The Song of the Night

On the windowsill, a small garden grew on the side of the inn room. Quiet notes fill the air of the inn room, with Teddie’s own voice being the origin.

Edward and Cozy both are sleeping quietly in the beds. The two of them went to bed as soon as they got to the inn. Meanwhile Adelyn headed off to sell the meat they gathered from the previous monster.

That left Teddie, and his bear, alone in the room. But, they weren’t really alone were they? Dozens of tiny voices could be heard from the windowsill garden. They spoke through the tiny dirt mounds in the “forest” of decorative plants.

Cultivator Ants, tiny small black ants that work invisibly. They’re used regularly to maintain window gardens without disruption. However, for Teddie, he can hear the little voices of them talking, speaking, and listening to each other.

It was nice. The ants got along well. That made Teddie and Mr. Bear happy.

“Do you think we’ll get along?” Teddie asked the stuffed bear. “We’re a very long way away from home after all.”

The bear looked back at him.

“Yeah. I hope we will. They all seem nice,” Teddie responded. “This was a big leap after all. I’m still a little bit nervous, haha.”

He laughed a little, but he still felt warm inside.

“I’m back!” The door to the room opened and a sudden voice sprung through the air. Adelyn had returned from her little trip.

“Hey, Adelyn…” Teddie responded. “The other two are sleeping, so you don’t need to be so loud.”

“Oh, sorry,” Adelyn responded in a whispered voice. “Why aren’t you asleep? Well, I can barely tell that it’s night-time around here but…”

“Lots of fun critters come out at night, I don’t want to miss them,” Teddie said. “I’ll sleep in a few hours… It's fine.”

“Rumia always warned me against staying up too late in the library, so don’t do it yourself. I’m probably gonna sleep pretty soon. We’ve got a lot to do in the City of Nature, you know?”

“Yeah, I’ve always wanted to go there,” Teddie nodded. “I don’t know much about it, but the woods are so beautiful… so imagining a full city of people who appreciate them? Maybe it’s not as scary as normal cities…”

“Well, we DO have that book Grimace gave us,” Adelyn said, taking out and flicking open the book with a simple hand gesture. “Let’s see…”

She placed it down on the table and the two of them looked through the encyclopedia. The chapter of the City of Verdant, a large map sprawled out before them.

In the center, a massive building stood in the middle of the entire city. Drawn on the map, it felt like a massive metal complex unbefitting of what Teddie thought would make sense for such a city.

“What’s that?” Teddie pointed at it.

“Mmm, let’s see. It’s written here..” Adelyn looked at a blurb on the side of the book. “‘Verdant, the City of Nature is currently centered around the Green Leaf Holding Facility. It is a massive complex that contains the most dangerous animals and criminals known to this country’- huh?”

A prison? Teddie was quite confused at the idea of that being the centerpiece. He had more questions than answers, at that point.

“The governor is the warden of the prison, it seems. He’s tasked with keeping all of the worst creatures to maintain a healthy ecosystem. I guess that makes sense…” Adelyn thought aloud.

“I don’t like how it looks so… uh… out of place…” Teddie said. “I dunno. I asked Mr. Bear and a lot of my other animal friends… they don’t like metal structures… they think it's unwelcoming.”

“Well, the city seems to have good intentions so… I’m sure it'll be fine. They talk a lot about how animals and people work together, so I think that’s pretty cool!”

“Yeah… I suppose. Still…” Teddie shook his head. “It’s fine. Yeah, we can enjoy it together.”

As the two of them were discussing, Teddie heard a soft voice coming from the window. A sing-songy voice… humming through the air.

“Hold on… a second,” Teddie listened. “Do you hear that?”

“Hm? It’s probably just someone singing,” Adelyn responded. She was likely right, but Teddie walked to the window and looked outside.

There he saw a patch of glowing blue flowers, and a woman standing within the circle. She was in essence pure white, light from the flora reflected off of her image into the window. It was someone singing, but this voice called to him.

“...h-hey!”

Teddie’s voice raised, as he called out to the woman. Her voice suddenly paused and she turned to look at the boy.

“Oh, hello. Did I wake you?” the woman suggested with a sweet smile.

“No, no. I was already up! Your song just sounded really nice… is all,” Teddie responded. “My bear here really liked it.”

Teddie put up his stuffed bear up to the window and waved down at the girl, who smiled and reciprocated it.

“I guess I’m popular with animals then. It was just a small concert, dear,” the woman giggled.

“Oh… concerts! I sing for animals too!” Teddie responded. “My singing obviously isn’t as good but…”

“I’m sure your voice is wonderful, dear. If you already have such a captive audience,” the woman said.

“Hey, uh,” Adelyn suddenly peeked her head out of the window. “I’m feeling a little bit lost here. Greetings, my name is Adelyn! Who might you be?”

“Oh, you have a friend? My name is Liana, it is a pleasure to meet you Adelyn and…”

“Teddie…” Teddie muttered.

“Teddie! What brings you out to this town?” Liana said with a smile.

“We… uh… we want to go to Verdant… talk to the governor.” Teddie answered.

Liana’s smile drops at the mention of the governor.

“...d-did I say something wrong?” Teddie noticed this change in demeanor immediately.

“Oh, no. I just used to know him. That’s all,” Liana responded. “Why do you need to talk to him?”

“Well,” Adelyn said. “We want to get into the capital. So, we need to talk to him! Oh, if you know him can you put in a good word for us?”

The woman laughed a little bit at Adelyn’s question.

“No… my word wouldn’t do anything for you, unfortunately, haha,” Liana shook her head. “We haven’t talked in a long time.”

“Why not?” Teddie asked, with quite a curious look.

“We had a few… disagreements on how to handle the animals, that prison was his idea and all,” Liana said.

“The prison…?” Adelyn asked. “How did that even start?”

“A few creatures ended up being too dangerous, in his eyes at least. Rare ones though, it’s a kind of preservation I suppose. I don’t agree with keeping them in those conditions though,” Liana responded.

“Oh… it’s not nice,” Teddie muttered.

“Custos is amiable otherwise, if you manage to get an audience with him then I’m sure he would give you his approval,” Liana responded. “I’m not sure how you would get one in the first place, he is quite the busy man.”

“Well, we’re gonna try anyway! Good luck to you too,” Adelyn said. “And whatever it is that you, uh, do.”

“I’m simply a mere wanderer of the woods. I come by here to assist my more civilized friends, ahaha,” Liana nodded.

A set of glowing squirrels crawl up the woman’s body and up to her arms, enjoying her presence for now. She feeds them both an acorn to satisfy them.

“The City of Nature does have quite a few animals around, some old friends, some new. I couldn’t ever leave them forever,” she said. “You said you sing to animals? I can’t give you much for Custos but… perhaps one of my songs could curry some favor with a few beasts?”

“Oh, really?” Teddie was excited. “I’d… I’d like to learn it!”

“Oooh, a new song!” Adelyn clapped her hands. “Let’s hear it!”

“Repeat after me. Three, two, one…”

Liana’s voice flows through the air, a soft voice that echoes each note in a sweet tone. The melody transitions from high to low, then back to high… but still remaining soft, a relaxing sound to the mind.

Teddie sang in a similar tone. He tried to match it as best as he could, gripping onto Mr. Bear as tight as he could. The melody was overall quite simple, one he could easily memorize after hearing it once. He always loved these simple melodies, and they were a favorite among his friends too.

The duet’s captive audience was impressed. Adelyn had heard Teddie sing before, but Teddie never saw her look as impressed as this. That was the sign Teddie needed to know he was doing well, and that he should keep going.

The impromptu concert eventually ended off, the voices drawing more of an audience than Teddie had anticipated. The cultivator ants got distracted from their work, making a small party to appreciate the sudden show. On Liana’s side, the squirrels brought multiple other critters alongside them. Small, fluffy, and interested, of all kinds of different cute shapes.

Teddie blushed, not realizing at how much attention he drew from that. He had the song memorized into his head by now, but the sudden assembly wasn’t something he mentally prepared for. He laughed a little bit and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

Though, the loudest clapping came from Adelyn. Who seemed absolutely thrilled with Teddie’s show.

“That was great!” Adelyn said. “I think that’s the best you’ve ever sung in front of me, oh my gosh. All of your animal friends are going to love you!”

Teddie didn’t say anything, his face still completely red. He looked to Liana, who simply smiled back at him.

“Good luck, kids,” Liana said, before walking away. Adelyn was still showering praises onto Teddie, who was silently accepting them at this point. At least until…

“Can’t you guys sleep?” Edward complained, barely awake. “Or at least be quieter?”

Edward immediately fell back asleep after that, but the two of them got the message.

“You did great,” Adelyn snuck in one last compliment. “How about we rest and you can show the other two your song tomorrow?”

“A-Ah, I’m… I’m good, I think we should focus on the main goal…” Teddie said.

“Right, right,” Adelyn nodded. “Either way, good night!”

“Night, Adelyn.” Teddie responded.