Sybil sat quietly on a rock in the hollowed out tree stump. She wasn't trembling anymore, and the tingling had stopped, too. The healer faeries said there were metal marks covering the entirety of her arms, legs, and back. They wouldn't hurt on their own, they said, but they'd be extremely sensitive, and she should keep them covered up by blades of grass--even the ones on her back, something that wouldn't be an option for a normal faerie, seeing as how it would get in the way of their wings.. But, when she was grabbed by the man, apparently her wings were crushed, and the healers decided it was best to just cut them off altogether. For as terrible a shape as she was in, though, they said she could return home just fine, and even offered to carry her there, but she wasn't leaving yet. The last thing she saw before the scouts carried her off was the Captain falling out of the sky. She had to make sure Layla was okay.. She couldn't live with herself if she left without knowing. So, she waited. For hours. The healer faeries came out a couple times, offering to fly her back home again, or get her some water, or various other small favors that she denied, but for the most part, it was silent, and she spent most of that silence staring down at her grass-bandaged arms and legs, as a painful reminder of what she was waiting for. She had almost fallen asleep by the time a trio of scouts came in through the door, carrying the Captain, still unconscious, on a small twine net. Sybil immediately stood up from her stone, and collapsed forwards; her balance thrown off by the lack of her wings, though luckily Tori managed to catch her. "Sybil?" Tori asked. "Is the Captain okay!? She's okay, right!?" The three scouts stopped, and looked at eachother. "Um.. You two go on ahead." Tori eventually said. "I've got to talk to Sybil." The other two scouts took Layla into a tunnel carved out of the wood, while Tori fluttered over to the rocks with Sybil, and sat down. "The Captain.." Tori sighed. "Layla's dead. Dead on impact from whatever that thing did to her.." "No.. She can't be.. You're lying! It's my fault.." Sybil said, instantly falling down into tears. "Hey, hey.." Tori said, wrapping her arms around her. "It's not your fault. The Captain knew it was a bad idea, but I pushed her, and.. And, I'm sure if she was here, she'd be blaming herself, for not listening to her better judgement.. But, it's not anyone's fault. It's okay.. This is our job, Sybil. We put our lives on the line for the good of the Grove.." Sybil didn't say anything, only continuing to sob. Tori pulled her closer into a hug. "It's okay." There was a moment of silence between the two, as tears ran down Tori's face as well. Eventually, she pulled back, and did her best to pull off a smile. "And, hey, that basket of berries you found, we checked them for poison, and.. And they're all good. We lugged them back, and we.. Have enough food to make it through the snowy season, now. For everything that's happened, you saved the Grove, and I know, Captain Layla would be so proud of you for that." Sybil wiped away her tears, though new ones quickly took their place. "Are you okay, though? I didn't see what happened to you, but.. Your wings.. And, you're wearing casts, like the Captain's.." Sybil pulled herself to her feet, wobbling a bit, and nodded before walking towards the exit. "Hey!" Tori said, standing up herself. "The Captain's funeral will be tonight, at the lake. I-" She paused. "I'm sorry, Sybil.." Sybil walked out, and started heading towards her home. For a moment, she was ready to start fluttering her wings, and take off, but she couldn't do that anymore. She had never noticed how small she was compared to the tree, and the buildings, and everything in the Grove. From the sky, she always felt so much bigger, but now she just felt tiny, and weak. When she eventually got back, everything was quiet. Her home was the same as it always was, but somehow she didn't feel like she belonged here, anymore. After all, this was where the gatherers lived, but it's not like she could be a gatherer without her wings. She spent the rest of her day in silence, laying quietly on her bed of leaves, staring up at the ceiling, rolling thoughts over in her head, and crying a few times because of them. She almost decided not to get up and go the funeral, not sure if she could even handle it, but after laying there quietly for who knows how long, she slowly pulled herself up, and began walking to the lake on the other side of the tree. When she got there, a crowd of other faeries had already gathered up, sitting quietly on the ground. Most of them were scouts, though there were a few other gatherers there, but if she had to guess they were probably just following Jackie around, as they seemed to be happily chatting with eachother as though they had no idea what was even going on. Then, there were the graveworkers of course, faeries dressed in the sagging, droopy plants that they pulled out of the lake, pacing throughout the crowd with slow, ghastly movements. And, finally, there was Mama Amy, a blonde-haired faerie dressed in a gown of spider's silk. She was standing up on a rock that lay at the lake's edge, talking with the graveworkers next to a leaf that held Layla's body. Mama Amy looked out sadly towards the lake, and Sybil followed the gaze, to see the crater that sat in its center. Water was constantly pouring down into it, yet the lake's water level never seemed to drain. It used to captivate her imagination, like it was some sort of mystical portal to another world, but now it only made her feel sad. She quietly made her way to the edge of the crowd, and sat as far away from the others as she could without leaving the area completely; she couldn't help but feel the scouts were all blaming her for what happened, and being confronted with that was the last thing she needed right now. She didn't remain alone for too long, however, as when Tori finally arrived, and saw Sybil sitting out by herself, she flew over and sat next to her, though there was very little in the way of conversation between the two. Eventually, after a wait that seemed to drag on forever, Mama Amy flew off the stage, and made her way over to Tori, offering her a hand up. "Are you going to be okay?" Tori asked, looking over at Sybil. The gatherer nodded, and Tori followed Mama Amy up onto the stage. "Captain Layla was not just the strongest, and fastest of us all!" Tori said loudly. "But she was also the most caring, and the kindest! She had told me, once, that she would not hesitate to put her life on the line to save any faerie in the Grove, and though her death is.. Though her death is hard on us all, she died to save one of us. It is only thanks to the Captain, that one of my friends is still with us today, and for that I can't give her enough thanks.." Tori's voice cracked, as she turned to the corpse of the faerie laying on the leaf. "Captain, I will do everything in my power to live up to your name, and if you are watching us from somewhere beyond the grave, then I will find a way to make you proud.." Mama Amy walked up to Tori, and handed her a yellow scarf, and a stabby stick. With a deep breath, Tori wrapped the scarf around her neck, and took the stabby stick in her hands. She raised it high into the air, and lined it up with Layla's corpse. She snapped her eyes shut, as she forced it down. Her hands were trembling when she let it go. Soon after the graveworkers lifted the leaf, and placed it down on the lake's surface. Tori opened her eyes again, and folded her arms. The leaf drifted quietly towards the crater in the center of the lake, the faeries all sitting quietly in mourning as they watched. Soon enough, it reached the crater, and both the leaf, and Captain Layla, fell down into the abyss, as the graveworkers all began to hum a horrid song in unison. "Captain.." Tori said with a shaky breath. "I will make you proud.. I promise."