Thank you so much!!! I've been building up the story in my head for so long it's great to add more pieces to the puzzle, and it makes me so happy to see you invested in it as it unfolds! And yeah it is, I wanted to have the canon series of events mixed with successes and failures as a Chastiser to hit harder than if everything went smoothly. I do feel bad for Fern especially though... but I was going for that Aesopian feel-don't open the door to strange things in the Forest, or you won't live to tell the tale!