The rain fell as if a cloud had torn apart, releasing everything it held at once, and so it poured onwards.
Luna sat by the door-like window to the garden, watching intently, jealousy written all over her face. Why now? This rain! I was supposed to train, but I can't do it in the house… as the Master is sleeping on his sofa.
Luna turned back, looking toward Mytri's sofa, and saw as Theia placed a blanket over him while he slept peacefully, though from time to time he frowned. Luna was unsure why, but she thought that must come with age.
Well, I can't train, so why not go there?
Luna turned toward Theia and whispered, "Theia! Let's go there."
Theia blushed, tilting her head; she seemed to have missed what Luna was talking about.
"The island!"
Theia's mouth slowly fell agape. She jolted, nodding as her face grew redder, then rushed to their room, covering it with her hands.
Luna chuckled at that and followed behind.
Once inside, Luna gripped the bottom left and top right corners of the gem and opened the portal, placing it in the right corner of the room. She tightly gripped Theia's hand and pulled her through, and they appeared right in the arbor under the tree.
Luna brought Theia to the table and sat her down. Shyly, Theia followed her every direction. "I don't know why, but I really love this place. It's so serene and peaceful," Luna said as Theia watched her lips form every word.
Theia's agape mouth smiled; she chuckled to herself secretly, still blushing. "You certainly do."
"Look!" Luna exclaimed, gripping the cup in front of her and showing it to Theia as it filled with tea. "Isn't it cool? It fills with water immediately, and the tea leaves are always there! How cool is that?"
Theia nodded, silently staring at her feet as she waved them back and forth.
Luna drank from the tea, then asked cheerfully, "Want to try?" But Theia kept looking down, seemingly missing what she said. "Theia?"
At that, she looked immediately at Luna in haste.
"Is something on your mind? You can tell me everything!" Luna stood up, pushing herself up with her arms.
Theia fiddled with her fingers as she pondered whether she should say it. She bit her lip a couple of times as sweat trickled down her cheek. She looked from right to left before finally looking at Luna. "I-I don't like y-you talking to E-Elwing."
Luna sat down, looking at Theia. She wanted to chuckle but thought she shouldn't. Luna knew why Theia was saying it but wanted to hear it from her mouth instead.
Luna's expression relaxed as a small smile grew on her face. "Why?"
Theia jolted at the sudden question. She looked down at her legs, gripping her dress, and said, "I-I don't like it. Y-you spend t-too much time with her."
"I see…" Luna added. She stood up and walked behind Theia. Theia closed her eyes tightly, biting her lip, trembling as she feared the response. But Luna hugged her, saying, "Theia, you dummy. You are my sister."
"You are my family. El is my friend. I prioritize my family before anyone."
Luna gripped Theia gently by her shoulders and turned her in place so that she would face her, then sat on the floor made of roots.
"When I first saw you, I thought, 'I have to befriend you,' and that 'you are my friend no matter what.' I know it might be too fast for others, but you became my friend without you even knowing it. And when you said you wanted to be friends with me, we were no longer just friends, but family."
"It surprised me that Dad adopted you, but now that he did, I have an excuse to treat you as family. Isn't that amazing?" Luna grinned, exposing her white teeth as a blush grew on her face.
"B-but you b-became friends with Elwing i-immediately. She will be y-your family too? A s-sister?"
"No, dummy, she won't. That's just the way I am. I want to be friends with everyone I see as beautiful… But it's not like that with you. I wanted to be friends with you because I felt like I should know you, and like I already did when I saw you. Weird, isn't it?" Luna said as she looked down toward the floor.
Theia smiled, and tears fell down her cheeks like rain on a spring day. "it is really you," she thought.
Theia's tears fell onto Luna's hand, and Luna immediately looked up to see Theia weeping silently, wiping her tears with her sleeve. Luna stood up in a jolt and hugged her, pressing Theia's head to her shoulder.
"D-did I say something wrong?" Luna's eyes opened wide in shock, her hands shaking in fear.
"N-no… I just felt h-happy." Theia hugged Luna back tightly, and both stayed like that for a long while.
***
Luna sat on the swing in front of the palace made of white stone—a grandeur that framed the full point of view if you stood beside it. The swing was attached to a tree with a trunk of silvery color and leaves of deep charcoal.
Theia, with her mouth agape and a deep blush on her face, pushed Luna forward as she swung backwards and forwards.
Theia stepped back, observing every move of Luna on the swing. Tears fell down Theia's face as she watched Luna smiling and laughing, her hair gushing gracefully.
Backwards and forward Luna swung, calling out to Theia, "It's so fun! Theia! Haha!"
Theia sniffed, tears now falling intensely down her cheek. She gripped her white dress, her eyes becoming bloodshot. "It's really you, Niv," she said.
Theia held back the tears and wiped them all away, watching with a smile as Luna swung back and forth, having fun.
***
Luna and Theia walked over the gravel path, over the hill, which led to an enormous gate embedded into the side of the hill. It was etched with symbols: a snowflake, fire, a book, and a hammer. All around them were the symbols of eyes.
Luna walked up to it and pushed with all her might, pouring every drop of mana into the gate. But the gate did not move at all. Exhausted, Luna fell, collapsing to the ground.
Theia jolted, jumping forward to shield Luna from the pain of the gravel. She picked her up and placed her onto her back. With a smile, she arranged Luna's hands over her shoulders.
Theia, with a smile and a blush on her face, gently nuzzled her cheek into Luna's hand, saying, "I love you."
Back in their room, Theia gently placed Luna onto the bed by the wall. Spreading her right arm wide, she placed the white duvet over Luna's legs. She slowly crawled in, placing her head onto her right arm and draping her left arm over Luna.
She smiled warmly and hugged Luna tightly but gently to her chest, pulling the duvet over them both. And so, she silently slept alongside Luna.