#tragic lovers..

A Moon is a vessel of Death,   keepers of divine life just as much as they are the extension of  Reapers. 

That , Rosie has known since the moment she awakened to this universe. Since she was assigned to her role as the guardian of the lost. When she became bound to this world, she became tied to a singular duty to protect these lands and its inhabitants from ever evolving humanity; The Lady of the Moon swore her life to keeping order and peace for all those under her light -- And yet, that sworn duty had seemingly become more.. Complex, as of late, when the fine line of duty and personal feelings began to blur together.  Because of that girl. The Herald of Death and Destruction finds herself weakened by an attachment far too personal for a celestial to have ever maintained.Yet the Sphinx’s heart strays with doubt and guilt -- not for having the feelings in the first place, but for the curse placed upon that girl for ever loving the Moon guardian who could never give her what she deserved. Thus now, the celestial makes the effort of placing a wedge between herself and the stubborn flower, for the sake of the girl’s mortal heart.

      When night falls, the cool air brings a soothing sense of serenity as the day’s heat evaporates away. The gears transition, from day to night, when the nocturnal life begins to stir from the underoots and walk about the surface fauna and foliage. This scene was Rosie’s favorite part.. Watching how life flourished before her eyes, the dawn for the creatures of her night.. Silhouetted with the soft glow of bio-luminescence the forest provided, she smiled to herself and sighed within her perch. From the cliffside, she could oversee the boundaries of her forest along the edge, ranging from the dark sea coast, to the speck of light in the distance where humanity lay undoubtedly raising hell as they often did. With the cover of darkness she dawns her true skin and stands as the blue spectre guardian, a fallen star among the people -- soon enough, Rosie should be making her rounds.. But she’s avoiding it. With good cause. Even from the height which she stands,  Rosie can see the lights dying down among the Tribe Angels below as the last rowdy members with their younglins finally go down for a rest… With them, she hopes, is her troublesome girl.

 “ Its for her own good…”  Muttered to no one in particular, Rosie lost count of the amount of times she uttered the sentence to herself in solitude when she made the effort to set a divide. She watched from the distance as the final lanterns went out.. And at last, the full nature of night takes overs the forest many called home. She waited some more..      Seconds, minutes.. Had it been an hour? Pacing restlessly like a lioness within her den, after she had the confidence that Lauren slept soundly among the others, she could emerge from her perch. A heavy breath escaped, one she had no memory of holding til she passed her reflection within the trickling pools of the cave, then she paused. Staring back were a set of eyes much darker than her own.. The spider-like Darkmoon glared blue daggers to her light, “ This is ridiculous, Rose. She’s impeding our duty.

   All this for a human..” 

Rosie can’t quite blame her other for her malice upon her.. venom dripped from the voice within herself,  the Light’s colors dim and her figure loses its opacity in her uneasy retreat. Dalia was far more practical than herself.. The better, efficient side as all DarkMoons should be. From the moment the girl blossomed into a woman, the Dark held bitter, pragmatic feelings in the trouble that would brew upon the gentle heart of the Light who was swayed easily by such a thing. Rosie knows well , the truth.. But her flawed heart continues to be their downfall. She draws her arms towards herself and stares back with wavering strength to keep her confidence,  “ Its not her fault. Its Mine. And I was about to leave anyhow! I just wanted to let things unfold..” 

“ You are a terrible liar, when it comes to me. You can’t hold secrets from yourself.” 

The figment scuffed, to which the Light’s colors returned to a bright whitened blush upon her cheeks. Filling into a solid shape, the Moon pursed her lips and jabbed a finger at the water in retaliation,  “ I’ll have you know-! ” “ Be still.”

Abruptly, two become one with a cold fusion of essence -- two minds aligning, defenses raised by the Dark that writhes about her Light. Rosie freezes, exhales a frosty breath, then reestablishes herself towards the stony walkway just by the den’s opening. Dalia coils tighter within herself.. Bringing a tension to the Light’s limbs with a narrowed gaze upon approaching presence. It takes time for her to settle and truly feel recognition.. But It was the Dark who huffed when the answer came to her first.

“ Its that Child Pet of yours..”

“Lauren?”

 Dalia retreated to the shadows of conscience as Rosie lit up in a show monochromatic shades of swirling blues. Indeed, it was that girl.. That young, moss and flower covered girl under a messy head of curls trudging up the cold stone where she shouldn’t have wandered. Excitement quickly fades and her colors dim softly when she realizes, yet again , her vow for distance has been broken. Rosie repeats her name in a low, somber murmur, “ Lauren…” You shouldn’t be here , she wants to say at first. The Sphinx drifts and flows with animate life, flicking in a spark to greet the maiden by the doorway, and stop her with what little will she has. “ You should be sleeping with the others..”       Better.  Rosie has not bitten her tongue in a jumble.  “ I told you, its safer down there.. You belong among them.   Not in this old crow’s den of death.”

      Contact to the warm copper skin , even through the essence of a celestial, tingles through her nerves upon the amiable hand on Lauren’s shoulders. Rosie makes it a point to avoid the maiden’s deep blue gaze, weaponized easily in an unnatural power held over most supernatural beings.. To stare deeply, she could find herself drowning in them. Drowning and falling into an age old cycle, only to be pulled out and reprimanded by the vicious Dark that keeps her light safe. Keeping them still at the entrance, Rosie lightly turns the girl away with a guiding hand on the small of her back, “ I was just about to make my rounds…” “ But I wanted to see you..”  Lauren’s squeaky voice ebbs with lethargy.. Its clear she’s woken from sleep just to come up here. Rosie makes it a point to resist, to gawk elsewhere, and continues to coax her away, “ You see me. Now its time for bed, where good humans and angels should be..” “ Please,” Lauren reached out and tangled her hand within the celestial’s hanging sleeve, her bare feet scuffing upon the cold stone demanding the Moon halt her pushing. And it works, for Rosie is caught off guard, and falls prey to the blue ocean pleadingly staring at her. Lauren, in a move she’d done countless times, wraps herself within the silky blue robes of her guardian and presses close to Rosie’s cool skin. “ Please, I can’t sleep. Can’t I just stay with you? Just for tonight?” Just for the night.. The Sphinx had agreed to that so many times, swearing to be the last time, and there was no doubt that this would repeat again. The Moon’s light shaped figure flickers with Rosie’s hesitation, a visible strain on her face as Dalia fights within the thin layer of light to push the girl away or outright fling her. Fortunately, the Light holds her strength with an exasperated groan,  “ Child, I have rounds to make..  I’ve neglected my duties enough tending to you.”  Rosie cringed at the unintentional harshness of her own words and quickly turned her face away from the sapphire honey trap set by the maiden’s eyes, choosing instead to stare at the mossy covered stone walls beyond Lauren’s messy hair. She makes reparations with her reasoning, her hand raising to stroke through the curly locks with her signature tenderness,  “ What I mean to say is.. Even if I did stay, I’ll be gone by morning.. I’ll be leaving too check on the other safe havens, and you know it may be a while..” 

   Though, Lauren doesn’t know it’s intentional that Rosie keeps away. 

There’s no doubt in her mind that if the Sphinx dared to look, she might crumble at the hurt written across the flower maiden’s face with the reality placed before them. Rosie makes a move and tries to carefully break away from Lauren’s hold as sympathetically as she could.. But Lauren’s insistent grip tightening demands her attention. The maiden’s face is determined as she replies sharply,  “ Which is more of a reason why I want to stay with you tonight..”  Rosie’s will is slowly cracking and it shows with her dimming colors. For a fleeting moment she is silent, mauling over her answer while faced off against a deadly, persistent opponent. Lips pressed into a fine line, Rosie let her head fall back and stared up towards the starry sky. “ If I stay with you til you fall asleep.. Will you be satisfied?” Lauren beamed a brilliant smile and nodded with childish youth and a cartoonish bop of curls following her head,  “ Promise I will.”        “ Just for tonight..” Rosie concedes to her defeat. It was only then that Lauren let her go. Turning on her heels, the bareskinned flower maiden was prepared to waltz up to the den, til swiftly her feet no longer touched the ground and she was left floating in air with a black misty mass wrapped around her waist. Lauren's startled, confused, and looks towards the guardian with furrowed brows and pouting lips, “ What are you doing…?” Rosie drifts lazily towards her.. A dreary, melancholic smile worn as black dissipates into her essence, and her arms now wrap around the maiden's soft body to support the weight, “ I told you, you don’t belong in a crow’s den of death. Little Flowers like you belong among the tribes, in groups where you aren’t alone.” The girl puffed her cheeks, lips parting to whine in protest, only to be silenced by Rosie’s quick kiss upon her button nose..

Then , together , they flew.

       To fly with Rosie was different than flying with the winged Angels. It was not a crude attempt to hold on for dear life while you clung to the back, or dangled within the strong arms of the hunting members that took to the sky -- the wind did not whip by and deafen your senses, or blind you as your eyes dried out and watered painfully. The raw physics seemed to lack entirely, for the world was but an aspect to manipulate to the existence of a celestial… held within the arms of the Moon, there is a calming serenity which overtakes Lauren as she huddles close to the Light. To fly with a Moon was akin to flying within a dream.. Weightless, surreal, and fantastical as all laws of the waking world are disregarded for the pure joy of flight. Above here, Lauren could see the entirety of their domain, of the kingdom she had grown within and loved with every fiber of her being… surrounded by creatures that looked nothing like her, and feared anyone who did. A bird's eye view, a perspective which Lauren would never have seen on her own were it not for the spirits and beings who took her to places no human would ever get a chance to see. In that moment, the flower maiden shifted her gaze and caught a glimpse of her guardian in her most natural state: Fierce, focused.. Tinged by an eternal blue gloom that clung to the light, no matter how brightly she shined as the Beacon of Hope. Rosie may not have looked at her, but a pang struck within Lauren’s beating chest at the sight… when normally she would chat, point towards the earth below them and coo a joke to spur a laugh out of her Sphinx, she is stricken to silence by a twisting feeling. The flower merely smiles in the soft blue light.. Loosening her breaths soundlessly, she closed her eyes and nestled closer. The flight she hoped would have lasted forever far sooner than she hoped. 

    Seamlessly, Rosie floats downward, til her feet connected upon the thick surface root of an ancient tree as they stand at the base. A private little cubby, close but out of the way of wandering habitants that make their living in the night. Carefully then, she slides Lauren from her arms and set her upon the grassy earth, in the center of the circular nest of roots. Rosie smiled,  “ There we are. Didn’t shake the sleep out of you too much, did I?”      “ I wasn’t tired..”  Lauren grinned sleepily, definitely, but her puffy eyes and drooping lids could not deceive. Rosie chuckled lightly and shook her head, “ You are an awful liar, my little flower..” “ Lay with me…” Lauren, unbothered by the dirt and thin grass beneath her, settled down into a comfortable sitting position. She held out her arms expectantly, perceptive of her lover’s subtle flash of hesitance when Rosie gave a wary look around them.. Nonetheless, she gives in and dissolves away into a mass of glowing mist, wavering down to the Maiden's side, then remainfesting around her. Lauren’s body was incredibly soft.. Smooth skinned and cushioned by light layers of added weight Rosie couldn’t help but compare to hugging a toy. Though she dared not voice it.. Feigning pain, Rosie hissed playfully, “ This isn’t very comfortable..” Lauren snuggled closer, her sleepy smile widening while her hand reached back to stroke the ethereal cheek of the celestial,  “ You make a fine bed..” “ I can make one better, so you won’t have aches when you wake up..” At once, the ground crackles with the wet shifting of fresh soil. A sound familiar to the residence under the Moon’s dominion, as lush foliage and flower blooms break through the surface and blossom beneath their bodies as padded cushioning.. Elevating them so slightly, fresh green vines snake their way over the ancient roots of the elder tree and splash colorful life through the flowers that swirl and open upon the dark , aging roots. What was once a worn place of thin grass and moist dirt had now become a lush pit of green life, a perfect nest for a nymph to rest in the safety of the forest and its seedlings. Rosie pressed a gentle kiss to Lauren’s temple, “ Better..? ”  “ You didn’t have to..”  Lauren willed open her eyes, a tenderness within them, as Rosie looked beyond her. Huddled safely in the warmth of the goddess, Lauren relaxed, but did not close her eyes… not yet. “ Now little one, A promise is a promise..” Rosie’s hands skim and trace up the maiden’s arms.. then  rest, politely folded at the center of Lauren's chest, just above her beating heart, “ Sleep..”

But how could she? Lauren laid awake in silence, breathing in and out in the arms of the sacred guardian… waiting for something. Anything from the Moon. Some sort of acknowledgement, or sentiment. And the minutes sicked on painfully.. The pang in her chest grows.. Til Finally, Lauren can’t seem to take it anymore.. She cracks the silence with a remorseful, bittersweet question.

“We have ruined each other. Haven’t we?”

Its abrupt, unsuspected, and it stops everything. Of all things to be heard from the maiden... The world is still, but the air grows colder.. Rosie makes no movements from her position, yet it feels like the slightest ice runs down lauren’s shoulder when the sphinx whispers against her, “ It that what you think, little one?

     That we’ve ruined each other?..” 

Distorted , wavering unnaturally in an agglomeration of voices, Lauren squirmed to turn and face Rosie, only to be caught by the neck and held in place.  “ Please,” The voice strains,       “ Stay still..” Normally warm fingers suddenly felt so cold.. Trembling, they apply the slightest pressure, then release again. They held her firmly, dangerously. Lauren, however, calmly stared at the star above. A small, forlorn smile worn on her lips. “ It's alright...I understand, Rose..”  Her small hands raise and caress the celestial blue that holds her as they darken to near shades of black. Rosie twitched.. Then cowered within the shoulder of her flower maiden, releasing the neck now as both her own palms cradle Lauren’s head,

“ Now, Listen to me..”   She can’t bring herself to meet Lauren’s face, turned away in shame, she speaks lowly in her lament,  “ Understand that you’ve done nothing wrong.. You haven’t ruined me, because I’ve been ruined since the day of my creation..”  

Her pained glare only bleeds through the earth as her figure trembles and loses its opacity, “ Its I who’ve ruined you, my flower.... I made you love something you should have never loved, and it seems I’ve ruined your heart... that just won’t run to when it should be held and nurtured..”

It eats her alive. That very notion she knows is reality, that the unlovable Moon has stolen the heart of a mortal who would now only know tragedy..  It kills her, because she is the ruiner of good things.. The herald of death kills everything it touches, even if she loves it.. There are no exceptions.

The tears well and spill from her glowing eye as she chokes out, “ And this is why.. You have to forget me.”

And Sleep

“ N-NO..!” There was no stopping it. 

The feeling bleeds into the heart first, cold and heavy, pumps with every beating pulse. The transfer of energy can’t be resisted as Lauren’s veins light up with the Moon’s essence, a tingling warmth that begins to fog and dull her senses and shroud the world in creeping blackness. The call from the void that wills heaviness and the need for sleep, the flower maiden’s will battles fruitlessly to fend off the force taking over her subconscious to sink heavily into a blanket of dreams… Lauren gasped as her vision fades, as the last bit of reality she can make out is the mournful, weeping face of the mighty Moon guardian cradling her body, she wheezed with her last ounce of strength, “ Y-You’ve cheated...! You.. s-stay..!...” As light dies away and Lauren sinks deeper into the endless sea of her mind, peace soothes the straining and overcomes at last when the maiden is laid peacefully within the sanctity of the forest’s vines and leafy growth to protect her bareness from the world. Sleeping, while memories alter and dissipate like the falling leaves in the changing seasons. For a while, Rosie simply stood there and studied her while she slept.. Frozen, grieving for what was, even if she knows it was for the best. When at last she turned away, Dalia whispered her approval in the back of her mind.. 

“ You’ve saved her.”

In the shadow of the night, the Moon vanished in the shape of a bird after making her rounds and securing the borders for a long absence.