Waking with awful abdominal cramps was not a pleasant experience.
Lumina immediately hated that fact, the world, and human biology. Whatever fortune spared her of the ovulation cycle thus far seemed to have run out. The pain-laced annoyance was so great she almost forgot to lift her blanket off. The heavy cloth would pull at her wings if left in place. And as if to add insult to injury, the sky was overcast that morning. Then again, somehow Lumina doubted that embracing the sunlight would give her any solace.
Kali had the gall to giggle when she saw the bloodstains.
"I do feel for you, my dear," she soothed Lumina with a fond smile. "This will be a constant companion throughout your life."
Meanwhile, the moth seriously considered how to remove her uterus; its only purpose was to breed offspring anyway, a notion she disregarded eons ago after all of hers came out stillborn. Old pain flared in her chest as she glanced to the bright spot in the clouds. Remnant's sun, too, was one of hers. Only now she was the child being warmed by its rays.
Days of annoying cramps aside, Lumina had begun to eat more; her stomach finally accepted larger amounts of food without rebelling. Her hosts' attempts of convincing her to relax were ignored, however; the flesh may be weak, but she refused to let it rule her schedule. If anything, Lumina ended up killing even more creatures of Grimm. They were always a convenient target to vent her countless frustrations on.
"Is it just me or are there a lot more of them recently?" Ilia asked softly. She and Selina watched Lumina dismantle a small group of Griphons; their wings were clipped to make them crash. None ever rose thanks to the moth's follow-up. Ilia shuddered a little. "I'm pretty sure their numbers increased since Lumina joined us."
"Yeah, kinda." Selina stood at attention in case one did slip through, but by this point it was just a precaution. They all knew none would. "Bit odd, but it happens from time to time. Did someone die recently?"
"A few of the elders, but everyone made their peace with that."
"Heh, maybe Lumina's red rage draws 'em in."
"Selina!"
She was not even far off, though Lumina knew better than to say that. Her constant, simmering anger drew the beasts in like a beacon. More than one broken person had been exiled from her birthplace to prevent a horde, so she held her tongue.
Then the wolf girl threw an arm around Lumina's shoulder. Her sidehugs had grown familiar by now. "Don't let it get to you, you're a tough cookie. I'd say it gets better, but it really doesn't. Just be careful about acrobatics an' stuff when you're on your period, okay?"
She remained jovial, but a note of concern swung through Selina's entire spiel. Lumina sighed.
"There is no need to worry. Alas, my allotted time is about over. Do you want to keep going?" She often left the other two to continue their patrol outside of Kuo Kuana. The team's duty was to sweep the area for errant Grimm and deal with them; preferably before they came close to the walls or roads.
"Nah, let's turn in early. We've done a ton the last few weeks."
Selina's arm wrapped around Lumina's shoulders again. The other took Ilia in a similar fashion. Selina led them both back to Kuo Kuana that way. "Gotta get shortie used to period stuff. Y'know, lotsa greasy food and all the good stuff. Kali got you some bindings, right?"
"Yes. Hence why my clothes are not visibly red." If sarcasm were a liquid, Selina would have slipped on how much of it dripped from that sentence. As it were, she simply laughed it off.
Their march back to town was quiet for a time, though Ilia threw Lumina a few sympathetic looks. When the moth met her gaze to demand she speak her mind, the chameleon girl already piped up: "I'm starting to realise you aren't particularly happy."
Selina squeezed her shoulder, but she ignored it. "And I don't mean because your life was bad before. Mine was too, but I don't think I was ever... well, like this. I don't think I've ever seen you smile."
"You can be happy without smiling," Lumina retorted. There was little heat to it, though. "But you are correct. I have many, many reasons to be annoyed. That my own body decides to torture me is only the last in a long list."
"And are we on that list?"
"...no. Not even at your most agitating."
Lumina was merely being honest; she completely missed the implications in that question. It would take a while to realise that Ilia became less tense around her after this particular exchange. Selina's smile had grown a fraction as well.
The trio made it about two blocks into town before a gaggle of children intercepted them. Demands for playtime were denied by Selina, only to be reinforced with puppy dog eyes. One of the girls could do them literally, being a wolf faunus like her. Although Lumina was barred from joining by this point. Her Semblance had been deemed cheating in games of tag, which was fair; due to her current state, neither Selina nor Ilia allowed her any additional exertion. Patronising it may be, but she understood they did it because they cared for her wellbeing.
So Lumina watched the rest enjoy themselves instead; several of the more quiet children gathered around her. Insectoid traits were far less common than mammals, so her wings drew attention. Questions about them and her life before Menagerie were frequent. Some just liked to read by her side, though. Some watched the games with Lumina, too; Selina dominated tag for obvious reasons while Ilia with her colour-changing skin could run circles around everyone in Hide and Seek.
At some point Lumina decided to try entertaining the small group around her. She formed her light into a small sphere and had it amble around, casting away the shadows. The more adventurous children tried to catch it, only for the sphere to fly away. Lumina's expression was unreadable, though she took some pleasure out of the display.
As more and more joined in the attempts to catch the orb, her thoughts began to stray. She absently made a new one when a boy caught the first on Selina's shoulders; it was barely solid and popped easily.
Kali and Ghira freely offered her shelter. She killed creatures of Grimm in exchange, yes, but that did not feel quite right as compensation. Lumina refused to accept this as an equivalent exchange; killing these things was what she did anyway. She wanted to give them something more to reward their kindness. A gift, freely given. Something to support their ambitions in a more tangible manner. But what could she give to assist in growing Menagerie from an offshoot into a proper kingdom? She could not build cities for them. She could not transform the desolate wasteland into a lush garden. She knew too little to rule and had no pedigree regardless; the faunus revered a creator god. Male, capable of transformation from a humanoid into a dragon. That was all she ever wished to learn of the subject, too quickly reminded of the Wyrm she abhorred.
It took a while for Lumina to realise what she could give them. Without worldly possessions of note, that left knowledge. Remnanti people could work with their essence, SOUL, or their souls as they called it, just fine. Yet they barely scratched the surface of a field the scholars of Hallownest spent centuries expanding. Their own hubris created abominations, but their knowledge remained. Lumina may not recall all of it, but she remembered enough.
She needed to consider what to give her hosts carefully, though; any knowledge would propagate in time. Abominations may yet rise again and abominable acts would take place. Even if Lumina herself did not care much, the recipients of her gift did. So it had to be something impressive yet not too overwhelming and most of all safe. A new discipline of science to set Remnant on a path of discovery.
It took until the next Sunday before she brought it up. Her benefactors insisted on the seventh day of each week being a day of rest. A tradition of some sort. Lumina took this to her advantage and spoke up over lunch.
"I was meaning to tell you something," she began. Four gazes lay on her immediately; Ghira, Kali, Ilia, and Selina were the only people in the room. "I feel that my current contributions are not enough to convey my gratitude."
Several people spoke up at once, trying to reassure her. Lumina's eyes narrowed. "Let me finish. Please." Her order softened into a request and they fell silent. "I have nothing physical to give, but I hold knowledge that may be useful to you. To Menagerie as a whole."
"Like what?" Selina asked into the silence. "I mean, no offense, but where'd you learn something big like that?"
"Maybe some sort of secret research lab?" Ilia theorised with a light frown. "That would explain a lot, actually."
Lumina simply shrugged. "Does it matter?" Her aura began to gleam and warp; visible tendrils of gold reached out and pushed at the table. "The first one is something you may already be aware of, but the soul is more malleable than one expects. Aura especially so, being its offshoot. You can create a variety of techniques with practice." She saw them nod along; Lumina suspected they merely meant to indulge her, though. "Examples I am familiar with are shockwaves, projectile attacks, and short-ranged teleportation."
"Wait, teleportation?" Ilia leaned forward, as did Selina. The Belladonnas were just as surprised.
Lumina nodded. "I can not teach that as my movement is facilitated by my Semblance, but I know it is possible. Regardless, the main requirement of any such technique is focus. It demands to feel one's soul and shape its power." The moth girl raised her hand, producing a gleaming white orb. A flick of her wrist sent it flying around the room. "Being a part of yourself, it remains under your control as long as you can focus. Lose your focus and...." The sphere popped like a soap bubble.
"Intriguing," Ghira murmured. His own aura flickered; the women followed suit in trying to replicate the feat, but none managed. His attention returned to the satisfied Lumina after a minute. "How exactly do we go about this practice?"
Lumina spent a little while explaining the theory; meditation to sharpen one's focus, imagining the shape and separating a piece of one's aura. Her own single-minded determination and age made this simple, but they took some time. Ghira managed an orb of his own after an hour or so; Ilia did the same soon after. Kali and Selina failed, but two out of four was still promising.
"Practice is all it takes for this particular matter," Lumina ended their impromptu session. "The other knowledge I wish to impart is less familiar and perhaps far more valuable. More complex as well." Seeing that she had their undivided attention, Lumina continued: "Charmwork, the art of binding the properties of one's soul to an object."
She let the silence linger here. It was clear something about her words worried the group. Kali and Ghira exchanged looks, but it was Selina who spoke up: "Err, just to be clear here. This isn't some kind of self-mutilation, right?"
"It can be if you are sloppy." Lumina saw their wariness grow and rolled her eyes. "I imagine you appreciate honesty over empty reassurances. Charmwork requires precision most of all. The general applications are harmless, but we all know that not everyone is satisfied with just that much. One can process a person into a Charm, but a resisting soul often lowers its potency. Some are simply imprints of a greater being's final thoughts."
At first there had been dark yet understanding looks. Once Lumina paused again to sip her water, she saw incomprehension and confusion take over. Aware that she was about to lose her audience, she went on: "The power of a Charm aligns with the donor of the essence."
"I'm confused," Ilia admitted. "What makes these things useful? And anyway, how do you know this stuff?"
"It is quite fantastical," Ghira agreed.
Lumina arched a single brow in response. She wordlessly produced a metal plate organised for this exact demonstration. About twice the width of her thumb and perfectly plain.
"Watch."
Then she focussed on nothing but that plate. Her aura followed her will and began to flow; a rivulet of gold slowly entered the receptive metal. A tiny shard of essence was threaded through the plate, simple in pattern. A circle, no more and no less. With it came Lumina's intent for the effect to develop. The thread tightened by itself. Where blank steel merely reflected her light before, it soon began to shine on its own.
Once the entire seam was done, she blinked and remembered her surroundings.
Four intrigued faunus were watching the plaque in her hand; it was no longer blank. Two gleaming dots sat in its center, surrounded by black that turned to ivory toward the rim. The lower half became almost fuzzy to the touch, its top ran out in three silvery spikes; they reminded Lumina of a crown, as they should. Her crown.
She stared at it, too. This was a reminder of who she was and ever would be. The crowned light. The Radiance.
After a moment of solemnity, Lumina offered the Charm to Selina. Her companion sat closest. "I name it Radiant Light." Uncreative, but they would never know. "It will light your path, regardless how dark."
"Gee, thanks. Not like we all got darkvision here."
Despite her irreverence, Selina was clearly captivated by the Charm. Her astonishment related to how Lumina changed this plate's properties with aura alone. The moment she wondered how it worked, she knew. Selina gingerly slid the warm metal into her blouse, where it attached itself to her skin. She somehow knew a single thought would loosen it whenever she wanted.
Then she directed a miniscule burst of aura into the Charm and there was light. It bathed the whole group as if the sun snuck inside the house, even from beneath her clothes. All shadows were banished within ten metres of Selina. Yet somehow the pure sunlight did not hurt their eyes. None of them even needed to squint. All four stared in awe at the radiant display.
Silence reigned. Lumina allowed herself a smug smile, well aware how stumped they all were.
Once another poke with Selina's aura turned the Charm off, Ilia hesitantly spoke: "So it's like a flashlight?"
"Kinda?" Selina responded, shrugging lightly. "I mean, a flashlight that doesn't hurt your eyes, never runs out, and is super easy to carry. Right?"
"In effect, yes," Lumina grumbled. She was not entirely happy with her creation being compared to something so mundane. Then again, artificial creation of light was a notable achievement as well. "I went for something simple."
"Aww, no shooting lasers like you do?"
"Maybe later. A Charm like that requires far more time and effort to create." Not to mention more of her essence, which Lumina had to use sparingly; there was precious little left.
Kali chimed into the conversation at that point: "And you say that anyone can learn how to create such Charms?" Although Lumina nodded, the other woman slowly rubbed her eyes. "I saw it myself, but it is still hard to believe. Almost like magic."
Lumina barely refrained from snorting. 'Magic' was an excuse lesser beings used to speak of matters they could not comprehend. But she held her tongue and left it at that; the Belladonnas were certainly intrigued with her work. So much so that Ghira took time out of his schedule to help her write a primer on SOUL manipulation and Charmwork.
"If this works as you think it will," he told her with a kind smile, "then you just gave Menagerie a unique and valuable trade good. Completely unrelated to Dust, too. We can finally work on expanding further with the money this will earn us."
"That is why I told you," Lumina answered absently. She missed Ghira's bewildered look due to her focus on the primer.
At the end of that week, on Friday morning, a tired Kali presented them with a very basic Charm. It bore black fuzz and two triangles at the top, as well as leering amber orbs much like her own. Kali held it proudly nonetheless. "Here we are. A proof of concept more than anything, but it should work."
It was offered to Selina, who placed the black Charm next to Lumina's white one. Which was when the moth remembered another constraint.
"Do be careful how many Charms you wear at once," she cautioned. "I forgot to mention that there is a limit, dependant on the individual. The stronger your own essence, the more or stronger Charms you can bear."
"Okay? But these two are fine, right?"
"They are both basic, so yes."
"How can I tell how much is too much?" Ilia inquired next; her gaze nervously flickered between everyone.
Lumina needed to think back to the scholars she once observed. It felt like eons ago, even though the timespan covered a mere few centuries. "You can tell if a new Charm is too much. It will not let itself be attached unless you force it. Your own essence will reject it instinctively."
Her words immediately calmed them down, though they were clearly still intrigued.
"Out of curiousity," Kali ventured, " what happens if you do force more Charms than you can bear?"
"Fractures." Lumina had to pause, trying to think of how she could phrase it best. "Your essence will get strained, making it lose potency. Your body follows suit and becomes frail. Or, in other words, your aura depletes faster. Wounds are easier struck and take longer to heal." She decided to stop there, preferring not to mention the experiments that were all but molten into pure SOUL energy. So she changed the subject.
"Anyway, Selina? What does that Charm do, exactly?"
"Bumps up my aura." The redhead examined herself, but there was no visible effect. Her mint green aura flickered, its colour the same as ever. "I don't really feel it, but I know that's what it does."
Ghira chuckled at that, hugging his wife to his broad chest with one hand. "Well, you certainly got what scientists we have interested. They are already scrambling to investigate your notes and put hypotheses together." He looked all too pleased, as did Kali.
"About that," a new voice chimed in. Heads turned to a man stood before the veranda, smiling pleasantly. Lumina never met him before, but she took note of his garb; a dark tunic covered his broad chest, from which a white robe flowed to the ground. Equally white, pristine sleeves were visible from his elbows down. Though as tanned as everyone else around Lumina, he appeared like some sort of monk; the expression was only heightened by a hood in muted red casting his face in shadow.
Ghira's smile slipped somewhat, turning from warm to polite. "Ah," he greeted, "Mr. Albain. Do join us. To what do we owe the pleasure?"
He stepped around the fence, revealing a fox's tail protruding from his robe. Lumina studied him much like he studied her; Selina growled, but Ilia pulled her away. The new arrival sketched a bow toward Lumina.
"Well, I followed the many rumours surrounding our newest sister. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my dear. I am Corsac Albain, representative of Menagerie's White Fang."
His polite tone irked Lumina, if just for how familiar he assumed they were. "I am not your or anyone's sister," she retorted calmly. Corsac's expression barely even twitched, so at least he knew how to control himself. "But yes, a pleasure. I am Lumina."
"My apologies. I did not mean to presume. The White Fang has always prided itself on the strong bonds it fosters, is all; we are not mere comrades, but brothers and sisters all to confront that which plagues all faunuskind."
"I see." She did not need to ask what he was talking about. Even Lumina knew of the White Fang. Going by Ghira's miniature frown, he did not like that speech. Lumina could guess why. "I take it you came to recruit me?"
Kali interjected before Corsac could so much as open his mouth: "Be reasonable, please. She is fourteen, has been with us for just a month." Her firm tone still belied a pleading note. Corsac's expression smoothed over immediately, though this time Lumina gave him no chance to respond. She threw a sour look at the other woman.
"I can speak for myself."
Kali flinched back and Lumina felt a pang of guilt, but it was swept away by her annoyance with the situation. When she turned back to Corsac, his pleasant smile returned.
"Of course you can, Lumina. And you are correct in a sense. I have not come so much to induct you, but merely extend an invitation. Of course I would appreciate if you were to join our cause, but demanding that of you is unacceptable. Those of us who fight for a brighter tomorrow ought to put their lives on the line out of their own volition." He inclined his head to her, almost demure. "But if you were willing to join my brother and I for tea one day, so that we may get to know who it is that joined our community here, I would greatly appreciate it."
Selina growled in the background while Lumina mulled it over. She could tell her hosts were not fond of Corsac Albain. At the same time, she had no real reason to dislike him; Lumina's opinion on the White Fang was nonexistent.
"Very well," she said in the end. "Forward a time that is amenable to you and I shall consider it."
Corsac's smile widened a fraction as he bowed his head again. "Wonderful. Are you free this Sunday, perhaps around noon?"
Meaning, he already planned ahead. Regardless, Lumina was curious. "I am."
"Perfect. I am certain sister Ilia can lead you to the place at that time." He grinned at the reserved girl, who nodded back. Then his gaze fluttered to the Belladonnas. "Now I believe I should make myself scarce."
"Hold."
Lumina's demand gave the entire group pause. She had her own curiousity to indulge. "A question, if you would. Why is the White Fang on Menagerie in the first place? There is nothing here for you to fight for."
"Ah. A common misconception." Corsac's indulgent smile was annoying, but accepted. If only because he offered an explanation: "It is true that the faunus of Menagerie are free of suppression, but they are not safe. The local White Fang chapter concerns itself mainly with the protection of our fledgling kingdom's holdings. You will find that many members of the town militia and patrol teams are our brothers and sisters."
Her gaze flickered to Ilia, whose expression displayed a wild mixture of emotions. Then Lumina nodded.
"I see. Thank you for your time."
"It was no trouble. Until Sunday, then."
"Goodbye."
He offered a friendly wave and began to stroll away. If he was aware of Lumina's gaze burning into his back, he did not show it.
The target of her attention only changed when Ghira's hand landed on her shoulder. "Be careful," the chieftain urged. "They mean well, but their second purpose here is to recruit for the other chapters all across Remnant."
"There is nothing bad about that," Ilia chimed in petulantly.
That was, until Selina gave her a shove. "'Course not," she heckled. "Until we get to the part where they'll tell her to start lasering people." The sardonic quip reminded Lumina of a not so distant past. She did not care about a handful of mortal lives, she really did not. But destroying them for no proper reason was a waste.
"And what if it's to protect others? Did you ever consider that?!" Illia pushed Selina back; she pressed on while the wolf rotated to face her fully. "You know as well as I do how cruel humans are!"
"So that's why you told 'em about her, eh?"
"What?! I didn't! You'd need to be blind and deaf not to notice!"
Did her arrival really make such waves? Lumina glanced from the growing argument to her hosts, who each wore resigned expressions. Ghira in particular seemed almost pained; Kali rubbed his arm soothingly. That left it to Lumina to stop her companions from tearing into each other. "Enough," she declared, but her naturally quiet voice went ignored. Scowling, she threw an orb of light at each of their heads. "Enough, I said."
"You stay out of this!" Selina snapped back, only to reel when a beam of light exploded in her face. Shrieking, she covered her eyes. Ilia stared in shock, then wilted away from Lumina's unamused stare. Her skin had become almost as pale as the moth's.
"Will you stop?"
She nodded slowly, almost fearfully. It was enough for Lumina who stepped over to Selina. "And you stop that. The frequencies I used will leave no permanent harm."
The wolf girl kept rubbing her eyes, growling. "I didn't ask to be fucking flashbanged, bitch!"
That insult should have rolled off Lumina like a wave, as they always did. Yet somehow, from Selina, it hurt the tiniest bit. Enough to draw guilt, from which annoyance and then anger sprouted. At the same time, Lumina was at a loss for words. Her mouth opened and closed without any noise, brows drawn into a tight line. When Selina's vision finally returned, she found an irate moth standing right in front of her.
Then firm hands grasped each of them by the shoulder. "And that is enough of you two," Kali announced. Her tone brooked no argument. "Selina, Ilia, you both know better than to pick that particular fight. Lumina, I understand you wanted to help stop those two from fighting, but you went too far."
Her admonishment was delivered with a sharp, uncompromising edge. Selina's and Ilia's heads lowered in shame while Lumina reeled. She did no permanent harm, did not even inflict much pain. Yet somehow, she was in the wrong?
It galled her greatly. But at the same time, what would happen if she dug in her heels? Would they send her away regardless? Was a petty squabble worth risking an acceptable place to live?
She averted her gaze with a scowl, though it seemed to satisfy Kali. "Good," she said with a nod. Her stern expression softened, as did her voice. "Now apologise to each other, then we can have some cake."
Selina and Ilia wordlessly bumped fists, then the redhead turned to Lumina; the moth was still annoyed, burning with indignation really, but forced herself to say it first: "My apologies."
Much to her surprise, a pair of muscular arms wrapped around her waist. Selina pulled her into a tight embrace, Lumina's head flush against her chest. "It's cool," she murmured. "I got a bit carried away there, shouldn't have called you a bitch. Just don't do that again, yeah?"
Despite her desire to remain indignant, she relaxed into Selina's warmth. "Alright."
"Cool. Now about that cake?"
Her flippant response melted Lumina's annoyance. Her lips curled the slightest bit upward as she was ushered inside.
Nonetheless, the White Fang intrigued her; while she was not planning to join for any reason, Lumina inquired for more information from her hosts as they ate. As it turned out, Ghira himself once founded the group to improve the lot of faunuskind; he earned her respect anew for stepping up against all hardships. Yet he was clearly not happy.
He heaved a sigh once Lumina brought that up.
"This is... not at all what I imagined all these years ago. I always knew things may get rough, but I never wanted violence. Not like this."
"Those who have privileges will not surrender them without a fight," Lumina mused. She then added to that statement before Selina could cut in: "But as we see at the moment, the status quo remains."
"You say that like the Fang achieves nothing," Ilia quipped from her seat between Kali and Selina. "That's just not true."
Ghira nodded slowly. "No more open pogroms, brutality against civilian faunus has dwindled even in Mistral. I can not deny Sienna achieved good things. I just worry because she builds these achievements on fear. If she stirs the pot too fast, everything may yet collapse around us."
Ilia had no response to that. Lumina understood his meaning, too; she well remembered the extremes fear could drive a being to.
Selina sighed, refilling cups and plates in the quiet. "Don't worry too much, old man. Things will get better in the end as long as we believe in it."
"If only Blake came home."
The Belladonnas twitched; Selina was taken aback by the sudden comment and Lumina had to tilt her head in confusion. Ilia froze as soon as the words left her mouth. She hung her head in shame for some reason. "I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry."
Selina flicked her forehead and immediately changed the subject. Lumina had half a mind to ask who this 'Blake' was, but she stopped herself. Unlike before, Kali and Ghira seemed actually pained by the matter. So she waited for her patrol that day to bring it up with the other girls.
To a backdrop of dying beasts, Selina scowled at no one in particular. "She's Ghira's and Kali's daughter, not that she deserves it."
Ilia swatted a black, hand-sized bird out of the air before snapping back: "She's out there fighting the good fight!"
"And? And?!" Selina threw her spear at the nearest enemy; Lumina picked a different target and let the hunched-over form of a Creep get nailed to a tree. Selina turned to Ilia with a thunderous expression. "That doesn't excuse pulling this shit on them! She hasn't called in years, Ilia. No letter, no nothing!" She rubbed her forehead and stomped off to reclaim her weapon; Lumina saw her pull it back with Gravity Dust before, but she preferred to conserve that where possible.
Selina was calm again once she returned to them. The readhead explained further for Lumina: "The only reason we even know she's alive is that Sienna didn't send her condolences yet. That's the woman who took over the Fang after Ghira stepped down."
"I can understand being agitated," Lumina responded. An absent ray of light cleaned up the final creatures of Grimm around. "But you seem more irate than I would expect. Why is that?"
As they moved on, Selina shrugged. "I love those two. We're all orphans here." Ilia's head sunk, but she did not contradict the statement. Selina went on without paying attention to her friend: "Those two all but adopted me, same as you. Same as any kid that needs a parent. They treat me like their own child. And then there's Blake, who can't be assed to appreciate how good she has it. But no, not only does she run away after Ghira left, she up and calls him a coward for calling it quits."
Lumina inclined her head. She started to understand Selina's argument; though she never met Blake herself, these actions did not speak of a daughter who gave one whit on her parents.
Meanwhile, Ilia was more morose than angry. "It's been years. I'm sure she misses them, too. It's hard to reach out after so long, isn't it?"
"She still should."
The other girls kept exchanging half-hearted arguments for a time; Lumina soon realised they went through countless variations of this discussion before and left it be. The schism among the White Fang apparently parted more than just the group itself.
Meanwhile, Lumina herself thought of the two people who did so well by her. She got clothed, housed, and fed; even paid for hunting beasts, something she did without payment all her life. Kali embraced each of them with something akin to real joy when they returned. Nobody had ever been happy to have Lumina, excepting the old lady who long since turned to dust.
She could understand why Selina was so angry with Blake.
Moreover, these thoughts kept running through her head for a while. Lumina began to wonder why she even cared. They were all mortal, a single heartbeat in the cosmos' long life. Merely the chemicals in her human body made her happy to be around them.
Then again, why should she fight these impulses? There was nothing shameful in indulging.
Lumina lay awake for a long time that night. Her eyes stared all but through the ceiling as she ruminated on family. Kali and Ghira seemed willing to welcome her like kin. Selina was just as friendly, even Ilia became more pleasant. Her chat with Corsac and his brother Fenec revealed both of them as overall friendly individuals.
She had family, though. She never thought she would miss him as much as she did in that moment.
Lumina's body fell slack as her mind cast out into the ether. Every fibre of it began to gleam in radiant light, miraculously unseen by the nightlife in Kuo Kuana. Her essence permeated the room like snowflakes of solid light.
"Grimm?" She asked the cosmos, but no response came. "Can you hear me?"
When no voice answered even then, she began to repeat his name in every tongue she knew. Reproducing the bugs' clicking noises was difficult with fleshy lips, but she managed. Yet regardless how often Lumina called, Grimm held his silence. In the end her light extinguished itself with a shuddering sigh. A lone tear rolled down Lumina's cheek.
Unbeknownst to her, the call was heard. Far distant, in the ruins of an underground kingdom, crimson eyes snapped open. When his name repeated, carried upon a solar wind, it was answered with a grating chuckle. The sound failed to pass back and neither did the words that followed: "Oh sister dear. Of course you would not go quietly into the night."
As Nightmare's flames gathered to travel for where fleeting Dream yet lived, the black void took notice of His deparature. It shifted slowly and skittered along, for the void's heart knew Nightmare King Grimm. Alas, not even He noticed the crawling dark following in his wake.
To Remnant they went.
: Of course not! *Begin humming*
