The Crack Of Dawn

Summerlate, Day 30, 576AS

Just before sunrise, Avery arrived at my doorstep with her kits in tow. Belfry was already awake preparing to leave to help Tess out at their bakery booth and attended to Avery. While the two chatted, I went upstairs to wake up Tamberlane. Understandably, this was quite a bit earlier than the usual time she wakes up so she refused to cooperate. I didn't have the heart to push her further, so I decided I'd let her rest and just carry her on my shoulders when we go. She would eventually wake up later on regardless.

Since I too often forgot to do so previously, now that Avery was here, I took a moment of her time to show her the mysterious fabric I had bought from Ainsley three months ago, hoping she could shine some light on what it was. She examined it thoroughly, feeling every single inch, stretching it, testing its softness and durability. I swear it felt like she was looking at each and every string and fiber it was composed of, yet she could not for the life of her figure it out. She was, however, extremely ecstatic about it and mentioned she had worked with all kinds of textiles, including blended ones, but this wasn't any kind of material she was familiar with. She did reveal that it was not pawmade, however, and would make for extremely sturdy and resilient clothing material. I appreciated her insight, but it didn't help me much with figuring out its origin.

Having reached an apparent dead end, I requested if she could at least take the fabric and tailor it into a blanket, which she happily obliged and planned to work on after she would be finished with the festival. I figured I'd make at least some use for it rather than just tossing it in a closet to collect dust. Since I was already taking her kits to meet their father, she was kind enough to accept that as payment, much to my relief.

Speaking of which, we reached the docks just in time for the Jumping Guppy's arrival at sunrise. As I watched Jason reunite with his kits, I could swear he looked a bit different than what I remembered when I last saw him. I suppose the rugged life of the sea had the tendency to change one's appearance. If nothing else, his sense of humor definitely didn't change. Say what one will about him, there was no denying that he is a loving father, as I could see for myself. A pity that he is unable to keep his paws firmly on ground for long. He and Avery had a good thing going, and its unfortunate things ended the way they did. But, if the two are able to make this work out somehow and his kits are still happy, then who am I to complain.

Regrettably, my hopes regarding information about Tamberlane were shattered. Neither captain Gillian nor any of his crew were familiar with her species. They did however refer to a passenger they had on board named "Milo" who might have some idea about her. The name didn't really strike me as familiar until I saw who it was associated with.

Yes, it was that Milo. Milo Academique of Lumiens, or who once used to be Milo Jamiton of Tangled Branch. I should not have been surprised. I suppose a lot can happen in over a decade. He's definitely grown from the little kit I remember. Never in a million years did I think I would run into him again, especially after what happened, yet here we are. I was saddened to know that his mother's opinion of me hadn't changed. I suppose I can't really blame her. I'm sorry Jimmy... I tried my best...

It was an unexpected reunion, but I must say, it was nice to see him making something of himself. He told me he was here to observe the social gatherings and different cultures during the festival for his doctoral thesis, at least that's what I managed to gather from his otherwise pointless blabbering monologue, but that seemed to change once he saw Tamberlane. He was insistent on studying her for his project, but his sudden immense obsession with her made me extremely uncomfortable. There was no bloody way I was going to let someone else poke and prod her like a piece of meat!

It's a bit ironic of me to say that. I was the same way a few months ago, but since then I've grown a particular fondness for this kit. She may be a unique species but for all intents and purposes, she is a little girl, just like any other. She likes to play games, play with her friends, has hobbies like other kits and the same curiosity, behavior and innocence. The other day, she gifted me a drawing she had made of myself, her and Belfry together. It was the typical crudely made child's drawing, but the gesture and the fact that she included me in her circle of those she trusts was immensely touching. I had the picture framed and it now sits on my study table among other memorabilia.

She views me as an uncle, and it makes me giddy every time she calls me "Unca". She treats and speaks to me like family, and admittedly, over time I've come to view her less as a "subject" myself. She doesn't deserve to be treated like some lab animal. I was wrong for doing so in the past and I won't let anyone else do such either.

After much begging and pleading from Milo, and with Tamberlane's consent, we came to a compromise. Milo would be allowed to study her, but only under my strict supervision. If I see him doing anything out of the ordinary or anything that hurts her, that will be the end of his participation!

Jason was kind enough to take Tamberlane to her family at the Baker's booth, while I accompanied Milo to the library to allow him to settle in. After some tea and some reminiscing, he asked me a lot of questions about Tamberlane. I shared with him everything I had learned so far, as well as my plan for her at the festival. He agreed with that and asked to come with us to observe her. He did offer me some suggestions that I found helpful as well. Perhaps he wouldn't be as useless as I thought.

We waited until it was close to midday, for the time when the festival would be most crowded. It wasn't difficult to pass the time thankfully, there was a lot of catching up to do. When we arrived at the Baker's booth to retrieve Tamberlane, we were greeted with the sight of Tess and Belfry arguing. Typical…

Tamberlane seemed to believe she was responsible for them fighting. I had to stop those two for her sake. It occurred to me that the frequent fighting between the two might be having an effect on the little kit. If they want to knock each other's block off, they should have the sense not to do it in front of her. I hope they can settle their differences soon, for her sanity's sake.

We learned quite a bit about Tamberlane's social behavior as we observed her while she explored and interacted with the other townsfolk. She didn't appear anxious being separated from her mother. If anything, her curiosity blossomed. It definitely helped that she had gotten to know many of the townsfolk over the course of these few months and they had become used to her presence. She explored every corner of the festival and interacted with several creatures, including some that were not even locals and had arrived from outside. Unfortunately, some of these outsiders were… less than amicable to her approach. With one particular elderly crow, it escalated to the point that I was forced to intervene when the bastard threatened to hurt Tamberlane. Very surprisingly, she did not let these setbacks discourage her and continued as if nothing had happened. As sweet as her friendly demeanor is, I had to lecture her not to be so forward with everyone. As much as I wished others were like her, there are those who will not reciprocate her friendliness and she might just end up in trouble again.

She seems to have a very strong desire to help others, even strangers. The whole fiasco with the elderly crow happened because she wanted to help him. And she got herself injured when she helped Twitchel and Rhode with a crate of medical supplies. She is far more fragile than I had initially thought. Her paws were dotted with splinters! And I could see why. After all, she lacked the padding or hoofing that almost all of us have.

My will has become equally fragile however. Even though it was technically a minor injury and even she didn't seem that affected by it, it felt gruesome to me. It was the first time I had seen her wounded, yet it felt more painful to my heart than it was to her paw. I could not bear to see it. I had to call off the experiment for today. Twitchel and Rhode were kind enough to tend to her injuries, and I am grateful for that. It saved us a detour to the hospital, and I don't think I'd be able to handle seeing her carrying her bleeding paws all the way until we reached there.

Despite all her good traits, Tamberlane has an aggravating tendency to find trouble. On the way back, she had wandered off to approach Tagg and Danger, two iron miners acting as this year's annual trade envoys on behalf of Follybrook. She almost gave me a heart attack! It is becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with her energy and keep an eye on her. If only I was a few decades younger. Thankfully, she hadn't touched them as I had initially feared. I had the idea to ask them if they might be familiar with Tamberlane's kind. Short answer is, they weren't. But they did succeed in conning me out of two drinks, those swindling vermin!

They seemed to believe Tamberlane was from Abroad. Admittedly, that possibility had not occurred to me, but regardless, it was a theory I vehemently disagreed with. They also mentioned some unusual happenings occurring that they believed were connected to her. Yet there is no evidence to support the theory of her being from there other than her unusual appearance. They didn't stay around for much longer, but I wasn't particularly sad to see them go. I wouldn't want to waste my time with that bollocks they were spewing.

Besides, we had places to be as well. Today was the first time in twelve years that Treehollow was hosting the Sovereign Festival after having been hosted by all the other settlements of Silver Sage in turn during the previous years. We had to hurry if we were to make it in time to attend the opening ceremony. It's almost like a once in a lifetime opportunity. I didn't miss the previous ones and I don't intend to start missing them now.

The remainder of the day was largely uneventful. The crowds began to thin out as visitors left closer to the end of the day. We took Tamberlane back to her mother at the Baker's booth, where we found Belfry looking somewhat upset, but she didn't say why and neither did we ask. I'm assuming she may have had another fight with Tess sometime before the ceremony. Dear God, will they ever learn? At least it was a good thing that Tamberlane did not have to endure that one. Belfry told us she and Tamberlane would join us later after she'd help her family pack up the booth at the end of the day, which was fine by me as I had to help Milo settle into his new home for however long he intended to stay.

Back at the library, we shared our notes and thoughts on today's observations. It had been a fairly productive day, and we managed to learn a few more things about Tamberlane. At the same time, I had been observing Milo, and learned a bit more about him as well. He had done a remarkably fine job compiling today's research and gave me some promising ideas for future experiments. I was impressed. Perhaps having him assist in my research was not such a bad idea after all. Yet... I know it sounds wrong, but I can't say I'm too happy about him returning into my life. Seeing him once again has brought back memories that I struggled to cope with, memories that were locked away in a dark corner somewhere in the back of my mind and had now spilled out, memories that I wished had stayed buried, as cold as it may sound.

I think I'm not going to be able to sleep well tonight...