Lunar Heart, Shadow Bound ✓ [when the moon lies]

Ch.13: Midnight Snack

Edited: Sept, 17, 2020

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It wasn't too long into sleep that she felt a discomfort.

I need to pee. Pinti grimaced. She tried to get back to sleep but without success. The more she thought about it, the more she had to go. Moaning in annoyance, she rubbed her eyes and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

It was definitely the lavender-scented milk I had at dinner. She grumbled at herself for making a bad decision. Just my luck, the one night I get a nice fluffy bed Saboteur comes, milk comes, heizak. Sometimes, she wondered if the Lunar Goddess was real but all she did was bother Kathula's lives and make them more miserable for fun.

"Very funny Goddess. Pfft," she said in a quiet voice. After sitting on the toilet, Pinti spent a good minute trying out the different flushing functions—sprinkle, weak, medium, and downpour.

Downpour. She smirked and washed her paws under the cold faucet water. As she wiped the excess water on her fur, her stomach grumbled. It hadn't been that long since dinner, but she was already hungry. That was the problem with waking up in the middle of the night—everything woke up.

She decided to bother Galag and he seemed to be awake still, or already. A light was coming from under the door to his study. She crept along the hallway. Her ears pricked at the sound of talking. It didn't sound like Deel or Lalina. She strained her ears. Who could he be talking to in the dead of the night?

Someone banged a fist on a hard surface making her flinch.

"...just a parasite!" Galag growled but quickly hushed his voice. Heated whispering ensued between him and someone else. Pinti made her pawsteps light and crept closer to the door, sniffing the air. But there was no scent other than Galag's.

But there's nothing that has no scent except non-potion magick and creatures always have a scent. She focused hard on the scents in the room. With the door closed, only scents near the door or those strong enough could she detect. Galag was definitely talking to someone.

Determined to find out who, Pinti focused on Galag's scent and erased that. She found the dusty scents of old paper, ink fresh and stale, and a used teabag. Frowning at the 'scentlessness' of whomever, she let all the scents come back to her when something caught her attention.

It was a tiny hint of lemongrass. She latched onto it quick, grasping it in her claws. It sometimes faded but sometimes became a little stronger. When it became stronger, the whispering of the other person in the room grew a little louder but not loud enough that she could understand words.

Holding in a satisfied trill for capturing that illusive scent, Pinti tried to delve in deeper. Abruptly, all scents disappeared. She jerked and made the floor creak. The whispering ceased. Instantly, she smelled Galag and he opened the door with his back to the yellow-gold light inside his study. He stood there in his pajamas looking tired and gave a lazy yawn.

"Oh, Pinti. I thought I felt someone standing there. Did you need something?"

For a moment she couldn't speak, but quickly she snapped herself out of it and said, "I was just wondering about something to eat." She gave a little smile. Some instinct told her it wasn't a good idea to ask about what was going on inside. The presence was gone and as far as she could see, no one else was in there.

"Oh, I've just been up reading." He pointed to a book that had looked like it had fallen on the floor. With a gesture he lifted it back up to a table nearby. "Come along then," he said, snapping her attention away. "I have just the thing."

Twitching her whiskers, she followed him downstairs and sat at the table under oil lamp light. As he heated some chicken broth on the stove, Pinti tried to forget about the incident. It was probably just some Sorcerer thing she didn't understand and maybe even too complicated for him to explain even if she did ask.

And if it has something to do with the scepter, he will probably tell me. She nodded and after a few moments, Galag came over with two bowls of broth and some bread.

"Making it made me feel hungry, too." He laughed. "So, how did you come by Deel? He's not entirely made easy to find."

"I overheard Huamanoas talking about someone in Nuaka who was searching for the scepter," she said and licked up the broth before it dripped off her lips.

Galag nodded. "Of course, it's rumored everywhere."

Everywhere? But not in Bairenshire. Even though she hadn't been looking for it then, it could have at least been rumored about. It wasn't until she left the city that she heard about the scepter and by chance at that.

"I don't understand why the scepter can't be available to Kathula all the time." Galag clanked his spoon on the bowl. "The Edglings have been terrorizing you for decades."

Pinti frowned. "But you can only use it once in a hundred years, right?"

Galag dipped his bread into the broth. "But it is said that if a Kathula wished hard enough and if they believed hard enough, and proved themselves worthy, and never gave up, the scepter will appear for the Kathula to use it regardless of how many years it has been."

She stared at him in disbelief. That was new information. But then she remembered Aurvandil—the first Kathula to walk the Rings that was supposed to call upon the red stone caged in the scepter. Now Galag made it sound like they didn't need to wait for Aurvandil.

"But what about Aurvandil?" Saying the name out loud gave her that same familiar sense that she felt earlier. She had heard the name before but couldn't remember where.

Galag finished his broth. "Perhaps that means a strong-minded Kathula is above Aurvandil. But who, is the question, right? As far as I know, only you and Deel are looking for the scepter. Deel's too unstable to use the scepter, but you? A strong Kathula Shamala? Who knows? Maybe it could be you? What an interesting thought, huh?" He gave her a smile and held out his hand. "Are you done?"

Pinti nodded and handed her bowl to him. Her tail quivered at the thought that she could be the one. She began imagining herself touching the scepter, wishing to destroy Edglings. Kathula dead and alive would never call her a failure again.

After they said goodnight, she returned to her room. There, she lay in bed and stared up at the ceiling. From what Galag had said, it seemed she was the best candidate.

What do Huamanoas call this? Fate? Destiny? Chosen? She scoffed. Pinti didn't believe that some outside force could choose her path for her, directing her when she derailed. It was a silly fantasy that Humans loved because they were so insecure.

Fate or destiny or whatever it was, there was no doubt in her mind the scepter was hers to claim. It was hers for revenge. The Edglings' fate was in her paws. A new determination burned strong in her heart. She was unstoppable now.