Luna

Chapter Five

Fidi shook me awake before the sun came up. I can feel Amy waking. We don’t want her asking questions do we? “Thanks.” I was instantly awake and I quickly snuck across the yard, through the window, and back to my spot by the table. Just as I slowed my breathing and closed my eyes, Amy walked in and shook my shoulder. 
    “Want to earn your keep?” I had no idea what she meant, Lily didn’t mention that this might happen. What ever could she want?
    “Of course.” I said, feigning a weak groggy tone as I wiped imaginary sleep from my eyes. I got up and stumbled behind her out to the yard. We were walking right towards the barn, where Fidi was.
    “Normally Kip would be here by now but he must have been held up.” She paused and took a long and slow breath, “Normally I wouldn’t ask this of anyone, but as a surprise for Lily, Kip is bringing a young calf to the house and I need the barn cleaned up a bit.” She gestured to the groaning building in which I had spent my night.
    “I do not mind at all, but is it not dangerous keeping cattle here so close to the Araki?” I instinctively looked to the sky as if I would see dragons soaring overhead. Amy looked as well and seemed conflicted.
“The animal will spook easily when they fly close, but maybe Lily can work with the animal. Hopefully it would help to make us some money and if the Araki come looking for their share from us, it will be something to offer.” Amy’s eyes seemed to cloud over as I assumed she was reliving the memory of her husband’s death. I placed my hand on her shoulder in hope of being some comfort.
    I pulled my shoulders back and answered her, “I will gladly clean the barn out for you and Lily.” Without another word she turned to the house and I slipped through the barn door. It now seemed much filthier that I had to clean it. At least there wouldn’t be any rats this close to Araki nation. Fidi had obviously been listening because he had already blown all of the moldy hay into the corner by the door and was looking around at the rotting beams and splintered stall frames. This doesn’t seem like the best or safest home for any animal. “Yeah I know, and it will be a lot worse with your scent covering the place, the poor calf is going to be terrified.” I looked around for a broom or a pitchfork, something that could have helped a Kyma girl do all of this work. In a blocked off area behind Fidi I found a pitchfork with a tong missing and a makeshift broom. I would have to find a cart or wheelbarrow to get all of this junk out of the barn. I would have to ask Lily for one when she woke. For now I would just hide out here and perfect Fidi’s work. I was blowing all the mold off the walls with streamlined windcurrents when Lily walked in the door. Fidi was lazing in a corner and couldn’t seem to care less. Wait a second, I thought that this was a surprise for her. 
“Kip just got here and has the cutest little calf with him. Mama says that it is mine.” her eyes were glowing with excitement, “Is that why you are in here?” She seemed to have a smile stuck to her face.
“I guess I cannot hide anything from you, can I?” I laughed as she quickly squeezed me into a tight hug.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She turned to run out of the barn.
“Ah! Wait, do you have a cart or something that I can load all of this junk onto?” She paused for a moment.
Without even turning back to me she answered, “Uncle Kip might have something.” And then she disappeared behind the barn door. I need to get out of here before they try to bring that calf any closer. 
“You’re right. Okay, disguise yourself and I will open both doors all the way to air out the barn, you can escape then. Please stay close though.” Without waiting for confirmation I pushed against the heavy doors with all of my weight. They swung open with a heavy sigh. They must not have been opened this much in years. Lily was coming back towards me pulling a cart behind her. 
“Will this work?” I could see her eyeing the pile in the corner. Trying to gauge for herself if it would work. 
“Yeah of course.” Now that the doors were open I couldn’t take control of the air, for fear that someone would see me, so all I had to use was the broken pitchfork that I had found earlier. It would take forever. As soon as the cart was within reach I was loading it. Lily, however, had an impatient look about her. 
“Can you not just blow it all onto the cart at once?” She asked, she started tapping her leg with one hand. 
“Not unless you want your mom finding out that I am not really Kyma.” The pile of hay instantly caught fire, the heat and raw power forced me back and as I fell onto the floor, I saw the flames almost touching the ceiling and felt the movement that was Fidi landing next to me. He was invisible, so all I could do was feel the protection of his wings wrapping around me. Lily quickly gained control and held the flames just above the pile, seemingly unaware of anything as her entire being was fixated on the flames. Fidi dragged me a few feet away and then released me. Turning towards him, I rested my forehead against his and thanked him silently. My hands had been in the fire because of how I had held the pitchfork and were now slightly cooked. “Hey Lily, could you maybe be more careful not to burn the floor or me maybe.” I was gingerly bending my fingers. She had always had such control before this, her emerald eyes were completely focused as she extinguished the flames and left a small layer of scorched hay on the floor.
“Oh Luna, what happened? I got so excited that I guess I wasn’t focused. I lost control for a minute. Are you okay?” I could feel Fidi shift closer to me, and I knew that every muscle in his body was tense. I reached over and my hand found his shoulder, so I rested it there for a minute in an attempt to reassure him. 
“Well you did burn me, and almost the whole barn, but other than that nothing happened.” Her brow furrowed 
“I swear I had control of it. I haven't lost control of anything since I was 10. I swear I have no idea what happened.” Her green eyes were locked on my blue ones and I knew that she was telling the truth. Even though she was looking directly at me I could tell that she was thinking about something else. “I guess we should clean up the rest of this and then bring the calf in.” She must never have noticed Fidi. I will clear out again, but we need to talk later. I made a fist behind my back as a signal that I understood. He had never said anything like that before. I felt his presence lessen as he vacated the barn. 
“Let’s just clean this up.” I let out a heavy sigh, for this was going to be a long day. Rather than using my raw hands on the rough wooden handle of the pitchfork I focused my energy and created a small cyclone to lift all the straw left and guide it onto the cart. Once again, the idea of that rough wood on my hands was not something I was looking forward to, so I ripped off two strips from the hem of my dress and wrapped one around each hand. I now could proceed with the cart. Lily followed a good distance behind me radiating with confusion and embarrassment. There was a tired looking bay attached to a loaded wagon. A gentle looking man was tending to the animal, and I assumed that this was Kip. Time for the first impression. I need him to approve of me if I am to ever reach Kyma lands. I have no idea if I should improve my posture or slouch, for I only know how to properly approach a diplomat. Something collided with my back and almost knocked me off of my feet.
“Oh, I am so sorry." it had been Lilly, no doubt still consumed in thought about what had happened earlier. "Wait, why are you stopped?” When did I stop? 
“I uh, I don't know. How am I supposed to introduce myself?” my hands were shaking now as I sat up in the dirt. If I had to set off on my own then I would be found out for sure and then Iget would kill both Fidi and myself. Everything depended on this. 
“Just go up and tell him your name Ms Potami.” her eyes showed how well she understood. “He is a very nice man and I have already talked you up.” 
“Well what did you say? Should I know any of it? What if he needs someone with more experience? I don't know anything about merchantry, merchanting, or merchandising? See I don't even know what it's called.” Are you okay? What's wrong Luna?  Instead of saying something, I closed my eyes and sent him an image of Kip and the horse. At least now I am as tired as I should be after cleaning the whole barn. I picked myself up off of the ground and the shaking in my hands stopped. Oh don't worry, he will love you. If not, I'll just eat him, and the horse looks tasty too. I guess he was trying to help, the sweetheart. I was now standing right in front of him with a cart full of burned hay. When had I started walking again? 
“You must be Luna. I'm Kip, and I have heard a little about you from Lily over here,” he said as he laid his arm over Lily’s shoulders. “Forgive me, you must be exhausted having cleaned out that whole barn by yourself.” I needed to say something now. 
“It wasn't too bad, and yes I am Luna. Luna Potami” at least I said the correct name. 
“Whatever happened to your hands my dear?” his brow furrowed and he reached for my left hand. I pulled it away a little two fast. 
“I got blisters from the tools, for they were slightly older than I would have hoped.” he chuckled lightly in response and his grey eyes lightened. I sighed in relief. At least Fidi wouldn't have to eat the horse. He must be starving. With the last of my energy I closed my eyes and sent out an image of Fidi hunting. Hopefully he would listen for once. His distant presence drew ever farther towards the Edafos border. Good. There is much more wildlife away from the Araki borders. Surprisingly, the second image did not take as much energy as I thought that it would and I still felt okay. Now that Fidi was taken care of, I could focus on Kip. I let a smile overtake my face, “I did not mind the work, for the Zontanos were very kind to me in giving me a place to sleep. They are very caring and amazing people.”
“That they are indeed.” replied Kip,"That is something that we can both always agree on.” he squeezed Lily a little tighter as he spoke. 
“Oh! I have to put Suzy in her stall!” Lily wiggled out from under Kip’s arm and ran to the rear of the wagon and after a moment she emerged with a small brown calf. It's eyes were wide with fear. The poor thing must be able to sense that Fidi was here earlier. The animal followed Lily obediently towards the barn. 
“So Luna, what do you already know about the art of merchantry?” his brow lifted expectantly, as he tried to gauge my inevitable response. At least I knew now what to call it.
“I lost my family when I was five years old and was raised by a traveler. I honestly do not know much about the trade itself, for the man simply gave me a place to sleep and food to eat.” His eyes clouded over as he seemed to grow confused. I had to think of a reason that this said man would take me in. “I believe that he planned to take me for my body at some point, for he was very handsy and it worsened throughout the years.” Yes, this should work. “I don’t know what I would have done if he had made the advances that I believe he planned on.” His eyes became clear once more and I could see the empathy in his posture. He stepped forward and pulled me into a hug.
“I am so sorry that this has happened to you.” His words were barely above a whisper and I could feel his rough beard against my ear. After a moment he released me and  turned towards the wagon. “I will teach you everything that I know, but first we should eat. I have brought some goods for Amy.” He turned towards me again, this time with his arms full of fabrics and seasonings. “Here, take this into her for me and I will follow with another load of goods.” He then rolled the pile of goods into my outstretched arms.
“Would you like me to come back out afterwards, or will you need no further assistance?” He smiled, clearly pleased with my enthusiasm and willing assistance. I couldn’t stop beaming as I headed back towards the house. I opened the door to the smell of cooking meat and it made my mouth water and stomach rumble. Amy’s eyes brightened as she saw the goods that were in my arms and ran over to inspect them with a grin stuck to her face. It shocked me to see somebody so excited over such trivial things, for how I grew up a gift would be a ball gown or diamonds rather than cloth and spices.
“Oh Luna, the food is ready, could you please go fetch Lily from the barn. I think she is still with that calf.” She didn’t look up from the gifts that Kip had brought her. I told her I would be right back with her daughter and then slipped back out the door and ran right into Kip, almost toppling him and his armful of flowers over.
“I am so sorry, I’ve been a little spacy today and just wasn’t thinking.” He laughed in a jolly way and waved off my apology letting me know all was fine. I basically ran to the barn once he closed the front door behind himself. My cheeks were now flushed from the embarrassment and running.
“Hi Luna, I haven’t left Suzy because she’s been so scared.” She sighed as she looked around, “I think it’s because Fidi was in here all night last night.” Speaking of Fidi, I hadn’t felt his presence in a while. I hope he is okay. He is a dragon that is faster than anyone else and can also turn invisible, of course he is okay. Taking a deep breath, I looked at Lily and smiled.
“Well of course it is because Fidi was in here, but the smell should fade and she will be okay.” I looked around the shabby and rotten barn, “As long as the wind doesn’t blow ever.” Lily giggled at that and threw her hands in the air.
“I guess you can’t leave because I need you to keep it all at bay for little Suzy.” I smiled back and then shook my head slightly.
“You know I have to go see the rest of the tribes for myself. I need to see if there is anything that can be changed.” I can’t believe how my people treated the rest of the tribes for generations. It is an atrocity. I don’t know how much I will be able to do, but hopefully I can at least start something so that the future generations can live better lives. “Anyway, the rest of Fidi’s scent should fade quickly with the doors open, so as long as you tie up Suzy, then she should calm down quickly. Your mother says dinner is ready.”