It was a dark and stormy night

[i] [/i]

Clel

Leaving the samurai to his well-deserved rest, she made sure to move carefully within the dark of the night, each step of hers deliberate and nearly silent. The grass beneath her feet seemed to surrender with every movement. The footsteps continued to sound off, growing nearer and clearer. It was rather easy to track the source of the footsteps down. Too easy, if Kezia was to be brutally honest. The soft rustling eventually came to a stop, and led to a familiar sight: a girl hunched over a small puddle of water, entranced by the glint of moonlight that shone off its surface. Aletheia. That was the name the girl was known by. Being a Medium, it was no surprise to Kezia that she bore a name as foreign as the boundless power within her. The Fox did not quite know how to pronounce it flawlessly yet, so she simply defaulted to a nickname… “Theia?” Kezia called out to the hunched silhouette only a few meters in front of her. The girl did not move in response. Not even a flinch of surprise, as if she expected there to be someone standing a few feet behind her. As if she had foreseen it. The Shinobi was slightly cautious in her approach, the distance between her and the girl beginning to disappear. Soon enough, she found herself next to the mysterious Medium, and, slowly, she squatted next to the girl, waiting for any form of response. Eventually, the girl did speak, though she did not face Kezia. The puddle of water reflected a still image of the moon above, a picture perfect representation of the celestial body occupying the void that was the night sky. The girl spoke softly, her words devoid of emotion. Kezia had gotten used to hearing her rather blunt tone. “From where does such light come from, I wonder? Do you believe it is from another world?” Kezia dared not respond. Not yet, at least. Although it had only been a week since Aletheia had met the notorious samurai and shinobi duo, the girl had inquired about countless things, from the way that crystalline dewdrops would form among stalks of grass to the blindingly beautiful shine of the sun above. ‘How does water know where to flow?’, ‘How does the sun stay in the sky?’, and ‘How did butterflies come to be?’ were among the most common inquiries. Hearing no remark, the girl continued, her gaze still fixed in place… “A ‘moon’, your kind calls it. I wonder if it is like me. If it is foreign. If it does not understand what it is. If it does not know why it is here.” A small hand hovered over the surface of the water, her fingers tracing small ripples as they grazed over the puddle, as if to assure that the image of the moon in front of her was an illusion and nothing more. “It shines with unknown power, from an unknown source…”, she continued, pausing only to sigh. “I wonder if… I am a moon?” Kezia could not help but let a snort of laughter free. Aletheia’s hand recoiled slightly as her head turned in one swift motion, her pearl-white irises now locked with the Fox’s amber eyes. Her expression was oddly still, frozen in time even. Her lips never moved to form a smile or a frown, and she seemed to blink only after long amounts of time had passed. Admittedly, Kezia thought it was unsettling how the girl could transition from her curious mannerisms to pure and unwavering stillness. “I don’t think you quite get what a moon is. Though, there’ve been a few stories conjured about what the moon could be. Some call it folklore. Others say it’s truth.” Kezia looked up towards the orb of pure light as she spoke. Even when looking away, the Fox could feel the girl staring at her, a gaze that would somehow tug on a sixth sense of sorts, unwilling to let go unless acknowledged, demanding attention, hungering for it… “Stories? I did not know about such stories…” The girl drew her knees close to her chest as her posture slumped slightly. She followed with a few muttered words… “Father never told me any stories. Mother was not around to tell any stories, either…” Kezia blinked confusingly as she locked eyes with the girl once again. “Never grew up with stories? Myths? Talltales? Anything of the sort?” The girl shook her head silently. [i]What an odd girl[/i], Kezia thought. That was to be expected, however. Media were not exactly the most ordinary of beings. Kezia watched the still reflection that was painted across the water’s surface, the ripples now having faded into nothingness. “What are you doing up at this hour, anyways? I thought Seiko made sure you were asleep, and Seiko never fails to lull anyone to sleep with all his lecturing” A hint of sarcasm coated Kezia’s words. “A little girl like you needs rest, I’m sure.” Aletheia gestured towards the water’s reflection, as if it posed as a wordless answer to Kezia’s inquiry. The Fox blinked in confusion once again. “Curiosity keeps you awake, then?” The girl gave a slight nod, muttering a response. Although faint, a tinge of vulnerability could be heard within her words… “Very. There are many things of this world that I have not seen before, I’m afraid. I… want to understand it. Yet I do not. Thoughts flow into my mind endlessly. But the answers stray away from me.” Aletheia glanced away for a brief moment. The darkness hid it, but a slight blush warmed the girl’s cheeks. “Do you… think the same way, Ket-sy-ah?”. The girl paused before following with another remark. “I hope I pronounced it correctly this time…” Kezia nodded approvingly upon hearing the utterance of her name, or rather, Aletheia's flawed attempt at it. “Er, I suppose you’re getting there. Ke-zi-ah. Progress is progress, though.” The girl attempted to imitate Kezia. She mouthed it. ‘Ke-zi-ah’. “And as for your question…” The Fox sighed softly before continuing… “Yes, I guess. To an extent. Lots of things in this damned world that need explaining.” For a moment, the two sat silently in the dark, the nighttime ambience once again becoming the only audible noise. Their words fell victim to tranquil silence. For a moment, the world was still. For a moment, the world was only the Fox and the Medium. That was, until Kezia spoke out unexpectedly… “Tsukuyomi. They say that is the moon’s name.” Aletheia tilted her head slightly, indicating her newfound curiosity. She waited eagerly for the Fox to continue. “He is a deity. Not the most benevolent, nor the most respected. Sometimes he’s a bit of an…” Kezia drew in a deep breath, pausing momentarily. “…an a[i]s[/i]s most say.” “An… a[i]s[/i]s?”, Aletheia hesitantly repeated, somewhat confused by the meaning of the word. The word sounded far more foreign in the girl’s tongue. Kezia nodded her head silently, not daring to clarify the word’s meaning. “Yes. Many say the reason he moves along the sky is because he chases after the one he loves, Amaterasu, the sun. Odd, isn’t it? How the two are never in the sky together, but only appear during the night and the day?” The girl nodded slowly, entranced by the tale, her still eyes focused on Kezia. “Supposedly, at a grand feast, Tsukuyomi met the goddess of food and prosperity, Ukemochi. Such a grand feast it was, that Ukemochi produced food from nearly every part of the world.” The Fox gestured towards the puddle of still water that lay in front of them.