Palemoon was running before she could even consciously decide to move, her innermost urge to protect others pushing her forward. She snapped towards where the little one had run off toward as the dreadful sensation grew in intensity around her, her boot-clad shoes digging into deeper and deeper snow with every step. She dashed, then ran, then sprinted—
Only to skip past even that at the terrified shriek that followed. She paused with a gasp, her eyes filling with brilliant light as she prepared to take the fastest route possible. And then, not even a blink later, she was there, standing in front of the terrified little Human to the tune of her screaming protective instincts.
The child gasped as they shuffled backwards, scared out of their wits but unharmed—thank the stars. They muttered something afterwards, but Palemoon’s focus was entirely concentrated on the being that stood before them two, her gaze narrowing at them.
In any other situation, the sight would’ve gotten a vastly different reaction out of her. The Ursaring that struggled for breath not more than a dozen paces in front of them was obviously injured and unwell. The side of their head was covered with badly healed scars, some discolored and festering in their infection. Their fur was patchy and thin, their posture was limping and shaking, they could barely look at them straight—above everything else, they needed help.
None of that mattered, though.
For as much as the Normal-type before them deserved aid, their mind was far too gone to cooperate. Instead of the cacophony of thoughts, dreams and wants, silently weaving on through their daily life, there was only a single sound, deafeningly loud and unquenchably bloodthirsty. One that the Elders had warned her and the other young ones about plenty, one that she had prayed she wouldn’t ever have to face.
The Hunger.
It took a few long, drawn out moments for the Ursaring to even acknowledge Palemoon’s arrival, a gurgled growl leaving their maw as they took half a step back. Palemoon didn’t let herself lose focus—she doubted someone as far gone as they would be swayed by something as trivial as another potential morsel showing up.
As long as she had been aware of that most primal urge, she hadn’t understood it until close to her second evolution. It used to not make sense to her at all, it or the teachings about how their village protected its people from each other more than it did from outsiders and Humans. It took until the Elders became more willing to share their experiences predating the establishment of their settlement for her to truly get it, the self-evident reality of them all only being able to live together like this because of the food in their stomachs. And, the much more morbid corollary—that without said food, without shelter, it was only a matter of time till their village would fall apart.
Before tribes, friendships, even families would turn into empty labels, before everyone’s minds receded from thriving to merely surviving, and surviving at any cost. Even if it meant someone else would not survive.
As hollow as the Ursaring’s mind was now, Palemoon knew full well it hadn’t always been so. There was once sapience behind their narrow eyes, emotions and dreams and desires, maybe even a name, a culture, a people. Maybe they, too, used to be as terrified at the thought of the Hunger subsuming them or the ones they loved—as she once was.
The nightmarish dreams of her closest friends and crushes losing themselves had stolen more than a handful of nights’ rest back in the day. Knowing that her kin would avoid such fate—not because of being any more mentally resilient than anyone else, but merely because of the simple limitation of her kin being unable to eat flesh—helped little.
It was a limitation that the Ursaring before them wasn’t burdened with in the slightest. Starvation had weakened their mind to where it could not fight against what their body demanded. Once they’d gotten past their shock, their posture grew more hunched as frothy, thick saliva flowed down the corners of their maw. Their attention creeped towards the little Human behind her again; what remained of their thoughts circled around fantasies of how delicious their prey would be and how much they’d do to taste them.
In blood-chilling, perfect clarity.
They hadn’t moved yet, but their mental imagery had unnerved Palemoon into acting. She shifted into a shaky, defensive stance as her orange eyes stared them down, her psychic influence intruding into their ever shrinking psyche. She knew full well she couldn’t have hoped to dissuade them with logical argumentation, or pleas to their soul, or even with filthy, violating mental manipulation. Even if she’d known how to perform the latter, her psychic voice, however loud, would just be drowned out by starvation.
Which left just threats. She narrowed her eyes, and barked a mental contact through their eye contact, conveying a rule of law more than any specific words: “^Run away, and you will not be hurt.^”
Please, don’t make me do this.
Palemoon had no idea whether it would work; only hoping desperately that it would. She wasn’t a warrior, despised violence, had always been taught that all death, even in self defense, was a tragedy to be avoided at all cost. With how focused, how utterly dead set the Ursaring had remained through her threat, not even reacting to it in any way she could sense, she couldn’t help but dread that they would not give up while they still breathed.
Before long, their stunned expression gave way to a fierce snarl as they filled the air with a low, harsh growl. And then, moments later, with a roar furious enough to make Palemoon shake in her stance, her own freezing fear only adding to the ones she could feel around her.
From multiple sources.
With a brief, mental probe behind herself, she’d confirmed the worst-case scenario. The little one was still there, rooted to the ground in fear, but they weren’t the only being there. There was someone else, even more terrified, a few dozen feet back, no doubt their parent. With all the focus she could gather, Palemoon reached into both Humans’ minds, beaming less of a thought, and more of a desperate, abrupt plea—
“^RUN.^”
And not a moment too late at that. The Ursaring launched their wasting body towards her, their claws gleaming with scraps of an off-white aura as they swung at where she stood—only for their strikes to be blocked by an invisible wall. Palemoon gasped under her bandana as her foe kept wailing on her Barrier, more and more spiderwebs of tiny cracks springing from where their gleaming claws struck.
They’re too strong; I can’t hold on like this!
She flinched, shoved backwards by the force of the bear’s relentless assault. Moments later, she Teleported out of the way of the strike that finally broke through, watching as their feral growl gave way to momentary confusion. She gasped for breath, overwhelmed by their sudden onslaught—but they showed no signs of stopping.
The moment their eyes landed on her again, they lunged at her once more, sharp claws backed by thick muscles digging into the cold air and freezing snow. And again, and again, their mind too flooded by chemical signals to recognize their own exhaustion, to realize how much their body was eating itself just to keep them going. That didn’t matter, couldn’t matter, not with the sweet release of a juicy meal so, so close.
They kept hacking away, pushing Palemoon back with every leap, every Slash, every Fury Swipe. Her Protects lasted seconds, and she couldn’t eke out enough time to gain ground with a more powerful Reflect. It grew very apparent that the Ursaring could swing and Thrash about for far longer than she could feasibly dodge their strikes for.
The Humans were back in their structure, but there was no telling how much protection would their shelter realistically offer against the wild mon’s assault. Even as bulky and massive as it was, Palemoon knew the likely answer was ‘not much’. She had to buy more time, wear them down further, and she had to do it now.
After another strained Teleport to gain distance, Palemoon raised her blue arms, exposing them to the elements as they crackled with a yellowish energy. Furious as the Ursaring was, even they knew that the sound meant danger, making them hesitate for just a moment. And a moment was all the time Palemoon needed to let the Thunder Wave loose, charring a few handfuls of once-brown fur on the bear’s torso.
They shrieked, slumping over and almost collapsing—only for their gaze to focus on her again, overflowing with fury. Electricity still arced through their body as they resumed their assault, their clumsy swings made even more powerful through their sheer rage. Palemoon had to do something more, had to strike back, heartbreaking as that reality was.
Burning light filled her eyes as her psychics stabbed deep into the Ursaring’s mind. They roared in pain at her Confusion, at the unending sensation of their head being stabbed with burning needles, at the deafening booming of “BEGONE!” that exploded in their head, at the Hunger-fueled cacophony in their minds becoming quietened for just a moment. Palemoon hoped beyond hope it would discourage them enough to at least seek different prey—
But it didn’t.
As loud as they’d reacted to her strike, it hardly slowed their assault. The Slash that followed came too fast for Palemoon to respond to, its sheer force launching her a few meters back as the claws dug into her side, staining the snow and her shawl with fresh crimson.
The wound left the side of her body feeling ablaze as warmth bled out of her body. She looked up at her attacker, body shaking as she desperately tried to get back on her feet. The Ursaring loomed ever closer, their wrath burning brighter than the sun—and yet, still eclipsed by the Hunger. Whatever composure Palemoon may have still had, it drained from her once the bear had shifted their attention to the Human shelter in the distance, breaking into a dash towards where they saw them enter the building.
“NO!” Palemoon shrieked, the bear’s thoughts filling her own with terror. As hurt and exhausted as she was, feeling their desires, the imagery of the innocent child being reduced to sweet flesh and devoured filled her with enough desperation to stand back up and give chase. Pain radiated from her wound as she forced herself to keep going, to make sure at least these two would be safe.
What even could deter a force like that, someone so desperate they would stop at nothing to fill their stomachs and avoid their own death? She only had one answer to that, and it best worked.
Another Teleport left Palemoon barely able to see as the injury stabbed into her even more, her body running on sheer determination. She stood, facing the approaching Ursaring once more, the only thing remaining between them and their prey. Her legs threatened to buckle as the bear kept their chase, only acknowledging her with a growl, ready to run through her and tear her apart in order to get to their meal.
As long as she breathed, she would not let that happen.
Gathering all the strength she still had in her, Palemoon enveloped the charging Normal-type with her burning aura, bringing them to a still even as they tried to thrash. Her hands reached in and grasped the sides of their head, digging into their fur and hide as her eyes shifted from brilliant white to darkness.
If she couldn’t stop them from trying to save their life at the cost of another’s, she could try filling their mind with enough dark terror to convince them that going any further would mean certain death. Manipulating those dark emotions was nothing short of torture for them both, powerful enough to scar the mind or even seize the heart. But she had to keep going; muscles spasming as she subjected them to sights of their own death, again and again, barraged them with fear in hopes of breaking through the Hunger and sending them into a panic.
Her grip on her own consciousness began to fade as she felt the Ursaring’s will bend at the assault—before it finally snapped, terror managing what reason could not. They let out a deafening cry in response, flailing to turn themselves around and run, run as far away from here as they could, run until they could no more. Palemoon was knocked over with one final swipe, the snow absorbing her limp body’s fall as it sucked any leftover warmth out of her. The sheer exhaustion made her faint on the spot, on the death’s door but ultimately successful in her task.
To think I’ll die on my expedition, but not even because of Humans…
…
…
I-I hope… I’ve made… you all proud…
Fortunately for her, Palemoon was not alone.
----------------------------------------
*inhale*
*exhale*
*inhale—*
Warm...
There was no telling how long Palemoon laid there, frayed mind and injured body dancing on the edge between deep sleep and consciousness. Much too tired to think, even if she could just barely make out some of the stimuli coming her way.
She was lying on and being covered by something soft and warm, in what must’ve been near complete darkness. Pain pulsed from the side of her body with every breath, unpleasant but not incapacitating. There was someone behind her. The only sounds she could make out, aside from intermittent breathing, were heavily muffled. The air was filled with an unfamiliar, disagreeable smell, damp and chemical.
…
Someone behind me.
Most of Palemoon’s mind wanted to ignore the observation and try to return to slumber, let her tired psyche join the surrounding stillness. Alas, this unknown was too big for her curiosity to ignore, especially with her unable to recognize who it was off the top of her head. Their aura didn’t quite match any of her denmates’, not even any of her friends that often slept in her family’s burrow. This was someone else.
A tiny groan left her mouth as she tried to focus, further awareness making the pain radiating from the side of her body that much brighter, that much harder to ignore. The stranger’s imprint wasn’t wholly unfamiliar—especially with it being rather fresh in her memory. As fresh as yesterday, even. Yesterday, yesterday—
The little one.
Mind and eyes snapped awake in an instant as the memories came crashing down on Palemoon. Her aching escalated in intensity as she tried to sit up, forcing her to lie back down onto her side and take it all slowly. Starting, of course, with the most shocking realization of all.
I-I’m alive...
The revelation took over her thoughts in its own right, every tired bit of her faculties ready to spiral down into an endless loop of “how!?”. Though, as she paid more and more attention to what her other senses were telling her, as opposed to continuing her mental march through mud, things began to make more sense.
It took a moment for her to make out what she was even looking at. Yesterday’s memories provided clues that let her eventually piece it together, arriving at a clarifying, but not particularly impressive, observation. It was, in fact, a wall, colored in a drab, desaturated shade of green. There were a couple of daylights on it, covered with dark, thick curtains that plunged the room into dim shade. The scraps of morning light creeping out from around the curtain’s edges were Palemoon’s only clue what time of day it even was. And then, like an upstream waterfall, came more questions.
Did the Humans actually save me?
How long have I been out for?
Why is the little one sleeping behind me?
Even if Palemoon had no idea where to even begin answering the first two questions, the least she could do was turn around and find out the last one for herself. She shifted her focus away from idle inward thoughts and towards what was actually happening around her, keeping her mind clear with slow, steady breaths.
The jabbing pain from her side made her movements slow and clumsy, quiet grunts and louder winces leaving her every couple moments until she’d flipped onto her other side, her horns in a safe position again. Both for her and the warm covers she was laying underneath, that is.
The little one was enjoying their morning snooze, sleeping close enough to her for her back horn to be within their arm’s reach. Oddly enough, they were wearing something even for the occasion of sleep—a loose, dark blue outfit with moons and stars on them. It covered most of their body and limbs. As weird as wearing clothes to sleep was to Palemoon, she couldn’t deny appreciation for their stylistic choice.
The mystery of their presence here remained, though. Thankfully, even a light peek into their subconscious asleep thoughts made the answer perfectly clear, bringing a teary smile to Palemoon’s face. The lil’ Human was just… worried for her, and didn’t want her to feel lonely.
Goodness.
Even in her exhaustion, Palemoon couldn’t help but smile. She squirmed that bit closer to them, the warm thoughts and feelings pouring out of the sweet child soothing her aching at least a little bit. Aching that, as much as she didn’t want to, she would have to examine herself—this injury shouldn’t have been hurting this much if properly treated.
With equal parts care and hesitation, Palemoon reached to inspect how bad the wound had gotten—only for her hand to brush against bands of fabric wrapped around her stomach, covering the cuts up. That brought her at least some relief. The Humans clearly had something similar to their silken wrap to secure wounds with. Which only made them still hurting so much even more confusing—
…
Wait, did—did they not Heal Pulse it after securing the wraps?
While Palemoon wasn’t a healer—not yet, at least—she knew enough basics to have a clear idea of how useful that technique was. For stars’ sake, all the little ones were taught it by heart, even if it was unlikely they’d need it with all the healers and their families around. Which raised the question—did the Humans not know how to use it?
That would’ve been baffling, but not impossible to imagine. There were only very few moves Palemoon considered more important than it. Which was, of course, a very subjective metric, but she couldn’t think of a reason one wouldn’t learn it, just for safety’s sake. Unless… unless they just couldn’t. There were quite a few villagers that weren’t able to learn it no matter how hard they’d tried after all, especially the non-psychic ones. Which she now knew included Humans.
After discarding her confusion, built off having spent most of her life surrounded by predominantly her kin, she wondered what to do with the injury. Guess if the Humans’ care wasn’t enough to fully patch her up, she’d just have to help herself. Once she was no longer feeling so tired, that is.
Palemoon sighed and stretched as far as she could without aggravating her wounds, closing her eyes to get a proper feel for this bedding she laid on. Her head had been too busy to properly appreciate just how comfortable it was. She couldn’t quite see the point in it being elevated a foot or so off the floor, but with it being the best thing she’d ever slept on, that little curiosity could wait a while.
If only I could still sleep on my back.
As she was settling in, she reached towards the little Human and began to ruffle their hair. Their sleepy squirms brought a smile to her face as she closed her eyes and mentally probed outside this room. She sensed, and barely heard, two people making their way around the house, both of them clearly Human. Neither of them were entirely calm, but one was keeping their worries in check much better than the other.
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They had to have been the little one’s relatives, maybe even parents. The weirdness of there being so few people here aside, she had little reason to think they would suddenly turn on her. After all, they had clearly rescued her after the Ursaring’s attack, and their worries made sense too—not like she wouldn’t be just a tad nervous with a stranger in her den, especially after what had happened yesterday. And they didn’t even have that psychic assurance of her intent like she would’ve had in that situation!
Things were going to be alright. After she got some more rest, that is.
As Palemoon tried drifting back towards sleep—or, at least, as much as the sucking in her stomach and dryness in her throat would let her—she couldn’t help but listen to the muffled steps making their way around behind the stone walls. Their soft ambiance, acoustic and emotional aside, helped to doze off—
*vrrooooOOOOOOOOMMMmmmmmm—*
…
And whatever these things were didn’t. Ugh. At least she had the mercy of their passing roars only coming once in a while, and not startling her as much the second or third time. Her breaths were slowing, her heart was calming, her affection slowed down—
Panic.
Palemoon’s eyes shot open once more at the sudden mood shift outside. The already anxious Human broke down into horrified panic, their loud shouts filling the building. She withdrew her hand and grew stiff at what was going on around her, fear getting the better of her. Their calls continued from all over their dwelling before the second, calmer Human joined in, themselves chilled with fear.
Even despite the soft covers, Palemoon grew cold at sensing it all. She tried to pretend she was still asleep, even if the rest now felt impossibly far away. Beside her, the little one finally began to wake up, their immediate emotions filled with confusion.
The surrounding fear kicked Palemoon’s mind into a high gear as she tried to figure out what in the world was going on. She heard the little one slide off the bed and call back, the two other Humans instantly growing much more relieved—if still anxious.
Were they... looking for the little one?
The picture refused to get any clearer as one of the child’s relatives opened the door and started speaking with them directly. Their words were hushed, but their feelings were not; the urgency, worry, and fear crystal clear to her senses.
Fear... of her.
As worrying as the realization was, it was hard to deny. Palemoon shuddered, the already uneasy atmosphere growing even colder. Her mind was as distraught as it was confused at the sensation. She had never thought of herself as scary—slightly intimidating with being tall even for her kin, sure—but not terrifying like the older Human was clearly perceiving her as.
They and the little one kept arguing about something, the child matching their relative’s fright with concern and determination. Palemoon kept trying to imagine why their relative would be afraid of her. Could the terror she’d invoked to scare that Ursaring away have also affected the Humans? But in that case, why was the little one all fine?
This was the one unknown she was liking the least of them all.
As the two Humans squabbled on, the lil’ one resorted to raising their voice and running back to the bedding, sending their relative panicking while Palemoon grew even stiffer. The adult was even more insistent now, pleading with as quiet a whisper as they could manage, their heart racing—as was Palemoon’s.
Despite it all, she overheard the third Human chime in shortly after. They were still rather anxious, but not outright freaking out like the other adult. They joined the conversation, reasoning—or maybe arguing—with the lil’ one. Even though her body and mind were much too worn down to let her get an exact image of what they were talking about, Palemoon had a feeling, deep inside, that it was about her.
Have I done something terrible by accident? Maybe I was too careless with my move usage, and had hurt them with the Thunder Wave? That’d be awful, but—maybe I can try to apologize somehow? O-or at least get up and leave, or—
*thud!*
…
The adults left.
In her blooming anxiety, Palemoon didn’t notice them leaving until they had shut the door behind themselves. To her worry, they were still scared and unsettled respectively, and whatever point the little one had been trying to convince them of didn’t seem to take root. The child themselves was undeterred, though, quickly scrambling back up onto the bed and scooting towards her.
And then; they reached in and petted her. Their little hand stroked her stiff, frayed blue hair, accompanied by whispered words full of reassurance and comfort.
She really, really needed all of those right now.
There was nothing magical about their touch, but there didn’t need to be. Just having someone be there for her in her moment of weakness was all Palemoon could ask for. Her breaths deepened once more while the warmth returned. The dread was still there, outside the room—but right now, that didn’t matter. Right now, she felt safe and appreciated.
Though, since there was no way under the stars she would fall back asleep after that, it was time to get up. As the little one continued their affection, she pried her eyes open, their excitement immediate and radiant. It culminated in high-pitched words that couldn’t have been anything but a greeting of sorts, and an affectionate one at that. Sadly, the sound only begat more worry outside the room, souring the sensation somewhat.
Palemoon tried not to focus on it too much, though. Her smile grew as she nodded in response, let out a yawn she’d been holding for a while, and reached towards their head in return, resuming her affection from a few minutes earlier. Their squirming and giggles warmed her up much better than any blanket could. Once she’d paused to let them catch their breath, the lil’ one beamed down at her before reaching in for a hug—only for her to stop them with her other hand, not wanting to risk them inadvertently running themselves onto the pointy bit.
It wasn’t anywhere near sharp enough to cause lacerations, but it was uncomfortable to the touch for her, and occasionally even painful to the other party. Even excluding any possibility of accidental cuts, the less of that, the better. She sure didn’t want to deny them their hug though—or herself, for that matter. Instead, she carefully sat up where she laid, stretched a bit, oriented herself for a side hug—
And then, let them get in all the affection they wanted.
Goodness, this feels nice…
Palemoon was far from unused to physical affection, between playing with her younger relatives and many of her friends—including herself—being quite the snuggle bugs when they got comfy. Even so, this went beyond that; this was much rawer than any everyday sort of cuddling. For stars’ sake, she didn’t even know their name and they haven’t been able to do any talking yet—and yet; she felt the most secure she had since leaving her village, even with her injuries and exhaustion.
Though, with even the little one having calmed down enough to turn quiet, she definitely could try to solve the limitations of their communication—if they would be alright with it, of course. Sadly, she didn’t have a way of asking for that, or even of explaining to them what was about to happen. Without those, the best she could do was to just go as slowly as possible. She closed her eyes and concentrated as her hand cupped the back of the lil’ one’s head, leaving them squirming at what they thought was just affection.
Not like it completely wasn’t, though. Palemoon stroked their head some before focusing for real, taking her time in forming a concrete link between their minds. The child squirmed a bit at the wriggly sensation in the back of their head, but wasn’t resisting it.
Even if she knew how to do something like this, to establish a fresh link with someone non-Psychic and unaware of it, that didn’t mean she had much experience with it—not in years. The process was slower than she’d like as she kept running into dead ends, but eventually, she’d managed to form a faint bond between their minds. Which left just a bit more work to ensure mutual intelligibility without any further work on his part, reinforcing it somewhat so that it would last for a while, and—
“Owww! What was that?”
Palemoon sighed in exhaustion as she wrapped up her effort, the link taking more out of her than she would’ve expected. It was more than worth the hassle, with the mostly incoherent words suddenly becoming meaningful sentences. The lil’ one’s voice sounded young and decidedly boyish—as far as her perception went.
He rubbed the back of his head while Palemoon took her own hand away. She giggled and smiled faintly—he definitely deserved an answer to his question, even if just a partial one. Her arm wrapped around him, pulling him that bit closer as she answered, her effortless telepathy not just audible, but perceived as a crystal clear feminine voice in his head. “^Something to help us understand each other a bit better.^”
The boy nodded before doing a double take. His mind and expression filled with the best kind of surprise as he gasped and looked up at her. “Y-you can talk!?” he asked with a raised voice, making Palemoon reel back a bit. The noises in the rest of the house seemed to have been enough to cover up for his elated cry, at least judging by the lack of any reaction from his relatives.
She chuckled in response as she calmed down. Her hand continued to stroke his hair, the touch making it easy to plant a subconscious suggestion to keep his voice down. “^Can you~?^” she answered with a faint, tired smirk.
The lil’ Human thought her words through for a few seconds before nodding eagerly, his hug tightening. “Yeah!” he responded, in the loudest whisper Palemoon had ever heard. “I didn’t know you could talk; that’s so cool!” The adoration dripping from his words made her chuckle as she continued to hold him. She was about to respond, before being cut off —“Or that you were a girl. What’s your name?”
…
Do I look boyish? Never got that impression from the few times I had a good look at myself in a clear pond. Though, maybe?
Then again, it’s not like she could blame him for being unsure about her gender. If not for the telepathically translated voice, she wouldn’t have any such idea for him, either. She expected her name to be more self-explanatory for him, though—after all, she’d shown it to him yesterday. “^I’ve shown you my name, haven’t I?^” she asked with a smile, hoping to jog his memory.
“You did?” the boy asked, dumbstruck. There seemed to be a disconnect, one that Palemoon was eager to clarify. She nodded firmly before showing him her full name again, Pale Moon Swaddled in Midday Sky. His awestruck response to the stimuli almost forced some more laughter out of her, but she just barely held it in. “That’s awesome! What was that?”
His adoration was appreciated, but it seemed he’d missed the point. “^That was my name, sweetie.^”
Somehow, he grew even more confused. “But that wasn’t a name,” he insisted. “That was just a photo!” The unfamiliar noun in his explanation tripped Palemoon’s translation up, forcing her to reach into his mind to find an accompanying image—which was itself an image. ‘Photos’ were images of sorts, and he seemed to have a hard time recognizing the ‘image’ she’d shown him as a name. Though that wasn’t the case here either; the stimuli tied together in her name went beyond just visual—
“Are you the Moon?” he asked out of the blue. The idea itself was sacrilegious, but he was on the right track.
“^I’m not the Moon, but I’m named after the Moon,^” Palemoon explained. Miraculously, that seemed to be the nudge the boy needed to figure it out—not the richness of her name, but that she’d been trying to introduce herself to him.
“Oooooooh. I have a friend whose name also means Moon! Her name is Luna! Are you also a Luna?”
Palemoon was unsure how to respond. On one hand, the correct answer to that question was ‘no’ without any buts or frills, but on the other… she dared a guess that going by a name he’d picked for her would be easier than drilling an explanation for how her actual name worked into him. Especially since it’d also address the obvious obstacle of them needing a way to refer to her that the Humans could actually use among themselves—something the boy’s suggestion would work great for. She hoped.
Besides, his excitement was cute, and the thought of being given another name by a little child she could call a friend warmed her heart. “^Well… you can say that I’m a Luna, yes!^”
“That’s so cool!” the boy beamed.
“^Thank you! Now I wonder, maybe I could give you a name in return too,^” Palemoon giggled.
To her surprise, her idea was received with a tilt of the boy’s head. “But I already have a name!”
“^Yes, but…^” she trailed off for a while, thinking of a way to convey her intent. A quick check of his thoughts clarified Humans were indeed aware of there being multiple languages—and that even the boy himself was being taught a second one. “^What I meant is that I could give you a name in my language!^”
“Oooh! Okay! My name is—”
“^No no, here, let me come up with one…^” Palemoon giggled, placing a hand on his head and focusing to let him see what she was imagining. A serene, wintry scene, with a tall snowy pillar in the middle. Raw and unrefined, containing a thousand different sculptures within itself, and waiting for a skilled artist to free one of them from its confines. There it was, A Pillar of Snow, a Thousand Ideas.
Palemoon showed off the sight for a few long moments before doing away with the imagined scene, smiling excitedly down at the boy beside her. He liked what he saw, though it was clear he wasn’t sure what did he just see. “^That was the name I came up with,^” she clarified.
“Just some snow? But that’s boring…” he pouted.
Not the response she expected, but one she could get something more out of. “^And yet, you turned that boring snow into many interesting statues yesterday!^”
“That’s true, yeah…” the boy thought, the deep idea having a hard time hitting in his childish mind. Thankfully, a realization that came soon after freed him from trying to fit that pentagrammal peg in a rectangular hole. “Oh! I haven’t told you my name yet!”
Yep, and it’ll probably be much more useful than what I just came up with, hehe.
“^That’s true! What’s your—^”
“I’m Ren! I’m six!” the boy informed, giddy about being able to properly introduce himself to his magical friend. Palemoon couldn’t deny being somewhat disappointed about Human names turning out to be just sounds. Maybe there was a dimension she wasn’t seeing yet, or some hidden meaning? The way Ren had just blurted it out made it come off as just a sound, though. Something to investigate down the line.
Trying to decipher what he’d meant by ‘six’ was… tricky. Neither of the obvious answers Palemoon could think of fit quite right. A six Moons old child was merely a hatchling, unless Humans grew really, really fast. On the flipside, six years would be the opposite—her kin grew slower than almost any other, and by six years old, she was much more mature than Ren.
Either answer would’ve been really weird, which likely meant neither was the answer, and that Ren had some other unit for measuring age. Maybe not entire years, but individual seasons instead? That’d mean Humans still grew fast, but not unthinkably fast. And in that case—”^I’m happy to meet you, Ren. I’m fifty!^”
“WOW!” Ren gasped, “you’re so old!”
Uh, thanks?
That reaction took her aback even more. Was fifty seasons some exceedingly long time for a Human? Maybe even longer than how they usually lived? A terrible fate, if that was the case, a shorter lifespan than even almost all Bug-types. Palemoon hoped she had just gotten something wrong, and that wasn’t the case—for her own sanity, more than anything else.
“^My uncle would sure be surprised to hear that!^” she chuckled, stretching her arms and grasping the covers in front of her with her psychics. She began to wrap them around her back before the abrupt pain in her temples forced her to stop, making her reel and clench her eyes shut.
“O-oh no, are you okay?” Ren asked, scooting closer in concern.
Palemoon took a moment to take a few deep breaths before nodding; the pain slowly subsided. She couldn’t remember her mind ever getting so sore. By the stars, this hurt. She really must’ve pushed herself even harder yesterday than she thought. Guess it was just her physical limbs today. “^Y-yeah. D-don’t worry, Ren, I’m just really tired.^”
With most of the pain having faded to just a dull ache, she wrapped the covers around both of them with her actual arms, and resumed her affection afterwards. Thankfully, Ren understood, about to hug her again before noticing the bandage wrapped around her stomach. He corrected his arms and whispered sheepishly as he held her, “I-I’m sorry for that Ursaring, Luna…”
“^You did nothing wrong, Ren,^” the Gardevoir tried to reassure.
“B-b-but it hurt you a lot, and mom told me not to leave the backyard, a-and—” Ren began, only for Palemoon to hush him as she held him close. He rested his cheek on her side as she took slow, deep breaths. Before long, the boy began calming down together with her, his breathing and heartbeat synchronizing with her own.
His leftover anxieties about apologizing for yesterday were soon gone, leaving the quiet room in a calm, sleepy state. Before Palemoon could settle on whether she should try to rest some more, Ren asked, “What did you do to it? It was so big and scary and then you were laying on the ground and hurt and bleeding…”
Oh dear.
As useful as her kin’s sense of truthfulness was, with it came being terrible at lying. Terrible at, and reluctant to do so—even when a situation clearly demanded it, like here. Instead, Palemoon tried to explain her actions with a euphemism. “^Well, I… you could say I just really scared them, and then they ran away.^”
Ren nodded along, thinking about it for a moment before holding her closer. “So you can scare people like that, Luna?”
Moondamnit, the one question I hoped he wouldn’t ask.
“^Yes, but I really don’t enjoy doing it, and it’s very mean and—^”
“Can you make people not scared, then?”
The words took Palemoon aback as she felt him grow sadder and huddle closer to her. It wasn’t difficult to figure out the intent of his question—his mind was occupied with his parents, and their unrest further in their dwelling was still there and still clear. As much as some of her wanted to say otherwise, she had to shoot him down here. “^That would be rather mean too, Ren.”
“B-but my dad is so scared for no reason! He told me to leave you alone and not come close and wait for your owner to arrive, a-and then he shouted earlier today when you were sleeping and wanted me to come out and leave you. A-and he said you will hurt me but you’re really nice and really cool and played with me yesterday and scared the Ursaring away a-a-and it’s not fair!” the boy shouted, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.
The remark about an ‘owner’ stood out from the rest, but Palemoon shook it aside—it wasn’t what was important here. Ren’s disappointment about his parents’ actions was definitely shared. As much as the Gardevoir could understand being weary around strangers on principle, she definitely didn’t think herself fearsome—especially after what she’d done for them all yesterday, as selfish as the thought was.
Why would they think I’d hurt him after that?
The question was deeply unpleasant to consider, and Palemoon discarded it from her mind soon after. Instead, she wanted to lift Ren’s spirits up—even if she wasn’t sure how to do that exactly, considering the messy situation. “^Maybe if he sees that I’m not hurting you, he’ll come around?^”
Her magic touch left his scalp ticklish, which she capitalized on with the hair ruffling that followed. It distracted him from the gloom of the subject being discussed—and inadvertently drew attention to a sensation she’d pushed sufficiently far away from her mind’s spotlight to not pay attention to until now. Probably for the best, since she wasn’t distracting herself away from it now that she had noticed. Didn’t have much choice but to ask him, either.
“^Ren?^” she began, taking his undivided attention. “^Is there water here I could drink and something I could eat? I haven’t had anything in almost a day now…^”
Ren nodded excitedly. “Yeah! My mom is making pancakes. They don’t let me eat in bed... b-but maybe they’ll let you! I’ll ask!^” Before Palemoon could stop him, he was already scrambling off the bed and running out of the room, his brilliant excitement contrasting with his parents’ shifting unease. The link between them was too weak to let her make out his words at this range, leaving her to wonder what was being said.
On one hand, her own mom had drilled into her to keep food and beddings separate. On the other, leaving the room she was in would likely not be received well, considering the ambient fear she could feel even right now. And now that Ren had left her room, who was to say his parents would even let him back in again…
I wish I could just ask what’s wrong…
In the absence of any answers, Palemoon resigned to steady breaths as she tried to meditate through the surrounding uncertainty. She was only partially successful at that, her anxieties inadvertently dragging her attention back to all the emotions she could sense in the rest of the dwelling. No significant changes for now, but it seemed Ren was getting really excited about something, and—
Ack, c’mon Palemoon! You know what to do in situations like that. Like dad taught you, focus on breathing, on the dance of wind, on the shimmer of sunshine. Don’t stress over things you cannot affect.
She still had at least one of the three; it was time to use it the best she could. She wrapped herself tighter in the covers, crossing her legs and holding her hands together. Her head drooped as she felt herself calm down. Breath by breath and second by second, sore joints relaxed, muscles grew less tense, and the anxieties lightened their grip as the meditation comforted both her body and mind.
Even in the worst possible case, she was exceedingly unlikely to be in danger. Even if Ren’s parents would never warm up to her, that was okay. She would just walk away, knowing she did a good thing, even if ultimately not reaching the outcome she wanted. This, too, would pass.
Nothing stopped her from trying again in some other direction once she’d recovered some, either. She was gonna be f—
“Luna, are you asleep?” Ren whispered.
Oh.
Palemoon opened her eyes to find the boy next to her on the bedding. The rest of the senses soon rejoined sight in putting together a picture of her surroundings. Her nose brought attention to the two ceramic plates stacked with what looked like flatbreads, but smaller and softer, resting on the covers a few feet away. Beside them was a transparent jar of something brown, and a few metal… tools, she guessed. Humans really liked their glass, didn’t they? “^I’m awake Ren, I’m awake.^”
“Hello, Luna! Mom brought you some water!”
She’d spotted the Human standing in the doorframe right as Ren had mentioned them. His mom had much longer hair and was much taller than him—maybe even taller than her! She was also the less anxious of the two adults Palemoon had sensed earlier, and her actions spoke for that.
Ren’s mom’s expression was torn between curiosity and hesitation, with the former winning for now. She held a big ceramic cup in her hands, presumably filled with water. Regrettably, she jumped a bit once Palemoon had made eye contact with her, but calmed back down soon after, nodding weakly at her.
It looked like a greeting, and Palemoon would be remiss not greeting her host in return. She put on a weak smile before bowing as deeply as her sitting position would allow her to. Ren’s mom seemed to understand the gesture, bowing back at her as her curiosity only grew.
“Mom, give me the mug!” Ren asked as he ran over to her, eager to pass the water to his friend.
Luna may not have been even close to being a mother herself yet, but she could recognize the amused, exasperated expression anywhere. The boy’s mom whispered something to him before handing him the mug. Ren had managed to maintain a steady, slow pace for all of three steps before dashing the rest of the way there, avoiding spilling any water on either the covers or the floor by what Palemoon presumed to be a divine miracle.
The cup was heavy, enough so for the Gardevoir to not even risk helping herself with her psychics. Each gulp made it lighter and her stronger, though, filling her with bliss as thirst left her.
Most of it, at least. “^Ren, could I get some more—^”
“Moooom, Luna needs more water! Oh, wait, I’ll get it for her!” the boy exclaimed as he raced out the room, sending his mom into quiet giggles. With him briefly gone, though, the surrounding emotions had cleared up enough for Palemoon to notice the calmer feelings coming from his mom, too—such as gratitude. Even if the older Human didn’t yet have full trust in her, she wanted to, and that alone was enough to soothe the Gardevoir’s spirits greatly.
Especially with Ren running back moments later, maintaining his splash-less streak. “Here! Dad says you shouldn’t drink any more, though.”
The water was appreciated; the message carried with it substantially less so. Its intent wasn’t particularly hard to make out, a gentle reminder that the other parent didn’t want her here, with their continuing unrest attesting to that. Palemoon just hoped she’d be able to make it back home with just this meal and whatever rations she still had stashed in her poncho—
“Oh?” Ren spoke, listening to his mom—and then his dad from further in the building. “But that’s what I said!” he insisted, and his parents replied. “Ohhhh, okay. Sorry, Luna! Dad said that having too much water at once can be unhealthy.”
…
Maybe I’m just psyching myself up too much, ha.
“^I see. I think I’m good right now, anyway. Thank you, Ren—and pass the thanks to your mom and dad, too.^”
“I will! Mom, Dad, Luna says thanks!” Ren yelled, placing the now-emptied heavy cup on the nearest flat surface. “Are you ready to eat now, Luna? Mom’s pancakes are so good!”
The boy’s enthusiasm left both Palemoon and his mom laughing, their shared worries easing bit by bit. The Gardevoir was still surrounded by more questions than answers, but despite their earlier panic, the boy’s parents seemed to genuinely mean well. Maybe they’d even be able to answer some questions she had about Humans? Even if so, that would come later.
Right now, Luna was hungry.
“^Yeah! They look delicious.^”