Moonrise ✔ [Complete]

49 Mortal (Part 2)

Maeyune pressed the lock button on the access panel to prevent entry while she showered. To her relief, she found that aside from the towel and spare clothing, Meera had also supplied a small pouch of soap and various other hygienic items.

After separating the items, she dipped into the uncovered alcove. She allowed the water to wash away the tumult of emotion inside her, if only temporarily. She relished the feel of water in her hair, on her body. It returned her to the rainstorm and the wolves that had accompanied her through that ordeal.

Aer, Trix, and Benny.

Come join us.

Emna.

The thoughts were fleeting. She hadn't realized she'd grabbed the small, unused razor from the pouch. The celestial battlesuits always fit much more comfortably on smoother skin. Having done so for years, the habit of shaving had become second nature to her.

Submitting herself to the strum of water against her skin, she forced her thoughts into a corner of her mind to address them later.

When she finished, she wore the clothes Meera had procured for her. The outfit consisted of an ordinary, olive-green tunic and brown pants. Both articles of clothing were boxy in shape and appeared far more appropriate for a grown man. But they sufficed. She rinsed the mud from her boots, which had waited beside the cot, before strapping them on to complete the arid look.

For a long time, she sat at the edge of her cot, her gaze concentrated on an incidental dark spot on the rock floor. A shout from beyond her door pulled her away from the comfort of her seclusion. The words were muffled, but they reminded her of the war that hung over her.

She'd had her moment of peace, however cursory and fabricated it had been. It was time to return to reality.

She pressed the access button on the panel's screen, and the door slid aside, disappearing into the wall. Frigid air swept into her room. A multitude of sounds assailed her.

There came shouts, commands, and the crunch of rock breaking and shifting. She emerged into a cave-like tunnel, with oil lamps lining the walls to light the passage. A boy around fifteen sprinted passed her through the corridor, far too focused on some dire task that he didn't notice her. She followed after him.

A large number of people were gathered alongside the cave tunnels through which she traversed. She came across several land celestials carving into the walls and framing more sleeping quarters. Wind celestials transported excess rock from the construction. Fire celestials lit lamps along the tunnel walls, illuminating brand new passageways in the underground base.

She passed several water celestials, and judging from the sour look on their faces, she saw that they had been designated to engineer shower and latrine flow.

Aside from the damp cave musk, Maeyune could smell the dread and fear that permeated the air. It was a thick stench, one that encouraged an ache in her temples.

These celestials were here rather than fighting in the war. What was happening out in the world?

She needed to find a familiar face. Meera had said Reo would be in the sickbay.

She approached a fire celestial casting a flame into one of the tunnel lamps. "Excuse me," Maeyune said. "Can you direct me toward the sickbay?"

The girl turned, and Maeyune saw that she could not have been any older than sixteen. The celestial's pale eyes grew wide.

"M-Miss Ereni!"

The fire celestial sputtered, her lips parting as if to say something else, but nothing came.