Luna latched her bone-hook onto a sturdy piece of railing, tugging it three times to test its hold—just as she'd done before. She moved with haste, afraid that keeping her mother waiting would be seen as another offense entirely.
Dimitri turned and ran back into the tower to warn the others of her mother's arrival.
Luna descended the rope quickly, ignoring the burn that seared across her palm. Her feet touched the dry grass for only a heartbeat before she broke into a sprint.
"Mother!" she cried, throwing herself into her arms.
Pat'ul stretched her arms wide, catching her daughter as tears streamed down her face.
Her skin was a warm tawny hue, the same as Luna's, and her long braids reached down to her waist. White tattoos traced her face in intricate patterns—each line deliberate, each symbol carrying meaning. The markings faded as they neared a burn scar that began at her cheek and stretched down her arm, its ridges deep and old.
On her shoulder hung a bow resting against her fur cloak.
"Luna! My little moon—where have you been?" she said, her words trembling with relief and fear alike.
"I was looking for Gorchid," Luna said, pointing toward the spotted tow-bull grazing nearby. "He ran off, and I knew how much the tribe spent on him, so I went after him. I didn't realize he'd gone all the way up to Washington " Her voice wavered under the weight of her mother's stare.
Pat'ul cupped her daughter's face, eyes scanning for wounds. "Are you hurt? You were gone for so long—did anything harm you?"
"No, I'm okay. See?" Luna twirled and did a cartwheel, hoping the motion would erase her mother's worry.
It almost worked…until Pat'ul's eyes narrowed.
"Is that blood?" she asked, her voice low and sharp. "On your face?"
Luna froze. "No?" She lied.
Pat'ul didn't buy it. Her hand shot forward, gripping Luna's chin, turning her daughter's face toward the light. "Why were you bleeding?" she demanded. "Were you attacked? Was it highwaymen—or slavers?" Her voice began to shake. "Did slavers try to take my baby—"
"No mother, it was nothing." Her voice cut in quickly, cracking under the pressure "I just…fell." Pat'ul's face shifted, her concern was slowly shifting into suspicion.
"You…fell?" she retorted. "Then why are you bleeding from both ears–"
"I'm not!" Luna snapped before she could stop herself. The words shot out like an arrow. Silence followed. Luna's eyes went wide. She clapped her hands over her mouth, horror flooding her face as she realized what she'd just done.
Not only had she stayed out all night… she'd raised her voice at her mother. She waited for it the wrath she knew was coming. But instead Pat'ul took a deep breath, deeper than Luna'd ever seen her take.
"What matters is you are ok" Pat'ul kissed her on the forehead and pulled her into another embrace this time tighter, and warmer almost as if she didn't intend to let go. "Don't scare me like that again, moon okay, no amount of spent Korral is worth your life?"
"Ok mother I won't." Luna answered. "I'm sorry." They stayed there wrapped in each other's arms as the wind caused the grass to dance at their feet.
Gorchid joined in digging his head into Luna's chest.
"I'm glad to see you too, Gorchid," Luna laughed softly, reaching to hug him. But the tow-bull didn't return the affection. His snout stayed pressed against her cloak, nostrils flaring as if something beneath the fabric had caught his attention.
"What's wrong with him?" Pat'ul asked, her brow furrowing.
Luna looked down. Gorchid's snout pressed insistently against her cloak, the beast snorting and pawing at the ground as if trying to unearth something hidden.
"Gorchid, stop," Luna said, half laughing, half confused. "There's nothing—"
A faint hum answered her.
Both she and Pat'ul froze. The sound was soft but unmistakable—a low, steady vibration, like a heartbeat trapped in stone. Luna's stomach turned cold. She knew that sound.
Pat'ul's expression darkened. "Luna," she said carefully, "what is that?"
Luna hesitated, holding her cloak together deliberately hiding the Korral. Still it's light shimmered through, holding the attention of Pat'ul.
"It's nothing," she said, smiling. "Just a pretty stone I found…on the beach"
Pat'ul's voice lowered. "A Korral Stone?"
Luna didn't answer. She couldn't. Pat'ul reached forward, pulling the cloak aside. There it was; an entire nodule of Korral hanging from her daughter's belt, glowing more ethereal than any shards she'd come across. For a moment they were both silent. The only sound was the wind whistling through the grass.
"Where did you get this?" She said, her voice dripping with confusion and concern.
Luna stuttered "I–I–I–"
"I gave it to her," Dimitri answered. A white smile across his face. Pat'ul grabbed Luna and jumped back her hand darting to her bow. She nocked an arrow in a heartbeat putting the foreign boy directly in her crosshairs. "Who are you?" she hissed, imitating a wild animal.
He threw his hands up as a gesture of peace. "I am Dimitri, I am one of the ones who saved your daughter from the abominations" Luna's eyes widened.
Shut up Dimitri! she thought hoping moonie magic involved mind reading.
"Abominations!" Pat'ul yelled. It felt as though her voice reached across the whole of the Oldlands and maybe even Akrinn.
Dimitri recoiled. This wasn't the reaction he was expecting. His eyes darted to Luna's, noticing her burning glare. He'd said something wrong.
"I mean she handled it great," he said, attempting to fix things. "She was brave and delved head first into battle, even managing to take one down." Luna turned red. She was praying Dimitri would take the hint, but he just kept talking.
"You did WHAT!" Pat'ul roared, focused on her daughter. It felt as though the world stopped at her command, even bringing the wind to a hold. "You said you fell, Luna, that's a far cry from an Abomination."
"You believed that?!" Luna retorted, regretting the words as soon as they left her lips.
"No I didn't!" Pat'ul shouted. "But I was willing to let it go until I found out that you were "delving" into abominations, with…strangers"
The air crackled with tension. Dimitri took a cautious step back.
From above, Atreus and Tara began descending the rope, careful not to interrupt the not-so-private family meltdown. Their clothes clung to them, still dripping from the water tower. Pink ethereal fans spun lazily around them, drying their soaked uniforms as they touched the ground behind Dimitri—each of them silently deciding he could handle this one on his own.
"Perfect timing," Atreus muttered under his breath amused. "We miss one conversation and the Earthborn are already at war."
Tara elbowed him, eyes fixed on Pat'ul's drawn bow. "Not helping."
Dimitri stepped forward cautiously, his hands raised in a gesture of peace. "She aided us," he said, his tone calm but firm. "We are not from around here, and without her we'd still be on the ground—gasping for water. You've taught your daughter to survive out here, and those lessons persist."
Pat'ul's grip on the bow loosened only slightly, her eyes turning towards the boy dressed in garb unfit for this world. He had multiplied. Three strangers covered in silver robes glimmering in the light, pink constructs floating above them.
"Your…Olympians?" She said her voice tinged with unease. Luna's eyes shot to her mothers and she noticed her fear, her recognition. How does she know that? she thought.
"Your versed in Akrinnite culture?!" Dimitri said, surprised.
She put her arm around Luna pulling her behind herself "I know little" She said sternly "now tell me Why you helped my daughter? If there is any debt you need paid i'll be the one paying it"
"No debt." Dimitri answered, "I—we just wanted to see her home safe and now that we have we can—"
"Maybe we can follow you to your tribe," Atreus interrupted. "The World-Bridge is miles away, and we haven't got anything to eat."
"No, Atreus," Dimitri growled. "We'll be fine. We can eat back at camp."
Pat'ul studied the Olympians. She didn't trust them, but they were children—and hungry by the looks of it, and they saved her daughter. She sighed giving a look to Luna trying to hide her frustration.
"You kids can follow us back to Astoria," she said at last. "It wouldn't be right letting you starve out here."
Atreus bowed deeply. "Thank you kind Madame it is our pleasure"
"Sure" Pat'ul said, dismissive of the boy's strange gesture.
Dimitri's glare burned holes into Atreus's back, the anger clear on his face.
"It's alright, Dimitri," Tara whispered beside him, hoping to calm his nerves. "This is our task, remember? They probably won't even bother checking every site."
Dimitri said nothing. He wandered over to the patch of grass where Luna's horn had fallen earlier, brushing away the dirt before calling out, "Luna!"
Her head turned, hesitant. "Yeah?" she said softly, still flushed from her mother's public scolding.
"Here—you dropped this, remember?" He held the horn out to her, gesturing for her to take it. When her hand met his, his fingers lingered.
"I'm sorry," he said, the words quiet and sincere.
Luna gave a small, awkward smile. "It's okay. It's not that big of a deal," she said. "She'll get over it…Eventually"
She took the horn and returned to her mother, who was already gathering her things.
"Alright, follow me," Pat'ul said, her voice still rough from shouting. She pointed at Luna. "You stay by my side."
The group started on their journey. Dimitri lagged behind, watching Luna from a distance. His eyes softened, guilt heavy in them.
"I'm sorry," he whispered again—though this time to no one who could hear.