Luna

--

This is how the backside of Ren's hair looks like! Grabbed the image from google basically

Colorful petals, green and golden leaves on the trees sways softly in the wind, giving the garden a sense of peacefulness where one can enjoy the silence and the loneliness, if so wished. A singing voice fills the air which is accompanied by a man in a dirtied gray robe, swinging his hips and wolf-tail on beat with the song, breaking the calmness that the small paradise offers.

Ren grins as he dances with a couple of purple flowers, swaying together with him under a shower of water coming from the watering can.

Spending time in the garden is his second favorite time in the day, as all the colors from the flowers fill him with happiness and life. It’s a good way to pass the time as he waits for either his friends to drop by, or for something else exciting to happen. It’s something to do and the plants always appreciate the attention he gives them.

“There you go, loves,” he says as he slows his dancing and stops watering, the flowers following his lead and slowing down as well.

“See you later,” he tells them before he turns to another section of the garden that is  glowing softly in silver.

But before he can get moving there’s a pull in his chest and Ren can’t stop the wag of his tail as the warmth blossoms in his chest. Excitement rushes through him as he leaves the watering can on the path and hurries inside to the prayer room so he can fully focus.

The room, that once upon a time was bright with flames from candles filling every shelf that lines up the walls, is now dim as each fire has long since been extinguished as the mortals’ faith in him slowly disappeared. All except one, that rests alone on the bottom of a statue of himself; robes covering the body and a mask like face, empty from mortals’ normal features except for two black holes that serve as eyes, a pair of wolf ears on top of his head and long hair that spills over his shoulders. The flame of the candle lighting the statue up with a soft glow.

Long used to the empty echo in his chest whenever he enters this room, a reminder of grand days now lost to time, Ren strides forward to the single lit candle with excitement and sits down beside it, his back resting against the legs of the statue.

He closes his eyes as he tilts his head back, and takes deep breaths before he reaches out with his soul to the one asking for his attention.

“Hello Ren.”

When Ren opens his eyes he’s greeted by the sight of a cared for, but empty, temple. He turns his eyes to the side to find the woman calling to him. Blond hair just reaching her shoulders, with a pair of goggles on top, chainmail covering her torso and a red shirt poking out beneath it to prevent it from chaffing. There’s a more solid piece of metal over her chest, heavy enough to withstand some blows and yet easy enough to move around in. From her shoulders hangs a green cape, ready to keep her warm if needed. Perfect clothes for travel.

A smile grows on his lips as his wolf ears perk up and his tail starts to wag. “Falsie!”

Oh how he wished that he could actually hug his friend. She’s tantalizing close, but—

“You seem excited. Something good happened today?” She asks as she rests her head in her hand while leaning against the platform of another statue of him rests. Her mouth doesn’t move as she speaks, but it doesn’t need to. Not as long as she prays to him at least.

“I mean, you dropping by is always exciting!” Ren says with a small laugh before he clasps his hands in his lap. The coldness from his prayer room isn’t all that noticeable while he’s doing this, focusing his consciousness somewhere else, but it still tends to settle into his fingers.

False raises an eyebrow as she looks at him, or, rather the flame that holds him whenever they speak. “Come on, something else must’ve happened. Did the flowers bloom?”

His expression brightens, and he nods eagerly despite the fact that she can’t actually see him. “Yes! Well, one of them did and it’s absolutely beautiful! You should’ve seen it! The moon flower just expels light of its own as well as dropping light as if they were miniature stars! Oh, Pearl is gonna be so pleased to know that the seeds she gave me worked!”

An amused chuckle brings his focus back on his friend and he gives her a smile. “Really, False, it’s truly beautiful.”

“Remind me of how old you are again? Haven’t you seen this kind of stuff before?”

“Of course I have. Just...” Ren’s eyes sweep over the empty temple. “... Gotta appreciate everything small, y’know?”

False is silent for a moment before she sighs. “Yeah.”

When she shakes her head she takes the attention back to her and Ren watches as she shifts so both of her elbows rest at the platform behind her, and she’s turned towards the empty room.

If anyone else had been here, she would’ve been scolded for such a lack of respect.

That doesn’t matter anymore.

“I’m going to a festival today in the town over. Should be gone for a few days while the celebration takes place, gonna see if I can convince someone to at least dedicate a small portion of the ceremonies to you.”

“Oh! Right, forgot about that.” That’s... a bit of a lie, honestly.

Ren’s ears press flat against his head. He hasn’t forgotten, it’s just that he’d hoped that False would’ve dropped the attempts by now. It’s been years since she started to try to convince people that the God of Community was a real god, and deserves to be worshipped just as any other, but to no avail. No one listens to her words, only thanks her for her actions when she helps them, and then carries on with their lives.

He lets out a sigh. “False... You don’t have to. I’ve already accepted my fate—”

“Shut it, Ren. I’m your paladin and I will fight until my last breath to make people remember you. You can’t convince me otherwise,” she says with a frown and Ren doesn’t bother to fight her about it. It’s been enough of those.

Silence grows for a few moments, as the words hang in the air before Ren breaks it.

“Can you bring back some fancy candles? They would look absolutely lovely lighting up the place.”

A smile grows on False’s lips before she laughs a little. “Sure. I’ll do that.”

Warmth spreads through Ren’s chest once more, and he unclasps his hands to bring one up to grab the robe over his chest as if he tries to hold the small ember of their connection in his hand. “Safe journey. I’ll be with you as much as I can.”

False gives him a smile. “I know you will. Talk to you when I get back.”

With that, they say goodbye to each other, and False ends her prayer. When Ren opens his eyes anew, a dimly lit room greets him.

As he sits there for a moment, already missing his friend, the coldness from past ghosts starts to settle into his limbs. He doesn’t move up from his position at first, simply sitting by the single lit candle as he tries to be with his paladin for just a little bit longer, but eventually the cold feels too much for him, and he gets up from his seat and walks back out.

Flowers needed tending to after all.

-----

Ren doesn’t think much of the passing days, time doesn’t exactly flow the same for him as it does for mortals, as he focuses on tending to his garden and feeding the wild pack of aether hounds that lingers near his house. He doesn’t think much of it as he feels their connection nestled close to his essence, warm and comforting, as it always has been and will be, until the day False passes away.

But as time starts to stretch without False praying, not even a goodnight which she has always done since even before she took the oath, worry starts to grow in Ren’s stomach.

He finds himself restless when he tends to the flowers and tries to figure out how long ago it’s been since False last talked to him. Has it been a few days already? Has it been a week, or perhaps longer? Or is he just missing her, and overestimating the amount of time that has passed? He’s never been good with time anyway.

So he waits a little bit longer.

-----

One day Ren finds himself rubbing his chest after he had tried to reach out with his soul yet again to False’s, but nothing answered his call, nothing brushed back as it should’ve done.

“False,” he mumbles, as he puts more pressure against his chest. She’s not answering, and he has tried for too long now. A worried sigh leaves him, as he wanders in circles in his garden with rapid steps, fingers twitching uselessly at his side from the hand not rubbing his chest.

This isn’t normal. Not one bit.

Another sigh leaves him as he comes to a stop. There’s one thing he can really do right now and it’s to go to the prayer room to check on her that way. Which is silly because of course the candle will be lit, he’s still alive after all, which means False is still alive. Still his paladin.

... But it couldn’t hurt, right?

With the decision taken, Ren gets moving again and walks towards said room. His footsteps are too loud in his ears as he walks through the hallways and he presses his ears flat against his skull, unease resting heavily in his body.

When he opens the door to the prayer room, he has to take a moment to blink and adjust his eyes to the darkness. Darkness that shouldn’t be here.

‘No. Nononononono—’

His body moves before his mind unfreezes itself and each ‘thud’ of a footstep falls on deaf ears as he rushes towards the statue, ears twitching and tail stiff; begging for the candle to still be lit.

She can’t be dead, she can’t! Ren’s still alive, which means that False has to be alive, there’s no other way, but the room is dark and cold and empty—

At the feet of the statue sits a candle with a small, flickering ember. Not truly a flame, but something still existing. Still alive.

Ren slows down at the sight, and doesn’t tear his eyes away from the small, frail, light that barely casts any shadows at all, the darkness from the past seemingly swallowing it up. A flame so small, that a too fast movement would snuff out its life forever...

It doesn’t quite function that way but this knowledge doesn’t stop Ren from carefully kneeling beside it and lifting his hands up as if to shield it from wind.

“False?” He calls out as he stares at the flimsy flame.

Nothing answers him, the ember doesn’t even brighten in acknowledgement.

“False, are you there? I’m—” Ren swallows “—I’m not sensing you. Do you hear me?”

She should hear him, no matter where she is, it has always been that way no matter who he was speaking to. So why isn’t she answering? Why can’t he sense her? Why isn’t she— “False. Talk to me.”

The only sound in the room is his unsteady breathing, and he finds his hands to be shaking. He tries to tell himself it’s from the cold seeping into his limbs.

“Please,” he begs and the room echoes the crack in his voice back at him mockingly. “Please...”

Ren isn’t sure how long he sits there. All he knows is that when he accepts the fact that False isn’t answering, his limbs are stiff and freezing, and it takes effort for him to move his hands away from the flicker of the light and stand up. (Is this what dying feels like?)

Continuing to move feels like an enormous task and he’s not sure if he wants to at this rate. False is missing, she might even be gone, and it won’t be long until he’ll follow suit if she is. Maybe he just should stay in the room, so he can be surrounded by the past, and the life he has lived.

And yet he finds himself walking through the room while the darkness seems to try to pull him back, to keep him in there. The warmth of the rest of his home washes over him the moment he steps out through the door. The cold still lingers though, and he swears that his home is dimmer than normal, and shadows melt together with one another.

He wanders through the halls without a goal, as he tries to get his frozen fingers to move, and tries to figure out what to do; he doesn’t pay attention to where he wanders as he knows his home as well as he knows his heart. But when the dark slowly disappears around him he focuses on his surroundings and on the soft silver light that greets him.

It seems like he has wandered into the garden where the moon flower blooms.

His gaze locks onto it as he walks closer, finding himself kneeling beside it.

There’s many flowers in his garden, a god’s gotta have something to do after all when there’s no followers, but this one stands out amongst the colors that exist here. Pale petals, not quite white, and a soft light pulls the attention of any onlooker. There are more moon flowers planted, and that have grown, but this is the only one that has bloomed.

He’d been so excited to tell False about it, the only thing happening in his life at the moment.

But that doesn’t matter anymore. She’s unresponsive, unreachable, gone.

So he lays down on the floor, and closes his eyes, letting the light from the flower bring him false comfort. At the very least he can pretend that Pearl is here with him in his final moment, staying by his side as the flicker of the flame in his chest gets snuffed out.

The flame that’s gonna disappear because his last believer is dead.

The flame... That...

...

Ren opens his eyes again and stares at the green stem of the flowers in front of him.

Shouldn’t... Shouldn’t he be dead by now?

He knows that he should’ve perished the moment False died, and from the tales he’s heard it’s a fast process. But... His fingers aren't as stiff anymore, warmth having returned to his limbs since he left the cold prayer room, and he’s pretty sure he spent quite some time sitting in front of False’s candle, far longer than it should’ve taken him to die.

And when he concentrates on the flame in his chest he finds it small, yet steady, despite how it flickers.

If he was dying, then it shouldn’t feel steady at all...

He grips his robe in the center of his chest as he sits up and stares at the glowing flower, his ears pressed down against his skull while he thinks.

The flame, his life, should’ve been extinguished the moment False died, but it hadn’t. No, he had come into the prayer room with the candle of their bond still alive, even if it was small and flickering. It had stayed just like that, even when he had gotten up on his feet. It had stayed like that as he walked away.

That shouldn’t be possible. Not when she’s dead.

But...

Ren’s eyes widen with realization, and his ears shoot straight up.

False is alive!

There can be no other explanation; he feels no bond to anyone else, he would’ve noticed if someone new had put their faith in him, and her candle is still lit!

Something is obviously terribly wrong, since he can’t even feel her in the mortal realm, but she’s alive! Without a doubt!

With the comfort of that knowledge, Ren gets up on his feet with determination filling him. He’s gonna find out what happened to False, and why he can’t reach her. He’s going to make sure she’s okay. It is his duty after all, as her God and as her friend.

It’s with a quick motion he spins around and runs out of the garden, and the house, goal set on speaking with the Council. They have to help him!

As he leaves his home behind, four moon flower buds start to twist open and join the first one in bathing the garden in silver light.

It’s been a long time since Ren met with the Council. The last time was when he was still recognized as a god by a big portion of the mortals, and even then, he had just been briefly visiting the place. It’s been even longer since he had to actually deal with them, but now... He has no choice but to put on a brave face and argue for his case.

If he was allowed near the Council, that is.

Tall white pillars tower over him as he reaches the building, the courthouse where the Council resides when they’re on duty, and painfully blank walls greet him once he steps through the door into an open, but empty room. Despite the emptiness of it, it feels like everything stares at him, judging him, before he has even talked to the Overseer; the god who determines who gets an audience with the Council, and who has to stay back and solve their own problem.

The one who’s gonna decide his fate now, whether he likes it or not.

No one else is in the greeting area which means that Ren can go ahead and walk through the open doorway, into the winding corridors leading both to the seating area and to various discussion chambers for when gods are having minor disputes and arguments.

It should be nerve wrecking to walk down these corridors with footsteps echoing around him, but all he can focus on is to find a way to save False, his paladin and good friend. This is abnormal, people can’t just vanish like this (never mind the fact that his reach isn’t what it used to be), not by themselves. Something must’ve happened to her, and he needs to figure out what.

After all, she’s not dead. (She can’t be dead.)

When Ren finally reaches the end of the unnerving hallway, he finds himself in the seating area, for the rare time that there would be more than three people needing the Council’s attention at the same time. Or rather, meeting with the Overseer in order to get to talk to the Council.

Luckily, it seems like he’s alone, which is proven when the closed door at the other end opens up, and out steps the one he has come to meet. Big green and silver feathers with fake eyes spill all around them as they walk through the door, and they have wings that act like arms that tighten around their slightly hunched over body while the claws clutches a stack of paper so none of them fall. There’s no hair on their head, and any feathers they might’ve had had long fallen off, leaving their head bare. Instead there’s a plume around their neck which puffs up at the sight of Ren.

The Overseer looks at him with beady eyes, and he has to really look at their face in order to focus on the present. It’s a bit too easy to drift away in thought when being around them.

“Community, what has brought you to my door?” They ask without inviting him into the next room, their beak clicking as they speak.

That can’t be good.

Nevertheless, Ren keeps his back straight and chin tilted upwards, mostly to be able to look them in the eyes.

“I need to speak with the Council,” he says with as much certainty as he can muster.

The Overseer tilts their head, as their feathers rustle and fan out, displaying the fake eyes even more that seem to blink at him, before they fall back into place.

“And what is the reason for this need?”

At that Ren takes a deep breath to steel himself.

“My last believer and paladin is missing. She’s still alive, but I don’t know where she is, and I can’t get in contact with her, so I need help—”

“No.”

It feels like he’s back in his prayer room, darkness engulfing him, and coldness seeping into his essence.

“I didn’t even get—”

The Overseer rustles their feathers again, but this time they don’t fan out, very clearly in annoyance. “I have heard that plea several times before. The answer is no, because that means interfering with the mortal’s world, and we can’t allow that.”

Ren’s ears press flat as his tail stiffens. “I wasn’t going to ask for that! I just want to know if she’s safe, I know some members of the Council can check on mortals without interacting with them, so why can’t they just take a quick look?” He argues as he waves his arms around, and his tail starts to move in agitated motions, his ears twitching as well as he tries to convey his desperation.

With a heavy sigh, the Overseer closes their eyes and shakes their head, clicking their claws together in impatience. “She’s probably dead, or is about to break your bond. There’s nothing you can do about it.  Any information is just gonna make you ask for more help. So no. There’s no help for you.”

A growl wants to make itself known in Ren’s throat, but he swallows it down, he knows it won’t help him. “But this is abnormal. I know she’s alive and she wouldn’t break our bond just like that, not without telling me! I can still feel our connection, just not her presence and that’s not—”

“Enough!”

Overseer’s feathers snaps open and fans out to all its might, making the god look so much bigger and threatening as they click their beak together in warning.

Ren can’t help but to sink into himself, his ears pressing flat against his skull, and his tail goes between his legs as the fake eyes stare down at him. Feeling much like a child being scolded by their parents. Which isn’t technically false, since the Overseer is way older than him.

“I’ve heard that story many times before, and it always ends up the same. Demands to help and interfere with the mortal life. Searching for a mortal always includes interfering with things we’re not meant to, no matter how much you insist that it won’t. I’ve seen this song and dance countless times. So as long as it’s only for your personal comfort and gain, the answer will be no.”

With that, the feathers settle back down, and the Overseer clicks their beak once more. “Return home. There’s nothing that can be done for your missing paladin without putting the world at risk. End of discussion.”

They turn around without giving Ren a chance to talk, to protest, to argue, and the door clicks shut behind them when they leave the room.

The click seems to resonate between the walls and the sound keeps growing in his ears, and he doesn't dare to move.

Not at first, not when it feels like everything is watching. Judging.

Eventually he finds the strength to move, despite how his tail hangs low and the heaviness having returned to his limbs. It even starts to feel a bit cold again, but he’s not sure if he’s imagining it or not.

He feels defeated, beaten back into the ground. How could he have dared to hope? She’s his friend, so he had forgotten just how strict everyone is with the rules. That most gods never talk to any of their followers, especially not in the way he does.

So, it’s with a heavy heart he turns around to head home.

The wind rustles among the golden leaves as Ren walks on the path home. He’d barely taken in the scenery when he had hurried to the Overseer, and now the only thing that catches his attention is the wind making the leaves rustle, his ears twitching at the unwanted stimuli.

But none of its beauty that he normally admires does he now see, as his eyes are glued to the paved path beneath his feet.

His thoughts swirl in his head, and yet, nothing solidifies. All just staying a mess.

A mess he doesn’t even know where to begin to untangle.

False is gone, he can’t contact her, and he won’t get any help from the Council. All he can think of doing is to lay down and stare at the ceiling until death comes for him. (It should’ve already been here).

But False doesn’t deserve that. She deserves action, deserves that he does something; the trouble is coming up with any sort of idea he can actually do now that his only option has been blocked off by the Overseer.

Ren knows that it won’t be looked on kindly if he breaks into the Council and demands that they help him. Everyone of those gods are way stronger than he is, and with his power waning, he can’t even see past the room where he gets prayed to, which is most of the time the temple where he’s at his most powerful anyway.

So what can he possibly do?

Nothing, that’s what.

It’s not like he can go down to the mortal realm and search for her himself.

...

Ren halts in the middle of a step, and his eyes widens while his body freezes in realization.

It won’t exactly be looked well upon, and he will be viewed as a criminal, but there’s nothing that will actually stop him. Despite being weak, he should be able to open a brief portal and go down there. It won’t be easy, but there’s nothing stopping him.

With determination returning full force within his chest, Ren starts moving again but this time with a faster pace.