The Lore Wain and Her Nephew Pt. 41

"Pummington, if the reports are true... Why don't you recount the story for the counsel?" Beebus asked. "Then we can make a more accurate judgment of Quanka's accusations..."

"Very well... But may Zarabean help me retell the story? He was also present at the time." Pummi asked anxiously, well aware this would be a dangerous suggestion to make.

Beebus raised an eyebrow but gestured approval to Pummi for he was very curious.

And so, Pummi and Zarabean retold the story for the counsel to the best of their ability. Slowly, they began to see mixed results across the crowd.

Without intending to, half of the counsel found themselves resisting the story while the other half found themselves embracing the message of the story--which was forgiveness. This division immediately caused debate and fight on both sides.

Pummi and Zarabean looked at each other, wondering how exactly this was going to pan out with all these old- older people fighting.

Suddenly, Till jumped through the sky light in the middle of the ceiling and landed smack dab in the middle of the elders.

The elders nearly had heart attacks as they see the crazy ridgerunner hop into their business. The argument ceased immediately.

"I've come with a proposal!" Till shouted before realizing something was off. She looked back at Zarabean and Pummi, "Did I miss something here?"

Zarabean smiled anxiously with a nod as he pointed at Beebus.

Till looked toward who Bean was pointing to and her eyes widened.

Beebus' old eyes also widened, clearly recognizing her. "Tilly? Is that you???"

"... Yes, grandpa..." Till replied, trying not to lose face for her mission.

-

Once Celeste and Clef arrived at Nala's brother's farm, everything seemed normal. That was before they noticed a man in a pen working with one of his... Toothy cows?!

He was standing inside of a wired fence, brushing a toothy cow with a wired brush. The cow didn't try to eat the man and didn't even care about Celeste and Clef being there. It just ate the grass and minded it's own business.

Celeste and Clef approached warily before speaking with the man.

"Um, sir?" Celeste greeted carefully.

The man looked at her. "Oh, hello!" He smiled. His voice sounded like a mix of a Hollows accent and a hint of hillbilly. "What brings youth here to my farm?"

Celeste glanced at Clef and back at the man. "Nala sent us to request your help. I'm the Lore Wain of Anneria and our Kingdom is in dire straits. People are after me and the High King. I was wondering if it would be possible for you to help supply us while we figure out what to do and go from here."

"Provisions, eh?" The man stopped brushing his oddly tame toothy cow so he could face them. "Well, suppose if you're friends with my sister and you're really the Lore Wain of Anneria... Who am I to refuse helping ya?" He grinned as he hopped over the wire fence with ease and fixed his straw hat on his head. "You and your soldier buddies follow me. I'll send ya off with things."

With that, the man started walking to his barn with Celeste, Clef, and the other soldiers behind.

"What's your name?" Celeste asked on the way.

"It's Nathan. How about yours, Lore Wain?" The farmer Nathan asked, looking over his shoulder back at her.

"Ah, sorry. I should of told you when I first greeted you. My name is Celeste." Celeste smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Nathan."

Nathan grinned in a fashion that just screamed hillbilly. He was missing a front tooth. "What a pretty name. Your parents must of been star gazing when they named you." Nathan said as he reached the door of his barn and faced them.

"Now, don't freak out but I have more toothy cows in here. I have to go through this part of the barn to get to my stored grains. If you follow me, just stay in the middle of the aisle and my cows won't bother you none." Nathan said before opening the barn door.

A bunch of moos were heard upon his entry.

There were at least two rows of toothy cows, each in their own space. Some looked crazier than others while some looked straight up tame.

"Nathan, how is it that you have some tame toothy cows?" Celeste asked as she warily followed the farmer inside. "They love... people."

"Ah, well, my tame ones have been here for generations. I bred them since they were babes. They think I'm their mama so they treat me as such. Otherwise, I'd just be meat to them and... they'd be meat to me." Nathan snickered as he reached a room in the back. He opened the door to reveal a good share of his grains and vegetables being stored inside. There was also glass bottles full of milk.

Celeste and Clef looked inside with surprise.

"I never really thought about farming toothy cows, much less things they produce..." Celeste said as she analyzed the goods curiously.

Nathan nodded. "Not many people think about it... Especially when running away from them."

"Back where I'm from... Toothy cow meat is one of the best tasting meat you can have." Clef said with thought. "I haven't had anything as good since."

Nathan looked at Clef with an eyebrow raised. "Where are you from?"

"Um... Dugtown." Clef replied honestly.

"Ah, that explains a lot." Nathan remarked with a chuckle as he faced Celeste. "So, Lore Wain Celeste, where do you plan to go after this?"

Celeste suddenly looked like a deer in the headlights. She was so busy focusing on getting supplies, she had no thought about where she was going to go. Such a question Nathan had presented started to raise fear inside of her, remembering the burning of her home.

Clef saw Celeste having this anxious moment and he placed a hand on her shoulder. "We're taking one step at a time right now." He answered for her. "The Lore Wain has been through a horrific experience."

"I see." Nathan responded solemnly before continuing. "Alright then. Y'all should take what you need. You're free to borrow my baskets to take them aboard your ships as long as you return them to my sister's house. I won't make you walk all the way back up to my farm."

"Thank you so much, Nathan." Celeste responded with great thanks.

With Nathan's approval and kindness, Celeste's soldiers helped bring back about ten large baskets of vegetables, five large baskets of grains, and forty or so glass bottles of toothy cow milk.

-

It was getting close to evening when Ramger spotted the other half of the troop coming over the hill toward the ships. He felt great relief to see Celeste among them but once they began to get close enough, he noticed Clef was maskless. Ramger stared curiously, feeling like he's seen him somewhere before. It wasn't until Clef and Celeste were stepping aboard the ship that Ramger realized exactly who he was.