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

Ch.14: Pain of Perilla

Edited: May, 12, 2020

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When the sun climbed over the horizon, Pinti rose from her bed unable to sleep any longer. Opening the curtains, she watched the sunrise for a bit while rubbed her eyes. A sense of unrest was lingering in her mind. All night she had tossed and turned. The dreams she had were flashes of Edgling memories and of her dead clan calling her name.

What a night. She yawned and headed to the bathroom where she encountered Galag coming down the hall.

"Good morning. You're up early." He smiled. He was still in pajamas—white with light blue dots—but had his day clothes draped over his arm. Pinti grunted a response and mumbled for a shower. Her mind wasn't all awake yet and this was one of those mornings where she could do with a cup of coffee.

"Shower's down that way." He pointed down the hall. "There's some honey soap that Lalina uses, so it'll probably work for you. Towels are in the overhead cupboard. Washcloths are in the bottom. The pink comb is new, so you can use it if you need."

"Thanks." Pinti yawned loudly and headed down to the shower.

The refreshing shower immediately woke her, and the honey soap was soothing to her skin and made her fur feel extra silky. She used the comb during the shower to comb out snarls, and after the shower to make her fur dry faster.

She spent a good thirty minutes grooming herself and combing all the parts she could reach. At last, she took the comb in her tail and went over the parts of her back that her arms couldn't reach. Pinti had learned this clever technique from one of the survivors when she lived with them in Bairenshire City. Before that, she couldn't comb her own back and had her father or mother do it for her. If not them, her sister Tendri was always willing to help if Pinti did hers in return.

Once Pinti was more or less dry, she returned to her room and closed the door. In the privacy of her room, she used the little tabletop mirror there to fix her bangs over her Lunar marking. Using the comb and her claws she separated out the fur that curled and those that didn't and adjusted everything back into place.

"Curlicue," she said with a satisfied smile once her curlicue puff of bangs sat in the middle of her forehead. 'Curlicue' was one of the first Universal words she learned. It was the signature trait of all Makiista Clan Kathula and she made sure it was always there.

Some warm air tickled her nose then making her stomach growl and she licked her chops, focusing on the scents. The citrus fruity scent was marjoram mixed with thyme and the mild sweetness was of green onions all hugged inside the only food that all races and species ate the same—scrambled eggs. Swallowing the saliva that had collected in her mouth, she realized she hadn't had good scrambled eggs in a long, long time.

"Pinti," Galag called up the stairs. "Breakfast!"

The sound was music to her ears. She dashed out of her room and hurried down the stairs. The scent of freshly ground coffee made her trill with excitement as she rounded the corner into the dining room. Galag was holding out a cup to her and had one for himself.

"Deel told me you like coffee before breakfast," Galag said, handing her a warm cup already with enough milk and sugar in it. Pinti gave a little smile at Galag. At least Deel was good for something. Each sip made her more awake and alive.

"Ready to take on the day?" He sipped and winked. "I can be a tough teacher."

Right, stupid scentless magick lessons. Before she could answer, a thunder of footsteps brought Deel still wearing pajamas, identical to the ones Galag had worn. Pinti made a face at him. If he were Kathula, he wouldn't have to wear pajamas.