| “Well, good gator balls, that was sumfin.” A familiar voice spoke in the dark. Luna was in agony - every nerve of her body aching as if she had been pulverized by a sandblaster. She opened her eyes to stare up at a grinning mouth of golden teeth and a familiar, tattered, gray coat.

She turned her head to see Abraham and Pupper seated between some familiar spears embedded in the mire while a sweltering heat washed over them in gusts of tropical winds.

It soon dawned on her that she could hear loud, toothless whistles and scruffy cheers - the unmistakable sounds of the rugged Longmirians. She lay strewn on the mire on her back, her head resting against one of the spears. Judging by the pain in her shoulder, she’d been fortunate to miss it as she came soaring through the air and slammed into the moss.

“Oh right, you must be hungry, lemme-” The old man didn’t even finish talking before pressing a fist-sized lump of salty meat into her mouth.

What little remained of her cognition vanished as she felt the produce on her tongue and immediately tore into it- unleashing her ravenous hunger on the haunch.

Further along on the slight hill, Abraham watched the distant fires rage over the alien landscape - flames of his creation, albeit with no small amount of help from his companions. He leaned his weary head against Pupper’s massive form and felt her huff approvingly of their mission as the people of Longmire stepped up next to them to enjoy the infernal scenery.

“Ain’t seen nuthin’ like that in at least ten years- my gawd.” One of the men spoke as he raised his fists to his hips and grinned a toothless smile at the hellish inferno illuminating the night’s sky.

Even the other hounds came to join in on beholding the scenery and with them, a light, melodious voice giggled from between the forest of fur. His body ached and his mind was aflame with the exhaustion of using his mind-magic so frivolously, but a single laugh from her washed all the pain away.

“I was wonderin’ what you were doin’ with all that swamp-fart. I didn’t think you’d be able to do it.” He pridefully prepared to sound his recount, only to realize what the voice had said.

With wide eyes, he looked in front of Pupper’s chest to see Serah grinning widely at him.

“Y-you… you saw it?” She bobbed her head once before looking back at the distant fires - her long hair fluttering in the waves of heat.

“Yeah… sorry. It was Pa’s idea. Said it’d be important to play a prank on ya. I didn’t like it, but I’d have done somethin’ if you were in trouble.” It was hard to think of any of the day’s events as a prank.

“W-Well…” He imagined he should’ve been upset. He imagined he should’ve been a whole lot of things, but staring at her firelit profile, he could feel nothing but deep-seated adoration and the familiar, comfortable warmth in his chest.

Again, she turned to smile her heart-warming grin. “You were pretty brave. Real warrior-like.” He attempted to return her grin, albeit with substantially less charm and cleared his throat for what he had prepared as a speech, only to find the words escaping him as soon as he opened his mouth. She cocked her head and raised a brow at him, asking: “You all right? You angry at me for trickin’ ya?” She sounded slightly worried as she said it, but he was quick to shake his head and clarify.

“N-No… I… I did that for you. I…” This brought her bright-white teeth back as she sighed with relief.

“You set the entire swamp on fire for me? Aww, Aber… I dunno what that means out in the hardlands, but I guess it’s a good thing? I ain't sure what lighting up why any gal would want her garden lit up, but I appreciate it.” He nodded whole-heartedly.

“Y-yeah, I-... as a sign of my dedication, I… I killed that hive… for you.” She seemed about as confused as the dog they flanked to have this conversation.

Thankfully, it seemed the wisdom of an aged, rugged Longmirian would come to Abraham’s aid as he chimed in from above: “I reckon’ he wants to fuck you, Serah.” As much as Abraham didn’t appreciate such foul language in front of a lady, he didn’t mind the contents of the message. Her face lit up at the sound of it and she clasped her hands tightly in front of her chest. And for the first time, he heard her stammer.

“R-Really? Y-you like me?”

Further away on the moss, Luna had consumed every bit of meat the old man had given her and the town seemed to respect their need for privacy, by drawing closer to Abraham, Serah and the hound.

“Sorry ‘bout that. Needed ya to figure it out by yourself - the hunger.” Luna sat leaned on her knees and nodded agreeingly.

“You did tell me about it… I just didn’t think that much about it until I started to want to…” Jorn looked out at the raging fires and nodded solemnly.

“Eat that young boy? Well, you didn’t act on it, so you did better than Toofy or I did.” He chuckled a grim, frank laughter - further raising questions she imagined best to inquire about at a later time. Through a grimace, she spoke: “Yeah… would’ve been nice to know I could be tempted to cannibalize someone. You know… I could’ve brought some food.”

The old man chuckled and shrugged before scratching the white scruff on his chin. “I s’pose. But I needed to make sure, y’know. You a good kid - same as him.” He raised a thumb in Abraham’s direction and again, she was struck by a feeling that there was something he didn’t see fit to share with her.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“What’s this really about, Jorn? Was this to test us, to show me something- what was this?” He seemed hesitant before he continued: “I love my boy. Light of my life, apple of the eye and all that, but he ain’t… well, he ain’t kind like you two is. If I’d have tried to jossle him with a cullin’, he’d be the first to volunteer.” She knew what that was all about. It was one of the things she liked about Logan - the utilitarianism and how he seemed to make exceptions for her, most of all.

“So you don’t approve of me and him, is that it? You think it’s wrong or something?” She asked, this time with some hesitance directed at the old man. He shook his head slowly and kept his gaze trained on the fires as he continued: “Nah, that’s your business. But… I’ma need your help with somethin’. Somethin’ no one else can help me with - somethin’ not even I can do for ‘im.”

She was surprised to hear him so earnest - so vulnerable. But she was helpful if nothing else.

“The boy, he… he ain’t like us. Us and the meat are one - we depend on one-another. We’re one and the same, right?” He asked hypothetically, knowing she’d nod.

“He hates everythin’ that looks or feels anythin’ like the meat. And that’s why he hates even his own meat. He don’t fight with it, he fights with it - swings it about like a hammer. Forces it to obey, even if it hurts it somethin’ fierce. Just listen right now…” The old man closed his eyes and frowned, shaking his head.

Luna couldn’t hear a thing past the mumbling of the crowd and the distant crackles of the fires. “Right now, it’s screamin’ with pain. Of course, that means he needs me for somethin’, that’s how he yells for help. I just wish he’d get along and stop painin’ the thing. I feel like a dad watchin’ one kid torturin’ the other and there ain’t nothin’ I can do to make it stop.” For all she knew of Guy… of Logan… she imagined he wasn’t wrong. It was written all over him - that hatred not only for the Monstrum he fought, but the Monstrum inside of him, too. The mask, itself, was a symptom of this deep-seated hatred.

“But he loves his Luna. And if anyone can make him change his mind, it’d be you. So I know it’s a big ask, but I ain’t got no choice. Do that for me and I’ll find a way to pay you back for it - mark my words.” The old man rose up from the mire and looked approvingly at the weapon impaling the mire next to Luna, as if he’d been happy to see it hadn’t crushed her skull as it landed.

She was left with many questions, of course. Questions better saved for a later time - questions she’d have all the time to figure out on her own. Well, not her own… she was never alone anymore. Not as long as her meat sang at the back of her mind - filling her with a calm that could let her sleep even on the cooling moss.

________________________________________________

Jorn hadn’t gotten far back towards the house by the time he heard two pairs of hurried footsteps chase after him.

“Pa! Pa - listen! Pa!” Serah’s insistent voice shouted after him. He turned to see Serah hurriedly sprinting across the mire, followed by her pack of well-cared-for-hounds, hand-in-hand with the confused, exhausted mind-trickster. He had lost a smidgen more hair since last the old man had seen him and the fur of his borrowed clothing was nearly entirely stripped from the dry skins, but still he carried himself with a smile. It wasn’t possible to judge more of his expressions, as the burnt-off eyebrows and the mental exhaustions had given him a case of a stony face, yet he seemed determined to approach the old man and say:

“S-S-Sir… J-Jorn… I-I… I-....” Jorn was astounded with the boy’s slurred speech and his lackluster communication, yet he was wandered in the hardlands and knew how to approach them. He lay his elderly hand on Abraham’s shoulder and urged:

“Speak clear and simple, son, that’s how I likes it.” Abraham’s head bobbed up and down hurriedly and he drew several breaths while Serah’s fingers intertwined with his own.

“I-I w-want to ask… ask for Serah… I want Serah - I want her hand.” Jorn narrowed his eyes towards the skies ponderously, questioning whether he was truly brave enough to walk up to a girl’s father and ask to dismember her - surely, such a thing was beyond even the hardlanders.

“Pa, he wants to fuck me!” Serah chimed in cheerily from the side. The pieces finally fell in place and Jorn snapped his fingers as the realization dawned on him.

“Ah, I get it - well, what’re you tellin’ me for? You want me to watch, that it? You don’t know how you do it, son?” Jorn spoke, leaning down ever-so-slightly to grip Abraham’s shoulders and stare into his eyes with worry. Abe was flabbergasted - speechless.

“N-No, God no - Sir, I just wanted your a-approval. A-and this isn’t j-just about that… I want her - forever. I w-want to take her to the Church and make a p-promise…” Jorn wouldn’t have claimed to be too well-wandered in the customs of the hardlanders, but he knew well enough what that entailed - exclusivity on both parties.

“Ah, I see - girl, you go over there. Go shovel sum shit or somethin’, I need to talk to the crotchbandit for a sec’.” Abraham’s naked brows turned upwards with worry, but a kiss on his cheek from his possible betrothed steadied him for long enough to watch her disappear into the darkness, where she skipped gleefully over towards the house.

Jorn clapped Abraham’s shoulder hard and sighed. “My boy… I don’t know where you’re from or where you’re goin’, but I’m gonna do you a favor and say no.” The young mind-trickster felt his heart shatter as the old man spoke his verdict.

“I mean, you ain’t no purty picture, but even you could do better than her. I love her to bits, but she ain’t nothin’ to look at and I’m gonna save you the trouble.” Abraham’s jaw fell agape and he sounded an almost reflexive protest: “You’re wrong! She’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen - I’ll do anything, Sir, please! I-… I’m asking you as a courtesy. If she’s willing to go with me, we’ll do it without your approval - I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.” Jorn raised an eyebrow and cocked his head.

“Well, if ya ain’t gonna listen, why’re you askin’? You hardlanders are a weird bunch - I’m tellin’ ya, you could do better. She’s all scrawny and skinny - she ain’t got no tits or nothin’ and she can’t even cook. If I didn’t love her for bein’ my lil’ gal, I’d have kicked her out long ago-”

Then Abraham did something he never thought he would - even in his wildest imagination. With all the might he could muster in his right hand, he delivered the hardest slap he’d ever seen across the patriarch’s left cheek - not that it did much except surprise the old man, but it served to get his point through. “I’m not gonna listen to your slandering! I-I might not have known her for long, but she’s the love of my life - I-I-...” The last droplet of courage finally washed away as the man chuckled and rubbed his cheek.

“My word, she’s really got her claws sunk into ya. Well… you know what, I’ll consider it. But you’re gonna have to prove to me that ya mean it and that ya ain’t gonna go around sulkin’ for the rest of your days because the neighbor’s daughter’s got a fat ass. Y’hear?” Abraham felt his fists tighten at his sides, but after a steadying breath, he accepted the challenge.

“I will, Pa. I’ll prove to you, her and everyone that she’s the love of my life.”

“God dang hardlanders…”