Sue's rest was dreamless, but contrary to what she hoped considering the things that she anticipated today, not particularly restful. Despite that though, upon drifting back to awareness, Sue realized it was also apparently quite lengthy, a look around the room letting her know the vague time of day based on the angle at which the sunlight shone into the small cabin- and upon the fact that Doc had left her breakfast on the bedside table, the medic themselves absent.
Best to get up and about quickly.
The sweet, jam filled pastry and the accompanying roasted fruit were enjoyed as calmly and slowly as could be- though, understandably, not quite perfectly so, Sue's new limbs fidgeting nervously as she sated her hunger, thoughts continuing to swirl around the appearance of the very same being that would be her undoing. She had no idea how much time she had actually left before the inevitable, the uncertainty hastening her meal.
With an altar to Duck like that, makes one wonder whether they'd end up sacrificing her there if they caught her.
As intense as her paranoia might have been, Sue couldn't quite see this one in particular- incomprehensible as it might have been, Duck didn't seem like a malicious entity like that, especially not with the scenes chiseled on that altar that showed it as more so a guardian deity than anything, protecting smaller creatures from whatever that black mass was supposed to be, at least that's how Sue perceived it.
Though, then again, nothing stopped them from executing her in a purely secular way.
The morbid thought made her chuckle as she wrapped up the piece of pastry, taking a deep breath as she thought back to the blueish feathers she'd seen on Duck's altar yesterday, and the one Doc gave her-
...at least if it was still here.
She tried looking around the piece of furniture, even getting up onto her leg and crutch to try peek behind it and between it and the bed- only to find it completely absent. Considering the perceived importance of these feathers because of their association with the Duck, Doc might've just brought the one they gave her before back to the alter, though that didn't really explain why did they gift it to her, even if temporarily, to begin with.
Here, have this sacred artifact as a night light.
While she chuckled at that idea, she felt her sixth sense act up enough to catch her attention, the reason not immediately obvious, leading Sue to close her eyes and try to concentrate on that tugging-
S-so many people...
During her stay here she'd gradually gotten used to the sensation of feeling more and more creatures with her tugging sense, but right now she could sense more of them than usual, all the little tuggings making her head spin as she shook it off, getting her balance.
The immediate worry, as unrealistic as it was chilling, that everyone was gathering around the clinic she was in to make sure she wouldn't get away was dispelled with a glance out the window- various creatures were making their way over, though not towards her, walking past the hut and towards something on its other side.
Only one way to find out.
The premise of getting out to take a look around the village completely on her own, without Doc's reassuring presence was an unnerving one, but she didn't have much in the way of other options right now- especially since all the creatures making their way towards one place, probably the plaza judging by their direction, could also have something to do with the royal couple...
Once more into the breach.
Trying to keep her cool, Sue slowly made her way up to the front door, opening her enough to fit though, the volume of the creatures passing by reinforcing the idea that they were walking towards the plaza- and that none of them particularly cared about her at that very moment, helping in staying calm. Understandably enough though, she saw a couple raise their eyebrows or... equivalent as she stumbled out of the hut, though their attention was very transient, and once she'd closed the door behind herself and joined them, completely absent.
As they all neared the plaza, Sue realized she could hear something on top of the din of what had to be dozens if not hundreds of mutants chatting and murmuring, what almost sounded like a loud speech, except... being woofed out. She couldn't help but slow down at that, sticking to the side of the path she was in to not block in traffic as she approached the final corner, the once student pausing in front of it, second guessing herself before deciding to try to peek out rather than just walk straight in-
And good Duck, was she glad to have gone with that.
The plaza was full of creatures of every size and color, some standing, some sitting, some even flying, but all of them listening to the creature she recognized to be the second royal from Doc's drawings as they gesticulated with a burning stick. As eyecatching as that spectacle was, especially with the red and yellow furred biped occasionally summoning balls of fire from the tip of their burning stick for some sort of demonstration, the not-her royal standing beside them took the entirety of Sue's attention, though the opposite thankfully wasn't the case.
They seemed to be just calmly looking around with a soft smile, occasionally chiming in to add something to the story the other one was weaving, their gaze venturing towards where Sue was making her dive back behind the building she was using to hide, letting her realize just how fast her heart was already thumping.
Her time was now, let's get a move on while the two are distracted.
Without wasting another moment, she began making her way back, catching herself breathing faster and faster as she tried to push her body way beyond what it could do in her current state, almost tripping over as she passed by Doc's hut, the near accident finally making her slow down and catch her breath. No use in rushing forward if she had no idea where to even go.
The forest path she had intended to use was obviously inaccessible right now, and while she remembered another small path leading out on the other part of the village, she wondered whether it would be a good idea- it'd be kinda obvious that was where she went, and if they really, really wanted to find her they definitely would with her middling pace.
Gotta just disappear into the treeline.
She kept marching on as she neared the edge of the village, making sure that she was getting further and further away from the plaza while at it, the construction site from yesterday catching her attention as she passed by- it opened into the forest, and there didn't seem to be anyone working there at the moment, with the amount of onlookers simultaneously not really caring about her while being kept to a minimum.
That was her chance.
After taking a moment to compose herself, breathing deeply before slowing down to an inconspicuous strut, trying her hardest to come off as just someone taking a weird walk as opposed to what was essentially an alien creature inhabiting a body of one of their own, currently trying to escape while remaining undetected.
Nothing suspicious here at all.
Lack of any calls in her direction made her want to start pushing ahead more and more, just to be out of sight- but that was one surefire way to ruin her disguise in an instant, forcing her to keep her pace down, the distance she was steadily gaining on the village hopefully covering for her increasing shaking.
Every step closer to freedom.
She kept on marching calmly like that for a few more minutes, pausing intermittently both to correct her grasp on the crutch and to look over her shoulder, the clearing and the buildings that came with it fading further and further away, before finally getting hidden behind all the foliage, not a single critter following in her step, or even looking at her from what she could make out.
Despite everything, it seemed she was in the clear now.
Focusing inward to try to sense anyone that would be following her, Sue breathed a sigh of relief at finding nobody, with only a handful of other souls seeming to be present within the immediate wooded area, all of them calm and peaceful. And after recovering from almost tripping over because of focusing on her sixth sense instead of the forest floor ahead of her, Sue could join them, a bit of quiet laughter leaving her from sheer relief.
She made it out of there despite the royals having already made their way back, nobody was pursuing her, and she would not be exposed and burned at the stake- or whatever other punishment the other-her would've planned for her after figuring out her deception.
Granted, she had no real idea what would she do now, but being lost was better than being dead, and if a village like that existed then so would almost certainly do many others- just gotta find one without other martians in it and try to assimilate one way or another while looking for a way home all the while. 'Just' was doing a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence for sure, but it was a concrete enough goal to where even the sheer difficulty inherent in it wouldn't be enough to break her vibe- she would do it, she would heal from her injury and eventually don't need the crutch anymore, she'd find a place for herself without a risk of being exposed, she would learn the local language one way or another, and then she'd finally be safe.
A rock solid plan in four easy steps.
Her pace slowed down as she gradually calmed down, the foliage thankfully not dense enough yet to make movement with a crutch significantly more difficult, letting her space out somewhat while keeping an eye on the grass and dirt ahead of her. Sue would definitely miss the few friendly beings she'd managed to meet in her brief say back at the village- Doc, Ember, Leafy, Bowlcut, the... couple? at the pantry. And who knew- if the not-her royal would not be able to figure out her not being real with her gone, leaving the cause of her sudden escape to be forever shrouded in mystery, then maybe they would miss her too.
Ember would probably be heartbroken the most- she had really wished she was able to convey just what had happened and why she had to leave, but alas.
Stay strong out there Ember.
Triumph soon turned into somewhat muted melancholy as Sue hobbled on, the forest continuing to be as calm as ever, letting her catch her breath as she proceeded in the only direction she was sure of, namely forwards. Any coherent train of thought had soon left, leaving just some idle pondering or humming along to one tune or another she could still recall, continuing to pay only enough attention to her surroundings to not trip on a random root, withdrawing inwards otherwise.
Guess it'll be somewhat hard to get used to being wholly on her own until she could find another place after her stay at the village, but it's not like she had a choice-
The stimuli from her eyes caught her attention, breaking the thread of thought that was threatening to quickly turn dark, making her glance around instead, the clearing sticking out from the forest surrounding it. The grass was lush and softer than any other Sue had ever felt, and decorated with stones arranged into a pattern that initially looked regular, but soon turned chaotic as she looked further along the clearing. Each stone was painted with geometrical shapes in a few basic colours, with some having additional decorations around them, like flowers planted in a nice ring or smaller, wooden doodads.
A glance in the other direction revealed some more facts about this clearing, some much less fear inducing than others. There were a couple benches next to what had to be the entrance to the clearing, large enough for half a dozen people to take a seat at them at once, and looking much better maintained than any forest trail bench she'd ever seen. They faced a noticeably younger tree in the middle of the clearing, surrounded by a ring of rocks, similarly decorated as the ones from earlier. As pretty as the little treeling was, barely taller than Sue was and looking distinctively different than any other trees in her vicinity, its leaves having a silver sheen to them, the entirety of her attention was focused on the being that was kneeling in front of it, closed eyes and clasped hands making Sue think they were praying- though with who they were, she was the one that should've been undertaking that act at the moment.
In front of the sapling knelt not-her, seeming to have been in deep enough focus for Sue's senses not to have picked them up any more than a random bird sitting on a nearby branch- a limitation she really wished she had been aware of beforehand. Seeing them from just a few meters away instead of a few dozen let Sue notice all the differences between herself and them- the shorter skin-dress, longer hair, curls slightly straightened out, barely reaching their shoulders. The most striking one though, by far, were the blue markings along their body. The muted shade blended in somewhat with the green of their arms, especially with the markings looking somewhat worn out, making it tricky to determine the exact shape of what had to be a tattoo of some sort- it was clear to see though that it ran along the entirety of their arms, almost meeting at the collarbone above the spike, before making a right angle up their neck and face, the wavy, curvy lines ending in points just underneath their eyes.
Eyes that were currently staring back at her, the rest of the expression appearing as neutral as could be, both martians at an impasse as Sue's mind grew more and more panicked by the moment- how the hell did she run into them!? Everything was going so well, she had made her way out without being seen- were they just waiting in here for her all along, a vicious trap she'd unwittingly walked into!?
Regardless of the answer there was only one thing that she could do left, body tensing up as she clenched her crutch harder, the not-her's eyes going wider before Sue finally sprung- turning around and running, trying to run as far from here and village alike as fast as she could, pushing forward in a desperate attempt for freedom despite everything until the exhaustion had finally claimed her-
Or at least, that was her intent, with the reality of her crutch having gotten caught on one of the stones that had marked the edge of the clearing catching up to her fast, sending her splaying forward towards the ground at the speed of gravity, Sue simply closing her eyes as she braced for the inevitable.
Only for it to not happen.
Sue waited a second, then another, then another still, the cold mud of the forest floor continuing to not grace her body with its presence once more, making the once girl slowly open her eyes before shooting them wide open.
She was suspended a foot or so off the ground, completely still, the bluish aura she could see in the corners of her vision cluing her onto the cause of her sudden not-death before she was slowly moved upwards, feeling like the air itself was gently pushing her back to a standing position, facing the not-her, their eyes aglow, just like she'd seen Bowlcut do- except this time, the target of their magic was her and not some bits of roasted fruit.
Alright, so adults can lift whole people, relatively effortlessly it seems even...
The quiet clearing of the throat snapped Sue from venturing any further into that panic inducing mental thread, her attention snapping back to not-her as she was settled back down on her feet- or rather foot and crutch, magical touch holding onto her until she'd found her balance before she was let go, the other martian... smiling lightly.
Sue had no idea what they were going to do to her, let alone what they were capable of- but extending a hand for her to grab was definitely not on her shortlist, Sue looking down at the limb dumbfounded for a good while, not-her holding it out patiently all the while. Given that they magicked her out of what would've been a very painful fall she really didn't have much of a choice- if she tried to run again, less unsuccessfully this time, they could've very well magicked her back over once more, likely following it with something much worse though.
She was dead one way or another anyway, so might as well.
Shakily, she reached over with her free hand, touching the other martian's limb tentatively- the pleasant tingly sensation from Bowlcut and Doc when they were performing their healing was present here, and it felt downright stronger than either of those sensations, making her feel... calmer.
They spoke, voice soft and the contents of their message no less knowable than anyone else's as they carefully, but firmly, held her hand, looking over their shoulder before nudging their head towards the exit from the clearing and onto a rather well trodden path. Sue couldn't walk particularly fast, but they seemed to be more than willing for accommodate for that, slowing down their pace as they walked beside her.
The unusual calm that had filled her mind made it somewhat tricky to really think in depth on just what was going on- and if she had any more mental clarity, she'd likely grow even more anxious at the realization that she couldn't quite think straight at the moment. But that was an if, and now the chilly, soothing calm was helping a lot, even if the burning questions from earlier remained unanswered.
As they walked down the path in silence, Sue turned her head to get a better look at them- or maybe her judging by the softness of the voice she had heard earlier. She wasn't quite sure just what it was, but they looked somewhat older than she was, though far from elderly. What she presumed to be the crown from Doc's initial drawing also turned out to not quite be that on a closer inspection, turning out to be a relatively plain looking metal circlet, the material having long since lost its luster.
Just as before, it didn't take long for them to notice her staring, looking back at her with a raised eyebrow, though fortunately Sue's reaction was simple embarrassment as opposed to terror as she looked away, together with the feeling of burning blush on her cheeks- though she wasn't sure if this body did actually blush like that. Regardless of the actual truth of the matter at hand, thankfully the likely-royal not-her seemed to not mind to any further extent than raising an eyebrow, a quiet giggle leaving their mouth at noticing Sue feeling ashamed of staring like that.
It was reassuring if nothing else, the other martian seeming to be quite laid back for royalty, surprising Sue quite a bit. The unnatural calmness filling her head made it hard to really think too deeply about what she thought that other her would do once they met, but suffice to say this was nothing like that, even if they seemed to be just as powerful as her scared worrying told her they would- if not even more so.
Their giggle was followed by them speaking up, their tone reassuring and even somewhat upbeat even if the words remained a mystery. They kept on talking to effectively nobody for a while as the pair half marched, half hobbled down the beaten path back towards the village, with Sue briefly wondering whether they still thought she could understand them somehow- though on the other hand, upon paying closer attention she realized that their voice was more muddled this time, its volume decreasing, as if the royal was just muttering to themselves at this point.
Or just venting their thoughts out loud, let's be generous here.
They stopped after a couple minutes, head tilting up to look skyward with an expression deep in thought, a small, shrunken part of Sue worrying whether that was as a result of them finally cracking the mystery before even that worry fizzled away as the other martian broke out into song, whistling a calm, serene tune as they continued on.
This was nice.
Calm sensation combined with the relaxing whistling relaxed her bit by bit, the tension from before the encounter finally melting away, shoulders relaxing, breath deepening- Sue even let herself close her eyes for a moment, just taking the fresh, cool air in as she was guided along back to the settlement- Before a distant squeaking caught her attention, in sync with her sixth sense warning her of someone panicking making their way right towards them, feeling familiar enough to where Sue had somewhat of an intuitive idea of who it was, opening her eyes once more, letting a second sense confirm her hunch.
She sure didn't expect Doc to make the kinds of noises they were, panicked shouts mixed in with panting as they ran up the path, the sight just as silly as Sue could've imagined it to be based on their anatomy alone, short legs not doing particularly well at getting them moving fast. With the royal speaking up, they soon came to a stop, leaning forward and supporting themselves on their knees to catch their breath as they desperately tried to utter something out inbetween strained gasps.
The other martian's short response made their head jerk back up in surprise before turning to look up at her, their emotions shifting from alarmed and nervous to still a bit nervous and decidedly unamused, the animal-like mutant eventually straightening themselves up as they recovered, conversing with the royal, and from what Sue could tell, about her.
They must've ran all the way over here to tell the queen or whoever they were about something- wait, about her? The sluggish thoughts made her realize this only now, after they already stopped grumbling, probably about having to run all the way over here for no reason despite clearly not being in the shape for that.
Sorry Doc.
Sue had a hard time focusing on the incomprehensible discussion happening next to her to any real degree even after they had all resumed their march, Doc walking slightly ahead of them with how narrow the path was, initially chatting with the royal about her, but the topic eventually shifted to something she had even less idea about. It felt like no matter what though, the subject of her was always in the background, resurfacing every so often as they talked on, resulting in a return of an undercurrent of anxiety to Sue's thoughts even as the calmness inside her mind dulled it.
She really, really wished she had an idea of what was being discussed about her, and why so much of it- she didn't sense any hostility in either of her current companions, even if Doc was rather annoyed for a good moment there, most of it was varying levels of concern still, but the fear of the unknown couldn't help but start digging at her once more, right as things were looking well for once. Or maybe because of that, worrying about a trap that would inevitably be sprung-
Totally not like she was still having to use a crutch and that royal couldn't just magically yank it right out from underneath her.
While ordinarily realizing just how little sense her being overly worried about a needless trap like that would've helped banish all that worry right away, in this particular case she could only chuckle weakly under her breath, worries persevering underneath the numbing coolness in her head. Why would it even be there- why would that royal forcibly calm her like that to begin with?
She wanted the answer to be "because of their good will" and only that, but she wasn't feeling too confident at the moment, that's for sure.
The rest of the walk flew by relatively fast, the royal and Doc chatting about something among themselves, the topic finally seeming to have firmly steered away from her at long last, leaving Sue to try to keep her nerves in check and her path straight as they eventually made their way back into the village, the path seeming to be connected to the same plaza, the previous gathering she'd witness now having mostly dispersed.
They made quite a few heads turn as they passed by, though Sue wasn't sure how much that was because of her, and how much because of her being seen with the royal all of a sudden, through the rather casual way most of the surrounding creatures exchanged greetings with them made Sue doubt her 'royalty' assumption slightly- though if they weren't actually some sort of king or queen, then why that crown, or why would they have gone to that castle of all creatures...
She could only wonder if they had just as many questions about her as she did about them- likely not considering the difference in scale between one transformed college student and an entire civilization with what looked to be hundreds if not thousands of mutated animals, capable of anything from breathing fire, to magicking things into the air, to moving through solid objects.
Yeah, there might be a bit of a discrepancy in scale there. Just a tad.
Despite the tension, she couldn't help but chuckle about that ever so slightly as they approached Doc's clinic, the very same walls she scurried away from just a couple hours ago now returning as the only point of stability in this wild new world- and she could only hope it would last for longer than however long it takes for that royal to find out the truth about her. That hope was a bit flimsy, but Sue didn't exactly have much else to hold onto as she was guided through the front door, having to bow her head to fit through the door frame, the array of noises coming from the inside acknowledging her arrival.
Toddler squeaking, leafy rustling, a couple squeaky woofs- immediately followed a pair of now well familiar paws pressing against her leg as Ember looked up at her, concern and relief on their expression as they kept on woofing, going on and on in a way that while ordinarily quite amusing, made Sue feel rather bad this particular time- they really seemed to be very relieved with her being back, and even after they stopped leaning on her, wouldn't go further than even a step away, worrying about her getting away into trouble again.
Poor sweetie.
Almost louder than them though was Bowlcut at the sight of their parent, squeaking loudly and joyously, their emotional outlook changing to fit, the tiny martian feeling like they were entirely made of happiness at that particular moment. It was cute enough to bring a smile to Sue's face despite everything else going on right now, especially when combining with the tiny alien trying to waddle over as fast as physically possible, which turned out to not be particularly fast at all, before being magicked up into the air, not seeming to mind one bit as they were lifted into their parent's arms, squirming and squeaking even louder as they were hugged.
This was illegally adorable with how much worrying there was going on in that same scene, the once college student just standing over to the side and taking it all in as everyone else conversed among themselves for a good while, everyone aside from Ember, the fire fox opting to spend their time snuggling against Sue's legs, before the other her carefully set Bowlcut back down on the floor next to Leafy and turned around to face her once more, beckoning her over.
Sue wasn't initially sure what to do as the royal casually took a seat on her bed, and not even on the edge of it, crossing their legs as they sat down facing the pillow, looking back at her over her shoulder before patting down the other half of the mattress, guess she was supposed to take a seat there. This position gave Sue a very clear view of what this species' back spike looked, surprising her somewhat with how much smaller and more rounded it was compared to the front one, almost like a fin as opposed to something you could stab people with.
The chatter in the room continued as she waddled over, Bowlcut having to be held by Leafy lest they'd try to run over to the bed right in Sue's way, the mental image of her accidentally punting them as amusing as it was harrowing considering their parent was about to be doing... something to them. Or with them, she had no idea what all this was for to begin with. She leaned the crutch against the bedside table before sitting down, orienting herself around to face the other martian, their expression as patient as ever, a reassuring smile filling it as they reached out a hand towards her, a soft spoken comment towards Ember getting them to hop off the bed after they've already preemptively scrambled over.
Sue had no idea whether the hand's purpose was to help her orient herself into the right position or whether it was something entirely else, though she decided on the latter, clumsily turning her body to face the royal before slowly reaching out her hand towards them in return, hesitating for a moment as a pang of doubt made her freeze, worrying what was the significance of them dragging her all the way back here just so that they could sit on the bed together and hold hands, hoping it wouldn't be used to show off her being a fake right there in front of everyone-
Before grabbing their hand, even if that was the case, she was already doomed, and hesitation wouldn't help.
Suddenly growing so, so incredibly tired definitely wasn't on the list of what she thought would happen afterwards, Sue blinking in surprise as she exhaustion set in within moments, the royal's head slumping forward the last thing she saw before the same happened to her, rest returning in a most unexpected way.
While it wasn't Sue's first time finding herself at this campfire- far, far from it, it was only the second time where she felt actually awake while being here, the usual thought-muddling fog of dreams not present despite this clearly being one, she clearly remembered falling asleep right before, with the other martian seemingly doing the same, but how come she didn't actually feel asleep in here-
"Good morning, Sue."
The first comprehensible voice she'd heard in almost a week got quite a jump out of Sue despite the unreality of her location, making her look around for its source- and finding it in form of that very same martian, seeming to be here in her dream too, sitting on a bench opposite to hers.
"Quite a pretty place I must say. It's special for you, isn't it?"
Further words snapped Sue of the shock of someone else seeming to be cohabiting her dreams, with the identity of the person in question bringing in all the anxiety she had before getting knocked out like that, with no more cool calmness to numb it anymore. She had no idea how to respond- a straightforward answer would inadvertently reveal her extra... whatever this place was- origin, prompting her to try to switch the topics away from that and attempt to answer at least one thing from the ever increasing pile of unknowns-
"H-how d-did you get inside my d-dream?"
And another while at it, anxieties making her wonder whether this was pushing it too far, the rest of her deeply hoping for the answer to be 'no'-
"A-a-and how do you know my n-name?"
While the first question had her interlocutor open up their mouth as if ready to answer, the second one made them visibly pause, glancing away with a thoughtful expression before looking back towards her, looking more pensive, but thankfully not suspicious, at least not yet. For once, Sue had really wished the weirdness of this body worked in her dreams as well, the silence where the sixth sense once was not reassuring her.
"You've been through a lot, haven't you?"
Oh you have no idea...
Sue wasn't entirely sure how to respond at her own query being sidestepped like this, nodding nervously as she tried to hold onto her flaky calmness- yeah, it was true, but going into any further details would likely be the kind of mistake she'd only get to make once...
"That's regrettable, but-"
The once college student shuddered in her dream, shaking lightly as she stared at the royal creature in front of her, hoping to hell that that fateful word wouldn't be the point at which the trap was sprung-
"-but I want to reassure you Sue, that no matter what, you're safe here."
The trap continued to lay inert, Sue taking a good few moments to gradually start releasing her tension, still completely unsure about whether she could trust them- she didn't have a concrete reason not to, but the elephant in the room remained untackled, making any assurances all that much harder to truly believe. Still, Sue simply responded with a nod once more, continuing to feel drilled.
While Sue was too nervous to pay close attention, the other-her's expression soured further in response, with the attempts at soothing this lost, confused stranger seeming to not be working at all, only making her more concerned about some secret she thought to be so hideous that it would turn everyone against her if they ever knew.
"I... I know you're hiding something Sue, hiding and afraid of bringing it up. Afraid it'd make everyone you've met turn on you. And I can assure you- the are very few acts as repulsive as to force our hands towards exile, and I severely doubt someone who risked her life to save an innocent despite not having the inner power to do so safely would have done any of them."
Sue froze like she never did in the past in response to these words, her brain threatening to shut up completely in panic- she'd been seen through, she was done for, there was nothing else she could do, nothing but a vain hope that their words would ultimately ring true. She looked up at them with shaking eyes, finding what looked at a glance to be genuine reassurance looking back, faint smile trying its absolute hardest to melt through her fear.
What in the world was she to do now?
She found herself hyperventillating as she tried to process it all, finding there to ultimately be no way out but ahead- she severely doubted she would be just let scot-free after all this, leaving her to spill the beans at what felt like gunpoint, hoping to any deities, real or imagined, that things would turn out to be okay.
Duck save her.
It took a long while for Sue to gather her thoughts and words into something halfway coherent, her eyes staring into the fire all the way through as some feeble distraction from what was about to happen, taking what felt like her final breath before speaking-
"You don't have to go into detail if you're not comfortable Sue- I just want your fears to be finally soothed."
Probably wasn't even possible to explain any of this at this point without going into full detail, regrettably...
"I-I-I'm n-not w-w-what you think I-I am."
In her anxious bracing for the immediate reaction, Sue didn't notice the royal simply tilting their head a bit, not sure what she was getting at.
"How so? Your upbringing seems to have been rather distressing yes, but you're one of us nonetheless- first Forest Guardian I've seen in a good while outside of my own tribe, hah."
Forest Guardian? Was that how this species was called? Quite a weird name if that's the case, though that sounds more like a title than any sort of scientific designation. She had no idea what did they mean by 'her upbringing', but it ultimately didn't matter- it wasn't true, and at this point it was too late to try to even pretend it could be.
"I-I'm not- o-or rather I-I guess I wasn't. I-I wasn't always this- this species."
Sue dared to peek up this time, getting to see the confusion on the royal's expression in full detail- confusion that was followed by some more words, sounding hesitant somewhat, but going along with her for now.
"I... alright. If that's the case, what... were you, and what happened for you to become one of us?"
She nodded shakily, expecting a response like this, reminding herself what she looked like beforehand, a pang of panic shooting down her spine at finding that task to be so much more difficult than it used to be, her past self starting to slowly become muddy on the details. If she wasn't being held at oneiric gunpoint, it would've had a harder impact than it did, but a couple tears still forced their way past her eyelids.
For a moment, she worried about how would she even present her past appearance to this stranger before feeling some sort of inner reassurance, glancing at the side to see a vague outline of her human self start coalescing in the air, concentrated further on what she wore that day, how she tied her hair, until the illusion of her fully took form, immediately catching the attention of the royal, their eyes going wider in response.
"T-that's how I looked. I-I used to be a human, and as to what happened... I-I don't know. I remember simply walking though a forest in... my world, and then... suddenly waking up here, in this body, with no memory of what caused this."
Well, there was no going back now, the truth was out, and all she could do was watch how they would react- and if she was extremely lucky, it wouldn't be by ending her there and then. She jumped slightly as they got up from their spot, slowly walking up to the dream hologram to take a closer look at it, slowly making their way around it to inspect what was once her from every angle, Sue's dreamed up heart beating a mile a minute as she awaited the judgment.
"Is... is this what you were afraid of us knowing?"
Sue closed her eyes and nodded, turning back to face the campfire as she prepared for what was to follow, a wave of eerie calmness filling her- this was the end it felt, there would be nothing more, all she could do was wait for it to happen, whatever 'it' would end up being-
And then... she felt an arm wrap around her, tingly to the touch, and pull her in to the side, until she was sitting right next to the royal, the gentle pull making her rest her head on theirs, Sue's eyes shooting wide open in response, head turning to face them, seeing the concern filling their expression, concern and a bit of uncertainty- the latter quickly evaporating as it was replaced with reassurance.
"I'm... I'm so sorry this happened to you Sue. You must be so, so terribly lost..."
Sue couldn't help but stare blankly in return, heart skipping a beat at the sudden bout of affection- was that really it? Were all her worries for naught? Was she finally, truly safe now? She felt a sense of calmness fill her once more, not unlike earlier in the forest, but this time it didn't feel as alien, as cold, just a blanket of comforting warmth that was being wrapped around her body as opposed to cool clarity that filled her head.
"...but you don't have to fear anymore. You're safe now."
Moment by moment, she felt the tension slowly fade from her body, giving way to mostly exhaustion- at having to fear, at running away so foolishly, at feeling like she couldn't really trust anyone here, despite of how friendly they seemed. But it was over now, and now it was time for healing.
The once college student simply shook as she was being held, dreamed up tears running down her cheeks as she felt safe, truly safe, for the first time since finding herself in this magical new world, where nothing seemed to make sense, and yet one in which the people were just as kind, if not even more so, than in hers, despite all their fantastical appearances and abilities.
The pair simply sat in silence for what felt like hours but was likely just a few minutes, all the pent up emotions finally finding an outlet as tears continued to flow freely, gentle rocking coming from the stranger soothing the occasional sob until all that remained was peace. Peace, and calmness, and clarity with which to face the world as it actually was, not the imaginary one she had almost succeeded in running away from mere hours ago.
"It's all good now."
The quiet, almost whispered words got her to look up at the royal, finding their expression even softer than before, a patient, reassuring, downright motherly smile providing more comfort than Sue could've ever thought, especially when coming from someone fundamentally not human- but at the same time, more human than many people she had the displeasure of meeting in the past. It all felt... so, so nice.
"Th-th-thank you."
"You're welcome Sue. I can only imagine all the questions that must be on your mind right now, now that you finally found someone you can talk with. I'll try to answer as many as I can- starting from the most urgent one, teehee. My name's Solstice."
Sue couldn't help but lightly nod along, her mouth already opening before one of her questions was immediately answered- not the one she was about to ask, but the answer to this one was immensely helpful as well.
"S-s-solstice. T-that's a beautiful name."
"Why thank you. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious about your name- elegant and rolls off the tongue for sure, but does it have any meaning in your language?"
She certainly didn't expect a question of that nature, making her think inward whether her name meant something. She remembered looking it up on some random trivia websites when she was younger, but couldn't recall any findings at the moment. And regardless, even if it did technically mean something, it was definitely not on the same level of literal meaning as 'Solstice'.
"I-I don't think so, no. It's just a name, doesn't mean anything more than that."
"Huh. Quite intriguing. I have to admit I haven't ran into a name like that before, without meaning in itself."
Speaking of running into things-
"I-it's quite usual for humans... s-speaking of, d-do you know where they c-could be?"
Solstice looked briefly taken aback at the question, expression faltering slightly as she shook her head.
"In truth, this is the very first time I've seen or even heard of a kin like that. Similar to mine and my father's kin in appearance, but only just- unless there's a large mane your recollection isn't showing. And these clothes... not even the seamstresses in the Central City were making anything near this detailed or richly dyed."
So that was it for finding her way back home the easy way...
At a certain level Sue already knew that deep inside, with no sign of any human habitation anywhere she could see, and someone of this assumed importance not even having heard of them was merely a confirmation of that fear, fear that she was gonna be stuck here forever.
"I... I-I see."
Sue nodded weakly in response, the sorrow of the realization starting to nibble at her before the warm calmness emanating from Solstice started forcing it away, her embrace becoming that bit tighter.
"I'm sorry Sue. I can't imagine this being in any way easy to process, but do not despair. The Moon sees many things, and I'm certain Her guidance will help us find a way back into your world."
The connection did not click immediately for Sue, the girl simply nodding her way through Solstice's words, not thinking of them as much more than some vague religious reassurance. Despite her being unconvinced though, the warm reassurance was more than appreciated, helping her in not breaking down there and then- once was more than enough.
"Forgive me for asking though- your... original kin are not psychics, right?"
"Psy...chics?"
At that moment, both of them were about as confused as each other, Sue at not having an idea of what that word meant, at least in this context, and Solstice at Sue being confused despite her language seeming to have a word for that concept.
"I'm not sure what you're referring to..."
"I thought your language had a word for that concept from gleaming at it, so that's what I used. Does it refer to something else?"
"I don't really know what you're trying to refer to to begin with. T-the only time I remember hearing that word used is with like, conmen that pretended to be able to see the future and move objects with their mind and stuff like that-"
The association took a while to click in her mind, but once it did it was so obvious- Bowlcut magicking over that one treat a couple days ago, Solstice stopping her fall just this very day... not to mention the possibility of other potentially related things, like her sixth sense or even this dream communication. These definitely fit that definition, though of course without the association with fraudsters.
"I think you might just have cracked that one yourself~ though there's no seeing the future like that, at least not in the way you're thinking, heh."
Sue appreciated her hunch being confirmed like that, though it only made concrete one odd observation she had earlier, vocalizing it with it being particularly appropriate-
"W-wait, are you reading my thoughts or something?"
Solstice was briefly taken aback before breaking into quiet giggling, accompanied with a nod.
"Yes, yes I am. It's admittedly hard not to in here since I was the one that put you to Rest, but it's not a particularly common occurrence in the waking world if you want to be reassured of that."
Sue sure didn't expect her to be so nonchalant about that, as if it was just an everyday thing- though who knows, it might very well have been here, she still had no concrete idea just what was the extent of this species' abilities even- if anything this was a good opportunity to find that out though.
"Is that just... a thing you can do?"
"Well... essentially, yeah. And so can you now I'm quite sure."
"I dunno... I tried doing some of that levitation thing after seeing Bowl- the little one do it and couldn't figure it out."
Solstice was unsure about Sue's double take, expression turning uncertain before she broke into soft laughter, trying her hardest to hold it in but failing, Sue threatening to burn up in embarrassment all the while.
"That's one nickname for lil' Comet, hehe. Even though he sure didn't look like it, it took him a lot of practice to get to that point, a practice I heavily doubt you had an opportunity for, let alone knowledge of how to go about it."
"With how effortlessly they- he did it I would've thought it was a subconscious thing..."
"Oh it does become subconscious, and rather quickly at that- something that I hope you'll find out soon yourself~."
"O-oh? What do you mean?"
"It'd be an honor for me to help show you the ropes so to say, no Forest Guardian deserves to live like this, separated from and unaware of their inner power. Plus it's certainly a better outcome than what Willow was afraid of, the poisoning you've sustained at the hands of that beast having injured your brain and rendering you unable to draw from your inner power."
Sue was taken aback by that- a queen of this village offering to personally teach her how to actually use this body to its full potential and show her what she could do was humbling, making her feel a sting of regret at having ever doubted her intentions.
"Th-that's... I-I don't think I-I can thank you enough for this..."
"Neither can I thank you enough for saving my best friend's daughter's life. She had a terrifying premonition during our stay in the Central City, urging us to return as soon as we could, worrying something horrible had happened- and if not for your intervention, it would very well have."
The outsider weakly nodded in return, almost forgetting the extent of what she had done on her first day here, thinking back to Ember and their endless gratitude.
"And it's Spark, actually."
"Huh?"
Sue was caught off guard, not sure what Solstice meant there.
"The one you've named 'Ember'- her name is Spark. And before you ask~ Willow is the one you know as 'Doc', they'll be more than relieved to learn that you're alright under the skullcap. 'Leafy' is Splitleaf, caretaker for the village's little ones, we asked her to look after Comet and Spark while we were away. 'Pixie' is Poppy, cook like no other- fortunately, because I'm not sure the world could endure having two of her in it, and 'Spook' is Hazel, Poppy's wife. Made quite an introduction, didn't she?"
"T-that's helpful, t-thank you. I hope none of my... nicknames were offensive or anything..."
"Oh, not in the slightest. We've all been called much worse things than that to our faces, and it's not like you did it out of any sense of malice, I'm sure none of them would even mind- though since you'll be getting to talk to them sooner rather than later, knowing their actual names will come in handy."
"G-getting to talk to them? I don't know the language at all though, couldn't even begin to figure out it-"
"You don't know it *yet*- and besides, that won't even be an obstacle, telepathy is handy like that."
"W-wait what? You mean like, talking to someone without speaking?"
"'Communicating with people with just thoughts' would be a more accurate way to describe it, but yes, essentially that."
"That sounds... complicated."
"Oh it isn't, nowhere near. If anything it's the simplest thing a psychic can do, if Comet knew how to speak in general he would've likely been chatting you up his entire stay in Willow's clinic. Sundance will eagerly teach you how to get your grasp on it, and from there it's just practice- and I'm sure Spark would love to be your practice partner on this one, hah."
Sue giggled quietly at the mental image of the martian tyke babbling like he did during their meetings but directly into her brain- if that was the actual case it would've easily become quite grating in all likeliness, but it was fun to consider. Though... Sundance?
"Sundance is that close friend of mine I mentioned earlier, Spark's mother. Regrettably, I won't be able to help teach you today- there are a lot of issues to discuss on the Elders' council following our talks in the Central City, plus a celebratory feast to organize in the evening. You're cordially invited to sit next to me in advance."
Right, so that other figure on Doc- Willow's drawing, got it. Still, a couple further things still tugged at Sue, prompting her to speak up and ask-
"Elders' council? I thought you were some sort of royalty with that diadem... and if telepathy is so straightforward, why didn't you use it to talk to me earlier when I, well, ran into you?"
The comment made Solstice look sharply upwards at the barely visible tip of her diadem, as if she'd forgotten she was even wearing it, carefully taking it off before handing it off to Sue to inspect, the latter feeling a bit taken aback by the gesture.
"Oh, the furthest thing from royalty I can assure you of that much. I'm... hmm... in your language the word 'mayor' comes the closest but that's not it really, 'head of council' I suppose? I sit on the Elders' council and am its informal leader, as well as our village's political representative. The diadem is a gift from an old friend really, I can't say I ever thought it would be taken as royal insignia, hah. It does look quite pretty though, which is why I wear it, especially on official occasions like that."
The piece of jewelry really was quite simple when looked at from up close, seeming to be shaped from one continuous strand of now partially corroded metal, any more detailed decorations mostly absent aside from simple patterns etched on the diadem's outer side.
"And as for not communicating with you beforehand and dragging you in here to talk- I suppose you can thank Willow for that, though they were acting in the best of faith. Since you didn't show any psychic ability once you woke up, not even your own telepathy, they assumed there was something wrong on the inside, likely caused by of the poisoning. They decided against asking the other psychics in the village for help with communicating with you, since they were worried that doing so would only exacerbate the issue, and opted to wait for me to come back, since I have more expertise in psychic health issues. From there I just decided to play it safe and talk to you in your dreams first, which considering what I learned here is probably a good thing."
Sue nodded in acknowledgement- it made sense when Solstice put it like that, though her putting Sue telling her of how she ended up here like that made her hair stand on end, and the Elder noticed it.
"Don't worry, I do not intend to share what I learned here with anyone aside from Sundance, and that is just out of necessity so she can teach you more effectively. If you want anyone else to know I will not stop you though- it's your call. For everyone else I can come up with a... cover up story if you wish, though it'd be of a rather miserable kind."
"A miserable kind?"
Solstice appeared to think though her words in response, expression faltering slightly before she spoke up-
"It's... not really done anymore, at least not in the tribe I hail from, but once upon a time... disposing of younglings which were crippled like that- either wholly unable to, or only able to draw a bit from their inner power was a thing, though thankfully not done too commonly. Some tribes sent them out to die, some simply... took the matters into their own hands, not wanting to waste resources on those who wouldn't ever be able to repay them. I thought about spreading a story that you were one of those younglings that was sent off on their own- but which nonetheless managed to survive."
Sue could only stare at her in shock, the practice so utterly unlike anything else she'd seen from the mayor, or anyone in the village for that matter.
"That sounds..."
"Monstrous? Barbaric? Abhorrent? It is. It is all of these things. That's why we're here- to escape from both the uncaring brutality of nature, and from cold ruthlessness of those who only cooperate for survival."
She laid a hand on Sue's shoulder, the two martians locking eyes as Solstice smiled once more.
"And we're more than honored to have you here Sue. Now, I should probably get going- council issues won't talk themselves though."
"W-what about me then? I-isn't this a shared dream?"
"Well, I was thinking to leave you asleep after this place fades away, without any dreams- you've already had quite a day, and could definitely use some more rest. Plus it'd also give me time to explain everything to Sundance and for her to walk over- though it is up to you."
Sue pondered on that choice, gaze shifting away and down to stare at the ground as she thought it through- guess there was no harm in snoozing some more- she'd probably need a nap sooner or later with how bad her sleep was last night, might as well take it before getting to meet everyone- for real this time.
"A-alright, that s-sounds good. T-thank you Solstice, f-for all of this."
The leader half nodded, half bowed in response, getting up from her seat as she turned her head to stare up at the sky, the dreamscape beginning to unravel around them, Solstice's parting words echoing in Sue's mind as her unconscious was plunged into darkness once more.
"Rest well Sue. There is a lot ahead of us..."