When Primrose got back to the inn, she felt better in some ways and worse in others. On one hand, it had been nice to talk to Arianna again, but on the other, her doubts about her revenge mission had come rushing back in the instant she let her guard down. It was a natural consequence of her own actions, but given that Primrose hadn't been preparing herself to have a moral crisis today, she couldn't help but wish she had handled things a bit differently. There was no changing it now though, so she would simply have to live with it.

All in all though, Primrose felt this had been a net positive. She felt better after talking to Arianna, and even if she was uncertain about her revenge plans nowadays, that could hardly be blamed on Arianna. In fact, Primrose was confident she had done the right thing for Stillsnow by deciding to kill Rufus. It may not have been for the sake of helping the people there originally, but after seeing how drastically the town had changed, Primrose was sure it had been the best decision. The people were finally able to live on their own and come out of their shells, and Primrose was beyond glad she had been able to be a part of that.

She stepped into the inn carefully and closed the door behind herself. She didn't know where the rest of the travelers were, but she figured that she would be able to find them soon enough. First and foremost though, Primrose wanted to speak with Therion. It wouldn't hurt to get a bit of confirmation as to if he had really been the one who had spread out the money from Rufus' estate throughout the town. Primrose knew the truth already, but she wanted to hear him say it. Chances were high that it would embarrass him, but Primrose wasn't going to shy away from a challenge like that. She had told Arianna she would pass along her thanks, and Primrose intended to stick to her promise.

When Primrose started toward the hallway leading through the segment of the inn where the travelers were staying, she noticed one of the doors was cracked slightly. In fact, it was the door to Alfyn and Therion's room. Primrose had no idea how she was supposed to respond to that, but she pushed the thought away and instead knocked on the doorframe. Somebody had to be in there if the door was open. Neither Therion nor Alfyn was careless enough to just leave the door open when they went out. 

Sure enough, a light hum from inside the room a moment later told Primrose that Therion was, in fact, waiting for her on the other side of the door. She took that as her cue to walk in carefully and slowly so as to not startle him. When she did, she saw Therion laying on his bed with his legs hanging off the side so his feet could rest on the floor. He was staring blankly up at the ceiling with a muted scowl on his face, though Primrose knew better than to think it was directed at her. She sat down next to him carefully, already able to tell this conversation was going to be a doozy. If Therion was already in a sour mood, then getting him to open up would be much easier said than done.

Primrose knew better than to start off with asking if Therion was alright though, having learned ages ago that the direct approach never seemed to work when it came to talking to Therion about his feelings. He hated being honest with how he felt since that left him open to vulnerability, and the truth of that statement only doubled when he was upset. Primrose's best bet was to play this from the side and see where Therion wanted to take it from there. It was hardly a foolproof plan, but she could figure it out with time.

"Arianna told me something interesting when I went to see her," Primrose began as she smoothed out her skirt. "She said a few people around town saw you wandering around on your own when we were last here... They figured out just what you did for them. You did more than just grab leaves to fund our travels. You gave money to the rest of the townsfolk to help them crawl out of the rut Rufus left behind." 

Therion, unsurprisingly, said nothing, but he did close his eyes, and Primrose knew he was listening. She took that as her cue to continue. "I don't think I've seen Arianna looking that happy in years. It was like she was an entirely different person compared to the last time we were here. Everyone in town is feeling better now, as a matter of fact. You must have noticed just how many children were running around when we were near the front of the city. Everybody is in a much better place than they were when we were last in Stillsnow. Even if you don't want to admit to it... I know it's because of you. You couldn't stand to see them suffering, so you did what you could to help them." Primrose offered him a light smile he could hear in her voice at that. "You're a good person, Therion. I'm glad you were there to do something like this for them. I know everyone here needed it."

Therion opened his eyes slowly, and he stared up at the ceiling with a vacant expression that worried Primrose more than she could hope to describe in words. "I don't know if I'd go so far as to say I'm a good person," he muttered under his breath. "That feels a bit extreme."

"What are you talking about?" Primrose asked, her eyes going wide. She had really thought Therion was getting better about opening up to the rest of the group. In fact, she had been sure he was making a difference for himself and others. Sure, it was slow going and was taking a while, but that was how every important development worked. "Of course you're a good person. You gave leaves to the rest of the town out of the goodness of your heart. You could have just taken all the money for yourself, but you made sure the people of Stillsnow would be alright after we left. What about that makes you a bad person?"

"It wasn't just plain altruism, Primrose," Therion countered. "I had a reason for it, and quite frankly, being back in town is making me sick of thinking about it."

Primrose's stomach twisted into a knot at that, and she felt as if the ground was going to swallow her whole and bury her in a matter of seconds. "What are you--"

"I think Rufus was my father," Therion cut in.

Primrose went quiet for a long time before she let out a soft, vulnerable, "oh." The room fell silent once again, and Primrose's mind began to race with a million questions she couldn't even begin to put a finger on. There was just too much in her mind for her to work through, and she couldn't describe any of it. Eventually though, she found the strength to continue. "What makes you say that?"

Therion finally sat up, jerking forward until his elbows rested on his knees. "We have the same skin tone for one, and I can promise you that I did not inherit that from my mother. When I looked at him, it was like I was looking in some kind of distorted mirror. And..." He took a long moment to breathe, the air coming out shaky and hollow. "Given what I know about my mother's history, it makes a bit too much sense for me to be comfortable with ignoring it."

Primrose remained quiet as Therion sighed once again and forced himself to breathe and focus on what he was trying to say. "My mother was always running from something," he admitted softly. "She never told me what. We were poor, and she worked for a noble when I was growing up. She was always looking over her shoulder like she thought someone was going to try and drag her back to wherever she had come from. My father was never in the picture, and I never understood why. Now though..."

"It seems like she was one of the prostitutes under Rufus," Primrose finished for him. "She wound up pregnant with you and fled for the sake of your safety and hers." It made an awful lot of sense even though Primrose really wished that wasn't the case. The thought of everything Rufus had done throughout his time in charge of Stillsnow made her feel sick to her stomach, and that was before she thought it could get any worse. What Therion was saying though... That was certainly a way for it to get worse. 

Therion nodded softly. "I don't think she would have had much of a job after she wound up with child," he went on. "Eventually, the truth has to come out, and she knew that. She left because she knew she wasn't going to be able to get away with hiding it forever. That led to her running away with me, and... She died in service to a noble while trying to make a better life for us both."

"Therion, I'm so sorry," Primrose murmured even though she knew there was nothing she could say that would fix this. How could anyone make this better? "If I had known, I would have given him at least four extra stabs to the chest when he was still alive."

"I didn't figure it out until I saw him," Therion confessed. "You told us all about your mission and why you were there in Sunshade working for Helgenish, and that got me thinking... You couldn't just run since you thought you would be found again. My mother was always acting so shifty and scared like that, and... It made too much sense for me to ignore. I didn't think it would have been because of Rufus until I saw him and realized just how similar we looked though. I had never met him, and looking back... It makes a lot of sense as to why my mother never wanted to travel to the Sunlands or the Frostlands. She knew those were the two most likely places for her to end up caught as a runaway from Rufus' ring."

"I wish I could kill him again," Primrose snarled to herself. "After everything he did to you and the people of Stillsnow... The death he got was too good for him. I don't know how many people he hurt in pursuit of power, but it was far too many. That much I can say with certainty."

"You're right about that," Therion snorted. "I don't know what to do about it either though. How can anyone have a response to something like this? It's so much to think about. I've been debating as to if I should even bring it up for ages. I don't have any conclusive proof as to the two of us being related, but..."

"You still know it to be true," Primrose concluded. "The facts laid out just make it too obvious for you to ignore, and now, you've figured it all out. You didn't even really need him to tell you in order for everything to come together in your mind."

"Exactly," Therion confirmed. "I wish I could kill him again too just for everything my mother went through when she was trying to raise me. She didn't want us to have to become criminals in order to survive, but... She did what she had to in order to keep us afloat. I'm glad she did... And I hope I can honor her memory in some way or another even though she's long gone now."

"That's the reason you passed out the leaves from Rufus' estate to the prostitutes in town," Primrose realized. "You knew you couldn't do anything to help your mother as long as she and Rufus were both dead, so you wanted to do what you could to ensure nobody else wound up in a situation like hers. The best way to do that was to pull them out of poverty to the best of your ability."

"A person wouldn't wind up under the employ of a man like that unless they were well and truly desperate," Therion said. "I knew every single person there must have been like Arianna... They had no other choice if they wanted to survive. Either that or they had been born into it or sold into it. Nobody would do this willingly. They deserved to be able to leave it though, and... It was the best I could do. He had more than enough money to spare, and I know that would have helped my mother out a lot when she was still alive."

Primrose nodded quietly at that, wishing she had something else to say. She stared down at the ground for a long moment before letting her hand crawl a little bit closer to where Therion's was resting on the mattress between them. "If you ever want to do something else to help people who have suffered in her position... I would be happy to help you," she offered softly. "I know it's not much, but I want to do what I can to help you."

Therion was still for a long time before he moved closer to Primrose, passing by her hand to lean his head against her shoulder. It was the most vulnerable Primrose had ever seen him, and more importantly, it was the most he had ever touched anyone for any reason other than necessity. To say Primrose was shocked was a grave understatement, but she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Instead, she just leaned in a bit closer to him, eventually snaking her arm around his shoulders. Therion didn't try to push away from the embrace, instead just relishing in it for as long as he could possibly stand. After all their months of traveling together, Therion finally felt well and truly safe, and Primrose was beyond proud of him for it.

"Thanks, Primrose," Therion whispered into the silence. There were a million other thoughts racing through his mind as he spoke those two words, but he didn't voice any of them. Instead, he just stayed quiet, gladly letting his body press against Primrose's in the longest embrace he had been involved with since his mother's death so many years ago.

Primrose just smiled, allowing her eyes to fall shut. This was everything she had needed too, and she hadn't even realized it until after Therion started to move closer to her. He was happy there with Primrose, and she was glad to be with him too. Whether they wanted to admit it aloud or not, they were family.

Primrose didn't comment on this though, instead simply choosing to enjoy the warmth that came with Therion's body leaning against her own. "You're welcome, Therion."

~~~~~

Night came and went easily enough, and the travelers awoke the next morning with a conclusive plan for what they were going to do next. There had been no objections to the suggestion of the group going to Stonegard next to investigate the human experimentation and to test the herb of grace on Z'aanta's statuesque form. In fact, it had been the easiest decision for the group to make in a while, and after everything they had gone through since arriving in Stillsnow, that was certainly a welcome change.

H'aanit stroked gently at the top of Linde's head as she stood outside the inn waiting for the other travelers to come outside. She knew Linde was going to miss the colder climate of Stillsnow, and she could tell her partner was already sad about having to leave. Linde was shockingly perceptive and knew when the group was planning on departing, and she was seemingly trying to kiss up to H'aanit with hopes that the huntress would give her some extra time to romp in the snow before they left. H'aanit knew they couldn't do that though, so she tried her best to make it up to Linde by petting at the top of her head gently.

H'aanit only pulled her attention away from Linde when she heard footsteps approaching her, and she glanced up to see Susanna and Alaic walking toward her. Susanna's expression was set in a small frown as she watched H'aanit with loose disapproval. "Taking your leave so soon?" she asked. "I had been hoping you would stay in town for at least a short while longer."

H'aanit nodded. "Yes, it is time. I apologize for any burden I may have caused thee." She didn't know what else to say, but she felt an apology was in order at the very least. She knew Susanna must have been shocked to see H'aanit suddenly appear to ask for her help only to take her leave of Stillsnow the very next day. H'aanit would have likely been thrown off her rhythm too if something similar happened to her.

Susanna shook her head with a smile. "My pleasure, dear. There's always room under my roof for my favorite granddaughter. The burden of family is no burden at all." She looked at H'aanit with such love in her eyes that it made the huntress' guilt swell up in her chest all over again. H'aanit hadn't realized Z'aanta was her father until after he had been gone for over a year chasing Redeye. She hadn't been able to tell him how she really felt before he was turned to stone. Susanna was there for her, yes, but H'aanit wished she could explain everything to Z'aanta then and there. She would need to pay him a visit when they got to Stonegard. Even if the herb of grace didn't work, H'aanit wanted to see him again as soon as possible. She needed it, and she wondered if he did too.

"Thanke thee," H'aanit nodded, not wanting to say anything about the emotions sitting hot and horrible in the pit of her chest. She looked to Alaic next, and he watched her back in silence. H'aanit thought back to her conversation with Primrose the previous day and ultimately decided to not say a word about what the dancer had told her. Instead, she just nodded to Alaic stoically. "Looken after her, Alaic."

He seemed shocked that H'aanit had addressed him at all, and he staggered back by a few paces before forcing himself to regain his composure. "You don't have to tell me. That is my duty, and it will be done." It was clear that Alaic had more to say than that, but he didn't voice any of it. Instead, he just looked away, staring holes into the snow at his feet. Behind H'aanit, Primrose arched an eyebrow as if to tell her that she told her so, but H'aanit couldn't see it. The huntress could still feel Primrose watching her, but she said nothing about it. That was a headache she didn't want to deal with in the midst of her departure.

Instead, H'aanit just hummed to herself. "Indeed."

Susanna glanced back and forth between H'aanit and Alaic and let out a small sigh. "H'aanit, dear... For all your cleverness, you are as naive as a babe in the woods," she murmured. H'aanit watched her in muted confusion, so Susanna went on. "You are a pretty girl... If not the beauty I was in my younger days."

H'aanit glanced to Alaic once again, and behind her, Primrose snickered but hid it with her hand. H'aanit still heard the sound though, and she knew she wasn't going to hear the end of this for a long time after she left Stillsnow behind. H'aanit didn't know what to say at the moment though, so she just watched Alaic for a long moment and waited for him to move or do something. 

Alaic continued to look down at the snow, and Susanna smiled knowingly as she continued to speak. "But I will hold you up with my prattle no longer. Go in safety, my dear," she told H'aanit with a bright, boundless smile.

H'aanit nodded, glad to move on from the subject of Alaic's awkwardness toward him even if it was just for the sake of keeping Primrose from teasing her even more after this conversation was over. "Thanke thee," H'aanit said. "When the hunt is done, I shall returnen... And Master with me."

"We shall be waiting for you," Susanna smiled. She put one hand on H'aanit's shoulder and let it slip down the huntress' arm before taking her hands in earnest. "Good luck, H'aanit... We know you can do it."

H'aanit nodded at that, and she turned on her heel toward the entrance of Stillsnow. The rest of the travelers had come out of the nearby inn while she was speaking with Susanna, though she hoped with everything she had that none of them poked too much fun at her for her apparent 'naivety' when it came to speaking with Alaic. Primrose joking around with her for it was more than enough for H'aanit, and she didn't want anyone else to get involved with it.

"To Stonegard," H'aanit declared to the rest of the group. She started walking out into the snow, and the rest of the travelers trailed after her gladly. H'aanit was beyond relieved when nobody else looked at her the way Primrose did, and she prayed with everything she had the dancer at least had a bit of mercy on her in the conversation to come.

As soon as Susanna and Alaic were out of earshot though, Primrose fell into pace at H'aanit's side, her smirk notable across her lips. "What did I tell you?" she began, and H'aanit resisted the urge to groan. "He's clearly interested in you... Though what you do with that is your decision to make from here."

"I am not interested in him," H'aanit gladly told Primrose as soon as the dancer was finished. "I do not believen I have ever been interested in men. The hunt has always been my first priority above all else. If others take issue with that, then they are not meant for me."

Primrose nodded her understanding, though there was still a teasing gleam in her eyes. "I had a feeling you would say that you didn't think much of men," she confessed, and H'aanit hoped with everything she had that the conversation would end there. Unfortunately for her, Primrose kept talking. "In fact, you seemed to imply that when we were last in Stonegard all those weeks ago. I mentioned the charms the men of this world employ, and you barely batted an eyelash in response."

"What of it?" H'aanit questioned with a raised eyebrow. "What does it matter if I hold no interest in men?" She didn't have time for them anyway. That was one reason Primrose's teasing about Alaic made her roll her eyes; even if she did fancy a man, she wouldn't have the time to speak with them as frequently as she would have liked. Nobody had caught her eye in the first place, so why would she bother with entertaining the idea to begin with?

"What do you think of women?" Primrose asked, her lips devolving into a smile of cheerful taunting without missing a beat. "If you care little for men, then perhaps you could find love elsewhere... Such as in the arms of a lovely woman."

That was enough to give H'aanit pause. She opened her mouth to try and respond only to come up short. She pressed her lips together again a moment later. H'aanit had seen others around S'warkii fall in love with those of the same gender, and she was fully familiar with the thought. However, much like her lack of opinions regarding men, H'aanit had never entertained the idea since she didn't want to distract herself from what mattered most to her. 

But as H'aanit thought about it, she realized there may have been a point to what Primrose was saying. In fact, H'aanit would have much preferred to spend her future days with someone like Primrose rather than Alaic. He was a kind man, and H'aanit knew he had a good heart, but they barely knew one another. How could they establish a longterm connection if he was already head over heels for her before she even knew the most basic of facts about him? It didn't make any sense to her. 

"I... I wouldst have to consideren it," H'aanit eventually replied to Primrose. "I must admitten though that spending my days in the company of a woman sounds favorable to living with a man for the rest of my life. Though it would needen to be someone I know I can trusten with all my heart... Someone like you, for example."

Primrose's cheeks went bright pink on the spot, and for a long moment, all she could do was stare at H'aanit. When she managed to get a grip on herself once again, she let out a laugh. "You've certainly got smooth words for someone with supposedly no experience with the loves of others," she murmured. "Imagine that... The two of us spending our lives together... That would be an interesting thought, wouldn't it?"

H'aanit stared at Primrose for a long time, blinking slowly as she waited for Primrose to start calming down. The dancer was surprisingly fidgety, an affliction she had never come down with even in all her time of flirting with men or the sake of getting what she needed out of them. She hadn't cared at all when she danced for Oren to try and convince him to take her to Rufus' manor, and H'aanit had heard she felt nothing when working in Sunshade under Helgenish's employ. All of a sudden though, Primrose was a nervous wreck, and H'aanit wished she could understand why. All she had done was tell the truth. If H'aanit was going to spend her life with someone, she needed it to be a person she already knew and was sure she could rely on. Primrose had been there for her every step of her journey, so how was she not the perfect person for H'aanit to want to settle down with once all was said and done? It was simply a matter of fact. 

"Art thou alright?" H'aanit asked as she took a small step toward Primrose. "Thou hast turned as red as a tomato..." She reached up to press her hand against Primrose's cheek to check for a fever, and the dancer's eyes went wide as she stared up at the huntress with a dropped jaw. She remained still even as H'aanit felt for any changes in her temperature, and when the huntress eventually let her fingers drift to Primrose's forehead, she hummed and pulled her hand back. "Thou dost not feel feverish... Perhaps thou shouldst goen and speaken with Alfyn when possible."

Primrose finally snapped out of her trance at that, and she nodded. "You're right," she agreed. "I should go talk to Alfyn. In fact, I'm going to do that right now before we go to Stonegard." She darted off before H'aanit had the chance to say anything, and the huntress watched her go with confusion written all over her face. She didn't think she had ever seen Primrose look so thoroughly flustered, and she doubted she would ever see the dancer this way again. It was out of character for Primrose even on the best of days, and H'aanit still didn't understand why it was happening in the first place.

Linde butted her head against H'aanit's hand at that, and the huntress looked down at her snow leopard companion before beginning to stroke between her ears. H'aanit was going to have to talk to Primrose later on, perhaps after they arrived in Stonegard. In the meantime, she had to stay focused. The path ahead needed to be her first priority. 

Nearby, H'aanit heard Ophilia snickering, and Alfyn was doing his best to hide his own laughter from behind his hand as he spoke to Primrose. H'aanit turned to address the cleric first and foremost, knowing it wouldn't be right of her to get in the middle of Primrose's conversation with Alfyn. "What?" H'aanit asked. As she posed the question, she realized Tressa also had a bold smirk on her face, and Therion seemed to be resisting the urge to chuckle from beneath his scarf. His expression was a challenge, like he was waiting for H'aanit to figure out what had just happened even though it was clear by the look on her face that she had no idea. 

"Oh, nothing," Ophilia told H'aanit with a dismissive wave of her hand. "We should probably be heading off to Stonegard now anyway. We have a long day of investigating ahead of ourselves once we get there." She turned to face Cyrus with that, unable to hold back her smile. "Let's go, Cyrus."

The scholar nodded, though he admittedly seemed just as confused as H'aanit when it came to the subject of Primrose's sudden brush with flushed cheeks. He decided to not ask anything about it, instead raising the Warp Staff high above his head. Light sparked from the tip of the staff, and it quickly spread around the travelers as the snowy drifts of the Frostlands faded away. 

As the world began to twist and shift around H'aanit, she couldn't help but think about Primrose. She hoped she hadn't made any mistakes in crossing lines with the dancer. She would just have to wait and see when Primrose was feeling well enough to talk to her about it. At least she wasn't sick, though that just left H'aanit all the more confused about what was going on. She could be patient though, and she would wait as long as Primrose needed to. 

After all, was that not what friends did for one another?

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And so ends the second arc in Stillsnow and H'aanit's chapter three! Woohoo!

Ironically, this chapter didn't focus much on H'aanit at all. If anything, it was a step into Primrose's mind. She talked with Therion about the Rufus situation at long last... Yeah, that's been a long time coming. Over seventy chapters, as a matter of fact. Wow. Rufus is Therion's father, and it's been confirmed now. He's not as miserable about it as one would have expected though, and we have the rest of the group to thank for that. They're here to ground him, and they're happy to fill that position for him. Primrose is the one who steps up here since the two of them initially bonded in a distant way over their emotional issues. It's what they deserve, especially since they were the two travelers most influenced by Rufus' life and death.

The second half of the chapter is the official ending of H'aanit's chapter three... And it expands a bit more on Primrose's travel banter with H'aanit from earlier in the chapter. I couldn't help myself. I think it's perfect for them. Primrose is good at flirting with people, but when push comes to shove, she's awful at taking that affection in return. She gets incredibly embarrassed about it, and I think that's the funniest possible way she could have reacted. It's perfect for her... Even if it leaves poor H'aanit incredibly confused. 

Next up, we're going to dive into Cyrus' chapter three. Until then, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day, everyone!

-Digital