatcher barked, trying to shove the affectionate creature off of him.
Eventually Moonjumper relented and let him go, flashing a smirk at the flustered shadow. The trio returned to their original positions with Moonjumper and Snatcher chatting about the treehouse they needed to build at some point. Unfortunately Christine soon found herself lost in thought once again, thinking about her future in the spooky forest.
What should I do now? Keep selling flowers like nothing happened or should I figure out something else to do?
She sighed and looked out over the forest just like she had done previously, except this time the wonder in her gaze had been replaced by sorrow and confusion.
"Christine are you alright?" Moonjumper asked, worriedly glancing at the woman.
"I'm fine," She began to say, but she paused when she noticed the look Snatcher was sending her. A look that told her to tell the truth, so she sighed and changed her answer. "I just don't know what I'm supposed to do now."
"What you want!" The corpse replied, flashing her a warm smile. "You are free to do what you wish, as long as you do not hurt anyone!"
"You can always work on controlling that magic of yours." Snatcher added, his smile fading when Christine looked at him in a combination of surprise and fear. "What?"
"How did you find out?" The frozen woman wheezed, eyes glowing brighter due to her terror. "I never told anyone about my magic!"
The shadow blinked, taken aback by how scared his friend was, but he answered her question. "Well, Moonboy here is the one who told me, but now I can sense your magic."
Her aura radiated energy and raw power, a sign of the magic she held. It was actually a bit surprising he had missed it in the first place, but then again Snatcher had been… preoccupied, to say the least.
Having to deal with the sight of your dead parents would do that to most people.
"Actually I believe that is why you were able to survive Vanessa's attempt on your life in the first place." Moonjumper interjected, catching Christine's attention. "It was able to absorb her magic, somehow, which is why you look like this."
"It protected me?" She gasped. "But how? I've never heard of such a thing!"
"To be fair someone going berserk like Vanessa did hadn't happened before so we didn't know." Snatcher shrugged. "Besides, even back then magic wasn't that common."
It had always been fairly rare to find someone who possessed magic before the kingdom had fallen apart, especially if they were not royalty. These people were usually taken from their homes and families once it was discovered that they had magic and were carefully watched in case their powers turned out to be more on the destructive side like Vanessa's. Only the royals were exempt from this rule since they were trained how to control their magic from the moment it manifested.
In other words it made sense why Christine had hidden her magic, but she had no reason to now.
"So what exactly is your magic, Christine?" Moonjumper asked, staring at the woman with wide, eager eyes.
"Well, I guess I can kind of see the future using flowers?" Christine hedged, wincing when she caught sight of the confused looks being sent her way. "When I was growing up, I noticed that sometimes when I would talk to someone there would be flowers nearby."
When she paused the duo gestured for her to continue speaking, their eyes wide with anticipation. "It happened often enough that I got curious and started looking up what the meanings behind the flowers were, what they symbolized and I realized that the flowers that I saw were connected to what would happen to the person I saw them near."
"So you have some kind of premonition magic." Snatcher mused, recalling the warning Christine had given him before Vanessa had chained him up.
"Yeah," Christine sighed, glancing off to the side and knitting her fingers together. "One of the most helpful kinds of magic and look at all the good it did."
"To be fair when you warned us about the flowers it never occurred to anyone that Vanessa would do what she did. " Moonjumper interjected once more, reaching out to pat Christine's shoulder. "And even then it appears as though it was the curse that made her react in such a horrible way, so I doubt we could have avoided such an outcome."
"But I could have-"
"But nothing!" Snatcher barked, startling both the frozen woman and the corpse. "It's not your fault any of this happened, so don't go blaming yourself for it!"
The time for pointing fingers was over. The curse had been discovered, Vanessa had been sealed in her manor, and those poor souls killed by her magic had been released. Even then, the only person who could fully be blamed for what had happened to Subcon was whoever had cursed the royal family, creating a ticking time bomb that would have gone off regardless.
"It'll be alright, we'll figure things out at they happen." The shadow assured Christine, a soft smile on his face.
Silence reigned for a couple moments before Moonjumper decided to break it with his own comment. "You certainly have matured these past several weeks, Snatcher."
"You used to be so edgy and cruel towards everyone who was not involved in the incident that destroyed our home, but look at you now. Taking in a child who needs a home, giving her the family she always wanted, and you have censored yourself in front of her!" Moonjumper continued, a warm smile on his face.
Snatcher scoffed. "What do you mean edgy?!"
"You used to call Vanessa the b word!" The corpse replied. The shadow looked confused for a moment before a mischievous smirk appeared on his face.
"Oh, you mean bi-"
"Do not be so profane, there is no reason for it!"
"Listen here Moonboy, I'll curse all I want!"
"But Snatcher, you shall set a bad example for your daughter, and my daughter, and however many other children we adopt!"
"Don't you even go there!"
As the duo continued to bicker back and forth Christine watched them with a warm smile on her face. Sure, she was still worried about what her future in Subcon would be and what Vanessa's magic might do to her, but she had a feeling everything would be alright in the end.
Now that she had her friend back, even if he had been torn in two, she knew they would all be happy, regardless of what challenges life threw their way.
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"C'mon Mu, this way!"
"Slow down, I'm running as fast as I can!"
Snow crunched beneath the boots of the duo as Hat Kid and Mu ran through the forest. The hatted child raced ahead, eager to show her friend more of the place that had essentially become her home, while the mustached girl struggled to keep up.
Chasing after the children were also several Subconites and a couple of Dwellers. The residents had decided to keep an eye on the duo after the incident with the Mafia the day before, not wanting to risk Moonjumper violently lashing out once again.
Or worse, allow the youngest members of their family to get hurt.
Finally Hat Kid stopped running, looking around at the area of the forest she had taken Mu to. It was not too far from the swap, and even with the snow covering most of the nearby structures the ghostly table and chair still floated in the air, the snow having fallen through them.
She had always felt sad whenever she visited here, and that feeling had only grown worse when she discovered what had happened to Snatcher.
She had never asked him about this place either…
"So what's all this junk then?" Mu asked, gesturing to the various pieces of furniture littered about.
"I dunno." Hat Kid shrugged. "I just thought it would be cool to check this place out. I haven't been here in a while."
"The Boss comes here to relax sometimes." One of the Subconites said, catching both of the children's attention. "It's been a bit crazy lately so he hasn't really had any time to come back here."
"Yeah!" Another chimed in. "He used to hang out here all the time!"
A third voice spoke. "I wouldn't sit in those chairs, they aren't that solid if you catch-"
"Wait," The mustached girl interrupted, glancing back and forth between the Subconites. "Who spoke first?"
"That was me." The Subconite that spoke first replied, making Mu glanced at them in confusion.
"I thought it was that one!" She shouted, pointing to the only small shadow that had not spoken yet, who sighed and shook their head. "Ugh, you guys all look the same anyways, it's impossible to tell who's who!"
Hat Kid paused, turning to look at the group of shadows clustered in front of her. "Well, that's cause we don't have magic."
"Magic?! For what?!"
"Sensing auras and stuff like that." She shrugged. "There's this energy the soul makes and they can-"
A frustrated noise escaped Mu and she shook her head, unconsciously interrupting Hat Kid. "Ugh, magic is so, so dumb!"
"It's not!" The hatted child argued. "It's cool, just super confusing!"
"And that's why it's dumb! Honestly, what's the point in using magic if it's so complicated?!"
"Because it's cool." She repeated, crossing her arms and staring at the now glowing Mu-
Wait, what?!
Indeed, for some reason Hat Kid could now faintly make out some kind of glow surrounding the mustached girl. While the glow did not seem to be any specific colour, she knew it was unique and that she would never see anything that looked just like it ever again. As Mu continued to rant and rave about how dumb and weird magic was, the hatted child took a step closer and narrowed her eyes, searching for... something.
Suddenly, she could feel-
The burn of the sun on a warm day, the sounds of instruments blaring, drums and something else she could not quite grasp, the sensation of sand crunching beneath her as she walked through a vast desert-
"Sand?" Hat Kid murmured aloud, catching the attention of the nearby Subconites and Dwellers.
"Uh, newbie? You okay?" One of the small shadows asked, nervously looking the child over. They could not sense that something had changed for a brief moment, some shift in her aura, and yet...
"I'm fine, I think?" She replied, confusion lacing her voice. Immediately after she spoke the Subconites swarmed around her, checking her over to see if she truly was alright.
Mu watched from off to the side, some bitter feeling running through her heart as she watched the shadows worriedly hover over Hat Kid. Interestingly enough the Dwellers, instead of joining the shadows, floated over to the mustached girl and started nuzzling her.
"Hey!" She squawked, trying to shove the affectionate ghosts away. "Stop that!"
Naturally the shouting caught Hat Kid's attention, who looked over at Mu in concern. Knowing that the mustached girl would just brush her off if she asked how she was doing, instead she leaned over to the Subconite closest to her and whispered softly. "Is she okay?"
"She's nervous." They whispered in response, glancing at Mu as they read her aura. "It looks like she's not used to people caring about her like you and Moonjumper do, so it's stressing her out."
"And she feels guilty!" Another chimed in, ignoring the others who tried to get them to quiet down. "She doesn't think she deserves your forgiveness!"
Hat Kid sighed and looked back over at Mu, wincing when she caught sight of her weakly shoving another Dweller away. It made her sad to see her cousin pushing everyone away, most likely scared of getting hurt, and the guilt she was apparently carrying. There had to be something she could do to cheer the mustached girl up and make her feel more comfortable...
She looked over to her left and smirked when she noticed a pile of fresh snow not too far away. There was a tree branch a couple feet above it, which could be used to…
Perfect!
The hatted child ran over to the mustached girl and grabbed her arm, ignoring the questioning shouts coming from the Subconites. She then dragged her over to a tree and bounced off of a nearby mushroom to reach the higher branches.
"Hat Kid what are you doing?" Mu yelped as she flew up into the air, stumbling as she was forced to land on the branch with the other child.
Hat Kid merely glanced back at her and smirked, tugging her along to the end of the branch.
A couple of moments later the duo stood at the end of the branch, both looking down at the pile of snow below them. The Subconites still on the ground were panicking now, demanding both children safely climb back down.
Unfortunately the hatted child had no intention of listening to them.
She turned to face Mu, expression shifting into something much more mischievous. She then slowly started to back away from her cousin, walking towards the end of the branch.
"Uh," The mustached girl began, nerves making her voice crack slightly. "What are you doing-"
Her words were cut off when Hat Kid jumped, yelling loudly as she plummeted towards the forest floor. Instinctively Mu reached out to try and grab her while the Subconites all shouted in terror. The hatted child was in free fall for a second or two, ground swiftly approaching, and then-
Ploof!
She landed right in the middle of the pile of fresh snow, giggling wildly to herself. When she managed to break free of the snow she glanced up at her cousin, laughing at the gob smacked expression on her face.
"It's fun Mu!" Hat Kid shouted, throwing a hastily snowball at the mustached girl. "And the snow's super soft!"
"No way!" She howled, stomping a foot on the branch and nearly falling off in the process. "There's no way I'm jumping into snow! Haven't you heard what people say about friends jumping off of bridges-"
Her words were cut off when she felt something poke her in the back, pushing her too close to the edge-
"AHHHHHHHHH!" Mu shrieked as she was shoved off of the branch, nearly landing on Hat Kid as she plummeted into the pile of snow. Hovering just a bit above the tree branch a Dweller floated back and forth radiating mischief.
With a gasp she popped her head out of the snow and glared at the silently laughing Dweller. She growled, quickly made a snowball, and chucked it at them!
Of course it missed, smacking harmlessly into the trunk of the tree, but unfortunately for Mu the Dweller decided to retaliate.
Floating over to a snow covered branch, the Dweller smacked it and made an avalanche of snow fall on the children. The duo shrieked, a mixture of surprise and glee, and scampered out of the pile of snow.
Hat Kid laughed warmly as she brushed the snow off of her hat while Mu growled. The mustached girl scooped up some more snow and started rapidly chucking it at the Dweller, shouting the entire time.
"UGH, YOU JERK YOU SCARED THE LIFE OUT OF ME! HOW DARE YOU-"
Her tirade was cut off when a snowball hit her in the back of the head. She whirled around and found herself facing the hatted child who was whistling innocently. A smirk appeared on her face as she hefted her own snowball. "Alright you-"
Without warning she threw it, hitting a Subconite in the face!
"What the heck?!" Mu yelped, stunned that Hat Kid had not only perfectly dodged her attack but managed to nail one of the smaller shadows in the process.
Naturally the other Subconites burst out laughing as they watched their companion wipe the slush off of their face, one even falling to their knees. In response the hit Subconite started throwing snow at the others, shouting loudly the entire time. At this point Mu decided to add some chaos, throwing her own snowballs at whoever was nearby, cackling madly.
Knowing there was only one thing she could do now, Hat Kid took a deep breath and shouted at the top of her lungs.
"SNOWBALL FIGHT!"
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"Really kid? You thought starting a snowball fight, again, was a good idea?" Snatcher scolded as he wrapped the giggling Hat Kid up in the red blanket he had given her. He was currently sitting in his chair, the hatted child in his lap as he started to dry her off.
Moonjumper was holding Mu not too far away, cooing over her as he held her to his chest. The overly affectionate corpse had immediately gotten worried that the mustached child would grow ill due to how cold she was and decided the best option was to snuggle her as best he could.
At first Mu had protested, squirming slightly in an attempt to escape his hugs, but eventually she relented, a soft smile on her face as she relaxed into his embrace.
"But Snatcher it was fuuuuun!" Hat Kid whined, yelping as the shadow started to dry her hair off.
"Kid you've already gotten sick once, and that was bad enough." Her father sighed, wincing as he recalled how mentally exhausting and absolutely draining that day had been.
She sneezed and the frown on Snatcher's face grew. "I told you-"
"I'm fine!" The hatted child interrupted, turning to face her new aunt who was sitting at the edge of the homey tree. "Auntie Christine you agree with me, right?!"
The frozen woman chuckled and shook her head. "Sorry sweetie, there's no getting out of this."
Instead of pouting or acting upset, Hat Kid smiled warmly at the affectionate title as she was more than happy to see that she had truly gained another family member. However, now she needed to see if the same applied to someone else…
"What about Mu?!" Hat Kid shouted, point at the mustached child who was practically drowning in Moonjumper's hugs. "What nickname does she get?"
The mustached girl, now realizing that there were people talking about her, pulled herself away from Moonjumper as best she could and looked at the trio, suspicion in her eyes. The woman smiled, mischief dancing in her eyes as she figured out what she wanted to say.
"Well, I'd say she's a cutie~" Christine teased.
"I'M NOT CUTE!" Mu shouted, a fierce blush appearing on her face. It was easy to see that she was fighting to keep a smile off of her face, not that she was successful in her attempts.
"Of course you are!" The frozen woman retorted, waking over and affectionately patting the top of Mu's head. "You're my cutie niece now, right?"
The younger girl paused, looking up to Christine with an odd amount of vulnerability in her suddenly watery eyes. "You want to be my aunt?"
Immediately Christine wrapped both Moonjumper and Mu in a surprisingly warm hug. "I'd be honored to, cutie."
The corpse, whose eyes were already filled with water, started bawling as he hugged Mu and Christine as best he could. Snatcher watched in amusement as he wailed about how "precious" the mustached girl was and how "wonderful" Christine would be as an aunt.
He was snapped out of his thoughts when Hat Kid tugged at the fluff around his neck and he glanced down at her in curiosity. "You alright, kiddo?"
"Yeah, but we should join the hug."
The shadow scoffed. "No way! Why would I-"
The hatted child interrupted him by pulling on the fluff once more and pointing at Moonjumper. The corpse was staring at Hat Kid and Snatcher with wide, teary eyes. He sniffled and opened his arms up a bit more, clearly wanting them to join the group hug.
An annoyed groan escaped Snatcher as he got up from his comfy chair, muttering as he floated over to the hugging trio. "This is the only time I'm doing this, Moonboy."
"YOU ARE BOTH SO CUUUUUUTE!" Moonjumper suddenly wailed as he caught sight of the duo approaching him. Hat Kid cuddled up to Snatcher's chest, wrapped in a blanket. It was just…
So cute!
He passed Mu over to Christine before he flung himself at the duo, arms outstretched to give them a hug.
Hat Kid, despite her mobility being hindered by the blanket she was wrapped in, managed to jump out of Snatcher's arms before Moonjumper slammed into the shadow, wrapping him up in what was undoubtedly a back-breaking hug.
"GET OFF OF ME!" Snatcher shouted as he tried to pry the corpse off of him. "I don't want your stupid hugs!"
Hat Kid, Mu, and Christine all laughed loudly as Moonjumper continued to snuggle the shadow as best he could, cooing about how great of a father Snatcher was going to be.
Needless to say the laughing only grew louder when a faint blush appeared on Snatcher's face.
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AN: Yes this was mainly a fluff chapter but I felt a break was needed because of all the plot related stuff going on, but don't worry there will be some excitement and plot coming up soon.