Toni's Room

He could hear her ranting, even from his room. He heard her and stared at the blank walls and couldn't even get up the gumption to plug his ears. He deserved it, the ridicule. He must, because she was his mother for Gum's sake. There had to be something wrong with him! But how could he fix it if she never gave him half a chance.
Blank walls...
He wished he was as blank as the walls, simple in the head like his mother thought he really was. Then it wouldn't matter. All of the bad things people would ignore about him. Simple people were treated with more respect than he was...
Why couldn't I have been born truly stupid and simple?! He cursed not Gum, nor his mother, but himself. All his fault. Everything. From being born to his stupid useless hobbies to his feeble hopes of every being anything in the eyes of Sir Gumlittle. How could a simpleton like himself ever hope to be anything but a shoveler?
"Stupid. You are SO STUPID! How could I have EVER given birth to a worthless and pathetic cub like HIM!?"
Stop. Stop stop stop stopstopstopstopstOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOP!!!
His hands clamped so hard around his ears, they popped painfully.
Make it STOP!! Make HER stop!! Make me stop...

Healer Huckleberri's Home

"Yer too hard on yourself. Ya don't see it but we all can, lad." Huckleberri said.
"Everyone makes mistakes. Me, Huckleberri, Sir Timothi, Sir Plucki, even the Council. We all do. But we must get by that, Cubbi. Move on, learn from our mistakes. That's how we truly grow." said Sarrani.
Cubbi bowed his head. "It isn't just me screwing up. I just don't seem to fit here sometimes... Anybody can see I'm not from Gummadoon."
"And that bothers you?" Sir Timothi asked, though they all knew it. The point was to bring this out into the open further.
"It might interest you to know that not everyone of Gummadoon was born here, young squire," Huckleberri began. "I myself came to Gummadoon and stayed when they told me they hadn't any but one other healer. And Sir Blastus. Do you think he was born here, the way he talks? No, sir." The old healer smiled, remembering back. "Why, that little cub was a handful, too. Rascal! Always getting into everything. He provoked Gumlittle and Plucki to more mischief than I think they'd've gotten into the pair of them alone! Oh, yes, Gummadoon has all sorts of people under its roof."

Gummadoon Sick Room

"If only we had a way of capturing this image forever. For posterity, of course." Sarrika said, grinning.
"You mean for bribery." Plucki grunted, standing back to stare at the little Sir Blastus. The night shirt fit fine. His two-year-old best friend still held his arms up from putting on the night shirt and looked expectantly at the other adults. Plucki chuckled. "You look like I'm robbing you. Put your hands down."
"Sarrika, please tell me this isn't going to last more than another day..." Gumlittle was wearing down. The stress the recent events were causing wasn't doing good by him. Everyone could see that. And everyone else was just behind him when it came to the breaking point.
"We'll keep him in this form as long as it takes, Sir Gumlittle. As soon as his sickness is done, run its course, then you'll have your answer."

Tavi's Room

Tavi, still dressed in her sleepclothes, paced. Why? Why did she dream so much about the gummi who'd truly saved them from Morlock? (and no I cannot remember how to spell this dude's name lol. Apologies!)
A knock at her door startled her into pausing. "Y-yes? Who is it?"
"Your Aunt Toffi, dear. May I come in?"
"... Sure." She tried to sound and act like nothing was wrong. Nothing at all. She threw on a smile and hopped cheerfully onto her bed as her aunt entered.
Her aunt was smiling, too, but it was a tired one and one that hid concern.
"What's wrong?" Tavi asked.
"How do you feel today, Tavi?"
"Auntie, I wish people would stop asking me that..." She sighed wearily, nothing false about it.
"We're merely worried about you.What you've done -- what you did-- was not anything we'd predicted. We're the Council! We're supposed to see these things. But it is no small matter and we're only concerned."
"Concerned about my sanity." Tavi snorted.
"Now, don't take a tone with me, girl. We want to help."
"You're treating me like a thing, Auntie! Not a gummi! I haven't broken yet! Stop fussing!"
They stared each other down a moment. Councilor Wooddale subsided with a sigh. "Very well, niece. But... Please, if anything out of the ordinary happens, or you start to feel yourself... lost... please come to me, or any of the Council of Gummadoon. Or any of the knights! It's very important, sweetie."
Tavi's jaw clenched and she glared and looked quite menacing to her aunt. "You think I don't know the stories? You don't think I know about HER? You're so afraid of her, you won't even mention her name!"
Wooddale stared, shocked. "You know of Emi?"
Still angry, Tavi nodded.
"There is great power in a gummi medallion, niece. The one you absorbed was no different than that which Emi consumed. And you are so young. How can we NOT worry?"
Tavi's lip started to tremble. She wasn't really angry at her aunt. They were worried about her. That's all. She was worried, too. "Aunt Toffi?"
"Yes, dear?"
"Will I...? Is there any way to stop from going insane after what I did?"
"Something is wrong. PLEASE talk to me!" Wooddale pleaded, her arms out.
Tavi rushed to her aunt, clutching at her desperately. "In my dreams, Toffi. I'm never me anymore. I'm someone else! I can't make it stop. I can't make the rain stop, or the thunder. I can't stop being afraid even though I want to so bad!"
"Oh, child..." Wooddale stroked her head, smoothed her tossled hair. She sighed, then smiled. "It'll be alright. You don't sound like you're going insane to me."
Tavi began to sob against her aunt. "I'm not Emi. I'm not, Aunt Toffi! I'll never be like that."
The Gummadoon councilor's smile grew and pulled her niece into a loving embrace. "I know, Tavi. We'll make sure of it, and I never believed you would, dear."