The rain tapped violently against the fabric of Quentin's umbrella. He cringed at each step he took, his rain boots squelching against the soft and muddy dirt path. The feeling was less than pleasant, to say the least. Quentin grumbled as he hurried his pace, the awful squelching noises getting all the more frequent. It was raining even harder now.

Much to everyone's surprise, Quentin hated the rain. All the annoying and repetitive tapping sounds made him lose focus on his work and gave him many nights of insomnia. Not to mention all the times he was late to work due to the roads being muddy and impossible to walk or drive on. Quentin glared up at the dark clouds in contempt. In return, the rain only fell harder.

"For the love of," Quentin grumbled, and begrudgingly picking up his pace. Stupid rain. Stupid puddles. Stupid mud. Stupid squelching. Stupid running. He hated running! Quentin let out a groan, his lungs already burning.

He couldn't take his mind off the rain. How annoying it was. How all it did was cause problems for everyone else. He paused to catch his breath, leaning against a pole for support. He glared up at the clouds again. This rain had caused him misery for the past two weeks. Quentin's glare eased and was replaced with a soft look of confusion. Why was it raining for the past two weeks? And especially of this intensity. The storm had been so heavy that Sky had even let out a warning, advising townspeople to evacuate their homes. As floods were sweeping all across Aitereon. Quentin's brow furrowed and he started walking again. He still had to get to work.

Work, in the village of Nectecond was more like community service. Everyone had a certain task to do each day and if you didn't do it, the harshest punishment was getting exiled. Which wasn't all too bad considering the people who lived there.

EK groaned and her eyes slowly opened, squinting at the alarm clock on her nightstand. Yup. It was 6 am. She begrudgingly threw the covers off of herself and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Before she could get up however, she heard a small squeak from behind her.

"Sorry angel, didn't mean to hit you with blankets," EK muttered, stroking Light's cheek softly.

"Where are you going? It's only..." Light looked out the window to see the sky still dark, "Night time." She stuck out her arms like she wanted a hug, "Go back to sleep..."

EK chuckled softly and put on her glasses. "It's actually six in the morning," she informed.

"Six in the morning!? Nooooo that's too early. And I want to snuggle you more," Light whined, looking genuinely hurt.

"I know. I wish I could snuggle with you more too, but I have to go water the tree," EK replied, getting up and throwing on her jacket.

"Then I'm going with you!" Light mumbled. She tried to muster up the strength to move all the blankets, but failed to do so. Fatigue had already taken over her body. "EK help me get the blankies off."

Ek shook her head, a light smirk across her face. "No no no. You need to sleep more."

"But—"

"Don't fight me. You're obviously tired," EK sighed and patted Light's head, "I'll be back later okay?"

"I can fight you all I want," Light grumbled and rolled over onto her side, "...Promise you'll be back?"

"I promise," EK chuckled. She gave a small kiss on Light's forehead, before leaving the room. She did the same to the kids before finally stepping out of the house.

"Why am I even still here?" Ek muttered, making her way over to the small stone shed at the end of the road. She squinted her eyes, trying to adjust to the light. Her phone flashlight illuminated the path in front of her, to make sure she wouldn't trip over anything. She grabbed the hose off its hook with a groan. She dragged her feet over to the shining lights that were the tree. "Alright. Time to soak you up. If it'll work this time."

EK flipped the switch of the nozzle, hoping to see water flow out of the end. However, nothing came out. Ek's brow furrowed. "For fuck's sake!" She yelled, throwing the hose onto the ground. "This has been going on for two fucking weeks. Why won't any of these lazy bastards fix it," She grumbled, rubbing her temples. "I guess I'll have to do it myself..."

EK's hands illuminated a bright, teal glow. Raising them towards the roots of the tree, she squinted. Her eyes were focused and narrowed. After a moment a blast of water erupted from her hands, spraying the ground with water. EK continued to do this for the next few minutes, making sure the giant of a tree was properly watered.

She sighed, and her hands stopped glowing. She looked at the tree with a somewhat puzzled look. This drought has been going on for two weeks now, and no one in the village knew why. The worst part about it was that Light and herself had to cut back on the iced coffee to make sure the village still had enough water to bathe. If it hadn't been for her water powers, this town would have been evacuated by now. EK sat against the trunk of the tree. All this magic use was beginning to drain her.

EK closed her eyes softly and yawned. Falling asleep in the silence. No one was around. Good.

"No no, this is not good," Quin muttered, looking over the records of his restaurant. He groaned, setting down his glasses and shoving his head in his hands.

"What's wrong?" Astry said, having walked into the kitchen for some coffee.

"Profits are dropping," Quin replied, rubbing his temples. "These past two weeks have been barren in turns of customers."

"Is it just a slow period? It's normal to get those from time to time," Astry noted, sitting down next to Quin. She grabbed the paper he was looking at and glanced it over.

"No, I don't think it's a slow period. It's usually busy this time of year," Quin muttered, leaning back in his chair. "If it keeps dropping at this rate, I'm going to have to let some people off..." Quin's eyes were closed, lips pursed into a small frown.

Astry put a gentle hand in his shoulder, "It's going to be alright. You won't have to lay anyone off, it's probably just a small drop. It'll rise up again."

Quin smiled briefly and glanced at her, "Thanks honey."

"Always," she noted. "Hey, what do you want to do for din—" she was interrupted by her phone's loud ringtone. She pulled it out and answered the call. "Officer Aquarius.... 37th street?.... On it. I'll be there in ten." With the click of a button, the call ended.

"Another work call?" Quin asked, leaning a bit forward in curiosity.

Astry nodded. "Yeah. They just won't stop coming," she answered, getting up from her chair. "The past two weeks have spiked in crime."

"...Weird..." Quin muttered, resting his elbows on the table.

"Mhm. I'll see you later tonight sweetie," Astry said, giving Quin a quick kiss before rushing out the door. "I love you!"

"Love you too!" Quin said, returning his attention to the papers. He stared at them for a little and narrowed his eyes. "Two weeks," he muttered, "It's gotta just be a coincidence right?" He pulled out his phone. Couldn't hurt to ask right?

Misty jumped at the sudden buzz of his phone on the desk. The tips of his hair turning invisible for a brief second. He sat there blinking for a few moments, the phone continuing to ring. "Oh shit, right!" He muttered, attempting to grab the phone. His hands fumbled with the object for a bit. Finally getting a firm grasp on the phone, he swiped the screen, "Hello? This is Misterio."

"Hey Misty," a voice greeted on the other side.

Misty immediately recognized the voice. His eyes widened a bit and he answered, "Q-Quin?! Why are you calling me? Am I late to the meeting? Did something happen? Did—"

"Misty calm down. I just wanna ask you something," Quin interrupted, "Has anything happened to you in the past two weeks?"

"What do you mean by 'the past two weeks,' " Misty leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his desk.

"Like, anything that has been continuously happening for the past two weeks. My restaurant has dropped in customers, and Astry's been getting more work calls. I just wanted to see if you were getting anything like that," Quin explained.

Misty closed his eyes and hummed. He thought for a minute, "Now that you mention it, yeah. I have. The company has dropped in stocks and revenue. So they've been letting some people off."

"So I was right..." Misty could hear Quin mutter on the other end of the line. "You're not going to get laid off right?!" Quin quickly added, concern rising in his voice.

Misty shook his head. "No, I think I'm okay. I'm one of their top illusionists, so I doubt they'd fire me," he paused, "Why did you ask me this?"

"Because I'm worried about you losing your job?"

"No— The thing about if anything had happened in two weeks thing," Misty shifted in his chair to a more comfortable position.

"I think something's wrong with our universes. Like, this whole two weeks of bad things happening can't just be a coincidence. Right?" Quin asked, his tone laced with hints of concern.

Misty put a hand to his chin. Now that he thought about it, yeah. Something was probably a miss. Evie had been sick the past two weeks as well. If this situation with the two weeks of displeasure had been happening to himself, Evie, Quin, and their families. All at the same time— no. It couldn't just be a coincidence. All the signs had pointed to it.

"I think you're right," Misty affirmed, voice confident.

"Really? Wow! I'm actually right for once," Quin congratulated himself. "Anyways, you think we should bring it up at the next meeting?"

Misty shook his head, "No. Well— yes, but we should affirm our suspicions with the others first. To see if they have any weird two-week experiences too. We'll definitely talk more about this at the next meeting we have. Which is..." Misterio flipped through a small calendar on his desk, looking for the small red circle he put for meeting days. "Tomorrow. Well, that's convenient."

Misty could hear a laugh from the other side of the call, "Definitely works out for us. But, yeah. I guess we'll talk more about this at the meeting tomorrow?"

"Definitely," Misty answered.

"Nice. Oh! Say hi to Evie and the kids for me yeah? Thanks Mist. See ya later!"

Misty chuckled a little, "Yeah, I'll tell em you say hi. Goodbye Quin." With the click of a button, the two had hung up.

All the way back in Massachusetts, Milun was going through the daily mail. Tossing out junk mail, and keeping all the bills and such. However, one envelope seemed to stick out from the rest. A pink envelope with a small golden seal. Milun's wings twinkled with soft chimes as they vibrated rapidly.

"Oh! Now, what could you be little mystery paper?" Milun chirped, setting down the other letters on the side table. He made his way over to the den and took out a small letter opener. Without hesitation, Milun tore open the letter with a smile.

He marveled at the slightly pearlescent paper. It had to be from Sormena. It just had to! Milun hovered over to the couch, reading over the letter carefully. The previous smile that was on his face faded, and his brows furrowed in confusion.

The letter was from Palette.

Meeting Members,

Listen. Please don't bring any of your kids to the meeting tomorrow. 

Yeah, it's short notice, and I'm sorry. But please don't. I'm not asking you this for me. I'm asking for Sor. He's not feeling too hot. And as his helper and friend, I have to support him. To make sure his mental and physical state are doing good. Just gonna tell you it's bad for all of us when he's depressed. So don't bring your kids this time. It's just not a good time for him to see them.

Regards,

Palette

Milun's wings drooped slightly and lost their previous glow. He stared at the ground like it was a kicked puppy. So many questions ran through his mind. Why wouldn't it be a good time for everyone to bring their kids? Did everyone else get this letter? Why was Sor feeling upset? What happened?

These thoughts and more swirled around his head. Milun's wings fluttered silently and he stood up, tossing the letter aside. A small sigh echoed throughout the small apartment. Milun dragged his feet into his shared bedroom, walking up to the small crib next to the bed. "Sorry baby, I guess your first meeting will have to wait," He cooed softly to the infant. Milun stroked Benji's hair softly and a smile spread across his face.

After a few moments, Milun stepped away from the crib and went over to his desk. There were so many papers strewn over it, it was a mess. Milun huffed and began digging through the papers and drawers. Corey really needed to organize his side of the desk.

"C'mon where is it? Argh, Cor you need to stop being so messy," Milun muttered, pushing aside all of Corey's things and arranging them neatly. After what seemed like half an hour of just organizing things, Milun finally found what he needed. Opening up the bottom desk drawer, underneath several other notebooks lay a small, ribbon tied journal. The words, 'Counsel Meeting Lessons' written on the cover with gold sharpie.

"There you are," Milun said triumphantly, holding out the book in front of him. He dusted off the cover and placed it on his bedside table. "Definitely gonna need you tomorrow."

2 pm couldn't have come sooner for everyone. As pastel pink portals appeared in homes, each person who stepped through was thinking the same thing. "What was going on for the past 2 weeks?"

One by one, the adults had stepped into the gathering area of the meeting dimension. The unusual light gray walls adorned with soft dancing lights greeted them. Many faces turned from confused, to bewildered and in some cases concern. As the adults finally gathered, they sat and thought about their current situation.

"I see you all got Palette's letter too?" Quentin said, breaking the silence.

The others nodded, Quin especially looking hurt at the fact he couldn't bring any of his babies.

"What do you think is wrong? Is he okay?" Light said, standing up slightly in her seat. Her hands glowed softly and she summoned a small box wrapped in a violet cloth. "I made him cookies if he's feeling sad. I don't want him to be sad!"

Misty smiled slightly at Light's kindness. "I don't want to see him sad either, considering how his emotions might be affecting our worlds," he noted, fidgeting with his sleeves.

"Affecting our worlds?" Sylaeus interjected, leaning forward slightly. "What do you mean by that?"

Misty visibly tensed and his eyes darted around the room. Oh god. They were all staring at him. "I— uh, well—" He stammered, his hair beginning to fade. He glanced over to Quin in some sort of plea.

Quin nodded and cleared his throat, the attention falling on himself. "Misty and I were talking about how something in the meetings has been affecting our worlds. Like, has anyone been experiencing troubles these past two weeks?"

Everyone excluding Helena and Sylaeus exchanged worried glances. Meanwhile, Quentin's hair frayed out to the sides and his tail patted against the couch lightly. His eye twitched and he harshly stood up with a shout, "IS THAT WHY IT'S BEEN RAINING FOR TWO FUCKING WEEKS?!"

Everyone in the room widened their eyes slightly at his outburst. Light sunk in her chair slightly and Milun's wings dulled ever so slightly.

Ian sighed and placed a hand on his husband's shoulder, "Quentin. Quentin calm down, you're scaring people. I know how much you hate rain but, keep it to yourself yeah?"

Quentin looked back at Ian and sighed, sitting down with a huff. "Fine," he said curtly, crossing his legs.

Quin nodded and went back to his explanation, "Uh huhhh. Anyways, Misty and I think it's got something to do with Sor. And now that Palette sent us these letters, I think our suspicion is right."

"Well, don't you think we should go see what's wrong?" Milun piped up, flying to the center of the room. "He's always been there for us when we needed comfort, why don't we do the same for him?"

The group looked at each other and then back to Milun, nodding. One by one they all got up and followed Milun out to the circular meeting room. The usual color seeming drained from its exterior. It was like they had stepped into an old monochrome picture.

There, in the nursery, was Sormena. His back was turned to them, and he was cleaning. Or, at least, he seemed to be cleaning. He didn't even greet the group like he normally did. In fact, he didn't even seem to acknowledge them at all. He just stood there, wiping down the bookshelf. He turned, still facing away from them, and shuffled slowly towards another shelf, dusting it.

"Sormena?" Light greeted, "We're here for the meeting. I made you cookies." She shyly walked up to the coffee table and set down her cloth covered present.

Sormena turned around sluggishly, his eyes half open. "Hm?" His eyes widened slightly and he stuttered, "Oh! I— uh, mm. Uhhhhhh what? Right! Meeting." He stumbled to his usual chair, he seemed out of it. "Sorry everyone, we can get started," he looked at the ground and squinted. "What was today's topic again?" He mumbled, hand rested on his chin.

"Uh, we actually came to help you," Milun said, sitting in a chair next to Sormena. Everyone actually scooted their chairs closer towards Sormena, creating a much closer, smaller circle around him.

On closer inspection, Sormena's hair was more gray, rather than its usual rainbow. As if someone had diluted its original color or had put a filter over it. There were small tear stains on his face, and his eyes looked tired and soulless. Everyone in the group exchanged glances, thinking the same thought.

"......what? Sorry, I— Uh, I suppose I'm not on top of my game today heh," Sormena let out a quiet, half-hearted chuckle. His eyes refused to make contact with anybody's, instead finding the floor much more intriguing.

Milun's wings dulled and he placed a hand on Sor's shoulder. "Sor please, you of all people should know not to hide your feelings like this."

"I'm fine," Sor said defeatedly, still not looking up at them.

"You and I both know that's bullshit," Evie interjected, gesturing to the dulled hair. "Your hair is grayed."

"No it's not," Sormena argued, hugging his abdomen with his arms.

Helena moves forward and placed a hand on his knee, "Sormena please, let us be there for you when you need it. You always were there for us."

"Yes, please don't be an Ian," Quentin added.

Ian seemed to be offended by that, "Hey!"

Quentin looked back incredulously, to which Ian promptly shut up.

"I'd tell 'em if I were you Sor," another voice said from the entrance of the room. Palette stepped into the room and walked up in front of Sormena. "You and I both know this ain't healthy."

Sormena looked up to him and sighed defeatedly. He shoved his head in his hands and groaned, "You're right...." He placed his elbows on his knees, curled up slightly. Slowly, shades of deep, deep, blue spread throughout his hair and even to the tassels on his clothes. He let out a sob, tears dropping to the ground. This was the first time anyone had seen him cry. After a few minutes of silence, just letting him cry, Sormena finally spoke up. His voice was soft and broken.

"...My wife doesn't want to have children..."