[CENTER][h1][color=B3ADAB][b]CATHERINE CORIANDER[/b][/color][/h1][/center][hr]“Ahhh…” Cicely mumbled, eyes wandering around Tune Town as he took mental note the damages from Burnet and Peppermint’s battle. A number of townsfolk went about tidying up in the light of sunset, piling up wood branches and brushing over blasted dirt. Glancing over to the local diner, he let out a low sigh with a smile on his face. “It is what it is.”

Sitting with her hood over her head, Peppermint munched on a piece of toast, the girl’s first food in hours. Burnet sat across from her with an ice pack on his forehead, his posture slouched in fatigue. They were joined only by Coriander, Verbena, Rue, Sorrel, and Cassia, but Peppermint’s hood was no doubt raised to keep her from being too keenly aware of wandering eyes.

Hand on Peppermint’s back, Coriander asked, [color=B3ADAB]“It’s okay, no one’s mad, Pepper. A little irritated maybe, but that’ll pass! You guys didn’t do [i]too[/i] much damage.”[/color]

“Hnnnnn.” Burnet groaned. Peppermint looked away, Burnet replying, “It’s fine, I’m old, everything hurts all the time already.” Lifting up the ice pack and turning an eye on the other kids, he said, “You guys aren’t going to freak out around me anymore, right? We’re good?” The kids were quiet. Burnet reiterated, “We’re [b]good[/b]?” Heads bobbed up and down, de-synced but in unison all the same.

Coriander offered, [color=B3ADAB]“See? It’s okay to be a little bad sometimes.”[/color] She patted Peppermint on the head. [color=B3ADAB]“It all turned out okay!”[/color]

Overhearing a snippet of conversation regarding fixing damages, Peppermint mumbled, “Um...there’s some stuff in my house that I broke and I didn’t tell anyone.”

“My dad and mom can help!” Cassia burst out.

Rue pouted, “I wanna break stuff too!”

Coriander snapped, [color=B3ADAB]“It’s not like Peppermint wants to break stuff! I take it back: you specifically are never allowed to be bad.”[/color]

Rue grinned. “I’ve never been bad in my whole life ever.”

As she was showered in gazes of doubt, Peppermint frowned, lowering her food. Noticing, Coriander whispered, [color=B3ADAB]“What’s wrong?”[/color]

Peppermint was quiet for a moment, before beginning, “Sometimes when you guys are making fun of me I wanna hit you, but I know I can’t do that. What if something happens like today and I hurt you guys? I could, I could-”

“It’s fine! It doesn’t even hurt any more!” Verbena claimed. Sorrel gave him a look, before grabbing at his finger, Verbena scowling as he kept it out of arms reach. Jabbing an elbow into Sorrel’s chest, the boy backed off. He added, “Some of us deserve a good smack or two.”

“Bleck,” Sorrel gagged, massaging his ribs.

Peppermint frowned. [color=B3ADAB]“Well the problem with that is that you might, you know, die.”[/color] Peppermint nodded.

Rue said, “Old man Burnet didn’t die and he’s [i]old[/i].” Burnet shot her a look, but didn’t follow up.

[color=B3ADAB]“If you end up in a full body cast you won’t be able to do anything for like, ever,”[/color] Coriander pointed out.

Rue thought for a moment before turning to Peppermint, mouth open with a smile. Cassia reached over and pressed her cheeks together, preventing any words from coming out. Rue talked over their scuff, “I wasn’t gonna say anything bad!”

Not believing her for a second, Coriander suggested, “Maybe you do need a smack…” Peppermint pouted.

As the group quieted down again, Verbena began, “Coriander, I wanna go to Fishman Island one day, for real.”

Coriander stared. [color=B3ADAB]“Buh?”[/color]

Sorrel mumbled, “But you said you didn’t.”

“That was [i]you[/i].”

“...Oh yeah.”

Verbena continued, “When Mrs. Poppy was patching me up, I was thinking about how the adventurers were treating the fish people like monsters. Maybe they are weird and different, but Peppermint is different and she’s still my friend. I don’t wanna let some other guy decide what I think about the fishfolk: I wanna meet them for myself.”

[color=B3ADAB]“Verbena...”[/color] Coriander mumbled, impressed with the normally mean spirited young boy.

Peppermint’s eyes flashed with tears, the girl putting down her last bit of food and dropping down from her seat. Running to the other side of the table, she pulled Verbena into a hug. Verbena kept quiet for a few seconds but he did gag out, “Pepper...you’re...hugging...too...hard.” Peppermint gasped, releasing her hold, Verbena splaying out on the table. While Peppermint started to panic, Verbena sat up. “Just kidding~”

There was a bout of laughter, Peppermint managing a smile. She looked to Coriander, wondering, “Are you going to go too?”

Coriander thought for a moment, but she really didn’t need to. She smiled, [color=B3ADAB]“We’ll go one day when you’re all big!”[/color]

As the kids continued chattering, Burnet sat back and took it all in. The young Verbena choosing to go to Fishman Island, Peppermint staying true to her insistence on being a Marine, and Coriander playing no small part in trying to guide these young folk.

He recalled her words, those of letting the Devil walk freely. He’d heard them before, naturally. Faith wasn’t exactly absent in the Marines by any stretch. But there had been more to the saying: He who lets the Devil walk freely is no better, but he who lets others face the Devil alone is also wicked. Burnet had finally moved into action, but he was only pushed there by Coriander, and now he sat amongst this little miracle. Miracles only happened when people moved into action, after all.