The Princess's Feathers

The Ringtailed Princess stared at the paper, her tail lashing.

“Fucking hell,” Lucy mumbled to herself. “It says here, ‘98% of Lemurs are still threatened with extinction, and 31% are critically endangered.’ Those numbers are unchanged since last year’s World Lemur Day. It seems none of you have done enough to save Lemurs.”

An uncomfortable murmur rolled through the crowd of Sarlanians. Despite none of them being present to witness last year’s World Lemur Day special bonus chapter in Ellyntide, they nonetheless felt a pang of guilt. Their Princess was upset, after all. And the Lemurs from the miserable human world were no more safe.

It was a bright, sunny day in autumn. Across the Chateau, a crowd had gathered to—

“Now, just wait a darn-tootin minute!"

…Wait, what?

Princess Asha, now reunited with her Lemur form, rested her hands against her hips and glowered. “The Chateau? Do you mean the one in Sarlain? We haven’t yet reached that part of the story, omnipresent narrator voice!”

Oh.

Well, it’s going to be a little while until the novel starts up again, ya’ know? So, what I thought I’d do was—

“But that’s a spoiler,” Calypso interjected. “Nobody clicked this chapter to see spoilers about what happens next. They came here to find out how to save Lemurs!”

The main characters of The Princess’s Feathers, gathered today at Ť̴̺̟̫͇̻̙̏̆̆́̚͘͝ͅH̶̡̛͉͓͉̜̘̞̙͚̝̘̐̓̊̅̓̀͒̈́͋̋̕͘͝Ẹ̵͉̱̲̩̭̻̲̠̈̿̑̒́̌̀͑͆͐͛̈́͝ ̸̧̫̬̤̦̩̺̠̦̟̜̜͆̌͂̈̈́͑̏̀̃͘͝C̵̞̳͈̜̲̣͈̣̫̳̯̫̦̱̝͛̅̄̇̇̌̂̌̍̐̃͆̚͠H̷̗̙̗͐͐A̵̡͇̦̪͊͂̑́̂̈́̈͐͌̈́͘T̵̨̡̢̞̫͉̺̤̘̹̖͕̭̫͔̗̃͂̈́̈́́̌͊̓̈͑̕̚͝͝Ę̸̟̩̰͕̬̙̣̯̘͐̄̈͆̉̈̓̂́̿̉͊͘̚Ą̴̜͎̈̎U̷̦͕͖̝̓̊͋́ͅ and all quite sure of themselves, nodded and passed around a murmur of agreement. As it were, the setup of the chapter was quite similar to the setup of the last Lemur Day chapter, wherein Queen Kelani compelled a crowd of Ellyntidians to learn about Lemurs (in the garden of the Lordanou Palace, no less!) This chapter WAS going to take place at the equivalent location in Sarlain, but it seemed none of the main characters of The Princess’s Feathers were interested in learning about all of the cool new stuff happening in the next phase of the story. What a shame!

“That’s not to say we aren’t interested,” Duncan clarified. “I would rather like to know if, like, I’m still alive after that blow to the head. But this isn’t the time for that. This is the time for Lemurs.”

“Yeah!!” Kuro said, fluttering her wings in excitement. “Did you know Lemurs get high by rubbing millipede secretions over their bodies? I didn’t! That’s pretty neat!”

“HEY!!” a voice squawked. “Did you peek at the script? Kuro, you miserable cunt! That’s a spoiler!!”

At once, everyone assembled turns their attention to the area just beyond your mind’s eye, a space where a gathering of characters who hadn’t yet appeared in the story were watching with guarded expressions.

“Eh?” Asha croaked, staring at the feathered character. “Is that really a spoiler? I don’t become addicted to drugs, do I?”

Another unseen newcomer joined the conversation, this one more soft-spoken. “Well, no. But it does get brought up a few times in your presence.”

“Can we please get on with our presentation?” Lucy asked, speaking into her microphone.

“No objections from me,” another unseen character rasped. “We are quite good on time.”

“Alright, then.” Lucy rearranged the papers at her lectern, situating herself back in her prepared presentation. Lucy opened her muzzle and spoke into the microphone at the capital city of Sarlain, which shall not be described in any more detail lest we receive a verbal berating from the cast of the Princess’s Feathers. Look, I’m sorry, but you’re just going to have to use your imagination on—

“Cut it out,” Keuvra growled.

…

…

…

Oh, fine.

“Right,” Lucy said, tapping her papers impatiently. “Lemurs are members of superfamily Lemuroidea. They are small primates, ranging in size from the diminutive mouse Lemurs to the noisy, singing Indri. Some fun facts about Lemurs include the toothcomb they possess for grooming,” The Ringtailed Princess paused, opening her muzzle to display the toothcomb along her lower row of teeth. “A second tongue called a sublingua is used to clean the tooth comb.” The Princess paused again to demonstrate the fact to the audience. “Additionally, Lemurs are efficient distributors of seed, which helps the rainforest in light of illegal deforestation.”

“It would seem Lemurs are quite peculiar creatures,” Grith mused, standing alongside the other characters from Rowan Silver’s Wyrmrealm.

“Aren’t Lemurs only found on the island of Madagascar?” Pret asked.

“That’s right,” Lucy answered. “Of the over 100 species of Lemuridae, all are extant in the small island nation. They do not exist anywhere else in the realm.”

“And that’s why protecting Lemurs is so important,” Alika nodded. “If they disappear from Madagascar, they’ll become extinct in the wild. We can’t allow that to happen!”

“Extinct?” Tarka squeaked. “You mean, they’ll be gone? Forever?”

Nakino solemnly nodded. “Even the most powerful chronomancer with all the shimmer in the realm couldn’t save them.”

Tarka’s eyes darted between the Southerns, his expression cold. “That’s… really, Grith? Not even you?”

Grith frowned and dolefully lowered her gaze. The power to restore a species was beyond even her considerable skill.

“No…” Tarka trailed off in disbelief. “I… I can’t accept this. Lemurs can’t go extinct, not a single one! I’m going to do everything I can to save Lemurs!!”

“Fucking hell!” Lucy yelled, slamming her fist against the podium. “That’s the enthusiasm I want to see!”

Tarka leaped forward, his wings spread wide. “From this day forward, I will be the savior of all Lemurkind! Just wait!! As soon as Princess Lucy finishes her speech, I’m taking the greater gate straight to the human world!”

“The human world?!” Alika gasped. “TARKA, NO!”

“And I’m going to help him!” Arit declared, appearing suddenly in a flash of bronze light.

“ARIT, NO!!!” everyone screamed.

“Arit?!” Pret squealed, his gamer socks nearly flying off his legs in shock. “What are you doing here?! You can’t help Tarka!!”

“Oh, please,” Arit scoffed with a dismissive flap of his tattered black wings. “Dear Tarka may possess boundless enthusiasm, but he’ll need the help of a native to succeed in his pursuits. Among most places on Earth, I am quite familiar with Madagascar.”

“Really?!” Tarka’s face beamed like a happy Sifaka. He bounded before the larger Southern, eager to follow his every command.

“Oh, yes,” Arit smiled. “I spent some time researching the island just last year.”

“Research?” Grith echoed, her trepidation thick. “Arit, what are you—“

“And when it comes to Lemurs,” Arit continued, talking over his cousin. “Well, I met many there and became quite fond of the crowned sifakas. Such precious, small morsels of black, brown, and cream-colored fur. If I didn’t already have a contingent of Ravens at my disposal, then I would recruit them for my nefarious deeds!”

“Whoa, hey!!” Snow exclaimed, her three tails fluttering as she bounded between the two Dragons. “Are you guys going to the human world to save Lemurs?”

“That’s right,” Arit proudly nodded.

“Oh, hi Snow! Are you going to help us, too?” Tarka asked, enthusiasm brimming his voice.

“You bet!” Snow exclaimed, bouncing in excitement. “I’ve never visited Earth before! If I get to go there AND save Lemurs, then count me in!”

“I guess I’ll join too,” Lilith shrugged, wiggling her way into the newly formed party.

“Wonderful!” Arit purred, surveying his band of merry Dragons. “With the four of us together, those who harm Lemurs won’t stand a chance!”

“Stand a chance?” Asha echoed.

“Arit?” Grith approached the newly formed group, a firmness like steel to her voice. “What are you planning to—“

Suddenly and somewhat expectedly, the group of Lemur Heroes disappeared from Ť̴̺̟̫͇̻̙̏̆̆́̚͘͝ͅH̶̡̛͉͓͉̜̘̞̙͚̝̘̐̓̊̅̓̀͒̈́͋̋̕͘͝Ẹ̵͉̱̲̩̭̻̲̠̈̿̑̒́̌̀͑͆͐͛̈́͝ ̸̧̫̬̤̦̩̺̠̦̟̜̜͆̌͂̈̈́͑̏̀̃͘͝C̵̞̳͈̜̲̣͈̣̫̳̯̫̦̱̝͛̅̄̇̇̌̂̌̍̐̃͆̚͠H̷̗̙̗͐͐A̵̡͇̦̪͊͂̑́̂̈́̈͐͌̈́͘T̵̨̡̢̞̫͉̺̤̘̹̖͕̭̫͔̗̃͂̈́̈́́̌͊̓̈͑̕̚͝͝Ę̸̟̩̰͕̬̙̣̯̘͐̄̈͆̉̈̓̂́̿̉͊͘̚Ą̴̜͎̈̎U̷̦͕͖̝̓̊͋́ͅ in a flash of bronze light. Indeed, in the time that had passed, they had already proceeded to the nearest greater gate to begin their journey to Earth and brutally— er, I mean, work within the confines of the law to save Lemurs.

Pret stared, blinking at the spot where Arit used to be. “Fweghing…”

“I have a very bad feeling about this,” Grith remarked, her talons turning inwards.

“Yeah…” Alika trailed off, anxiety weighing against her wings. “Will Tarka be alright?”

I’m sure he will! Arit is powerful, and Tarka has a promising future ahead of him.

“Could you like, cut that out already, Ansila?” Pret asked, staring at the sky.

I can’t, and I won’t.

“This is really getting out of hand,” Lucy sighed, dragging her hand down her face.

Oh, come on! I don’t pick just any web serial audience to communicate with telepathically, you know? They should consider themselves incredibly privileged!

“Alright, look,” Lucy said, staring into your mind’s eye. “Enough of this nonsense. World Lemur Day is today. Please consider donating to a reputable organization such as the Duke Lemur Center, Lemur Conservation Network, or The Madagascar Fauna and Flora Group. The situation is dire, but hope isn’t lost. Don’t listen to the black-pilled defeatists who peddle biosphere collapse as an inevitability! If we all work together, then we CAN save Lemurs!”

“Preferably before Arit and Tarka,” Dunc added, tugging his shirt collar.

“Here, here,” Kelani said, raising a gin and tonic before immediately demolishing it.

“T-Thanks, Mother,” Asha sighed uncomfortably.

And so, the assembled characters from the Princess’s Feathers and the Wyrmrealm resolved to help Lemurs in their own way. Nakino spoke at the Grandfather tree about the importance of Lemurs, while Kelani re-instilled last year’s speech in a Kingdom-wide radio address. Alika did some stuff on Tasien that would be a massive spoiler, but Dragons of Frost and Fang hasn’t been released at the time of this chapter’s publishing, so too bad. Pret began selling a line of gamer socks with Lemurs on them. Yeah, he really is that committed to the bit.

“Awh,” a teal-scaled Dragon sighed offstage. “Everyone goes on to do such nice stuff to help Lemurs. I wanted to join Arit and Tarka on Earth but couldn’t go because my book hasn’t been released yet! It’s not fair! I heard they have some great music in that realm!”

“Perhaps you could cheer yourself up by singing about Lemurs,” Asha suggested.

“That’s a great idea!” the teal-scaled Dragon exclaimed, uncoiling themselves. “OHHHHHHH! LEMURS ARE GREAT, AND LEMURS ARE FUN, THERE’S SO MANY THINGS THAT THEY HAVE DONE! LEMURS!! LEMURS!! I LOVE LEMURS!!!”

“Fucking hell,” Lucy sighed, uncorking a bottle of whiskey. “Please don’t make me do this again next year. Help Lemurs!!”