“Glass' favorite?” I suggested.
Sharp looked at the ceiling, thought for a moment, and a smile bloomed on her face.
“Where did those kids go? We're leaving in ten minutes!” mumbled Glisten, trying to make a surreptitious exit. He hovered by the entryway, chatting with my mothers.
“Those four are never where you expect them to be,” Mama Robin commiserated. She wore a green corduroy dress embroidered with sunflowers, complementing her wife’s ensemble, a yellow dress painted with little orange suns.
Ivory glided by, filling the room with warm nostalgia. “Are you trying to find some lost little creatures?”
“Yes! They need to say their goodbyes so we can get on the road!” Glisten combed through the crowd. “Have you seen them?”
“As a matter of fact, I have.” She gestured to the center of the dance floor. “They said something about needing to do a ‘proper send-off’ and sent me to get you.”
“Oh great. We're never going to get out of this forest.” Glisten tossed back the rest of his sun-wine.
Puma hopped in place, spilling beer on the floor. “Oh, lighten up. This is still a celebration! Think about your brother. I know I'm biased, but they have such talent!”
We watched, invisible, as the adults came back out to the dance floor. The four of us were on the stage, no one the wiser, enjoying the dancing light of the Unseen. The presence of Glass was everywhere.
“One.”
“Two.”
“Three.”
Sharp pulled into the other dimension, becoming light before our eyes. She started with the percussive. Willow and Pir jumped in with humming vocals, and I came in with the final distinct and dynamic sound of the orchestra gourd. The crowd cheered as Willow led the baleful tune:
"In the long long ago
The ships were still sailing
Before the sound of the sea
Was a lost widow's wailing
When the light of the sun
Kissed the sky on the water
Before the Goddess was pleased
By the gifts Death had brought her
In that far away time
In that lost silver sound
A curse to the living
A joy to the drowned
I loved you, I lost you
Across the grand ocean blue
In the long long ago
When your life bloomed anew.”
We stepped into the crowd and danced with the rest of them, saying our goodbyes. Olivine hugged us, assuring us she would do her best as Glass' replacement in Pantmawr. Gold-and-Silver tousled my hair one last time. Teal was crying. Tungsten looked indifferent. Marrow gave us all a bear hug and put Sharp in charge of training.
Ivory whispered in my ear, “Be strong, little Badger. We will meet again.”
Pyrite put something cold and heavy in my hand. A golden scroll. “I figured you might want this back. Thank you, kid, for setting me free. I won’t be a stranger anymore.”
“Thank you, Pyrite.” I hugged him. “For everything.”
I found my mothers at the door and showed them the retrieved scroll. Mama Robin kissed my head. “We'll see you in three months, at the Festival. Promise you'll make good choices.”
I touched my heart. “Promise.”
The four of us settled in the back of an empty storage carriage with no roof, dragged along with Glisten's caravan. The party continued pulsing as we started the journey to the Great City.
“If we keep looking upwards,” Willow whispered, “soon we’ll see the stars.”
At night the Savage Wilds was peaceful. No noise except the hooves of the horses and the squeak of the wheels. My friends slept that night, but I didn't. My eyes dwelled in the thickness of the leaves, waiting for the moment they all disappeared, and the Dark was behind them.
