Atreus and Tara made their way back to camp, each carrying a handful of berries, different colors, different stems, clearly gathered in a hurry.
Atreus dropped his handful onto the dirt at Dimitri and Luna's feet.
"I've been kind to this girl. I fetched your wretched blood, and now I've brought you food. Any other requests before I can finally lie down and dream about being somewhere civilized?"
His words dripped with mock courtesy, every syllable daring Dimitri to correct him.
Dimitri didn't rise to the bait. "Thank you Atreus." he said sarcastically.
Tara rolled her eyes, tossing her own berries near the fire before sitting down in silence. "Sorry, Luna. I tried to see if I could find your bull while we were out, but there was nothing."
Luna's chest tightened. She nodded faintly, saying nothing.
Tara exhaled through her nose. "Ugh. I feel blind here. I should've been able to feel the bulls' presence but there's barely any Manea to work with; it's like I'm disconnected from the Veil."
Reaching into the pile, Tara plucked a bright red berry wrapped in a green vine. Luna's eyes widened. "Don't eat that!"
Luna's shout startled the group.
"Why not?!" Tara said still spooked by the sudden interruption
"That's a Red Baneberry," Luna said, crouching beside her." They're poisonous, it won't kill you but you'll wish it did!"
Tara dropped it instantly. Luna sighed and crouched beside the small pile of foraged food. Most of it was inedible. One by one, she picked through the berries, tossing the bad ones into the waves. When she was done, only seven remained — shriveled and pitiful against the firelight.
Atreus groaned. "Seven? Wonderful. A feast fit for kings."
"Eat, Atreus," Dimitri said. "You too, Tara. I'll wait till morning. Tara, you're on watch. Wake me if anything moves."
Tara gave Dimitri a slight nod. He returned it.
"Goodnight Luna. We'll find your…Gorchid I promise" He smiled before turning away from the fire. Within seconds, soft snores filled the air.
Atreus took his hood off and sat down grabbing five of the seven berries for himself and throwing them into his mouth. He chewed with disdain, as if each bite was his punishment.
Just like Dimitri his face was spotless, framed by his long golden hair that reached his shoulders. Luna wouldn't dare look too long though, she feared it might cause him to scorn her even more.
Instead she focused on Tara. She was the only one who remained shrouded, hiding under her cloak as the firelight failed to reveal more than a sliver of brown skin. Tara noticed Luna's gaze.
"You want the berries?" Tara asked voice low. "Have them. It's my fault we have so few. Some alchemist I am"
Luna shook her head, refusing her offer.
"Then why are you staring at me?"
"I just…" Luna hesitated. "You still have your hood on. Why?"
Before Tara could answer, Atreus beat her to it.
"It's because she doesn't want to "freak" the earthborn out with her unruly appearance. Isn't that right Tara"
Tara shot him a glare sharp enough to cut stone, but she didn't deny it.
"I might not be what the people of earth are used to seeing, keeping my hood on has been saving me trouble." she said curtly. "People don't react well to what they don't understand."
Atreus chuckled. "Your kind does tend to bring attention around these parts, but I think the hood looks good on you"
He winked mockingly, then yawned, likely deliberate to signify that he was going to sleep.
"Don't wake me if anything attacks i'd rather it just kill me in my sleep and free me from this nightmare"
Tara stared at Atreus, her eyes shooting him daggers.
Tara's voice turned cold. "As you wish"
Tara turned her gaze back to Luna, her mood now shifting, like she blamed Luna for Atreus' words.
"You should get some rest," she said quietly. "You'll want to be rested when searching for your bull."
Luna just nodded, sensing that anything more than a soft gesture would just worsen Tara's mood further.
She laid her head on the cool soil staring at the vibrant moon. Luna worried sleep wouldn't come, not when her dream sat only two feet away. She never imagined she'd meet Moonies, the very people her tribe had treated like myths. Her eyes closed trying to get as much sleep as she could, facing her mother tomorrow was going to be…difficult especially without Gorchid.
When she opened them again, she was met not by the soft glow of dawn, but by the familiar blue of Earth's atmosphere. She didn't remember falling asleep; her mind had been too restless for that. Slowly, she pushed herself upright and looked around. No tribal tents. No familiar faces. Only two young outsiders lying nearby, their pale garb and foreign stillness standing out like stars on the beach.
"So it wasn't a dream" she whispered.
If she remembered correctly, the girl who never took her hood off was gone.
Luna rose carefully, moving slowly so as not to wake her newfound "friends." The soil was cool beneath her palms, and the faint hiss of the waves filled the silence where Tara's breathing should have been. She moved away toward a small hill just high enough to give her a good view of the Rim.
She surveyed the area, golden brown fields stretched across the Oldlands, endless except for the scar of the dead city where she'd almost lost her life. Her eyes moved across the horizon scanning for movement.
Luna knew what to look for, her father always took her on hunts because of her eye, always able to spot prey before the prey could spot her. Her eyes froze, where the ocean waves crashed against the shore. She spotted a small silver glimmering light against the sand, it was Tara still covered from head to toe in her exotic moonie garment.
Luna darted down the hill toward her, staying low so as to not be seen too early. The hooded girl was a mystery, and in the Oldlands, secrets weren't meant to be respected—they were meant to be solved.
The closer she got, the lower she crouched, until she was practically crawling along the ground. She pressed herself behind a rock near the beach, peeking out just enough to watch what the Moonie was doing so far from the others.
In the girl's hand was a small bundle of berries—like before, but different. These ones looked… edible.
"Okay, Tara," she muttered to herself, "you have one more detox potion. If I waste it testing berries again, Atreus will never let me hear the end of it." She sighed, studying the fruit with reluctant caution. "Let's see… the black berries are…poisonous, consumption was followed by gut pain. No potion necessary. The Purple ones are some kind of ivy, causing immense irritation in the throat. Detox potion was used, definitely poisonous."
Her expression softened with faint relief. "At least the red berries that Earth girl warned me about saved me some trouble."
She raised the berries up one by one to her mouth, chewing them slowly, the detox potion still clutched in her other hand, just in case.
"This one tastes good," Tara smiled reluctantly, "I wonder what it's called."
Luna, recognized the delicious berry, she was surprised the hooded girl didn't know what they were called. She thought they were common everywhere.
"That's a blueberry–" Before Luna could finish her sentence Tara shot a pink beam of light towards her.
Shoop
Luna jumped out of the way causing the beam to hit the rock behind her shattering it into shards of glassy dust. Instinctively her hand flew to her tanto, blade drawn before she even thought.
"By Phenta, why would you sneak up on me like that?!" Tara shouted, her arm still trembling as faint wisps of energy crackled from her fingers. Her voice was sharp, but her breath hitched halfway through the sentence.
Luna lowered her blade " I didn't mean to startle you, I just wanted to know where you were" she said, trying her best to ease the hooded girl's nerves. "It's can be dangerous out here on your own"
Tara gave a quick, uneven chuckle. "Trust me earth girl I can handle myself just fine, don't try and pass your meddlesome behavior off as "concern"' her eyes flicked toward the ruins behind Luna, scanning the shadows as if expecting something else to appear. After no one came she picked up the berries she had dropped brushing off the sand. She picked the delicious berry from earlier out of the pile, pinching it between her fingers for close inspection.
"So this is called a blueberry?" she asked in a genuinely curious tone. "It tastes…delicious. They never told us earth still had these delicacies." She threw the berry in her mouth, chewing slowly savoring every bite. "While I am here, will you take me to find more?"
Luna's ears perked up—a Moonie asking her for a favor?
"Yeah, of course," she said, grinning. "They're everywhere. But…" she paused, her expression shifting. "You have to do something for me first."
Tara tilted her head, intrigued. "If you want me to teach you Veil Manea, I cannot."
Luna shook her head. "I want you to take your hood off."
Tara's eyes narrowed. She studied Luna carefully, scanning for any trace of deceit.
"Fine, you intrusive girl," she said at last. "I'll reveal my face to you—after you bring me the berries."
She extended her hand to seal the deal. Luna hesitated for a heartbeat, then shook it.
"Now," Tara said briskly, turning toward the shore, "let's head back before Atreus convinces Dimitri to leave without us."
When they returned to the camp Dimitri and Atreus were already awake, they didn't notice the two girls return. They were too busy arguing.
"Atreus, I don't think we should report it, we found plenty of other sites, more than enough for your father to be pleased!" Dimitri said, voice tinged with frustration.
Atreus shot back, almost instantly, "If I remember correctly father asked for us to report any site with viable test subjects. That means this one as well"
Snap!
Tara stepped on what seemed to be the loudest branch in the Oldlands, drawing the bickering boys.
"We're back," she said dryly, "and already sick of you two."
Atreus and Dimitri's eyes both snapped to Luna, startled. Their argument falling to a hush in an instant.
"Great," Atreus said firmly, recovering his composure. "Let's get Lumen back to her family so we can return to the World-Bridge and finish the assignment."
Dimitri frowned. "Her name is Luna," he corrected, his tone quieter but edged with reproach. Turning toward her, he added more gently, "Do you know the way to your tribe, Luna? Why don't you take us there?"
Luna recoiled, "That's not necessary" she said, protesting the thought, "If you can just help me find Gorchid, I can get you your berries and be out of your hair." as much as she would love the strangers company, especially Dimitri's, Luna knew their presence would just anger her mother further.
"Not only did you enter a dead city, but you spent the night with complete strangers!" Luna could hear her mothers wrath already.
Atreus smiled "Don't worry…Luna," he said, making sure he got her name right. "It would be our pleasure to make sure you got home safely, with your beast at your side."
Luna hesitated. The blonde-haired boy was acting differently—less sharp, almost sincere. Maybe he wasn't as bad as she'd thought. Still she didn't want to summon back the unruly attitude he displayed the other night so she just gave up.
"Fine," she said. "You can take me home—but you have to leave before anyone from my tribe sees you."
Tara scoffed jokingly, "Oh are you ashamed to be seen with your "moonie" friends is that it"
Atreus chimed in "I think there is not enough grime on our faces to fit in." Both Tara and Atreus laughed.
"No! It's not that, it's just—"
"Relax," Dimitri interrupted gently. "They're only teasing. We'll take you as far as you're comfortable with."
He smiled at her, teeth as white as Oldland snow. Luna began to stare again, his beauty hard for her to ignore.
"Dimitri," Atreus drawled, smirking, "I think this Earthborn wants to forn you. Shall we leave you two alone?"
"Atreus," Dimitri warned, his tone firm.
"Alright, alright, I'll be quiet," Atreus said, his grin refusing to fade.
"Let's just go," Luna muttered, her cheeks burning. "This is the way to Astoria—one of the dead cities that's not fully abandoned. It's across the river, to Oregon. My family has a camp there."
She moved ahead, boots crunching against the brittle ground, the others falling into step behind her.
"Is it far?" Atreus asked.
"No… not really," Luna replied, though her voice carried more doubt than certainty.