Chapter 16: Conflict Rises

Castlebrooke and the Renard Village were a painfully long distance from each other. And the heroes could feel it, noting the growing tension on the ship. Similarly to when sailing to the Galactic Jungle, those on the ship were beginning to become boat crazy. Seeing blue on the horizon all day wasn't the most unbearable thing.

See, people were beginning to hate each other on the ship. And that's not putting it mildly, that's a blatant fact.

Maelynn and Mari were the root of the conflict. The two of them were at a complete misunderstanding with each other. Maelynn was trying her best to be rational and calm with Mari and explain to her why Wilfre was there. Mari wanted to understand, but she couldn't shake off the memories of all the harm he had done to their village and her people. She didn't understand why they would allow him to stay on the ship after all he had done, and seemed to have little leeway for redemption at this point. Despite the both of them were trained to fix conflicts, they couldn't compromise and fix their own.

It was also tense with Wilfre and Mari, Jowee and to some extent, Heather. Heather had every reason to be upset with Wilfre. He possessed her body, and had trapped her in a cage of shadow, additionally doing so much harm to the world. Still, she began to notice that despite all the bad things he was done that he was aware of, but also that he was becoming more comfortable on the ship, he had seemed to be avoiding from doing wrong.

At least, it seemed that way, but Mari and Jowee had made him uncomfortable. The shadowy raposa had been avoiding the both of them as much as possible and mainly staying in his chambers. He hadn't even tried touching the Book of Life yet (mainly as Mari had been clutching onto it protectively), but Heather noticed he wasn't trying to touch it. He was almost treating the Book that he had destroyed and once desired as a plague upon Rapokind that wasn't to be touched.

Rikki and Jowee were another issue on the ship that came up, mainly with the tension with Maelynn and Mari. Thunder had especially observed this when he was trying to catch up with Jowee, but also trying to act like a mediator for the two of them. However, it was clear that they were polar opposites, and the tension with Mari and Maelynn was only amplifying their issues as they were taking sides. Rikki wanted off the Cavalier Soleil as his clothing was messed up and dirtied, and he had to resort to a different spare outfit, but also that they had been through a rough fight. Jowee, on the other hand, was eager to keep on the sea and travel to more places despite all the stuff that had happened to him.

Rikki was on Maelynn's side of the fight noting they had been traveling with Wilfre for a while, and so far, nothing had happened to resort to punishment. Jowee felt like having Wilfre on the ship was risky as there was a chance he could have been deceiving them this whole time and could turn on them at any point. However, he kept in mind that Maelynn and the others were prepared if he ever did so. Even though he understood this, he worried about the impact of the betrayal. He still remembered when Wilfre revealed himself to be Sock. Jowee tried to forget about this, but seeing Wilfre on the ship (when the shadowy creature was actually out of his room but avoiding Mari and Jowee if out) made him think back to the things he did as Sock, but also as Salem.

Out of the trios that were Mari, Jowee and Heather and Maelynn, Rikki and Aurora, Heather and Aurora seemed to be getting along just fine. Sure, Aurora tended to be more talkative than the quiet Heather, but the two of them were taking time to understand each other's sides and come to a compromise. Did they have their biases? Yes, of course. Their past and current experiences most definitely impacted their world views. Interestingly, though, Aurora and Heather could both share experiences they had and relate them.

Heather learned that Aurora wasn't from the Renard Village, but was there for her own protection and had basically integrated as a citizen of the village while also learning from Maelynn and Rikki. Aurora hadn't been as open to expressing that to the heroes yet, as she felt like it wasn't the right time, but a danger that popped up made Aurora's mother have her sent elsewhere for her own protection. Aurora remembered the experience quite clearly, talking about black, smoky mist that glowed with sinister reds, greens and purples that made thinking even dangerous as it would turn a thought, even a daydream, into a nightmare.

Similarly, Heather wasn't from the Raposa Village, but she had integrated into the Raposa Village after being saved from being trapped in a cage and guarded by the fearsome dragon Frostwind. Even though for the longest time, Heather was unable to speak, she was comforted by the village around her, though she could still remember the terror she felt when trapped, unknowing who she could trust, and what dangers she could face. She related that to Aurora not being as open about her personal experiences and being unable to express herself.

Almost everyone had a bias of some kind. Wilfre and Circi were excluding themselves from the tension and preventing from adding their two cents in to nor worsen things. The last thing Wilfre needed was to make more Raposa in a world that shunned him to hate him even more. Circi felt that it was necessary for the group to come to a compromise as there needed to be some form of trust, as she could tell that things were unwell in the world, and this time, it wasn't her fault or Wilfre's.

The only two who were truly neutral about this were White Blaze and surprisingly, Penelope. White Blaze understood why Mari and Maelynn were fighting, and their arguments. However, the amount of tension they were creating, and how it was impacting the rest of the ship disturbed her. It reminded her of the continual tension between her clan and the Blackpaws, but she was afraid it could escalate into a war. The Mayors of the villages and those who sided with them did not need to fight and rip each other apart. It almost seemed like someone wanted fighting, as if they wanted the group to destroy themselves on the inside.

Penelope had a unique perspective on the issue. Though Roselyynn and Thunder were and always had been more biased towards Mari's perspective on the issue and it would be expected that she'd do the same, Penelope couldn't find herself to pick a side. Instead, she was able to analyze both of the sides and understand them from a perspective as a denizen of the light, yet the darkness at the same time. She also could see why Wilfre and Circi were trying to involve themselves into the dilemma as little as possible, mainly out of a similar fear she had.

Both sides couldn't trust Wilfre. One side trusted him more than the other, but it wasn't a full trust. However, Mari's side had a lack of trust in the darker beings on the ship (being Wilfre and Circi), nothing what they did and how it had affected them personally and the village. They feared that trusting them would lead to the same consequence—being that of the bitter betrayals of days past. Wilfre and Circi had both betrayed trust in working towards their own initiatives.

Maelynn's side understood the importance of this darkness. It couldn't be fully rejected, but they knew it wasn't entirely good to have full trust with the possibility of that trust being relinquished. Mari wished she could trust Wilfre, but the faults he had committed led to a lack of faith in it, knowing that trying to have trust would only lead to pain. Maelynn understood why Mari couldn't bring herself to trust Wilfre again, but her biggest issue was that the current situation wasn't black and white; good and bad. Nitpicking and refusing to accept Wilfre as an ally for now based on bias was becoming a problem, and they were going to need all the help they could get.

Penelope wanted to pick a side. In fact, she was more on Maelynn's side, especially as she had a different understanding of Wilfre's perspective, and to an extent, Circi's. She knew why she was stopping herself and not allowing herself to do so. She knew that she'd be questioned by Mari's side as to why she felt that way.

And she was worried Roselyynn and Thunder would slip something that would escalate the issue to a profound degree. That's why she hadn't said anything. Penelope did notice something about the behaviors of her fellow heroes/students. At first, Roselyynn and Thunder were leaning on Mari's side of the battle. It made sense why, for they were directly influenced by Wilfre. Penelope thought that was it was going to stay that way until she saw that the two of them were split on the issue.

Roselyynn, not so surprisingly, was adamantly on Mari's side. She was the most untrusting of Wilfre, if not, the most critical of him. Then again, she had acted that way in the first place. Penelope had supposed Thunder would follow the same mannerisms, noting he had been "friends" with the disguise known as 'Sock'. However, he was the more merciful one between Roselyynn and himself, and he found himself siding with Maelynn on this issue.

One thing was for certain, however.

Penelope wouldn't be surprised if this boat ripped itself apart from the tension between Mayor Maelynn and Mayor Mari.

XxXxX

(Cavalier Soleil- The Creation Heroes's Room- Nighttime)

Penelope, like times before, was lying awake and staring blankly at the ceiling. She wasn't able to easily ease herself to sleep. Perhaps it was the tension, or perhaps she was worried about something. As she continued to gaze at the ceiling, she eventually heard the Creator speak. "It seems you have concerns once again. Is there something you need to get off your chest?"

"I don't know. I'm concerned about a few things, really. All the fighting and division is one of them." Penelope replied, looking over at Roselyynn and Thunder. Though the two of them were asleep, she could tell they were frustrated, likely with the reality of their thoughts messing with their dreams. The two of them got into a spatter about who was right and wrong with the major debate, and it ended with the two of them getting frustrated with each other. Frowning at that thought, the rabbit hero asked, "I understand the reasons as to why everyone is upset with each other. Something about the trigger just seems wrong… it's almost like someone wanted this to happen. I just don't know who."

"In hopes that perhaps it may bring ease, I think I've figured out why Wilfre lost his form. That was the trigger that started this. Perhaps he's figured it out as well, though I wouldn't be able to tell."

"Do you think trying to explain that to Mari would make it better?"

"Not really. Remember, Wilfre has directly hurt Mari on an emotional and perhaps mental level. He convinced her to side with him at one point noting that the world seemed like it was going to end. He also killed her Father when you were getting the Legendary Sword. She's afraid that trying to trust him again is what he wants, and she's worried he's tricking the ship into accepting him and trusting him as an ally."

"I know, and I can see why she can't trust him. However, Wilfre doesn't seem to be much of the type of Raposa who doesn't do things for his own benefit. I don't know why he helped us in Watersong."

"From what I can tell, Wilfre has become aware of a few things. He knows that he's basically become an embodiment of darkness, and he can't escape what he's done nor easily redeem himself from it. There's also something else, which I can't exactly tell what, but I do have a question."

"For me, or for Wilfre?"

"You know Wilfre wouldn't answer a question from me unless he absolutely had to. I was referring to you."

"Alright…what is it?" Penelope asked back, wondering what it could be.

"As Wilfre is that of darkness, and the current threat is White Tuxedo, why hasn't he joined Tuxedo's side. Noting that he loathes me and wishes I was gone, and that it seems Tuxedo may have a similar goal, it would make sense that he'd want to be with someone of similar ideals." The Creator began, setting up her question. "Why isn't he working with White Tuxedo and decided to side with you?"

Penelope's ears twitched, and she sat up, pondering.

She hadn't really thought of why he'd do that.

XxXxX

(Cavalier Soleil- Wilfre's Room)

Whoever thought it was a good idea to have Circi in the same room as Wilfre was one the shadow raposa most certainly did not agree with. Of course, this arrangement was done to prevent the fighting from getting worse, but Wilfre thought it was stupid to try to prevent more fighting when it was creating itself.

In fact, he was looking forward to when everyone was off the boat, himself included. Of course, he planned on not going near the Raposa Village and staying at the Renard Village (from what he heard, it was apparently east to the Raposa Village). He knew he'd have to stay disguised as Vincent to prevent a witch hunt in the other village until the Cavalier Soleil left again.

Circi had been fairly quiet throughout the trip. Wilfre recalled her being chattier, though he was glad she wasn't talking too much. Hell, he was amazed he hadn't lost it and had given up on the group. Wilfre was sitting down on his bedside, jotting something down in a journal.

As he was doing so, Circi finally said something. "There's something I don't understand about what you're doing, Wilfre."

"And what might that be?" He asked, halting his writing. He wasn't looking back at Circi, though he could almost visualize her facial expression. Circi sighed, fluffing her wavy hair and continuing to stare.

"After all they did… after what the Creator had done to you… you side with your foes? What could you hope to gain by doing this?" She asked, looking distressed. Wilfre glanced back at her before looking at his writing again.

"I didn't plan on gaining anything from it. I'm not exactly fond of siding with those who have defeated me either, but it seems necessary at this point of time."

Circi bit her tongue. She couldn't easily accept that answer, as it still didn't make much sense. Blinking, she continued to insist on the matter. "But truly, must you do so? Why side with the Creator? Why not take your own approach on this like you've done before? Knowing your brilliance, you could always come up with your own plan—"

Wilfre shook his head, stopping Circi from continuing her speech. "How foolish do you think I am? This has nothing to do with siding with the Creator. Don't think that I'm on her side in this situation."

Circi still wasn't convinced. Crossing her arms and glaring, she asked back, "Then what are you thinking! Is there something else?"

"As much as I hate the Creator and loathe her methods, I'm finding that I do care for this pathetic world. I desperately wanted to save it from its destruction, even if I caused hurt along the way."

"So it was an instance of the ends justify the means?"

"That's one way to think about it, I suppose." Wilfre replied quickly, trying to explain his reasoning. "My want to 'save' this stupid world seems to apply to this situation. I know I would've sided with 'White Tuxedo', if I'm getting his overly simplistic alias correct."

"Yet you haven't. Or… that seems to be the case." Circi thought out loud. Wilfre nodded, clarifying Circi's guess.

"Don't worry. I'm not on White Tuxedo's side." Wilfre clarified. Circi noticed him shudder, which took her off guard. "Whenever I consider it, something bothers me. Something about whatever he's planning doesn't feel right to me."

Circi didn't appear to be convinced by that. Then again, despite his arrogance and proud demeanor, it surprised her that Wilfre shuddered.

For he was the one people were normally afraid of and wanted to destroy.

XxXxX

A few long days of seafaring later…

XxXxX

It was decided that when the Cavalier Soleil returned to the port at the Renard Village, and everyone got off the boat, Mari, Jowee, Heather and Circi would continued traveling with them, but they would do so on a separate vessel. Maelynn, Rikki and Aurora had no idea what ship it was, but it was likely that it was going to be Turtlerock, the giant sea turtle with a village upon its back.

The Cavalier Soleil and the Whiteclaw's Ship (which had been quietly following the former for a while) boarded at the Renard Village. The villagers rejoiced to see the Cavalier Soleil, greeting their dearly missed Mayor as she, Aurora and Rikki (who carried a closed basket of clothes) got off the boat first. Mari, Jowee, Heather and Circi got off second, with Roselyynn and Thunder following close behind.

When White Blaze got off, she went to her ship to check on her people and see if everything was going alright as she hadn't had time to check. 'Vincent' and Penelope came off the boat last. The first hero was keeping an eye on the other Raposa to make sure he didn't suddenly transform back.

There were multiple conversations going on in the bustling Renard Village at the moment. Mari and her group had their own conversation, the villagers were talking with each other of what news Maelynn had to report to them and their reactions, and overall, there seemed to be a sunny atmosphere despite all the suffering that had happened on the sail there.

Penelope noticed Roselyynn and Thunder begin to leave with Mari and her group when they were done talking. Her ears stuck up in alarm, and she looked frantically at Maelynn, then to 'Vincent' and then to Mari and the others. She had no idea where she was supposed to go.

As Rikki was diverging from the crowd, still carrying the basket with him, he noticed Mari and the others and Penelope's dilemma. "You should probably go with the members of your village for now. I'll let Maelynn know if you're going." He advised, noticing them head off.

Penelope frowned, still thinking. "Still… they'd be safer with just Roselyynn and Thunder. I can't lose my form in front of Mari, Jowee or Heather."

'Vincent' shook his head in disagreement. He kept character as he advised her. "It may be best for you to go with them. As long as you keep your composure, you'll stay normal. Plus, seeing how everything was oh-so joyful on the boat, it likely wouldn't be good to look like you're on Maelynn's side."

"Yeah, I know." Penelope replied, quickly making her decision. She looked to Rikki. "I'm going to go with Mari and the others. Unless they forget about me, which may be likely, but I should go."

"Ok." Rikki answered, before recalling something else. He cringed at the thought of adventure, but he knew it would be good to bring up. "Actually, do you know where we're going next? Did the Creator say anything?"

Penelope quickly recalled it, keeping watch of Mari and the others. "Yes. She said something about going to the Gemstone Isle way back before Castlebrooke, but it was before we even really got to Lavasteam or the Galactic Jungle."

Rikki looked concerned. He remembered what Jewel said about the isle from what felt like ages ago. "…The Gemstone Isle? Didn't Jewel say something about King Diamond and how he has an iron grip over his people?" He asked. It took a moment for Penelope to recall that, but it didn't take too long to remember.

"Yes. She did…" Penelope answered, only for a chill to slip down her spine. An odd feeling shook through Penelope's tiny body when thinking about Jewel. Something just felt wrong about her. And she was pretty sure that it wasn't her magic. She couldn't address it now, however. She needed to go.

Saying goodbye to 'Vincent' and Rikki, Penelope headed off after Mari and the others at a brisk pace. Maelynn noticed the rabbit zip off after the Raposa and the heroes of her village. She may have carried a smile upon her face, but her mind zipped with worried thoughts.

She hoped that this next chapter of their adventure would go well.