After the couple's encounter with the wolf pack and the comments of the leader, Juniper had run off in tears. Atemis chased after her, but had quickly lost track of the vixen as she disappeared into a crowd. He searched for her for hours, but then it was starting to get late. He decided to head home, hoping to see Juniper there. He looked around the dorm as he entered. She wasn't there. He was saddened by this. He was exhausted from the first day of the festival, and while he wanted to keep searching, he just couldn't with his lack of energy. Although it made him sad to do so, he decided to sleep alone for the night.
When he woke up the next morning, he was hoping she had come home. She was nowhere around. Cocoa was nestled up against him. He stood up and stretched, then thought to himself for a moment. For the next couple days, he ignored the festivities and searched for the vixen. But still she was nowhere to be found. He even asked Jewel, Ariel, Tess, Abigail, and Valentine if they had seen her. But they all had the same response. None of them had seen her. There was still one person he hadn't asked, though.
He went down to the lobby and went straight to the Lunawolf clinic. He had hoped that maybe Juniper had decided to go to work today. When he entered, the infirmary was mostly empty, except for Kasha, who was using her mortar and pestle. She didn't notice him come in until she had just finished the remedy she was working on and turned around with the bowl in her hands.
"Hello, Atemis. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you and June be out enjoying the festival together?"
"Well, that's what I need to talk to you about. You see, June has run off. I haven't seen her since the first night of the festival. She never came home, and I was hoping maybe you've seen her. No one else has."
"Sorry, Atty. I haven't. Why did she run off, though? It's not like her to just disappear like that. It's especially not like her to miss her favorite time of the year like that."
"Because a stranger said some pretty negative things about her. That her kind have no place among wolves. That foxes are untrustworthy due to their reputation as thieves and such."
"Let me guess. Dusk." She set the bowl down on her alchemy bench and crossed her arms and huffed.
"You know her?"
"Yes. Unfortunately, it's not the first time she's made those kinds of remarks, but usually she's not so cruel as to say things like that to Juniper's face." She sighed.
"Do you know where she might have run off to?" he asked, hoping for a yes.
"I might have an idea. But you should let me talk to her. She'll listen to me. As her adoptive mother, I have a feeling of what's going on in that head of hers."
"What should I do?" asked the wolf.
"You just head on home and wait. I'll have her home before you know it."
Atty was hesitant at first, but he believed the lemur knew what she was doing, and so nodded in agreement and did as she said.
As Atemis headed home, Kasha closed the clinic and went out looking for Juniper. She knew exactly where her daughter was. It was a place the fox likes to go to think whenever something is really troubling her. She went out into the forest just outside town, on the side with the river and the view of the mountain, and followed the stream until she made it to the waterfall. The gentle sound it made was enough to relax you.
She looked around for a moment and saw a patch of colorful flowers. A closer look revealed a familiar figure among them. It was Juniper, and she had some butterflies resting on her, and some fluttering around. Her eyes were closed, and she looked as though she were meditating. The lemur approached, but didn't say anything right away. She gave a gentle smile.
"June, honey," she called, grabbing the vixen's attention. "Come out here, please. I need to talk to you."
She came out, but hesitantly, as all the butterflies scattered. She looked a little down as she stood in front of her mom. "Hey, Kasha."
"Why are you out here by yourself, sweety?"
"I just… needed some alone time, that's all," the fox replied. She looked away, as though afraid to look her mother in the eye.
"You're upset," the lemur stated and put a hand on her shoulder. "Talk to me."
Juniper looked at her, and began tearing up as she threw herself into her adoptive mother's arms. "I try so hard to fit in, to be part of the community, but no matter what I do, someone always has to drag me back down to the bottom. Why do people have to be so cruel? Maybe I should just leave town for good and go back to hiding in the shadows."
"Don't talk like that." Kasha broke the hug and held her hands on the vixen's cheeks so that she had no choice but to look her in the eyes. "Now, you've come a long way since you first set foot in Tranquility. You can't please everyone, and you shouldn't waste your time trying. What have I always told you about those who are critical of you?"
Juniper said nothing for a moment, then sighed and answered, "Don't listen to the haters. Be better than them."
"That's right." Kasha released her grip on her.
The vixen nodded, but then sighed again. That look had not left her eyes. "There's something else that's been bothering me. About Atty."
Kasha crossed her arms. "I'm listening."
"I've been thinking a lot about our relationship. And I love him dearly, and I know he loves me. But… what if our relationship… what if Dusk is right? Maybe I don't have any business being with a wolf. I feel like a fool to think it could actually work between us."
"Yes, Atty made me aware of Dusk's comments." Juniper's ears perked when she mentioned the wolf's name. "He came to me this morning and explained what had happened. He looked so worried about you. When I looked into his eyes, I saw the look of an aching heart. The look of someone who truly loves another. You need to ignore the haters, and hold on to the ones who love you. The ones who see you. The real you." She paused for a moment and placed her hands on the vixen's shoulders as she looked her in the eyes. "Atty has been looking for you since you disappeared. If his love for you wasn't true, would he be going out of his way to find you?"
June looked at her for a moment before answering. "No, I guess he wouldn't." She wiped the tears from her eyes and chuckled sheepishly. "I guess I really am a fool after all, to be thinking like this and to put him in that position."
"Go home to him, June. He's waiting for you." The vixen gave a smile and hugged the lemur one last time before running back to town.
Back in Tranquility…
Atty laid on his bed idly as he tried to wait patiently for his love to return. He would occasionally look out the window that gave him a view of the town plaza, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. He gave a depressing sigh. But then, his ears perked at the sound of the door opening. He stood up almost immediately and looked at who was entering.
It was Juniper. When she closed the door, she faced his direction and hung her head. Atty quickly approached her as a wave of relief came over him. "June… I'm sorry, Flower. I wish I could…" He was interrupted when she covered his mouth with a paw, then looked him deeply in the eyes.
"No, Atty. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have run off like that. But in the heat of the moment, I didn't know what else to do. I am… fortunate to have someone like you by my side." She kissed him on the nose and nuzzled him affectionately. "You're my morning sunshine."
Atty smiled at her and closed his eyes. "You are my moonlit night."
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Later in the day, in the afternoon, Atty and June were preparing to head out to enjoy the festival some more. For the moment, though, they were enjoying each other's company. Even though they were only separated for a short time, it felt like an eternity for Atemis. Juniper was watering her plants before they left.
They headed into town. It seemed even more lively than yesterday. They first headed for the food tent to grab a bite to eat. As they finished up, a thought came to Juniper's mind, and there was something she wanted to know.
"Atty," she began, "you said before that you couldn't help but feel drawn to me. I want to know, what is it about me that you find so appealing?"
Atty stared at her for a moment, thinking it over. "Well, the first thing that grabbed my attention was your uniqueness, and immediately after that, your natural, radiant beauty. As I learned more about you, I discovered more things to love."
"As in?" She cocked her head.
"Your kindness and compassion, your energy, your spirit, just to name a few things. I consider myself the luckiest guy in the world, because I get the chance to fall in love with you over and over again."
Juniper blushed and smiled, and looked away for a moment before replying. "So, you've never once had a negative thought about me?"
He grabbed and held one of her paws and looked deeply into her eyes. "Of course not. And no one will ever be able to change my mind about you. You're my girl, June." He gave her paw a kiss. She smiled, and seemed to up a little, then threw herself at him into a hug. He gladly returned it.
For the rest of the week, things went pretty smoothly for them. Sometimes they'd get some looks, and it would bother Juniper a little bit, but Atemis was there to give her reassurance, and then she'd quickly forget about it. On the seventh evening of the festival, the couple decided to head to their special place by the lake in the forest to watch the fireworks that would conclude the celebration. The couple sat together under the weeping willow, and had a clear view of the sky over the town. Once the sun had fully set and the moon was overhead, the colorful light show had begun.
The multitude of colors lighting up the sky was truly breathtaking. Juniper was in awe. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" said the vixen.
"Fireworks are nice. But…" he paused.
"But?" The vixen looked at him, confused.
He turned to look at her. "It pales in comparison to your beauty." He smiled. Before she could reply, he spoke again. "You know what the most beautiful part of you is? Your smile. When you smile, you light up even the darkest of nights. And I would cross the universe just for a chance to see it."
Juniper was left speechless, and blushing. She couldn't help but give a smile the wolf was so very fond of. She scooted closer and brushed against him, giving a content sigh as Atty's heart raced and his tail wagged. She looked up at him, muzzles just mere inches from each other. As the sky was lit up by a large bang, she planted a kiss on his lips. The sparks between them burned brighter than the brightest of fireworks.
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As the holiday concluded, the couple went back to their shared dorm to call it a night. The next morning, Juniper woke up first, and looked at the wolf by her side, and smiled as she gave him a kiss on the forehead. This was enough to wake him. He gave a yawn, and then stood up and stretched. "Good morning, Flower," he said.
They went through their morning ritual together and then sat down for breakfast. As they finished up, they heard a knock at their door. When they opened it, their blue otter companion, Ariel, was there.
"Good morning Atemis. I see you found Juniper. Glad to see you both together again."
"Thanks, Ariel," the vixen replied.
"Is there something you need?" asked Atty.
"Luna sent me. She wants all the Chosen to meet her in her office right away."
"What's going on?"
"She wouldn't say. She wants us all to be there when she tells us. Tess is already there." The trio immediately went out and up towards the guild master's office. Ariel knocked on the door before they entered. "Here they are, Luna, just as you requested."
"Thank you, Ariel. Now that you're all here, let's get straight down to business." Everyone took a seat around the office. "I have some disturbing news. One of our guild members was checking out the job requests on the bounty board, and found this." She laid out a letter.
It read, ‘Bring the Chosen to us outside your gates, and no harm will come to your community. Refuse us, and Tranquility will burn. Sincerely, the O.W.D.'
"The Order is near the town again? We just can't seem to catch a break from them," Atty said with a sigh.
"This is a major threat to our safety," Luna added. "But I can't help but find it strange that they want you delivered to them, rather than just straight up attacking the town in search of you. I can't help but wonder what their intentions are."
"There's no telling," Atty replied. "We've ruined their plans more than once. They probably want us to turn ourselves in. Whatever they plan to do with us, it can't be good."
"Do you think they'll honor their promise to leave the town alone?" asked Juniper.
"I doubt it. They may decide to take it over as soon as they have us. We'll try to find out what their intentions are first, then we'll decide what to do from there."
"I'll have the Tranquil Guard stand by, just in case," Luna added. "Be careful out there. You of all people should know the cult is not to be taken lightly."
