Chapter Text
Celine sighed as she leaned back in her office chair, back aching from hours of what Zoey had once inexplicably called "shrimp position". It was almost 2:30 in the morning, and she was still up, writing emails, drafting contracts, contacting venues and answering questions without swearing at people.
Someone should really praise her for the fact that her emails remained professional and she hadn't insulted the recipient's entire lineage by now. Because really, why did they need to know these things?
Why did the venue manager need to know why Celine wanted this scheduled on New Years Eve going by the Gregorian calendar and not on Seollal? What did that matter to him? Could he just give her the venue, yes or no?!
She wanted to write back a bunch of swear words. Maybe a demon threat. Or just go after him herself, call it training or whatever. But no, she had to sit here and politely respond that the current set date of December 31st was closer and she would really super duper appreciate some flexibility here, even if it was only a two month advance notice.
Only once she promised a frankly absurd amount of money, did she get an email back that the venue was booked for them. Putain, merde. Celine was not made for this. Especially not at 2:45 in the morning. Not with this headache and not with these people. The Honmoon pulsed softly at the thought and Celine had the odd image in her mind that it was trying to console her.
She sent a quick email to Bobby, who thankfully did not respond and hopefully wouldn't for another few hours, providing him with the information he needed to get the media organized until then. Get a few press releases pre-debut, make their socials, that Celine had set up a long time ago, finally go live.
Okay, that was out of the way.
Celine stretched like a tired old cat, feeling her joints pop and crack in what now felt far more age appropriate sounds than when her body had done this to her at age 20. The Honmoon gave her a ripple of what was possibly mirth in return. She raised an eyebrow at it. It hadn't been this communicative with her since she was 18. It glowed a deep blue. She could question that in the morning. Maybe it was just excited for the girls to debut, for Celine to officially retire.
Celine chanced a glance at the clock again. 2:48. No wonder she was so exhausted. If she was lucky, she could get four hours of sleep before she had to rise and refuse to shine, for some ridiculously early online meeting with executives she really could not care less about.
But they were technically important, so she would need to be up. Besides, after that she was getting an update on a few information sources of the less legal variety, and she really did need to be awake and running for those. Those actually mattered.
So fine, time for bed. Even if she had a dozen more emails she could send, at least five more meetings to schedule and multiple employees to vet, that would need to wait for another day. Or she supposed, at least just later in this same day. The Honmoon gave another soft shimmer below her, the path out the door lighting up. Fine, she could take a hint. And figure out why it was acting so odd another day.
She shut off her computer and got up, eyes adjusting to the dark room as she blinked, the soft Honmoon now only barely illuminating where her door was. Yeah, it was definitely bed time. Her mind was running slower than it should if it needed the Honmoon for a door of all things. She needed to be sharp. Especially if she was going to start the one on one lessons properly with the girls tomorrow.
Well, she called them lessons. Really, she was hoping to see how her girls were doing. In a general sense certainly, but also in a very focused sense, on that connard of a bonfire. She knew, from far too personal experiences, that he did not let the presence of him in someone's mind be shared.
But that didn't mean she couldn't get hints through casual conversations and pointed questions.
It wasn't a good plan. It was barely a plan. But with Gwi-Ma possibly running scared and targeting the new group of Hunters, it was all Celine had at this very moment, so she would cling to it for as long as it could serve her.
She exited her office, stumbling less gracefully than she would have liked through the hallway, only to fall into her bed without so much as changing into sleepwear. She couldn't get herself to care. It was getting harder to care by the day, by the night, by each sleepless hour.
As she drifted off into what she knew would be terribly unrestful sleep, Celine briefly registered, somewhere in her mind, that a door slammed open with a thud from somewhere down the hallway.
She could deal with that in the morning.
—-
Rumi was woken from her already restless sleep by a stark feeling of deep ache in her body. She muffled a soft cry that threatened to escape her lips, instead biting into one of Zoey's turtle plushies that had made it's way over to her bed during the course of the night. Her teeth hit the fabric just as another pulse of agony wracked her poor, barely awake body.
In the same moment as Rumi bit down again, a soft thump pulled her attention from her bed to where she could see Zoey now sitting up, eyes wild and focused on something in the distance. A distance beyond the closed door of their room.
Rumi was about to call out to her, to ask if she was experiencing the same, if demons had caused something, if this was some weird Hunter second puberty somehow- as Zoey bolted off from her bed with only a second of hesitation, practically flying past Rumi in a flash and only barely not slamming the door behind her.
The look on her face had been utter and complete awe. Not pain. Not ache. Not agony.
Awe.
Whatever had woken Rumi, it was not a shared experience. It was not this tear, this clawing sense of emptiness that was rapidly spreading through Rumi's veins, nearly keeping her trapped to her bed, wishing to be shoved into a shallow grave.
No, whatever she had felt, it had been something else.
Rumi willed herself, slowly, to get up, to follow, to find out where Zoey had sped off to at a speed that Rumi wasn't quite sure was even humanely possible. She was happy, of course, as much as she could be while being woken up at three in the morning by pain, that Zoey was okay. That it was just herself that was enduring the torture of having her organs being shredded from the inside out.
Rumi opened their door and followed the soft pulse of the Honmoon which softly lit up behind Zoey's quick feet, as if to encourage her to track her teammate. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind of this awful ache. It didn't help much.
Her tired body pushed her forwards, step by step, until she was met with the open door to one of their indoor training facilities, out of which, Zoey and Mira's lovely voices wafted out.
She couldn't make out what they were saying, though as of this moment they seemed to be mostly exclamations of some sort of wonder from Zoey's side. As she drew closer, little by little, their words began to take shape.
And as they did so, Rumi froze, a new wave of pure melancholia washing over her, burying any possibility of her joining them, as she stood, rooted to the spot, right outside the open door, hearing their words.
Their joyous, isolating words.
—-
The moment Mira's hand connected to the Honmoon, the second her palm met the soft, glowing surface, her pupils were met with a burst of explosions and light.
It danced around her, through her mind, obscuring her vision, flowing through her, making itself at home in her body. The light was warm, welcome, new yet she could tell it belonged just as much as her lungs or heart did.
It felt like something important, something she had been missing all this time, had found its way home after an exhausting journey. The light sunk into her, having finally found where it was meant to lay down and rest. Be safe. The light felt safe. And Mira felt comfortable. The most at home in her own body, in her own environment, than she had in years.
It pulsed softly in front of her eyes, in tune with the rapid beat of her heart, each wave of bright refuge sending renewed tingles through her limbs, curling around them like a soft fabric, swaddling her as if she had just escaped the biting cold of winter, warming Mira's very core.
As she found her breath, controlled it again, the quick pulsing of her roaring blood slowing with each inhale. Each exhale let the tingling subside, if just a bit, slowly melting into her body, and feeling as if molding back into it, where it rightfully belonged and had always been.
Her vision cleared in small increments, the bright spots dancing closer and closer to the edge of her vision, receding back behind her retinas, nestling in comfortably around her mind, like a soft cushion, ready to catch her if she fell. A clear protection, though from what, Mira was not quite sure.
The bright, tingling sensation did not pull back from her with every renewed breath, so much as settle itself into her very being, that feeling of safety, of belonging, staying snugly wrapped around her heart and mind, a stark reminder of what had just occurred.
Her limbs still twitched with light, sparks of electricity running through them to a beat Mira couldn't quite place, her fingers caught in the bright, colorful strands of the Honmoon, that had intertwined itself in them and was holding on to her, just as strongly as she was holding on to it.
The swirling patterns looked different now, she thought. Stronger, more distinct, humming with thoughts and feelings that lay just beyond her reach. It pulsed far more visibly, stretching slowly and laying back down, as if it had lungs to fill with oxygen, a body to fuel. A body that she belonged to. Was connected to. Had chosen to join.
She could have stared at the Honmoon all night, had her eyes not caught onto something else, a new source of brilliant brightness.
Further away, though somehow, she knew still in the house, more light- the same light? she couldn't quite tell- concentrated into a large orb, soft blue mixed with teal, which bounced up, as if startled.
Everywhere she looked, the Honmoon was bursting with pure color, swirling, moving, flowing as if it had turned into a roaring river, encompassing her, taking her in, dragging her down, claiming her as one of the countless drops of water that formed its vast expanse.
A missing piece, that had finally found its place. That had slotted into its rightful spot.
Calm.
Despite everything, despite the glowing teal blue orb rapidly approaching out of the corner of her eye, despite her weapon forming in her hand, despite the power, this new power, coursing through her veins, through her blade, despite all of this, despite being in the Honmoon's vortex core, despite it all. She felt calm.
Calm and connected.
Whatever was coming towards her, rushing through the corridors of the estate, it was connected to her. She could sense it's breath, hear it's heartbeat if she focused, practically feel it's feet hit the floor as if they were her own.
It was a mesmerizing feeling, overwhelming, calming, enrapturing and downright terrifying, all in the same breath. As her mind caught up to her nervous system, the calm made way to slow concern, which ceded to anticipation and a hint of worry.
The bright presence grew ever closer, quick, light-footed, as Mira found herself standing up, her hand meeting the Honmoon and filling with a quickly soothing warmth, her weapon humming with the new sense of soft connection she felt to it. It vibrated, ever so softly, matching her quick breaths.
She didn't hold it out, not in attack, rather short, close to her side, defensive, just in case. A Honmoon induced hallucinated ball of light was probably not a danger- but she couldn't be quite sure. No matter how comfortable that ball felt. How familiar. How calming. Her grip on her weapon weakened as it threatened to slip out of her grasp. The light reached right in front of the closed door and Mira reaffirmed her grip, holding her weapon out, ever so cautiously, taking a few steps back.
The door swung open with a loud bang, hitting the back wall as the light burst in, overtaking the room, blinding, disarming. Mira didn't know if she had dropped her blade, if the Honmoon had summoned it back on its own volition, if she had dispelled it, all she knew is that her hands were now gripping around nothing.
"Mira?!"
Zoey's still tired but bright voice broke through the light of the Honmoon, parting it in soft, lapping waves as it receded from the space between the two.
Zoey's eyes met Mira's, her jaw slack, shoulders relaxed. She was dressed in her pajamas, turtles blending in oddly well with the ocean like Honmoon. Mira's voice caught in her throat at the sight. Just minutes before she had confirmed something with the Honmoon. Something important. It had felt safe, reassuring in the moment, but now? Faced with Zoey, one of the two people she was in love with? She was well out of her depth.
Zoey stared her down for all of two more seconds, before taking a tentative step forwards, through the bright light, her feet bouncing off the Honmoon, unaware of Mira's internal struggles to speak.
"What have you been- how- Mira what did you do?" Zoey marveled as she stepped closer. The Honmoon gave way, slowly, ebbing from around them, seeping back down the walls as if a drain had been opened in the room.
"I- " Her voice came out strained as she wracked her brain. Where would Mira even start? With the regular therapy sessions- brief red- sorry- with the regular discussions with the Honmoon? With how she had slowly been taking notes on the Honmoon, to show Zoey later? With all the new knowledge? With this odd, fulfilling feeling? The fact that she could see what Mira could assume was Zoey's soul? Could feel it? Locate it with her eyes closed? The fact, verified by eldritch entity fact, that she loved Zoey and Rumi?
"I touched the Honmoon." She settled on the simplest explanation, the Honmoon, now coating the world in its usual thin layer, pulsed a soft, content green as it nudged under Zoey's hand in a singular wave, as if to grab her attention. Zoey's fingers played with its strands, as she glanced down, and then back up at Mira.
"Not like how we touch strands to summon our weapons. Touched it. Felt it." Mira held out her hand, meeting a soft wave of her own as the shield reached back for her. The Honmoon was warm under her fingertips, firmer than she had expected, yet gave way easily, almost like an odd, non sticky putty. It reminded her of memory foam. She traced up it softly with her outstretched fingers, nails scratching at one of the many strands, plucking it and eliciting a soft hum.
"Like you do." Mira finished her sentence, surprising even herself just how soft she sounded, just how deeply in love. Oh she hoped Zoey hadn't caught it. Zoey's breath hitched, her soul jumped a bit, but she gave no indication of a negative reaction at least. That was a good start. The Honmoon pulsed a soft, brief pink around Zoey.
"It's been asking me to for ages but… today I finally felt safe to try. I guess." Mira continued, taking Zoey's stunned silence as a bid for her to keep explaining. She finished her sentence with a small shrug. Zoey let out a soft gasp of realization.
"You've been sneaking off. On secret dates. With the Honmoon?" She turned to the Honmoon, in faux anger. "Why didn't you tell me?" The Honmoon glimmered a soft amused blue. Mira blinked. The Honmoon's colors didn't feel like a visual cue anymore. Didn't feel like she was deciphering clues. It felt natural. Direct. Clear as day. The Honmoon gave her a soft proud pulse of blue.
"I see you two have grown close." Zoey gave a soft smile as her eyes focused on Mira's- wait her chest? No- okay no- Mira managed to stop her mind from the gutter in time to realize that if she could see Zoey, glowing from her own chest, right above her heart, if she could see that through walls, have it amplified with distance- then it would stand to reason that this was reciprocal.
Mira gave a soft nod to Zoey's words.
"And… to be clear. You uh- you see a light too right? It's not just me? Like it was blinding from rooms away? Shines through your eyelids?" Zoey continued, her speech picking up speed as uncertainty flooded her voice. Her soul fluttered, as if anxious, fidgeting as much as a soul could fidget.
"I do. I- I saw your light- saw it glow brightly, shoot up- I could trace it all the way until you opened the door." Zoey blinked at Mira's words, her soul for the briefest of seconds going a deep pink, before settling on the more usual soft light blue, tinged with teal.
"Shit- we got a GPS system. Honmoon GPS- that's- wow." Zoey's eyes went wide like a cat with a toy, as she looked down at the Honmoon in awe before swiveling her head around, as if looking for something specific.
"Where's Rumi? Why can't I see her- do you?" She asked, eyes still scanning every centimeter of the Honmoon like a diligent lifeguard on duty. Mira shook her head. Zoey shone brightly, clear as day. But there was no sign of Rumi. Mira did not want to dwell on what that could possibly imply. Zoey's face fell before replacing the look with a more contemplative, nigh calculating one. Mira would not be surprised if she whipped out a notebook out of thin air right now.
"Maybe she just hasn't done whatever unlocks this yet. Maybe it's a ritual thing? She's been able to summon her weapon for so long though, there's no way she wouldn't-" Zoey's eyebrows shot up at a though as she clamped her mouth shut. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"No that can't be it. Can it? That would be so unfair-" Zoey shook her head as the Honmoon hummed in soft affirmation at Zoey's thoughts. Whatever she had concluded, was correct. Mira felt possibly too proud at the thought.
"Maybe it's random? Or situational?" Mira offered, refraining from trying to decipher her own specific situation and how it could be applied to Zoey. She had a hunch for her own connection, what fueled her own choice, but certainly that could not be applied to Zoey. Not if Zoey has had this connection for so many years.
Maybe it came from necessity?
"It could be related to safety." Mira expressed, not explaining her thoughts further. She did not need to dampen the moment with the info of her parents stalking them. She still had to talk to Celine about that anyway, who would hopefully be able to help her out of the situation.
"Maybe." Zoey looked at Mira curiously, slightly frustrated at Mira's lack of elaboration. "There must be a pattern of some kind." Zoey continued, her eyes tracking through the air as if she was writing out in an imaginary mind notebook.
"No matter- we should find her, let her know- maybe brainstorm together how to get her in on this, make it a threesome." Zoey spoke quickly, her soul going bright pink at the last, unguarded word that left her mouth. Mira felt her heart skip about a thousand beats at the image that had just conjured in her mind. And why was the Honmoon bumping her in the back, making her take a small step closer to Zoey? What was it's deal?
"I mean- uh- like- yknow. In a meme-y way- Tumblr lingo? Like the weed smoking girlfriends- I should- let's just go find her!" Zoey rattled of some words that made very little sense and Mira found herself smiling despite that. She gave a soft nod, her hand finding Zoey's without much thought.
Zoey stiffened at the contact for just a second, before melting into it, even taking the lead as she took a few strong steps through the hallway, back to their bedroom.
Mira tried her best not to dwell on how that particular thought felt.
—-
"Shit- we got a GPS system. Honmoon GPS- that's- wow." Rumi didn't mean to cringe at the words- those heartfelt awe filled words in Zoey's sweet, excited tone- but she did. She cringed hard internally, nigh wincing as if the pressure on her heart was causing her physical pain.
She knew she should be happy for the two, of course she should. They were forging new connections, between themselves and the Honmoon, coming into their own as Hunters with abilities that Rumi had never even heard of before. She should be ecstatic for them even, run into the room,partake in the conversation rather than eavesdropping on it, congratulate them on their success.
She knew exactly what she should be feeling and what she should be doing.
And she was doing absolutely none of it. Instead, she found herself running down the hallway, decidedly away and in the opposite direction from where she could feel the soft pull of the Honmoon originating from.
She bolted through the house, with no real rhyme or reason, just needing to run. Get away. Deal with these damned emotions before they could ever become an issue and get in the way of the group.
Tears pricked the corner of her eyes as she kept running, rounding a corner and narrowly avoiding a now loose Zoey and Mira, that had manifested in the hallway in front of her, seemingly out of thin air- or maybe more realistically out of the nearby door, if Rumi let her darting eyes rest on the scene for just a few seconds. Seeing them in front of her, she skid to a halt, purple smoke briefly surrounding her vision before finding herself safe behind the corner she had just come around. She blinked, her mind slow to grasp what had just occurred, as her thoughts kept up their vortex of doom in her mind, occupying it fully.
Pathetic. This was all pathetic!
But as pathetic as it truly was, Rumi couldn't face them right now. Couldn't hear their joy, their new information, novel powers. She couldn't bear to hear about this connection, not right now, not in this state.
Because she wasn't happy for them. Not really.
Sure, she was glad to see them bond. Happy for them to connect, but… even in her nigh panicked state, she could recognize that that feeling was conscious and not reflective of her emotions in the slightest.
Because if she was honest with herself, as she ran through the grass- when had she gone outside?- she felt alone. Deeply alone.
Left out.
Lonely in a way she had never felt before, like a deep, painful chasm in her heart had opened up the moment Mira had connected with the Honmoon.
Rumi gave a soft hiccup of a sob as she nearly ran into an oncoming tree, her reflexes halting disaster only a second before it could occur, leaving her panting at the edge of the forest, muddy, panicked and lonely.
She braced herself on the tree, the wood cracking beneath her sharp iron grip. Her eyes roamed the area, for just a moment, the soft dark expanse of space perfectly visible to her demonic biology. She took a deep breath, letting the cool air fill her lungs, give her mind a moment to think, for just a bit more than it had when she had bolted.
The other two had connected. The Honmoon connected them. Mira had touched the Honmoon in some odd, new special way, a way that eluded Rumi completely. Rumi's hand could find the Honmoon, dip into the strands, pull out her weapon- but she had never touched it, not in that way.
Rumi took another deep sigh, taking a few steps towards the small, winding path she was well familiar with, her bare feet hitting the dirt and scuffing it along, muscles barely propelling her forwards in her trek.
These emotions were unfair, Rumi knew that. They didn't mean to leave her out- she could be sure about that much. And the Honmoon still wanted to work with her, she could still summon her saingeom with the flick of her wrist. And yet.
And yet.
Rumi felt isolated.
She should be used to this feeling, she thought. Really, that was her designated state of being.
But this time? This time it felt different. Worse. Like a barrier had formed between her and the other two, like she was the odd one out in a couple, a third wheel meant to be discarded.
Soft tears mingled with the damp soil beneath her as she walked, letting her body act as it must, away from everyone, safe in the solitude the upcoming graveyard provided.
It was so, so unfair. She knew it was so extremely unfair to feel this way. For her mind to jump to further topics, to focus on the fact that Zoey was hiding something from her- on Tumblr of all places- to feel mad at that. Mad! As if she had any ground to stand on in this. As if she wasn't hiding the worst secret possible from her teammates. These emotions were unfair, undeserved and Rumi felt terrible for feeling them in the first place.
Mira had endured far worse, knowing Rumi had a secret for years now. Mira was kind and understanding about it. Why couldn't Rumi be more like her? Why did she have to feel like this? Why was she so self centered!?
Her foot hit the dirt with a stomp, sending pebbles flying in it's wake.
Her eyes found the grave she had been instinctively running to for solace, like the coward that she was.
Rumi stumbled her way through her last few steps, coming to a nigh tumbling crash in front of her mother's headstone. Her head hung low, hands clenching the soft soil. The Honmoon dipped below her fingertips, evading her direct touch, softly, gently even. The way it cradled her hand filled Rumi with a new bundle of grief.
Her hands dug into the earth beside her, quickly, pointed, strong, digging out lumps of soil as she shut her eyes, unwilling to look at the company that was the cold, dead gravestone.
Deep breath in. Deep breath out.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
In.
The world slowed around her as she breathed. The sounds mingled together, creating a cacophony of blended birds, grass and trees, surrounding her, covering her. Her hands felt fuzzy in the cool dirt. Her knees felt floaty. Her eyes refused to open as she let herself sit in the quiet noise.
It was comfortable, in a way. Not present. No need to think, to act, to see. She could just sit. Sit and breathe.
In.
Out.
In.
As she exhaled again, she felt her hands unfurl, feeling shorter again. More human. Less herself, in a way she loathed. Feeling returned to them, tingling in her limbs as it did. And as she grew more conscious again, the emotions she had been fleeing from, hit her like a bus all over again. Her hands sharpened in response.
She had no right to these emotions.
This was sad.
Downright pathetic.
Rumi gave a low growl at the thought, eyes startling open at the sound as a soft whimper left her throat. The rush of stimuli to her pupils left her blinking for clarity and she winced at the bright light that invaded her sensitive retinas. When had it become late morning? How long had she been out here?
Those pressing questions were quickly overshadowed by the new visuals in front of her. A shifted color scheme expanded in front of her, movement highlighted and vivid, catching her attention. The sky was blue, sure, but intensely so and the grass quick, rustling loudly, creating a vast, indistinguishable expanse of mass.
She took a deep inhale, trying to calm herself, collect herself, be human again- when a distinct smell surrounded her senses. She snapped her head towards the source.
Why could Rumi smell blood coming from her mother's gravestone?
—-
Finding Rumi had proven to be more difficult than Mira and Zoey had initially anticipated.
They had checked their bedroom first, assuming she would still be asleep, but found her sheets tussled about and Rumi missing. They had then proceeded to spend the next few hours looking all over for her, never leaving each other's side as they did so.
They had only separated half an hour ago, when Celine had whisked Zoey away for their individual training session.
But Mira kept looking, with growing concern.
The search felt… off. Wrong. Like Rumi wasn't just difficult to find, but was actively avoiding them. Like there was somehow even more to it than that.
Because Mira usually had a hunch where Rumi was- living together for so long would do that to a person, or at least, Mira assumed that was the reason. But right now? She couldn't locate her for the life of her. It felt odd- bad. She felt weirdly separate, as if Rumi had suddenly jumped just a bit more out of reach than this morning. Mira tried not to focus on that thought as she kept searching.
Rumi wasn't in their room. Mira checked that at half hour intervals. She wasn't training, wasn't cooking, wasn't even gardening with her beloved plants. Rumi also wasn't answering texts. Or phone calls.
Mira was close to trying to send a carrier pigeon and see if that would work.
Where the hell was she? The estate was big, sure, but not that big. Mira could see most of it from out the windows.
She could see the large tree, see the small forest, see Celine and Zoey sparring. She could see Zoey's bright light, even with her eyes closed and her head turned, like an ever present beacon, a lighthouse, guiding the way to her, should Mira need it. It was a new feeling, a welcome one, and one Mira was finding herself settle in with as if it had always been there. It felt so natural, so right.
If only she could see Rumi too.
Mira slipped into a pair of shoes, deciding that Rumi must not be indoors. And if she wasn't indoors and wasn't in the field and wasn't with Celine and Zoey, there was really only one last place Rumi could be.
Back in the graveyard, for some reason. Mira's stomach dropped at the thought. Rumi didn't visit the graveyard alone often. Or pretty much ever. What could drive her to seek out the company of decayed corpses over her or Zoey or even Celine?
She took off at a steady pace, eyes taking a quick glance over to Zoey, to see that bright light, before making her way up the small hill. It felt odd taking this trek alone. Rumi barely made the journey, but Mira took it upon herself even less so.
As she rounded crest of the hill, sure enough, Rumi came into view. She was kneeling in front of Mi-yeong's gravestone, head hung, fists buried in the ground.
Mira was about to call out to Rumi, but her words died in her throat as Rumi's head snapped up all of a sudden, her body stiffening, like a bloodhound with a scent. Rumi turned around, eyes scanning her surroundings quickly, not even registering a stilled Mira as their gaze met for the briefest of seconds, before she turned again, focus aimed solely on the stone in front of her.
Rumi may not have registered Mira. But Mira had noticed Rumi.
Rumi's eye was ablaze, yellow, with a slit pupil running through it. If Mira had even a second longer to comprehend, to have her mind forcefully put these floating puzzle pieces in her mind together, the way she knew they were screaming to be connected, if she had had that sliver of time, she would have processed a great many things in that moment.
But just as Rumi's glowing eye came into Mira's vision, searing itself into her mind, so did Zoey's light extinguish.
—-
Zoey was a little bit nervous, to put it mildly, for a myriad of compounding reasons. Partially because of perfectly normal reasons, partially because something was pulling at the edge of her mind, demanding attention, that she had been trying her very best to ignore.
Her first reasons she felt, were understandable enough.
Zoey had had one hell of a morning. Woken up by Mira's actual soul, felt connected like Mira had cut her open and nestled into Zoey's skin- but like in a cool hot comfortable way- found out Mira had been connecting to the Honmoon, using Zoey as an example to follow. The adrenaline from that really was safely enough for the month, especially if she took into consideration just how adoringly Mira spoke to her, looked at her! It was enough to make a girl swoon and confused and excited and a bit horny and delighted all at the same time!
Then she was nervous because try as they might, they could not find Rumi anywhere! It was as if she had up gotten up and disappeared and while logically, Zoey was sure- hoped- that Rumi was fine and just in the woods or something, she had the mind of a conspiracy theorist and it was difficult to keep her thoughts at bay here.
Which brought up her more irrational reason to be nervous, bad thoughts that she should ignore for the sake of her own sanity, that had been slowly compounding and connecting in her mind, against her express will, over the last few weeks. Because there was no way that Celine actually knew of Zoey's writings. Of her Tumblr ramblings. Of her disgusting, terrible, abhorrent rpf fics about Celine herself and Rumi's dead mother. There was absolutely no way. There had to be no way. Zoey rather die than have Celine know these things.
Zoey loved her pattern recognizing brain to death, but this was one pattern she was terrified to put together. Which was getting harder and harder, now that the subject of that pull was standing right in front of her, demanding she spar.
Being alone with Celine, yet another perfectly normal, reasonable and understandable reason to be nervous, was also perfectly nerve wracking enough on a normal, slow day. Never-mind having a sleeveless tank top Celine square up to her, wooden swords in hand dual wielding like an absolute fiend. Sure, the fact that Celine could play baseball with Zoey's shin-kal partially had to do with the fact that Zoey was very distracted. But not helping Zoey's state of mind in the slightest, was the fact that a large contributor to Celine's defense, was pure skill, honed over decades of hunting.
So yes, this entire scene was making her nervous, among other emotions that were fully inappropriate and belonged safe on AO3 and not anywhere near Celine's knowledge. But this is where those terribly, untrue- they had to be untrue- theories and patterns came in to play, to distract Zoey, overstimulate as some fucked up anti-treat, as if today wasn't solidly overwhelming at 9am already!
Zoey was trying so hard to ignore it. Shove the thought down to the depths of her mind, smother it with a pillow, never let it see the light of day or the Honmoon. But here it was, bubbling up to the surface, causing her to swing and wildly miss Celine by at least a yard. Celine looked at her, eyebrow quirked up in confusion, hands on her hips, her far too toned biceps on full display. Shit, it was hard to focus on anything.
But that thought, that wicked, certainly- hopefully?- definitely untrue thought, that connection, that clue, it kept pushing through, kept bubbling up to the surface of her mind, making it's presence well known.
Because why. Why? Did Celine know to chastize them all about their digital footprint. Their social medias. It was one, still mildly horrifying thing to learn Celine had found Zoey's Instagram. That alone? Nerve wracking, but she could have dealt. But no. That information came alongside a warning, to scrub her socials clean.
A Zoey feared what that meant.
Because there was only two platforms, two disgusting safe spaces of her own, that could possibly need cleaning. That could cause issues in the future. And there had to be no way Celine knew about either of them. Please.
Zoey swung again, her aim clearer, movements less flashy, eyes focused on her target. Nobody would know if she blurred her vision a little bit, to counter productively, stay focused. Her shin-kal hit the Honmoon coated wood of Celine's weapons, thudding to the ground unceremoniously. Celine looked down at it and gave a soft sigh.
"Let's take a break." Zoey wasn't given any room to argue, not with Celine's tone of voice. She dispelled her weapons as Celine put her wooden ones down and took a seat at the foot of a nearby tree, capping open one of the two water bottles she had brought along. The other, she threw Zoey without sparing her so much as a glance, trusting her to catch it. And Zoey did, though with far less elegance than she would have hoped to.
"You're distracted." A statement, not a question. Zoey shrank back, averting her eyes. "Why?"
Oh now there was a question Zoey absolutely could not ever answer, absolutely not. Celine would be disgusted! Possibly abandon her, look for a new Hunter. No- this was not something Zoey could ever voice. These thoughts were shameful, disgusting, vile. They shouldn't exist.
Celine let out a sigh as Zoey realized she had frozen up with a blank face at the question.
"Come here young padawan." Celine pat the dirt next to her, and who was Zoey to refuse? Her legs moved before she could think this through. Despite having spent months with Celine until now, the awe striking star power never left her aura. At least not for Zoey. Not yet, at least. Zoey hoped she would get rid of it one day. Be normal. Maybe delete her AO3. Not need it.
"Padawan?" Zoey sat down, feeling the dirt under her fingers. It was cool, slightly moist, a remnant from the rain of the past night. Grounding. Celine gave a soft laugh at Zoey's question.
"Star Wars- not your generation?" Her voice sounded just ever so slightly apprehensive when she asked. Like a teacher trying and slightly failing to connect on interests with her students. Zoey supposed that is what was happening, so it felt apt.
"No it is- I think? I've never seen it. Is it good?" Zoey could curse herself for her terrible conversation skills right now. Surely there must be less awkward ways to distract from Celine's original question than this. Celine gave a soft laugh, not indicating she had noticed this blatant attempt, leaning against the tree, eyes strained towards the graveyard with a soft smile.
"I could take it or leave it. Mi-yeong loved it though. One of the reasons she was so proficient with her blade." Celine gave a soft sigh, tender smile on her lips. "Though it did make her fighting overly flashy sometimes." Zoey's jaw dropped at the lore she was getting, doing her best to not seem like the freaked out fan-girl that she was as she listened to Celine talk.
"She tried to get us to marathon those movies with her." Celine continued, eyes never leaving the graveyard. "We never got to it." Celine's voice turned slightly bitter at the end as her hands curled into the soft dirt.
"Why not?" Zoey hoped her question wasn't too out of line. Celine grimaced in response, though not at Zoey herself. She let out a deep, tired sigh. Zoey almost wanted to liken her to an exhausted sled dog. Almost. Another thought to never voice.
"Demons kept interrupting." Her tone was bitter now as she spoke, eyes turned to the ground. Her eyebrows creased together as she took a large breath and leaned back again, head softly hitting the wood of the tree, eyes open, watching the sparse leaves above them.
"They interrupt everything." Celine continued, hands clasped together, eyes averted from Zoey as she spoke with irritation that felt long and deeply seeded. Not even hate anymore, just pure and utter annoyance.
"Mi-yeong used to want to write stories you know. About Star Wars. She had a whole world set for that Maul dude. She said she could, and I quote, "fix him"." Celine held up air quotes as she spoke, mirth, grief and slight annoyance underlining her voice. Zoey was extremely unsure what to do about the fact that she had just learned that Mi-yeong had wanted to write fanfition of all things. Zoey would actually kill to read it.
"She had an entire outline, snippets, dialogue- at this point I don't even know what is in that movie and what were Mi-yeong's ideas." Celine shook her head with a small laugh, her eyes landing back on the graves.
"She never got to write it though. Never substantially." Celine finally turned back to Zoey, her eyes filled with a deep sense of urgency and meaning as she spoke from years of her own experience that Zoey could only glimpse the smallest of fractions of.
"My point is- spare time as a full time idol and demon hunter is… difficult to find." Her gaze wandered from the leaves to Zoey, freezing the young adult in place with it's intensity. It's pity. It's warmth. It's understanding.
"You will learn that bitter lesson soon enough I fear." Zoey nodded. She wasn't super worried. Sure, her fanfic time would dwindle, but that was a disgusting hobby she definitely needed to kick anyway.
"Nah, nothing to be afraid of. We got this!" Zoey was not as certain as she portrayed, but she wasn't about to let Celine worry about them- or at least not about her. Celine had far more important things to do after all.
"I know you do." The sincerity with which Celine spoke threw Zoey's heart for a loop- scratch that- an entire roller coaster. "But-" Oh, there was a but. Of course there was a but. Zoey shouldn't have let her heart beat so quickly so fast.
"I just. I still feel the need to warn you. Nothing I say can properly prepare you but…" Celine sighed, shaking her head.
"Keep your hobbies. Start new hobbies. Keep your friends. Keep your bond. I know you can't always prioritize them- not with the fate of the world on your shoulders- but keep who you are. It's the only thing that will keep you sane." Celine wouldn't be saying that if she knew of Zoey's hobby. If she knew how Zoey felt about Mira and Rumi. She wouldn't. She would take it right back. But Zoey nodded anyway, feeling disgusting.
A familiar feeling boiled up in her chest. Words she didn't want to say, shouldn't say, words she didn't even truly believe if she could think about it for a minute, not in the way she was about to say. But they strained against her tongue, like a tidal wave against a dike.
"Con mi forma de ser, no me sorprende si el departamento entero de relaciones publicas renuncian." The words slipped out of Zoey before she could catch them, her mind switching to the last resort she had established the previous time this happened. A look of annoyance spread over Celine's face, as her eyes glassed over slightly, as if hit by a distant memory that she did not like.
"Ce foutu département peut me sucer ma bite." She muttered under her breath, quickly, quietly, and clearly not for Zoey's ears.
But it reached those ears. Loud and clear and if Zoey focused just enough, understandable. Intelligible. Zoey couldn't even process exactly what filth Celine had just uttered, as she was hit with a terrifying realization.
It dawned on Zoey in that moment with horror, just how close those two languages were. That Celine, even if partially, could understand her. Could understand what she had said.
Nausea hit Zoey in the back of the head like a brick as she doubled over, eyes sparkling with stars, her body reaction akin to having sustained tangible physical harm.
Celine understood her. Understood what she had said. Not just heard but understood those disgusting words. Celine knew how she felt about her. She had known this whole time.
That nagging feeling, those patterns, Celine's words, came tumbling to the front of Zoey's brain like an avalanche, burying any normal, rational thought in the process.
Scrubbing socials. Zoey's Instagram. Her own, terrible words. Celine's panic on being asked about how she found Zoey in Burbank. Knowing she liked turtles and birds, before they had ever met. Creative writing. All the clues came tumbling through Zoey's mind at once, painting a disgusting picture.
She knew.
She had always known.
She must be disgusted by Zoey. Repulsed. Hate her. Want her gone.
As that last thought slipped through her mind, searing heat overtook Zoey's entire body, crawling through her veins, lighting her organs up, turning her skin to ash. The heat clawed up her stomach, over her arms, snaking around her neck, through her jaw, until finally, it reached just behind her eyes.
Somewhere she felt hands on her body, her shoulders, propping her upright, shaking. She heard yelling, distantly. Celine? Maybe Mira. Could be Rumi? It was hard to make out over the rush of blood in her ears, the roar of fire that personified itself in her mind.
Her vision was fuzzy, flickering, devoid of much more than moving shadows, dancing as flames would on a cave wall.
Zoey could faintly, ever so faintly, make out Mira's light approaching her, for just a fraction of a second, before that light was obscured and replaced by the deep, angry, gloating purple fire that invaded her senses.