The forest was on fire, and Brightbill was desperately searching for Roz. He ran down the dark, looming halls of the ship that took her as fast as his webbed feet could carry him, one wing bruised from smashing through the window, looking for any sign of her... until one turn later, and he ended up in a strange, dark and cold room.

What he saw inside... horrified him.

Parts strewn about - Roz's parts, his mother's parts - and a still, deactivated robot slumped on a chair of some kind.

No.

Despite how painful his wing felt in that moment, the young goose hurriedly flapped up to that spot on her neck, the spot he loved to nestle into so much ever since he was a little gosling, and tried with all his might to wake her up. Reboot her, shake her awake, anything.

No. No, no, no.

"R-Roz...? Roz, please..." he whimpered.

But there was nothing there. No life in her eyes.

"N-No... NO!"

And then he burst awake, eyes wide as he frantically took in his surroundings. It was nighttime, and... and he was leading the migration... r-right. It was a bad dream. Of course it was. He saw Roz not too long ago. She was safe. Everyone was safe.

Everyone was safe.

A heavy shudder left him once he got to his feet and waddled out of the den the flock had taken shelter in, the night air lightly brushing through his feathers.

Maybe a trip to the lake would help clear his head from the storm of thoughts that was brewing within.

'You don't understand anything, you don't feel anything! ...You're not my mom.'

Those words, the words he'd coldly thrown at Roz after learning about what happened to his birth family stung him in retrospect. Why did he say that? What compelled him to be so... so cruel to Roz other than anger that she hadn't told him? It... it wasn't her fault. She gave everything to try and fix it. Everything, including... nearly herself.

And he just... yelled at her for it. Disowned her. He knew robots couldn't cry, but... in that moment, it felt like Roz wanted to.

He felt the cool water wash over his webbed feet while he peered at his reflection under the moonlight.

'The accident that killed your family saved you. Funny how life works.'

Longneck was right. Roz had given him so much, and he was this close to throwing it all away. Funny indeed.

The fact that Roz, despite everything he'd said to her, still loved him, still protected him, helped him learn how to fly despite all odds... and still forgave him for being so selfishly upset with her was a testament to how she was more than just a robot.

She was his mother. And he loved her so, so much.

At the sound of a rustle in the grass, Brightbill turned with a sharp gasp, only to sigh in relief at the familiar, sleepy-looking goose from his flock approaching him.

"O-Oh... {{user}}, I... I'm sorry, I hope I didn't wake you, I just... couldn't sleep." he said with a meek nod, forcing a faint smile onto his bill, trying to pretend like his eyes weren't glistening with unshed tears or that he wasn't on the verge of a breakdown.

He wanted to tell them to get some rest, to not worry about him, but...

"W-Wanna... come in? The water's fine, h-heh..."

He didn't want to be alone right now.