FSE

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Urmine and Edmund sit Gothetta down on a couch in front of the fireplace. Edmund sits next to the worn out doe while Urmine moves to the kitchen to make a pitcher of crimson melonade. Gothetta weakly turns to him.

“Oh Eddy, it's going to be sad seeing you go. We never even had a chance to show you the red melon grove, or the crystal caverns, or the big holey."

He cocks an eyebrow.

“I can guess what those other two are, but what's the big holey?

“It's a big round hole in the ground! Wide as an entire cattle pasture and it's incredibly deep, so far that you'll never even hear the echo of anything you throw into it."

“Is it a leftover from a mining operation or something?"

She shrugs.

“No one knows. Mother showed it to us when we were children. She always said it was probably the result of some kind of arcane ritual gone wrong, but its true origin is a mystery. I remember she casted a spell all the way down into it and we watched the bolt go down, and down, and down, and down. We lost sight of it before it ever touched the bottom of the hole."

“Sounds like it could be a tourist attraction. Or a good place to hide dead bodies. Perhaps both."

“I wonder where you would end up if you fell into it…" Gothetta trails off.

“Nowhere you would want to be Gothetta. Don't get any ideas. And especially don't try to fly over the hole like mother did considering your critical lack of wings." Says Urmine, returning from the kitchen with a tray holding three glasses of a pinkish pulpy liquid and a few potion bottles.

She sets the tray on a coffee table in front of the couch and leans over them before whispering a spell.

“Winter snow and icy linger, freeze these drinks with the touch of a finger."

She then dips a claw into each of the three crimson melonade glasses, ice cubes forming where they contacted. After handing them out she takes a seat on the couch beside Gothetta and takes one of the potion bottles.

“As the elder sister I demand you take this healing potion with your melonade Gothetta. We don't know if there could be delayed effects from the spells that foul moose casted today." She grabs another bottle and presents it to Edmund. “You too, human."

He takes the bottle from her paw and pops the cork off. After sniffing the opening of the bottle his nose scrunches up from its disgusting smell.

“This stuff smells awful!" Edmund says, fighting back his gag reflex.

Urmine waves a paw dismissively.

“Medicine isn't supposed to seduce the senses Edmund, it just needs to do its job."

She pops the cork off her own bottle and begins chugging its contents. A few seconds later she removes the empty bottle from her mouth with a pop.

“Ahhhhh," She sounds with a smile. “Tastes like a healing potion. Disgusting, but effective."

Edmund watches in amazement as her battered body miraculously begins to heal. Her burnt and torn fur becomes soft and silky, the burns and lacerations that littered her arms and chest become covered with new skin before disappearing under freshly grown hairs, her antlers grow and regain their spiky tips, even her once bloodshot eyes turn moist and whiten up. Edmund stares in amazement before quickly turning his gaze to his own bottle of miracle liquid. Without a moment's hesitation he brings the bottle up to his lips and chugs it as Urmine did. When its contents were down the hatch he lowers the bottle and gags. Holy hell that stuff tastes foul! Like moldy fruit and vinegar mixed together in a batch of bad alcohol. Yet he's only taken aback for a brief moment before its effects take hold.

The small cuts on his hands close together with new skin, the large cuts and bruises on his knees disappear and his skin turns its normal color, even the pain around his bruised ribs fades into nothing as a pleasant warmth fills his chest.

“Whoa."

He turns to Urmine only to find her locked in a battle with Gothetta.

“Take your medicine cowardly doe! You need it if you are to be well!" Urmine says, trying in vain to bring the bottle up to Gothetta's lips.

“No! I don't need it that bad! It tastes foul! I'm perfectly healthy! Just a little tired! I'll just drink it later!" She yells back, hands on Urmine's wrists as she attempts to shove the potion away.

“Drink your healing potion and stop acting like an immature little fawn. What would mother think of your behavior?"

After a few more seconds of struggle Gothetta relents and snatches the bottle out of Urmine's paw, quickly chugging its contents before taking a big gulp of melonade to wash away the bad taste.

“There, it's done. Happy now?" She simmers, wiping her lips.

“Yes. Now quiet down and let's enjoy our melonade in peace. After the events of today I think we're both deserving of a little bit of R&R."

Urmine points a claw at their fireplace and whispers a short chant. Instantly a bolt of red flame shoots from her fingertip and lights the fireplace up with a softly crackling fire. Edmund looks into the fire as he takes sips of the pulpy sweet drink, waves of smoky heat warming him. What an incredible past couple of days it's been. Sure, he could have done without the whole being stuck in a cage part, but he can't deny that it's been a break from the usual doldrums of life. Shame that when he gets back no one will ever believe him though. He'll have to make up an excuse for why he was gone. Maybe he got sick? Had to take care of a friend? Sudden death of a family member? Or maybe he had to take care of a friend who had a sudden death in the family then got sick while visiting them. Ya, that's it, the more convoluted and difficult to verify his excuse is the better.

He looks out a nearby window to find the moon half obscured by the tree line. Not like he needed it to tell him today was done, he's dead tired. Which means the sisters likely are as well. As much as Edmund wants to go back he considers the potential consequences of allowing two badly fatigued witches perform such an important ceremony. Perhaps tomorrow might be a better option?

“Hey, do you all want to send me back tomorrow or-“

He cuts himself off as he sees the sisters quietly sleeping next to him. They're seated shoulder to shoulder, Gothetta has her head on Urmine's shoulder while the bear has her muzzle pointed towards the ceiling with a loud snore coming from her open mouth.

“Tomorrow it is then." He whispers to himself.

Edmund gets up and puts the fire out before moving to his former prison. He pulls out the blanket Gothetta gave him the night before and returns to the couch, draping it across the sisters them himself. He rests his head on the padded arm rest and watches the dying embers from the fire slowly wink out one by one. He feels himself begin to nod off and takes in one more observation before succumbing to fatigue.

Gothetta wasn't lying.

Urmine really does produce a lot of body heat.

***************************************************************************

A hand on Edmund's shoulder stirs him awake.

“Wake up sleepy head! We decided to make you breakfast before you leave!" Says Gothetta cheerily.

Edmund leans up and looks around. Daylight already? He must have slept in. No matter, a little breakfast doesn't sound like such a bad idea right now based on the emptiness in his stomach.

“Ya, ya, ya, I'm up." Edmund says groggily, squinting his eyes from the bright daylight while making his way to the kitchen table.

Urmine is already seated and chowing down on what looks like a slice of green meat. Edmund takes a seat at the table.

“Good morning Edmund. We thought we might as well feed you before sending you back to that ball you live on."

“Ball?"

“That big ball called Earth? Gothetta told me all about it this morning. Sounds like a dumb place to live to me. Don't you get dizzy walking around on it? And what happens if someone digs a really big hole? Do you end up on the other side of the ball? What a silly, silly place to live. A ball! Ha!"

Edmund shakes his head and refrains from arguing with her. Now doesn't seem to be the time to educate a couple of backwards witches on why the big ball of rock they live on is shaped like a globe.

“It's not as weird as you think it is, you'll just have to trust me on this one."

Edmund surveys the table in front of him. A plate of what looks like otherwise normal biscuits sprinkled with some kind of red powder. A plate with slices of green ham. A skillet containing eggs fried sunny side up, the normal kind with yellow yolks. A pitcher of more crimson melonade. And the focal point of the meal, pancakes. Pancakes that are square shaped and…glow red? Edmund blinks and turns to Urmine.

“Why are the pancakes glowing?"

“Pancakesh? You mean the glowcakesh?" She says with a mouth full of ham.

“Yes. The square things."

She swallows before responding.

“One of the main ingredients in glowcakes are magmapedes. Little wormy things with a bunch of spindly little legs they crawl around on. It's possible to extract their essence and turn it into a liquid that then goes into the glowcake batter. Gives them a nice healthy glow and a sweet aftertaste."

“You…mash up bugs and put them in the batter?" He says, appetite dissipating.

“Don't take me for some kind of culinary barbarian Edmund! I at least pluck their legs off before mashing them up!"

Edmund sighs, and looks towards the glowcakes. He reluctantly puts a couple on his plate along with some eggs and ham. He has yet to be disappointed with the sister's cooking, maybe the bugs aren't so bad after all. Worst case scenario the eggs at least look normal.

Gothetta finally takes a seat at the table and slams a tome down.

“What's that?" Asks Edmund.

“This is our book of summons. It has instructions on how to summon all kinds of mythical beings. Beings like you! Or at least it used to. The page on how to summon humans was torn out when we looked for it a couple days ago. Still had the description page though, that's what really drew us to your strange little furless species with all its saucy descriptions."

“It was torn out? Then how did you manage to summon me?"

“Urmine, errr, improvised. We had a complete page on how to summon vampires so we just adjusted it a little."

“You improvised the ritual? It's amazing I didn't appear here turned inside out or as a puddle of red liquid."

“Oh shush Edmund, Urmine is very skilled in the magical arts. She would never have allowed such a thing to happen. Isn't that right Urmine?"

Urmine sheepishly glances towards Gothetta before responding.

“Uhhh, yeah. I totally had everything under control."

“Told you!" Gothetta flips to the table of contents and begins searching the text. “I brought it over to make sure we had everything for the desummonation ritual. If not, then we would have to make a trip out into the forest. Now let's see…" She runs a finger down the list of pages. “Tips and tricks on summonations…what to do if a summonations has gone wrong…how to halt a summonation in progress…ah ha! How to desummon a mythical creature once already summoned!" Gothetta smiles and rapidly flips through page after page. But then she stops suddenly. She turns back one page, then goes forward. She repeats this several more times before frantically looking at Urmine.

“U-Urmine, come look."

“Hmm?" She grunts, leaning over to look at the tome.

The bear repeats the same motions Gothetta did, rapidly flipping between two pages. Her eyes go wide and Edmund senses something is clearly wrong.

“What is it? What's wrong with the tome?" Edmund asks, heartrate rising.

Gothetta puts her hands to her cheeks.

“T-the page on desummonations…it's gone! Ripped out! Just like the page on how to summon humans!"

“No fucking way!" Edmund shouts, running over to the sisters to look at the tome.

The three of them look at the torn remnants of a page that once existed, their hearts sinking. Edmund turns to Urmine.

“Can you improvise a ritual to send me back? The same way you brought me here?"

She flips through a few pages in a vain attempt to find some trace of an answer.

“No, not really, when I summoned you I had a base to go off of. Here there are no other instructions related to desummoning creatures. The only way to send you back is with the proper instructions."

“What about finding another book like this one?! Surely there's got to be more than one copy?"

“I-I don't know." Urmine stammers. “All these books were left to us by our mother. They're very old, and very rare. We would have to go and visit other witches, coven by coven, witch by witch, until we found one that had another copy. These sorts of things aren't exactly found in most libraries."

“And how long would that take?"

Urmine grows quiet.

“Months, years, decades, maybe never. The arcane knowledge contained within these books is esoteric, forbidden, and incredibly dangerous in the wrong hands. There are good reasons why spellbooks like this one are so highly coveted."

He runs his hands through his hair, groaning in discontentment.

“So you're saying I'm stuck here? Maybe forever? Gah! I was so close! Damnit!"

He turns away with a huff and begins walking to the door.

“Eddy! Where are you going?" Asks Gothetta.

“Outside. I need some space." He growls back.

He slams the door shut and stomps away from the cabin. A few dozen yards away he finally stops and sits down on the bare dirt. God, he was so close! His way back home destroyed all because some asshole tore out a page in a book! The insanity of it all! He picks up a rock and throws it into the distance in anger. Now how long would he have to remain here until eventually finding another way home? Assuming he finds a back at all that is. Maybe he's destined to stay in this foreign plane of existence for the rest of his days, forever cursed to walk this strange land in an eternally fruitless search for a path home.

“Fuck!" He shouts at the sky, stewing in a moody haze.

What kind of asshole would have ripped that page, he wonders. One of the sisters? Are they lying to him? Is this all some kind of trick to make him stay? Some previous owner of the book? Like…like their mother. In a sudden moment of clarity all the pieces come screaming back to him.

A caged bird never sings a truly happy song.

A cage with six hash marks.

A torn out page on how to summon a human paired with a torn out page on how desummon one.

Two sisters with an unknown father and a mother long since dead.

Two sisters, who just so happen to both be chimeras despite the condition being incredibly rare.

Could it be?

Edmund suddenly stands up and looks towards the cabin with a newfound hope. He sprints to the door and throws it open. The sisters are hunched over the kitchen table with a few more tomes spread across it.

“Urmine! Gothetta! You said that the tome had a description on humans, right?"

They nod their heads in unison.

“Turn to it, I have a hunch."

Urmine flips the book of summons to the page detailing humans.

“What am I looking for?" She asks.

“Anything regarding humans and chimeraism. Is it any more likely for a human's offspring to have the condition?"

“Hmmm." She runs a claw down paragraph after paragraph of strange pointed text. “Ah ha! Here's something about it." She begins reading the text out loud. “Their skills in lovemaking are unmatched, their closest rivals being succubi and sirens. One sultry look from a human is sure to moisten the loins and enrapture the heart. However, one dare not copulate with such a beast lest they wish their offspring to be stricken with the unfortunate condition of chimeraism. Humans, through some unknown mechanism, create chimeras with every successful coupling. It is thought that they lack the beastly essence of most furred species thus when the gods form their offspring in the womb they become confused, taking two separate species and putting them together for the child."

Edmund claps his hands together.

“Ha! I knew it!"

Urmine looks up, confused.

“Huh? Knew what?"

“Don't you get it?" Edmund says, the two sisters staring at him blankly. “Your father was a human! He's the one that made those marks I saw in the cage! He's the reason your mother had two chimeras as daughters and he's why those pages are missing!"

“I…don't follow." Gothetta admits.

“I believe your mother summoned a human before you were born. Why exactly I don't know. But the point is she imprisoned him just like you all did to me then after some time let him out. Then they, well, made you and at some point she sent him back. You know that phrase she had? About the bird and the cage? She was probably talking about your dad! She must have regretted her decision and let him out. Then she must have taken the pages to her grave. You said she was buried with her favorite possessions, right? Possessions like what?"

“That would explain why she forbade us from using the book of summons." Gothetta quietly mentions to Urmine.

Urmine scratches her head then answers Edmund's question.

“She kept a jewelry box with her favorite trinkets, what exactly was in there I don't know since we didn't open it before burying her."

“Do you remember anything at all? Was it just trinkets or was it objects that had a special meaning to her as well? Objects like the pages that led to what must have been one of the most important events in her life?"

She raises her arms in exasperation.

“I-I don't know Edmund. I don't know! The box was off limits to us when we were children. There could be anything in there."

He points a finger at her.

“And in there I bet we'll find the pages on how to summon a human and how to desummon one as well. I bet my life on it! Now all we've got to do is dig up her grave and retrieve the box." He turns around and begins searching the cabin. “Are there any shovels around here? And where is her grave anyway? I might need your help to-“

He's cut off as Urmine puts a paw on his shoulder, her claws digging into his skin.

“You aren't digging up mother." She growls.

Gothetta steps in between them.

“Sister, what if what he says is true? This could be a way to solve two mysteries in one fell stroke. If we find the pages then not only would we have the means to send him back but we could also solve a mystery about our origins. Haven't you ever wondered who father was?"

Urmine points an angry claw at Edmund.

“He aims to desecrate her grave! What if he's wrong and we find nothing of consequence? And why do you care so much about father anyway? He was a deadbeat that left mother as soon as he found out he fathered chimeras, I know it in my heart!"

“Mother never said that! She never told much at all about father. He could have been a good man for all we know. Why don't you give Edmund a chance? If he's wrong we can simply rebury her, her grave could use some new flowers anyway."

Urmine crosses her arms and turns away, her lips curled into a frown.

“It's not right. We shouldn't disturb her based on the hunch of some human. A grave is sacrosanct."

Gothetta quietly walks up behind and places a hand on her shoulder.

“What would mother have wanted us to do? Refrain from disturbing the resting place of someone no longer able to enjoy life and in the process sentence an innocent man to a fate he'll hate for the rest of his years, or take a chance, and not only save him but solve one of the greatest mysteries of our lives?"

Urmine simmers for a few moments, the tense silence filling the air. She throws her hands up as she comes to a decision.

“Oh alright! We'll go dig up her grave, but I'm only doing this since it means getting that meddlesome human out of our fur more quickly. And he won't be touching anything in her coffin! That privilege remains solely with me and you Gothetta."

Edmund hugs her in thanks.

“Thank you-thank you-thank you! I swear you won't regret this Urmine!"

“Ya, ya." She says, pulling him off of her. “You should consider yourself lucky Gothetta is so persuasive. If it were up to me you would still be in that cage."

The sisters begin heading to the cabin door and Edmund eagerly trails behind.

“So, where did you bury her anyway?" He asks.

“We buried her in the red melon grove, it was always one of her favorite places. It seemed right." Answers Gothetta.

“Is that close?"

“Just a short walk through the forest." Answers Urmine, opening the door and retrieving three shovels laying on the side of the cabin. She hands them out then the three of them are off into the forest.

Edmund notices a distinct change in scenery as they approach the grove. The tangled foliage on the ground gives way to short flowing grass and the towering pine trees turn into something resembling the towering redwoods of Earth, though slightly less tall and having several distinct layers of branches every dozen or so feet. On those branches are large fruits growing in clustered groups, their shells resembling watermelons but red in color. As he walks under one he can't help but keep staring.

“Those must be the red melons you all mentioned."

“You would be correct." Says Urmine. “Mother used to fly up to those branches and clip the stems the melons grew on with me and Gothetta waiting below to catch them. We spent many an afternoon doing that. Nowadays we have to use our brooms to get close enough to cut them down. Speaking of mother, there she is."

Urmine points a claw in front of them and Edmund turns his gaze to a headstone in the distance. They draw closer and stop a few feet in front of it. Urmine begins talking to the headstone.

“Well mom, sorry about this. I would have preferred to keep you undisturbed but me and Gothetta made the mistake of trying to summon some company. Guess we're still causing trouble for you all these years later, heh. Don't worry though, we'll put everything back the way it was before we leave."

And with that the bear digs her shovel into the dirt and begins digging. Gothetta and Edmund join in and within less than an hour they've created a sizable hole in the ground. Edmund briefly leans up, wipes some sweat from his brow, and shoves his shovel into the dirt again.

*THUNK*

The other two stop digging as they hear the hollow blow.

“You two get out of the hole, I'll clear the rest." Orders Urmine.

They comply and watch as the bear clears the small amount of dirt left covering the simple wooden coffin. When it's fully uncovered Urmine throws her shovel to the side and grips the sides of the lid, slowly pulling it upward. The metal nails groan as they break free and Urmine gently places the lid on the grass. Edmund leans in to survey the uncovered coffin. Scattered bones, grayed feathers, rotten cloth, a skull bearing a beak, and resting in the center of the coffin is a gold and porcelain jewelry box. Urmine gently lifts it up it and climbs out of the grave. The three of them huddle around Urmine.

“Well, nothing left to do but open it." Says Gothetta, her ears perked up and eyes wide with anticipation.

“This better be worth it." Urmine mutters, undoing the clasp keeping it closed and slowly opening the lid.

Gothetta looks into the open box and gasps, then reaches into it retrieving two egg fragments. One is blue with white speckles, the other is composed of swirls of red and orange. “Mother kept fragments from our eggs! I thought I would never see these again!" She says with a smile.

“So you both really did come from eggs…" Edmund whispers in disbelief.

“You bet we did! The blue one is Urmine's and the red and orange one is mine. I remember seeing these in the nest just after Urmine broke me out of my shell." She looks at Urmine. “Thanks for that, by the way."

Urmine gives a shy smile.

“You're welcome. Now what else do we have in here? A few rings, gold coins, silver chains, and…oh!" She reaches in and retrieves a couple sheets of yellowed paper, bringing them to her face. “How…to…desummon a creature once already summoned. And the other one is how…to…summon a human!"

“Yes." Edmund whispers excitedly, a wide smile on his face now that his trip home has been secured.

Urmine hands the papers to Gothetta and continues to rummage through the box.

“What else do we have in here? Tax documents, a deed to the cabin, a few gems and stones, a diary?"

Urmine brings up a small leather-bound book. Gothetta looks at it and cocks her head.

“Mother kept a diary? I had no idea. Do you think it goes back to before we were born? Could it tell us about father?"

She shrugs.

“Only one way to find out." Urmine sets the box on the ground and undoes the leather tassel keeping it closed. She opens the diary and flips through its pages. “It does go pretty far back, this one is dated well before we hatched."

“Well go on! Read it!" Urges Gothetta.

Urmine clears her throat and begins reading entry after entry.

“Dear diary, my exploration of the ruins to the South has proven most lucrative! Within those mossy stones and decaying hallways I found a veritable treasure trove of literary gold! Dozens of spellbooks, potion recipe books, and arcane manuals were still intact within the temple's library, miraculously untouched by the flooding. I aim to take my haul back to the cabin a few dozen books at a time, they're quite heavy and my wings can only bear so much weight."

“Dear diary, after organizing the new additions to my library I've decided on one tome in particular on which to study. Titled 'The Book of Summons: Mystical Creatures and how to Manifest Them', it contains a bestiary of mystical creatures and detailed instructions on how to summon each and every one! I'll study the pages and ruminate on which beast to summon into being tomorrow. I'm thinking something docile, something about my size. As amusing as it would be, summoning a dragon for my first time would no doubt end with me turned into either it's next meal or a pile of feathery ash."

“I've decided it shall be a 'human'. They're relatively harmless, sapient, and should prove useful as a servant to me during my further exploration of the arcane arts. I'm unsure how long I shall keep him though, perhaps after I've done an anatomical study? In any case the tome contains a useful little additional incantation I can use to keep him nice and orderly while he's staying with me. Wouldn't want him running loose, defenseless thing. They don't even have claws or fangs!"

“Good news diary! And bad news…On the bright side I was successful in summoning my furless little helper. On the other wing the incantation for keeping him under my control was smudged beyond recognition! It failed, and now he's yelling in the cage I put him in. What am I to do? I dare not kill him as that would be cruel beyond measure yet I can't perform the ceremony to desummon him while he's still in the cage! Perhaps he'll calm down after a day or two? I have to hope so, his screaming is taking a toll on my ears and makes my heart sink with every desperate plea."

“The human has calmed down substantially. I've been keeping him fed and he no longer recoils from my sight as I approach with his meals. I've learned his name is James. He's been telling me tales of his homeland. I don't understand much of it but what I do follow seems fantastical. Thinking machines? Big flying metal birds? A device that toasts your toast for you? It's all so strange to me. I must admit I feared him when I first summoned him, yet now I look forward to sitting next to his cage and asking him questions every afternoon. Let's hope curiosity doesn't kill this crow."

“Dear diary. Against my better judgement I let James out of the cage today. To my relief he didn't try to strangle me or rip my feathers out afterward. He seems strangely at peace with his situation, perhaps he's an explorer at heart like I am? In any case, he's expressed interest in seeing some of the local sights. I aim to make his time until I desummon him enjoyable, it's the least I can do after imprisoning him for so many days in that stuffy cage."

“Dear diary. Time has flown by so fast! I can hardly believe it's been several months since I first met James. Yesterday he stealthily approached me while I made some hag's bone soup, blowing on my feathers until I turned around. As soon as I did he presented to me a most beautiful gift, a lustrous metal necklace composed of a great many small, golden links. James claims to have found it when we were exploring the crystal caverns together some days ago. He must have hidden it from my sight and polished it to a mirror sheen before presenting it to me, the sneaky rascal! In any case, he confessed his love for me and I did the same for him. We embraced, then he told me something that made my heart sink just as quickly as it had soared. He wants to go home. Not right now, but he told me that at some point he does intend to return to his homeland. So we set a date. At exactly one year from when we first met I'll desummon him and send back. It pains me to know our time is limited, but at the same time I know we can make the next few months feel like centuries."

“Dear diary. I write this through teary eyes so forgive me if the pages are stained. Today I sent James home. It was a long time coming, we both knew it would happen, yet it does not change the fact that my heart is filled with bleeding holes. We hugged, and kissed, and said our goodbyes a dozen times over yet it still did not stop my eyes from overflowing with tears. I'll get over it eventually. Heartbreak is rarely something that lasts. I just wish it would be over already."

“Dear diary, I'M WITH EGGS! I don't how it happened, okay I do actually, but that doesn't cease my amazement that he managed to fertilize me during the only time we had sexual intercourse, on the night before he went back no less! I should have technically been out of egg laying season during that night but clearly I miscalculated, I suppose I was right at the edge in terms of timing. In any case, I've got two eggs growing in my belly and their father won't be coming back anytime soon. I'll raise them with love, as best as I can, and teach them the witching ways as my mother taught me. But what shall I tell them about their absent father? Perhaps when they're old enough to understand I'll reveal the truth. Until then I'll keep quiet, no point confusing the poor things after they hatch."

Urmine's lips quiver, then she turns the page.

“Dear diary, my eggs hatched today! They broke a little earlier than I expected but I just walked by the nest and there they were, two little babies sitting next to their cracked shells. I'm not ashamed of admitting when I saw them I puffed up my feathers and danced around the room a little, such an event deserves a celebration, even if I'm the only around to celebrate. My daughters are both chimeras, this was no surprise given what I read in the text, but I did not expect their forms to be so fascinating. One is clearly based off a woodland black bear, her muzzle a warm gold and body black as night. Yet she has the most curious bony protrusions on her forehead! I suspect these to be antlers that have yet to grow. A horned bear, what a beautiful mix of features! The other is clearly a doe with her white spots and light brown coat, yet what isn't so doe-like are the two large fangs drifting down from her upper jaw. A mix between a doe and a grizzly bear perhaps? Or some other fanged creature? I hope it's the former, the combination is poetic. I shall name them tomorrow when I've calmed down a little. I believe this to be the start of a wonderful journey for me and my daughters. I only wish James were here to see it."

Urmine feels her knees grow weak and a strange, heavy feeling well up in her chest. She sits on the ground before her knees fail her entirely and holds the diary up to her bosom, eyes turning moist as she blankly stares at the ground in shock. Gothetta rushes to her side and gets on her knees, hugging her sister tightly as tears of joy run down the doe's face.

“Oh Urmine, he was not the deadbeat we thought him so! To think our father a human, and our mother, a crow! She loved him with all her heart, and could not stand to see them part. Yet fate would rear its ugly head, and cared not for the tears she shed. Our parentage is now brought to light, and it fills my heart with such delight! He wasn't the absentee foe we thought him so!"

“And how could he hate, what he did not know?" Urmine says quietly.

Urmine sniffles and hugs her sister back, then continues.

“All these years I had it wrong Gothetta, I had it all wrong. I thought that because we were chimeras, and because mother never told us much about him, and because we never knew him, that he couldn't stand us and left mother because of it. That he couldn't stand having you and me as his daughters because of our oddities. I mean, plenty of other people hate us because of our chimerahood, why wouldn't he?"

Gothetta loosens the hug and looks Urmine in the face, wiping her eyes dry.

“Are you happy? Are you happy to be wrong?"

Urmine pauses, then comes an embarrassed laugh.

“I've never been so happy to be wrong in my life!"

“The horned bear admitting she was wrong? I thought I would never see such a thing!"

The happy expression Urmine wore dims slightly.

“Oh shut up." She says with a smile, hugging Gothetta tightly once more.

Edmund remains quiet on the sidelines as the sisters embrace, perfectly happy to let them have their little moment together in peace. As much as he wants to go home now that they found the desummoning instructions it felt wrong to disturb them during such a tender moment, and though he would never say it, seeing them so happy did bring a flutter to his heart. Eventually the sisters break the hug and stand up.

“I feel better now, it's like a weight's been lifted off my shoulders." Says Gothetta.

“I feel the same way." Urmine places the diary in the jewelry box then hands it to Gothetta. “You and Edmund go back to the cabin. I would very much like to read the rest of mother's diary later on and you'll need to make copies of the pages she removed from the tome. I'll seal her coffin and fill in her grave in the meantime."

“And do place some new flowers in front of her headstone Urmine, it's the least we can do for disturbing her."

“Of course! I believe I saw some daisies growing near the edge of the grove as we walked in, they should do nicely. Now you and Edmund go back to the cabin, I'll finish up here."

Gothetta nods and gingerly receives the jewelry box, turning to face Edmund.

“Come Edmund, I'll escort you back to the cabin."