“Tell me, Hawkeye, do you know what tact is?” Tranquility whispered, seething with anger.

“Of course,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I ruled a kingdom for decades. I’ve learned to deal with all sorts of Wolves in the most effective ways possible.”

“Good! Perfect! Amazing,” she hissed through clenched teeth. “It would be positively grand if you actually used it.”

I winced softly, glancing away from the two of them and into the forest. Truth be told, I was feeling the same way that she did, but didn’t want to admit it.

Cam had cried for what seemed like hours. We’d gotten a vague picture of what happened from the little snippets of sentences she’d been able to get out amid her full-body sobs. What seemed to have happened was… not good.

When the two had left, she’d started asking him about various things. Most of them were insignificant, but a few had some weight to them. Hawkeye had been answering them in a curt, honest, and straightforward way, which had been boosting Cam’s confidence. Eventually, she asked about what she had wanted to in the first place.

Her parents.

Hawkeye answered her in a curt, honest, and straightforward way.

She didn’t fully process it at first, blurting out a shocked “What?!” He took that as her needing more clarification and proceeded to repeat what he had said before, with the added addition of exactly what had happened to them. During her meltdown, Cam had shouted that it seemed like it didn’t matter to him at all. As soon as his words got through to her, she’d sprinted back to the clearing.

She cried herself to sleep.

“All I did was answer her question,” Hawkeye said softly. “How she reacted was beyond my control.”

Tranquility’s nostrils flared, and her pupils shrank down to the size of pinpricks. “Don’t… Don’t you DARE try to pull that crap with me,” she hissed, her eyes narrowing dangerously. “That sort of logic is something I’d expect from someone Cam’s age! I don’t know exactly what you did out there, but I know you could have handled that better.”

Hawkeye met her gaze, his expression morphing into a neutral one. Tranquility’s didn’t change. For a few seconds, they stared at each other, neither backing down. Eventually, Hawkeye broke eye contact, letting out a sigh. “I’m… sorry,” he muttered softly. “Today has been hectic, more hectic than anything I’ve ever been through. I’ve had a lot to… process. I-”

“Excuses don’t matter once the damage is done,” Tranquility said sadly. “It might save you in a courtroom, but it won’t here. Right now, what matters is what happened to Cam. To be perfectly frank, I couldn’t give less of a crap about why you acted the way you did. I only care about if she’s going to be okay. To be honest, that’s what you should be focused on too.” I nodded softly, leveling my own glare at him.

He glanced over to me. His gaze flicked downwards to my lap, and I knew why. Cam had stayed there for the entirety of her meltdown, and she was still there, sleeping fitfully. As he watched, a shiver ran through her body, and her face contorted into an unpleasant frown.

“I apologize,” he said softly, his ears folding down. “I’ll… do better.”

“You’d better,” Tranquility muttered softly, turning away from him and walking over to me.

Hawkeye sighed and walked towards the edge of the clearing, an uneasy look on his face. Pausing, he looked back towards the center of the clearing, his eyes drifting to where Cam’s light spell hung. With a blank look, he turned around and walked into the forest. Jasmine and Reed shared a look before walking after him, leaving us alone in the clearing.

For a few moments, everything was silent. Tranquility sat down beside me, her tail thumping wildly against the ground. I could feel a seething anger radiating off her form, almost like heat from a fire.

“Are you alright?” I asked quietly, giving her a soft nuzzle.

“Physically? Yes,” she grumbled, the thumping lessening slightly.

“But otherwise?” I probed.

“Otherwise, I want to blow something up,” she hissed. “How could he?!”

“I… I don’t know,” I responded softly, letting my head rest on her shoulder.

“Why didn’t he realize? Shouldn’t a kid asking about their parent’s death shake someone out of whatever stupor they may be in? And why in the name of Celestia did he not comfort her afterwards?! He just… he watched!” She sucked in a deep breath and let it out shakily. “I… I’m mad. There was no excuse for what happened… and I know what stuff like that can do to a pony…”

“Why?” I asked, nuzzling her again.

“Fall, it happened to me.”

I froze up, my eyes going wide. “Oh…”

“I suppose that’s not entirely accurate,” she said. “But something similar did.”

“At the orphanage, right?” I whispered softly. “You mentioned it back in… Has’rou. When you were telling me about what… what had happened.”

A small shudder ran through her body. “That’s… correct,” she said, choking out the last word between clenched teeth. “But it was… worse than what happened here.”

“How so? I asked, my heart pounding a little faster.

For a few moments, she tensed up, a deluge of thoughts seeming to run through her mind, before sighing softly and slouching down. “I don’t want to talk about it,” she mumbled softly.

A sense of disappointment pulsed through me. “But-” I began quietly, lifting my head off her shoulder, but another sigh cut me off.

“Fall… this isn’t something that I want to discuss right now,” she said. “Cam’s the problem right now, not me. I said that before. And besides, I’m not sure that it would go over well if she woke up and saw me crying.

“That’s not even considering what it would do to me. In all honesty, if I had been in a normal state of mind after Has’rou, you wouldn’t have gotten anything related to… to that out of me.” She paused, swallowing nervously. “It’s… those years of my life are the worst things that have ever happened to me, including this whole debacle and Has’rou. You’ve never had something like what I went through happen to you. You don’t know what it does to someone. I’ve been avoiding talking or even thinking about this for years. Just because you know about it now doesn’t make it easier.”

For a moment, the clearing fell into silence again. I pulled back from her slightly, being careful not to jostle Cam.

In that moment, I realized something. I was disturbing a beast that I knew nothing about. No one besides Tranquility knew anything about it.

I was out of my depth.

I sighed softly. “I’m sorry,” I mumbled softly.

She looked towards me, a flash of regret sparking in her eyes. “No, it’s…” she began, trailing off. “I said it myself. You didn’t know. You still don’t know. I… I shouldn’t have reacted that harshly.”

“You call that harsh?” I giggled. “That was just you being honest.”

“Still, you were just trying to help,” she said softly. “I… pushed back.”

“Understandably.” Leaning in, I planted a soft kiss on her cheek. Instantly, my heart rate jumped “And I’m still gonna help you.”

“Not now, though,” she said, twin spots of red appearing on her cheeks. “I… need time to prepare first.”

“In addition to everything else happening,” I added.

“That too.”

My eyes slid downwards to rest on Cam’s form once more, another surge of sadness and anger. A grimace had formed on her face, and her paws were twitching. I had a hunch of what she was dreaming about, and if it was correct, it wasn’t going to be good.

Then again, it wasn’t going to be great in any situation…

“Please let it have been an accident,” I muttered quietly. Tranquility’s ears perked up.

“What?” she asked softly.

“What Hawkeye did,” I said. “It needs to be an accident. The alternatives are things… that I don’t want to consider.”

“I think it was,” she said, glancing off into the forest, “but that doesn’t make it okay.”

“Agreed,” I said, trailing off again. For a few more moments, the only sound around us was the rustling of leaves in the trees.

Then, I heard a sharp gasp. Cam jumped in my lap, her eyes flying open.

For a few moments, no sound ran through the clearing, the forest seemingly holding it’s breath. Seconds later, Tranquility cleared her throat. “How did you sleep, Cam?” she asked, a small waver in her voice.

“Okay?” she mumbled, a hint of confusion in her voice. “I don’t remember falling asleep.”

“You did,” I said softy. “What did you dream about?”

“Dunno,” she said, hopping off my lap and stretching. “Don’t remember.”

“How do you feel?” Tranquility asked tentatively.

“Kinda sick,” she responded, sitting down. “I’ve got a headache, and my stomach hurts a little.” She paused. “Did I pass out or something? The last thing I remember was asking Hawkeye about the Den-”

She froze, her eyes going wide.

A sinking feeling rose in my chest.

“Was it a dream?” she whispered shakily, slowly turning her head towards us. “What he said?” She swallowed, a waver coming into her voice. “Guys, please tell me it was a dream…”

Tranquility and I said nothing, looking away from her sadly.

“This i-isn’t funny,” she whispered, her voice hitching. “W-was it a dream?”

Slowly, I stood up and walked over to her, my heart starting to pound. I pulled her into a hug. “I’m sorry,” I whispered softly.

A high pitched, keening whine was the only answer I got before tears started to soak into my fur once more.

After that, time seemed to blur together. Tranquility quickly came over and enveloped us in her wings, and we stayed like that for what seemed like forever. Cam’s sobs seemed less intense this time, but that didn’t make them any less painful to hear. Once again, I felt my anger at Hawkeye reemerge. He could have made this less painful for her, I thought sadly.

Eventually, I felt Cam’s face peel off of my chest. Still sniffling, she looked up, meeting my sorrowful gaze. “W-why?” she whispered softly, a pleading look slipping into her stare.

“What?”

“Why would t-they do that?” she said, her voice slightly stronger. “T-they w-wouldn’t…”

“Wouldn’t what?” I asked softly. A second later, I cursed myself internally, realizing exactly how bad that question was.

“T-they wouldn’t k-kill themselves!” she wailed, her eyes filling with tears once more. “I-I know t-that!” She paused, sniffing slightly. Her eyes slid closed, and she took several shaky breaths. “I-I know that.

“I-I only h-have a few memories o-of them. It’s not m-much, but it’s a-all I’ve got. T-they w-were always so… s-so… I d-don’t know how t-to describe it! They w-were just t-there for me! I-if I got myself into t-trouble, t-they’d save me a-and then teach m-me how to avoid it! T-they were u-understanding, p-patient… I m-mean, they had t-to be, I-I was young, but still!

“T-they taught me so m-much. How to survive, h-how to hunt, how t-to make a c-cooking fire and then k-keep it under control… I l-loved that one. I d-don’t know why I r-remember all of that; m-maybe it’s some s-sort of W-Wolf t-thing. T-the thing is, most o-of those l-lessons don’t have a memory a-associated w-with them. I-I know h-how to open a r-rift, but I don’t remember when or h-how I learned to do so!

“A f-few of them do, t-though, and that’s w-where m-most of my memories a-around my parents a-are from. T-that’s to say, a-about three. With the f-fire, I remember seeing my m-mom’s beaming f-face. I remember my d-dad laughing a-as I tried t-to catch a mouse f-for the first time, a-and I was laughing too. But t-the third…

“It’s the c-clearest. They w-were teaching me a-about the Wolves.

“That o-one’s the c-clearest. I d-don’t know how it s-started, b-but they told m-me everything t-they knew about P-Paradise, the c-class system, and t-the flaws i-in the civilization. They t-told me w-why they l-left and w-what that meant. W-what would happen i-if we were c-caught. I g-got scared by that, a-and asked w-what they would d-do if things d-did go bad.

“M-my mom s-smiled sadly a-and looked at Dad. She s-said that, n-no matter w-what happened, t-they’d be there f-for me. They’d f-fight for me.

“I-it’s the clearest m-memory I h-have. W-when they were t-taken and I w-was l-left alone, I t-told myself that t-they’d come back. T-they said so! They s-said so…” she paused, her ears folding flat back against her head, “a-and now t-they’re DEAD!” Another wave of sobs began to course through her body, and I pulled her a little tighter against my chest.

“It’s gonna be okay,” I whispered quietly, at a loss for what to say. “You’re going to get through this.”

Cam stiffened against my chest, her sobs coming to an abrupt halt before resuming again. “N-no…” she choked out. “I-it’s not gonna b-be okay.” She looked up at me, her eyes wide. “It’s n-not gonna b-be okay!

“T-they g-gave me e-everything. T-they sacrificed e-everything. T-they gave up t-their home, f-friends, t-the stuff they owned… all for m-me.” She paused, swallowing. “I-I know how t-that feels. I-in the end, t-they gave up t-their lives… f-for me.” Her gaze grew vacant and distant. “I-I can never r-repay them. I couldn’t e-ever repay t-them. W-what t-thanks do t-they get from me?” Another pause. “I c-can barely r-remember them. E-everything around t-them is b-blurred. I r-remember w-what they taught me, b-but I can’t r-remember them!” Full-body tremors started to run through her, and her eyes suddenly locked onto mine with a ferocity I’d never seen before. “D-don’t you U-UNDERSTAND?! THEY G-GAVE UP E-EVERYTHING THEY O-OWNED! E-EVERYTHING THEY H-HAD! T-THEY THREW A-AWAY T-THEIR OLD L-LIVES TO L-LIVE IN A-AN UNKNOWN D-DIMENSION L-LIKE SAVAGES! T-THEY DIED F-FOR ME! A-AND I CAN’T E-EVEN REMEMBER T-THE COLOR OF T-THEIR EYES!” She tried to say something more, but her voice caught in her throat. She threw herself against me and started to wail.

Time seemed to blur together after that. I sat there for an indeterminate amount of time, stroking her back and rocking her gently. A cold pit had settled in my stomach, one that just represented… helplessness. I didn’t know what to do. Just like with Tranquility, I was out of my depth.

I glanced towards Tranquility. She was staring down at Cam with an expression of sorrow and… something else, something I didn’t recognized. Her gaze met mine, and she sighed softly. In that moment, I saw something else, something that I hadn’t noticed before.

Protectiveness.

A fierce, defensive aura seemed to radiate from her, one that was subtle, but once noticed, stood out like a glowing creature at the bottom of the ocean. Most of it was directed towards Cam, but some was focused on me.

I’d never noticed it before. Something had set it off, and I didn’t know if it was going to stay or go away. Almost like an instinct, my gaze fell on Cam again. Her cries seemed to echo through my brain…

I realized I had some of that protectiveness in me too.

Tranquility glanced at me once more, and an understanding was reached.

“Cam.”

She looked up at me, her stare laden with pain, guilt, and sorrow. I felt my heart drop at that, and I tightened my embrace around her.

“I… don’t know what you’re going through right now,” I began, nervousness starting to run through my mind. “I haven’t lost someone yet, much less my parents. I can’t even begin to fathom how you must feel.

“To put it simply, I don’t care that I’m not qualified here. I don’t care about my lack of experience. I’m going to try to help you through this, and I know Tranquility will do the same.

“Cam… I originally thought of you as… a means to an end. I thought that you were going to help us get home, and that was it. It wasn’t flattering, it wasn’t good, but it was how I felt. Now… that’s changed.

“We’ve gone through Tartarus in the past few… heh, time’s sorta blurred together. I don’t know how long it’s actually been. Point is, it’s been… bad. I’ve seen you at your best and your worst. I’ve gotten to know you. That means to an end thing? That’s gone. Long gone.

“I don’t know how to say this, but I feel like we’ve grown into a bit of a unit. Tranquility, you, and I… we’ve bonded in a way that I’ve never experienced before. I’m not exactly sure how to put it into words. The point is… I care about you.

“Come Tartarus or high water, I’m going to be there for you. So will Tranquility. We don’t care what happens, or what you do, or what you say. We’re… in a way, we’d like to try to be parents of sorts to you.” I paused, realizing how potentially bad that could be. “That’s not to say that we’d be replacing your original ones, however. That’s something that can’t be replaced, ever.

“You’ve saved our lives. We’d… we’d like to be a part of yours, more than we already are.”

For a few moments, Cam said nothing, her tear-filled gaze growing vacant. I felt my heart rate spike, and a sense of apprehension overcame me. Then, ever so slightly, her small hug around me tightened, and without saying anything, gave a tiny nod. Tranquility smiled and nuzzled her, and a sense of relief spread through my heart.

We stayed like that for a long time.

Author's Note

I feel like I rushed this, but at the same time, it's the only place that this discussion would have worked (in my mind).

ANYWAYS, have a new chapter! This one hopefully has feels! I'll be honest, this was an absolute mess to write. It took a week of continuous writing to get this into a state where I thought that it was good enough to publish. One of my friends pointed out some glaring flaws in the way I had things planned, and that threw me for a bit of a loop.

It's odd. I don't really know how to feel about this chapter and how I executed it.

The next chapter might take some time to get out. That's mostly because I have approximately zero idea what I'm going to do with it. I'll figure something out, though.

Anyways, like always, if I messed up grammatically or with punctuation, let me know and I'll fix it! Also, if you have any criticisms or questions, leave a comment and I'll respond.

Hope you liked this!

~Pyrepinna

Oh my God. This hit one-hundred thousand words. I'm what some people would refer to as shook.