Lunar Heart, Shadow Bound ✓ [when the moon lies]

Ch.12.1: An Unexpected Reunion

Edited: Sept, 17, 2020

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"It's just one of his episodes." Lalina broke the silence, shifting in her seat.

"It's like he goes into mental shock sometimes and plays the role of this imaginary adult figure who scolds Deel or tells him Galag is bad and all sorts of awful things. He's got this medicine, or potion, he has to take to keep his mental distress at bay or, he would scream like that." Lalina paused and her ears twitched. Pinti listened too to the faint sounds of something she couldn't place.

Lalina gave a soft chuckle. "The sound of magick, one could say. Although magick doesn't have a sound, really. Galag's the only one that can give him the potion, but it lasts him a month or so. He does have these pills, but they're for emergency only."

"It's like he's two different Kathula in one body." Pinti recalled the times his eye color and overall demeanor had changed before. Even his voice dropped.

"Galag said he taught Deel how to transform to keep sane. I'd go insane with that. But it seems to help, I guess."

"Doesn't Sorcery cancel out his Kathula magick?" Pinti didn't know a whole lot about Sorcery, but she did once read that different races' magick could cancel each other out.

Lalina shook her head. "I don't know. But I do know that Galag wouldn't do that to him if he knew it would cancel it out." She grinned then. "The illusion is so heckling convincing, isn't it? I've met the other Deel many times and it's really like another Deel. They act so differently and even argue with each other. That boy has got some acting talent, don't you think?"

Pinti gave a faint smile and nodded. Although to her there seemed to be much more to that deep-voiced other Deel she had encountered at the inn in Nuaka. Sorcerer magick couldn't be that convincing, could it?

"So, I know some about the Massacre of the Third Ring," Lalina leaned forward on her elbows, "but what is your story? Why are you here?"

"Well, my father's wish," Pinti mumbled. She didn't feel like opening those wounds again. The negativities would come swarming into the front of her mind. Instead, to avoid that, she asked Lalina, "What about you?"

"Me?" Lalina sat up in her chair. "Well, my parents were killed by Edglings long ago when I just a pup. I saw it happen. The organization my parents belonged to was, apparently, making fun of Edglings and calling them weak because they only suppressed Kathula and never tried to attack other races."

Of course, Edglings had big egos. It didn't do good to provoke Edglings. Pinti pondered for a moment. "So, you're here for revenge?"

"Avenge." Lalina stressed the word. "My parents didn't deserve that kind of death and I know they would want me to at least kill the Edgling that killed them. If I can make that happen with a magical scepter, then I would. Teaming up with Kathula was a good choice because we both want Edglings destroyed. Help each other. Win-win."

Pinti never imagined other races would be after the scepter for the same reason or after the scepter at all. And to think that at one point in history, Kathula, Sorcerers, Halfhumans, and Humans cooperated was mind boggling.

And now they all call Kathula 'blue kitties' and I call Huamanoas idiots. Pinti swished her tail in thought. And I don't trust Sorcerers, but maybe, Lalina and Galag are okay. Still, she decided not to let her guard down all the way. There was the possibility that one of them had hidden motives to harvest her fur or cage her up for circus attraction.

"Hi!" Human-form Deel squeaked as he came skipping into the room. "Just needed my medicine, that's all. Did you worry about me? I'm okay now. I'm not that crazy anymore." As he spoke, his eyebrows twitched, and he flicked out his tongue like a snake. He flung himself on the couch right next to her