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The ascent continued to be scary. Edelgard could act like it didn't bother her, but she as scared as ever when she walked up the sometimes brittle, sometimes slippery branches that formed a spiral of stairs above the treetops.

She held Almerya's hand throughout the trip, telling herself that it would be alright.

Edelgard still sighed in relief when they finally passed through the door, entering the elders' hut. They were all there, as usual.

Almerya nodded to Edelgard, then bowed to her fellow elders. She then walked to her seat, taking her place as one of them.

Edelgard was alone.

She stuttered a silent "Hello," then sat down where she always sat.

Ten elders attended in total, ten elves she learned the names of during the past months.

There was Ariadna, a pipe-smoking, dreamy-looking woman.

Next to her sat Almerya.

Then came Magmaranda, the elder with fire in her eyes.

The sisters Beru and Bera followed, though neither ever spoke a word when Edelgard was around. She wondered how they felt about her.

The elder who always spoke first came next, a man named Opus.

Following him was the brown-haired man, his signature feature sprawled out on the ground behind him. His name was Erion.

Erion's neighbor was called Patchy, though Edelgard doubted it was his real name. The name obviously came from his patched eye, which he lost by stumbling and piercing his eye as a kid, apparently.

Then came Ringol, a bored-looking man, and finally Derol. The only thing that distinguished the latter was his black hair, a rare color in elves.

Among all these people was Edelgard, a woman with short ears and hair all-over, a mere pretender and alien to their race.

She felt very out of place.

Edelgard held her breath as the elders judged her with knowing gazes, not daring to say a word. Finally, after what seemed like too long a time, Opus started the meeting.

"Thank you for coming again," he said, leaving out the part of there being no choice. "Would you love to tell us about your daily life?"

Was this some kind of interrogation?

She had to wonder...

"You know most of it, don't you? I live with Claudia and Starkus, I bathe, eat, and sleep, and I spend most of my day studying the language." At this, the mood in the room changed drastically. Edelgard looked over at Almerya. 'Didn't you tell them?' was what she tried to communicate, but her friend merely cocked her head in confusion. Edelgard sighed. "Then there are the unusual things, like Almerya cutting my hair every now and then..."

By now, a torrent of whispers spread through the room, making Edelgard worry.

Edelgard studied Almerya's expression, as she was the only one who didn't participate in the whispers.

Her face turned from surprised to thoughtful until it broke out into an 'I screwed up!' kind of emotion. Almerya whirled around to look at Edelgard, guilt written all over her forehead. She apologized with increasing intensity.

While it was nice to see that her friend was thusly concerned, Edelgard still had no clue about the cause of this change in tension.

"Hem hem!" When Opus cleared his throat, the whispers died down. So she had been right when she deemed him the quasi-leader of the elders? "We are more than aware of your... unique habits," he started. Unique habits? "We had elves tell us about a woman with short ears, running across the roofs of their huts with the skills of a male. We were quite shocked, you know?"

Edelgard tilted her head.

Was it really that bad for her to enjoy running a bit?

Their society was very unfair if that was the conclusion they'd arrive at.

"It wasn't hard to figure out it was you, but to think that you would indulge in such a pastime..." Erion continued. "Nobody heard you, so that's that... but it's still unbecoming."

"Oh, please," Almerya put in. "Allow her that much. She wasn't even allowed to accompany Claudia on scavenging hunts. What else should she do?"

"She said it herself," Magmaranda said, scowling. "She studies our language. That should take her a few millennia, at least."

"Even the mightiest mind won't ever understand our scriptures fully," Ariadna put in.

Her body gently rocked from left to right.

"That being said," Opus said, "why do you want to study the Elven language?"

"The presumption that you could be one of our own just because you learn to read our language is entirely misguided," Magmaranda argued.

Edelgard found it hard to speak.

It felt like, no matter what she chose to say, it would be held against her.

Then she noticed a movement to her left.

Almerya waved her hand to get her attention. Her face showed not even a hint of worry... she was smiling, even. Almerya nodded, and Edelgard understood.

"It would be nice if you wouldn't hate me as much," she confessed, hanging her head, "but that's not my reason for studying the language. You spoke of change I will bring, of trouble I will brew. I don't want to believe that, and so I set out to learn more about the language so that I might find some clue in this prophecy. I don't want to cause you trouble, either... so if I did, I apologize."

Here, she placed her head on the floor, bowing as low as this setting allowed.

Edelgard was prostrating herself.

"Your reasoning is sound," Patchy spoke in his deep, rasping voice. "But I advise you to stop. You are not yet mature enough to pursue the craft of our language."

"I think she's ready," Almerya stated defiantly.

"Did you place that thought in her head?" Opus inquired, neither judgment nor opinion on his words. "What I ask is this: Did you think this through? Can you confirm that she is ready?"

"I did, and I confirm it. Edelgard is ready."

"Huh," Opus said, leaning back a bit.

"This won't bring her joy," Erion said, shaking his head. "Not at all."

"It really won't," Magmaranda said, looking at Edelgard. "Should she reach the point where she can read the old texts about how a woman should behave, the fun would end for her."

"What does that mean?" Edelgard inquired.

Despite the animosity that reached her words, Edelgard found it easiest to talk with those who showed some emotion, instead of those who incorporated an ideal of complete neutrality.

Magmaranda felt more like herself in this regard.

"You get along rather well with Claudia's husband, don't you?"

"We are good friends," Edelgard was quick to say.

"With whom do you race to the bathhouse? With whom do you shower under the leaves in our bathhouse? With whom do you spend the most time?" Magmaranda continued, barraging Edelgard with question after question.

"With Starkus... obviously..."

"See?" Magmaranda asked. When nobody reacted, she repeated, "See?"

"What should we see, Magmaranda, dear?" Almerya inquired.

"She caused a change in Starkus, the husband of the woman who vouched for her! She behaves like nothing of this concerns her, but she'll use this as an excuse to go around, shifting the opinions of ever more people, until we all succumb to her! Don't you see?" Magmaranda was actually desperate. This was the most intense display of emotions Edelgard had seen in this place. "Why don't you see?"

Magmaranda's shoulders slumped, and she bent over, hugging herself.

"Magmaranda..."

Almerya leaned over, caressing her back. She didn't slap her hand away.

"That seems a bit far-fetched, don't you think?" Opus put in.

"I have to agree with Opus," Erion added.

One after the other, the elders stood up for Edelgard... or at least against the outburst of Magmaranda.

She trembled with emotion.

"But... but..."

"What's going on here?"

Suddenly, a sixth man had appeared. He was tall and too skinny. His ears weakly drooped downward, and the leaned against the wall as if to support himself.

"Karkass..."

For a moment, Edelgard didn't realize who whispered the word... this name. Magmaranda looked at him, eyes wide with shock.

They locked eyes, then the man, Karkass, looked at Edelgard.

"That woman is what this fuss is about?" His words were judgmental, talking down on the elders. They didn't move to hold him back. The elders tolerated his mocking tone. "Change," he spat. "What a joke."

"You should lie down, Karkass," Opus suggested, pointing behind the weakened man. There seemed to be another room back there. "You are weak enough as it is."

"And do what? Relax? With all this screaming going on, I'm better off taking a walk."

So he said, but one step into the room caused him to struggle, and both Beru and Bera moved to catch him.

Edelgard thought to hear them whisper "Careful," when they caught him.

"Sorry," he said, going on. "I'll take a walk."

"No, you won't," Opus said. His words were more forceful. "I forbid it."

That seemed to anger Karkass even more, and he whirled around, screaming at the elder as Magmaranda did earlier.

"You cage me in and call it for my sake! But I don't want to die in here, kept as a prisoner! I want to go out, I want to see the world! Let me watch this beautiful forest we live in, and don't keep it from me!"

"You know that I can't do that," Opus said in a solemn voice. "Almerya. Would you see Edelgard out? This doesn't concern her."

"Understood."

Rising from her seat, Almerya led Edelgard outside.

Looking back, she saw the elders cage the man in, and Opus leading him back where he came from.

Through it all, Magmaranda remained on the ground, unmoving... as if she was in shock.

Streaks of tears streamed down her face.