Gem knew False had done some wrong, misguided things when she tried to fix her own mistakes. But she could empathize and understand where she was coming from. It wasn't like Gem didn't do pretty much the same thing. So she went and hugged her fellow incredibly good pvper to reassure her and show that despite whatever she did the two of them would still be friends.
False stared blankly without reacting for a few seconds, processing what Gem had done, and then she squeezed her back. Then Joe came and awkwardly patted her on the shoulder before working up the courage to hug her too. And then someone else joined in and all the hermits were soon caught up in an enormous group hug.
"Okay, you guys are cute, but can you just let go now? I'm getting strangled from in here," False said from the middle of the pile, her voice sounding slightly muffled. Everyone soon distangled.
"How much have you been keeping secrets from us, False?" Cleo suddenly asked, drenching the once warm and wholesome mood into something more serious. False sighed and Gem glared at the zombie, who noticed her looking but didn't care, because even if looks could kill and Gem's would, Cleo was already dead.
"What I keep secret it none of your business. I had a good reason for everything." False said. "What, you didn't trust us? Is that what this is?" Jevin asked. False said nothing. "Look, False keeps secrets, but so do the rest of us," Gem said, defending her. "Some of us just have more serious secrets than others." Like me and Grian.
"Gem's got a point," Grian said. Cleo crossed her arms. "For the record, False, you still broke my trust. I thought we were close enough friends that something like this wouldn't happen, but I was apparently wrong."
"Cleo-" False began, reaching out to her, but the zombie stubbornly and rudely turned around and walked downstairs, where everyone could clearly hear her unlocking the door. Slowly, one by one the hermits began to file out of the tower.
Gem stayed by False's side, though, sitting down next to her. "You are obviously not okay so I'm not going to bother to ask." She said. Fallse let out a wry chuckle. "Yeah, I'm definitely not fine." She paused. "Gem, you can go now. Everyone else has gone and I'm just going to deal with this problem like I do all my other problems. By myself."
False is stubborn, Gem reflected. Just like Cleo. Sometimes she just won't accept help even if it kills her. But everyone needs a close friend by their side. I know I would need one if everyone found out what I was and all my darkest secrets were out. So False, prepare to try and stop me from leaving. Because I'm not going to anytime soon.
---
Jimena felt her head. There was something strange going on in it. She wasn't sure what or who to trust anymore. Grian? Maybe, but why were his words and her memories so contradicting? Qiron? Probably not, he never answered her questions with a straight answer and he definitely had something to hide.
False? Of course Jimena could trust False. She had trusted her from the very beginning when they first met. But False... had something going on in her head too. And how was she supposed to talk the architect about her problames when she couldn't tell her about the Watchers? Jimena just wasn't sure what to do anymore.
And then she remembered. Jimmy. Yes, she could trust the sheriff. And he knew about the Watchers already. Yes, he was perfect. And he knew Grian well enough that Jimena could ask him if he thought that the red-sweatered hermit was lying. Smiling at her well thought-out plan, Jimena went to tell False that she was going to visit the sheriff.
"False!" Jimena chirped, walking into the tinkerer's house. "I'm going to go see Jimmy! False?" There came a muffled sound from False's bedroom and Jimena knocked cautiously on the door. "False? Are you okay? Can I come in?" "Yes." Came the hoarse reply from the other side. Jimena fiddled with the lock and then opened the door.
False looked like a mess. She was lying flat on her bed with a nauseous expression on her face and staring blankly on the ceiling. Jimena carefully wandered around a small pool of vomit on the floor to sit on the bed. "False, are you okay?" "No." False muttered. "I got one of those migraines." Jimena made a face. "Don't worry; I'm used to them." False said, waving her away.
"You literally threw up, unless that was Ginny." Jimena said, gesturing at the sickly pool of orangish yellow. Ginny, from her perch on the bedside table, hissed indignantly at the girl for accusing her of being capable to ever do such a nasty thing. "Sorry, Ginny," Jimena said. Ginny made a comical huffy noise but stayed calm.
Then False held her head and squeezed her eyes tightly shut. And then she leaned of the side of her bed and threw up again. Ginny leapt back with a hiss and Jimena concernedly came forward. "False, this doesn't look like you're used to this." "I am used to the migraines, but the world spinning around and my head disagreeing with me along with the migraines isn't something I'm used to." False said in an explanatory tone.
"False, maybe you need to see a doctor." Jimena suggested. "There's this hermit named Cub who might-" "No hermits." False interrupted with a steely tone. "I don't like those hermits." "Okay, uh, I'll fine someone from the other empires, then." Jimena said, inching away. "No, I don't need a doctor." False protested. "This happened before; it'll just go away-"
"This happened before and you didn't tell me?!" Jimena asked. "Well, it didn't seem like anything that bad at the time," False reflected, trying to think back to that day. But then her mind swirled and her memories flickered and False gave up trying to make sense of the mess. "But anyway, I don't need a doctor."
"I'm getting you a doctor anyway." Jimena said flatly, maneuvering around the puddles of what Jimena now knew to be False's unfortunate breakfast of scrambled eggs to head back out the door. "No, Jimena, the only thing you're getting dor me today is a mop for the vomit." False said, sitting up. Then she squeezed her head in what was most probably another severe headache.
"Okay, I'll get a mop, but after that I'm going to see Sheriff Jimmy and have him find a doctor for you." Jimena said firmly. And before False could stop her she walked stubbornly out the door.
---
Jimmy worked on his railway with Scar by his side, chatting about the meeting. And Jimmy managed to get a hermit account of grand architect False, who was apparently a clone and had always been. All that lore just made him confused, though. He had no idea what to think.
He and False had become allies, friends too, after that rough start at the dinner. But both had moved last it by now and we're on nice terms. But what kind of terms were they on now? Jimmy now knew some things about her that False would have probably wanted kept private, and according to the meeting she was a desensitized murderer and serial killer. But they traded with each other constantly and liked each other's presence. Or at least they did. Jimmy wasn't sure about how they felt about each other now.
He was so distracted by his thoughts that he didn't notice what Scar was trying to tell him until the scarred hermit literally poked him with his shovel. "Ow! Oh, Scar, did you say anything?" Jimmy asked, finally snapping to attention and rubbing his sore arm. He was pretty sure that it was going to bruise.
"I was asking if I put the rail tracks down straight." Scar said, pointing at the long line of anvils and iron bars that he'd laid out to weld later, although Grian had coolly informed Jimmy that Scar with a welder was just chaos waiting to happen and asked to be there when Scar started soldering. Jimmy stared at the crooked line of anvils that Scar seemed to think was a pretty good job.
"Um..." He started, unsure what to say. As if he understood, Scar said, "Just say what's on your mind, sheriff. I can take it." What's on my mind is that the minecarts that will ride this railway will completely slide off when they hit the tracks you put down, Jimmy thought.
He contemplated whether to be nice or brutally honest. True, Scar could take brutal honesty, but Jimmy knew he wouldn't like it. The sheriff himself definitely wouldn't like it, considering how honest Joel and fWhip and Grian were towards his builds. But even with everyone else being brutally honest, Jimmy decided he would be that one friend who would tell a white lie just to be nice.
"The tracks are fine, Scar." Jimmy said, and his heart practically melted when he saw how much the hermit lit up at his words. He was so cute. "I will say this now, though, but as soon as I'm done saying this sentence a friend of mine is going to swoop down next to me and interrupt our work." Jimmy predicted flatly. And be was right.
"Sheriff!" Jimena shouted, folding up her wings and landing next to him. "Huh, I was expecting Joel or fWhip or Grian. Jimena's new." Scar said. "Uh, what?" Jirman asked, confused. "Oh, nevermind, Jimmy, or Scar, do you know a good doctor who can handle someone with migraines and nausea?" "Uh, maybe, why?" Jimmy asked, a little taken aback by her question.
"False's sick and she doesn't want me to get a doctor but she definitely needs one because she threw up twice." Jimena rattled off. "Now, where's that doctor?" Jimmy hesitated. The thought of False made him remember his internal conflict from earlier. But surely he had to help False, right?
"What about Shelby?" Jimmy asked. "Yeah, her potions might help." Jimena said, lighting up. " I'll go get her." She spread her twilight-colored wings and prepared to fly away again. "I'm going with you!" Jimmy blurted without thinking. "Yeah, me too!" Scar said. "I'm going where my friend the sheriff goes!" "Okay!" Jimena said. So they grabbed their elytras and flew to the Evermoore.
"Oh, hi!" Shelby greeted after opening her door to find them waiting there for her. "To what do I owe you the pleasure?" "False is sick and needs a doctor." Jimena said. "Not hermit False." Scar added. A multitude of clashing emotions were seen flashing across the witch's face, all or which Jimmy could relate to. "Oh, um... how bad is she?" Shelby asked hesitantly. "She threw up twice today." Jimena said. "Jimmy said you were a good doctor."
"I just run an apothecary." Shelby said faintly. "Well, just get a potion for her or something," Jimena urged. "Anything that can help False." It was the sheer determination to help her best friend that seemed to win Shelby over. "Okay," She said finally, grabbing a few potions and stuffing them into her bag. "Let me just get my broom."
They all flew back to Cogsmeade and Jimena made False drink up all the potions and then take a long nap without sleepwalking. Shelby even suggested tying her to the bed so that if she tries to get up she'll wake up and can then go back to sleep. False said that it wouldn't really matter, though.
While Shelby and False were discussing sleep schedules and Scar was introducing Ginny to Jellie, Jimena approached Jimmy. "Sheriff, what's wrong?" She asked. "What do you mean?" Jimmy asked, wondering if he was really an open book in which all of his emotions could be ready as clear as the words on a page.
"Something's bothering you," Jimena said slowly, "And I think it's about False. What's wrong?" Jimmy wondered how to break the news to her gently. "Um... False is kind of a serial killer." "She's what?" Jimena shot him a double take. Jimmy wondered if it was just him or if she didn't seem that surprised. "She tried to kill Scott's llamas and apparently all the hermits have been hurt by her too." He sheriff admitted.
"She's doing it again?" Jimena asked quietly. "Wait, again? How do you know about the first time?" Jimmy asked in shock. "False told me about it." Jimena said. "And you're still friends with her?" Jimmy asked tactlessly. "Of course!" Jimena said indignantly. "What kind of friend would I be if I just stopped being nice to her just because I found out something... dark about my best friend?"
"I didn't mean it like that!" Jimmy protested. "It's just- I'm not sure what to think of her now. Are we still friends or should we still be friends or is she going to kill me like she hurt everyone else?" Jimena was silent for a moment and Jimmy realized that she must be going through a similar turmoil. She probably had been since False had told her about her bloody past.
"Friends should stay friends no matter what they learn about each other." Jimena said finally. "False has barely ever made friends or put trust in another person like she did with you. Don't break that trust. I'm sure we're all still friends with each other. And friends don't hurt friends." She added, slipping her hand into his.
Jimmy felt a little better now. Jimena knew False the best; she would surely know how she would feel about other people. "Thanks," Jimmy told her, squeezing her hand affectionately. "No problem, sheriff."