Annie is dressing in her best Court-issued suit, and berating Reynardine for letting the stuffed toy he's inhabiting get dirty and dingy. Rey isn't bothered until he learns that Surma made the toy, whereupon he starts to consider getting cleaned up. Annie asks Kat how she looks, and Kat responds that she looks fine. Rey asks why she's dressed formally, and Annie explains she's going to visit Coyote in Gillitie Wood. Rey is shocked that she's going so soon, and implies he'd like to go with her, but demurs when asked if there's a problem. He's under orders to obey Kat while Annie's gone, and Kat intends to put him in the washing machine.
Annie turns down Eglamore's offer of a suit of armour, although he insists that she exchange her tie for a clip-on. He flees the room in embarrassment when Jones tells him to try not to undress the female students, shutting a door so hard the doorknob pops off. Annie asks if the forest is really that dangerous, and Jones denies it, stating that Eglamore's behaviour is because he worries about Annie. Jones then asks Annie if she knows what she'll ask Coyote about. Annie says she doesn't know, she just wanted to pay him a visit. Jones says it would be a good opportunity to ask him any questions she has about the Court.
Eglamore's gotten kitted out in his full Dragon Slayer armour, which he hasn't worn in ages. He asks Annie if Anja's shown her how to use her blinker stone yet, and Annie says no, Anja sent the signal up for her. In any case, it's time to go. As they cross the bridge, Annie asks Eglamore if he needs all of those swords, and he explains it's formal attire. In any case, "Dragon Slayer" is just a title, as dragons don't need much slaying these days. At the far side of the bridge, Eglamore gives Annie an emergency beacon, in case of trouble. She doesn't think it's necessary, but he asks her to humour him. Under the eaves of the forest, they are met by Ysengrin. He says that Eglamore must stay there, as he is not welcome. Annie orders Ysengrin to take her to Coyote. They depart.
As they walk through the forest, Annie sees many shadow people, Coyote's Glass-Eyed Men, watching them. Ysengrin escorts Annie to a clearing, where moonlight shines through the branches of the trees onto a large pond. Annie sits on a log to wait. Coyote chooses to announce himself with a boast about how he is the forest, that everything in it, as well as the Sun and Moon, are part of him.
Annie applauds, thanking him for his speech. Coyote crows to Ysengrin that he knew she would like it, and welcomes Annie to the forest. He expects Annie's mother told her of their time together, and Annie explains that she didn't. Surma told Annie stories about Coyote, but never said they were friends. Coyote asks her which ones she liked. Annie says she told her a story about Coyote placing the stars in the sky.
Annie says Surma also told her Coyote was fond of juggling his own eyeballs, which Coyote is happy to demonstrate for her. He did this for Surma, too. He says it's sad Surma's gone, but now that Annie is here, friendship can be born anew. Annie asks Coyote how he came to be in Europe, since he's a long way from home. He tells her:
Annie: Renard.
Coyote: Yes! My dear cousin Renard! I came in search and found him with old Ysengrin. Together we came to this grand forest. This was to be a place of great power, a place of union! But all we found was a terrible squabble! The humans sought to tame the powerful creatures! With my mighty paw I scored the earth and so the Court and Forest were divided!
Annie is surprised that Coyote created the Annan Waters. Coyote decides to demonstrate his power by pulling the Moon from the sky and showing it to her as about the size of a golf ball. Annie pokes it. Coyote then eats it, and the Moon is back in the sky. Annie asks if that was real, and Coyote tells her it was since she experienced it. Annie lays it out: Coyote divided the Court and the Forest, but now there is a bridge. Coyote tells her the Court did something so no one could cross, and the bridge was later built on their terms. Why? As he explains it, it's because sometimes humans grow weary of their lives and wish to come to the Forest, and they are given new bodies to do so. When Annie asks, he confirms it's the test she's heard about. It was Ysengrin's idea to ban humans from living in the Forest, Coyote says, without giving up their bodies. Annie asks if humans have lived in the forest before, then, and Coyote confirms it.
Annie asks Coyote why he was looking for Renard in the first place. Coyote explains that he was trying to make Renard into a powerful being, like himself. He wanted to give him his powers, but Renard always refused, because he didn't want to create a gap between himself and his human friends.
Coyote: Why, he killed that young man, of course!
Annie wonders if Rey has killed many people, and Coyote says no, since Renard loves humans, unlike Ysengrin. Annie responds that Rey once tried to kill her and take her body. Coyote says that doesn't sound right, not for Annie of all people, because as he explains, Renard fell desperately in love with Surma. He finally took Coyote up on his standing offer of powers, asking for the ability to take bodies. He then ran away, stole the body of a handsome young man at the Court, and attempted to woo Surma. Coyote heard he was captured and tricked, and they didn't see him again until last summer's parley at the Court. Coyote was surprised to see him with Surma's daughter. He then explains that whenever he gifts a power away, it comes with a cost.
Annie asks Coyote what Gunnerkrigg Court is, and he tells her "It is man's endeavour to become God!" Annie lampshades how vague the answer is. Coyote responds that it would be no fun to tell her everything now, because it would make for a boring story. He bids her good night, and invites her to visit again. Ysengrin escorts her back to the edge of the forest, where they find Eglamore. As Annie starts back across the bridge with Eglamore, she turns to wave goodbye.
Later, at the observatory, Kat recounts a story of some guy with a bad hair day. She doesn't know what Annie's looking for, but there hasn't been any irregular lunar activity recorded over the past five hours. Everything's normal. Annie supposes it was just a trick, as Kat looks through the telescope — and finds something unusual. Annie comes over to look.
She's left a giant fingerprint on the Moon.
Tropes:
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Coyote, as best exemplified by his story about placing the stars in the sky, is easily bored and distracted.
- The Bus Came Back: Coyote and Ysengrin.
- Call-Back:
- Annie is finally taking Coyote up on his offer to visit the forest, as Jones advised her to.
- Coyote gives his perspective on the divide between the Court and the Forest.
- Coyote mentions that sometimes humans are given new bodies and move to the Forest. And that sometimes, Forest residents do the opposite.
- Annie tells Coyote that Rey once tried to kill her and possess her body.
- Chekhov's Gun: The emergency beacon Eglamore gives Annie. "At the first sign of trouble, snap this beacon. Wherever you are, I'll be able to find you and be there within five seconds."
- Continuity Nod:
- The floating sigils of the Court and Wood from "The Fangs of Summertime" appear again, and Eglamore asks Annie about Anja Donlan's offer to train her in the use of a blinker stone.
- Eglamore pulls Annie away from the edge of the bridge when she looks over, no doubt remembering when she was pushed off.
- The forest is full of Glass-Eyed Men.
- Deal with the Devil: Coyote's offers to give anyone powers are like this, since there's always a cost.
- Deface of the Moon: Annie pokes the Moon while Coyote's pulled it out of orbit and shrunk it down, leaving a giant fingerprint on it.
- Eye Scream: Coyote can juggle his own eyeballs.
- Fantastic Racism: Ysengrin's hatred of humans is expanded upon.
- Foreshadowing:
- In the artwork on the title page, there is an arrow drawn in the Annan Waters.
- Coyote calls Annie "Fire Head Girl".
- Coyote mentions that shortly after he created the divide, the Court did something to the river to prevent people from crossing it.
- Coyote's comment about "many of the current inhabitants [of the Court and Forest] [being] descended from those humans."
- Coyote refers to Surma as "fiery".
- Coyote, upon departing, tells Annie that if she visits again he might just tell her his great secret.
- Incoming Ham: Coyote makes his entrance by boasting of his power over the forest.
- "Just So" Story: Coyote's tale of how he placed the stars in the sky.
- Lampshade Hanging: After Coyote's Non-Answer, quoted below, to Annie's question about the Court:Coyote: How is that for an enigmatic answer?
Ysengrin: Very enigmatic. It barely answers anything at all.
Annie: In fact, it raises more questions than before. - Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Coyote tells Annie he can't tell her everything right away because it would make for a boring story.
- Living Shadow: Annie sees plenty of Glass-Eyed Men on her way through the forest.
- Magical Underpinnings of Reality: Coyote's story about him placing the stars in the sky is all about this.
- The Nicknamer: Coyote calls Annie "Fire Head Girl" instead of her actual name.
- Non-Answer:Annie: Coyote, can you tell me, what is Gunnerkrigg Court?
Coyote: Why... it is man's endeavour to become God! - Noodle Incident: Kat's tale of some guy whose hair came out all curly, which he reacted badly to.
- Perspective Magic: Coyote demonstrates his power to Annie by pulling the Moon from the sky and shrinking it to the size of a golf ball. He then puts it back.
- Physical God: Coyote's introductory boast makes this pretty clear, as does his little demonstration later — yanking the Moon from the sky and shrinking it to the size of a golf ball.
- Power at a Price: All powers Coyote gifts come with a cost. Renard's Body Surfing kills any body that is not his own, and Ysengrin's Green Thumb causes his limbs to creak.
- Real After All: Annie's not certain whether Coyote pulling the Moon from the sky was real or an illusion until she sees her giant fingerprint on it in the observatory at the end.
- The Reveal:
- Reynardine is Renard the Trickster, fox spirit of French folklore.
- Coyote explains how he, Ysengrin, and Renard/Reynardine came to Gillitie Wood.
- Rey is being held at the Court because he killed someone.
- The Trickster: Coyote, of course, but also Reynardine, or rather Renard.
- Walking Armoury: The Dragon Slayer formal armour includes multiple swords.
- Wham Episode: We learn Rey's true identity, that Coyote created the Annan Waters, and why Rey was being held at the Court.
- Wham Line: Courtesy of Coyote, regarding Renard:"Why, he killed that young man, of course!"
