Chapter Text
Haru, with help from Leaf, places the last of what they could find with the rest of the dryads they were working with. She then sighs and sits on a bench as the food is taken inside to be properly stored. Leaf then sits next to her and holds her plush close to her.
“Thanks for helping me out,” Haru says groggily, “I’m still working on getting better after all of that.”
“Of course,” Leaf smiles.
The two sit there, taking in the sunlight and the scents of the garden. Not a cloud in the sky, either.
But that’s a given, since they’re so high up that the clouds are beneath them.
Except for the fact that there is a plume of smoke in the distance. Out of concern, Leaf stands up and goes over to investigate. Not wanting to be left alone, Haru struggles to her feet and follows the girl.
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Leaf is quickly taken aback when he finds the source of the flames. She starts to wonder how nobody else had noticed the fire until she sees some of the employees in the castle rushing to fight the fire, but quickly getting very sick from the fumes. Leaf starts to cough, too, and is caught by Haru before she can collapse. The two get closer to the ground, trying to shield their faces from the smell.
She tries to speak, “Haru. We need to find more help. Quick.”
“You go. I’ll try to support the others here however I can,” Haru replies, crawling on her elbows towards the others.
“Are you crazy?! After just barely recovering from poisoning, you’re going to-?!”
“Go. You’re small and fast enough to find help quickly.”
Leaf hesitates, but decides that every second she spends thinking about it is a second that could’ve been used to get help. Although she doesn’t want to leave Haru behind, she turns and runs off in search of someone who can help.
She runs as fast as her little legs can carry her. Eventually, she finds herself inside and spots Dracula and Ren. She runs to them as fast as she can, tripping on her own feet but quickly getting back up. Without saying anything, she grabs Dracula and Ren’s hands and tries to drag them with her. The two exchange glances and, after Dracula scoops up Leaf into his arms, make a run with guidance from Leaf.
Dracula promptly sets Leaf down and gets the basics from the nearest dryad, who is visibly burned. He nods at her and sends the other injured to the medical wing with orders to send any available water-based employees to him. He personally doesn’t have much that will stop the burning remains of the smokehouse, but he won’t let it stop him from controlling the flames as best he can until he finally has backup. He coughs for a moment and realizes there’s more oleander that’s currently burning, and he orders his backup to be careful. “Don’t breathe in the smoke if you can help it! Leaf, if you still have those poison-curing fruits, provide them to those who need it!”
Leaf holds her bag tight and, with help from Ren, provides support for the monsters helping fight the fire.
Mudmen fight to smother the flames without getting hurt themselves, while Rock Armors crumble their own boulders to provide their allies with more ammunition to work with.
Witches and their apprentices conjure as much water as they can while avoiding poisoning.
Fish-men and Tritons do the bulk of the management, but given how fast fire spreads, it’s almost not enough.
Ren decides he has to do something, and he weighs his options.
He shouts as loud as he can, “Metatron!”
Dracula turns and sees Ren preparing a spell, and he calls out to his forces, “Fall back! Fall back!”
“Ice Age!”
For a moment, all is silent and still while the ice completely chokes out the flames and eliminates the chance to inhale oleander fumes.
The vampire barely has a moment of relief before he realizes some didn’t make it outside of the spell’s radius, and he speeds forward, trying to save the remaining dryads from a frozen grave. Ren looks around and realizes Haru isn’t near them.
“Oh no… no, no, no! Haru?!” He races to Dracula, trying to dig his way into the permafrost he made.
Dracula only steps aside, with his mouth ever so slightly open. As if he knows what’s going to happen.
“Haru!” Ren cries out in desperation.
Dracula silently moves the ice and wood out of the way and watches as Haru is pulled out of the pile.
Ren lies her on her back and tries to perform chest compressions, nearly everything in his power to wake her up.
Leaf looks up at Dracula and notices the look on his face. Then she looks at Ren, crying over Haru, quietly begging her to wake up.
“Ren,” Dracula starts, only to find himself unable to say anything else.
“Can you save her?” Ren asks, trying to keep his voice steady. “Please, tell me you can save her.”
“I don’t know what to tell you. This was a freak accident that I accept responsibility for. I’m sorry. She was dead when I reached what’s left of the smokehouse.”
“No. No, you’re lying to me, right?”
“Ren. As much as I wish I was lying, I’m not. I’m sorry.”
Ren breaks down into tears and hugs Dracula tightly. Though surprised that he chose to do this, Dracula only hugs Ren back. Not even knowing what killed her.
Ren’s legs start to buckle a bit in his grief, and Dracula quietly kneels on the ground before someone gets hurt.
He only looks up at Leaf and instructs her, “Tell the others what happened. Please.”
“Okay,” Leaf agrees, “I’ll try.”
“That’s all I can ask.”
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Leaf runs off a bit and finds Morgana first, meowing and looking for someone. “Mona?” she asks.
“Leaf?” Morgana quickly replies, “Where’s Ren? And why do you smell like smoke?”
“Morgana, I have something to tell you,” Leaf admits, kneeling on the ground.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Haru. She and I found the smokehouse on fire, and she… died. We don’t know what killed her, either. It could be the oleander-infested wood, maybe the actual smoke, it could’ve been the Ice Age Ren used to stop it.”
“My god… I… don’t know how to feel about this. Obviously, it’s upsetting, but I can’t help but feel comforted by the fact that she died trying to help people. I think it’s what she would’ve wanted.”
“Ren isn’t taking it well, though. He’s near what’s left of the smokehouse, with Dracula.”
“I’ll be there.”
“Okay. I’ll let the other two know.”
The two briefly hug and go their separate ways.
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Leaf finds Ann and Ganondorf in the kitchen. Ann had since finished grinding spices, and Ganondorf is nearly finished with processing the hunts. She speaks up a bit, “Hey.”
Ann and Ganondorf both look at Leaf.
Ann is the first to respond, “Hey? Is everything ok?”
“It’s Haru. She and I found the smokehouse on fire and…”
“Did you manage to put it out?” Ganondorf asks, leaning forward a bit.
“We did… but… Haru didn’t make it. We don’t know what killed her, though.”
“That’s…” Ganondorf stops to think, “unfortunate. She didn’t really deserve to die. Especially the way she did.”
“Ren is a disaster about it. He used an ice age to stop the fire, and I think he blames himself a bit.”
“I’ll be right there,” Ann announces, standing up. “Better than watching rabbits be cut up.”
“You could’ve left at any time when you were done grinding spices,” Ganondorf exasperates as she leaves.
Leaf looks at the floor and sits closer to Ganondorf, not wanting to be alone. She very quickly falls asleep while he finishes working.
He notices the girl asleep next to him and delicately picks her up to place her on a bench after removing his gloves. He removes the Hylian cloak he had stolen earlier and drapes it over her, and then starts cleaning up his mess. The employees still in the kitchen start on storing the meat and sending skins to be processed for use as cloth.