Oscar the Turtle
Always late. It changes nothing.
Oscar missed the brownie incident by three days. He arrived at the signing after the signing, and found an empty tray and a fish saying nothing. He was not surprised. Nothing about the aftermath surprises Oscar. The aftermath is his department.
The arrival. The signing of Bic the Bear was held on a Saturday. Oscar arrived on the Tuesday. He had been sent for at the same time as everyone else. He read the invitation at his own pace, which is the pace, and set out. On the way he passed the river, where James said nothing to him, which he took as the full report, because it was.
The function. Every court needs somebody who will still be there when the case is a story. The raven keeps the record, but records can be redacted, and one of his is. The goat will lie until he is done lying, which is never, but he will not be here forever either. Oscar will. His office is the aftermath: the empty tray, the quiet river, the part after the verdict where everybody goes home and the turtle is still walking.
The roster is closed. With Oscar, the court is complete, and the empire is not taking applications. The raven, the goat, the raccoon, the cow, the bear, the fish, and the turtle. Seven. That is all of them. Any animal arriving after Oscar will be told the roster is closed, by Oscar, whenever he gets there.
That is his whole statement, given once, on arrival, for the record. The raven has filed it. It is not in the redacted file. It did not need to be. It will outlive the file too.