"It's really cold up there, especially this time of the year, but there's also a lot of drafts and stuff that get in the way if I wear anything heavier. Though I've always wished I could somehow get a set that covered my whole body without bothering the wings," Sap said as she opened her wings more, to allow Renn to see her back.

Her shirt, if you could call it that, covered her front only and even then barely. It was fastened to her waist and up to her neck. At least she wore real pants this time. Last time I'd seen her she had been basically naked, and unlike Fly or her mother she didn't have feathers anywhere else. Her huge wings were her only trait. It was interesting to see the way her wings connected to her back though, just under her shoulder blades. I knew from the many times I'd held them as babies, or had killed them during the wars, that those like her had basically a secondary set of shoulder-like joints beneath their shoulder blades. The wings emerged from near their spine, but were in fact connected to their upper skeletal system near their clavicle through a series of joints. Almost as if they had another shoulder entirely, though it didn't protrude or stick out like one.

Mother would have found them amazing, honestly. It was as if they were deformed, but in such a spectacular way that it just made sense… almost as if a human body had been made with the idea of wings in mind from the beginning.

Though I suppose humans had tailbones too, so the idea of having tails was believable as well. Like with Renn, for instance.

Watching Renn as she stepped closer to Sap as they walked, to study the wings, I smiled as I watched her tail twist and jerk in the air behind her. She was fascinated.

"Do they feel heavy? They sound and look so," Renn asked.

"Not really? I notice them when they get wet or icy during a snowstorm, but right now? I barely notice them," Sap said.

"Huh," Renn nodded at that as Sap folded her wings back up.

"How about your ears? Do you actually hear from them?" Sap asked, continuing their introductory conversation.

Renn's ears fluttered as she reached up and touched them. "Yeah? In fact I hear better from them than I do these ones, to the point I half the time don't even realize I hear anything from them at all," Renn said as she then pushed her hair aside to reveal her human ears.

Following the two as they got to know one another, I glanced around at the forest we were walking through. It was the same as earlier, but we were now heading southwest a little. At least we were on more flat ground now; even though still high in elevation. Renn had been surprisingly capable at walking up a mountain, even at a steeper incline, but it had still worried me.

She seemed so frail, appearance wise… even when I knew she wasn't, I still worried as if she was as fragile as the young human woman she looked to be. And I knew a fall down a mountainside was not a simple thing. Even a nonhuman could suffer severe injury from such a thing.

"I've met a few of the foxes with similar ears, Porka particularly. Yours look more active though, like actual cat's ears. I don't think theirs move around as much as yours do," Sap noted.

"Hm? Maybe," Renn shrugged as she spoke, as her ears shifted and turned as if to display just how much of a range of motion they had.

I smiled at her as Sap reached out, then paused, as she realized she had been about to touch them. Renn noticed, and laughed a little as she leaned forward, lowering her head a tad. "Go ahead!" Renn offered.

Sap's shoulders, and wings, softened and lowered as she smiled and sighed. She gently placed her hand upon Renn's head, and I watched as she felt her ears and hair… notably the parts where small patches of fur mixed with the hair.

"Why you're so soft!" Sap couldn't contain herself as she began to giggle, as if a little girl again.

I slowed to a stop, since the two had as well, and I watched as Sap then offered her a wing. Renn glanced at me, beamed me a triumphant smile, and then went to carefully touch it.

Sighing at the two, I wondered what it was about Renn that made people let their guards down so easily. Did she not know who this woman was?

She was Lilly's daughter… but more than that, she was the daughter who had inherited Lilly's passion for solitude the most fervently. She had not inherited her mother's strength, but she was more a loner than nearly anyone else in the Society.

It was rare for nonhumans to so readily allow others, particularly people they just met, to touch their traits so readily. Taking into account who Sap was, only made this moment all the more unbelievable.

Yet it was happening. Before my eyes.

Again.

Renn made a happy noise, something akin to a giggle, as she finished touching Sap's wing and turned to look at me. "Jealous Vim?" she asked.

"Do you want me to be?" I asked back.

Renn hesitated, which made Sap snort a laugh. "Ha!"

Slowly approaching the two, since it seemed I was finally being allowed into their conversations, I wondered if there was anything even left to say.

Renn had already fully explained to Sap what was going on. About the vote, the Society, and all the issues around it. She'd omitted a few things, per my and Lilly's request, such as the saint and her village… and her newborn sister Root.

Lilly and Windle liked to keep such things as surprises. They didn't want their children knowing of their new sibling until they saw them with their own eyes. It was just how their family was. Lilly even kept her own pregnancies a secret from Windle, for as long as she could. It was like a game to them.

We'd found her earlier, and the day was growing old. She hadn't wanted to go get anything as to prepare for her trip home. She had simply started walking with us back towards the south. Renn had found it a little odd, but I knew the truth.

Sap likely didn't have anything to take home, in all likelihood. She had undoubtedly built a nest of sorts somewhere, maybe a small house or something, but knowing her she likely only had a set or two of clothes and nothing more. She may not even have a real bed, and instead something of a hammock. I once found her home years ago, and it had just been a hallowed out tree with a hammock and a small bag of stuff she carried.

She was not a materialistic person at all. Just as she liked to live alone, away from even family and friends, she also lived simply. Off the land around her.

I respected her for it, even if so many others found her strange because of it.

"Though… I have to know, how did you know where she was Vim?" Renn then asked as she glanced at me.

Sap shifted, her wings folding a little closer into themselves, and I noted the glance she gave me. She was unsure of what to expect for my answer.

"You can tell her if you want, Sap. It is your secret, not mine," I told her gently.

Sap blinked at me, and then looked to Renn who was now smiling sadly.

"If it's a secret it's okay," Renn said before Sap could say anything.

For a moment the owl said nothing, and then with a shift of a heel she glanced at me again. "She's… truly your wife, Vim?" she asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" I asked back.

The owl frowned but then smiled. "I guess it is…" she admitted.

Renn smirked at that as she side-glanced me, and then looked back to Sap. "I'm to assume you mean my yelling at him earlier. I'll have you know that's not something I do often! I think I've only ever really yelled at you what? Four times, Vim?" Renn asked.

"You'd know Renn," I said lightly.

She huffed at me. "About to be five…" she grumbled.

Sap giggled, reminding us she was a bird. It sounded lovely, even if a little inhuman. "I have a heart," she then said, revealing the reason I was able to track her so easily.

Renn's ears went straight up, startling. "What…?"

Sap reached up and tapped her midsection, right under her sternum. "I have a heart. It's a tiny one, and not very powerful, but it's enough for him to sense I guess. I can't hide from him, since he's such a jerk," Sap said, explaining her circumstances.

"What…? But…" Renn glanced at me, her eyes a little wide in shock.

I nodded. "She's like Landi, Renn."

"Oh…? What's this? Landi has one too now?" Sap asked with a grin, as if glad to hear it.

I nodded again. "She in fact, has two now."

Sap sighed, as if jealous, while Renn fumbled around with one of the monarch bags at her waist.

My eye twitched as I watched her dig into it, since I knew what she was doing, but I kept my thoughts to myself as she pulled out her own heart.

"I got one too! Though I uh… don't plan to put it inside me, anytime soon, I think," Renn said as she held up the black orb.

Sap's eyes went wide at it. "Oh my…! How had I not sensed it?" Sap wondered as she reached out and tapped it with a long nail.

"Right…?" Renn nodded, as if it didn't make sense to her either.

"Just because you two are sharing secrets doesn't mean I have to too," I said simply.

The two glanced at me, one with a glare, but I ignored them as I made sure to keep an eye on Sap.

I didn't actually think she'd try and take the heart, or absorb it either, but you never knew. She had inherited her wings and some of her temperament from her mother. Lilly had once tried to steal a heart from me, as to absorb it, so I wouldn't and couldn't put it past Sap to do the same either.

Sap though didn't seem to have any intention of such a thing as she crossed her arms and leaned back a little, as if to study Renn instead of the heart. "You seem like you'd be okay taking a heart in. Why haven't you done it yet?" she asked Renn.

Renn lowered the heart, frowning at her. "I… don't know. Vim suggested it once, but at the same time he also kind of hinted at the fact he'd prefer I didn't. So I've been kind of just… waiting to see what he decides for me. I figured I'd just wait to do it until he told me to," she said.

Wait what? "What Renn? Really?" I asked, a little shocked to hear such a thing.

She nodded a little oddly at me, and I noticed a tiny blush on her face as she did so. "Yeah…? I mean… well…?" she shrugged as she spoke, as if the reason and answer was obvious.

It was, but I didn't want to admit it.

I sighed at her and shook my head. "I'd never force my will on others like that," I said. Particularly not my own wife of all things.

"I'd think being her husband, she'd be the one you would do such a thing for Vim, right? I mean isn't it your job to do so?" Sap asked.

"Your archaic way of seeing relationships is thanks to your parents," I complained.

"But Lilly wears the pants, doesn't she?" Renn asked, noting the difference.

Sap chuckled at her. "The stronger one does, yes. And Vim's obviously the one then, in your case," she pointed out.

"Ah…" Renn nodded with an odd noise, as if it made perfect sense what Sap was saying.

My mother would be so disappointed if she heard this conversation.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Not in them, of course, but in me.

"For the record, Renn, taking a heart in would reveal your presence to monarchs and saints. Since they'd be able to sense it," I said.

And gods. Gods particularly.

"Oh. Right," Renn then nodded stiffly, realizing what I was saying.

"You just said you'd not force your will Vim," Sap said with a sigh.

"What? I hadn't?"

"Yes you had. You may not have told her what to do, but you influenced her decision. See? This is why I've never married," Sap said, upset with me.

My eye twitched as I glanced at Renn, who was smirking at me. She seemed to find Sap adorable and most likely even agreed with her.

Just great.

Felt like I was arguing with my mother again.

"Sap is just complaining because she doesn't like how I can track her thanks to it," I pointed out, to turn the tables a little.

Her wings jolted stiffly as Renn giggled. "I bet that is annoying!"

"You have no idea…" Sap grumbled.

Smiling at the two, I decided to somewhat change the topic. Before it got any closer to the stuff I'd really rather not talk about. Least of all right at this moment.

"We plan to head to the coast from here, Sap. You are free to join us if you'd like, but your mother did request haste," I said.

"I know. I plan to walk with you until the humans start popping up then I'll fly the rest of the way," Sap said.

Good. She'd only be with us for a day or two then, at the most.

"Have you lived in this region for long, Sap?" Renn then asked.

"Yes. A couple dozen years at least," she said as the two turned and started walking again.

Renn went to putting her heart back into the little monarch pouch, as she hummed and thought about something. Once she finished, she pointed to the left, without much thought to it. "I think my home is near here. Where I was originally born. I remember this mountain range, at least seeing it from a different angle, but I'm not sure how far away it really is. I bet it's within a few weeks distance though," Renn said.

Oh…? Really?

"Really now? So we're neighbors?" Sap asked, sounding a little upset over it.

Renn noticed, and laughed. "You're bothered by that!?"

"Well… maybe not. You might not bother me, so it might be okay. Especially if you've been living nearby all this time and I've never seen or smelled you and…" Sap went quiet as she slowed, and I was able to see the moment it clicked in her head.

Renn must have noticed too, for she grinned at Sap and lifted her head, as if to present her neck. "Go ahead? Take a sniff. You won't smell anything," Renn declared.

Sap's pace became slower as she stared innocuously at Renn. Likely as dumbstruck by the fact Renn had no scent at all as was her strange attitude about it.

"How's that possible…? Wait… so you're like Vim! I mean, it makes sense, but…" Sap hurriedly looked at me, frowned, and then looked back at Renn. "Wait… you're a cat, Vim? Really? After all this time, that's what you are?" she asked, sounding absolutely stunned at the realization.

Oh. Woops.

"No. I'm not a cat," I said with a sigh.

Renn laughed at that. "I don't think he is either. No, I don't have a scent because I'm whatever he is, but instead because of him! Our running theory is that since we sleep together I've lost my scent, just like how he eliminates the smell of his clothes and stuff," Renn told Sap.

"Oh… okay right, yeah. Sex, that makes sense," Sap nodded quickly, as if glad to have an answer that made more sense than me being a cat.

"Oh… well…" Renn hesitated, and I tried not to notice her sad frown.

"Careful Sap. You probably would end up living with her if you're not careful. She has a weird way of making people lower their guards and do what they usually don't," I warned her.

"What's with that?" Sap asked with a grin.

Renn huffed at me, but did so in a way that told me she was thankful for my comment. Likely because I had changed the topic a tad. "I'd be a great neighbor. I'd watch your kids, help out with chores, share fish I caught, and my husband will fix your house up in no time at all without pay! What more could you ask for?" Renn asked.

Sap laughed at that. "Vim! As a neighbor…!" she shouted as she thought of it… and then her wings shivered. "Actually I don't know if that'd be terrible or wonderful. I'll have to think about it," she admitted after a moment.

"Terrible? How so?" Renn asked as the two returned to their normal pacing.

"He and my mother are too close. Which means if I ever annoy him, he'll just tell her and she'll beat me because of it," Sap told her.

"Lilly would?" Renn asked.

Sap nodded seriously. "Yeah."

"Careful Sap. Renn's gotten rather friendly with Lilly. To the point Lilly takes her side over my own lately," I warned her again.

Sap shivered again, this so strongly she had actually stepped away from Renn. "You're kidding!" she groaned worriedly.

Renn glanced at me with a glare, and then looked back at Sap. "I'm surprised to find out you don't get along with your mother, Sap. She had praised you rather mightily, practically saying you were the most like her out of all the flock," Renn said.

"Hm…? Mother said that? Really?" Sap immediately stopped fidgeting as she focused on Renn, and even drew closer to her.

Renn nodded. "Yeah? She's proud of you. Verily."

Sap was silent for a moment, staring with wide eyes at Renn… and then she blushed and looked away, down to her feet. Her wings shuffled a little, as if she didn't know what to do with them all of a sudden.

Oh. How adorable.

A mighty smile planted itself on Renn's face, having witnessed what I just had, and she glanced at me. I nodded gently at her, to let her know I had seen it too.

Sap the black sheep and loner of the family still held her family in high regard it seemed. Particularly her mother.

Here I had thought she had nearly abandoned them, in her own way, after all this time.

This was a pleasing revelation, like a tiny little victory in a sea of defeats.

Still…

Studying Sap as we walked, I wondered if maybe Lilly didn't tell her children often enough that she loved them and was proud of them. Windle did, I knew for a fact, but maybe Lilly was a tad bit too strict with them. I'd never really considered it before, because usually when they were all together they were noisy and seemed happy. But it made sense. Lilly's talked to me before, often enough, on how disappointed she was in some of her children. But I had always thought those talks had just been private moments where she opened up to me, since she saw me as something akin to a father. That she had told me stuff she'd never share with anyone else.

Though I suppose even if Lilly only ever told me of such personal feelings, that didn't mean the children didn't sense them all the same. Particularly these observant owls.

"Do you have any children, Renn?" Sap then asked, and I realized I had missed a small part of their conversation. The two were talking fluently again, with Sap no longer being odd.

"No. But I've only been with Vim for a couple years now, so I'd like a little leeway about that matter if you don't mind," Renn answered.

Sap tilted her head, and then giggled. "I see! What's wrong Vim? From what I've heard most people don't settle down until a child is born in the first place, why are you doing it backwards?" Sap asked me.

"Your parents settled down together long before they had Leaf," I said.

Sap paused a moment, frowned, and then nodded. "I suppose you're right, aren't you?" she admitted.

"Now that you mention it, is that how it works? That explains so many people having children right before, or after, they get married," Renn said as she pondered it.

"Humans have very short lives. Using them as a basis makes no sense," I warned her from making assumptions.

"That is true. There was this woman I met a few years ago, one who fished a river nearby. When I first met her she was basically just a kid. I had helped her out a little, since she had been alone. She grew old and died before I even realized it," Sap said with a nod.

Oh…? Interesting.

"I know that feeling. But you're that old, Sap?" Renn asked, and I noted she had tried to change the subject a little.

"Guess so? How old am I, Vim?" Sap asked me.

"Almost a hundred," I said.

"Really…? Hm…" Sap didn't seem to believe me as she frowned and thought about it.

Renn smiled at her, and then glanced at me. She didn't say anything, but I noted the wry smile on her face. She was enjoying herself.

Which I was glad for. I'll need to thank Sap later for Renn's change in attitude.

She had been rather upset with me earlier. After having been told of my decision to step down as the protector.

I had expected it… but honestly had not expected her to get so riled up about it. Upset? Sure. Angry and disappointed? Of course. But Renn had gone past that. She had been absolutely livid at first.

It was why Sap had so readily found us, even though she had been almost a day away from where we had been. She had heard Renn's voice echoing through the mountains and forests. As she yelled at me. She had likely flown to us to find out what was going on, being a rarity to hear a woman's shouts in such a desolate place, and had found us instead.

Honestly her arrival had saved me from having to talk about certain things. Though Renn had been starting to calm down just before Sap's arrival, she had still been rather confrontational with me. A rarity for her. Renn was usually so patient with me.

But maybe that was what I needed. For someone to just stand up and argue with me. Someone I cared for, especially.

Miss Beak had done it too, but I usually won against her in such debates. Mostly because although wise beyond reason… she had not been a human. She had been a monarch, through and through. She had not seen the world like others, like myself or Renn. She saw the world in a way that had allowed me to avoid certain topics, and win certain debates rather easily… simply because Miss Beak had not been able to truly think like a human. It had been beyond her.

Renn however was the opposite. Although a nonhuman, and although old and with a strange perspective on life… she was likely the closest person near me with a human outlook that I knew.

Rather, she was the only one with such a human perspective that I actually valued the opinion of.

Which made her a scary debate partner.

Reminded me of my mother, in a way. Though mother had been crueler in her arguments. She had sometimes argued in ways that would have made even Miss Beak feel uneasy.

"Vim."

I blinked and looked up, realizing I had gotten lost in thought again. "Hm?" I frowned at the two who had stopped and stared at me.

The two were quiet for a moment, and then glanced at each other. They both sighed, likely at me, and shrugged. "Maybe he's tired?" Sap wondered.

"Maybe," Renn softly admitted.

I wasn't. At least, not really. I felt the exhaustion, like always, but it was no more or less than usual. To be honest ever since Renn and I had returned to being together as we traveled, I've felt rather good and not as tired as before. Though a part of me wasn't sure if the feeling was genuine or just my hope blinding my own sense of self.

"Is it fun? Being married?" Sap asked quietly, informing me that they had decided to either ignore me as they continue to whisper amongst themselves. Maybe they hadn't asked me a question, but instead had just wanted to see if I was listening into their conversation or not.

I decided to let them have their conversation, so I slowed my pace a little. They themselves weren't walking too fast, since they had stepped closer and began to talk quietly to each other, so it felt a little uncomfortable to walk so slowly as to give them distance.

But it was fine. Although we were in a hurry… we also weren't.

And I had decided, after all. Part of my decision to abandon my duties, to step down as protector…

Was for her.

And such a little conversation, as odd as it seemed, was the very kind of precious moment I wanted to protect.

Renn needed these moments. For more reasons than I could explain. They were precious beyond reason.

Smiling at the two as Sap inquired about married life, and how it felt to have a partner, I wondered if maybe Renn was right.

Maybe I was going about it wrong.

I felt like I needed to step down. To keep the peace. To make it so I could protect those I could, while not infuriating and stirring the pot with those I couldn't.

But maybe I just needed to… do something a tad different…

Studying Renn and the way her whole body swayed, not just her tail, as she excitedly talked to Sap about love, me, and the feeling of having someone you trusted and could count on, I wondered if maybe the real answer had been in front of me the whole time.

Could she do it…?

With my support? And the support of others…?

There were those who didn't trust her. Her banishments were proof of that. But what if she could overcome those issues? Especially if we presented it to the Society in a way that made it easy to swallow? Or would she just have the same issues I did? Or would they only be further amplified by her relationship with me…?

It was an odd thought. Since there was a lot at play. I had thought the Chronicler and the rest had been wary of Renn, yet they had tried to protect her. I had thought Randle and the rest would keep a distance from her, yet they had involved her before even involving me.

She had friends on all sides. From those like Lilly and Landi, to Merit and Nebl, and beyond even them… like young Sap right before me.

Sap was not this talkative with me. Never had been. At least, not since she was a child. She's always been a recluse. A quiet one. A distant owl, staring at me and the Society with a gaze of longing. One I'd understood, but had never been able to connect with her with.

Yet here was Renn. Getting her to open up immediately.

What was it about her…? It wasn't as if Renn was actually charismatic. Or maybe she was, and I just didn't realize it.

Though…

I frowned and wondered if maybe it was her lack of scent. It would explain why some of those, like Sap, who would usually be on guard around such a predator ended up letting their walls down so easily.

But had not people done it even before her smell had disappeared…? The Clothed Woman had done it too, and that had been before I had genuinely considered Renn to be my partner.

No matter. It was something that would take time to ponder. And a lot of testing. I'd also need to talk to not just her about it, but many others.

But it was a possibility. A unique one, that I hadn't considered just yet.

Rather… what if she could do what I couldn't?

Renn could be the protector they not just needed, but wanted.

After all it'd let me still protect them too. I'd be right by her side all the while, after all.

It was an idea, at least. One I would need to ponder. It might lead nowhere… but it was worth exploring.

She had wanted to be like me all this time, after all.

And fate was odd like this. Making it happen in this way, almost as if begrudgingly.

"He does what…!?" Sap raised her voice, to almost an indoor one, as she glanced hurriedly back at me.

I frowned at her, since I had not heard or noticed what Renn had said… as the two went back to whispering about me. Sap even unfolded her wings, as if to cover the two and further hide themselves from my attention.

Smiling at them, I realized I was way in over my head… and it felt great to be so.

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