Chapter Text
Dear esteemed guests,
You are cordially invited to join us for a Harvest Celebration at the Abbey. Refreshments will be provided, and there will be entertainment by local groups, including our own popular folk band! We hope to see you on the thirtieth evening of October, to give thanks for this year's bountiful produce!
Preparations were well underway for the Harvest festival at the Abbey, but as the final produce was being brought in from the fields, the seeds of discontent were being sowed between Swiss and Mountain. The pair were doing their very best to avoid each other – made difficult by their shared sleeping arrangements – and hoping to dodge the conversation they both knew was coming. It was unavoidable; they knew they had to talk about the events of the previous night at the tavern in the nearby village. The night of the kiss. That didn't stop them from doing all they could to avoid that, though.
The liquor had been freely flowing, Mountain had reasoned. Plied with free drinks by exuberant locals and buoyed up by the ghouls’ music, all of them had indulged more than usual. Even Aether, usually the most stoic and sensible among the pack, had trundled his way back to the Abbey chortling away to his new friend, Cowbell. Swiss had let loose, finally letting the stresses and responsibilities of the previous weeks fall from his shoulders, and Mountain had been over the moon to see him back to his usual happy self.
Some time after his fifth drink, Mountain had lost count. He felt floaty and happy, gravitating towards the multi ghoul who was the one true focus of his attentions. His music project with Copia had gotten off to a roaring start, and the delight in his eyes made them positively gleam. Even sober, Mountain didn’t think he could have resisted their golden glow. They pulled him in, like falling into treacle, and before he was aware of making the decision, his feet had carried him across the tavern floor to press close to his side. Swiss melted against him, celebrating in the way he deserved to. They had barely separated the rest of the evening, dancing, swaying, stuck to each other like magnets.
Mountain couldn’t remember who moved to close the final gap between them, but surrounded by the raucous noise of his pack and the patrons of the pub, he found himself falling forward until his lips pressed firmly against Swiss’. The multi ghoul pressed back against him with a fervour born of weeks of restraint, neither caring about the chaos surrounding them or the bitter taste of beer that lingered in each other’s mouths.
The time between that moment and the pair leaving the tavern could have been minutes or hours for all Mountain knew. He only became aware of his surroundings again as the pair were being bundled into Cowbell’s horse and cart, the ghoul silently but good-naturedly guiding the rowdy, inebriated pack back up the hill and the few miles to the Abbey. Tripping over themselves as they tried to step down to solid ground without detaching their mouths, the two tall ghouls stumbled apart before staggering after the others in the direction of the Den, arms around each other’s waists and giggling to themselves.
Falling into bed hadn’t led anywhere, Mountain didn’t think. He barely remembered taking his shoes off even, before they both fell asleep. Swiss had clearly done something similar; his boots lying strewn in opposite corners of the room the next morning. As Mountain awoke to a pounding headache and a mouth that felt as dry as the desert, he was hit with a feeling of regret like a brick to the back of his head. What if Swiss hadn’t meant to kiss him back? He shuddered at the thought. What if it was just the alcohol?
Ignoring the swirling of the world around his head, he turned to look for Swiss. The multi ghoul was still sound asleep, looking as dead to the world as he always did in the mornings. The guilt wracked Mountain again, and he knew then that he couldn’t be here when Swiss woke – what if he couldn’t stand to see him right now? He suppressed a nauseous groan from moving, and crawled out of bed. The Harvest festival was tonight, and there was undoubtedly more work than he could imagine that still needed to be done for it. Hopefully if he wasn’t still here when Swiss woke, he wouldn’t be as mad at him.
A while after Mountain had left the room, careful to close the door as quietly as possible and with his warm spot in the bed beginning to cool in his absence, Swiss started to wake up. His head felt like a herd of wild boar had used it as a football, but as the memories came flooding back, he couldn’t find it in himself to care. Mountain had kissed him. Well, he thought it was that way around. One moment he had been staring at Mountain’s green eyes, blazing with exhilaration and joy, and the next they had been kissing each other like the world was ending. Swiss felt his headache begin to abate just at the thought. He groped around the mattress, searching for the Earth ghoul to continue what sleep and alcohol had presumably interrupted.
Nothing. His hands fumbled around in empty sheets and blankets, never colliding with the warm, firm body of Mountain. That could surely only mean one thing. Swiss bolted upright, the sudden wave of fear combining with the ensuing head-rush almost making him vomit. Nothing. Mountain wasn’t anywhere in the room. The brightness of the sunlight pouring in only added to his nausea as Swiss stumbled towards the bathroom in search of water.
Mountain must regret everything, Swiss decided. Why else would he leave? He must hate him for ruining their friendship. Swiss groaned, splashing more cold water on his face. As much as he wanted to hide in the room forever, lounging in his own misery, there was still a festival to get ready for and one which he was expected to help with the preparations for. That ought to keep Mountain distracted all day too, he supposed: the earth ghouls were due to be especially busy. That was at least until the evening, when they would all be allowed to join in the festivities and celebrate their own successful harvest throughout the year, drinking the blackberry wine, dancing to music…
Music. Swiss felt his heart sink even further. They were supposed to be playing tonight too, hadn’t Copia said as much, several times, last night? Swiss allowed himself one last groan of self-pity, before wandering back into the bedroom to get dressed. There was no chance of him avoiding Mountain it seemed, so he would have to take the harder option: talking to him. Swiss resolved to do his very best to put things right between them: he might have ruined their chances of ever being mates, but hopefully he could lay the groundwork for them remaining friends.
Mountain meanwhile was spiralling. The festival preparations were boring and monotonous for all of the ghouls involved, but to make things worse he had been put on hay bale duty. Hauling the heavy, prickly blocks into position for makeshift dividers and benches was doing nothing to help his pounding headache and queasy stomach, but he tried to distract himself with the task. It was all to no avail however; and soon he was back to catastrophising about all the ways he had messed up his relationship with Swiss. The longer he stayed away, stewing in his own thoughts, the more another competing fear snuck in – what if Swiss understood that a drunken mistake was just that, but was now angry he hadn't stuck around to apologise? There was no way for him to win against his own mind, and all the worst-case-scenarios continued to bombard him as he worked.
When he next took a break from hauling hay, he spotted Delphinia setting out the small and intricately carved wooden cups they were to serve their famed blackberry wine in later. He felt his mouth watering at the thought, having been told by several earth ghouls that the wine was the true highlight of the festival, but shook his head to himself. Not tonight. He hated to miss out on what was apparently a well-loved an Abbey tradition, but it was more important that he remain clear-headed to talk to Swiss. If he gave him a chance to do so, of course.
Mountain sighed deeply. How could everything have gone so topsy-turvey in the last few hours? He'd been so close to talking to Swiss, finally asking him to be his after so long of wanting, and now they were further away from that than they had possibly ever been before. Kicking at a stone angrily, he watched it skitter across the gravel path before stuttering to a halt as it hit a bump. If that didn't feel like a metaphor for his own life right now...
Back in the Den, Swiss crawled into the common room, eyes squinted shut against the late morning light. He was met, to his surprise, not by any of his pack but by the sight of Cowbell passed out on the couch, snoring. Swiss didn't think he'd ever seen them look so casual before, one arm dragging on the floor and their tail curled around their other arm for comfort as they slept.
Before Swiss could join them in their stupor on another couch, Aether also entered the common room. Under his arm was a small, familiar walnut chest.
“Hangover cure?” Aether offered with a grin, shaking the box at the multi ghoul. Swiss grunted desperately in response, making groggy motions with his hands for Aether to hand over its contents. Aether dutifully plucked out one of the pre-portioned bundles of herbs that laid inside, before placing another on the arm of the sofa next to Cowbell.
“How are you so chipper this morning? You seemed plenty drunk on the way home.” Swiss grumbled, chewing on the dried stalks and wincing at the bitter taste. He felt his stomach begin to settle instantly however, and the edges of his headache slowly began to erode away.
“Some of us didn't spend our evenings sucking down beers and earth ghouls’ tongues!” Aether teased with an exaggerated wink. He stopped himself from saying anything more however when he saw the crestfallen look on Swiss’ face. “I’m sorry, I didn't mean it like that...”
Swiss shook his head; Aether hadn't meant to upset him, he knew that.
“Mount clearly wishes he hadn't spent his evening like that either,” huffing dejectedly, Swiss slumped further down into the couch, “he was gone when I woke up this morning.”
It was common knowledge that Swiss and Mountain shared a room by now, but no one had felt the need bring it up before. Several of the pack thought they were just keeping their developing relationship under wraps, with last night simply being the first time they had let the curtain fall. Aether had no idea that it had actually been their first real step in that direction. The quintessence ghoul moved to sit beside Swiss on the couch, letting him rest his head on his shoulder with a sigh. He didn't know what to say, but he knew he could at least be there for him if he wanted to talk.
They stayed that way, sat in companionable silence, until Cowbell began to stir and Cirrus and Cumulus appeared. Swiss raised his head with a groan, letting Aether attend to his latest ‘patients’ who were also feeling rather thick-headed.
Eventually the drowsy fog in the room lifted, helped in no small part by Cirrus raiding the kitchens for what was left of breakfast; the smell of warm bacon enticing even Swiss over to the dining table. As much as they would have all welcomed a morning inside, there was still a lot to be done to prepare for the festival and so, bellies full, they all trudged out to the Abbey grounds to do their part.
~~~~~~~
Two more ghouls that should also have been helping, but were skiving their duties in bed, were Rain and Dewdrop. The gentle hubbub of noise in the passage outside had failed to wake them, but eventually the autumn sun pouring through the window did. Scrunching his eyes up against the light, Rain burrowed his face into Dew's hair. The fire ghoul wriggled slightly as he in turn began to wake, but neither made any move to leave their shared embrace. This was becoming routine for them; waking in each other's arms.
Rain's head felt slightly heavy, but he knew the rest of his pack must be feeling a lot worse. Sure, he and Dew had both enjoyed the free beer, but it had seemed almost unnecessary with the way they felt drunk off each other instead. Looking back on the memories of the night before, starting with the roaring success of their fellow pack members' first ritual, Rain felt a deep sense of contentment. The night had only gotten better, he thought, as tables and chairs had been pushed aside and the dancing had begun. It had reminded him of the parties of his home clan, and all the other large celebrations he hadn't experienced in years. A thrill of anticipation ran through him as he realised that they would get to repeat the fun again tonight, but with the rest of the ghouls in the Abbey he'd met over the last few weeks.
The most exciting part of the previous night had, of course, been seeing Swiss and Mountain together at last. While Rain might have been caught up in his and Dew’s blossoming love story, he hadn't missed the signs that his packmates were living out their own. He didn't know when their friendship had crossed into something more – they had certainly hidden it better than him and Dew had, especially if they had been a pair for a while already – but he was overjoyed for them, nonetheless. Rain held Dew close, thanking Him below for his and his packmates’ happiness.
“Morning Rainy,” Dew murmured drowsily against his chest, finally awake enough to speak. The words came out slightly croaky: Dew had been leading the chorus of cheers directed at Swiss and Mountain last night, Rain supposed, before his mouth decided it would be better occupied pressed against Rain's.
“Good morning, Love,” he whispered back, “sleep well?”
Dew nodded, his hair brushing against Rain’s sides and tickling him as he nuzzled closer.
“Not as well as Mount and Swiss will have,” he sleepily chuckled, “they were really out of it when we got back!”
Rain sniggered to himself. Their packmates really had been in a world all of their own. He was sure that warranted at least some light-hearted teasing later.
“I didn't even know they were together.” He mused aloud.
“Nor did I...” Dew hummed. “I thought Swiss would've told me if something happened. 'M happy for them though, maybe last night was just the kick they needed to finally realise how loopy they are for each other.”
“I'm not sure we have a leg to stand on there!” Rain giggled, squeezing Dew tightly until the fire ghoul squawked in protest and the pair descended into peals of laughter, all thoughts of their pack – and their duties regarding the festival – forgotten.
~~~~~~~
Outside, Swiss had already been put to work alongside Cirrus and Cumulus. The trio had been tasked with hanging enchanted fairy lights all along the pathway down to the main road to the village; guiding beacons for those curious – and brave – enough to venture up. The constant bending and reaching was doing nothing to help Swiss’ headache, but instead of complaining he was simply grateful to continue to avoid Mountain. He still had no idea what he could possibly say to him.
The air ghoulettes had both sensed immediately that something was off with the usually-cheery ghoul, and it was costing them every scrap of patience they had not to ask what had put him in such a gloomy mood. Soon however they were granted a welcome distraction in the form of Sunshine, arms laden with brightly glowing lanterns.
“Overslept?” Cumulus teased as she approached, hair curling wildly around her ears.
“Eh,” she waved the comment off with a grin, “I’m here now aren’t I? As long as everything gets done in time Copia won’t care.”
“Besides, has anyone seen him yet this morning?” Cirrus chimed in. She had a point; no one had heard a peep from the old man yet, who was usually one of the earliest risers in the Abbey.
They all resumed their task, Sunshine slotting herself beside Swiss to pass the lights up to him and saving him from the constant bending down, allowing the remains of his headache to ebb away. Although far from working in silence, the things that hung unsaid in the air were loud. Cumulus especially was uncharacteristically quiet, biting her tongue to avoid outright demanding Swiss tell her what was bothering him.
One ghoulette who was not so tactful however was Mist. When the ghouls were almost down to the road with their lights, she came loping down the path towards them clutching a small hamper. They realised as she grew closer just how long they must have been working, with the sun nearly at its peak.
“Alright, lover boy?” She called with a loud whistle.
Oblivious to the panicked glares the other ghoulettes were shooting her, she produced a pair of glass bottles from the hamper and held them out temptingly. The condensation running down the outsides did look tempting, the thought of a cold drink on the mild autumn day making them all realise just how thirsty they were.
Swiss however looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him up. He was still a little intimidated by the water ghoulette and her directness. Mist seemed unbothered by his silence though, continuing to unload the hamper of a selection of snacks and to pour the drink; a sweet, ginger-infused concoction from Aether that soothed their remaining stomach jitters. Swiss sipped it gratefully, burying his face in the cup. It didn't work though, and he could still feel Mist's piercing blue gaze boring a hole in the side of his head.
“What's got you looking like a bear with a sore head?” She quipped lightly. “Moping because your hunky earth ghoul is busy? He's hauling hay bales right now, I'd have thought you'd be spying from the bushes!”
Everyone fell very silent at Mist's words, as Swiss looked up like a deer caught in headlights, stricken. He couldn't stop the blush colouring his cheeks, as much as her words simultaneously made him want to cry. Swiss realised he didn't even know if Mountain would ever want to speak to him again, let alone be describes as Swiss'.
“Oh Honey...” Mist's entire demeanour changed as she softly cooed, seeing the expression on his face fall. Her soft side came out only rarely, but when it did it was as comforting as sinking into a warm bath. Before he knew what was happening, Swiss found himself sat on the dry earth floor swarmed in a ghoulette group hug, someone producing a handkerchief for the tears he hadn't realised were leaking from his eyes. It smelled like fresh air and spring flowers, and he assumed it was Cumulus'. Surrounded by love, Swiss let the floodgates open, allowed himself to feel all the hurt and confusion he had been feeling all day.
“What happened Sweetheart?” Mist murmured, stroking his back while his shoulders shook. “What's got you so upset?”
Between choked sobs, Swiss was finally able to get out the events of that morning, explaining at length the emotional rollercoaster he had been on over the few hours he'd been awake, thinking he had finally got everything his heart wanted only to have it all torn away. How Mountain hadn't been there when he woke up, and had left no explanation for his absence.
“He didn't even leave a note,” he said, almost begging someone to tell him he had misunderstood everything, to suddenly produce an explanation of their own, “he's always there in the mornings, no matter what! Even when he's busy or has to head out early he'll always bring breakfast.”
Cirrus and Cumulus shared a concerned glance behind his back; they frequently bumped into Mountain scurrying around laying food on a tray for the pair, he seemed to take great joy from the act of providing for Swiss.
“Maybe he just forgot?” Sunny suggested. Swiss shook his head vehemently.
“He never forgets! He must regret last night so much, he has to hate me now!” Another volley of sobs wracked his body, counterbalanced by the harmonising concern of the ghoulettes around him. They were all trying their best to hide the mild shock at learning that the hitherto inseparable ghouls really were in fact, just friends until now.
“I'm sure there's an explanation, if you talk to him,” suggested Cirrus, ever the voice of reason amongst the group, “there's no way he'd want you to be this upset.”
“How can I talk to him though, when he clearly doesn't want to? He knows I'm down here, wouldn't he come and find me if he wanted to?”
No one had an answer for that.
Work completely forgotten, the ghoulettes stayed in their huddle around Swiss until his eyes were dry again and his breaths even. The final lanterns were a short matter with five pairs of hands now, as the group made a plan.
Mist was more than willing to square up to Mountain: the ghouls were all pack now, and he had made one of her pack cry. Even though she was short in stature, only slightly more than half of the earth ghoul’s unglamoured height, she cut an imposing figure as she stood with her hands defiantly on her hips. The thought of Mountain having to crouch to be lectured by her made Swiss giggle despite his woes.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Cirrus reasoned, quickly putting a stop to that approach, “I’ll happily be next in line to chew him out if that’s what’s needed, but let’s think what else we can do first.”
“Are you absolutely certain he regrets last night,” Cumulus added, “and that he’s not just really busy with the festival? The earth ghouls always get the brunt of the work this time of year, maybe someone came to fetch him from your room before he could say goodbye?”
Swiss thought for a minute; he hadn’t considered that Mountain may not have been given a chance to let him know about his early departure.
“No…” He admitted hesitantly.
“Then give him a chance to explain, Sweetie,” with a gentle smile, Cumulus stroked his arm, “there’s no point getting upset until you have all the facts.”
As always, Swiss thought to himself, she was right.
Walking back up the hill, they continued to hatch a plan. If Mountain really had needed to leave in a rush, he must be feeling bad about it too. As Cirrus pointed out; he didn't want to start a fight over a misunderstanding. Her advice of simply talking to the ghoul seemed almost too obvious, and Swiss had to wonder how his pack had coped for so long without her level-headed attitude to keep them grounded. They decided the best option for now was to act normal and let things play out; if Mountain knew Swiss was nearby, he would surely at least say hello. Lightening the tension, Sunny had quipped that there was no point making Mountains out of molehills.
As Swiss got closer to where he knew Mountain was working, he felt his nerves creeping back in. After how turbulent the morning had been, he had no idea if he would be able to act natural when Mountain spoke to him, or if all his insecurities would all come bursting out when he opened his mouth. He could only hope that this little blip would be just that, and they could continue letting their relationship blossom as he had dreamed that it would when he first woke.
~~~~~~~
In the large clearing just outside the Abbey's walls, where the festival was to be held, Mountain still wasn't feeling any better than he had when he first woke up. Even if physically he was feeling better, he was increasingly wracked with guilt about how things had gone down with Swiss. He hadn't seen him all day, something that was practically unheard of given how close the pair were, and the solitude combined with the boring work was giving him too much time to stew in his own negative thoughts.
Mountain thought about what he would say when he saw Swiss. There was so much he wanted to say; from how he was sorry if he overstepped the night before, to grand declarations of love for the multi ghoul. The myriad ways a conversation could go ran through his head, like he was a playwright composing a hundred different possibilities for either an epic tragedy or a comedy or errors.
Maybe Swiss would be mad at him for the drunken kiss and angrier still at him for leaving so suddenly in the morning, or maybe he would be upset but still grateful for the space when he woke. Possibly things could go back to normal; their close friendship unchanged by them getting a little too close just this one time. Just maybe though, Swiss would feel the same way about him. In Mountain's wildest dreams, the likes of which he barely dared entertain, Swiss might also have allowed his heart to rule his head the previous night. The thought wasn't entirely reassuring however, as that would mean Mountain had abandoned him for the entire morning, leaving him uncertain and alone.
He huffed loudly to himself, making a nearby earth ghoul look over at him in concern. However things stood with him and Swiss, he couldn't see any angle where he hadn't messed up in some way. He really couldn't win.