Naya you are an absolute LEGEND AHHH

I JUST REALIZED FROG HASN'T SEEN EMBER THE DRAGON YET

--

It was at least a day or two before Frog wanted to be revealed to the public again. They bounced on the tips of their toes, waiting behind the doors with Naya, who watched with a small smile.

It wasn't anything big, like a whole party for them, but it was enough. Naya stretched out a wing and lay it across her best friend's shoulders, a gentle act of reassurance. Frog took a deep breath and gave Naya a hug.

"I'm nervous," They admitted in a mumble. Naya took their hands in her own.

"About what?" She asked, wanting to help. Frog glanced away and looked back before replying.

"I-... What if they're scared of me? What if I've ruined my chance at friendship with the Hermits and Emperors?!" Fear spiked their tone, and they looked up at Naya with wide, multicoloured eyes.

"It's okay," Naya murmured, "It wasn't you who did those things, and it wasn't your fault either. You got manipulated, it happens to everybody." She comforted the smaller, 

"But..." Frog looked scared, hands fidgeting and wings twitching.

"You'll do fine. Maybe take it slow for the first few times meeting them again, but it's gonna be okay." Naya felt her heart warm at Frog's smile. "C'mon. They're waiting behind these doors for you. No better time than now, right?"

They took a minute to breathe and calm down but nodded with a soft "Yeah." And turned back to the doors. They grabbed ahold of Naya's hand and pushed open one of the double doors slowly. It creaked and hit the wall with a thunk. Their grip on Naya's hand tightened as they took a step into the meadow.

Naya frowned when she say multiple Hermits and Emperors flinch away. She knew they were scared, but couldn't they be a little less nervous, for the sake of Frog?

"Um... Hello," Frog spoke up, clearing their throat before continuing, "I... Uh..." They struggled with words, noticing the subtle acts of fear from the surrounding group. They fell silent, eyes wide with fear. Naya hadn't seen them this scared since day one of being in HermitCraft. She gave them a nod of approval and they took a deep breath.

They began to speak again with new a confidence, voice only shaking a little bit. "So... the skulk did something really bad. I know it's going to take a while for you all to trust me again, since... that... happened, but I want you to know I am also the same amount of traumatised!" Some of the members gathered giggled a bit at their over-confident tone and behaviour.

Once the laughter died down, they continued. "I... my memories are a bit fuzzy about the whole thing, but if I remember something I... it did, I will offer a personal apology and a hug, unless you don't want one. Then you just get a personal apology. Uh... is there... anyone who doesn't know my name here?"

Nobody raised any hands or made any signals. In fact, they were starting to calm down, all but Jimmy, who still hid behind his siblings while shaking.

Frog looked sad, and rubbed at their wrists self-conciously. Naya knew they couldn't blame him after everything that had happened...

Ember the dragon creeped up beside the smaller and nudged them gently with their snout. Frog, who hadn't noticed their arrival, jumped nearly a foot in the air with a loud yelp of surprise. Some of the crowd went up to settle Ember, as they weren't expecting a sudden noise and got nervous.

Naya wondered why they were seemingly terrified for a moment but remembered suddenly, "Frog! You haven't seen Ember yet since you got back!" She exclaimed, the puzzle pieces clicking together in her head. She noticed Jimmy and his siblings preparing to fly away together, his nerves must've become too much to deal with.

"NAYA THERE IS A DRAGON IN FRONT OF ME." Frog shuffled back, wincing when their injured arm touched the ground. Naya stepped in front of them and gave Ember a pat on the head.

"Frog, it's okay. It's just Ember." She reassured, offering a hand to help them stand up.

Frog's expression could only be described as utter confusion. "Wh- buh- huh- it- but-... HUH?"

Naya laughed, remembering her first experience with Ember as a dragon. 

By now the crowd began to dissipate to go to their own bases or the shopping district. Frog watched them leave out of the corner of their eye, mostly focused on the giant red dragon a foot away from them.

"Ember is a dragon?!"

"Yeah!" Naya explained, "They sacrificed themselves so that they could save Cub... and, uh..." Ember snorted a burst of flames and Frog jumped away.

The red dragon's tail swished and they settled on the earth with a low grumble.

"Oh!" Frog realized, "It's like a giant puppy!" They slowly put a hand on Ember's head and gave them scritches behind the ears. Ember grumbled in satisfaction, wings splaying out behind them.

Naya had yet to break the news of Pine to them, but...

For now, it could wait.

END MY SUFFERING OF WRITING THIS ONE CHAPTER