It shouldn't have come as a surprise; Lilac Governess had been alluding to it for several months. Still, I thought there would be more of a tell before it actually happened. The first indicator that anything special was afoot was the day it happened. On that day, Dawn and River's parents showed up first thing after breakfast. At first, I thought they just dropped by at the same time for a visit, a coincidence for sure, but then Lilac Governess made the announcement.

"Dawn and River," she paused to ensure she had their attention. "Today is the day you get your masks." They both were surprised, but it faded quickly. They had known it was coming for the aforementioned several months. And the fact they were both graduating on the same day was nothing special either. It was common to move along good friends together, who were both about ready to be ushered out of the hallowed halls of the Kite's Klub (TM Pending).

Still, the complete disregard for pomp and circumstance caught me completely off guard. Their parents were dressed more or less the same as they always did, save for a cloak—I guess that’s what passed for formal garb?

In keeping with the tradition of being nondescript, both sets of parents walked over and handed their respective children their masks. They might have communicated something with the Whisper, but there was no formal declaration. The heaviest part of the whole event was when they both paused a moment and stared at the masks. Now they might have been just evaluating the aesthetic of the mask, but I like to think they were preparing themselves mentally for this next stage of life that would happen with the donning of the mask. Either way, after a moment, they both put them on. And with that Lilac Governess declared, "Dawn, River, you are now both 'not child'."

Yes, "not child"—trust me it sounds better in telepathy, but this is the closest translation I can come up with. To put it into context, there are 3 stages in the life of a villager.

Stage 1 Child: You are completely dependent on others for your continued existence

Stage 2 'Not Child': You are no longer dependent—in theory anyway. You certainly aren't pulling your own weight, meaning you aren't really contributing anything. However, you can fend for yourself assuming everyone else is doing their job. Basically, you can be left unsupervised. This is also a period of great transition.

Stage 3 Adult: Same as 'not child' but now you can pull your own weight. Presumably that comes with an increase in maturity as well.

Looking at both of them, with their newly donned mask, they took up the air of mystery all the adults shared. I couldn’t help but feel a distance open up between us. Dawn's mask was covered in a lilac lacquer and had intricate inlays; clearly, her father, a Fine Carver, had put a lot of work into it. River's was more basic and was yellow. I did note that the way the eyes were carved gave it a mischievous look, which seemed appropriate.

Their parents embraced them and they began to tear up. Well, Dawn was pretty much just straight-up crying; River tried to stifle it. And... That's it. Their parents hung out for a while, before leaving them both to say their good-bye or whatnot.

It was actually disconcerting just how lightly they took this huge turning point. Perhaps I'm just colored by my previous life, but celebrations for these milestones can be found in all cultures. Sure they are human cultures, but these guys were close enough. Now that I was reflecting on it, they didn't seem to have any kind of celebrations, no parties, no festivals, no holidays, no NOTHING! Sure they might throw down every once in a while, such as that aforementioned great bacchanal, but that was just a consequence of poor decision-making. I had to add this to the list of things I didn't know I would miss: pomp and circumstance.

Dawn and River would spend the rest of the day with tear-filled eyes as they said goodbye to everyone. Dawn even gave her farewells to Dry-Wood and Gale as was only proper, though those were not tearful partings. Eventually, they got to me.

"You will have to look after yourself now, Indigo," Dawn said. If it was possible to sound a bit choked up in telepathy, she did.

"We have taught him well... He will be okay," River added, sounding somehow more choked up than Dawn. It would seem that she liked to play it cool, but deep down, she was just as sentimental as Dawn. All around, there wasn't a dry eye among us. Mine certainly weren't; I tried to reign it in—got to keep up my manly facade.

"No, I'm not crying. I'm still just recovering from eating that deplorable green fruit this morning."

"But we didn't have green fruit for breakfast..."

"You are not going to let me maintain my dignity, are you?"

"Nope."

Dawn and River would have their last meal with us before making their exit from the Kite's Klub (TM Pending), but here is the thing, there was no reason they couldn't visit whenever they wanted. And when I realized this I felt like I'd been duped. Here I felt like they were being sent off to storm the beaches of Normandy when it was more like they were storming the beaches of summer camp.

They would often drop by, which was easy as they had no real responsibilities. They would usually visit when we were having outdoor recreation, but occasionally at other times. I enjoyed these visitations and they would tell me about life outside the Kite's Klub (TM Pending). Of course, since they were no longer children, if they were going to be hanging out, they were expected to help out. Mostly child wrangling, but other things too, like being sent off on fetch quests. It was interesting though, the same children who would have brushed off the two of them while they were members of the group, now paid them heed. I guess the mask granted them some authority.

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Every day you learn something new here in the Kite's Klub (TM Pending). Today I learned that you must never ever tell a lie. Fortunately for me, I got to learn this through second-hand experience, though I'm sure it made just as strong an impression.

The whole thing started with food duty. Sometimes Lilac Governess would have the more competent children help her cook. In my case, she would leave me almost completely to my own devices. Now before you praise me and my endless suit of talents, let me assure you this was hardly 5-star dining. It was just standard fare and was so simple that anyone could prepare it, assuming you were not cursed by the food gods or something.

As always, I taste-tested it once finished to ensure I didn't forget something. It was a meat stew and tasted fine. Certainly not a culinary marvel, but children prefer simple. The issue first came to my attention in the dining area while we were serving ourselves. Not even a quarter of the group had been served when we were all subject to a mouthful of meat and various vegetables sprayed across the area.

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"Agghh, this is terrible!" The spewer of spittle asserted. Many of the other children, now curious about the taste, followed suit; it was a real mess. But that is when Gale interjected.

"Indigo did it! He put something in the food!"—A certain 80’s movie came to mind. It seemed like Gale was coming into his own and was trying to move out of Dry-Wood's shadow and start leading his own subterfuge campaigns. I had tasted stew as well, though only a tiny bit, to ensure there was in fact something wrong with it, and indeed there was. It tasted terrible.

"I most certainly did not!" I was quick to deny the accusation.

"I saw you!"

Lilac Governess gave me a stern look. "Indigo, why would you ruin the mid-day meal?" Was she actually believing Gale with no corroborating evidence? I mean, this was GALE we were talking about, not exactly a model student. Furthermore, I was hurt that she would lose faith in me so quickly.

"I didn't. Why would I sabotage my own food, when I would be first on the list of suspects due to sheer proximity. It seems more likely that Gale is in fact the one who fouled the stew." Gale might have been trying to grow his status, but he was still a far cry from Dry-Wood, not that Dry-Wood was Professor Moriarty.

A kind of horror came over the room. I felt a chill run down my spine, as I searched the room for the source. It didn't take long to realize it was coming from Lilac Governess. She was as horrified as if she had just come home to find a heroin needle in her son's room.

"Indigo, you didn't add anything extra to the stew?" I shook my head resolutely. "And Gale, Did you see Indigo add something that shouldn't have been in the stew?"

"I did!" Gale wasn't backing down.

Lilac Governess let out a long drawn-out sigh. There was a sadness in there that I don't think I had ever felt from her. A kind of sadness that is mixed with disappointment. "Both of you come over here." We both approached the bench, judge Lilac Governess presiding. She took both our hands, one in each of hers, and one at a time took a good whiff of each of them. She smelled mine and put it down. I thought there might be a bit of relief, but there was none. After she smelled Gale's. "Gale... I know you can get into a bit of mischief, but I thought you knew better than this." She had a presence in the room at that moment as if Death himself had just walked in. Everyone was quiet, all eyes were on the proceeding. "It is not for me to pass judgment on you. That role will be filled by your parents."

There is a method of getting messages to village members. It is kind of annoying though, so it is reserved for more important matters. You broadcast your message and anyone within range will send it as well, this way it will eventually reach its intended recipient. Lilac Governess employed this method. So you knew that this was a serious deal. What was the message? Simply, "Gale has lied."

Well, I had no idea what his parents would do with this information, but I was caught completely bewildered, when what seemed like only moments later that the door to the Kite's Klub (TM Pending) slammed open and Gale's demonically enraged father came storming through the door. Have you ever seen the Looney Tunes scene where there is a fox in the hen house and a cudgel-carrying rooster bursts through the door with murder in his eyes? That is what it reminded me of.

We all looked on in horror as Gale was literally dragged out of the den by his tail. Lilac Governess looked away. You could tell she was saddened but didn't protest when he was carted out like a dead rat. Afterward, she closed the door, and awkwardly we resumed activities.

Lunch needed to be remade; while not poisonous, nobody could choke that previous stuff down, but even still, there wasn't much of an appetite. It seemed like life had been sucked out of the place, like everyone had just witnessed an execution.

It was after some time that we heard it. The sound of a distant howl. And then everyone knew. Interestingly, everyone seemed to relax after the wailing had stopped like it had released the tension somehow. The howling continued for some time, though. And it did answer a question that I had. Our species did have innate vocalization, at least while under extreme duress.

Lilac Governess was reluctant to talk about Gale's fate, but she was forthcoming about what he had done: lied.

"Lying is highly taboo, you know that, right Indigo?" She sounded a little worried when I brought up the issue.

"I know lying is wrong, but what happened to Gale seems a little... harsh." Even I had sympathy for him and as you know, I wasn't a fan.

She ignored the mention of Gale and took my response to mean I didn't truly appreciate how terrible lying was, and apparently, I didn't. "Have you ever told a lie?" She looked concerned, like she had asked if I was a murderer and there was a possibility that I would answer yes.

I wanted to say no, but had I? "Umm..." I racked my brain. I had certainly lied at some point in my previous life, but I didn't think I had told any lies this time around. But then I remembered the Forest Guardian incident where we had gone farther out than Mother had condoned. What did we tell her when we got back? I know we told her about seeing him, but we did not inform her of where we saw him, but did we lie, or only omit details? I was starting to get nervous. This must be how it feels to be interviewed by the police, but not knowing the answer to their questions.

"You must never tell a lie!" Lilac Governess cut in. Apparently, she couldn't handle the suspense. Or perhaps she didn't want to know. She placed her hands squarely on my shoulders and looked me straight in the eyes. "Promise me Indigo, you will never tell a lie." She was being deadly serious. I wasn't sure how she would respond if I declined. Under such intense pressure, all I could muster was a timid nod. I don't think she was convinced, even still she said, "Remember, you are the God of Clear Skies' Chosen." Great... More pressure.

Gale would make his way back to the den that evening looking like a man sent to the gallows, which is strange, considering he survived. Physically he looked fine: no obvious bruising, no altered gait, yet his spirit looked like it had done ten rounds with as still in his prime, Mike Tyson. When supper time came, if not for Lilac Governess's insistence, he would have abstained. Even still, he didn't eat much. Afterwards he isolated himself in a corner of the room.

I actually felt terrible for him. We were not exactly on good terms, but this was more than a bit much. In hindsight, maybe I should have just taken the 'L' for fouling lunch. Although in that case, Gale wouldn't have learned anything. And I suppose it is a serious thing to bear false witness. Today it was just lunch, tomorrow who knows. Still, I felt bad.

"Will you be okay, Gale?" I came over and sat beside him. In my previous life, I would never have tried to make amends with a transgressor, especially one actively pursuing a campaign against me.

"..." He continued to stare at the floor.

"Umm..." I began to fidget as I tried to think of something else to say. It would have been easier if he responded; I am hardly one for starting or sustaining conversations. In the end, I settled on, "I hope you are doing okay," and left at his side what was basically an apple that I had been saving. And with that, I got up and gave him his space.