She laughs. "I suppose we are, too, with side hunts like this."

"Already discovering common ground."

The wolf continues pacing.

"You're quite positive you don't want a fight, then?"

"It seems unlikely to be productive."

"Awww. I suspect fighting you would be fun, though I would rather not turn our alts against us..."

To Shade, "What do you think, darling?"

"I think friendly alts with foreign magic could be useful."

"Something our ultimate prey won't be expecting, certainly."

She laughs.

To their alts: "Very well. We won't fight you. Will you come with us, though? I suspect there's much to discuss."

"We don't seem to have any other plans going."

"Perhaps not. We will go at your pace, then - perhaps not back to the full gathering yet, though... I know a small clearing near here that would be a more pleasant locale." And easier for her to secure.

"Very well."

She turns her wolf, padding off through the forest. There's sounds of the Hunt in the distance - some pursuit or another, some celebration of a victory or licking of wounds over an escaped prey will be going on all day. They have quite a bit of time.

The clearing is cool and sunny and mossy, scattered with stones at a good height for sitting on. The Yew Queen doesn't bother with any of those, instead sprawling against her wolf as is her wont.

"I'm quite interested in your stories - all of yours. But it'd be quite rude, to demand a tale without giving one of my own," she says, smirking. "Still... Both of you seem, to my eyes, to be Heartful, if strange ones - do Heartless and Heartful, as magical categories, mean anything to you?"

"They do not. It is quite rare that magical systems repeat between worlds."

"Then I suppose I'll start there. It's at the root of a lot, after all."

"Our world has two sorts of people - fairies, who are born Heartless, and humans, who are born Heartful. The Heartless are incapable of forming attachments of any sort. They can feel joy, frustration, pain... But it's immensely fleeting, and the emotions rooted in attachment - love, sorrow, grief - are utter strangers to them. The Heartful, on the other hand, form attachments rather easily. The source of the joy, the pain, matters as much as anything, and our emotions are rather more enduring."

"Each sort of person has their own magic. The Heartless use artifacts, which are made from whole or broken hearts. The magic scales with the size of the stolen heart. The Heartful use their own hearts for strength, and can do - anything they care enough about, really. The Heartful can't use artifacts safely - doing so breaks their heart, which is usually fatal - but I find I prefer Heartful magic."

"It's possible to move between the two states. The Heartful can have their hearts stolen, or, usually, can reject their heart. The Heartless can steal hearts - or apparently be granted them - and place a stolen heart in their own chest."

"Being Heartful has its own risks, though. Some things - certain magics, intense grief - can break a heart in its owners chest. For the ex-Heartless, the death of whoever they stole their heart from risks doing this, too. This is called the Harrowing. Most Harrowed die. Many who survive come out of it Heartless. Some emerge Heartful - but usually unable to use certain magics on themselves. I've generally found how you emerge from the Harrowing is mostly a matter of conviction."

"There's some visual distinction - anyone Heartless is entirely drained of color, them and all their possessions. Those born Heartful look much like you. The Heartful who were once Heartless - do not. Some have unusual coloring. For most of us, the intensity of our coloration rises with the capacity of our hearts. I've even heard it's possible to become accidentally Heartless if you stop caring for long enough."

"Both Shade and I were originally Heartless fairies. I've been Heartful for centuries. It's been a bit over a year, for her. I chose to be Heartful - I'd always been miserable Heartless - but she didn't. While she was collecting hearts for her artifacts, a rather annoying old man forced a heart into her chest. I ran across her a few months ago, on one of my Hunts, and we've been hunting him down to kill him ever since."

"Hm. What you call Heartful is the norm among other worlds. Though without the magic or risk of having your heart literally broken."

"Interesting. Here most people are Heartless, largely because fairies invented cities and such first."

"That would do it."

"The Heartless are dreadfully boring. I've been picking at their edges, trying to get more Heartful in the world overall, but, well - I'm a match for any hundred Heartless, not for an army, and arranging agricultural logistics is even more boring."

"It doesn't play to your strengths."

"I might help that girl you found - September? - with her revolution. That seems like my speed. But, yes, I'm not at all a farmer."

To the visitors: "Would you two be interested in helping us? At the very least with hunting our current prey - overthrowing a regime is a rather different and more delicate matter."

"It seems we're doomed to find no relaxing peace, But killing one man might serve. At least in comparison to regime change." She turns to Mora. "What do you think?"

"Seems Hisame's style of vacation. Could be fun, though."

"Is that a yes?"

"I think so."

"It is - we'll help your hunt."

"Thank you."